Mykonos Greece

According to Greek mythology the island was named after Mykonos the grandson of Apollo & also the area is known as The Island of Winds

KeyTip: They advertise walking tours at $45.00US / PP.....save your money & just stroll the narrow streets yourself as you will never get lost as the area is too small 
Then find the free attractions like some of the 60 Churches in Mykonos town , Rarity Gallery, Armenistis Lighthouse, Monastery of Tourliani, Folklore Museum & Beaches

 Mykonos Town is called Chora (Greek for Town) & it is small plus a maze of narrow streets

 So rumor has it was done so to confuse the pirates when they raided this area & were always nearby because of the islands location in the Aegean Sea

 

Mykonos has a strict color code that requires all doors & windows to be painted blue, green or red.
This dates back to the tradition where sailors painted their doors blue, farmers were green & everyone else was red.
Also the reason why all the houses are painted white is to keep the homes cool during the hot summer

There has been many movies filmed here, Shirley Valentine, Bourne Identity, The Greek Tycoon etc

There are around 15,000 residents on the island which will increase to over 50,000 in the summer months with tourists & only 30 Taxis.
Sounds like a business opportunity 😃

Some street art i found an assuming paying homage to the sea

Throughout history Mykonos was considered a poor island because of the limited agricultural resources.
Then in the 1950s the artists, royals & celebrities discovered the island & soon followed the tourists

Moving forward the island is also well known for its culture & art besides the nightlife 

Mykonos has over 800 churches but the most famous is Paraportiani  (construction started in 1425 - 1600s) as it consists of five separate churches which are joined (four are at ground level with the fifth on top)
Over the years the church has been damaged by fires, earthquakes & natural disasters but has survived & is one of the most photographed churches in the world 

Mykonos belongs to the Cyclades Complex which consists of 33 islands forming a circle ( cyclos) & in the centre is the sacred island of Delos

So if here on Mykonos for the nightlife it is expensive with cover charges, premium drinks ($25 per cocktail for example) & more so think $150 -$200+ (per night minimum) with hundreds of bars or restaurants to choose from

This area is known as Little Venice as the wealthy Venetian merchants constructed these buildings in typical Italian architecture style

Found this picture of the early days of immigration to the island & now with the popularity of Mykonos its through a Greek Golden Visa Program ( minimum 250,000 Euro investment in real estate in order to qualify)

Tiger Moth Biplane in Australia

The Tiger Moth was built in 1931 & was mainly used as a trainer aircraft for pilots in the Second World War & was retired in 1959 with around 8,800 built. 
It was designed by de Havilland Aircraft Company of Canada
So (ironically ) here i am in Australia with a chance to be a passenger of this piece of aviation history

 My first clue that i was going to be in for an interesting flight was the plane has no electrical system so it was started by hand, plus as we roll down the runway the pilot had to stick his head over the side to navigate the takeoff because of the upright position of this biplane

 

Here we are over Surfers Paradise on the Australian Gold Coast & then the pilot asks if i am ready
Ready for what i am thinking; well then the aerobatics start 
Controlled Stall , Death Spiral, Barrel Rolls & Hammerhead Maneuvers
My first thought was (as i am hanging upside down in a open cockpit vintage plane) how old / new is this safety harness  😳

After we landed the pilot ask me why i thought we did those stunts over the ocean
Well if i messed up..... it would only be you and me 😂

The reason why these planes were called Tiger Moths the designer Geoffrey de Havilland had a interest in moths & butterflies
So as simple as that & probably also the way those winged insects moved in the open skies for his inspiration for aircraft design

Besides the 4000 that were manufactured in Britain others were built in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal & Sweden

The plane had a range of 486 km (300 miles) a ceiling of 4145 meters (13,600 feet)
 & a max speed 176km (110 mph) 

There are still approximately 300 Tiger Moths still in flying condition & as you can see i found one of them in Australia

There are a few places left in the world that you would get a chance to fly one, but mostly the Tiger Moths are in aviation museums or private collections
 So i feel very fortunate to have the experience to be a Ace Co-Pilot 😎

Fort Jefferson by Amphibious Plane

Fort Jefferson is located 109 km (68 miles) west of Key West Florida in the Gulf of Mexico & is in the Dry Tortugas National Park System
KeyTip; The ferry (state of the art catamaran ) will cost you $220.00US which includes breakfast snack, box lunch, snorkeling equipment, entrance fee to Dry Tortugas National Park / Fort Jefferson & takes around 2 hours
For me & my adventurous soul 😂 i opt for the Amphibious Plane half day excursion $466.00 + $15 Fort fee & you arrive in 40 minutes 

 

So this type of plane is called an amphibious aircraft as it can takeoff & land both on runways or water
Seaplanes can only take off & land on water

Everyone gets a window seat & headset plus some interesting facts from the pilot
For one he talked about the Chugs (as in the noise some of these homemade boats / engines make) from Cuban migrants who try & make the dangerous 160 km ( 100 miles) journey through the Florida Straits & apparently if they make it to one of the US Islands they can request political asylum

We fly at such a low altitude (500 feet) i captured our shadow on the water below.

Two of the 1700 islands that make up the Florida Keys , this archipelago extends from Soldier Keys to the Dry Tortugas

Splashdown & now 2.5 hours of Fort Jefferson exploring which covers over 16 acres 

This picture says it all......way cool experience landing on the Gulf of Mexico

This military post of Fort Jefferson offered the ships patrolling the Gulf of Mexico & Florida Straits protection from the weather plus a place to resupply & refit 

It took nearly 30 years to built this fortress (1846-1875) but was never finished or fully armed plus it was never attacked 

During the Civil War the fort was used as a prison for mainly Union deserters

The fort was abandoned by the Army in 1874 & was used later as a coaling station for warships

The nickname of Fort Jefferson was The Guardian of the Gulf

In 1935 Dry Tortugas (Spanish for turtles) National Park was formed containing 160km (100 miles) of mostly open water with seven small islands & the home of Fort Jefferson

Fort Jefferson is the largest brick structure in the United States with over 16 million & was constructed this way to withstand cannon balls from hostile vessels

J.N.O. Nolan was a master bricklayer who etched his name into several bricks, but good luck with that search 😂

Why the Army left (like many forts of this time) was the invention of the rifled cannon which could penetrate the walls plus the fresh water supply was compromised as the crumbling water tanks cracked under its on weight thus allowing salt water to enter

With a shortage of workers President Lincoln started to offer condemned men pardons for a years labor but conditions were harsh, as for example in 1867 Yellow Fever killed 39 staff & workers at the fort 

One of the 450 cannons at the fort that were never needed

Time to leave The Gibraltar of the Gulf & all its history

Inside the Langjokull Glacier in Iceland

On our way to the Langjokull Ice Cap ( second largest in Iceland ) which is 195km or 47cubic miles in volume (huge)
Our Tour picks us up in Reykjavik with lots of interesting views on our journey during our two hour drive
KeyTip; this tour is not cheap ( $245.00 US) but as you will see when exploring inside this glacier for one hour it is well worth it.
Can you walk the glacier yourself you ask (as there are some natural ice caves too) well the terrain can be rough, the weather is unpredictable plus there are many hidden sinkholes atop of the glacier & so these caves sometimes fill up with water & collapses......so i think i answered the question

 

Langjokull glacier tunnel took 14 months of digging & 7000 tons of ice was removed, then placed to the outside surface of the glacier. It finally opened in June of 2015
Interesting Fact;
Since its located over a mountain range there are places where you can actually see the peaks coming through the ice 

An old Russian Missile Carrier is our mode of transportation today which in itself is an unique experience up the glacier & to its entrance
So once i got to Langjokull  i did a little research on this feat of engineering that  allows us access to a tunnel year round, as during the summer months there is a risk of ice collapsing because of the warmer temperatures. 
Well a team of architects, engineers & geophysicists worked of solving this problem & the end result was the worlds longest tunnel (500 meters long (1640 feet), 3 meter tall (10 feet) & 3.5 meters wide (12 feet) 
There is 25 meters (82 feet) of ice above the tunnel & 200 meters (656 feet) below, so more than stable

Look closely at the right side of the windshield
as i managed to get a reflection of where we are heading✌

Some extreme machinery here as it reminds you of the weather elements of this country of Iceland

I spotted some Dog Mushing Teams on our way up the Ice Cap to the Glacier

The entrance reminds me of a straw in a milkshake 😂

Heading down 80 meters (262 feet) into the glacier

I took advantage of the lighting to get this cool silhouette picture of my group

I liked how they placed the LED lights within the chambers to get some great photos

Langjokull is the second largest glacier in Europe & as your walking inside it
let that fact sink into your brain for a minute

Because of climate change scientists predict the glacier is shrinking as a faster rate that calculated
So anywhere from 50 to 150 years & it will disappear plus its estimated the tunnels will be gone in 10 years

Yes there is a Church inside the glacier & you can get married here 

This natural crevasse will always be my favorite memory

So one purpose of these tunnels is to educate as many people as possible the devastating effects of man made climate change 

As i leave the glacier, the exit reminds me of a 007 adventure i just experienced 😎
then we jump back onto our way cool transportation