Category: Flat Hal
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Téléphérique De Brest -The Flat Fellas Flew Across The Penfeld River In A Cable Car
#flathal #flatstanley #brest #france Having enjoyed the view from the cable car in Barcelona, Spain, the flat fellas decided to give the cable car in Brest a chance. This one is a short hop across a river, part tourist attraction, part public transportation. The ride was short, and the views a bit anticlimactic after Barcelona……
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley Visited Brest in Brittany, France
#flathal #flatstanley #brest #france Château de Brest, a castle in Brest, France, is the oldest monument in the town. At the mouth of the river Penfeld the site has over 1700 years of history! If we visit the earliest towns or colonial sites in The United States or Canada they have closer to 500 years…
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Porto, Portugal, In The Rain
#flathal #flatstanley #porto #portugal Rain looks fantastic in photos — when it is off on the horizon, adding interest to the sky, and mood and character to the image. When the downpour is right on top of you suddenly the camera wants to focus on the raindrops, the sky looks grey (like in our photo…
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Livraria Lello has actively embraced the legacy of “The Little Prince”
#flatstanley #flathal #thelittleprince #livrarialello The Flat Fellas Found The Backroom, On The Ground Floor Of Livraria Lello. As we have since learned, with help from Gemini AI: In recent years Livraria Lello has acquired rare artifacts, partnered with the author’s foundation, created dedicated exhibition spaces, and published special editions. Livraria Lello celebrates the book’s themes…
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Livraria Lello – A Beautiful Bookstore!
#flathal #flatstanley #livrarialello #porto #portugal There are a lot of lists online of bookstores … whether they call them “greatest”, “most beautiful” or something else along those lines, Livraria Lello in Porto often appears alongside another store we visited this trip. El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires. Where El Ateneo was large, with a vast…
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The flat fellas visited the second largest city in Portugal — Porto
#flathal #flatstanley #porto #portugal #leixoes The itinerary said Leixões (Porto). The first thing Flat Hal and Flat Stanley set out to understand is why two places were listed — and how far apart they are. It got a little more interesting when it was announced we were being offered a shuttle to Matosinhos. A third…
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Lisbon, Portugal,When Reality Intruded
#flathal #flatstanley #lisbon #portugal Flat Hal and Flat Stanley have been traveling for roughly 95 days, and today reality and normal life refused to stay out of their trip. Spain, Portugal and part of France had a major power failure. Millions of people were without power. Less than two hours after we arrived in Lisbon,…
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Cadiz, Spain —Where The Flat Fellas Came To Understand Why The Canary Islands “Fit” With Spain
#flatstanley #flathal #cadiz #spain Cadiz is a beautiful beach community of over 100,000 people. Fun to walk around, Cadiz has the same peaceful vibe and relaxed/comfortable and inviting feel/culture as the flat fellas found in Arrecife. Cadiz offered a chance to enjoy fantastic weather and marvel at incredible buildings Like the golden-domed cathedral. Flat Hal…
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Flat Hal And Flat Stanley Went On A Cable Car Adventure For A Bird’s Eye View Of Barcelona
It felt like a long walk up a lot of steps to the Miramar platform for the port cable car, leading to a ride that was breezy fun, with impressive views. From the cable car Sagrada Familia stands out in a skyline that mixes old with new. It has been the work of countless people’s…
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A Visit To Castell de Sant Marçal, in Cerdanyola del Vallès outside Barcelona, Spain
#flathal #flatstanley #barcelona #spain An overnight port of call in Barcelona started with the flat fellas venturing a little ways out of town to Castell de Sant Marçal. In many respects this first stop set the tone for our time in the Catalan Capital. The building was impressive, with lots of eye-catching stonework. The castle…
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Europa Point Lighthouse, Gibraltar
#flatstanley #flathal #gibraltar On the way to Europa Point Lighthouse we rounded a corner and a giant, manmade waterfall emerged from the rock of Gibraltar! Flat Hal and Flat Stanley were delighted with the sight their guide had warned them to watch for. This water is the waste water (brine) discharged from a desalination plant…
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The Barbary Apes (Macaques) Atop the Rock of Gibraltar
A visit to THEIR home. #flathal #flatstanley #gibraltar #barbaryapes Always remember to give wild animals their personal space. Technology allows us to zoom in and make it look like we were up close and personal, while remaining at a distance that is safe for everyone involved.
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The Flat Fellas Visit St. Michael’s Cave, Gibraltar
#flathal #flatstanley #gibraltar Flat Hal was unsure what to expect from the Awakening Experience, but Flat Stanley declared they should head in and find out. INSIDE the Rock Of Gibraltar was a world of wonder. Dramatic lights were set up to bring this world to life, and invite imaginations to run wild. Stalagmites, Stalactites, flowstone……
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Casablanca, An Interesting Mix…
#flatstanley #flathal #casablanca #morocco The flat fellas found Casablanca to be a vibrant city. There was so much to see! From the beautiful old buildings and impressive structures (Christian Churches included) to the bustling activity in busy squares. One of the squares had men dressed in colorful outfits posing for photos with tourists. Once upon…
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The Flat Fellas Saw The Hassan II Mosque
#flathal #flatstanley #morocco #casablanca One of the most magnificent mosques in the world is in Casablanca, Morocco. Built partially over the Atlantic Ocean… there’s a section where you can look through a glass floor to the ocean below! A tall minaret, a peaceful courtyard, this mosque offers a place for approximately 100,000 people to gather.…
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Agadir, Morocco Port Area…
#flathal #flatstanley #agadir #morocco A flock of seagulls were hanging out on the pier opposite our ship, along with two Grey Herons. The flat fellas wondered if the birds were people watching, then they noticed how our ship’s thrusters turned up the water as we pushed away from the pier. Several of the gulls (Yellow-Legged…
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Agadir, Morocco— The Flat Fellas Visit A Muslim Country
#flatstanley #flathal #agadir #morocco Flat Hal and Flat Stanley were aware Morocco was a Muslim country, but it was seeing the Minaret on the horizon that brought home the role this faith plays in these communities. Five times a day the minaret is used to broadcast a call to prayer for the people. Imagine if…
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Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands
#flathal #flatstanley #arrecife #canaryislande The world is an interesting place, whether you are looking up to see what birds are flying around, or looking down, to see what you are walking on. In Arrecife, Canary Islands we walked on a collection of black and red scoria fragments, locally known as picón. It comes from volcanoes!…
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The Flat Fellas Couldn’t Resist Doing A Little Bird Watching In The Canary Islands
#flatstanley #flathal #canaryislands #birds #arrecife Having heard canaries were named after the Canary Islands where the birds were first seen, and are native, Flat Hal and Flat Stanley decided to keep their eyes peeled in Arrecife, with hopes of spotting one. The temperature was wonderful, the sun was out… there wasa strong wind, but otherwise…
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Sailing Away From Dakar
#flathal #flatstanley #dakar #senegal Flat Stanley and Flat Hal noticed the Sahara Dust in the air when we were in Banjul, The Gambia. In Dakar the dust was still present in the air. The effect was more subtle in some respects, or perhaps we were in fewer situations where the light was catching on it,…
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Pierside Fun in Dakar
#flatstanley #flathal #dakar #senegal Sometimes Flat Hal and Flat Stanley have walked four or five miles in port, or gone on an eight hour tour — in other ports it felt like an amazing amount of fun came right to the pier! In Dakar lots of locals came and set up displays of local crafts…
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Dakar, Senegal — April, 2025
#flathal #flatstanley #dakar #senegal Dakar is a large city! The city proper is home to over a million people, and the surrounding metropolitan area pushes the population closer to four million. The city seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see — with a vast cargo port. Interestingly, our captain mentioned the water…
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Useful travelers Vocabulary for our day in Dakar, Senegal.
French, the official language, and Wolof, the most widely spoken local language, especially in Dakar. #flathal #flatstanley #dakar #senegal Greetings are very important in Senegalese culture and often extended. Pronunciation: In Wolof, ‘x’ is like the ‘ch’ in Scottish ‘loch’ or German ‘Bach’. ‘ë’ is a neutral vowel sound. ‘j’ is like the English ‘j’.…
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The Flat Fellas Saw Some Fun Birds At The Port Of Banjul
#flatstanley #flathal #banjul #thegambia #birdwatching
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley Visit Republic of The Gambia
#flathal #flatstanley #africa #thegambia This beautiful sunrise owes some thanks to particles in the air. At first glance it seemed like it was a hazy day, and something that appeared to be smoke occasionally came in on the wind. Later we heard dust from the Sahara was definitely in the air. There were times it…
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The Gambia Tourist Vocabulary
English is the official language of The Gambia and is widely understood. Wolof is a major local language, particularly common in urban and coastal areas like Banjul. Greetings are very important!(Note: Wolof spelling can vary slightly.)
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley enjoyed an eight hour adventure away from the ship on the island of Santiago, Cabo Verde.
#flathal #flatstanley #caboverde #africa @hollandamericaline Their guide did a remarkable job sharing his home country with a diverse group of visitors, explaining the spirit of community and teamwork that helps their villages and nation thrive. Showing how they slowly and steadily build, improve, and make progress. Giving beautiful examples of how they value what is…
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The People Of Cabo Verde Reuse, Reclaim, and Recycle… Buildings Included
#flatstanley #flathal #caboverde #africa The Flat Fellas saw an interesting building from the colonial era of Cabo Verde. It’s use has changed over the years, as has its name, but it still stands… a hundred and fifty years after it was built? (Hmm. It was built in 1874, looks like that rough math is about…
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Cabo Verde Tourist Vocabulary
This table includes useful phrases in both Portuguese (PT), the official language,and Cape Verdean Creole (CV Creole), the national language spoken daily.Cape Verdean Creole has several dialects, you might encounter slight variations.In Portuguese, “Obrigado” is used by males, “Obrigada” by females for “Thank you”. “Obrigadu” in Creole is used by everyone. Flat Hal and Flat…
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The Flat Fellas Ventured Up Monte Verde
#flatstanley #flathal #caboverde #africa #monteverde It is when the rain comes that Cabo Verde “turns green”. During the dry months they rely on cisterns, desalination plants and water drawn up from 95-100 feet underground. At the top of the mountain, where the clouds meet the land, we saw this interesting method for drawing water from…
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The Flat Fellas Walked On Sahara Sand OnA Cabo Verde Beach!
#flathal #flatstanley #caboverde #africa This São Vicente coastline holds sand from two different “worlds.” Our guide told us this lighter sand was carried by winds from Africa over 100 years ago. It now lies alongside the dark volcanic sand native to São Vicente, creating these multi-colored shores. On this beach are particles ejected from volcanoes…
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Remember when we learned the word Endemic?
#flathal #flatstanley #endemic #caboverde #capeverde The idea of something only naturally occurring in one place really intrigued Flat Hal, so he and Flat Stanley have been trying to learn about and spot as many endemic plants, flowers, and birds as possible. It feels like a bit of a scavenger hunt, and not an easy one…
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley Visited Mindelo, São Vicente, República de Cabo Verde
#flatstanley #flathal #caboverde #africa The flat fellas learned a lot by visiting Cabo Verde off the west coast of Africa. First, this former Portuguese colony gained independence in 1975 — however, they do prefer the Portuguese name of their country, not the Cape Verde many are taught. Until quite recently Portuguese was the language of…
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Taking A Moment To Look Back…
Having started in Florida, Flat Hal and Flat Stanley sailed from the Caribbean through the Panama Canal, down the Pacific, around the southern tip, and up the Atlantic, including an unforgettable journey up the Amazon, giving them the opportunity to experience South America from nearly every angle – a virtual circumnavigation of the Continent. From…
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The Flat Fellas Saw Some Of The Animals That Live On Île Royale
#flatstanley #flathal #devilsisland #frenchguiana Flat Hal and Flat Stanley Briefly Touch French Guiana French Guiana, on the North East coast of South America, feels quite unique. Its capital is Cayenne, located near the coast. Flat Hal and Flat Stanley learned a bit about its history with France – after centuries as a colony, including the…
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The Itinerary Said Devils Island, French Guiana
#flatstanley #flathal #devilsisland #frenchguiana Îles du Salut is a collection of three islands — Île Royale, Île Saint-Joseph, and the most infamous, Île du Diable (Devil’s Island) — off the coast of French Guiana. Today Flat Hal and Flat Stanley visited Île Royale, the easiest one of the three islands to visit. Île Royale doesn’t…
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The Flat Fellas Ship Crossed The Bar With 4 Meters Of Water Below It.
#flathal #flatstanley #amazonriver Crossing the Bar – The Amazon River We just ‘crossed the bar’ again! First, we crossed it to get into the Amazon River. Today, we crossed it to get back out to the ocean. The flat fellas wanted to know: What is this ‘bar’? With help from Google’s Gemini AI: What does…
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The Flat Fellas Last Stop In The Amazon — Alter do Chão, Brazil
#flatstanley #flathal #amazonriver #alterdochao Alter do Chão is famous for its beautiful river beaches and relatively clear waters, offering a chance to swim in the Amazon. Though, to be clear, people are actually swimming in the water of the Tapajos River before it merges with the muddier Amazon River, but for those who want to…
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The Amazon River After A Brief Rainstorm
#flathal #flatstanley #brazil #amazonriver The Amazon is muddy brown, in part because it is a fast flowing river with a lot of mud in it. After a brief rainstorm the surface of the river had an interesting, almost textured look. As if the clear, freshly fallen water was trying to figure out how to mix…
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Parintins Brazil Is Not Just Another Town On The Amazon River
#flathal #flatstanley #parintins #amazonriver #brazil When traveling it can be hard to remember where all we have been, and sometimes Flat Hal will need Flat Stanley to help him remember if something they saw was in Buenos Aires or Rio De Janeiro, for example. Traveling for several months means a lot of experiences are all…
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The Flat Fellas Sailed By A Floating Village!
#flathal #flatstanley #amazonriver #brazil Sailing the Rio Negro towards the Amazon we passed a floating village some of our fellow passengers visited during our time in Manaus. Those passengers came back with stories of a school boat, floating houses, smaller rivers for roads… a different way of life than Flat Hal and Flat Stanley are…
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley Brought Something To Share With New Friends
Twice, so far, during our journey the flat fellas have had the opportunity to leave a little something behind as a small “thank you” to local school kids for their communities welcoming our ship and letting us learn about their country during our visit. Flat Stanley brought copies of his original adventure, and Flat Hal…
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley have sailed 850 milesfrom the Atlantic Ocean
What have you heard about the Amazon Rainforest? If you could visit the Amazon what would you be most interested in seeing? The animals? Birds? Trees? Flowers? Fish? Life on the Amazon When you build a home on a river that can rise by as much as 30 feet building it on stilts so the…
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Manaus is a big city full of character
#flatstanley #flathal #manaus #amazonriver The flat fellas were really impressed by the gigantic murals that covered an entire side of a high rise building. With vibrant colors, striking art, and images that drew the eye from great distances these works of creativity gave the city a more personal touch. Is there something in your community…
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Manaus, Brazil —the furthest west we sailed the Amazon River
#flathal #flatstanley #manaus #amazonriver With a population of approximately 2 million people, Manaus is not some small village in the Amazon. Instead this is a major city, located on the Rio Negro (Black River) which has much clearer water than the muddy Amazon. Flat Hal and Flat Stanley double checked with Google’s Gemini AI to…
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Boca de Valeria, Brazil, a small villageon the Amazon River
#flathal #flatstanley #bocadevaleria #brazil Approximately 100 people live in this small, simple village that welcomes around a dozen cruise ships each year. The village offers a glimpse of a more traditional life on the river, with locals offering rides in the little motored boats, and some even inviting tourists into their homes on stilts to…
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Santarém, Brazil,where the Amazon meets the Tapajós River
#flathal #flatstanley #amazonriver #brazil Sailing the Amazon River is not just a dream come true, for many it is so extraordinary an opportunity we never dared to dream we would be here one day. Flat Hal and Flat Stanley’s first discovery was that the Amazon is a fast flowing river with a lot of sediment……
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Fortaleza, Brazil — Look Beyond the Exterior
#flathal #flatstanley #fortaleza #brazil The flat fellas were reminded today that a somewhat plain building can have beautiful colors and eye-catching wonders within. The outside of the Municipal Cathedral was grand in terms of size, but it doesn’t have the sculptures and “look at me” appearance of others we have seen. Yet when we went…
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Casa da Cultura de Pernambuco
#flathal #flatstanley #recife #brazil As tourists, we might feel comfortable making jokes, but Flat Hal and Flat Stanley were aware that this “House of Culture” once housed criminals as a prison, and the very small stalls selling handicrafts were once home to 8 to 10 people regretting the choices that brought them to that cell,…
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Capela Dourada within the set of buildings of the Convent and Church of Santo Antônio
#flatstanley #flathal #recife #brazil Churches can be a wonderful place to see the art and craftsmanship of a region. (Synagogues and Mosques as well.) Flat Hal and Flat Stanley saw a lot of beautiful work in Olinda and Recife. The flat fellas learned how Brazil got its name! Not wanting to get this wrong, Flat…
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The second eastern most point of South America!
#flathal #flatstanley #brazil #southamerica If you look really closely in the picture of the skyline of Recife, off to the left you can see a hump of land on the horizon… that’s the second eastern most point of South America. We put an arrow by Recife to help you find it. Recife, Brazil has an…
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Historic Recife and Olinda
#flathal #flatstanley #olinda #recife #brazil The flat fellas took a bus tour around town and saw a lot of sights. Some days you see so much, and hear so much information you can only hope you learned at least half of it. If we are really lucky, more. Let’s see what the flat fellas came…
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Maceio, Brazil
#flathal #flatstanley #egret #brazil Flat Hal and Flat Stanley spent the afternoon down near the pier watching the birds… for a while it looked like the great egrets were going to try and claim the fishing boats as their own. The tide has a range of about eight feet in Maceio, which is why some…
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Salvador de Bahia, Brazil — the country’s oldest port
#flatstanley #flathal #salvadordebahia #salvador #brazil Being the oldest port in the country implies several things. Just one of them is that this city has a long, and complex history. America is not the only country that traded with Africa centuries ago, when sailing ships traveled between the continents. Salvador de Bahia is not only aware…
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Do you enjoy sketching, drawing or painting?
#flathal #flatstanley #painting #drawing #photography Photography is how I capture where I have been, to help create memories, but others sketch, draw or paint pieces. Some people work from a photograph… these images were made by apps on my tablet based on photo I took in Armação dos Búzios
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The Flat Fellas were intrigued in Armação dos Búzios
#flathal #flatstanley #buzios #brazil In Rio de Janeiro the flat fellas knew they wanted to see the famous statue up on the mountain overlooking the city. Some cities have a famous landmark or location that a person looks forward to seeing. Is there somewhere you dream of visiting? Neither Flat Hal nor Flat Stanley arrived…
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Rio’s Beautiful Creative Side
#flathal #flatstanley #rio #brazil The flat fellas really liked the art on the sides of the buildings near the pier. Some of it had a more realistic look to the facial features, blended with some really fun color. Other pieces were more along the lines of line art. Simple, yet beautiful. Each seemed to be…
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Rio de Janeiro Bird Sightings
#flathal #flatstanley #rio #brazil As the ship made its way towards Rio the flat fellas alternated between seeing how the path of the ship gave them a different view of the Christ the Redeemer statue and looking at the birds that were flying around. A flock of Brown Boobies were on the water along the…
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Sunrise sail in to Rio de Jainero, Brazil
#flathal #flatstanley #riodejainero #brazil As we sailed in to Rio de Jainero, a beautiful, if somewhat subtle, sunrise welcomed us. The sunrise was “out to sea” compared to the city we were approaching, but the increasing light, and the changing angles of the sun almost made the skyline look like a present that was being…
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Here’s a helpful phrase list for a tourist in Brazil, focusing on Brazilian Portuguese.
#flatstanley #flathal #brazil #portuguese Polite Phrases:Olá: HelloBom dia: Good morningBoa tarde: Good afternoon/eveningBoa noite: Good nightPor favor: PleaseObrigado/Obrigada: Thank you (Obrigado for male speakers, Obrigada for female speakers)De nada: You’re welcomeDesculpe: I’m sorry/Excuse meCom licença: Excuse me (to pass)Perdão: Excuse me (to get attention) Basic Questions/Requests:Quanto custa?: How much does it cost?Onde fica…?: Where is…?Você…
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Buenos Aires Bird Sightings — Parakeets in one of the parks
#flatstanley #flathal #buenosaires #birding Learning about Birds in South America Flat Hal and Flat Stanley are starting to appreciate my attitude of let’s photograph every bird we can, we never know what we will discover when we look back through the photographs. Two of the birds we saw in Buenos Aires were so similar to…
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Eva Perón
From poor familyTo hard working actress. Her husband was elected the President of Argentina and she helped him. #flatstanleyproject #flathal #evaperon #argentina Evita — “Little Eva” — was one of the people, who fought for the working class and represented them when her husband was President of Argentina, making her a beloved figure among the…
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Buenos Aires, Argentina — 16th largest city in the world — Over 13 million inhabitants
#flatstanley #flathal #buenosaires #argentina The size of Buenos Aires might account for why two days were planned for our visit to this port city, and national capital. On one of those days the flat fellas took the hop on hop off bus. This is a bus with a route around the highlights of the city,…
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Montevideo, Uruguay
#flatstanley #flathal #montevideo #uruguay A big Capital City with some small town charm Approximately 1.3 million people live in Montevideo. A city with parks, large churches, and an easy to walk and explore environment with little restaurants and places to stop hidden in unexpected places. In one alley, amid the posters glued to a wall,…
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Montevideo Bird Sightings
#flathal #flatstanley #uruguay #birding Imperial Cormorant, Cattle Tyrant, Chalk-Browed Mockingbird,Eared Pigeon, House Sparrow, Rufous Hornero, and a Hawk?
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Montevideo, Uruguay
#flatstanley #flathal #uruguay The Flat Fellas are realizing that Flat Hal at least does quite a few things when traveling that he doesn’t normally do at home. He doesn’t normally walk over 5 miles in the course of a few hours. Does normally take pictures of (or even notice) every interesting building he passes. And…
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Sea Days — Two In A Row
#flatstanley #flathal #cruise The flat fellas have been traveling for over 45 days. In the beginning Sea Days were like an average Saturday. A break from the week, chores and homework. A chance to play games, have fun, and not worry about when all aboard time is. But as the trip gets longer sea days…
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Puerto Madryn — the local birds were amazing
#flatstanley #flathal #puertomadryn Other passengers took excursions to nature preserves and penguin colonies in the area, but the Flat Fellas decided to take a little time and walk around the port area with friends. There were several Kelp Gulls along the beach, a short distance from the pier, who appeared not only accustomed to humans,…
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Life is full of opportunities…
#flathal #flatstanleyproject I have been trying to improve my photography for a while. Experimenting with what looks good to me, trying to see if I can capture images that remind me of a postcard, or a painting. next time you draw something, or take a picture, pause a moment, give the details a little extra…
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East Falkland Island… An Island Without Trees?
#flatstanley #flathal #falklandislands Our guide drove us around for almost half an hour. During that time he explained the Falkland Islands is an interesting place to live in part because they have no native trees. There are plants growing low to the ground for animals to graze on. And a berry that is endemic (remember…
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Gentoo Penguins in the Falkland Islands
#flathal #flatstanley #falklandislands Very near where the King Penguins were hanging out was the colony of Gentoo Penguins. Small white flags were stuck in the ground to let human visitors know where the constantly shifting boundary we should not cross was at the moment. This is the penguins territory, we may visit it so long…
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Penguins in the Falkland Islands
#flathal #flatstanley #falklandislands #penguins The flat fellas joined a tour out to see two colonies of penguins. Here are pictures of some of the King Penguins, including some fuzzy babies. The totally fuzzy appearance means they are less than a year older. They will not have the vibrant colors of the adults until they are…
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The Flat Fellas Visit Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands
#flatstanley #flathal #falklandislands The Falkland Islands have been a British Overseas Territory since 1833, but in 1982 Argentina tried to claim the Falkland Islands. This led to a 10 week war. Looking at the map, the Falkland Islands are close to Argentina… but that doesn’t mean the British didn’t send help when it was needed.
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Scenic Sailing In Antarctica Was Inspiring
#flathal # flatstanley #antarctica Antarctica is a continent with no First Nations or Indigenous people, no “natives” to stand up for it, protect it, and tell others about it. A program called Antarctica Ambassadors has been started for people who want to learn about Antarctica, and share that knowledge with others… are you interested? Flat…
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Is Tourism In Antarctica Good Or Bad?
#flatstanley #flathal #antarctica This might sound like a simple question, but for us, it required a lot of thought. Flat Hal and Flat Stanley were invited to join an already planned trip, so they missed those initial discussions over a year ago. We chose to visit on a ship that would not offer landing options.…
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Scenic Cruising in Antarctica
#flatstanley #flathal #antarctica Flat Hal and Flat Stanley had a fantastic last day of scenic cruising in Antarctica. When we first stepped outside to take photos it was snowing— leading to interesting attempts to get the camera to focus on the white landscape and animals with a lot of white in them. The sun came…
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley Saw an Albatross
#flathal #flatstanley #antarctica Samuel Coleridge Taylor wrote a story called “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” It left such an impression on readers that people started using the expression “an albatross around his neck”. For a time, sailors viewed seeing an Albatross as a sign of bad luck, mostly because of this story, but now…
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Day 3 Antarctica Showed the Flat Fellas Another Side of Itself
#flatstanley #flathal #antarctica Having seen moody and overcast, and bright, vibrant sunshine, day three offered dense fog and mist. For most of the day it seemed impossible to identify the horizon, the water bleeding into the mist. The flat Fellas spent part of the day looking through photographs we had already taken, and working on…
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A Fun & Cold Time Watching The Sun Set
#flatstanley #flathal #antarctica The high of the day was only a little above freezing, and the temperature seemed to drop quickly with the sun, but the color didn’t just linger in the sky, it seemed to get more brilliant and interesting as the time passed. For most of an hour, maybe more the sky reflected…
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The Sunlight Gives Us A Blue Sky And A Blue Ocean
#flatstanley #flathal #antarctica With help from Google’s Gemini AI:The sky’s blueness is primarily due to the scattering of light by air molecules. The ocean’s blueness is mainly due to the absorption of longer wavelengths of light by water molecules. While both involve the interaction of light with matter, how it happens is different.
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Day 2 Antarctica Showed Up Ready For Pictures!
#flatstanley #antarctica #flathal @hollandamericaline After showing us its moody side, Antarctica dazzled the flat fellas with endless expanses of ice, mountains, and the occasional wild animal. “A Colony of Gentoo Penguins to Port!” It was such an exciting announcement. The flat fellas joined other passengers in rushing to the rails of the ship. The scoured…
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Antarctica has its own color palette.
#flatstanley #flathal #antarctica A place without fire engine red, except on man-made structures, this is a content that mixes blues with gray tones to create a unique landscape all its own. The blue ice here is like the blue ice in glaciers the world over, the bluer it is — as we understand it —…
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The Flat Fellas First Day In Antarctica
#flathal #flatstanley #antarctica The overcast weather seemed like it might be a bummer at first, but as we looked at our photos we realized it was highlighting the way the ice of Antarctica seemed to glow on the horizon. Our photos captured a moody tone, depicting the harsh conditions living here must entail. Flat Hal…
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley are sailing the Southern Ocean!
#flatstanley #flathal #southernocean The Southern Ocean surrounds Antarctica. Whether you are coming from the Atlantic or the Pacific, you can sail as far south as you can, and reach the Southern Ocean. Here you will find a place where scientists from around the world gather to study and do research. Flat Hal and Flat Stanley…
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Ushaia, Argentina, is often the last city travelers stop at before going to Antarctica.
#flathal #flatstanley #ushaia #argentina Just one reason it has been dubbed the End of the World.
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Chilean Skua on the way to Ushaia, Argentina
#flatstanley #flathal #chileanskua #argentina #ushaia Flat Hal and Flat Stanley tried to make the most of a “late” in the day arrival in Ushaia for a “short” call in port. The morning was spent sailing Glacier Alley. At 2 pm the ship arrived in Ushaia, with all aboard at 7:30. When sailing All Aboard is…
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Glacier Alley, Beagle Channel
#flathal #flatstanley #glacier #charlesdarwin This channel is named for the HMS Beagle. A ship that played an important role in exploration of the area.It is also the ship Charles Darwin traveled on. Imagine being on the HMS Beagle. The year is 1826, give or take… essentially 200 years ago. You do not have GPS, email,…
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Straits of Magellan
#flathal #flatstanley #straitsofmagellan #chile When Flat Hal and Flat Stanley first made a list of bodies of water they had sailed on this trip, they did it as a bit of a joke. How often does a cruise ship sail on a lake? A fresh water lake! When we think of cruise ships we think…
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Punta Arenas — the Flat Fellas went for a short walk
#flatstanley #flathal #puntaarenas #chile On the shuttle ride from the ship to the city center, to Plaza de Armas, Flat Hal and Flat Stanley had their eyes focused on everything we passed, looking for something to wander back to. Fortunately the square we were dropped at was a short distance from the shoreline where some…
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The Chilean Fjords
#flathal #flatstanley #fjords #chile That heading alone might take a moment. Do you know where Chile is? What a Fjord is? (Norway has Fjords too!) Two days sailing the Fjords of Chile showed the Flat Fellas dramatic mountains, some covered in snow, and two glaciers. How big is that glacier?The cruise ship in front of…
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Where in the world are the Flat Fellas?
#flathal #flatstanley #southamerica #chile Flat Hal and Flat Stanley are sailing from Puerto Chacobuco to Punta Arenas by way of a scenic cruising through the fjords of Chile. On the smaller map, we started at the northern most red pinpoint, sailed by the glaciers at the middle pinpoints in the Bernardo O’Higgins National Park, and…
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Coyhaique is the capital of both the Aysén Region and the Coyhaique province.
#flatstanley #flathal #coyhaique #chile Flat Hal and Flat Stanley learned that Chile has 16 regions… kind of like states in the U.S., or province/territories in Canada. In Chile, provinces are like counties in the United States, or municipalities/regional districts in Canada. Sometimes, when we are traveling, we encounter a word, or concept we know the…
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Puerto Chacabuco — a day of sightseeing
#flathal #flatstanley #chile #ghostlake Flat Hal and Flat Stanley got a bit distracted at our first stop on the tour. The guide intended for us to look and see if we spotted an animal that was native to the region and frequented the area. However, the lake itself offered something different, and magical when we…
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The Flat Fellas saw a lot of birds in Castro, Chiloe, Chile
#flathal #flatstanley #chile #birds And fortunately, today, we had the camera with a good optical zoom with us to try and capture some nice photos.
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley set out to see a UNESCO World Heritage Site
#flatstanley #flathal #UNESCO #Chiloe Have you ever heard of a UNESCO World Heritage Site? These are places that are considered to be of value to everyone around the world. When we asked Google’s Gemini AI about it, we received this beautiful phrase in the response: these sites represent the best of our planet’s cultural and…
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The Flat Fellas Visit Puerto Montt, Chile
#flathal #flatstanley #puertomontt #chile Flat Stanley joined Flat Hal for a leisurely walk on shore after a short tender ride over from the cruise ship. We talked in our previous journal about tenders. When the boat anchors a short way from land, some of the lifeboats are used to carry passengers to land. We have…
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Flat Stanley and Flat Hal decided to have another book club adventure!
#flatstanley #flathal #swissfamilyrobinson Sometimes it is fun to read a book at the same time a friend is reading the same book, then you can talk about it. Flat Hal was surprised by some of the things that happened in Swiss Family Robinson. The book was originally written in 1812, and people thought differently about…
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A walk around Robinson Crusoe Island
#flatstanley #flathal #islarobinsoncrusoe #chile Shortly after getting off the tender on Isla Robinson Crusoe I saw this large carved statue. It is in memory of Alexander Selkirk who was marooned on this island for four years. As Flat Hal and Flat Stanley explored the island they were struck by the variety of plants and flowers.…
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The Flat Fellas Visit Isla Robinson Crusoe
#flathal #flatstanley #islarobinsoncrusoe #chile Robinson Crusoe Island is the second largest island in the Juan Fernández Islands, west of South America, part of Chile. Why visit a small island with a population of 800? (With help from Gemini AI) The Juan Fernández Islands are a biodiversity hotspot with a high rate of endemism. Here’s a…
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley are tryingto learn about Mammals…
#flathal #flatstanley #chile #sealion Specifically Seals vs. Sea Lions, how to tell them apart, and how to identify what these guys they spotted in San Antonio, Chile are — can you help? Is this the South American Sea Lion? Why do the flat fellas think they saw the South American Sea Lion? There are a…
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Kelp Gull in San Antonio, Chile
#flatstanley #flathal #chile #kelpgull Flat Hal and Flat Stanley thought we were photographing two different types of Sea Gulls, but it turned out these are all Kelp Gulls, the difference in the color of their feathers comes from whether or not they are an adult. The flat fellas had fun this afternoon watching the giant…
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San Antonio, the port city for Santiago, Chile
#flatstanley #flathal #chile Flat Hal was amused when he discovered he and Flat Stanley were visiting San Antonio. That’s the name of a city “not far” from home in Texas. Have you ever looked up your city name to see if there are other towns with the same name in other states/provinces or countries? According…
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70th Meridian West, a little time zone help, please?
#flathal #flatstanley #map #70thmeridianwest #chile Find the 70th meridian west on a map… meridian is another word for longitude, so we are looking for a line going up over and around the height of the Earth. (In our previous journal we talked about how longitude lines are long, and latitudes have attitude and wrap the…
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Christo de la Concordia de Arica – Christ of Peace (or Harmony) of Arica, Chile
#flatstanley #flathal #arica #chile #statue If you have ever seen a movie with scenes in the city of Rio de Janeiro then you have probably seen the statue known as Christ the Redeemer. It is huge, and stands atop a mountain overlooking Rio. Movies use something called an “establishing shot” a brief image to let…
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Technical difficulties!
Part of the adventure when traveling is finding WiFi, experiencing satellite internet connectivity, not always having a stable internet connection, and sometimes simply being unable to resolve what feels like a simple problem (if you were at home). Flat Hal shares a journal entry at FlatHal.xyz every other day (more often when life is truly…
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Birds Near the Cruise Ship Pier in Arica, Chile
#flathal #flatstanley #arica #chile #birding Gray Gull, Franklin’s Gull and Laughing Gull were all out in the water, can you help us identify which is which? Who do you “flock together” with? Do your friends play sports together? Other types of games? What do you enjoy doing together?
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Birds of a Feather Flock Together
#flatstanley #flathal #birds This expression has been running through my head a lot recently. Flat Hal and Flat Stanley have seen flocks of birds in flight, hanging out in the water, and relaxing in the sun on our mooring lines, and often there are a LOT of the same type of bird, then out of…
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The Flat Fellas visited a vineyard, and saw grapes on the vine
#flathal #flatstanley #vineyard #peru #grapes #pisco An important question to ask before eating a grape off the vine is what color are these when they are ripe. As Flat Hal and Flat Stanley discovered these will be purple in March (a month after they saw them) when they are ripe. As we can see they…
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Playa Roja,the Red Sand Beach at Paracas National Reserve
#flathal #flatstanley #peru #redsandbeach The sand is stained red from the volcanic activity in the region, as best we understood, giving the beach a different look than the white sand beaches we are used to seeing. The flat fellas found the red of the sand easier to see from the hillside where we took these…
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Some of the birds the flat fellas saw at Paracas National Reserve
#flatstanley #flathal #birding #paracasnationalreserve #peru The Eurasian Whimbrel really didn’t want to pose for photos, but a few of them were around. The American Oystercatcher putthat beak of his right into the sand when he saw something tasty!And the Peruvian Booby hanging out with a friend.
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Apachetas & Paracas National Reserve
#flathal #flatstanley #apachetas #peru Stacked stones left by previous visitors to Paracas National Reserve Here’s a breakdown of what Apachetas are and their significance: Meaning and Significance of Apachetas: Sacred Offerings: Apachetas are traditionally built as offerings to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and the Apus (mountain spirits) in Andean cultures. They are a sign of respect…
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Paracas National Reserve near Puerto General San Martin, Peru
#flatstanley #flathal #peru #paracasnationalreserve Flat Hal and Flat Stanley explored Paracas National Reserve When we saw Puerto General San Martin on the itinerary we weren’t sure what to expect. The nearby town of Paracas has a population of 2,000 which may not sound like a place with a lot of interesting sights for tourists, but…
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Here’s a quick vocabulary list for a tourist in Peru:
#flathal #flatstanley #spanish Polite Phrases:Hola: HelloBuenos días: Good morningBuenas tardes: Good afternoon/eveningBuenas noches: Good nightPor favor: PleaseGracias: Thank youDe nada: You’re welcomeLo siento: I’m sorryCon permiso: Excuse me (to pass)Perdón: Excuse me (to get attention) Basic Questions/Requests:¿Cuánto cuesta?: How much does it cost?¿Dónde está…?: Where is…?¿Habla inglés?: Do you speak English?No entiendo: I don’t understandUn…
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Callao, Peru – next to Lima
Flat Hal and Flat Stanley had a fun day in the port city of Callao. LOTS of freighters were loading and unloading, including one designed to transport cars. It is shaped a lot like a cruise ship, but doesn’t have windows, and lowered something that looked a lot like a castle’s drawbridge so cars could…
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Peru is Flat Hal and Flat Stanley’s second country in the Southern Hemisphere this trip!
#flatstanley #flathal #southernhemisphere We were so excited about the Panama Canal that Flat Hal and Flat Stanley didn’t journal about crossing the equator a few hours before we arrived in Manta, Ecuador. (The Captain predicted we would cross the equator around midnight, but none of us stayed up to watch the map and see exactly…
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The Chimú and Chan Chan
#flathal #flatstanley #chanchan #trujillo Flat Hal and Flat Stanley again opted to let others do the walking for them, and given not just the size of Chan Chan, but the labyrinth style layout, that was probably a good idea. Chan Chan is referred to as the Home of the Elite, the King and Queen of…
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Trujillo, La Libertad, Peru — Like Walking Back In Time
#flathal #flatstanley #peru #trujillo Flat Hal and Flat Stanley ventured away from the port area near Salaverry, Peru, where the ship docked to see some incredible sites dating back to the time of the Moche people. The Moche lived in the region before the Inca. The Moche built ‘huaca del sol y la luna’ the…
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Manta, Ecuador — a big city in every way
#flatstanley #flathal #manta #ecuador Manta, like Panamá City, felt like a BIG city, but where Panama City seemed to be full of skyscrapers lining the coast as far as the eye could see, Manta had more of a sprawl to it. (Then again, Panama City has 4 times the population.) República del Ecuador, A Presidential…
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Manta, Ecuador — a day when a little reality intruded on the flat fellas adventuring
#flatstanley #flathal #manta #ecuador With a population of just over 1/4 million people, Manta, Ecuador, turned out to be a good place for quite a few passengers to go looking for things we had realized in the past week and a half we forgot to bring with us, or simply wished we had. There is…
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Panama City, Panama— the Nation’s Capital
#flathal #flatstanley #panama #government Both Panama and the United States are presidential representative democratic republics. That doesn’t mean they have the exact same types of governments, but we can take our knowledge of the United States government to help us understand the government of Panama. Both have a President. Both have a legislative branch elected…
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Panama — Flat Hal and Flat Stanley made the most of their day ashore
#flatstanley #flathal #panama From a beautiful sunrise, to the Flat Fellas joining some friends for a tasty lunch on shore, our day was full of fun, laughter, making memories and discoveries. Including seeing trees growing out of the side of a building!
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The flat fellas spent a couple hours walking around Casco Viejo
#flatstanley #flathal #panama #cascoviejo The old quarter of Panama City dates back to 1673. It is easy to believe, simply by looking around this part of the city, that Catholicism is the most common religion as we saw a lot of beautiful churches that clearly had a long history. These churches were just a 5…
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Panama City, Panama — the flat fellas first time ashore in Panama
Flat Hal and Flat Stanley were excited when the ship docked at Fuerte Amador, only to discover that it may be part of Panama City, but it is a long walk from most of the places they hoped to see. The ship came out of the Panama Canal into the Gulf of Panama — we’ve…
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Certificates for transiting the Panama Canal
#flathal #flatstanley #panamacanal One of the fun things about a trip like we are currently on is getting to collect certificates that serve as keepsakes to remind us of doing something special and momentous. Flat Hal and I had never been through the Panama Canal before? Had Flat Stanley? Several friends we are traveling with…
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Birds flying around the Panama Canal
#flathal #flatstanley #birding #panama #panamacanal It might sound silly, but it seemed like there were different birds at the Caribbean side of the canal vs. the Pacific side. Just 75 miles apart, we sailed it in less than 10 hours, but Flat Stanley and Flat Hal saw more Brown Pelicans than they could easily count…
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The Flat Fellas Sail the Panama Canal
#flathal #flatstanley #panama #panamacanal Considered by some to be a man-made wonder of the modern world, on par with the CN tower in Toronto, the Empire State Building in New York, or the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Panama Canal dramatically cut the distance ships had to sail from the North Pacific Ocean…
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Costa Rica… just a few of the flowers we saw…
an amazing number were familiar from the South Pacific trip. How many can you identify? #flatstanley #flathal #costarica
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Costa Rica covers only about 0.03% of the Earth’s landmass but contains approximately 5-6% of the world’s biodiversity!
#flathal #flatstanley #costarica #limon #biodiversity Limon offered Flat Hal and Flat Stanley the chance to discover new plants, animals, and more alongside things they discovered on our trip to the South Pacific. They saw the lipstick plant before, and marveled at the shape and color of what grew on it, having no idea until they…
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Sloths! The Flat Fellas see a Sloth on the Move in Costa Rica!
#flathal #flatstanley #costarica #sloth Flat Hal and Flat Stanley got to see a Sloth on the move! We wanted to share a little about them, in case you aren’t familiar with the sloth, so we asked Gemini AI for some help, it offered: These slow-moving mammals are tree-dwelling animals that live in the rainforests of…
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The Flat Fellas in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
#FlatHal #flatstanely #CostaRica #PuertoLimon #Cacao Located on the Caribbean Sea, Puerto Limon provided Costa Rica with a shorter more direct shipping route to Spain and England before the Panama Canal was built, when Costa Rica was shipping their exports from the Pacific Ocean side of the country. Cacao (the all important ingredient for chocolate,) and…
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Santa Marta, Colombia… where in the world are the flat fellas?
#flathal #flatstanley #colombia #santamarta The population of Santa Marta, Colombia is approximately 555,030 as of 2023. As a country, Colombia has a population of just over 53 million people, with around 7 million of them living in/near the capital city of Bogota. Have you heard of the country of Colombia? Do you know what part…
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Santa Marta, Colombia… doing a little homework before we arrive.
#flathal #flatstanley #santamarta #colombia Colombia is a unitary presidential republic.The United States has a federal presidential constitutional republic. On the surface these sound very similar, but upon further investigation it looks like some of the differences are in where the checks and balances on the President are, how much of a role the Vice-President plays,…
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Larimar – Blue Stone native to the Dominican Republic
#flathal #flatstanley #larimar #dominicanrepublic An oversimplification of Geology is to say it is the study of rocks. Some of us notice cool rocks we see. Whether it is because they are unusual compared to others nearby, or because nature has polished them smooth through years of wear and tear. In the Dominican Republic I saw…
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Flat Fellas Visit Santo Domingo
#flathal #flatstanley #santodomingo #dominicanrepublic Santo Domingo is the capital of The Dominican Republic – a representative democracy. Our day there involved walking around a beautiful harbor area with small parks to relax in, seeing some trees we had never seen before (Cook Pine and Traveler’s tree or Traveler’s Palm), and at sail out spotting a…
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The Flat Fellas first port of call is Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic
#flatstanley #flathal #dominicanrepublic #santodomingo Located on Hispaniola, the second largest island in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic shares the island with Haiti. Both countries have ports cruise ships visit, today we visited Santo Domingo. We docked within sight of Punta Torrecilla, a lighthouse, about a mile from the old town. Facing the sea is an…
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Fort Lauderdale, Florida —Departing on an epic journey!
#flatstanley #flathal #florida #cruise Do you and your friends ever “jinx” one another? Jinxing is a little like superstitions. Being concerned if you do something, or say something, it will have negative consequences. In this case Flat Hal has been trying not to jinx himself by referring to this trip in a way that implies…
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Traveling again…or should we sing “on the road again”?
Flat Hal and Flat Stanley are off on another adventure. (#flatstanley #flatstanleyproject #flathal #hollandamerica #volendam) The last one was called Tales of the South Pacific, and they lost count of how many islands they visited in the region, though they sure had fun discovering capitals! This trip is called “Pole to Pole”. For the second…
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The cruise is over… and it feels like we covered a lot of ocean — how far did the Flat Fellas travel?
San Diego, California to Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii: ~2,200 nautical miles Nawiliwili, Kauai to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii: ~230 nautical miles Kailua-Kona to Honolulu, Oahu: ~90 nautical miles Honolulu, Oahu to Kahului, Maui: ~95 nautical miles Kahului, Maui to Hilo, Hawaii: ~125 nautical miles Hilo, Hawaii to Fanning Island, Kiribati: ~1,200 nautical miles Fanning Island to Pago Pago,…
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Birds the Flat Fellas saw in San Diego
At Shelter Island we saw an Egret, a seagull, some Grebes, as well as a Bufflehead & some ducks. A Say’s Phoebe was blending in with the tree branches at Mount Soledad. Sunset in San Diego at Shelter Island
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Flowers the Flat Fellas saw in San Diego
Gazania, aka Treasure Flower.Evergreen CandytuftRose — a beautiful, tight budDay Lily Flower Names… Identifying plants can be hard enough, but many plants have not only a complex sounding scientific name, but also common names – plural. A flower man be known as a bluebonnet in Texas and a Lupin elsewhere for instance. The flat fellas…
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley made the most of traveling with a digital camera
Before digital cameras not only was photography a more expensive hobby than it is now, but the time between taking a picture and seeing that picture was longer by a difficult to comprehend magnitude. Not only did you not see the picture within minutes of taking it, but there was a time when a family…
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Birds the Flat Fellas saw (and photographed) in Nuku Hiva
Flat Stanley and Flat Hal have tried to help me identify the birds we saw in Nuku Hiva. We did not have a great angle to photograph some from. At other times there simply was not a chance to pull out the better camera with a powerful optical zoom lens before the bird was in…
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Flat Hal and Flat Stanley saw Tikis in Nuku Hiva
When we asked Gemini AI to help us if we had indeed seen Tikis, and more about them, this is what we read: A Tiki is a human-like figure that’s an important part of Polynesian culture and history. Here’s a simple explanation: Origins: Tikis represent gods, ancestors, or important figures. They were often worshipped and…