Shorts: The Jump
Position: 41° 8′ 23” N 8° 36′ 35” W This is how local kids entertain the tourists in Porto, Portugal. In the UK it’s called ‘tombstoning’ and jumping straight down from bridges is frowned upon there. There are signs that …
Category: Underway
Photos: Galicia 1: Viveiro & A Coruña
Position: 43°22’11″N 8°23’46″W Viveiro and A Coruña are maritime cities on the northwest coast of Spain. Both date back well before the Romans occupied Galicia starting in 137 BCE. Like the Basque Country and Catalonia, Galicia is one of Spain’s …
Plate Tectonics, Zardoz, and Cider
Position: 43°32’48″N 5°39’54″W Every schoolchild learns that their world floats on big plates. It’s also obvious to every 10-year-old that the land masses of the world should snap together like a puzzle. As an optimistically precocious urchin, I used to …
11 Fun Things to do in Britain
As fair and balanced as this blog is, it’s time to quit pining for the past and talk about the present. Britain offers an incredible number of cool, fun, and interesting things to do in a very small space. Many …
Photos: North Wales
Here’s a short collection of photos from our grand tour of North Wales that start in Llandudno, a holiday town at the far west end of Colwyn Bay. Llandudno has a pier that extends well out over the bay with …
Mount Snowdon Wildcard
Position: 53°04’28″N 3°56’39″W The A(road)4086 runs east out of Llanberis and skirts Mount Snowdon, rising steadily until it reaches Pen-y-Pass. Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa in Welsh) is the third tallest peak in the British Isles and the stuff of climbing …
I am not a number! I am a free man!
Position: 52°54’46.96″ N 4°5’55.74″ W Portmerion, Wales, served as the location for one of the greatest cult TV shows from the 1960s, The Prisoner. Ever since I was a kid terrified by the giant beach ball sent to catch would …
Alternator Realities
Position: 38°39’32.5″N 27°12’34.5″W I called my buddy Mark in the United States from the Pirate’s Pub in Angara, Terceira. I told him that I had just met a guy named José on a street corner and handed over my Balmar …
The Eagle has Landed – Azores Style
Looking out our portholes and seeing the USCGC Eagle at dock in Praia do Vitória was a nice surprise. This beautiful tall ship is the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s cadet training vessel. Based near the US Coast Guard Academy in …