Travel with me

Travel snapshots from Toonsarah

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  • Archive
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • England
      • London
      • Newcastle-upon-Tyne
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Bulgaria
      • Estonia
      • France
        • Paris
      • Germany
      • Iceland
      • Italy
      • Jersey
      • Latvia
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Spain
        • Seville
      • Switzerland
      • Ukraine
    • Beyond
      • Africa
        • Botswana
        • Cape Verde
        • Gambia
        • Kenya
        • Morocco
        • Namibia
        • Senegal
        • Tanzania
        • Zimbabwe
      • Americas
        • Belize
        • Canada
        • Chile
          • Rapa Nui
        • Costa Rica
        • Ecuador
          • Galapagos Islands
        • Guatemala
        • Jamaica
        • USA
          • New Mexico
          • New York City
          • Washington State
      • Asia
        • DPRK
        • India
          • Kerala
          • Rajasthan
        • Indochina
          • Cambodia
          • Laos
          • Vietnam
        • Japan
        • Oman
        • Syria
        • United Arab Emirates
        • Uzbekistan
  • Themes
    • Architecture
    • Art
      • Crafts
      • Street art
    • Colour
    • Dark tourism
    • Eco-tourism
    • Food & drink
    • Gardens
    • History
      • Ruins
      • War
    • Landscape
      • Coast & seascapes
      • Deserts
      • Mountains
      • Rivers
    • Nature and wildlife
      • Animals
      • Birds
      • Plants
        • Flowers
        • Trees, forests and woodland
    • People
      • Culture & tradition
      • Street photography
    • Travel in general
  • Photo galleries
    • Themed galleries
    • Travel galleries
  • Challenges
    • General challenges
      • Friendly Friday
        • The Friendly Friday Challenge: how to join in
      • Monday walks
      • Writers’ Quotes Wednesday
    • Photography challenges
      • Lens-Artists
      • Life in Colour
      • One-to-Three
      • Photographing Public Art
      • Pick a Word
      • Squares
      • Sunday Stills
      • The Changing Seasons
      • Thursday Trios
      • Cee’s challenges
        • CBWC
        • CFFC
        • CMMC
    • Challenges archive
      • Bird Weekly
      • Friday’s Foods of the World
      • Just One Person
      • Ten photos
      • Thursday Doors
  • About me
    • Contact me
    • ‘Always Write’ interview
    • My love of travel
    • My photography
      • Photographic techniques
      • My photography journey
      • Video
    • Disclaimer & GDPR
  • Archive

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Topics I’ve touched on

africa architecture art birds bird_weekly black_&_white botswana buildings cambodia cffc chile churches cities colour costa_rica deserts dprk ealing england flowers friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india japan just_one_person_from_around_the_world landscape Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks museum new_mexico north_korea people photography photo_effects PPAC rivers ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa village wildlife
  • Crafts,  New Mexico

    ‘While you were watching TV’

    May 20, 2022 / 28 Comments
    Sign saying Tinkertown

    On the slopes of Sandia Peak, above Albuquerque in New Mexico, we found a most unusual sight. As soon as I read about this quirky museum I knew that it was a ‘must see’. We both love those idiosyncratic places that seem to define a US road trip for us; and this is one of the best we have come across.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Tiles painted with a bull's head

    Gallery: Majolica, the ceramic tiles of Seville

    November 27, 2021
    Man's hands working with tin

    Using our hands: handicrafts around the world

    April 27, 2021
  • Lens-Artists,  New Mexico

    Gallery: the Very Large Array

    May 16, 2022 / 25 Comments
    Line of white telescope dishes on a grassy plain with distant mountains

    The massive radio telescopes of the Very Large Array, 27 of them, rise majestically out of New Mexico’s vast, otherwise almost empty, Plains of San Augustin like visitors from another world. But these are not visitors from another world, but searchers for such a world.

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    Old postcard of bombed town

    Postcards from a time of war

    August 2, 2021
    Cityscape with river in the distance

    The bliss of returning to the air

    November 24, 2021
    Road between graasy fields and woods, leading to mountains

    Gallery: getting away, or, there’s a wonderful world out there!

    July 18, 2021
  • Culture & tradition,  Landscape,  Monday walks,  New Mexico

    In the footsteps of the Anasazi: Tsankawi

    May 3, 2022 / 35 Comments
    Rock face with small caves and bushes

    One reason for our planning to spend several days in Santa Fe on our New Mexico road trip was to visit nearby Bandelier National Monument. I had read a lot about it and knew it was just the sort of place we would enjoy visiting. Then a few months before our visit a wildfire swept through the area, devastating over 146,000 acres, including about 60% of Bandelier’s area. Almost all of the monument was closed to visitors.

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    Or what about ...?

    Large group of dancers in traditional Korean green dress

    Gallery: dancing on the streets of Pyongyang

    November 28, 2020
    Exterior of brick mosque with dome and minaret

    The Square of Religious Tolerance in Sofia

    April 6, 2021
    Dark table with lots of small dishes

    Gallery: Dining in (Japanese) style ~ kaiseki

    March 6, 2021
  • Costa Rica,  Monday walks,  Photographing Public Art

    A short (hot) walk around Guiones

    March 31, 2022 / 43 Comments
    Rough wooden sign on the edge of a beach

    While the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica’s southwest is remote and wild, the Nicoya Peninsula in the northwest is rather more developed as a tourist destination. Nevertheless Pacific waves still pound its shores and there are quiet corners to be found. After all, ‘developed’ in Costa Rica is a relative term!

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    Or what about ...?

    Whale's tale

    Will we see whales?

    February 24, 2022
    Dark pink flower head

    Gallery: in the garden, Costa Rican style

    March 12, 2022
    Hairy animal holding a tree trunk

    The oddities of sloths

    March 6, 2022
  • Animals,  Birds,  Costa Rica,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: wildlife in the Caño Negra refuge

    March 17, 2022 / 35 Comments
    Black and white monkey in a tree with small orange fruits

    In the far north of Costa Rica, almost on the border with Nicaragua, is a magical place, or at least I found it so. The Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge is home to an immense variety of wildlife, one of the most diverse areas in this famously naturally diverse country.

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    Dead tree and long grass

    A walk on Sausage Island: it’s all about the elephants

    May 25, 2021
    Three lion cubs

    Gallery: emerging into life

    April 12, 2021
    Two elephants among trees

    Elephant encounters on elephant terms

    September 13, 2020
  • Costa Rica,  Monday walks,  Nature and wildlife

    Hanging bridges and butterflies

    March 15, 2022 / 55 Comments
    Looking over tree tops to a cloud covered mountain

    Selvatura Park is one of several private concerns in the Monteverde area that offer various experiences to explore the cloud forest. While not offering quite the pristine ‘back to nature’ experience we found at the other reserves we visited, the Children’s Eternal Rainforest and the Santa Elena Reserve, it still has a sense of wilderness in places. And as we were to discover, it has its share of wonders.

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    Three colourful painted wooden birds and some strings of beads

    Gallery: three times the fun in Costa Rica

    March 11, 2022
    Dark pink flower head

    Gallery: in the garden, Costa Rican style

    March 12, 2022
    Wall painting of a blue hummingbird

    Gallery: spotting street art in Sant Elena

    February 26, 2022
  • Costa Rica,  Flowers,  Friendly Friday,  Gardens,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: in the garden, Costa Rican style

    March 12, 2022 / 42 Comments
    Dark pink flower head

    We stayed in some wonderful hotels in Costa Rica, and all of them had gorgeous gardens. The planting was true to the environment, with native trees and bushes and a real forest vibe. When we weren’t out exploring the national parks and reserves I spent much of my time photographing the colourful flowers, remarkable trees and beautiful birds.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Hairy animal holding a tree trunk

    The oddities of sloths

    March 6, 2022
    Sun setting over the sea

    Gallery: enjoying serene views in Costa Rica

    February 19, 2022
    Three colourful painted wooden birds and some strings of beads

    Gallery: three times the fun in Costa Rica

    March 11, 2022
  • Costa Rica,  Thursday Trios,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: three times the fun in Costa Rica

    March 11, 2022 / 34 Comments
    Three colourful painted wooden birds and some strings of beads

    Once you recognise that groups of three are visually among the most interesting photographic subjects you can find, you start to look for them everywhere. But they aren’t always easy to find. Having participated a couple of times in Mama Cormier’s Thursday Trios I was keen to join in again. So on our recent trip to Costa Rica I kept my eyes open for possible threesomes.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Looking over tree tops to a cloud covered mountain

    Hanging bridges and butterflies

    March 15, 2022
    Dark pink flower head

    Gallery: in the garden, Costa Rican style

    March 12, 2022
    Forest in the mist

    Barking up the right tree in Costa Rica

    March 4, 2022
  • Birds,  CFFC,  Costa Rica,  Rivers

    Misadventure on the Rio Nosara

    March 9, 2022 / 40 Comments
    River shaded by tall trees

    The electric boat moved almost noiselessly along the Rio Nosara. The birds on the banks seemed largely unaware of our presence. The sounds of the forest were all around us. But suddenly there was a thud somewhere beneath our feet and the boat slowed, then stopped.

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    Black and white kingfisher eating a fish

    Gallery: some birds that eat fish

    March 18, 2021
    Lake with heron in foreground and large house beyond

    Gallery: a Grey Heron at Osterley Park (and friends)

    July 4, 2021
    Black and white monkey in a tree with small orange fruits

    Gallery: wildlife in the Caño Negra refuge

    March 17, 2022
  • Animals,  Birds,  Costa Rica,  Lens-Artists

    The oddities of sloths

    March 6, 2022 / 57 Comments
    Hairy animal holding a tree trunk

    Is there a mammal more intriguing, cute and downright odd than a sloth? They spend so much time hanging around in trees that they start to look like them. That makes them quite hard to spot, and even harder to photograph! To give ourselves the best chance of seeing them we booked a tour in the Arenal area called ‘Sloths and Toucans’ which promised a good look at these most iconic of Costa Rican species.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Large elephant walking towards camera

    Elephant encounter: flashback to our first safari

    June 26, 2021
    Red and black igiana

    The ‘Christmas’ marine iguanas of Española Island

    December 6, 2020
    Large yellow reptile looking at camera

    Spotting wildlife in the Galápagos Islands

    January 23, 2022
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Some favourite photos

Man in a turban with fishing nets
Fisherman in Fort Kochi, Kerala
Two elephants in long grass
Okavango elephants
Blue glacier edge
Glacier Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile
Elderly woman in black hat and sunglasses
In Santiago, Chile
Very large statues of North Korean Leaders
Statues of the Great Leaders on Mansudae Hill, Pyongyang
Water reflecting the sky with clouds and low sun
Approaching sunset in the Okavango Delta
Feet of huge metal sculpture, with man standing beside
The feet of the Angel
Large moai with row of more behind
The ‘travelling moai’ and Ahu Tongariki
Man in knitted hat by water, black and white photo
Waiting for the ferry, Banjul
Mountain reflected in a lake
On the road to Dyrholaey
Sunset at Wahiba Sands, Oman
Squirrel with a conker in his mouth
In Walpole Park, Ealing
Silhouette of a man in a gateway
Looking out from Bundi Palace
Blue and pink bird on a dead tree
Lilac-breasted Roller, Chobe NP, Botswana
Buddhist monk in orange robes with mobile phone
Monk at Wat Nong Sikhounmuang, Luang Prabang
Man sleeping in a tuk tuk by a carved stone wall
Tuk tuk driver by the Terrace of the Leper King
Close up of flamingo with head tucked under
Flamingo (Jersey Zoo)
Lady with baskets of fruit sitting by a canal
In Hoi An, Vietnam
Small fishing boat with a man in it, on a large lake
Lake Atitlan
Wet street and two people with bright pink umbrella
Street in Lucca, rainy day – edited

Some topics I’ve touched on

africa architecture art birds bird_weekly black_&_white botswana buildings cambodia cffc chile churches cities colour costa_rica deserts dprk ealing england flowers friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india japan just_one_person_from_around_the_world landscape Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks museum new_mexico north_korea people photography photo_effects PPAC rivers ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa village wildlife

Archive

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  • August 2020

You may have missed

  • International friendships in North Korea
  • A stroll around Avebury’s stone circle
  • Gallery: making eyes at me
  • Introduction to some monuments in Riga
  • Gallery: pick a word (June)

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