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Post by shrjeff on Feb 22, 2019 14:08:13 GMT 2
in two weeks we're off to barcelona for a week, then catch a cruise to the canaries via casablanca... we'll see if the houses there really are white  ... |
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Post by sophie on Feb 22, 2019 18:13:29 GMT 2
LA next week for a few days to visit family then Mexico for a bit.
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Post by OnlyMark on Mar 1, 2019 10:02:19 GMT 2
The idea was we were going to have short stay in the north soon, but we can't be bothered and decided to just go to "Ourgate". This means we'll relax at home and the furthest we'll go is to the gate. But at the end of the month I'm off to Spain for all of April. Mrs M and one of the daughters will join us for a week or two but initially I'll be there by myself. So, rather than hang around the house by myself I've booked a camper van for the first ten days and will do a little tour round Andalusia. It should be fun.
Then I'm back in Zambia for May and will return to Spain at the beginning of June. I've only got a one way ticket as I've no idea when I'll come back yet again. Probably in September but who knows. It depends on a number of factors, one being if there will be word on where we might end up living next, the other being a daughter who will finish her vocational course and finding her something to do rather than living with us and twiddling her thumbs.
It looks like our time in Zambia is coming to an end, though still not for many months, but we are on the downhill slope and we're casting around for where we want to go within the area before it is too late.
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Post by Scrubb on Mar 4, 2019 0:16:11 GMT 2
Going to Mexico tomorrow!!!! For 2 weeks. The first 9 days will be a scuba liveaboard boat with 3 or 4 dives/day. Then we have 4 days in the town at the end. It's a resort town, lots of spring-break type visitors - but we are not going to be at an all-inclusive on the beach, but rather, a 10 minute walk away from the water, in the town. The hotel is pretty cheap and rustic.
There is a wonderful looking rocky beach that should be good for all kinds of beachcombing and great scenery - it has cliffs and no development at all. Possibly we can rent kayaks and bicycles if we want. There are birding tours that will pick us up for a day trip if we want, too.
I cannot wait to go. Work has been far too busy for far too long. I am not going to look at work stuff even once for the next 2 weeks.
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Post by Baz Faz on Mar 4, 2019 0:22:19 GMT 2
Going to Mexico tomorrow!!!! For 2 weeks. The first 9 days will be a scuba liveaboard boat with 3 or 4 dives/day. Then we have 4 days in the town at the end. It's a resort town, lots of spring-break type visitors - but we are not going to be at an all-inclusive on the beach, but rather, a 10 minute walk away from the water, in the town. The hotel is pretty cheap and rustic. There is a wonderful looking rocky beach that should be good for all kinds of beachcombing and great scenery - it has cliffs and no development at all. Possibly we can rent kayaks and bicycles if we want. There are birding tours that will pick us up for a day trip if we want, too. I cannot wait to go. Work has been far too busy for far too long. I am not going to look at work stuff even once for the next 2 weeks. You are very shy about the town. I won't be pursuing you but it sounds an interesting place. Name? |
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Post by Scrubb on Mar 4, 2019 0:33:36 GMT 2
Oh, didn't mean to be coy - Cabo San Lucas is the town. Right on the tip of the Baja Peninsula. I think it has a reputation for being a party town, but I suspect it will be easy to avoid that by not being in a resort, and by spending all our time on the rocky, undeveloped beach.
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Post by shrjeff on Mar 4, 2019 6:58:33 GMT 2
Oh, didn't mean to be coy - Cabo San Lucas is the town. Right on the tip of the Baja Peninsula. I think it has a reputation for being a party town, but I suspect it will be easy to avoid that by not being in a resort, and by spending all our time on the rocky, undeveloped beach. we are looking at a cruise in january, 2020, from new york city to san francisco so we can experience the panama canal... on its way up the pacific it stops at cabo san lucas so it is cruise ship stop as well as a party town... my cousins in seattle try to get there once a winter... |
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Post by Baz Faz on Mar 8, 2019 20:24:34 GMT 2
We are going for a 3 day visit to France just before Brexit day (if it takes place). We are taking the car and loading up with wine. The tax on a bottle of wine is £2 more in Britain than in France so it is obviously worth while bringing a car load home. Unless matters change, after Brexit we can only bring back 6 bottles of wine without paying the British tax.
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Post by shrjeff on Mar 10, 2019 8:33:28 GMT 2
all packed!!! waiting for the cab to the airport... barcelona, here we come!
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Post by Baz Faz on Mar 24, 2019 19:02:21 GMT 2
We are packed. We'll set out after breakfast tomorrow, drive to Dover, catch the ferry and be in Bergues by late afternoon. Just 3 nights.
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Post by sophie on Mar 25, 2019 2:27:55 GMT 2
Heading to Kelowna (a City in the interior of BC) for a few days tomorrow.
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Post by Baz Faz on Mar 26, 2019 11:29:38 GMT 2
Bergues is a strange small town. It was badly damaged when the British left France at nearby Dunkirk in 1940; badly damaged again when the Allies came back in 1944. It was sensibly rebuilt in the same style. People are friendly. The only problem is eating (typical Baz complaint). Restaurants are closed because it is out of the tourist season. We found a cheerful place last night and it looks as if we'll be eating there tonight too.
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Post by OnlyMark on Mar 29, 2019 19:59:56 GMT 2
Off on Sunday to Spain. Due to the possibility and permutations of future plans, I will be taking with me two bags of up to 32kg each.
Not travelling light by any means.
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Post by kuskiwi on Mar 30, 2019 2:35:14 GMT 2
Off on Sunday to Spain. Due to the possibility and permutations of future plans, I will be taking with me two bags of up to 32kg each. Not travelling light by any means. Very unlike you |
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Post by OnlyMark on Mar 30, 2019 8:30:24 GMT 2
It is, but needs must this time.
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Post by auntieannie on Mar 31, 2019 19:14:37 GMT 2
I will be flying to England for an express stay. Not travelling for fun.
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Post by kuskiwi on Apr 16, 2019 10:11:02 GMT 2
Off back out to the Barrier Thursday (and not Great Barrier Reef - the Island just in case anyone is still confused). Joy of Joys... just heard will be in "the top house" which has an indoor flushing loo rather than in the bottom house which has a long drop about 200 metres from the house. There's a storm coming so guests (who I know) staying in the top house insist I spend the nights with them rather than with daughter in the bottom house. Did I tell you I love the guests almost as much as I love my daughter.  Getting soaking wet every time you want to pee isn't great at my age but the top house is very small and not suitable for a family. Was designed as a bachelor pad and now that bachelor has a wife, a daughter and a mother in law and outgrown it. |
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Post by shrjeff on Apr 16, 2019 12:07:52 GMT 2
Off back out to the Barrier Thursday (and not Great Barrier Reef - the Island just in case anyone is still confused). Joy of Joys... just heard will be in "the top house" which has an indoor flushing loo rather than in the bottom house which has a long drop about 200 metres from the house. There's a storm coming so guests (who I know) staying in the top house insist I spend the nights with them rather than with daughter in the bottom house. Did I tell you I love the guests almost as much as I love my daughter. Getting soaking wet every time you want to pee isn't great at my age but the top house is very small and not suitable for a family. Was designed as a bachelor pad and now that bachelor has a wife, a daughter and a mother in law and outgrown it. ermmm... where does the top house's toilet sewer go? can't the bottom house have its toilet shunted into the same sewer? sounds like a job for a talented plumber! |
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Post by Voy on Apr 16, 2019 15:17:01 GMT 2
Or what's wrong with a chamber pot?
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Post by kuskiwi on Apr 16, 2019 20:17:53 GMT 2
Voy. Noise control.
Jeff. All to do with Sandy terrains. Both are on septic tanks cleared by the island contractor as the Sandy soil doesn't work like loam. No reticulated power only solar (now) and gas so top place works on gravity and bottom one also but the bottom house is right at the bottom of the hill and is much older so doesn't have the mod cons. Hence an outdoor loo half way up the hill.
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Post by Baz Faz on Apr 16, 2019 23:12:48 GMT 2
We are going to Britain on Saturday to stay with my daughter and her 2 boys.
Oops, I meant Bristol.
Double whoops. I meant Brighton.
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Post by shrjeff on Apr 17, 2019 12:22:56 GMT 2
we're off to baku, azerbaijan, in a 3 weeks... we just got a groupon deal for a week in tirana, albania, in august... all the earlier dates had already been snatched up but we'll make do... what shall we do from mid-may to mid-august?
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Post by kuskiwi on Apr 17, 2019 21:15:00 GMT 2
Envious Jeff. They're on my next list of probable. Report would be appreciated
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Post by shrjeff on Apr 18, 2019 5:18:36 GMT 2
kuski, the medieval map which show jerusalem at the center of the old world of africa, asia and europe, has become accurate! the clover leaf map of the old worldwe now have cheap non-stop flights of just 2 to 3 hours to lots of places which makes it practical to visit one city for a week or so and not have to amortize an expensive fare... in the past year or two we've spent time in belgrade, sofia, tbilisi, and in the next couple of months are off to baku, tirana and, yeah, we broke down and filled in june to thessaloniki... |
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Post by shrjeff on Apr 22, 2019 16:12:09 GMT 2
i didn't enumerate that we got two round trip non-stop flights on ryanair from tel aviv to thessaloniki including seats, priority boarding and a checked luggage each for €260! That's €65 per person for each leg!
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Post by Voy on Apr 23, 2019 1:47:39 GMT 2
Not exciting = but heading out for home tomorrow = will probably take about a week.
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Post by shrjeff on May 8, 2019 2:27:44 GMT 2
leaving for baku in two days... on saturday we're signed up for the free walking tour of baku, then on sunday we're off on a private tour to cuba/guba, a village which was the center of the 'mountain jews' of the caucasian mountains who arrived a couple of thousand years ago... they spoke their own dialect though most have emigrated back to israel... the sales manager from whom i buy the laptops for our students is from there and was the one who kindled our interest in visiting... however when i tried to pick his brain it turned out that he was so young when he and his family moved to israel he really doesn't remember anything but roaming the alleyways around his home... oh well...
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Post by welle on May 18, 2019 7:07:39 GMT 2
South of Spain at the end of the month! Looking forward to it.
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Post by shrjeff on May 18, 2019 9:57:24 GMT 2
had a great time in baku/azerbaijan... much more impressive than we were expecting... and the mountain jews speak a persian dialect while azerbaijanians speak a turkish dialect - and understand about 80% of turkish... kind of like spanish/portuguese/italian...
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Post by welle on May 18, 2019 21:13:23 GMT 2
Shrjeff, how fascinating! I'd love to hear a little more about what it was like.
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...
Getting soaking wet every time you want to pee isn't great at my age but the top house is very small and not suitable for a family. Was designed as a bachelor pad and now that bachelor has a wife, a daughter and a mother in law and outgrown it.
