GoMad Nomad Travel Mag » Photos

Photo of the Week: Santorini, Greece

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:43:58 +0000

We needed to return our rented moto by 4pm, so we decided to visit Santorini’s white sand beach before leaving the island. However, there were some road signs that just didn’t make sense and we decided to follow any sign that said beach. To our delight, we found ourselves at the red sand beach. We had to park the moto and walk about 10 minutes (over red rocks and stones), but it was well worth it. The blue water and deep red sand was such an unexpected surprise! It was hard to leave the beautiful spot, but we did return the moto and caught our flight away from paradise and back to reality.

Text and photo by Cara Metell

Photo of the Week: Mongolian Roads

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:16:50 +0000

About 15 miles outside of Ulaanbaatar, we made a sharp left turn off the main two-lane highway and started off-roading it in our Russian van south to the Gobi. For another six days we wouldn’t see another paved road.

Part of the attraction of driving to the Gobi was just to be out in the middle of nothingness: no people, no other vehicles, no trees, no roads, no mountains, no camels, a featureless landscape. This is what I had come to see. And I wasn’t disappointed.

Text and photo by Stephen Bugno

Photo of the Week: Virginia Barn

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:06:24 +0000

I drove through Virginia countryside for five hours on my way to Goose Point Recreation area on Philpott Lake, passing scenes like this much of the way. This shot was taken off Route 221 in Floyd County heading north to Roanoke.

I’m fascinated by barns and farm scenes lately—working farms, abandoned barns falling over, the differences in barn architecture as you move from New England to the South, the different ways hay is bundled up for the winter, the amount of hay harvests each region can produce before the winter arrives. This is what I’m thinking about as I wind my way along the roads that skirt the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Text and photo by Stephen Bugno

Photo of the Week: Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua

admin — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:24:44 +0000

Such was the popularity of Anthony that work on the basilica in Padua began immediately after his death in 1231. The site was already attracting pilgrims and it was deemed necessary to raise a proper monument. The exterior was fashioned without a precise architectural style. The elaborate mix of a Romanesque Gothic facade with an eight-domed Byzantine roof and several small belfries give it an eastern look.

St. Anthony was beatified by Pope Gregory IX less than one year after his death. Thirty-two years later the immense Basilica was completed, and the time had come to transfer the body to its new resting place. When the sarcophagus was opened, the body had turned to dust while the saint’s tongue was found miraculously intact and red in color.

Today in the Baroque Chapel of Relics, in the apse at the back of the church, you can see the actual tongue presented in a gold reliquary. Also on display are the saint’s jaw bone and vocal chords.

Text and photo by Stephen Bugno

Photo of the Week: Beirut’s Corniche

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 02:32:36 +0000

A visit to Beirut is not complete without a long stroll along the Corniche. Walk for hours past others out for a leisurely walk, men fishing, kids swimming, teenagers smoking shisha in between cliff dives, and women sunbathing on the sand. All before catching a sunset high on the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean.

Beirutis continue to live and love life despite a recent history of much violence. It seems like everywhere you go there’s a building that’s been bombed out, a bridge that’s been blown up or a local telling you that this is the spot where a politician was assassinated.

Text and photo by Stephen Bugno

Photo of the Week: Beach near Olympos, Turkey

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 12:23:23 +0000

After a vomit-inducing hydrofoil ride from North Cyprus, we docked at Alanya, Turkey—a big city filled with Scandinavian and Russian package tourists. From there we went an hour west to the little town of Side, which was even more densely packed with European package vacationers. From there we moved on to the Lycian coast to the anti-Side resort: Olympos.

We found this ghetto of independent travelers to be as equally annoying as places like Side. However, the great beach in an incredibly beautiful setting made up for the lack of Turkishness, expense, and loud, drunken nineteen year-olds crawling in and out of every treehouse hostel.

Turned off by the whole Olympos scene, we walked 3km north on the beach to the quiet village of Çıralı where we camped alongside Turkish families and enjoyed two days in the sun and sea.

Text and photo by Stephen Bugno

Why I love Cajamarca

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:04:10 +0000

A Photo Essay of Cajamarca, Peru

By Danielle Krautmann

Charlie and I just got back from a long weekend in Cajamarca, where we celebrated my husband’s 30th birthday. Cajamarca is the city nearest to Cerro Corona, the mine where Charlie works, which is about a tw0-hour drive from the city. Although Charlie knew he liked Cajamarca, he had never spent much time in the actual town as he’s usually only there for an hour or two between arriving at the airport and going to the mine. I met Charlie there on a Thursday, and from the moment my plane landed in the middle of the cow field, I fell in love with the place. Being surrounded by trees, mountains, and green farmlands was just the start of it. One of my favorite things was being able to walk around without hearing the whistles, kissing noises, and disrespectful comments from Los Hombres. It is far safer than Lima.

Cajamarca does not attract many international tourists. One day while we were walking around in town, Charlie started laughing, when I asked him why he pointed out a group of women who were staring at me like I was an alien from outer space. The lack of tourism may be one of the reasons there are less “predators” looking for gringos to take advantage of…there’s just not a market for this type of work there. The tourists that do go to Cajamarca are mostly Peruvian tourists. Perfect, very few gringos and enough of a tourist market to necessitate several tour companies centered around the central plaza. We took three different trips with the same company to see some of the areas outside the city. The prices were extremely reasonable, the groups were small, and the tours were in Spanish.

I have never fallen in love with a place as I did this past vacation. Charlie and I are investigating the possibility of moving there. We felt it suited us more than the big city. Although we would no longer be able to eat in fancy restaurants, take Spanish lessons, or go to Starbucks, we feel prepared to leave behind the conveniences of a city. The possibility of hiking and camping on the weekends, and trail running rather than on cement makes it far more appealing.

Cajamarca

Population: 135,000

Elevation: 8858 feet above sea level.

Flight time from Lima: 1 hour

Location: Northern Highlands. Bordered to the north by Ecuador, and to the south with La Libertad Amazonas. Three miles away is the smaller town, Banos Del Inca, where we stayed for two nights.

Climate: Dry and sunny. The average temp is 58 degrees.

Economic Activities: Livestock and Agriculture, and in recent years, Mining. The American-run Yanacocha gold mine is located less than an hour from the city. It’s the second largest gold mine in the world producing $7 billion worth of gold to date.

Historical Significance: Atahualpa, the last living ruler of the Incas was captured and killed there by the Spanish Conquistadors (more on that later).

My first day there, we went with a guide into Cumbe Mayo, about 20 km from the city. We had a beautiful two-hour hike through a series of natural rock formations that were said to have looked in the shapes of animals, pyramids, and other various objects.

The scenery was gorgeous and it felt great to be outdoors hiking.

We learned that name comes from the Quechua Kumpi Mayo, which means “well-made water channel.” We viewed the 9 kilometers of aqueducts that were carved more than 2000 years ago by pre-Inca civilizations. They were carved smoothly into the rock, making perfectly right angles as they zig-zagged their way through the valley.

Hacienda la Colpa is a working cattle ranch we visited on our second day. With all of the livestock in the surrounding areas, Cajamarca has some of the best cheese in all of Peru. Charlie makes sure to bring some back with him when he returns from a stint at the mine.

This farm is famous because the rancher can call each cattle by their name. They in turn go to their own individual stalls. Claudia, the calf was one stall off, but quickly corrected herself.

After visiting the farm we proceeded to a trail head from which we hiked to see two beautiful waterfalls. On the way there, we wondered where Jesus was. Fortunately we saw a sign to help us find him. And you thought he was dead!

As you can see, thee water was coming down strong and splashing on my camera!

Our third day, we visited Granja Porcon. This is a successful cooperative that houses 53 families who all contribute and take stock in the exports of the farm. Since they don’t allow new members into the coop, marrying between families is encouraged and common. Incest is best! I had a dream once that mom made me marry my brother. Gross! No offense, Brent. Members recently decided to allow tourists to visit, and added a zoo and small 10-room hotel to their community. The drive there took us through beautiful wooded forests. We drooled over the idea of taking backpacking (trekking) trips through them. Apparently getting a permit to camp in that area is fairly simple.

On the bus ride there, we stopped to see the work of some stone carvers in the area. In this photo, Charlie is standing in front of the Inca leader Atahualpa. Cajamarca has historical significance because its essentially where the Incan empire ended. In 1952, Francesco Pizarro’s 160 Spanish troops armed with cannons and swords slaughtered 7000 Indiginous people who’s slings and axes were no match. The Spaniards captured Atahualpa and held him for a ransom for more than a year. What the Spanish sought was gold, and soon hoards of it began coming in. Indiginous artifacts and ornaments were melted down to 6000kg of gold and 12,000 kg of silver that would now be worth more than $60 Million US dollars. Despite the ransom, after learning that Atahualpa was sending for help from his followers in Quito, they killed him by strangulation. That wasn’t very nice.

We saw women carrying bundles of wood and digging trenches. I would be curious to know what the men do to pull their weight.

One of the most valuable exports from the farm is Vicunya wool. Vicunyas are wild relatives of alpacas and their fur is sold for $500 US dollars per kilo.

We visited a shop in the coop where the women wove beautiful rugs and blankets on looms. They use yarn that they make themselves from sheep wool. Most of the yarn is colored with natural ingredients from plants and insects.

The zoo housed a surprising variety of animals including an enormous condor, a Puma, the Speckled Bear (only bear native to South America), Jaguars from the jungle of Peru, and the adorable little Peruvian deer that about a third the size of the deer we’re used to seeing in the States.

We were encouraged to feed bread to the bear, who opened his mouth and waited for you to throw it in, and the monkey who reached out through his fence to take the bread from our hands!

This is the local fire department in Banos Del Inca. Complete with cows walking through the field.

The fruit market is enormous and goes up and down both sides of a long street. Cajamarca’s proximity to the jungle provides them with a large variety of fruits and vegetables.

Here is Charlie standing in front of a woman selling Mamey and Pacae. Two fruits from the jungle. Mamey (not your Mamey) is the one that looks like a potato. The inside is bright orange, and it has a sweet flavor and peach like consistency. The Pacae is the green bean looking plant. It has large seeds inside that are covered with a white fleshy substance. You eat the sweet flesh, not the bean.

This is a woman breastfeeding while she’s selling different varieties of rice and grains. Cajamarca got its first large grocery store “Metro” a couple years ago. Before that, I think the majority of people used markets and small stores to get their food.

An outdoor “restaurant” that we ate at. I had stuffed hen, Charlie ate curried pork. Both were served with rice and beans. The clothing you see this woman wearing is the typical dress of the campesinos (peasants). In the city of Cajamarca, you see plenty of people dressed in typical jeans and t-shirts just as often. But once you get into the mountains, most of the women are dressed in these wool skirts with petticoats and bright colored sweaters, always with their hair tied back in a long braid. Their wide-brimmed hats are made from a very fine fiber from the palm tree and serve multiple purposes. Other than keeping the sun out of their eyes, they use the hats to measure the good they trade. For example, “I will trade you a half hat of rice for a full hat of beans.”

If we had ordered chicken, it would have been fresh! These poor chickens were awaiting their demise.

I think I belong here.

Photo of the Week: Porto Old City View

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:39:03 +0000

One of my favorite views of probably my favorite city of its size in all of Europe, Porto, Portugal is a city I would visit again and again.

Despite the many tourist friendly activities in the city, I somehow avoided most of them and just spent most of my five days wandering through the maze of cobbled streets, admiring the architecture, socializing with university students, staying up until daylight gaining an appreciation to the city’s authentic vibe.

This shot, looking out over the rooftops of Old Porto was taken from the Sé do Porto, the Porto Cathedral, which stands on a rocky outcrop above the city.

Text and photo by Stephen Bugno

Photo of the Week: Mumbai Victoria Terminus

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:45:29 +0000

One of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen, the Mumbai Victoria Terminus train station stands as a glorious testament to 19^th century architecture in this city of nearly 14 million people. It has been renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

The famous landmark, built in the Gothic style, was designed by Frederick William Stevens, in 1887-1888 and took 10 years to build.

As we approached the station by foot we crossed through a huge park, weaving our way in and around several pickup cricket matches.

Text and photo by Stephen Bugno

Photo of the Week: Vineyards of St. Émilion

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:10:15 +0000

On a Sunday afternoon my brother and his coworkers and I took a trip 35 km out of Bordeaux to the vineyards surrounding Saint- Émilion. The village, now a World Heritage site, was overrun with day-trippers (like us), souvenir shops, and wine stores. An easy five-minute stroll in one direction landed me in a quiet street with no signs of tourism and great views of the beautiful town and surrounding vineyards.

We toured and tasted at one of the many wineries on the outside of town and took a walking tour through the historic sites, most notably the hermitage carved into the rock of the 8^th century monk and travelling confessor, Émilion. The monks who followed him started up the commercial wine production in the area.

Before leaving, we visited a huge church carved into the limestone cliff which was reminiscent of the churches I had seen in Cappadocia, Turkey, the previous year.

Text and photo by Stephen Bugno