sabbatical Peruvian Days #2 / The Floating Islands Of Uros On arriving to the shores of Lake Titicaca you notice a few things. The first is the altitude. It's really high up – around 3800 metres above sea level – which you notice because the lack of oxygen starts giving you headaches, and also because the
sabbatical Peruvian Days #1 / Comidas I'm writing some posts about the one month that I spent in Peru. This is part 1, about the food in Peru. After spending a month in Peru I left with the impression that Peruvian food is seriously underrated. Peru has all sorts of
Dailies The Humboldt Current I was wondering why good quality seafood is so affordable in Peru. At a Cevicheria in Lima I had a huge portion of ceviche for 26 Soles (~4.7 GBP, ~6.4 USD). In the UK this would probably cost 4x as much in
Dailies eSIMs are Great eSIMs are virtual SIM cards that can be downloaded and stored electronically on your phone unlike a physical SIM. I'm finding these fantastic for travel. There are a few companies that help you buy an eSIM for a network in the country you're going
sabbatical Curaçao Travel Notes I spent one week on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao (pronounced kura-SOW) recently. Here are some things that stuck out to me: Multi-lingual Curaçaoans, at least the ones who work in the tourist industry, speak multiple languages fluently. In restaurants I would see
Dailies A Hike In The Mountains Of Curacao At you start on the trail towards the summit of Mount Christoffel, the highest point in Curacao, a sign warns you that you are not allowed to start the hike after 10 in the morning. It's too hot and there is little shade, so
Dailies Snorkelling In Curacao Pt 2: Scavenger Sea Turtles Playa Grandi is a small beach in the north of Curacao. The beach is mostly used by fishermen but tourists have also started to visit it to witness an interesting phenomenon. The fishermen clean and cut up the catch and sell it right on
Dailies Snorkelling In Curacao Pt 1: Tugboat Tugboat beach was the best snorkelling experience that I had in Curacao. The beach itself is quite pebbly and not that attractive; the main attraction is the Tugboat wreck that is located a few hundred metres away. The boat has been here for a
Dailies Extreme Travel With Kurt Caz If you're bored of all the travel bloggers showing you the most glamorous upscale places in the world, check out Kurt Caz's YouTube channel. Kurt travels to some pretty dangerous places armed with nothing other than a camera, and somehow seems to always emerge
Dailies SPF 30 Is Fine As far as I can tell, there is no point worrying about the difference between SPF 30, 50, or 50+ sunscreens. SPF 30 blocks ~97% of UVB rays, while SPF 50 blocks a marginally higher ~98%. It's also worth noting that SPF ratings don't
Dailies Dominican Republic Travel Notes, Pt 2: Sargassum I learned about the Caribbean's Sargassum problem when I was planning the DR trip. Sargassum is a brown seaweed with little berry like pods that help it to float. Sargassum. Source: WikiMedia CommonsI've seen small amounts of it wash up on beaches in India,
sabbatical Dominican Republic Travel Notes, Part 1 I'm half-way through a 10-day trip to the Dominican Republic. Here's a random collection of things that stood out to me: Relations with Haiti. The DR shares a border with Haiti. The DR is the richer country, with a GDP per capita ~6x greater
Dailies How China Has Changed Photographer Dheera Venkatraman collected a set of side-by-side photos to show how places in China have changed over the last 100 years. In a nutshell, there are a lot of skyscrapers, bridges, and paved roads.
Dailies Economics Of Airline Loyalty Programs Here's Bryan Hobart on the bizarre economics of loyalty programs. Some learnings: Loyalty programs are the most valuable asset many airlines own. Delta would have a negative market value if not for its loyalty program: The Financial Times pegs the value of Delta’s