a travel blog by renata green
Located about halfway between the Cretan capital of Heraklion and the glorious coast town of Chania, idyllic Rethymno is kind of a smaller version of the latter: The same historic old town, a Venetian harbor, picturesque alleys, and fascinating Ottoman heritage make Crete’s third-largest city one of the most popular destinations for vacationers. But due to its favorable location, Rethymno is also the ideal place for a lovely day trip.
Since, after almost an entire week in Tenerife, I hadn’t been to the beach, I urgently needed to add some lazy hours of sweet nothing. After having explored the island’s northern hinterland, I really didn’t feel like letting the tourist ghettos on the south coast put an ugly stain on the positive’n’pure impression Tenerife had made. Fortunately, the wind blew me to a small surfer town on the east coast, and although I’m not a surfer, El Medano, with its beautiful coastline, laid-back atmosphere, and great fish restaurants, actually did blow my mind.
Ubud, in many ways the center of Bali, welcomes visitors with great culture, some fascinating tradition – and even some monkey business.
Candelaria is a town on the eastern coast of Tenerife and, for devoted Catholics, mainly a place of adoration of the Canarian patron, the Virgin of Candelaria, but it has already been the cradle of the indigenous Guanches and part of their Kingdom of Güímar thousands of years ago.
You see, this charming town looks back at so much amazing history, and I’m happy to introduce this beautiful yet often overlooked place in this post.
This Way to the Whole Story ->Instead of being Brazil’s rough and tough bad boy, Rio de Janeiro could be the most beautiful city on the planet. There are the ocean, the beaches, the hills, the vegetation, the views….I could go on and on.
But then there is the poverty, the violence, the hopelessness, the corruption, the dirt….I could go on and on.
And I do. In this refined guide to a rough city.
Just a stone-throw north of the infamous tourist hotspot Kuta, Legian Beach offers many chilled beach bars, overwhelming sunsets, and the most scenic spot to surf.
So let your hair down and let it fly in the soft breeze blowing from the Indian Ocean.
This Way to the Whole Story ->Way back in Tenerife’s early years of tourism, the former fishing village Puerto de la Cruz was apparently destined to become this major mass tourism resort. Sadly, in some spots, merciless planners succeeded so that the town has to endure some of those horrific, soulless high-rising prefab buildings. But as mass tourism finally moved mostly to the south coast, Puerto de la Cruz got somehow stuck between its old charm and the ugly remains from the second half of the 20th century. It remained in a peculiar limbo between idyllic beaches and striking urban art. There is the old and the new, the borrowed and the blue – all in all, Puerto de la Cruz is a place of many contrasts, which makes it the perfect base on Tenerife’s northern coast.
Instead of joining the tourist crowds on large beaches, are you looking for small bays to swim’n’sunbathe? Do you prefer to enjoy local cuisine and homemade wine in a small tavern over wild party nights? Would you like to be enchanted by picturesque mountain ridges and dense, fairytale-like forests?
Then, I have the perfect place for you: A bit over 20 kilometers north of the capital Santa Cruz, Tenerife keeps one of its greatest treasures, namely the mountain village of Taganana – a place over the hills and far away.
Here comes a guide to Paracas which is actually only a short promenade along the shore. However, it’s a great gateway to natural treasures like the Islas Ballestas, Peru’s Galapagos Islands.
Every morning, the tour boats leave the village and show the visitors the undisturbed wildlife on these rocks. Sea lions, flocks of different birds, and even groups of penguins are greeting from the shores.
This Way to the Whole Story ->