Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Category: International

  • Grand Case

    Island of Saint-Martin / Sint Maarten (March 2011) We used the town of Grand Case on the French side of the island as our base while exploring St. Martin. We selected Grand Case for reasons that appealed to us. We’re not much into crowds, resorts, casinos or all-night festivities which tended to rule-out the Dutch…

  • Select Beaches in Saint-Martin

    Island of Saint-Martin / Sint Maarten (March 2011) There are more than twenty beaches on the island of St. Martin / Maarten, a space only a little larger than thirty square miles. Naturally that offers plenty of options. I’m not really a beach person and we remained almost entirely on the French side of the…

  • Highlands and More

    Various Points in Scotland (January 2000) We used to be able to take spur of the moment trips before we had children. Thus, all the way back in 2000, one of the airlines offered an absurdly low fare for a last-minute trip to Glasgow, Scotland. I think it was something really crazy like $120. But…

  • Neolithic Henge, Cairns and Standing Stones

    Kilmartin Glen, Argyll, Scotland (January 2000) The Kilmartin Glen contained an impressive collection of neolithic sites. The richest cluster in the valley included Temple Wood Henge and the various Nether Largie artifacts. Conveniently they all sat within close proximity of each other (map). A circular structure set off from the surrounding landscape by an earthwork…

  • Dunadd

    Kilmartin Glen, Argyll, Scotland (January 2000) There are few places in Scotland with such an incredible collection of archaeological sites as Kilmartin Glen. There are hundreds of monuments, fortresses, cairns, standing stones and carvings between Lochgilphead and Kilmartin (map). They range from the prehistoric all the way to the early days of the original Scottish…

  • Scottish Breweriana

    Breweriana from Scotland (January 2000) I like good beer, and we found plenty of exceptionally good beer in Scotland. We conducted a fair amount of research to find a representative sample of breweries and pubs recognized for their Real Ales. Additionally, we took great pride in not drinking a single massed-produced beer during our visit.…

  • Azores Index

    The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) We traveled to four of the nine principal islands of the Azores during our way too brief trip. I’d love to go back someday and catch the rest. Island of Faial Horta Street Scenes Horta Waterfront Ferry Between Pico and Faial Island of Pico Ferry Between Pico and Faial…

  • Monte Brasil

    Terceira, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Monte Brasil is an odd appendage hanging off of Terceira’s south central coast (map). It forms a bay and a natural harbor with its teardrop shape. Additionally it deflects prevailing winds that come from the west and the southwest. Its heights allowed defensive positions that protected the land…

  • Angra do Heroísmo Harbor

    Terceira, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) We drove west along Terceira’s southern coastal road. The scenery became increasingly impressive all along the way. Finally we turned a corner and noticed a spit of land jutting outward from the island across the pastoral landscape. This marked Monte Brasil, the volcanic caldera at Angra do Heroísmo…

  • Angra do Heroísmo

    Terceira, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Angra do Heroísmo (map) has been important to Portuguese history since the 16th Century. Traditionally it provided a convenient central landing point in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Here, mariners could rest, resupply and shelter their ships as they plied the trade routes between Europe, Africa and…