Globalwanderings is the personal photoblog of Richard Cain showcasing some of the amazing places I have experienced while living and working throughout Asia and more recently, Europe. In 2009, me and my wife Jackie left Asia to renovate a farmhouse and live a new life in deepest Portugal. Our continuing story is told on the blog called Casa Azul. We also run the podcasting site podcastsinenglish.com for learners and teachers of English as a foreign language.
The latest at Casa Azul
Springwatch (23 May 2018)
We are avid followers of the BBC programme Springwatch which comes out about this time of year. It covers many plants and animals emerging from the long dark winter of the UK. However, we have our own Caza Azul Springwatch this year covering the birds and plants that have appeared here over the last month. First up we had Blue tits once again nesting in one of our bird boxes. Unfortunately this didn’t end well as the five little brown...
Gone to seed (14 May 2018)We are getting to the nicest time of the year. A tad later this year than normal but getting there. Jussi is less keen on the warmer months. She’s smiling in this photo because, yet again, black clouds are on the horizon and if she’s lucky there’ll be some puddles on her walk tomorrow. Walking around the garden admiring the colours has reminded me I have been meaning to do a blog post about where many of our plants have...
A sort of spring (29 Apr 2018)Well, you may have thought us rather moany last month but in fact the average rainfall in Portugal was 272 mm (10.7 inches), making it the second wettest March since 1931 (the rainiest being in 2001). It was also pretty parky: it was the coldest March since 2000, with an average maximum temperature 2.6% below normal. So there you have it: cold and wet! At least the drought (since April 2017) was officially over. Meanwhile this month hasn’t been fab...
The weather at Casa Azul
My latest toy. All the weather information you could ever need. Updates every 15 minutes.
The latest at podcastsinenglish.com
Level 3.143 British icons: Stonehenge (21 Jun 2018)
Why are a circle of prehistoric stones the place to be for the summer solstice?
Level B.73 The artisan economy (7 Jun 2018)From homemade bread to craft beer, locally made products are on the increase.
Level 1.14 Our sisters (31 May 2018)Jackie and Richard both have one sister, listen and find out if they are different to them, or similar
The latest at Globalwanderings.
Dipping our toes in Cathar country 16 Oct 2017
In May 2016 we had driven across Spain and over the Pyrenees into France to get in some hiking and enjoy pristine landscapes. This time we were going a bit further east. We hoped to see more of the Pyrenees but also to explore its medieval past, dip our toes in the Med and to forge on to the greatest medieval fortress city of the area, Carcassonne...
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Palmyra
We visited Syria and Palmyra over Christmas and New Year 2007/08. We encountered a fantastic country and tremendously hospitable people. It will long remain in our hearts and we only hope that the country and people can once again rise from the ruins. During that trip we discovered Palmyra for ourselves and here is what we found.
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River Beaches of Central Portugal
One of the best things about Central Portugal and amongst the first things we discovered since arriving here were the river beaches. All over Central Portugal the local municipalities have selected a local beauty spot and improved upon it. In the main they have dammed a river, or partially dammed it to make a swimming area and then included some facilities, a cafe usually and picnic areas and places to lie out in the sun. All are unique in their own way and a fantastic way to cool off during the hot summer months. Below are a few of our favourite ones.
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Cambodia
This page is a bit of a cheat really as the photographs are of only a few square kilometres of the whole country. But these few square kilometres contain one of the top ten historical sites in the world. Most people just think of Angkor Wat but actually within this area are about a hundred temple complexes built over a period of a few hundred years (9th to 14th Century). Of these I've included photos of just four: Angkor Wat itself, identified by the famous 'beehive' towers; the many faced Bayon; and Ta Prohm - famous for sharing its space with the encroaching jungle and enormous trees.
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Delhi
I got a train for the short trip from Bharatpur to Delhi no problem at all. In contrast to Agra, the Delhi air was fresh and the city looked quite green - New Delhi anyway, as I had arrived in the south and was tuk-tukking north to my hotel in Pahanganj, near the main railway station and between New and old Delhi. This is the main backbacker centre and packed with hotels with a price to suit everyone. I usually choose a fairly decent hotel if I'm in a big city and the Hotel Godwin Deluxe was pretty good. Good enough for me to be really decadent and have a blueberry muffin and coffee on arrival. It's never straight forward however, as the wifi only worked in the stairwell which was a bit of a pain but there you go. What do you expect for £25 a night? Actually more than you get in India but that's another story.