Yosemite weekend

The tunnel view in mid day light

The Yosemite valley can be sweating buckets hot in late September. Mid to high 30s C was typical and made me reconsider climbing the Glacier Point without a massive camelback of cold water to avoid passing out.

Going to the NP impromptu and without too much planning also meant all the 'beaches’ and swimming spots came as quite a surprise. Especially when mountain lakes in most of Europe are often on no swimming list. Bringing swimmers in this case is highly recommended. I wish I could have taken a dip after hours of walking in the blazing sun.

Of course, as about 20 other enthusiasts, waiting for the money shot is well worth it.

PR 8 Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço

The best time to hike the PR8 is early morning - starting well before sunrise to get the best light. It’s a fairly easy hike with a couple of spots for a quick swim. There’s also a designated camping site (quite popular at the time) and unlimited options for a packed breakfast with a view.

Madeira coastline

Monte tropical gardens is one of the best places to spend half a day in, especially in 30+ temperatures. The cart selling €15 pina coladas with free refill helps as well.

The gardens have a spectacular display of painted tiles artwork, not to mention lush plants, ponds and tropical flowers.

I was overly optimistic about the casualness of walking up the mountain in mid day sun, but can confirm that the streets go uphill anywhere between 20…45 degrees. I have no idea how to manage driving here with a rental. Sensible people take cable cars.

Homogenous architecture can be a plus.

The 2024 wildfires caused a lot of damage inland, but some parties with fireworks seem to have blown off the rooftops, too.

Istanbul during Ramadan

The massive religion fusion that is Hagia Sofia

The coloured houses and attires of Balat

Istanbul must have some of the highest density of cafes absolutely everywhere

Old Jewish Quarter

Kandersteg surroundings

Crossing the Bern - Valais canton border

Doldenhorn and Balmhorn views

Daubensee loop

First wintery day of the 23/24 season

Dolomites hikes Val Gardena edition

Hike up from Ortisei to Reschiesa

Loop around Seceda and dried up riverbed

Cadini del Brenton waterfalls

Spring in Ghent

Old City of Jaffa

Jaffa Port is believed to be one of the oldest in the world, founded by the son of Noah and where Jonah started his sailing voyage before getting swallowed by the whale.

It’s without a doubt where to stay next time - the impromptu street music scenes, late night food, and people enjoying the warm nights until the morning gave me such southern hemisphere vibes.

Carmel market, Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv gets my vote for food capital of the globe.

The tech companies' success indicator is not a fancy office (by London and Tallinn standards, all are basic), generous WFH policy (in fact, most believe there is no replacement for in person work and offices are buzzing), or off-sites to lavish resorts.

It's just one thing - 'who is your office kitchen chef?'

The baseline for street, deli, cafe, restaurant, hummuseria food is so high that it's impossible to eat anything below great.

Otranto old town

Sassi di Matera

Big Sur road trip

The last few photos should have been about the Big Sur Cafe and Bakery that is probably the loveliest place for a lunch break or just a good coffee and pretty views of the cactus garden. Must visit.

There was a half Swiss t-shirt artist selling his merch in the parking lot so if you’re into organic bamboo shirts with very cool prints, bring cash or have a Venmo account.

The northern parts of Big Sur are more picturesque. The more south you go, the more it reminded me of Cornwall.

Last but not least, full tank helps, SPF is a must and be prepared for a blinding wind.

Sunsets in Sayulita

The decentralized party, version Mexico, worked out unexpectedly well.

Exploring trails around Eiger and Jungfrau

Surely Wes Anderson taking inspiration from here.

The Barbican Estate

A home to over 4000 residents, countless plays and exhibitions and a standard topic of love / hate arguments.

The amazing winds of Los Cuernos

It's a long winding road from the towers to the camp sites of the French and the Italians (the names of those - I never managed to figure out what made these particular nationalities so special and worthy of naming the mountain huts after). The walk is mostly on a wind swept terrain, very few bushes have survived the Magellanean storms and those who have show their colourful will of living. Early summer is gorgeous with all the greens and the reds and the purples coming out.

The wind is horizontal. Sometimes so strong that you are forced to a session of breathing exercises. In mid November there are hardly any people to talk to anyway, so everything is naturally in balance.

The small village of Los Cuernos appears almost out of nowhere. Accessible only by boat, or a half a day trek, it's a bunch of tiny huts between the peaks and Lago Nordenskjold. Reaching the huts from the east feels almost like climbing a vertical cobble stone beach. But the views, the views!

The huts are the perfect afternoon beer spot for giving and getting advice from fellow hikers and for observing hail storm approaching from the valley nearby. It takes about a few hours to turn the south pole sunshine into north pole winter storm.

It's also possible to see the wind on the lake. It not only messes up the surface tension of the water, but also anything that you wear and that is not tightly attached to your body (read: pair of Persol sunglasses are somewhere in the picture above).

After drinks and food and recovery shower (cold water is good for your muscles), Los Cuernos offers bunk beds you've never seen. The top ones' of the triple beds require a similar amount of climbing as do the surrounding peaks outside and it takes quite a bit of mental focus to not do the 'jump off the bed' move in the morning without catastrophic ankle consequences.

Los Torres and beyond

The true fans wake up at 1am, pack their hot tea, sandwiches and sleeping bags and hike up the valley to see the towers burning at sunrise. I don't necessarily have that patience and most felt too old to bank another sleepless night, so when the midday sun promised nearly cloudless afternoon, up we went, without further thinking about the next morning possibilities.

The hike from Torre Central up to the laguna should take about 4 hours one way. There are too many spectacular views and Camp Chileno at about mid way up is a nice tea break spot, for horses and men. The right most stroke of the W that takes you to the towers is generally uphill. With the steepest ascent of the whole trek (vertical climbs excluded). Those who have been to the Himalayas or any other high altitude hiking destinations, beware of overexcitement - W is mostly flat in comparison.

Torres del Paine views at the eastern part of the NP

The hike up is under semi-direct sunshine, so bring sunscreen. With the wind and the chill it's easy to forget how quickly you can begin to look like a drunken teenage character from a snowboarding film with all the crazy tan lines on your face.

The top third of the hike is mostly forests before you hit the last 45 minutes of straight uphill, climbing the rocks and what generally looks like a pile of supersize gravel, sometimes on all fours if your legs are not the basketball player or supermodel kind. 

The last 45 minutes

It's not the altitude, but the wind and the lack of proper trail to follow that makes climbing up the last bit sometimes dangerous enough that the park rangers close the route until further notice. Indeed, had we waited for the early morning romantic walk to the sunrise, we would have had to come down before even getting a glimpse of the towers. Snow or rain basically means the rocks are off limits, especially in the dark.

The towers are spectacular. It's an incredibly good idea to pack your meal and just sit there, watching the clouds and the sun and the snow to perform a spectacle. It's freezing, of course. And it can get crowded in good weather. Yet, none of this is able to compete with the views.

Everyone likes when things go up. Sometimes the journey down can be as good

Exactly 5 hours after taking off from Torre Central we were back where we started (that is generally 2-3 hours faster that the slow estimates you can find on maps). Catching the last hour of sunshine at the camp site equaled stripping off long sleeves and walking around barefoot. The brave excavated bikinis from their backpacks to have the pleasure again to layer them with down jackets the second the Sun disappeared behind the peaks. Clothing strategy and management is key in Patagonia.

Sunset at Torre Norte