Skipping Managua.  Part II. Leon

One week after visiting Granada, we drove into its long-time rival – Leon. Like Granada, Leon is set in a breathtaking location.  Approaching the city from the north, we counted at least six volcanoes on the horizon, all part of the Cordillera de Maribios. As we got closer to the […]

Skipping Managua.  Part I.  Granada

One of the apparent trends in our travels is that capital cities in Central America do not get a lot of love from us. That’s just a fact.  In Guatemala, upon arrival, we left its capital, Guatemala City, by jumping into a taxi and riding away without ever seeing it.  […]

A Whole New Life

Start with Part I Here We were walking from Airbnb towards the livestock barns, and I noticed it wasn’t quite as dark as I thought it would be.  As we were driving up the mountain, my fear of encroaching darkness made me feel that it was much later in the […]

Nicaragua: A Road Less Traveled

The dusk was setting quickly over Matagalpa, the little red and yellow coffee berries no longer visible on the branches of coffee trees lining the narrow, unpaved road steeply ascending into the mountain.  The light of our headlamps jaggedly bounced up and down, as our tiny, rented Toyota Yaris struggled […]

Girls, Girls, Girls.  Souvenirs: Part III

Back by popular demand is Part III of our souvenir inventory (Part I and Part II are here).  As we wrote before, we are very picky when it comes to souvenir shopping; yet, sometimes, we do bring souvenirs home.  Most of the time it is something related to the culture, […]

Northern Albania – Mountains, Ferry, and Blood Feuds

By Julia / January 13, 2022

We weren’t planning on heading north in Albania. It’s a completely mountainous region, with narrow and steep roads, wholly unsuitable for inexperienced travelers such as Victor’s mom. And we have explored so many other mountain ranges in the past – the Rocky Mountains, Smoky Mountains, Swiss Alps, Andes – that […]

Albania Highlights

By Victor & Julia / January 9, 2022

One small change on this map – Google doesn’t do ferry routes, so the distance between Koman and Fierze is incorrect.  We took a ferry down Koman Lake and then Drin River, not SH5 and SH22 roads. Places Visited Tirana Kruja Lezhe Cape of Rodonit Shkoder Koman Fierze Valbona Bajram […]

Chicken Bus, 25 Tortillas, and Lava Rocks of Guatemala

By Victor / December 14, 2021

“Chicken bus! Chicken bus! Please stop!” I am running along a dusty street in Jocotenango, Guatemala, chasing a brightly decorated, refurbished US school bus.  In my right hand, I am holding a plastic bag with 25 freshly made corn tortillas.  My left hand is desperately flailing in the air, trying […]

Valladolid: Exploring Yucatan’s Pueblo Mágico

By Victor / December 2, 2021

The night before visiting Chichen Itza we spent in the colonial town of Valladolid.  For years, Valladolid had been overlooked by visitors and served primarily as a lunch stop for people traveling to or from Chichen Itza.  Recently, the town finally started to get tourist love as more and more […]

Accidental Fare Dodgers in Hungary

By Julia / November 18, 2021

Part I of EuroTrip 2002 Here Part II of EuroTrip 2002 Here In Munich, we met up with Andrey and George, and later with Max’s long-distance girlfriend. We went from a cozy group of 3 people, 2 of which unconditionally followed me everywhere, to a group of six highly disorganized […]

Train Wreck of a Trip

By Julia / November 11, 2021

Start with “EuroTrip 2002 Begins” Here. Looking back at the European trip 2002, I am amazed at just how many things went wrong and just how unbothered by all this we were. Being young and optimistic and most importantly not being too concerned with screwing up our itinerary played in […]

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