Travel Tips

Back in Scotland...again for work...but there's always time to knock off for a few pints of the good stuff, a little hill walking and a drive through the countryside.....

This time around in Scotland saw me reach the Western Highlands and the lochs of the Great Glen, place a few bets on the GGs in Perth, see some castles and have a little r-n-r in Fort William (which included several pints of Tennents).

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Luanda, Angola

Eighth Stop: Cabinda & Luanda, Angola

June 2003: I had been anticipating my trip to Angola for over a year. Perhaps no other destination on my schedule held so much mystic and potential danger.

After 25 plus years of civil war ended in April 2002, my trip to Angola would be the closest that I have ever come to being in an actual war zone. What I found surprised me.

The people of Luanda were moving about the city with purpose and there appeared to be a lot of construction going on throughout the city. Angola is re-building and there seems to be hope for stability and economic development...

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The Matterhorn

Ninth Stop: Switzerland, July 2003

After traveling throughout Scotland and Angola for work for more than seven weeks, it was time for a little vacation…

Summer would be hitting Switzerland and I planned to hit Geneva, Lausanne and especially Zermatt. I had wanted to see the Matterhorn, one of Europe’s most famous pikes, for a long time and now was the time to do it.

After all, I needed the break and more importantly I felt as though I needed to “detox” in a sort of way…after spending four weeks in the third world god only knew what I had picked up!!! I deserved to be treated to the clean crisp air and grandeur of the Swiss Alps!!! I needed to drink clean sparkling mineral water and get some exercise in to drive all those toxins from my body…I wanted to see beautiful blonde____well, you get the picture…

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Mayan ruins at Comalcalco, Tabasco

Tenth Stop: Estado de Campeche y Tabasco, Aug.2003

Spending the majority of my time on this trip in Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, I feared that I would either die from heat, boredom or Montezuma's revenge....

As for the heat, well, it's worse in New Orleans this time of year, so, I should feel grateful. Although Carmen is a pretty small town, there are enough street markets and bars to keep me busy, for a while, and there are a few hevas that are easy on the eyes. So, boredom was not a factor. Hell, Montezuma couldn't even touch me here....Carmen has the best tacos...I even found a chicken sandwich at this little hole-in-the-wall shop which I claim is the best I have ever had....so the food is good!!!

However, Carmen is stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere. Hours from Villahermosa to the west and Campeche and Merida to the East, I might as well been on Gilligan's Island. And given the person I am traveling with, that wouldn't be too far of a stretch. And that brings up one of the negative aspects of business travel, it may be paid for, but you can't always choose who you travel with....

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Chillin' in the Adirondacks

Eleventh Stop: The Adirondacks, Sept. 2003

It had been roughly 13 years since my first time to Lake Placid, New York for a ski trip over New Year's Eve 1990. Freezing rain on Whiteface Mountain combined with me not being a very good skiier and all those beers we drank, left me bruised, bitter and hungover by the time I departed LP...but I had always wanted to return to redeem myself.

And Labor Day weekend 2003 saw my return to Lake Placid, New York for a long weekend...drinking beers more, eating some steaks and climbing up some mountains, rather than skiing down them.

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The Venezuelan Andes

Twelfth Stop: Maricabo, Venezuela, Oct. 2003

Be there in October 2003.

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Sunset over Klein Bonaire

Thirteenth Stop: The Netherlands Antilles,Oct.2003

My stopover in the Dutch Antilles was to delay the inevitable…my return to the States and “The Office.” The sun was good, the ocean beeze welcome and the beers cold and refreshing, especially after suffering through five long weeks of Venezuelan beer...but the underwater world was what I was here for...

I had been wanting to dive Bonaire ever since I got certified as a wee tot and I seized the opportunity on my way back to the U.S. from Venezuela…I was just too damn close to pass it up, but why visit just one Netherland Antilles island when the others are so close; so, Curacao was added to itinerary and cabana boy dove that island too…ummm, that nitrox tastes good!!!

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Cinnamon Bay, St. John, USVI

Fourteenth Stop: U.S. Virgin Islands, Nov. 2003

This trip was about as unplanned as any I've taken...in fact, I had forgotten that I bought airline tickets on the Venezuelan blackmarket (gotta love currency controls) until just a few days before I left....once I had realized my folly, I could think of nothing else but sunning my pale beached whale-like body on the beaches and doing a little more diving...