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Photo: Ethiopia’s Castle

September 15, 2011 By Jillian

Traveling in Ethiopia is a bit like traveling through a fantasy novel. Each town has its own spectacular draw, from the rock hewn churches of Lalibela, to the monasteries dotting the islands near Bahir Dar and the royal castles in Gondar. In each town you meet people you certainly wouldn’t otherwise, people whose personalities and stories may surprise and delight you, much like a fairy tale character.

The castle complex in Gondar was like visiting a fairy tale. We were so surprised at the architecture, which closely resembled European castles, unlike anything else we’d seen on the entire continent. The complex hosts castles from various time periods and from various monarchs, but despite the ruined state of some of the structures, places like King Fasilides bath, the steam rooms and the lion cages still exist. Of course nothing is gilded or lavishly covered in tiles or textiles anymore, but you can only imagine the wealth of the kingdom—the size of the buildings alone makes them remarkable for Africa.

IF YOU GO: Gondar castle is actually a complex of buildings, so give yourself some time to explore the site. Guided tours are available on site, I think we paid 100 birr for four people and the tour was decent. If fly into Ethiopia, you’ll likely get the inter-country airline ticket, but if you’re overlanding like we were, it’s two days to Gondar from Lalibela or Adis Abbaba. Take your time as the roads are narrow and buses are a bit err… erratic! Gondar is a decent sized city, if you stay near the center you should be able to walk almost everywhere. Don’t miss the Dashen Brewery near the center of town, draft beers are very inexpensive and they have somewhat of a beer garden with live music. There are other historical sites in the area, so if you have the time it’s worth more than a day. Don’t try to do the Simien Mountains as a day trip from Gondar, it’s too far and you’d be wasting your time!

Photo: Reclaiming the Wall

September 8, 2011 By Jillian

For decades the Berlin Wall stood as a symbol of separation for Germany. The site of many attrocities throughout the years, the Berlin Wall separated families, friends and colleagues not only by concrete but also stood as a separation of haves and have nots.

Today the Berlin Wall stands as a monument against the hatred and political mistrust that it once represented. Fractions of the wall stlll remain today scattered across the city, attracting tourists and locals alike. In many places, the wall is heavily decorated with graffiti. In others it’s been made into a work of art, like this one below.

I love this photo because to me it represents the reclamation of Berlin. Today the city is completely unified, in economy and in spirit and thrives as a vibrant center of the arts. We loved Berlin, in fact it is one of our favorite places in all of Europe.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

IF YOU GO: Don’t miss the museums and culture in Berlin, even if you’re not a history buff you’ll appreciate what Berlin has to offer. We loved tooling around the city on bike and spent our evenings relaxing in the park. There’s a wide range of accomodation from Berlin apartments to hostels and hotels. It’s easy to get around the country, we used a ride sharing website, which unfortunately is difficult to navigate if you don’t speak German, but if you get to the right listings, there are many in English.

Photo: Flower at Xilitla

August 25, 2011 By Jillian

I love the asymmetry of this photo. It was taken in probably the most asymmetric place I’ve ever been, the strange jungle playground of Edward James- Xilitla (known as Las Pozas in Mexico). On the eastern coast of Mexico, Xilitla is a strange concrete adult play world in the middle of a dense jungle. James’ vision was a surrealist home and compound and although the construction was never completed, the place is certainly surreal. Concrete stairways to no where and giant concrete botanical sculptures poke through the now overgrown gardens, like eerie remnants of the past.

I love the imperfection of this flower, although you can’t see any of the strange concrete sculptures in the photo, it will always remind me of my afternoon in the Mexico’s surrealist playground.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

IF YOU GO: You can definitely find all inclusive holidays in Mexico and it might be worth booking a package and extending your return flight since the packages are usually pretty cost effective. While Xilitla isn’t exactly on the beaten track through Mexico, it’s worth a stop if you’re on the Gulf Coast near Veracruz. Do a larger circuit to include more of the Huasteca region, one of Mexico’s dense jungle areas.

Photo: Blue Coast

August 3, 2011 By Jillian

Our boat creeked back and forth in the night. Laying on deck because our cabin was too hot, we were softly rocked to sleep by the waves. During the day we sailed through blue lagoon after blue lagoon looking up at the beautiful villas in Turkey that line what is aptly referred to as the blue coast.

Yes my friends, sometimes backpacking has some serious benefits. We took a four day blue coast cruise in Turkey from Fethiye to Olympos. It was completely idyllic and while we thought life couldn’t get any better than swimming in the waters of the mediterranean, we could only take it for a few days. Somewhere between the delicious food, the small ports and the blue lagoons, we found ourselves yearning for something else.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

If You Go: Turkish “blue cruises” go from Fethiye to Olympos or in reverse. Go prepared for a lot of sun, even with the sunshades there isn’t much shade on deck. We went with V-Go Cruises. Our boat was slightly overcrowded with little room to sleep on deck, but overall it was a good experience. Check with your company to see if beverages are included in your package price- usually they are not. After four days even water adds up, so ask if you can bring your own on board. The practice was discouraged on our boat but some people did anyway.

Photo: Sunrise of the Inca’s

July 20, 2011 By Jillian

It has been 100 years since Machu Picchu was discovered. Today thousands of tourists visit the site each year, many of them on foot, after four days hiking in the Inca Trail.

The Inca’s had a huge transportation network throughout the Andes. Their kingdom stretched across what is today Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile, nearly the entire western coast of South America. As we traveled through the Andes, we saw ruins of the other kingdoms gobbled up by the Inca’s like the Chimu people in northern Peru (their ruins are incidentally where we saw our first Peruvian hairless dog!).

I love the colors in this photograph. We arrived into Machu Picchu at sunrise, flowing through the gates with 200 other people at 6am. It was well worth it to get there early, by 8am the place was wall to wall people. This picture, taken from within Machu Picchu gives you a good idea of what the surrounding mountainsides are like. You can see the outline of some buildings on the smaller peak to the left of the main peak. Many ruins dot the area around Machu Picchu, the buildings likely were used as security outposts, store houses and relay towers.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

IF YOU GO: June-August is the busiest time of year for Machu Picchu. To hike the Inca trail you need reservations months in advance, as the Peruvian cultural department limits the number of hikers and groups on the train for preservation reasons. Several agencies in Cusco and Lima offer alternative Inca trail treks, these can often be booked on site or only a few days in advance. We hiked the Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu, got up at 3 am in Aguas Calientes and hiked up to Machu Picchu in the dark in order to get tickets to climb Wayna Picchu. We were exhausted! Most tourists come to Machu Picchu or do the Inca Trail, with a tour group. You should check prices and what’s included with the tour. Cusco is a 24 hour + bus ride from Lima, so you’re best off looking for discount.

Photo: Ethiopia’s Castle

Photo: Reclaiming the Wall

Photo: Flower at Xilitla

Photo: Blue Coast

Photo: Sunrise of the Inca’s

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