Kanazawa and the Japanese Alps
Kanazawa and the Japanese Alps April 11-13 Kanazawa is one of the best preserved Edo-period cities in Japan, the 260 years period of the Tokugawa shogunate that united the country in 1603 and brought peace and prosperity. The town is famous forKenroku-en Garden – one of Japan’s top three gardens, the Nagamachi Samurai district and […]
Read MoreTokyo April 7-10 – day 4
Our fourth day was meant to be another day trip, this one to visit the Toshogu shrine in Nikko. But with the prognosis of constant rain and a temperature of less than three degrees, we decided to go with a Tokyo indoor activity day. So leisurely breakfast at Starbucks, umbrella shopping in Lawson and a […]
Read MoreTokyo April 7-10 – day 3
Rushing out of the hotel at 5am after almost oversleeping, we hurried back to Chidorigafuchi Moat for early morning pictures. Because the light is best and blah blah blah… Cherry blossom season in Tokyo was coming to an end, the trees were already less lush with flowers and the floor covered in petals. But not […]
Read MoreTokyo April 7-10 – day 2
Early(ish) next day we went to the Meiji Shrine in Harajuku, built in 1920 and dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. Starting from a massive torii gate, it is a tranquil stroll through a forested area to the shrine. Lunch was a very tasty sushi bowl in a tiny restaurant […]
Read MoreTokyo April 7-10 – day 1
Day 1 – To close one of our main travel white spots (China will follow next year), we booked a two weeks trip to Japan early April, hoping to catch up with the cherry blossom season. We decided to mainly stay in Tokyo and Kyoto, with a short trip to Kanazawa and the Japanese Alps, […]
Read MoreAtacama desert
Chile, June 7-18 Two more days of desert in Atacama, and we slowly started to be over it. The trips we did to the hot springs, Valle de la Luna and Tara Desert were beautiful but still windy and cold. We even got into the once a year snowstorm with our driver slowing down to […]
Read MoreAltiplano part 2
The other 1.5 days we drove through the altiplano to Chile. We saw colorful mountains, sandy deserts, beautiful lakes, spotted vicuñas, viscachas, lamas, Andean foxes and flamingos, froze on 4500 meters at -10 degrees and icy winds, covered in bed in so many blankets we couldn‘t move, and had a totally amazing time. Instead of […]
Read MoreAltiplano part 1
The other 1.5 days we drove through the altiplano to Chile. We saw colorful mountains, sandy deserts, beautiful lakes, spotted vicuñas, viscachas, lamas, Andean foxes and flamingos, froze on 4500 meters at -10 degrees and icy winds, covered in bed in so many blankets we couldn‘t move, and had a totally amazing time. Instead of […]
Read MoreSalar de Uyuni part 2
Bolivia, 50th country we visited, June 2-7 Salar de Uyuni We were very lucky that our Salar de Uyuni to San Pedro de Atacama tour with Ruta Verde only started on our third day as it was very cloudy for the first two days. So we relaxed in our nice salt hotel and hoped for […]
Read MoreSalar de Uyuni part 1
Bolivia, 50th country we visited, June 2-7 We were very lucky that our Salar de Uyuni to San Pedro de Atacama tour with Ruta Verde only started on our third day as it was very cloudy for the first two days. So we relaxed in our nice salt hotel and hoped for better weather. We […]
Read MoreTiticaca Lake
Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake and quite impressive with its size and high altitude (3800m). It’s also a very pretty sight with its dark blue water, surrounded by yellow hills and far away, glimpses of Andean peaks. Puno on the other hand was rather ugly. Though very busy. On day one we could […]
Read More