It’s time to utter a big statement…the Albanian Riviera has OUR FAVORITE beaches in Europe…at THE best value. Let’s start with the “wow”… Along Albania’s Riviera we found beaches which produced the most hypnotic aquamarine colors intertwining with coves and sandy stretches of irresistibly inviting sapphire splotches of water. Then, there is the ‘ahhh!’…Swimming. With only lightly lapping tides to…
When we told people who have not been to Albania that we were going, we always got one of two hesitant pauses. A ‘processing’ type pause on the name… “A-l-b-a-n-i-a”, like when you hear a familiar word but can’t quite place where or in what context it belongs. OR, a pause that triggers their sense seedy and shady elements where…
When you meet a Jordanian person, it’s almost guaranteed they say two things…”where you from?” followed by “welcome” after your reply. They are remarkable…as is the scenery. The drive from the Red to the Dead Sea is about 3 hours and drops 398 meters (1305’). It’s the Earth’s lowest point on dry land. If going in the other direction, it’s…
From riding gurgling groaning camels and glamping in a goat-wool lined Bedouin tent under the desert sky, to snorkeling off the beach in the crystal clear waters of the Red Sea… Jordan continued to amaze us with new extraordinary sights and experiences. Wadi Rum Greg roams into a canyon, taking a sniff of some flowers that are exuding a wonderful…
Greece...the birthplace of ”modern civilization.” The place that filled us with wonder and intrigue about this foreign land from the first time we opened our ancient history books, glimpsed photos of the Parthenon, heard the mythology of the Zeus or Medusa, or tasted divine Kalamata olives. Our journey to dig deeper and experience the treasures of mainland Hellenic Republic took…
The Greek Islands were not an intended stop on our world tour; they weren’t even on our radar since they are not known to be “budget travel” or even budget friendly destinations. We assumed there was no way to fit them into our $50/day “business model”... That is, until we discovered a HelpX opportunity that traded some manual labor in…
As wee little Explorer Genes in 1989, Greg and Mandy certainly had one thing in common as they watched Indiana Jones emerge into the ancient city of Petra’s Treasury in The Last Crusade… how can such a magical place actually exist and how awesome would it be to see it in person? It took 30 years, but we finally made it happen, and we also threw in some incredible ruins, castles, ancient mosaics, and otherworldly nature in the process. And not to forget, some really amazing and genuine people along the way.
The Earth throws just about every dramatic landscape at you in Iceland; Gushing waterfalls….check. Explosive geysers……check. Volcanoes and steaming fumaroles….check. Glaciers and icebergs… check. Hot springs and bubbling mud pots… check. Iceland is a country where the earth moves, and moves you. With 30 active volcanoes, and vast glaciers occupying nearly every mountain range, the land of fire and ice…
