Have Itch, Will Travel

This was my first visit to Europe. I was keen to witness the great cities with architecture of the old civilisations and the intricate façades of the monarchist periods. Bosnia and Herzegovina provided that first real taste, then Hungary and Romania. By the time we arrived in Poland, the excitement had turned to numbness and the remainder of our Europe leg seemed more of "in-passing" stopovers. Big cities were still just big cities, despite their beauty. We had enjoyed some of the best, in our opinion, and were no longer interested in the mediocre or sameness. Instead, we looked for unique experiences, finding Poland's WW2 history far more moving than Krakow's ancient skyline, Prague's Technology Museum thrilled us more than its over-touristed Old Town and Castle, and Berlin's enormous Tiergarten park was the highlight of our visit there. We needed to leave the cities of the First World and get back to nature. Our next stop was to be Namibia.

Kebabs Everywhere Sarajevo was founded by the Ottoman Turks  as a precious metals mining town, set in a river valley surrounded by hills. This piece of ancient history was a surprise to us, as we hadn't known the extent of the Ottoman Empire's reach. In fact, Sarajevo's lively hub was like revisiting Turkey, with blocks of tidy Ottoman-style shopfronts lining cobblestone streets. The lane of hammered copperware still exists in the same place, while most of the other stores have been replaced with bars , cafes , and restaurants . The Ottomans' influence extended beyond architecture and goods, also introducing Islam, some vocabulary, and food to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our favourite dishes, çevapi and bürek , skinless sausages and meat pastries respectively, were pretty much born straight from kebabs and Turkish börek. Bosnia's version of the Turkish kebab, served with pita, raw onions, and cream.   Where East Meets West The collapse of the Ottoman Empi...

We expected to simply pass through Albania during the Balkan leg of our trip. The neighbourhood known as Blloku in the capital, Tirana , surprised us with its modernity, bar and cafe culture, an d buzzing lifestyle. Nearby, public green space was available for the more active citizens. A mix of shaded forest with trails, farmland, and an immense artificial lake, Grand Park offered a place for thousands of locals to run, walk, cycle, exercise, and picnic. It was surprising then, to learn that the country had only begun to emerge from an isolated Communist state in 1985. Communism finally collapsed in 1992, but the newly optimistic population was swept up by a pyramid scheme, and its inevitable failure led to riots and a civil war in 1997. Since then, the country has been finding its feet, obtaining NATO membership and more recently vying to be part of the EU. Our admiration and fondness for the country and its progress grew from out of nowhere. Bunker by Lake Shkodra that we f...

Once upon a time, only Soviet cities with populations over one million could have an underground railway. Georgian-born Josef  Stalin insisted that his country's capital have a metro, though he did not live to see his will done. Without Stalin, Tbilisi was denied the privilege of a metro, but as USSR was involved in a Cold War with the USA at the time, they were allowed to build bomb shelters. The story is told that these bomb shelters were eventually linked to form the metro. Whether you would like to believe the story of Georgian cunning or not, trust me when I say that using the metro was an experience in itself. Like most ex-Soviet metros, the system was deep underground, and the escalator that whisked us down at triple the speed of your conventional mall escalator was like an old tractor; rugged, rough, needing constant maintenance, and likely to devour you if your shoelace was caught. We observed the other passengers keenly and learned that their slight desperation t...

Someone was singing a sombre tune a distance away, their amplified voice carried in a breeze that shuffled the leaves above. For a moment, I wondered where I was, only vaguely feeling sleepiness and contentment. As I opened my eyes, my other senses also awoke. I was lying on a floor cushion in an open air restaurant, and looked over to see Rob similarly reclined. We had commenced our multi-day hike from Fethiye to Alınca, and had come to our half-way point for the day in Kayaköy . Around us, the houses of the expansive hillside village stared through empty windows, roofs long gone and hollowed remains slowly decaying. The buildings were once alive with a community of Greek Christians (who knew the town as Livissi), but the fall of the Ottoman Empire led to a population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Christian Greeks were expelled from Turkey, and Muslim Turks where forced to leave their homes in Greece, totalling nearly 2 million displaced people between the two countries. For ...

I could tell you about our walking tour  around Athens to see some of its many ruins and the fascinating history or mythology surrounding the ancient structures. I could also tell you about our stay on the Greek island of Rhodes, where we lived on a sunny rooftop terrace and sped around in a tiny Toyota Aygo to visit postcard perfect Lindos , a whitewashed town climbing a hill from the Mediterranean Sea, presided over by a 14th century castle atop an acropolis. I could tell you about all those sites, but it is much easier if you Google them. Instead, I will tell you about the neighbourhood in which we spent three nights: Exarchia, the countercultural island in downtown Athens, home of Greece's anarchists. We were fresh off a 30-hour transit from home and alighted the airport bus service into the centre of Athens. Navigating the way to our accommodation , we were allowed a sample of the hustle and bustle typifying big cities, and as we crossed street after street, we not...

While I was in Lima for the last part of my trip, Joe and I went clubbing, did our walks in Centro, watched movies and played a lot of foosball. We also went for a trip to Parque de las Leyendas in the middle of Lima . It is touted as a " zoo ", but it is no zoo I've ever visited before. Sure, there are some displays of African animals, seals and birds, that kind of thing, but it is not only the animal enclosures that draw the crowds (though the baby hippo and baby zebra that were there when I was were certainly cute). The park is a crazy mix of everything. Apart from the zoo, a decent part of it is parkland , complete with manicured gardens around a fake lake that you can cross in a rented pedal boat. There is also a section for jumping trampolines, rock climbing towers and mini slingshot rides, not to mention small museums around the place and massive adobe ruins too! The place demands a whole day of exploration and taste-testing the Peruvian snacks along the way. The...

The ruins of Chichen Ítza were ruined by the presence of souvenir vendors on the site. Apparently the land is owned by a private citizen who makes more than a few bucks by allowing these people to sell shit if they pay a kind of tax. So the place is littered with people trying to sell poor quality souvenirs who hassle you and get in the way of your otherwise perfect shots. If you visit Chichen Ítza (and you should) please boycott this practice by buying your souvenirs at a stall outside of the site. Apart from those annoying distractions, Chichen Ítza was really cool. Not only did it have a stunning main temple, sacrificial temple and massive ball court, but there were so many amazing details by brilliant Mayan design that you have to see and hear to believe. The main temple had a certain number of levels and lines built into its design that corresponded to the stars or moon cycle. Twice a year, during significant times of the agricultural season, the pair of serpents gliding down...

During my travels I had visited many gorgeous beaches of fine white sands, coconut trees gently swaying over calm turquoise waters, either fairly deserted, otherwise populated by friendly local folk. From the Caribbean coastline of Colombia to the islands of San Blas and Belize, I thought I had seen the most beautiful beaches in the world already. But then I arrived at Tulúm, on the Yucatán Peninsula of East Mexico. I really only wanted to visit the ruins because I was on a bit of a roll with ancient architecture and it happened to be on the way to Cancún. The ruins themselves were not spectacular after the likes of Tikal, which I had visited only shortly before, and the site was too clean and packed with tour groups compared to Tikal's wonderful peaceful jungle setting, that I would not have rated the place at all if not for one thing. It's location. Far out. Honest to god it was a surprise for me. I walked up the path, through the stone doorway and the incredible view ope...

From Lanquín, nearly everyone was headed to Flores , and I took a shuttle with the people from the caves (not cave people, but the four I did the bat cave tour with) to the tiny island. It's a cute touristy place with nothing to do but walk around and go for a dip in the lake. It is so small that if you stand in the main plaza at the center of town, you can see the edges of the island from each of the four sides of the square. The hostel Los Amigos was pretty nice and had amazing vegetarian food. There, I met more people from Lanquín, crazy Canadian girl Cathy, and later met up with Nini again and her friend Asaf. It was lucky that when the shuttle first dropped us off we managed to get accommodation without having booked ahead. Nick and Suzi got their room, but there was only one dorm bed left. Tom graciously gave it to me and took a hammock for the night. If you're headed that way, it might be a good idea to book a bed. Some people recommend taking the pre-dawn shuttle ...

Still sleep deprived from New Year's Eve celebrations, Nini and I pulled ourselves from bed before dawn, making an early start for Isla de Ometepe . The chicken bus ride to the port town of San Juan kept us awake as we each fought for room to stand in, never mind personal space. It was a relief to take advantage of the two hour ferry journey for a nap, as the bus trip to Playa Domingo once we reached the island was bumpier than the minimal bumpiness required to keep a tired person awake. It was destined to be a lazy day, especially since the weather turned grey as soon as we arrived. The wind was incessant and cold, and sometimes a light sprinkling of rain would force us indoors. That evening, as Nini and I relaxed in the dorm, we talked about all the things we'd seen on our long trips and how it was about time that something happened to inspire another great blog entry. Buses getting stuck in lava pits and other such disasters entered the conversation, but there was a ...

Instead of spending a day catching cabs up, down, and around the expansive city of Lima with only the help of a tour map, I decided to fork out the cash and do the touristy thing of booking a four hour city tour. I got convenience, information, and a good sleep in. We visited a few sights in the district of Miraflores; first the Parque del Amor  which looks over the cliff, and features tile mosaics, pretty gardens, and a big statue of two people kissing called " Beso ". Nearby, parasailors jumped off the cliff and floated over the water and parks. The city housed archaeological sites as well, including  Huaca Pucllana,  a huge solid pyramid of mud bricks which only the base and some chambers remain. In the district of San Insidro , there were parks built around an olive grove where some trees were over 400 years old, having being imported from Europe during the colonial period. The trees and their fruit were protected, except from all the birds. Central Lima's Plaza d...