dan collier » beach

Stockholm Archipelago on Gadfly II

dan — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:40:06 +0000

Johanna, Naomi, her friend Leah, Jaxon, and I are sailing this week (July 27 – Aug 2) in the archipelago between Stockholm and the Baltic sea on a Delphia 28 GT. The Swedish ideal of tying up to an unmarked (and for me unknown) rock cliff in just a meter or two of water takes some nerve, but so far so good.

I’m tracking the trip on Google Maps, if you’re interested.

A Quick Trip to Barcelona

dan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:32:52 +0000

Johanna and I spent the last 5 days in Barcelona, Spain. We had a great time exploring the city and staying with friends. Below are some pictures from the trip, but Barcelona seemed both too large and too small to be really photogenic. By that I mean that there were lots of interesting and diverse neighborhoods that are distinct from the surrounding neighborhoods (too big) but the town is full of quaint alleys and squares crowded with tourist (too small).

View form Parc Güell

Bass River Bridge

dan — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:01:08 +0000

Bass River Bridge from Dennis, MA the evening of March 6th, 2009

Más Puerto Rico

dan — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:48:54 +0000

On my last days in Puerto Rico, I rented a car and drove west along the beach some and then south on route 10 and 111 through the mountains to the surfing town Rincon, where I spent the night. I really liked every part of the island that I saw.

Aguadilla Sunset

Puerto Rico

dan — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 01:37:58 +0000

For the last 4 days, I’ve been in Puerto Rico for a conference. First I stayed in San Juan, the last few days I’ve been in meetings in Rio Grande, and tomorrow I’ll rent a car to explore some more of the island and then head back to San Juan for one more night.

It’s been a beautiful island with friendly people, good food, and fabulous weather. Here are some photos:

Sunrise at Rio Mar Beach

Boston Skyline

dan — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 17:51:26 +0000

The first photo is from the Great Blue Hill observatory in Milton, MA. It was around 6:30 AM as I walked the half mile trail up the hill and I crossed paths with a whitetail buck, doe and fawn on the way.

The next photo was taken from Wollaston Beach, Quincy.

Both photos taken June 13, 2008.

Spanish Point Park

dan — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 05:26:00 +0000

Spanish Point Park outside Hamilton, Bermuda.
Taken September 27, 2007.

Bermuda

dan — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 06:41:00 +0000

I arrived on Bermuda this morning, and after spending a full day (motor)scooting around the islands, I am really impressed. I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my week here exploring some of the areas I found today and finding more beautiful spots (when I’m not participating in the meetings I’m actually here to attend). I blogged a bit about my recent trip to the US Virgin Island of Saint Thomas, and it seems like Bermuda is most of the things I hoped St. Thomas would be.

It is notable that Bermuda had the highest per capita income in the world a couple years ago. For all the beautiful ocean-front homes, the wealth seems to have reached most corners of the islands. From the big stuff to the small stuff, the amount of litter lining the roads to the friendliness of the locals, Bermuda is all British charm where Saint Thomas seemed brash, a sadly typical in-your-face American colony.

At the end of a long day on my scooter, I realized that anyplace that a man can safely tour on a 50cc motobike (as the Vietnamese xe om would say) without losing any self-respect must be a good place. Pink sand beaches don’t hurt either.

The two pictures in this post are from Horseshoe Bay beach, taken with my phone. Obviously, they do the lovely beach no justice.

Magen’s Bay

dan — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 06:11:00 +0000

Magen’s Bay is the longest and most talked about beach on the Saint Thomas. It was too crowded to be tranquil. One bay west is Hull’s Bay, which I thought was just as nice. Actually nicer considering we shared the beach with 2 local families and a pack of white geese.

Not quite El Dorado

dan — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 05:54:00 +0000

I’ve been on Saint Thomas for the last few days and until Sunday for a work conference. It is not exactly the tropical paradise I hoped for, but it is a vast improvement over the 10 degree weather I left back home.

This is my first time here, and the biggest surprise for me is how surly and unpleasant the locals have been. At least in the main town, Charlotte Amelie. I live on a vacation destination quasi-island, so I’m well aware of how awful tourists can be. And with anywhere between 3 and 9 cruise ships disembarking for a few hours each day and leaving each night, they have plenty of tourists. And if possible, even more vehicles than tourists.

On the lesser traveled parts of the island, I’ve met some nice folks that fit my image of the laid back Caribbeans. Of course, they were sitting on the beach drinking beers at noon, not being asked to fetch one (at a handsome price). The beaches are nice, but coming here from Cape Cod the beaches aren’t exactly breath-taking. The smog in the constant Charlotte Amelie traffic jam, on the other hand, sure is.

Overall, my impression of St. Thomas is not very good. But it is nice enough to make me think I could find paradise on an island somewhere down here, if I just keep looking long enough.