Providencia The Travel Show


Providencia

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In all, around 41 million people have been affected,

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many have been displaced or left homeless.

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It is just after 5:30am. Now on BBC News, it's time for the Travel Show.

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This week on the show, we're on Colombia's unspoilt

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Henry heads to Turkey to try his hand at painting

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Plus - we're in a medieval city in Belgium for our whacky race,

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One that looks like a shed on a bathtub.

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And I'm having a cracking time in northern Japan.

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We start off this week on the remote Caribbean island of Providencia,

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with its breathtaking scenery and golden sand beaches.

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It's a slice of paradise you won't have to share

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with the package holiday crowd, because up until now, there's no

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But all that could be about to change, as James Clayton discovered.

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Basking in the south of the Caribbean Sea

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lies Providencia, known throughout its history as an island

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that's harboured pirates like Captain Morgan.

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People still speak English creole here, even though it's been part

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The island is a paradise, but there's something missing.

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On one of the most idyllic beaches on one of the most idyllic

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islands in the Caribbean, why are there no tourists here?

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The lack of holidaymakers seems almost bizarre,

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Getting to Providencia is actually really hard.

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For example, if you're coming from the UK, you have to get

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a flight from London to Bogata, then get a flight to a little

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Then either get a rickety flight or a catamaran to Providencia.

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And it's not surprising as a result that there really

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Providencia's isolation is nothing new.

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It was established by English Puritans,

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in part, seeking isolation to practise their religion.

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Elkin Robinson is one of Providencia's biggest pop stars.

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He proudly traces his ancestry back to his English relatives.

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In the history, this island had been English always.

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The Spanish always try to take over the island.

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He says there's a danger of Providencia losing its identity

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Colombia is a country with a lot of different culture.

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Different climate, different food, different music, different people.

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But Providencia's isolation from the mainland has

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Food and drink are, for example, much more expensive

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And so Colombia has committed to extending

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Providencia's airport so it can take international flights.

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Sophia Huffington is leading protests against the expansion.

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She fears what happened in San Andres sets the precedent.

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They opened the airport there in 1953 and started pulling

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We have an example for them not to come and make

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60 years after San Andres got its international airports,

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there are now high-rise hotels, casinos and 40 times more

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Crime is now a problem and the locals are in a minority.

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However, other people in Providencia are more realistic

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Manuela rents out a spare room to tourists.

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As soon as the government tried to open more to the tourists,

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people right away it's like a strike.

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They all get together and they say no, this is not what's

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It's not like the big tourist companies haven't tried

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This spa hotel was built by a prospector.

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Locals never allowed it to be opened, claiming it breached

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They will lose all those roots, all that culture.

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In San Andres the island has changed completely.

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The children are not even speaking the language any more.

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Providencia is afraid that the same thing will happen.

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Although work has begun on the airport, locals have,

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But Providencia's conundrum is a microcosm of the challenges

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that communities face from globalisation across the world.

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Opening the island up would undoubtedly boost its economy.

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But the overdevelopment of the island of San Andres means

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many Providencians simply don't believe it's a price worth paying.

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But I don't feel it will live from tourism.

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I feel like the tourism will live from us.

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James Clayton reporting there from the untouched

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Now we head to Istanbul for a spot of Ebru painting -

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a Turkish art form that involves marbling or painting on water.

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Enru has been around for centuries, growing in popularity under

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the Ottomans and then spreading to Europe.

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We sent Henry Golding to give it a go.

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Daisies are usually white with yellow.

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How do you do it, what's the technique?

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The reason why the paint sticks on the top here

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is because the canvas we're using is made of water and starch.

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We are using them to make these shapes.

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First we're going to start with the leaves.

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This takes a little more control that the flicking.

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We're going to do this to the leaves.

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That looks like an egg rather than a daisy.

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This is where we print it out on paper.

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You think it's pretty good for a first time?

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Do you think I'll be able to keep the Turkish

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We're in Belgium for the annual International Bathtub Boat Race,

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trying to keep The Travel Show's reputation afloat.

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And my mission begins in the first part of a new series

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as I travel through Japan, taking on some of its

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The Travel Show - your essential guide,

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The town's an hour's drive south of the capital, Brussels,

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and is known as the birthplace of the saxophone.

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But in more recent years it's become famous for its very

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We sent Joe along to take part in one of the world's wackiest races.

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The River Meuse flows for nearly 1000km through France,

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Belgium and the Netherlands and has been an important trading route

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But in more recent decades, a stretch of the river

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here in Dinant in southern Belgium has become better known for its epic

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water fights that happen each year as part of La Regate de Baignoires -

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Alberto came up with the idea for the regatta 35 years ago.

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He shows me the one kilometre route where the boats will race.

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The race was intended to be a one-off.

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But 35 years later, it's still going.

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Originally, each competitor had their own bathtub.

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But now people create huge, elaborate floats.

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The only rule is that somewhere the design must

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People spend months secretly constructing their boats.

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I'm heading to meet one crew who are putting the finishing

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touches to the raft I'll be racing on.

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The theme this year is famous people in Dinant.

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Emmeline has chosen to represent the town's doctors.

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Emmeline and her family have been taking part in the regatta

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It's all hands on deck to finish their fleet of three boats.

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Fully kitted out in my doctor's scrubs, all that's left to do now

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In what I think is the wrong direction.

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Further down the river, we join the rest of the tubs

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There's a lot of shouting, a lot of chanting.

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But I get the impression it's more about showcasing the bathtub designs

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than how quickly you can complete the race.

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There is some seriously impressive contraptions on this river.

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One guy over there is barbequing on his bathtub.

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Further down the river, there's something that looks like a shed.

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Soon, it becomes clear that splashing the opposition

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You aren't allowed to try and sink other boats.

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But it seems that anything else goes.

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And the thousands of people who've come to watch aren't safe either.

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The town's bridge marks the end of the race.

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But no-one seems to be too bothered about hurrying towards it.

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For us, the regatta ends in the same chaotic way it started

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as we haphazardly paddle past the finish line.

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I'm not sure there were any winners or losers there.

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They've told me this is the only way to finish the race.

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After I've dried off from my dunking,

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there's an anxious wait to see if we've won a prize.

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An award for the team's creative bathtub design.

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It might seem silly, but I'm actually really excited about this,

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because it was an intense race and I think I've earned it.

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To end this week, Japan's food can be just jaw dropping and most people

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new to the country make a bee line for the Yakatori joints or sushiers

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I've lived here in Tokyo for over three years now

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But there's still some I find quite intimidating.

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With a little help from my translator, Yoko, I'm

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taking my tastebuds on a trip through this country

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to try and understand what I'm missing out on.

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In the winter, it's a snowy wonderland.

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After the thaw, the islanders are left with Alpine meadows

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I'm told this is one of the best places in all of Japan

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Uni is Japanese sea urchin, or to be more exact,

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which you normally eat with soy sauce on top of a bed of rice.

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That's just less than $45, around 30 quid.

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Because the fishermen can only fish for it at certain times.

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So this is the best uni in Japan, is that correct?

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The sea has to be perfectly still for the fishermen

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Luckily, I'm here at exactly the right time of year.

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You don't have to cook it or anything?

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This man has been fishing here for years.

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If anyone's ever earned the title Mr Uni, it's him.

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Japan is such a hi-tech country and the way he's finding the uni

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is by using some massive goggle and a net.

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Eurgh, it looks like a soggy dish sponge.

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A bit like an oyster, really salty, but the consitency of eurgh!

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Hokkaido is also famous for its dairy.

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They say about half of all Japan's dairy cow population

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Another thing people eat when they come here

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This is a seven-tower rainbow ice-cream.

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My goodness, it's grape, strawberry, green tea, melon,

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Right, let me guess, this is uni ice-cream, right?

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So maybe this is one way I might actually enjoy uni.

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It does taste a little salty and a little bit seafoody.

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But I think this is the best way to enjoy uni, really.

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but it's a genuine passion for some of the people who live here.

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And if you're looking for a proper, authentic taste of northern Japan,

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You're sure I can't have that one back?

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That's all we have time for this week.

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Ade travels through Sweden to find out about Stockholm's plans

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to become the most futuristic city in the world.

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This microchip implant sits right here under my skin.

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He also heads to the far north of the country to experience

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Don't forget, you can join in our adventures on the road

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In the meantime, from me and this melting ice-cream

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on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, it's goodbye.

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