Tag Archives: Sea

Beach life.

Posted on 01/11/2020 by awtytravels

A pebble beach. Cold wind, the waters of the fjord lapping the polished stones of the shore. A faint smell of trees hanging in the air. A crowd, gathered in expectation. People are waiting patiently. Some carry binoculars, some have … Continue reading →

Posted in Scotland | Tagged Ceannabeinne Beach, Chanonry Point, Dolphins, Highlands, Moray Firth, Photography, Pink sand, Sango Bay, Scotland, Sea, Shore, UK, United Kingdom | 39 Comments

Ashes and blue skies: a Palermo travelogue.

Posted on 01/10/2020 by awtytravels

Warm air rushes in to fill the plane. We disembark by row, adhering scrupulously to the new socially-distant orthodoxy, ditching jumpers and jackets as we do: summer might be a distant memory where we left off, washed away in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Italy, Sicilia | Tagged Bangla, Borgo Antico, Bread, Cathedral, Church, Duomo, Europe, Granita, Immigration, India, Italia, Italy, Kalsa, Koran, Maqueda, Market, Med, Mediterranean, Mosque, Old town, Palermo, Pane, Panelle, People, People watching, Qoran, Rubbish, Sea, Sicilia, Sicily, Ucciardone | 30 Comments

Coastal escapism.

Posted on 01/03/2020 by awtytravels

I needed out. Out of walls, weapons, checkpoints and people convinced of being on first-name-terms with God. I needed a place where bigots were rarer than pandas, alcohol plentiful and the attitude on weed lax. I needed Tel Aviv. Tel … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Middle East | Tagged Alfa Romeo, AM-PM, Bauhaus, Boulevard Rothschild, Boutique, British Airways, Bus Station, Clouds, Corniche, Independence Trail, Israel, It, Jaffa, Kite, Kite surf, Kite surfers, Med, Mediterranean, Middle East, Promenade, Saturday, Sea, Sherut, Stephen King, Storm, Sunset, Supremes, Surf, Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Wind, Winter, Yafo | 21 Comments

North-Western revelations.

Posted on 12/01/2020 by awtytravels

Prior to flying there I knew very little about Seattle. Rain and Kurt Cobain, Foo Fighters and Starbucks, Amazon and serial killers. Squashed between a Pacific coastline that looked too tormented to be understandable and the linear dichotomy of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Americas, USA | Tagged Alaska Airlines, Amazon, Amazon Spheres, Berlusconi, Cascadia, Cobain, Ferry, Foo Fighters, Food, Food market, Inuit, Lowell's, Marijuana, Night, Nirvana, Olympic, Oyster, Pacific, Pike Market, Port, Rain, Salmon, Sea, Seafront, Seattle, Serial Killer, Sphere, Sticker, Street art, Tech, Tech boys, Washington, Washington state, Weed, West Coast | 33 Comments

“Shark Drunk” by Morten Strøksnes, Vintage.

Posted on 04/01/2020 by awtytravels

Norwegians are an inscrutable bunch. I’ve got colleagues from up there and, let me tell you, they are a constant source of wonder. Amongst many things, they’ll think nothing of saying things such as “Because you haven’t asked for this … Continue reading →

Posted in Books review | Tagged Aasjord, Book, Book Review, Books, Critique, Greenland, Greenland Shark, Havbuka, Hemingway, Lofoten, Morten, Morten Strøksnes, Nordic, North, Norway, Ocean, Sea, Shark Drunk, The Art of Catching a Large Shark from a Tiny Rubber Dinghy in a Big Ocean, Travel literature, Vestfjord, Vintage | 18 Comments

EOY Reviews, NY objectives.

Posted on 26/12/2019 by awtytravels

If you’re employed in a company you’ll be familiar with this period of the year: ’tis is the season when CEOs are wheeled out of their offices to recite a speech outlining everything that you minions have delivered and to … Continue reading →

Posted in Random memories, Reflections | Tagged 2019, 2019 in pictures, Asia, Atacama, Central Asia, Chile, China, Crimes, Desert, Driving, Easter Island, End of Year message, Europe, Hitch hike, Hitchhiker, Iceland, Kamaz, Kyrgyzstan, Milky Way, Mountains, Offroad, Orcas, Photography, Rapa Nui, Recap, Road Trip, Sary Tash, Sea, Snow, Summary, Travel, Travels, Turkestan, Whale watching, Winter, Wrap-up, Xinjiang | 22 Comments

Every day is Legs Day if you’re in Lisbon.

Posted on 01/12/2019 by awtytravels

“Every day is Legs Day if you’re a dog” once said a philosophy-inclined former colleague of mine. For those of you not familiar with gym logic, he was referring to the fact that dogs, for obvious reasons, cannot skip training … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Portugal | Tagged Alfama, Azulejo, Bridge, Christ, Church, City, Clouds, Cobbles, Dog, Drizzle, Estuary, Every day is leg day, Hill, Hill climb, Intendente, Leg day, Lisboa, Lisbon, Miradouro, Nossa Senhora do Monte, Nova Goa, Port, Portugal, Rain, Rio, Santa Caterina, Sea, Ships, Sun, Suspension, Tagus, The Rock, Tram, Tram of Lisbon, Trekking, Uphill | 33 Comments

The quest for the best road.

Posted on 01/05/2019 by awtytravels

There are countless articles singing the virtues of this or that stretch of road, claiming it to be “the best in the UK/Europe/world” (delete as applicable). So what’s the point in writing another one? What’s the use of increasing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Iceland | Tagged Ólafsvík, Borgarnes, Creedence, DJ Krush, El Búho, Eldborg, Europe, Fortress of Fire, Grundarfjörður, Iceland, Icelandic horse, Kirkjufell, Music, Road, Road Trip, Route 54, Route 56, Route 574, Saxhóll, Sea, Snæfellsnes, Snow, Stykkishólmur, Suzuki Vitara, Tourism, Travel, Video, Vitara, Volcano, Winter, Xica Xica, Ytri-Tunga | 27 Comments

The worst-named animal in the world.

Posted on 19/04/2019 by awtytravels

As far as names are concerned, few animals have had it as bad as the Orca. Popularly known as “killer whale” – a connotative appellative if ever there was one – they don’t fare much better from a scientific point … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Iceland | Tagged Ólafsvík, Blackfish, Calf, environment, Europe, Fishing, Fjord, Herring, Iceland, Killer whale, Láki, Láki tours, Mammals, Marine Mammals, Matriarchy, Mountains, North Sea, Orca watching, Orcas, Orcinus orca, Photography, Sea, seagull, Snæfellsnes, Snow, Tourism, Travel, Trawler, Westfjord, Whale, Whale watching | 27 Comments

Snæfellsnes wide-angle.

Posted on 07/04/2019 by awtytravels

The 9-18mm lenses I’ve just bought are, in the words of the photographer who won the chance of endorsing them, “perfect for panoramas”. In a rare astronomical conjunction where marketing met reality and they both shook hands with user requirements … Continue reading →