We spent four days in Zanzibar, Tanzania, fabled trading island of Omani sultans, Indian Ocean base of both Henry Morton Stanley and Dr. David Livingstone, terminus airport of Kenya Airways and its amazing luggage-misplacing mechanism (leading to Karin improvising magnificently with one set of clothes for three days.)

Here is a collection of photos, primarily from Stone Town, once-capital of the short-lived People’s Republic of Zanzibar (whose excesses are still apparent in the crumbling corruption of formerly magnificent merchant palaces), but also of a spice-growing cooperative in the interior (after breaking down and arranging for one of the ubiquitous spice tours, thankfully with a reputable guide), and the marvelous pandemonium of the Darajani market.

And, of course, dhows, any number of dhows, more dhows than you will possibly ever know what to do with.  They’re mighty pretty, though.

Continue reading »

My friend Nicolas was kind enough to take me on a chasse d’images at an abandoned orphanage about 60km South of Paris.  We got there around 20:30, with enough light remaining for about two hours of exploring.  Entry was fairly easy, as it’s at the edge of a sleepy village, although finding the place was [...]

Part of my ongoing effort to actually get around to doing touristy stuff while I’m in Paris.

Some more urban exploration in a forest South of Beauvais, France, about an hour from Paris.  The Sanatorium d’Aincourt is one of the spookiest places I’ve ever been in; besides not having any idea whether or how it was guarded (loads of ENTRY STRICTLY VERBOTEN signs around the area), I kept expecting headcrab zombies to [...]

Some time in Cusco, Peru on our way to Macchu Picchu.  I’ve left out most of the really tasty-looking food pictures, as well as any shots of the miserably obnoxious street urchins putting hilarious and elaborate curses on us for not giving them anything. The train pictures are of the Peru Rail journey to Aguas [...]

The ancient Inca hilltop city, found by Hiram Bingham in 1911.  We were lucky to make it up, as the rail line was hit by a rock slide on the morning we had intended to go, forcing our train to turn back.  We had heard conflicting opinions of the Inca Trail, and didn’t feel like [...]

Just a spot of urban exploration on part of the abandoned railroad around Paris.

Mind-blowing.  Words fail.  I won’t even start.

Just some tourist snaps of a few days in Rio.

Brazilians we talked to kept insisting that we would be mugged, raped, and slaughtered, not necessarily in that order, if we had the chutzpah to not take an obscenely overpriced limousine service directly into the Sambodromo, instead daring to venture across the public street outside the stadium where the unwashed cannibal mobs were congregating.  No [...]