Lads from Yorkshire & Portuguese tarts As someone who was born in Scarborough I was delighted to read that all the lads from Yorkshire behaved themselves! AND as someone who is very partial to a Portuguese tart or two I'm pleased that you managed to down a few of them! Last but not least, congratulations to you all for your exemplary behaviour on such a momentous stag weekend!!
Feels like I was just there. It’s always fun to read a blog on a place you've just been. Reliving some of the same experiences and seeing it again through someone else’s eyes. Great pictures too. Thanks for the read.
Sri Lanka Loved your post on Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has been compared to the larger neighbour for centuries (it's hard not to), and there's always a slight competitiveness that's simmering away just under the surface - not that different to the bristling of a younger sibling I suppose :) Totally agree with you about the polite toque macaques, it was so lovely to see a population of macaques not too displaced by deforestation, and as yet uncorrupted by tourism!
Belarus visa-free I'd say you should write Grodno visa-free because in the 5-day Belarus visa-free mode there is nothing like registration or a stamp involved. Just fly in and out - and a few other tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6BalTu7_8g
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Me again! Thanks for your answer to my questions above :)
What time of year did you climb? We are planning on doing it in mid July, and are consistently reading more and more about wearing harnesses, helmets etc. We're Kiwis, so tend to have a pretty relaxed attitude to safety gear, but at the same time we're not idiots and will obviously take what is necessary! It's just so hard trying to gauge what is actually necessary....?!
Did you have a preference for the two routes you have taken previously?
Also, how did you book your accommodation near the top? I have been sending a few emails with no replies which makes me nervous given how popular it's meant to be in summer!
Thanks in advance for your help :)
I've climbed it in July when it was boiling hot and the end of August when there was a dusting of snow on the top. In mid-July it'll likely be very hot at the bottom but watch out for thunderstorms - you don't want to be up there when the lightning starts. Check this website for the weather: meteo.si/met/en. Another useful feature of this webste is the webcam views and I just checked Kredarica, which is the highest mountain hut on Triglav and there is currently a lot of snow. It'll melt fast when summer kicks in.
I've never used a harness or helmet on Slovenian via ferrata. The route above Kredarica is probably a bit trickier but I'd say it was still only 50/50 people with/without safety gear.
The Seven Lakes Valley route from the end of Lake Bohinj is known for being the prettiest, but also the longest.
Our mountain hut was booked in the tourist information office in Bled - where we also picked up the map. They called the hut for us. You could either call the hut directly (everyone in Slovenia speaks excellent English) or just book through a tourist info office when you are there. I suspect it is ony busy during the summer at weekends as most people in the Slovene mountains are Slovene so midweek they are at work. Kredarica hut is huge so there would probably always be space but I'd go for the smaller and stunningly situated Prehodavcih Hut instead - especially if you do the Seven Lakes route.
A few questions! Hey!
Congrats on making it to the top of Mt Triglav! I have a few questions- Did you use any harness gear to get to the top? Were you wearing tramping boots or just sneakers? Did you consider going all the way to the summit on the first day- do you know if the view is generally better for sunrise or sunset?
Thanks in advance!
Hi. Triglav is great. I've climbed it from two directions and haven't used a harness. Lot's of people do, but generally they are the people climbing in large groups or with a guide. I suppose the person in charge of the group insists on it. We were wearing walking trainers / fell running trainers whatever you want to call them.
The route up Seven Lakes Valley to the summit and then back to a hut to sleep would be a tough day. It's doable if you start early and are very fit but I wouldn't fancy coming off the summit if it's getting dark. Similarly, climbing it in the dark would be tough in the dark too if you want to be up there for sunrise as it is just bare rock and you are looking out for the red spot markings to show you the way.
The second time I climbed it was from Rudno Polje, which is already quite high, and we went all the way to the summit and back to Ljubljana in a day.
Good luck with it, it's still one of my favourite hikes in the world.
D
Côte d’Ivoire When I was in Mali in 2011 the news in the Radisson Blu in Bamako was dominated by the Queensland floods and potential civil war in Côte d’Ivoire as the President had lost the elections and refused to step down. Côte d’Ivoire has held a forbidden mystique for me ever since, assisted by Didier Drogba and their football team. Thank you for cutting through the allure with your blog. Fantastic you had the opportunity to go there on such a worthy conference. Water in so many places is the most valuable resource. Hopefully progress can continue to be made in providing clean water to the masses that currently do not have it. Here's to your PhD! We love West Africa and often talk of how, when and which countries to include in our return. Maybe Côte d’Ivoire with it's enticing name should be one of them.
Great adventure and photos! I know that feeling that things are getting dangerous, maybe I should turn around, but I really want to get to the top (alone of course). Mine worst was in the Pyrenees, but how great that you're going to summit the highest mountains in a variety of countries. Go to Mulhacen in Spain--it's an easy one! Love your photos!
Big mountain in a tiny country - well done! Such beautiful photos - thanks for sharing. And congratulations on a climbing job well done! It certainly would be too much for the likes of me but then again I'm a lot older than you I guess. Cheers, Michelle
Baffeled by travel decisions Always follow your heart down the road and it won't take you to the wrong location. It sounds like Somaliland was just what you were looking for. Great blog.
Las Geel Stylised ancient rock art would be enough reason to visit Somaliland I'd reckon. This pic is fantastic. Hope you get to the UNESCO sites in Ethiopia. You will regret it if you don't.
Very interesting... Travel Camel also wrote a blog about Somaliland and both blogs fascinated me...mostly because of the contrast with Somalia. Somaliland should be the country recognized internationally.
When I started this blog in 2007, it was more of a highlights package of trips generally focusing on one place or aspect. My rule had been one blog per country unless I lived there, but I eventually realised that fewer blogs were appearing. Having got around quite a bit, I'm now revisiting many countries. It's getting trickier to get to completely new countries so I might break that rule on occasion. The PhD fortunately didn't curtail travelling with research in sub-Saharan Africa and India as well as the chance to attend conferences with a sneaky bit of travelling tacked on before or after th... full info
michelleandkev
Michelle & Kevin Cavanagh
Lads from Yorkshire & Portuguese tarts
As someone who was born in Scarborough I was delighted to read that all the lads from Yorkshire behaved themselves! AND as someone who is very partial to a Portuguese tart or two I'm pleased that you managed to down a few of them! Last but not least, congratulations to you all for your exemplary behaviour on such a momentous stag weekend!!