Chris's space

Bahamas, Nassau, 28 March – 02 April 2021

Posted on Sunday, 2-April-2023 by Chris Desmond

Geting to Nassau from Cyprus was a gruelling trip which took 34 hours Hotel to Hotel, 14 hours flying time, via Heathrow. You can buy a Bahamas SIM card at the Airport, ask anyone for directions to the shop, cost US$17.80 for a week. There are also ATM’s where you can withdraw cash, either USD or BSD. They charge a 5.5% commission as well as a US$5 ATM fee, so if you can bring US$ with you because they are just as good as BSD no need for a currency exchange. Credit cards are accepted but they charge you an additional $3 for each transaction hahaha. Taxi to the Downtown area was US$35, there are no taxi meters here

Nassau is Cruise ship central in the Caribbean. The port can hold six ships simultaneously and they are expanding it to hold ten ships. The ships arrive early morning and depart at night. I only saw 5 ships in port at any one time during my stay. Each one of these behemoths can carry upto 6000 passengers, some even more and when they arrive the town is flooded with upto 30,000 people. Tourism is well organised here and the Bahamas Dollar is pegged to the US dollar one to one, both currencies are in common use. Prices are the same as any developed country, this is not a budget destination.

Bus to Larnaca Airport 2 euro

Larnaca Airport

Heathrow

London to Nassau 9 hours

Needs a wash

Clear waters

Cruise ships and Atlantis

Bahamas SIM card

Bahamas Beer

Conch (Conk) Burger

Mini bus $1.25 local transport

Straw Market

All your Souvenir needs

Huge

Senor Frog, good view

Not on the Menu

Heritage Museum

Punishment

Slave Ships

Slave Market

Weapons

Body Armour

Fishing Licence

Slave tools

Crocodile Bait

The Legend

Governors House

Churches

The Arch

Police

The Other Bahamas Beer

Conch Chowder

Pink House

The Queen

Police Bikes

Asst. Police Comm. Funeral

Rum Cake

Queens Staircase

I used this one hahaha

Fort Fincastle

Quite unique

Fort Fincastle

View from the top

Fort Fincastle

Art

Wine Shop

Art

Art Gallery – No photos inside

Art Gallery

Art

Art

Cemetery

Grave STone

Junkanoo Beach

Next to Junkanoo Beach

Arawak Cay Police Station

Arawak Cay Restaurants

Oh Andros Restaurant Menu

Crack Conch

Coconuts

Art

Slave Museum

Pirate Museum

Margaritaville

Fountain

Owl

Monsters

Directions

Mangoes

Rum

Rum

Rum

J.Bond

Rum

Junkanoo Museum

Atlantis

I walked across the Sidney Poitier Bridge

The View

Soccer Stadium

Craft Beer, very nice

Inside

On Tap

Souvenirs

Forgot to do the top button up

The Big Finger

Posted in Bahamas | 1 Comment

Cyprus, Larnaca, 26 – 27 March 2023

Posted on Monday, 27-March-2023 by Chris Desmond

Limassol to Larnaca by bus, cost 4 euro and it took 1:35 hrs. The first 11km out of Limassol along the coast was non-stop apartment blocks, with many new ones being built and the bus stops a few times to pick up passengers. After that onto the freeway and you get dropped off right on the beach strip in Larnaca. Being a Sunday this was crowded with locals and day trippers from Nicosia.

The town centre is very compact and surrounds the beach promenade, many restaurants and shops dotted along the narrow cobblestone streets. A small medieval fort overlooks the sea, quite a charming place.

View from the bus

Inside the bus

Wind Turbines

Bird cage

The Bus stop in Larnaca

The view from the bus stop

Ukraine

Alexander Menu

Stifado Beef

Sweets

Cyprus Coffee

Cyprus Breakfast

Ukraine

Larnaca Castle

Larnaca Castle

Enter

Cannon

Water Fountain

Canon

Ottoman Headstones

Renovations

The View

The View

The View

The Water must be Freezing

Inside the Castle or Fort

On top

Qatar Airways – My Flight

On Top

Fort Museum

Fort Museum

Fort Museum

Fort Museum

Fort Museum

Fort Museum

Mosque next to the Fort

Church of Saint Lazarus

Church of Saint Lazarus

Church of Saint Lazarus

Church of Saint Lazarus

Must weigh a ton

Church of Saint Lazarus

Good vs Evil

Convoluted ceiling

Supermarket

Municipal Market

Bird

Cooking

Town Square

Promenade

Life Guard

Beach

Armenia Genocide

Armenia Genocide

End of the Day

Larnaca-65

Posted in Cyprus | 4 Comments

Cyprus, Limassol, 23 – 25 March 2023

Posted on Sunday, 26-March-2023 by Chris Desmond

Paphos to Limassol by bus cost 4 Euro and it took 1:10 hrs, the busses have very little legroom less than a budget airline. This bus finished up being full, not a comfortable trip.

Breakfast

On the Bus

The View

Limassol, hardly saw any other tourists, there is an old town and the harbour area with many restaurants and a very nice promenade. I also found Street Art in the streets surrounding the Agora (this is a food court). There are two restaurants which are worth visiting, places where the locals eat, no tourists. Souvlaki Livadias for Souvlaki and Manoushe Lebanese Food & Bakery for a huge variety of Lebanese Food and Sweets. The only ancient thing to see is the Limassol Castle and Medieval Museum.

The Jetty

The Harbour

Remezzo Cafe

Choc Temptation Pancakes – Huge

Mosaic

Mermaid

Ducati Scrambler

Limassol Castle

Armoured Doors

The Basement

Limassol Castle

Dead Soldier

Killed by the Turks

Tombstones 13-14 Century

Greek

Limassol Castle

Last Supper

Limassol Castle

Armour

Guns

Ancient Coins

View from the top

Top of the Castle

View from the top

Top of the Castle

That Mermaid again

Ayia Napa Cathedral

Old Town

Souvlaki Livadias

Old Water Tower

Lebanese Bread

Katholiki Greek Orthodox Church

This one had me fooled

Look closely

Food Court

Inside

Saripolou Square

Dolphins

Old Town

Arcade

Sculpture Park by the Promenade

Sculpture Park

The Promenade

The Beach

The Coast

The Promenade

Tall Man

Moussaka

Posted in Cyprus | 2 Comments

Cyprus, Paphos, 18 – 22 March 2023

Posted on Wednesday, 22-March-2023 by Chris Desmond

Nicosia to Paphos (pronounced Pafos) is a two hour bus ride cost 7 euro. You depart from the Central Bus Station near the Old town, there are a few stops along the way in the city as well. There is a bus almost every hour with not as many on the weekend. The website for the Intercity Busses is – https://intercity-buses.com/en/ . Put your suitcase in the hold and buy your ticket from the driver, the bus was only half full if that. At the moment they are renovating the Main Bus Station in Paphos so you get dropped off in a car park that looks deserted but I later learnt that sometimes there are taxis and the 610 bus stops there. So your best bet is to get the 610 bus E1.50 to the Harbour Bus Terminus and from there you can get a local bus to anywhere in the city. Taxi’s are few and far between in Cyprus. The website for busses in Paphos is – https://www.pafosbuses.com/ , the Cyprus by Bus App also works in this city.

People drive on the left and the electric plugs are the big square UK kind as well.

Intercity Bus Nicosia to Paphos

Limited legroom

The view

This place is very popular with tourists from the UK, right now is the off season so it was not crowded at all. Nicosia is less popular with tourists. I came here thinking it would have a similar old city atmosphere to Nicosia but it does not hahaha. It is a typical seaside resort with beaches and promenades along the sea. You can get tours from here to anywhere on the island, very well organised. The old town here has been completely renovated and is quite sterile. The Archeological Park is large and has some very nice mosaics, the rest is in ruins.

I also went on a day tour into the mountains to some traditional villages, very good.

Interesting

Cats

The Seaside

Archeological Park

Mosaics

Boy with a Fish

Meatballs

Moussaka

Greek yoghurt and Honey

Temporary Paphos Bus Station

The Market

Paphos Castle

The View

The Man

Rainfall

Cyprus vino

Potter

The Shop

Byzantine Church of Agia Paraskevi

Heros

Church with 5 domes

Loukoumia Geroskipou “ARSINOE”

Cyprus Delight

Chopping Machine

3 euro for a box

Delicious

The View

Sofia And Andreas Traditional House

Cottage Cheese

Bread

Breakfast

The Tour Group

Bedroom

Living room

Holy Monastery of Saint Neophytos the Recluse

Spot the Odd flag

Posted in Cyprus | 6 Comments

Cyprus, Nicosia, 14 – 17 March 2023

Posted on Friday, 17-March-2023 by Chris Desmond

Perth to Nicosia via Doha and Larnaca Airports took about 20 hours. Larnaca Airport is small and there are no photos or fingerprints at immigration, in fact the guy barely looked at me, did not ask any questions, just stamped my passport and gave it back hahaha. There is a Airport Shuttle counter which you can not miss at the exit where you can book shuttles to anywhere on the island. I took the Airport Shuttle to Nicosia about 45min and 9 euro. This shuttle does not take you into the Central Bus Station in the Old Town instead it drops you off at their Depot on the outskirts of the city from where you have to find your way to the Old City where I was staying. There were two taxis waiting and they were taken, there is an App called CABCY similar to Uber which I tried using twice but no takers so I walked across the road and got a bus cost 2 euro. This is the App you need for the buses in Nicosia https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.meep.cyprus.pame and this is another useful App for Metro and Rural buses https://www.cyprusbybus.com/

A380 very comfortable

11:15 hours

Doha

Doha Airport

Land

Note the Flight Path 4:30 hrs

Larnaca

Air brakes

Larnaca Airport

Shuttle Ticket

On the Shuttle

Nicosia – the old town is the place to be, narrow winding streets, many old cafe’s and restaurants, everything is within walking distance. You can also cross over to the Turkish side and enjoy a coffee and baklava. Since the Turks invaded in 1974 and took over the Northern part of the island the UN sent a peacekeeping force which is still in place and it is a serious business because the issue of Northern Cyprus has not been settled, it is only recognised by Turkey. Thousands of non-turkish Cypriots were kicked out of their homes in the North and had to be resettled in the South.

Cyprus is a Cat country, there are cats wandering around everywhere. The museums are all free, quite unusual. This is an interesting place to visit.

Cats

Churches

Inside

The Nicosia Wall

Cats

Ledra Street

Caterina Cornaro

1540 map

Turkish siege 1570

Turkish seige 1570

British Colony

British Colony

Cats

Evroulla

The Walled City

Church

Looking out over the Turkish side

The Walls

Liberty Monument

The Walls

Ancient Aqueduct

1833

Famagusta Gate

Taverna

Cats

Freedom Struggle Museum

British Concentration Camps

Freedom Fighters

Smuggling in Arms

The Resistance

The Resistance

Torture

Never give up

Freedom Fighters

The Resistance

Church

Inside

Bishops House

Church

Inside

Church rear

Dragoman’s House

Finished up minus his Head

Tea time

The Living Room

Ceiling

Bishops House

Manhole cover

Armenian Restaurant

Armenian Bread

Souvlaki

Church

The Wall

Ledra St. Border Crossing

Across the Border

Buyuk Khan

Art

Buyuk Khan

Across the Border

Cyprus Museum

Aphrodite

Cyprus Museum

Turkish Flag

UN Peacekeepers

UN Peacekeepers

The Neutral Zone

Evroulla’s

Posted in Cyprus | 4 Comments

United Kingdom, Hastings, 31 July – 09 August 2022

Posted on Tuesday, 9-August-2022 by Chris Desmond

Veghel to Hastings – this time I took into account getting through Antwerp and travelled on a Sunday when there are no trucks on the road. Cold and windy ride with the occasional drizzle, arrived early at Calais and was put on an earlier train, the queue to get to the train started in the Terminal car park, it took 45 min crawling along to get to the immigration booths, never seen anything like it. Apparently BREXIT is to blame because now that the UK is no longer part of the EU each passenger has to show their passport and it has to be scanned into the system, it is far worse for the trucks which are backed up for kilometers in the UK and have to wait all day.

2022 Europe by Bike

Dutch Freeway Art

Enter Belgium

Wind Turbines

Enter France

Chunnel Check-in

Queue winding through the car park

Finally at Immigration

Waiting to Board

Bikes go on Last

On the Train

Safety

Bike Last on and Last off

The Countryside

Rye

Rehydrating

Winchelsea and the Flight home.

The New Inn, Winchelsea

Table Inlay

Nice

A very big pie

The New Inn

Winchelsea

The Church

Pretty

St.Thomas the Martyr

Spike Milligan

Blue Clock

Winchelsea

M25 to Heathrow

Rip-off

Heathrow

Moonlight

Avoiding the War Zone

KL Airport Train

Perth

Cold and Wet

Posted in Australia | Leave a comment

Netherlands, Veghel, 19 – 30 July 2022

Posted on Saturday, 30-July-2022 by Chris Desmond

My knee was not getting any better so I decided to cut my trip short and head for home. I was planning to ride to Cyprus and then the North Cape.

Zagreb to Regensberg in Germany goes through Slovenia and Austria both of which require vignettes for their freeways and there are a couple of long tunnels that have their own tolls (€10 & €6). Slovenia eVignette costs €7.50 for 7 days and Austria €5.60 for 10 days and you buy them online. I had to say I was a business customer to get the Austrian one immediately or I would have had to wait four weeks, give any name as the Business name and an address, nobody cares. The only reason for this ridiculous step is Austrian consumer law which allows you to claim a refund within 28 days if you are Private but with the Business eVignette there is no refund. You can also stop and buy a vignette at Service stations on either side of the border and make sure you do that before you cross the border, a friend got fined €300 because they waited too long after crossing the border to buy the Paper Vignette which is a sticker and very hard to remove. Had to remember to get a stamp in my passport when re-entering the Schengen area at the Slovenia border. Beautiful ride through the mountains most of the way in warm and sunny weather 585km in 7:08hrs. This was just an overnight stop at a motel near the freeway.

Heading into the mountains

Exit Croatia

Enter Slovenia

Slovenia Border

Old Austria Border

New Austria Border

Fuel Stop

Tunnels

The View

Tunnel Toll

Mountains

House on a Hill

Mountains

Tunnels

Inside the Tunnel

Bridge

Weird Bridge

Sun Power

Regensberg to Veghel – fine and hot weather 35c with many roadworks. Got stuck for 20min boiling in my jacket when one truck ran into the back of another at some roadworks which narrowed the freeway down to one lane, 666kms in 7:35hrs. There was a festival on in Veghel which was nice.

Heading out

An old Morgan

Road works

Trucks overtaking trucks and roadworks

Ubiquitous

Roadworks

Frankfurt

Clouds

Food

Carver

Demo

Festival

Silo Art

Inside the Silo

Interesting Urinals

Orange

Fountain

Band

Flip Flop Art

Elephant

Clock

String Art

People

IPA

Food

Twisted

Apple Juice

Posted in Netherlands, United Kingdom | 2 Comments

Croatia, Zagreb, Krk Island, Batina, 02 – 18 July 2022

Posted on Monday, 18-July-2022 by Chris Desmond

Palazzolo to Trieste on the freeway then onto back roads into Slovenia, no border stop. Arrived at the Croatian border and there was a long queue, people heading for the coast on the weekend. Rode on the wrong side of the narrow road, no traffic coming the other way and got to the front, one car would not let me in but the next guy did hahaha. Got waved through immigration but remembered to stop and ask for a stamp in my passport to show I have exited the Schengen area. Next time there should be no queues or immigration as Croatia will have joined the EU and the Schengen area. Short ride to the freeway past Rijeka and then another freeway all with Toll stops. If you ever drive this way always take the Bankcard lanes at the toll stops especially when you get to the Zagreb exit, the cash lane is kilometers long, in the Bankcard lane you either drive straight through or there is a short queue on the weekend, and pay with your credit card, 327km in 4:55hrs. I hurt my knee in Italy and decided to take a break here staying at a friends place for some R&R.

Heading out

Grapes

Trieste

Enter Slovenia

Slovenia

Enter Croatia

Passing Rijeka

Mountains

Tunnels

Holiday traffic to the Coast

The Zagre exit, Bankcard.

Tariffs

Zagreb – not my first visit, Croatia is a great place to spend some time but try to avoid the Summer peak season.

Rainbow

August Šenoa

Map of Zagreb

Trg bana Josipa Jelačića

Saint George and the Strange Dragon

Kapelica kamenita vrata

Interesting

Marija Jurić Zagorka, Croatian Novelist

Mali Medo Craft Beer

Mali Medo Snacks

Mali Medo Vino

The Old Town

Pizza

Njivice, Krk Island – Trip to the seaside.

Bridge to Krk Island

The View

Gemist under the Krk Bridge

Njivice

Submarine

Storm coming

Sunset at Njivice

After the Storm

Žrnovski Makaruni, Hand Rolled Pasta

Colourful

Cruise to Malinska

The Cockpit

Malinska

Mimi’s Cafe

Konoba Šantek

Batina – a trip to the Danube drama included. The Danube is the border between Croatia and Serbia and people cross it all the time to visit a restaurant, friends, relatives, to do some shopping etc. We crossed this border twice for a meal during my stay here. The first time coming back took an hour at least as they were searching cars for drugs. The second time we were right at the immigration booth with one car ahead of us when there was an explosion and the car in front of us caught on fire. The couple in the car jumped out and ran and we and the cars behind us frantically reversed to put some distance between us and the fire. The immigration people were running around clueless until a truck driver who was in the queue behind us brought the fire extinguisher from his truck and put the fire out. Next the Authorities were called and they and a fire engine and crew turned up about an hour later hahaha while traffic piled up on both sides of the border. The other lane was clear but nobody was allowed to cross until an investigation was completed by a Magistrate and nobody could tell us when he would arrive from the nearest town. Therefore we had to turn around and head for the next border crossing and it took 3 hours to get back to Croatia instead of 10 minutes. The fire was probably caused by a fuel leak under the bonnet not a terrorist bomb hahaha.

Josic Restaurant and Winery

Cruising on the Danube

Mama and Babies

Swan

Serbia on the other side

The Border

Freighter

Wine growing area

Bridge to Serbia

River cruise

Soviet era monument

Enjoying the sunshine

Josic Restaurant and Winery

Concert in the Park

Josic Restaurant and Winery

Cruising

Holiday Home

Cruising

Freight

Kod Carine, Restaurant in Serbia

Serbian

Fish Paprika

Danube Fish

Dessert

Drama at the Border

Fire

Panic

Melted tyres

WW1 Fire Engine arrives

Spot the non-Croatian beer.

Posted in Croatia | 2 Comments

Italy, Palazzolo dello Stella, Lignano Sabbiadoro, Codroipo, Koper (Slovenia), 23 June – 01 July 2022

Posted on Friday, 1-July-2022 by Chris Desmond

Getting out of Milan was nearly as bad as Antwerp, trucks and more trucks and tolls. After about 200km traffic eased and I could cruise along in fine and hot 35c weather. Two fuel stops and one very long traffic jam which I got around by riding down the emergency lane. Tolls €27.20, 374km in 4:21hrs.

Milan Trucks

Traffic Jam

Tunnels

Farmland

Toll Plaza

Palazzolo dello Stella – I spent a few days here visiting friends and the surrounding area.

Choc Gelato of course

Thirsty

The Local drop

Rebecca, Baby, Rodrigo, Viola, Helena. Rescue Galgos from Spain

Carbonara done the Italian way

Ham and Melon

Swans

Thinly sliced

Fresh Riccota and Olive oil

What is this

Risotto

Chocolate

Dessert

Cheese

Cindy

Lignano Sabbiadoro – This is a popular seaside town where many Germans and Austrians have holiday homes.

Marano Lagoon

Lignano Sabbiadoro

Pet Bar

Lunch

Tiramisu

Codroipo – Stopped for an Espresso and Croissant.

Breakfast

Art

Tiny Wild Flowers

Koper in Slovenia – This is Slovenia’s only major port and it has an interesting old town.

The Old Town

Lunch

The Old Museum

Saint Christopher

Lion of Saint Mark

One head 4 bodies

Vulture and a Rabbit

4th Century AD

Saint George

Gateway

Cooling off

Town Square

Cafe

Park

New Fountain

Old Fountain

Nice

also nice

No water

Posted in Italy, Slovenia | 2 Comments

Italy, Milan, Alfa Romeo Museum, 19 – 22 June 2022

Posted on Wednesday, 22-June-2022 by Chris Desmond

From Logroño I rode to La Jonquera an overnight stop near the freeway. 612kms in 6:05 hours with 3 fuel stops, 4 lanes all the way with very little traffic and only one toll stop €16.45. Spain is eliminating Tolls and demolishing the Toll Plaza infrastructure, there are a few still left in the North West of the country. Windy with many Wind Turbines in parts.

: Wind Turbines

: Wind Turbines

: Wind Turbines

: Toll

: Bull

: Not a Bull

: 0 degrees Longtitude coming up

: 0 Degrees Longtitude

: Railway Bridge

: Thirsty

: Art

: Railway Bridge

: A White Bridge

: Nearly there

Then to Frejus in France another overnight stop near the freeway. This starts on the busiest Freeway in France and continues all the way along the South Coast of France, trucks occupying 2 lanes most of the time, winding roads and tunnels, no time to relax. Stopped for tolls 6 times, first to take a ticket and at the end pay for the ride €15.10, €2.70, €6.10, distance 445kms in 4:36hrs

: Something up there

: Enter France

: Border Monument

: Mountains

: Looks like Rain

: What is that

: The Sea

: Toll

: Toll

: Hills

: French Town

: Craft Beer

Until I arrived at Lianate on the outskirts of Milan where the Alfa Romeo Museum is located. I crossed over from France to Italy at some point probably in the middle of a tunnel. 4 tolls stops on the French side €2.30 for 28km, €1.90 for 28km, then €0.90 no receipt, €1.70 for 20km, mind boggling. Tunnel, viaduct, roadworks, tunnel, viaduct, roadworks all along the coast until I turned North to Milan, beautiful views along the coast. The Italian Toll Department only asks you to take a ticket at the beginning and pay for it at the end, therefore only 2 stops €29.50 for 295kms exactly €10 per 100km. But when I arrived at the Ring road around Milan I had to pay two tolls (€3.30 and €0.80) hahaha, usually once you get to a city there are no Tolls but not in Milan. The traffic is almost as bad as Antwerp without throwing Toll stops into the mix.