I woke up early, said goodbye to Mokpo, and boarded the 9:00am ferry for my four hour sail to a giant volcano. Awesome! 1.8 million years ago lava began spewing from under the East China Sea creating Mt Hallasan and it’s surrounding 368 oreum, or parallel volcanoes, known today as Jeju Island. It’s always been a part of Korea, but the culture here did develope a bit uniquely. Historically, everything from houses to graves to tools and statues of the…
Ever wondered what it’s like to walk around on another planet? The Danakil Depression in the Afar region of Ethiopia is probably as close as one can get. Endless sandy deserts, endless expanses of ancient and recent lava flows, endless salt flats, active volcanoes, and geysers filled with boiling, highly acidic water. It sits at 410ft below sea level and it’s the hottest place on earth when it comes to average year round temperatures in the 105-120°F range. It’s harsh,…
Mt Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free standing mountain in the world. There are several routes to the summit and several options as to how many days you want to do it in ranging from 5-8. I chose the 7 day Machame route and talked my great friend and occasional travel buddy, Rachel, into flying out here to climb it with me. Our week on the mountain is a story of extremes. Days one through…
Greetings, everyone, and welcome to the inaugural blog post of my new website. Even though I’ve been traveling quite a while, this is my first trip to Africa and I’m really excited about it so let’s dive in… There’s really not much to Arusha itself other than being a jumping off point for the famous northern safari circuit. It’s a bustling market town with some hotels and restaurants and LOTS of safari companies. The parking lot at the Kilimanjaro airport…