It's been a while since I published a blog entry but I have been on holiday and wanted to put on a few pics from our break in Ascension Island.
Hengameh, Jimmy and I stopped off at Ascension following their visit to me in the Falklands. Ascension is a small island almost midway between the UK and the Falklands and between Africa and South America. It has no native population but has a British and US base, a BBC relay station, the European Space Agency has a tracking station, and a small government. It has a small police force, a magistrates court, museum and conservation body.
We stayed in the only hotel on the Island - the Obsidian Hotel.
It is fair to say that three to four days on Ascension and you can jsut about see all the highlights. But it is warm - about 28C every day and the waters are rich with life.
Interestingly the magistrates court is decorated by two bombs positioned either side of the entrance. I am not sure what message theyare trying to convey to those who attend. Apparently they are very hot on speeding. We saw two police cars and two policemen.
While we were there we saw several volcanic rock formations, went up green Mountain and visited the rough NE coast and looked at the crabs and blowholes.
A unique thing about Ascension is that it has land crabs that live up on the mountain and come down to the sea to breed. They loiter in small burrows on the mountain.
All in all it was a relaxing break in journey back to the UK. A very good break in an 18 hour flight.
We then went home to the UK for a few days before going on a famliy holiday - a whistle stop tour of Italy with 3 days in Rome, 2 days in Florence, a day in Pisa, a day in Venice, a day in Verona anda day in Bergamo.We saw the Colesseum, Pantheon, Vatican, Museums, art galleries, towers and churches, opera and ate lots of pasta and pizza.
I am now back in the Falklands, have caught my first trout of the season and should hopefully be heading off to Bermuda for a conference of all the Attorney General's from the British overseas territories next week. In my next blog I hope to have some pics from there for you.Work is very busy. Missing Hengameh and Jimmy and Jade. I should see tem next at Christmas.
I hope all is well with you all and that life is good. I hope to hear from you.
