Solivagant

Member since December 2005

#None 0 0

I am now retired but have been "travelling" for a "hobby" since I was 15 (1957!) whilst pursuing otherwise normal mundane career and "home" things in UK - thus being limited by "annual leave" allowances. During that time I have visited 164 "independent countries" - defined by me as the 193 full UN members plus (somewhat illogically, but they are generally accepted as "sovereign") Taiwan and Holy See (but am not pursuing "193"!). Unfortunately quite a few relatively easily accessible current WHS got "missed" along the way. If only I had known they would get chosen - they are not all obvious choices! Despite the weaknesses in the list and the politics involved in the selection and voting mechanism they provide a quick means of grasping the highlights of many countries and sometimes lead down interesting knowledge and research "avenues" which would otherwise have remain unexplored. 
Proposal for a new WHS:- Roca Agostino Neto Cocoa Plantation Sao Tome.
There are just too many European WHS relative to the rest. Little Sao Tome became the world's greatest producer of cocoa under the Portuguese. So poor were the social conditions that Cadbury boycotted Cocoa from there in early 20C. At Roca Agostinho (and other crumbling colonial sites on Sao Tome) you might just get a feeling for the economic system which created it and "fed" Europe with a raw material so often taken for granted - a really atmospheric place. But it isn't even on the "Tentative list"!

My most impressive site: Machu Picchu. I would like to choose somewhere

My proposal for a new site: See under

Recent Visits
  • 11
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    July 28, 2024
    Beijing Central Axis, Funerary and memory sites of the First World War, Gedi , Hegmataneh, …
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    4
    Jan. 1, 2020
    City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Dunhuang Yardangs, The Lijiang River Scenic Zone …
  • 0
    5
    Jan. 1, 2020
    Ancient cities of Upper Myanmar, Bago, Inle Lake, Shwedagon Pagoda, Wooden Monasteries of Konbaung Period
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About Solivagant

First name
Solivagant
Member since
December 2005
Country of Origin
None
Visits
Rank
#None
WHS
0
Tentative Sites
0
Website Participation
Reviews
442
Ratings

Ratings

World Heritage Sites
855 0
Photos
N/A
Locations
N/A
Zones
N/A

Reviews by Solivagant

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Kaesong by Solivagant

Kaesong (Inscribed)

Kaesong

A row of tourist faces looked out over the locked gate of their hotel compound in Kaesong. Beyond it North Koreans passed by, walking or cycling their way to work …

San Miguel de Allende by Solivagant

San Miguel de Allende (Inscribed)

San Miguel de Allende

I have already expressed my view that the Monarch Butterfly Forests should be a shoo-in for inscription in 2008 but I am not so adamant about Mexico’s second proposed site. …

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve by Solivagant

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere R… (Inscribed)

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve

We are keeping our fingers crossed that the Monarch Butterfly forests will be inscribed this year – not just because it will add to our “visited list” but also because …

Hegra by Solivagant

Hegra (Inscribed)

Hegra

A couple of weeks after I wrote this review, Saudi Arabia got its first WHS with the inscription of Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (as its nomination called it) - more commonly …

Turaif Quarter by Solivagant

Turaif Quarter (Inscribed)

Turaif Quarter

Al-Diriyyah is the ancestral home of the Saudi royal family/clan and is situated a few miles from Riyadh. It was destroyed in 1818 when the Ottomans invaded Arabia. Even when …

Asmara by Solivagant

Asmara (Inscribed)

Asmara

Well - could you guess that this is Africa (photo)? Just 1 of the amazing Art Deco buildings in Asmara. There is a fine book which catalogues all (most?) of …

Stone Town of Zanzibar by Solivagant

Stone Town of Zanzibar (Inscribed)

Stone Town of Zanzibar

Stone Town is the last of the 4 WHS reviews from our Feb 2008 “Indian Ocean” trip (despite being the first site we saw), mainly because I have had difficulty …

Luis Barragán House and Studio by Solivagant

Luis Barragán House and Studio (Inscribed)

Luis Barragán House and Studio

Occasionally, when visiting WHS, one comes across a wonderful surprise and this was such a visit. I had been feeling slightly negatively towards it – why should THIS house, designed …

Hospicio Cabañas by Solivagant

Hospicio Cabañas (Inscribed)

Hospicio Cabañas

The Hospicio is an early 19th Century hospital, workhouse and orphanage built in the form of an enormous square within whose high walls individual high, but single story, buildings are …

El Tajin by Solivagant

El Tajin (Inscribed)

El Tajin

El Tajin may not be amongst the most famous of Mexico’s pre-Hispanic WHS but is well worth a visit unless you have surfeited on the others! Its location near the …

Tequila by Solivagant

Tequila (Inscribed)

Tequila

Perhaps we should state right from the beginning that we don’t drink Tequila! So I guess that the Agave Landscape was up against it from the start with us and …

Banc d'Arguin by Solivagant

Banc d'Arguin (Inscribed)

Banc d'Arguin

The global significance of Banc d’Arguin is incontrovertible – “Of the estimated seven million wading birds which use the Atlantic flyway, approximately 30% spends the winter at Banc d'Arguin, …

Crac des Chevaliers by Solivagant

Crac des Chevaliers (Inscribed)

Crac des Chevaliers

Crac des Chevaliers meets my idealised vision of “Medieval Castle” more than any other I know of. Its skyline and isolated location are incomparable and it is a worthy addition …

Aflaj irrigation system by Solivagant

Aflaj irrigation system (Inscribed)

Aflaj irrigation system

Most Omani villages possess a falaj irrigation system which collects and distributes water from source to houses and fields. Their origin dates back centuries and they are a central aspect …

Stone Circles of Senegambia by Solivagant

Stone Circles of Senegambia (Inscribed)

Stone Circles of Senegambia

It was great to note the addition in 2006 of the Sene-Gambian Stone circles as we had paid an interesting visit there back in 1984. Much of our travelling took …

Karlskrona by Solivagant

Karlskrona (Inscribed)

Karlskrona

Sweden has identified some wonderfully innovative subjects for its WHS list – We have seen most of them and had looked forward to another “interesting” inscription at Karlskrona – “a …

Belize Barrier Reef by Solivagant

Belize Barrier Reef (Inscribed)

Belize Barrier Reef

The Belize barrier reef is one of a small group of natural sites where we have visited the “natural phenomenon” but have not actually entered the detailed boundaries delineated by …

Srebarna Nature Reserve by Solivagant

Srebarna Nature Reserve (Inscribed)

Srebarna Nature Reserve

I can conceive of only 2 reasons why a tourist would visit Srebarna, tucked away as it is in NE Bulgaria close to the Romanian border – either you are …

Canaima National Park by Solivagant

Canaima National Park (Inscribed)

Canaima National Park

Canaima Park contains one of the World’s “great” waterfalls and some world-class eroded landscape – the isolated mesas locally called “Tepuis”.

Given the number of magnificent waterfalls around the World …

Meknes by Solivagant

Meknes (Inscribed)

Meknes

If you plan a tour of Morocco you will be faced with the question of how many of the 4 “Imperial cities” (Rabat, Meknes, Fez and Marrakech) to visit. All, …

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