Photo of the Day (08.26.08)

by Grant Martin on

Mallorca. This island situated some 250km of the southern coast of Spain is the largest of the Balearic Islands and home to some of the most beautiful beaches in Europe. You may have heard of the Mediterranean party capital Ibiza? This is right next door.

I’ve been tossing around the idea of crashing in Palma, the capital of the Mallorca (and of the entire archipelago)
for Thanksgiving this year and believe that this photo taken by jonrawlinson may have finally helped me commit. Now, if only I could find good plane tickets.

Have any cool photos you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr, and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day.

Breaking News: 147 People killed in Madrid plane crash

by Abha Malpani on

A Spanair plane bound for the Canary Islands from Madrid caught fire after skidding off the runway killing 147 people; 173 were on board — 26 are known to have survived.

The plane was delayed for an hour because of technical reasons and when it finally tried to take-off from Terminal 4 of Barajas International Airport, it hardly got off the ground before it swerved off the runway as its engine caught fire and blew-up into flames. This happened around 2:30pm this afternoon (Spain time).

“The plane was totally broken apart, it was all full of bodies,” one of the witnesses told El Pais newspaper (as reported by Sky News).

You can see a video post accident here on Spain’s National newspaper El Pais, unfortunately the commentary is in Spanish.

Before the crash, Spanair pilots threatened to strike after they heard of plans to cut the airline’s workforce by 1000 people.

Spanair is one of Spain’s national airlines — the second largest after Iberia, and owned by the Scandinavian SAS Group.

Collapsed lung, ruptured spleen, broken ribs and other injuries of bull-runners

by Iva Skoch on

As Abha already mentioned in one of her posts, the 9-day bull-running festival in Pamplona, Northern Spain, started today.

BBC reports that today’s run only took 4 minutes and claimed thirteen injured people. Although the injuries were mostly cuts and bruises suffered by people falling over or getting trampled by one of the six bulls set loose, some more serious injuries were reported.

One man suffered a collapsed lung, ruptured spleen and broken ribs. Another, 23-year old man from Ireland, died after falling from the city’s walls. (This actually happened yesterday and had nothing to do with being chased by the bulls though.)

Here is how the festival works. “Up to six bulls and a number of steers are released at 8 a.m. from a pen into a closed-off street. They then run 825m (2,700ft) to the bullring, where they face matadors later in the day. Ahead of them are the runners, who try to stay as close to the bulls as possible without falling or being gored,” BBC reports.

Today, the sprint through the cobbled streets apparently turned chaotic after the pack bulls became separated after ploughing into a crowd of people. Ouch.

It is quite amazing that “only” 14 people have been killed during the festival since record-keeping began in 1924.

Photo of the Day (06/02/08)

by Kent Wien on

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from Flickr user tysonwilliams.com. He calls it: “Chimneys, Casa Milà, Barcelona, Spain” and after researching a bit, I discovered that it’s a Gaudi designed building that is now a World Heritage site and it’s obviously most famous for the quite spectacular roof and chimneys.

I’m not sure if he used a filter, or if he warmed it up digitally, but either way, it’s amazing. Oh, and just in case someone suspects I’m losing interest in aviation themed pictures for the Photo of the Day, note the tiny contrail of a jet in the middle of the picture.

Nicely done, Tyson!

Are you a Flickr user who’d like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling’s Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!

Photo of the Day (04.29.2008)

by Martha Edwards on


My first few hours in Barcelona went like this: Wandering around with an outrageously heavy pack on my back, a battered lonely planet in my hands, and a confused look on my face. I was lost, more lost than I think I’ve ever been. I have a natural sense of direction and a knack for reading maps and yet I still couldn’t figure the place out. The city is a maze of busy streets, teeny alleys and meandering walkways. Don’t get me wrong–it’s not a bad place to get lost in, what with all the beautiful architecture and such–but if you’re going to get lost, it’s best to do it after you’ve found a place to leave your baggage.

This photo from Tyson Williams takes me back to the hurried streets of Barcelona. You too?

Got a photo that takes you back somewhere? Submit it to the Gadling Flickr Pool.