Search Results for: new zealand

The Bay Islands

…water. The water was not crystal clear and the sand wasn’t white, but we knew that the clear water and the white sand were only a mile or so away in West Bay. In front of the hostel was a small, elevated pier that rose about 15 feet in the air, with a bench that ran out along the wall toward the bay. The bench then went into a wall that had a large flat top surface along the viewing area of the pier. I took a walk out there because I had noticed…

European Soccer Roundup

…owever, I realized I haven’t said anything about soccer/football since the new season has started and just wanted to catch up a little bit around Europe. As the EPL heads into the big weekend where Arsenal hosts Manchester United (I am very jealous because my friend Mike somehow got tickets through his German girlfriend) in a crucial early season clash where both teams are barely in the top 4 and Arsenal has had a number of awful losses and draws…

St. Martin and Anguilla

…ay it was as good as my grandmas cooking or certainly the better places in New York City but for the Caribbean, it was amazing Italian and a refreshing change from fish, cheeseburgers and fries. I got up very early this morning to head over to Anguilla which is a 20 minute ferry from Marigot Bay on French St. Martin. I headed straight to Shoal Bay Beach which is supposed to be the best on the island and one of the tops in the Caribbean-it didn’t d…

Overland From Guinea to Sierra Leone

…neighboring islands. I was surprised to see signs everywhere embracing the new President who used a military coup to seize power. They also have an 8pm curfew instituted in the city so that didn’t sound too appealing to me either. So I decided that I had seen enough in Conakry and I hired a driver (after a lot of haggling-a lot!) to drive me to the border with Sierra Leone and then get me a car on the other side of the border to drive the rest of…

Freetown to Monrovia Overland

…ust’ve been 6 checkpoints. You usually have to get out of the car and some new schmuck asks to see your passport, thumbs through it and asks for money. See the pattern here, it can get very frustrating. Meanwhile, I am exhausted at this point and simply want to go to sleep so being polite is getting much harder but after another 3 hours, the car arrives at the Mamba Point Hotel in Monrovia and the longest day is finally over. This day is a classic…

Post-War Monrovia, Liberia

…I was able to see a really helpful American security guy who was also from New York and he pulled a string to get me in to see the consular people. They were very nice once I got in there but they couldn’t help me. They basically said to wake someone up in the States and have them wire to Western Union which I didn’t want to do. I explained to them that I needed to get that Brussels Air flight that night and they said that Brussels Air is the only…

Africa For Beginners-Ghana

…day of rest after the hellish schedule I’ve kept up thusfar. Anyway, I am looking forward to a fun time tonight and then to Togo tomorrow where I hope to finalize plans to get back to New York a day early so I can take care of some things before I head to Mexico. Togo will be country 199 and I am excited about approaching 200….

Eating in Monterrey, Mexico

…is apparent by the large number of multinational corporations that are located here. Finally, the weather here is amazing. The temperature is perfect and the sky is always sunny, looking forward to enjoying more of that and not missing the cold and snow back in New York. Anyway, will report more from my time here in Monterrey as I get to know the city a little better in my six weeks here. Should be fun with several side trips around Mexico in the…

I Can’t Get a Libya Visa

…ed. The top Libyan tour agencies have assured me they were hopeful for the new Obama Administration to change policies and re-open diplomatic relations. Libya opened up to the West a few years ago and Europeans and Canadians are welcome in the country but Americans after first being allowed in-are no longer. This is really annoying and really pisses me off. I can get a visa to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea and almost any other undesirable c…

Lift the Travel Ban to Cuba

With the dawn of a new administration in the United States, the time to lift the travel ban to Cuba has come. The nearly 50 year trade embargo’s time has past and the United States Government needs to ease the restrictions on Americans who wish or do travel to the island nation only 90 miles from Florida. The passing of the failed Bush Administration and the impending closing of the utterly ridiculous Guantanamo Bay prison camp is a start but we…

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