Longyearbyen
Svalbard (Spitsbergen)
August 7, 2015
Sawatdee krop,
I arrive at the airport in Longyearbyen.
It’s 10:00pm.
The evening sky is overcast. The clouds are bright.
A young guide greets me at the airport.
“When does it get dark?” I ask him.
He smiles and responds, “This is as dark as it gets.”
“Wow! I know my geography. I am above the Arctic Circle!”
On Board
MS Nordstjernen
The Greenland Sea
August 9, 2015
Hello,
Even the experienced guides had never seen such a sight!
A dead walrus? Sure. They had seen one before. They had seen a polar bear feasting on the carcass. They had seen a polar bear and her cub feasting at the scene.
But never before had they seen such a sight!
Hvar Island
(pop 11,200)
Adriatic Sea
Republic of Croatia
June 2, 2015
Hello,
On Hvar, the hills are alive with the sound of motor scooters. Automobiles are impractical given the steep and narrow cobbled lanes,
I stroll down the floral-forested path from my hilltop guest house to the shoreline and the pebbled beach.
Luxury hotels replete with lagoon-sized swimming pools and spas face west to the gleaming sea. (Thai Massage anyone?)
Split
Croatia
May 30 2015
I adopt three distinct strategies to avoid the teeming hordes streaming through the streets of the Old City of Split.
The first strategy is to avoid them altogether by wandering towards the port and then up the cobbled streets and stairways to the hills above the city. Great scenery…well worth the climb....
Berat
Republic of Albania
May 12, 2015
Mirëmëngjesi – Good morning,
“I wish I had planned to stay here longer.”
Haven’t we all have expressed that sentiment at one time or another?
That’s exactly how I feel in Berati. I’m here on a day trip from Tirana, but I wish I can stay longer.
Gjirokastër
Albania
May 14, 2015
In Tirana I met a young man who bragged that he had taken a swim in the Blue Eye. Since I was heading in that direction, I decided to visit the Blue Eye and see what the fuss is all about. Maybe I’d be able to make the same boast as my young friend.
