After years of flirting with the idea, a couple of weeks deciding on the route, and a few days of - loosely - preparing, the day had come to finally embark on the Camino Portugués. The alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. 😴 Excitement and a touch of fear made sleep elusive. A quick ride to the airport, a short nap on the plane, and by 8:45 a.m. I found myself in sunny Porto - the perfect welcome to lighten my mood. At the Sé Catedral I picked up my Camino credentials, followed my first yellow arrows, and rewarded myself with a warm pastel de nata and a cachorrinho (local hotdog) recommended by my Uber driver. Too tired for the city crowds, I hopped on an early train to Vila Praia de Âncora - my chosen starting point. An evening by the beach, early dinner, and quiet time at the hotel helped me feel mentally prepared, physically overpacked 😂, and ready for whatever lay ahead. Day 1 – 28 km / 6 h 10 min I left at 8:30 a.m., the sun already rising over the rugged coast. The signs were...
A proper mini grand tour through the Benelux - and, as it turned out, even a bit of France. The trip started with a brief stopover on the way to Maastricht: good coffee, creative street art, and surprisingly green architecture rising from old industrial bones. Then straight into the heart of Maastricht for a guided walking tour full of history and flavour - house marks, the old city wall and Hell’s Gate, a working watermill, and Europe’s most beautiful bookstore set in a former church. Add the best Vlaai in town and a speakeasy cocktail bar, and Maastricht had us hooked from the start. A short drive took us to Valkenburg - small, cute, and definitely on the touristy side. We explored the castle ruins and the velvet caves beneath, strolled through town, and enjoyed a sunny hike along the Geul river - in the rare Dutch “hills” no less. Next stop: the summit of the Netherlands. At a staggering 322.5 metres, Vaalserberg marks the meeting point of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germ...
If we believed some weeks ago that Ecuador didn‘t make it easy for us to leave, crossing borders in Bolivia (in and out of the country!) was another level; at least for one of us and of course, this story is not about the almighty German passport.. Since Peru and Bolivia share access to Lago Titicaca, naturally we needed to cross the border at some point. The bus driver in Puno already questioned Diana about her visa, but we had read up on a visa for Bolivia could be retrieved on arrival for Romanian citizens.. and so is the case, unfortunately not without hiccups and hassle. The border control needed a full itinerary, confirmation of hotels, flights and an exit ticket, plus two passport photos - all in printed paper version. Luckily, there is a small shack at the border crossing that offers to take passport photos and printing services; so it could resp. should have been easy to arrange. The elderly guy working there preferred to exchange money with all other tourists first, only to t...
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ich wünsche Dir viel Spaß und alles Gute für deinen Trip. Lass was von dir hören!
LG Britti :)
geile route :)