Kalilandia

Santa Theresa Santa Theresa is one of the several party destinations in Costa Rica. We are ready for some "loco fiestas" but we are up for a surprise.  Moon landscapes  Already driving from Samara, we figure that roads are getting worse and worse the more south we go, but when we approach Santa Theresa, and even worse - when we enter into the little Pacific village - we are in disbelief with the moon landscapes on the roads (I must have been too shocked as I have not a single photo of that memorable view). The car is jumping and sinking at every meter, there is not a sign of asphalt - only dirt, which goes through every little hole in the car, all around the air. Some people have given up cars and have jumped on the scooters, wrapped in scarves in order to be able to breath.  As adventurous as it is, and being one of the most recommended destinations on the Pacific coast, we still cannot get the concept and charm of breathing dirt while on holiday. Santa T...

My first encounter with this majestic mountain range, the Blue mountains, starts with the Wentworth park. But why so Blue? The mountains are completely covered in eucalyptus trees, which emit this mystical blue-colored haze that can only be noticed in the distance, hence, giving the name of the Blue mountains. The eucalyptus smell splashes feelings of bliss all over me and makes me fall in love with every breath I take. Equally magical, eucalyptus trees are the natural habitat of the Australian koalas, although we unfortunately do not spot any on the way. It is a heavenly experience as we walk to the Wentworth waterfalls. The plants and flowers in the Wentworth Bush (the Bush concept explained earlier in the post on Airlie Beach - where entertainment is provided by the nature ) are nothing I have ever seen before in my life. I feel as if I am in a sci-fi movie scene, where someone has played with their imagination big time to create such unimaginable vegetation, but what is ...

Bagan, possibly the most sacred place in Myanmar, and one of the most known in the Buddhist world. It is usually advised to take an e-bike (scooter) to ride across the temples, but I feel so intimidated by the traffic, and the constant honking and illogical movement. So, I take the "brilliant" decision that I will WALK from Nyaung U to Bagan (it's just over 5km, without all deviations, and probably 10km with all temple drifts). Later I will bitterly regret, when I will need to find the most random kinds of transportation any time I need to move - from a horse carriage (!), through an open-air van for workers (!?)...to the back of the scooter of some poor kid (!!?). I am literally the only lame duck walking on the road. At some point I wonder if I am on the right way and where are ALL these temples when suddenly they start erupting from everywhere. There are over 2200 temples in Bagan and one could hardly imagine what that means unless they really see it with ...

I must admit I have not been drawn to street art like that before, or perhaps I haven't been able to fully appreciate it. Hence, the exhibit of the artwork of Banksy in Antwerp was quite eye-opening and a complete discovery for me. Banksy is a British-based anonymous street artist and a political activist of unverified identity. In the very beginning I found some his works a little too eccentric and I am being very careful with what social activists are preaching for as very often I find they do it for the sole purpose of either feeling good about themselves or to gain a certain social status. At the same time, they can attract masses of people and create massive hype and attention. It might be that their causes and approaches are simply not talking to me based on my own convictions. Clearly that's why we fight for freedom of expression but yet we are all responsible for maintaining a level of critical view, which is the only instrument to filter non-sense and alternative fa...