Edina Street
16-06-2024, 06:20 PM
I love hearing about about peoples adventures. I suppose adventures are mostly connected to Holidays, but not necessarily.
I wish I could say that I have been to the Kruger Safari Park and just about got Mauled by a Lion, but I haven't, though it is on my bucket list. I wish I could say that I drove from Scotland to Thailand, passing through Vienna whilst listening to Ultravox, before driving across war zones, but that was an adventure that I never conducted, despite planning to. As a long distance courier, I wish I could say that I have driven along the world's most dangerous roads, but again, I would be lying. Would also love to say that I built an Iglu in the Death Zone on Mount Everest after reaching the summit, but again, I simply did not.
However I have been far from a Hermit, so I am going to compose my list of favourite holiday adventures, and invite members of Hibs.net to share their stories and experiences.
(1) P & O Christmas Cruise from Southampton to Costa Del Sol - We did not go to the Costa Del Sol, and instead left the ship for three days. We crossed the Straits and hired a car in Tangier and drove passed Merzhouga to the Sahara Desert. This was an adventure and a half. Along the way we stopped to feed Berber Monkies, and entering Merzhouga we saw a Camel at the side of the road. By the time we got to the Sahara it was approaching evening, and despite the Sahara Desert supposedly being the hottest place on the planet, it was actually quite cool and some of the locals were actually wearing anoraks. We were supposed to stay the night in a cheap B&B in Khamlia, but we began to become paranoid and did not feel safe. We were under the impression that we would be hounded endlessly by beggars all night, and I was worried about what I would do in the event that begging turns into mugging. I doubt if 2 Brits went missing in Khamlia that there would be much of an investigation. So we just got in the car and I drove off. The trip back was done in darkness. The night sky in the Sahara and Atlis Mountain Region is the clearest you will ever see. Talk about a starry night. But with the sky being so clear, we could see allsorts of things shooting across the sky. Comets? Meteors? Aliens lol?. Coming over the Atlis Mountains I pulled over to go into the boot and grab a bag of Doritos, and the instant I put my hand on the Doritos I became surrounded by a pack of wild and snarling Dogs. They allowed me to run back to the drivers seat however, which I was surprised about. In hindsight, they just wanted the Doritos. Next we came across a little village which at 1:03 am was bustling with life and all the shops were open. Next morning on the motorway we witnessed a Bull crossing the road, a Goose taking shelter under a Donkey, and a kitten amongst a pack of wild dogs, and we discussed just how North Africa defies conventional wisdom. We did not make it back to Tangier in time to catch the Ferry back across the Straits, so had to get up early next morning to catch the first Ferry, just to find out that in Morocco their Ferries do not have an official departure time, and they just go whenever all the lorries are inside with their Cargo. Eventually we departed, and we met the Ventura at Gibraltar with only 15 minutes to spare. Once back on board, we had a great view of Gibraltar Rock, before setting off. We then enjoyed the luxuries of the cruiseship, including theatre, extremely friendly company, and speciality restaurants ran by celebrity chefs. Of course, there was more that happened than just this, but this was my number 1 holiday adventure.
(2) Balmoral Norwegian Fjords Cruise - Quite simply, the Norwegian Fjords are simply majestic. Sailing down them in the evening surrounded by mystic myst whilst sitting on deck drinking whatever and as much as I wanted was a dream come true.
(3) Iceland & Greenland on the Blackwatch - The Blackwatch was not a very good cruiseship. Very small. Iceland was enjoyable however. We hired a car and drove along the coast passing Black Sands Beach. We saw a Glacier and plenty of smoke billowing from the ground. Was like driving through the Jurassic Period. The Roads in Reykjavik are far better designed than anything in Britain also. On to Greenland, I had expected the Greenlandic Fjords to be even more spectacular than Norway, but they weren't. One thing I can do however is dispel the myth that there is no Greenery on Greenland. At the Southern tip there is plenty of trees, shrubs and fields, as well as Ice-bergs of course in the water. The other thing I noted, is that there is no in between. We are sailing deeper and deeper into Greenland, and then it just hits you like that, the wall of Ice, and the ship can go no further. There seemed to be no gradual build up of Ice before that. So we had to turn back the second we had officially entered the Arctic Region. Back on the boat we witnessed a whale doing summer-salts and back flips. My theory was that the whale is doing this because it is curious and is trying to get a better look of the people on board the ship. On the way home one of the passengers fell ill and the ship got diverted to within a few miles of Iceland and the Iceland Armed Forces sent a helicopter out to make a rescue. We also stopped off at Belfast, and I was amazed to learn that the Cranes that were still in operation, were the same cranes that built the Titanic.
(4) Daytona to Houston then back to Orlando - This was a driving trip along the I10. We started off in Orlando, went to Daytona Beach to watch Indianapolis, but could not get tickets, then went to Cape Canavral to watch a Rocket take off which is still travelling across the universe today. Then we travelled across several states on our way to Las Vegas. The main event was me nearly getting bit by a Copperhead on the bank of the Mississippi. Luckily the snake which was right next to me in a bush I was standing next to, chose flea instead of attack, and when it disappeared into the water the splash actually hit me. We decided against going to Las Vegas, where we planned to get the plane back to Orlando and, decided to just turn back instead. We went back to the mouse operated people trap and saw Free Willie.
(5) Train Journey from London to Milan - I was just a kid. There might have been a change at Paris, but I don't remember. But I shall never forget travelling through the Alps on the train and going through what was at the time the longest train tunnel in the world. I do believe that the mountain the train was going underneath was the Eiger.
(6) Malta - Don't remember much about Malta, but I remember it more from a story my father told me. He had went out on a pub crawl and he came back to the hotel telling my mother that when he left the night club he believed that he had gone back in time. This might have sounded like absolute madness, however just a few months ago I was watching a video of an interview of a London bare knuckle boxer named Pretty boy Roy Shaw, and he told a story which was the exact same story that my father told. He said it was like he had gone back in time, because at 4 am, instead of walking passed drunken revelers, he was walking past people dressed like Templar Knights and allsorts. Apparently when he told someone next day about his experience, they told him that this was perfectly normal, and that the Maltese are very religious and they get up very early in the morning to go to Mass and they dress up in allsorts of religious outfits.
(7) Belfast as a child - At the height of the troubles my Mother took me to a cinema in Belfast to watch Mary Poppins for my first time. We were the only two people in there. We found out later why that was. Quite simply people in Ireland during the Troubles stayed well clear of Cinemas.
There has been a few other holidays, but I have nothing else to say about them.
Look forward to hearing about your adventures. I will be extremely interested to read about any stories from anyone on here that has a thing for holidaying in Warzones. Yes, you do get people that do.
I wish I could say that I have been to the Kruger Safari Park and just about got Mauled by a Lion, but I haven't, though it is on my bucket list. I wish I could say that I drove from Scotland to Thailand, passing through Vienna whilst listening to Ultravox, before driving across war zones, but that was an adventure that I never conducted, despite planning to. As a long distance courier, I wish I could say that I have driven along the world's most dangerous roads, but again, I would be lying. Would also love to say that I built an Iglu in the Death Zone on Mount Everest after reaching the summit, but again, I simply did not.
However I have been far from a Hermit, so I am going to compose my list of favourite holiday adventures, and invite members of Hibs.net to share their stories and experiences.
(1) P & O Christmas Cruise from Southampton to Costa Del Sol - We did not go to the Costa Del Sol, and instead left the ship for three days. We crossed the Straits and hired a car in Tangier and drove passed Merzhouga to the Sahara Desert. This was an adventure and a half. Along the way we stopped to feed Berber Monkies, and entering Merzhouga we saw a Camel at the side of the road. By the time we got to the Sahara it was approaching evening, and despite the Sahara Desert supposedly being the hottest place on the planet, it was actually quite cool and some of the locals were actually wearing anoraks. We were supposed to stay the night in a cheap B&B in Khamlia, but we began to become paranoid and did not feel safe. We were under the impression that we would be hounded endlessly by beggars all night, and I was worried about what I would do in the event that begging turns into mugging. I doubt if 2 Brits went missing in Khamlia that there would be much of an investigation. So we just got in the car and I drove off. The trip back was done in darkness. The night sky in the Sahara and Atlis Mountain Region is the clearest you will ever see. Talk about a starry night. But with the sky being so clear, we could see allsorts of things shooting across the sky. Comets? Meteors? Aliens lol?. Coming over the Atlis Mountains I pulled over to go into the boot and grab a bag of Doritos, and the instant I put my hand on the Doritos I became surrounded by a pack of wild and snarling Dogs. They allowed me to run back to the drivers seat however, which I was surprised about. In hindsight, they just wanted the Doritos. Next we came across a little village which at 1:03 am was bustling with life and all the shops were open. Next morning on the motorway we witnessed a Bull crossing the road, a Goose taking shelter under a Donkey, and a kitten amongst a pack of wild dogs, and we discussed just how North Africa defies conventional wisdom. We did not make it back to Tangier in time to catch the Ferry back across the Straits, so had to get up early next morning to catch the first Ferry, just to find out that in Morocco their Ferries do not have an official departure time, and they just go whenever all the lorries are inside with their Cargo. Eventually we departed, and we met the Ventura at Gibraltar with only 15 minutes to spare. Once back on board, we had a great view of Gibraltar Rock, before setting off. We then enjoyed the luxuries of the cruiseship, including theatre, extremely friendly company, and speciality restaurants ran by celebrity chefs. Of course, there was more that happened than just this, but this was my number 1 holiday adventure.
(2) Balmoral Norwegian Fjords Cruise - Quite simply, the Norwegian Fjords are simply majestic. Sailing down them in the evening surrounded by mystic myst whilst sitting on deck drinking whatever and as much as I wanted was a dream come true.
(3) Iceland & Greenland on the Blackwatch - The Blackwatch was not a very good cruiseship. Very small. Iceland was enjoyable however. We hired a car and drove along the coast passing Black Sands Beach. We saw a Glacier and plenty of smoke billowing from the ground. Was like driving through the Jurassic Period. The Roads in Reykjavik are far better designed than anything in Britain also. On to Greenland, I had expected the Greenlandic Fjords to be even more spectacular than Norway, but they weren't. One thing I can do however is dispel the myth that there is no Greenery on Greenland. At the Southern tip there is plenty of trees, shrubs and fields, as well as Ice-bergs of course in the water. The other thing I noted, is that there is no in between. We are sailing deeper and deeper into Greenland, and then it just hits you like that, the wall of Ice, and the ship can go no further. There seemed to be no gradual build up of Ice before that. So we had to turn back the second we had officially entered the Arctic Region. Back on the boat we witnessed a whale doing summer-salts and back flips. My theory was that the whale is doing this because it is curious and is trying to get a better look of the people on board the ship. On the way home one of the passengers fell ill and the ship got diverted to within a few miles of Iceland and the Iceland Armed Forces sent a helicopter out to make a rescue. We also stopped off at Belfast, and I was amazed to learn that the Cranes that were still in operation, were the same cranes that built the Titanic.
(4) Daytona to Houston then back to Orlando - This was a driving trip along the I10. We started off in Orlando, went to Daytona Beach to watch Indianapolis, but could not get tickets, then went to Cape Canavral to watch a Rocket take off which is still travelling across the universe today. Then we travelled across several states on our way to Las Vegas. The main event was me nearly getting bit by a Copperhead on the bank of the Mississippi. Luckily the snake which was right next to me in a bush I was standing next to, chose flea instead of attack, and when it disappeared into the water the splash actually hit me. We decided against going to Las Vegas, where we planned to get the plane back to Orlando and, decided to just turn back instead. We went back to the mouse operated people trap and saw Free Willie.
(5) Train Journey from London to Milan - I was just a kid. There might have been a change at Paris, but I don't remember. But I shall never forget travelling through the Alps on the train and going through what was at the time the longest train tunnel in the world. I do believe that the mountain the train was going underneath was the Eiger.
(6) Malta - Don't remember much about Malta, but I remember it more from a story my father told me. He had went out on a pub crawl and he came back to the hotel telling my mother that when he left the night club he believed that he had gone back in time. This might have sounded like absolute madness, however just a few months ago I was watching a video of an interview of a London bare knuckle boxer named Pretty boy Roy Shaw, and he told a story which was the exact same story that my father told. He said it was like he had gone back in time, because at 4 am, instead of walking passed drunken revelers, he was walking past people dressed like Templar Knights and allsorts. Apparently when he told someone next day about his experience, they told him that this was perfectly normal, and that the Maltese are very religious and they get up very early in the morning to go to Mass and they dress up in allsorts of religious outfits.
(7) Belfast as a child - At the height of the troubles my Mother took me to a cinema in Belfast to watch Mary Poppins for my first time. We were the only two people in there. We found out later why that was. Quite simply people in Ireland during the Troubles stayed well clear of Cinemas.
There has been a few other holidays, but I have nothing else to say about them.
Look forward to hearing about your adventures. I will be extremely interested to read about any stories from anyone on here that has a thing for holidaying in Warzones. Yes, you do get people that do.