In the third part of our Kumano Kodo hike we visit the Kii-Kaatsura tuna auction, we have a picnic at Nachisan’s pagoda, and we attend a fire ceremony in Koyasan.
Hiking the Kumano Kodo, Japan: Kii-Kaatsura, Nachisan, Koyasan
Hiking the Kumano Kodo, Japan: Hongu to Koguchi
In the second part of our Kumano Kodo hike, we visit the Hongu grand shrine, and we hike to a village called Koguchi. We then walk a coastal section of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail.
Hiking the Kumano Kodo, Japan: Takijiri to Hongu
In the first part of our Kumano Kodo hike, we walk through mile after mile of cypress forests. We get great views of the mountains at a village called Takahara, and we stay at a beautiful house called Happiness Chikatsuyu.
Hiking Isle of Anglesey: Aberffraw to Holyhead
In fifth and final part of our hike around Anglesey we visit the west coast of the island. We hike across spectacular headlands, pretty beaches, and we get a private airshow by the RAF Red Arrows. On our last day we hike across Holyhead Mountain, high above the clouds.
Hiking Isle of Anglesey: Bangor to Aberffraw
In part four of our hike around Anglesey we stop by a town called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. We hike to Llanddwyn Island where we visit the church of St. Dwynwen, Welsh patron saint of lovers, who had a magical well full of enchanted eels that could tell the fortunes of lovesick pilgrims.
Hiking Isle of Anglesey: Benllech to Bangor
In part three of our Anglesey hike, we hike around Red Wharf Bay estuary, W hike through some pretty rolling hills to Penmon Point. We visit Penmon Priory, and we get chased by a bull on the way to Bangor.
Hiking Isle of Anglesey: Cemaes to Benllech
In part two of our hike around Anglesey we visit a tiny church founded by St. Patrick himself. We spot the dorsal fins of porpoises just offshore. We put in a long day to end up at gigantic Benllech beach.
Hiking Isle of Anglesey: Holyhead to Cemaes
In part one of our Anglesey hike we visit Holyhead, a port town on the Irish Sea. We hike along sandy coves and rocky headlands to Church Bay, where we stay in a loft above a seafood restaurant. We then hike to Cemaes, where we get lost in a nuclear power plant.
Hiking a section of the Rota Vicentina, Portugal
Imagine a red-rock desert with vibrant spring wildflowers at the edge of a deep blue sea. We found just this along the Vicentine Coast of southern Portugal, a stretch of coastline spared from development. We stumbled upon this hike rather by accident.
Davit-Gareja, Georgia
When we traveled from Kakheti back to Tbilisi, we arranged for a sidetrip to Davit-Gareja. Davit-Gareja is a monastery on the Georgia-Azerbajan border. The landscape here looks somewhat like parts of Utah or New Mexico, and as such it is quite different than the areas visited before. Around Telavi and Tbilisi are wooded hills and agricultural lands with vineyards, but here there are extensive grasslands and exposures of reddish sandstone.