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
Prune, the verb 2 Sep 2016
I have a love / hate feeling towards pruning. I love the idea of doing it, tidying up a tree or bush knowing that it’ll look nicer and, with luck, more bountiful. Today I stood in front of our apricot tree, armed with a two kinds of loppers (the saw kind and the snipping kind), a pair of secateurs, a ladder and a copy of the RHS’ Pruning and Training book. This book is full of amazing photos, diagrams, instructions and advice. It makes pruning look a doddle. I read the book and look at the tree. I do this a few times. Reading the book I know what to do, looking at the tree I am completely fazed. So I start by cutting away the weak branches, the overlapping ones, the downward ones and the inward growing ones.
The latest at Globalwanderings
Hiking in the Serra da Estrela 1 Sep 2016
In the middle of the boiling hot summer that was August 2016 we decided to take a few days away in the mountains of the Serra da Estrela. We had managed to book a house in the village of Videmonte, not far from Guarda, big enough for two adults and two hairy ones. It was a fairly short drive so we decided to stop off on the way in Guarda for lunch and a bit of a mooch.
The latest at podcastsinenglish.com
Win a prize! (level 1) 15 Sep 2016
Find out why Di enters so many competitions each year
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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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week 4 - The Sundarbans 21 April 2016
As I had a few days spare on my Indian holiday, I decided to book an overnight trip to the Sundarbans. It was possibly the best decision I made all holiday. I did a bit of research and decided to go on a tour with tourdesundebans.com and they were fantastic. December and January are their peak months when their tours get packed but at the end of February it was only me, Yogish, an Indian guy from Mumbai and two Canadians Jake and Jordyn along with our guide AJ. It took all morning to get there. A few hours in a minibus followed by a very small, rickety ferry, a trip on the back of a strange hybrid three wheeler along narrow paths and through local villages and another rickety ferry. But then we had arrived at "eco village". "The brothers" as the three blokes who set up the tour company like to call themselves had purchased a bit of land just outside the Sundarbans National park and set up a half a dozen cottages. It was actually much more comfortable than I imagined. And, as an extra bonus there were very few mosquitos. We had some tea and a lie down but then in the late afternoon we were on our first recce. AJ got a small boat and we explored a number of the tributaries of the mangrove forest.