EnglandGreen Park51°30’20” N 0°8’42” W
1 Januari 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
It's 2024 and while many people were enjoying the fireworks by the river last night, I choose a morning start to enjoy London's New Year parade. After 2 years hiatus it's becoming a regular fixtureBaca lagi
Republik DominikaPunta Cana International Airport18°34’7” N 68°21’59” W 15 Februari 2024, Republik Dominika ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
Airborne for the first time in 2024, I'm spending a fortnight in Santo Domingo. Not to be confused with Dominica, it's the Spanish-speaking part of Hispaniola island. Punta Cana is the only place withBaca lagi
Speak, World
I wonder what the three sisters are famous for. I’ll look them up! (on the currency) The beach pictures are superb!
Republik DominikaLa Agustina18°29’37” N 69°56’25” W 17 Februari 2024, Republik Dominika ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Punta Cana used to be cut off from the rest of the island but since the construction of new roads, getting around is now quite easy. A taxi ride to the bus station and a bus so air-conditioned that IBaca lagi
Speak, WorldI’ve never seen ANY pictures of Santo Domingo, so your post is great! It looks so laid back in you photos. I especially liked the pink-hued house with the interesting plants.
PengembaraYes, the Dom. Rep. makes more US$ from its all-inclusive beach hotels than its historic and natural attractions but as you can see, they are considerable and the infrastructure is quite good. Merengue and bachata are two endemic music forms but salsa is popular as well. I was delighted not to hear too much reggaeton (not to be confused with the much more acceptable reggae). Common practice is for people to listen to salsa recordings and augment them with their own percussion (more to follow on this!)
Republik DominikaPunta Las Galeras19°17’27” N 69°12’10” W
19 Februari 2024, Republik Dominika ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Thanks to another good road, the 3-hour bus journey from the capital to the town on Samana is straightforward. Moving on isn't quite as easy: it's hard to work out where to get transport, until aBaca lagi
Republik DominikaCarlos Guerra18°28’34” N 69°56’20” W
24 Februari 2024, Republik Dominika ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
A reversal of last week's trip (guagua, bus, taxi) takes me back to a few days in the capital. This time I'm right in the heart of things, in a classy hotel on Parque Colon and a prime view from theBaca lagi
Speak, WorldGosh, there is so much music everywhere! At least it seems like it. People coming out and taking their instruments with them and then playing— I think it’s marvelous!
PengembaraThat's right. It was a nice surprise that most of the music was traditional, not much electronic stuff (call me old-fashioned!)
Republik DominikaBella Vista18°27’53” N 69°56’37” W
27 Februari 2024, Republik Dominika ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
To my immense frustration, there have been no Sunday carnivals as the tourist guides had led me to believe. What does happen, on 27th February, is the annual Independence Day celebration. IndependenceBaca lagi
Speak, WorldWell, if it’s not a festival, then it’s actually a “feria.” Any chance to celebrate, and it looks like everyone did their Independence Day up, really big! I loved all the photos with the red, white and blue, including that amazing red hair!
PengembaraAbsolutely. And talking of going back to the Dom. Rep., regardless of whether I go back or not, grains of sand that had been lodged in my shoes from the beaches were still falling out after my return. You can take a person out of the Dom. Rep. but you can't take the Dom. Rep. out of a person!
EnglandRamsgate Ferry Port51°19’56” N 1°25’7” E
EnglandBermondsey51°29’53” N 0°3’52” W
21 April 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C
This 1960s chart hit is often played to celebrate the London Marathon. It's got a carnival spirit that has returned to the streets in the spring, following closures for Covid. It's a lovelyBaca lagi
Speak, WorldWhat an interesting post! I haven’t really seen such a close-up of a marathon before. It looks like it was quite a chilly day for the onlookers. As for the runners, it appears to be a quite casual event, and it also seems like there weren’t that many people who were in great shape! Do you have any idea how much it cost to actually be able to run in the marathon? Were there any prerequisites other than the cost?
PengembaraYou're right, it was quite cold for late April but I expect the runners liked it. I deliberately didn't get started until 2 hours after the start (ETA at the finish about 4 hours) because slower people are easier to photograph, plus the crowds start to thin out.
PengembaraI don't know how much it cost to take part but collectively they raised £67m (including contributions from onlookers). Presumably they have to pass a medical but one of the key sectors of the race is the wheelchair contingent. There were about 53,000 participants.
EnglandOuse Burn, Ouseburn54°58’3” N 1°35’30” W
2 Mei 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
(to paraphrase the famous no. 1 from the Animals, who came from here). Yes, I am in Newcastle and yes, the sun is in hiding. Not that it matters too much because there are plenty of indoor options. MyBaca lagi
Speak, WorldThat staircase is stunning. I can’t think of anything to match it. Look at those landings! I’ve never been to Newcastle, and I admire your wandering spirit. My sister and her husband are in northern England walking about.(May 13, ‘24)
EnglandRiver Tyne55°0’33” N 1°25’43” W
3 Mei 2024, England
The land around Newcastle was disputed for centuries between England and Scotland, and there's a border feeling about this region. It's a great base for day excursions. Tynemouth and Whitley Bay areBaca lagi
Speak, WorldOh, impressive to see that you’re traveling to get again into a new country. It would be fun to know that your total number of countries that you visited. I visited 26, or 29? Anyway, fellow violin teacher, friend of mine in the Washington DC area is from Romania, and I made a big mistake of saying that it must’ve been hard for her to come to America. She became immediately infuriated and said, “America is heaven compared to Romania and I will not hear a word of criticism.” She left in Communist times, of course.
PengembaraYes, it's one thing to visit a country for ten days and quite another to live there---I enjoyed Romania immensely but lots of people have left the country. In total I've visited about 40 countries. I had been in transit in Bucharest on a long rail journey in 1976, starting in Warsaw and finishing in Istanbul. Also in the 1980s en route from London to Cairo; Tarom were just about the worst airline I had ever used!
