El Golfo is known as misty region in El Hierro, where clouds easily get stuck on the mountains, but I didn’t imagine to get to see something like this! Location: Mirador De Jinama.
Still above the clouds. This time in Teide National Park with a fabulous view towards Spain’s highest mountain in Tenerife.
Hiking on top of El Teide, 3700m above the sea. Our 2-year-old daughter was motivated to walk. So happy to have been experiencing this with her and my hubby.
Panorama of the Roques de Garcia walk in Teide National Park, Tenerife.
The beauty and craziness of a resort town, only built for one purpose: hosting millions of tourists each year. This is the beach in Adeje. You can see the island of La Gomera in the background.
Cacti galore in Malpais, the volcanic landscape at Puertito de Güimar in Tenerife
Puertito de Guimar, Tenerife, on a sunny day. Snorkel paradise!
One of the best-known volcanic pools in Tenerife awaits you in Garachico.
El Médano, Tenerife, on a later afternoon in December.
Exploring the greenest part of Tenerife, the Anaga Mountains in the north-east part of the island.
Cactus garden designed by César Manrique in Guatiza, Lanzarote. The windmill was once used to produce gofio.
Playa del Papagayo is very close to the most southern point of Lanzarote with great views towards Fuerteventura
La Graciosa as seen from Mirador del Rio in Lanzarote
A lagoon (almost) for myself? YES please! Gracias Lanzarote!
One of the most special wine regions I ever visited: La Geria in Lanzarote. Vines are growing behind crescent shaped stone walls that protect the plants from the wind.
Lago Verde, Lanzarote. A green lagoon in the middle of a volcanic landscape.
What a splendid view over the little town of Teror in Gran Canaria.
The view along the road on our way to Artenara, Gran Canaria.
Panorama of the hike up to Roque Nublo in Gran Canaria.
Relaxing in the natural pools of Barlovento, in the north-east of La Palma, called La Fajana.
While our 2-week vacation in Bali earlier this year wasn’t flawless, we had a fantastic time there. The little one especially liked nasi goreng (fried rice), mi goreng (fried noodles), dancing and pool time, while my husband and I enjoyed all the temples, traditions and green landscapes. Bali really had something for each of us.
I can’t deny though that we suffered from the heat. While adults can more or less deal with 30°C and higher, young kids struggle. Our daughter is usually a good walker, but in Bali 200 metres were waaaayyy too long for her. So we had to do a lot of carrying, which isn’t enjoyable under such conditions. You might wonder why we carried her instead of using a stroller; the road and pavement conditions make it impossible to go for a walk with a baby buggy (especially in Ubud).
So we did a few trips with our Deuter Kid Comfort (which is a life-saver) and spent a lot of time in taxis to visit different places in the cultural Centre, relaxed East and buzzy South of the island. Word of advice: if your kid is too small to properly sit in a regular car seat with a regular seat belt, you should pre-book your taxis with a service like Bali Bubs, who do not only offer airport transfers with baby conform vehicles but also rent out baby equipment if you plan to travel light. We were lucky in a way, as our girl is way too tall for her age and was comfortable and safe in the middle seat of the taxi back bench.
Time wise, two weeks were perfect without being in a constant rush. Quiet days are essential when travelling with kids and so we spent 7 days in Ubud, 4 days in Amed and 5 days in Benoa Beach. But even the lazy days at the hotels were an adventure (pools, restaurants, kids club, …), so I would have been glad to stay for a third week.
Our accommodation was always kid friendly, which is why we can recommend:
The gallery below is chronological. Read the image captions to discover Bali the way we did and learn more about this beautiful place in the heart of Indonesia.
My favorite temple photo! Pura Tirta Empul is a holy place for buddhists and we were lucky enough to experience this wonderful Hindu Balinese water temple in the quiet morning atomosphere before the tourists rushed in.
Getting ready for a bath in the holy water…
…of Pura Tirta Empul in Bali.
Judging from the faces, gestures and screams, even holy water is cold.
Most temples in Bali come with ponds full of koi, which symbolize good fortune, success, prosperity, longevity, courage, ambition and perseverance.
We were surprised by some of the daily offerings made by Balinese Hindus, especially the ones including real bills.
Welcome to the jungle, welcome to Bali!
Enter and enjoy!
Loved those amazing details in Balinese stone art.
Another example, from a Balinese temple in Ubud.
Small detail from a Balinese chair #WoodCarving
View over the rooftops of the Ubud outskirts as seen during the Campuhan Ridge Walk.
Just strolling down the streets of Ubud and stumbling across the Water Palace.
Now that’s a Starbucks location! #OnlyInBali (Ubud)
The beautiful rice terraces of Tegalalang.
It’s hot in Bali. Even stones threaten to sweat if not protected. :D
Bali is a scooter country. That’s how the kids go to school here!
Ubud’s market…
…full of souvenirs and kitch.
The landlord of our Ubud accomodation recommended us a very nice Balinese dance show at the Peliatan Royal Palace in Ubud.
Look at this costume; the headdress and ornaments are fantastic!
Visiting a traditional dance show in Bali is a must for travellers.
We loved how they dance with their faces, even the eyes move in the rhythm of the music.
Hand positions and gestures, the mudras, are also extremely important for Balinese dancers. To see these dancers in action and listen to some Balinese music, please have a look at my video further down below in this blog post.
The king of the spirits, a lion-like creature, is a popular character in the Balinese mythology and can be found in most dance shows as well as various temples and palaces.
Tirta Gangga Water Palace was a great location to discover more characters from the Balinese mythology.
Tirta Gangga, …
…the Koi pond invites you to walk over water.
A protected idyll and home to many animals…
…and colorful flowers.
My daughter and I loved it here!
Is there anything more Balinese than Mount Agung, a temple and frangipani in one photo? Amed was our location of choice to explore the waters around the island. We had a couple of snorkeling days. Check out the video below to get an idea of the underwater landscape near Amed.
Travelling Bali end of April has been fantastic, just like our eco friendly Hotel Uyah Amed. We had this gorgeous pool side almost always to ourselves during 5 days.
Don’t you want to swim in such a pool too?
Or such a pool?
That’s the waterfall in the pool of Hotel Nikko Bali in Benoa Beach.
Tanah Lot was an interesting place to see; not so much for the rock formation, which is home to the pilgrimage temple, but because of the crazy amount of tourists showing up there to get a blessing during low tide (when you can actually walk to the temple). I have seen nicer temples in Bali (especially since this one is mainly hidden by trees), which means I wouldn’t really recommend going there when it’s not on your way. We arrived here after a 2.5 hours trip in a taxi, passing lots of traffic jams, just to stare at hundreds of tourists. If that is not your thing, go visit another temple. Bali is the country of a thousand temples, so you should find one you like.
Tourist crowd at Tanah Lot.
Sunset at Benoa Beach.
Lucky enough to witness a blood moon in Bali (May 1, 2018).
Can’t get enough? Here are two bonus videos I created.
Enjoy a compilation of various Balinese dancers that appeared on stage at the Peliatan Royal Palace in Ubud on the 21st of April 2018.
Get a feeling how snorkeling in Amed can look like.
After visiting El Hierro, the smallest of the Canary Islands, I have been approached several times by people asking us how much time to spend there. Obviously, it all depends on your holiday style. If you love spending quiet days at the beach you can stay there forever. But if you are interested in visiting all the popular corners recommended in travel guides, I’d say 1 week is perfect, especially if you travel with kids and don’t want to (read can’t) go at a crazy speed.
Here are my personal highlights from our week in El Hierro. Please click through the gallery to read the captions for more details…
A stunning sunrise above the sea as seen from Las Casas. Morning magic!
View over Las Casas and El Pinar from the Mirador de Tanajara. This is where we stayed for a week in October 2017.
I really like the burnt look of El Hierro’s pine trees near El Pinar. Don’t get me wrong. There was no fire here. It’s all natural.
Pine tree close-up.
Mirador de Las Playas is best visited in the morning to witness the sunrise or the beauty of the sea under the sun.
The Western part of El Hierro feels like a volcanic wonderland with its fierce-looking rock formations. It’s practically uninhabited from the North till the lighthouse of Orchilla, Spain’s most southwesterly point.
If you’d ask me what I am thinking of when I see the volcanic landscape of El Hierro, I’d probably say an underwater scenery, just without the water. Don’t you see corals here?
A “coral” close-up.
More corals ;)
That’s how official beaches in El Hierro look like. So much for the sand. Here you see the beach at the Lighthouse of Orchilla, the most southwesterly point in Spain.
This pretty white chapel is the home of El Hierro’s patron saint, Nuestra Señora de los Reyes (Our Lady of the Kings). You can find it after a long and curvy drive to La Dehesa, the western part of the island.
Juniper trees, wind-twisted like this one, have become the symbol of El Hierro.
You can find them at El Sabinar in the western part of the island.
Beautiful La Restinga in the South. Come here for a great snorkel experience. I can recommend the Playa de Tacorón to see heaps of fish.
El Golfo is known as misty region on El Hierro where clouds easily get stuck on the mountains, but I didn’t imagine to get to see something like this!
Same location as on the previous photo (El Golfo), just a few hours earlier.
Frontera as seen from El Golfo.
Go down there and do the board walk between La Caletilla and Maceta.
Or visit the Ecomuseum of Guinea to learn how the first settlers survived here.
Gotta be sturdy to grow in El Hierro ;)
What are these? They were everywhere, but they aren’t regular earth worms…
A rather easy hike around volcano craters and through some forest can be done at La Llanía.
The red-sand beach at Playa del Verodal.
The public pools of La Caleta are pretty cool for kids too! (Not so much the sea; check out the video below.)
I simply love this graffiti that I discovered in Valverde. It’s about love, family, generations and it fills me with warmth each time I look at it ❤️
This art installation is one of the first things you will see after leaving El Hierro’s airport by car. It’s a bit creepy I find, but I like that it’s made out of recycled bottle caps.
And here is a short bonus video of some crabs in La Caleta, fighting against the strong waves of the sea. I filmed this on our way out from the public pools in La Caleta. Who’s up for a bath?
You might have noticed that I am blogging less often as I used to. It’s not that I have nothing to say or write about. And it’s definitely not that I don’t want to keep blogging. I do. Life is simply keeping me very busy these days.
But here are the good news: I keep on photographing. That’s why I recently updated most of my photo galleries on this site and you are welcome to have a look at what I’ve been up to in 2016 and at the beginning of this year.
We are planning to travel quite a bit in 2017. New and old destinations are on our list and I promise that you will be able to read about our adventures over here 🌋🏕️🏖️🏜️🏙️
Biarritz, queen of beaches, beach of kings. I fell in love with this cute town on day 1 of my visit. I even remember exactly when it happened: at the very moment when I stepped out of one of the town’s narrow alleys, overlooking a long stretch of sandy beach from above with hundreds of surfers paddling their boards towards a magical sunset above the mountains of the Spanish Basque country in the background.
Here is what I enjoyed most while walking along the French Atlantic coast between Pointe Saint-Martin (Lighthouse) and the Plage de la Côte des Basques.
View from the Sea Museum Aquarium of Biarritz (Musée de la Mer Aquarium) towards the Hôtel du Palais and the lighthouse as well as the Miramar Beach (Plage Miramar) in between
The 74 meter high lighthouse on Saint-Martin Point was built in 1834 and is located at the northernmost point of Biarritz
The Fishermen Port (Port des Pêche), built in 1870, does host more restaurants than fishermen these days — a good place to eat seafood in Biarritz
The town’s main beach (Grande Plage) located between the Fishermen Port and the Hôtel du Palais
Surfing is probably the most popular water sport in Biarritz, attracting heaps of tourists each year
Surfing into the sunset at the Plage de la Côte des Basques, the main surfing beach of Biarritz (with mountains of the Spanish Basque Country in the background)
Dreamy sunset above the 6 km of beach that Biarritz has to offer
Rocks in the water are a signal that…
…the Rock of the Virgin (Rocher de la Vierge) isn’t far — a statue erected by fishermen after being saved from drowning in the sea
The bridge that connects the Rock of the Virgin with the mainland has been built by Gustave Eiffel, the architect of the Eiffel Tower
The Rock of the Virgin is an excellent sunset point…
…but also offers great views over Biarritz, like for example towards the Villa Belza
The clash of achitecture styles makes the town’s shoreline so unique
After the sun has gone down, leave the coast and enjoy walking through the streets of Biarritz
Remote Angles of a Digital Nomad 