Part 2 of my travels around the northern circuit of Ethiopia in 2020 included hiking in beautiful mountains, rock-climbing up to a church in the sky, checking out the extremes of the Danakil Depression, peering into an active volcano, and exploring the UNESCO rock-hewn churches in the little town of Lalibela. The Danikil Depression and Erte Ale volcano have their own blog post: The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia. The rest is described here. To read about the first half of the norther circuit, …
hiking
Lake Yojoa, Honduras: Craft Beer, Kayaking, and Hiking Behind a Waterfall
After a great stay in Copan de Ruinas, we traveled for 8 hours to Lake Yojoa. The roads were filled with red tuk tuks and pickup trucks who frequently honk as a "hello" to their friends. We drove by colorful houses of blue, green, yellow, red and orange. Outside these homes, clothes were drying on lines in the sun. Children were mostly clothed in school uniforms. Stray dogs ran across the streets and small parades were gathering to celebrate the upcoming …
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One Day in Death Valley
Want to check out Death Valley but short on time? Although the park is huge... You can still see a variety of highlights with one day in Death Valley. Be sure to check average temperatures before planning your visit, it is extremely hot during the summer! And bring LOTS of water. The night before: Spend the night inside or close to the national park. We stayed at Panamint Springs Campground, located on the western edge of Death Valley National Park. They have a bar …
Racing Through New Zealand’s South Island in 7 Days
My mom and I had 13 days available to explore New Zealand. Two islands (North and South) make up the country and we wanted to see both. The South holds so many amazing destinations and we had only 7 days here… so we found ourselves racing through New Zealand’s South Island. Was it fast paced? Yes. A bit exhausting? Absolutely…. But I’m thankful we didn’t skip any of it! Day 1: We arrived at Christchurch airport in the middle of the night, caught a cab and crashed at our Airbnb. When we …
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Si, se puede! Surviving the Inca Trail
I was sitting on the ledge, looking at the spectacular mountains encompassing us. Surrounded by my friends who I have hiked three full days with, I broke down in tears. All the worry, fear, and desire I had about this hike and the pain I struggled through to do it hit me. It finally felt safe to let it out. The day had been extremely painful, but it was much more than that. It had been a surreal, beautiful day hiking through a science - fiction like cloud forrest. Three full days on the Inca …