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Mercurycatcher - Michael Diamond

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!

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Joined on: October 15th 2007
Last Login: October 26th 2009

Blog Entries: 7
Photos: 156
Recommended by 5, Recommends 18

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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Mercurycatcher, order by Date newest first.

By Mercurycatcher
August 20th 2009

"Smoke On!" - Red Bull Air Race. Europe » Hungary » Central Hungary » Budapest

Red Bull Racers

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 no [View Full Entry]

By Mercurycatcher
June 1st 2009

Viva Riga! Europe » Latvia » Riga Region » Riga

The Cat House
Black cats adorn the roof of this house in Riga. The creator of the cat sculptures fell to his death while placing them on the roof. The story goes that 100 years ago, the Latvian owner of the buildin... [more]

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 [View Full Entry]

By Mercurycatcher
June 18th 2008

Namibian Odyssey Africa » Namibia » Etosha National Park

On A Knife Edge
The smooth flanks of the massive red sand dune, abruptly gives way to a sharp boundary line, where the wind blown grains continue on upwards in their relentless journey, carried aloft in the hot turbu... [more]

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 [View Full Entry]

By Mercurycatcher
February 10th 2008

Gold, Frankincense and Mirth Middle East » Oman » Muscat

Making a big splash!
The Nissan Pathfinder chomps it's way with ease through the water.

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 [View Full Entry]

By Mercurycatcher
November 24th 2007

Chichen Itza...Not Chicken Pizza! North America » Mexico » Quintana Roo » Cancun

Kukulcan Pyramid

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 [View Full Entry]

By Mercurycatcher
November 9th 2007

Lochnagar and the Burn O' Vat. Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Braemar

Sunset Over Aberdeenshire Snowfields

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 [View Full Entry]

By Mercurycatcher
October 17th 2007

Land Of The Long White Cloud Oceania » New Zealand

Auckland
The harbour ferry crosses from the city to Devonport.

"The land of the long white cloud", or Aotearoa as the early Polynesian settlers called it, on sighting it's beaches after their sea crossing,is an incredibly diverse and beautiful place - simple words cannot do it justice. It had always been one of my life long ambitions to someday visit "Lord of the rings" country and I was fortunate to have recently achieved this by spending an unforgetable three weeks in the north and south islands and it surpassed all my expectations. The descendants of European extraction live alongside their Maori countrymen very well. I was very pleased to see that [View Full Entry]

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Mercurycatcher | Michael Diamond | Travel Blog

Mercurycatcher - Michael Diamond

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