Small Places – Djenne, Mali

Djenne is a pretty special place. A small town on the less-populated side of the Niger River. As I wrote in my recent post on Mopti (Sunday Spotlight – Mopti) I visited on a longish day-trip from Mopti. Actually, half the fun of the day was the amazing journey from Mopti to Djenne and back, …

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Cambridge to Paris – More Doctor Who Locations

Hi all. Just a quick Doctor Who-themed post this Friday for you. I was working on my previous Sunday post which was on Cambridge (Sunday Spotlight: Cambridge) and I recalled that one of my main reasons for wanting to visit this gorgeous university town was that it was the location where a Doctor Who story, …

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Little Places – Ganvie, Benin

One of Benin’s most visited attractions is the stilted-village of Ganvie. It really is a bit of a tourist trap in some respects I guess, it’s on the Lake of Nokoue, and that is a short ride from Benin’s main (but not capital) city of Cotonou. If you are visiting this West African nation, well, …

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Benin – Through My Lens

Hi folks! Time to turn the clock back a decade plus to my time in the West African country of Benin. A country with a history linked to the slave trade to the Americas, it has it's own beauty and despite the fact I only had five nights there, I appreciated visiting. Apart from the …

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Little Places – Hill of Crosses, Lithuania

The Hill of Crosses is a pretty stirring sight in the mid-north of Lithuania. According to the occasionally accurate Wikipedia today there are over 100,000 crosses on this hill, and it has become quite the tourist attraction. I went and visited it in 2007, so it’s been ten years and it’s grown. At the time …

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Sunday Spotlight – Mopti, Mali

Today I’m stretching my memory back to the time I went to Mali, 2007, one country in West Africa which really has a lot to see and do. From the Dogon country, to the incredible mosque at Djenne, Mali is a real surprise packet in West Africa, but sadly is not really safe for travel …

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Gateway Countries – Ecuador

When I arrived in South America last year I flew into Quito Airport, Ecuador. This would (besides the insides of a couple of other airports) be my first taste of the continent. Ecuador was my 'gateway' country to South America. Would this prove a good choice? For example, a country like Chile might often be …

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