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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48129479095479351592020-05-22T07:29:22.516-07:00Explore Share InspireThe experiences, positive or negative, that we feel most deeply, and through which we truly live; not mere experiences, but Experiences. Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-24644293366669556042020-04-04T04:29:00.000-07:002020-05-22T07:29:22.408-07:006 Creative Mother's Day GiftsFor Mother's Day, we mainly think of pampering our own mother but what about the new moms? They often go under the radar, unfortunately. If your best friend, your sister or your favorite colleague is about to give birth, she will be delighted that you offer her a little attention. First, forget the gifts for the newborn. It's a safe bet that the expectant mother already received a ton of children pajamas, blankets and diapers at her baby shower. But then, what to offer her?

I give you here some winning gift ideas, which will please all new mothers. Mom's word!

1. Ultra cozy pajamas

Even though she will be walking around the house in a dirty old t-shirt and yoga pants, she will be delighted to occasionally upgrade her look. Give her a nice, comfortable, but above all practical mom and baby matching pajamas. I like the ones on Lazy One which is a chic, cutting-edge and inspiring site that talks about women's fashion differently.

Lazy One offers the most beautiful pieces, the most beautiful brands, through an expert selection and a unique, ultra-chic visual identity, always on the lookout for trends. The Mommy & Me pajamas have a classic look and feels very soft. What makes it all the more awesome is that the pajamas for moms are machine washable and can be unbuttoned easily for many breastfeeding sessions. In short, the site will thrill the fashion enthusiast.

For babies choose pajamas with buttons or zippers on the front rather than the back. In addition, pajamas with snaps or a fork zipper will facilitate diaper changes. Also make sure that the sleeves are not too narrow. Stretch fabric is also a good option for easy dressing. Finally, avoid clothes that must be passed over the head or opt for a fairly wide neckline.

To reduce the risk of suffocation, avoid pajamas with small decorative pieces such as stones or buttons as well as ribbons or cords that tie around the neck. Also make sure that the snaps are securely attached to the pajamas and that they will not fall off.

2. Frozen homemade meals

Everything that makes everyday life easier is always a winner. Before the birth of my little cabbage, my relatives had given themselves the word to prepare me frozen simmered meals. My freezer was overflowing with spaghetti sauce, shepherd's pie, small casseroles, soups, etc. Not having to cook on the last month of my pregnancy and the first 2 months postpartum turned out to be the greatest gift ever.

3. Cooking boxes

When baby is born, it is likely that the new mom will spend most of her time in the nursery rather than in the kitchen. Help her to rekindle her love for good food with a gift card. There are so many options that will allow her to focus on her passion for cooking instead of lingering at the grocery store or leafing through cookbooks.

4. A body care package

A new mom never gets too much care. Give her some sweet moments with a set of pure luxury products that includes beauty treatments with ingredients and formulas are suitable for all skin types. Pack everything in an adorable, nicely illustrated box that she can keep to store baby memories.

5. A spa gift card

Spoil a new mom with a relaxing day at the spa. A gift certificate can be charged with any amount and can be used for massages, facials, mani/pedis, as for activities like yoga or Pilates classes, and this in several hundred locations across the country. What if she can't find a moment for her for several months? No worries, choose a card that will never expire.

6. Free cleaning

Nothing is less of a priority in the lives of new parents than cleaning the house. Give your favorite new mom the happiness of a house that sparkles with cleanliness without having to lift a finger thanks to home cleaning services on request. She will be eternally grateful to you!Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-68452917568047208372018-09-22T22:59:00.000-07:002018-11-11T03:28:07.224-08:00Trip to Bellagio and Lake Como in Italy
I admit that I am a lover of Italy. Being a country that offers so much I opted for the north. The north is very well represented by Milan and there is a great motivation to go with the Lake Como, a beautiful natural spot. The Lake Como, also called Lake Lario, is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. Each of the three branches that form it is called by the names of Como Lake, Lecco Lake and Colico Lake. The lake is fed by the Adda river, which descends from the Valtellina.

The inverted Y-shaped lake is the result of glacial action, which offers spectacular views of the Como Alps and Bellagio. It is this mountainous landscape and calmness that has attracted visitors for centuries in search of rest, walks and navigation. All this is what made us realize one of our stages in the trip.

We decided to stop only in Varenna and Bellagio in the lake. Of course, it is an area to spend more days and visit other places that are well worth it, but we did not have more days. The first thing to be clear is that the north is expensive. And that is a business city so it has a lot of demand focused on a different public. In the flights there is not much problem since there are many companies, but we must bear in mind that hotels are expensive. And if you want them next to the cathedral they are prohibitive.

Day 1

We arrived at the Airport and had our flight at 9:35. We arrived at the Linate airport around 13:00. It is a very small airport so finding the bus is very easy. In 45 minutes we were already at our destination. We saw the hotel we chose as soon as we got off the bus. The rooms were fine without any noise with friendly staff.

As it was already lunch time we asked the receptionist for advice for a restaurant. She told us of one in Via Pirelli. There I ate a Risotto alla Milanese that is different from other risottos because it is made of butter with saffron. In the afternoon we decided to go to Sforza Castle and the gardens behind it.

To get there, we take the metro in Lanza station to Foro Buonaparte and we can see part of the Castle. Since we were just in time, we decided not to visit the museums. On the outside the truth is that it is worth it. The Parco Sempione behind is also very beautiful and we walk until we reach the Arco della Pace.

On the way back, we decided to walk to the Duomo, which is only about 15-20 minutes away on Via Dante. As we were a month away from the Expo, the whole street is filled with flagpoles from different countries. It is a commercial street. Finally, we reached the Duomo. It impresses a lot. It was mid-afternoon, so we went to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II where we saw the expensive shops there.

I did not enter any, because I always have the feeling that they are going to kick me out even if I went to the Ferrari store. As a faithful follower of Formula 1, I could not resist seeing Fernando Alonso's Ferrari up close.
As dinner time approached, we decided to take the metro in Duomo to go to the hotel area.

We dined at a restaurant in the station square on the corner with Via Vitruvio. I ate pizza and they were quite good. In this way, we finish the first day, ready for the excursion to Como.

Day 2

Finally the day comes to visit the Lake Como. We got up early and go down to breakfast as fast. The breakfast was very complete with yogurt, fruit, natural juices, cereals, different, breads. We wanted to go to Lake Como and we knew that it would take an hour to get there by train. So we checked the train schedule and chose the one that left at 9 am from the Cadorna station.

Although our hotel was closer to the central station, we chose the Cadorna station to depart. After having looked at it a lot we decided to take the metro in Central to go to the Cadorna station and take the train there. The choice was because in this station the train leaves in Como Nord, which is on the right side of the Lake, and we did not want to get lost in the city.

As we left with time to spare and the subway took a very short time, at the end when we arrived at Cadorna, we were able to take the previous train, the one at 8:40. So it is better because we had seen the weather forecast of possible rains in the late morning. So the earlier we arrived, the more we could take advantage of there.

We bought the ticket directly at the ticket office, because the automatic machines did not return change. The train is a little older than the one that makes the transfer to the airport, but it was also comfortable and most importantly, very punctual.

We arrived in Como and as soon as we left the station, we saw the signs to the jetty. We had to go down a little hill and immediately we found ourselves with beautiful scenes. We took a short walk to the duomo, to spend a little time until the ship left and then we went straight to the pier, which was only 5 minutes away.

So without more, we embarked on an old converted paddle boat. The truth is that it was pretty cool. It had outside seats both forward and in the aft, and inside is a small bar, with its tables, all in very nice wood.

We wanted to go upstairs as the day went along. As we were the first there was no problem and we took the best place. We sit forward and although it was not raining at the moment, there was a lot of fog in the whole lake. As soon as the boat started, we feel cold, but we did not think to go inside, as we wanted to enjoy the views.

Soon we began to see small villages in the mountainside, all similar, with small houses of different colors, with their own piers. Occasionally we see a church tower sticking out from the rooftops. In a spectacular background, we see the green mountains dotted with trees. It is a typical alpine landscape, and the border of Switzerland is less than 30 km away from there.

There were also spectacular villas, 5 star hotels with waterfalls from the mountains that poured directly into the lake. We see different types of boats that ran up and down the lake. The boat was zigzagging across the lake from one bank to the other, making brief stops to leave or pick up passengers.

The weather was nice, but the sun began to shy away, giving color to the landscape, and highlight the multi-colored houses on the green background. And almost without realizing it, we arrive at our destination, but not before a very popular stop at Bellagio. We got off the ship to go directly to the tourist office. They gave us a map and some more information.

From there we went to see the town. Bellagio is surely the most famous town of Lake Como, especially because of its location on the lake. Walking through its streets and discovering its corners makes it very special. It has some beautiful alleys and its views of the lake are very beautiful. We started at the top of the town where the church is located. We had a beer in one of the bars on the street since in that area they were not as crowded as in the lower part.

We returned to the upper part of town to have a coffee before catching the boat to Varenna. After one more stop on the other shore in Villa Carlotta, and going back to cross the lake we arrived in Varenna. Here we and went down with the intention of visiting the town a bit and eating there. At that time of day, the sun shone, and we did not stop giving thanks for our luck, because the weather forecasts were not being fulfilled at the moment. With sun, of course everything looks much better.

The village is charming with narrow and steep streets, colorful facades, and stone arches. At that time almost all foreign tourists were already eating on the terraces of the many restaurants. So the streets were quiet and almost deserted, transmitting peace and serenity.

After a little round trip, it was time to eat, because we did not want to go in a hurry to catch the boat back. We chose the cafe since we were looking for something light and informal. The restaurant inside is tiny, but it is decorated with exquisite taste. It looks like an old fairy pastry, since in addition to simple meals, they sell sweets and ice creams.

We sat on his terrace, which is on the shore of the lake, and we enjoyed some sandwiches and a good ice cream, with the sun as a companion. At the time of returning to Como, we did not feel like sailing for another 2 hours, since it was beginning to be cloudy. So we decided to take the fast boat, which took us to our destination in 1 hour.

When we saw the ship appear we hallucinated. Well, it's a type of boat whose hull stands out from the water when it has to pick up speed, with some paddles that sustain it. We go as if we were water skiing. I had not seen a boat like that before.

This boat, as is logical, does not allow us to sit outside. So we put ourselves in the first row of the hull that had some panoramic windows. I cannot tell you much more about the trip, because I took advantage of it and had a little nap. When I opened my eyes, we were in Como.

I would have been delighted to have been able to take the funicular up to Brunate, but I had read that if the day was cloudy it was not worth much. So I settled for watching from a distance the tremendous climb that the car has to climb to reach the top. As there was still time to catch the train back to Milan, we took the opportunity to wander around Como a bit.

The truth is that the town has a lot of charm, beautiful buildings decorated with iron balconies, paintings on the facades, and stores. I saw a couple of them with vintage jewels that left me stuck to the window, since they were in the art deco style, that I love. I see medieval stone houses, and streets to get lost and all by the omnipresent Duomo.

When we were heading towards the station, the clouds that were threatening us for a while said, here I am, and they began to spill their first drops. It was not going to be the only thing, because when we were already on the train towards Milan, a hailstorm fell, which we thought would break the windows! They accumulated on the ground forming a white blanket. When we arrived in Milan it was unbelievably clear (although it would not last long).

We then headed our steps to the neighborhood of Brera, with the Italy travel guide in hand. I see a couple of streets with restaurants and art galleries, but as it was too early for dinner we did not stay. We made a stop in the Pinacoteca, to visit its patio. We went on a short walk to the Piazza della Scala.

We crossed the gallery of Victor Manuel, but without stopping too much, since we had planned to visit it the next day more calmly. It was time to think where we would have dinner. We did not have anything planned. So I consulted my guide, to see what was nearby. We ordered risotto with green asparagus and a lake fish with rice and cinnamon, and for dessert a kind of vanilla flan with caramel and we had a good dinner.

And already the day was coming to an end. We were very tired after a long and intense day, so we go to rest after drinking a good wine, as we still had one full day to discover the charms of Milan.
Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-16095515714179035362018-08-25T08:58:00.003-07:002018-11-11T03:28:05.996-08:00Practical Guide to Travel to Laos
Laos has been a very special destination. In a Laos travel blog I read about the moments of calm, the beers near and far from the Mekong, the suffocating heat, the smells, the curiosity of the children, and the charm of the people. We decided the destination without having images of Laos in our memory.

When we still had 10 months to fly there, we were already convinced of the beauty of the temples and the landscapes. What we did not know was how deep we would find a beauty greater than that of temples and landscapes: the beauty of its people.

I read a few years ago that Luang Prabang is the most beautiful city in the world. That's why, while we were returning from Malaysia, we thought it was the most natural thing in the world to start making plans to visit the most beautiful city in the world and, by the way, the country that surrounds it.

DAY 1 - PAKSE

After a few days in the order and neatness of Singapore, the Changi airport and a stopover at the Bangkok airport, getting to Pakse is not a culture shock. We arrived in Pakse at about 4 o'clock, in a flight with about 15 people on the plane, of which only 2 were Western tourists. I do not know if all arrivals by air are like that, but ours was anthological.

We came from Bangkok airport! The Pakse airport is a tiny building in need of painting. To manage the visa, four soldiers lined up observing and passing from one to the other our passports, as if they were the first ones they had in their hands. In the end, after all the stamps, they released us in a deserted airport. No shops, no bars and,no taxi. Neither other passengers, nor anyone. They were closing the airport.

Luckily we got a taxi out of nowhere with which, of course, we did not even think of haggling. We arrived at the hotel, dropped our bags, shower, change clothes and go to the street. We wanted to locate the cafe, where the next day we would be picked up to start our cruise on the Mekong.

Soon we found a tuk-tuk, took us to the cafe and there we tried the first Laotian coffee. The coffee is good. We walk aimlessly, watching, observing everything! Pakse is a ramshackle city that, like almost all in Southeast Asia, had its grace. I guess it's that kind of chaos and controlled disorder, which makes these sites attractive to me.

After calling home we sit down to have dinner in a small restaurant. That was the first of many delicious dinners (the Laotian food has enchanted us) and it was also accompanied by the first of many cold and wonderful Beer Laos.

DAY 2 - PAKSE

We meet the manager of the ship. On the boat we would meet only eight passengers. A luxury, since the boat is designed for almost thirty. The first thing we did when we got to Vat Phou was to take off our shoes. The cabins were small, but nice and with everything necessary, including a shower.

The air conditioning only works from 6 in the afternoon to 6 in the morning, but it was enough. During the day we are on deck, watching the Mekong pass or hiking. The food on the boat is exquisite. There I tried sticky rice and laab for the first time, my favorite Laotian dishes. In the afternoons they used to receive us with a fruit smoothie and, before dinner or during dinner, the usual cold beer Lao.

At noon, meals were made on the deck. The ship sails only by day. The first afternoon we visit the ruins of Champasak. They are the same Angkor style, although, of course, not so great. If you saw Angkor, Champasak is not worth it. They are not so spectacular, but the scenery is beautiful and the remains interesting.

Back to the ship, we went further and stopped near a couple of villages in the area and visited the remains of the Oum Muong temple. The truth is that little is preserved, but its enclave, in the middle of the jungle, makes it very mysterious. After we disembarked the luggage and, first in a small boat and then in a van, we went to the 4000 islands and the Phapheng falls.

The area of the 4000 islands is becoming fashionable and it does not surprise me. It is full of guesthouses, cabanas with balconies hanging over the Mekong. The area is very quiet. Tourists walk on foot, by boat, by bicycle.

At this point, of course, we had already let ourselves be carried away by the rhythm of the country. They say that in Asia, the Vietnamese plant the rice, the Cambodians cultivate it and the Laotians sit down to hear it grow. Well there we were, hearing the rice growing and in love with the whole country.

They took us to see the tracks of the old French railway. We ate at a restaurant on the banks of the Mekong. But the highlight was the falls. It is amazing and terrible to see how local fishermen risk their lives on the walks they have built to gather their nets. The strength of the water (and the noise) is incredible. I did not get to go down. I stayed halfway and then I saw them also from the viewpoint. Back in Pakse, they stopped us at a market. They sold absolutely everything.
DAY 3 - VIENTIANE

At 9.30 we arrived at the small airport in the capital of Laos. We collect our bags, and change money. We took a fixed price taxi, to go to the guest house, with good reviews on the Lonely Planet. We see a couple of rooms and although they do not convince us, we are so tired that we stay in one of them.

Immediately, we go around the city, have some beer and eat our first Laotian specialties. We have larb, a kind of very spicy salad with meat and a kind of spring roll, and we decided to return to sleep for a while. After three hours of rest, we are much more fresh, and it is night when we leave the room again.

We take a long walk around the Mekong, where there are dozens of bars with huge barbecues. Cooks prepare river fish (many of them still alive), seafood and various types of meat, and where tourists and locals dine. We look in a couple of agencies how to get to Luang Prabang, our next destination.

Soon our doubts dissipate, since it takes 10 hours by bus, and 40 minutes by flight. Around 8 o'clock in the evening we dined in one of those bars near the river, a huge fish and a plate of noodles. To this we add a huge Lao beer, and a fruit plate (watermelon, mango and melon). It is great, and our first impression of Laos is more than positive.

After dinner, we walk around a small market nearby, and finish the day with some fruit smoothies at a place with a nice garden, located on a street perpendicular to the Mekong.

DAY 4 - LUANG PRABANG

Although we planned to spend two nights in the capital in our travel itinerary, we decided to go ahead in Luang Prabang on a flight that leaves at 4.30 in the afternoon. At 6 o'clock in the morning we are already awake and after paying for the room, we set out to visit a cozy city, which is awakening. It's a little chilly, so we even need to put on a sweater.

The walk is very nice. The traffic is surprisingly less (it seems incredible that we are in an Asian capital). We walk through large tree-lined avenues, with buildings of communist aesthetics mixed with some colonial houses and many Buddhist temples many of which we visited. Walking through the pompously called Champs Elysees, we arrived at a horrendous triumphal arch, built with the American cement planned to make an airport.

Around 10 o'clock, we stop for breakfast and have some fruit shakes, and later buy tickets at the airlines office. We continue our tour, and it starts to get hot so a couple of hours later we have a few beers in the shade of a huge tree. Then we eat at the one which has some very interesting Asian-Western fusion dishes in its menu. It is almost empty (in general it shows that there are not too many tourists in the city), and we had a great dessert plus a beer.

At 2 in the afternoon we go to the guest house to collect the suitcases, and we negotiate a tuk-tuk to take us to the airport. Here there is very few people and little air traffic (I entertained counting the daily flights, and counted about 10. At the scheduled time, we take a small propeller plane, in which fifteen people would travel.

In 45 minutes it takes us to Luang Prabang, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Lang Xang, a beautiful World Heritage city. It is surrounded by mountains and temples, located between the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, and is the spiritual and tourist center of the country.

The collection of the suitcases is very fast, and we take a prepaid taxi, not without difficulty, since the taxi driver does not know the address we give him. He takes us to the guest house. The room is great, like a three-four star hotel.

After showering we went for a walk around the nearby and huge Night Market. The products on sale disappoint us a little because, with some exceptions, they all seem to be made in China. In spite of this, we make some purchases, after the noble art of bargaining. We dine by the river in one of the many restaurants and, as a novelty, we tried the freshwater algae which we we seasoned with a spicy sauce.

They are quite tasty, although their appearance is not too attractive. It is early, but there is no one in the restaurant, so we enjoy absolute tranquility. Although the Mekong is not illuminated, we sense its powerful presence in the darkness. At the end we take a long walk to our accommodation, and at 10, we go to sleep.

DAY 5 - LUANG PRABANG

As usual, at 6 o'clock in the morning we are awake, although this time we attribute it more to the noise of motorbikes and roosters than to jet-lag. We take a shower and prepare the backpack, to go out to breakfast to the terrace where it is quite cold. I think it was about 12-13 degrees, and we wrap ourselves with what little we have. The breakfast is superb with coffee, eggs, homemade fruit jams (tamarind, mango, papaya) and delicious bread.

At about 8.30 we went to discover the city. We visited the Royal Palace, an interesting building with objects from the daily life of the Laotian monarchs, before they were expelled. We move to the Palace. After a couple of hours in the building, we began to visit the Buddhist enclosures, called Wats, which are composed of a more or less interesting temple.

Around it are lodgings, dining rooms, schools, toilet areas, in which are swarm of monks with yellow robes. The entrance to each of them is free (except in some cases). We can wander through them with total freedom, and we conveniently ask the monks if they can be photographed in their daily tasks.

By one of these temples, I try to speak in English with a young monk, of the few that dominate this language. After visiting about ten Wats, although it is early, we decided to take a break looking for a pub-restaurant. It's a bit difficult to find, but we quickly realize that the effort was worth it. The place is spectacular, with a lush garden, oriental sculptures on all sides.

At one end, a terrace with bamboo floor, full of hammocks, cushions and low tables hang over the Nam Khan River. The view is wonderful together with the tranquility of the place (there are only 4 tourists). With the soft chill out music, it makes us spend several hours there, drinking beer, eating rolls and noodles with prawns and a couple of cocktails.

Before leaving, in a small volleyball court, I play with a couple of Englishmen to touch a small irregular ball. After negotiating a bit, we got a bike. After signing the contract, and some tests, we put on our helmets, and we begin our journey. Our destination is the Kuang Si Falls, about 35 km away.

Once we leave the city, we find roads in good condition, where there is hardly any traffic. We cross small villages, where we make some stops to visit Wats, but also to feel the life of its inhabitants, who, oblivious to our status as tourists, perform their daily tasks. The children take advantage of to play football.

The feeling of freedom is absolute, and the result is that we enjoy the tour enormously. In an hour and a half we are at the entrance to the falls. After parking the motorcycle, we secure it with a padlock (although later we will verify that it is unnecessary, because the theft is something exceptional).

We begin the climb path following the course of the river, whose water presents an extraordinary turquoise color. The tourists that surround us can be counted on the fingers of the hand. We managed to climb to the top of the waterfall, not without some slip, through a thick jungle.

When going down, although the weather is not too hot, I cannot resist taking a dip. After the impressive bath, and visit to an enclosure where a few brown bears sit, we leave the falls and eat at a nearby restaurant. We later start the return, making multiple stops to take pictures. In one of them, I try to play with some children.

When arriving to Luang, it must be rush hour because the traffic is chaotic, although, they drive quite slowly. I quickly adapt to the disorder. Before returning the bike, we have time to visit some more temples. After seeing a beautiful sunset on a terrace on the Mekong, we go to the guest house, to pack our bags and pay the bill.

After returning to our guesthouse, take a shower, before returning to the Night Market. We realize that the sellers are less aggressive than the Vietnamese, and do not get angry. In the market we dine in an open-air enclosure, with a great variety of delicacies. We head for dinner at a nice restaurant with garden, whose specialty is the varied barbecues (meat, fish or vegetarian) at a great price.

The atmosphere is very lively, and we had a lot of fun. We chose the vegetarian area, and filled the containers to the full, and tasted them along with the huge beers that have a fairly stable price everywhere. Although very few people speak English, we manage without problems. At 11 o'clock at night, we retired to our room, after crossing dark and silent streets.

DAY 6 - LUANG PRABANG

At 3 o'clock in the morning I wake up. It is still night and it is cold. So we wrap ourselves up as best we can and go out into the street, where almost all the day market tendentes are already on. We are careful not to step on any chicken. We arrive at the door of a Wat where we wait for the monks to leave, which takes place at 6 o'clock.

Each of them carries a kind of basket, where they will keep food. Several people kneeling on the sidewalk give each of them a bit of sticky rice and some banana. There are many tourists with their cameras, and the procession crosses several blocks until returning half an hour later. Then we learned that in all the temples something similar is done.

After this curious spectacle, we enter the fantastic morning market. Many products are for sale from vegetables and fruits of all kinds to live fish of various species including pigs, chickens, bats, rats, frogs, crickets, grasshoppers and many varieties of rice. There is also a food stall with roast chickens, waffles, fried plantains, and assorted pastries.

We have been hungry, so we have a potent breakfast in the guest house, and when finished, the body asks me to sleep a bit. After a little more than an hour, I am as fresh as a lettuce and we are about to cross to the other side of the Mekong, to visit a couple of villages, which have three or four wats, and a cave.

After bargaining we managed to rent a boat for ourselves, although when we reached the other shore we paid half. The owner agrees to pick us up again in a couple of hours. The change with respect to the city is brutal. We observe rural life with children running around among animals.

Several children accompany us with the intention of becoming guides. They take us to a cave, that have nothing interesting to see, and in which it is necessary to use a torch. In the vicinity of a Wat, we observe how several teenagers play. When we return to the shore, our boatman is not there. So we waited 10 minutes and finally decided to take one of the boats that moves people from one side to another.

When we disembark, we have a beer, and then we go around a couple of other temples, until we stop at a street bar. There are enough people taking a spicy soup similar to the Vietnamese Pho, and that it has rice noodles accompanied by meat or vegetable. We ordered a couple of tasty dishes that have a ridiculous price.

After the frugal meal, we go to the room to rest a bit, before going to give us a massage, which I enjoy very little because the masseuse does not care about it, and it leaves me quite sore. When we finished, we tried to dine at a famous restaurant.

As it is closed, so we went to another we had seen on the way with good looks and a nice garden. There we took a very interesting menu with beers included. It's cold on the terrace. So we take not too long to go to sleep.

DAY 7 - NONG KHIAW

As soon as I wake up, I head to the market to buy fruit. A long trip by the river awaits us to arrive at Nong Khiaw. It is a small town where we will spend the night, as a previous step to reach Muang Noi, our final destination, and which can only be reached by boat. We had reserved the ticket the day before, and after breakfast, we went to the pier where they accommodate us in a small boat, with about 10 more tourists.

The route, initially by the Mekong, and then by one of its tributaries, is spectacular, with an incredible landscape. The river meanders between great mountains, covered with lush vegetation typical of the tropical jungle. We go up the current, crossing strong rapids that balance the unstable boat, and observe the life of the inhabitants of the small villages nestled on its shores.

The seat is not too comfortable (wooden chair, with lifeguards on top of it as a cushion). So when we get to Nong Khiaw at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, we are quite tired, although we quickly forget to observe the postal environment, in which the town is located. Almost all the guest houses swirl around the river, with various types of bungalows.

After visiting several of them, we decided on the bamboo bungalow with a bathroom with hot water, as well as a mosquito net, and a terrace overlooking the river. The first thing we do is buy a beer and a bag of chips (they are more expensive than a plate of noodles) and we enjoyed watching the sunset.

When we finish showering, it is night, and there is very little light in the town, so we go to the only place where we can connect to the Internet. At about 7.30 we go to dinner. After comparing several restaurants, we decided on an Indian-Laotian with a quality cuisine. The beers are the cheapest we have taken to date, and an hour later we return to our privileged terrace, where we make time before going to sleep.

In the distance we hear music like a disco, which we assume erroneously that it will end soon. Protected by our mosquito net (which overwhelms me more than anything else), we cannot sleep until 2 in the morning, till the party stopped. The fact is that between the music, the mosquito net, and the one that at 5 o'clock in the morning, dozens of roosters agreed to sing at the same time, I hardly slept all night.

DAY 8 - MUANG NOI

There is no point in staying in bed, so we got up, and decided to take a walk around, while a crowd of children walked to school. After the brief, but demanding walk, we had breakfast at a nearby restaurant. I go to the pier to confirm that the boat to Muang Noi, does not leave until 11 in the morning, as we were told yesterday, and buy the tickets. I go back to take the backpack and cross the bridge that connects the two sides of the town.

At the jetty we sit some time, until we leave at the scheduled time, along with a mixture of tourists of different nationalities, and some locals. We see a small boat half as big as yesterday, in which there are not even seats, but we do not care, because the landscape is becoming more beautiful.

In less than an hour we reached our destination, and again the ritual of looking for accommodation begins. We choose in this case a guest house, with a terrace on the Nam Ou River, where we are told that there is hot water. We left the dirty clothes to be washed, and we bought some fried plantains and a pancake, in a stand located in the main street, and almost unique, of the town.

After lunch, we went on an interesting route, which will take us to several caves used in the Indochina War, as a hiding place for people. Although we carry a flashlight, we are afraid for fear of getting lost. We continue walking in the direction of Ba Ha, a village located 5 km away through rice fields surrounded by rugged mountains, where farmers work with hand tools. We have to go through unstable bridges and small streams, and we meet many people.

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon we still have not reached our destination. So, fearing that it will be night, we return where we came to get to see the sunset from the Guest House. Immediately, the generators that provide light to the town are lit from 6 to 10 at night. At the same time I take the opportunity to ask about a trip we have seen announced in several agencies.

It consist of fishing, visiting a couple of riverside villages, going down tubing down the river (which is to let yourself be carried away by the current, on a truck tire), to finish eating the fish, grilled over a fire. The price is quite expensive, although the manager tells us that if we find more people, it will be cheaper.

We have dinner at the town's best looking restaurant, and then take a walk to discover the surprisingly lonely garden pub. We hear Western pop music, with a trunk burning outside, as a heating, though the temperature is excellent. There, we started a conversation, with one of the waiters, who turns out to be a guide.

We asked for the excursion, who offer to do it with us for about half the price that the owner of the guest house had offered us. We accept, pay a part and book him for the next morning.

DAY 9 - MUANG NOI

At last we have slept 9 hours at a stretch, without annoying noises. At 7 o'clock in the morning we prepare the backpack for the excursion and arrange the luggage a little. After breakfast we go to a bar that has the kitchen, literally on the street, with a bonfire and a couple of pans, with which they prepare fried plantains, and pancakes. There are already many people wandering around the village, and we relax taking a pancake with banana and a great assorted fruit plate.

At 9, we met with our guide, who tells us that he can only accompany us initially, because he has to go to his village, upstream, to see his son, but to replace him has brought his brother. We are about to embark, and they tell us that there is one more traveler, a young German. So they reduce the price of the trip, which we appreciate. Immediately we left in a small boat, with the guide, the boatman and the three tourists, with the tires for the tubing, on the stern.

The landscape is amazing, and the river has a green color, so even though we are quite uncomfortable, we enjoyed the trip. Half an hour later we stopped at a small village of artisans. We climb back to the canoe and shortly after we stop in the town where the children receive us with the cry of falang, falang (foreigner, foreigner). There live families dedicated to fishing, growing rice, and collecting fruits (almost as 10,000 years ago, with the Neolithic revolution).

I began to slide on the tire. The water is not too hot, but as it is sunny, it is very good in the river. The current takes us slowly and I enjoy like a dwarf of solitude in the middle of the river, with the song of the birds in the background, and the lush green of the mountains, whose pointed peaks seem to reach the sky.

The sun hits me in the face, and causes golden reflections on the water, and I think I fall asleep, in such a relaxing moment, that I will remember all my life. From time to time the noise of some boat, disturbs that peace a little. I notice how our passengers look at us, a little surprised that at this time, (it seems that in the summer, it is very normal), there is tourists doing tubing.

An hour later, the clouds begin to cover the sky, and it is not so good. Fortunately, we soon reached the small beach where the others are waiting for us, roasting a dozen small fish that others have managed to fish. I tell the guide to let me try, and with the net, I can catch one more. So the menu is made up of fish for each one, glutinous rice with hot curry, and some leaves that have been picked from a nearby tree, and which serve as a salad.

After lunch we go back to Muang Noi, where we pay what we owe in the guest house. After taking a shower with warm water, we have a beer on the terrace, looking at the river. At about 5 we went to school, where yesterday we saw that there were children practicing football, with the intention of playing. I'm on time, because a match is going to start.

The field has grass, but it is full of potholes and cow poop. People cross in the middle, and if we add the difficulty to know who is on which side, makes it difficult to give a good pass. The course of the game is a true reflection of the Laotian daily life, with continuous interruptions, without knowing very well why, and with a referee, who whistles all the time. Anyway, I spend a fun hour, and yes, I take all the balls up, because I'm the tallest of them all.

When it's over, it's already dark. So I take another shower, and we go to the bar, where our guide on the river is baking bread in a traditional oven. It's a starry night, and the music is in the background, that makes us order another beer and another slice of bread.

At 8 we go to dinner, fearing that they can close the restaurants. We took alone a bamboo soup, duck skewers and noodles. At the end we take a little walk in the dark, and observe inside the houses, that despite the cold, are completely open, as families watch television. In the street there are people chatting around a bonfire, some tourists scattered by the few bars and little else, so we go to sleep.

DAY 10 - LUANG NAMTHA

Another night we have slept well as the fatigue is accumulating. After preparing the suitcases, we go to breakfast. I have some fried eggs and a cheese sandwich. We bought the tickets for the boat to Nong Khiaw, and in half an hour we sail downstream, to get to the pier quite quickly. The landscape is almost prettier than on the outward journey, because the clouds seem to want to play with the mountains, and offer some amazing photographs.

Once with the bags in our possession, we walk to the nearby bus station, consisting of a booth and two vans at the door. We get the tickets for Oudomxay, city where we have to change to Luang Namtha. Quickly we went up to a minivan, quite decent, next to two French couples and a Laotian. The road is a real hell, and potholes make us bounce like balls.

So it took us 3 hours to get to Oudomxay. There we have an hour until the bus leaves for Luang Namtha. So after buying the tickets we take advantage of an open-air bar to have a grilled fish, soup and a beer. Fifteen minutes before the start, we see that almost everyone is already seated, so we went running and take the last free seat.

The trip is amazing, with continuous stops, where people go up and down. When we arrive at Luang Nam Tha it is night, and there are several tuc-tucs, waiting. We go to the guesthouse recommended in various guides. After dinner we go to the restaurant. After dinner we go to a cyber to connect to the Internet, and after reading the emails, we go to sleep, since we are tired after 8 hours of boat and bus.

DAY 11 - LUANG NAM THA

We thought that we were no longer affected by the sound of the cocks at dawn, but it is not like that, and again these animals wake us up. We moved the luggage to our new guest house. We had breakfast in the restaurant. Although the day is cold and very foggy, we rented a motorcycle for an amazing price, to see the surroundings.

So, after equipping ourselves with several layers of clothes, and loading the fuel, we began to visit temples and markets, crossing unstable bamboo bridges. At this time the sun warms up strongly, and we take advantage of the opportunity to remove clothes, while they prepare a great pineapple bought from a roadside stand.

Around one o'clock in the afternoon, we stop for a few beers and a little fish, before wandering aimlessly, penetrating into villages where the children look at us with curiosity. After 2 hours, we arrive at Muang Sing a village located very close to China of which they speak quite well in the Lonely Planet guide.

We arrive is a lazy hamlet, where there is hardly anything to see, because even the market, which can be the most interesting, is almost empty. For that reason we approach the checkpoint of the border with China, although it does not have anything special either. When we got back we had a beer in the garden of a guest house, where a few tourists snoozed, and we bought a huge pineapple, which we eat under a tree.

It's early, but we decided to go back to Luang, and make stops along the way. In one of them, we diverted to visit some very cool waterfalls, badly indicated. After leaving the motorcycle we walked, a path surrounded by thick vegetation, which makes us feel like Indiana Jones, although the sight of a pair of spiders of considerable size, makes us no longer enjoy so much. Upon returning, two countrymen who live in a cabin, on the edge of the road, charge us for the entry.

Before nightfall, we return to the city, and leave the motorcycle (we tell the manager, that tomorrow we want to change it because it has the speedometer broken). After taking a shower, we take a walk, although there is not much to see, and we opted for an Indian dinner, which a British couple had recommended.

It really has a great dinner, and I especially love the green chicken curry. When we left, we decided to go somewhere other than tourists, and we got into a pub full of Laotians. Upon entering, some young boys and a girl invite us to come to their table. The most fun was that the waiter handed us a letter written only in Laotian. We try to have a conversation with them.
Kalyan Panjahttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-88853403059467141792018-08-15T10:11:00.001-07:002018-12-22T20:34:26.552-08:00Travel to Liguria and Genoa in Italy
Today it was time to say goodbye to La Spezia to go to the Ligurian capital of Genoa in Italy. As a curiosity, apart from the rich history that Genova had, the invention of cowboys is attributed to it. Apparently the word jeans to indicate the famous fabric, originated here around the year 1500.

With the name Blue De Genes and the distortion to English blue jeans, indicated a type of blue fabric very resistant to the weather. It was perfect for the sailors of Liguria, and was used for candles and to cover merchandise. It was manufactured in the French city Nimes, from which originates the word denim.

Day 1

About 9:30 am we we gave the keys to the apartment to the landlady. We had breakfast for the last time in the cafe and we headed to the train station. We had taken the ticket online with what we saved something in the rate with respect to take it out at the time.

A lady announced by public address that the train from Roma Termini to Genoa will arrive 20 minutes late. So we have to wait more on the platform, where we entertain ourselves watching the movement of passengers. There are enough tourists equipped to visit, probably, the cinque terre. We see a group of pigeons that flutter on the tracks trapping small pieces of biscuit that a man has purposely crumbled for them.

We ride on the float, as the Italians call the wagon, and we settle on the left side to go to the sea. The journey lasted an hour crossing the villages that we already knew in addition to Sestri Levante, or Deiva Marina among others. Through the window we could see the calm sea, with people bathing and the sunny day.

We got off at the Brignole station and, in 10 minutes we arrived at the hotel. Thanks to a rewards promotion we got a good price for this hotel in Genoa that was in a quiet place and at the same time close to the center. It is on the Via Corsica, in a residential neighborhood, located on a street that looked more like a Parisian boulevard. It is very different from the characteristic Genoa caruggi or alleyways.

After check-in they gave us a genoa map and, after leaving the luggage in the room, we went out to wander around. We found the layout of the streets marked on the map with black arrows indicating the different heights that exist. Genoa is built on levels. It has been growing around its great port in a disorderly way and adapting to the irregular orography that surrounds it, towards the hills.

From Via Corsica we went to the Dante square. After going down some stairs we found an enclosure full of motorcycles. There are many throughout the city. In the background stand out the two towers of Walls of Genoa that was once the main gateway to Genoa. It is one of the medieval works that are preserved, very close to the central Piazza De Ferrari. Just next door is the house museum of Christopher Columbus, whom the Genoese consider their countryman. Although his origin is not very clear, as it is disputed between Spaniards, Portuguese and Italians.

The house can be visited but we only see it from the outside and we stop at the remains of the Cloister of Saint Andrea. Here only part of the arches of the cloister remains. These were absorbed, like the towers of the door, by the subsequent development of homes in the area.

From there we go to Piazza De Ferrari, where we find an open space with a huge fountain in the center which is a meeting place for young people. At the beginning of the nineties the area was rehabilitated and paved for the celebration of the V centenary of the discovery of America.

At one end we find the Ducal Palace, one of the main historical buildings. Inside, we can find different exhibitions and activities used as a cultural center. The lunch hour was approaching and we headed to the Vico Superiore del Ferro, where I had located a restaurant that was not far from the square. We moved between the alleys and soon found a kind of tavern where they serve typical dishes and others. The place is decorated and they have used the chopping boards of the butchers in the tables.

We take a dish of the day to choose among several, water or glass of wine and a coffee. With caffeine in the body we go uphill to the Spianata Castelletto, after climbing a lot of stairs. It is a panoramic point, an esplanade from where we get a view over the roofs of the city, with the port, the sea and the lantern or lighthouse in the background. We sat for a while in the shade while we observed the houses crowded with manifest disorder that, in surface, formed a labyrinth of narrow alleys.

We resume the march in search of the D'Albertis Castle that hosts the museum of the cultures of the world. It was built on a fortification of the sixteenth century by Captain Enrico D'Albertis. He donated it himself to the city along with all the ethnographic, nautical and archaeological material he had collected during his travels around the world. Access to the gardens is free so we decided to go and see them.

After resting for a while in the area we went down to the center making a stop at the botanical garden near the university. Here they have some greenhouses and plants with their names on posters.
We continue with the descent until we find ourselves side by side with the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato. We found it quite ugly on its side facade.

We entered to see it. Its interior completely erased the first impression after discovering the artistic splendor of the Genoese baroque. The church dominates in an imposing way on the Piazza della Nunziata. The ambitious project that entailed its expansion and maintenance was partly financed thanks to the families of Genoese noblemen. We sat for a while looking at the paintings on the ceiling, the solomonic columns and the ornate decoration of his style.

On leaving, we headed for the Via Balbi, which comprises the junction of the square where we were with the Piazza Acquaverde. Here the other great Genoese railway station is located, that of Principe.

Via Balbi was built in the early six hundred by a member of the Balbi family, rich Genoese bankers. Here we find a good number of prestigious palaces, many of them inscribed in the Genoese rolli and declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. The street is the seat of the university specializing in Law, Political Science and Philosophy. The university library is also present, a building of the six hundred that belonged to the Jesuits.

We went first to the Palazzo Reale, from which we saw only the gardens with free access. At the entrance there is an exposed carriage and, on the other side, the sculpture of a huge foot. In the background a garden opens with a fountain where a child, accompanied by his grandfather, spills coca-cola in the pond because he says that the fish like soda.

The university is not very busy but what we do see is a large number of announcements in a bulletin board regarding the search and offer of accommodation during the course. We left via Balbi, after having seen its palaces with decorated facades we went down the alleys to the port. There we ran into the Chiesa e Commenda di San Giovanni di Pre.

It is a monastic complex consisting of two Romanesque churches and a three-story building, the commenda. It has undergone numerous restorations and is located in Via Pre, one of the oldest streets in Genoa. In this area we can breathe the atmosphere of what port cities were in the past. There are people from different parts of the world, small workshops, typical buildings with painted facades and narrow alleys.

We soon go to the promenade located in the Old Port, which for several years has been converted into a cultural, tourist and service center. It was renovated on the occasion of the 500th centenary celebration of the discovery of America in 1992. We first see the Galata Museo del Mare.

It is the largest maritime museum in the Mediterranean where boats, armory of the dock, atlases and fishing objects among others are conserved. There is also a room dedicated to emigration.
Very close we came across the boat that Roman Polanski used to shoot his movie Piratas and it is a museum that can be visited. Around we met a lot of people selling handbags on the sidewalk that mimic the most exclusive brands and models.

We leave the ship behind and see the entrance to the Genoa Aquarium, the second largest in Europe after Valencia. As we knew this one and in March we visited several in the Emirates, we did not enter to see it either.

Another of the main buildings of the old port, is the Bigo, a panoramic elevator that turns on itself. It was built for the cargo cranes that were in charge of lowering the merchandise that arrived at the port. The structure rises allowing to see a view of the city and the rest of the port.

We continue with the walk along the pier and we find the Bolla, a kind of glass and steel sphere inside which live exotic plants, reptiles, insects and some birds. We approach to see the interior and we can only distinguish between the plants an orange bird.

Both the sphere and Il Bigo were designed by Renzo Piano, well-known Italian architect, in charge of remodeling this area of the port. After resting for a while in the port, watching the people on a sunny afternoon, we approach a market where they sold all kinds of food under the painted facades that once had to look splendid.

Strolling we arrive at the San Lorenzo Cathedral, in the square of the same name. It is a medieval church on which later additions were made. The initial project included two towers but, as it happens in other places, only the right was finished housing the only bell tower of the temple.

The decoration with black and white strips of the facade was a symbol of nobility typically used in Genoa. As a symbol of the struggle of Christ against evil, two lions appear on the sides, with a curious sad expression on their faces.

We took the opportunity to take a refreshing gelato sitting on the steps of the cathedral watching the incessant movement of people from one side of the square to the other. Nearby is the Chiesa del Gesu e dei Santi Ambrogio e Andrea. We went to see the interior, where we discovered a lot of paintings.

Upon leaving, we decided to end the day by going to the hotel. We take advantage of the fact that it has a small wellness area with spa, which is comforting after the intense day in Genoa. We dined at the hotel restaurant because they offered us with a voucher to use in bars and restaurants. We took advantage of it, although there are numerous options outside. We have an aperitif and dinner with the pinchos and a rich pizza.

Day 2

Our second day in Genoa dawned clear, with splendid sunshine and pleasant temperature. After breakfast at the hotel we stopped at the first kiosk that we saw to buy tickets for the urban bus. As we had planned to make several trips, we opted for a one day ticket and allows unlimited use of the bus for 24 hours.

We went to the Via XX Settembre. In front of the eastern market, we took bus to Prato. Our goal was to visit one of the most outstanding cemeteries in Europe. It is famous for hosting an important collection of funeral sculpture and having outstanding figures such as the wife of Oscar Wilde or Giuseppe Mazzini.
Although cemetery tourism may sound a little strange, it is well worth a visit, because it is an authentic open-air museum. The extension is considerable and we spent three hours traveling it and they flew by us.

The monumental cemetery of Staglieno is for the Genoese people a place of remembrance and commemoration. It also represents a fascinating artistic and historical testimony of the city of Genoa. The municipal administration, aware of the cultural importance has, has undertaken initiatives aimed at the restoration and enhancement of the numerous works that have made this cemetery famous. In one of the main doors is the statue of the Faith, a work in white marble of 9 meters high, made by the sculptor Santo Varni.

We got off next to the flower stalls and, at the entrance, a man came to offer us a plan of the whole. Later another one appeared offering its services like guide but we decided to make the visit by free.
We started with the less monumental part, and already here the decoration of the tombs seemed surprising to us. We move between sculptures and niches and soon we cross an aqueduct leading to the part of the English cemetery. Two sculptures of a perfectly dressed couple draw our attention in the middle of a forest of trees.

A little further up were the tombs of the Orthodox. This cemetery welcomes people from different confessions, reflecting the cosmopolitan character that Genoa has always had. The Lutheran tombs looked more austere and those of the Jews wore their symbols such as the Star of David and the 7-branched candelabrum, along with the name of the deceased written in Hebrew and Italian.

We had climbed stairs and, from the top we saw the central temple. We accessed without ceasing to surprise us with all the sculptures that are there. Here the dust has accumulated over the years and where silence reigned, only disturbed by the curious steps of some visitors. In the interior of this pantheon the remains of illustrious citizens are conserved.

Along the perimeter walls extend the galleries, authentic chests of sculptural works. There are several thematic itineraries such as the Risorgimento, the Angels, the Charity and Charity and the Emotions. We began to walk the galleries to the west and up, below and at the top. The themes of charity are represented by female figures.

As for the emotions, in Staglieno art and nature merge, creating an alliance of exclusive beauty in a context of thick vegetation. In the Ammirato tomb the dramatization is exalted, which prevails over the melancholy, evidenced by the singular pose of the young woman, with her head tilted, letting her hair fall.

Empress Sissi, visiting the Staglieno Cemetery in March 1893, stopped for a long time before the monument to Giacomo Carpaneto. It is a notable work of Scanzi. This tomb was commissioned by Francesco Oneto, a wealthy merchant and president of Banca Generale. The angel who holds the trumpet of universal judgment with his right hand, offers no gesture of consolation, for he seems distant and imperturbable.

The sensuality of this statue profoundly shocked the contemporaries, but it enjoyed great success as it was repeated countless times, both by Giulio Monteverde himself, the author of the work, and by the imitators of the artist. It can be found in several versions in many cemeteries in Italy, France, Germany or England.

In the Erba edition of the Genoese sculptor Saint Saccomanno, the female figure sitting on the tomb with her eyes closed and holding the poppy seeds in her hands, the pagan symbol of eternal oblivion, also shocked her contemporaries, partly because the sensuality that emanates from the naked shoulder of the woman.

From 1860 Realism had a rapid diffusion in Staglieno that can be seen in the representation of human figures and their surroundings, treated with great precision and attention to detail. The expressions of pain are recreated, the gestures of the hands, the dresses and the hair seem tremendously real. In the Pignone tomb, by sculptor Giuseppe Benetti, a representation of death appears on its own. The young wife discovers the veil, a symbol of long illness, which covers her late husband, rich businessman, owner of a large shipping company.

In the tomb of Rivara, by Giovanni Battista Villa, the brother, the sister-in-law and the nephew are represented. The sculptor captured his clothes with maximum detail, as can be seen in the boy's shoes or corduroy trousers. It also represents on their faces their state of mind and the wedge of the stylistic precepts of bourgeois realism.

The tomb of Caterina Campodonico, the walnut seller, may be the best known monument in the cemetery. This woman saved all her life to make a sculpture in Staglieno and is represented with the necklace of nuts in his hands and a thread of bread. Caterina managed to get Lorenzo Orengo, a sculptor of the Genoese bourgeoisie, to make this sculpture for her.

At times, the sculptures take on a more macabre tint and we cross corridors with a ghostly atmosphere, with the cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, the walls with humidity and a sepulchral silence, perfect props for a horror movie.

After the long walk through the cemetery and, overwhelmed by the amount of sculptures we have seen and those that have yet to be discovered, we take the bus to the center of Genoa. We eat again in Taggiou and after resting for a while we go to Via Garibaldi, very close to there. In this street there are several mansions and manor houses.

Formerly known as Strada Nuova, Via Garibaldi is one of the most visited places in the city, as it contains that representative set of the commercial society of the sixteenth century. The numerous works of Renaissance architecture are surprising, with sculpted facades, stuccoed and medallions.

Along the street are lined buildings with atriums, steps, patios, rooms with frescoes and hanging gardens. Here we find outstanding art galleries such as the Red Palace, the White Palace and the Spinola Palace.

We leave via Garibaldi walking through the Caruggi, the narrow alleys that lead to the port. We cross the Via de la Maddalena, a curious street that the Genoese do not frequent at night or during the day.

We arrived to the cathedral and took the opportunity to visit the interior, since the previous day we found it closed. In the Dante square, right next to the house of Columbus, we took the bus to Boccadasse, the fishermen's neighborhood a short distance from the center. In 25 minutes we got out and saw the silhouetted silhouette of the coast with a group of houses near the sea.

From the church we go to a pretty busy square. There are people walking, fishing, taking a gelato in front of the sea or enjoying the afternoon in this quiet place. Boccadasse is a small neighborhood that opens around a small port and a pebble beach. There are people lying down and others bathing, because of the temperature.
Kalyan Panjahttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-21239637617039225392018-08-14T10:30:00.000-07:002018-11-11T03:28:06.251-08:00Journey through Glacier National Park
Our idea was to enter the Glacier National Park and go through what gave us time on the road that runs through it. Although the sky remained quite covered, but at least it stopped raining. When we arrived at Radium Hot Springs we made a technical stop and took the opportunity to buy some sandwiches. To recover some time, we were eating them along the way. Slowly the miles were falling and we realized we were arriving at the border with the United States. As you can imagine, we left the camera in the back seat so there would not be any misunderstandings.

When we arrived at the Roosville border crossing there were not many cars so we did not have to wait long. Of course, we had time to read all the notices that were on the posters. The one that put us most nervous was the one that said that everything that had been bought outside the United States had to be declared.

The agent asked us where we came from, where we were going, if we had bought something. We explained that we were going to spend a couple of days in Montana and then return. The police looked surprised. We clarified that we would first stop in Minneapolis. Regarding the issue of purchases, we said that we had only bought gifts. And the truth is that we were not lying.

We continue on US93 through Whitefish, Columbia Falls and finally we reach Coram, the small town where our lodging was for the next two nights. In addition to single rooms and individual cabins the site has a huge place to park caravans. At the reception we were met by a very nice man who explained where our room was. He also asked us about our trip and what we were going to see in Montana. When we told him we were just passing through, he told us that the Glacier National Park was very good.

Finally he recommended a couple of places that he knew for dinner and breakfast. We went to locate the site for dinner and it was on the same road in the direction of Columbia Falls less than 3 kms away. We were back in the United States with the food, the atmosphere, and the people!

Day 2

We started to regain consciousness at 7:00 am accompanied by the sound of rain hitting the outside of our little cabin in Twin Butte. With the prospect of a breakfast at 8:30 and the almost total assurance that today we will not be able to visit practically anything due to the severe weather over Glacier NP, we are in no hurry to get up, not even to start preparing our luggage.

Through the windows, in addition to the expected drops of water glued to the glass, we see an unknown car that must belong to our neighbors, although we have not heard their arrival during the night. We stretched and reviewed photographs and videos with special attention to those of the bears a few hours ago while the interior of the cabin is lit up slowly by natural light.

When we planned the trip, we thought it was not a good idea to cross the border the same day we had the flight, just in case there was something unforeseen. That's why we prefer to spend the last part of our trip in the United States. The planning for today was very simple and quiet.

We knew that we were not going to be able to go through it as we had read on the park's website that from September 21 they close the Logan pass to fix the road. The first thing we did was go to breakfast where they had recommended us at the typical roadside bar. What a breakfast!

We were not aware of what we had ordered until they brought it to us. For breakfast today we have some spectacular french toasts. With maple syrup and, for those who tolerate it, a little bacon or butter on top, are a first bite of the exquisite day. Our new neighbors and dinner companions are a nice couple on honeymoon from Texas.

Once we had breakfast and with a full belly, we went to the park entrance. When we arrived at the port, the person who answered us told us that the National Public Lands Day was celebrated. The entrance to the park was free, so we saved the entrance cost.

Although we were warned at the entrance, a few kilometers there were signs that warned of the works and that the road was cut 50 km later.

The truth is that the weather did not favour us as the sky became increasingly gray with clouds that did not bode well. In addition the temperature was at 3 degrees.

So we continued forward and when the road allowed, we stopped to enjoy the scenery and take some pictures. One of the photos that follows is from the Bird Woman Falls (293 mts). The glacier that is just above is one of those that provides water to the waterfall.

And as announced, upon arriving at Logan Pass, we found the road closed. Also, since we were already out of season, the visitor center was also closed so we could not do much.

From this point a lot of trails come out, but as the weather was so bad (at the top the fog was quite thick), we did not try to do any trail.

Seeing that things did not improve, we decided to go down to the lower altitude areas to see if, at least, there was not so much fog. And although we had some downpour, we were able to make several stops to take pictures of what most caught our attention, like the little waterfall from Logan Creek.

While we were going down we came across one of the attractions of the park: the famous red tourist bus. As we did not have another plan until lunchtime, we stopped by the lookouts that we found on the road. Most were spots where there was some waterfall.

Lunchtime caught us near Lake Mcdonald, so we took advantage of it to buy some refreshments and eat the sandwiches we had bought in the morning.

After lunch we made another attempt to climb Logan Pass to see if the weather had improved somewhat, but just the opposite. The fog had become even thicker and the traffic on the road became a bit dangerous, so we decided to go back to the room and gradually prepare our bags.

Although we had to do an engineering work, in the end we got all the suitcases closed, although some little thing had to stay there. After going out to dinner (we repeated the same bar as the day before), we tried to check online to confirm the flight.

Day 3

We wait from the window for a small break in the downpour that does not stop dropping us to take the luggage to the car without getting soaked. But far from dying, the number of snowflakes that land on the lawn per second increases more and more. So there is no choice but to collect waterproof layers and optimize the travel necessary to bring our bags, backpacks, isothermal bags and shopping bags to the trunk of the Chevy.

While we update the family and social networks, time seems to be even more violent. It does not snow but the rain is strong, which advises driving with great caution. We do this, bypassing the detour to Waterton Lakes and taking the route that will take us, some 40 kilometers later, to the Chief Mountain border crossing.

Fortunately it seems that we are getting ahead of that Canadian storm that promises to wreak havoc in the next few hours, since according to the black clouds are left in our mirrors the driving becomes much more pleasant. Of course, the charming alpine landscape that characterizes this union of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is hidden behind the thick clouds.

We reached the control by which to leave Canada after having discovered and explored it for two weeks. After a mere process of a few seconds with a robust border agent we are already back in the United States of America, nothing more and nothing less than in the first hours. We circulate at 3,000 meters high, not bad for a reunion with the country of the stars and stripes. And during our first kilometers moving south we came across several herds of cows roaming freely on the road.

At a much better pace thanks to a simple rain much less dangerous than the flood with which we started, we reached the scattered houses that form the town of Babb and after passing it we reached the cabin. We found the office closed and some vague directions on how to find the management, but after a couple of laps we managed to find it.

The woman in charge of the complex regrets that our room is not ready yet, because with a storm like today, late departures increase. We pay the remaining half of the reservation and receive the key to the cabin anyway in case we want to leave our luggage, but we decided not to go and have a look until it is ready.

Without much to do due to the storm, we go to the nearby town of St. Mary where one of the two entrances closest to the National Park is located. We reached the visitor center of this access to the complex.

Together with the receipt of our payment they already give us maps and a park guide, a good summary of very useful information during the visit and something that we have missed in the access to Canadian parks. And from the minute zero the difference with the National Parks of Canada is abysmal. The care for the detail, the investment of the American government and the pride for its network of National Parks.

It's something we've never seen anywhere else. We receive a nice room with all kinds of details such as a large screen with the weather forecast, a detailed model of the entire surface of the park, a small museum on the history and fauna of the place and, most surprising, an auditorium with capacity for more than 200 people where every 30 minutes an introductory movie is shown with the benefits of the Glacier National Park.

We take advantage of the Internet connection to reassure the family about the trance on the road that we had to pass. Once the process is completed, we inform our plans and preferences to one of the always willing Rangers before asking for advice about how to distribute the hours that the weather allows us to enjoy the park.

Finally, we look for nearby self-service laundries in order to take advantage of today's circumstances and free ourselves from tasks and messages, thus trying that the next two days are entirely destined to take advantage of the scenario. The predictably charming Ranger who serves us at the counter confirms what we thought was our best option is to reserve for a possible sunny day what we are most interested in seeing at its peak, Hidden Lake Overlook.

We trust that when tomorrow at noon the worst of the storm we can attend our second most priority option Grinnell Glacier or Iceberg Lake, with her sharing our opinion that, although it is worthwhile to travel both. We approach the St. Mary Falls after a moderately short walk under a rain that will not disappear in the next few hours. We will follow your advice but before that you have to eat, which has already passed 13:00.

After a couple of failed attempts stopping next to coffee shops that turn out to be closed we tried our luck in the cafe. It is located door to door with a hotel with similar prices to our cabin that once ruled out by the horrible reviews it has received on Tripadvisor.

We entered the premises, which in reality is more a family restaurant than a cafeteria, and a rustic interior awaits us with nothing that seems forced or artificial thinking about tourists. Two waitresses are on duty, one urging us to take a seat and one that takes our order.

We ignore the Sunday special of fried chicken dish with soup and several sauces and we decided on a hamburger with cheese and what they say here as banana peppers, which is a very powerful type of pepper. The burgers are delicious as my mouth burns. The potatoes taste good and the enigmatic soup does indeed carry everything, including meat that gives it the appearance of stew.

There is no choice but to accompany it with soft drinks and water since alcohol is not served locally. We ended up satisfied and paying, including the tip. Now, let's try to get something out of this decaffeinated welcome to Glacier National Park with a short and accessible tour. After about 10 miles behind the wheel with how nice it was to think about kilometers we found the parking lot from which the path leads to St. Mary's Falls, a route that crosses mostly a forest that year Last burned after an incident in a picnic area.

However, as we would know later, the incident apparently had positive consequences for the ecosystem since the nature of the forest was dead anyway. Among the charred trees, the low visibility due to the rain and fog and the sleet that at times tightens strongly, is one of the most grotesque excursions of our trip.

Covered up to the eyebrows with supposed waterproof clothes some pieces more than others and after about half an hour dodging puddles and slippery stones we reached the bridge and the natural viewpoint in front of the falls. And they are not bad, but circumstances do not invite us to enjoy this goal more than about ten minutes.

From this bridge and adding another kilometer and a half more the road leads to other waterfalls, but as we know nothing about them. We decided not to take the risk. It's time to go back to the car, dying to get rid of a layer of clothing that is already completely soaked and that has not completely isolated our inner clothing from the ravages of the rain.

It's 4:00 pm when we're back inside the vehicle, and we take advantage of the fact that it's about an hour before we close the St. Mary's Visitor Center to make a new stop during which we reconnect to the Internet and request a brochure specific with information about all the excursions of the park.

Something before 5:00 p.m. is the time to discover at last how is our cabin number 5. It is not hard for us to find it following the indications that its owner gave us hours before, and what awaits us there is a construction much wider than that of Drywood Creek with a sofa accompanying the large bed, a bathroom with a slightly smaller prefabricated shower of the desired thing and, first time in the whole trip, without television in sight.

The interior is somewhat cold, so we put the heating with the dual function of warming up and helping us to dry the soaked jackets and boots. The trick works wonders and in just 10 minutes are ready for a new adventure. It's time to buy time for future days by washing clothes at a nearby service, even though the initial intention was to do our last laundry within two days taking advantage of the washer and dryer included in our next accommodation.

The best option that we have found online is a campsite near the entrance to the park by St. Mary's. It costs nothing to find it thanks to the good signage from the main road, and welcomes us with exactly what we needed. There is a room with about 15 washing machines and almost the same dryers, needing for the whole process a total of about five dollars in coins.

In a corner with sofas and TV a few elderly people are enjoying Casablanca in its particular version of neighborhood cinema every Sunday. Attached to the laundry is the gift shop and small grocery store of the camp, modest but enough to get out of a hurry in case of emergency.

In what we wait for the appliances to fulfill their function, Casablanca says goodbye with its titles of credit and the veteran division of the laundry leaves the place. A few minutes later the countdown of our dryer reaches zero and we are ready to pack our things and leave the campsite.

In doing so we see how the weather has improved slightly, stopping the rain at last and slightly increasing the visibility on the horizon, where the countless frozen mountains that make up the Glacier National Park are already sensed. The thing promises and a lot, and it makes us want even more strongly that tomorrow the sky opens and lets us see that wonder that is surrounding us without being aware of it.

We only have to go back to our cabin number five and prepare dinner, which this time will rely mainly on our particular microwave since the cold, humidity and muddy ground do not invite to make round trips to the common hut with full kitchen and dining room. We just stopped by her to get a can opener and a couple of cups and spoons for breakfast tomorrow, and found inside a London girl who immediately guesses our origin.

We dined pasta with tuna and a canned clam chowder, that cream of clams typical in the two coasts and that can be consumed in a low cost version in the rest of the country thanks to the supermarket preserves. Along with a couple of beers, a coffee with milk and a cookie for dessert we closed the dinner service.

It is 9:30 pm when we are ready to see one or two episodes of Masterchef before turning off the lights. Tomorrow, if everything goes as we expect, at noon the sky should give the starting signal to finally enjoy Glacier NP in all its splendor. We do not see the moment of that happening.

Day 4

It seems that an eternity has passed since that good night when we rested surrounded by the comfort of a room of the inn facing the Athabasca Glacier. Things have changed a lot since then. Much more ground travel, many more wonders seen and here we are, after 22:00 in a mysterious cabin. It is the same cabin that we arrived yesterday. This part of the mystery does not make much sense. B

It is a quiet and clear night outside with the threat of frost during the night. Our feet beg for a bit of rest, and that has been a hard day. Not that we expected a path of roses, but the truth is that the effort has been somewhat greater than we imagined. Of course, the effort has had a reward according to its magnitude. What reward is that? Let's start from the beginning.

The Visitor Center of St. Mary receives us much more solitary than yesterday despite having been open since 8:00, but as the minutes pass with us sitting near the heater and laptop in hand begins to populate visitors. The forecast is good, again indicating that at 12:00 the sun will begin to appear.

Our reentry to the park has informed us that the Going to the sun road, precisely the road that starts in St. Mary and crosses Glacier National Park, has a section closed by the storm a few miles ahead. However, it does not affect us since our planned excursion for today is born in Many Glacier, another nerve center of the park which is accessed by another entrance a few kilometers to the north.

We spent more time than expected inside the visitor center, watching with hope as the clouds are rising little by little and even begin to show the snowy mountains. We take advantage of the discreet but sufficient Internet connection to gather new episodes of television, starting with the premiere of the last season of Masters of Sex. Evenings without television or Internet in the cabin can be very long and all entertainment is welcome. Loosely passed 10:00 we decided that it is already good and we set course.

About 30 kilometers separate us from the car park we are looking for. Going through them takes us a bit longer than expected because the road that enters Glacier on this side presents several sections that urgently need a review, with potholes that will end up being expensive one day to a car rental company. We arrived safe and sound and around 11:00 we left the car sheltered until the eyebrows to face the challenge of the day. We're going to Grinnell Glacier.

Until the last moment we kept open the debate about which excursion to use today's day. The Glacier National Park has itineraries to give and take, enough to justify staying in its surroundings for more than a week. Unfortunately the budget and days available for vacations are limited, and that conditioned our passage through here to only three days. One of them, yesterday, was almost completely ruined by bad weather.

Another of them, that of tomorrow with guarantees of good weather, is reserved for what is our most priority excursion. That leaves us today to dedicate it to another great excursion, meaning anybody that passes more than 10 kilometers and requires ascending several hundred meters along that distance.

Two candidates came to the grand final after our research on Glacier National Park: one was Iceberg Lake and the other Grinnell Glacier. Both began their journey from nearby points, accessing the park through the access of Many Glacier that we have just crossed. Both had respectable distances and ascents, although Grinnell was winning by an additional three or four kilometers between the round trip and something more to overcome.

And most of all, the big difference is that while the trip to Iceberg Lake consists mainly of visiting the glacier lake at the end of the road, which is no small feat, with the Grinnell Glacier Trail we were going to have the complete package. It also awaits us at the goal a glacier lake with the corresponding mass of ice on it, but its itinerary seems to be willing to other sights and attractions that give it more variety than its competitor.

So after weighing pros and cons and after verifying that even a Ranger from the visitor center provided the same reasons as we did, the Grinnell Glacier proclaimed itself the winner. And there we go with nine kilometers to go, another nine to return, and between one thing and the other a difference of over 500 meters that we must overcome to reach the end of the road.

The first four kilometers take place around the lake Swiftcurrent first and leaving behind the Lake Josephine to our left. The landscapes that it presents are already noteworthy although we hope that on our return the sky, still covered at this time, will have been uncovered and that will improve still more the postcard. But the worrying thing is the little, almost null rise of those first 4,000 meters.

That means that the more than 500 meters of height to be won will be concentrated in the second half of the route, and greater problems are already pending. Meanwhile, the clouds finally decide to start ascending, clearing the view and giving us more reasons to continue. The temperature begins to rise, so that layers of clothing begin to be left over, which we must either keep in the backpacks or tie at the waist.

We passed by the detour that would take us to Grinnell Lake, a lake fed by the waters of the glacier that should not be confused with the real glacier lake, that which lies at the foot of the frozen surface collecting its mass in the form of liquid. When we passed the milestone of the five kilometers, small concentrations of snow began to appear on the vegetation that we left on both sides.

When we have overcome the six kilometers the shy snow has become a complete protagonist of the landscape, invading treetops and branches of trees and accumulating in thicknesses of between three and six centimeters. We spot several specimens of goat in the distance Big Horn. Also called ram of the rocky and characterized by huge horns in the form of ensaimada on his head.

We met a photographer with the appearance of a professional, equipped with a camera and telephoto of those that cost several months' income and showing a calm and tranquility that only someone who has spent hundreds of hours in solitude waiting for the moment to take the perfect snapshot can get.

When the count is over seven kilometers and we have even started to leave Grinnell Lake from above, the glacier begins to appear on the horizon beyond the timid but extensive waterfall that connects both points. At eight kilometers, with many meters already at the back of unevenness and uneven terrain full of roots and rocks with slippery aspect, one begins to wonder how much more you must tighten your teeth before reaching the goal.

The snow covering everything has stopped surprising, being assimilated into the landscape. And finally, after a final 600 meters that put your energy reserves to the test, the steepest slope of the day and a zig-zag finish ready to break your legs, there we have it.

A lustrous example of an ice block that rises beyond the horizon until it reaches almost to our feet, only interrupted by a precipice in which the ice turns into water and this precipitates into a lake completely calm. Grinnell Glacier is considered a modern glacier since it was not discovered until 1887, and yet it suffers like all the unstoppable advance of climate change with its icy surface receding several meters year after year.

We have been successful with our decision that relegated the visit to Glacier to the last days of the trip. To witness this during the first days would have reduced much impact to the rest of the nature attractions visited, which, although admirable, can not be required to compete with this monstrosity.

The untainted white of snow and ice not as in Athabasca, where we almost saw more brown than white from the exploitation of the glacier.The setting with snowy trees where only the sleigh of Santa Claus pulled by Rudolf are missing of the three lakes to overcome before reaching this goal in the heights. Everything contributes to the arrival at Grinnell Glacier from the minute one well, after recovering the breath for the final ascent.

Reaching the top of the Grinnell Glacier Trail is not synonymous with reaching the end of the road. There are still about 200 meters that now seem like a walk to reach the very shore of the glacier lake. And it is then, when it expands before you, when you realize that more than half of the lake remains static for a reason. It is frozen, covered by a very thin layer of ice, surely unable to bear the slightest weight on it.

This is the place to drop the backpack, look for a relatively comfortable stone and observe in silence. And after doing it and before moving on to the submachine gun of photos and videos, take hold of those sandwiches that we have loaded on our backs and so deservedly we have won. We recover the layers of clothing lost during the climb, and it is that the thermal sensation is not the same stopped that in march.

It is not cold that makes us want to go back indoors, but this amount of snow and ice does not stay solid for no reason. While we savored both the views and the food we heard the crunching of some piece of ice that has broken in the distance and that none of the seven or eight visitors present dares to interrupt with his voice.

Between the climb and the visit to the finish line, it was already past 4:00 p.m. We better start to return if we do not want the sunset, and therefore the perfect time for bears to roam the areas with vegetation, reach us in full return. We allow ourselves one last look with which to leave the scene engraved on our retina and we turn around.

As always, the return becomes heavier after disappearing that feeling of approaching the unknown. And with nine kilometers ahead there is a lot of time to start getting bored, although the sky and the sun are much more optimal than during the ascent, it brings some incentive to the way back. We try to cope with it in the best possible way, making a photo here and there, chatting, joking.

We almost forgot that constant warning that must be had when walking through the area until we come across something. In the exact center of the road a mass with the appearance of vomit but of improper dimensions to come from a human being rests on the ground. In addition you can clearly distinguish in it dozens, almost hundreds of those small red berries that apparently both attract both black bears and grizzly.

We would remember perfectly having come across something like this during the climb, so the animal indigestion may have passed through here four hours or four minutes ago. Needless to say, from that moment we increased the pace and began to speak at a much greater volume and with a tension in the voice unpublished until now.

Following the recommendations of the park we alternate the chat with slaps. I even clap my hands singing the first song that comes to mind, in this case one of the Beatles. Spotify in special version for bears, very soon available for long nights of hibernation.

We passed the section with the highest probability of bears sighting and we allowed ourselves to begin to relax again. We reached, and it is getting very long back at this point, the pier of Lake Josephine where a boat passes the day crossing the water from shore to shore for those who want to shorten slightly the distance on foot to the glacier although the height to win remains the same.

The boat has been parked for more than an hour without any sign of moving again until tomorrow, but the lake offers us one of the best mirror effects of the trip reflecting with almost total precision the snow-capped peaks before it.

We complete the nine kilometers back looking sideways at the huge façade of the hotel, on the other side of the last lake that borders. It's 7:20 when we can finally get rid of almost half of the costumes and get back into the car, with a temperature of four degrees that is hardly a difference compared to two degrees Celsius with which we started the tour six hours ago.

We do not have time for more and, although we had it, probably we would not consider going any further. We knew it was going to be a tough stage but being a linear route without as many stops as the circular itinerary of Lake Louise has made it more tired than the effort of that day. We said goodbye to the area and therefore to Many Glacier under a sky that, now,

I would still like to give us access to Many Glacier with two presents before we finally said goodbye. First with a new sighting of a bear in freedom, this time about five miles from the entrance to the park and without possibility of immortalizing it with a camera that rests in the trunk.

Shortly after our arrival the bear decides that there has already been enough function and starts to gallop downhill, in the direction of one of the countless lakes that accompany the road. Second, the last rays of light of the day coincide with our last miles before reaching the main road, giving us the excuse for a last stop in which to contemplate the different shades that the sky adopts before the watchful eye of the Many Glaciers, literal translation of Many Glacier.

It is 8:00 pm when we have left Many Glacier behind, and we do it to park at the supermarket open until 10:00 pm between the four buildings that make up the town of St. Mary. It is not a Walmart but it has enough to cover basic needs such as precooked food, drinks, snacks or protein for cooking.

Once the process is completed, we return to the parking lot of the Visitor Center of St. Mary, where several dozen cars rest despite the fact that the center has been closed for three hours. Why then so much public influx? Well, because the Internet connection has no schedule and from the parking area closest to the entrance can still be detected. Unemployed in a somewhat precarious way we invested about 15 minutes in updating the networks and knowing about our families. And now,

We reach it just before 9:00 p.m. and with the right energies. Today's dinner, which consists of two separate chicken dishes with different preparations and microwaved noodles, tastes great despite the austerity of its preparation. The shower ends up sinking us in that need of rest after a day that has demanded the best of us, but that has given us in return something that has made it very worthwhile.

It's 23:10, an hour too late for a country like the United States where the prime time of television has already ended, and our only remaining goal is to turn off the lamp and rest to face tomorrow another day. No, I'm not talking about one more day. It is our last day at Glacier, and therefore our last day in the heart of a natural park. After him, only a small tip will remain in the form of roads, shopping centers and urban parks, but nothing comparable to scenarios capable of giving us shows like today.

Day 5

It's seven in the morning in our cabin number 5 in Babb, Montana. We start the day with a new domestic breakfast that this time includes a breakfast burrito with egg, cheese and sausage heated in the microwave and that fills as much as its composition suggests but is not as tasty as expected.

We look out the window and the sky is blue, blue that amazes. We can already see among the trees some snowy peaks of the environment and it seems that it will be an unbeatable day. But there is something that we overlook and do not remember until we see the state of our vehicle. Tonight a strong frost was predicted and it seems that the prediction has been successful.

When we look at it, our Chevy looks like the Delorean after returning from its first time trip in the parking lot of the Twin Pines Mall. It is completely frozen, with a coat that glows in the sun covering crystals and bodywork. We have to use hot cloths to melt the worst part of the crystals and we must push some doors from inside to get them to open. When we started the car the thermometer marked -3 degrees.

We collect our things. We load them in the trunk which also needs a bit of insistence to open up. We left in the communal hut the cups and spoons that we had borrowed for breakfast. It has been a nice accommodation, with somewhat expensive rates but according to the prices of the area.

We head back to St. Mary's where after four miles we refuel what fits in the half-full tank before entering Glacier National Park predictably for the last time. The Ranger of the gate informs us that the Going-to-the-Sun Road is still cut during a stretch that prevents reaching the starting area of excursions from Logan Pass and let's not say our next Columbia Falls lodging on the completely opposite side of the park.

That means that, unless we give considerable detour through the south of the park, for now we are trapped without being able to continue our route. Fortunately we have the already familiar visitor center of St. Mary by our side to offer us shelter and Internet connection while we wait. The sky is still completely clear and in this short period of time the temperature has already risen to one or two degrees above zero, so there is hope that the cut of circulation does not last too long.

It is 10:00 when the park agents update the warning signs of the visitor center, indicating now that it is possible to reach Logan Pass but from there the traffic is still cut. For now it is enough to satisfy our plans, so here we go.

The Going-to-the-Sun Road is, being brief, an animated one. With a totally clear sky that makes the conditions are optimal to drive through it, we are unable to pass by not even one of the dozens of viewpoints that happen every few meters. The rodeo that gives the road to a huge valley surrounded by high mountains, including the one we expect to see in a few hours from the Hidden Lake Overlook, make any other route that has the audacity to be called scenic route must rethink if it deserves Title.

We rediscovered the snow despite the fact that the temperature has already risen to a perfectly bearable six degrees Celsius. After about 15 miles from St. Mary reached the huge parking lot of Logan Pass where there is a new visitor center of the park and signs and more signs indicating the large number of routes that hikers can take from here. Indeed the road remains open only here, preventing us from continuing to drive west and truncating our plans to link from here with access to the park by West Glacier that would later take us to our next accommodation.

The traffic is not the only one sacrificed by the frost. The Visitor Center also remains closed, we do not know if for having destined all the personnel to inform of the precautions to take throughout the park or for not being able to guarantee the security in their accesses, since it is built on several floors and the steps to reach the upper floors are completely covered by several centimeters of snow.

In its surroundings the snow becomes ice in the shaded parts, being very inadvisable to try to continue walking on it. The beginning of the road towards Hidden Look Overlook, however, seems to have already been subjected to the efforts of the employees of the park since it is possible to distinguish perfectly a freeway of snow and ice opening hollow along it.

Hidden Lake Overlook is one of the most visited points of Glacier National Park. To reach it requires traveling the two and a half kilometers that separate it from Logan Pass, during which it gains a height somewhat higher than 150 meters. This climb is concentrated in the first kilometer, helped by a series of long stairs and wooden walkways that now present the additional risk of ice waiting for the smooth soles of an unwary.

As we ascend the landscape that we leave behind becomes colossal and the one in front of us does not detract, with Bearhat Mountain towards which we are heading growing more and more in perspective with each step we take. I am delighted with the change of scenery, because of our habit of starting our trips at the end of August.

Due to the state of the terrain and the precautions against the ice, the two and a half kilometers are slow to travel, which in normal circumstances would be doubled. In doing so, we reached the viewpoint at Hidden Lake. While still magnificent, the landscape is flattened by being covered in snow everywhere.

The photos we saw during our research they showed, along the lake, accumulations of flowers of different and vivid colors on a mantle of vibrant green, giving an amazing amount of nuances to the landscape. However, all that gift for the eyes has been covered by snow, which also threatens to cover parts of the mountainside that normally allow to distinguish its texture.

The viewpoint consists of a wooden walkway of about 10 or 12 meters above which the snow is still far from disappearing despite being constantly trampled by visitors. From here you can continue and descend to the shore of the lake, but this implies two kilometers and 260 meters of descent to advance, which must be overcome, a challenge that does not sound very appetizing knowing the state of the surface.

We begin the return to Logan Pass, still more careful on the catwalks since when tilting the weight forward due to descent the possibility of an untimely slip is even greater. Approaching 14:00 when we reach the parking and both the Visitor Center and the extension of the road are closed to our misfortune. After eating in the car rolls of chicken caesar salad I ask a Ranger what he thinks about waiting a little longer in case he opens the road or starts the long detour to the south.

He informs me that the cut area is only three miles, but the ice that is parked there is resistant to melting and, if at this time of noon it has not yet done so, there is a high probability that it will not do so until the day in the morning.

Highline Trail, another star excursion that is born here and that although we did not plan to complete. We return to our departure point of St. Mary and from there start the route to the south. We say goodbye to Logan Pass a very remarkable 12 degrees that make the experience of stopping again in viewpoints along the Going-to-the-Sun is very pleasant, and something almost mandatory now that the sun is higher and allows us Enjoy the views in the opposite direction to this morning's.

During the march, a new black bear with the appearance of being quite young crosses right in front of the car after which we circulate. We can only see him galloping for three seconds before getting lost in the woods to our left, but with this one there are already five bear sightings in the wild during the whole trip.

Coming from three previous trips where our expectations were not met to be able to see these animals in freedom, it seems that all the luck that we lacked then has been concentrated on this occasion. We made our last stop along the scenic route in the viewpoint to the small islet of the Wild Goose Island, which actually offers much more thanks to the lake that surrounds it.

We arrived at our favorite Visitor Center in St. Mary, where for the umpteenth and last we took advantage of the free Internet connection. Now, yes, there is no choice but to start the unexpected detour. What was going to be 63 miles crossing the park becomes 97 surrounding it from the south, but since it is 3:30 we believe that we still have time to make a raid to the park from that side before moving away in a southwest direction to Columbia Falls.

The landscape of ice and snow immediately gives way to green and brown wastelands with the only trace of white tones on the horizon thanks to the peaks that continue to lean to our right.

The alternative route crosses several towns consisting almost entirely of motor homes with fences to delimit the farms and all kinds of improvised outdoor furniture in what are supposed to be tables, slides and others built with loose pieces. Cars and vans with abandoned appearance can be counted by tens. Of course, perhaps they will be inhabited by charming people, but the appearance of these small towns does not invite you to stop and greet them.

From this side and at this distance, Glacier National Park looks like a theme park. We see in the distance a dense concentration of snowy mountains, but all perfectly delimited by a natural wall of lower mountains and without any relationship with the rest of the landscape, which is rather desert and autumnal. It's like getting close to Port Aventura and seeing the silhouette of the Dragon Khan or the Shambhala surrounded by the absolute nothingness.

Did I say five bear sightings in the wild? Well, there are already six. During the second half of the detour to West Glacier, a couple of black bears try to cross the road seconds before us and the previous truck pass through it. We are surprised that the truck driver has been able to see them from his cabin and stop in time, when the first of the two bears takes advantage of his goal to cross the road and get lost in the vegetation of the left shoulder.

The second one seems to flinch when he sees the traffic and returns to take refuge among the bushes on the right, waiting for the next opportunity to meet with his brother, gang colleague or, you know. At last we reached the signal of West Glacier after an hour and a half of driving that has become heavier than we imagined. We do not waste time and we enter the park on this side, reaching first the south bank of a huge Lake McDonald that accompanies us to our left for nine miles. However, the forest between him and us gives us few opportunities to appreciate its magnificent dimensions.

We continue the march with the intention of reaching the cut of the road from this side and from there start to descend. For this we still have about 20 miles, only three less than it would take us to reach the Logan Pass again on this side if the road was not cut. The tour becomes monotonous.

Well, there may be someone who is passionate about it, but to us more than two miles with only forests on either side of us bores us after the spectacular eastern half of the Going-to-the-Sun of the that we have witnessed this morning. The road takes time to start gaining height but when it does, it does so with a steep slope. Those snowy peaks that are already familiar begin to appear in the distance, but now they seem to be turning their backs on us. We make a single stop before reaching the end,Bird Woman Falls from the car window.

We finally reached that fence with the text of Road Closed which confirms that hours later the stretch that remains to reach Logan Pass continues cut. The closure takes place at the height of the Weeping Wall, a vertical stone wall that for several meters becomes dark due to the fall of water on it, giving it the name of weeping wall.

We have here, next to the parking lot with a lot more people than we expected, a shy but elongated cataract that reaches us from the heights in several sections. However, we are among the few who seem to pay attention to it, since most of those present are more attentive to several rams of the Rockies that are grazing a few tens of meters above our heads. We already saw several of these copies yesterday and a better distance, so we are not as excited as the others.

We started the descent back to West Glacier and unfortunately the time of day is the least suitable for the views that the route could offer us. At 18:33 the sun is already preparing for its farewell to the west, so the viewpoints to the valley, with the river meandering several meters below us, are totally tarnished by the resol. It makes no sense to stop to see the Lake McDonald, since the light would blind us equally if we tried to look at it. We arrived in a short time to West Glacier, where we entered another failed gift shop.

We are already going to Columbia Falls, a small town 17 miles from West Glacier where we can find the room we have rented through Airbnb . Yesterday we contacted the hosts to let them know that our arrival time would be quite late, to which they responded with facilities to access even though they did not return until 9:30 pm. and a list of restaurants in the area could interest us.

Among them was one specializing in meat and, importantly, barbecue pork ribs. That is one of the favorite dishes that I have been waiting to taste since we landed in Seattle, so the decision is almost immediate. Since it is already 8:00 PM we decided to stop in it first and have dinner before discovering our home for tonight.

What we find is a local with a rustic look, something old, and a price list that seems acceptable. We both ordered small portions of ribs, which are more than enough and worthy of their name. The surprise of the dish is a kind of fried bread exclusive to the house that looks like Chinese bread on the outside but inside it tastes like a donut. We went with everything including black beans, coleslaw and baked potatoes with a Pepsi and a Moose Drool for me from Missoula and that is exquisite.

Now we go to the Airbnb house, just six blocks from the restaurant. Despite the difficulties due to the almost complete darkness of the street we managed to locate it but when we tried to enter it we found the surprise that the door is closed despite the fact that the hosts assured us that they would leave it open. It is 21:10 and according to your answer they would be back at 9:30 pm, so we can only wait in the car until at 9:35 p.m. there is a vehicle that stops in front of the house.

Once the question of what had happened was cleared, we can finally enter and reach our room. It is huge, with a bed of an amplitude as we had never seen before, a carpet at his feet and all kinds of tables, drawers and chairs as well as a refrigerator and a microwave. A good router gives us an Internet connection while they leave the bathroom on the ground floor, which is exclusive for us since they use the basement.

It's 22:00 when we can finally shower and lock ourselves in our room to start storing clothes in the depths of our suitcases, since after today our particular winter is over. Tomorrow we have a hard, hard day, as hard as driving about 1,000 kilometers west until we reach the Pacific. Today nature has ended. The scenarios have been up to the task, and now it only remains to think that the end is near. We are almost in it.

Day 6

There is a risk that you always have to evaluate when you enter a road trip. When cities, parks and other itinerary stops trace a circular route on the map, everything goes smoothly. The search for flights is simpler, the available days are optimized and the rental car does not present any problem as it is returned in the same office (or at least, the same State) in which it was collected. Unfortunately that is not always the usual case, and an example is this trip. Travel the distance from Seattle to Glacier National Park.

Crossing Canada has been a joy, but it presents us with the small problem that we are now almost a thousand kilometers away from the starting square and we must head back towards it. And we have to do it because the alternatives did not work out. Getting our return flight to leave from Montana not only limited the air supply a lot but also added a considerable surcharge to the rental of the transport. So today there are no great landscapes or efforts for the legs. Today it's just about driving for hours on Interstate 90 heading west.

The room rented in Columbia Falls through Airbnb. It has been correct although quite uneven. The stay has already started turbulent because of the misunderstanding that we had 20 minutes waiting in the car the night before. Let's add the impossibility of using the shared kitchen to be affected by the reforms underway inside the house.

And let's finish it with several ambient noises during the night that do not help guests with a light sleep, being especially annoying the sound of the trains that pass a little distance from home. It has not been the best rest of the trip, but some forces have been able to recover.

The objective for this morning was to start up as soon as possible and we achieved it with flying colors. When the clock still shows 7:20 and the car returns to present some ice on it although not in such dramatic amounts as last night we turn on the heat to clear the windows and we hit the road.

Previously our host has recommended some detours and places to visit along the way, but I must admit that we did not pay much attention because we were still stretching and our listening comprehension had yet to wake up. We only have one mission to get to Everett as soon as possible, the city several kilometers north of Seattle that will welcome us on our last two nights of travel.

We began to travel along the first hours of light the state of Montana in the direction of the west. And what does Montana have to offer us one Wednesday morning before they have even opened the shops? Because of the highways that force you to slow down from time to time to cross small villages, meadows, tractors and more meadows and watch cows resting, small deer crossing the road and a small fragment of the Lolo National Forest, the latter being the most attractive our last moments in the state that houses Glacier National Park.

At last the highways of a single lane in each direction end and we connect with Interstate 90, the one that crosses the country from coast to coast very close to the border with Canada. The speed limit goes up to 75 miles per hour and that encourages us with the prospect of being able to discount miles to the destination with greater speed.

We said goodbye to Montana and began to shoot about, according to some license plates of our fellow travelers, the status of the Famous Potatoes. We are in Idaho, the American corner that we already travel on our way to Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park.

The virtues of the interstate are sometimes interrupted due to the numerous road work, those sections where cones appear, lanes disappear and, what affects us the most, the speed limit is drastically reduced. It is impossible to get rid of them as there are everywhere. Given how numerous these road construction zones are and how difficult it is to distinguish what they are improving or maintaining exactly, I still do not discount the theory that they are excuses that states manufacture to generate employment.

We drive for several kilometers within walking distance of a car that needs a good wash and has a sticker on the back that reads choose Hillary Clinton. It brings us a certain sense of relief, because so far all the posters we had seen circulating in the United States were supportive of her political rival in the presidential campaign, a Donald Trump that needs no introduction.

We made the first stop of the day after a good first pull of something more than 200 miles traveled in more than three and a half hours. Rest is the excuse to drink coffee in the city of Coeur d'Alene. The exterior welcomes us with about 15 degrees that already predict that the temperatures of previous days are a thing of the past. Only nine miles later we make a second stop, this time longer, to settle accounts with the supermarket chain Walmart.

And ah friend, now yes. The establishments of the franchise in the United States are exactly what we remember and were looking for, and not the constant disappointment that their equivalent of the neighbor in the north implied. Not only do we find things of which there was no trace in Canada but also the prices are noticeably lower, even using a stronger a priori currency like the US dollar.

We have to take yes or yes a couple of those chicken BBQ Wraps that made us salivate in previous trips. I fall into the temptation of a pair of t-shirts, one from Star Wars and another from The Avengers. We renew our stock of earplugs, so useful on difficult nights. And we took a whole load of ChapStick lip balm bars. We take them of several types like apple, cake or pumpkin.

We resume our mission to travel on Interstate 90 heading west. There are 320 miles left when we arrived at what was our first and will be our last State of the trip in Washington. We won with the change one hour to the clock, since we return to the Pacific time zone after several weeks in the Mountain Time Zone.

We refilled, probably for the last time fuel at a gas station, which does not allow us to indicate in advance how much we want to authorize on the credit card. 13:30. We overcome the barrier of the remaining 200 miles. We are still surrounded by farms and tornadoes. That our discography for travel has reached the selection of themes of Mumford & Sons comes to hair for this landscape.

What separates Seattle from the eastern border of the state of Washington in which it is located? Well, the absolute nothing. Miles and miles of farms guarding huge plots only interrupted by countless small tornadoes that remove the earth. We stopped a few minutes in a service area in the middle of nowhere to eat one of the two barbecue chicken wraps and take turns again at the wheel.

Again running after the meal, using the huge coasters of the vehicle to let a Dr. Pepper Diet bought in the service area. The 26 degrees outside remind us what it is to live in short sleeves. 170 miles to the destination. We overcome the psychological barrier of the 100 miles to arrive. We enter a new National Forest that gives us some views of a beautiful lake before crossing a long bridge.

We were doing a great time. Ten hours after starting the march we were barely 30 miles from the destination, which was quite an achievement as we expected the trip to take us about 12 hours including intermediate stops. But then Seattle had to arrive. And his hellish traffic. We spent half an hour trudging through to finally reach exit 26 that will take us to Everett.

We finally take the exit. Fret the record time to reach the destination. We still do not arrive because the damn detour did not mean the end of traffic jams. And now we must add eternal traffic lights and a multiple accident that has left two cars in deplorable condition for the enjoyment of the onlookers who consider it a good idea to almost stop altogether to take a look.

I thought we were never going to say we had arrived, but here we are. We parked in front of Everett's house, and go home. Three floors of which we will only occupy the living room, bedroom and private bathroom of the basement, although we will have access to the kitchen on the ground floor and the laundry room on the top floor. Allison receives us, a Canadian lady who is all kindness.

More effusive than his two cats, who well, like good cats, prefer to opt for the step of you instead of giving you a warm welcome. But less effusive than his three Golden Retrievers who go crazy and jump for joy, especially the two males. There is still the tour of the facilities. The bedroom and bathroom are more than right. Who knows, a lot. And connected in a timely manner to an Apple TV with which we have access to countless channels and even the Netflix catalog.

Very satisfied after the welcome tour to the house we started to download the car for the last but one time after a fairly long and lively conversation with Allison. Their dogs do not stop playing around us and demand attention and pampering from time to time. After freeing ourselves from their harassment, we showered and went upstairs to make our last washing machine for the trip.

It's 8:00 pm. After a 25-hour day, let's remember the time change when we made the decision to postpone our food for tomorrow at noon. We will have a local of the franchise two miles from the place where we will spend all day and it is more advisable to kick the stomach at noon than at night, with less room to seat the banquet. Tonight we take advantage of some of the meals that we have left and that surely we can not exhaust before returning home.

After a chapter of Braindead in the best home theater that we have ever enjoyed, at 10:10 pm and despite having no need to get up early the next day, we decided that the day is over. What's up tomorrow? Why the hell are we in Everett and not near some remote park or national forest, or even near the airport to leave the next day?

The reason is very simple. Our trip to North America is ending and we have not yet covered a mandatory milestone. We have not yet made the traditional visit and consequently busted the stores of a shopping center. Tomorrow does not happen.
Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-52395394199409910072018-07-29T01:05:00.000-07:002018-11-11T03:28:06.884-08:00Weekend in Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar
Last weekend, we decided to take a trip to Mahabaleshwar. This climatic health resort is famous for its strawberry growing, its holiday resorts and a current honeymoon destination. It was also the summer capital for the Bombay presidency at the time of the British empire. As this city is 120 km from Pune, some decided to go by motorbike, while the rest in car. We left Mumbai to continue our journey to the south of India.

1 day trip to mahabaleshwar

Melodic awakening. The sun is barely up when we wake up by the scream of a salesman in front of our bedroom door. It looks like fast-forward Rap. He walks in front of the hotel with flasks of olive oil and wine vinegar. We finally understand that he sells head massages.

The TV of our neighbor resonates. Choked voices. I feel like I hear someone talking underwater. Outside, the morning song of auto-rickshaws purrs like people passing by. Their horns make the sweet whisper of a blocked apartment bell. It is no longer possible to sleep. It is 7:30 am and I go to get some fresh air at the window.

An old man burns rubbish. Thick tarmac smoke rises and hides the pale sun. His small pile of garbage pollutes as much as a coal train. The exterior walls of the hotel are stained with soot. I ask the waiter for a double milk coffee without sugar. I get a mini cup of sweet black coffee. We decide to go to another hill station as was Matheran. We really need to flee the pollution of big cities.

At the reception, we are asked why we are leaving. We leave for a 4-hour drive to Mahabaleswar. I did not count the number of stops in our trip. I would say one every 15 minutes on average. I found the breakfast stop a little frustrating. But as we were on vacation, so it does not matter!

Pune is surrounded by mountains, so the road took us through beautiful landscapes. With the wind and the rain, I admit that I was feeling a bit cold. The first leg was Panchgani, after 2 hours of road. At 1300m altitude, a vast plateau gives a strange impression. We climb in the car along the mountain and suddenly it's all flat as if someone had cut the top of the mountain. Up there, of course it's cool, but it's windy.

This site is very famous in the paragliding world. Indeed, this activity has become the fashionable hobby for the wealthy people of Bombay who come here for the weekend.

We take the road again. The guys on motorbikes always follow us. There is a lot of traffic. It's a bit long and winding. I prefer to sleep. We finally arrive at Mahabaleshwar, a town of 13,000 inhabitants in the mountains. We find a room in a hostel. It's calm, but a hubbub of daycare hangs over the place. We have lunch at the restaurant of the hotel. The place looks like a cafeteria. There are plenty of children, well-to-do families, fathers in shorts and girls in jeans.

Mahabaleshwar is a popular vacation destination for the affluent Mumbaikars. Around our table, the families talk loudly without embarrassment and without any restraint. It echoes in the restaurant, as it does in a church. We order a soup. The waiter wipes my spoon (my only utensil) with his thumb. I ask him for rice thali. My meal arrives and I hasten to devour the rice.

We take the car to see the viewpoints without risking to get lost. We embark on a long walk in the mountains to stretch our legs. Here, the trees cover the roads of their branches intermingled like veins. Creepers, cords of wood, attach the trunks to each other. This is the exact setting of Kipling's Jungle Book. I would not be surprised to see Mowgli leap from tree to tree!

We start by visiting the ancient temple dedicated to Shiva, built under the time of Shivaji, the great Maratha king, then the Krishnabai Temple, where water comes out of the head of a cow carved into the rock. This water comes from 5 sacred rivers of Krishna, Veena, Koyana, Savitri and Gayatri. My friends soak their feet in the pool, and then splash with water directly from the mountain.

Mahabaleshwar is the name of a place in the mountains, a few hours away from Pune. These mountains are so high that you are right in the clouds! Of course, this also has a certain effect on the view. So we stared up into the white fog. But there was a moment when suddenly the cloud curtain opened and gave a magnificent view of the valley. Unfortunately the battery of my camera was empty.

On the way to Arthur's Seat viewpoint" at 4421 feet, we see strange road signs. There is the do not spit on the road, and the famous cleanliness is next to godliness signs. In Mahabaleshwar, there is an attempt to lessen environment pollution. We are soon on the edge of the mountain. We are not the only ones to have planned to go here on New Year's Day!

The voices bounce off the mountains in front of us. Echo effect. A guy throws a liquor capsule in a vacuum. The serrated cap floats like a UFO. On the observation deck of the Arthur's Seat, a western lady came up to me and asked if she could hug me. That was new to me! I thought for a moment and said okay. She squeezed me once and tried to kiss my lips. Then she went away beaming with joy. Wow, I was completely taken by surprise. Should I ask her for a date?

Back in the car, I was able to change my battery and I was ready again for the next exciting stops of our trip. Mahabaleshwar is known for its strawberries. We looked at a strawberry field with no strawberry on it, as the season is long gone. On our way, a seller of strawberries and carrots try to sell us his harvest. He walks the streets with his two baskets hung on a wooden pole.

But we were still able to toast with fresh strawberry juice. At the market, I buy a strawberry juice to quench my thirst and at the same time, probably hydrate my stomach too. In front of us, a shepherd and his flock pass in the street. The ewes are dyed in fluorescent pink. I want to bite one to see if his wool would not melt like a cotton candy.

We start again in another long walk in the surrounding forest. We walk for a good 1 hour to get to a viewpoint. We stopped at other vantage points, but something distracted us from the view. We see camels on the horizon! We knew what we had to do! We see a furry caterpillar. While we think we are lost in the mountains, we see a young couple sitting under a tree.

The woman has pink face and she avoids our eyes. The man is rather pale. He crosses his legs. They did not expect to see us. I think the lovebirds were not just chatting in the forest. The unmarried people of India do what they can to have privacy. We return to the hotel. We have New Year's Day dinner at the hotel with a buffet.

The lobby turns into a disco with neon lights and a DJ for the Maharashtrian families who came to enjoy the weekend. The fat moms in sari let go themselves, while their husbands just as fat drink, and the kids join too. It's crazy and was a real show. We had a good laugh!

2 day trip to mahabaleshwar

We see the lovely sunrise this morning. I ask for a banana yogurt. Today is our last day of walking in the woods of Mahabaleshwar. We take a road that we have not taken yet.

We take a taxi to visit Pratapgad Fort located 22km from Mahabaleshwar. We zigzag on the mountain roads. We see a yellow painted tree. Pratapgad Fort is good. A light blue butterfly flies in a crossroad. As we approach, thousands of her colleagues fly away without warning from a huge oak in front of us. We are in a fantastic tale.

We arrived at the top, on the ramparts. The fog (apparently famous in the region) was suddenly raised and we could see the lush jungle of the valley. We spent an hour or two playing around in the fort, breathing and listening to the silence.

Then, we stop to buy chips and, suddenly, we stopped in a garden, in fact a field with a little greenery and tables and, below, we see strawberry plantations, specialty of the region, generous in jam. The surprise is when we see sizzler brownie, brought on a hot plate with scoops of ice cream and chocolate in abundant quantities. What a way to recover from walking!

We go to the market to buy provisions in anticipation of the long ride of tomorrow. I'm at the flea market. We see many traders trying to sell us their junk of pretty hats of plastic flower straw, inflatable hammers, bamboo flutes, water guns, small cars. We buy some small fruit juice packs. The nuts are wrapped in old newspaper. We buy honey, and eat onions pakoras.

The last activity before returning is a bit of boating. We arrive at the edge of a lake, completely covered by mist. It's very cold, and it's only the riders who took windbreaks. We have a lot of fun, and everyone is very happy. I feel cold, but seeing my friends laugh and smile makes me happy.

We went to visit another fort. It was necessary to enjoy a little of the pure air of Mahabaleshwar, with beautiful, abundant green plateau caressing in the middle of the mountain ranges of Sahyadri.

We have an excellent dinner in a restaurant where the tables are covered with bathroom tiles. I pay myself a chicken burger and french fries. The cooks sprinkled my cheese fries, and there are cucumbers in my burger. It's a surprise at every meal!

A sadhu comes to us while we enjoy our dinner. In the right hand, a cane serves as a support, while the left holds a spittoon. A white V-shaped beard flushes his face. The tip has been dyed with henna, which gives it a rusty color. Between the eyes, the man wears the inevitable orange dot. I take a picture.

At the bar, a big surprise for me. I was warned that it could happen, it did not reduce the shock. At the table next door, young men get a little stiff after a few rounds of drinking beer. We finally go home. No one is wrong, no one is right. Our ways of having fun will always be different.

Day 3

After breakfast, we depart for Kolhapur, the ancient capital of Maharashtra.
Kalyan Panjahttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-28277899658878738032018-07-15T06:11:00.001-07:002018-11-11T03:28:06.378-08:00Travel Diary of the Aland Islands in Finland
The first time we saw the Aland Islands was in the stamps that we collected with boats, landscapes, apples, cats, and the summer festival. They sent us the stamps home and for us it was a way to travel. The truth is that our first trips were through the stamps. We saw ourselves cycling through those paradisiacal landscapes, from island to island.

We wanted to be in those magnificent parties of the midsummer decorating Maypole with the rest of the inhabitants of the Aland. To dream was also to travel. We are now on a ferry that takes us to the Aland Islands from Stockholm. The dawn surprises us through the porthole, showing us the silhouettes of islets, of some wooden houses. We are arriving at the Aland Islands. It seems that dreams come true sometimes.

I do not know at what point we will have crossed the skerry called Market. It is located west of the Aland archipelago, halfway between Stockholm and Helsinki. The mainland Finland is 150 km from the Market, and Sweden 30 km away. A border in the water that for our eyes is an islet with a lighthouse, and in which fortunately there is nobody asking for a passport.

Although the Aland archipelago belongs to the Republic of Finland, Swedish is spoken, the only official language. From the Middle Ages it belonged to the Kingdom of Sweden, like all of Finland later. But that hegemony ends in the early nineteenth century and begins the Russian Empire, so that Finland and the Aland are ceded to Russia by Napoleon.

In 1917, when the Russian Empire was transformed into the USSR, the Baltic countries and Finland became independent. And the Aland parliament call for a union with Sweden, which creates tensions with Finland. To avoid them, in 1921, the League of Nations decided to demilitarize and convert into an autonomous region.

At the end of our trip to the Aland Islands, we will not really know if they are from one side or the other, which confirms the absurdity of the borders. They are, like many places, a mixture of cultures. What is certain is that, both for Swedes and Finns, it is a true paradise, for the beauty of its geography, its exuberant nature, and the wild. It is also for having a milder climate than in other Nordic countries.

The golden reflections in the Baltic waters herald a resplendent summer day. The truth is that the days we spent on the Aland Islands were the brightest of all our trip through Finland. I guess it was also because we had dreamed for a while with them. Those last days of summer with some yellow forests of the ruska that announces the autumn contributed to that. We were captivated by these islands located between Sweden and Finland.

Although we knew it, we are surprised by the large number of islands that we see passing from the ferry. It is incredible to think that only on the Aland Islands there are 30,000 islands and islets, of which 6500 have a name, and 65 of them are inhabited.

In fact, during our stay in the Aland Islands, we will have the privilege of staying on an uninhabited island. It is an unusual and wonderful fact that we would have never dreamed of.

That landscape of islands defines the country. It is an image that we will see throughout our journey of a month in this Nordic country. As happened later, when we traveled by ferry from the Aland islands to the continent, we cross the beauty of the Turku archipelago. We see hundreds of islands and will always associate Finland with this image of islands and forests.

As soon as we got off some of the ferry passengers from Stockholm to the Aland Islands stay back. It is strange, since the ship was full. We realize that many Swedes dedicate to spend the weekend on the ferry, as it is also a place of fun, with several pubs, bars, and restaurants. We were amazed by the incredible nightlife. That's why almost no one got off at the Aland. They were sleeping after a long night, ready to go back to Stockholm.

Mariehamn, the capital of the Aland, still stretches her arms when we arrive at port. We get off the huge ferry and excited to tread on Finnish lands. The silence is clear in the dawn of the islands, we walk slowly through the quiet streets. As it is still very early, we do not want to wake up anyone and we decided to go around the city. They are pleasant neighborhoods of large colored wooden houses. Their porch is reminiscent of the rural architecture of the United States.

Our hotel also has that architectural style. It is also very well located, facing the sea and the Maritime Museum. After settling in, we borrow the bikes that will take us to discover a good part of the Aland Islands. The adventure begins.

We love to use all possible means of transport in the trips, since the points of view multiply. In Finland we were fortunate to see the country from the sea, from the ferries that took us to cross the Baltic, the archipelago of Turku, or between the Finnish islands. We also navigate the Finnish lakes by canoe, a leisurely way to discover places. It is quite the opposite of the jet skis that we drove through the rivers of Rovaniemi, feeling a sense of incredible freedom.

Another one of the means of maritime transport or of recreation, we should say that we used was the floating cesses of Jyvaskyla. We managed ourselves through the lakes. Of course, we drove through the forested roads of Finland, where we drive really slowly. We never knew a country where he would conduct himself so calmly.

Although the majority of the kilometers that we made in the Nordic country were by rail, what a wonderful journey to the autumn of Finland by train! A means of transport that works excellently. But we must say that one of our favorite means of locomotion is the bike. I feel light with backpack on my back.

I start pedaling and feel the breeze or the cold, the landscapes, the cities that pass at a different pace, without hurry, and at the same time feeling the movement. I am able to stop freely in any place that catches my attention and to be able to leave the bikes in any place without worrying that nobody will take it. And enjoy the places without time.

We did that on our trip to Berlin to explore the city by bike for a week, a very interesting point of view, the city that happens as if they were stills. Another way of merging with people, who also uses the bike as a means of transport, to be one more.

The Aland islands are an ideal place to ride a bike, for the magnificent scenery, because the roads are quite flat, with hardly any difference in level. In addition, on the Aland Islands, as well as in the rest of Finland, there is a good network of bike lanes, which covers a good part of the country. They are wide lanes, so much that they look like roads.

Many times shared with pedestrians and well marked. Finns can ride a bike without worrying about cars, which is why they often use them to get around. In addition, the bikes can be easily parked as there are always bike parks in the cities. It is almost not necessary to pad them because of how much private (and public) property is respected in this country.

On the other hand it is possible to take them on a trip by subway, train or ferry. On the Aland islands, we can go by bike from one island to another thanks to the bridges. For the travelers, the bike is an interesting option since there are services of rent or of loan, in private companies or in the Tourism Offices.

In hotels throughout Finland, were able to borrow bicycles that are reserved for customers. It allowed a part of the kilometers that we traveled through the country to ride a bicycle. They are usually bikes without gears that brake with the pedal, to which we quickly get used to.

Excited, we get going. Very soon we will know some islands that until recently we saw very far away. We start our bike route through the capital, Mariehamn, and immediately we realize that nature penetrates the city. It is something that will surprise us during our trip to Finland. The forests seem to want to conquer the towns and cities, with which we conclude that for the Finns nature is very important and is part of their lives.

The children go on excursions and give some classes abroad. The inhabitants seek that constant contact with nature, whether to go as a family to look for mushrooms or berries. It is a tradition that is already well established in Finnish habits, whether for walking or practicing all kinds of sports.

In Mariehamn we find leafy forests where we get lost, dirt roads that take us to areas of moss where the mushrooms are reproduced. And even in the city, the trees and gardens multiply. And the feeling that we have is that the city does not eat nature. It envelops the first, which is characterized, more than by tall buildings, by low wooden houses. We would say that it is a habitable, human city.

As we get lost around Mariehamn, we arrive in a new neighborhood with buildings that are not too high. It tell us about contemporary architecture on the Aland islands, and by extension in Finland. At first glance they look like many of the buildings that we already know. We get a lot of attention, because they all have large glazed terraces.

So we realize and we will confirm it throughout the trip that the light It is fundamental in the conception of architecture. In addition, these new neighborhoods respect the harmony of the environment. Clearly, nature is integrated into Finnish architecture, making buildings more human.

And, on the other hand, there is the classical architecture. We see the colorful wooden houses, with their garden, located in wide streets, that make up neighborhoods full of color and charm.

Mariehamn is on the largest and most populated island of the archipelago called Fasta Alan. From its borders we set out to explore the south of the archipelago. We travel on lonely roads, almost without traffic, crossing bridges on the Baltic Sea that sneaks everywhere. We load in our small luggage with photographs of the typical landscape of the Aland islands. We enjoy the blue of the Baltic and the lines of the coast drawn of forests, with brushstrokes of houses and wooden jetties.

We travel kilometers for hours passing through the islet of Tunngrund, and the islands Styrso, Granhol and Rodgrund. It is amazing to go from one island to another almost without realizing it. The conquering landscape of the Aland illuminates the day. We stop to see the boats that return or those that go fishing or enjoy the day. Almost everyone has a boat, or at least a small boat, so many kilometers of coastline.

We see everyday scenes of a woman and a dog that greet the man who goes fishing on his new sailing boat. We see a couple who went out to explore this island in kayak, another point of view that we hope to experience very soon. It is still summer, and people make the most of the last days of heat, because when winter approaches, it will be different.

It is still our first day in the Aland and the architecture has us in love, those bright colors, the windows, the gardens around. It's all so perfect and ideal. These islands seem like a story.

At some point we arrived at the island of Nato and we went through a forest where we decided to get lost a bit, even though we always had the map in our hands. We return slowly and discover one of the most beautiful corners, perfect for photographs of the Aland islands that we know will represent this trip later. Those will be some of the images that remain in our memory of these islands that have already trapped us.

We see a jetty of a bright shingle color, pink granite rocks rounded by glacial erosion, typical of the Aland. We see the reflections of green, golden trees in the calm blue of the Baltic. A paradisiacal corner for us alone that invites contemplation.

We return little by little to Mariehamn. Although the route has not been too tiring, we began to feel hungry and the desire to get off the bikes. The sky continues very blue in Mariehamn and the sun still very powerful illuminates the houses of the city. We cannot resist entering a street full of large wooden houses, each one of a different color. Although the architectural style is the same, the shapes and decorative details of the houses change.

A white house with a nice entrance because decorated on the top with a festoon that looks like lace. We see the garden separated from the sidewalk by a white wooden fence. We see the next red house with white windows and a red garden fence. We see a white house with a roof and green windows, a white and beige house with several terraces and two turrets finished on a hipped roof. Many houses follow each other exposing their beauty to these amazed cyclists. The huge trees, exuberant, are also proud to inhabit such a beautiful neighborhood.

And on the quiet streets of Mariehamn we cycle along the bike path to the port, looking for a place to eat. We went through a restaurant boat that is not open, maybe it's too late, so we continue. Attracted by the red of a group of houses, we arrive in the picturesque maritime district.

We had been told about this place by its craft shop that is still open. In Salt, high quality handicraft pieces are handmade by artisans from the Aland Islands. There is a lot of entertainment and a restaurant with a large terrace! We will definitely eat here.

The restaurant attracts attention for its decoration, very maritime. We see nets that cover some corners, wooden boxes where fish should be kept that make tables. It is also striking the way of ordering food. They do not serve out. The client has to go inside, ask for and take a number to the table.

As soon as the food is ready, a waiter comes to bring it to the table with the order number. Also, coffee and tea are free,. We just have to go inside when it's finished, and serve ourselves. We would see the same in almost all restaurants in Finland.

While our pizzas do not arrive, we enjoy some craft beers from the Aland Islands. It is a pleasure to be in that corner looking at the sea through the nets, tasting a good beer, while the sun warms our faces.

Some children play in a boat full of sand in front of the restaurant, we watch them enjoy. The truth is that it seems that everyone here is enjoying. The day is splendid and there are not many of them in Finland, so people can see that they appreciate it.

We still have a good time here until we see an impressive sailing ship arrive and we approach the port as it approaches. It seems that it is a boat that makes a tour of the islands, this is one of the activities that can be done on the Aland Islands. Go out by boat to see the islands from another point of view.

From the pier, all the houses in this neighborhood look beautiful, bright, full of color. There is a red and yellow that looks like an old warehouse. Then there are all those red houses, and next to the sea a strange triangular construction that catches our attention.

I think these are other snapshots of the trip that will make us remember the Aland Islands. We leave our bikes for a while to visit two of the most interesting museums in Mariehamn. The visit to the Maritime Museum was one of the most rewarding. We take a trip through the maritime history of the Aland, told through eight thematic sections.

We see 18th century agriculture to modern navigation. We see the last fleet of sailboats world, memories of the sailors of exotic destinations, like a pirate flag of the 18th century. The museum has interactive rooms to learn how to tie knots, and climb a mast.

Anchored behind the Maritime Museum, in the western port of Mariehamn is the Pommern. It is a sailing ship of the early twentieth century that crossed the oceans between England and Australia. Another museum that surprised us pleasantly was the Museum of Cultural History of the Aland. Here we learned a lot about the history of the islands. The exhibition is divided chronologically guiding us through the 7500 years of Aland history.

After visiting the museums, which require a lot of time because of how much they contain their exhibitions and how interesting they are, we take a walk around Mariehamn in search of a place to eat something, before the end of the day.

Before continuing our cycling tour, this time in the east, we see one of Mariehamn's most charming cafes. It is located in a beautiful colored wooden house of 1886. The interior is bright and welcoming, with several rooms, intimate, where people sit down to eat. We have a coffee accompanied by some portions of cake. In all of Finland we saw this kind of charming cafes, in old houses. The classic decoration create a warm atmosphere where people feel comfortable for a light meal, often with soup, and a homemade dessert.

After the meeting in which we learned more about the archipelago, we continued our bike route. On the main island, west of Mariehamn, we head to a lighthouse that is in Hamnnas. On the way we passed the huge Mariehamn football field, we got ourselves stocked in a bread, cheese and beer supermarket.

In the Aland there are many varieties of cheese, all with a tasty appearance, but in the end we opted for a smoked cheese. The varieties of bread are endless , as we will see throughout Finland, and we will fall again and again into the temptation to try them.

We crossed Mockelo to reach Kungso and headed to the coast in search of the lighthouse. We see the sea, shining in the background and we run towards it, a wide field with a colored maypole and a beach in the background invite us to stay. So we decided to make our picnic in this delicious corner that after a lot of pedaling will feel great.

On journeys there are moments like this, where silence reigns, light covers everything with color and a happy tranquility. Then time stops there. It only becomes impregnated with the moment and contemplate the beauty.

That same afternoon we embarked towards Vardo that is to the east. I say we embark because to get there we will have to pass by ferry from Prasto island to the island Tofto. Our hosts come to fetch us from Mariehamn by car. They run an immense campsite in Vardo.

Before that, we stop at the castle of the Swedish period Kastelholm, where merchants who went from Sweden to Finland were taxed. Around the castle there is a set of red wooden houses and a mill, a place full of charm.

We continue on our way and stop at the Russian fortress of Bomarsund, built in 1832 by Russia and destroyed at the end of the Crimean War. It had been a strategic point for the Russians to control the Aland islands, strategic to defend themselves against the Swedes. We climbed to the highest point where the fortress was located.

In the demon hill (Djavulsberget), the Russians had installed an optical telegraph. The views are overwhelming. They make us think about the great powers of that time in the Baltic. After transfer by ferry to the island of Tofto, we arrive at the impressive campsite. It has numerous facilities, several houses, a camping area and floating saunas!

There is still time to take a kayak ride through the calm waters of the Baltic, looking for another view of the Aland. When night falls, we headed to one of the most magical places we were to an uninhabited island, which during one night and one morning will be just for us.

We have just picked up the canoes after sliding through the calm waters of the Baltic for an hour. We have discovered the bird nests without disturbing them and the beautiful wooden jetties where the Finns keep their boats. In the Aland Islands almost everyone has one, to move from one to another. The same thing happens on the continent, since Finland is a country made up of lakes and people usually have a boat to go out for a walk, to fish or to move from one place to another.

The immense campsite is silent, with the magnificent empty cabins and the terrain for the tents, deserted. We are at the end of the season and almost nobody comes at this time. A pity, because the weather is still pleasant and in Vardo there is always a lot to do. In the water the floating, beautiful, lonely saunas await someone to come and enjoy the relaxation that these beloved places of the Finns produce.

We prepare a fresh fish before taking us to the deserted island where we will spend the night. The dinner is simple but delicious, accompanied by the always irresistible Finnish bread and a white wine with a lot of flavor, that conquers us from the first sip. It is a Bulgarian wine brought from the Balkans.

We would like to spend more time chatting, because it is always nice to have long conversations with people from other places to learn more about their life and their country, or simply to philosophize about the world in which we live. We go through the deserted island, before the night makes the boat trip difficult. In Finland there are many people who have a deserted island!

We go to the pier where the motor boat awaits us. With hardly any luggage, we boarded and began to sail the Baltic at full speed. The cold water splashing our excited faces, the last sun dying red the calm waters and a stillness broken only by the vibrant trail left by the purring engine of the boat .

There are islets everywhere, the panoramic view is splendid from the excitement of the boat. The sun is hiding little by little, the sky is already almost red and begins to reflect in the waters that, when we toured them in canoe, they were of an intense blue. The deserted island is closer and closer, its contours are drawn, the small jetty is already a few meters away.

The boat slows down and maneuvers on the small dock so we can get out. The enthusiasm increases when stepping on land. We are already on the deserted island. After a few instructions, the boatman leaves us alone, delivered to the night that begins to be sketched in our new empire.

We stand, not knowing what to do, first silently and then talking on our elbows, nervous because we are alone on a deserted island. Before going to see the cabin that awaits us, we decided to explore what will be our land for one night. It's not very big, at least it did not look like that from the sea, so we go through a part before the light goes away completely.

It's granite, a stone that I know very well. This is the shortened coast of the sea from which I proceed, farther south, where the waters are brighter, and the coastline is made of granite rocks . It is strange to tread now a familiar terrain thousands of nautical miles. To think that I am on a deserted island in the heart of the Aland, in Finland, as if I were on the island of Salvora, also deserted, where the sea is different, but the earth seems the same.

Lost in my thoughts, I see that my traveling companion is already far away, silhouetted in the red of sunset, one of the most beautiful I saw in a long time. The sky still blue in the upper part, below and very red, more and more intense. The black rocks already, and the water that suddenly becomes unreal, as if it were smoke.

The atmosphere of the island becomes increasingly mysterious, as the minutes pass, and the prevailing silence is so extraordinary that it seems we are in another world. A world where evil would have disappeared when the human being disappeared, an empty world, inert of humanity, at peace with itself.

Who has never dreamed of going to a deserted island and staying there for a while. Sleeping in a solitary hut in the middle of low forest and granite rocks, surrounded by sea everywhere. We were fortunate to find this accommodation in the Aland Islands , the typical Finnish wooden cabin , with large windows, with its front and rear porches, located in the highest area of the island. A fairytale cabin.

We open the door and we come across a single space that shares the room, the living room and the kitchen. The large bed with flower bedspread, candles on the headboard, two rocking chairs in the living room, the stove for the cold winter of Finland, and the small kitchen with everything you need. The bathroom is outside, has an ecological WC, and the shower is external.

We return to the shelter of our cabin. The window opens to a huge, starry sky, which we see from the rocking chairs. We hope of seeing northern lights, which are supposed to begin at this time of the year in Finland. The conditions are given. We are away from the light pollution of the cities.

With clear skies, the Aland is a good area to hunt them. We fixed our eyes wanting to see what only a few months ago we saw in Iceland. That sun dust that crosses the magnetic shield of the earth, playing in the skies of the country that roars inside, one step away from the Strokkur geyser.

Our cameras had turned those northern lights in a show of intense green halos that left us speechless. But everything could not be so ideal, and the Auroras do not deign to visit us.

It would be so nice to see northern lights from our Finnish cabin, a magical night on this deserted island. But we settle for the starry sky and with some shooting stars that adorn it. Silence is what draws our attention in this extraordinary night, the tranquility of this island in which the birds also sleep.

It is strange to find ourselves here on one of the Aland islands, alone, so close, but so far from everything, the silhouette of the other islands aligned to the horizon. A few hours in which time ceases to exist because on this deserted island there is hardly anything, just us and this amazing cabin, our home for one night.

Remember the movie Breakfast with diamonds, where the most chic was having breakfast near one of the most reputable Jewelry stores in New York. Today in the production of many travel journalists and bloggers there is still that kind of simple snobbery, where most of the most is still to travel the asphalt of magical cities such as NYC, Venice, Rome, Paris or London.

Sign up for the surface photo with a fake smile and a well-known emblem in the background. There are still diamonds, generally hidden, in those cities that deserve to be discovered and shared, but the banality of useless luxury, fashion and selfie has spread with the speed of the Internet.

All that comes to mind when the sun rises slowly over the sea, in a corner of the world, in this place, a little forgotten, a little deserted, very quiet, not polluted and pleasant. That's when the real diamonds sparkle. Of course, I speak from a subjective and particular, unique feeling that occurred in an instant and a place, and that perhaps it would not be repeated in that same place but in another moment.

Perhaps that is the best teaching of a trip, something that by definition has an end and that does not allow materially appropriated what is discovered, known, stepped on. A paradox that should make us think a little more about useless struggles for power and ownership of money and possessions. Life is a journey with a marked and definitive ending. There is no further, we only have the enjoyment of our time, experiences, friendships and sensations. And, of course, the enjoyment of the memory, the possibility of returning to those places we met.

What I remember are roads that did not exist on rocks, stacked granite blocks that were really just one, the island. Trees that sprung on the scarce earth, almost sinking their roots in the stone. Moss where our feet sank, birds surprised by those strange beings that inhabited their paradise.

But they did not worry much, they knew that we would leave soon and the stillness of the island would return, when the sound of the ship's engine died down. Lichens, algae, mosses, storm fragments and lights of a fresh and majestic alba. How to describe it? It costs me a lot, but I see it clearly in the memory.

That distant island is already mine, ours. An island where you could live, with some provisions, some canes and a little wood, some time. A unique refuge, a redoubt to isolate yourself for a while and think about how to amend this world of ours that goes crazy in the eyes.

The danger, to think that it is still, this privilege to live outside of pain and problems can last forever. The deserted islands serve to recover, to reinvigorate our battered humanities and to return to the world, to live it, tell it and maybe try to change it.

Day 2

It dawned in the same way, when the sun completed its loop and returned to the other side of the world, awakening nature. The sun colored the night that lost the battle. A new day was born with the aroma of hot coffee and some delicious bread. Then we decided to discover the domains that we were going to lose in a few hours.

Our cycling route through the Aland continues starting from the campsite, exploring the island of Vardo. We cross forests to the island of Sando, and so on until the land ends and we find ourselves opposite the Ostra island which we reach by shuttle.

Watching the landscape of the Aland Islands from our velocipedes, we felt that we would not mind staying in them for a good season. We want to experience the midsummer and the construction of the Maypole. I think we would be very happy here.

It is late in the Aland Islands and we go to one of our favorite places to watch the sunset. We reach the western port of Mariehamn, where the Maritime Museum is located, on the seashore, next to the Pommern ship. Slowly, the skies of Mariehamn are colored, yellow, then orange and red. A boat comes back from its ride on this splendid day that still looks like summer.

The Maypole silhouette that rose last Midsummer is silhouetted against the dawn. Thoughtful, we remember the stamps that came from the Post Office of the Aland Islands and our travel dreams. We look at each other accomplices, smiling and we turn our eyes to the paradise in front of us.

We drink a good coffee. We feel a palpable well-being, as it does us good after this day spent fighting against this damn wind. What happiness to savor the tranquility of this nature yet sometimes so impetuous, as for the heart of the turmoil, our tired bodies sometimes want to abandon us.

We enjoy the calm, we feel in harmony with the nature that surrounds us, in communion with the landscape. The golden light of the end of the day illuminates the glowing rocks to the delight of our eyes.

We arrive around 18:00, exhausted. As much as our strength allows, we store, fold, dry up a lot of things and try to find some comfort in the sauna available (the owner of the campsite gives us the gift of the session). Our sore muscles relax completely and our minds are released, allowing us to take a step back on our end of the day.

We open our little bottle of champagne that we took care to take with us! The night is rainy and we wake up in the early morning in a marshy land! We spend the evening exchanging our impressions of the days we have just spent with some satisfaction. What beautiful and good moments lived, rich in emotions, in sensations, only lessons learned about ourselves.

In the middle of the night, a glow illuminates the whole interior of the tent and makes me leave despite the laziness, my cozy duvet. The night is clear and fresh but the show rewards me by offering me a great moonlight on the sea. Splendid!
Kalyan Panjahttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-46666596389119908032018-07-14T08:38:00.000-07:002018-11-11T03:28:06.800-08:00Travel South India through Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu
We were few around the table, six complete strangers but with something in common. We were all far from what we call home. A new bottle of beer was opened and the waiter brings more fries to the table. We talked if we could travel for a couple of days in Kodaikanal, one of the three mountain resorts of south India!

Beers flowed, music too. The whiskey was served in the same glasses of the beer that had run out. It was very strong and looked like Jack Daniels. It was already late, soon it was going to dawn. The whiskey was also over. We started the return. We said goodbye with a hug.

I went to bed in anguish. The whiskey had left a bad taste in my mouth and in my heart. The music and its lyrics kept spinning in my head. The existential doubt to know if going on a trip was a good idea cornered me. I could not stop thinking about the selfishness of being far away to the discomfort of those who miss me, but then there is the desire to discover the world. Repeating the bad taste of whiskey we fell asleep.

Day 1

Early morning, we leave Trichy to start the route to the highlands, a little scared if the bike will hold the ramps to get to Kodaikanal. This city, Kodai for colleagues, is located 2,100 meters above sea level, and is part of the so-called Western Ghats.

We left very early, as always, although this time we take it more calmly. We know that in many sections we will not go at more than 20 km/h. We take NH-45. After a few good kilometers we have to take the detour towards the mountains! After around 50 km we see how the landscape changes. As soon as we start the climb we can already feel the difference in temperature. The suffocating heat of the lowlands give way to a nice smooth breeze! The road winds between eucalyptus forests and we do not miss to take a break to drink a chai.

Already on the rise we are greeted by very cute monkeys! We make several stops, the last to see Silver Cascade Falls, a beautiful waterfall, about 10 km from the town. Finally, after a good day (it will not be the longest by any means) we arrived at Kodai with all the energies of the world!

And they went well quick. We reach the accommodation that our friends had booked for us. We put our bags in the hotel and left for a town walk. Indeed, Kodaikanal is not teeming with people. The traffic is not anarchic and the city is surrounded by forests or coffee plantations. There is certainly not much to do there, apart from walks and hikes, but it feels good. In the evening it was even more cold!

Early morning we start our hike towards Berijam Lake, a 24-hectare lake in the heart of the city. To enjoy it, we walked around it under the prying eyes of the locals. The lake is surrounded by luxurious houses where garages often house several high-end cars. On the way, a trekking guide approaches us and offers to take us to Munnar in Kerala.

He shows us messages left by his previous clients and explains that he works for the tourist office. We accept. We book a 2 seater pedal boat to reach Coakers walk. This is a small walk with a view of the valley. We were beset by schoolboys who spent their time with us rather than watching the landscape! We reach the Moir Point which offers a beautiful view of the Pillar Rocks, three rocks of 122 meters in height with distinct shapes.

We see Guna Caves. In fact, there are not really any caves to see since they are below and not accessible. We walk more in to the forest where the monkeys are omnipresent. They are not aggressive but will not hesitate to steal a bottle of water or snacks. We reach Bryant's Park, a botanical garden with a wide variety of roses.

We go to see the Kurinji Andavar temple even if it is nothing exceptional. The view to the left of the temple is not bad. In the midst of pine forests we feel lost in the middle of huge trees! We spot unmarried couples meet there to make love discreetly.

We have momo, thukpa and chowmein for lunch. Finally, we walked back towards our hotel. We see a halal restaurant on the roadside. We take fried chicken wings, tikka chicken and a tandoori chicken for the accompaniment to the night drinks! After we go green in Kodaikanal, our next destination tomorrow is Madurai, the second largest city in Tamil Nadu.

Day 2

We wake up at 8am. We pack our bags, which will be taken by van to Munnar, and take another vehicle that takes us to the beginning of the trek. We descend the mountain, from Kodaikanal to the valley below. The sun is hot. We cross eucalyptus forests. Burnt soil intrigues me. I question our guide who explains that because of the heat, eucalyptus sometimes ignite spontaneously. Ok, we'll walk faster then.

We take some pictures. The landscapes are grandiose. Our guide shows us and makes us smell wild jasmine flowers, aloe vera, and lemon grass growing around. Below, the jackfruits look like swarms of bees on the trees. We go down again to a village in the middle of the mountains. It is noon, and the children in uniform come out of school to eat at home.

The villagers live mainly from the cultivation of mangos, bananas and papayas. We continue our walk and we lay on a rock of a dry river to eat. On the menu is rice and vegetable curry which is delicious. The sound of the rainforest surrounds us.

After this good meal, we finally arrive in the valley. The relief is more lenient, and always so beautiful. We then cross an orchard of mango trees, with their characteristic leaves. The sun is high in the sky, and it is very hot. We have finally arrived. We reach our hotel and fall asleep, exhausted.

Day 3

At 5am, we have a coffee. A bus takes us to an even more lost corner, so that we begin our ascent. We arrive there around 6am. The sun rises on the mountains, and the colors are beautiful when we start our walk. It goes up, it climbs, but fortunately it's early and it's good. We are approaching Kerala. The vegetation is different, richer, greener perhaps.

We cross for a good hour and a half coffee plantations. In the middle, we stop at the house of a man who lives there, who offers us sweet bananas deliciously sweetened from his garden in exchange for the bread brought by our guide.

The coffee plantations are sloping and shady. It is tiring but pleasant to cross. Later, as the altitude increases, the vegetation clears up, and the majestic mountains reappear. We meet women who go for water 2 hours walking down! Children, families, musicians all greet us very kindly. It is incredible to meet people who walk every day what we consider a good little trek!

Finally, green hills, tea plantations, indicate that we arrived at Top Station, not far from Munnar, in Kerala. We have lunch and take the bus to reach the city 30 km from here. The bus winds between the hills, covered with tea trees, lush green. That's wonderful.

First impressions about Munnar. It is apparently richer and developed than Kodaikanal, clean, and well organized. We take a room in a friendly lodge to take a well deserved rest.
Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-89917392664725980712018-05-12T10:53:00.000-07:002018-11-11T03:28:07.820-08:00Trip to Aurangabad, Ellora and Ajanta Caves
There are places in this world that for us have been exceptional and deserve to be visited once in a lifetime. This is one of them. The Ajanta and Ellora caves are an epic place with a lot of history and a journey through time. The level of detail of the frescoes, the greatness of the sculptures and the workmanship of that place, could only be inspired by a God.

It sounds incredible, right? For us it really was. It reminded us a lot of the Buddhist caves in Datong in China. And I dare compare them with the ruins of Petra in Jordan. After 3 days in Bombay that was more than enough, we took a taxi to the Dadar station on the morning of the fourth day.

When we got there, we realized how novice we still were in India. After crossing from one end of the station to the other over and over again, passing by hundreds of people, we are told that the Shatabdi Express for Aurangabad at 2 in the afternoon is full. There are no seats available.

The only option was to wait until 9 o'clock at night, and take the one that would arrive at Aurangabad around 6 in the morning. Economically it was the best option. Spending the fourth day in the city or waiting 12 hours at the station was not the plan that we liked the most.

Finally, after shuffling some options, we went to a ticket counter and got an alternative. We buy a ticket to an intermediate point to Manmad and another from there, to Aurangabad. We would not have to change train, just seat, and pay 300 rupees instead of 170 that would have cost directly.

The hijras move in the coaches shouting and clapping their hands. Everyone gives coins and us too. The neighbor explains that if we do not give money to hijras it brings bad luck. Once is enough, because they pass and repass during the 8 hours of train. From time to time we munch on the vegetable biryani, samosas, and masala chai.

Finally, our train arrived at Aurangabad at 12 o'clock at night. We passed through the lights of the center of Aurangabad and we continued. After some time the road was dark and we go along a mountainous road. I could not imagine where we were going. I did not think it was that far. The cell phone had no charge to check the maps.

At that time the journey became eternal. It was midnight. We go down a dark mountain road with an unknown person. When we reached an illuminated area, another man was waiting for us who was the owner of the guest house. He got into the car to give directions to the taxi driver. Sure, it was impossible to get to the address since it was an area with narrow streets full of wells and where the car barely passed.

Finally, the man said we had arrived. We went up a staircase that led to a patio and there were two room doors. We chose the first one and we entered. It was very austere but it looked clean and for 500 rupees we could not ask for more. We arrange with the owner's brother to go the next day to the Ajanta Caves.

They advise to visit these first and with reason. They are less impressive than those of Ellora. Tired we went to sleep. The double bed was a table with a thin mattress of 5 cm. I like the hard bed, but that was very hard.

Day 1 - Ajanta Caves

We woke up with the call to prayer of some mosque, the song of a rooster and later a Hindi song. We see children going to school, a neighbor shouting at another neighbor, and lots of green and low mountains. The shower did not work, as usually happens in most cheap accommodations. We had to use the buckets and cold water.

When I woke up, my only mission was to find an inexpensive but better accommodation. We saw several but none convinced us as they were not so clean. So we decided not to waste any more time and stay in the present one. An auto rickshaw took us to the bus station. Once there the idea was to take the local bus that arrives until Ajanta.

Finally, we changed our mind and reached an agreement with a car driver. It would take us to see the caves, and after the visit, it would take us back to our hotel. It was not the cheapest option but it was the most useful, quick and comfortable. Ajanta is a secluded spot about 100 kilometers away from Aurangabad. It is so remote that until two hundred years ago it was known only to the Bhil, a tribe resident in this region.

The journey there is certainly pleasant. The roads are in good condition and the driver is not an undiscovered Formula 1 driver. Shortly before arrival, we still get the opportunity to have our breakfast. Luckily one can say because the tour takes longer than expected. We stopped to take a chai with chapatis at a dhaba on the route. We enjoyed it since we had not had dinner the night before.

The temperature was ideal. I wear a hat and sunscreen because it is very hot. We left at the entrance of the complex and there we took a bus to the Ajanta caves, as the cars cannot pass. Through a beautiful garden, we access a wide amphitheater of rocky hills with caves arranged in a U shape.

After getting off the shuttle bus that takes us from the car park to the entrance of the jungle-like terrain, we are greeted by a carnival-like hustle and bustle. Want a postcard? Need a guide? Want a cold drink? At this time of year, we are almost the only tourists. No wonder we are at the center of attention of all.

But we do not need a guide or a carrier to carry us up the steep steps. In the very low center runs a stream with scarce vegetation and a small bridge. We made the tour of the caves one by one, going up and down slopes. There was a group of Chinese, some of them old. Local men carry a chair on their shoulders and carry people. The speed with which they went up and down stairs was striking.

Some of the vihara or the monastery halls are less interesting, poorly lit, and except for a few columns, nothing is visible. But most are breathtakingly beautiful. There are so many different ways of depicting the Buddha, ornate pillars, and murals that tell stories of Buddha's life. Through light installations, the statues and columns are bathed in orange or blue light. I could spend hours here admiring the Buddha sculptures.

We went down to the stream. From there one can go up to a viewpoint but it was hot and so we returned. Upon return, the driver took us to the viewpoint, which is also accessed by road. The panoramic view is very nice. Just when we want to leave, the first drops come. The drops mutate within a very short time to an extensive monsoon rainfall.

Quickly the forecourt is under water. If we do not want to get completely wet, we should better find a shelter quickly. Fortunately, we still find a free corner and surrounded by families, we wait for the sky to close its locks again. After the rain has stopped we can briefly enjoy the view and a hint of the sunset over the vast plain that extends ahead of us.

Around 6 pm we come back to the guest house and have fruit juice and also taste the ripe papaya. For dinner, we have matar paneer, with chapatis, and achar made of red chilies and green mangoes. It's really delicious.

Day 2 - Ellora Caves

We have samosa and masala chai at a kiosk on the road next to a temple dedicated to Radha Krishna. We left in the car to Ellora caves which are one of the most visited attractions in Maharashtra besides Ajanta. The Ellora Caves are about 35 km from Aurangabad on the former caravan route, where traders transported goods from north to ports in the west. According to Lonely Planet guide, the caves can be visited from 9 o'clock.

The guide advises seeing the last cave of Kailasa Temple since it is the most imposing. Along the way, we passed through Daulatabad fortress and the Khuldabad village. Finally, we arrived at the Ellora Caves. We see the langoor after which we get the tickets.

Beyond the ticket office, the streets lead to the various caves and the well-tended garden. In the center, we walked in a place that could have been a paradise of flowers and nature at the time. The oldest caves date back to the time when Buddhism was the prevailing faith.

We start with it without knowing it. It really is a striking beauty the carvings that it has. To think that it is a single block of stone carved from the top to the bottom. There is a bibliography that describes this cave in detail and the rest, but I agree that it leaves the work it has open-mouthed.

There are those who compare it with Angkor Wat. Personally, I am left with indispensable Cambodia since the environment in which it is located is majestic. In the mountain, there are 30 caves sculpted from the 1st and 2nd century BC to the 5th and 6th centuries AD. Within the same, we find thousands of paintings and sculptures that describe the life of Buddha.

There are about 34 caves. The oldest are Buddhist caves and serve as temples and monasteries (Viharas). They contain beautiful sculptures of dancers and musicians. There is a big monumental Buddha sitting in cave 10. It is too dark to take pictures!

Then we visited the rest of the caves. One advantage of skipping the recommended order was that we could rest a while. When we saw Kailasa we appreciated it in detail. Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Ganesha, Murugan, Brahma, each have their own statue (or more than one).

We have to walk a lot to see them all. We take a bus to see some that are a bit far. The Jain caves are smaller but very finely decorated. The Indra Sabha cave is the most beautiful, with its two levels, murals, and statues. In Ellora there are more visitors than in Ajanta, many of them school children, in addition to the typical groups of Asians.

Almost everyone here is smiling, especially the school class, whom we meet again and again. We are photographed with smartphones and we take pictures of our new acquaintances. We left the cave complex and there is an area with food stalls and souvenirs. We have the lunch at the local hotel with a very good Thali with rice, palak paneer and dal fry and a fresh lime soda.

The night arrives quickly. We meet the black-headed monkeys, and they are not aggressive. I do not approach them because I am afraid of dogs, monkeys, snakes, and scorpions in India or elsewhere! We leave by taxi to visit the tomb of Aurangzeb in Khuldabad. The place is fortified. Macaques rest placidly on stone walls beneath which grudge plump pigs.

Night has fallen. The car took us back to the guest house. We have an Indian meal with cheese naan and mutton rassa, that is simple but good. The night was terrible as the thunderstorm roars. We have a beer and packed to leave the next morning.

Day 3 - Aurangabad

After a typical south Indian breakfast of Masala Dosa filled with vegetables, in a traditional eatery, we limit ourselves to a walk through the old town of Aurangabad. Once again we have to use our negotiation skills because the rickshaw wallah demands a utopian price for the less than a 10-minute drive.

We wade pass the busy streets. There are no tourists here except us. There is a lot of work everywhere. Construction workers unload cement bags. In front of sweet shops, there are large pots of Gulab Jamun and other sweets on display. Between all the work is always time for people to read the newspaper at a chai shop or to chat a little.

We took the opportunity to visit the Bibi-Ka-Maqbara or the mini Taj Mahal. I personally liked it a lot. We also visit the Mughal garden of Panchakki. This garden has the mausoleum of a Sufi saint of the family of Christi. The gardens are dry. We leave to visit the Madrassa.

We spend the afternoon among the people of the neighborhood behind our hotel. Dozens of children play with their kite and dust and colors in the sky remind me some documentaries on Iran and Afghanistan. At lunch, we have a very good fried rice with excellent tandoori chicken tikka.

At 4 in the afternoon, we took a sleeper bus that would take us to Goa. Despite everything, Aurangabad once again showed us another side of India. And that makes this country so exciting. You never know what you'll get.
Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-14390674297908164312018-05-08T11:25:00.002-07:002018-11-11T03:28:05.868-08:00Trip to Cyprus - The Whole Mediterranean on an Island
My trip to Cyprus has an unknown origin because I do not remember well when and how I made the decision to go to this Eastern Mediterranean island. This is because I am constantly consulting maps and information about possible destinations. Through the tour operator I booked three trips to Northern Cyprus.

One cannot go to North Cyprus by rental car because the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has not been recognized by any other country apart from Turkey and therefore is illegal. The insurance does not cover in the North. One would not have medical insurance since not being the territory of the EU, the European health card does not cover you. So there is an element of risk. Neither would the repair costs of the rented vehicle be covered.

Day 1

My flight landed punctually at the Paphos International Airport. There was the taxi driver with a sign with my name. When I saw him I thought this is the prototype of an old-school Cypriot taxi driver. He is an obese man with a dark complexion, wearing a plaid shirt with a huge mustache. We got into the car and the conversation started immediately. He told me that it was very hot in Cyprus, exceeding 30 degrees.

He also told me that he knew the hotel well since he works a lot with them. The taxi driver was not silent. We arrived at the hotel finally at around 12.15 in the night. I paid and we said goodbye!

I found the information about this hotel in the Lonely Planet guide of Cyprus and looked for opinions on it on tripadvisor. It is a hotel with good value for money. Nothing fancy, but it is very clean and well located.

I checked-in I was attended by a rather young guy. He told me that he worked all night and that he alternated between the reception and the hotel bar. The breakfast is from 8 to 10.30. Since the next day my tour started at 7.45 in the morning I asked for breakfast around 7.

He gave me the keys to the room that was on the outside of the hotel building, attached to it. It has direct access from a side street between the hotel and a hookah bar. Although for me only, it is a double bedroom, with wardrobe, a small desk, chair, TV (which I did not turn on), air conditioning and bathroom.

It was very good for the price I paid. I forgot to take pictures of the room. It was more than 12.30 at night. So I went to sleep because the next day. I had to get up very early to be punctual in front of the hotel. From here they would come to pick me up to do my first island tour to Salamis and Famagusta in North Cyprus.

Day 2: Northern Cyprus: St. Barnabas, Salamina and Famagusta

I woke up early and at 7 in the morning I was already in the hotel's dining room. When I arrived, I had several buffet items on the table. I just had to serve myself. The hotel breakfast, although plentiful, does not include anything hot. There were juices, bread, toast, butter, some very good jams, cheese, cold meats, salad, cereal, and Greek yogurt.

There is also coffee, tea and milk and possibly something else that I now forget. But there was nothing hot, apart from the coffee, tea and toast. It was all served in a very pleasant dining room, which even has a terrace that faces the street. The day was very sunny and hot.

At 7.45 I go to the entrance of the hotel that is just 100 meters from Pyramos. As soon as I arrived, I was immediately approached by a bald guy in his 40s who smiled and wish Kali Merah or Good morning. I think these were the only two words I heard in Cypriot during my entire stay in Cyprus. Due to my late arrival we had no choice but to be at 7.45 to get the tickets for the excursions and pay.

The guide told me that Paphos has grown a lot in a very short time. He told me that in Cyprus there is always good weather because the sun shines an average of 320 out of the 365 days in the year. What he told me was going to contrast a few days later through another source of information. I asked if it was possible to travel around Paphos by bicycle.

He replied that the city was not really good for a bike as most of the time I would have to share the road with motor vehicles. He also told me that the upper part of the city, called Ktima was upside down. The bus arrived, and the door opened. A guy received me and asked me for the ticket for that trip. I went in and sat in the middle zone.

The first excursion began. The bus was filled 75%. First we went through a couple of hotels in Paphos to pick up more tourists. Then it takes the road to Famagusta, about 170 kms from Paphos, in the South East of the island. It is essential to carry the passport to go to the other side of the island. Most of the tourists on the bus were British.

This type of tourism is not the one I like most. We have neither the freedom nor the flexibility to be able to stop where we want to see a view, a village, a church or just to take a picture. There is no doubt that you have much more freedom if you go by rental car. In Cyprus, people drive on the left side of the road, as in the United Kingdom, India and Japan.

Once the bus picks up all the passengers from their hotels, we headed east. The guide spoke very correct English, very academic and has a funny accent. And he is a great connoisseur of the history and culture of his country. His explanations were very interesting and made the trip very bearable.

We went along the coastline, surrounding the very large city of Limassol and also Larnaca. We take a break for a coffee in the typical roadside cafe, located somewhere in between Larnaca and the Neolithic site of Choirokoitia, which we did not visit. After coffee, we climb back to the bus and take the road back to Famagusta. The next stop was at the Pergamos passport control point.

The Greek Cypriots of the south do not like to call it border, but checkpoints. But before arriving there, we traveled for about 5 or 6 kilometers parallel to the so-called Green Line, which is between Chipres and controlled by the United Nations. In the middle of it is the village of Pyla, which is one of the only four villages still inhabited by Cypriots both Greek and Turkish together. There are sections, however, where the green line is so narrow that from the Greek side you can see the Turkish side directly.

We arrived at the passport control point. We did not even have to get off. An official went up and walked the bus to the end. He took the documentation and with the help of the guide and other colleagues checked them. Shortly after the same thing was done on the Turkish side. The whole process lasted about 20 minutes. We cannot take photos. After finishing, the guide returned to the bus with our passports. Ten minutes later we arrived at the first of our destinations to the St Barnabas monastery. The story of Saint Barnabas described in the frescoes of the church.

Saint Barnabas was born in Salamis, the son of a Jewish family of the Levitical clan, who emigrated from Syria to Cyprus. When he was doing his religious studies in Jerusalem he witnessed some of the miracles of Jesus. He was appointed archbishop of Salamis and returned to Cyprus, along with John Mark and the Apostle Saint Paul to evangelize the Jewish community of the island. It was not very successful, although they did achieve the conversion of Sergio Paulo so that Cyprus became the first state in history with a Christian ruler.

On his second visit to Cyprus, Barnabas was arrested by the Jews and imprisoned in a synagogue in Salamis. It was then that he was stoned to death. They wrapped up the remains and threw them into a lagoon to end up in the sea. But Juan Marcos and some converted slaves recovered their remains and secretly buried them under a carob tree in a certain place west of Salamis by placing a copy of the Gospel of San Mateo on his chest.

After this they quickly escaped to Egypt to avoid the persecution of the Jews. Christianity was persecuted and the tomb fell into oblivion. In the fifth century, Christianity returned. The church of Antioch, founded by Peter, was the dominant one, but that of Cyprus, being founded by Barnabas, acquired the same level as that of Syria and therefore independence.

The Archbishop Antemios of Cyprus dreamed that he found the tomb of Barnabas in a specific point. Guided by this divine inspiration they went there and found their remains with the gospel in their chests. That gospel was given to the Archbishop of Constantinople a few years later, who delightedly granted autonomy to the church in Cyprus. Thus the Cypriot ecclesiastical ranks choose their own archbishop, who can wear the same attire in ceremonies as the emperor of Constantinople. St Barnabas is today the patron of Cyprus.

The monastic complex consists of a main church, where there is a museum of icons. On the other side of the small garden are the rooms where there is now an archaeological museum, with many pieces collected from the ruins of nearby Salamina. A little more to the east, about 100 meters away, is the chapel where the remains of St Barnabas are.

We climbed back to the bus and in just five minutes we stop to enjoy the fabulous archaeological site of the ruins of Salamina, which are next to the sea.

Salamina is only 9 km from Famagusta. According to legend, it was founded in the 12th century BC. It was for several centuries thanks to the richness of the copper ore deposits of Cyprus a prosperous city that has been under the domination of Greeks and Persians in the past. It was snatched away by Alexander the Great, entering thus under a Hellenistic period after which it was ruled by the Egyptian Ptolemies, who moved the capital of the island to Paphos.

In 58 BC it fell under Roman rule during which the city regained its prosperity despite not being the capital, especially under the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. St Barnabas tried to Christianize the area in the first century, but was a victim of the Jewish population, that at that time was very powerful in the area.

Subsequently the city suffered several earthquakes and was rebuilt with the name of Constantia. After a period of decline and abandonment it was conquered by the Arabs who moved it 9 km further south to what is now the city of Famagusta. During the time of the Crusades the city regained its apogee and standard of living.

It was also under the control of Genoese and Venetians, its history being a succession of apogee followed by abandonment and new recovery, mainly due to its strategic location east of the island and facing Asia Minor and the Middle East.

As I was going with an organized tour, I could not stay as long as I wanted. Fundamentally what we saw were the Roman remains consisting of the gymnasium, bathrooms and theater, which are in a relatively small area. In the surroundings there is also a necropolis with remains dating back to the eleventh century BC and several remains of Early Christian basilicas. There is also a museum.

The first thing we saw was the Roman Gymnasium, built in turn on one of the Hellenistic period, which was surrounded by columns. In which there are also statues, all of them decapitated. Up on the left is the statue of a wise Roman, who never lost his head, although they broke his face.

We walked 50 meters to the south and entered the Roman theater, which once had a capacity for 15,000 spectators and had a proscenium of which there is nothing left. There remains a decapitated statue and apparently the central moat could be filled with water turning into naumaquia where games and aquatic shows were held.

Salamina is quite impressive and I was left wanting more, but time was pressing. We had to return to the bus to go to the city of Famagusta (which in Turkish-Cypriot is called Gazimagusa), which is only 9 kms away.

We arrived in ten minutes and the bus driver found a parking lot next to an immense statue of Ataturk. The city is surrounded by medieval walls built by the Venetians and the Famagusta Gate gives access to the old city.

It was together with Salamis a city with a splendid past, with successive periods of apogee and crisis, which the Ottomans were in charge of putting an end to. Hence the significant presence of medieval buildings. When we arrived it was time for lunch and the cleric was in the minaret calling for prayer. So at that time we could not enter the mosque, located in the nerve center of the city. That mosque, which in the past was actually the Cathedral of St. Nicholas of Famagusta, is now called Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque.

So we decided to disperse all during the next two hours to wander around the medieval city and eat something. It's market day and in the square they had also put on some speakers with eighties music. Passing under the medieval arch I saw that there was a beautiful church of St. George that was closed. Under its lateral buttresses there is a Muslim tomb of that of Yirmisekiz Mehmed Celebi. Its exterior is quite impressive.

In the area there were also remains of a Venetian palace and stones here, and there. I ate at the first place I saw on what is considered the most commercial street in the area, although it was not really that much either. I did not think there were many people. I take a kebab with salad and a beer. I do not remember the price, but it was not expensive. I paid with the Turkish lira.

Then I went back to the Cathedral to see it inside, now that there was no prayer. I paid a small donation. Its interior, being devoid of all Christian images, does not have much grace with those white walls and without stained glass. The architect, apparently, was inspired by the cathedral of Reims, but today is light years away from it.

To finish and, already back to the bus, I climbed to the top of the wall to see the sea views, although I found them a bit disappointing. From there, looking to the other side, there was a view of the main street with the cathedral next door:

And from there I went to the bus. I was the last one to arrive and we started to start our way back to Paphos. Soon we passed through an area called Varosha, also known as the ghost town. This district, of Greek Cypriot majority was what was called the Riviera of Famagusta. It was full of luxury hotel complexes arranged in large avenues and promenades. It was one of the biggest destinations in the country and in the world. Here celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Raquel Welch, stayed.

The Turkish occupation of 1974 arrived by means of a morning bombardment from the sky. The Greco-Cypriot inhabitants of Varosha, fearful of a massacre in the area, fled in a hurry to the south of the island to Larnaca and Paralimni, a town very close to Famagusta. The Turks could not populate it.

So, today the area is inaccessible and everything has remained in the same place it was in 1974. What happens is that nature invades everything. The cars have been left there for more than 40 years. The houses have not been reformed. Plants and vegetation begin to invade the streets. And turtles spawn on their empty beaches.

The bus did not stop in the area, obviously, since we cannot enter. It's all fenced. The truth is that seeing everything in such a state is very sad. Everything is decrepit, rusty, and no one has touched it for more than 40 years. Nobody knows what has happened to the pieces of the Archaeological Museum of Varosha.

Finally we left Famagusta to go through the passport control point again and return to South Cyprus, in the direction of Paphos. They are about 170 kms. The experience was worth it, of course. The bus left me at the entrance of the hotel in Paphos at around 6.30.

After walking the barely 100 meters to get to my hotel, I have a shower and went out in the first place to wander around and visit a site that caught my attention. It is right behind me. hotel. I had to make a small detour, but then I realized that it was a magnificent place.

I saw that there was a small church (Agios Kyriakos) all surrounded by Roman and early Christian ruins and mosaics. I verified that the church was open because of the celebration of Orthodox Easter. Its interior is very simple. It only highlights its iconostasis. The best is out. This church, rather small, is built in part of what was previously a large Byzantine Paleo-Christian basilica with five naves, called Panagia Chrysopolitissa. Even today some of the mosaics are preserved.

Among the many pillars and columns around the church is the so-called St Paul Pillar. The tradition says that the Apostle Saint Paul, who came to Paphos to Christianize these lands, was bound and whipped with lashes on this same pillar that is next to this church.

I continued my way to the port of Paphos, but I began to feel the ravages of tiredness caused by the trip. I dined and returned to the hotel.

Day 3: Paphos

I slept like a log and woke up at about 8 o'clock. I had a hearty breakfast. There was no hurry. I had to reorganize the planning for that day. Initially I had planned to visit the Tomb of the Kings and the archaeological site of Paphos, but being Easter Sunday everything was closed. This is along with Christmas Day one of the main festivals of the year. Also Easter Monday is a party.

The previous day in the afternoon, near my hotel, I saw a shop that rented bicycles and asked the attendant to see if it was going to open on Easter Sunday. I thought that if I could, I would rent a bike to tour the town of Paphos. It is tremendously touristy.

I went then to the part of the port, which is very close. It is the area full of restaurants belonging to chains that are in the United Kingdom, all with their terraces and not so cheap prices. At that time of the morning they were closed. Only some cafes were open, also very British looking. I looked for a pharmacy.

I found something better, so I did not care too much. I went to what they call the beach of Paphos, which is not such. It is a concrete boardwalk where people sunbathe. There is no sand. The water is pretty clean. In the distance, at the end of the pier, we can see the Paphos castle.

I walked around the port a bit. It was 10.30 in the morning with sun and pleasant temperature, but a very hot day was coming. There were already people sunbathing on the boardwalk and some also used to fish.

As it is not a really special area with everything closed, I decided that it was best to go to the beach. So I went to the main bus station of Kato Paphos where I took the bus that goes from Paphos Harbor from the port to Coral Bay. The last stop is precisely the beach of Coral Bay. The entire route to Coral Bay consists of hotel complexes, one behind the other. After half an hour we were there.

In Coral Bay there are in fact several beaches. I was about to get off at the wrong stop but some bus passengers told me that I had to get off at the end of the whole, which is where the best beach really is. This actually consists of two small Bay-shaped coves superimposed one behind the other. The first one had enough people, but there was nothing more to walk along the shore a little more to realize that the second beach was emptier. This is where I settled.

It is not that it is a very big beach. From end to end there is no more than 1 km. The temperature was perfect. After a while of relaxation, it was already getting hot and I was getting ready to take a bath.

Then it occurred to me that I had to talk to the lifeguard. It was necessary to warn of what was coming. A terrible and eerie scream of pain was going to be heard throughout the Mediterranean basin from Algeciras to Istanbul with very possible acoustic reverberations through the area of Carthage.

Although in reality all this was not more than another excuse to postpone having to face the temperature of the water. We had to put an end to this! To all this we must say that there were people in the water, even children, but it is already known that the first maritime bath of the year has a dramatic component.

So I went in. I dived and swam for a while. And I felt great. After the bath I dried in the sun, like the lizards and then I took a walk along the shore. The rocks that separate both bays were full of children catching carramarros or shrimps. How nice are the kids on the beach!

After a couple of hours I took the bus again to return to Kato Paphos but I did not get off at the same central bus station of the port. From the window I saw a sign indicating the Christian Catacomb of Agia Solomoni, about which I had read in the cypress travel guide. It is not very big and it does not have much.

There are a few caves excavated in the rock where there are small altars with icons. Apparently the seven Maccabean brothers who died as martyrs were buried here. His mother was canonized. All this happened in the second century. During Roman times, it was apparently used as a synagogue and later as a Christian burial. I took a couple of photos but the truth is that it was pretty bad.

A little further up there are more tombs carved into the rock. This time are those of Agios Lambrianos and Misitikos. They have been dated in the Hellenistic period. There are some remains of frescoes (although I did not see them) and it is still excavated today.

Very close to there I was struck by a building whose facade was decorated with Roman motifs and colorful colors. I approached and verified that there was even a huge statue of about ten meters tall of a legionary in one of the gardens! It seemed stolen from a theme park. Then when I turned the corner I saw that it was not just a house, but the whole street was like that.

The sculptural figures were halfway between Roman statues and Asterix comics. The legionary was in fact a little fondon. There was also, of course, the goddess Aphrodite and Athena. There are also images of the god Ares and the King of Argos. There was also a Roman Tavern and a Roman Hotel with the facade painted with scenes from the life of that time. I decided to take a few pictures.

There I just found an open store! I bought some postcards and souvenirs and asked if there was any shop in the area where to buy bread, and sausage. A guy who spoke English with cockney accent told me that below there was a bakery that sold some food as well. I found it after 5 minutes.

I continued walking for another 5 minutes looking for a shady place to sit down to eat when suddenly, on the left I see a side street with an indication that says to the basilica of Chrysopolitissa. I went there and ate on a bench in the shade next to the archaeological site that is next to this church and then go to the hotel, shower and rest a while.

At about 6 o'clock in the afternoon I went out again to take a walk around the area of the Paphos port, designed for the British tourist. It looks like a Mediterranean version of Brighton, although it is not yet crowded with tourists. The waiters of the restaurants go out on the lookout for potential customers.

I reached the castle and continued to the right bordering the perimeter of the Paphos archaeological site along the sea for a walk along the coast of the peninsula. There was a nice sea breeze. The humidity was wreaking havoc again and it started to get dark.

So after several kilometers along the coast I decided to turn around, go back to the port, find a place to dine and return to the hotel. Seeing that the restaurants located on the coast were very nice with their little terraces, but little genuine, I decided to go to a place that I saw a bit more to the interior, looking a little seedy. The meal of kebab accompanied by salad was pretty good and cheaper. Then I went to the hotel.
Kalyan Panjahttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-16690145848143150172018-04-25T10:45:00.002-07:002018-11-11T03:28:06.039-08:00Travel to the Thrissur Pooram Festival in Kerala
Pooram is a demonstration of splendor that takes place every year in several cities of Kerala. And I went to see the most famous of them, that of Thrissur, in other words, the Thrissur Pooram. I had to change my travel schedule to be especially here for the Pooram and finally, it was worth it. After attending a traditional dance show called Kathakali, I left Cochin with the ferry and then the train to go to Thrissur to attend the Pooram.

The train trip went well, but it was the arrival at 2am and the night on a bench at the station which was harder. Obviously, I do not close my eyes without having secured my stuff with my two bags hanging on the bench by a chain and padlock. At 6am, I get up and I start looking for a hotel. Thrissur is much bigger than I imagined.

My challenge is to find a hotel, and especially at a decent price. Because of the Pooram, the hotels charge 10 times higher than usual. After an hour of walking and a good number of refusals, I find a lodge! I settle in my room. The room is decent. It is very hot inside but I have a nice balcony.

At noon I go around for the discovery of the city and I meet elephants being fed near a temple. One of them, the star (the central elephant), is in an interview with a video reporter. Obviously, it leaves it to its master to answer questions and just eat. On my way, I see a nice restaurant, with air conditioner and at super affordable prices! The waiters were always smiling and very happy to welcome a tourist.

Later I went to the tourist office to gather a little information and the person in charge give me a pass which gives access to a private platform for tourists to admire the show, which will be very practical afterward. In Pooram, in fact, there is a competition between two temples. They each have their God of course and 12 elephants each.

The competition is quite special. Participants are to open umbrellas of all colors and change them fast. The group that will have the most colors, the most eccentricity and, the fastest changes will "win" the competition depending on the shouts of the crowd. The Pooram is supposed to start at 2:30, but in fact, in the temple, some processions are already taking place.

In the afternoon the teams practice in their respective temples. I decided to visit one. The line lasts more than an hour to enter the temple, and the crowd gets bigger. Inside, some elephants and those who do the maneuvers practice. We are getting closer and closer but the density of the crowd is increasing. I decided to try to pierce this human wall to go into the fire of action. When I manage to get close to elephants, it's madness.

People are crazy. They jump in places to the sound of musician and they shout with all their strength. A lot of people come up trying to see what's going on. Eventually, people are just on fire and the craziness is at its peak. Of course, there is the practice of changing the umbrella, but people do not care. I think people are just happy to share it all together and to party. In any case, I do not regret moving forward!

The elephants move in the city to a nearby temple, preceded by musicians (drums, timbales, and kind of horns). People shoot fireworks with a parachute that come out during the explosion. The funniest is to dodge the shells the size of a coconut that falls on the crowd with each shot. At 5pm the demonstration takes place.

Well, I go back to walk the streets and head for the stage to watch the show. But there are so many people that we cannot make it. Alone, I managed to sneak behind the stairs that I climbed from behind since almost impossible to get to the front. Meanwhile, I with two locals climb on a sort of presidential platform, reserved for tourists. Given the crowd and the superb location of this grandstand which is at the front row, I enjoy it!

The show begins. Every 2 minutes, the teams prepare and change their umbrellas under the shouts and applause of the spectators. It is quite surrealistic as a show. This last for a few hours, interspersed with a pause or the elephants enter the temple. The crowd in waiting seems ready to explode.

After the musicians leave, 15 elephants leave the temple one after the other. As the first elephant come out of the temple, the crowd bursts. There are so many people. I would easily say more than a lakh people. The worst is that a good part of where they are, they cannot see anything of the show. It's no big deal. The platform allows me to see but especially to have a little space.

The elephants face the public, then advance and go 500 m further, passing a few inches from us. Then once they arrive, they turn back to the temple. Then 15 more elephants leave the temple and face the other elephants now 500 m farther. Then, in turn, each group change the umbrella. On each elephant are three people to change the umbrella.

Each group represents a temple. The Thiruvambadi temple is dedicated to Krishna and the Paramekkavu temple is dedicated to Parvati. It lasts a good two hours, during which the crowd intensifies and the atmosphere goes into a crescendo. There is a wave of cheers and dances with every change of umbrella. It was a great moment!

I end the day in a good restaurant where I enjoy mutton coconut fry with rice. I decided to find a bar that welcomes me to allow me to drink a second beer! Well, there are a lot of people in town, and the streets are pretty amazing.

After a short nap, I return to town at 3am for the 3 hour long fireworks. There are too many people. The police help us to pass in the crowd. But all is well worth it since the fireworks begin. It looks a lot more like the bombardment. People like the explosions, the fire, and the noise. But for a few minutes, there is an escalation of explosions on the ground.

Then, a break and the second temples try to surpass these explosions of fireworks. Despite the huge noise of the first it still succeeds to go beyond. It is completely crazy! So after all these emotions, I go back to my hotel. My room is like an oven and I have to sleep outside on my balcony.

Overall, it was Thrissur Pooram and I'm really happy to have participated. I saw things too that I would never forget. All ended at noon with the last fireworks that I listen from my balcony.
Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-35244179256819170812018-04-13T21:13:00.001-07:002018-11-17T07:17:40.423-08:00Stopover in Cancun in Mexico
We fly to Cancun, the tourist capital of Mexico. We feel pinched like in a sardine can and there is no entertainment program integrated in the seats on this 20 hour flight. After endless hours later we reach Cancun in the morning, where the owner of the booked apartment in the hotel zone chauffeured us.

During the trip we talked to the two Mexican women we met at the terminal and they explained the things to do in Cancun and which were not worth it. They also tell us that it is not a good year for the tourism industry in Yucatan. Many Americans and Canadians spend their holidays elsewhere because they are worried about violence and drugs in Mexico.

Through the window I saw that we were approaching the center of Cancun, which was horrible. There were concrete buildings without any charm. The shared van left us at our hostel. The hostel, for the prices that we then paid during the trip, turned out to be very basic and a tad expensive.

The room was clean, but it was a bit seedy. Unfortunately, our bedroom is located exactly on the four-lane highway, so we must first get used to the noise. The cockroaches on the toilet and dripping water from the ceiling greet us. This is all very normal here, welcome to Mexico!

In the apartment, a small highlight already wait for us. We are allowed to carry the baby turtles hatched today through the day into the sea. This is possible only at night, because otherwise they are eaten by hungry birds. Together with an area guard, we go down to the sandy beach. We wet our hands with sea water, grab few of the cute babies and release them with our best wishes in the ocean waves. Only one in a thousand babies will survive the youth and one day return to the beach as an adult turtle.

The warm temperatures demand a cool down. In the swimming trunks, we pass the spacious pool area to the private beach area, where we deposit our things on the sun loungers and treat us to a long wave pool in the salty sea. The water is wonderfully clear, but we cannot swim here because of the wide sandbar and further out there are dangerous currents. On the beach, various traders compete for the few guests. They want to sell Cuban cigars, shells or cheap jewelry.

Our walks along the beach are limited. There are practically no bars or restaurants to be found, except the hotel's own all inclusive bars, where foreign guests are not welcome. When we got tired legs from running sand, we realize that we can not get up onto the road anywhere because everything is closed. In front of most hotels there are guards so that strangers cannot go inside. We still sneak in and get lost in a spacious hotel complex. Three times we have to ask ourselves, until we finally find the exit to the street!

The Mexicans celebrate today the Dia de los Muertos, the day of the dead. This is a colorful folk festival in honor of the dead. The streets are decorated with flowers and symbols of death, skeletons and skulls are in the shop windows.

In Cancun Downtown, some celebrations should take place. We walk to the Parque las Palapas. There are countless food stalls and some tents. Candles are lit. Pictures of the deceased are hung up and decorated with colored skulls and other offerings.

We move through the food stalls and various treats land on our table. We have somehow missed the announced parade, but on the main stage various performances are presented. The dancers are creepy. There are also artistic ballet and acrobatics. Of course, the accompanying music sounds in a loud volume that makes our ears wobble.

Later we plunge into the nightlife of the hotel zone. In front of the hottest club, about 20 ticket vendors are quite aggressively waiting for customers! Although we do not like it in this loud party zone, we allow ourselves a cool drink.

A culinary highlight awaits us at the resort, where we dine in the restaurant. Dressed in black we are led to the entrance where the rules are explained to us. No pictures may be taken and the mobile phones must be switched off.

We get used to the coming darkness. In the restaurant there is a dark night! We are seated at our table. We do not see ourselves or the table in front of us. Two dark purple neon lights on the ceiling are enough for the waiter to help us with the night vision equipment.

You can only see the white napkin with which we can wipe our hands after each course. 25 different small bites are presented to us. Of course we try to find out what we are currently eating. We do not always succeed, but the strawberry is easy to taste. There are apple chips with goose cheese mousse, citrus spaghetti with ginger soy sauce, salmon confit with saffron or Soursop daiquiri. Recognizing such dishes on the palate is more difficult!

Animators in white masks massage our backs to make us relaxed. During the dinner, they surprise with some tricks, give us roses or serenade us. We are excited about this unforgettable experience in the dark!

We go to the car rental agency, where we want to receive our car for the next three weeks. We are told that today, unfortunately, no vehicle in the booked class is available. After the intervention on our part, the telephone wires glow and already 10 minutes later, a practically new one is at the door. We take it back to the hotel.

After more than 20 hours of travel we went to bed very tired. The next day we will leave the horrible and expensive Cancun to get into the state of Yucatan. I know that this post is a bit decaffeinated, but soon the action will begin.
Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-60051796117110459082018-04-09T09:45:00.001-07:002018-11-11T03:28:06.926-08:00Travel to a Cultural Renaissance in Hyderabad
After a short tour in Delhi, we visit the old city of Hyderabad to discover a scene of extraordinary life. We took a night train to the city of Hyderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana), about 700 km north of Bangalore. 6 hours passed and we woke up to see the city that gave us a first glimpse of what Hyderabad would be like.

We arrived at 6 in the morning after spending the whole night awake because of the cold that came in from outside, the noise of snoring, and trains that passed by. Slowly we went into the city. The good? We are very close to the hostel. The bad? The hostel was on the other side of 8 tracks with unstoppable traffic and no type of crossing in sight.

Even with our backpacks on our shoulders, we crossed the first street, and again the second street. Upon arrival, we found a strong harassment of the rickshaw, who insist on following us to sneak in front of us in the hotels and so take a commission. The search was very intense. It seems that the hotels are more expensive here and in the end, we ended up at the hostel. They treated us very well.

We went for breakfast near the Falaknuma Palace and waited for the driver who took us to Fort Golconda Fort. It is an eight-hundred-year-old fortress built on a mountain, which is mostly built on and around the natural granite cliffs of the mountain. In addition, the fortress is considered one of the most important diamond mines in the area.

For example, important and famous diamonds such as the Hope Diamond and the Koh-i-Noor, which is now part of the British Crown Jewels, have been found here. Many "unimportant" diamonds were placed in the fortress so that they reflected the light and brightly lit the many splendid halls. For example, they were placed in front of candles in the "shelves" to break their light.

After my very strenuous up and down descent, we went to see the spectacular tombs of the Qutb Shahi kings, which were about 5 minutes away by car. It is a huge garden where seven of the nine Qutb Shahi rulers rest together with other members of the royal family.

We only had one day to get to see Hyderabad thoroughly. So, we decided to squeeze the little time we had left. We then get back to the center of the city. In front of the Charminar, we ate and took a tour of this bazaar discovering what this city is famous for. We see many jewelry shops. As good tourists we took pictures. We try to do some "tourism", but we find that Hyderabad does not have much to offer.

But we walked a bit around. And the picture is more or less the same. Among all this madness, I pass through small alleys where they mainly sold clothes and shoes. In the street, there are many women who wear a burqa, and only their eyes are visible.

We arrived at the Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Devasthanam temple that we had seen on the map. It is built completely in white marble and we went in, took off our shoes, and went around images and flowers. We sat watching the sunset, to leave from there to the upper area of the city.

To finish our tour we went to the Hussain Sagar lake which separates Hyderabad from Secunderabad. On the map, it looks like a blue lake, with parks and pedestrian walks around. In reality, it has nothing. It has floating houses here and there. In the lake, there is a large figure of Buddha somewhat worn.

The parks turned out to be sets of grass and trees. We could only get close to the lake through a half-fallen gate that opens the way to a kind of viewpoint. What did catch our attention is that many families came to the place in their cars to see the lake. They stayed a few minutes there and then they left.

To end the stay we decided to go for dinner in the best restaurant in the city of Hyderabad. Once arrived on the spot, we discover a hideous tower, which deserves to be demolished. We climb into the elevator, ready to go get another restaurant. When the door of the elevator opens we have the breath almost cut to see a whole army of porters, hotel masters, waiters who greet us with deference.

The chairs are pieces of a museum. Many statues and delicate paintings are arranged in a very oriental decor worthy of the Arabian Nights. The waiters bring us the chairs and make sure we are properly seated. Once the order is over, and the dishes are on the table, the waiter flutter around us.

They do not let us serve ourselves and delicately portions of Hyderabadi Biryani in our plates. The way of serving with two spoons in one hand is also very classy. We feel a bit like princes. After having dinner there with enough Raita, we went to our hotel where there was a terrace with a pool and views of Lake Hussain Sagar Lake.

We go down to the disco and enjoy the party that allowed us to enter free to the open bar. We then run to the station to catch the train at 1:30 in the morning to Aurangabad. And well, that was Hyderabad.
Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-15931655975518284412018-03-25T08:54:00.000-07:002018-11-11T03:28:05.954-08:00Travel Story to Dubai - 7 Days Stopover in the UAE
And finally Dubai! After several failed attempts in previous years, I visit the UAE. I was curious to see this city that in a blink has gone from being a point in the middle of the desert to one of the most developed in the world along with the federal capital Abu Dhabi.

The sheiks have endeavored to put Dubai among the first of the class and have spent their petrodollars in putting this Persian Gulf city to the forefront of luxury, eccentricities, skyscrapers and a handful of Guinness records. Always in constant change, nowadays it is a tourist center for shopping, business and leisure in general with a mainly foreign population.

We started this getaway of little more than a week in the United Arab Emirates, specifically for 8 days. We visit Dubai to Abu Dhabi and the Musandam Peninsula (Oman), both on a one-day trip each. But in addition to the visit, there has also been a romantic getaway to the desert. A bit of everything!

Day 1

We landed in Dubai at 3:00 am local time and passed a passport control that lasted one hour. Our journey by the rental car began at 4:27 in the morning from the Budget stand.

After fighting over the issue of the departure to Oman and other small setbacks, we got our brand new car. It arrived at our apartment in Palm Jumeirah a while later. After checking the magnitude of the road network in Dubai we plan the 21 km that separate the airport from our home for the next 6 days.

The apartment is too good and everything seems correct. It is huge and unbeatable with an ideal location to celebrate the beginning of Christmas. After infinite photos to send our friends with a wonderful Christmas tree, we enjoyed a great barbecue plan and an unbeatable cake. All the details are taken care of! We quickly kept our things and went to bed at 6:50h.

Day 2

We get up at midmorning. Although we have slept little we feel well and are eager to see things. We do not suffer much from jet lag. It's a great day, so we explored our closest environment at Palm Jumeirah. In the morning, after having breakfast, we went to visit the Dubai City Walk. It is an area that has just been created because people missed an area of the city in which to walk and shop in the open air. People throng more in the afternoon. It is so well thought that in summer there are vaporized water falls from above to fight against the heat.

There I found a multi-storey shop with the best brands of clothes. I preferred not to look too much because it was all ideal but very expensive! In City Walk there are several charming restaurants, each one with a more chic decoration than the previous one. And finally the highlight is the fun and characteristic food trucks that cross with natural juices, waffles, etc.

We then visit the Atlantis hotel. Luxury is what characterizes it. In their halls we find boutiques, watches, etc. But one thing is above all, the sea. In the hotel there is an incredible aquarium. It is called the Lost Chambers. We enter the aquarium.

The magnificent aquarium is divided into different zones according to theme. There are 10 cameras with 65,000 marine animals. The decoration of each room or atmosphere is very elaborate. It looks like the decoration of any attraction in an Orlando park. The nice thing is a huge pond where we walk around the big sharks. Maybe the attraction is not according to its price of 100 aed per person.

Also in its enclosure has a water park called Aquaventure, with a huge pyramid in the center. We saw this water park from outside. It is the largest water park in the Middle East, with slides and almost vertical slides. The large pool is surrounded by sun loungers and palm trees.

There are slides that go up instead of going down as they push you with water. There is a tube that ends through an aquarium through its interior, and there are mechanical ramps to automatically climb the slides. With the exception of a slide, the rest is lowered with floats for either singles or doubles.

As it is time to eat, we approach the nearby Dubai Marina neighborhood. During the trip we saw the purest American style lively and dynamic beach bars, camels for children to be photographed and not so children. There is an Ibiza-style market but in small, several positions offering water sports.

We head to the food court inside the center and go out to the terrace. We ordered from a macro menu admiring those spectacular views.

After lunch, we take direction to the public Jumeirah beach. It is an excellent place to bathe while you contemplate the hotel Burj al Arab! The pity is that although it is hot (not much) we do not feel like getting in the water. We entered the Mall of the Emirates, the second largest in the Emirates and perhaps the world.

We kicked it, as we saw the Dubai ski from the outside and we bought supplies for the whole week. Food is a tad more expensive.

That night we hesitated between having dinner at a very fashionable and lively Italian in the financial district or at a restaurant in Dubai Marina that is like a control tower with several 360 degrees. Finally, we finish in the first but we keep the second for the next trip.

Day 3

Today it is time to approach the highest building in the world. We had the reservation to go up at the top of Burj Khalifa made online a few days before. The difference in price with respect to the ticket offices is considerable. It does not go up to the top. The viewpoint is "only" at 442m, just over half its height. But the view is superb. It is quite an experience.

Although the entrance and parking are in the same mall in Dubai mall, we decided not to visit and leave it for a time of day without sunlight. Our new destination is old Dubai. We plan to see the neighborhood of Deira and Bur Dubai.

We tried to park in the Dubai museum but it was impossible because of the volume of vehicles. Everyone goes around to park in the narrow, uneven streets of the old city. We finally park and go quietly through the Creek, the museum, and the souks. The first thing we did was to cross the Creek in Abra.

The Creek is a sea inlet, or 10 km river, that separates the city in the two historic districts. We take the typical boats or open and cross the old district of Deira where we toured the souk of gold and spices. We crossed back to Bur Dubai and wandered through its streets in search of some decent place to eat before seeing the Dubai Museum.

When we thought we were not going to find anything that could satisfy the hunger we had (an hour already advanced because of the search for parking), we discovered right in front of the museum a pizzeria where we ate and everything was great. After lunch, I have an espresso coffee and a cigar. We then visit the Dubai Museum. It is a very graphic museum that tells the history of Dubai in one of the oldest historical sites of the place.

We go back to Dubai Mall and do window shopping (we do not buy anything in any store of any mall). It is the largest and most visited shopping center in the world, with some 1500 stores, and an impressive structure. I found it funny that inside the mall there were "taxis" to get around (some buggies). There is also an ice rink and an aquarium and Aquatic Zoo.

On the outside, there is the biggest fountain in the world, and every 30 minutes there is a show with water jets and music. We see the Dubai fountain show at 8 pm and at 8:30 pm we go home exhausted after a day where we have walked a lot and are completely tired.

Day 4

The day is dedicated exclusively to reach the Musandam Peninsula in Oman and walk-in Dhow through the waters of the Strait of Hormuz.

Day 5

Today we leave early at 9:30, for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and its capital, of the same name and also the capital of the country. It is the second most populous city of the seven Emirates unified after Dubai. But is submerged in gigantic cultural projects that, together with realities such as the F1 circuit, the Ferrari park, and its status as the seat of government, make it a firm candidate to lead the country on equal terms to Dubai.

If you do not have a car like us you can hire a tour from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. Our first objective is the Sheikh Zayed mosque because it closes for the visit to the public very early. It is only open from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. It is a visit that you cannot miss. Indeed, you could go expressly to the country just to see it. There, the guide lent us an outfit to be able to enter!

To enter, women must be covered (long clothing and covered arms, as well as the head). We were dressed in short sleeves and a shirt, but in order to enter we put on a long dress over the top and a headscarf. We leave the shoes in the entrance. It is the largest mosque in the UAE, and the 3rd largest in the world. Inside, there are luxurious, marble, mosaics and has a huge chandelier as with precious stones.

Before we made a short stop in the Sheikh Zayed al Nahyan mosque, which has nothing to do with the magnitude of the previous one. We went to the center of the city and passed close to the F1 circuit and the new Ferrari theme park. We did not visit for a matter of time and tastes, although I have been told it's worth it.

We pass by the luxurious Emirates Palace hotel that holds the record for being the most expensive hotel ever built. As it was time for lunch we headed to the Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi and ate at their food court. There we went up to 160 meters high to have a coffee in the viewpoint of the shopping center.

Before returning to Dubai we toured the island of Saadiyat, the magnificent cultural project with the Louvre Museum, the Guggenheim, the Performing Art Center and the Zayed National Museum. We left at 6:20 and arrived in Dubai at 8:00 p.m.

Day 6

We have chosen this day to go to the Dubai Ski, but early, at 9 o'clock, because we do not want to coincide with the supposed avalanche of people who gather on a holiday like Friday mid-morning.

And we guessed right because we practically skied the two hours we were there. After the magnificent experience at Dubai Ski, we went back to the apartment to pick up my uncles and get out to the hotel Burj al Arab! We had booked a Brunch, a buffet at the Burj al Arab with a fixed price. I tell you that the reservation is essential and that going to their restaurants is the only possible way to access the site and see the hotel unless you have one of its expensive rooms for the night.

The views are magnificent and the food exquisite. The next visit was the Emirates Towers. We left the car in an open field nearby because the parking is costly for an hour. We had become accustomed to parking for free in the city. We see in the distance the first skyscraper in Dubai, the Dubai World Trade Center.

We enter the Boulevard Jumeirah Emirates Towers, a shopping center that connects both towers. We return to the Dubai mall to see its ice rink, the Dubai Ice Ring, an Olympic size track inside a shopping center! We also visit the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, the largest aquarium in suspension in the world with 10 million liters in its tank.

We went outside to see once more the spectacle of the fountains and the Burj Khalifa that presides over it. We see the curious Sculpture of Horse of Botero, that can happen to get unnoticed among all the mass of people.

But before we take a tour of the facilities of the Downtown Burj Khalifa, which is in the same square of the lake, and where you can sneak and visit the pools, sun loungers and contemplate a wonderful view of the skyscraper. We take again, for the umpteenth time on this trip, the Sheikh Zayed road, the main artery of the city, and that alone deserves a separate corner to talk about its layout.

Day 7

We could not leave without going perfectly through our beloved palm Jumeirah, where our apartment was located. It is the first and most famous palm tree reclaimed from the sea with sand and the only one completely finished. In the growing exterior, towards the east, we find the Atlantis. We also have a very good view of the Burj Al Arab hotel. To end the day we spent the afternoon and part of the night in the Desert Safari.

Day 8

We began our return from the Arabian peninsula.
Kalyan Panjahttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-57156669346094877522018-03-17T09:38:00.002-07:002018-08-04T23:57:44.007-07:00Travel to St. Patrick's Day in Dublin
It is St. Patrick's Day and I am in Ireland. I thought why do not I take this opportunity to visit Ireland in March and then celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Dublin? With this fact, I find flights with good prices considering the period. While for the accommodation I have no problem since I would stay at Athlone. It is a town located practically in the middle of the island and hosting Sean's bar, the oldest pub of Ireland.

On March 17, the day of Saint Patrick the alarm rings early in the morning because we have to reach Dublin by bus and the journey takes more than an hour. We arrive in the capital and it seems to be at the center of the world. It is incredible how many people already crowd the main streets of the city. It seems to be in a green tide between scarves and caps colored with the colors of the Irish flag.

It is warm and sunny and the streets are full of life. People laugh, chat and eat ice cream, while others sit comfortably in the sun and enjoy the atmosphere. A lady wearing a Victorian costume and a lace parasol glides past me on meter-long stilts, while a juggler on a unicycle astounds a group of children. A comedian dressed as an orderly with crooked teeth and huge glasses admonishes me.

I swoon lost in thought in an infectious melody to myself while violating his rules just invented. Luckily a girl with a sign "Free Hugs" comes over at that moment. I rush to the comfort in her arms and must grin involuntarily. The good mood on this day is really contagious.

For a weekend, the city center of Cork turns into a huge festival in honor of the Irish national saint. There are concerts and street performances, fairs, and stalls offering freshly prepared food. Live music is celebrated in the pubs and on a stage in the center of the city, a dance group performs traditional Ceili and invites the spectators to dine.

You can not miss the clover, one of the symbols of the country, present almost everywhere. The next few days will, therefore, be dedicated to Leprechaun, gold pots, rainbows, clovers and Blarney Stone. Even if morning, the first thing we do is throw ourselves into the pub that we find as soon as we get off the bus. Obviously, we order a pint of Guinness as we could not do otherwise.

The main event of the day, in addition to that of pub crawls, is the parade that is held with nearly 3,000 performers and about 50,000 spectators. The center full of masks and allegorical wagons. All around me, people are teeming with green-and-white-orange wigs, clover-shaped sunglasses, or huge Leprechaun hats. It is nothing but increases the festive atmosphere and the desire to enjoy that day that everyone would like it never to end.

Mythical creatures like fairies and phoenixes pass by, followed by famous football players, musicians, researchers, ancient deities, and icons. "When I was a kid, the St. Patrick's Day parades were very quiet. Today, they are much more colorful, says a spectator next to me about the Chinese dragons, trapeze artists, fire breathers and African drummers.

However, I am not only impressed by how colorful and cheerful the parade is, but also by the cultural diversity that is expressed here. Almost every foreign community in Cork, who identify with Ireland and with their countries of origin is represented with their own group on the move. I had no idea how international Cork really is, and now I feel a bit more comfortable here.

An Irish acquaintance meets me on the way to the city. He holds the event for Paddywhackery. It is a celebration of overdone Irish cliches and prefers to use the beautiful weather for a walk around the nearby lake. "Until a few decades ago it was a very quiet and religious day in Ireland. People wore a shamrock, but nothing more, "he recalls. Indeed, celebrations date back to the middle ages on St. Patrick's death on March 17.

But the tradition of the parades spilled over from the United States only a few decades ago. Irish immigrants have been using the festival since the late eighteenth century to celebrate their identity and strengthen links with their country of origin. So today the biggest St. Patrick's Day parade takes place in New York City.

In addition to the usual landmarks and monuments such as the Coliseum in Rome, the London Eye, the Great Wall, Niagara Falls and the Empire State Building, which have been glowing green for years, this year are the One World Trade Center in New York, the Antwerp Town Hall, the Gwangandaegyo Bridge in South Korea, and even the statue of a rhino in the Nairobi National Park in Kenya.

Despite being immense, walking through O'Connell Street, the main street of the Irish capital and one of the largest in Europe, is a difficult task. It is a meeting point for people around Dublin. Then we take the opportunity to capture those moments that we will never forget. We look at the people around us. There are smiles printed on the face (first effects of beer) and glasses at the top. They are always ready to toast even with the first unknown that passes just for the fact that he too is celebrating St. Patrick's Day right there.

In Kilkenny, we celebrated with the inhabitants and an impressive marching band from Colorado the Tradfest, where the Celtic roots are celebrated. Irish bands tore off the audience with their great rhythms, which they elicited from their traditional musical instruments to enthusiastic storms. Also, it sometimes itched in our legs to beat the beat or even better to join in the spontaneous group dance.

To the sounds of flutes, tin whistles, the Irish banjo and other old instruments, we walked through the castle park and the historic town on the banks of the River Nore. We watched as children, mothers, fathers, and grandparents were introduced to the art of Irish dance, but also saw experts mastering this form of dance perfectly.

In bright sunshine, we celebrated with the Irish the beginning of St. Patrick's Day Weekend. Our St Patrick's Day in Ireland started in bright sunshine. The day, beer flows away like the rivers and it does it too quickly and you really would like the time never to pass. And then in the evening, we find ourselves again by bus to return to Athlone.

The streets of Dublin begin to empty and people return home, or who knows where. But they do it slowly because at the end there is always time and desire for a last pint of Guinness. It is not last since every excuse is good to get into the next pub. Once in the bus, I am exhausted but am really happy for sharing that day with my friends and with a lot of people I met there. Maybe I will not see them again in my life but that, just having spent together St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, will ensure that I will never forget those moments.
Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com, Ireland53.3498053 -6.260309699999993453.0446728 -6.9085031999999931 53.6549378 -5.6121161999999938tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-81035598743883909362018-03-12T10:42:00.000-07:002019-12-21T08:10:05.812-08:00The 5 Step Genucel Method for Treating Eye Bags What Happens to Our Skin and Eyes as we Age? Our skin is one of our biggest selling points. It can give away our age and our vitality. As we get older, our skin loses elasticity. This is because the collagen in our skin thins out over time. Thinner skin has a more transparent appearance. The veins are more noticeable with transparent skin.

The bags under our eyes appear darker. It is not because we are more tired but because the skin underneath the eyes is very thin in comparison to other parts of the body. Therefore we can see the veins and blood underneath the eye as dark circles around the eyes. Thinner skin makes this more noticeable.

The facial muscles also weaken. This causes the skin to sag and gives rise to wrinkles. Another effect of aging is that our body loses the ability to retain water as efficiently which makes the skin look older. The fat deposits in our face move around with time, providing less support. This is quite noticeable in the eyes. The eyes appear puffier or swollen.

There are surgical treatments available that can correct swollen eyes, however, these methods tend to be more invasive. They can involve long recovery times that result in time off from work or other activities.

How to Reduce Eye Puffiness

The company provides a plant-based eye treatment using a tetrapeptide known as Eyeseryl. Peptides and amino acids are the building blocks for strong and healthy skins. Many plant-based products serve as effective skin ointments because of the natural oils found in plants.

Plants are also rich in antioxidants and minerals that help to nourish the skin and fight against aging. The tetrapeptide in mixed into several formulas to offer a variety of skin treatment options. The company recommends the following five simple steps to effectively and safely treat eye puffiness.

The Five-Step System

This first step is the plant stem cell therapy. Stem cells interact with the body like normal cells. They act as replacement cells for cells that were either damaged or lost over time. The stem cells repair damaged tissue and restore the skin back to its youthful appearance. It's recommended to wait a couple of weeks to notice the results.

The second step is Genucel eyelid treatment. Peptides are used to strengthen the weakened muscles that support the eyelids. This results in a firmer appearance of the eyelids.

The third step is known as the Genucel XV treatment. This step targets the wrinkles. An anti-aging formula is applied to reduce the wrinkles. The formula includes a hyaluronic acid which helps to trap moisture. Another ingredient is CoQ10 which serves to reduce UV damage and damage caused by free radicals.

The fourth step is the Genucel Immediate Effects. This further targets the wrinkles through advanced Relaxoderm technology. It is recommended to apply this method daily.

The final step is to supplement the treatment with Cristalles Microdermabrasion. A topical formula is applied to correct areas of discoloration. The formula uses magnesium oxide to decompose unhealthy skin and reveal smoother skin.

What's the Final Verdict?

The Company offers a powerful skin treatment which incorporates a blend of natural minerals, peptides, and enzymes. These ingredients work well with the skin to provide the most natural results. The formula works its way through the skin to provide maximum nourishment. Many of the ingredients used in the formula are based on natural enzymes in the body and therefore interact with the body in a similar manner. The five-step method offers a safe and effective alternative to surgical methods.Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-78078852515159112982018-03-08T20:06:00.002-08:002018-11-17T07:17:40.470-08:00Trip to Playa del Carmen in the paradise of Riviera MayaWe have the last 24 hours in Mexico. For starters, Mexico is an excellent destination for the honeymoon. Our flight was the next day in the morning from Cancun. So we decided to spend the last night, which we had not reserved in advance in Playa del Carmen. This city is one of the most touristy in the Riviera Maya, but it is only an hour from the Cancun airport by bus.

We booked a room at the hotel by phone, a four star that had very good reviews on Tripadvisor and they give us the double room without breakfast for 850 pesos after haggling a bit. Early in the morning, we headed to the Mayan ruins of Coba. We climb the dizzying Nohoch Mui pyramid which at 42m height is the highest in the Yucatan peninsula. It is one of the few pyramids to which one can ascend. The views from above are spectacular.

It is a great mystery the similarity of the constructions of Coba with those of Tikal in Guatemala hundreds of km away and not with the nearby ones like Chichen Itza. They say it was probably due to a marriage agreement between both cities. From here we went to Tulum.

We got up not too soon and went for a leisurely stroll along the beach of our hotel in Tulum, which is just past the Xel-ha water park towards Cancún. It is a protected area where turtles spawn. A virgin cove of white sand full of palm trees and turquoise blue water. It was a little sunny, but the wind blew so much that it dragged the water and the sand at the same time, causing the glasses to fill with grit in a matter of seconds.

We left Tulum and time had not given us a truce. Maybe if we had more sun and less wind, we would not have stayed with that bittersweet feeling. I found Tulum expensive. It is too posh for my taste, although perhaps that says more about me than anything else. I feel more comfortable in a cabin lost in the middle of the jungle than in an eco-chic hotel on the beachfront. In Cancun, you will find more the gringo environment (boring).

As usual, those last days for breakfast I decided to give myself a small treat and ordered pancakes with banana, which seemed to fit well. After a while, a bus arrived and we got going. On the road between Tulum and Playa del Carmen, we only see the entrances to the hotel complexes that flood this entire area of the Caribbean.

As many people told us that the beaches of Playa del Carmen were nicer than those of Cancun and that the atmosphere was more relaxed, we went directly there. The first place we visited was El Gran Cenote, which is on the way. The water is super clear but super cold and super refreshing (the heat is like that of Panama in the middle of summer).

In little more than an hour we reached Playa del Carmen. The bus station is on the 5th Avenue, the nerve center of this city that 15 years ago did not exist. When we got off the bus, a breath of hot air stunned us. We were finally waiting for a sunny day in the Riviera Maya. We dragged our suitcases to our hotel. Certainly, seeing the situation on the map, we imagined that it would be closer, but it took us about 20 minutes to arrive.

Upon arriving there, the hotel surprised us very pleasantly. It was not in the most touristic part of Playa del Carmen, but it could be reached perfectly. The room was very nice, and the hotel had a pool and access to a private beach club that we did not even have. We put on the swimsuits and we took a bath before going to eat. And yes, it was reconfirmed. I'm a pool man because the truth is that it was very good there.

After freshening up, we asked the receptionist if he could indicate where there was a supermarket and a restaurant nearby. He asked us what kind of food we wanted. We told him "authentic" Mexican. he recommended a couple of places in front of a large hypermarket two blocks away.

One of the things that I love most about traveling is to enter a hypermarket and see what foods and other things they have. For example, in this case, I found a very curious offer. They gave us a Tabasco pot when we bought horchata. I also discovered that in Mexico cactus is eaten as a vegetable, also called nopales and that there is a great variety of spicy chips.

Right in front of the hypermarket is the taqueria-brasería El fogón, which is so "Mexican" that it transported us to our first days of travel. We ordered some Hawaiian tacos that had pork, sweet ham, cheese, pineapple and a sauce (I would say mayonnaise) and they were delicious. There we saw a group of Americans and mostly people from the area.

If I had to name something negative about the place, it was almost suicidal to eat in a brasserie with the heat it made. Then we return to the hotel to rest and refresh in the pool and savor the last hours of the trip. What a little desire to return on the plane we had booked!

I remember that we were walking along Fifth Avenue, almost empty. Although by then Playa del Carmen was no longer a secret and its popularity had grown enormously, the streets were incredibly quiet. The large accumulations of people were reserved for the high season of the year. Some important developments were already on the famous avenue and announced progress, but nothing that stole his essence or at least that with which I knew that destiny. For me, it was in a perfect state.

Playa was the ideal destination for those who wanted to flee (like us) from Cancun, their party, and their spring breakers. It was a destination for another type of people, younger, more alternative, more European according to the words of one of its inhabitants. The Americans found it boring and the absence of "All Inclusive" resorts kept them away.

Another place we visited was Chichen Itza, which by the way is a little bit like 4 hours away. When we arrived at Chichen Itza we bought the package that includes the entrance plus the food and an entrance to the cenote of Ikkil which is one of the most famous in Mexico.

Around late-afternoon we came back went for a walk around Playa del Carmen. The city is very touristy and there are restaurants of all kinds, clubs with house music in full swing whatever the time of day. There are lots of souvenir shops with prices in dollars and tens or hundreds of Americans with British brunettes.

Even so, the city did not displease me. There are also restaurants for all kinds of pockets and night shows of all kinds, to which the Israeli girl recommended us to go and to which we never went. I think it was wise to spend our last night in Mexico there.Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-22477344427384385022018-01-31T07:07:00.000-08:002019-12-21T08:10:16.982-08:005 Benefits of Drinking Organo Gold CoffeeWhether it's because they enjoy the taste or they're needing more energy, people have many reasons for loving coffee. Regardless of this drink's popularity, you might wonder what makes coffee so great. It's also understandable to wonder how beneficial coffee is for your health. With that in mind, here are the top five benefits of drinking coffee.

Boosting Your Immune System

An unfortunate part of life is dealing with being sick. If you want to avoid being sick all of the time, it's important to have a strong immune system. Fortunately, there are ways you can help increase your immune system's strength. One of the best ways to do this is by drinking coffee each day. Coffee is full of antioxidants which help to increase the strength of your immune system. In turn, you'll be able to have an easier time avoiding sicknesses throughout the year.

Receiving More Fiber

It's often difficult for people to get everything they need from their diets. Unfortunately, this means that many people aren't consuming enough fiber each day. Fiber helps to ensure that you lower your risk of both diabetes and heart disease. In addition, fiber is a great way to have an easier time managing your body weight. Fiber also helps keep you regular which means avoiding painful and bothersome bouts of constipation.

Lowering Your Risk of Developing Depression

Life is often full of stressful situations. If you're dealing with these situations, it could have an effect on your overall well-being. This is why people often suffer from bouts of depression. Depression often makes people feel tired, sad, and many other types of negative feelings. Fortunately, studies have shown that drinking coffee helps people feel less depression than those who don't drink this beverage.

Having a Healthier Mouth

While you might not think so, drinking coffee can actually help keep your teeth clean. This is because the strength of most coffees kills bacteria on your teeth. However, this benefit is less present for those who add lots of sugar to their cups of coffee. Therefore, you'll need to drink black coffee to be able to notice this benefit.

Staying Energized

One of the most popular reasons people drink coffee is to receive an energy boost. This is because coffee often contains caffeine. Consuming caffeine gives people increased amounts of energy. Therefore, drinking coffee is a great way to stay energized throughout the day. However, there are others who are sensitive to caffeine. Fortunately, there are many types of decaffeinated coffees available for these individuals.

To summarize, there are several beneficial reasons to consider drinking coffee. If you're looking for a great coffee brand, consider choosing Organo Gold. This company is based out of Los Angeles, California. Organo Gold's coffees contain Ganoderma powder, known for its beneficial effects on the immune system. Ganoderma powder comes from a fungus and has been shown to benefit the immune system for the past 2,000 years. Drinking coffee form Organo Gold helps to ensure that you receive advanced detox, antioxidants, and immune support. Kalyan Panjahttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-78737864017117806672018-01-29T22:11:00.000-08:002018-04-07T00:43:03.236-07:00Trip to Raj Ghat in New Delhi
We planned first to visit the Jama Masjid, but in front of the first traffic jams, we decided to change direction and visit the Raj Ghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi. We leave Old Delhi for New Delhi. As usual in my travels I sit towards a window, from where I can see the road and the landscape, so I could take the pictures.

On the other hand, the sky is not blue. We pass the India Gate. In bright weather and 40 degree sunshine, we have a beautiful view of the India Gate. After a short drive around 9:34 clock we reach the Rajghat Memorial. Our bus stops right in front of a green park in the middle of New Delhi. Only a few visitors are at the entrance of the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi.

We arrive at the entrance to the memorial. It is located on the banks of the river Yamuna. We arrive in a large park, full of tourists. Next door is a museum dedicated to Mahatma.

After his death, Gandhi was cremated and his ashes scattered in the sacred Ganges. Here in the park where his mortal remains were burned in 1948, a memorial was erected. We hand in our shoes at the entrance and walk into the inner courtyard.

There a simple, black marble slab, on which an eternal flame burns. With subtle music, surrounded by green grass and magnolia trees, many tourists devoutly commemorate. An inscription on the flower-decked platform recalls Gandhi's last words "hey ram".

We met a lot of people around with men and women who asked us to take photos on their smartphone, with the husband, without the husband, or friend.

It is a magical place filled with peace of laughter. We come across the joys of girls and boys who visit the memorial. In this pleasant place with big lawn, there is a calmness mixed with pleasure.

For a few minutes we enjoy the tranquility and let the reverent atmosphere affect us. Our group is already far away and we have to go back to the entrance, where our driver is waiting in the cool car.

We continue to the Qutub minar located in the Qutb complex in Delhi.
Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-79624032970855318122018-01-28T19:24:00.001-08:002018-11-17T07:17:40.477-08:00Travel through Los Angeles to see Hollywood and Grammys
I was in Miami when a friend of mine wrote to alert me of the annual Grammy awards. And as soon as I read it, without even knowing if I could attend, I ran to a computer to reserve my place. With the fortune of already being in the US on those days, I was able to confirm my attendance to get to Los Angeles. We got up without hurry and called a taxi to get us to the airport.

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Day 1: Finally we are going to Los Angeles

We checked our bags and went to have breakfast quietly, bought some food and drink to go. Finally, with more than an hour late, we embarked on the flight that would take us to Los Angeles. After five hours of travel, lunch, snack, dinner, trying to see films each one worse than the previous one, and chatting with the neighbors, we finally landed at 18.30 at the LAX Airport.

From the air I started to get excited with the views. I could not believe it, I had been waiting for more than a year and finally we were in Los Angeles! Five days before the ceremony there was already the Grammys atmosphere at the Los Angeles airport. When there are events of this caliber like Emmys, Oscars, SAGs, Grammys all week there are private parties and concerts.

It took us about an hour to pass the check and collect our bags and we went straight to get one of the shuttel that has a frequency of about fifteen minutes. Shortly after we were in the rental office ready to pick up our car. The issue of picking up the rental car was something that worried me a little. I had read lots of comments that referred to the somewhat aggressive sales techniques that the commercials seemed to have quite frequently.

As we already expected, the sales person informed us that the car we had booked was not available. He accompanied us to the parking lot to show us all the vehicles we could choose from with our reservation but none of them convinced us. So we decided to return to the office to give us a budget to reserve a car of a higher category. But we did not give up, we told him it was a very special trip for us, and finally we got him to lower the price and hire the car with the lowest mileage among all the convertible that were currently in the parking lot.

About 20 minutes later we arrived at our hotel in Santa Monica. We had three nights booked. The first impression of the hotel was very good. We found a spacious room with a small kitchen, located on the ground floor and with entrance from a private patio.

Between the arrival delay time of the flight, the time we lost in changing the car reservation, the time it took to get to Santa Monica from the airport and the check-in at the hotel we were quite late. When we prepared the trip we thought about dedicating this evening to walk around Santa Monica Pier but we almost did not have time. So we decided to go out and buy some food to take to the room in a hot dog stand side of the hotel and rest after the trip. In a few hours we would finally be walking the streets of Los Angeles!

Day 2: Hollywood, Venice and Santa Monica

We got up at 7 in the morning as new. We had some intrigue to know how we would be affected by the jet lag. But the truth is that we slept all night without any problems and we get up full of energy. We had breakfast in the hotel in a small breakfast room with only four tables. We never had to wait more than five minutes, apart from the fact that it was also possible to pick up breakfast to take it to the room.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, we were on our way to our first visit of the day. We were going to see the Hollywood sign! According to the GPS we had about 35 minutes to get there, but the road became eternal. We found works on the highway and we were diverted by another road. This coupled with the traffic at that time of the morning forced us to spend more than an hour and a half of travel. We did not start the day very well.

The address we put on the GPS was Canyon Lake Drive. We take the photos right from the park, with the sign in the background. From what I have read, if you continue up the road there are more viewpoints, but we were satisfied with the views we had from there, which really are very good. With the time we had already lost we could not take much longer in the area.

The next visit of the day was, of course, the Walk of Fame, and the old Kodak Theater (now Dolby Theater). In fifteen minutes we arrived at the Hollywood & Highland Center, a shopping center where we parked the car. It has a direct exit to the Dolby Theater.

We spent more than an hour practically walking the entire Walk of Fame, down Hollywood Boulevard all the way to the junction with Vine Street. Here I insisted on finding Audrey Hepburn. We spent a lot of time looking for stars on the floor. As we did not want to waste a lot of time we bought some food and had lunch while looking for more stars. I had a list of some and it saved us a lot of time not having to go looking for them specifically.

To finish in the area we still needed to see another of the icon of Hollywood, the Chinese Theater.

I liked Hollywood a lot. I had read such bad comments about how dirty and decadent the area was and maybe that's why I was so pleasantly surprised. We returned to the parking lot of the mall and went to Carroll Avenue. The street is full of beautiful houses, with well-kept gardens. We did not stay long and went to our next stop, Olvera Street, or what is the same, the historic town of Los Angeles.

Olvera Street is a pretty picturesque neighborhood that stretches along a street where a Mexican market is there. If you have time you can visit the oldest house in Los Angeles (Avila Adobe). We did not go. If you like Mexican food this is a good place to eat in some of the many restaurants along this street or to shop in the different shops and market stalls that are there. In fact, we regret having gone and not having been able to take more time in Santa Monica, that we liked!

But before finishing the day in Santa Monica we still had to pay a visit. We were going to see Venice and its channels. We parked on the street without any problems and took a walk through the channels while it was late afternoon. When we finally arrived in Santa Monica it was already night. The fact that it was shortly after six in the afternoon did not help us much to take advantage of the days.

Santa Monica was for me had the best of Los Angeles. What we had left of the afternoon we decided to walk along the pier and see the amusement park and all the references to Route 66 in the area. And to end the day we go for dinner and drinks! The restaurant is great. We enjoyed what was left at night and took some souvenirs.

When we were leaving for the hotel we were clear that we would have to go back to the beach. We had not been able to see the booths of the guards, nor the beach in daylight. The next day we would have to get up earlier than expected.

Day 3: Universal Studios, Warner and Lakers

When we prepared the trip we had the doubt of which park to visit, Universal or the Warner. We have always loved the Friends series. I do not remember the times I will have seen each of the seasons and yet I never get tired. But on the other hand, I had read so much about the Universal Studio tour that I did not want to miss it either.

I have to admit that we do not especially like amusement parks and we had no special interest in spending a full day at Universal Studios as most people do. So we finally decided to visit the two, and spend the time we were at Universal mainly at the Studio tour.

But before we went to Universal we still had something to do. We go back to Santa Monica to see what we had left pending the night before. We parked again in the Pier parking lot but this time for free. I think they did not charge us anything because it was too early.

We took a walk on the beach, and took a few pictures in the light of day. The truth is that for a moment we wanted to stay there the rest of the day lying in the sun, but we still had a lot to do. When we finished seeing Santa Monica (for the second time) we went to Universal. We did not have very clear timetables of the Studio tour because they seem to vary according to the time of year.

When we arrive we are given information with the schedules of all the passes of the Studio Tour and the rest of the shows. Even though we had the idea of going on the tour at 10:30 am, when we arrived we realized that there were none. So we took advantage of the free time and walk around the park and take pictures with all the characters we found. We would also have liked to see the Waterworld show, but the first session was just after the Studio tour so we also missed it.

We loved the Studio tour, and only for this is worth visiting Universal. Although we do not like the attractions as we sure enjoy spending a morning in the park. The tour lasts one hour and 45 minutes and is like a movie. The best place to sit is the left side of the train that is from where we have the best views and we can take the best pictures.

We loved seeing the sets and sets of series like "Desperate Housewives", the simulations and special effects, as well as the surprises that we find along the way like seeing a flood in real time or feeling an earthquake while we are in a metro station.

When we left we were left with the desire to go to see the Waterworld show but as I said the schedules did not coincide. So we decided to go to eat at the restaurant set in the Flintstones where we ate some hamburgers and a salad to recover strength for what we had during the day.

Shortly after two o'clock we went to the Warner studios, which is quite close to Universal. Before starting the visit, they give us a video that lasts about twenty minutes about the history. The video is in English. In the screening room we were about 15 people but our surprise came when we picked up the guides to start the tour. We were going to have a completely customized tour for us two alone. Our guide, asked us at all times what we were most interested in visiting to spend as much time as possible.

The visit was great, but the best thing was to be at the Central Perk for more than half an hour and to be able to take a thousand photos in each of the corners of the set. They allow us to be there as long as we were, so we left very happy there. We managed to find ourselves a place and eat some pretty good pizzas at a reasonable price, including drinks.

We continue walking among skyscrapers until our next stop at the Microsoft Theater. It is located in the square of the same name, where the Grammy awards of music are given. And around it has some slabs with the names of the winners of each year in the different prizes, best song, best album etc. Once inside, they gave us the bad news that we could not record or photograph being backstage.

But in the lobby, I could record the guide telling us how the delivery ceremony is basically a long 3.5-hour concert with 30 performances and a parade of artists. It is worth noting that he was not any guide, but was one of the producers of the show.

We spent almost an hour touring backstage and the most interesting thing was to see dozens of platforms with all the instruments of each band or singer that were going to be presented. They told us that the staging of each artist is mounted on 10-20 platforms (with wheels) that they then take and take off the stage in record time.

It was a perfect day and we still had the best. We see a game of Lakers vs Clippers at the Staples Center! In the vicinity of Staples there are lots of parking and we had no problem leaving the car. We had to enter the stadium with the Reflex if we wanted to take pictures. The compact camera was already out of battery because in the morning in Universal we decided to use that because I knew there was a risk of it getting wet.

So when we got into the access control of the Staples and after a quarter of an hour waiting, the security told us they will not allow us to go with that type of cameras to the stadium and that we had to leave it if we wanted to access it. We decided to try again in another access control and this time we found a friendlier watchman who let us pass without problems.

I really would never have imagined that I could have such a good time in an NBA game. The atmosphere in the stadium is a show in itself, with the music, the cameras, and the people. We had a great time even though the Lakers lost. It was one of the best moments of the trip and one of the most remembered since we returned!

But we still had things to see in Los Angeles. We could not leave the city without visiting one of its best known neighborhoods: Beverly Hills. I dine tonight at a typical American restaurant in which at night the dinners are accompanied by a country show. When we arrived I realized that the place was just as I had imagined it. People dined at their tables while a group of cowboys played country music on the stage at the back of the venue.

For dinner, we had two options as the main course, salmon or chicken. At my table, we preferred the salmon and we also liked the garnishes of broccolini and mini-potatoes. And we ended up with the southern strawberry cake. The dessert was not very important, as after enjoying the whole afternoon, we did not care much.

I loved the place! After dinner we went back to the hotel. The town looked beautiful but it was very cold (and it was very windy). Tomorrow we have an appointment with the Route 66, on the way to the Grand Canyon.
Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-19944002536790740152018-01-22T18:59:00.000-08:002019-12-21T08:10:25.584-08:00Waiakea Water Transform the Bottled Water WorldBottled water is a product that many people use on a daily basis. Staying hydrated has many benefits. When people drink enough water, they find it easier to concentrate on work. They can also find it easier to avoid health problems that can pop up in hot weather, such as heatstroke.

Bottled water is a portable source of water that is refreshing and easy to access as needed at any time of the day. One company that understands why people love bottled water so much is Waiakea Water. As a source of Hawaiian volcanic water, it offers volcanic water benefits that many users have embraced with great appreciation. It is this that has helped the company stand out from the crowd and create a loyal and happy consumer fan base.

Creating a Sustainable Vision

While there are many reasons why so many people like the water so much, one reason is that they know that doing so means they are drinking water that is packaged in accordance with the highest possible environmental standards. At Waiakea Water, they use modern technology that assures that all the bottled water they sell is made using recyclable materials.

This material is one that allows the company to offer superior packaging that keeps the water free of impurities and makes it possible to tread lightly on the earth at the same time. This process means that people can freely enjoy the many benefits of this water while also making sure they are engaging with a company that is totally dedicated to all things green.

As a result of its efforts, Waiakea has been certified as a carbon-neutral company. This means that the company is able to offer wonderful water that is also bottled without contributing to problems with carbon emissions in any way. This kind of attention to detail is why so many people have found the water such a terrific thing to add to their pantry and take with them on the road.

Full Decomposition

Using this type of bottle has another fabulous effect. Some bottled waters have bottles that can take a very long time to decompose. This can have highly negative effects on the local environment. This is not true for Waiakea Water. The company offers containers that will fully decompose in only a year and a half. Many traditional bottles will take a lot longer.

This care for the environment is a process that takes center stage at Waiakea Water. It is why consumers turn to Waiakea for water that tastes delicious. Not only does the water taste good, but drinking it also means that people are doing something positive for the environment and their bodies. The crisp, pure water can help people stay energized and remain positive all day long.

It makes a great alternative to drinks such as soft drinks. Soft drinks are filled with unwanted calories and additives. Waiakea Water is totally made from all natural ingredients in one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. More and more people are continuing to discover the benefits of drinking this delightful beverage.Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-66748190011163980532018-01-20T23:33:00.001-08:002018-11-11T03:28:07.182-08:00Winter Holidays in Ski Slopes of Davos in Switzerland
Have you ever heard of Davos? Do you know where this mountain town is? It is perhaps the highest in the Alps at 1560m. Every year there is the World Economic Forum, and all the important people of the world (or almost) find themselves there. It is the largest mountain resort in the Alps, a very cosmopolitan resort.

After having discovered it last May during conferences, we wanted to see the station under its winter face. It must be said that I had already come a few years ago skiing when I was in Erasmus in Germany, but the weather did not let me see the mountains ..

Reaching Davos, from Locarno is a bit of an expedition in Switzerland in grandiose landscapes. With my Swiss Travel Pass in the pocket I head to take the train to Bellinzona, the capital of Ticino. This will be the only big waiting period. I have half an hour to enjoy a cappuccino on the terrace cafe of the station, to wait for the postal bus to Chur, which is the capital of Graubunden.

These yellow buses will become a usual vision during my stay here. They crisscross all over Switzerland! Comfortable, equipped with wi-fi, it is a rather cheap way to move around the country. As we get closer, the landscape becomes more and more alpine. The stone houses of Ticino give way to the chalets. The peaks are charged with snow. The mountain pastures shout their greenery and it is only the beginning of the trip

At Thusis, I embark on a train to Fillisur. It's not the Swiss Federal Railways but the Rhaetian Railway. Here I do not set foot anywhere, but on the Albula line, a UNECSO World Heritage Site just like Bernina, the other main Grisons line. A special train with panoramic windows, the Glacier Express, passes but for the common traveler, a regular train go on the same route.

And what to say? The landscape is enchanting! I feel like I'm in a photo book! The images of my first memories of crossing Switzerland, when I was six years old, broke from my memory, to be superimposed with the new memories. The highlight of the show is the passage over the Landwasser viaduct, a huge viaduct that spans the Landwasser and emblem of the Rhatische Bahn.

Leaving a tunnel, we suddenly find ourselves 65 meters high, on a viaduct that forms a graceful curve, which allows us to photograph part of the train, back or forward, while we cross it. At the end of the viaduct, we arrive directly at Filisur and its pretty little chalet-style place. This is where I will take the train to Davos where I'll be alone in my car!

And the first train I meet does not have a mandatory stop! Stops are on demand, as in a bus. It's just huge! For half an hour, we will continue to climb, because Davos is the highest city in Europe. Along the way, the landscape only smiles under the sun. I have only one desire, to go out and frolic! I wait for the next train when I'm done having fun at Davos Station.

I am at last at Davos Dorf. It took another bus to get there. Davos Platz and Davos-Dorf are not on the same line. I'm a few minutes early and the train from Chur will arrive.

Davos, the city of the international forum is the place where meets the gratin of the political and economic worlds. During a good week where one wonders how many things are said and decided in the alpine air. And yet, there is a way to stay while keeping a reasonable budget. So we head to the hostel! The hostel is a little out of the way and we have to climb a little to reach it.

Furnished with a wooden bed, the surprise is a large balcony overlooking the valley where the village is. It's a huge plus! But we have no time to waste. After leaving our stuff and have a little refreshed, we are on the way, on foot, for the Adventure Park Davos Farich.

Hidden in a small wood not far from Lake Davos is the perfect place to have fun with family. In any case, I saw no children. We are hungry and we go to eat fries and sausages. The Ticinese gastronomy with the sweet Italian accents seems far away! But the fries sprinkled with paprika are good and I never spit on a good sausage, especially when my teeth were the wooden floor of the snack. I have a beer!

The stomachs finally filled, I prefer to stay in the woods and I head for the Zipline. I had already done in South Africa. Here, there is a whole journey to be made and it is only me who must be in charge of my safety. On the training area, we are therefore explained safety rules, how to use hooks, interpret signs, arrange the pulley when we arrive at the zip line.

The whole thing is to acquire automatism. Once we do the maneuvers with the instructors, we start them alone, on the ground, under the eye of the instructor, before finally getting on the starting platform. There, we have the choice between several courses, from the easiest to the most difficult. I decided to start obviously with the easiest, to see if I could possibly continue if I feel it.

I hang on and off we go for a good half-hour. While I imagined that it would go by itself, before letting me slide, I am caught in a completely unexpected fear. I look down, I hesitate. I'm not dizzy but my body tells me that something is not normal. It tells me that I will have to hang on to the rope with all my strength when I have to let myself slip.

Suddenly, I get angry with myself. Since when did I become a fearful? I'm not going to stay there all day, especially since a kid of just twelve years old seems to be impatient behind me! So I start, but soon, I find myself having to put all my strength to pull me to my point of arrival. But what a ball! Finally, I will limit myself to the easy course.

Day 2

We loved the breakfast with a delicious assortment of tea, breads of all cereals as we like and special mention at the typical bircher muesli (I'm crazy and I'll go to Switzerland just for that) with fresh berries. After a solid breakfast, we pack our lunch to take away, and in a small procession, we take the bus before reaching the Rinerhorn cable car station.

Once up there, the view is breathtaking against a background of pure blue sky. We see snow-capped mountains, dark green fir trees and soft green alpine meadows, dotted with white, yellow, pink, fuschia, mauve and blue. We see the colors of thousands of mountain flowers like daisy, buttercups, forget-me-nots, gentians or alpine roses. It's beautiful. I want to frolic, to roll in the flowers, and sing loudly!

The trail goes around the mountain before going down to the valley. In the hours that follow, it will be a succession of breathtaking landscapes. We walk between meadow and small pine woods, with occasional small streams to cross. During the walk, I try to go far from my fellow hikers to enjoy all this magic. It's a bit of a guilty pleasure.

The walk ends at the entrance to the village of Sertig, where we eat our toast in the shadow of a small church surrounded by flowers, close to the road and a bus stop that will take us back to town. It's off again for a cable car ride! We are dropped off at the station that takes visitors and guests to the Hotel Schatzalp.

This hotel opened in 1900 as a former sanatorium is even higher than the hostel and can be visited as a real museum. To return to it, it is a little to plunge in a world made of well-off clientele, with the good air of the Alps. Apart from a more contemporary furniture, it is certain that we recognize the restaurant.

The evening menu is already arranged on the table. The big tables covered with white are already ready and all that is needed is lighting the candles! Outside on the other hand, the terrace is smiling and invites us to enjoy a cocktail, lying on a deck chair, with perhaps cuddles from one of the cats in the area.

After delicious rosti of grilled potato and fried egg and a hot punch with fresh orange and ginger, we feel we are hungry to attack the descent. We take the path of the village, via the hiking trail. Davos has its little lake. I wonder if there is a city in Switzerland that does not have its own! It is there, sparkling under the sun. Walking around is obviously nice but why not fall back into childhood and pedal? And hop! We embark in the small yellow boats.
Kalyan Panjahttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-73441021922309742062018-01-17T18:46:00.004-08:002018-11-11T03:28:07.396-08:00If You Think it's Cold, Travel to Oymyakon
It is 12 o'clock and we are long overdue as we continue our travel to Oymyakon, the village of Siberia closest at the North Pole and known for being the coldest in the world. Our 4x4 has had failures and we have delayed repair. We should already have arrived but at this time of the night, we are still 230 km from our final stage. Before us, the Kyubeme river cuts the road and one of our drivers and guides, waders to search on foot, the best route to cross.

It's amazing to see the strength and dedication of him and his companion, who accompany us on this journey. They constantly drive and repair the van that takes us today to Oymyakon, the coldest place in the world. Here we only pray for a good bed and a hot meal, when the temperature as today is below zero degrees. Finally, we crossed the river masterfully. Although we halt a couple of times in between the torrent, the van starts smoothly and goes without question.

Once on the other side, we started the first 190 kilometers of the old Kolyma Highway, or Road of Bones, a route with a terrible story. It was built with the sweat of slave prisoners of the Russian gulag, and beneath it lie the bones of those who were dying in the harsh conditions of forced labor and winters in the Russian Far East. Testimony of this tragic story is the small set of barracks we found just across the river, where once prisoners slept.

We must continue unabated because our destiny is still far away. We spent almost five hours of bumpy mountains on this track, continuing our journey without stopping, sleeping and sitting with our knees folded, with heating at full speed and the latest Russian pop and dance hits blaring at full volume. We crossed some other vehicle in this remote area. One of them tells us that it has seen a bear. We simply see their huge footprints in the snow after a while.

We arrived at 5 in the morning to Tomtor, where we take the detour to Oymyakon. We refuel at the gas station in the town and start the last 30 kilometers to our destination. It took two hours to travel just 30 kilometers. Needless to say, the state of the road was quite complicated with huge potholes, holes filled with water and ice, detours through the taiga but we finally arrived.

It was 7 in the morning and the sun is beginning to bathe the landscape. We arrive at the guest house, in the only village that welcomes the few tourists who come here. The lights are on and the hot food is about to be served. We take our shoes off in the changing room, a kind of room as an air chamber that insulates the house from the cold outside.

We opened the second door, which gives access to housing, and a couple in their sixties welcomes us warmly. The food is ready on the table with delicious meat soup and a little-boiled duck to nibble. There are also traditional pasta and fish oil. The omnipresent "chai" or tea, leads to goodbyes to sleep. Tomorrow (today) will be another day. We need to sleep, or that it is a few hours.

The alarm goes off at noon but exhaustion is such that we finally woke up around 2. The kitchen table is always ready for breakfast with royal delicious dishes. We take out our camera to visit the town. Our driver and guide is performing maintenance on the car. They assemble and disassemble parts, revise, adjust, and everything always with a smile on their face. The road is demanding, and very hard, and the vehicle suffers a lot.

Oymyakon is a quiet village of 900 inhabitants located in the Republic of Sakha in Yakutia in Russia. You could say that it is an isolated town if it were not for the road of about eight hours that brought us here. It is eight hours from the Kyubeme river, plus a couple or three hours to the next town. It takes two days of travel from Yakutsk, the capital of the Republic of Sakha. Its inhabitants are self-sufficient here in many ways. They keep horses to move as also vans, sidecar motorcycles, and vehicles. They have fishing boats (in summer) in the river to cross the villages. In winter, ice hole and fish live under it.

We reached the monument commemorating the record temperature of Oymyakon. On January 26, 1926, it reached -71.2 degrees. It was the lowest temperature ever recorded in a populated nation (except the bases in Antarctica). That is why this is known locally as "The Pole of Cold". Every year sub-zero temperatures are for more than nine months here. In January or February, it gets down to -40 degrees. In July it reaches again to 30 degrees in the positive. The huge contrasts make the locality adapt to the extreme weather.

There is no plumbing, as everything is frozen. The toilets of the house are outside, and yes, one must leave the comfortably heated 20 degrees inside the house to go outside and perform their needs. The thermal power station of the town help maintains a constant temperature inside the houses. If lower temperatures are reached within -50 degrees, the schools remain closed. Because yes, here life goes on as usual pace, and as we said children each day walk for more than seven kilometers to go to school in hot weather, cold, extreme cold, rain or snow. Every day.

By mid-afternoon, we get back home to savor the snacks as a meal prepared for us. Hot soup again, this time accompanied with fried fish and traditional pastries. With good full belly, we go to the Russian sauna, the banya, where we throw our badly sweated bodies for half an hour in buckets of ice water. We are left totally refreshed. It's amazing how well we feel with these contrasts. We did not even touch the two buckets of hot water, located above the stove that warms the banya.

This time it is our Russian comrades who laugh at this fact. How can we have spent forty liters of ice water and not a single liter of hot water? At night, it's time to enjoy the tranquility of Oymyakon. Here the silence is overwhelming, and the quiet life. We have endless conversations in the kitchen. We take our little souvenir and we go to sleep, because tomorrow our route continues. We must take back the way to the main road, recrossing the Kyubeme river, and face the M56 to Magadan, our final destination on this trip.
Kalyan Panjahttp://firstname.lastname@example.com, Sakha Republic, Russia, 67875063.464138 142.77372733.581904499999993 101.28935200000001 90 -175.741898tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-62320219853213623402018-01-10T18:22:00.002-08:002018-11-11T03:30:36.173-08:00Adventure in Snow Dunes in the Sahara Desert
We decided to spend Christmas in the Sahara desert, in search of the warmth of the sunny morning of the Tafilalt. We knew that, in the night, the temperatures would be even lower but by the time the sun fell, we would be covered, warm and almost in bed. What we could not imagine is that we would find snow upon arrival.

When the guide arrived, we got into the car, and we left for the Sahara desert. After so many hours of travel to get to Zagora the day before, today was short and more enjoyable. We made a stop at a mud workshop where they explained the process of making the typical dishes they use in Marrakesh. Even I had the opportunity to make one.

After explaining how to dry them in an oven at high temperatures, the last thing was the return to the store. We followed the route and soon we realized that the landscape was beginning to change. We were entering the Sahara desert and signs announce at every step to ask to be respectful with the place, people and the water, that is so scarce in those places.
Once in a hundred years, nature works the miracle, and a thin layer of snow spreads in the white palm trees and dunes. The driver, is quite upset and I do not know why. I get up on my seat and I can see that there is no way to go. The road disappeared, being covered by a mantle of several centimeters of snow. There is a long line of cars and buses stopped in front and behind us.
After making a stop to buy bottles of water, in a few minutes we arrived at the place where the camels came from. And in this way, in an ephemeral way with the snow on the sand, we arrived during Christmas in the Sahara Desert, after crossing a snowy and beautiful landscape, as they had never before told us to imagine. Halfway down the road, between sleep, light dreams and little rest, I notice that the car has stopped. We only take the essentials to spend that night and the rest we kept in the minivan. We took the backpack, put the handkerchiefs and rode on the camels with no seats on top of the animal! There are a couple of blankets on the spine. The experience, apart from being painful was fantastic.

At our feet, the landscape was changing and the green of the palm trees began to run out and get increasingly brown until all we saw was sand and dunes. The trip was very entertaining, although I did not know how to get on with the jumping of the camel. We laughed a lot and more when someone got off the rope and strayed from the road.

It took an hour until we reached the camp. My mouth was getting drier and I was not carrying any bottle of water. I felt in my own flesh how bad it is to be thirsty in the desert. The first thing I did at the bottom was to drink a liter of water and then I, like children, went running to explore the camp and see our haima.

There were a few stores and we went straight to an almost mindless one. The interior of this one only had two mattresses on the floor and blankets. The excitement of knowing that we were going to sleep one night in the Sahara desert meant that we did not find anything wrong with it.

We left our backpacks and went out to run around the dunes as just behind our tent there was a huge one that jutted out over all the others. So we started to run and make an effort because of the incline that was. Taking out the feet that sank in the sand we reached the top. What a fantastic view up there!

Everything around us, from where we were to the horizon was desert. Euphoric and making gestures of victory I shouted to take a picture of me, another together, until it began to turn dark and we ran back. In the middle of the camp they spread a huge carpet where we gathered for tea and nuts while the guides lit a fire and prepared dinner for us.

I could see in the smiles of the people the enthusiasm for having arrived. So the gathering lasted until the couscous was ready and continued during the evening in the light of the moon and a small lamp that we lit. Just after the watermelon dessert finished the show, the guides came out with percussion instruments and gestured us to sit around the bonfire to enjoy the show.

They started with popular songs, whose lyrics only they understood. Then they even wanted us to get up and dance, and despite the embarrassment I was getting, I ended up moving my legs to the rhythms. That night ended in the best way with music, dancing and with mattresses in the open sleeping under the stars.

Day 2

I felt the soft breeze on my back bristling the skin and I felt the need to cover myself with a sheet. I opened my eyes and saw the moon. Then I remembered that I was still sleeping under the starry blanket that covered the Sahara that night. As comfortable as I was and afraid to break that tranquility I did not dare to get up and get close to the haima.

So I took the handkerchief that was still rolled on my feet. I unfolded it and covered my whole body. I closed my eyes and then I stopped listening to any noise other than my breathing and kept on sleeping. I was the first to get up and the one in charge of awakening the rest of the group. I went around the entire camp and although we had all decided to sleep in the open, I approached each couple saying good morning.

Stretching at a snail's pace, some even resisted moving from the mattress and leaving the bed that had provided them with such a magical night. So they stayed in bed until I insisted that we go for breakfast. The walks to the makeshift bathroom followed each other. We crossed each other and with our eyes still half closed, we greeted each other.

Finally we all met in the haima dining room where breakfast was prepared. We ate in a hurry because we were already late and according to plan we would have to reach the arrival point of the camels before the sun came out as the road would become unbearable. We gave the breakfast remains to the Berber cats that inhabited the camp. We picked up our backpacks and went to the camels.

This time the road was more painful than pleasant. With the laces already well established in our legs, the jumps that the animal gave up and down the dunes were throbbing pain. I try to change position every few meters. In spite of everything, the tour became shorter. Before leaving in the minivan again, we said goodbye to the Berbers and gave them a tip in gratitude for the good night they had us pass and the exquisite food they had served us.

Now we had to travel the hundreds of kilometers we had made to return to Marrakech. So we settled ourselves in the best possible way in the van and left there. Now the atmosphere inside the minivan was different, tired. With some confidence already, each one was looking for the most comfortable position to make the road hours more bearable.

Finally we arrived at Ourzazate, but this time we ate at a different restaurant. We went upstairs where there was a terrace, believing that there might be a little wind there to alleviate the suffocation during the meal, but it was in vain. At that point the temperature was the same as in the lower part. So although there was one, I did not dare to eat cus-cus with such heat.

During the meal we talked about who wanted to visit the museum and as no one wanted at the end we were all together to visit the old town. The center of this one was little more than narrow and dark alleys in whose corners there was always some shopkeeper trying to sell something. The guide was explaining curiosities about the people and their way of life, leaving me thoughtful.

The owner of a riad, opened the doors of her hostel so that we could see the typical decoration in that area. The rooms has a lot of decoration and color but without being overloaded. The patio is full of plants and illuminated, with the cozy dining room and the huge terrace. It was the most beautiful riad in which I would not have cared to stay for a few days if it was well priced.

The brief visit to Ourzazate ended. That was the last stop with a proper name. The next ones were just to stretch the legs. So in a few hours we arrived in Marrakech. Our guide left us in the Djemaa el-Fna square. We said goodbye to him and he left.

We stayed in the riad in Marrakech. We kept their backpacks and took a good shower. Once we were all dressed up we met in the patio. While we decided where to have dinner that night we taste the hookah. The manager promised to buy tobacco and charcoal and promised us that when we got back we would have the hookah ready on the terrace.

When we had just taken the tea to which we were invited, we went out to find a place to dine for the last time. We finish again in one of the restaurants in the square where we had been, but this time on the terrace where the views were insurmountable and now with more company. With that panoramic background that enlivened the evening, we dined tajin for the last time. We remembered moments of the tour. We chatted long and hard.

The colophon was on the terrace of the riad where the owners had prepared the hookah with fruit snuff and left it at one of the tables that were near the sofas where we settled. And that was the outdoor scene where between weep and puff we said goodbye to Marrakech and Morocco.
Kalyan Panjahttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-4812947909547935159.post-85024832388705479982018-01-05T19:36:00.000-08:002018-11-17T07:17:40.486-08:00Traveling Miami, Los Angeles and Coachella
It is always a dream to travel to California. For my trip to Coachella, I have decided to make this post in which I will show you my trip in full. Coachella means boho style, crazy people, top musicians, pool parties and lots of fun. My first Coachella festival definitely blew me away.

It all started last year when I joked a bit about buying tickets for Coachella. Only a few weeks later I was sitting in front of my computer and an hour later I was proud owner of Coachella tickets and a campsite. For the longest time we did not worry, because it was still so far away. Now it is only 1 week and we are planning more and more details of our trip.

Day 1

From New York we take the flight to my first stop at Miami. As our flight to LA was in the evening I took the opportunity to enjoy the beach, walk around the city and go shopping! Ocean Drive is one of the most popular and lively areas of Miami, an ideal place to dine and have a drink. But, above all, I had time to relax at the wonderful hotel in Miami. My favorite place to stay every time I travel there.

What I like most are the wide terraces of their rooms overlooking the beach, where I always enjoy a little bit of relaxation and good reading. In Miami I also love going to eat Mexican food. They have the best margaritas and ceviche. After the day enjoying Miami, I jumped into Los Angeles in the evening.

We built our journey around Coachella. So we rented a house and a car. Since we were all a bit jet-lagged, it made sense to spend a day in LA to get in the rhythm. We did our shopping. We packed the car and at 8 pm we started. We then went on a 5 hour drive crossing Indio to Coachella, which is about 2 hours in the direction of the desert.

Day 2

Around 1:00 am we finally arrived in Coachella Valley. After a short walk around town we quickly realized that the tent was rather good, but we definitely are not well equipped. We then quickly set up the tent and then went to bed.

In the morning we quickly realized that the tent and the air mattresses are not enough. The sun was so strong from 7:00 that we woke up and almost died from heat. We went to the festival area around noon, but we did not have much luck with the cooling down. So we went back to the campground after a walk over the grounds. There, our tent neighbors gave us shelter in their shade until we all went back to the festival together.

The search for a parking place lasted at least 45 minutes on site. The way to the terrain is already an experience in itself. Masses of happy and festive people accompany us along the approximately 1 km long path. When I saw the legendary Ferris wheel soaring into the sky, my anticipation was at its peak and a big grin spread across my face. The most difficult decision at the festival is then: Which artists do I want to see? Because with 7 stages you inevitably always miss 6 concerts.

Regular festival goers stroll alongside colorful birds or A-class celebrities and fans celebrate. Everyone is welcome here and everyone feels comfortable.

At first we simply listened to artists and DJs randomly and had dinner. The acts began, which we really wanted to see. We started the musical evening. After a short walk, we briefly listened where we ended the evening then. The stage shows and light shows were really good and cool. The atmosphere was also really cool and the great thing was that there was so much time between the acts on the individual stages that the people left and we got a good seat 10 minutes before the start of the show and even during the shows there was hardly any scrum or jibe.

We are then back to the tent at 2 o'clock in the tent.

Day 3

Again we were awakened by 7:00 am from the sun and were able to escape this only for the next 4 hours. I completely overslept this time and our neighbors thought I had a fierce hangover. After the extra nap and something to eat I felt better and so we made our way to the festival at noon to load our cell phones and external chargers.

The day started well as the Coachella Pool Party on noon was another highlight. The drinks were cold, the weather was hot and there was DJ music. In a private atmosphere there were interesting conversations, and promising contacts. There was even time to soak up the sun, before we made ourselves on the way to the festival site.

Colorful flower walls, food and beverage stalls, a R&B DJ and a pink roller skating rink provided an overwhelming private area with the right mood. Only those who own one of the coveted ribbons can celebrate the dangerous-looking security and celebrate in an exclusive circle. But then we take a fresh sip of ice cold coconut water at the pool for a hour or two to relax and unwind from the busy night.

By the way, the most followed trend in the Coachella Festival is bandana covering the nose and mouth. Everything has its explanation and, in this case, the dust of the desert forced everyone to follow fashion.

We sat there especially in the shade, because we took a towel to sit on it. Since our program started later, we have used the meantime to take some photos.

After a concert and another photo session, we first bought something for dinner and then it was already time for nother show. But after only a few songs in the middle of the crowd, I decided to sit behind the crowd. I sat back down and the others disappeared into the crowd after some time. We went back to the tent and at 2:00 in bed. Our neighbors had tried to persuade us to a party, but the bed was tempting.

Day 4

The sun did not spare us today and we woke up at 7:00. Since all our cell phones were pretty dead, we spent the time sleeping in the rest of the shade. When the shadow was gone, we took turns to the showers and I tell you these showers were a dream. There were also hot water showers. One had asked me if they can use my mobile charger meanwhile, but since this was almost empty I denied. It did not prevent them from using it and making it completely empty.

When we got ready we went to the festival area one last time. After a good lunch we went first to the typical Coachella Ferris wheel, which was also air conditioned. After a walk and a photo session we went to the first concert. We started the day on the big stage. The evening will be followed by a visit to another. We had to get out. So I fell asleep around 23:00 but was woken up by our neighbors at 2:00 because they were trying to find out if we were already sleeping.

Day 5

At 4:00 our alarm sounded, because we had to go to the airport in Phoenix. We left 30 minutes later than planned. We arrived in Phoenix at 9:00, spent the whole day cleaning up and planning.

After the Coachella all options were open and so we decided to go to Las Vegas and spend a few nights there.
Kalyan Panjahttp://email@example.com