Coatepec & Xico, Veracruz

Coatepec & Xico, Veracruz

Coatepec & Xico are two pueblo magicos (designated tourist towns) that can both be visited in a daytrip from Xalapa, Veracruz. This area was the first to start growing coffee in Mexico and continues to produce it to this day. I recommend enjoying some local coffee...
Xalapa, Veracruz

Xalapa, Veracruz

It was time for another adventure. International travel restrictions simplified the process of choosing where. Mexico! Not only because it was open with little to no restrictions but also because Mexico, my first Latin American country (3 years ago), has a special...
Back Home for the Pandy

Back Home for the Pandy

Sometime the world tells you to slow down and spend time with your friends and family. 2020 was one of those times. Being back home felt like putting on an old favorite sweater, it felt right, like it always had. Some of my friends were also back in town. Why not go...
Southern Bulgaria

Southern Bulgaria

Despite the fact that Turkey had little to no cases of this new Coronavirus, it seemed like everyone was talking about it. Even though I don’t speak Turkish, I would hear the name of the virus mentioned in conversations between men over tea and on CNN Turkey in...
Turkey’s Black Sea Region

Turkey’s Black Sea Region

Central (Anatolian) Turkey was snowy with a side of windy. It was a relief when I summited that final mountain that brought me into the country’s Black Sea Region. Things went from freezing to mid 20s (celsius). With the warmer weather came the greenery of this...