Zahara de los Atunes beach, Spain
| Tourism objects | 7 seen
This year our trip in Spain took us to many beaches, and so in today's article, meet another excellent beach - Zahara de los Atunes beach near Barbate.
Our today's root started at La Codorniz hotel near Tarifa, followed by visiting Bolonia beach and Duna de Bolonia and most probably will end somewhere in the city of Jerez (thus, we didn't know that yet)
Zahara de los Atunes is a village on the Costa de la Luz of Spain in the province of Cádiz and the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is noted for its excellent beaches, an outdoor cinema, and la Iglesia Del Carmen church where, curiously, tuna (caught in Almadraba traps) was butchered and salted. Also in the town there are excellent facilities including a variety of restaurants, cafes and hotels.
Wooden deck to the beaches
The golden sand of Playa de Zahora stretches from Playa del Palmar to the Trafalgar lighthouse at the Cabo Trafalgar. The beach is flat and rocky but protected from the strong winds in this area making it popular with those who enjoy swimming in the sea. The eastern end is very secluded, therefore very popular with naturists. During the summer months there are plenty of facilities including showers and toilets, changing rooms, lifeguards, a red cross post, several restaurants and a few beach bars. The beach is difficult to access by car so it is necessary to leave the car on the road that comes through Zahora.
Zahara de los Atunes beach
It is located 73 kilometers south of the provincial capital, Cadiz or 177 miles of Seville and 40 miles west of Gibraltar. The village is bordered to the south by the municipality of Tarifa and to the north by Barbate.
View towards Zahara de los Atunes from the beach
Sunflower fields in Andalusia, Spain
| | 11 seen
In today's Piece of Liefe series - Sunflower fields in Spain. We continued our route toward Jerez de la Frontera, when suddenly sunflower fields popped out - we had no choice left, if was time to make some panoramic from here.See what we got.
Sunflower fields in Spain
This makes a nice addition to my landscape photography collection, see Vineyards in Tuscany, for example
Sunflower fields and Wind generators
Republic Square in Yerevan
| Tourism objects | 20 seen
Republic Square in Yerevan definitely is the city's one of main landmarks and popular tourist spots. I first discovered it back at the start of January 2014, and have returned to Yerevan city since then a couple of more times. My latest visit here was in mid-March 2016. On my 29th birthday (back in 2014) had a chance to spend a lovely evening near Dancing Fountains, see: Celebrating Birthday in Yerevan, Armenia
The Republic Square is the large central town square in Yerevan, Armenia. It is intersected by the streets of Abovyan, Nalbandyan, Tigran Mets Avenue, Vazgen Sargsyan, and Amiryan.
The Republic Square
The square was designed by architect Alexander Tamanian within the 1924 main plan of Yerevan city. The construction of the square started in 1926, replacing the previous square. The first phase of the construction was completed in 1929. It was further developed until 1952 and finally completed in 1958.
General view of the Republic Square in Yerevan
During Soviet era the square was known as Lenin Square. The statue of the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin was erected in the southwestern forehead of the square in 1940 and dismantlement in 1990, prior to the independence of Armenia.
View to the mount Ararat
The oval shaped square has a stone pattern in the centre, meant to look like a traditional Armenian rug from above. The dancing water fountains are located at the northeastern forehead of the square in front of the National Gallery. The buildings around the square are made of rose and white Armenian tufa stones, fortified on a basalt-made ground anchor. The clock of the Government building tower was made in Moscow and transferred to Yerevan in July 1941. The diameter of the clock is 4 meters, the length of the big hand is 188 cm, while the small hand is 170 cm.
The Republic Square
The Republic Square is the place where ceremonies and meetings are held with the most notable one is the yearly military show of the Independence Day.
Life Expectancy in European Union 2015
| Macroeconomics | 56 seen
In today's article - Life expectancy in European Union (EU).
Life expectancy equals the average number of years a person born in a given country expected to live if mortality rates at each age were to remain steady in the future. In following table I have listed the life expectancy separately for males and females, as well as a combined figure in EU in year 2015.
There was an average life expectancy in EU of 79.6 years for both female and male. With higher life expectancy for females (82.4) and lower for male (76.6). TOP 3 countries with highest life expectancy rates are Spain, Italy and Sweden.
Life Expectancy in EU 2015
Rank Country Both Female Male 1 Spain 82.8 85.5 80.1 2 Italy 82.7 84.8 80.5 3 Sweden 82.4 84 80.7 4 France 82.4 85.4 79.4 5 Luxembourg 82.2 84 79.8 6 Netherlands 81.9 83.6 80 7 Malta 81.7 83.7 79.7 8 Austria 81.5 83.9 79 9 Ireland 81.4 83.4 79.4 10 United Kingdom 81.2 83 79.4 11 Finland 81.1 83.8 78.3 12 Belgium 81.1 83.5 78.6 13 Portugal 81.1 83.9 78.2 14 Germany 81 83.4 78.7 15 Greece 81 83.6 78.3 16 Slovenia 80.8 83.7 77.9 17 Denmark 80.6 82.5 78.6 18 Cyprus 80.5 82.7 78.3 19 Czech Republic 78.8 81.7 75.9 20 Croatia 78 81.2 74.7 21 Estonia 77.6 82 72.7 22 Poland 77.5 81.3 73.6 23 Slovakia 76.7 80.2 72.9 24 Hungary 75.9 79.1 72.3 25 Romania 75 78.8 71.4 26 Latvia 74.6 79.2 69.6 27 Bulgaria 74.5 78 71.1 28 Lithuania 73.6 79.1 68.1 Average 79.6 82.4 76.6Data source: List of countries by life expectancy
In 2015 there were 18 nations in EU with average life expectancy higher than 80 years, while in 10 countries, all of them located in Eastern and Central Europe, it was lower than 80 years (Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Lithuania)
Life Expectancy in European Union 2015
It is interesting to observe, that the higher life expectancy is not always related to better minimum and average salary in country, as for example neither Spain or Italy leads in average or minimum wage tables.
How does your country stands in this rank? Leave a comment!
Average Salary in European Union 2016
| Macroeconomics | 257 seen
My previous two articles about average salaries in European Union (EU) member countries turned out to be one of the most popular on the blog so far, I would even call them killer articles.
The first post about average salary in EU for 2014 - got more than 85,000 page views; post about average salary in EU 2015 got more than 90,000 page views to the date
Update: Average Salary in European Union 2018
In today's article, I will wrap up latest data on the average salary in EU for 2016.
I wouldn't call this a scientific research, as most of the data in this article are taken from Wikipedia's article List of European countries by average wage. I have added years 2014 and 2015 from previous years and did some simple calculations in Google Sheets. I have listened to previous suggestions to extend the following table with population information for each country to get a better understanding.
2016, definitely is an interesting year for European Union, which will be remembered as the year of Brexit phenomena, when the United Kingdom in referendum decided to leave EU. Anyhow - for this and, most probably next two years data for the United Kingdom will be included in this table, but later on... who knows how things will develop.
The average salary in European Union member countries 2016
Average median salary has increased for about 2.39% in European Union in 2016, resulting in average EUR 1508 monthly up from EUR 1469 in 2015
Rank Country Population 2014 2015 2016 2015-2016 % 2014-2016 % EUR Net EUR NET 1 Luxembourg 0.50 3,189 3,149 3,149 0 -1.27 2 Denmark 5.60 3,122 2,307 3,100 25.58 -0.70 3 Sweden 9.50 2,690 2,551 2,560 0.35 -5.07 4 Finland 5.40 2,330 2,300 2,335 1.49 0.21 5 Germany 80.60 2,054 2,155 2,225 3.14 7.68 6 France 66.00 2,128 2,180 2,180 0 2.38 7 Netherlands 16.80 2,136 2,158 2,158 0 1.01 8 Ireland 4.60 2,160 2,129 2,129 0 -1.45 9 Austria 8.50 2,114 2,124 2,124 0 0.47 10 United Kingdom 64.10 2,597 2,253 2,113 -6.62 -22.90 11 Belgium 11.20 1,946 2,091 2,091 0 6.93 12 Italy 59.80 1,923 2,033 2,033 0 5.41 13 Spain 46.70 1,615 1,734 1,754 1.14 7.92 14 Cyprus 1.10 1,833 1,574 1,574 0 -16.45 15 Slovenia 2.00 1,044 1,092 1,092 0 4.39 16 Greece 11.00 818 1,004 1,069 6.08 23.47 17 Malta 0.40 1,092 1,021 1,021 0 -6.95 18 Portugal 10.40 985 1,001 1,001 0 1.59 19 Estonia 1.30 841 832 903 7.86 6.86 20 Czech Republic 10.50 701 765 793 3.53 11.60 21 Croatia 4.20 710 735 742 0.94 4.31 22 Poland 38.50 678 705 723 2.48 6.22 23 Slovakia 5.40 683 704 708 0.56 3.53 24 Latvia 2.00 557 601 664 9.48 16.11 25 Lithuania 2.90 524 544 585 7.00 10.42 26 Hungary 9.80 503 643 570 -12.80 11.75 27 Romania 19.90 398 417 463 9.93 14.03 28 Bulgaria 7.20 333 356 382 6.80 12.82 505.90 1,489.43 1,469.93 1,508.61 2.39 3.73Data source: List of European countries by average wage
This is a list of countries containing monthly (annual divided by 12 months) net income (after taxes) average wages in Europe in EUR currency. For this year table, I have decided to exclude USD exchange rates, just to keep it simple. The table above reflects the average (mean) wage as reported by various data providers. In less developed markets, actual incomes may exceed those listed in the table due to the existence of grey economies.
While the median average wage in EU is about EUR 1,508 not all countries are equal, so, for example, the largest average salary has been registered in Luxembourg (EUR 3,149) while the lowest in Bulgaria (EUR 382).
It's interesting to observe that the median EUR 1,500 average wage divides EU by half - there are 14 countries where the average wage is above that line, and there are 14 countries where the average salary is below the median. There is roughly 505 million population of EU in 2016. Countries were median average wage is below EUR 1,500 make a population of about 125 million, that's about a 25% of the overall population in EU.
In fact, just four out of fourteen countries where median average salary isbeloww EU average (Slovenia, Greece, Malta and Portugal) have average salary just barely more than EUR 1,000, making the rest from camp 'bellow the median average salary in EU' with even less than EUR 1,000 average monthly salary.
Average salary in European Union 2016
How does your country stands in this table? Readers and me would love to hear! Drop a comment!
Duna de Bolonia
| Tourism objects | 17 seen
Duna de Bolonia is located in the Bolonia beach, some 20km west of Tarifa.
This dune is over 30 metres high and 200 metres wide, and stands out within the huge system of dunes to which it belongs. Located in the Bolonia Inlet, within the Estrecho Nature Park, this is one of the most unspoilt areas of the Cádiz coast, a vital natural habitat with stunning scenery.
Duna de Bolonia
The area is called "barjanal" on account of its half-moon-shaped dunes set perpendicular to the wind, with uneven slopes. It is one of the few transgressive systems in Andalusia, i.e., which are still advancing inland. Under the force of the easterly wind, it moves towards the ecologically important replanted groves of stone pine and scrub.
Wild cactus at Bolonia beach
Although some of Bolonia's sands are covered by exotic species to avoid them advancing further, the cliffs which are battered by the easterly wind have unusual vegetation such as Andalusian coastal juniper, Savin juniper and Portuguese crowberry. In more exposed areas, only Marram grass, sand couch and lotus grow.
Wooden footbridge
There is another line of dunes further back from the beach. Although it is in its infancy, it is coloured by marine thistles, white lilies and sea stock which grow in areas more sheltered from the wind, alongside rushes.
Duna de Bolonia
From the Bolonia-Faro Camarinal Trail you can see the broad beach of fine, golden sand. It is unspoilt and popular with surfers. You can also see the lighthouse with its giants' kettles and the Baelo Claudia archaeological site. This Roman town-factory is in surprisingly good condition and has the National Historic Monument designation.
Also recommended is scuba diving at nearby sites, with outstanding underwater karst formations.
Bolonia Beach near Tarifa
| Tourism objects | 9 seen
Bolonia beach or Playa Bolonia is located on the shores of Atlantic Ocean some 20 km west of Tarifa. We got here at the start of June, 2016 early in the morning, just after checked out from La Codorniz hotel.
The beach and bay is also known as Playa de Bolonia ("Bolonia Beach"), Ensenada de Bolonia ("Bolonia Cove"), or Bolonia Bay. We spent here about a few hours and got the tan for the rest of the Summer. Someone, actually, for the first time in her lifetime had an opportunity to actually swim in real Ocean. Congrats.
Once we arrived on site, there were a parking lot on rocks arranged by some local volunteers, luckily we got a free space, a couple of hours later, there were no free parking space left. Tip - arrive early.
Coastal village Bolonia near Tarifa in Spain
This small village is known also as the location for the ruins of the Roman town of Baelo Claudia, which are located near the beach, considered to be the most complete Roman town ruins yet uncovered in Spain.
Playa de Bolonia
The beach is about 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi) in length, with an average width of about 70 metres (230 ft).
There is actually one more interesting thing at the end of the beach located - Duna de Bolonia, or as we called it a White Dune, I will cover a separate story for it, shortly.
Park Hotel in Yerevan Review
| Hotel reviews | 2 seen
In mid March, 2016 we visited Yerevan again, this time we booked a boutique hotel on Koghbatsi street - Park Hotel.
We booked this hotel on booking.com for about EUR 80 per night, and stayed here for two or three nights (don't remember anymore) and used as our base for further Yerevan's exploration. There are two another hotels in Yerevan I can really suggest - Hotel Meg and Republica hotel. Yerevan's boutique hotels are among the best in the World I have ever stayed.
Park hotel in Yerevan
This Yerevan hotel is centrally located, close to the lively Mashtots avenue and in 5 distance of 5 minute walk from central Republic Square.
It might seems as a huge hotel building, in fact- Park Hotel is located just in the first two levels of this building.
King size bed and flat screen TV at Park hotel in Yerevan
A little nice room. All rooms include a fridge, a flat-screen TV with cable channels and a private bathroom. Some rooms feature a seating area to relax in after a busy day.
Bathroom
Couldn't resist to photograph a bathroom with a tripod in the background.
View from hotels window
Another photography experiment - long exposure
Restaurant/ breakfast room (Lounge Cafe)
The hotel offers tour desk services around Armenia and Arcax (Nagarno Karabakh). We were offered some tours, but I decided to hire my friend Tom (taxi driver) and explore nearby tourist attractions with him. Thus we used hotels driver to take us to the nearby Kilikia station to get back to Tbilisi. The price for such transfer was about 1000 AMD (about $1.00).
Take in considerations Park hotel in Yerevan - good boutique hotel centrally located.
Book online on Booking.com
LEMP Server Ubuntu 12.04 for serving Drupal on Nginx
| Servers | 21 seen
In this tutorial you will learn how to setup a LEMP stack on Ubuntu 12.04 for serving a Drupal site (s).
Update: I originally started this post to document my setup for actually configuring Nginx server on Ubuntu for Drupal site at the start of 2015. Many things have changed ,ever since, thus most of the written bellow will work.
LEMP is a variation of the ubiquitous LAMP stack used for developing and deploying web applications. Traditionally, LAMP consists of Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. Due to its modular nature, the components can easily be swapped out. With LEMP, Apache is replaced with the lightweight yet powerful Nginx.
I have been serving Drupal websites running Nginx for years already, my favorite combination is a Linode VPS, Ubuntu and Nginx. For the past 3 years I have been running Ubuntu 10.04 Nginx 0.67 and PHP 5.2. It worked and still works great, but many things have advanced in those last 3 years, like for running a Drupal 8 I'm required to have a php 5.3 version at least. The support for Ubuntu 10.04 has ended on April 30, 2015, not to speak of my existing version of Nginx.
In fact the reason that made me to do those upgrades are that recently some bot-hacker cracked my website(s) and changed content of index.php files. Well I'm not sure for 100% right now, but I believe there were some server vulnerabilities involved as well.
To perform this brand new installation I bought a new 1GB VPS server for 10$/month from Linode
LEMP Server on Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise Pangolin)
Pretty much of written here I have taken from this guide on Linode
Follow this tutorial on Linode for getting started (Deploying a server), then add some basic security to your VPS
Installing Nginx web server compiling from source
install the prerequisites:
apt-get install libpcre3-dev build-essential libssl-dev sudoCheck the Nginx download page and ensure you are using the most recent “stable” version. Latest stable version of nginx by writting this article was 1.8.0. Issue the following commands to download and install the Nginx web server:
cd /opt/ wget http://nginx.org/download/nginx-1.8.0.tar.gz tar -zxvf nginx-1.6.2.tar.gz cd /opt/nginx-1.6.2/The following ./configure command will prepare nginx for compilation:
./configure --prefix=/opt/nginx --user=nginx --group=nginx --with-http_ssl_moduleIssue the following commands to compile and then install the software
make make installCreate a dedicated system user to run the Nginx process under by issuing the following command:
adduser --system --no-create-home --disabled-login --disabled-password --group nginxNow install and configure the init script to make it possible to start and stop the web server more easily. Issue the following command sequence:
wget -O init-deb.sh http://www.linode.com/docs/assets/1131-init-deb.sh mv init-deb.sh /etc/init.d/nginx chmod +x /etc/init.d/nginx /usr/sbin/update-rc.d -f nginx defaultsNow, issue the following command to start the web-server:
/etc/init.d/nginx startConfigure Nginx Virtual Server Blocks
A lot of I have taken from Insready article here
sudo mkdir -p /srv/www/reinisfischer.com/{public_html,logs} sudo usermod -a -G www-data admin sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /srv/www sudo chmod -R 775 /srv/www/reinisfischer.com sudo mkdir -p /opt/etc/nginx/{sites-available,sites-enabled}Make sure you change admin in second row to your username
Telling Nginx you are using virtual servers
Insert the server directives directly into the http section of the /opt/nginx/conf/nginx.conf
sudo nano /opt/nginx/conf/nginx.confadd a line into http section
http { # [...] include /opt/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/*; # [...] }Once you’ve configured and loaded the Nginx configuration, restart the web server to implement the new configuration by issuing the following command:
sudo /etc/init.d/nginx restartMake sure that the directories referenced in your configuration exist on your file system before restarting.
Configure Nginx for Drupal 7
Add a new server_name
sudo nano /opt/etc/nginx/sites-available/reinisfischer.comcopy/paste code bellow (make sure you change reinisfischer.com to your actual domain name)
server { server_name reinisfischer.com; root /srv/www/reinisfischer.com/public_html; ## <-- Your only path $ access_log /srv/www/reinisfischer.com/logs/access.log; error_log /srv/www/reinisfischer.com/logs/error.log; location = /favicon.ico { log_not_found off; access_log off; } location = /robots.txt { allow all; log_not_found off; access_log off; } # This matters if you use drush location = /backup { deny all; } # Very rarely should these ever be accessed outside of your lan location ~* \.(txt|log)$ { allow 192.168.0.0/16; deny all; } location ~ \..*/.*\.php$ { return 403; } location / { # This is cool because no php is touched for static content try_files $uri @rewrite; } location @rewrite { # Some modules enforce no slash (/) at the end of the URL # Else this rewrite block wouldn't be needed (GlobalRedirect) rewrite ^/(.*)$ /index.php?q=$1; } location ~ \.php$ { fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$; #NOTE: You should have "cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0;" in php.ini include fastcgi_params; fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name; fastcgi_pass 127.0.0.1:9000; } # Fighting with ImageCache? This little gem is amazing. location ~ ^/sites/.*/files/styles/ { try_files $uri @rewrite; } location ~* \.(js|css|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|ico)$ { expires max; log_not_found off; } }CTRL+O and Enter CTRL+X to exit
Make a symlink
sudo ln -s /opt/etc/nginx/sites-available/reinisfischer.com /opt/etc/nginx/sites-enabledRestart Nginx
/etc/init.d/nginx restartTo remove a symlink
sudo rm /opt/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/reinisfischer.com /etc/init.d/nginx restartDeploy PHP with FastCGI
In order to deploy PHP applications, you will need to implement the following “PHP-FastCGI” solution to allow nginx to properly handle and serve pages that contain PHP code.
apt-get install php5-cli php5-cgi php5-fpmWhen you’ve completed the modifications to the configuration, make sure that the virtual host is enabled and issue the following command to restart the web server:
service php5-fpm restart /etc/init.d/nginx restartCongratulations! You can now deploy PHP scripts with with your LEMP stack.
Install the MySQL Database Server
apt-get install mysql-server php5-mysqlDuring the installation process you will be prompted to set a password for the MySQL root user. Choose a strong password and keep it in a safe place for future reference.
Issue the following command to secure the MySQL instance:
mysql_secure_installationAnswer all questions prompted during this process.
Install phpMyAdmin
sudo aptitude install phpmyadminHit ESC when the installation prompts you for auto-configuration, because there is no option for Nginx.
sudo ln -s /usr/share/phpmyadmin/ /srv/www/reinisfischer.com/public_html/phpmyadminnow access phpmyadmin on your browser.
Fix for missing mysqli
I found a message warning that no mysqli extension can be found, to fix this I followed advice here:http://www.maketecheasier.com/install-lemp-server-in-ubuntu
uncommented “mysqli.allow_local_infile = On” in php.inipossible locations for php.ini
/etc/php5/fpm/php.ini /etc/php5/cli/php.iniRestart FPM
service php5-fpm restartInstalling Drupal
cd /srv/www/reinisfischer.com sudo wget http://ftp.drupal.org/files/projects/drupal-7.38.tar.gz sudo tar -xvzf drupal-7.38.tar.gz sudo cp drupal-7.38/* public_html/ -R sudo chown www-data:www-data public_html -RDrupal Backup and Restore using Wget
I was deploying a new server with just one aim - to run a Drupal sites. Since I already had a server serving Drupal sites I found the most fastest way to transfer those site is by creating archives on one server and transfer them to other using wget and then extracting and editing just some settings.php file
On server 1
sudo mkdir /srv/www/reinisfischer.com/public_html/backups sudo tar czf /srv/www/reinisfischer.com/public_html/backups/archive.tar.gz /srv/www/reinisfischer.com/public_htmlWith first line we created a new folder where to store our backup files, while with second file we archived all files from public_html directory and placed in backups directory
On Server 2
cd /srv/www/reinisfischer.com/public_html sudo wget http://www.reinisficher.com/backups/archive.tar.gz sudo tar -zxvf archive.tar.gzInstall Postfix for sending Mail
In many cases your website will use a webform and it's neat to have those emails been sent to your inbox.Read: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/questions/email-not-working-with-fresh-drupal-install-on-ubuntu-14-04
sudo apt-get install postfixThen, edit /etc/postfix/main.cf and set inet_interfaces to loopback-only
sudo nano /etc/postfix/main.cfRestart postfix
sudo service postfix restartLa Codorniz Hotel Review in Tarifa
| Hotel reviews | 12 seen
We were driving around area of Tarifa, it was getting already dark, we hadn't yet booked any hotel. Our hope was that we will easily book some hotel on site. In fact we made a stop at some 3 roadside hotels. hostels but they all were fully booked. At every place I asked could they recommend me something in this area, and La Codrniz was one of the suggestions.
We found La Codorniz hotel located just some 300 meters from beaches, about 5 km from town of Tarifa.
La Codorniz hotel near Tarifa, Spain
We got our room here for about EUR 65 per night, which included a free parking and breakfast.
Hotel Restaurant La Codorniz Tarifa is a family owned business that had its beginnings as a restaurant, gradually growing as the thirty seven rooms hotel that it is today. Hotel features twenty bungalow type rooms in the garden area near the pool, ideal for relaxing. Seven rooms with balconies with wonderful views to Morocco and Tarifa. Ten rooms with views to the interior and the mountains. All are spacious and comfortable with TV, telephone, mini fridge, air conditioning, heating and a private bathroom equipped with hairdryer.
Breakfast at La Codorniz hotel
In La Codorniz hotel you have the option of staying in a room with views, or a room with terrace that opens out onto the surrounding gardens.
Room at La Codorniz hotel with an outdoor terrace
King size bed at La Codorniz hotel
Learn more at lacodorniz.com or book online on Booking.com
16 Things to do in Batumi
| Travel guides | 50 seen
Batumi is a port city of Georgia, located on the shores of the Black sea.
Pebbled beaches energize you with their natural force and astonish with the beauty of seashells that can easily be found right in the rocks, especially after storms.
For choosing a hotel in Batumi see: 16 Best Batumi Beach / Seaside Hotels
Close to the sea, you will find a new boulevard with lots of boutiques and cafes whereas in the old boulevard you can peacefully have a rest in the shade of giant trees. Being in the center of different kinds of musical events you can always find something close to you in Batumi.
In this article, I've listed the top 16 things to do in Batumi
While you are there wandering around in Batumi, consider Batumi Real Estate Crypto Investment
Postcards from Batumi
| | 7 seen
At the start of March 2016, after about a two-year break I visited Batumi again.
This time I was equipped with a DSLR camera, a tripod, and two days of free time.
I decided to capture as much as I can. Result? In the pictures below.
Sunset in Batumi
This photo was taken from the top of the mountain at Argo Entertainment center (you can get there by a cable car)
Batumi Miracle Park
A lot of wonders around here. The Chacha tower, alphabetic tower and a tower was once meant to wear the name of Trump
Rocky Black Sea coast in Batumi
Love to lay back in these pebbles.
Bike rental in Batumi
In 2022, they still have bike rentals available, but more popular seems are electric scooters
Batumi beach
Love sculpture - Ali and Nino
Fishermen
Author of this blog captured in action
Batumi port
Streets of Batumi
Batumi theater and Radisson building
Square in Batumi
Batumi Botanical Garden
Batumi Railway Station
Spooky Images from Tarifa, Spain
| | 4 seen
We were heading from Gibraltar towards Tarifa, still searching for accommodation for tonight when we were surprised by a natural phenomenon - the mist.
Mist rolling over highway
Mist rolling over highway
It was getting late and dark, we decided to make a stop at local store to buy some goodies and I got an opportunity to capture another natural phenomena - clouds covering the Sun
Sun covered by clouds
Dwelling houses
Gibraltar
| Tourism objects | 10 seen
I have never been to the United Kingdom, today, thus, I had a chance to step a foot on British Overseas territory - Gibraltar. Nope, they are driving the same as in the rest of Europe (left side wheel), but some particles of British taste you can enjoy here definitely.
Approaching Gibraltar from Spain (The Rock of Gibraltar)
There is a quick border control between Spain and Gibraltar. Passengers are not obligated to leave the vehicle. It took about 2 minutes for us to cross this border, and we were in.
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and shares its northern border with Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region. At its foot is a densely populated city area, home to over 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.
View to the Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar and Peninsular Spain in Europe from Morocco and Ceuta (Spain) in Africa.
The Rock Hotel in Gibraltar
Tourism is a significant industry. Gibraltar is a popular port for cruise ships and attracts day visitors from resorts in Spain. The Rock is a popular tourist attraction, particularly among British tourists and residents in the southern coast of Spain. It is also a popular shopping destination, and all goods and services are VAT free, but may be subject to Gibraltar taxes. Many of the large British high street chains have branches or franchises in Gibraltar including Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and Mothercare. Branches and franchises of international retailers such as Tommy Hilfiger and Sunglass Hut are also present in Gibraltar, as is the Spanish clothing company Mango.
Park in Gibraltar
Over 500 different species of flowering plants grow on the Rock. Gibraltar is the only place in Europe where the Gibraltar candytuft (Iberis gibraltarica) is found growing in the wild; the plant is otherwise native to North Africa. It is the symbol of the Upper Rock nature reserve.Olive and pine trees are among the most common of those growing around the Rock.
Most of the Rock's upper area is covered by a nature reserve which is home to around 230 Barbary macaques, the famous apes of Gibraltar, albeit that biologists insist that technically the apes are wild monkeys. These are the only wild apes or monkeys found in Europe. This species, known scientifically as Macaca sylvanus, is listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List and is declining. Three-quarters of the world population live in the Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco.
Gibraltar
The Airport of Gibraltar
Gibraltar maintains regular flight connections to London, Birmingham and Manchester. Scheduled flights to Morocco and Madrid proved unsustainable due to insufficient demand
Cafe-Bar El Hacho, Gaucin
| Restaurant reviews | 11 seen
Cafe-Bar El Hacho in Gaucin proudly bears hundredth cafe name featured on blog. See all the rest 100 restaurant reviews.
We made a quick stop here, just shortly we left Ronda (Ronda Bridge) and took a small tapas and coffee con - lece's here.
Inside sun terrace with outdoor pool
Outdoor pool
Light meal and freshly squeezed orange juice
Our bill here - around EUR 10.00
Cafe-Bar El Hacho in Gaucin, Spain
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