Sunday, July 13, 2014

World Cup - Part 3 - Ass Shaking on Copacabana

I didn't know what the FIFA Fan Fest was until I came to the World Cup, but now I know all about it. Its a festival come party, that FIFA put on for free, sponsored by big companies like Coca Cola, Johnson and Johnson, Hyundai, etc - to allow the general public watch the games in a huge party atmosphere with local entertainers taking the stage before and after the games.

The one in Salvador was great but the one in Rio takes the prize holding 20,000 people at any given time.

Here is one of the best acts "Anitta" a local funk queen that many are saying is going to be the next big act to come out of Latin America and develop a world audience.

Check out her dancing, her and her crew really know how to shake it all about. Really got the crowd going for the 3rd spot playoff before Brazil were crushed again, this time by the mighty Dutch.


Check out her most popular song!




Saturday, July 12, 2014

World Cup - Part 2 - Top Moments

There has been so many great moments in the World Cup so far. So much excitment and emotion.  Blood has boiled. Guts have definitely spilt all over the place . Stars have been born. The tears that has gushed like the Iguazu Falls. The smiles felt like a sun set on Ipanema. The fervent debate. The pride in the anthems. The pre and post forsenic analysis. It's been immense.

Here are some of favourite moments in images, even looking at them now brings the memories rushing back.


van the man


"Forca Neymer"


"I did nothing"


Luis does the business against England


King James has arrived 


Best goal keeping performance i've ever seen


What were the Iranian's feeling after this?


Would it have been better for Brazil if Chile had won?


Never seen anything like it. Management balls!


Some free kick!


Humble but triumphant goodbyes


The best goal scorer in world cup history. Watch out for your mate Muller!

Let me know what images you would have added to the list? Here are some of BBC's favourites. 

World Cup Part 1 - Christmas Every Day

So I'm down in Brazil again but this time it's different - it's the World Cup. It's as if it has been Christmas day, every day. It's by far the best sporting tournament I've ever seen, studied and luckily been able to watch in person. Watching the Brazilians uncoil around this event and unleash their emotional tsumani on the world has been fascinating. Politics and sport are wed at the hip in Brazil with such a huge population which such stark disparities in the quality of life in society. I have been a little surprised by the amount of people that openly wanted Brazil to lose at the group stages from the tournament of in some shape or form receive a humiliation, which we now know they have with the unforgettable 7 -1 trawling by the imperious Germans.

As Camila's brother Fausto put it " PT or "Partido dos Trabalhadores" and Dilam [their president] are corrupt and not good for this country. They promise change but where is it. It is much better we get himiliated and people wake up and start to protest. We need change." It a strong conviction that most Brazilians support in the middle class, it's how this uprising or change in attitude happens, and when which is the question. Most people are behind the Cup now but in two months time when the next vote for the presidency of the country starts the majority of people are saying they'll voice their opinion in the ballot box to reject corruption and try start the change the country so badly needs.

As an outsider I enjoy talking about the country's situation, debating how it can change and comparing it to Ireland, Europe and other places I've been. It's like in Ireland talking about the weather or house prices, it's a national passion over here. People are curious about how it is like in other countries and what can be done here to improve things. And while there has been plenty of such discussions on this trip already, this time it's all about the football and what a tournament it has been so far.





Here is how Camila and i have decided to play it:
  • 4 days in Brazil, taking in the amazing Brazil v Chile shootout with her family and friends. I'll never forget the penalty shoot out against Chile, everyone was emotionally destroyed after it
  • 7 days in Salvador where we were lucky enough to take in live the USA v Belgium whopper of a game which saw one of the best, if not the best, defensive performances I have ever witnesses by a team in the World Cup. We also got to take in 3 games in the impressive FIFA fan fest events area near the famous Salvador lighthouse in the Barra area of the city. Most of these occasions where then followed by some caipirinhas and food in the crazy Rua Vermeholan area (think of a small Temple Bar, with loads of "gringos")
  • Next 4 days in Sao Paulo again, this time we took in the two semi finals. We watched Brazil getting hammered in Fausto's house and decides to keep away from the FIFA fun fest which is a good bit outside of Sao Paulo and also Rua Madelana, the main vocal point for fans, as reports where coming in that you could barely walk there it was so full. Im sure like the rest of you, you were shocked with the result. No one saw it coming. What an occasion. A massive lesson for Brazil and from a football point of view in my opinion a clear changing of the guard, with Germany now becoming the new super power in football
  • I'm now in Rio for the 3rd place play off and final. The big one.  We've been really enjoying the FIFA fan fest, this one in Rio is on Copacobana so we're going to go for that. 
More to come, time to go over to teamtalk.com to get ready for the build up to the games.





Friday, January 03, 2014

Budapest and Bratislava


Just back from Boston and New York and this time the ramble was to Hungary and Slovakia. for New Years. After checking out where we could get a bit of sun over the Christmas break and failing to get anything half interesting with a decent price we opted for bang for your buck return flight to Budapest for 330 each including 1 extra 20kg bag. 

After a delay of 45 minutes due to the aeroplane having to update its “software” we were off.  A short 3 hours and we were there.  On this occasion I hadn’t much time to check out what the Budapest held with the exception of a cursory glance at Lonely Planet and Wikipedia.  I had my trusty Irish Independent little green travel book on the city so I knew nearly every thing I needed would be in it. We went for a 5 star hotel the Boscolo, which is an iconic hotel rebuilt after the war boasting one of the most famous café houses in the world “café New York” which lived up to its decadent ornate reputation when we arrived.


We arrived 9ish at night on the first night and with the Christmas atmosphere still in the air and with the city preparing for New Years we strolled down town past the famous Budapest opera house and then to the Christmas stalls outside the impressive St Stephen’s basilica . Quickly, we bought a really delicious pint glass of sweet mulled wine. It was the best I’ve ever tasted.  Hit the spot just as the doctor ordered. Then Camila and I strolled slowly down the streets to the water front to see the resplendent Four Seasons hotel all done up like a giant light show gushing out its energy onto the silently flowing Danube and iconic chain bridge which seemed to compete with the hotel for attention. As we walked across it we watched the beautiful castle in Buda on the right hand side and also caught our first site of the impressive Hungarian parliament. 

The city is impressive and it quite rightly deserves the reputation of being called the “little Paris of the East of Europe”.  It’s like you’re actually in Paris. The architecture is brotherly and the café culture is rife.

As we got introduced to the city I felt myself drawn to complex history the city had experienced of late. Aiding Hitler on his crusade, being pulverized by the Russian forces and subsequently having to endure decades of Communism before breaking free and winning its own democracy. The city has been true a lot and that’s not mentioning the evasion of the Romans and Turks, the remnants of which are still very evident in the bath and pool culture the city is so well known for.

The next few days were a mix of checking out the good, the bad and the ugly of the restaurant scene. Checking out the opera and relaxing in baths and hotel pools. Exactly what I was looking for from the trip.

Highlights, Lowlights and Learnings
  • They are big style into their Paprika over here, I didn’t know that before I came here. They even have their own TV channel called TV paprika. 
  • The Italian influence is easy to see.  Plenty of pasta and pizza on offer as well as the omnipresent local Goulash delicacies.
  • Being very fortunate to get a fantastic rendition of the famous “Nutcracker” opera in the Budapest Opera house. I’d known the name but had no idea what it was about. I also knew one or two of the melodies but had no idea what scenes they were in the opera and why they are so beautiful and world renowned. If you get a chance I’d say check out the show, especially around Christmas. Beautiful.
  • We then frequented one of the famous bath houses, the highlight in that one of the outside pools at 40 degrees inside the water and 5 degrees out with a chill breeze was great. Overall, very disappointing though. I had to wait 25 minutes in a very disorganized queue to get a ticket with zero customer services taking place and workers behind the tills which left you with a better chance getting a smile off a statute rather then any of them. Also, inside it was chaotic, and the disorganization was every where again. Poor signed posts, a packed locker room you couldn’t swing a cat in and very slippery floors everywhere. The pools were packed with people and you could tell a lot of people in there felt very uncomfortable. I wouldn’t go back
  • Rip off taxi drivers. I really detest this about traveling. Not for the first time and it won't be the last we were done.  I had watched a YouTube video on Hungary and the guy presenting had advised to watch out for the taxis. He was right. The classic can you bring us to x location and then he brought us twice the distance we should have went when we actually realized where we were and where we had left from. Annoying. Best solution ring ahead to the hotel and get them to recommend a good taxi company. 
  • St Stephen’s was well worth a visit, also interested to check out the mummified St Stephen’s hand.  The inside of the church is beautiful and wouldn’t be out of place in the middle of the Vatican.
  • New Years night was really great. We walked again down the romantic streets of Budapest at night to close to the water to eat in a lovely restaurant called Italiano. For 87 euros a head we got a lovely seat beside the grill which we were able to watch one of their top chefs grill skillfully massive t-bone steaks all night. It was great to watch and very entertaining. Smoke everywhere. He fighting with the heat and flames while scorning and people who wanted to take a photo of the show.  We got then to starter, a lovely salad dish for Camila and I had a delicious anti-pasta washed down with Proseco. We then munched down a lovely light dish of pasta and tomato and then a huge chunk of t-bone steak. Some of it was actually burnt and our very attentive waiter without missing a beat went off to get us some more.  The services was top notch all night and it was great to see a good restaurant in full flow.  By the time we finished the meal it was 11.50pm, Camila then asked the waiter could we pay for the meal, but go out to watch the fireworks and then come back to finish our meal. They obliged smiling and before we knew it we were marching down the street to the Danube and chain bridge to see the spectical.  What a let down! If I had 3 of my own tiny little fizzlers and waved them in the air and threw them up in the sky the last moment it would have been better. It was brutal the worst ever. Definitely don’t come to Budapest for the first show. Camila and I discussed it after wards and we won’t even give it 1 out of 10, we agreed on .5 out of 10. I’d say there was 20 fireworks shot into the air at most. Most of which were at different times. There was no synchronisation, no planning, no nothing. Everyone left after 3 minutes flat. A disaster for the organisers, whatever happened  we may never know. Back to the restaurant, we had a nice plate of assorted deserts, then I tasted the traditional pork knuckles and lentils which the locals eat after mid night to usher in a new year and prosperity.
  • We also checked out the famous Gereaud café down town. This was great. While a little expensive at 13 euros for a steak sandwich and 9 euros for a slice of cake. I could see what all the fuss was about. Think Paris macroon’s in Harrods on 5th avenue New York. Chic.  Very cool atmosphere, only think was it was full of tourists like ourselves which took a little bit away from the experience when you see all the camera on show. 
  • One other restaurant come café that warrants special merit was the impeccable Callas, 1061 Andrassy Ut, just in case you need the address. Wow! Amazing service and again as in so many places in the city, a beautiful café, with live piano playing and tasty beverages and cakes.  I’d be very happy to have somewhere like this in Dublin, I’d definitely make it my business to be a regular. 
  • The inventor of the biro and the Rubic’s cube come from Budapest
I won’t be rushing back to Budapest any time soon but I’m very glad I came. It is without doubt a beautiful city and the food can be excellent. I’d say you’d need no more than 3 days to take it in. Get yourself a nice hotel down near the water front and make sure to try go to the baths at off peak time to get the most out of it. Make sure to check out some of the really nice cafes and the Opera is an absolute must.  Also on offer is the paprika and local Bulls blood wine if you can get your hands on it.  The main shopping thoroughfares are nothing to write home about. Very similar to all the others ones you’ll find in most places around the world.  So I wouldn’t recommend it for shopping. The city itself is very charming thought and prices off the main tourist locations are very good.  Go to laze around the city in the cafes, soak up some of the very interesting history, slurp on some Goulash and paprika soup and check out the music which is everywhere. 

Memories:
Horrible meal outside of Basillica, New Years night waiter feeling sad he had to work, cool little lemon slice juicer,  huge party boat on the Danuble, busker up at the castle, communist statues in the park,  McDonalds meal for 1.5 euro with model inside, rave party the 30th of December in one of the pools, dodgy breakfast in hotel, getting a Panatoni present off hotel,  Camila buying Paprika, strange local currency  FORINT, Hooters, terrible Bruschetta but lovely pizza in a dodgy Italian restaurant, ice hockey in the pubs,  very poor tapa bar, with Hungarian owner brutalizing the Spanish language :0),  joint bed and room in hotel,  fat kid jumping in the pool and annoying everyone,  delicious coconut slide and mulled wine and beer, excellent glass of New Years wine,  dodgy light flashing bunny ear costumes, 

Bratislava was 3 hours away from Budapest. There was very little on offer when we got there. Some quaint cafes, pubs and restaurents but very little in general. The city seemed vacant almost absent with the exceptions of the tourists around.  1 day is enough to see it. We went to the recommended tourist havens. The castle, which wasn't much to talk about and then the main square which had some nice churches and some cool cafes but very little. For a capital of a country it was very underwhelming.  It felt like a small parochial city in Ireland, like a Dundalk or a Drogheda. 

Only really thing that was of note was the cool saucer type restaurent on the bridge in the middle of the city. 






Thursday, September 05, 2013

Anaconda River and floating meditation

I'm in Brazil in a town called "Bonito" or the direct translation in Portugease, "Beautiful" and by God is this place beautiful. I now know why its got the name and why its the number one eco tourist site in the country.  We are in the state of Matto Gross do Sul, in the south west of Brazil, home to some of the biggest snakes in the world, the anaconda, they even have a river called Rio Sucuri, or Anaconda River they have so many of them.  Camila and I did a rafting trip while here and we got to see 3 on the river including a 7 meter monster who was quietly hiding in a tuft of grass on the side of the river basking in the early morning sun. The state is home to a number of indigenous tribes, the vast majority of which tourists can't visit, and the land os covered in tropical savannah's that house some of the world's great biodiversity.

Bonito reminds me a lot of Champada Dimentina in Bahia with also some of savanna in South Africa thrown in for good measure. The land had red soil, rolling small hills, sugar cane everywhere, with wide exapnses of land with what look like anorex cows everywhere. The locals look Indian like and they all have dark skin and jet black hair. We arrived here by taking a 1.5 hour flight from Sao Paolo, which was tough, as I had a hangover from Camila's sisters marriage to Rodrigo Bortocceli.  When we got off the plane we were hit with a heat wind which was 39 degrees. Same experience as walking into a sauna. Intense heat straight away hitting your face and letting you know you're a million miles away from home. Despite the farcical airport the infrastructure of Bonito is very good with one main road with a variety of restaurants, souvenir shops and tourism agencies making up the majority of sites.  The city itself is very close to Campo Grande to the north and to Paraguay to the west, which has had a big influence on the place. I ended up getting a shave and haircut for 23 real or 7 euro from a Paraguayan man who married a local girl here from Brazil and has been here for 40 years where he plies his trade with one tiny little barber shop, with one old chair which he says is 80 years old.  When asked why Brazil, he explained in his native Spanish "mucho serviceo", more business.

We're on day 4 of 8 days in Bonito and it has been action packed.  The highlights so far:
  • Fazenda Mimosa. An old colonial farm in a vast farm, that boasts 5 excellent waterfalls that we decided to pay a visit to. The trip consisted of 8 people being walked through a forest for 20 minutes getting an explanation of the various flora and fauna on offer then a slow boat down a beautiful river with tiny waterfalls and then a variety of large waterfalls where we all got the chance to swim in if we wanted. The highlight being this amazing waterfall we could swim into a cave behind it called, "Cachocheira Desejo" or the waterfall of desire or wishes, the reason being was that a natural stone formation inside the cave that had formed over thousands of years which looked like a man's penis was inside. Only in Brazil!I'd give the trip a strong 7/10 for value and for beauty
  • Floating down Rio Sucuri was excellent. This involved a pick up at our hotel, then a 20 minute drive to another private farm where we went to see the spring of the river and then from there we put on a wet suit and a snorkel and gently floated down the river for 1 hour.  This trip was like a a space walk, except in the jungle, with a river jam packed with exotic fish, with a bed of snails crustaions, white and black stones, fallen trees and branches and a ton of algae and shrubs. What I liked most about it was how beautifully transparent the water was and how we simply had to kick out legs once at the start and then for a solid hour we had little or no work to do but float. The water was maybe 2 or 3 meters in depth at it's deepest and there was  a large variety meandering turns with lots of surprises of different scenes and settings.  I found this a very very relaxing meditative experience, where I could watch a amazing fish, listen to a variety of warbles and chirps from the local birds, while watching my companions enjoying themselves as I figured out in my head some of lives little puzzles and gave thanks for all the great people in my life and for some of the amazing experiences i have had. 10/10 for value and beauty.  It was the nearest think to space I've come to and an amazing way to float while praying and giving thanks.
  • I've done something like this before but going to Gruta Azul or the Blue cave was cool. Another trip about 30 minutes from the hotel this time in a group of about 8 we descended down some very slippery rocks to a depth of about 50 meters to see a very nice cave end full of crystal water in a chamber of stalactites and stalagmites.  What was very beautiful for me was not just looking at the water and hearing the stalagmite water drops piercing the blue crystal water but also looking back up the steps we had come seeing the intense bright light descending down the walls and hitting the chamber casting shadows in multiple directions. I thought it was a little dangerous. The groups were too big. There was a lack of infrastructure and easy to slip and annoyingly it was only one way, so you had to wait for other groups when trying to go down and come up. I'd give it a 5/10. I'm not a big cave fan hence the low marks also I'd seen many limestone caves in my day, some of which are as good if not better.
  • Not a trip but something I've really enjoyed on this trip has been the wild animals we've seen. The huge anaconda was a highlight, but while swimming in river Sucuri I also saw a small fish no bigger then a sprat or anchovies jumping out of the water to catch little flies that hovered on the edge of the water beside a waterfall. They jumped various times and it was a cool sight to be seen. We met some small monkeys that came out of a sugar cane field while driving to one of the sites and they were very cheeky getting very close to our van looking for food and getting up to no good in general. We also checked out a lazy alligator, the locals called Tom who just seemed to ignore humans and just hung around the dinner areas waiting to scavenge and then just posing for photos at the water edge. We then met a large parrot who for the last 5 years has befriended a woman who was selling cards, jewelery and clothes beside to the entrance of Rio Sucuri, he loved running around after her and also he loved being kissed and also showing off his feathers when she asked him to do it. 
  • In our lovely hotel, when we arrived for the first 3 days, while it holds over a hundred people there were only 4 including us. We had the place to ourselves. We got to know a very nice older man down near the pool who put music on for us at night, while he talked to us about why he left the hustle and bustle of Sao Paolo, never to return, for a more tranquil life in the jungle city of Bonito. He also introduced us to an amazing local fruit called Guivera! Wow! I haven't been able to stop drinking it. Seemingly this is the only place you can get it. A lovely light, cross between a melon a lemon and a peach.  To compliment the picanha, manjoica and rice a delight.





There are a number of things I'd like to report that have been frustrating about Brazil, some of them the old faithfuls:
  • The traffic in Sao Paolo is terrible.  Really congests. It seems to have got worse since last i got here. You can literally be caught in traffic for hours with sometimes 100s of kilometers tail backs.  The crazy motor bikers also like to take their fair share of risks darting in and out of traffic. What has been a pain is also the large number of protests going on in the country, which I totally agree with, the people fighting corruption and trying ti increase the quality of their overall health, education and infrastructure as well as much more, but it has grinded traffic almost to a halt in some streets I've been on
  • While the euro is strong at the moment at 3.1 to the real, it is still expensive here and importation tax is everywhere. Here in Bonito, the trips we are doing are great but they often charge up to 3 euro a photo when you finish a trip - which is expensive for us but exorbitant for the locals.
  • The heat! Some of the nights have been hot! 


Friday, August 31, 2012

The Arrival of Fausto - Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and Ibiza



The last 3 weeks have seen me rambling with my brother in law Fausto Morales. It was his first time to Europe and he took in plenty new experiences for his first time here:
  • A fresh pint of Guinness in Dublin
  • Listening to melodic harp playing hippies at the Cliff's of Mohar
  • A medieval banquet where you had to eat with your hands and bring plenty of "mead" in Buntarry castle
  • A refreshing swim at Newton Cove, Tramore
  • A tour of the Heinkeen brewing factory in Amtersdam as well as a tour of the infamous red like district and innumerable coffee shops
  • A photo with the Mona Lisa in the Louvre
  • A tour of the Eiffel tour in 38 degrees of stifling heat
  • A history class on Napolean's tomb
  • A bopping, thumbping, fist punching techno night never to be forgotten in Cafe Ole, in Ibiza's Space discoteque from 1am to 7pm
  • A Facebook check in and plenty of snaps at the world famous Cafe Del Mar, with one of the best sun sets we've ever seen
  • Eating mouth watering watermelon at the turquoise and azure blue beachs of Formentura

On the 2nd half of the journey his girlfriend a federal policewoman from Port Alegre visited as well as the well as Camila tagging along for good measure. 

Just like my trip around the world a few years ago I felt the rambling spirit inside myself come to life again. Although not as long as my trip 7 years ago I found the 3 weeks very liberating. I thoroughly enjoyed going from city to city meeting friends, eating and drinking good food and wine and checking out what existed around the corner of calles, ruas, boulevards, streets, rows and lane ways. 

Some of the stand out memories.

  • Checking out the medieval toilets of Bunratty castle and sipping the sweet honey whiskey on offer. I'd recommend the banquet, for 50 euro it's a good night out, with lots of story telling, songs from the old days and plenty of belly laughs. The food was very basic but the atmosphere and entertainment made up for it. A pint around the corner in Ned's pub was well worth the visit
  • Fausto's face after he jumped into the Irish sea for the first time. Like a dog fetching a piece of wood thrown into the water. It was a case of jump in, scream, search for the ladder and get the heck out of there, hyperventilating along the way! Brazil's are made of soft stuff... they need to toughin' up a bit! :)
  • Enjoyed a very nice barge cruise around the canal's of Amsterdam and enjoyed taking in the massive bicycle stand and canal boats. For those uninitiated to Amsterdam life, the amount of bikes flying around and parked everywhere is crazy. Think Beijing in the good old days and you won't be far off. The canal ride was 11 euro and took an hour and a half. Well worth it. House canals of which I believe there are about 2500 in Amsterdam range from the weird and wacky to the ornate and beautiful. You can get a good selection here to see what I mean.
  • In Brussels we visited the externally impressive Atomica monument which was great to look at but a real let down inside. If you go, don't bodder going inside, save yourself the 12 euro and just take some snaps from outside. There is some museams inside but they are really really poor. What I enjoyed the most from out 2 days there was seeing the world famous peeing boy statue dubbed "Mr PeePee".. well worth seeing him at while eating a tasty waffle from the shop beside him. 
  • Paris is Paris. This time the sun was a blazing 38 degrees roughly all of the 4 days we were there which made it uncomfortable. On more then one occasion my hand fan had to come into use. On this occasion the Eiffel Tower was majestic as ever. The queues were a disaster. We spend 50 minutes queuing outside to get in. 1 hour to go from the 1st to the 2nd level and 15 minutes to come down. The light show on the hour at night was as impressive as ever. When we where ther there was 10 models for some glossy magazine posing for an hour doing cover shots. For the first time ever I saw the tower being out photoed by a barrage of tourists who seemed more impressed by the even leggy catwalk models.
  • I've never been to the Lourve, and for 10 euros it is fantastic value. One of the best you'll get at any museam in the world. It is massive and would take at least one full day to check it out properly, and at that at a rush. This time as well as the seen the black haired fair lady herself we also got to see Napolean's quarters. One hell of a party room and some incredible gold platted oranate rooms full of the decorations of war and triumph.
  • Versaille, the French palace a mere 45 minutes by metro and train outside of the capital were well worth a visit. This is where the old kings of France lived in ridiculously lavish surrounds which massive perfectly manicured garden grounds and a huge palace that is hard to fully comprehend once your inside it's so big. Reminded me of visiting the Vatican. 
  • Ibiza was all about beach and top clubs. I saw Seb Fontaine and the amazing soul brothers in Cafe Ole, Armin Van Burren and the disappointing Paul Oakenfold in the world's biggest club Priviledge, a really great set from Calvin Harris in the impressive outdoor Ushia and then Eric Morillo in the equally impressive Pacha. Ibiza for me was overall a bit of a let down. Maybe I'm getting old and cranky a bit and becoming a bit of a travel snob but the cost of things was bordering on a joke. Fair enough, we paid 50 euros to enter the nightclubs, to see some of the best DJs in the world but 18 euro for a Red Bull and Vodka, followed by 12 euro for a bottle of beer was taking the piss! Also, for the first time in my life I got charged 3.50 for  a bowl of ice to put into our fizzy drinks at a restaurant.  Spain currently has 25% unemployment in total and 52% unemployment under 25's. Desperate times in Spain and you could sense it in the way the taxi men were looking for every little cent on their clock. It the trip cost 7.15, they wanted the 15 cents. Also, the food was very expensive and it looked like people were out to charge for everything.
Anyhow, great to be back home as usual and here is some of the photos so you can see what it was all about.





Saturday, January 07, 2012

Some snaps of the day

Paradise Islands


Lone Swimmers @ Sun Set


Day Trip Boats


Cheese On The Beach



Ice Deliveries on a Jet Ski



Sun Sets


A snap of a snap


little Portuguese churches shot from a speeding car