Rodyssey | Roddy Walsh | Travel Blog

I've made a book on Blurb.com with photos and commentary of my trip to Ethiopia in April. Blurb are currently having a photobook competition so I've decided to enter the book in the Travel section. The short list is determined by public vote so I need people to log on and vote for this book before November 9th. Click here to vote for Undiscovered Ethiopia. If you're not already registered with blurb.com, you'll need to do so but this will only take a [View Full Entry]

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Yikes, a quick flight 750km north to Prague and I've gone straight from summer to autumn. It was unusual to be in Prague without constant sunshine and hot weather, but the three days here have been cold and dull. Beer in the square just isn't the same when it's chilly. On top of this, most of the bridge is undergoing renovation, ruining any photographic opportunities. Nevertheless, it was great to be back in Prague and nice to be in a familiar place that you don't need to explore completely in a few days. The off-season has also kept the crowds down [View Full Entry]

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A 3 hour bus journey from Mostar on Friday (through more great mountain scenery) brought me to Sarajevo. Now this was a total change of pace from Mostar, a sprawling city that speads west from the old town to the communist monstrosities of the new town and beyond. The city's heart lies in Bascarsija (the Turkish quarter, still have no idea how to pronounce this) and the adjacent Ferhadija (the Austrian quarter) which lie north of the river. These are surrounded on all sides by hills covered with red-roofed houses and countless minarets from the neighbourhood mosques. It was from the [View Full Entry]

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Oh, wow...... Caught the early morning bus from Dubrovnik to Mostar. The scenery along the journey was great, first up along the Dalmation coast (going in and out of the Bosnian coastal enclave in Nuem) before turning inland over the border again to the mountains of Bosnia. We arrived in the valley of Mostar, checked into the hostel near the bus station before heading into town. There's just one main attraction in Mostar - the Old Bridge (or Stari Most) from which the town derives its name. With features like this, there's always the possibility that they've been over-hyped so much [View Full Entry]

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Byron's Pearl of the Adriatic has a hefty reputation to live up to but does so instantly as soon as you step through Pile Gate and gaze down the Stadun at the Clock Tower at the far end. Perfect marble covered steets, uniform buildings on either side, side-streets and alleyways at every turn and endless bars and restaurants spilling out onto the pedestrianised town. If the perfect old European city had to be designed from scratch, it would probably look a lot like Dubrovnik. I had originally intended to start my last trip here but instead opted for Venice and there [View Full Entry]

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Have been in Mexico for three weeks now, so about time I updated the blog. After San Diego, got the tram down to the border and literally just walked through - not a single border official checking anything (though going the other way is probably the most policed border in the world). Decided to spend a night in Tijuana (one night too many I'd say). Luckily I was there on a Monday, very tacky town, and full of pharmacies selling cheap prescription medicines to Americans crossing the border. I think that's what you'd call a market solution to a dysfunctional health [View Full Entry]

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On the way to the Grand Canyon, had to stop off in New Mexico (to prevent a really long bus ride from being a ridiculously long one). Still took 18 hours to go from San Antonio to Albuquerque via El Paso. We were boarded by US customs not far from the border after El Paso, checking the work permits for the Mexicans on board (i.e. everyone but me), they seemed bemused by my passport and visas. Albuquerque is a strange town. Built right on Route 66, there´s three parts to it - downtown with almost nothing of interest, Old Town a [View Full Entry]

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So, finally getting the blog going again (was far too lazy over Christmas to add the Africa entries - may get it done in April when i get back!). The second leg of the Rodyssey is a quick trip around North and Central America - not as extensive or probably exciting as last year, but ticks quite a lot of places I´ve always wanted to see. Flew out on Januray 17th to Austin, Texas via Chicago. First hint that the US weather wouldn´t be quite as I expected it was when I was grounded in Chicago for the night due to [View Full Entry]

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I don't know why I bother, it's not even as if I like the beach, but my plans for some chilled out time at a luxury tropical beach came unstuck again. Kind of. Went from Trivandrum to Varkala on Saturday and booked into a fantastic bamboo hut for three nights (ended up staying for four). Varkala is a lovely spot, located on a cliff top overlooking the Arabian Sea. Was a very relaxing few days - fantastic food (locally caught fish) and nothing to do but relax and unwind. Weather was ok but it always got cloudy in the afternoon so [View Full Entry]

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Have left northern India behind and flown to Kerala today - staying the night in Trivandrum and heading to Varkala and hopefully a nice beach hut tomorrow. Shockingly enough as soon as I got anywhere near a beach it started raining! Hopefully sometime over the next few days it will clear up.... The last week of volunteering in Himachal was so much fun - had a couple of parties (our leaving do and a rooftop party at Silver camp) where the crazy Indian beer worked its magic again. The leaving party was great, all the staff joined in for some bizarre [View Full Entry]

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