I’ve mentioned in earlier posts this week that Napier’s Art Deco architecture is the result of the town being wiped out by an earthquake in 1931, and the decision to rebuild in the aspirational, modernistic style. I also mentioned that the reason New Zealand gets so many earthquakes is that it sits on the…
The Pania reef, or Napier Breakwater, is a reef in Hawkes Bay New Zealand – and the subject of a statue on Napier’s Marine Parade. The story goes that Pania was a mermaid who lived with her people in Hawkes Bay – but who each night would emerge onto land at a stream which flows through…
This week’s travel theme is N for Napier – and for Wednesday, its a lovely church in the heart of the town. It is “The Waiapu Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, Napier” – which is quite a mouthful! It is more often referred to as “Waiapu Cathedral”, “St John’s Cathedral”, or “Napier Cathedral” ……
Napier, New Zealand, is world renowned for its Art Deco buildings – it has such a smorgasbord of structures on display that it could take days just to photograph them. But WHY does Napier have so many? From tragedy rises beauty. One of New Zealand’s nicknames is “The Shaky Isles” – because it sits on the boundary of…
This week’s travel theme is N for Napier, a city on New Zealand’s North Island, most noted for its extensive array of Art Deco buildings. And one of the first places to catch the eye of tourists is the Masonic Hotel, right on the waterfront of this seaside town. It is the third iteration of…
Malecon is a Spanish word for boardwalk, or embankment, or esplanade. And there are a number of famous Malecons – the most famous is probably in Havana, Cuba (the 8km long Avenida de Maceo). Other Malecons include Mazetlan’s which is 21km long and a collection of roads and avenues. It’s not, strictly speaking, a…
This is the border between Mexico and the United States. So is the entire state of Hawaii. No, I haven’t gone mad. You see, in 1953 the US Department of Justice interpreted the Immigration and Nationality Act to say that there is a 100 mile zone surrounding borders … and that includes border crossings, or “ports…
Imagine a town of just a few thousand people in the 1930s, quietly ekeing out an existence from fishing, and fruit-growing, and not much else. Then imagine that in 1945, the first ‘tourist trade’ begins – with DC3s carrying 20 passengers at a time. For another decade or so things are still quiet – although…
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Mazatlan is a gorgeous building, not unlike many similar cathedrals around the world – and especially around Latin America. Apart from the Star of David stained-glass windows. But more on that later. Religion, and especially Roman Catholicism, has played an integral part in the life of Mexico.…
One of my guilty pleasures as a young married man was was watching TV’s “Love Boat” on a weekend evening with my new bride – and each week, they’d transport us via the magic of television to Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas. So when Shirley and I got the chance to go on a…
Cairns Communications 