New Year’s Travel Resolutions for 2011

Image Courtesy of Inspirationline.com

It feels like I just blinked and 2010 flew past! So now it’s that time of the year again when we do what Janus did and reflect on the year gone by and the year ahead. Let’s start off by looking at the travel-related resolutions I made this time last year:

1. Have more local holidays. We had two local holidays this year (Panorama-Kruger and Hermanus), which is admittedly not much, but was two more than previous years. I will obviously have to keep working on this one.
2. Take more pictures when on holiday. I would say the 600-odd pictures taken on our Spanish holiday qualify! Quantity, check. Quality… needs some more work.
3. Write more travel articles. Well, this one didn’t happen at all. I’ve found all the creative outlet I need at the moment in writing for this blog and although it would still be nice to be published in a magazine, it is somehow not that important to me anymore.
4. Improve a foreign language. Embarrassingly, nothing much happened with this resolution either. I didn’t even make the time to learn Spanish, as I had intended.
5. Save more money for holiday purposes. I got this one right, at least. Spain 2010 was paid off long before we went, even with all the unforeseen passport and visa drama.

Hmmmm. It seems like the majority of my resolutions didn’t last quite as long as I’d hoped they would. Gareth has been saying that he won’t make any resolutions for the new year, because he has no intention of keeping any of them. However, I think even though I know many will fall by the wayside, it’s still good to have something to strive for. With that in mind, here are my travel-related new year’s resolutions for 2011:

1. Have more local holidays. Since we decided that our next overseas trip was going to be a big one, we are going to take things a little slower this year and save up for 2012. So this year we will definitely spend exploring South Africa a little more. My parents gave us a huge tent for Christmas and we’re both very excited to put it to good use soon.
2. Improve the quality of holiday pictures. My recent review of Brendan van Son’s e-book on how to take better pictures with a point-and-shoot camera has highlighted the need to improve my photography skills. I’ve learned some rudimentary basics of Adobe Photoshop, but it would be nice to have good pictures to work with from the start.
3. Save more money for holiday purposes. This one will always be on the list. Travelling is a priority for us, having debt isn’t.
4. Continue improving the quality of this blog. Blogging is still pretty new to me and coming up with something to write about on a frequent basis can sometimes be a bit daunting, especially when it’s been a while since my last trip. I’d like to improve the quality of my writing as well as the content and would appreciate your comments and advice on the matter.
5. Engage more with other travellers on Twitter. I’ll be honest, Twitter is overwhelming. The sheer number of tweets generated hourly by the 20 or so people I follow so far is almost too much for me to keep up with. But the few times I have used it to connect with others have always been very rewarding so far, not only in the amount of traffic coming to my site, but in the ability to socialise with other like-minded people from all over the world. I’d like to expand that community.

Let’s see if next year’s resolutions are easier to keep than this year’s turned out to be…

Happy 33rd Birthday, Gareth!

Today is my husband’s 33rd birthday and I thought I’d take this opportunity to say thank you for not only being my best friend, but also the best travel partner a girl could ask for. I’ve dragged you into numerous cathedrals around the world to gawk at stained glass windows, I’ve made you taste weird food, hauled you up mountains in cable cars when I know you’ve got a fear of heights, and had you traipse along as I dart in and out of curio shops in search of the perfect memento of our trip. Although we’ll probably never live in a huge mansion or drive a fast Ferrari, at least we’ll always have the wonderful memories we’ve made while seeing the world together. Love you lots!

In 2010, Gareth was seen …

...exploring the waterfalls of the Panoroma route...

...camping in the Kruger Park...

...stalking a dassie in Hermanus...

...wearing a funny hat at the Oktoberfest...

...sniffing an orange in Spain...

...harassing the monkeys in Gibraltar...

...and sampling a Coke in Morocco.

Here’s to many more adventures together!

Picasso: Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

“A picture lives like a living creature, undergoing the changes imposed on us by our life from day to day. This is natural enough, as the picture lives only through the man who is looking at it.” ~ Pablo Picasso.

Image Courtesy of Art History Guide

One of my mandatory subjects at university was Art History. Although my lecturers tried very hard to instil a sense of the artistic in me, I’m afraid the finer nuances of what makes something art was completely lost on me. If it’s pretty, I like it, otherwise it’s probably art. Still, I did manage to pass the course with an appreciation for the works of the great artists of our time, which is why a visit to the Picasso Museum in Malaga in Spain was an absolute must.

Situated right in the centre of the historical old town, only a two-minute walk from Malaga’s majestic cathedral, the Palacio de Buenavista houses an interesting and varied collection of Picasso’s works. The exhibition is created from the personal collections of his daughter-in-law and his grandson. I was unaware of the fact that Picasso was not only a painter, but also a sculptor, and worked with a range of materials in all sorts of styles and techniques. The collection includes examples from his earliest studies, through his neoclassical and cubist experiments, to his last paintings in the 1970s. Of course, none of his greatest works, such as Guernica or Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, are displayed here, but the art work give a good overview of his career and how his style progressed through the years.

Entry to the museum is fairly expensive at €6 per person and if you’re not a big art enthusiast or a fan of Picasso’s work, I wouldn’t really recommend a visit – my companions were bored by the time we had made our way through the first gallery. Once past the art however, there is a very interesting video on Picasso’s life to watch in the projection room and those who have more time on their hands may also study literature on his work in the library. The museum’s bookstore has a comprehensive selection of books on Picasso’s art, as well as some general touristy trinkets to remind you of your visit.

Although I really enjoyed the museum’s collection, I realised that I didn’t particularly like Picasso’s work, based purely on the fact that I didn’t understand it. The brochure I received upon entry explained key pieces, making them a lot more interesting for someone as inexpert as myself, but in general it was a little too strange for my tastes. It’s not pretty, so it must be art.

For more posts in the Spain 2010 series, click here.

A Rainy Day in Mijas

We had very strange weather while visiting Andalucía in Spain this year – every second day was rainy and cold, and every other day had clear blue skies and mild temperatures. As luck would have it, the day we spent in the shopper’s paradise that is Mijas Pueblo turned out to be one of the rainy ones.

Having parked our car in a parking lot, we braved the drizzle and set out to explore the postcard-perfect white village, which is built up against a mountain and, like most little towns in the south of Spain, seemed to consist of a maze of winding white-washed alleyways. The rain didn’t deter any of the shopkeepers either, most of whom stood in their doorways trying to entice us in with promises of up to 50% discount on all of their goods. They must have seen us coming – their ploy worked well on us. Having asked where we were from, some of them even had a further “special discount” for their friends from Africa. We didn’t complain, we took full advantage of prices that were actually very good and came home with loads of leather goods, from jackets to belts to handbags to cuddly slippers.

We spent the day getting thoroughly soaked, but had fun exploring all the goods the town had to offer. Leather items were the most abundant, but there were other products that also caught our eye: the vibrantly-painted pottery, colourful clay tiles, local wines and gold jewellery. Be prepared to spend lots of money when you visit Mijas.

Unfortunately, because of the wet weather, we didn’t get to see much other than the shops. Flamenco performances are held in the main square at noon on Wednesdays (but, because of the rain, not the Wednesday when we visited). The town is also home to the Museo Taurino, where visitors can learn more about the history of bullfighting, but which was sadly closed when we went. And because the town is built on the slopes of the mountain, I imagine the view must be very pretty on days when the mist doesn’t obscure it.

After we’d had lunch in a beautifully decorated restaurant just off the main square, we bid farewell to Mijas. The town we experienced was more a tourist trap than anything else, but I’m sure had we come on a sunnier day, we might have seen the more authentic side of it.

For more posts in the Spain 2010 series, click here.

Strange White-Streaked Skies

The picture below was taken from the balcony of our hotel room in Fuengirola in Spain. Whenever I find myself in the northern hemisphere, I’m always intrigued by the white vapour trails left in the sky by passing airplanes. This is something you don’t see in the southern hemisphere – not in Africa, at least. Perhaps someone from Australia or South America can contradict me?

I’ve tried Googling for an answer, but the most predominant opinion on the net seems to be that it is because there is less air traffic on our side of the world and we just don’t have the opportunity to see the trails. While I can believe that the skies above Europe are busier than ours in South Africa, I somehow doubt it could be the real reason. The streaks are called “contrails”, or condensation trails, and are formed when the water vapour emitted by jet engines freezes, much like one’s breath steams on a cold winter’s morning. Could it be that our air, even 30 000 feet up, is still warmer than that of the northern hemisphere?

Whatever the reason may be, I find it very pretty. And isn’t it strange that looking up at the sky can bring such a clear reminder of the fact that I’m walking on foreign soil?

Fast, Furious, Flamenco

The lights dim. Five people make their way onto the stage, the women dressed in shawls and flared skirts, the men ruggedly handsome in their black coats. A haunting melody fills the hushed silence as the guitarist plucks the strings. A woman’s voice joins in and it is as if her song contains all the sadness in this world. The words are unfamiliar, but the emotions ring true. Then, two dancers enter the spotlight. The man, proud and arrogant, his eyes unblinking and intense. The woman, her back straight and her eyes haughty, hands twisting and turning to the beat of the music. They circle each other, his feet stamping out the rhythm, her skirts swirling. Faster and faster. There is no one else in the room. Only the dancers. Only the music. Only the raw passion that is the flamenco.

For more posts in the Spain 2010 series, click here.

E-Book Review: How to Take Great Travel Photos – Brendan van Son

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this e-book in return for a review. My opinions are my own, however, and are unbiased by the author. I’m also an affiliate, which means that if you click on the link at the bottom of this post or elsewhere on this blog AND purchase the e-book, I will receive a percentage of its quoted price. 

Let me start off by saying that I have a bachelors degree in publishing and am a trained copy-editor. This means that I tend to notice syntax and typo errors a lot more than your average reader. Unfortunately, there are quite a few of these in the e-book and it could have benefitted by having a professional look at it in a little more detail. That said, if you’re not as pedantic (some of my friends even like to say anal) as me, you probably won’t be bothered by it too much. After all, it’s content that matters most, isn’t it?

As the title suggests, the premise of this e-book is to teach budding photographers how to take great travel photos using their point-and-shoot cameras. Van Son is a well-known travel blogger and editor of Kumuka Worldwide’s travel blog, and his passion for travel and travel photography shines through clearly in this e-book. All the photos were taken with a point-and-shoot camera and Van Son gives easy-to-follow hints and tips on how to improve your own photography by sharing years of his own experience with the medium.

The e-book is 66 pages long and is divided into six well-defined sections:

• Choosing a camera
• Getting to know your camera
• Shooting higher quality images
• Shoot… like a pro
• Post-production
• Conclusion

In “Choosing a camera”, the author briefly discusses selecting the brand you should look at when purchasing a point-and-shoot camera. More importantly, he goes into quite a bit of detail to explain megapixels and their significance for the type of photography you are interested in. If you only have a very vague idea of what a megapixel is and aren’t quite sure why you might need ten of them, then this chapter is for you.

Many people neglect to read the manual after purchasing a new camera. In “Getting to know your camera”, the importance of understanding what your camera can do is highlighted. Auto mode is compared with program modes in this section. I found the explanation of the technical differences between the various modes very interesting. I now know why my indoor cathedral shots are usually blurry and I also know what to do about it.

“Shooting higher quality images” is, of course, something every photographer strives for. In this chapter, the use of tripods, monopods and their alternatives are discussed, as well as ideas for preventing click blur, ensuring correct focus and knowing what time of day the light will be at its best for the subject you want to capture. Do you have loads of pictures of buildings fading into brilliantly white sky? I certainly do. After reading this chapter, I now have a good idea how to prevent taking such pictures or, if all else fails, how to correct them.

In “Shoot… like a pro” an overview of all the tips from the previous chapters are applied to the specific types of photos you might want to take. What makes your shot of a well-known monument more memorable than someone else’s? How does one take beautiful landscape pictures or night-time cityscapes? How does using blurring techniques lend focus to an image? Can one take good pictures of wildlife with a point-and-shoot camera? What are the ethics of photographing people and how can I capture true emotion? These questions and more are explored in this chapter.

Since I’ve recently started fiddling around in Adobe PhotoShop to enhance some of my pictures, I found the chapter on “Post-production” especially interesting. The mysteries of contrast, saturation, purposefully blurring parts of the photo, removing unwanted objects, straightening buildings and adding a sky are explained in such a way that even a complete beginner such as myself now understands the basics.

Although I haven’t discussed the introductory chapter of this e-book, the conclusion certainly warrants a mention, merely for the fact that the author provides links to websites where you can upload your photos with the intent of selling them, as well as links to other recommended reading on the web. Should you wish to contact the author, links to his site, his work and his social media profile are also provided.

“How to Take Great Travel Photos with a Point-and-Shoot Camera” is well worth reading, not only for those just starting out in photography, but also for those who would like to know how to improve their skills. I definitely wish I had read it before going on my most recent trip. The writing is passionate and the explanations are easy-to-follow, with very little jargon to confuse the uninitiated. Even if you are an accomplished photographer and know most of the more obvious tricks of the trade, I will still recommend this e-book for the beautiful pictures and refresher content it contains.

If you would like to purchase this e-book, click here.

A View to Remember from Spain’s Sierra Nevada

Since most museums and churches in Andalucía are closed on Mondays, Gareth and I donned our ski jackets and headed for the mountains on our second day in the Costa del Sol. At first the mild weather made us feel ridiculous wearing bulky coats, but when we stopped at a little pueblo half way to Granada to have brunch, the air was chilly enough to make me wish I’d brought my gloves along too.

Once past the beautiful city of Granada, we took a winding road going up the mountains. The Sierra Nevada (translated as “Snowy Mountains”) is Europe’s second largest mountain range (after the Alps, of course) and contains continental Spain’s highest peak, Mulhacén at 3478m. We didn’t go quite that high, but ended our very scenic (not to mention hair-raising!) drive through the Sierra Nevada National Park at Solynieve, a popular ski destination. Since we visited out of season, the town was eerily quiet and all the shops were closed. We didn’t mind too much – we were too busy gaping at the view!

The ski jackets came in very handy at the top of the mountain as well – the car’s thermometer registered 5C degrees. South Africans are not used to that kind of cold (unless you happen to live in Sutherland). We wandered through the town’s streets, our noses Rudolph-red and our fingers tingling disconcertingly, admiring the scenery and watching the snow machines spewing snow out (we’re still not sure if they actually make the snow, or just loosen the slopes, perhaps someone could explain it in the comments below…?). I wanted to take the cable car up to the top of the peak, but to Gareth’s immense relief it wasn’t running that day.

The trip down the mountain was lots of fun. After stopping at a petrol station that must have the world’s best view to fortify ourselves with chocolate and hot beverages, we fell in behind a driver more timid than me, who absolutely refused to drive faster than a leisurely stroll. It took a bit longer to reach the bottom, but we had time to appreciate our surroundings: olive-green fir trees, grey rock cliffs and clear blue skies, the sun reflecting off white villages in the distance.

For more posts in the Spain 2010 series, click here.

Wandering the Streets of Cadiz, Europe's Oldest City

" . . .Cadiz, sweet Cadiz ! is the most delightful town I ever beheld, . . . " wrote the English poet, Lord Byron. This Spanish city is said to have been founded by the Phoenicians, making it arguably the oldest city in Europe, although it was apparently completely destroyed in a raid in 1596. What is now known as the Casco Antigua (or old city), demarcated by the original city walls, is a hive of winding cobblestone streets and narrow alleyways.

Having parked our car in a basement parking lot in the modern part of town, Gareth and I set out exploring the old city on foot. Passing through the Puerta de Tierra (the main entrance through the walls), we followed a group of pedestrians until we stumbled upon Plaza San Juan de Dios, which opens up to the port and seems to form the hub of the city centre. Locals sitting chatting on benches in the square smiled indulgently as they watched the two out-of-season tourists take pictures of the square, the beautiful neo-classical town hall and the city streets from every possible angle.

Although we only realised this later, the streets of Cadiz (pronounced Ka-DEEZ) are painted with coloured lines indicating the three routes you can follow to see the sights that might interest you. Most of these points of interest also have information boards explaining the site’s history. Of all the cities we visited in Spain, Cadiz was definitely the most informative for the independent traveller.

Wandering down the Barrio del Pόpulo led to the Catedral Nueva. Since it was Sunday, entrance was free, but unfortunately for us a service was about to start and we didn’t want to intrude, so we continued exploring the side streets. We came out onto the main road situated between the ocean and the city, which is built on a narrow peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides. We walked along this road, taking in the beautiful views until the pangs of hunger convinced us to venture into the alleys again in search of lunch.

As it happened, the only restaurant that we could find with an English menu turned out to be one of those really fancy places where the price is disproportionate to the size of the meal. We ended up shamefacedly ordering dessert and coffee only, trying our best to look whimsical and fully-fed when the surly waitress took our order. I must admit, it was the best chocolate mousse I’d ever had!

We stepped out of the restaurant to find that the grey skies had finally relented and a soft drizzle was making the cobblestone streets treacherously slippery. Luckily, by the time we had found our way back to the central plaza, a red Hop-On-Hop-Off bus was sitting waiting for us and we got onto it, relieved to get in out of the cold, since neither of us had dressed for rain that day. Although we found the tickets expensive at €11 per person, the bus tour was very interesting, and stops at the harbour, the beach and parts of the modern town were made more memorable by learning some of the history of these places.

We got off the bus at a stop which we thought could be close to where we had left the car. Unfortunately, the main street is very unremarkable and we ended up spending about an hour or so traipsing along in the rain trying to find our bearings and the elusive parking lot. We did eventually find the car and headed back home, shivering and cold, and not quite in agreement with Lord Byron. Cadiz was interesting, but slightly disappointing as well. I would advise visiting it on a day when the shops and museums are open and the weather more agreeable to make the most of a day spent in Europe’s oldest city.