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Margarita Island Venezuela

October 29, 2019 by David Herd

Margarita Island Venezuela

Margarita Island Venezuela

Margarita Island Venezuela & Caracas in 2001, digital cameras were very ordinary in those days so my apologies for the poor quality of the photos. 2001 was another frantic year for travel, two trips to Thailand & around the world via Spain, Venezuela & Los Angeles.

Caracas

Margarita Island Venezuela I wasn’t too impressed with Caracas, after a couple of days there I headed for Margarita Island. Above is the view from my hotel of the city & the surrounding mountains.

One of the best steaks I have ever eaten.

Margarita Island Venezuela It was Argentinian beef & I went back another night for a repeat. I was travelling with Les Scheffer back when we were good friends, it’s now 2020 & I have been on his blacklist for the last 5 or 6 years. 🙂

I’m sorry to sat Les passed away in March 2020, RIP.

I had arranged to meet a couple of ladies 

Margarita Island VenezuelaThrough an internet dating site, they were very nice & a lot of fun.

Margarita Island

Margarita Island Venezuela Margarita Island is part of Venezuela, & lies in the Caribbean Sea 40 kilometers north of the mainland. It’s a very popular holiday destination.

View from our hotel

Margarita Island Venezuela Porlamar is the favored haunt of holidaying Venezuelans and is full of glitzy shops, huge hotels and beach bars. 

We hired a car to check out the island

Margarita Island Venezuela Most people live, or stay, on the eastern peninsula, home to the cities of Pampatar, Porlamar and La Asuncion.

Hotel Hesperia Isla Margarita

Margarita Island VenezuelaA luxury hotel in the middle of nowhere. 🙂 Use this link for a discounted room rate.

I was lucky enough to meet Astrid.

Margarita Island Venezuela

Nice lady with a great personality.

In those days I was smoking.

Margarita Island VenezuelaIt was about 2 years later in 2003 when I finally quit for good.

Two American girls

Margarita Island Venezuela A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. 🙂

Margarita Island Venezuela

Margarita Island VenezuelaI shouted one of the locals a coke. 🙂

Farewell from Venezuela

Margarita Island VenezuelaThanks for visiting my Margarita Island Venezuela photo blog.

Paradise Gone Rack and Ruin

Margarita Island Venezuela Here is an article on Margarita Island Venezuela written on May 5th 2019.

 Zagreb Croatia                      Rio de Janeiro                  Brisbane River 

Zagreb Croatia bars restaurants        a7ff7566-9628-434d-a2b1-8c6e8b9a9021       IMG_0100

       

     Koh Samui                                   Korea                                  London

32780a6c-baf6-428a-bd71-68b1bed30b4c         Changdeokgung Palace (2)        IMG_7042

         Bangkok                                   Osaka                                     Pattaya

Soi Cowboy (25)          Osaka 1st night (17)       Walking St Pattaya is wild & sexy 

                                     

             Chiang Mai                      Pattaya                      Chao Phraya river

Chiang Mai with Tone9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1)191de3bb-38fc-45cd-bce7-ef24081c554b

Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037          b1c99886-3940-4dda-b350-44c5e5c77e41
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That’s all folks

1g Duck

Check out these great food photo blogs.

 

Counter only started June 16 2020.

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Chris Lockwood world wanderer

May 30, 2016 by David Herd

Our intrepid traveller

Chris Lockwood world wanderer

Chris Lockwood world wanderer

 Chris Lockwood world wanderer over the years has been given many names, The claw & Dr Evil are two of the most popular, “Chick Magnet not quite as much. 🙂

An accomplished cricketer in his younger days in Sydney he was opening bat in a team captained by Tony Greig. After taking a spectacular slips catch off Greig’s bowling Tony shouted his praise but couldn’t remember Chris’s name so he labelled him “The Claw”.

Dr Evil is the name laid on him by yours truly the FiveStarVagabond. 🙂

The main purpose of this blog is to preserve his hilarious comments from his 2016 South American adventure. He is not big on photographs but writes a brilliant letter.

 Machu Picchu

Chris Lockwood world wanderer

The quintessential Machu Picchu pose.

March 13 2016.
Been trying to send this for a few days without success – can’t connect to iinet – going with plan b (there’s no plan c).
 
Buenos Nachos,  amigos.  Reached Buenos Aires after a long haul without any dramas. The clever guys at Port airport put me straight through even though it involved three flights booked on two separate tickets with two different airlines. Had three seats to myself next to the window on the longest leg, and then a window seat over the Andes – spectacular. I went straight through customs and then my bag was right in front of me when I got to the carousel. I thought to myself that my luck couldn’t continue – and I was right. Three ATMs rejected my card at the airport,  the banks were closed and there were no money exchangers. I went to the pre-paid taxi booth without a peso to my name – fortunately they took $ US. Then made a goose of myself with reception when I couldn’t open the hotel front door;  and then when I finally did find an ATM that would work, I withdrew what I thought was the equivalent of $200 only to find the $ symbol is also the symbol for the peso. I ended up with about $20 and paid almost as much again in ATM fees, charges, etc – rookie mistake. Then set a new record for getting off a hop on hop off bus when I was advised the English translation wasn’t working.
 
Met the rest of crew on my first trip last night after having spent two days in Argentina.  Our leaders name is Liza – she’s from Argentina,  and her English is such that if I listen very carefully I can understand every third word. She organised a team meeting for 7pm last night, followed by a group dinner (which was fabulous) for 8.30pm. I’m going to have to learn the Spanish for “sweetheart,  I’m in bed and sound asleep by 8.30pm!”. There are 8 of us on this trip – a couple and another guy from Canada, and five Aussies. There are five blokes and three girls, and I know you’ll ask Spo, so I’ll tell you now we’ve all been touched by the ugly stick – with some being absolutely hammered by it (repeatedly). As a whole, my overall impression of the group is that it falls somewhere between tepid and lacklustre.
 
Which brings me to my roommate,  John – from ‘south of Sydney’. I saw John checking in and although I didn’t know who he was at the time, I immediately pegged him as a pain in the arse. After having now spent five minutes in his company I have had to upgrade his status to that of complete and utter dickhead. He was moved into my room while I was out, and promptly took over. He has enough gear to have sunk the Titanic without the need to have involved the iceberg,  and it was spread over every inch of floor space. He was sitting at the only desk in the room typing on his computer, wearing nothing but his jocks – and had cables all over the room charging every piece of electrical equipment known to man.  And I don’t want to even talk about all the reggies hanging up in the bathroom.  And the trip hadn’t even started. Nonetheless,  being the enlightened individual that I am, I could have handled all that – except he just won’t shut the hell up – his gums haven’t stopped flapping from the moment I met him. He’s been there, done that, and knows friggin’ everything.  And to top it all off, last night he snored like a trooper and I had no sleep. He’s apparently married,  but his wife doesn’t like to travel. Of course she doesn’t – she gets her own holiday when he’s away. I may have to kill him.
 
Back to the trip. I actually thoroughly enjoyed Buenos Aires, and now we’re on a four hour ferry ride across the River Plate to Uruguay (where we spend three nights before returning to Argentina) – which has been great so far. Now if the dickhead would only fall overboard,  all would be right in the world (well, perhaps my putting could be fixed as well).
 
El Idioto Abroado (I’m learning Spanish)
 

Iguazu Falls

Chris Lockwood world wanderer

Here is Chris Lockwood world wanderer at the amazing Iguazu Falls, the are the most spectacular falls I have ever seen. Sadly I have not been to Niagara or Victoria falls to make a comparison, FiveStarVagabond.

March 15 2016.

Since last we met, simple reader (if there are any of you still out there that is), I spent a few days in Uruguay before returning to Argentina. Uruguay, and in particular Montevideo,  looked like it would have been something in its day, but to my expert eye I would estimate that that must have been about 50 years ago. We got there on the weekend,  and John the Dickhead was in a flap because he couldn’t find any of his plastic cards. He had $US, but all the banks were closed – of course muggins had to get out double and lend him some. He found his cards some days later in a special little container he’d bought so no-one could scan his cards – he’d forgotten he’d bought it. That caused great consternation that did. He’s lost shoes, reggies, money etc, yet seems to think he’s a cross between Bear Grylls and McGyver – I think it’s more likely he’s the love child of Donald Trump and Bronwyn Bishop. In Montevideo he looked the wrong way and a car had to screech to a stop with rubber burning – it came to a halt just touching his leg. The rest of us thought it was a shame it hadn’t been a bus. And he always has to borrow my travel adaptor because some genius told him South America was the same as Australia – seasoned traveller my arse.
 
We subsequently crossed back into Argentina (in total we’ve crossed into Argentina 5 times) and then had the option to visit some Jesuit ruins in Paraguay – another country to visit which was great, but my passport is filling up quickly.  The border crossing (at a river) was the most comical I have ever seen. They make remote African border crossings look almost efficient,  and the ‘car ferry’ across the river made the Settlement Point ferry look like the Spirit of Tasmania. There were more Jesuit ruins in Argentina – where I believe they made the movie The Mission with Robert De Niro – perhaps we could watch that one Monday movie night Mrs Hole?
 
And then we visited Iguazu Falls, where I had as good a two days as I’ve ever had on a tour. The falls are unbelievable and way superior to Victoria Falls (at least in my humble).
 
But enough of touring, I’m sure what you really want to know is what’s going on with the fruit loops I’m traveling with. Must say I am warming to most of them – in particular the Canadian couple are lovely, and one of the guys (born New Zealand but lived in Melbourne for 16 years – a real lose, lose) is good fun. Actually this guy (Paul) reckons if John the D mentions New Zealanders and sheep once more HE may kill him – a strategy I am actively encouraging.
 
Over discussions the other day re the hoops you had to jump through to get a Brazilian visa, the young Canadian guy stated that he hadn’t had to get one. Well of course he had – which meant our poor tour leader has been running madly around trying to sort it all out. The upshot is he hasn’t been with us for a few days (stuck in Argentina) but may catch up tomorrow. The rest of the group appear quite upset for him – but this is as basic a mistake as you can make. However, as you know I am nothing if not a sympathetic and supportive person by nature, so I think I have just faked sufficient empathy to appear as if I actually give a toss.
 
And our hard working tour leader is lovely, but not getting any easier to understand. Spanish speaking people obviously have trouble with their ‘j’s’ – even differentiating between something as simple as juice and shoes is hard for her. She was bemused the other day when she asked one of the girls over breakfast how her juice was – the resonse was they’re a bit tight and giving her blisters. She told us there was a remote chance we would see a shack-wah in the jungle around Iguazu Falls. It took quite a bit of discussion to determine she meant jaguar. As it turned out we didn’t see a jaguar, but we did see two fiats and a volkswagon (I hope you’re all keeping up with this).
 
And finally, and most importantly, thus far South American beer has been excellent – it is fairly cheap and is most often served in 1 litre bottles – wonderful! From here we travel to Sau Paulo where I am unlikely to leave the hotel room (reportedly one of the most dangerous cities in the world) and then on to Rio.
 
Ciao
EIAo
 
Paraty only 3 hours from Rio

Chris Lockwood world wanderer

 Paraty is one of my favourite places in Brazil,  FiveStarVagabond.

March 24 2016.

I am aware that there is still at least one devoted reader still reading this rubbish (thanks mum) so I will plough on.
 
The first leg of my journey has ended with three wonderful days in Rio de Janeiro – what a great city. Did all the touristy things – Christ the Redeemer, Sugar Loaf mountain,  Copacabana and Ipanema beaches etc etc – and they were all just as fantastic as you see in the pictures.
 
Before getting there we spent a couple of days in Sao Paulo, apparently the fastest growing city in the world, and serious contender for being the largest. The two major industries there are robbery and murder. On the drive into the city we were stopped by the federal police who undertook a full search of the bus and all the luggage – presumably looking for drugs. When we got to our hotel we all just stood in the foyer waiting for our keys – and were advised to move further inside where it was safer. Our leader then gave us a detailed map of the city with the advice …. “zeez is a nice area, but don’t go there at night;  this is a very nice area, but don’t go there at night; and don’t go to zeez area at all”.
 
Brazil is made up of many different nationalities, and Paul (New Zealand/Melbourne) and I thought we could inconspicuously venture out (in broad daylight) and sightsee while blending in with the local population. That was until John (the D) decided to tag along (we’d tried desperately hard to shake him) – he strapped on the world’s biggest back pack, hung the world’s biggest camera around his neck, and literally topped it off by wearing a large floppy dayglo orange hat on his noggin with matching bright orange draw string pulled tightly (but not tight enough) – to cap it all off the front was turned back just like Gilligan’s. He may as well have carried a sign around saying ‘get your free throat slitting practice here’. While we were in a park taking some photos of an impressive fountain (which would have been more impressive had it been working and not covered in graffiti) police swooped and rounded up five blokes and a girl. It was only 20 yards from us but happened so quickly and quietly that we didn’t see or hear a thing. We just turned around and saw all six baddies having assumed the position and being frisked. We left as the handcuffs were coming out. We also went up to the 40th floor of an old office building with a view over the city (and because it was free between 4 and 5). I can’t describe how immense and amazing this city is – the view was breathtaking.
 
The next and last stop before Rio was the small touristy town of Parati – which was lovely. We had a great day sailing around the islands and swimming in the warm water – the only dampener was J the D presumably thinking he looked attractive in budgie smugglers.
 
And so ends the first half of the holiday. I have really enjoyed Brazil – the only problem is they speak Portuguese here. I had completely mastered the Spanish of the other countries visited (much grassyarse, si, amigo, etc) but struggled a bit here. For example, a couple of times it sounded to me like I’d been called a douche bag – I can only assume that means sexy in Portuguese.
 
The crew also turned out pretty good on the whole. And being the weak, miserable buggrr that I am, all my character assassinations of J the D were naturally done behind his back – so he thought we parted the best of mates. Sometimes my insincerity embarrasses even me.
 
This trip has been excellent and I really hope the next one can be just as good – it starts in Lima tomorrow. I understand they speak Spanish there – woohoo (Spanish for you beauty).
Rio de Janeiro

Chris Lockwood world wanderer

 Copacabana beach babes are among the sexiest girls in the world,  FiveStarVagabond.

Christ the Redeemer” on Corcovado mountain

Chris Lockwood world wanderer

Certainly one of the most recognizable statues in the world.

Absolutely breathtaking vista

Chris Lockwood world wanderer

There is no better view anywhere on Earth than Sugarloaf mountain in Rio de Janeiro,  FiveStarVagabond.

March 29 2016.

You would never have made it to Peru, Wappo! I flew from Rio to Limo via Sao Paulo, ie domestic and then international flight. When I checked in at Rio the guy fart arsed about on his computer with my ticket and passport for about 10 minutes, before calling over to the girl at the next counter. She came over, looked at the computer and then called over another woman. She came over, had a look, they all babbled something in Double Dutch – then she got on the phone. She printed something, then took off. I asked my guy if there was a problem. “No problem Mr Christopher” he said. “Pig’s arse”, I thought. The lady eventually comes back, there’s much chat and playing with the computer, and then she’s back on the phone. Then they have another chat and play, and voila, tickets start printing. “Thank you for your patience Mr Christopher, here is your ticket to Sao Paulo”. No, no, no – for the 100th time I’m going to Lima. I’m advised they can’t put me straight through – I have to get off, get my bag, go to another terminal, and check in – I’m advised the 85 minutes I have between flights ‘iz plenty of time’. Despite flying South America’s equivalent of Air Asia the plane arrives on time. Now baggage from a plane at Port gets wheeled in on a trolley and you grab your bag off that trolley – at Sao P (remember, one of the largest cities in the world) I have to find my bag at carousel 206. Sherlock Holmes would have had trouble locating carousel 206! Having retrieved my poor old bag I had to work out how to find the international terminal – that was more a task of Einstein-like proportions. 40 minutes later I’m at the LAN check in counter. Now Spo, you know my poor old back pack – it’s been all over the world, travelling at least once every year for 13 years – I conservatively estimate it has been checked in at flight counters at least 50 times. But now the miserable so and so behind the counter told me my little back pack, which weighed in at a staggering 12.1 kilos, was oversized! There were bags the size of grand pianos going along the conveyor belt behind her, but my 12.1 kgs was oversized. I knew all the smooth sailing on the way over would come back to bite me on the bum. She told me to take it to the second yellow doorway ‘over there’, and pointed over her shoulder. All I could see ‘over there’ was a million people – and to make matters worse, I didn’t know what colour yellow was in Portuguese. I asked every person who looked even remotely like an official where to find this place and finally found the woman operating the x-ray equipment for big bags. There were packages the size of volkswagon beetles lying around, so it was no wonder she looked at me like I was a king-sized creton when I threw my bag on the belt. Don’t look at me, lady – go and talk to the cow at the appropriately lettered check in counter F. I finally made it to the gate as they were boarding, but in desperate need of a clean pair of underwear.
 
So, into Lima, Peru where I needed transport to my hotel after clearing customs at just before midnight. My trip notes advised “preferably don’t travel alone by taxi, particularly late at night”. Give me a break! Anyway, as Fronk would say, to cut a short story long, I finally made it and met my travelling companions the next evening. There’s 13 on this trip plus our leader. As you well know Spo, I don’t like people much, so 13 is more than I would prefer – we’ll see how it pans out. The leader is a Brit and is very good. My new roommate is Paul (from London and not the Paul from the last trip, who was a good guy and great to travel with. I have to say that because he’s been cc’d into this email – please disregard any derogatory comments I may have inadvertently made in respect of him in the past) – he’s also quite a nice bloke and good to travel with. Naturally he has his foibles,  but I guess I’ll just have accept that not everyone can attain the impeccably high roommate standards that I set. Only a couple of small bells going off with the group thus far – an old couple (meaning older than me) from Canberra and a young Indian couple (Punjab,  not Red) living in London. Mrs Canberra is Asian and I’ll be buggered if I can find out her name – from what I’ve ascertained to date I think it’s Bung Lung – anyway, she’s one of those who has to be first all the time. Hence when we’re being shown something, no-one can see because she’s in the way – and you can’t get a photo without her noggin being in it. Mrs India is quite pushy and bossy and is always 5 minutes late for everything – we’re always waiting for her and she obviously doesn’t give a bugger. Mr India is a nice quiet guy – they both seem happy enough at the moment, but I predict a long, hard road ahead for him.
 
Ok, to the trip. From Lima we flew to Cusco – which is a wonderful former old pre-Incan, Incan and Spanish town. The next day we visited Machu Picchu – an incredible sight that was not done justice by my $79 Dick Smith camera special. It was voted in as one of the seven new wonders of the world (Machu Picchu, not my camera)- I understand you came in 8th Wappo.
 
The next day we visited the Sacred Valley and some more amazing ruins, although we all agreed by then that we were Inca’d out. We have since driven to Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. I am actually doing this while on a boat having visited reed islands inhabited by some of the local indigenous population,  and then another island for lunch – with a real Greek Island feel – one of the best days of the holiday so far.
 
Have eaten Alpaca and Guinea Pig in Peru, and next we go to Bolvia – where I understand we can try Llama (at least that’s what they tell us we’re eating). The alpaca was really good, but the guinea pig was all bone – there was no meat at all. In hindsight it was a shame to kill the poor little critter. Some of the woman were appalled, eg “how can you eat them, they’re so cute”. C’mon girls – grow some balls like I hope to do one day. If I can be bothered, next time I’ll tell you about the people – I’m not saying they’re short Spo, but you’d look like a Harlem Globetrotter on stilts over here.
 
Ciao ciao for now now, amigos.
Crisso
Santa Cruz Bolivia

Chris Lockwood world wanderer

Seeing that I have no photos from Chris from his visit to Bolivia you will just have to settle for some of mine, just follow THIS LINK.

April 6 2016.

Crossed into Chile a few days ago after a three day 4WD adventure through the salt flats and deserts of Bolivia. We slept in dorms sleeping up to 6, there were no showers or electricity – and I don’t know how they could call those things you did your ‘business’ in toilets. Three people got ferried out early with tummy bugs and altitude issues, and several others had to really struggle to get through. Overall though it was amazing – we saw some unbelievable scenery including huge salt flats, geysers, volcanoes, mountain ranges etc. There was an island in the middle of the salt flats covered in giant plants which we were told were cactus – but they looked healthy enough to me (my travelling companions didn’t think it was funny either). I thoroughly enjoyed it – but you were probably better off at home. Unfortunately Bung Lung was not one affected by any illness (neither was your travelling hero – but then again I didn’t go to the toot for a week). She even manages to completely block photos of whole mountain ranges. And she’s added repeating everything our leader says and asking insightful questions to her repertoire, eg ‘how come the sky is so blue here’, and ‘is water in a glacial lake cold’ – for goodness sake. Mrs India (who I’ve subsequently found out is Mrs Mauritius,  but will remain Mrs India for the duration of this trip because it’s easier to spell) was one who got crook but battled on, which was a bugger for the poor hubby – he had to be doctor, nurse and slave – although he already was the latter. The poor bastard may as well neck himself now – if he’s a good Hindu he’s bound to come back as some high caste after the misery he’s going to suffer in this life.
 
Since Cusco we have been at altitudes of over 3,400 metres – it really does take your breath away. Being 5’10.5″ I’m used to high altitudes, but you would have needed oxygen, Spo.
 
Anyway, we first travelled into Bolivia via the city of La Paz – yet another amazing place. Set in a cauldron-like environment,  it is a maze of narrow, winding streets, and overlooked by a huge snow covered mountain. The people here are all about 3’6″ tall – and the women 3’5″ wide. This is because wide hips are supposed to be attractive here – in their defence they apparently wear up to 10 peticoats to achieve this effect (or so I’m told). They also wear little bowler hats – the positioning on their noggins apparently telling of their marital status. From there we flew (and apparently my bag has shrunk because it wasn’t oversized) to Uyuni (pronounced uni, as in university) – and now we were really in the middle of nowhere. This is the area that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid finally met their comeuppance – after first robbing the banks at La Paz and Uyuni. They’re not worth robbing now – this is one pretty poor country. From Uyuni  we started on our little 4WD adventure. During this trip we reached heights of 5000 metres – and at that height we had a pre-dawn get up to see some geysers at sunrise. The brochure said to take a sweater because it can get cold at altitude. Cold!!! It was -6 degrees – I almost had to wear socks with my thongs and pretend I was European.
 
In La Paz we had the option to do something called the Death Road bike ride. Now Wasp, as you know death and bikes are just two of many things that I try to avoid. However, my roommate Paul did show some interest. I tried to encourage his participation because I would have had our room to myself had he not made it back. I think I had him until I asked if I could have his u-beaut travel adaptor on news of his demise. One girl in our group did do it, and ended up going over handle bars, knocking herself out, and badly grazing her face. Paul was one of those driven out of the salt flats early ’cause he was crook. He only missed the one night – but that was the night I had to sleep in a dorm with 5 others. Karma is a bitch!
 
Since then we crossed into Chile, where conditions changed dramatically – nice beds, hot showers, electricity,  wi fi – and costs comparable to Australia.
 
Both trips have been fantastic, but this one has been far the more adventurous – I’m going to need a holiday when I get back. This group has been ok, but can be catagorised into two groups – nice people like me, and boring ones (not like me). The boring ones include Mr Lung who is a geologist – we had to stop every five minutes during our 4WD trip so he could photo rock formations, and then explain to Bung the difference between granite and sedimentary rocks, how this and that were formed etc. I think they’re a good pair, because they’ve both got rocks in the head. And I must say my roommate Paul has been good company and fun to travel with – as I say, I MUST say this, because he also wishes to be cc’d into this rubbish. And he’d better send me the good photos he took on his better than $79 camera, or I’ll tell what I really think of him.
 
And after congratulating myself for finishing the last trip without providing John the Dickhead with any contact information, I received an email from him. He apparently got our email addresses from the company we are travelling with. His emails are as endearing as he was. He is a vet, and his last message gave a long and detailed account of how he returned to work only to deal with a constipated dog. The dog wasn’t the only one full of shit.
 
I have now flown into Santiago – at least I did, my poor old bag didn’t. To cut a very, very long story short, it turned up 8 or 9 hours later. I can’t be bothered going in to these details now – suffice to say you’re all going to hear about it when I get back – so brace yourselves. Santiago looks a pretty good city from first glance. Tomorrow we go to a Chilean winery, which should be fun. I know some seem to really like wine from Chile, but I’ve always felt it tasted like paint stripper – will put it to the test in the morning.
 
And that’s it for 2016. Next year, dear reader/s, we’re off to Russia and Eastern Europe – and the good news is the Wasp will be re-joining me. That means I will have someone to pick on, rather than having to be nice to everyone as I have been on this trip. So Wappo, I’ll see you at the airport on Saturday and I’m good for lunch Monday; Chew-me and KJH, I’ll be back for footy night on Monday; I believe Fronk is going or has gone away, so coffees will have to be suspended, and mummy, I’ll be around Wednesday to pick up ‘our’ car – and I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to 3 or 4 putting the first at Port on Thursday.
 
Hasta la vista, babies
El Cristobel
Uno Idioto Abroado
Back home in Port Macquarie

Chris Lockwood world wanderer

Well all good things must come to an end as did Chris’s amazing adventure. It’s a shame my brother Warren known widely as “El Wappo” chickened out on this journey. Then again after reading about the frantic pace of this holiday El Wappo aka “Half Shot” may not have survived. 🙂

Chris aka The Claw, aka Dr Evil, aka Chick Magnet (well not so much really) should be applauded for his colourful and enlightening prose re-produced in this Chris Lockwood world wanderer travel blog. He should also be applauded on how quickly he mastered both the Portuguese and Spanish language, FiveStarVagabond.

Did I mention chick magnet?

Chris Lockwood world wanderer

Well here is the proof from 2010 with a bunch of babes, 2 Canadians, 1 Irish, 1 English, 1 Welsh and 1 Aussie – Chris said & I quote “I’m sure you’ll be shocked to know that not one of them showed the slightest bit of interest in me whatsoever!”

In fact it was after seeing this classic photo that I gave Chris the nickname of “Dr Evil”.

That’s all folks

Chris Lockwood world wanderer

   Here are some more posts to check out

         Life 2015                     Family history                   Life 1982

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  Adelaide 1972                 Iron Bar Freddy               Sydney 2006

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Thailand 2008                Gold Coast Babes               World trip 2003

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             Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book
                  through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
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 That’s all folks
Surfers Paradise Party Animals
 
Pattaya live webcam 
 
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A-One hotel on Beach Road

Seven deadly Songkran days

For a great room rate at the A-One hotel opposite the beach just book through THIS LINK.               

 

 Soi Cowboy                  Nana Plaza                    Patpong

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Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

April 17, 2016 by David Herd

View from my apartment

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

 Copacabana Rio de Janeiro is one of the world’s great beaches. This is my sixth visit to this fabulous city, my rented apartment is right across the road from the beach.

Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro, say no more.

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

These two look like they mean business.

Alan Austin and his wife Renata

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Alan & I met in Rio and became very good friends, unfortunately the following year he ran into some problems with the English authorities and I now he lives in England.

It’s now 2018 & after 11.5 years as a guest of Her Majesty Alan will be a free man in August.

Shenanigans Ipanema

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Monday nights here there are lots of specials and the place gets really crowded. The guy in the red shirt is Alan’s Las Vegas friend Jay.

Two dozen oysters = two days food poisoning

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

I was totally out of it for 48 hours after eating these oysters on the beach.

The Evil eye

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

The look on his face should have warned me about eating his oysters. He even had madman printed on his cap. 🙂

The girl from Copacabana

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

I was relaxing on the beach when this vision appeared in front of me. I have never been one to let a golden opportunity pass so I brushed up on my social skills and introduced myself. Her name was Mel and she came from neighbouring Niteroi. Lo & behold within an hour we were in my apartment making mad passionate love. This certainly was one on the best days of my trip. ?

Mel from Niteroi

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Mel is around 6′ tall with amazing green eyes, a total knock out. It is 2015 and I still have her photo on a shelf in my condo. ?

How about those fabulous eyes?

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

I have to admit the fact that Mel spoke no English did not bother me at all. 🙂

John, an Aussie guy who owned “The Office” restaurant.

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

John was an Aussie guy from Sydney and we swapped many stories about people we knew and knew of, mainly well known Sydney gangsters. ?   The following year John in fact was abducted by Brazilian gangsters who forced him to go to his home in Angra Dos Rios and pen his safe which they cleaned out.

Copacabana eye candy

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

One of the best locations on Earth for gorgeous females.


Late afternoon at Copacabana

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Looking down from my apartment you can see the shadows staring to creep across the beach.

Kiosks on Copacabana

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Every 50 meters along the beach there is a kiosk where you can buy a beer or a hamburger and watch the passing parade.

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Copacabana beach babes are among the sexiest girls in the world. My photo blogs with the most visits involve Brazilian babes so I thought I would add to the collection with samples from my 2 months in Rio from December 2007 to February 2008.

Making a splash

Copacabana beach babes

There is no better place in the world to see beautiful beach babes than Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro.

Nice hat

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Hat, what hat, I don’t see a hat?

 Now can you see a hat?

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Is this a trick question? Who looks at hats on Copacabana beach?

The sea was angry that day my friends.

Copacabana beach babes

You don’t often see big waves at Copacabana but this particular day the surf was quite rough. In fact it was new years eve 2007 and Copacabana was preparing for a crowd of 2 million people.

Smile for the camera

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Brazilians absolutely love the beach, check out my most popular blog here.

Ah! The colours of Brazil.

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Are you aware Brazil’s Primary colours are green and yellow? Just saying…………

Time for a lunch break

Copacabana beach babes

The prawns are very good however I was laid low for 48 hours after eating 2 dozen oysters on the beach. ?

 Two pretty girls

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

All you need is a camera on Copacabana because the talent is unlimited. ?

 Look closely you may see a tattoo

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Tattoo? I don’t see a tattoo.

No tattoos here

NYE Copacabana

A fabulous body like this does not need any tattoos.

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

David Herd Thailand All my friends who know and love Rio will remember the wonderful times we had at “HELP” nightclub on Avenue Atlantica. Many thanks for visiting my Copacabana Rio de Janeiro photo blog, without any doubt in the world “you gotta love Rio”.

Rio was part of a fabulous world trip starting in Sydney and finishing in Bangkok.

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Soi Cowboy (25)          Osaka 1st night (17)       Walking St Pattaya is wild & sexy 

                                     

             Chiang Mai                      Pattaya                      Chao Phraya river

Chiang Mai with Tone        9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1)   191de3bb-38fc-45cd-bce7-ef24081c554b

 
9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1)

That’s all folks

1g Duck

 

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Counter only started June 16 2020.

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Santa Cruz Bolivia

April 8, 2016 by David Herd

Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Santa Cruz Bolivia

Santa Cruz Bolivia

Santa Cruz Bolivia South America sits by the Pirai River in the lowlands east of the Andes Mountains. My little adventure took place in 1999 when I flew from Sydney via Las Vegas to Santa Cruz before visiting Iguazu falls. After the fabulous falls I met friends in Sao Paulo before heading for Rio de Janeiro.

It was 1999 and my first digital camera took rather poor photos.

How lucky was I?

Santa Cruz Bolivia

I was met at the airport by Dalia a gorgeous 23 yo Bolivian who I had met in a chat room on the internet. Actually I met her friend who could speak English which Dalia could not. So now you know the reason Santa Cruz was on my itinerary.

Dalia’s friend Coral

Santa Cruz Bolivia

 

Coral was the go-between for meeting Dalia.

Apologies again for the poor quality photos.

Santa Cruz Bolivia

Dinner in Santa Cruz with Coral and Dalia’s son Tony.

Three generations

Santa Cruz Bolivia

Everybody I met in Santa Cruz were such nice friendly people. Here is Dalia’s mother and son Tony.

Looking good

Santa Cruz Bolivia

Dalia looking very good in her orange bikini.

Typical Santa Cruz street

Santa Cruz Bolivia

Some parts of the city are quite modern, this however is not one of those parts.

Santa Cruz church

Santa Cruz Bolivia

Like most South American cities there are plenty of churches.


Going for lunch in Santa Cruz

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From memory I think I actually ate an Armadillo for lunch.

Dinner is served

Santa Cruz Bolivia

It’s certainly not the Ritz but from memory I think the food was OK.

Very friendly people

Santa Cruz Bolivia

Everybody was very friendly, many of the places my friends took me were off the beaten track.

Santa Cruz shops

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Some of the buildings were a little more modern.

Another friend

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Here is Kelly Caballero anther gorgeous girl I had met online before I began my great adventure. I still see her on Facebook now in 2016.

Back to Dalia

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After my little diversion with Kelly Dalia & I made plans to head for Brazil.

Santa Cruz Bolivia South America

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Ok let’s get a passport and a ticket for the death train. The “death train” (so named because of its history in transporting Yellow Fever victims) runs on bumpy tracks from Santa Cruz to Corumbá on the Brazilian side.

 Catching some shut-eye on the Death Train.

Santa Cruz Bolivia

Dalia sleeping peacefully on the way to Quijarro.

 The frontier

Amazing Iguazu Falls Brazil

After leaving the train we walked across the border then took a taxi to the Brazilian immigration office, and that’s where my problems began. I was suspicious when they had my passport and wanted to see a credit card to ensure I had enough money to exist on in Brazil. I knew I was in trouble when they went to another room and came back 5 minutes later to give me my passport and credit card back.

Sure enough a week later my credit card was cancelled as there had been $14,000 spent on it all over Brazil. Everything was sorted out when I returned to Australia and I received a replacement card.

Thanks for visiting my Santa Cruz Bolivia South America photo blog.

Farewell my sweet Bolivian princess.

Amazing Iguazu Falls Brazil

           Checkout some more of my terrific blogs on the links below.         

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Fascinating Istanbul Asia Meets Europe     Hungarian Parliament Building (2)       The Walkie Talkie (5)    

          Mostar                           Dubrobnik                            Split

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Ho Chi Minh City South Vietnam       Main Square (3)     Vung Tau statue (6)

Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
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That’s all folks

1g Duck

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Copacabana beautiful beach babes

December 13, 2015 by David Herd

Rio de Janeiro

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Copacabana beautiful beach babes are among the sexiest girls in the world. My photo blogs with the most visits involve Brazilian babes so I thought I would add to the collection with samples from my 2 months in Rio from December 2007 to February 2008.

Copacabana beautiful beach babes making a splash

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

There is no better place in the world to see beautiful beach babes than Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro.

Nice hat

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Hat, what hat, I don’t see a hat?

 Now can you see a hat?

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Is this a trick question? Who looks at hats on Copacabana beach?

The sea was angry that day my friends.

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

You don’t often see big waves at Copacabana but this particular day the surf was quite rough. In fact it was new years eve 2007 and Copacabana was preparing for a crowd of 2 million people.

For a great hotel room rate in RIO just book through THIS LINK.

Smile for the camera

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Brazilians absolutely love the beach, check out my most popular blog here.

Ah! The colours of Brazil.

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Are you aware Brazil’s Primary colours are green and yellow? Just saying…………

Pink towels are very attractive

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Pink towel, I don’t see a pink towel 🙂

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

All you need is a camera on Copacabana because the talent is unlimited. 🙂

 Look closely you may see a tattoo

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Tattoo? I don’t see a tattoo.

No tattoos here

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

A fabulous body like this does not need any tattoos.

My friend Mary

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

 My lovely friend Mary is now happily married and living in Miami.

Mary from the other side.

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We had some very good times together in Rio de Janeiro, perhaps I’ll see her again one day in Miami.

Are you taking my photo?

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Yes, I certainly am.

Flying fish

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

I asked the guy if he was going to throw it back, he said “no, I’m going to eat it”.

Copacabana beach babes

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

And still they come with a body to die for.

 Two cheeky girls

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

I spent over 2 months in Brazil this trip, as well as Rio I visited Florianopolis, Curitiba, Balneario Camboriu and Paraty.

Paraty

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Three hours from Rio and one of my favourite places in Brazil. I know they are not Copacabana beach babes however the girls from Paraty are worth a look.

New Years Eve 2007

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

It’s only 2 pm and the crowd is building in anticipation of celebrating the New Year.

Rio Orthon a perfect location.

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For a great room rate just book through THIS LINK, book now & pay later, includes free cancellation.

I’ll be watching from over there

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

There will be nine cruise ships anchored offshore and two million people will arrive all dressed in white.

Ebony

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

What a magnificent colour.

Here is a webcam focused on Copacabana.

Beach boogie

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What time can we start having fun?

It will take weeks to get the smile off my face

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Many thanks for visiting my Copacabana beach babes photo blog, I’m sure you will agree it’s the best eye candy in the world.

For a great hotel room rate just book through THIS LINK.

Check out the live webcam here.

Lots more interesting blogs here;

Brazilians don’t need a visa to visit Thailand. Please check out my webcam.      

Pattaya Beach live webcam

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Soi Cowboy (25)          Osaka 1st night (17)       Walking St Pattaya is wild & sexy 

                                     

             Chiang Mai                      Pattaya                      Chao Phraya river

Chiang Mai with Tone        9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1)   191de3bb-38fc-45cd-bce7-ef24081c554b

Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037          b1c99886-3940-4dda-b350-44c5e5c77e41
 
 
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1g Duck

 

Counter only started June 16 2020.

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California Miami Rio Carnival

April 15, 2015 by David Herd

It all started in Sydney

California Miami Rio Carnival

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris Bangkok

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris Bangkok, it all started in Sydney in January 2005. Next stop was San Francisco, on to Miami before flying down to Rio de Janeiro. Make no mistake Rio Carnival is the greatest show on Earth. I then met my friend Simone in Natal in North East Brazil, we travelled 300 kms by taxi to Recife stopping at Praia da Pippa for a few days on the way.

I said au revoir to Brazil where it was 35 degrees and flew to Paris to be greeted by a temperature of 3 degrees,

My Sydney friends

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris Bangkok

Lunch with friends at Wildfire restaurant at Sydney’s Circular Quay.

Aquarium of the Bay.

California Miami Rio Carnival

Aquarium of the Bay is a public aquarium located at Embarcadero and Beach Street, at the edge of Pier 39 in San Francisco, California. The Aquarium is focused on local aquatic animals from the San Francisco Bay and neighbouring waters.

David Herd at Fisherman’s wharf

California Miami Rio Carnival

Lunch at Fisherman’s wharf is a “must do” in SFC. 

How many movies has this Miami deli been in?

California Miami Rio Carnival

The Architectural District (also known as Old Miami Beach Historic District, and the more popular term, Miami Art Deco District) is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on May 14, 1979) located in the South Beach neighbourhood of Miami Beach, Florida. The district is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Sixth Street to the south, Alton Road to the west, the Collins Canal and Dade Boulevard to the north. It contains 960 historic buildings. In 1989, it was listed in A Guide to Florida’s Historic Architecture, published by the University of Florida Press.

South Beach Miami

California Miami Rio Carnival

The fabulous art deco towers are unique examples of this form of architecture, they along the eight and a half mile stretch of  Beach. All told there are twenty five towers guarding those who use the beach. At once functional and decorative, they contribute beautifully to the overall aesthetic of this Floridian resort city. A great example of Art Deco South Beach Miami.  

Welcome to Rio David

California Miami Rio Carnival We have been waiting for you all year, where have you been. 🙂 The beautiful on the left is Samantha, her blonde girlfriend was around 6′ tall.

David Herd with the bird.

California Miami Rio CarnivalI’m at a big warehouse where they store many of the Carnival characters and floats.  

The Sambadrome

California Miami Rio Carnival

The Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí is centre stage of Rio Carnival, the host venue of the annual parade of Samba Schools. It is important to note that Rio Carnival, popularized around the world as the greatest party on the planet,is about much more than drinking and partying. At its heart, Carnival is an exhilarating combination of competition and camaraderie as organizations called Samba Schools battle for the title of Rio Carnival Samba Parade Champions. For Cariocas, the local residents of Rio de Janeiro, is a time to show the world the product of a year’s worth of hard work and dedication. All the magic ofRio Carnival — the beats, songs, dances, floats and costumes — are the product of well-orchestrated machines called Samba Schools.

Meanwhile out on the street

California Miami Rio Carnival

  The whole city goes crazy for Carnival, this was my 2nd experience, I returned in 2008 for my 3rd Carnival.  

Copacabana beach

  California Miami Rio CarnivalThere are many reasons to love Copacabana, this is one of them. 🙂  

 Dave Sommer RIP

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris BangkokTwo of my friends from 2005 are not with us anymore,  Dave Sommer  lived & worked in Sao Paulo,  Sadly he was brutally murdered on January 11 2015. I remember the great day we spent together visiting the Samba school with his girlfriend, they were both preparing to participate in the parade.

Doug Roarke also passed away

California Miami Rio CarnivalDoug Roarke was a lovely guy who lived life to the max, after battling a long illness he passed away around 2007. Danielle was his gorgeous long time girlfriend in Rio. I remember sitting in a bar in Rio Di Janeiro with Dave Wylie & Doug Roarke, (RIP) and when I asked what was their favourite place in Brazil, Doug briefly considered the question before saying “Praia de Pipa”. Until that moment I had never heard of the place, but on Doug’s recommendation I planned my trip. Pipa Beach quickly became one of my favourite places in the world.

 Praia de Pipa

  California Miami Rio Carnival Paris BangkokThis will always be one of my favourite photos at one of my favourite places.  

Fresh for dinner tonight

  California Miami Rio Carnival Paris BangkokFresh fish, what fresh fish? I don’t see any fresh fish. 🙂  

Ah! here is the fish straight out of the ocean

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris Bangkok

Fresh fish and lots of chips.

Simone Cristina Oliveira

  California Miami Rio Carnival  My lovely travelling companion Simone Cristina Oliveira was living in Uberlândia in Minas Gerais at the time, she now works at a bank in Sao Paulo, after all these years we still keep in touch on Facebook.  

The coast around Pipa.

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris Bangkok

Towns built on sandy soil.

Low tide at Pipa

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris Bangkok

Low tide and the children play.

Happy hour? In Pipa it’s always happy hour.
California Miami Rio Carnival

Local Pipa bar.

 Morro do Careca (Bald Hill) Ponta Negra.

  California Miami Rio Carnival Ponta Negra is close to Natal about 80 kilometres from Pipa.    

The beautiful city of Olinda.

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris Bangkok Olinda is a city in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco. It hosts one of Brazil’s most famous carnivals and is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO due to its XVI and XVII-century buildings. Many bars, restaurants, artist and craftspeople studios add charm to the old-town setting. Olinda is just across the river from Recife.

My friend Simone & her cousin Pedro

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris Bangkok

Sightseeing in Olinda.

California Miami Rio Carnival Recife

California Miami Rio CarnivalA big modern city in the north east corner of Brazil, Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the country with 3,743,854 inhabitants.

California Miami Rio Carnival Porto de Galinhas

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris BangkokThe origin of the name is well known. Porto de Galinhas means “Port of Chickens” in Portuguese. In the second half of the 19th century, the Brazilian government imposed restrictions to the commerce of slaves, which were widely used as manpower in the sugarcane farms around Recife to circumvent the prohibition, the “black ships” (which transported slaves from Africa to Brazil) looked for other places to harbor, far from Recife.One such place was in the bays around Suape and Ipojuca, about 60 km to the South ofRecife. When a ship arrived in town, as it was prohibited to mention slavery, the word spread as “there are new chickens in the port”; hence, the place gained its name Porto de Galinhas.

Porto de Galinhas

California Miami Rio Carnival

This city was a real surprise packet.

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris Bangkok Farewell Brazil, hello Paris, as I said earlier  Brazil  was 35 degrees and I flew to Paris to be greeted by a temperature of 3 degrees. Here is my friend Malvina who I originally met in 1999 in Mexico City.

Dinner with Australian friends

California Miami Rio CarnivalI met up with Gavin & Cheryl Kernot in Paris and we spent a few days wining and dining. Cheryl was a very well known Australian politician who enjoyed red wine from Bordeaux  almost as much as I. 🙂

Did I mention how bloody cold it was in Paris? 🙂
California Miami Rio Carnival

What a shock 3 degrees after enjoying 35 degrees in Brazil.

Get me to Thailand in a hurry please.

  California Miami Rio Carnival Paris BangkokAt last I’m back in Bangkok, you can now call me the spy who came in from the cold. 🙂   

I feel right at home

California Miami Rio Carnival Paris Bangkok

Nana Paza Bangkok, let the games begin.

Sade - Smooth Operator 1984

Next stop Pattaya

California Miami Rio Carnival Hi David, where have you been? Your car is waiting.  

Greg Clee at Heaven Above in Walking St

California Miami Rio Carnival Greg is an Aussie who is the major shareholder in Heaven Above go go bar, always has a good venue for young go go dancers. Coincidentally when I moved to Thailand in 2011 we lived in adjacent apartments at Markland Condo in Beach Rd.  

Walking Street Pattaya.
California Miami Rio Carnival
Thanks for visiting my California Miami Rio Carnival Paris Bangkok photo blog.
 
For great Pattaya hotel rates just book through THIS LINK.
 
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           Zagreb Croatia                      Rio de Janeiro                  Brisbane River  Zagreb Croatia bars restaurants        a7ff7566-9628-434d-a2b1-8c6e8b9a9021       IMG_0100              Koh Samui                                   Korea                                  London 32780a6c-baf6-428a-bd71-68b1bed30b4c         Changdeokgung Palace (2)        IMG_7042          Bangkok                                   Osaka                                     Pattaya Soi Cowboy (25)          Osaka 1st night (17)       Walking St Pattaya is wild & sexy 
                                     
             Chiang Mai                      Pattaya                      Chao Phraya river Chiang Mai with Tone        9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1)   191de3bb-38fc-45cd-bce7-ef24081c554b
 
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Counter only started June 16 2020.

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Salvador North Coast Brazil

February 21, 2015 by David Herd

Fascinating & Unique

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Salvador North Coast Brazil is Brazil’s 3rd largest city. Most of the population is in part descended from African slaves, who were mainly from Nigeria, Ghana, Togo and Benin.

Praia do Porto da Barra

Salvador North Coast Brazil

We stayed in a hotel opposite this beach which is is only 5 kms from the historic centre Pelourinho.

Fort de Santa Maria

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Logo Nassau organized civil guards of Recife, Paraíba and Itamaracá to reinforce the troops and set off on April 8 1638, at the head of a naval fleet of 36 units at 3,600  Europeans and Indians.  He began the assault on Salvador in April 16, landing and gaining the surrender of the strong St. Albert, St. Philip and St. Bartholomew. But as Bagnuolo and the Governor-General had overcome their differences, Pernambuco army and the local garrison were united against the invasion consequently on the night of May 17 & 18 Nassau lost 300 men.


 I met Monica on the beach

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Mark it down as a big mistake, everything was ok for the first 2 days then she went kind of crazy. I actually cut my trip short by two days and flew back to Rio de Janeiro to catch up with Renilda, a gorgeous lady I  met there the previous week.

Crazy Monica 🙂

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Crazy is an understatement, anyhow after a brief fling I got out of Dodge. 🙂

Pelourinho

Salvador North Coast Brazil

The Historic Centre known as The Pelourinho is located in the western zone of the city’s centre, and was named for the whipping post (Pelourinho means Pillory) in its central plaza where African slaves received punishment for various infractions and disciplinary purposes.

The Pelourinho, is extremely rich in historical monuments dating from the 17th through the 19th centuries. Salvador was the first colonial capital of Brazil and the city is one of the oldest in the New World (founded in 1549 by Portuguese settlers). It was also the first slave market on the continent, with slaves arriving to work on the sugar plantations.

Salvador Bahia Brazil

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Once the capital city of Brazil from 1549 up until 1763 when it was succeeded by Rio de Jeneiro, Salvador da Bahia is considered to be the happiest place in the country. The city is best known for its food, music and general party atmosphere due to the numerous parties that now take place there.

Pellourinho

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Salvador is the second most popular tourism destination in Brazil, after Rio de Janeiro. Tourism and cultural activity are important generators of employment and income, boosting the arts and the preservation of artistic and cultural heritage.

Chief among the points of interest are its famous Pelourinho (named after the colonial pillories that once stood there) district, its historic churches, and its beaches.

Elevador Lacerda

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Elevator Lacerda is the first elevator Urban World. In December 1873 , when it opened, it was the highest in the world, about 63 meters.

Elevador Lacerda

Salvador North Coast Brazil

This is the best way to get up to the old city and for 15 Reals (each way) 

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Salvador North Coast Brazil

At the beginning of the 17th century, a  crane was used to transport goods from the port to the upper city.

Monica in front of Sousa Palace

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Sousa Square (also known as City Square) is a square located in the historic centre of Salvador , where there is a lot of public buildings in the city, such as Sousa Palace (now city hall).

Pothole has a way with children

Salvador North Coast Brazil Pothole aka John Martin certainly has a way with children. A grown up family in Australia & 2 young boys in Thailand.

The rest of the team

Salvado North Coast BrazilPothole aka John Martin & Tony Murphy.

Thanks for visiting Salvador Bahia Brazil

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Thats all from Salvador North Coast Brazil, bye for now from David and crazy Monica. 🙂

 Istanbul                                 Budapest                        London

Fascinating Istanbul Asia Meets EuropeHungarian Parliament Building (2)The Walkie Talkie (5)   

          Mostar                           Dubrobnik                            Split

                     43638e36-5da5-4162-98e3-635e2c149837IMG_7425Split Ancient Croatian Coastal city                    

                 Saigon                            Zagreb                          Vung tau

Ho Chi Minh City South VietnamMain Square (3)Vung Tau statue (6)

Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
 
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Holiday Inn

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Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.

The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.

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Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

February 13, 2015 by David Herd

A wonderful unique experience

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve and the cruise ships are arriving. Nine huge floating palaces drop anchor to watch tonight’s spectacle. Music fireworks & noise.

Lovely hostess

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

I paid $400 for a ticket to a cocktail party on the 12th floor overlooking Copacabana beach. The lovely lady above let me visit the venue mid afternoon to take some photos.

Sugarloaf Mountain

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Mid afternoon and you can see the crowd building up. Two million people are expected to gather tonight at Copacabana most of whom will be wearing white.

Around 4 pm the crowd builds up

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Through the afternoon the crowd starts to build.

More ships arrive

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Nine huge ships arrived for the show.

A burning question

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Sergio, we are in Copacabana Beach New Years Eve, do you think our ship will ever come in?

Now here is how we are going to handle troublemakers

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Final instruction at 5.30 pm, the Rio cops are a very mean bunch.

The shadows cover the beach

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

The anticipation is building, you can fell the excitement in the air.


 

Going home to freshen up

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve an d as far as I’m concerned she is dressed perfectly.

The party begins

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

  Here is where I am watching the celebration, lots of food and booze, after all we did pay $400. 🙂  

Here they come

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

I have never seen a crowd this big anywhere before.

More and more all dressed in white

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve and millions come to celebrate.

 The excitement is building & more people arrive

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

I was in the perfect spot to see everything.

Standing room only

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

What a night it was, worth every cent.

In the top right hand corner you can see the Sofitel hotel, the location is perfect between Copacabana & Ipanema. For an excellent room rate just book through THIS LINK.

I’m happy to be above the crowd

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Let the games begin.

KERBOOM!!!!!!

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

  The fireworks begins, 2 million people onshore and nine cruise ships anchored off the beach.  

 Spectacular fireworks

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

 You can see five of the nine cruise ships here in this photo.  

Lots of noise

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

  Noise from the Fireworks and the amplified music that is blasting out from huge speakers along the beach.  

Here is the live action

 

Copacabana Rio Di Janeiro in Brazil, NYE, an awesome experience
 

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve and the beat goes on

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

The noise was quite incredible. 

The show went on for hours

NewYearsEveinRio59

I left around 1 am knowing I had seen the most spectacular NYE celebration in my life. The Sydney fireworks is certainly superior however when you add two million screaming people into the mix at one of the world’s great beaches it is game over.

I hope you enjoyed my NYE experience

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Of course for sheer drama and chaos check out Sydney New Year’s Eve 1981. 

 

            Checkout some more of my terrific blogs on the links below.           

 Soi Cowboy                  Nana Plaza                    Patpong

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    Bangkok Bars                         Tokyo                      Cape Town Safari
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 That’s all folks

1g Duck

Pattaya live webcam
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Sexy Brazilian samba babes

February 11, 2015 by David Herd

Carnival dancers in Paraty

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

Sexy Brazilian samba babes, it was a case of being in the right place at the right time. It was January 2008 & my friend Sudzi & I were in the beautiful colonial village of Paraty which is 3 hours drive from Rio de Janeiro. Suddenly we heard the sound of drums then saw the band and two beautiful tall statuesque Brazilian girls heading our way.

 David Herd plus camera

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

As you can plainly see my camera is always by my side.

Amazing beautiful Brazilian

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

I’m not sure exactly when I fell in love with her, probably within a few minutes of taking her photo. 🙂

You have seen the front now here is the back. 🙂

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

Say no more…………………

I’m in heaven

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

Naturally I just had to get into the act, it’s not hard to imagine this has become one of my all time favourite photos.

I’m too sexy for my shirt

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

These two girls could really move.  

Here are lucky guys

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

Very lucky guys to be able to speak Portuguese and work with those gorgeous girls. 🙂  

OK, back to the love of my life

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

    Words fail me……..  

Wonderful samba outfits

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

    OK, lets go live

 

Magnificent Brazilian girls dancing Samba in Parity.

 

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

Sexy Brazilian samba babes will remain as one of my favourite Brazilian memories, and believe me I have so many great memories.

The streets of Paraty  January 2008

  Sexy Brazilian samba babes

Sexy Brazilian samba babes will stay in my memory forever.

Perfection really needs no description

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

    Words absolutely fail me, how beautiful is this girls skin.

Many thanks ladies for making my day

  Sexy Brazilian samba babes 

I’m hoping to return to Paraty again in January 2016, it’s a small village and who knows, I may just see her again. 🙂

The intrepid travellers

Sexy Brazilian samba babes

What a trip this was, two fabulous months in Brazil including New Year & Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Sudzi & I teamed up in Curitiba then spent a week or so in Florianopolis. We travelled north and were taken completely by surprise when we stumbled across Belneario Camborui. The beach was twice as long as Copacabana with a cable car at one end and a Statue of Christ on the mountain behind. From here we travelled to Paraty then on to Rio.  Sudzi saw Carnival at the Sambadrome and had his camera stolen in the crowd when he was leaving. Dave Wylie & I had a window seat at the famed restaurant Garrota de Ipanema which was surrounded by a Rio bloco where thousands party in the street. This was another night I’ll never forget.

Thanks for visiting my Sexy Brazilian samba babes photo blog.         

      Here are some more posts to check out 

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          Tokyo                        Rio De Janeiro                        Budapest
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           London                            Beijing                            Capetown
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            Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you            
 book through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
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Pattaya live webcam
 
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The Rio girls love the beach, many of them live in the Favelas and use the beach as their perfect playground.

 

Copacabana beach, one of the sexiest places on Earth.

 

Walk from Copacabana to Ipanema

 

 

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Pipa Beach North Brazil

December 4, 2014 by David Herd

Pipa Beach brazil

Pipa Beach North Coast Brazil

Travelled Natal Recife via Pipa

Pipa Beach North Coast Brazil, I remember sitting in a bar in Rio Di Janeiro with two friends Dave Wylie & Doug Roarke, (RIP) and when I asked what was their favorite place in Brazil, Doug briefly considered the question before saying “Praia de Pipa”. Until that moment I had never heard of the place, but on Doug’s recommendation I planned my trip. Pipa Beach Brazil quickly became one of my favorite places in the world.

Simone Cristina Oliveira

Pipa Beach North Brazil

 

I traveled 300 kilometers by taxi from with my friend Simone from Natal to Recife, we stopped in Pipa for a few days along the way.

Low tide in Pipa

Pipa Beach North Brazil

I’m sitting on the dock of the bay……..

 landua pousada Praia da Pipa

Pipa Beach North Coast Brazil

Only 30 meters to the water, in fact the photo at the top is right in front of the hotel.

View from landua pousada

Pipa Beach North Brazil

A wonderful location in this beach paradise.

Great bar close to our hotel

Pipa Beach North Brazil

Bar, what bar? I don’t see a bar. 🙂

The ice cream man.

Pipa Beach North BrazilSorry, I prefer a cold beer. 🙂

 

Eye candy at Pipa beach

Pipa Beach North BrazilA little eye candy never goes astray. 🙂

Don’t walk away Jose

Pipa Beach North Brazil

Great beach view here, this guy is certainly punching above his weight. 🙂

What! No water…..

Pipa Beach North BrazilBut who cares?

Low tide at Pipa

Pipa Beach North Brazil No fishing for these guys until the tide comes in.

Very low tide at Pipa

Pipa Beach North BrazilWho cares about the tide? 🙂

Enjoying low tide at Pipa

Pipa Beach North Brazil Back it comes.

Pipa Beach North Coast Brazil

Pipa Beach North BrazilA great day for a swim before lunch on the beach.

Look closely you may see some fish.

Pipa Beach North Brazil

Fish, what fish? I don’t see any fish.

Fresh for dinner tonight

Pipa Beach North BrazilI’m looking forward to dinner.

 

Fresh fish for dinner

Pipa Beach North Brazil Huge servings in Brazil.

 Caipirinha before dinner

Pipa Beach North BrazilIt’s got a kick like a mule. 🙂

 

Lovely Simone, what magnificent skin colour.

Pipa Beach North BrazilPlus she is one of the nicest ladies I have eve known.

Surfs up

Pipa Beach North Brazil

Very small waves here I’m afraid. 🙂

Local artist

Pipa Beach North Brazil Lot’s of colour here.

Didgeridoo

Pipa Beach North Brazil

Half a world away from Australia we came across these Scandinavian guys playing Didgeridoos, amazing.

Where does that tattoo end?

Pipa Beach North Brazil Would be a lot of fun finding out. 🙂

A perfect day.

Pipa Beach North Brazil Most days in Pipa are perfect. 🙂

 

Sand hills all along the coast

Pipa Beach North Brazil The sand hills stretch for miles.

Thanks for visiting my Pipa Beach brazil post

Pipa Beach North Brazil

Brazilians don’t need a visa to visit Thailand. Please check out my webcam.      

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         Bangkok                                   Osaka                                     Pattaya

Soi Cowboy (25)          Osaka 1st night (17)       Walking St Pattaya is wild & sexy 

                                     

             Chiang Mai                      Pattaya                      Chao Phraya river

Chiang Mai with Tone        9a1fec74-4461-46cd-8663-97f5893c8f6e (1)   191de3bb-38fc-45cd-bce7-ef24081c554b

Pattaya live webcam
 
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Counter only started June 16 2020.

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