Solo travels and hiking adventures

Azores – My Green Escape Into the Atlantic Introduction: Falling in Love with the Azores Back in mid-September last year, I spent 8 soul-filling days exploring the Azores — a group of European islands hugging the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km from mainland Portugal. I based myself on the main island, São Miguel, and also hopped on a small plane to Flores and its little volcanic brother, Corvo — the westernmost points of Europe. Other islands? I skipped them. My mission was simple: walk as much as possible and get lost in nature. No cities, no museums, no “checklists”. Just earth, sky, and green. And oh boy — the green ! A full-on botanical opium hit. It felt like Jurassic Park minus the dinosaurs — unless you count the happy cows grazing peacefully on hills, all black or black-and-white. Monsteras, alocasias, and rubber trees grow here like regular weeds, and in giant sizes. You’ll find banana and pineapple plantations too. If you ever try a freshly cut Azorean pineapple, brace y...

Why Georgia ? "Scared of wide open spaces..." – How one song lyric pushed me to the Caucasus In the days leading up to this trip, I kept thinking of a line from a song that goes: " But I’d really like to make it to Rostov or maybe Georgia. I’m scared of so much open space—what if I lose my illusions somewhere along the way... " And I thought, well, why not see Georgia for myself? I'd get the chance to see part of the Caucasus (and I’m a huge mountain lover), visit a super remote village called Ushguli, and it seemed like a budget-friendly destination—perfect for solo travel. Plus, since I’m from Virovitica, the same song kept hyping me up with the line: "There’s no pressure in Virovitica, everyone lives like hippies." So I dove into research, planning, and buying tickets. I travelled in early May (which turned out not to be the best time for the mountains), and the trip lasted 9 days—7 full days in Georgia, and 2 lost to flights. I landed in Tbilisi a...

I've been traveling solo for as long as I can remember. I'm the type of traveler who likes to wake up early and be on the trail all day. I avoid classic tourist traps, like organized tours with lunches included, and I organize and do everything by myself. What I like most is exploring nature, historical sites, and hiking trails. I avoid cities, famous museums, churches, waiting in lines, etc. I don't think I'm special or brave about it. I travel this way because it comes naturally to me, because that's who I am.  So, in April I went on a 6-day solo trip to Cappadocia, the region of Turkey best known for hot air balloons. I didn't go because of the hot air balloons, I only saw them on the last day and I didn't fly in any of them.  The goal of this trip was to explore some of the valleys (and there is plenty of them), and I chose a total of 7, which are actually the most visited. On average, I hiked about 10 km a day. Cappadocia is actually a small region and ...