When the month of June landed, it found us getting ready to leave Abu Dhabi. Shouldering our bags, we walked to the bus terminal from our Airbnb on what was already turning out to be another scorcher of a day. And after waiting about an hour for the bus, we had a 45-minute ride back … Continue reading Advancing to India
Seeking out the most economical airfares sometimes requires taking an indirect route, and making a stop in some city we hadn't planned to visit otherwise. And unless we're rushed, we sometimes figure that as long as we have to stop in a place anyway, we might as well spend a couple of days there, or … Continue reading Much Ado in Abu Dhabi
On our last full day in Turkey, we took a long hike to Taksim, which is the contemporary heart of Istanbul just as Fatih (the neighborhood we've been staying in) is the historic heart. First we walked across the Galata Bridge, pausing to admire the really cool tour boats that were somewhat like gondolas but … Continue reading Saying Görüşürüz to Turkey
Istanbul is the only city on the planet that straddles two continents. Most of this sprawling megalopolis of 15 million souls is situated in Asia. But there's also a chunk of it across the Bosphorous Strait, in Europe. That chunk is where most of the historical points of interest are located, and it's where we … Continue reading Istanbul Birthday Weekend
Our flight from Morocco into Barcelona was quite unprecedented. Not just because we'd never been there before. And not just because along the way we had the unprecedented sensation of flying over Gibraltar. But because our landing itself was unlike any we'd experienced before. Leaving Morocco, flying over the Rock of Gibraltar Our aircraft was … Continue reading Bouncing into Barcelona
On Monday at about noon, we touched down in Madrid after flying across the ocean from Bogota. It was our first time in Europe in 6 years, and the first time that either of us ever had been to Spain. The first order of business, of course, was to acquire a few euros for pocket … Continue reading Making Memories in Madrid
Leaving Chicaque Natural Park On Sunday morning, we loaded our gear onto one of those little electric carts that had brought us down three weeks earlier and a driver took us on the steep climb back, back up to the entrance. (It wasn’t until days later that we realized we’d left behind our water filter … Continue reading A Taste of Bogota
Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, Ecuador is a relatively new facility, having opened in 2013. It replaced the former airport of the same name, which became obsolete when it could not be expanded any further because of the surrounding mountainous terrain. But it was at least conveniently located, near the heart of town. This … Continue reading “Twenty Minutes”; and No Bathrooms on the Bus – Getting from Ecuador to Colombia
Let's face it, we've often gotten an image of Latin American countries as dangerous places. Such impressions are rooted in long outdated events like civil wars, or in the Hollywood staple of the drug trade -- which does indeed exist, but rarely has a violent impact on ordinary citizens. In regards to Guatemala, the capital … Continue reading Guatemala City to Quito, Ecuador
We had an early morning flight from Cancun to Guatemala City; and from there, we had to get to the village of Santa Cruz la Laguna at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. This was a long, rather complicated process with several hurdles to overcome. The first problem was just getting to the airport. As we've mentioned … Continue reading Getting From Cancun to Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
world travel with a theatrical flair 