We arrived at Santander port in northern Spain just as the sun was rising behind the hills and reflecting on the calm sea. There were even snowy mountains in the distance which got us very excited. It was a beautiful morning but after passing through immigration we had to focus on how to drive in…
Tag: culture
Colourful villages and wild coastline | West Cork, Ireland
We weren’t blessed with the best weather as we arrived on the Beara Peninsular with miserable rain showers. We crossed into County Cork and made our first stop at the colourful village of Eyeries. I don’t know if there’s a historic reason for painting their buildings different colours or whether it’s just to make the…
The Cliffs Of Moher and Doolin Village | County Clare, Ireland
When I was researching the Wild Atlantic Way County Clare didn’t seem to have much of interest us. I’m sure it would for other people but it just didn’t seem to have mountains or dramatic landscapes that we crave. The main attraction (and one of the top attractions for the entire country) is the Cliffs…
Our final days in Egypt and why we’re never going back
After spending our final day in Luxor relaxing in a hammock on a roof terrace with a view of the Nile, it was time to head back to the coast. We wanted to visit Marsa Alam in the south of Egypt to snorkel some of the top sites in the world, but it was complicated…
Karnak Temple, Egypt
Karnak temple sits on the east bank of Luxor so we had to catch the ferry across the Nile to reach it. The east side was a complete contrast to the tranquil west, it was chaotic, noisy and full of pestering touts. Before we visited the temple I wanted to stop at the local animal…
Cycling to the Valley Of Kings, Luxor | Egypt
Luxor is said to be like Cairo but a smaller, nicer version. That’s debatable – we really didn’t like the place. The city sits on the east bank of the Nile but we opted to stay on the calmer West Bank which was a great decision in the end. A public ferry connects the two…
The long journey to Abu Simbel and a Felucca trip on the River Nile
At 4am David our hostel owner walked us down the dusty street past sleepy dogs to a small bus waiting for us. We had a long four hour journey (each way!) to Abu Simbel which is in the far south just 35km from the border with Sudan. It’s said to be one of Egypt’s top…
Exploring Philae Temple and a colourful Nubian Village | Aswan, Egypt
For just £12 we caught an overnight train from Cairo to Aswan. We had large reclining chairs but the air conditioning was on full blast so we shivered the night away. The hostel we booked was actually 6km from Aswan in more of a local neighbourhood so we hopped in a taxi. On the way…
A stressful day visiting Islamic Cairo
The next day we decided to visit Old Cairo, also known as Islamic Cairo. We walked from downtown to Khan-El-Khalili which is where the souqs (markets) are. On the way we seemed to walk through the furniture neighbourhood where narrow alleys were filled with tacky upholstered chairs. Seemed like a really stupid area to focus…
A fascinating look at ancient mummies | The Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Cairo is home to 20 million people – it’s a massive place that sprawls out, eating up chunks of dusty desert and swapping it for messy concrete slabs. We booked a hostel in downtown where there were fairly modern shops with fancy displays, although the mannequins all looked a bit fed up with slanted wigs…
