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Valkala Is My New Valhalla, India
We headed for Valkala, Kerala, after being interned in the Shivandanda Ashram over Christmas and to my utter joy, I found my future stomping grounds. Valkala beach is broken into two parts. North Cliff is busy and crazy, while South Cliff is a little busy in the center and peaceful elsewhere. Backstory Once upon a
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Shivananda Ashram Isolation, Kerala, India
The Shivananda Ashram is actually why we visited India in December, and not just for the sun and fun escape from Northern Europe’s dreadful winter. Sure we wanted to spend Christmas in the sun but also with a touch of spiritualism. The surprise was that Kerala is a very Christian state and that the ashram
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Marari Beach Life, Kerala, India
This post is about how to escape from the cold, grey, winter months in Northern Europe via Marari Beach, Kerala, India. It takes place in December and early January. Let’s begin with my general observation. The Christmas holidays in Kerala are quite busy (the state was converted to Christianity by the disciple Thomas in AD
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Lachmi Hills Hike in Munnar, Kerala, India
Nestled in the picturesque landscape of Munnar, Kerala, the Lachmi Hills trek offers an unforgettable half-day hiking experience. While my initial plan was to ascend Anamudi—the highest peak in Southern India at 2,695 meters—closure by the Forestry Service redirected my adventures to the accessible Meesapulimala, the region’s second highest peak at 2,640 meters. However, updates
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Summiting the Highest Mountain in the Netherlands
This post is about my “summit” of the highest mountain in the Netherlands — and yes, many people would call it a hill (including the folks at Cicerone’s High Points of Europe). The mighty peak in question is the Vaalserberg, topping out at 322.4 m (1,058 ft) above sea level near the town of Vaals.
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Warmshowers Hosting Season 2025 Croatia
Last summer in Croatia, I decided to become a Warmshowers.org bikepacking host at my island house (think couchsurfing, but specifically for bikepackers). I also prepared two inherited plots of land along EuroVelo Route 8 as simple campsites—one seaside, one on Vransko Jezero Lake. Once I published the listings, the requests came flooding in. Since my
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Lessons of Bikepacking with an E-bike From Siena to Vatican City, Italy
This is a quick post to discuss my lessons from a 4-day e-bike ride from Siena to the Vatican City. My normal bikepacking approach is to use a regular gravel push bike and wild camp with my own gear most of the time. But using an e-bike changed the rules. Firstly, I bikepack with a
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Bikepacking the Vransko Jezero Lake, Croatia
This is a two-day bikepacking initiation ride around the inland lake called Vransko Jezero in Dalmatia, Croatia. I did it in the extreme heat of August with my grandson, Nikko. It can actually be done in a day, but I wanted to include a night of wild camping (free camping) so that we covered all
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Pontassieve to Firenze Day Hike, Tuscany
This post is about a simple Pontassieve to Firenze Day Hike using the regional train system in Italy. It all started a while ago when I discovered that I could put my bicycle on any regional train, commute to a distant local for a tiny fee and then ride my bicycle back to my starting
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Hike to Turtle Lake From Solalaki, Tbilisi, Georgia
Surprisingly, the capital city of the Republic of Georgia has an exceptional forest hike to Turtle Lake from Solalaki. Yes I noticed that the city is spread out in different directions within valleys (hence the 4 cable car circuits) but it didn’t actually click that the tops of the cable car runs would host forest