Building services and tunnel vent engineer. Australian in London. Growing up despite himself. Likes #Travel . Born CO2 328 ppm (currently 423 ppm). Also found at @D_Perris .
Fidel Castro was still officially President, but his brother Raul was actually in charge.
We had to spend "Tourist money" at a great inflated exchange rate compared to "local money" (but it was still not an expensive place to be tourist).
A beautiful but struggling country, in a time of great change. There was a brief window under Obama when travel restrictions were relaxed, and it almost seemed like Cuba could really flourish. But it wasn't to last.
As a Mechanical Engineer, it is surprisingly satisfying to design a ventilation system that doesn't need any ventilation equipment.
This is part of a natural ventilation system, with weatherproof security louvres backed with automatic Fire and Smoke Dampers.
The louvres allow outside air to come in during the summer to keep the space cool. During the winter the fire dampers are closed to stop too much cold air coming in and causing a condensation problem.
If the fire alarm goes off, the fire dampers automatically shut to stop fire escaping from the building.
Looking through some old travel photos today from 2016.
Georgia in the Caucasus Mountains has a long history. Wine was being made in Georgia 8000 years ago. The modern city of Kutaisi is said to be the location of ancient Colchis, where Jason got the Golden Fleece. Georgia was, for a long time, a buffer state between the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire, and became one of the first Christian countries.
In more recent times, Georgia has tried to become a modern country, despite some "bullying" from their neighbour to the north, and they are looking to join the EU and NATO.
Clever little Salvia. Provide a nice big landing pad for the bumblebee, make it dive deep into the flower to get the nectar, then hook over and deposit pollen on the bee's head.
The Caucasus is an amazing region - the scenery is amazing, the differing histories are fascinating, and the wine is very drinkable!
Although Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan are often grouped together, they are each very different, and have very different political outlooks.