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Hello,
It's Tuesday and it's time for a travel newsletter!
It's been a mighty fine week.
First, we concluded our trip to Georgia with a stay at the impressive Rooms Kazbegi hotel in the mountain village of Stepantsminda. With absurd mountain scenery all around us (including from our room), monasteries perched on truly perfect hilltop locations, views of snow-covered mountain peaks from an indoor swimming pool and...you get the idea. It was as ideal of an ending as possible to our wonderful stay in that country. And then we headed to our next country - ARMENIA. We arrived in the capital Yerevan and proceeded to wander this city as thoroughly as possible. We climbed to the top of the Cascade Complex staircase for sweeping views from way above and walked all through the narrow lanes of Kond, the oldest and most historic neighborhood in this 2600 year old city. There have been markets, such as the huge open-air Vernissage that sells all kinds of local products, and sculpture-filled parks and squares. There have also been visits to more local bakeries than I'd like to admit, but it's clearly the fault of the traditional Armenian pastry known as gata. Yesterday, we took a full day trip out of town to visit: Khor Virap Monastery - with SURREAL views of snow-covered Mount Ararat (see below) Areni wine-making region - for a winery tour and naturally, more wine tasting Areni 1 cave (Bird Cave) - where archaeologists discovered a 6100 year-old winery (the oldest known winery in the world) and a 5550 year-old leather shoe Noravank Monastery - built in the 13th century, with a church designed by sculptor and miniaturist Momik, leading to a most unique design Of course, in between all of these superbly beautiful places - villages, mountains, gorges, valleys and fields full of grape vines and olive trees - certainly lies an intense history of this country and its people. We spent a good amount of time learning more about it at the sobering Armenia Genocide Memorial and Museum, which is a must visit here. Even on the day trip we took, our guide was genuinely teary eyed when speaking about her country. She held absolutely no ill will towards anyone at all. It was simply a general sadness for the challenges her people have and continue to face in order to survive. It can be a tough country to visit as a result. But, the people here will also ensure you have a great time, that's for sure. Strangers will quickly welcome you and introduce you to all kinds of excellent food, wonderful wine and rewarding moments. You are guaranteed to experience genuine hospitality at its best in this country! A big thank you to Molly for getting me hooked on the Omnibus podcast. Hosted by Ken Jennings and John Roderick, it describes itself as 'an encyclopedic reference work of strange-but-true stories that they are compiling as a time capsule for future generations'. Mount Ararat from a spot near the Khor Virap Monastery in Armenia
Empty Tourist Resort
Turkmenistan's coastal resort town of Awaza is full of hotels and resorts, many of which were recently built. But even during high season, most of them are completely empty.
World's Longest Walk
If you're up for a 22,000 km (14,000 mile) walk from South Africa to Siberia, here is the route to take. Somebody figured out that this would be the longest possible walk in the world. Sao Tome's Needle
I don't know much about the African island nation of Sao Tome and Principe but it does have what appears to be an impressive volcanic plug peak (never heard of such a thing a either!).
Abandoned Airports
Here's 9 abandoned airports around the world because abandoned airports are simply spooky and weird.
Accessible Art Storage
The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam is the world's first publicly accessible art storage facility, allowing visitors to view the 150,000 pieces of artwork that are being stored there. The impressive building is also made entirely out of mirrors and has a rooftop garden. Best in Travel
Lonely Planet has released their Best in Travel lists of top countries, cities and regions to visit in 2022. Travel Ideas
If you need some help with your next trip, Thrillist's list of 50 travel ideas should help! Another tough location! With many people correctly guessing that the photo was taken in Mexico, the exact location was left a mystery. The location is the Edzna Mayan ruins in the Mexican state of Campeche. Campeche is a interesting state, with a gorgeous capital (Campeche) full of colonial architecture, small historic lanes, local eateries, a waterfront and very few tourists. Then, if you go inland even 30 minutes, you'll find narrow roads that wind through the jungle, with a scattering of impressive Mayan ruins to be explored. Edzna is a large complex, and it's very impressive indeed, as the city dates back to as early as 600 BC and was once home to 25,000 inhabitants. We were the only people there on the day we visited, making it a much different experience than visiting the always crowded ruins at Chichen-Itza or Tulum! And now... This week's photo Where in the world is it? The Rules
1. Try to figure out where the above photo was taken. 2. Reply to this email with your guess.
3. The more specific the guess, the better!
4. The location will be revealed in next week's newsletter.
Good luck :) |
Thanks so much and I appreciate you reading!
Derek
(my middle name is Earl) *If you received this email from someone else and want to sign up to A Life of Travel, simply click the button below: |
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