Something Completely Different

This thread is an excuse for people who would like to remember / talk about places they have been. If it goes according to plan, I'll put up a question about one particular geographic superlative, then, after a few days, put up another. Here's the starter question:-


For me, it's a village on the coast of Scotland, about 30 miles north of Loch Ness.

(https://www.freecountrymaps.com/map/free/great_britain/location/504692133-fs8.png) (https://www.visitscotland.com/wsimgs/lossiemouth_663513210.jpg)

The streets are narrow, the older houses are of dark stone, and there isn't a lot to do except walk along the beach:-

(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTMVgrXjd3oX5S_q0lFsa5o2VjDQIWyhEEXzA&usqp=CAU)

In a photo it looks peaceful, but actually there's a near-constant wind blowing off the sea: you have to lean against if you want to walk straight and you have to shout to have a conversation because the wind whips the words away out of your mouth the minute you speak. Additionally, there is an RAF base nearby, so the roar of the wind is punctuated by an even louder screaming of jet fighters coming in fast and low over the beach. On the plus side, it must be some of the cleanest air I have ever breathed in my life!
So a walk along the beach is exhilating rather than peaceful, and leaves you feeling the way you feel after a concert or disco: you get home and with a sudden sense of relief realise you can relax and talk at normal volume again.

This isn't a competition, but if it were, this would be a key statistic: the village I visited is at about Lattidude 57.5° N.

OK, so how far north you guys bin ?

probably about 50 miles north of vancouver near the straight of georgia

i didn't take any pictures but i remember it was really beautiful

i looked for some images that seem close to what i remember

(https://i.postimg.cc/9FKr7zwT/57-EA016-E-C3-BA-4-C3-D-B10-F-3-C6766-DBF32-F.jpg)

i remember getting high and laughing a lot - i was with a friend from seattle

we didn't have a car - i honestly don't even remember how we got up there - i think we took busses and ferries

Glasgow, Scotland. I was going to say Montreal, Canada but looking at a world map it shows Glasgow as being further north. Definitely would like to return to Scotland for a visit at some point before I croak.

I had the same thing, I thought it would be Canada but it's the Isle of Skye in Scotland for me

Middlesbrough, which was very run down but charming in a way.

Manchester or Blackpool next. Blackpool I liked, again it is also shit but I had a good time. Met an absolutely lovely Scouser who got me some hash and we smoked in some dealer's flat. I probably wouldn't go back though tbh.

Manchester I don't like. I'm not sure there is a more overrated place in England than it. A generalisation but the people are some of the moodiest fuckers I've ever met.

Been to north Wales a lot. Has a rep of being hostile to English people but I never experienced it tbh.

For me it would be Washington Island, Wisconsin, a small island right off the thumb of the "mitten" that is my home state. I went there in the summer of 2002 on a family vacation to Door County, a very famous tourist attraction up here. Fond memories of that trip, the second of three times I've been there.

If I'm looking at my Google map right, I'd say Seattle, Washington. Exception for a quick excursion to Montreal, I pretty much have stayed in the States.

I've been to the north polar ice sheet north of Svalbard in the summer of 2007 at 80-something degrees north. It was about as far north as we could get by boat.

Sometimes the ice is very broken up, but it wasn't in 2007. There was some broken up sea ice, but then we just met a solid sheet that stretched on into the horizon. It looked like this (https://drive.google.com/file/d/15-5qoUJAGvHFaVBY4H_Gkmq6ZsRWU5ly/view?usp=drivesdk).

I saw a polar bear, we caught some amphipods and of course I got a quick dip in the ocean 🙂 my coldest bath actually as the water was -0.5Cs by the ice's edge.

Interesting to see how several of us feel that one place is more to the north than another although a look at an atlas proves us wrong. It's a reminder that even the simplest kids atlas is absolutely packed with information that mankind has laboriously accumulated since the days of ..er... when maps weren't very accurate.

Great photo of the ice sheet, Guybrush! For you to have actually stood on one of these things makes you the clear winner of "most northerly". I also liked the way that some of your memories were tied up to "What drugs I was doing at the time"  :laughing:

My plan is to do the other points of the compass, but mixed up with other questions to keep things less predictable. In fact the new question can't even be proved with an atlas , because it's subjective:-

Maybe not my absolute number one and I guess it depends on how one defines "attractive" but in terms of aesthetics I'll give a shout out to Columbus, Indiana. Hometown of an old friend of mine, I went there in the summer of 2009 as part of a big trip for a music festival. The city has a lot of public art installations and artistic architecture which I think is super cool, and I have fond memories of the visit.

Quote from: Mrs. Waffles on May 03, 2023, 02:52 PMMaybe not my absolute number one and I guess it depends on how one defines "attractive" but in terms of aesthetics I'll give a shout out to Columbus, Indiana. Hometown of an old friend of mine, I went there in the summer of 2009 as part of a big trip for a music festival. The city has a lot of public art installations and artistic architecture which I think is super cool, and I have fond memories of the visit.

ain't never even heard of it

Quote from: Toy Revolver on May 03, 2023, 03:11 PMain't never even heard of it

It's unfortunately probably most well known these days for being the hometown of Mike Pence. Definitely a place I wouldn't want to live, but it's cool for the public art.

Quote from: Toy Revolver on May 03, 2023, 03:11 PMain't never even heard of it

(https://columbus.in.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/regional-map-for-columbus-indiana.jpg)

I'm sure Mrs. Waffles will give you more travel deets so you can plan your trip, TR. Mike Pence's hometown!!Even I'm tempted.

(https://media.gettyimages.com/id/589222995/es/foto/bridge-over-river-by-cityscape-against-clear-blue-sky.jpg?s=612x612&w=gi&k=20&c=_QYtQagoQQBVp852QcFyPv9suXb5fM-PtZ5D10HCchU=)

(https://www.travellens.co/content/images/2021/11/Columbus-in.jpg)

Nice looking place, Mrs. Waffles  :thumb:

those J6 protesters chanting "hang mike pence" really warmed my cuckles

That's not Columbus, Indiana, Lisna. The Indiana Columbus is a lot smaller than the skyline you're showing which happens to be Columbus, Ohio, a city I've been in quite a bit.

Most scenic city though, for me, happens to be San Francisco, Callifornia. Especially with the Victorian houses.

Quote from: Marie Monday on Apr 30, 2023, 12:38 AMI had the same thing, I thought it would be Canada but it's the Isle of Skye in Scotland for me

Didn't realize you've been to Canada

I think the furthest north I've been is either Quebec City or Prince Edward Island in Canada. The furthest south I've been is Kingston, Jamaica. The furthest east is Santorini, Greece. The furthest west is Sonoma County, California.

Quote from: jadis on May 03, 2023, 09:29 PMDidn't realize you've been to Canada

during the summer when I turned 13 I was in Alberta in the Rocky Mountains (the lovely national parks there) and then on to Vancouver Island. It was so wonderful, that summer is one of the best memories of my life

Yeah the west has incredible natural beauty

Quote from: Lisnaholic on May 03, 2023, 02:30 PMGreat photo of the ice sheet, Guybrush! For you to have actually stood on one of these things makes you the clear winner of "most northerly". I also liked the way that some of your memories were tied up to "What drugs I was doing at the time"  :laughing:

Drugs? I didn't use any drugs.. were you mistaking the amphipods for amphetamine? 😉

I was thinking of these little bastards:

(https://cdn.azotelibrary.com/image/t400/nwa_5430056a.jpg)

A sort of crustacean 🙂 This one in particular (Gammarus wilkitzkii) is a predator that you can find under sea ice around Svalbard.

Quotethe summer when I turned 13

must...not...make...joke

Sorry, Guybrush! The mistake I made was posting in a hurry and not noticing til later how "your" in the second sentence looked like it referred to you.
I really meant:-

QuoteGreat photo of the ice sheet, Guybrush! For you to have actually stood on one of these things makes you the clear winner of "most northerly".


Regarding other posters, I also liked the way that some of your memories were tied up to "What drugs I was doing at the time"  :laughing:

And thanks for your correction, Rubber Soul, but I have to wonder: why have two cities called Columbus in two neighbouring states? Kinda confusing.

Oh right! It was my bad 😄

Sorry about that, @Lisnaholic 🙂 although I did enjoy revisiting G. wilkitzkii, which is magnificent.

:laughing: I think my adjective for G.Wilkitzkii would be "curious" rather than "magnificent", but each to his own, as we say.

It's a clichéd choice which tops many world lists, I suspect, but I have been lucky enough to stay in Venice, Italy, three times. It really is unique and over-loaded with an intriguing beauty: not just the famous vistas, but even the humblest canals and footpaths:-

(https://www.ourescapeclause.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/VeniceCanalBridge-2-768x512.jpg)

Everywhere you go, you want to see what's round the next corner, what's over the next footbridge. There are no repetitive street patterns, indeed, there are no streets and no cars, so you are constantly wondering, "How does this city even work?"

Quote from: Lisnaholic on May 04, 2023, 01:58 AMAnd thanks for your correction, Rubber Soul, but I have to wonder: why have two cities called Columbus in two neighbouring states? Kinda confusing.

There is also a Columbus, Georgia. And god knows how many towns and/or counties are known as Washington. We have a Washington Country here in Maryland and that is several counties away from Washington DC and not all that far from Washington, PA.

QuoteColumbus, Georgia

ain't nothin to do there cept gtfo

174 WORLD CITIES BY LATITUDE: THINGS LINE UP IN SURPRISING WAYS
 (https://www.priceoftravel.com/world-cities-by-latitude)

QuoteVenice, Italy and Montreal, Canada – Most people would be surprised to see that Canada's northernmost major tourist city is on the same latitude line as Italy's famous lagoon city.

That is correct

^ There's a lot of info in that link, jadis! I think my biggest surprise was to see that London, England, is furthur north that Vancouver and Toronto.

Quote from: Rubber Soul on May 05, 2023, 04:38 PMThere is also a Columbus, Georgia. And god knows how many towns and/or counties are known as Washington. We have a Washington Country here in Maryland and that is several counties away from Washington DC and not all that far from Washington, PA.

Yeah, I'm still at beginner level when it comes to understanding the US Washingtons:

QuoteResidents of Washington (known as "Washingtonians") and the Pacific Northwest simply refer to the state as "Washington", and the nation's capital "Washington, D.C.", "the other Washington", or simply "D.C."

It would help if they put them like that on the maps: Washington,The Other Washington, etc.

_______________________________________________________

"Sketchy" and "gnarly" are two words I first came across in mountaineering books, to describe mountain routes that are either tenuous/difficult to find or physically/technically challenging; sketchy especially now has a wider use, as in "sketchy neighbourhood". So, this question is about the time you have most felt at risk because of where you were, be it hanging on to a rock face, car broke down in the desert, or walking into a Texas school without your Kevlar vest on.

Quote from: Lisnaholic on May 06, 2023, 03:16 PMYeah, I'm still at beginner level when it comes to understanding the US Washingtons:

It would help if they put them like that on the maps: Washington,The Other Washington, etc.

_______________________________________________________

I've also been through Washington, North Carolina and Washington Court House, Ohio. Lord knows how many other Washingtons are out there.

It's easy, there are two you need to know.

One has the White House and this thing

(https://assets.editorial.aetnd.com/uploads/2013/10/gettyimages-1133774747.jpg)


The other one has the Space Needle (and is the home of Starbucks)

(https://ntvb.tmsimg.com/assets/p7892571_b_h8_aa.jpg?w=1280&h=720)

if you see a black person it's probably dc

Haven't been to Seattle but Portland has some black people. Still much more homogenous than the average city on the east coast for sure

Quote from: jadis on May 06, 2023, 08:39 PMHaven't been to Seattle but Portland has some black people. Still much more homogenous than the average city on the east coast for sure

yeah i lived in portland

half joking

it was segregated as all fuck compared to atlanta but the portland liberals sure had their opinions about the south and apparently didn't have many mirrors

I've an outsider's perspective, obv, but I love the old PNW. It's beautiful and has its own vibe (and I'm not talking about that cutesy sketch show set in Portland). Esp for those of us who love the weather



Yeah it's still in the old US of A with all the attendant bs but it's also different

Quote from: Toy Revolver on May 06, 2023, 08:24 PMif you see a black person it's probably dc

:laughing: Thanks for that travel tip: very useful for when I'm not sure which side of the USA I'm in.


Maybe this is a trickier question than I thought. Not "at risk of personal safety", but I was once in a bind in Greece.

Me and a friend were travelling in a battered old Bedford camper van, and parked off-road overnight in some hills, just pulling off the road where we saw a bit of flat ground. Van wouldn't start the next morning, but luckily my friend knew a bit about car mechanics, and identified the problem: "We need a new one of these" he said, and gave me some piece that revolves in the ignition cycle I think. So, with zero Greek, I managed to hitch the 20 miles to the nearest town, find the piece, and even find the van again although it was completely dark by the time I was hitching back: like rural darkness, that tbh, I don't experience very often.

Thank you, Greece, for being friendly to hitchhikers and for, beyond expectations, having spare parts for one of these :- 

(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/cars/2022/03/31/TELEMMGLPICT000017497571_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqE9p6aTGKFacf_86pBKY62JyMlgx1gvQxoWcOZa06E9c.jpeg)

QuotePersonal Safety: Where and why have you felt most at risk? 

so many it's ridiculous

i don't know if this counts because i lived there and it was one of many but i was 16 or 17 and driving alone in atlanta and got lost

my car was on e and i only had like a little change

it was night and there were no white people at all

i had a leather cassette holder and i sold it to a stranger for $5 and back then that was enough to drive some distance

i managed to get very specific directions to a famous mall that i knew the way home from

back then that was definitely a life or death deal

Most at risk, huh?

Well, for one thing, I don't travel much at all these days, if you know anything about me you'll know that I'm a bit of a homebody. I've been privileged enough throughout my life to not really have to get involved in dangerous situations.

So I guess as far as the risk of direct physical harm goes it would be the time my appendix came close to rupturing in the spring of 2017, right here in Madison Wisco. So not a very exotic answer but that's about the most accurate answer I can give.

i went to nepal while they were having a civil war

i was sharing a hotel room with another tourist and he ended up in bed with a woman and i asked if they wanted privacy and they said yeah

it was pitch black outside and took much longer to find another hotel than i expected

i was walking alone in the dark for a couple hours until i found a hotel that wasn't gated up

my life actually might have been more up my alley if i had been kidnapped by the maoist revolutionaries however

maybe the real danger was finding the shelter

Probably the non white areas of Birmingham tbh.

Shit happens in other places but its only a matter of time before you're targeted in some places. Anyone from here knows the areas to avoid.

Thanks for sharing your stories - especial thanks to Mrs. Waffles, who resisted the temptation to spice the story up a bit. Next time, Mrs. Waffles, you should say that you were paddling through the Upper Amazon in a leaky canoe when the appendix crisis began. ;)
(I'm very glad of course that you got medical attention in time, as I've heard that an appendix problem can be really painful, and deteriorate really fast.)

@jimmy jazz and @Toy Revolver: feeling vulnerable because of skin colour is not good, wherever you are on the colour spectrum and I'm especially sorry that it can happen in (UK's) Birmingham. I've either been lucky or willfully blind, but I've never had that experience.

Quote from: Toy Revolver on May 07, 2023, 06:19 PMi went to nepal while they were having a civil war

i was sharing a hotel room with another tourist and he ended up in bed with a woman and i asked if they wanted privacy and they said yeah

it was pitch black outside and took much longer to find another hotel than i expected

i was walking alone in the dark for a couple hours until i found a hotel that wasn't gated up

my life actually might have been more up my alley if i had been kidnapped by the maoist revolutionaries however

maybe the real danger was finding the shelter

yeah, I remember those kind of adhoc sleeping arrangements that arise when young people are travelling on a low budget.

East and West: I thought these two extremes could go together because, as F Magellan discovered, if you go far enough West you'll end up in the East. If anyone wants a quick reminder, it works like this:-

(https://cdn.britannica.com/06/64906-050-675D6688/meridians-Facts-Lines-of-Longitude-angles-halves.jpg)

Koh Samui, an island in Thailand, was probably the furthest east I've been. West it's New York. I'd love to see more of the US.

california coast and japan coast

The furthest West I've been so far is Portland, Oregon. The furthest East I've been so far is Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Furthest west would be Los Angeles, where I visited some friends in 2019.

Furthest east would be New York City, which I have been to many times (my mom is from there), most recently being a vacation in summer 2016.

The furthest east I've been is Santorini, Greece. The furthest west is Sonoma County, California.

QuoteSantorini, Greece

nice - what did you do down there?

Quote from: Toy Revolver on May 10, 2023, 02:21 PMnice - what did you do down there?

We just hung out and wandered around all the little towns and went to the beaches with different colored sand. The room we rented had a view of the caldera that was the nicest view I've ever had from any hotel I've ever stayed in, so we also spent a lot of time hanging out in the room or on the terrace in front of it.

Quote from: Janszoon on May 10, 2023, 03:39 PMWe just hung out and wandered around all the little towns and went to the beaches with different colored sand. The room we rented had a view of the caldera that was the nicest view I've ever had from any hotel I've ever stayed in, so we also spent a lot of time hanging out in the room or on the terrace in front of it.

sounds boss af

Like several of you, the furthest West I've been is California; seems like, in terms of travelling West, the Pacific coast is still the end of the line, just like it was for these guys:-

(https://www.californiatrailcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/bfi_thumb/CaliforniaTrail_3-nps-3256sifb575cnudvpgo1nvaemgn9vi979t4o9bs1ofn637vzi.jpg)

I stayed about a week in San Fransisco, bought a second-hand cd of Live Rust by way of a souvenir, spent as much time in the City Lights bookshop as my travelling partner could tolerate, and also drove up and down the coast a fair bit.

As for East: I was very briefly in Haifa, Israel. That's on Longitude 37° East, which makes my spread across the globe 160°: no doubt beaten by Guybrush and Toy R, who have been furthur East than any of us.

For me the furthest east is Luxor, Egypt and the furthest west is Vancouver, Canada

fuck

you went to luxor

i'm jelly af

Quote from: Toy Revolver on May 11, 2023, 12:50 AMfuck

you went to luxor

i'm jelly af

Marie has been to about 80% of the world's countries.

I'd read a Marie travel journal.

#MarieOnTour

Quote from: jimmy jazz on May 11, 2023, 02:50 PMMarie has been to about 80% of the world's countries.

goddamn

i thought i had traveled a lot

what is she like secretly the prime minister of the island of lesbos or something

What no, I wish. I really haven't been to that many places, I'm sure Hawk has travelled more than I have

I can confirm Luxor is amazing though

Furthest East: Bar Harbor, Maine.

Furthest West: roughly San Francisco, California.

Quote from: Marie Monday on May 11, 2023, 07:50 PMWhat no, I wish. I really haven't been to that many places, I'm sure Hawk has travelled more than I have

I can confirm Luxor is amazing though

How many do you think you've been to?

Quote from: Marie Monday on May 11, 2023, 07:50 PMWhat no, I wish. I really haven't been to that many places, I'm sure Hawk has travelled more than I have

i've eaten more pussy too

(https://i.postimg.cc/GmnjtNSh/BA1-E913-C-B087-4-BD3-8590-8-AD036-BDCB8-B.jpg)

 :laughing:

dog pussy doesn't count, Hawk

Quote from: jimmy jazz on May 11, 2023, 08:22 PMHow many do you think you've been to?

11, counting the UK as one and only counting countries where I've at least spent the night, not just driven through

Luxor must be a fascinating place: the temples and the Valley of Kings are next to each other , I think, so I'm guessing you saw both sites, Marie.

Quote from: jimmy jazz on May 11, 2023, 08:22 PMHow many do you think you've been to?

^ Thanks for giving us a great question, jimmy jazz. :thumb:

Lists, and absolute accuracy are optional, and in fairness to people in the USA, it's probably best to count US states as countries too, because:-

(https://preview.redd.it/size-comparison-usa-outline-overlaid-over-europe-v0-2zsp44wsjjn81.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=981a0a8239bfb0164ed2afc9291574099308cefc)

[/b]

Luckily I have a pretty crazy memory for chronology and a lot of family photos to fill in the gaps, so here's my recollection, plus bonus info of when and why I first went there. First the states, of which I count 16:

Alaska (my parents' arctic cruise, 1991)
California (visiting friends, 2019)
Colorado (visiting my parents' friends, 1998)
Connecticut (visiting my grandpa, 2002)
Florida (family vacation, 1993)
Illinois (family vacation, 1999)
Indiana (visiting friends, 2009)
Iowa (visiting friends, 2009)
Maryland (family vacation, 2003)
Michigan (visiting my parents' friends, 2003)
Minnesota (family business trip, 1997)
Nevada (my parents' Vegas vacation, 1990)
New Jersey (family vacation, 2005)
New York (family vacation, 2005)
Ohio (visiting friends, 2009)
Wisconsin (my birth, 1989)

And as for countries, I've been to a whopping two:

The Bahamas (family vacation, 2000)
USA (my birth, 1989)

Phew! Kinda hard to summon that knowledge off the noggin.

lol @ dog pussy doesn't count -

QuoteUK as one and only counting countries

i think it's fair to count northern ireland and england as two different countries

Quote from: Toy Revolver on May 12, 2023, 01:44 AMlol @ dog pussy doesn't count -

i think it's fair to count northern ireland and england as two different countries

Literally neither of them are countries please do not do this. The country is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Quote from: jimmy jazz on May 12, 2023, 02:00 AMLiterally neither of them are countries please do not do this. The country is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

did y'all break away from canada yet

Quote from: Lisnaholic on May 07, 2023, 04:01 PM

Personal Safety: Where and why have you felt most at risk? 

South side of Chicago after dark and the Bronx in NYC after dark.

Their reputations speak for themselves.

^ I wonder if that's literally "after dark", which starts at approx 8 p.m. I imagine, or is it when the streets empty out, like 10 pm. I ask because in the city I live in we have two-shift schools: morning shift, 7 a.m. to 2.p.m., afternoon shift 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. So buses are full of schoolkids going home  "after dark", and it stays pretty good, fairly safe, until midnight or so.
_________________________________________

Thanks for such a full answer, Mrs. Waffles: that's an impressive number of states! I've been to about 16 countries, more-or-less, but most of them European.
________________________________________

If anyone can think of a new question for this thread, feel free to put it in, please. In the meantime , how about:

QuoteWhat has been your most spectacular experience of physical geography?

Nepal and the Himalayas
The Grand Canyon
Zion National Park
Grand Teton

and even if it's not on that same grandiose scale - kayaking through swamps and water ways into lakes and other bodies of water right here in florida- it's incredible how you can go down a little water path and suddenly it's so incredibly densely tropical with the vegetation so think - it feels like you're in the middle of brazil but you're really just a mile or so out

i also really believe in the waldon pond thing that the miracle of nature is tremendous everywhere- just watching birds and the sunrise through an oak tree in my backyard can be as rewarding as the grand canyon if you really appreciate how beautiful it is - and the sky just doing it's incredible thing everyday

fog on the water driving to work

it's everywhere

ngl though... Nepal... damn

at one spot five of the ten highest mountains on earth were all close and you could look from one ledge and see ice on top and tropical swamps below and all the transition from top to bottom

I felt so fortunate to be there. I was crying a lot because it was so beautiful.

Quote from: Lisnaholic on May 16, 2023, 03:52 PM

What has been your most spectacular experience of physical geography?
The coast, the mountain, etc. that left you, as we say in the UK, "gobsmacked"?

   

Death Valley, California. It's the only place I've ever been that truly felt like I was on another planet. Aside from the little oasis where the campground, hotel, and other amenities are located, it's 3,000 square miles (7,800 square kilometers) of dead land. The lowest parts of the valley are a salt pan. Other parts include a volcanic crater, sand dunes, canyons, and crinkled, multicolored rock hills. It's far from everything, so it also has a beautiful night sky.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Deathvalleysky_nps_big.jpg/800px-Deathvalleysky_nps_big.jpg)

Them USA deserty places look unreal.

Apparently the Atacama Desert in Chile is like something from another planet too.

Quote from: jimmy jazz on May 16, 2023, 05:19 PMThem USA deserty places look unreal.

Apparently the Atacama Desert in Chile is like something from another planet too.

I'd love to visit Chile and that's a big part of the reason why. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is another one of those alien places as well.

Quote from: Lisnaholic on May 16, 2023, 03:52 PM^ I wonder if that's literally "after dark", which starts at approx 8 p.m. I imagine, or is it when the streets empty out, like 10 pm. I ask because in the city I live in we have two-shift schools: morning shift, 7 a.m. to 2.p.m., afternoon shift 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. So buses are full of schoolkids going home  "after dark", and it stays pretty good, fairly safe, until midnight or so.   

I was thinking roughly of the nighttime hours after 10pm and into the early morning hours before daylight but I wouldn't feel particularly safe revisiting either place when it gets dark even when the sun sets earlier.

Quote from: Lisnaholic on May 16, 2023, 03:52 PM

What has been your most spectacular experience of physical geography?
The coast, the mountain, etc. that left you, as we say in the UK, "gobsmacked"?

My favorite site had to be he end of Cape Cod, Massachusetts with the snow white sand, not far from Provincetown. Other sites that impressed me were the formations in Arizona and the California coastline.

Sometimes when I've been in the countryside in the Midlands I've thought some of you lot on here would really love to see it.

I used to speak to a Greek guy and he said when he came to England it was like entering heaven. He said it was so green and lush and cool it was nothing like where he was from (think it was Crete) he said it was pretty much scorching and dry and brown all the time.

Quote from: jimmy jazz on May 17, 2023, 05:42 PMSometimes when I've been in the countryside in the Midlands I've thought some of you lot on here would really love to see it.

I used to speak to a Greek guy and he said when he came to England it was like entering heaven. He said it was so green and lush and cool it was nothing like where he was from (think it was Crete) he said it was pretty much scorching and dry and brown all the time.

Having been to both England and Crete as well as other places in the Mediterranean, I concur 🙂

Driving up along the English south, I thought it would be the cliffs in the southeast that would make the biggest impression, but for us it was actually Cornwall, Dartmoor and New Forest that stood out the most.

I'm sure there's lots and lots more to see for us in England.

QuoteWhat has been your most spectacular experience of physical geography?
The coast, the mountain, etc. that left you, as we say in the UK, "gobsmacked"?

This may stretch the definition of "geography" but I used to do a lot of rooftop stargazing with my then-best friend back in 2007-2008 right in between high school and college. I lived in the middle of a wooded forest at the time but there was a specific spot on the roof where the treetops were sparser that gave us a great view of the stars with very little artificial light to detract from the beauty. We would go up there just after sunset, throw on some Smashing Pumpkins and blaze up. I remember always being overwhelmed by the beauty of the night sky on those nights and it makes me miss being 18 and full of emotional wonder.

So I guess geographically it would just be on top of the house I was living in at the time. Just goes to show that seeing familiar places in different contexts can turn the mundane into the breathtakingly beautiful.

Quote from: Guybrush on May 18, 2023, 10:29 AMHaving been to both England and Crete as well as other places in the Mediterranean, I concur 🙂

Driving up along the English south, I thought it would be the cliffs in the southeast that would make the biggest impression, but for us it was actually Cornwall, Dartmoor and New Forest that stood out the most.

I'm sure there's lots and lots more to see for us in England.

My cousins live down in Cornwall, I've been there once but I was too young to remember it. I remember I ate prawn crackers. I'd definitely like to go again, it's a unique place with real character and identity. Good if you like ice cream too.

Quote from: jimmy jazz on May 17, 2023, 05:42 PMSometimes when I've been in the countryside in the Midlands I've thought some of you lot on here would really love to see it.

I used to speak to a Greek guy and he said when he came to England it was like entering heaven. He said it was so green and lush and cool it was nothing like where he was from (think it was Crete) he said it was pretty much scorching and dry and brown all the time.

I've never been to the Midlands, but I remember being struck by how green England was when I went to Castle Combe way down south.

Yes, with some of the most attractive parts of Britain, it's easy to guess where Tolkien got his inspiration for The Shire from.

Thanks for the all interesting answers to the gobsmacking question; I like how they range from the genuinely spectacular to the acknowledgement that, in an appreciative mood, even modest achievements of geography are awe-inspiring.

My own experiences fall into the latter category: not the world's most fabulous, but very memorable to me:

i) Climbing to top of The Langdale Pikes: both of the knobbly tops in the middle of the pic. Height: 2,400 ft. (735m) in the Cumbria district of Northern England, I was there on a day very much like the photo, with clouds threatening from the exact same direction. They kept getting darker and closer, so we hurried down from the hills pretty fast. We got back to the valley, found a local bus, and were only in it about 3 mins when a torrential rain started up. Being inside and dry has never felt so good, before or since.

(https://www.amblesideadventure.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/langdale-pikes-guided-walk1-665x362.jpg)

ii) My brush with the African Continent: during a sleepless night in Morocco, I climbed onto the roof of a hotel ; the only hotel in Amizmiz, a village in the Atlas Mountains. With no light pollution, it was rather like the sky that you describe, Mrs. Waffles, with a complete, clear and obvious Milky Way. About 4 a.m. the sound of insects was interupted by the hoofbeats of a donkey: a lone guy making his slow journey, because that day was market day in the village. Then I watched as the sun changed the sky and slowly painted these mountains pink: starting from the very top, and moving down their flanks until it was just ordinary daylight again:

(https://live.staticflickr.com/806/27541497938_1a13e74d88_b.jpg)

On the topic of hills,

(https://i.postimg.cc/d0DXFt3v/B6-AF7-BC6-93-FF-4-A7-D-A96-E-160-D4-C8-D50-F8.jpg)

the annapurna base camp

me and an australian dude and his girlfriend actually went up a bit higher because he said it was safer to sleep at the high altitude if you were actually a little lower than your highest point

i used to think we reached 4500 meters which is higher than anything in the continental us but checking just now i don't think that's true but we were way the hell up there

all the honkeys had at least some sort of altitude sickness or at least some kind of mental weirdness- we were smoking weed on top of it - i remember this kid like 10-12 years old came up to us on the trek and was trying to make a buck - he said he could get batteries or new socks or gloves and someone asked him about weed - that someone ended up giving him a five dollar bill and the kid disappeared with it - we sat around resting and waited to see if he would come back and he did with like an ounce of decent buds with no baggie or anything he was just carrying it in his hands - the guy didn't even take all of it but it kept us all plenty high for the rest of the trek

but during the first night at the base camp this japanese dude - and he was plenty tough i had gotten to know him - he was traveling the world and told me about iran and how people hated americans there and he got arrested by the chinese government for going into some kind of forbidden zone in tibet but they kept in a nice hotel instead of a jail but he couldn't leave for 3 days - but he got altitude sickness during the night and really went into a panic and these nepali dudes were like listen dude we'll carry you to a lower elevation but it's not our favorite course of action in the dead of night so please try to get some deep breaths and calm down - he ended up managing to chill - listening to the interaction was a kind of unnerving

unlike the picture above the ground was covered in hard pack snow then - it was something to be in the snow that far south

it was also insane to be that high up and only half way to top of those mountains

the people there to actually climb to the top were a different breed for sure

they were loud and drinking like crazy, singing songs and spending lots of money buying rounds and dropping big tips - the nepali workers stayed at their beck and call

Probably in the Colorado Rockies past Denver on I-70. Something like 8000 feet at one point

Leadville, Colorado for me. It's the highest incorporated city in the United States.

This question, more than most, cries out for a ranking, if that's ok with you guys: a not-serious competition which I'm sure TR will win:-

Annupurna base camp: 4, 130 m
Colorado Rockies: 2,438 m.
Leadville, Colorado: 1, 096 m

With repeat visits over about 7 winters, I got to know these villages in the Austrian Alps pretty well. Chairlift to the top of the main mountain took you to
1, 900 m. Sometimes very cold, very exposed on the last section, when you'd come into a zone of cross-winds that wasn't operating lower down the slopes.

(https://www.powderhounds.com/site/DefaultSite/filesystem/images/Europe/Austria/Alpbach/alpbachtaltrailmap.jpg)(https://www.snow-forecast.com/system/images/8614/large/DSC_5438-alpbach.jpg?1619607046)

I've also arrived in Mexico City by plane: it's technically higher, but because it had a warm, city environment, you don't get much sense of height. But the road south out of Mexico City rises to 2,400 m before going downhill for a long, long time. The descent is spectacular, especially for a Brit, I think. The bus goes downhill through huge hills: you reach what you think is the valley floor, and go horizontally for half an hour, before you realise that you've only arrived at the top of a new valley system, and down you go again. That repeats about 4 times, down and down and down in a way you just can't imagine in England.   

@ TR: That's very interesting to hear your first-hand account about the various strange people who end up at the base camp of a mountain. You bare out the impression I have gained from reading several mountaineering books: a kind of rough cameraderie between an international elite of cool people, but with some testosterone-fuelled rivalry not far below the surface. Is that how it felt to you?

Also, my interest in going to a height where you risk some possibly fatal health issues is about zero. I prefer to do serious mountaineering from an armchair. It's a lot more comfortable, though I once knocked over a cup of very hot tea and could've sustained a nasty burn. ;)

Highest mountain I've ever been to the top of is Mount Washington in New Hampshire...

Mount Washington (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Washington)



Highest elevation I've ever been is Westcliffe, Colorado...

Westcliffe, Colorado (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westcliffe,_Colorado)

Quote from: Lisnaholic on May 21, 2023, 05:51 PM@ TR: That's very interesting to hear your first-hand account about the various strange people who end up at the base camp of a mountain. You bare out the impression I have gained from reading several mountaineering books: a kind of rough cameraderie between an international elite of cool people, but with some testosterone-fuelled rivalry not far below the surface. Is that how it felt to you?

i met the people i was loosely hooked up with on the trek in pokhara, which is like a little resort town, i guess, in nepal

i mentioned before nepal was in a civil war so tourists were discouraged, but not forbidden, to do the trek alone

i was paying for the adventure with money i earned teaching english in korea and i was trying to latch on to these korean tourists who were making the trek because i wanted to practice my korean and i had hiked a lot in korea - so i was kind of into their hiking culture

but maybe they didn't trust me or i was harshing their mellow or whatever and i was in a bar talking with that australian dude telling him about it and he was like crikey just come with us mate - there were like ten loosely grouped people there - including the concert guitarist from seattle and a czech dude who spoke six languages and his swedish girlfriend

but i was the oldest and only like 28-29 but most of them were gap year kids whose parents were treating them to an around the world look at the world before paying for college

but even the difference between 18-19 and 28-29 was something physically but the swedish woman slowed them down a bit and that made it possible for me to keep up

they were kind of dicks to her letting her fall far enough behind to be completely out of sight so we kind of buddied-up

when i tried to talk to them about they needed to not leave her alone out there they said "slowing your pace is just as difficult as speeding up"

i was like ... ?

there were other females in our group but they were faster than me as well

the australian dude was the one who kind of decided we were a pack and he was super kind - honestly, i've always felt like australians are really good people in general

but to answer your question about the real climbers at the base camp  i actually didn't get to know any of them but i felt like comparatively they were rude to the nepali people but like i said they were dropping real bills which i'm sure meant more than my pleases and thankyous

Quote from: Lisnaholic on May 21, 2023, 04:13 AMYes, with some of the most attractive parts of Britain, it's easy to guess where Tolkien got his inspiration for The Shire from.

Was Birmingham (Lickey Hills, Moseley Bog and Sarehole Mill). Some of the places in the books exist in the city.

When I read The Hobbit I noticed things written in regional dialect. There are characters in it that are based on people from Birmingham as well.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampson_Gamgee

More info here - https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/nov/13/guided-walk-tolkien-original-shire-sarehole-birmingham-hobbiton

https://www.warm-welcome.co.uk/blog/tolkien-and-birmingham

There should be something to encourage tourists to come to these places, like a LOTR theme park or something but as far as I know we don't have anything like that but there is one in New Zealand. Seems a bit of a waste and a shame.

^ That's all news to me, jimmy jazz ! I thought this link of yours was particularly interesting :-

https://www.warm-welcome.co.uk/blog/tolkien-and-birmingham

I'd always assumed that Tolkien's inspiration was just a more general rural Englishness, perhaps based on Oxfordshire. (I once drove past the house he lived in, on the outskirts of Oxford; actually, went past it several times as it was on the bus route into town.)

Quote from: Toy Revolver on May 21, 2023, 06:30 PMi met the people i was loosely hooked up with on the trek in pokhara, which is like a little resort town, i guess, in nepal

...and i was in a bar talking with that australian dude telling him about it and he was like crikey just come with us mate - there were like ten loosely grouped people there - including the concert guitarist from seattle and a czech dude who spoke six languages and his swedish girlfriend

but i was the oldest and only like 28-29 but most of them were gap year kids whose parents were treating them to an around the world look at the world before paying for college

but even the difference between 18-19 and 28-29 was something physically but the swedish woman slowed them down a bit and that made it possible for me to keep up

they were kind of dicks to her letting her fall far enough behind to be completely out of sight so we kind of buddied-up

when i tried to talk to them about they needed to not leave her alone out there they said "slowing your pace is just as difficult as speeding up"

i was like ... ?

there were other females in our group but they were faster than me as well

the australian dude was the one who kind of decided we were a pack and he was super kind - honestly, i've always felt like australians are really good people in general

but to answer your question about the real climbers at the base camp  i actually didn't get to know any of them but i felt like comparatively they were rude to the nepali people but like i said they were dropping real bills which i'm sure meant more than my pleases and thankyous

Yeah, it's funny how the social dynamics of a group of travellers work out then disintegrate as people go their separate ways again. A pair of characters I met by chance were examples of what A Koestler once described: "Some people in life are automatically led to the best table in the restaurant". They were two very cool Germans who acted like leaders and were accepted as such, as a few of us explored a city in Morocco, then all agreed to get a bus to the next city down the line. Hotel, street or restaurant, they would decide between themselves in German, then advise me and a few others in English that was clear, but shorn of nuance, "We go here": it could've been an order, a suggestion or an invitation, I never really worked out which. But they were nice guys and we hung around with them for a few days, impressed by the confidence with which one of them strode down the street brandishing an old-fashioned cane, and also by the quantity of cannabis that they once negotiated over. Only time in my life that I've seen slabs of the stuff the size of paperback books.

I also met Bill, an Australian who was quiet, carried a guitar with him, and played his own acoustic emo compositions, though that term was a long way from being coined. He was kind of on the edge of a group of more party-orientated Aussies who I think found him a bit of an embarrassment. About seven of us had met up at a Greek campsite when we were hired one day by the same farmer to pick oranges. So after a few days of working, we all rented a house together for about 6 weeks, getting up at dawn and piling into the back of a farmer's truck for a day in the orchards. Bill and I got on pretty well together, probably both thinking, "Here's another ineffectual whingey screw-up like me". :laughing: 

that all sounds really cool

i don't know if i'll ever travel abroad again but i have a fantasy of taking the bus all the way to mexico city and just see what happens

Quote from: Toy Revolver on May 22, 2023, 02:23 AMthat all sounds really cool

i don't know if i'll ever travel abroad again but i have a fantasy of taking the bus all the way to mexico city and just see what happens

Thanks, TR ! That bus trip would be a real adventure! The details in this song are a bit adrift for your circumstance, but you get the idea:

___________________________________________________


Not all of us can write like Dylan, but many of us have had moments of travelling, arriving and departing that have stuck in our minds for one reason or another.

when i moved from portland to seattle my friends had a party for me - which i didn't want because i think it's bad luck or maybe just embarrassing if you return too quickly - but i also worked the night before the move - well all my coworkers were at the party including my relief at work - it was a job caring for people with traumatic brain injuries and the past 10 PM shift was just one person me and then at midnight i was stuck there because my relief was shitfaced at my party - i called the manager and was like look technically i don't even work here anymore but she didn't show until around 1:30 AM and then had the audacity to bitch at me when i was like goddamnit- she took the manager job not me - it was her responsibility but she acted like it was a favor instead of me staying an extra hour an a half as the favor - it was a job that would've put people's lives at risk if i just left-

i had to pick up and load the uhaul and drive to seattle all the next day but of course the party was still raging full on at the flop house i living in back then - a place where i had some of the best times of my life - so naturally i got rip roaring fucked up and the party carried on until dawn

this one girl, who was so beautiful btw like as beautiful as any woman alive beautiful at least for my taste, and super smart - we'd had sex a few times too - it was beyond belief- like physically she was so out of my league but anyway she was the only one who helped me load up this uhaul- and i only needed a little van but all they had was this giant ass truck - like practically as big as a fucking 18 wheeler

this is way before gps so i was just using a paper map to get there to my newly rekindled college girlfriend's house that was in the university district if you happen to know anything about seattle

so all that totally fucking exhausted i drove that fucking huge truck on no sleep hungover af if not actually still drunk but i was young and managed it

then my girlfriend who was in sales / food distribution was on the phone when i got there and totally ignored me for hours - i get she was working but still it really hurt my feelings although in hindsight i think i was being selfish considering she was paying for that nice crib in a hip area in an expensive city and sales with restaurants is high intensity af - but i was tired and immature and wanted a welcome blowjob asap but ended up just jerking off and going to sleep

not the greatest story but it's the best i could think of

My most memorable arrival might be that time when my family was flying home from NYC in summer 2005. I got food poisoning from some hole in the wall restaurant earlier that day and I literally barfed right on the plane. Some granny in the adjacent row freaked out and yelled at me, as if I wasn't having a bad enough day already. Makes me steaming mad just remembering it. My dad picked us up from the airport and he was met with a 16 year old with vomit stains all over her favorite My Chemical Romance t-shirt.

You said most memorable, not best, haha.

i had a bad flu and puked in the barf bag once

the flight attendant was really sweet about it

I'm glad you had a better experience then I did! I remember it came on very suddenly right when I was sure I was feeling okay, and even if we had a barf bag (I don't remember if there even was one, it was a small cheapo flight from Chicago to Madison so the plane might not have had such a luxury item, lol) I don't think there would have been any time to avoid the wrath of teenage Mrs. Waffles's stomach. I wanted to go to the bathroom but we were descending right as it came on.

On the plus side the rest of that vacation was fun! I got to see Tim Curry in Spamalot on Broadway, and it was my first time in NYC so I saw a lot of the sights.

Quote from: Lisnaholic on May 25, 2023, 08:24 PM

What have been your most memorable arrivals /departures?

I have two.

I was in line for a flight and this woman showed up to the gate super late to check in. Unfortunately for her, the flight was overbooked, and because she arrived late, there was no seat available for her. An annoying situation for her, no doubt, but her reaction was to flip out on the airline employees, run past them onto the plane, and refused to leave. The state police were called and she was removed in handcuffs, but all of this took a long time, which meant the plane departed late, I missed my connection, and I subsequently had to spend a long time hanging out in the St. Louis airport.

The other story is this: I was flying from Chicago to Boston. I got to the airport early, went through security, and was just hanging out in an empty seating area when I looked at my boarding pass and realized that I had a middle seat. I went up to the podium and asked the airline employee if I could switch it to a window seat, he did a quick search on his computer, and happily changed it for me. I sat back down and waited for the boarding announcement, but after a while I noticed something strange: everyone around me was speaking Spanish. At first I thought I had just happened to sit next to people who were Spanish speakers, but it really was everyone. Confused, I looked at the destination info by the gate and realized this flight wasn't bound for Boston, it was bound for Mexico City. I had sat in a random seating area and promptly forgotten this wasn't actually my gate. Since I talked to the guy at that gate, he had assumed I was supposed to be flying to Mexico and given me a Mexico City boarding pass. Anyway, I went up and told him and he fixed it, but I was really happy that I realized all of this before I actually boarded the plane and accidentally flew to Mexico.

Quote from: Toy Revolver on May 22, 2023, 02:23 AMthat all sounds really cool

i don't know if i'll ever travel abroad again but i have a fantasy of taking the bus all the way to mexico city and just see what happens

I literally have a similar fantasy: arriving in Mexico City, renting a crummy apartment in some ungentrified neighborhood and just living there as the weird gringo

Probably stems from reading way too much William S. Burroughs as a teenager in my case. Never been to Latin America, don't speak spanish etc 

I don't have any wild stories about travelling really, but these things have struck in my mind:-

i) airplanes usually go up, then come back down again, but if you are flying to Costa Rica, this curious thing happens: your plane goes up, but then, as you approach San José Airport you only descend about six inches because the airport, pushed up on its mountains, has instead risen up to meet your airplane at its cruising altitude. It's a weird feeling.

ii) a journey I grew to dislike was travelling by train overnight between the UK and Germany: there's nothing much to see, just lots of transfers (train/ferry/more trains) so you never get any proper sleep. After suffering the trip several times, I improved it by taking a small bottle of brandy along with me: when you're waiting on a platform at 3 a.m. in the bitter cold, a slug of brandy can do wonders for the flagging spirit.

Two unusual vehicles I remember:-

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/San_Francisco_Cable_Car_on_California_Street.jpg)

I was so intrigued by these San Francisco cable cars that I bought a book about them: lots of pics, and how they work. They are very attractive and thankfully are still proper commute vehicles for city residents.

(https://graynaldoworldnews.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/hoverspeed-craft-on-water.jpg)

For its docking manouvre, the hovercraft I was on had to do a U-turn, except that a hovercraft doesn't need a turning circle at all: it can just rotate round on its own centre-point without going anywhere.
____________________________

I think this thread is coming to its end, isn't it? Just one last question to give it a tidy conclusion: we started with our most northerly limits, so we can finish with:-

The most southerly place I've ever visited is Miami Beach in Florida. 8)

The Everglades and the Keys are both on my list of places to visit the next time I'm in Florida. Both are further south from Miami Beach.

Some places on the approx same latitude as Miami Beach: Durango, Western Sahara, Egypt, Qatar, Karachi, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Okinawa.

Yeah, I've never been to The Florida Keys either, but I like the way they trail off until you're presumably left wondering, "Am I really on land anymore?"

(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS8N6PTemBGotAiw-mh0pqvxgWzQ_-hdVvT_g&usqp=CAU)

Quote from: Lisnaholic on Jun 10, 2023, 04:24 PM

What is the most southerly place you have ever visited?

Mine's not very far south: Kingston, Jamaica. It was part of a trip to several parts of the island to visit some of my wife's family and her best friend. The whole thing was a great experience, because since we were staying with and visiting locals, we got to see and do a lot of non-touristy things.

^ I can imagine that that was a memorable experience, and different, as you say, from the tourist version. Tourism is almost always intent on serving you up the stereotypes of the country and is often pretty dull, imo.
Here's a non-tourist experience I had on my third-ever day in Mexico: I was staying with a couple and their 10-year-old son. On this afternoon he  wanted to buy some fireworks that were being sold locally, according to the rumours at his school: his parents said it was ok but didn't want him to go on his own, so I was nominated as guardian. With zero Spanish and no idea where I was going, I followed this boy around some dusty streets while he was going up to various houses and presumably asking, "Is this where they are selling the illegal fireworks?"  :laughing:   

Most Southerly point I've ever reached is Costa Rica, which is at Latitude 10° North, or 600 miles north of the Equator.
So, I've never been to the southern hemisphere and would have no bragging rights with even the humblest of cabin boys from the heyday of the Natucket whaling industry. This is the 1820 voyage of The Essex, the whaling ship that inspired Melville to write Moby Dick.

(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AbA9AEkyCEM/TVs1rt4N6FI/AAAAAAAAByk/ESFUQ-N8VVc/s1600/hs_map_sm1.jpg)

Those guys went about as far south as you can go, then half-way across the Pacific too. That's an impressive breadth of vision when the technology of the day was not sattelites and airplanes, but rope, wind and canvas. (*put "bowdown" emoji*)

Oh I thought I posted in this thread already.

The northern most I've been is Thompson, Canada. The southern most I've been is Belize. I tried to post the map but I don't know how to embed it here.

Quote from: robhr on Jun 20, 2023, 09:36 PMOh I thought I posted in this thread already.

The northern most I've been is Thompson, Canada. The southern most I've been is Belize. I tried to post the map but I don't know how to embed it here.

My gran was from Belize.

What did you make of it?

Quote from: jimmy jazz on Jun 20, 2023, 10:21 PMMy gran was from Belize.

What did you make of it?

Neat, my mother and all her siblings are from Belize. They's Mennonites from the Orange Walk area. Blue Creek to be specific.

It was pleasant, I enjoyed the Mayan ruins.

The second time we went was for the 2000 new years and we went to a church get together where they were all talking about how it's the end of the world now and revelations was about to begin. Looks like it didn't pan out.

Most southerly place would be the Bahamas. I went on a family cruise there in August 2000. The cruise was fun, I sang "All Star" by Smash Mouth (before Shrek ruined that song for everyone) at karaoke and was pretty well received, and in the Bahamas themselves I bought a wooden charm from a young kid around my age that I still have to this day.

Quote from: robhr on Jun 20, 2023, 11:33 PMNeat, my mother and all her siblings are from Belize. They's Mennonites from the Orange Walk area. Blue Creek to be specific.

It was pleasant, I enjoyed the Mayan ruins.

The second time we went was for the 2000 new years and we went to a church get together where they were all talking about how it's the end of the world now and revelations was about to begin. Looks like it didn't pan out.

Oh shit we could be related lad.

I cannot Belize it!

I never visited and my nan died the other year. My uncle just moved back there though. Maybe one day I will visit the motherland 8)

Quote from: jimmy jazz on Jun 20, 2023, 11:42 PMOh shit we could be related lad.

I cannot Belize it!

I never visited and my nan died the other year. My uncle just moved back there though. Maybe one day I will visit the motherland 8)

Oh hey crazy. That's pretty awesome.

Yeah, that's a real coincidence! Clearly, you are both related to each other!

This is what I remember about Belize:-
- Lots of nature: jungle, beach and aquatic life in the extraordinary water of the Caribbean.
- The people of Belize have two types of English: one that they use to speak to visitors, and another incomprehensible version that they use to speak among themselves
- There is so much hardwood in the country that where we expect to find chipboard or some cheap timber, they use solid mahogany, like for kitchen cabinets etc.
- Probably the season, place or time of day, but in Belize I encountered the most, and the most aggressive, mosquitos I have ever been bitten by: clouds of them settled on my legs, even though I was cycling at a fair pace that would have dislodged Mexican mosquitos. 

Quote from: Lisnaholic on Jun 21, 2023, 02:15 AMYeah, that's a real coincidence! Clearly, you are both related to each other!

This is what I remember about Belize:-
- Lots of nature: jungle, beach and aquatic life in the extraordinary water of the Caribbean.
- The people of Belize have two types of English: one that they use to speak to visitors, and another incomprehensible version that they use to speak among themselves
- There is so much hardwood in the country that where we expect to find chipboard or some cheap timber, they use solid mahogany, like for kitchen cabinets etc.
- Probably the season, place or time of day, but in Belize I encountered the most, and the most aggressive, mosquitos I have ever been bitten by: clouds of them settled on my legs, even though I was cycling at a fair pace that would have dislodged Mexican mosquitos. 

I didn't have such a hard time with the mosquitoes but I'm from Winnipeg so I'm used to the worst.

Quote from: Lisnaholic on Jun 21, 2023, 02:15 AMYeah, that's a real coincidence! Clearly, you are both related to each other!

This is what I remember about Belize:-
- Lots of nature: jungle, beach and aquatic life in the extraordinary water of the Caribbean.
- The people of Belize have two types of English: one that they use to speak to visitors, and another incomprehensible version that they use to speak among themselves
- There is so much hardwood in the country that where we expect to find chipboard or some cheap timber, they use solid mahogany, like for kitchen cabinets etc.
- Probably the season, place or time of day, but in Belize I encountered the most, and the most aggressive, mosquitos I have ever been bitten by: clouds of them settled on my legs, even though I was cycling at a fair pace that would have dislodged Mexican mosquitos. 

What is the incomprehensible version like? My nan just had a Caribbean accent, I'd say there were some Spanish words that came in a bit but not much. They do all speak Spanish but English is their first language. They are more Hispanic than Caribbean I'd say. Is the local English more like a version of Patois?

Yes, jimmy jazz, on this clip they call it pidgin English, which I guess is a type of creole or patois:

Quote from: Lisnaholic on Jun 22, 2023, 04:49 AMYes, jimmy jazz, on this clip they call it pidgin English, which I guess is a type of creole or patois:

That's pretty similar to Jamaican Patois. My wife says "cho" a lot. lol

Nice thanks. Yes the accent sounds like my nan RIP. Not the words or phrases though.

I Just stumbled across this video while I was on YouTube. I've driven through parts of Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado and there's definitely some very remote and amazing scenery to be experienced in those places.


Top 15 Emptiest Parts of the U.S. 

The most northern place I have been is the Isle of Skye in Scotland and the most southern would be Cancun in Mexico.

I've mostly been on loads of little trips to Europe. My favourite thing is to go on a cheap city break.

Hey! I've been to both of those places, FETCHER! I once spent a magical week on the Isle of Skye, and did some modest exploration of the Cuillins. I still remember, on the Scottish mainland, waiting to board the Isle of Skye ferry and humming Mull Of Kintyre to myself!

As for Cancun, it's not so far from where I live now, though I only visit the place when I have to. It has a great beach, of course, but for me, it's too much of a big, car-centric city. I wonder if you were in the town itself or the hotel zone? In the last ten years or so, the town especially has been getting a reputation as not being a safe place; the lure of so many tourist dollars have brought in a lot of criminals, cartels, etc.