Travel Theme : Food

The prompt for the Travel Theme on www.wheresmybackpack.com this week is food. Undoubtedly, Ailsa’s pictures and tantalisingly descriptive post about the Halal Guys in New York is going to have many mouths watering, not to mention having an impact on the length of the queues for this food .. :-).

Undeniably, travel and food go hand in hand, so this prompt is probably going to have a huge array of different experiences. For some reason, when I saw the prompt I was reminded of a specific experience in Bergen, Norway, a few years ago. It was my first day in Bergen, so I was quite keen to see the place and orientate myself with the place that was to be my home for the next few days. It was a particularly grey, overcast, cold and wet day, so lots of clothing and waterproof gear was the order of the day. I am not really one for tourist bus overviews and prefer to just walk around considering you get to see and experience a lot more that way.

So it was after some walking around that I stumbled upon this quite casual “seafood” market at the harbours edge, I saw it from the distance with this hive of activity, and lots of people moving around. You got the impression from far away that something was happening, and curiosity kind just draws you in, like it did the many other tourists that were there. At first I saw the ‘seafood” market with all the “fresh” seafood, paellas, shellfish and all sorts of other delicacies, some of it still moving!! and then as you move along you come across the stalls with the prepared food, catering to virtually every seafood palette there is. There were some interesting items on the menu, but just the simple “fish and chips” prepared there and then right in front of you, was more than enough to keep me happy…. 🙂 . Unlikely that there were as many people queueing as in New York, but I guess Bergen does have quite a few less people.. 🙂 Further along there was even a fruit stall, offering something else for those that didnt feel particularly like seafood.

I managed to sneak in a few images in between chips.. :-), unfortunately, none of them of the meal I had :-(, some of these images accompany this post………………the journey continues………………..

Travel Theme : Night

Ailsa whose blog “wheres my backpack” hosts a weekly travel theme prompt, has identified this weeks theme as “night”. It’s such a diverse topic that I guess everybody who posts here, will have a few options each :-). I’ve chosen some night images of Cape Town for my post.

Nestled below the slopes of Table Mountain the City Centre gently follows the progressively shallower contours,  increasing in urban density as it makes its way towards the waters edge at the harbour or at the sea depending where in the City you are. The Mountain is not always lit up at night, though when it is, it creates a wonderful illuminated backdrop to the City lights.

Signal Hill is adjacent to Table Mountain, and a perfect vantage point for getting an overview of the City and its proximity and its context with the Mountain. I was out there not too long ago at night, with an illuminated mountain, illuminated city, and starry sky, camera in hand, to try and capture the moment. Some of these images are my submission for this weeks Travel theme “night”.

…………….the journey continues………………..

Travel Theme : Oceans

Imagine you’re standing at the southernmost point of Africa, with the whole African continent North of you.  Imagine something like 8000 km,  something like 50 countries,
probably something like 2000 languages, and more than a billion people, before you get to another Ocean at the Northernmost point!! Thats pretty radical!

Considering this weeks topic on the travel theme on “Wheres my backpack” is Oceans, I decided to do a post on Cape Agulhas. As I mentioned above it is the southernmost point in Africa. It is also the place where two Oceans the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic come together as they round the bottom of the African continent.

Home to some of the roughest seas on the South African coastline, resulting in numerous shipwrecks over the decades. Here is a link to one of my previous posts about the lighthouse that guards this coastline.. https://4otomo.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/casting-some-light-over-treacherous-waters/

and another that is about the Cape of Stormy Seas

https://4otomo.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/cape-of-stormy-seas/

So despite the ruggedness of the coastline, and shipwreck history,  I found that it was still quite an amazing place.

….the journey continues………….