A traveller, an observer and a coffee fanatic, Chaelli has, to use a turn of phrase, been around a bit!
He has travelled the world in his capacity as a trainer, working primarily in Europe, but also in South Africa, Central and South America, Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East and Central and South-East Asia. During this time, he has developed a particular affection for, and affinity with Beirut, Budapest, Cape Town and Granada, along with the much closer to home Hebden Bridge. Having spent many months in all of these places, he has named a room in his cafe after each of them, hence The Cafe with Five Faces.
His 'day job' involves a lot of observation and he has used these 'skills', also known as 'nosiness', to put together The Cafe with Five Faces, a book of the stories his cafe's walls have overheard, and will continue to overhear.
Delving back into the annals of history, Chaelli studied History and Politics and maintains an active interest in the latter, being a vocal member of most things anti-Brexit, a mistake he views as a form of national suicide.
These days, he is studying for a Diploma in Coffee Skills and has so far taken courses in Beirut, London, Cape Town, Bogota and Villa de Leyva (Colombia).
He has been a writer for a long time, starting with children's adventure stores written when barely a teen, through to materials and courses for English teachers and an as yet unpublished travelogue.
To read the stories behind the pictures and behind the chapter titles, the new book, ‘The Café with Five Faces 2018-2019’, will be published as an ebook in June 2020 through all major ebook outlets
The author doing what the author does best (drinking coffee!), outside Kafeterija in central Belgrade.
Prologue 2018
Spoilt for choice! Fortunately, or otherwise, this showroom is in Cape Town – a little too far away for temptation to win…
Chapter 1: Budapest: The Room
My favourite turn of the century coffee houses in Budapest: Művész Kávéház and Centrál Kávéház, the latter complete with a slice of the beloved Eszterházy torta.
Two of the third wave style cafés in Budapest: the original branch of Double Shot, with its impressive menu, and Műterem Kávézó, both of which, like many others in the city, make the best use of a small space by having a cosy upstairs seating area.
Chapter 2: Beirut: The Room
My most frequent coffees haunts in Beirut: Kalei, which you have to work quite hard to find, and Sip.
The best manouches of my admittedly limited experience: Em Ali at Saturday’s Souk El Tayeb, Em Ali on Gemmayzee (both in Beirut), and the exterior of the place on the road to Zahle along with its (to me) indecipherable menu.
A Lebanese coffee served at the delightfully named Grand Meshmosh.
The disparate sources of inspiration for my Beirut room, a palace in Dubai and the Fanaberia Tea Garden in Katowice.
Chapter 3: Cape Town: The Room
San Marco at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront was, for a long time, my favourite lunch spot in Cape Town, purely for its Caprese salad and affogato, to say nothing of the view of Table Mountain (even when obscured by Balsamic Vinegar).
Jason Bakery on Bree Street, with its wooden, table-free floors, and Origin, with the best range of coffee I’ve yet to see, were the two biggest influences on my Cape Town room.
Chapter 4: Hebden Bridge: The Room
The Rochdale Canal in Hebden Bridge, not responsible for the flooding of which the area has seen too much already this century.
The beautiful Hebden Bridge Mill and Innovation, the café which lies within.
Chapter 5: Granada: The Room
Chocolate con churros – additional words are not necessary.
The beginning of third wave coffee shops in Granada, and perhaps even Spain: La Finca.
The Alhambra, the palace not the beer, as viewed over a coffee in Café 4 Gatos towards Albaicín.
My favourite and ever popular branch of Los Diamantes in Granada; for me, this is the ultimate fish restaurant.
Chapter 6: Cape Town: Land of the Rhetorical Question
A perfect V60, all the way from Salento, Colombia.
Table Mountain from the harbour. Pictures of this city always make me feel a little homesick, even though I’ve never ‘lived’ there for longer than three months.
Chapter 7: Hebden Bridge: The One Where Nothing Happens
Nothing may have happened story-wise, so, to compensate, here are some pictures from along the canal bank in Hebden Bridge.
Chapter 8: Budapest: Promnice
I can’t order them in terms of preference, so here are some examples of the Eszterházy torta much beloved by Jen and Jimez (as well as yours truly), arranged alphabetically according to the Budapest café of origin: Auguszt Cukrászda, Centrál Kávéház, Művész Kávéház and Ruszwurm Cukrászda.
‘Yummy’ just doesn’t go far enough!
Chapter 9: Hebden Bridge: Splendid Isolationism
I don’t think I need much of an excuse to display pictures from the canal bank near Hebden Bridge (again… and again).
Chapter 10: Granada: Tales of the Unexpected Coffee
A Vietnamese drip coffee, hot on this occasion in Thái Nguyên, but often drunk cold with condensed milk. I’ll let you think about that one!
Café Giẩng in Hanoi – the slightly dubious entrance and, some might say, the even more dubious product it is famed for (egg coffee). You kind of have to try it really… No, honestly!
Chapter 11: Beirut: The Curse of Innocence
Mint Tea, as brewed in the Chréa National Park, Algeria. I rather doubt I’d get this past British Health and Safety, which, to be honest and controversial, is something of a shame!
Lacking visuals of Micky’s activities in this chapter, here are some black and whites to attract you to Beirut: the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque in the downtown area, the Corniche heading west, and the seafront in the Central District.
Chapter 12: Granada: In Bandit Country
A brief selection taken from Matthew’s shorter than anticipated visit to Lahore: a hazy skyline, frequently observed street life, and parts of the meal which had rather unpleasant consequences.
Chapter 13: Budapest: Fifteen Minutes of Fame
A Chemex, as made in Műterem Kávézó, Budapest.
Atmospheric pictures of the Danube taken from Margit híd (Margaret Bridge) in Budapest to accompany Jimez’s moody lyrics.
Chapter 14: Hebden Bridge: Fish without Chips
A comparative study of Fish and Chips, featuring dishes, in no particular order, from Whitby (England), Granada (Spain), La Spezia (Italy), Porto Venere (Italy), Belgrade (Serbia), Amman (Jordan), Montañita (Ecuador) and the Sea Point district of Cape Town (South Africa).
One or two are not exactly ‘fish and chips’ as we know them, but they reflect regional interpretations, sometimes to the exclusion of chips!
Chapter 15: Cape Town: Damn the Lunatic Fringe
In the absence of strictly content-related visuals, here are some pictures highlighting contrast, all from Beirut: the Cathédrale St Louis with a military post, the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque with the tower of the Maronite Cathedral of Saint George just behind to the left, and a building bombed in a previous conflict backed by a modern skyline.
Chapter 16: Granada: Of Ladies of the Night and a Sharp Slap on the Leg
The exploits of Matthew and Mark with various ladies of the night do not permit pictorial evidence, but let’s use the reference to Tbilisi as an excuse for some images of the Georgian capital: cityscapes by night and day and a close-up of the Holy Trinity Cathedral.
Chapter 17: Beirut: Me Too
A Turkish coffee served in an ibrik, generously accompanied by some Turkish delight (the latter not available in my café!) and water, ready in case of accidentally drinking the grains! This was at Rumi in Amman.
The close-up delights of a Lebanese coffee with cardamom and without sugar – not that you can tell visually!
Chapter 18: Granada: The Cons of Standing Out in a Crowd
It’s quite funny, imagining Matthew trying to escape a determined Arab with local knowledge in these souks in Tunis!
The Casbah in Algiers, very tempting, although I’m less sure about welcoming!
Moorish architecture in Algiers and Écija, a town in Andalucía – similar but not the same.
Chapter 19: Hebden Bridge: The Odd Couple and the Rat
The location of the former ‘rat bar’, more officially known, when it existed, as Seifen und Kosmetik on Schliemannstrasse in my favourite district of Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg.
Tacheles, the former art centre in Mitte, Berlin, sadly no longer the den of iniquity frequented in the misspent latter-day youth of John-Jeffrey and Robbie. Excuse the quality of the pic, but I think you get the idea!
Chapter 20: Cape Town: Drifting to Extremes
Blue sky thinking…? Methinks there are storms ahead…
Chapter 21: Granada: For the Love of Lebanon
Matthew’s taxi to Gaza, in this case a municipality in eastern Lebanon.
This picture was taken in Tbilisi, but it serves as an example of what a patched-up Lebanese car looks like. This one is actually is comparatively good nick!
The Corniche in Beirut with an example of what Mark terms ‘the posh fish restaurants’. The boats sometimes moored next to the jetty suggest he may have a point!
Raouche Rocks with no evidence of the discarded plastic Mark referred to – that was just around the corner.
Chapter 22: Hebden Bridge: The Things One Will Do…
The coffee which looks like a chemistry experiment. This is a Siphon brew under production in Hoi An, Vietnam.
The light of inspiration shining on the centre of Hebden Bridge.
More from the delightful canal banks of Hebden Bridge to cheer everyone up – after a while, some start to look very similar, if not the same!
Chapter 23: Budapest: The Long-Term Cost of a Misspent Youth
Scones are lovely, but controversial, both in terms of how the word should be pronounced, and the order in which you should place the extras on top – Devon says jam on top, Cornwall says cream. I say they both go down the same way!
Even without a sajtos pogácsa in sight, this seems a reasonable opportunity to gaze longingly at cake, whether it be from Művész in Budapest or Origin in Cape Town.
Chapter 24: Beirut: Monogamy on Trial
As Misha, perhaps understandably, was reluctant to share pictures depicting his love life, here are some more palatable visual alternatives from along the Corniche in Beirut, heading west from Zaitunay Bay (spot the unfortunate array of plastic bottles in the sea).
Chapter 25: Cape Town: How to Become a Comedian in Just Two Words
At this point, I have a confession to make. I have, apparently, never allowed myself the time to take a photograph of a complete board as ordered by Mike, James and John. The temptation to tuck in tout de suite seems to overcome me. So here are the components: half a baguette (with some jamón serrano) from a corner café in Granada, the hams themselves hanging somewhere in the north-western part of the same city, and a plate of French cheese, which was part of a delightful lunch at Château Ksara in Lebanon (I acknowledge the tenuous link!).
Chapter 26: Granada: Under the Weather
The Massaya vineyard in the Beqaa Valley, where Mark believes he mislaid some money… The second picture may represent his height above ground level after consuming an unspecified number of bottles over lunch.
Matthew believes he ‘saw’ Anna Karenina in the Palace of the Republic in Minsk (top), although such performances usually take place in the Grand Opera and Ballet Theatre (bottom). The poor boy remains confused to this day.
Chapter 27: Budapest: Break-up Breakdown
Blurriness for artistic effect, obviously!
As Jimez, hardly surprisingly, didn’t have any pictures he was willing, or able, to share of the women he has driven back to their exes, here are some equally dramatic images from Budapest, two from the Danube and one from Hősök tere (Heroes’ Square).
Chapter 28: Cape Town: How to Keep Attention Focused on You
A moody view of Table Mountain from Kloof Street to match the feelings in my Cape Town room.
An oasis of calm – unlike the feelings in my Cape Town room! I think relaxing with a coffee in an atmospheric café might be a good solution at the moment. This was taken in La Spezia, Italy, although you would never guess!
Chapter 29: Hebden Bridge: The Nutshell
Looking up and down the cobbled street of Hebden Bridge on a not especially sunny day – so unusual for these parts!
Chapter 30: Granada: We’re on the Road to Somewhere
Way too many stories in this chapter, but here are some pictures to help a few of them along…
Things on, and off, bikes in Hanoi.
Matthew’s day out from Benghazi, including the harbourside fish market, one of several very interesting historical sites en route (Apollonia, I believe), a picnic site in the Green Mountains, and some fish receiving careful culinary attention. Hands were far too messy to take pictures of the resultant feast!
Part of the dinner which was missed in Camelot, Kraków. Gazpacho, of course, is not exactly what you might term typical Polish cuisine!
Sunset over the agglomeration and Mark’s favourite meal at the original Pan de Rossa, Katowice.
Part-way up the ‘black slope’ in the environs of Almaty, which Matthew descended in a number of very different ways.
The World Cup update on the Green Point Stadium, now remodelled as the Cape Town Stadium and sadly much underused.
Chapter 31: Cape Town: Strange Paths Indeed
Nardy, set up ready to play in Armenia.
Having absent-mindedly deleted the pictures of the Woodstock Brewery, here is one of the penis ad… Apologies.
Chapter 32: Budapest: The Right to Unhappiness
As Jimez was talking about the bottomless waters of his love life in my Budapest room, this seemed like an apt moment to share some photographs of sunsets over the turbulent Atlantic in Cape Town. It works in my mind, anyway.
Chapter 33: Beirut: The Grass is Always Greener Somewhere
So, the grass is always greener somewhere, is it? Maybe hiking towards Monachil and the Sierra Nevada near Granada, strolling along the canal towards Hebden Bridge in early autumn, surveying the wide-open spaces and snow-topped mountains of central Lebanon en route to The Cedars, or losing oneself in the poppy fields of Peñaflor near Valladolid? All sound more than OK to me!
Chapter 34: Hebden Bridge: The Book Behind the Cover
There is always a glimmer of hope somewhere in the gloom, one hopes, here shining on the seas of Beirut and Cape Town.
Or you can always dream of a return to cafés with wonderful views in the height of summer, such as this one in Vernazza, part of the Cinque Terre in Italy.
Chapter 35: Granada: The Facebook Syndrome
Hot Chocolate, inspired by this one in Pri Vodnjaku on Stari trg, Ljubljana.
The Yerevan Opera Theatre, visited by Lois a few years ago, with a picture of the Armenian capital’s Republic Square thrown in for good measure.
And, as we’re here, a couple of pictures from the beautiful city of Granada itself, as these have been sadly lacking to date! And whose fault is that, one might ask?
Chapter 36: Hebden Bridge: A Snog and a Pillock
I love seeing well-presented coffee. This is a cappuccino and an El Salvadorian V60 at 3fe in Dublin.
A perfect example of a bar in a café. This is Bourbon Coffee Roasters in Bogotá and features (left to right) a French Press, a Chemex, a Siphon and a trio of V60s. No Aeropress, but you can’t have everything!
Chapter 37: Cape Town: A Tale of Two Standards and Dubious Labels
After that tirade, I feel like another picture-perfect coffee, this time in the real Cape Town at the Rosetta Roastery, far away from political wrangling.
I’m going to set this as a quiz for non-South Africans! Any clue as to what these road markings mean? Answer at the end of the next section!
Chapter 38: Beirut: The Ménage à Trois
No pictures to illustrate the stories here, as Micky refused to share a screenshot of his online chat. A good excuse, therefore, to show a little more of Beirut, as we’re in that room: a couple of street scenes in and around Gemmayzee, and a wine festival at the Cantina Sociale, in honour of Misha’s drinking preferences.
And the answer to the question at the end of the previous chapter: in South Africa, a traffic light is known as a robot, so this is a warning of traffic lights ahead!
Chapter 39: Budapest: Jimez and the Plastic Pollution
Freshly ground coffee being given the blooming treatment (to release the gasses) in Amati Café, Medellín.
The Raouche Rocks near Beirut (a reminder from Chapter 21 just how beautiful they are), and the beach a few hundred metres to the south with a fair amount of rubbish on the left. Unfortunately, this is not the worst case, but it’s the only pictorial evidence I have in my collection.
Chapter 40: Cape Town: Resolution
Typical year-end photographs from the Christmas tree in Hebden Bridge to the New Year’s Eve fireworks as seen from the Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest. The latter is one of those views of which I never tire, with or without the pyrotechnics.
Prologue 2019
Sartorial elegance meets political eloquence. Modesty has always (never?) been a strong point…
Chapter 41: Cape Town: Ever Decreasing Circles
Delightful but wintry pictures of Hebden Bridge to lighten the mood.
A political analogy for 2019? Trying to drag some common sense out of the morass of British government? Either way, I love this picture of a farmer steering his buffalo (at least, I think it was that way around) through a rice field in Hoi An, Vietnam.
Chapter 42: Beirut: The Hypocrisy of the Ostrich
I’d like to see Misha climbing one of these – a wax palm in the valley of Cocora, near Salento, Colombia.
And in the city of Beirut, another climbing challenge, the St Nicholas Stairs.
Horse racing against a city backdrop in Beirut – I’ve never seen more, or indeed less, than five runners in a race.
Chapter 43: Hebden Bridge: Back from the March
As no one bothered to send me any pictures of the march in question (unlike ones later in the year), here are some images taken under canal bridges near Hebden to tempt the odd visitor.
Chapter 44: Granada: The Descriptive Rules of the Road
The room was Granada but the conversation was centred on Beirut and coffee, so here’s the supporting evidence from Matthew and Mark.
The recently opened High Llama café.
Coffee and cake at Kalei – a mortgage may be required, but don’t let that put you off!
The Calle 10 branch of Arte y Pasion Café in Bogotá with a Siphon coffee being brewed on the table.
Proof it really does rain in Beirut – and this can last for hours!
A night-time view of the street in Sin el Fil where pedestrian lights help you get half-way across a four-lane road…
Chapter 45: Budapest: The Gift
Nawel’s unexpected appearance is a good excuse to show some varied, and perhaps equally unexpected pictures of Algeria: parts of the harbour and botanical gardens in the city of Algiers (Monet would have been impressed by the latter), a Greek-style house in Sidi Fredj, part of the coastal municipality of Staouéli, and a Tuscan-style villa in the hills of Chréa.
Chapter 46: Cape Town: Life is a Roller Coaster
The desk-top coffee roaster in La Finca, Granada, which inspired me to buy one.
A Chemex being carefully brewed, post-blooming, in Café Unión, La Candelaria, Bogotá. I love the care which good Colombian cafés take over their coffee.
And here are a couple of coffees I don’t yet offer: the increasingly popular Cold Brew, pictured here at El Laboratorio de Café in Plaza Botero, Medellín, and a traditional Ethiopian method, demonstrated at the Badaro Urban Farmers’ Market in Beirut. I have bought a jebena (the pot) but that’s as far as I’ve got!
Chapter 47: Beirut: Torture Beyond the Drapes
A saj (or saj oven) at Souk el Tayeb in Beirut.
A ready-to-eat manouche from Em Ali on Gemmayzee, Beirut. This is quite an elaborate one, in terms of ingredients and presentation; it’s also gluten-free.
And I do wish I could provide a decent mezze selection like this one from somewhere in the hills above Saida, Lebanon. This is my plate, assembled from a range of others.
Chapter 48: Cape Town: Over One’s Dead Body
Courtesy of Matthew, a few pictures from his day-long ramble around San Diego:
Lofty Coffee in the Little Italy part of the city.
Temptation abounds at Holsem Coffee, close to the 30th Street craft beer area.
Out and about at night.
Chapter 49: Beirut: Uncorking the Bottle
Mark’s club of gloom was somewhere near where this picture was taken, this being a lively Friday night in the bia hσi bars of central Hanoi. Bia hσi is a fresh and low alcohol beer, great for evenings out when you want to drink a lot without getting anything more than tipsy!
The Emir Assaf Mosque in downtown Beirut and a Christian Church with an elusive name and a strangely offline presence, situated towards the Mar Mikhael part of town.
Chapter 50: Budapest: The Silesian Toilet Episode
The venue for the Silesian toilet episode, a bar long since renovated and now virtually unrecognisable, tucked away behind the Teatr im. Jana Kochanowskiego (Jan Kochanowski Theatre) in Opole, Poland.
Yes, I know I’ve spoiled you with pictures of Eszterházy before, but you can see why Jen finds it irresistible. And she is not alone…
Notre Dame d’Afrique, a Catholic basilica in the predominately Muslim city of Algiers.
Chapter 51: Hebden Bridge: Bring Back the Nineties and Noughties!
Rather tangentially, a look at two cafés in Belgrade – Allo Allo, as referred to by John-Jeffrey, and the daddy of the third wave establishments in the city, Pržionica D59B, which sadly, seems to have closed down.
Two cappuccinos made by my own fair hands whilst training at Kalei in Beirut. My latte art has improved since. Slightly…
Chapter 52: Cape Town: The Malevolent Frying Pan
I feel some more setting suns are called for… These are from somewhere near each of the following: Cape Town, Minca (Colombia), Byblos (Lebanon) and Montañita (Ecuador).
Chapter 53: Granada: A Picture Painted in 147 Words
The first five pictures come from Mark’s time in South Africa and Lesotho:
The ‘one horse dorp’ Mark referred to (I believe this is Kestell) – no offence intended, I’m sure!
The three pictures which hang on Mark’s wall at home, all from Lesotho. I love these as much as he does.
Looking down the Sani Pass.
This is the only time in four or five visits I’ve managed to see a good sunset from Table Mountain (this was at the end of 2001). Accompanied by a good South African white wine, of which there are many, there really is little to beat it. It’s a shame the weather obliges less frequently than one might like.
Chapter 54: Budapest: In the Presence of The Presence
Remnants and recollections from Colombia:
My impression of The Presence; the hat is Colombian, although the picture was taken in the Ilkley of baht ‘at (without a hat) fame.
Sybarita in Villa de Leyva with the exterior, interior and part of my speciality coffee training course (if I remember correctly, this is a Hermiston Dripper Pot).
Going straight to the source – my coffee experiences in Colombia, on farms near Minca, Jardín and Andes.
Chapter 55: Cape Town: The Kipper and the Boris
Daytime and night-time sanity in Beirut – a good escape from the madness of Britain.
Or how about a drink at one of the Parisian-style pavement cafés in Mar Mikhael?
Chapter 56: Budapest: 2020
The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, a symbol of divisions of the past and portent of divisions of the future.
And from Budapest itself, often a source of political conflict (even in 2019) and a city permanently divided into two distinct halves (Buda and Pest), here are images of the Országház (the Hungarian Parliament Building), Buda Castle and the courtyards of residences in the VIII district, often seen representing many cities on television and film.
Chapter 57: Cape Town: The Clouds of Autocracy Gather over a dis-United Kingdom
Gathering storms over Moscow, Cape Town and Budapest.
My new promotional material, ready to be made into a T-shirt.
Chapter 58: Hebden Bridge: The Youth of Today
I have no photographs associated with this chapter, so I’ll use the opportunity to show you some of my favourite markets. The connection is tenuous at best…
Fruit and veg markets in Cali (Colombia), Cape Town (the Oranjezicht City Farm Market) and Hoi An (Vietnam), my favourite olive stall, located in the Kalenić Farmers’ Market in Belgrade, the souks of Saida (Lebanon) and seafood in Salerno (Italy).
Chapter 59: Granada: Around the World in Sixteen or so Massages
It has to be said that taking pictures whilst being massaged is not easy and voyeurism is not encouraged, so direct supporting evidence for the stories in this chapter is sadly not available.
The exteriors of the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town and the pre-renovation version of Wat Pho (or Wat Po) in Bangkok.
A banya, this time near Kyiv, with yours truly about to be beaten by twigs, but not by a blonde female! I’m not sure who was watching…
The sulphur bath district of Tbilisi, the name of the one shown with its darkened interior being far more suggestive than reality!
Chapter 60: Beirut: The Thrill of the Chase
The cellars of the Ksara vineyard in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon, with enough wine to keep Misha off the streets for a while, one would think. Or hope…
The densely populated part of South America referred to by Misha – Bogotá, Colombia, with a closer view of Calle 10 in the district of La Candelaria.
Chapter 61: Budapest: The Invasion of Privacy
Mint Tea being made on a beach east of Algiers, along with a portion of nuts, a very common, and rather delicious combination.
An old part of Algiers at night.
Chapter 62: Hebden Bridge: A Diet of Language
A healthy South African breakfast – this one was an Acai Bowl bought from the Oranjezicht City Farm Market in Granger Bay, Cape Town.
Two of the lakes around Turawa, near Opole, Poland, which were almost blessed with a Chicken Tikka Masala stall.
John-Jeffrey’s pictures from the pro-EU People’s Vote marches in Manchester and London (there really is no need to comment on the differences in the weather!).
Šank Pub on Eipprova, Ljubljana, the location for many a morning bela kava (white coffee), as well as evening beers.
Chapter 63: Granada: From the Hills of Amman
The inside of Kava Espresso & Brew Bar in Amman, with a very similar upstairs-downstairs design to many of the third wave cafés in Budapest, and the flock of sheep, wending their way somewhere, just around the corner.
V60 coffee and cheesecake at Dimitri’s, also in Amman. The blueberry one was exceptional.
Mezze for dinner (Hashem Restaurant), mezze for breakfast (Zajal Restaurant)!
Around Amman: the Roman amphitheatre, with its frighteningly steep and slippery steps, especially in the inappropriate, but, no doubt, fashionable footwear sported by Matthew, and the beginning of Rainbow Street (it’s more interesting further down but the photographs weren’t very good…).
Chapter 64: Beirut: Malinka
As Misha and Malinka stroll off into the sunset (in reality, it was more of a ‘rush off’), here are some appropriate pictures for them from Lake Bohinj (Slovenia), Minca (Colombia), Beirut (Lebanon) and Montañita (Ecuador).
Chapter 65: Granada: Offending Greta Thunberg
The harbour in Port Louis, Mauritius, and the mountainous backdrop give the city a slight passing resemblance to Cape Town.
Traffic madness in Karachi and Hanoi, and the ‘relative’ peace and quiet of Clifton Beach on Karachi’s Arabian Sea coast with a sample of its public transport options.
Five-star hotel food: a range of fish curries and a triple serving of cheesecake.
The third wave is also in Karachi at FLOC – For the Love Of Coffee.
Chapter 66: Cape Town: Gutted, Trussed, Stuffed, Roasted, Carved Up and Devoured
This is a little larger than my artificial tree offering! St George’s Square in Hebden Bridge has a rather more impressive version.
Is this sundown for the ‘Great’ in Great Britain? Here are some pictures of more pleasant sunsets, but still with threatening clouds, from south of Beirut, Minca in Colombia, and two from Montañita in Ecuador.
Chapter 67: Budapest: Oral Rambling
In honour of Nawel, two more pictures showing the varied scenery of Algeria: the harbour of Sidi Fredj, part of the coastal municipality of Staouéli, and a surprising expanse of mountains in the Chréa National Park (where skiing, contrary to one’s expectations, is sometimes possible).
And in honour of The Presence, or at least of the country which gave birth to his hat, a further range of greenery in a coffee-growing region near the town of Andes, and a more urban landscape of Medellín by night.
Chapter 68: Cape Town: The End is Nigh
Britain sailing into a definitely unknown and almost certainly bleak decade with no light at the end of the tunnel.
And the Chinese are as confused as anyone by Britain’s suicidal tendencies.
All photographs on this page were taken by Chaelli and the customers of the The Café with Five Faces. Most were taken with an iPhone 6 or an iPhone XR, but those which pre-date 2015 were shot using a variety of cameras, so apologies for any resultant lack of quality!
The Café with Five Faces 