So, if you have decided on an unforgettable beach vacation, come down for a visit to Seychelles and let yourself be mesmerized and utterly pampered.

Bahamas
The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets (rocks). It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States (nearest to the state of Florida). Its total land area is 13,939 km2 (5,382 sq mi), with an estimated population of 330,000. Its capital is Nassau. Geographically, The Bahamas lie in the same island chain as Cuba, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands; the designation of Bahamas refers normally to the Commonwealth and not the geographic chain.
Originally inhabited by the Lucayans, a branch of the Arawakan-speaking Taino people, The Bahamas were the site of Columbus’ first landfall in the New World in 1492. Although the Spanish never colonized The Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 to 1648, when British colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera.
The Bahamas became a Crown Colony in 1718 when the British clamped down on piracy. Following the American War of Independence, thousands of pro-British loyalists and enslaved Africans moved to The Bahamas and set up a plantation economy. The slave trade was abolished in the British Empire in 1807 and many Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy were settled in The Bahamas during the 19th century. Slavery itself was abolished in 1834 and the descendants of enslaved and liberated Africans form the bulk of The Bahamas’s population today.
The climate of The Bahamas is subtropical to tropical, and is moderated significantly by the waters of the Gulf Stream, particularly in winter.[11] Conversely, this often proves very dangerous in the summer and autumn, when hurricanes pass near or through the islands. Hurricane Andrew hit the northern islands during the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season, and Hurricane Floyd hit most of the islands during the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season.
While there has never been a freeze reported in The Bahamas, the temperature can fall as low as 2–3 °C (35.6–37.4 °F) during Arctic outbreaks that affect nearby Florida. Snow was reported to have mixed with rain in Freeport in January 1977, the same time that it snowed in the Miami area. The temperature was about 4.5 °C (40.1 °F) at the time.
The closest island to the United States is Bimini, which is also known as the gateway to The Bahamas. The island of Abaco is to the east of Grand Bahama. The southeasternmost island is Inagua. The largest island is Andros Island. Other inhabited islands include Eleuthera, Cat Island, Long Island, San Salvador Island, Acklins, Crooked Island, Exuma and Mayaguana. Nassau, capital city of The Bahamas, lies on the island of New Providence.
All the islands are low and flat, with ridges that usually rise no more than 15 to 20 m (49 to 66 ft). The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia, formerly called Como Hill, which has an altitude of 63 metres (207 ft) on Cat Island.
To the southeast, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and three more extensive submarine features called Mouchoir Bank, Silver Bank, and Navidad Bank, are geographically a continuation of The Bahamas, but not part of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

I greeted my seat-mate on the train and we started a conversation. When I told Mary about my plans for the day she had a definite opinion. She said, “Oh, no. What you need after your trip to London is a day outside in the fresh air! Why don’t you come for a hike?”

I thought about Mary’s suggestion for a minute, knew that she was right, and checked my footwear. Since I was wearing sturdy boots, I said, “Sure; that sounds great!” I stayed on the train and went north to Howth. Mary and I spent the day hiking along the beautiful Irish coastline and taking in the wonderful fresh air.

Howth (which rhymes with “both”) is a scenic fishing village at the end of a long peninsula north of Dublin. In the early 1800s it was the port for the sea crossing to Wales. The port location has changed to Dun Laoghaire, south of Dublin, but Howth remains as a quaint and gorgeous spot for a day trip or even a base for your travels in Dublin.

You can drive to and from Dublin city center on Howth Road for 10 miles (16 km), but since summer traffic is heavy, the DART is the best way to go between the two places.

You may want to stop in at the National Transport Museum, which is a short walk from Howth’s DART station. The unusual vehicles include a restored open-topped tram and a horse-drawn bakery van.

The Howth Castle Gardens are next door to the Transport Museum and are accessible from the Deer Park Hotel. The castle, built in 1654, is not open to the public, but you can see the ruins of a tall 16th century castle and a Neolithic dolmen.

When you continue east toward the harbor, you will pass some shops and restaurants. To the north is Ireland’s Eye, an island that is the site of a 6th century monastery and a Martello tower. Martello towers were built in the early 1800s to defend the coast from French invasion. If the weather is calm, you can hire a boat ride over to the island from the Harbor.

The highlight of my trips to Howth has been the coastline hike that Mary introduced me to. I had a glorious day on my first visit and later took my children back for the same hike.

You can ask a local where the coastline path is. It’s a little hard to locate, although my children and I just kept walking on the streets heading east until we ended up on the path. You can also get to the path by asking directions when you get off the DART.

You will have stunning views from the cliffs as you walk east and then south along the coast. On a clear day you can see the Mourne Mountains and the Wicklow Mountains. The largest seabird colony on Ireland’s east coast is in Howth. Thousands of birds, including fulmars, kittiwakes and guillemots, nest on the cliffs you will hike along.

Eventually, you will see the Baily Lighthouse and Dublin in the distance to the south. There is a detour off the path up a long flight of steps to the lookout at the Summit. The path continues or cuts back to town.

When you get back to Howth, you will want to eat dinner at one of the local spots or get some fish and chips to eat as you sit by the harbor.

If you add a trip to Howth during your stay in the Dublin area, you won’t be sorry. Get out into the fresh air and enjoy!

Source: here

Ghost towns and shipwrecks

Sand piles up against the walls of the buildings and pours into the doorways and windows, mocking the celebration of wealth that once challenged the desert. This is Kolmanskop today – a far cry from the heady days of the early part of the 20th century when the diamond boom was in its infancy.

Diamonds in the moonlight

When diamonds were first discovered, sprinkled on the desert sands, in the early part of the 20th century it sparked a frenzy leading to the establishment of Kolmanskop. Kolmanskop soon became a thriving town in which dreams were made and lost.

To protect the rich diamond fields the German authorities proclaimed a large forbidden area, naming it the Sperrgebiet. Lying along the Atlantic coast, the huge Sperrgebiet area (located in the southern Namib desert in southwestern Namibia) was 97 kilometres wide and 322 kilometres long. Three more towns, Pomona, Bogenfels and Elizabeth Bay, were established during the diamond rush.

Death of the diamond towns

The industry thrived until the First World War, which brought with it a downswing in the Namibian enconomy. Soon after the war ended, diamond operations were taken over by the South African government.The good-time-boom-times continued until the late 1920s when large diamond deposits were discovered in the Orange River plains.

The towns died quickly after this, apart from Kolmanskop which was used as a transport depot until the 1950s. Today Kolmanskop is merely a tourist attraction. Elizabeth Bay has since reopened as a mine. It was the lights of this town that I could see flickering eerily on the desert sands from my position on Possession Island a couple of miles off the Namib coastline.

There are a number of islands off the coast of Namibia that stand barren, lonely and unknown, and yet achingly beautiful in their loneliness. They were once the scenes of great activity in the days of sealing and guano collection.

The remnants of those days can now be found in the houses and working sheds on the islands. A brief journey through the buildings tells of dramas beyond our imaginings. I lived on one of these barren islands for six months, much of this time alone.

Life on a desert island

Possession Island is the largest of the rocks lying off the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. The island is windswept and desolate and the cries of the kelp gulls, that carry across the barren expanse, echo absolute loneliness.

In the brief spells when the wind dies, the background din created by the colonies of gannets and penguins tears at the soul. Cormorants and other species also find solace on Possession’s shores.

The buildings from the sealing and guano days are all still standing. Also still standing, but in various stages of dilapidation, are the grave-markers of seamen who died in the course of their wonderings.

Possesed Island

The wind howls constantly, adding to the loneliness of the long dead seamen now lying for eternity beneath the shingled earth of the island. The crosses strike a very potent statement and I would often sit up among the graves and ponder the stories and lives of these men and life in general.

The mainland is only visible from the island on days when the wind is not blowing. When this occurs it can be quite intimidating as the sight of the harsh desert landscape of the Skeleton Coast greets you.

At night, the lights of the ghost town of Elizabeth Bay stretch eerily across the water. A remnant of the diamond glory days, this ghost town is used by mining company officials. The lights are left burning, creating an unreal image.

Ghosts and shipwrecks

Possession island is haunted, so they say. One ghost story tells the spooky tale of the the Auckland. The ship sank off the West Coast and all hands on deck were lost including the master and his wife. Some of the bodies washed up on Possession and were buried in the graveyard.

It is said that the master’s wife had her legs eaten off by sharks. Her legless ghost can be seen staring out to sea accompanied by two of the ship’s hounds. A labourer once threw a rock at the hounds and his neck immediately began to swell.

It was only when he left the island that the swelling subsided. I never saw the woman or the hounds, but at night when the wind howled across the barren waste I could picture her staring out to sea.

A thirsty death

There is very little rain and no natural fresh water on Possesion. A holding tank is used to store drinking water which is brought to the island every three months by boat. Thirsty men often tell the story of the foolish rower.

At a time when water was running out, and the boat was not due for a while, a man decided the only way ahead was to seek help in Luderitz.

He rowed across to the uninviting shore of the Skeleton Coast and proceeded to walk. Thirst overcame him and he died on the outskirts of the town. Fortunately the people who found his body realized what his mission was and sent water to the island.

Yearning for meat

I have visited some of the other islands off the Namibian coast as part of an extensive bird survey. The island names depict what must have been the longings of the sailors of centuries ago. Names like Roast Beef and Plumpudding Island speak of a deep yearning. These islands are no longer inhabited although the houses are still standing, now taken over by penguins and fur seals.

Wild horses of the desert

Another echo from Namibia’s past of aristocracy and wealth are the wild horses of the desert. Many tests have been done on the horses but it is still not certain where they originated from. Now an integral part of the landscape and obviously from prime stock the horses add to the mystique of the Namib.

Source: here

Right in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, the Maltese Islands are a paradise for sea lovers. Kilometres of sandy and rocky beaches are easily accessible, making it the perfect venue for those who are looking for a beach holiday, where they can relax in the sun, swim in crystal-clear safe blue seas, walk along promenades and enjoy good food and accommodation at reasonable prices.

An island is always dependent on the sea, and Malta is lucky to have so many advantages in this regard. With beautiful warm climate during most of the year, tourists come to Malta to enjoy the sea even in winter, when days can sometimes turn out to be warmer than it could ever get in Northern England or Italy during summer.

Among the hundreds of thousands of tourists who flock each year to this Mediterranean Island Paradise are many yachting enthusiasts. Malta boasts of many Yacht Marinas that are fully equipped to cater for all types of vessels, from small yachts to luxury yachts and super yachts.

Many are those who chose to stop in Malta to enjoy the island while their yachts are being maintained and refurbished. The Maltese yachting companies are proud of their workmanship that dates back to the years of the British rule, when the Malta Dockyards were one of the pedestals of the British Navy in southern Europe.

The Maltese towns and cities blend into each other, so you hardly know when you have left one village an entered another, were it not for the “Welcome to our Village” signs put up by local councils to show their boundaries.

The Maltese islands are very densely populated. Presently the Maltese population amounts to around 400 thousand. By international standards Malta is so small it’s just like a very small city.

There are 67 villages that have a local council; 53 in Malta and 14 in Gozo.

Although closely knit together, some villages have very distinct and pleasant features. The older villages have a baroque church built in the centre. Many Parish Churches occupy a central and dominant position in the structure of old villages such as Mosta, Zabbar, Zejtun, Ghaxaq, Tarxien, Gudja, Dingli, Cospicua, Senglea, and too many to name.

This is clear evidence of the great devotion that the Maltese people have always had for the Roman Catholic Religion and the important place religion is still given in the Maltese people’s everyday life.

Many historic buildings boast a baroque style of architecture, which was predominant after the Renaissance in Malta. Some of the most magnificent palaces and auberges built by the Knights of St John are today used by the elite, such as the Presidential Palace, the Parliamentary Palace, the Prime Minister’s Palace, Foreign Ministries, etc.

In the towns and villages, the old parish churches’ baroque architecture deeply contrasts with the flat and plain roof tops of the other buildings. The village architecture is reminiscent of buildings in countries such as North African, where the climate and weather is similar.
source: here