Apr 252017
 

Getting to this rather creepy door was an adventure in itself. I’ve told you about the 8 hour boat ride, with no food, we were tricked into to reach the island.  To get to this spot, we needed to rent a motorbike. It wasn’t long before we realized that our singular mode of transport was running on fumes, but we’d been assured that there was a gas station on the way out of town. We set off, focused on the right side of the road where the gas station was promised. This resulted in a traumatic moment for my pillion passenger who suddenly gasped. She’d had just laid eyes on a dog being butchered, at the market, by the side of the road. Taken aback by this discovery, our concentration on fuel diminished and soon signs of civilization were beginning to die out.

At this point, we decided we’d be better off running out of gas in the town than in the jungle so we turned back. At this point, we found the gas station quickly, on the opposite side of the street from where we were told it would be. Once we were fueled up, we set off into the wilderness and before we knew it, we had spotted the entrance to the cave that housed the Vietnam War era military hospital used by the Viet Cong.

Across the street was an attentive attendant prepared to charge us for using their parking lot. He was a short stout older man, wearing an old military style jacket.  After experience visiting the Mausoleums outside Hue, we were expecting an aggressive pushy greeting. Instead, we were greeted with a smile and a laugh as he asked if we were going to visit the cave. We said yes and he told us we could either pay for parking or come in for a coffee and park for free. This was perfect as I had already spotted the opportunity for delicious Vietnamese Coffee and was going to sit down anyway. We drank our coffee and the same man came over to say we should go up to the cave as a tour-guide was going up and they would turn on the lights. He wanted us to get the chance to see it in the dark, and then get to see it with the lights on.

So, there we were, standing at this creepy metal door, peering into the darkness. We stepped in and waited for a moment for our eyes to adjust. They didn’t, but we pressed on anyway. Soon enough the lights came on, but it was still a pretty creepy place. If you come back tomorrow you can see what it looks like on the inside.

creepy rusty door to concrete bunker in a cave viet cong military hospital on cat ba island

 

Apr 242017
 

Even though the Chateau was closed for renovations (seemingly indefinitely), it was still nice wandering around this small town in Provence, France. I took this photo, carefully framing it to avoid the cars parked in front of the clocktower. Then I turned and walked into an artist’s gallery just behind me. The first thing I saw was a painting of the same scene with almost an identical composition.

clocktower in ansouis provence quaint medieval french village

Apr 232017
 

I’ve spent some time this weekend working on photos from inside the Paradise Cave in Vietnam’s Phtong Nha national park. In doing so I’ve realized just how long it’s taking me to get through all my photos from Vietnam. I was there in 2014!

I like the stalagmite in the foreground, it looks like a melted candle.

paradise cave stalgamtites stalagtites and columns in phong nha vietnam

Apr 222017
 

It was a fairly long walk from Vernazza to Monterosso al Mare up and down along the Italian coastline. When I arrived the first thing I did was sit down in a small cafe above this beach to enjoy parma ham and cantaloupe with a big bottle of water. It was while eating there that I discovered that wasps are attracted to ham. This would be confirmed a couple days later as I tucked into the same lunch in a different location.

the beach at monterosso al mare with church and castle on hill and blue and wihte umbrellas and lounger chairs and bathers

Apr 212017
 

I actually have no idea where this is exactly. I was completely lost when I stumbled upon this square. If I were to try to look it up I suppose I could start with the Hotel Codega.

I’ve been planning vacations for the year and right now I’m thinking I will spend a week hiking Hadrian’s Wall in August and then go on a seven day trek of the Paine Circuit in Patagonia.

pretty residential piazza in venice italy hotel codega

Apr 172017
 

I had a lot of company while taking pictures in the small harbor of Vernazza. During the day the town feels a bit overrun by tourists, but then at night it seems to all shut down with only a few visitors actually staying in the town.

colourful small fishing boats in tiny harbour of vernazza with church and square in background cinque terre italy travel

Apr 162017
 

During my stay in Aix-en-Provence I went on a drive to a number of small villages nearby. I stopped in this village, which has a chateau at the top of the hill. Unfortunately, the Chateau was closed for renovations but I still enjoyed wandering around the town.

quaint french house with green shutters in chateau d'ansoius in provence france