World Series: Irish Silence

Arriving at the Dublin Airport was exciting. I'd always wanted to see Ireland. They say that the whole place is green. They say that the air is clean and the people are nice. Now at last I get to check it out for myself.

The airport was small but that's okay, I like them that way. A car is rented and the bags are put in the trunk. There's a map in the glove compartment and I realize that I can go anywhere. I don't have any appointments. I don't have any deadlines. So I get the idea to put away the map and get lost. No map, no plan, no specific direction.

I get on the freeway and see that the legend is true. It is green everywhere. On the sidewalks, in the mountains, in front of people's homes. Green is the national color and with stunning reason. I'm not sure where I'm headed but my compass in my dashboard tells me that it is south.

I decide to get off and check out the local scene. I see the beautiful homes and can only imagine how simple there lives must seem. Time here passes slower than in a big city like L.A. or N.Y. And that's a good thing - more time to enjoy life and friends. A paved road ends and a gravel one begins so I accept the invitation and go up a small hill not knowing what to expect. As I go up all I see is blue. It's a blue that is vivid. Wow. Then the road starts down revealing the coast and the Atlantic Ocean. There are only a couple of homes out here right on the sharp edge of Ireland. Talk about solitude. I get out and walk around. The breeze is hard but liberating. I smell the freshness of the wind and then notice it. There's no one around. There are no cars (except mine) and there's no sight of any civilization as far as I can tell. It is silent...

-Santiago Valencia

Travel: Princess cross The Atlantic

As you know I love to travel. One of my favorite ways to get around the world is on a cruise. Princess Cruises is a great place to call home for a week or two.

This last April I sailed across the Atlantic to Portugal on the Ruby Princess and then into the Mediterranean. It was fantastic. It took 6 days to cross The Atlantic. Here are some shots of the ship itself. Later I'll show you the places I went to.

SV

World Series: Atlantic, Prague & Hawaii

Continuing my World Series photo series here are 3 more images of my travels. Enjoy.
SV

First,
Crossing the Atlantic. I took the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton, England to New York City. It took 6 days and most of it was smooth sailing except for one day when it was very choppy, windy and cold. That's the picture below. It was very cool to feel the fresh wind on your face and get a taste of what sailors must have gone thru in the days before modern technology.


Second,
Old Prague. This was the view coming down the mountain that holds the castle of Prague. It was an amazing view with lots of homes with orange rooftops. At night it was like I had stepped back in time since most of the buildings were still there hundreds of years ago.


Lastly,
Hawaiian Coral. This is Maui. I took a helicoter ride with a crazy pilot that took me to the falls that you see in the movie Jurassic Park and then dove rapidly thru the clouds. Heading towards the earth like a rocket the clouds parted and there was the water. Just as it looked like we were going for a swim the pilot pulled up and skimmed the water. And that is when I took this shot.