One Happy Island Aruba is a small island in the Caribbean a few kilometers off the north coast of Venezuela. It’s hot, sunny and windy year round but the main tourist season is around Christmas and New Year’s, when it’s cold and grey in the northern hemisphere. Aruba is easily accessible from the United States;…
Tag: desert
Jaisalmer: Sand Castle Rajasthan, India
A City of Golden Sand Jaisalmer, also called the Golden City, is situated in the far northwestern corner of Rajasthan and close to the heavily fortified border with Pakistan. The name fits: golden buildings, the highest and most impressive one of them the fort towering over the old walled city, rise from the golden sands…
Sharqiya Sands: Desert Dream Oman
Sharqiya Sands is a desert region in Oman. Through a friend of mine (thanks again!) we got the number of Bader, a local beduin. We called him and he immediately agreed to meet us and take us around the desert. Ibra Before reaching Al Wasl, where we were supposed to meet Bader, we made a…
Your Majesty, the Kings Canyon Northern Territory, Australia
Equally far from Alice Springs as Uluru and Kata Tjuta lies the truly majestic Kings Canyon. The Rim Walk A short and easy walk leads, not very far, into the canyon. Much better however, and really amazing is the walk along the canyon’s rim. On days when the temperature exceeds 36°C, a part of the…
Kata Tjuta: The Bigger Rocks Northern Territory, Australia
In the same national park as Uluru, but about 35 km further west from the big rock are the 36 boulders of Kata Tjuta (also known as The Olgas). The highest of the boulders is 100 meters higher than Uluru. . A Beautiful Hike A trail leads around some of the rocks and takes the…
Baja California Sur: La Península Bonita Mexico
I never wanted to go to Cancún (those party/beach towns just aren’t my kind of place) but Cancún has a big airport and connections to almost anywhere. Also, internal flights in Mexico are quite cheap so that’s how we ended up spending a few days there (in the city center, just to be clear) before…
La Puna: Out of This World Six days on the arid high plateau in Argentina's northwest
Have you ever run down a white sand dune at 3500 meters above sea level? Or stood at the rim of the biggest known volcanic crater of the world? Looked into fanta-colored arsenic water holes? Found algae below a thin layer of salt in a salt pan in the middle of the desert? Sat in…
Coming soon: La Puna Northwestern Argentina
A few days ago we returned from our 6-day trip through the Puna, the arid high plateau (all above 3500 masl) in Argentina’s northwest. Is was like travelling in another world, or on the moon, or on Mars. The landscapes are fantastic and very diverse, the Puna seems endless yet after every bend new scenery and colors…