Had my sister Paula not read in her guide book about an offshore rock group with an ancient monastery at the top, we might never have visited the Skellig Islands. We considered hiking to the top of the 600+ steps to see the domed stone cells that may date back to 600 AD. If thatContinue reading “An Epic Day: Star Wars and Puffins in the Skellig Islands”
Tag Archives: Birds
Get in the car.
These may be the scariest words on the planet for someone approaching a right hand drive vehicle for the first time. The day before we left Edinburgh, with our rental car awaiting us in the morning, we took a driving lesson. One hour each behind the wheel with Michael, the most unflappable person I’ve everContinue reading “Get in the car.”
The High-Noon Birding Society
Jonathan and I like to watch birds. We do not like to get up before dawn, as I believe diehard birders do. We therefore watch birds when we are out, often in the middle of the day. Our High-Noon Birding Society has had darn good luck, and I recommend others to start their own branch.Continue reading “The High-Noon Birding Society”
Last Day at the Beach
We’ve visited many of the beaches along the coast from Setubal past Sesimbra From east to west, around Cabo Espichel and up the coast, they included: Praia de Troia, Bico das Lulas on the Troia Peninsula Praia da Figuerinha is just west of Setubal. The long sand spit is a great walk at low tide.Continue reading “Last Day at the Beach”
Souk Hebdomadaire, Weekly market in Azrou
The same day we visited the macaques (see previous post), we stopped at the souk hebdomadaire in Azrou. This is a traditional weekly market where vendors put up tents or canopies and sell all kinds of goods. A lively functioning market has to deal in goods people really want and in Azrou that ranges fromContinue reading “Souk Hebdomadaire, Weekly market in Azrou”
Museums and Sites in Rabat–mixed opportunities
Rabat is Morocco’s capital. It has strong competition from Casablanca for economic prominence and with Marrakesh for cultural prominence. I’d like to see the capital with museums that reflect the best of all periods of Moroccan history, but Rabat seems to have thrown in the towel on the museum front. I already mentioned my fruitlessContinue reading “Museums and Sites in Rabat–mixed opportunities”
Taking a break in Oualidia
It’s easier to say as Wah-Lidia, a small beach town on a lagoon that offers a surfing school (we enjoyed watching the wet-suited group from a distance), oysters farmed locally that we ate every day, and bird-watching. From our Airbnb home we have a great view over the lagoon to the ocean. It was aContinue reading “Taking a break in Oualidia”
More of Everything
This week I finished making the appointments that I will need during our brief stay in the Chicago area in mid-November. We’ve also dug deeply into our “Hikers Hip Pocket Guide to the Mendocino Coast,” a wonderful book, and found paths that we had not yet visited and small beaches to visit (see Jonathan’s FacebookContinue reading “More of Everything”
Bird surprise 8.13.15
We are having fun with birds. Not only did we see a new bird on the beach, and a bobcat, but when we came home Jonathan was watching the bird feeder and said, “Get your binoculars, there’s a new bird out here.” It was a family of red crossbills, male, female and 3 chicks. TheseContinue reading “Bird surprise 8.13.15”
What a week! Nature and culture in Mendocino.
I believe everyone says “where does the time go”? They’re right. The Mendocino Music Festival got into high gear this week and we attended three events, the California Honey Drops, a concert of five groups “A Capella Fever” and a fully staged opera, The Barber of Seville. The opera was my favorite so far, itContinue reading “What a week! Nature and culture in Mendocino.”
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