Terry Travels B&W Photos #7

#TerryTravelsBWPhotos7

Athens
Yes the modern Olympics were held here in 2004, but the ancient games (which took place every four years 776BC - 393AD) were 300kms or 200 miles away in Olympia and not in this city

Food Clock
Also if you eat diner before 10.00pm the local Athenians will know your a tourist, as they rarely
 have their meal before this time

 

Hungary
The ornate wrought iron fences were torn down and melted to create munitions during
 both World Wars
So if you find one in Eastern Europe, it is a true anomaly that the local citizens fought hard to hide, salvage or preserve for its historical significance

Midwest America
Had a chance to be a passenger in a vintage Crop Duster from a private collection
They were retired due to its high maintenance costs, stricter safety requirements
 and their low chemical capacity for its original purpose

Bahamas
Fort Exploring as i took this photo, which reminded me of the Transformers Movie
 or maybe something else more nefarious going on 😱

South Pacific
Heading to Fiji and the island of Taveuni
Its were the International Date Line is located (180th meridian) so you can stand with one foot
in "today" and your other "yesterday"

Brno Czech Republic
Using reflection for a cityscape shot, as i make my way to their
vast network of medieval tunnels

Italy
Before Uber Eats, this "kids" was the delivery vehicle back
 in the day 😃

North Island New Zealand
Heading to Ninety Mile Beach on the northern tip of this country, which i find out is "only"
55 miles long (88 kms)
In the business world, this is what we would call an overestimation bias jajajjajaja

Cook Islands
The outrigger boats here are called vaka-katea
Traditionally they were made entirely from organic materials, from the hulls that were carved from massive trees, the sails that were woven from the pandanus leaves and then all the pieces were sewn together with coir ropes
This came from the coconut husks and were used because of its resistance
 to the saltwater

Greece
In around 400BC wealthy homeowners had clay oil lamps on poles outside their
villas to deter thieves
So since there was not an electrical grid at this time, the enslaved servants did the job of manually lighting, watching and finally extinguishing the artificial illumination every night
Thankfully here on the Island of Crete, things are in the modern way
us humans are used to

New Zealand
It seems like i am heading to "the edge" but actually tramming the Routeburn Track
on the South Island

Moon Landscape
The 2000 acres around Peggys Cove has been protected since 1962 when it came under
the Commission Act
So this area will remain a timeless region for all of us to enjoy here in Eastern Canada

Novogorod
These one room churches were built within a 24 hour period with the belief that the evil forces and disease spirits could not penetrate the sacred structure
The constructing in the short period of time was in the thought of an absolute ritual purity to fight off things like the Black Plague, Smallpox and Sweating Sickness
during these times

Siberia
The area spans 13.1 million square kilometers (5 million sq miles) making up around 9% of the
Earths total land mass
I am making my way to Yakutsk, which is the coldest major city on our planet with temps regularly dropping below -50C (-58F) 
 Because of this, all the homes are built on wooden stilts as the
ground is permanently frozen 

New Orleans 
The famous courtyards were a byproduct of disasters;
It was because of two massive fires that destroyed much of the city in the 18th century, which then brought on new building codes
Owners were required to have a continuous street front and narrower lot lines, the end result was more open areas in the back which gave birth to these iconic terraces

Terry Travels B&W Photos #6

                                                   

#TerryTravelsBWPhotos6

Barcelona
Heading to the area where the 1888 Universal Exposition was held
I am here to say the "rumor" of Gustave Eiffel (who proposed his iconic structure) was rejected by the city because it was too expensive and an eyesore, is just not true
Other engineers did put forward some proposals for a massive style iron observation towers,
but Barcelona kindly said no

Final Selection
It chose to build the classical brick Arc de Triomf for the grand gateway to the exposition
 With one year later, Eiffel was successful with his 300 meter (984 feet) design for his metropolis of Paris and its 1889 Worlds Fair 

Kotor Montenegro
I am learning in the culture here, Zmaj is the "good dragon" that is  highly intelligent, has a deep
spiritual wisdom, is skilled in magic
and uses his powers to protect human crops, farmlands
 plus villages from the bad weather 

Peggys Cove Canada
Part of the granite landscape that was formed millions of years ago from the tectonic
movement and glacial activity in this area

Madrid Spain
The Victory Arch, because of its ties to the dictatorship who built it (Francisco Franco)
it has many locals and politicians calling the structure Puerta de Moncioa,
 to strip away any military association

Reykjavik Iceland
Because of its isolation, the Old Norse language has changed very little here
 since the Viking Age, so is still practiced and used

Ronda Spain
The region is known for its rugged beauty, so much that American author Ernest Hemingway
(who loved the area) used his feelings for the inspiration in writing 
 For Whom the Bell Tolls 

Pitigliano Italy
Counting the scraped cars and folded-in mirrors as i walk the streets, apparently the locals tell
me its very "normal" to see
Its because of the narrow street grid that was designed thousands of years ago
 With that in mind; there is a Sunday ban on heavy trucks and freight carriers on major highways for this day to ease congestion, plus make long distance trips safer

Aoraki / Mount Cook
Heading towards my next adventure to take on the "cloud piercer"
Did you know that Sir Edmund Hillary (first person to summit Mount Everest in 1953) honed his
alpine skills by climbing this mountain first
While i am not in this class of climber, i hope to learn some things from my experience here

Crows Nest
While i help out here; you learn quickly because it sits far above the ships center, it means any small rocking movement of the hull is amplified into a huge sway 
This can cause severe seasickness even for seasoned sailors, which i am not 😄

Punishment
A Captain would sometimes send misbehaving crew members up to the crows nest as a form
of a disciplinary "incarceration"

Rabat Morocco
These courtyards are built by design as an open-air area with plants and water fountains,
 which then creates a cooler microclimate

Halifax Canada
My city and the wrought iron fence around the our Government House
Its the oldest consecutively occupied official residence
 in the country

Portugal
After the massive earthquake in 1756 Lisbon rebuilt using a smart architecture strategy
The buildings featured internal wooden "x" shaped crossbeams that would act like shock absorbers, making the area an early quake resistant metropolis 

Naples
Because its the birthplace of the Margherita Pizza, well i need to have one
It was created in 1889 and named after the Queen with the toppings of tomatoes (red)
mozzarella (white) and basil (green) that where chosen to mimic
 the colors of the Italian flag 

Iceland Road-Trip
You will notice quickly there is no trees outside your vehicle windows
The original Viking settlers chopped down most of the native timberlands, with today less than 2% of the country that is forested
The local joke goes; if you get lost in an Icelandic woodland, just stand up 😅

Eastern Europe
Counting the crosses, as i am told its to signify that the building is a House of God and a
gateway connecting heaven to earth

Venice

#VeniceFloatingCity
The entire area rests on wooden logs that were driven into the mud and did not rot out because of the lack of oxygen in those depths

The History
Refugees escaping the barbarian invasions began settling on these marshy islands around 421AD
They hammered millions of sharpened alder, oak and pine timber deep into the soft bottom until it hit a dense compressed layer of clay
The posts slowly mineralized and hardened into a stone like structure
 over the centuries

 

No Cars Allowed
Venice has no roads so i took advantage of the water taxis and if your looking for a civic address the city does not work this way
So use the professionals if trying to locate a building, as the area is numbered by districts so
 generally you go by landmarks and not a digit

Ban on Any Wheels
Because of the narrow and crowded streets even pushing a bicycle is not allowed, skateboards
plus rollerblades are also a no no

St Marks Square
It sits just above sea level, so during some high tides its always the first
 neighborhood to flood

Old History
Before it was paved into its elegant stone we see today, in the 9th century it was just a marshy
 vegetable patch
Speaking of food; to preserve the historic integrity of the area the city enforces strict rules about consuming your own food and beverages here
It could cost you hundreds of Euros in fines, so there is your KeyTip for saving money today

Black Gondolas
In the 1500s it was a law enacted to stop the wealthy citizens from showing off with their flashy colored decorations and also to reduce
the class rivalry between the private and public boats

Smart Asymmetrical Design
They are purposely built lopsided (left side is about 25 cms or 10 inches wider than the right) as this unequal shape counteracts the push of the single oar, which then allows the gondolier to glide into a straight line without switching sides

Woodwork
It takes more then 280 individual pieces of oak, cherry, walnut, larch and mahogany
 to build a single vessel
Then it is all crafted by hand and takes hundreds of hours to complete

School
There are only 400 active gondola licenses that requires hundreds of hours of training in history,
foreign languages and rowing

The Aquatic Roads
There are speed limits for the boat traffic here at 5 knots, with the exception being the
emergency vessels

A) Polizia; they take a nautical training course over three months and also are required to memorize the
layout of the city. 
Also needed is to study how the fluctuating low and high tides effect the bridge clearances plus the
canals accessibility during reduced water levels

B) Firemen; they have specialized watercrafts packed with retractable ladders, breathing
apparatuses, heavy-duty hoses and centrifugal pumps
While they could pump the water directly from the canals in extreme emergencies, they have a hydrant network built throughout the city
As the saltwater from the channels is highly corrosive and would damage the historic architecture here, so they avoid that option 
 
C) Deliveries; packages arrive near a local transit hub near the lagoon, then they are loaded onto boats that navigate the canals and the final part of this journey is by foot
That person is wheeling his/her handcarts over the pedestrian bridges and through the
narrow streets

Over Tourism
I have been here three times and have seen the effects of this and it has reached
a critical tipping point
Roughly 30 million visitors overwhelm this fragile city that has less than 50,000
full-time residents

Access Fee
Venice became the first city in the world to charge an entry for for the day, its 5 Euro for booking ahead and 10 for last minute
Personally i think its great as the impact on the infrastructure and environment does not have a price
 as we need to protect both from decay
Add in the economic fall out; as the independent shops, bakeries and other services are being replaced by souvenir stalls plus fast food eateries all to cater to the daytrippers
This in the end result, leaves the citizens here with fewer neighborhood resources

Population Collapse
With skyrocketing property values driven up by the short term holiday rentals, some locals are forced to move to the mainland
In 1971 the historic center numbers were at 109,000 and recently has dipped below 48,000

400 Bridges
It helps connect the area and its 118 small islands, but there are only four that cross the
famous Grand Canal
With the Rialto as the only pedestrian span that was in use for three centuries,
 before the others were built

Marco Polo
He was born here to a wealthy merchant family, then at age 17 spent much of his life
 traveling (24 years) abroad
After he was captured by the arch rivals of the time The Genoa Republic,
it was then once imprisoned he wrote "The Travels"

KeyTip
You can actually tour past his old home but your not allowed to go inside

Ancient Empire
It was an independent maritime superpower that lasted for over 1000 years (697-1797)

Cool Culture
A) Clao; the global greeting came form the Venetian phrase "s ciavo" meaning
at your service
B) Mask Rules; during the 17th century wearing a Carnival mask was only allowed to specific holidays, as people used them to hide their identities from the local government
or to commit crimes

My Mask While Here
Something to be said that in those times, it allowed rich and poor (who all wore the same face covering) to mingle without judgment or consequence 

Quarantine
The word started here in the 1300s, as ships had to wait 40 days offshore (quarantena) before
being allowed to dock with people or cargo
It was a preventative measure for the ongoing Black Death pandemic during these scary times,
  as an estimated 25 to 50 million people died in Europe from this disease
 So with good reason to be cautious and prudent

Rock of Gibraltar

#RockOfGibraltar
Its a massive limestone monolith 
that rises over 400 meters (1400 feet) above the Mediterranean Sea
 It is still a British territory that has an unique history as you will see and read

 

The Neanderthals
A skull was found in 1848 at the Forbes Quarry almost a decade before the famous discovery
at the German Neander Valley location
With that, scientists believe the cave complex here on Gibraltar was one of the very last places
Neanderthals lived on Earth before going extinct

More Tunnels Than Roads
They were built for the wars and carved out during two major historical events
The Great Siege in the late 1700s and the large expansion during the Second World War, which at its peak sheltered up to 30,000 soldiers underground within the caves

Greek Mythology
The Rock was considered one of the two Pillars of Hercules, with the other being
a mountain in nearby Morocco.
Sailors truly believed it marked the absolute edge of the known world to them and they would just
disappear into an abyss if crossing past this "gate"

Barbary Macaques 
They are the only free-roaming wild monkey population located in Europe

UK Connections
A) The English Legend; a local superstition says if they ever leave or die out, the British rule
 over Gibraltar would end
B) Winston Churchill Rescue Mission; during the Second World War the Prime Minister was so worried about the dwindling monkey population, that he ordered new macaques to be flown in from Morocco to boost the population
C) Military Health; they were officially cared for by the British Army, with one officer that was assigned to oversee their diets and to treat any sick or injured at the Royal Naval Hospital

St Michaels 
It was once thought to be a bottomless pit or an underground tunnel to Africa, with its largest chamber called the Cathedral Cave
It now hosts music, ballet and drama events thanks to its amazing acoustics plus of course
 the very unique setting

Early History
A) Gates to Hell; the ancient Greeks believed the deep and dark openings were the entrance
to the underworld
B) Military Use; workers prepared the site to be used as an emergency hospital during the Second World War, but it was not needed
C) Discovery; engineers accidentally found a lower cave in 1942 while doing some military blasting.
This hidden chamber had been completely sealed off from the outside world
for over 20,000 years

Gibraltar International Airport
It has a public road (Winston Churchill Avenue) that intersects directly with the runway

Fun Facts
A) World War Origins; built in 1939 by the military, the airfield was constructed on a narrow isthmus from the Bay of Gibraltar to the Mediterranean Sea
B) The Intersection; traffic lights and railway-style barriers would stop cars and pedestrians every time a plane was landing or taking off
C) Kingsway Tunnel; an underground passage opened in 2023 to divert regular traffic beneath the runway. But people and cyclists still cross the active tarmac, making it the only airport runway you can legally stroll across

Pilot Skills
Because the airport is flanked by the massive 426 meter-high (1400 feet) Rock of Gibraltar, it creates intense crosswinds and tricky landing conditions. Add in the fact that its a short 1829 meter (6000 feet)  runway surrounded by water, the aviator needs to be on top of his/her game when landing here

John & Yoko
They initially tried to get married in Paris but faced a strict legal roadblock.
As most European countries required several weeks of residency, before any vows can take place

British Overseas Territory
A rep from the Beatles record company Apple discovered that if a person is a citizen from England, you could marry on very short notice here
So get yourself a chartered plane, have a brief ten minute ceremony and all of this gives you the end result; a newlywed couple 

Lunenburg NS Canada & its American Prohibition History

#LunenburgNSCanada_AmericanProhibitionHistory

Lunenburg Inn
Once known as the Hillside Hotel, this town and boardinghouse (located in my Province of Nova Scotia) became the epicenter of the lucrative rum running trade to the United States during its Prohibition era
As rumor has it, some of the high profile guests included Joseph P. Kennedy, who was for sure connected to the liquor trade during the 1920s to 1936
But please keep reading and you can make up your own decisions if he was ever a guest, as i send out the facts during my investigation of this time in Lunenburg

Rail Connection
The hotel opened in 1924 by Sophia Hamm, a smart business move as the Inn sat directly adjacent to the train station in Lunenburg
This made it ideal for all the travelers, traders and figures connected to this black market 

Smuggling Industry
By 1925 half the areas fishing fleet had repurposed their vessels into sleek, fast sailing ships to carry the illegal booze to the awaiting Mob controlled boats off the coast of New Jersey and New York

For a more detailed explanation on how this all worked, go to my previous writing on this subject #LasVegasHowardHughes_NovaScotia_TheMob 

Today; Rum Runners Trail
The railway line is long gone that was used to transport some of the booze from Halifax to here,
but you can hike or bike the 120km (65 miles) and then let your imagination run wild of those times

Joe Kennedy
When i was in Lunenburg to research this subject, i sought out some of the "old guard: of the area to ask if it was true
But who knows if time has clouded their memories or like a fishing tale that the story
 gets embellished jajaja, there was no clarity to be found

Bootlegging Myth
There is no evidence according to biographers and historians of his connection to the
 illegal  trade of alcohol 
 Personally he drank very little and famously offered his sons cash rewards to avoid partaking until they reached the age of 21
The Mob boasting of working with Kennedy, this has come down to post facto story telling or confusion with other liquor merchants with the same name

Post Prohibition Success
With a legitimate business move, just before the ban was lifted he used his connections to secure exclusive US import rights for major brands like Dewar Scotch and Gordons Gin
Then he headed Somerset Importers which positioned himself with massive stockpiles of product and then was legally ready to sell the moment the 21st Amendment was ratified
The payoff was a decade later when he sold his stake for millions, this was what laid the financial foundation for the Kennedy family fortune for the next generation

American & Canadian Prohibition

The biggest difference between the two countries was how the laws were enacted and enforced
The United States implemented a very strict and nationwide constitutional ban on the manufacturing, sale and transport of alcohol under the 18th Amendment
In Canada it was decentralized and managed by each Province, this had many legal loopholes
 that was abused
It allowed breweries and distilleries to continue manufacturing alcohol for export, so the
US market became an economic windfall for the bootleggers

History
The ban lasted in America for thirteen years (1920 - 1933) while in Canada it was basically a wartime sacrifice when most of the Provinces went dry (1916 -1917)
 Then the citizens grew tired of it quickly and repealed the bans in the 1920s, just as the
US Prohibition era was reaching its peak 

Fun Facts
The Province of Quebec rejected a full prohibition ban from the beginning, yes restricting hard liquor but allowing beer and wine
On the other end of the spectrum, Prince Edward Island stayed dry from 1901 to 1948 😐

Ship Building
The area was famous in its construction on the Bluenose Schooner (on the Canadian 10 cent coin)
that dominated International racing during the 1920s to 1930s
But its less law abiding sister ships were making history of a different kind, as the local boatyards made ultra fast vessels for the illegal trade
Even sometimes mounting high powered airplane engines to outrun the
 US Coast Guard Cutters

The Famous Im Alone Schooner

Mob Ship
New York gangster Jamie Clark showed up in Lunenburg with $18,000 in cash and bought the ship Then he setup a fake Canadian shell corporation called the
 Eastern Seaboard Steamship Agencies Ltd,
this was to register the vessel under the British Union Jack to evade the American authorities 

Captain Jack Randell
He was a highly decorated First World War naval hero from the next Province over of Newfoundland
Known for his swaggering style, often wearing silk dress shirts, dinner jackets and even top hats
while out at sea
 He certainly fit the bill for this dangerous lifestyle

The Vessel
 It was legendary, a 125 foot ship that was painted black for a stealth look and was equipped with powerful twin diesel engines
It also had a high tech radio to intercept US Coast Guard messages and even an antique wax seal press to forge official documents to make it look like they were
 transporting regular cargo 

March 1929
US Coast Guard cutter Wolcott spotted the ship off the coast of Louisiana
Captain Randell refused to pull over and even brandished a revolver at the American officers
This resulted in a two day pursuit into International waters
A second US cutter the Dexter joined the chase and then intentionally gunned down the Im Alone by shelling the hull until it sank

Imprisonment
The Captain and his seven crew members were brought to New Orleans where they were jailed and formally charged with violating the Volstead Act (Prohibition) 
A few problems emerged though, the city was widely considered "wet" and strongly opposed the ban so considered Randell as a captive hero
Then because they were arrested 320 kms (200 miles) off the American coast, this was well outside the US legal jurisdiction and so the charges were dropped almost immediately

The Aftermath
Canada sued the United States for its International law violations, but in a plot twisting moment an American codebreaker proved that the ship was actually owned by the US Mob
This drastically reduced the fines that the Americans had to pay to the Captain and also the widow of the deceased crewman 
Finally an apology was issued between the two countries and Randell returned immediately to his
life at sea, until his failing health forced him into retirement in 1941 and unfortunately 
  died three years later

In Song
Because of the epic two day high seas chase, Canadian folk musician Wade Hemsworth wrote a popular ballad about this saga 
The Sinking of the Im Alone 

MacIsaac House of Lunenburg
This a classic American Four Square design  but do not let the "normal" layout fool you
Typically the doors and windows were frequently altered or hidden to hide their
 liquid gold from authorities.
Local folklore says the identical front and rear doors were built to confuse the devil, but it sure came in handy when the liquor inspectors showed up looking for the escape routes plus the concealed alcohol

Why it Ended
A) The Great Depression; following the stock market crash the US government desperately needed the tax revenues and also to create the jobs that the legalized alcohol industry would provide
B) Rise in Crime; banning alcohol did not stop the consumption and instead created a violent underground economy ruled by mobsters and bootleggers
C) Enforcement Nightmare; the Feds lacked the funding and personal required to police the thousands of kilometers (miles) of borders and the countless illegal speakeasies

21st Amendment
With the repealing of the 18th Amendment, it became the first and only in American history to be completely overturned
After the federal ban it returned alcohol regulation directly to each state, which some chose to remain dry for decades (Kansas 1948, Oklahoma 1959 and Mississippi was the last holdout 1966)
and with numerous "alcohol free" counties that still exist today 

Famous Characters
With any "grey period" of history you come across some truly interesting stories

Hugh Corkum
His story started uneventfully as school dropout, onto a highly successful adult rum runner who dodged machine gun fire and the American authorities on the high seas, then decades later went completely straight and served at the Chief of Police for the Town of Lunenburg
You can read his autobiography; On Both Sides of the Law

Captain Edwin Backman
He was a master mariner from a local family here who would sail salt cod down to Bermuda, then return with rum for the Eastern Seaboard of the USA which earned him a massive fortune

John "Machine Gun" Kelly
Was a Canadian customs and excise enforcement officer who patrolled the Nova Scotia waterways.
He got his nickname by mounting a machine gun onto his boat deck and famously opened fire
on a fleet of small vessels unloading barrels of rum off nearby LaHave Bank,
resulting in the death of one smuggler

Colors Matter
As we move to the end of this story, time for "i did not know that" 😀

 Why a lot of small boats are painted red
Historically wooden hulls suffered from biofouling caused by barnacles, algae,
 and wood boring shipworms
The early shell-coating paints used cooper oxide as a biocide to repel these organisms, thus the chemical compound naturally dyed the paint into a reddish brown color
Also bright red creates a stark contrast against the water, allowing mariners to quickly gauge the boats load line and its stability

Lunenburg with its Famous Son the Bluenose11

As we leave from the black and white era of the1920s / 1930s, what better way to sail off but in
full color of this UNESCO  World Heritage Site
Not because of its rum running history, but its the best surviving example of a planned British
colonial settlement in North America

Full Circle 
After the original Bluenose sank off the coast of Haiti in 1946, the Oland Brewery Company of Halifax (who made lots of money during the Prohibition Era) built the newest version in 1963
 Then sold it to the Nova Scotian government (for a token $1.00) which is now our sailing ambassador sharing our maritime history and culture around the world