Michael Diamond
Mercurycatcher
Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do, than by the things you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover!- Mark Twain
I live on the north sea coast of Scotland in the oil city of Aberdeen working hard at the airport, saving for my next big "expedition", to some place just that little bit different.
With every new place I visit, the world seems to get a little bit smaller,but my world keeps on getting bigger! I am just one person amongst the many, with a lust for life and the spirit of adventure, who is walking in the footprints of the giants like Columbus and Magellan.I am on my own personal voyage of discovery to see what is in Gaia's backyard.
I think we global travellers all share the same genetic pre-disposition passed down from our ancestors,to always want to find out what is over the horizon, or just around that bend in the road, I consider getting lost a few times to be part of the thrill of travel, as you do find some of the most extraordinary places on this planet.
At the end of your days your whole life flashes past infront of your eyes, well let's make it something worth watching!
Trip to Masai Mara in Kenya and mountain trek in Uganda to see Gorillas in the cloud forest. Spending a week chilling out in Zanzibar after all the travelling!
Travel Blog Posts
February 14th 2012
In January 2012 a small group of International explorers ventured into Uganda with one specific goal and that was to experience some of the most insane white water rafting known on the planet. One Scottish, one Icelandic and four Australians led by their Zimbabwean guide. This intrepid band of adventurers threw themselves at the awesome might of the White Nile and survived! Our group was picked up from the Nile River Explorers Camp in Jinja and driven to the rafting site, we got kitted out with crash helmets and lifejackets and received a full safety briefing and practical demonstrations of what to do "IF" we ended up in the river, as if that was ever not going to be an option! Our Zimbabwean guide Doug was excellent and managed to mould our disorganised rabble into a ... read more
Painting The Sky : Leuchars Airshow 2011
Published: September 13th 2011Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Fife » Leuchars
September 10th 2011
Iconic aircraft from the cold war warrior "Vulcan" to state-of-the-art "Typhoons", roared over Fife in Scotland on Saturday at the Leuchars Airshow. This year's event was a celebration of old and new to mark 100 years of the RAF at Leuchars. This was my first visit to the airshow and I hope the closure of the airforce base and the movement of all operations to RAF Lossiemouth in 2013 under government cutbacks, does not threaten any possible future events at this location. There was an especially warm welcome for the Red Arrows aerobatic display team from everyone in the crowd who broke out into spontaeneous applause after they tragically lost pilot Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging in a crash in Bournemouth last month. The crowd started clapping arms held above their heads in a moment of joint ... read more
Summertime - Are We Having Fun Yet?
Published: July 3rd 2010Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Kincardineshire » Stonehaven
July 3rd 2010
"It's summertime and the living is easy!" Those carefree lazy seemingly endless hot days we remembered from when we were kids have returned. The warm sunshine absent for too long, feels good again on our pale northern skin, slowly reddening from the burst of UV exposure. All our cares and worries disappear for a short while and it feels so good to be alive! We smile for no other reason but purely for the sake of it! The long dark days of winter are banished behind us and are but just a distant memory, it's time now to have a little fun and indulge our long dormant and too often overlooked childhood selves again! The air is mixed with the sounds of children's laughter and the murmer of people catching up with old friends at the ... read more
December 31st 2009
The Scottish Hogmanay or New Year's Eve, is a very important date in our calendar, it is a time to think of the dearly departed and old aquaintances never to be forgotten and those that we may be lucky and have the good fortune to meet in the coming year. Don't write your name in the snow, the wind will blow it away! Write your name in the hearts of the people you come in touch with, that's where it will stay! It can be a sad time of year if you let it, but more often than not, it is for one full of optimisim and for the better times to come! It is a time to gather with friends and loved ones to celebrate and mark the passing of the old year and see ... read more
"Smoke On!" - Red Bull Air Race.
Published: September 13th 2009Europe » Hungary » Central Hungary » Budapest
August 20th 2009
Manoevering their colourful logo covered planes through the tough river Danube course demands exceptional skill,experience and almost superhuman like aviation knowledge. Only the world's very best pilots compete in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. The race pilot's know exactly which speed is right for each sector. Flying too slow means losing the race, so does flying too fast over the 370 kph course speed limit, which incurs instant disqualification. I have just spent an unforgettable few days in the beautiful city of Budapest, though sadly over the three nights I was there, did not manage to see very much of the historic sights of this amazing city, as all my attention was focused on the Air Racing over the two days. I was accompanied by my good friend Ged who didn't hesitate when I ... read more
June 1st 2009
I had been to Latvia before some years back on my friend's obligatory stag do to mourn the passing of his final days of batchelordom and to celebrate his impending marriage. I'm making him sound like a condemned man, honest she's lovely!I really liked the country and the people, so I was determined to come back to Eastern Europe again and see a bit more for a bit longer and a bit less drunk this time! Oh well, we'll pass on that last comment! I mentioned to people I work with that I was coming here and they had uninformed comments about a grim post-soviet country, obviously they don't get out much, it was anything but that. I organised a week long break for a great bunch of guys who I work alongside at the airport, ... read more
June 18th 2008
There is a beautiful place on this planet, with the power to take your breath away, hidden away from mainstream tourism's eyes.I'd heard such amazing stories from the very few people that I had met that had visited some of the remote areas of Namibia, that it fired my imagination and I made a mental note to put it into my own personal "bucket list", (things to do before I kick it) as one of the top places to visit on the planet. I was also surprised at how many people I spoke to, who did not even know where the country was and looked at me with surprise and commented, "why are you going there?", as if I was doing something so extraordinary! Well, I can tell you, this amazingly beautiful country and it's people ... read more
February 10th 2008
The Sultanate of Oman,is in my opinion,the jewel of Arabia and a perfect tonic to escape the cold wet European winter for a while. I found this beautiful country to be a five-star experience in a region sadly dominated for so long by violence and intolerance. It has been ruled by the same family for over 250 years and is a glimpse into an old kingdom as it once was before the wider region discovered oil riches and was developed out of all recognition. Thankfully Oman is a total contrast to it's brash big brother next door, Dubai, the current infashion Gulf hotspot, but with less of the over developed tourist complexes and more of the empty pristine beaches, fantastic food, excellent hotels and a vibrant middle eastern culture.This is a a land of myth and ... read more
Chichen Itza...Not Chicken Pizza!
Published: November 24th 2007North America » Mexico » Quintana Roo » Cancun
November 24th 2007
After flying down from Aberdeen I had an overnight stay at one of the many hotels dotted around Heathrow Airport, I flew out early next morning on the Virgin Atlantic flight bound for Miami for my connecting American Airlines flight to Mexico. The trans atlantic journey was good, with the usual high standards I have come to expect from Virgin. I can never get any shut eye when I travel in "cattleclass", so decided to make the difficult decision of which two movies to watch in the limited few hours I had onboard, but that's not so easy when you have about fifty to choose from. Fortunately the easier choice was, "yes please flight attendent I will have a couple more beers thank you!" Not too bad a way to while away the time as the ... read more
Lochnagar and the Burn O' Vat.
Published: November 10th 2007Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Aberdeenshire » Braemar
November 9th 2007
Scotland is the big and the small, the vast open spaces and thin cracks, the wind and the rain, the sun and the clouds. No matter where you are taken, you find depth, whether in the textures of clouds or faces of people and mountains. Scotland is wide for all to see and experience. Nature is busy up there, wearing down mountains--whipping them with wind and rain. Ancient forests are gone, greenery is owned by sheep and red deer, glacial puddles rest until they are frozen again, taken elsewhere by the ever-changing world. This land has seen it all. I stood upon billions of years old rock. Scotland, before our time, was near the Antarctic. This land has seen it all: glaciers, desert rainforest, and grassland. Today it makes its approach to the other pole. There ... read more
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