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John Strathearn
I'm addicted to travel despite having a guilt complex about my carbon footprint!Nedeho
Travel Blog Posts
January 11th 2010
Not exactly a travel blog as I live here, but it is so unusual for us to have heavy falls of snow so I thought I would post some local photos of the snow we had just before Christmas and again last week.... read more
Union Island and the Tobago Cays
Published: July 27th 2009Central America Caribbean » Saint Vincent & Grenadines
July 27th 2009
I spent a week-end On Union Islands and the Tobago Cays in March 09. We flew from St Vincent via Canouan Island to Union Island where we stayed the night in a chalet by the sea. The high point was a days on a catamaran touring the Tobago Cays a chain of five tiny islands. These islands are the typical 'tropical paradise' with beautiful quiet sandy palm fringed beaches. the snorkeling is amazing.... read more
July 27th 2009
My earlier blog was on a trip to the volcano on St Vincent, the largest of this group of islands. The nearest island to St Vincent is Bequia a very beautiful island, population 5000, about one hour by ferry from St Vincent. I went there a couple of times, just for the day. There is a lovely beach, good snorkeling, an interesting turtle preservation sanctuary and nice restaurants. ... read more
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Published: June 23rd 2009Central America Caribbean » Saint Vincent & Grenadines
June 17th 2009
On Saturday 4 April 2009 my colleague and I did one of the popular excursions on St Vincent. We hired a guide and accompanied by the daughters of a local friend who asked to join us, we walked to the crater of the famous La Soufriere volcano 4048 feet. We were lucky with the weather. It was a fine day with fantastic visibility all the way. It was quite hard going in places for non-climbers but well worth it. One of the things I like about the island is the abundance of tropical vegetation without the usual 'nasties' like poisonous snakes. We had a great day.... read more
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Published: October 15th 2010Central America Caribbean » Saint Vincent & GrenadinesJune 2nd 2009
Very beautiful islands. I spent 4 weeks in January and march 2009 working from a base in Kingstown in St Vincent the largest island. St Vincent is not developed for tourism yet; an advantage in my view, but with the decline of banana exports to Europe it probably needs tourism for economic growth. I also visited Bequia the nearest island to St Vincent, Union Island further south and the Tobago Quays which is the main area for the yacht people. The snorkelling is great. ... read more
November 25th 2008
On the way back from Cat Ba island to Hanoi last October we stopped off to see the famous pilgrimage site at Yen Tu (by the way, for Westerners, it is'nt pronounced Yen 'Too' because it has a squiggly tone marker over the 'u' which makes it almost impossible for me to say properly!). This is a holy mountain at 3,477 ft (1,060 m). It is named after a monk Yen Ky who lived about 2,000 years ago. We were told that Emperor tran Nhan Tong (1278-93) retired there to become a monk. Nowadays you can go part of the way up the mountain by a very modern cable car but it still involves some quite strenuous walking. If I'd had time i would like to have tried walking all the way but it would be ... read more
Cat Ba Island continued
Published: November 8th 2008Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hai Phong » Cat Ba Island
November 8th 2008
Here are some more pics of Cat Ba island taken in October 2008. These were taken on the boat to the island, in the National Park where the other photos were taken and in the main resort.... read more
Cat Ba Island
Published: November 7th 2008Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hai Phong » Cat Ba Island
November 3rd 2008
I spent one night in a hotel in the main resport of Cat Ba in October 2008. It was very quiet and not many tourists around. The weather was perfect for hiking - not too hot. We only had time for the short hike up one of the small hills. It was quite steep in places but some of the younger people did it in flip flops! The view from the top was fantastic.... read more
October 30th 2008
I visited this village (sorry forgot name) about 40 minutes drive from the centre of Hanoi last August. It was recommended by my hotel. Like many other villages in Vietnam (and some streets in old Hanoi) the whole village specialises in making one type of product - in this case furniture. There are many workshops producing high quality hand made hard wood furniture. The people in the workshops were very friendly and happy for me to take photos. In one of them the workers gave me tea and some fruit to eat! In others I was invited into the living accommodation of the owner to take tea. For anyone interested in hand crafted work, especially woodwork I really recommend a visit to this village - I will try to find out the name for anyone who ... read more
October 28th 2008
I had the good fortune to be taken by road from Hanoi to Sapa in June. Quite an experience as these photos will show. It took about 12 hours going and 16 coming back owing to the number of lorries stuck in the mud!... read more
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