http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/explorer_keith/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from explorer_keith en-us Sat, 02 Jan 2010 23:06:46 +0000 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 23:06:46 +0000 It first hit me when I nestled down into my tiny window seat on LAN flight 072 bound for Lima My time in the Amazon was over. I had conflicting emotions as the doors on the plane closed. I was definitely happy to be going home but I was already missing the forest and all of the mysteries hidden beneath its canopy. The plane was filled to capacity with a mixture of foreign tourists and Peruv http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Lima/Lima/Lima/blog-418560.html It started raining as I sat on the sofa in the lodge waiting for my group to leave. It wasnrsquot just any rain either it was a torrential downpour reminiscent of the rainy season and I wasnrsquot really all that happy to see it. As I sat and talked to the three tourists that would be making the journey up river with me my mind wandered to my lonely backpack the one that I had left leanin http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Madre-de-Dios/Puerto-Maldonado/Amazon-Rainforest/blog-416182.html By my fifth week living at Posada Amazonas I was ready for a break. The eight to ten hours I was spending on the trail every day while immensely enjoyable were taking their toll on my body. To make things worse the lumpy sagging mattress I had been sleeping on had resurrected an old pelvis injury which I had earned in a fit of stupidity during a mountaineering trip in Yosemite many years be http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Madre-de-Dios/Puerto-Maldonado/Amazon-Rainforest/blog-411462.html For those of you who have been following my blog you will notice a large gap. I have decided to start writing about my current travels but I will fill in the gaps as quickly as I can so stay tuned and enjoy.A quick glance through the window revealed a seemingly endless blanket of green where a few minutes before there had been huge snowcapped peaks. Just below us a wide ribbon of muddy ora http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Madre-de-Dios/Puerto-Maldonado/Amazon-Rainforest/blog-408782.html I stared at the departure schedule in disbelief. There was no way it could be correct despite being posted on a big sign in huge permanent letters. An uneasy feeling almost nausea crept into my stomach when I remembered where I had gotten the schedule information in the first place. It seemed that my guidebook had another big strike against it nothing new there. I walked into the tiny wate http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Bodrum/blog-380626.html ldquoMister do you need a nice room for the nightrdquo was the first thing I heard as I stepped off of the nightmarish bus in Seluk. My cramped uncomfortable seat had left me in a grumpy mood and my muscles were in the first stages of atrophy so I was not in the mood for a long search for a place to stay. I turned to the woman that had asked the question and mustered the best smile I co http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Sel-uk/blog-377348.html A rolling landscape of golden hillsides rocky ridges and tall green cypresses was flying past my window in streaks of sheer beauty. It was another lovely day but I couldnrsquot really remember the last time it hadnrsquot been. My bus was filled with several interesting people all of us bound for the ruined city of Aphrodisias about an hour from Pamukkale. When we boarded the bus that m http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Aphrodisias/blog-372973.html Slowly the bus rattled its way to the north. The rough dirt road from Fethiye on the Mediterranean coast penetrated the rugged countryside of Turkeyrsquos lsquoInner Aegeanrsquo region. The ribbonlike road hung precariously on the edge of sparsely forested mountainsides which afforded sweeping views of the surrounding terrain. From time to time we descended into lush green valleys wh http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Pamukkale/blog-371263.html Westward we went into the famous lands of Lycia. The road wound its way through the thick forests of the coastal range. From time to time we got stunning glimpses of the rugged Mediterranean coastline from high up on a mountainside or down in the coastal plain. At other times we got sweeping views of wide valleys filled with agricultural complexes. We stopped in several of the towns along the http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Mediterranean/Kas/blog-355859.html We were sitting in the sun room of the pension eating a leisurely breakfast. While we ate we discussed where in Turkey we wanted to go that day. I was unsuccessful in my attempts to talk Errol into heading further east with me He seemed intrigued by the sights to the east but he was on a limited schedule and he still had several mustsee sites in the west. Since I wasnrsquot overly enthu http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Mediterranean/Olympos/blog-353395.html So there it was in the distance. I was the first to spot it so my friend Errol called it ldquoKeithrsquos Discoveryrdquo though it had not really been lost for over a century. The two of us were standing on a deserted two lane road that for all intents and purposes was in the middle of nowhere. The tiny symmetrical talus summit I had spotted still seemed like it was miles away across http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Southeastern-Anatolia/Mount-Nemrut/blog-348596.html One of the things I love about traveling without an itinerary is that plans can change on a momentrsquos notice. My plans were to leave Cappadocia on an early bus to Kahta near the base of Mt. Nimrut with my Canadian friend Errol and then continue on to the mountain. We packed our stuff up in the morning and checked out of the hostel. Then we headed down to the bus station to buy some ticke http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Southeastern-Anatolia/Urfa/blog-347586.html Any traveler that has ever considered a trip to Turkey has at least heard of Cappadocia. It is a famous place because of its strange early Christian history and unique subterranean architecture. It is a sparse landscape of unsurpassed beauty and boundless mystery located in central Turkey and it is the perfect place for any adventurous tourist to explore at a leisurely pace provided that they http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-345049.html It had been a bit of an adventure to find the cushy blue seat I was sitting in. I had managed to find my way to the gate that the bus company representative told me to go to. I discovered there that the lsquogatersquo was only a very general description of where I may find the bus that I had purchased a ticket on. I stepped out into the group of people crowding around a few buses none of http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Safranbolu/blog-341611.html My first three days in Istanbul went by at such a quick pace that they had all blurred together. I had taken in three huge tourist attractions as well as countless others. All of the exotic sights and sounds which were unlike any I had ever experienced had worn me out and I was approaching sensory overload. All of the sightseeing had been wonderful but I needed a break so I decided to slow http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Istanbul/blog-327723.html If I close my eyes and allow the wonderful stories from lsquoA Thousand Nights and a Nightrsquo to flow into my mind I form a fantastical image of graceful domes and minarets that pierce the sky of lovely pointed arches and intricate tile work and lush gardens hidden behind towering stone walls. It is a land filled with flying carpets genies in lamps beautiful veiled princesses and unimag http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Istanbul/blog-323219.html It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. A slight breeze flowed in through the large windows beside my table and filled the room with the scents of the sea. I woke up well rested and ready to start my day. I had been initially shocked when I walked up to the breakfast room and saw the food spread out in front of me. It was my first introduction to a Turkish breakf http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Istanbul/blog-315410.html I watched the green Irish countryside fly by beneath me. It wasnrsquot long before darkness obliterated the view so I pulled out my guide book for the Middle East and I turned to the section on Turkey and I started reading about Istanbul a city I knew virtually nothing about. I quickly learned that the city had started its life as Byzantium in 667BC. From the banks of the Sea of Marmara at http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Istanbul/blog-309209.html Southward we went into the luxuriant Irish countryside. My mom was at the wheel of our little red rental car and Ken my stepfather was navigating from the passenger seat. I was in the back seat with my camera gear and all of the overflow baggage from the trunk It was definitely a tight fit but compared with all of the minibus rides I had had in Africa it was a comfortable and roomy ride. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/blog-306967.html If you had asked me a month before ldquoWhere will you be in a monthrdquo the answer would have been something like ldquoMalawirdquo or ldquoTanzaniardquo. Ireland was not a place I was even considering yet there I was walking off of the plane in Dublin Ireland. The decision to alter my loosely formed African itinerary from an overland journey all the way to Cairo to a quick jau http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/blog-295716.html