As if the summit of volcano Merapi wasn’t enough, this time our man went to Tambora. When it erupted in 1815, that rascal plunged our world into Year Without Summer. And no, an extra jacket did not suffice.
Continue Reading →Tag: volcano love
Day tripping in the Ring of Fire (1): on top of Merapi, the most active volcano in the world
Indonesia is dangerously beautiful. Not only can you find 20 per cent of Earth’s biodiversity in this country, but also the highest number of active volcanoes. We decided to climb the most active of them all. “Merapi is an asshole, but a friendly one.”
Continue Reading →Fire in the belly: about falling in love on top of an active volcano
Is there a better place to experience a turning point than the top of a mountain?
For those with a decided lack of talent for rhetoric, the ones who immediately want to denounce that you may as well experience such turning point on the platform of a train station, or seated down on a toilet: the answer is, of course, no.
Continue Reading →9 Things to do in and around Xela, Guatemala
Xela has it – the city surprises people and attracts them to stay longer. Its architecture is grand, and life is bustling and exciting.
Chances are that, when you first arrive here from other parts of Guatemala or Belize, all you want to do is walk around and suck it all in. And walking in the city is excellent, every turn leads to a new square or a building that you didn’t even think could exist anywhere in Guatemala.
There are quiet little parks with a couple of benches to enjoy the sunshine, a theatre and big city squares that remind you of a mini Times Square. At least, if you have been away from big cities for a while. In the evenings it’s all lit up, and during the daytime, magnificent blue volcanoes frame the town. Continue Reading →
Climbing Tajumulco, Central America’s highest mountain
The young Dutch woman in our group plops down on a set of rocks next to the ninth station of the cross, titled Jesus falls for the third time. She huffs, puffs and curses everything, including herself. “Fuck, I should stop smoking! I can’t do it any more. How much further is it?” I’m too focused on my own breathing to experience any Schadenfreude. O wait, did I say breathing? Desperate gasps for air describes it more accurately. Continue Reading →