I had little idea how far down into the rabbit hole I would go when I started this project. All that I have been told is false. Up is down. Beautiful scenery hides ugly truths. Judging from the volume of hate emails and hate comments I have received, I am hitting close to the truth … Continue reading
Looks relatively quiet and peaceful, no? That was not the case a few years ago… The Macedonian Insurgency In early 2001 a group of ethnic Albanian rebels began operating in several villages near the Macedonia-Kosovo and Macedonian-Albanian borders. The insurgency centered on the town of Tetovo and in the Sar Mountains north of Tetovo. The … Continue reading
Salento Population: 3,500 Elevation: 1,900 meters Salento was founded in 1850 and is one of the oldest (and possibly the smallest) towns of Quindio. The town is 24 kilometers east of Armenia and today survives on coffee production and trout farming. Aside from the nearby Valle de Cocora and Don Elias and his coffee plantation, … Continue reading
Maxim magazine recently voted Bogota the “hardest city” in the world. Here’s how they explained their decision: Bogota is tough. Drug barons and guerrillas infest the place like flies and brutal violence occurs daily. Around 23 people are murdered each day, and the leading cause of death for citizens aged between ten and 60 is … Continue reading
Our first night out of Khartoum was spent camping in Old Dongala. Old Dongola is situated on the east bank of the Nile opposite the Wadi Al-Malik. Originally founded as a fortress, Old Dongola soon grew into a town. With the arrival of Christianity, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Makuria until the … Continue reading
Heading out from Old Dongola, Sudan we drove for hours across the desert… …Until arriving at a small town near the Nile (as all towns in Sudan are). The “town” consisted of just a few homes, but Ramadan, our guide and driver, knew one of the families and so we stopped for a visit: The … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 