Volcano Boarding in Leon: A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again

While Nicaragua is not a tourist hot spot quite yet, there is one thing it’s well-known for: volcano boarding down Cerro Negro, Central America’s youngest volcano located a short distance from León. There are many companies that offer volcano boarding tours, typically for $25 to $30. Bigfoot Hostel is one of the better-known operators, thanks … Read more

Bobotov Kuk: Where You Can See Three Countries from One Peak

After being stricken with altitude sickness and spectacularly failing to climb Mount Fuji in Japan, I was a woman defeated. Despite knowing that turning back was the right thing to do, I couldn’t shake the feeling of failure. So it became my personal mission – almost a grudge, even – to finally find and summit the perfect … Read more

Durmitor National Park: The Gem of the Balkans

Months later, I still feel like I don’t have adequate words to describe Durmitor National Park. Which is odd, because normally words come to my overcaffeinated fingers a bit too easily – see my exhausting list of 40 unique things to do in Montenegro if you have any doubts. But Durmitor National Park, nestled high in the mountains in the northeast corner of Montenegro, defies even my verbosity.

The landscape of Durmitor National Park looks alternately like New Zealand, Scotland, Iceland, and the Alps. Limestone crags cut by melting glaciers millions of years ago left an otherworldly landscape in this tiny corner of this tiny country, unbeknownst to much of the world. Pristine glacial lakes are the few remnants of this prehistoric time: every other surface is covered with craggy rocks and lush grass.

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I Failed at Climbing Mount Fuji: Altitude Sickness & Calling it Quits

clouds at mount fuji

There are so many things our body does for us each day that we take for granted: breathing in and out without thinking, heart beating along unnoticed, words coming out of our mouths with barely a thought. You only start to notice when things begin to break down. Unfortunately for me, this happened about 10,000 feet into climbing Mount Fuji.

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