TRAVEL

PACKING FOR ACTIVE ADVENTURES

PACKING FOR ACTIVE ADVENTURES

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WHAT LUGGAGE TO BUY

This year I went on a sailing adventure around the Caribbean and British Virgin Islands. From my research it was key to have a large, waterproof suitcase that could easily be flattened and stored away during the trip. There is not much room on a yacht, so one must be very practical with their packing.

I was tempted with the North Face duffel bags that look so stylish. My sister has them but advised me against them as they are heavy to carry on your back and she would prefer a wheely suitcase. When I looked into the price, I thought it was silly to pay such a premium for something which may put my back out.

I continued to research, in the hope to find a similar but cheaper option. I wanted a 90L waterproof duffel to fit all of my things in as I was going for 45 days and this seemed a decent size. This is when I stumbled upon these Kandoo Adventure 90L Duffel Bags.


My colleague went for orange and I went for the more subtle black colour. At one third of the price of a North Face bag, we were laughing. I checked out the Kandoo website before I bought the bag, only to find that they are an adventure holiday organisation. Reading the reviews, I found that their customers had used these duffel’s on adventure treks in Nepal! Perfect I thought. The only thing that I could change is adding some wheels to the bottom of the bag as it does get a bit heavy on your back after a while.

  • All of my luggage for 45 days fit in
  • The bag remained waterproof despite being at sea in a room with leaky windows
  • The black colour ensure that the bag still looked clean even after numerous flights
  • The bag was comfy enough to wear on your back with the rucksack straps but I would recommend getting some better hiking straps for serious treks
  • The reviews on Amazon are all fantastic
  • These bags get used for adventure treks all over the world


Step out of your comfort zones and push your normal limits

You should definitely check out Kandoo adventures website if you are an adventurer like we are here at The Wild Co. Kandoo specialise in making challenging destinations accessible to every fit, weekend trekker.  Some of their tours include climbing Kilimanjaro, trekking to Everest base camp or visiting the iconic ruins at Machu Picchu. Kandoo  help you create an adventure that will become a lifelong memory.

NEW YORK IN HOURS

NEW YORK IN HOURS

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I wouldn’t recommend sleep deprivation but would always advocate adventure!

Our flight from London to Martinique included a very welcomed stopover in New York for the night. We had a hotel booked for us, but my friend Justin and I both agreed that we wouldn’t be sleeping. Neither of us had been to NYC before and I had never been to the USA at all so we were keen to explore.

We left our airport hotel to catch bus Q6 to Manhattan, as that’s where a lot of the attractions are. It was humid and neither of us bought a jacket despite my boyfriend checking the weather and reminding me (from the U.K.) that it would be raining that evening. And, as the weather report stated, it started to rain; we were so eager to get to Manhattan that we regretfully did not run back for our waterproofs.

Following the Q6 bus ride, we rode the subway into Manhattan where we saw the Empire State Building surrounded in city smog. We tried to go up it but were not able to after midnight, so we got a few snaps and headed to Times Square.

Just as I had heard about, steam oozed out of the drains creating white clouds trailing up to the towering skyscrapers. We took the classic NYC shot of blurred yellow cabs in front of the Hard Rock Café but the rain was really picking up at this point and time was of the essence, so we continued on our mission to see as much as possible of NYC before getting back to the airport for breakfast.

We wanted to get to the Rockefeller centre because you can go up to the 70th floor where there is a 350-degree city view, but that too was closed after midnight, so we ambled down to ground zero where the 911 attack took place. Of course, ground zero has been turned into a money making museum (which was closed) and the two buildings sites were cordoned off with security officers on standby. Thus we didn’t really get the full experience. I have read some interesting and controversial conspiracy theories around 911 so I was keen to see how the disaster was portrayed to the public in the museum and I was curious as to what they had to exhibit.

I had expected ‘ground zero’ to feel eerie, especially in the early hours of the morning where there were few people around except a handful of solo workers etching names into some metal work. It was a huge shame to have such a small exposure to ground zero as I find the whole catastrophe and surrounding media fascinating, especially as my mother was there just a week before the attack! In my eagerness to see more, I snuck under the barrier to peer down the hole where one of the buildings used to be. All I could see were a few workers wading around in a pool of water, unless they were ghosts, which would make the whole affair a lot more eerie!

Our dreams of drinks and a bite on a beautiful terraced roof bar overlooking the city were abolished as we first arrived in Manhattan, realising that not much was open and there was nothing that remotely resembled what we were after. After refusing the nondescript plane-food hours earlier we were starving, and if we were to see the Statue of Liberty, we would have at least another three hours to go. We resorted to street food from the only place that was open, Justin had a philly steak wrap and I had a slice of pizza (Oh, so The Wild Co…)!

Refuelled, we walked through the constant city noise from roadwork’s and beeping cars down to the ferry port to catch a free ferryboat which goes past the Statue of Liberty on its way to Staten Island. I was amazed that transport in NYC runs all night and that the ferry was free; I subsequently discovered that it was free in order to encourage New Yorkers to inhabit to the Island. It was dark and very foggy as we chugged across to the island and, frustratingly, visibility was extremely poor. We did manage to catch a glimpse of The Statue of Liberty, which was far in the distance (it is a lot smaller than you would imagine). Sadly, you can barely make it out in any of the photographs we took. But, at least we could tick it off the list!

We then managed to find our way back to the hotel which took a very long time, lots of waiting around, transportation issues and we were beginning to feel delirious after being awake for so many hours. I kept nodding off on the subway and a shot of adrenaline would shock me awake again. My very short impression of NYC was that there is not much nature or greenery (no wonder Central Park is such a hit in the summer – it’s the only green space!).

Sadly, I didn’t get to speak to too many locals but the bus drivers were both very friendly and one didn’t even charge us! Transport is great – runs all night; there is plenty to see in Manhattan and other unexplored (by me) areas too! We enjoyed taking photos and exploring  a new citySome advice: download the NYC map on google maps before you arrive; expect a lot of poverty (maybe this was more noticeable through the night); expect to smell urine and see rats on the grotty underground. If I were to go back, I would spend a few days there ( our trip really was very rushed), probably in December over Christmas time. I didn’t love it and I am in no rush to go back but my experience was very limited! I love exploring, the street buzz, the lights and being on a new continent! I am very happy I stayed up and got to see some of the famous sites and explore another city on our incredible planet. I wouldn’t recommend sleep deprivation but would always advocate adventure!

 

 

MARTINIQUE – CARIBBEAN SAILING

MARTINIQUE – CARIBBEAN SAILING

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After three days of travelling, two different hotels, and three cities: Bristol, London and New York in 24 hours we finally arrived in Martinique where (we hoped) the Lagoon 52 catamaran was moored. The yacht was not ready for sail despite the purchase being made quite some time ago, so we booked an Air BNB apartment near the marina for a couple of nights.

Martinique is a French colony in the Caribbean. Most people have dark skin and not that many people speak English. It is the island where most boats on a cruise come to refuel, restock etc before they continue on their passage of the British Virgin Islands. It is a very green island and the sand is beautifully light and fine and the sea is warm and salty enough that you can float on top of the gentle waves in a starfish shape without sinking, one of my favourite things to do in the salty sea!

There are palm trees everywhere, and although parts of the Island are quite built up, there are beautiful spots if you go in search of them! Martinique is supposedly one of the least expensive and most prosperous places for essential shopping. Apparently, shops are more sparse and expensive further along our planned voyage, which, of course, means that I have to plan meals, find cubby holes to store food on the yacht and ensure I buy enough so as not to starve the yacht owners whilst keeping up with their every want and need.

I am writing now from the catamaran now, which is still moored up at the marina. It is very warm, not too humid today and very sunny. I awoke at six am to a text message from Georgie (who is five hours ahead in the UK), whilst I was having a nightmare that I was being assassinated! The wake up was rather welcomed as I did not want to die this morning, however, I did not get back to sleep after that. My days at the marina consist of exercise, prepping, cooking and serving breakfast, cleaning, sorting myself: my room, hygiene, washing etc out. Then sometimes there is laundry, food shopping and other requests as well as repairs that need doing.

At mid-day we went for a drink at the local Mango bar, I had mango juice. Then we ambled back, made some couscous (we are on a bread ban today) and made some sandwiches for the owners of the yacht. This is when it gets really hard and you get to kick back and relax which is what I decided to for the first time in a week. I took my pillow, stuck my headphones in my ears and stretched out on the front of the boat across the net above the turquoise water below. The sun was blazing hot, so much so at times that my stomach muscles were contracting as a reflex to the heat (not sure why this happens to me?). And now I’m here. So that’s a day in the life of me for the next month!

It’s not all as easy as my photos would make you believe; today was my ‘day off’ from fitness, but the previous two days I was up at six for long runs, where I beat my personal bests on both days using the app Strava. Yesterday we went to the beach and did lots of swimming and took some beautiful photographs.

Other fun things we have done are snorkelling, diving and taking the yacht’s brand new dinghy on little excursions. It was on the first excursion that we found a secluded beach – we were the only ones there! We pulled up in our dinghy, dragged it up onto the beach so it didn’t float away. It was paradise; white sands, bleach-white driftwood and snorkelling. When snorkelling, we found a family of lobsters clustered under a rock, saw plenty of fish and coral and flew the drone. On another excursion snorkelling with the dive school (free as they messed up our bookings), we went to an even better coral reef and saw lots of fish and coral, had fun exploring underwater (my new favourite hobby)! A few days later when time constraints permitted, we were able to go diving! The captain of the boat is a dive instructor so he was really keen to go and I love the sport so was not staying behind! I was lucky enough to see an octopus and was allowed to dive without any assistance, as the dive school owner agreed I am ‘very comfortable underwater.’ And told me to get my qualifications a.s.a.p! There was no hesitation, ‘sign me up!’

A few days later now, the mast of the yacht has been repaired and we are almost ready to set sail (hopefully tomorrow), so I won’t have much if any Internet to update y’all. I will take tons of pictures and share them with you when I can. Anyway, as much as I’d love to stay and ramble, the suns out and I think my tan needs a top-up!

LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS

LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS

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Upon finishing my fourth and final year at Edinburgh University I decided I needed a BIG holiday. So a friend and I planned a trip to the Philippines, as I’d heard the most amazing things about it. As the Philippines is made up of more than 7,000 islands we were spoilt for choice on places to go and we spent months carefully choosing the two islands we would visit during our three-week stint. We settled on Palawan, known for its stunning beaches, and Bohol for it’s Tarsier Sanctuaries, Chocolate Hills and Loboc River. Here are three of the highlights of my trip:

1. El Nido Beach Hotel – We fell in love with El Nido as soon as we arrived on a tiny plane with 15 other tourists where we were greeted by Filipino women singing in Tagalog. After hearing mixed reviews, I didn’t have high expectations for the hotel. However we were greeted by friendly staff and shown upstairs to a double room with the most amazing views over the bay, the sea scattered with Bankas (Filipino boats) and an unforgettable sunset. The buffet breakfast was perfect and the location was also great – a five minute walk to the centre of the Town. The Wi-Fi wasn’t the strongest (which was a little frustrating when I wasn’t able to access my degree results!), but who needs Wi-Fi on holiday anyway! If you’re in El Nido definitely book a private boat tour around the islands, where a local will take you to a handful of the surrounding islands where you can snorkel, stopping for a delicious barbecue lunch of fresh fish, cooked by the tour guide on the boat. We did two private boat tours – it really was an incredible experience.

2. Tarsier Sanctuary – I think Tarsiers (little furry tree mammals) are some of the cutest I’ve ever come across and can only be found living on the islands of Southeast Asia. With their huge round eyes and disproportionately large feet you want to reach out to cuddle them, however, they are very shy, antisocial creatures and have been known to commit suicide if disturbed by humans! You must be careful as to which ‘sanctuary’ you visit, as some care more about making money than conservation of the cute little things.

3. Swimming with whale sharks (Oslob) – We travelled from Bohol over to Oslob one morning by boat and headed to the Whale Shark Centre. From herew you can get into the sea with the awe-inspiring creatures whilst the locals are feeding them. They are HUGE and can grow up to 12.2 metres and swimming with them was unreal!

 

 

 

 

 

SURPRISE YURT GETAWAY

SURPRISE YURT GETAWAY

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           This valentines day I felt very lucky to be whisked away on a romantic getaway. After a mad rush to get ready in time, pack an over night bag and both bunged up with the flu, Chris and I set off on our mini adventure to the Brecon Beacons.

We stopped off at ‘The Bridge Inn’ for a lovely steak dinner which I thought was a halfway house before we continued to where we were staying. Little did I know that there was a surprise waiting for me in a field outside.

Chris pretended that he needed to get phone signal again and explained that a member of staff had previously shown him where to go. He handed me a torch that she had lent to him. Surprisingly, I hadn’t wondered why there was a large key attached to the keyring.

We trudged through a muddy field, into the trees where it was both raining and dark, all the while I was following this little torch light. “Did she really take you all the way out here to show you where to get signal?” I asked in amazement at her efforts…

As we got closer, I smelt firewood burning and it became apparent that my wish had come true. In front of us a huge yurt sat proudly mounted on a wooden viewing structure hidden in the trees. I have no idea what made Chris chose to book a yurt, but funnily enough, I had actually had a premonition about it earlier that day.

My heart was pounding and adrenaline was running through me, I was in shock and amazement at how lucky I was.
We unlocked the small wooden door and stepped inside.

The wall was lined with fairy lights and lanterns with candles, a chandelier hung from the impressive skylight, there was a futon covered in navajo print blankets and cushions and the log burner crackled as it heated the yurt. A beautiful bed was draped in a mosquito net giving it a four-poster effect which later we would find out was extremely comfortable, cosy and warm!

The whole yurt was decorated in theme – it even contained ‘The woodfire handbook’ and a pair of binoculars.

We sat on the futon by the fire drinking Kraken and telling stories until finally we passed out on the very comfortable bed.

Morning crept in through the skylight and our illness was significantly worse; we looked pretty rough and we could barely move to get up for our ‘included breakfast.’

Somehow, we mustered the energy to make it out of bed and amble over to the farmhouse discovering just how beautiful the setting was – surrounded by nature, birds, sheep and a stream. We were very late for breakfast, but Glyn (the owner of the beautiful set-up) was very friendly and insisted on cooking us a full-english breakfast at his family home BNB.

After finding out that Glynn and Chris had a number of mutual friends and feeling sorry for us, he let us go back to bed and stay well past the ‘check-out time.’

We very slowly accepted that we would have to leave this little paradise and return to reality at some point and finally made it back on the road at 4pm.

Although we were too unwell to go walking the next day, there are some lovely walks in the Black Mountains area, the main attraction is climbing ‘Pen Y Fan.’ We have climbed it before and have friends that go camping trips there, which I would highly recommend.

At this time of year there is snow on the peaks and the scenery is just incredible.

Below: Glyn & his wife Gisela celebrating with their new yurt!

BUDAPEST

BUDAPEST

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I felt very lucky to be taken on a spontaneous trip to Budapest in January 2017, a majestic city that took me by surprise. I did some research, but didn’t realise quite how incredible the architecture would be. You are enveloped within a feast of visual delights, especially down the infamous Danube River which makes the London Thames look weak in comparison. I would love to go back in the summer as it was a bit chilly but the snow was very beautiful. There is a lot to explore and experience in this picturesque city. Here are a few highlights from my trip:

Ruin Bar

I checked out two of the ruin bars ‘Instant‘ which was the local ruin bar to ‘Pest Broadway’ where I was staying (Check out  this guide for places to stay!) and the famous ‘Szimpla Kert‘ which is undoubtably the best ruin bar in Budapest! These artistic bars are multipurpose spaces with a labyrinth of corridors and rooms set across various floors. There is a sense of magic in exploring and get lost in them. No description can sum up the madness that unveils; I had so much fun here. The music was amazing in every room at ‘Instant’, which is the biggest ruin bar in Budapest; I discovered an awesome Northern-Soul Dj who mixed seven inch vinyl records – you can check him out here!


Thermal Spa

I was keen to check out at least one of the 100+ thermal spas in Budapest and decided to go for the best ranking which were the outdoor Széchenyi Baths. Here I floated amongst locals and tourists as the sun set giving the surrounding yellow buildings an orange hue. The juxtaposition of the forty-five degree pool heat with the minus freezing temperatures outside left you a little delirious, especially after a number of hours! If I had more time I would have gone to the 16th-century Rudas Baths and the art deco Gellert Baths as well. The spa’s are an amazing place to relax, have fun and detox.

Danube River Cruise

I had wanted to go on a river cruise to view the beautiful buildings and bridges by night. I was little dubious about the legitimacy of the tickets I had purchased from a man under an umbrella on the roadside, but my fears were soon gone as I set sail down the river. A trio of string musicians serenaded us as we passed under the beautifully lit chain bridge, past the Liberty Statue and Citadel, Parliament and the Sándor Palace. The stunning views blew my expectations out of the window and the experience was topped off by the trio serenading me with the Titanic theme tune!

Top tips:

Get a guide book at the start of your trip – you can pick one of these up in your hotel/ apartment reception.
Take a map with you – it is easy to get lost in a maze of tall buildings and similar looking streets. You can download a map journey on google maps at your apartment with wifi and then turn off roaming when you leave and the map will still guide you to your destination (as long as you don’t get lost!)
Bring some good walking shoes – there is a lot more to discover on foot.
In the winter – be careful of ice (I slipped and banged my head pretty hard on the first night!)
Be careful of the mafia taxi drivers and human trafficking in the early hours of the morning.
This is a great place (Stag Kiss Budapest) to learn loads more about Budapest before you arrive!

Other amazing sights included:

Parliament: You can get a 45 minute English speaking tour of this awe-inspiring building (sadly due to time constraints and being desperate to get inside, I ended up on the Spanish tour… not so informative!)

Shoes by the Danube River: An art installation of bronze 1940’s shoes by Gyula Pauer and Can Togay reminds passer by’s of the tragedy that Budapest endured during the Holocaust.

The chain bridge: where lovers had engraved padlocks made which they linked to the railings.

Ruin bar photograph by Vincent Ventura
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