We were up early again today, this time for a long drive to Abu Simbel. We had tried to get flights from Aswan but there was no availability so we checked out of our hotel at 5am and travelled by bus to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Abu Simbel. After leaving Aswan, and passing … Continue reading Abu Simbel
The next morning, it was a particularly evil 3am start to get up for a flight to Aswan. A decent airport cafe coffee didn’t do much to improve the flight experience; an interminable security queue (they have lots of security here), followed by a very busy, very smelly flight. Fortunately, the other side was much … Continue reading Smelly planes and hot runs
On Friday at terrible o’clock AM, we headed to the airport to start our trip to Africa. We’re off to spend the next two weeks exploring around the ancient world of Egypt. Nestled between a war-torn Sudan, a live war zone in Gaza, and the unstable and dangerous Libya, Egypt strikes an Oasis of relative … Continue reading A land of Gods and Pharaohs
At 7:30am on the morning of 3rd December, we’re met at the hotel by a bus alongside 16 others eagerly awaiting its arrival. Rudy, the driver, is a larger than life local ‘fixer’ who is transporting us to Punterenas, a Costa Rican port on the Pacific coast. It’s a long and circuitous journey - the … Continue reading Treasure Island
Our last few days on mainland Costa Rica are spend at Manuel Antonio National Park. A couple of comments from Arlet suggested this would be much more touristy than Corcovada, and she didn’t seem too excited. When we arrived however, despite the usual clutter of wee souvenier tat shops and touristy restaurants, we were pleasantly … Continue reading Manuel Antonio National Park
We’re met after breakfast by Alberto, a local guide who is going to take us into our first National Park. Corcovado is on the Osa Peninsular, and is one of few untouched rainforest wildernesses; we’re told hosting more biodiversity by size than any other region on Earth. We board a small local boat and make … Continue reading Days 3 & 4 – Corcovado
We’re up early today. Actually, we’re up early every day. Near the Equator, the only seasons are rainy and dry, and sunrise and sunset barely changes. As a result, people align their days around the sun. It rises at around 5am, and so do we. At dawn, we make our way over the mountains, up … Continue reading Day two – Drake Bay
After a night’s ‘sleep’ in the ropey hotel (an intermittent scream from the dodgy pipework providing a night-long lullaby), we went for a short walking tour of San Jose, a city of 1m people, in a country of only 5.5m. Being a Sunday, much of the city was closed, although the main street was being … Continue reading Day one – Coffee
Like the rest of the globe, travel has largely been on hold since early 2020. While we’ve been lucky enough to get away a few times since then, our destinations have been westernised, sanitised and with limited adventure. Today however, we arrived in Costa Rica, a destination that’s long been on our bucket list. Sandwiched … Continue reading Welcome to Costa Rica
As our odyssey comes to an end, and we return to our Ithaca, it’s time for a wrap-up post. It was with genuine sadness that we left Fiji. Driving towards the airport, the roads glistened from recent rainfall and the sea was calmed with the wind dropping to a whisper. Winding our way along the … Continue reading The Last Post
Travels with Sklaroffs 