Amazing pics @Hal9000 and @krayzkrok.
Awesome stuff!
Hal, where did those adventures take place?
Reminds me of Crater Lake ;-)
My first thought too.
Thanks, y’all. I guess I should have provided info, so I updated it, @CraigM, @Tman, @Cormac
While NSFW, this is where Emily Ratajkowsi (doesn’t Tom dislike her?) did her SI photoshoot. Unfortunately she wasn’t there at the time, because that would have been a cool person to meet, especially given her recent news kefuffles. Again, NSFW, but you can see some of the views better in their pics.
PS-I would have liked to have seen an elephant.
Bonus if it was doing a swimsuit shoot!
@Hal9000, your pics from various points about the Caribbean reminded me – I’ve got to figure out where to go spring next year and I’d love to go to the Caribbean (never been). Sadly, my two initial thoughts (when planning and eventually scrapping the spring trip this year) were St. Martin and the Virgin Islands, both of which aren’t very visitable so soon after the terrible hurricanes. I thought about Grand Cayman but I would love to see some mountains. Did consider T&T but you indicated that wasn’t great. Martinique a good destination? Mainly looking for a non-third world island with nice weather, beaches, clear water, and mountains to relax at for a week or so. Thanks!
@mjgreeny75, yeah the Rome gulls are crazy “friendly”. I couldn’t resist taking pictures of them standing on top of statues, etc. to the point that my wife would just roll her eyes after a while.
@BigWeather , those islands are still a little beaten, from what I was told. My folks just went to the Caymans, and then Aruba, and they enjoyed them both. It depends on what you’re looking for.
Martinique has rather nice infrastructure and is of course really just a tropical “state” of France, so if you’re French or love France, that’s the place to go. Anse Noir and other areas offer great snorkeling. It’s got rainforest and mountains, plus history.
St. Lucia is the same, but a lot easier to navigate for people who speak English. Note, unlike Martinique, you will drive on the British side of the road. Well worth it to rent a Jeep and haul butt around. Blast of an experience and easy after no more than 3 minutes of driving. St. Lucia is very romantic in areas, and you can easily do an AI experience or turn it into a choose-your-own-adventure exploration. It has rainforests, private beaches, and also volcanic, black sand beaches. Nice underwater activities, too. I had time to visit the various resorts while I was there, including all the Sandals ones, and formulated some opinions on which sections of the island are best for X traveler vs Y traveler. Let me know if you’re interested. However, given ease-of-travel (plus getting there), post-hurricane cleanup, and cost, St. Lucia is a winner right now if you want mountains and beaches.
Trinidad and Tobago was a nightmare, plus they have an increasing ISIS presence. There are just about no redeeming qualities to it. Avoid with prejudice. It does have a cool asphalt-producing lake, but the local scammers there are insanely aggressive.
I like the one where the insects and the terrifying inhuman eye are less prominent.
They’re both neat, but I think the contrast between the two is the best bit. Here’s a toothy croc, and here’s the flies hitching a ride!
Yeah, that’s more in my comfort zone.
You’ll be my desktop for this cold season, if you don’t mind.
Probably because they would go straight through our bones, missing the blood vessels on our meager arms!
As much as I love insects and I find that eye fascinating, the impending menace and badassry of the first one wins it for me.
@Hal9000, thanks for the very detailed and helpful information! Very much leaning toward visiting St. Lucia. While we’re a bit leery of driving on the left (having never done it before) I’m imagining that is a much better place to learn than say in the UK due to traffic density. As for the type of traveler, I’d want to mix in relaxation, a bit of snorkeling, swimming, and visiting a historic site or two. Nothing super high adventure. Sounds like early April isn’t a bad time to visit either, which is nice. It is a volcanic isle, but I’m assuming that the actual risk of it being active is fairly low? Not like Montserrat (I think it is), right? Thanks again!
I had to drive on the left in Australia, and it only took me a few short outings to feel comfortable with it. (Except when I came across a traffic circle, that screwed me up every time.) For me, it really helped having the driver’s wheel on the right. You just remember “center line is on the side nearest me” and the rest kind of falls into place.
Fantastic shots krazykok! The whistling kite shot in particular is wonderful.
I’ll second Simon, amazing pictures. Both of those croc pics are awesome too.
I bet the rapier wit of the thesis committee went right through those chainmail links!
Krok, if I had my druthers I spend the rest of my life tramping around AU and NZ. I got the chance to make a small tour of NZ’s south island in the early 2000’s. A Kiwi I was at dinner with one night was telling me about fantastic AU. One day… one day.
If I am on Stuart Island again maybe I’ll actually try (e.g., force myself) Mutton Bird.
Thank you for the pictures.
While you chumps are expending energy running around all over the world, I sit back and let the world come to me… in the form of AirBnB guests and their weird garbage.
This artifact belonged to a Korean woman. I cut off the bottom where it helpfully explains that it’s “PORE’S CARE” and restates “Wanna have baby skin!” Text is English & Japanese on the front, Japanese & Korean on the back. The product is made in Korea. I don’t dare open it and find out what’s inside because I fear the powers of Korean skin care products. They’re 20 years ahead of us, so it might be nanites or something.