Kyrgyzstan Ending
Kyrgyzstan has some of the most consistently spectacular landscapes I have ever traveled through. Imagine a country with rugged snow-capped peaks like Switzerland, fjord-like waterways like Norway, alpine lakes like… Read more »
Author Archives: Varya
Kyrgyzstan Beginning
The four of us are sleeping together in a round yurt tonight, felted colorful rugs on the floor and gold and red embroidered tapestries encircling us. The sun set a… Read more »
Bishkek
It is a little after 5 am when our plane lands in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, and the shadows of the high Tien Shan mountains are just beginning to appear… Read more »
Istanbul the Magnificent
Istanbul is an impressive product of its disparities — in religion, in culture, in economic status. The beautiful and the ugly are always not too far away. With… Read more »
Central Asia
Varya and friends Claudia, Janet and Judy, begin their journey in Istanbul, the crossroads between Europe and Asia, and then travel onto Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, exploring some of the great… Read more »
The Great Falls
Today we take an all-day tour from Kasane in Botswana to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, one of the great natural wonders of the world. The border checkpoint on the road… Read more »
Chobe Highlights
Loud animal screams of pain and outrage tear through my tent in the middle of the night. Three or four times, separated by a few minutes each, I hear these… Read more »
Lions and Zebras and Owls, Oh My!
The most common image of Africa is the mighty maned lion. From the stone sentinels of the 42nd street library in New York to MGM studios’ opening roar, the lion… Read more »
Khwai in the Okavango
Some people think of Africa as a continent populated by dark skinned people who have adapted to living in a very hot climate. They have not been to Southern Africa… Read more »
Madikwe & Gaborone
African safaris as described in books and stories when I was young are not what can be experienced today. For a good reason. The open plains and forests where the… Read more »