Not too far from Santiago, up a mountain road with over 60 curves, sits Valle Nevado, a ski lodge in the Andes Mountains. Santiago is pretty much surrounded by mountains and I wanted to get up close to them.
I started my exploration of Abanotubani at Gorgasali Square (Gorgasali Moedani) in Old Tbilisi. It had a lot of nice reconstructions, especially the hill behind it. There are some restaurants and hotels around the square.
I took a day and did a scenic drive in northern Chios, Greece, that took me through about two dozen small villages. You will notice a completely different landscape and vegetation than in the southern part of the island, and you can see a different natural beauty on this side of the island.
From Old Montréal (Vieux-Montréal), I hopped on the nearest metro line and made my way to Olympic Park (Parc Olympique). This is where the 1976 Summer Olympics took place. There are several events year-round held at the park and stadium.
Miskyi Sad Park is one of the gorgeous forested parks that sit along the Dnieper River in Kyiv. It sits just north of Mariyinskyi Park.
On two consecutive afternoons, I was able to enjoy the scenery of the Nile from the top deck of my Egyptian riverboat.
One of the most unexplored and underrated places to visit in Turkey is the Phrygian Valley (Frig Vadisi). The region is named for the Phrygians, an ancient people who were later assimilated into the culture of invaders and other rulers of Anatolia. You may have heard of King Midas or the Gordian Knot. Both are parts of Phrygian history.
About an hour and a half from Eskişehir is the city of Bilecik. It’s a sizable city, but all of the interesting sites are focused around the gorge that the city was built around. I stopped for a couple hours to check them out. The fact that the bus station is conveniently located very near all of the sites makes it an easy point to hop off for a bit.
At the very southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt lies Ras Mohammad National Park. It was created in 1983 to protect the coral reefs and unique desert landscape from commercial fishing and expansion of nearby Sharm el-Sheikh. It’s a must-see if visiting Sharm, especially for those interested in snorkeling or diving.
One of the main reasons our small group of friends went to Sharm el-Sheikh was to celebrate Martin’s birthday. We decided that on the exact day of his birthday we would go on an action-packed full day excursion in the Sinai Peninsula.