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It was my last morning in Spain, and I  finally got to watch the sunrise from the  balcony of my room at the Residence Puerto Hotel in Tarifa. I experienced  a lot of a rain and wind during my  week stay at this friendly hotel. Despite the rain , I loved this charming city situated along the Strait of Gibraltar in southern Spain. I had one last morning to  hike and explore the beautiful coast of…

A rainy weekend was forecast for the weekend and it was raining hard when I awoke Saturday .  I took my two morning walk in a cold, raw rain near my home in Luzerne County. I didn’t mind since it is Spring and the flowers were blooming, including this hyacinth , and the birds were  singing in the cold rain. In Spring almost  everyday something new   appears in  the woodlands of  Northeastern…

I returned to the Susquehanna Wetlands in Salem Township, Luzerne County on Friday afternoon. I usually hike in the wetlands on weekends and in the morning.  However, there was  rain in the forecast for the weekend.  I didn’t think I would be able to hike with my camera so I decided to drive to the wetlands late Friday afternoon. I am glad I did.  I  know how  quickly  Spring  awakens the…

It was my last full day in Tarifa and Spain. I awoke  early Thursday morning. I was hoping to take the ferry and visit Morocco, only 9 miles away across the Strait of Gibraltar. A light rain was falling, so I put on my rain gear and walked over to the ticketing office at the port. It wasn’t raining hard, and I didn’t think it was too windy so I was surprised and disappointed to learn that…

 I awoke in my hotel in Tarifa Spain early Wednesday morning. I looked outside over the port.  It was cloudy , but finally,it wasn’t raining.  And there was no rain in the forecast.  I had experienced rain and high winds every day during my stay in Gibraltar and southern Spain. ( Tarifa is known for its windy weather but I was told this winds were stronger than usual this year) . Despite the…

It was chilly and cloudy day  when a awoke Sunday morning.  I decided to hike on along the Lehigh River near the Lehigh Gap in Carbon County hoping to see some wood ducks in the ponds at the Bowmanstown trail head. or some migrating raptors on the Lehigh and New England Trail . I drove the 25 miles to the Riverview Park in Bowmanstown and walked through the park down to the Lehigh River. There…

It was cloudy, windy with a light rain falling when I awoke  at my hotel near the docks in Tarifa, Spain  Tuesday morning.  I was told it was an unusually rainy and windy March in southern Spain this year. I wasn’t going to sit in my hotel so I was deciding whether I was going to walk in the rain in Morocco or look for cork trees in  the rain in Spain. I decided I better take the ferry to Morocco…

It felt, smelled and sounded like Spring when I took my 2 mile walk through my neighborhood  in the early morning twilight Saturday.   It was 54 degrees  and the robins, cardinals and Carolina wrens were singing loudly in the treetops. . I was looking forward to the sunrise and warm temperatures and a hike in the Susquehanna Wetlands. It was supposed to reach the 70’s. So I finished my hike and…

Well I soon learned the forecast wasn’t wrong when I awoke in my hotel in Tarifa, Spain on Monday morning.  A heavy rain was falling. . And rain was in the forecast for the entire day. I was planning to hike in the one of the parks  near Tarifa or take the ferry to Morocco. But , because of the rain, I  decided to  stay in town and follow a trail on the outskirts of the city. . After a couple of…

It was cloudy, windy and raining when I awoke early Sunday morning, my first day in  Spain. I was staying in Tarifa the southernmost point in Europe. If it was sunny I going to hike on one of the many trails in the nearby  national and local parks. I had four goals I wanted to accomplish on this trip, I wanted to see the Roman ruins in Bolonia, I wanted to observe the bird migration, I wanted to…

I entered Spain for the second time on Saturday morning.  Two days earlier  my flight to Gibraltar was diverted to the airport in Malaga because of high winds on my recent trip to Europe. So I   had to pass   through the very informal  immigration office and process on the border between Spain and Gibraltar.  I entered Spain a second time  under bright sunshine. I   was off to find the car rental…

As usual on my travels, I was up early Saturday morning during my short stay  at the Rock Hotel in  Gibraltar.  I watched a setting full moon over the Bay of Gibraltar harbor from the balcony in my room. The skies were clear and I wanted to explore a little more of Gibraltar before I checked out of my hotel. I made a cup of instant coffee in my room and was once again walking through the the…

I was back in the Susquehanna Wetlands on Sunday. I stopped on my drive home from the Newark airport early Sunday morning. I traveled to Europe to observe the Spring migration of the birds from  Africa to Europe. It is supposed to be one of the best places to see this migration in Europe. Well, I wasn’t so lucky and encountered unusual rainy and windy conditions. When the weather was clear I…

After my breakfast at the Rock Hotel on my recent visit to Gibraltar  I changed back into my rain gear and walked down to the cable car lift, a few blocks from the hotel.  Upon arriving I learned the lift was closed because of the rain and wind. I looked fora  Plan B and found it nearby. I joined a guided tour that would take me to the Top of the Rock. I planned leave the tour at the summit and…

Although I didn’t sleep well, I was still up early my first morning in Gibraltar.    The skies were cloudy and rain was falling when I look out my window at the Gibraltar  waterfront and Bay Of Gibraltar.   I was staying at the famous Rock Hotel.   I planned to take the cable car up to the summit of the Rock but that didn’t open until 9:30 a.m. So I decided to  explore the streets of Gibraltar in…

I was back along the Susquehanna River on Sunday,   in the Susquehanna Wetlands and River Lands   in Salem Township, Luzerne County. I was deciding where to take my last hike in Pennsylvania before  a  trip to Gibraltar and Spain on Wednesday  . There are so many great parks, game lands and trails  near my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania it is always hard to decide  where to hike.  I finally…

It was around 4 p.m. when I finally arrived at the famous Rock Hotel in Gibraltar. The reasons for this adventure,  my experiences on my flights,   landing in the wrong country and three hour delay were told in my previous blog. It was around 4:30 p.m. when I finally settled in my room and decided to venture outside for a walk around Gibraltar.  Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located…