Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 47.

Sailings to Provincetown in Cape Cod, and to Stellwagen Bank.

Backpacking and photography. Combine these two, along with time and affordability, flavoured with a dash of risk-taking, and one could launch a non-earning career in travel as a lone backpacker. This includes learning from my mistakes, which I should have avoided. For instance, I should have checked the dates of any national holidays before flying out to Israel in 2000 with my wife, then 18 weeks pregnant with our first daughter.

I have a hero in the world of travel. The BBC travel presenter Simon Reeve has circumvented the Earth at each of the three zones: the Equator, the Tropic of Cancer, and the Tropic of Capricorn. In addition, he has cut trails through virgin jungles, stayed at homes of remote tribes, driven through deserts, and interviewed politicians and gang leaders alike, even risking his own safety. He also dived into deep oceans and explored coral reefs, many in rich subaquatic beauty. Furthermore, unlike most, if not all, journalists, he never attended a fee-paying private school nor attended a university.

My form of travel was a little less dramatic. I used public transport to get around, and I hiked through established trails through forested and unforested national parks. Yes, I also snorkelled over coral reefs and enjoyed their beauty as Simon did. But I never stayed at the home of a remote jungle tribe resident, nor have I interviewed politicians, and certainly not gang leaders! 

But there has always been one big difference between Simon's travels and mine. He always had a crew with him, including a TV crew and a producer, the faceless individual who organised and directed Simon's travels. All of them remain invisible, giving the impression that Simon was travelling alone and organising his own schedules. Yet, I still admire his adventures and his knowledge of each local environment he passed through.

Simon Reeve. Stock.

By contrast, with one or two exceptions, all overseas travel was done on my own. There was no camera crew, no producer, no one to turn to had I hit disaster or fallen ill. Independent Travel carried an element of risk. But it was very educational, very fulfilling, and I admit, plenty of fun. And the fun was not so much sunbathing on a beach or riding on a rollercoaster as it was the adventurous spirit.

Yet, like Simon's travels, I, too, have hiked through the forest, explored the desert on foot (the Grand Canyon hike), and gazed at the corals beneath the sea. And I also checked out different cities.

You may think that all American cities are the same. The monotonous cluster of tall, glass skyscrapers huddled together on the horizon, with each street forming a tidy symmetrical grid, with ordinal numerology identifying each street instead of street names. Yet, as I have seen and experienced, each city has its own character. For example, Boston is very different to Manhattan in New York. Then there is San Diego, my favourite American city, which has a subtropical feel. Yet, Jerusalem in the Middle East is vastly different from any American or Western city, especially the walled Old City with its narrow, traffic-free streets known as souks, or markets.

Boston in Massachusetts holds the key to the whole American history. This city features 16 historic sites, including churches, historic buildings once housing government officials, and two cemeteries. There is also the world's oldest commissioned battleship, the USS Constitution. All of these sites are linked by the Freedom Trail, allowing the visitor to see all 16 sites in sequence. The harbour is home to the historic Boston Tea Party of 1773, sparking the American Revolution against the taxes paid to the British colony, which governed the area back then.

The State of Massachusetts has a geographic feature, the Cape Cod Peninsula, a strip of land jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean. From above, the peninsula resembles a human arm raised, shaking a fist as if angry at the UK for its past colonialism. The resort town of Provincetown is built on this clenched hand and partially encloses Cod Bay. Provincetown is accessible by road, a 112-mile (185km) journey along the whole length of the arm. However, there is also a ferry sailing from Boston Harbour to the port of Provincetown, a 50-mile (115 km) crossing across the bay. Indeed, with a choice between a ferry and a bus, I chose the ferry.

In 1998, Provincetown had no towering skyscrapers; instead, it was styled after a typical Old West settlement. Compared even to Boston, this resort was virtually traffic-free (although the main street was still open to traffic). The resort was once the venue for President John F. Kennedy, who spent his childhood vacation there, and then later as an adult.

On another day, I went to visit the Boston Aquarium. On offer was a double ticket; the first was for admission to the aquarium, where I spent a good part of the day. The second was for a sailing trip out to sea to watch humpback whales frolic in the Atlantic Ocean, over an area known as the Stellwagen Bank, a seamount or submarine rise on the seafloor which provides rich feeding for the whales. This boat excursion was organised by the Aquarium itself and was part of the whole day spent at the facility.

In this album, the ten whale watching pics may look rather monotonous, without any leaping out of the water like the dolphins did at SeaWorld in San Diego. These whales surface to breathe, and then dive back underwater. Hence, a very quick camera reaction was needed, as the individual appeared for less than a second. However, the whales got progressively closer to the boat as the hour elapsed, and there was a moment when it seemed that the boat itself would become a target for the whales to strike. But the Aquarium staff manning the boat knew better, and we sailed back to Boston Harbour safely while the sun began to set.

Unknown to me at the time, the sunset over the horizon symbolised the closing of a chapter in my life, solo overseas backpacking. The sun always sets towards the west, hence, the pics taken are of the sunset over the American continent, even as the Boston city skyline hadn't yet appeared over the horizon. 

As I see out the last days in Boston, I prepare to fly back home from Logan International Airport to London Gatwick. During daybreak following an overnight flight, as I sat by the window, the coast of southern England was in full view below a cloudless sky. Within view, the Dorset Coast displayed Weymouth, Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove, Durlston Head, Peveril Point, Swanage resort, Ballard Down with Old Harry Rocks, and the Bournemouth Bay, all on magnificent display way below, the light green landscape contrasting with the dark blue sea showing the sharply defined coastline. The plane then turned inland as it approached the airport.

Goodbye America. Little did I know that to this day in 2025, I hadn't landed there since.

Click here for the Index linking to the main Biography covering Boston, Weeks 113-116.

Photos of Provincetown, Cape Cod.

Approaching the ferry at Boston Harbour.

The crowd sunbathe on the ferry deck.

The city could just be made out in the distance.

We sail past Nantasket Beach.

Boats ply Cod Bay with the 'arm' in the background.

We approach Provincetown Harbour.

Provincetown Harbour has an industrial look.

Commercial Street, Provincetown.

I just strolled along the street.

To think that President J.F. Kennedy knew this town.

The Whalewatching trip to Stellwagen Bank.

The Aquarium-owned boat leaves Boston Harbour.

Snapping whales as they surface to breathe wasn't easy.

Whoops! I just caught the tail of this one, too.

There are two whales here.

By chatting with a crew member, I learned about this site.

Blowhole activity between two whales.

The whales seem to be getting closer to us.

I was also told that we came on a good day.

I was told of days when the whales failed to appear.

Apparently, I was the only one using a camera on board.

Wow! Don't get too near.

As the evening drew near, we sailed back to port.

The evening sunset ends a life chapter.

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Next Week, a new chapter begins. Travel as a honeymoon couple.