Author Archives: rietveld

‘Kusewera’ Malawi, Africa

I remember when Karen Osborn embarked on her first journey to the Mtendere village in Malawi in 2008, and I remember how incredibly moved she was when she returned. She is a good friend of mine of ten years and … Continue reading

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“We made it!” Athens and Prague

This gallery contains 105 photos.

After almost 6 weeks of traveling, the 2 of us were like a well-oiled machine and proved to be quite the team in Athens. Having only 2 hours to find a room and see the Acropolis before sunset would not … Continue reading

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‘The shot’ Santorini, Greece

When you picture Greece and the quintessential shot with white washed walls, steep cliff drop offs, crystal blue water, you end up in Santorini, specifically Oia, in the north of the island. We only had 2 days here since we … Continue reading

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‘Sweet Simeon’ Kalymnos, Greece

When people told us about island hopping in Greece and Turkey they made it sound like there were ferries and catamarans and speedboats galore. Ferries, yes, speedboats no, and a convenient schedule, that would also be a no. To get … Continue reading

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‘Aliki and Simeon’ Kastelorizo, Greece

Waiting for the morning ferry to Kastelerizo, a 20 min. ride from Kas, Turkey, we ran into an older Australian couple that seemed to have done a lot of research on this island. Seeing our backpacks, they wasted no time … Continue reading

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‘Turkey’s last leg’ Kekova and Kas,Turkey

We were told we had to hire a direct bus to Kekova if we didn’t want to spend a whole day mucking around waiting for minibuses and taxies. Kekova is off the beaten path and supposedly not an easy place … Continue reading

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‘The Climber’s Garden’ Geyikbayiri and Olympus,Turkey

It was the 9 hour overnight bus for us from Cappadoccia to Antalya since the flights took more than 4 hours having to make a stop in Istanbul. Simon was told by Amid that the busses in Turkey were super … Continue reading

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“Tamam!” Cappadoccia, Turkey

Going back to the compromise moment of Istanbul, we took an airport shuttle to the airport per Simon and made no arrangements for Cappadoccia per me. I insisted on taking local transport and not booking an accommodation wherein the hotel … Continue reading

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“She’s like a bottle of water, when you’re thirsty you just drink…” Istanbul, Turkey

“Whatever you do, please don’t go to Egypt or Turkey!” Those were a few of the messages left on my cellphone a couple of days before we left, a little on the late side since our flights were already booked … Continue reading

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“Close your eyes, run and look to Allah!” Luxor and Cairo, Egypt

Standing on a busy intersection looking a bit overwhelmed, this Egyptian man walked up behind us and said, “Close your eyes, run across the street and look to Allah!” Then he grabbed my hand, as I quickly grabbed Simon’s and … Continue reading

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