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El Nido: Paradise Lost, Then Paradise Regained
There are bars in El Nido with bean bags. There’s a point in life when, and for me it was probably around ten years ago, bean bags become a no go area, impossible to get down to, impossible to get up from, impossible to enjoy beer in whilst perched there like a sleeping dog in a favourite basket. The fact there are bean bags here should be a warning: El Nido is a young person’s place. Both Boracay and El Nido describe themselves as paradise locations – maybe somebody somewhere would attach that particular moniker to the town of El Nido but, as we saunter through the streets here, it’s…
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Moving Through The Islands: Bohol-Boracay-Palawan
It so often seems to be like this, both in travel and in life itself. The things you think might go wrong, don’t – and the things you think will be smooth, aren’t. Even before we start, our journey from Alona to Boracay doesn’t look straightforward, what with seven separate segments through the day. What kind of things might go wrong? Well, what if the 6:30am taxi is late? It’s not. What if the ferry is delayed, or affected by bad weather? It’s neither. What if it’s hard to find a taxi from Cebu ferry port to airport? It’s easy. So we’re at Cebu airport maybe an hour earlier than…
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Kalymnos: Diving For Sponge And The Joy Of Meze
Skevos is clearly pleased to see us or, more accurately, pleased to see someone, anyone, because being a museum curator out of season can be a lonely job. He has a face which carries a natural smile which is completely disarming in its sincerity. His full head of cascading white hair is long enough to sit neatly on the shoulders of his zipper jacket, nestling on the collar in the style of a rock band lead singer still strutting his stuff in the bars of Pothia. But he’s not here to sing, he’s here to tell us about sponge diving. Sponge diving museum He does so in articulate English and…
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Bodrum: Party Town Or Ancient Treasure?
Sometimes it’s a strange feeling, saying goodbye to an airbnb host who lives on the premises. For a few days your lives have crossed, your stories have entwined, and then you move on, knowing that those paths will never cross again. Our host at Datça, a tiny elderly guy named Bulent, shows real kindness by driving us across the peninsula to the ferry point, then caps it all by parting with warm heartfelt hugs on the quay. Bye mate, and thank you. In order to reach Bodrum the ferry at an hour and 45 minutes is a much better choice than three hours by road, especially with the sea flat…
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Ancient Sites, Canyon Hikes & Deserted Cities: Last Days In Fethiye
Things just keep getting better. The more we explore this section of coastline and its scenery, the more we are in awe of its beauty, it really is a breathtakingly gorgeous area. And, after a slow start with food, we’ve fought our way past the tourist restaurants and found eateries which do complete justice to the Turkish cuisine which we already love. Even the weather is playing ball with clear skies, sun drenched days and seas still warm enough for a dip whenever we fancy it. Things just keep getting better. Our food breakthrough comes when we discover restaurants inside the fish market where not only is the fresh catch…
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Into Malawi: A Range Of Emotions In The Warm Heart Of Africa
Once we’ve left Mombasa behind en route to Malawi, Kenya springs one last surprise: the sight of the mighty Kilimanjaro which eluded us throughout our time in Amboseli. There, at last, it is, its unmistakable white peak clearly visible from the aeroplane window, perhaps not quite as majestic as seeing it from ground level, but….well, we’ve seen it at last! A few hours later, and via a flight connection in Nairobi, we are taking our first ever steps in Malawi, the tinder dry landscapes around the airport dotted with crisp shrubs, leafless frangipane and patches of burnt earth. The route to the capital city Lilongwe seems to be 40 minutes…
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Spiders, Snakes & Pink Dolphins: Four Days In The Amazon Jungle
Jim is telling us to be minimalistic in terms of what we take with us tonight, yet at the same time he’s giving us our strict instructions on the essentials which must form part of the minimalist pack: waterproof jacket, mosquito repellent, long trousers, decent walking shoes, sun lotion, waterproof cases for cameras and phones, and drinking water. And then there’s mosquito repellent and, if we still have room, some more mosquito repellent. This promises to be an interesting night. Once we’d made the decision to spend time in the Amazon jungle – which, to be honest, was one of our red lines when we had to redesign this Brazil…
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264 And Counting
Being just a little bit addicted to making lists, we have kept a note of every city, town and village outside of Great Britain where we have stayed since we started travelling together in 2011. Not a list of everywhere we’ve visited, that would be too long a list, but a list of every place where we have stayed overnight for at least one night. One night, though, is enough to qualify. The number currently stands at 264 at the end of the year, so we’ll be hoping to push it beyond 300 during 2024. Putting the 264 into alphabetical order, the list runs from Acton (California) to Zermatt, in…
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That Was 2023
Well, we have to say, 2023 was a pretty good year. After the distraction which called itself COVID which reduced our ability to travel, this proved to be the second successive year in which we really did make our dreams come true. It’s been good. We broke some of our records this year too: number of days travelling (270), number of beds slept in (93), countries visited (18), each of which set a new high. There were some real highlights too, which hopefully we’ve managed to capture below. This is how it went: JANUARY Countries: Panama. Route: Pedasi-Boquete-Boca Chica-El Valle d’Anton-Gamboa-Panama City-San Blas Islands (Pelicano, Aguja, Perro Chico)-Panama City-home Bed…
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Cape Verde: Island Life Begins On Boa Vista
It looks a little strange from the air, rolling dunes topped with tufted grasses leading to desert-like landscapes where angular outcrops stand above dry, waterless canyons, dunes which form the hinterland to miles of empty golden beach. There’s not a single building to be seen until just before the wheels of the aeroplane touch down on the tarmac – and even then, it’s an airport terminal which looks more like a sand castle than a transport hub. The island of Boa Vista fights two perpetual battles with nature. One, Sahara sand from continental Africa blows constantly across the island, shifting dunes from east to west and regularly forming damaging sand…
