Between the main inhabited islands of the Maltese archipelago lies a not-at-all hidden gem, the island of Comino. It has only three permanent residents and serves as a bird sanctuary. It is also known as a habitat for various reptiles. As such, it is not overdeveloped like the island of Malta, and tenting, heavily restricted on Malta, is popular here. …
Hiking in Wied Babu and a new mission
I was among, apparently, around 170 people who signed up for a free tour by Nature Trust Malta to explore Babu valley (Wied Babu). When people sign up to an event on Facebook, one must divide the number by three and extract a square root to know the realistic number of attendees, but hiking tours in Malta are different. When …
Lake Vištytis: natural wonders and border tourism
I discovered Vištytis in March while carrying out a project on borders. Everything was covered with snow and the little houses on the campsite by the lake seemed lonely and as though they were spending winter in hibernation. But I was interested in everything: the mysterious landscape, conversations with locals who speak both neighbour countries’ languages, and the legends about …
Birds of Ayutthaya
I love birds – as a child, I used to spend hours and hours studying bird encyclopedias and trying to recognize them as I see them. Birds used to be my favorite subjects for drawing, especially orioles, nightingales and pigeons. So a two-day stay in Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, made me really regret I did not have a …
Cambridge revisited
“… When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils” This is Cambridge – wrapped in greenery and blossoms, full of wildlife and very village-like, although it has been urban and academic since the Middle Ages. This time I stayed at the edge of the town, close to Churchill College.
Remembering a trip to the Dead Sea a year ago (updated!)
What to do on Valentine′s day not to make it become cheesy? I found a great solution this year – I went to a local feminist gathering. But it′s also a good chance to remember that last year at this time I was somewhere far away, exploring one of the most special places on Earth – the Dead Sea. Update: …
North America trip day 11: urban landscapes and wildlife in Vancouver
I made a short list of objects that I wanted to see in Vancouver, but when I got there I decided to simply go with the flow. It was easy to meet new people, and I figured the social landscape is just as interesting as the urban. I went to the Sea Wall the first day (my geographer friend explained …
North America trip day 3: Grumpy sea lion and farmers’ market
San Francisco is hyper urban, but the main tourist attractions are bisons and sea lions. The family I was staying with told me a story that pier 39, where sea lions rest, used to be a private pier for boats. Sea lions started assembling there after the great earthquake, and the people who were using the pier were driven away …
North America trip day 2: buffaloes and hippies
The second day in San Francisco was super interesting. We started from a hipster cafe called ‘Phil’s’, where local hipsters hang out. I noticed that hipsters in Europe dress by far more colorfully than in the US. The coffee was really good for americano.