Nuwara Eliya is also known as ‘little England’ having been a hill station retreat for the British colonialists in the 19th century. Some traces of these times can still be found, most notably at ‘The Hill Club‘, a private gentlemen’s club turned hotel where we stayed for four nights. Set in several acres of grounds,…
Sunday 10th December – Tuesday 12th December: Ella
Having grown up in the golden age of Public Information Films, there is something vaguely disturbing about being in a place where almost all instructions for hikes start with the words “walk along the railway tracks…”. (Un)fortunately for us, on the days we were in Ella the Sri Lankan railways were actually on strike so…
December 7th – December 9th: Buckingham Place
Those who know me will be aware that I like to have a plan. Having a plan means you get to do the things you want to do, but with minimal faffing. That said, a good plan is robust enough to allow for spontaneity when inspiration strikes, and this was one of those occasions. The…
Monday 4th December – Thursday 7th December: Galle
Galle is actually a fairly large city on the south coast of Sri Lanka, but the main reason to visit is for the UNESCO Heritage site of Galle Fort, an originally Portuguese, then Dutch fortification that was taken over by the British, and is now Sri Lankan, although apparently many of the properties are still…
Thursday 30th November – Sunday 3rd December: Colombo
When heading to a new country, it’s always advisable to check the weather. Turned out we arrived in Colombo at the tail end of an unseasonable and highly unusual cyclone, so we were greeted by monsoon-style rain. Luckily we’d already organised a driver to bring us to the delightful Taru Villas Lake Lodge, so by…
Friday 24th November – Sunday 26th November / Wednesday 29th November – Thursday 30th November: Bangalore
If the truth be told, there was a small part of me that was ever-so-slightly disappointed by the slick and shiny Bangalore airport, with the impressive e-Visa process, the ease of hiring a metered taxi, and the modern highway into town. This was ameliorated when we hit the thronged rush-hour traffic on the MG Road…
Monday 27th November – Tuesday 28th November: Hampi
The overnight train to Hospete – the junction stop for Hampi – was Noah’s first experience of Indian Railways so I thought First AC was the only way to go. Not exactly glamorous but perfectly acceptable. As we left Bangalore after 10pm our compartment was already in bunk format, with the bedding pack laid out…
Vallvidrera to Molins de Rei on the GR92
This is around 10km of the GR92 and is mostly well way-marked. We started from the FGC station Baixador de Vallvidrera (S1 or S2 from Placa Catalunya). Instead of heading up towards Tibidabo which is our usual route (to Can Cortes etc) we headed down and across the road to find the start of the way-marked…
Monday 27th July – Wednesday 29th July: Tulum
On our way from Merida to Tulum we stopped off at the Mayan ruins at Coba, famous for the carved stelae depicting events or stories from the Mayan period. The ruins are still being excavated, and feel more ‘Indiana Jones’ than some of the other sites we visited, being surrounded and overgrown with jungle: Here you…
Friday 24th June – Monday 27th June: Fun with friends in Merida
One of the main reasons for coming to this part of the world was to catch up with our friends Samantha and Victor who moved here from Barcelona 18 months previously. They were kind enough to put us up in their home in Merida and to show us the local sights (and local food!). After…
Friday 24th June: Ik-kil Cenote
Early on Friday morning we took a short taxi ride from our hotel to the nearby Cenote Ik Kil. It was incredibly beautiful, with decent facilities – lockers, towel rental etc. We got there early, shortly after it opened, and there were only about six other people there – heavenly: Showers before getting in –…
Wednesday 22nd – Friday 24th June: Chichen Itza
The next day we were headed to the famous Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza where we would stay for two nights in a nearby hotel so we could get early access to the ruins site at 8am when they open, in order to avoid the worst of the heat and the crowds. Initially the plan…
Our adventures 