Two Volcanoes and Too Many Surprises: Exploring Ometepe

I am going to start this post without multiple paragraphs praising the incomparable beauty of Ometepe (unless you are comparing it with much more expensive and overly touristy Bali) and without a single mention of just how unprepared we were to traverse Ometepe on scooters, as neither of us possessed […]

Getting Around Ometepe

If I had to explain in one word why we absolutely plan on visiting Nicaragua again, that word would be “Ometepe”.  The first time I saw it in our itinerary, I thought it sounded spiritual and mysterious, with a note of an ancient ceremony, and a hint of volcanic eruptions.  […]

The Coffee Robbery of the Century

If you order a cup of Nicaraguan coffee in your town, there is a good chance that the beans used in preparing your drink will be from one of the fincas around Jinotega or Matagalpa.  After all, this is a premier region for the renowned and much-sought shade-grown Nicaraguan coffee.  […]

The Shadowy Business of Nicaraguan Coffee

On our second day at El Soccorro, at breakfast, we planned to ask our host, Edgar, if he could give us a coffee tour of his finca or recommend any other coffee tours in the area.  But it turned out, we did not even have to ask.  Edgar was super […]

Coffee: In Love and War

Several years ago, a coffee shop by my office had seasonal Nicaraguan coffee beans for sale. Coffee bags with big letters NICARAGUA had an image of a man in a blue shirt holding a basket of ripe coffee cherries. The name of the coffee was “Don Zeledon”, and the coffee […]

Jamaica Off The Beaten Track – Kingston

By Victor / June 19, 2019

The following is not a coherent story about a funny situation or a thought-provoking episode. It’s a mish-mash of experiences during the second day of our random and strange stumble through this city. We learned something new about Jamaica’s music and history, we got close and personal with the locals, we were startled by an unsafe situation, we were laughed at by a taxi driver and a cop within one hour. In the end, it was quite a lot of fun.

The Holy River of Ganges – Food Poisoning, Death, and Scams

By Victor / June 12, 2019

Varanasi remains to this day one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Grief and poverty, hope of reincarnation and casual indifference to burning human corpses, all blended within a rigid structure of strict funeral customs makes for a stunning picture to an unindoctrinated Westerner. It is a city unlike any I have ever been to – a place where both live and dead are looking for their next reincarnation.
It is not a place I am likely to forget.

India – Lost Passport and Opium on Christmas Eve

By Julia / May 22, 2019

Heading to India both Victor and I were completely paranoid about getting food poisoning which could ruin our entire vacation.  We inspected every plate, fork, and spoon and cleaned it with napkins.  We ate only cooked vegetables, didn’t order any drinks with ice, drank only bottled water, and were very careful not to ingest anything that wasn’t fresh or freshly cooked.  We carried on like this for four full days.   And it was this unparalleled state of paranoia and obsession with cleanliness that made the events of the fifth day so damn funny.

Iceland – Travel Notes

By Victor / May 16, 2019

Iceland’s enigmatic landscapes and Viking history attract millions of visitors every year. The country is conveniently located in close proximity to the U.S (only a 5-hour flight from Boston) and continental Europe, drawing most of the visitors from these places.

India – Taking It Easy During a Hard Trip

By Julia / May 6, 2019

For every one of 16 days, India tested our resolve to travel and rewarded us for not giving up. We went from tasting the most delicious food to food poisoning. We saw the most extreme poverty and the most stunning architecture in one day.

El Chorrillo or How I Walked Through a War Zone

By Victor / April 10, 2019

I’ve loved soccer since I was a little kid.  I vividly remember being nine years old and watching Peter Schmeichel, the goalkeeper of the Danish national team, win my heart and the 1992 UEFA European Soccer Championship.  I went to every Dinamo Minsk soccer match I could attend, first with […]

Subscribe to receive our stories in your inbox

Loading