sightseeing – Page 7 – Roaming About

Tag: sightseeing (page 7 of 7)

WW – Cherry on Top While Traveling

I have decided to post photos of past travels in general and our eight year sailing adventure on SV Irie in particular for Wordless Wednesdays. I hope you enjoy them. Also, I can’t do completely “wordless”, but I try my best with “almost wordless”. 🙂

My theme “Cherry on Top” for this week comes from The Daily Post. While I am totally passionate about traveling and enjoy many aspects of it, my highlights remain wildlife encounters. Therefore, “meeting” and interacting with animals is the cherry on top of my explorations, in the world or in the back yard!

The biggest cherry: swimming with wild manta rays next to our boat in the Marquesas, FP

Snorkeling with a spotted eagle ray nearby our boat

Really close (and startling) encounter with a nurse shark in the San Blas, Panama

Sloth in Panama

Visiting sea lion in the Galapagos

Monkey in Costa Rica

Black tip reef shark in Fakarava, Tuamotus, FP

Howler monkey in Costa Rica (or was it Panama?)

Dolphins in the anchorage love to play with the dinghy

Free dolphin show in an anchorage in Tahuata, Marquesas, FP

For more “Cherry on Top” shots of nature, check out this gallery post, which was part of my A-Z Blogging challenge this year.

Who or what is your cherry on top, in the day-to-day life or on vacation?

(Super) Natural Wonders around Us

July 18, 2016 / Liesbet / 24 Comments

Hoosac Tunnel

“We have to look for ghosts in the Hoosac Tunnel while we are in this area,” Mark said, out of the blue, during one of our drives to North Adams, the closest real city to us, about 40 minutes away. As we climbed Whitcomb Hill and mentally prepared for the steep descend, I gave him a puzzled look, “Ghosts? Where?” “Have you never heard of the haunted Hoosac Tunnel?” he asked. How would I? I am not familiar with local legends and folklore anywhere, let alone in Massachusetts. Of course, the notion peaked my curiosity. How could it not? So, yesterday, I added the tunnel to our sightseeing itinerary.

Approaching Hoosac Tunnel from the east

The digging of the 4.75 mile Hoosac Tunnel in the Berkshire Hills started in 1851 and wasn’t finished until 1875. At its completion, the railroad tunnel was the longest in North America and the second longest in the world, after the Mont Cenis Tunnel in the French Alps. To this day, it remains the longest active transportation tunnel (for freight) east of the Rocky Mountains and operates without a schedule. The building of the tunnel, however, was a nightmare of blood, sweat and tears. Continue reading

6WS – Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls

July 16, 2016 / Liesbet / 17 Comments

In the beginning of spring, the offer of flowers was meager

The pedestrian flower bridge seen from the old steel car bridge

Visiting the Bridge of Flowers with friends

The flower display changes every weekend!

Visiting the Bridge of Flowers with family

My Six Word Saturday is full of flowers. How is yours?

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A Weekend of Camping and Hiking in Vermont; and a Visit Beyond

June 20, 2016 / Liesbet / 14 Comments

I can’t quite remember the last time Mark and I went camping for pleasure, as in when we really wanted to go camping. My recollections go back ten years ago or so, when our dogs, the Grand Canyon and loads of insect bites were part of the experience. I mention the “for pleasure” part, because the previous time we seriously camped was for two months in 2007, when a tent and a car were all we owned, so camping was our lifestyle. It wasn’t necessarily our preferred way to live, but the cheapest option in between other adventures. We had just moved out of our truck camper and were in the process of searching and eventually buying our sailboat.

Trying to set up the tent at home – check. All parts are present.

The tent we had for ages was finally traded for some local handicrafts in the San Blas Islands, Panama, a few years ago and a new tent recently became ours through a promotion online. It was time to test it out in earnest. Continue reading

Visit to Northampton, MA

June 13, 2016 / Liesbet / 18 Comments

One of the big advantages of a house and pet sitting lifestyle is that you have the chance to live in different places with every assignment. While we primarily prefer longer term sits for our own comfort, sense of settling in and being able to concentrate on work projects without having to move constantly, we also enjoy being immersed in a new area and having plenty of opportunity and time to explore its surroundings during the weekends.

Recently, our temporary dog Jenny needed new food from a pet food store quite a drive from here. Dave’s Soda and Pet City (interesting name for a pet food store) has a location in the city of Northampton, where other chores could be accomplished, and where neither of us had been before. We decided to combine the necessary with the pleasant and explored the college town around noon on a Saturday.