The 2 week trip to Poland was off the beaten path as we explored the countryside beyond the typical tourist stops. I’ve been to many “folk music” evenings in my travels and most are cringe worthy commercial tourist traps, but this one was different. The dinner was in a barn on a very working farm.… Continue reading Off the beaten path in Poland

The last time I was in this area, about 34 years ago, it was a combined Czechoslovakia. Today it is 2 distinct countries with Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Two different languages and two different currencies. I have to say the currencies hardly matter any more as most transactions are contactless payment with credit cards.… Continue reading Slovakia and the Czech Republic

My Baltic Adventure started in Tallin, Estonia. The Baltic countries include Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all on the Baltic Sea. I originally planned to visit on a cruise that included St Petersburg, but the political winds no longer favor that trip, so a land adventure must suffice. As I have learned during my visit, the… Continue reading A Baltic Adventure

My Safari in Senegal was an unexpected treasure. I had my doubts as Bandai Wildlife Reserve is just an hour outside of Dakar the largest city in Senegal with a population of over 6 million. I was expecting a cross between the Columbus Zoo and Disneys Wilderness experience. In this place the animals seemed wild… Continue reading FINALLY it’s time for a Safari in Senegal

I’ve crossed the Equator several times but this was the first time I got to the Prime Meridian at 0’ Latitude and 0’ Longitude. The ship hovered at the 0’ 0’ for a bit and we greeted King Neptune in an elaborate ceremony. As a mariner, studying navigation this was a very memorable experience. The… Continue reading Null Island – The Prime Meridian

Rather than eating Turkey I spent my Thanksgiving winging my way to Cape Town, South Africa for the start of a Grand African adventure along the west coast of the continent. The catamaran ride was billed as an opportunity to see seals, in fact there were 60,000 loud, smelly, chest bumping, mating seals. The experience… Continue reading Cape Town, South Africa

The end of June is the ideal time to see the Lavender fields in Provence. We visited several markets that had regional products and wandered the narrow streets. I discovered and fell in love with the scent of verbena and had to allocate premium suitcase space to bring home verbena soap. I also couldn’t resist… Continue reading Provence – Lavender, Laughter and Wine

There’s nothing so iconic as a visit to Mont St Michel in France. From a distance it makes an impression as it rises out of the water during low tide. I think my last visit was 30+ years ago and my memory was sketchy. It’s quite different from the past visit, as this time, we… Continue reading Vive la France

The Falklands lived up to their windy and rainy reputation. I made a strategic wardrobe error and didn’t wear my waterproof pants. After exiting the vehicle I was immediately impaled with wind and driving rain and hail. One more day in the Falklands that promises a visit to an Albatross rookery and then back to… Continue reading The Falkland Islands and Penguins with Attitude

This spot at South Georgia had over 200K King Penguins. The best part was it was raining pretty hard and the rain made the penguins smell less noticeable. This is the largest concentration of King Penguins in the world. The innocent bird stole a penguins egg for breakfast and the penguins were irate. The zodiac… Continue reading King Penguins- As far as the eye could see