I dreamt of far-flung places along new coordinates,
warm winds of change,
and voyages of discovery that don’t entail geographic territories or maps.
I dreamt of salty air,
roaring waves,
rhythmic sunsets,
flamboyant crowds,
vivid laughter..
and hard-knock life
que saudade do Rio De Janeiro
when awesome, life is simple
Costa Rica. Puero Viejo de Talamanca series
some photos by the Flower Power Sustainable Trips gang
“Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.”
Today is a good day, it’s Earth Day. Here’s my article on TravelCultureMag.
All the predictions have materialized and there’s no escaping the realization that the face of the world is changing. The Earth is evolving and going through natural cycles, but it is more so apparent that the growth of population and our living habits are influencing this change.
You fly to your friend’s stag do, a quick weekend trip to the beach, you chuck your heavy laptop for a lighter ‘travel’ version, throw in an iPad too because it’s so hip, and that new digital SLR, you gear up for your camping trip with all the brand new items, while the old ones are hoarding the garage, or have met its fate in the garbage bin, you text and you talk on the phone all your waking hours, your Facebook is on 24/7, driving to the grocery store is just too convenient to reconsider, and that shark fin soup is too delicious to pass.
But before you start to cheer for noticeably less precipitation, warmer winters and scorching summers, think about adapting to extreme weather conditions: desertification and rising sea levels, droughts and floods, and the loss of biodiversity (because animal species are not as adaptable to these new patterns).
Ok, maybe you don’t care about the animals. But what about us? We are blaming past generations for not considering the implications of their actions and burdening us with saving the planet, but we are exerting even more pressure on the environment, and the future generation, which doesn’t really have a future, the way things stand now. I envision my children’s children wearing gas masks and living in domed cities. View full article »
Although I wrote this article a while ago, it was just picked up by Escape from America magazine. Click the link for the full read.
photo © Vladimir Vujovic http://takovska15.com/
Many labels come to mind when I think of Venice: magical, mysterious, one-of-a-kind, legendary – it’s not an easy place to define.
On my first visit there I wondered: could I ever live in a city where I wouldn’t be able to ride a bike? On the other hand, I loved that it is car-free: no fumes, no traffic, no road rage. Instead, all the essential city services were carried out by boats: ambulances, garbage men, firefighters, police men – all sailors!
One late-September day few years ago I found myself knocking on heavy gates of Palazzo Zorzi, hoping to call the palace my new office. And a few days later, I also began calling Venice my home.
Palazzo Zorzi houses UNESCO’s Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe and I joined the environmental science team to contribute to, among other things, the Venice lagoon conservation and tourism management projects.
photo © Vladimir Vujovic http://takovska15.com/
Soon after I moved there, my colleague Giorgio – one of those mysterious prototypes that wears a cape and a fedora and looks like a phantom stealthily cutting corners of narrow street corridors in thick misty winter fogs – taught me how to circumnavigate the maze of timeworn streets like a pro. Then, a very important sense of belonging to the community, he taught me how to give directions: ‘just keep going straight (‘sempre dritto’) and inquire again at the next bridge!’ The phrase ‘sempre dritto’ is the most common and commonly-acceptable instruction to navigate Venice.
“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream” (- Poe)
A prowl through the mystifying and playful El Siq canyon.
On guard! Bright and early, at the break of down..
To conquer the valleys and the suns: the mighty Al Khazneh Treasury View full article »
“The people that interest me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing…but burn, burn..”
The most fascinating characters in all of South America, and the most unsightly architecture: Otavalo, Ecuador.
Otavalo’s animal market, street fairs and farmer’s stalls bring out the surrounding peasants who bear the simplicity, sagacity and humbleness to the stand.
What do you make of a blue?
It’s the sky, the sea
the deep look, the saddest lyrics
the past, the present the future
it’s slick, sly, tricky
powerful, beautiful, true
it’s a drug, a vision..
It’s not only a colour, it’s an analogy.
capoeira blues
there’s a specific shade of blue I miss: the Aegean blue
.
This is a segment of an article I wrote for danube-river.com. In fact, if you visit the website you will see that I’m a partner on the project, as I’m writing most of the content. It’s a site devoted to cruises on the great Danube river.
Quick: do you know the differences between ocean and river cruising?
The main difference is that ocean cruises employ much larger ships than river cruises. The capacity of some ocean cruises is staggering – generally a few thousand people. River cruises are more intimate.
As rivers are narrow stretches of water, they tend to traverse more interesting and varied landscapes, keeping it more engaging for the travellers.
And river cruises tend to sail along the shores, close to the banks, so they can offer a great scenery, which is the primary reason for travellers to choose this type of a trip.
Ocean cruises last longer, even though they sail faster. Ocean cruising requires crossing large expanses of water, sometime enduring continuous, long, uninterrupted horizons and the swaying of repetitious waves, with nothing to break up the monotonous rhythm. Although looking at an unbroken horizon and the expanse may be very soothing for the mind and give one a sense of freedom, it is likely to become slightly dull after a couple of days.
The liners have a tendency to offer extravagance of the same standards as hotels. For this reason, instead of the view, they invest more into elaborately appointed interiors, such as swimming pools, sun decks, dining halls, and more spacious cabins. They tend to rely on these facilities to keep a traveller’s interest, as the surroundings often provide none. These can include music clubs, casinos, gymnasiums, spas, and even movie theatres.
So, the question really comes down to: do you want to have an adventure and explore? or do you want it to feel like you never left terra firma and all its sinful indulgences?
My imagination & appetite for adventures may get me in trouble
(..but isn’t trouble, in turn, an adventure?)
Reality itself is different on that other side
This is it: a menagerie of ideas, dreams, possibilities ..
I am assessing how realizable, reachable, probable, and functional they are
Or I’ll do what I do best: act on impulse.
After all, life’s best adventures often arise from mistakes and spontaneities..
-
