This is one of the port towns in the Azores. We hiked up to an old Fort and found a modern Hotel inside of it with a great view of the Atlantic. We enjoyed some Portuguese beer on their patio.
You can see the rest of the pictures by clicking on the “2008 Photos” link to the right in the blogroll.
That’s it for this round. I will be back over to the Desert in September but this time it will be for 4 months.
Last stop home was in the Azores, which is a group of Portugal Islands in the middle of the Atlantic. It’s a frequent stop for military aircraft going and coming from the AOR. The base is called Lajes and this is a view of the flight line from our lodging.
Best meal so far, originally uploaded by smindra1.
A great (expensive) Sicilian meal after a couple of weeks in the Arab world. The weak dollar is definitely felt abroad but this meal was worth it after a couple of weeks of curry.
1st stop on the way home was Sigonella in Sicily. It was nice to see civilization again and a great Italian meal is always great. Sigonella naval base isn’t too far from where I visited while studying abroad here 10 years ago. It brought back memories of the Montezuma’s revenge that I struggled with after traveling to Tunisa. I was able to experience that fun on a train ride across northern Sicily. No diarrhea this time though.
One of the 8 billion Camels in Oman. It was a challenge to avoid them as they strolled on the roads to Salalah
We did manage to escape the prison 2 days while in Oman. Traveled an hour to Salalah on the Coast and stayed at nice Hotel for the day. The coast is night and day from the desert interior of the country.
One of the winners of Fancy Dress night was Borat. Very Brave.
One of the great experiences of this trip was that I was able to work along side the British military. These are two of the British Medics dressed up during their Fancy Dress night. We, unfortunately, were only allowed to wear our AF physical training uniform. We were required to be in uniform 24 hours a day while the Brits walked around in civilian clothes during the evening.
Our 50 K tent with state of the art air conditioning. Finally got use to the uncomfortable cot on day 14.
Departed Oman 2 days ago. Only left 24 hours late which is a lot better than last year. Overall it was a pretty good time. The Brits entertained us each night and allowed US to have alcoholic beverages each night which normally would not be allowed on a deployment. Here is a picture of our tent city which was home for 2 weeks. Slept on a cot but we had AC that made it bearable.
MMM…pig leg. Went to bar in Moron Spain and they had this tasty leg on display for all to see that entered the bar.
No wireless internet here like they promised. Which means I have to wait in lines to get to a computer for internet. Won’t be able to upload photos either so not much for this blog until I get back. All is going well so far. Hot in the day and freezing at night.
Sevilla, originally uploaded by smindra1.
Just like last year we were delayed in Spain. First couple of days were all rain but we still were able to get out and see what Sevilla had to offer. Went into the cathedral where this picture is taken from and also got to see Christopher Columbus’ tomb. Now, were on the move again to the desert.
Me, originally uploaded by smindra1.
I will be leaving for the middle east for my second deployment early Thursday morning. It will only be a 4 week deployment and should be pretty enjoyable. I will be flying over on a tanker behind our jets and we will be stopping in some European cities on our way over and on the way back. That is always the best part of these trips. The 2 months of tax free pay don’t hurt either. Hopefully we don’t get delayed like last year. I will post pictures here as I am able. Unfortunately I won’t be able to let you know where we are until after I have left for our own safety, but I will still try to post some good pics.
