Travel Blog Posts

A Little Mishap in Colombo

Like taxi drivers everywhere, every tuk-tuk driver I passed urged me into their vehicles. One was very insistent …It was a bit challenging to shake him off.

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Small mosque in Vusanje

Peaks of the Balkans-Day 7

I had not been looking forward to this last challenge of the trek. And it lived up to its reputation, with myriad switchbacks and trails that were so narrow that faster hikers could not easily pass me.

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Rebecca and Cathy hiking to Vusanje.

Peaks of the Balkans-Day 6

The next thing we knew, we were climbing straight up. This was, by far, the steepest climb of the whole trip, with tiny hand- and toeholds. The trail was sketchy at best…

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A train in Montenegro waiting in the station

A Plan Sidetracked

…the reservations I had made crumbled one by one. Country borders that had shyly opened slammed shut, making a multi-country train voyage impossible.

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Walking up to the pass after leaving Milishevc in the Peaks of the Balkans

Peaks of the Balkans-Day 4: Milishevc  to Rekë e Allegës

We started out walking uphill on the road out of Milishevc. Then we had to climb a steep hill with no real trail—just using our GPS to get us up to the main trail. Even then, the trail was non-existent in places, and we had to rely on GPS and the occasional Peaks of the Balkans trail markers.

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Prolipsit Pass near Valbona, Albania

Peaks of the Balkans-Day 1:Valbona to Çerime

It was not without some trepidation that we started out on our Peaks of the Balkans circuit … We knew that our choice to go over the Prolipsit and Borit passes would test our strength—almost 20 kilometers with an elevation gain of 1422 meters.

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Interior of passenger train in Turkey

Three Days by Train in Turkey

I could have flown (ugh!); I could have taken the overnight bus (double UGH!). But instead, I created an itinerary that, in a small way is reminiscent of the way people traveled 100 years ago.

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Monasteru of Varlaam at Meteora, Greece

The Monasteries of Meteora-Part 2

Varlaam was indeed a fascinating place. The museum there provided an excellent opportunity to learn not only the history of the Meteora Monasteries, but also to learn about the way of life

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