Kent – Page 9

Travels with Clifford

February 23, 2024

As long-time followers of this blog may know, my youngest brother, Clifford, has both graced many photos and been behind the lens for quite a few more. Beginning with Maui in 1990, Clifford and I explored Belize in 1993, Wales with our dad in 2000, and coastal California and the Southwest US numerous times since 2007. More recently we traveled and hiked together in Tasmania and mainland Australia in 2017, Malta in 2018, Ireland in 2019, and Costa Rica in 2022. Clifford’s innate curiosity, far-reaching knowledge, boundless enthusiasm, and child-like sense of wonder for the natural world enriched my travels in so many ways. Here are some recent fond memories. . .

Posing with stringy bark eucalyptus, Franklin River Nature Trail, Tasmania, Australia, 2017

Scratching an alpha male Forester kangaroo, Tasmania

Smiling from inside a hollow eucalyptus, Notley Gorge, Tasmania

Investigating a termite mound, Bed Boyd National Park, New South Wales, Australia, 2017

Admiring the vista at Kalarranga Lookout, Finke Gorge National Park, Northern Territory, Australia, 2017

Enjoying the strata, Kings Canyon, Northern Territory

At a cliff-edge along the south coast of the island of Gozo, Malta, 2018

Admiring the cliffs from his kayak, Dwejra Bay

Looking up into the canopy from under a Dragon tree, San Diego Botanical Garden, 2022

Standing with an impressive yucca, San Diego Botanical Garden

Posing with an endangered Elephant tree at Torote Bowl, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California, 2022

Under California Fan Palms, Anza-Borrego

At the trailhead of the Domelands Loop, Coyote Mountains Wilderness, California, 2022

Making empanadas with Valerie, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, 2022

At Toroweap Overlook on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, 2023

Smiling with our brother, Mark (c), and me, the Dingle Peninsula, Ireland, 2019

Clifford Blizard

1970-2024

Carpe Diem!

Kent Blizard, the Vagabond Hiker

Scrambles, Walks, and Archeology in Jordan

January 22, 2024

Jordan was one of many hiking trips I booked for 2020, before the pandemic put paid to virtually all travel. After nearly a four year delay, over the holiday I finally managed to get there, joined by Maggie for most of the trip.

Hiking and scrambling in the Wadi Rum desert with local bedouins, visiting the magical Nabataean city of Petra, and exploring some of the archeological ruins in the east and north of the country, as well as taking a dip in the Dead Sea (the lowpoint of my trip!) made for an active 2 week vacation. Here are some of the highlights.

My journey started in the ancient city of Madaba, dating from the middle Bronze Age and renowned for its Byzantine mosaics. A three night stay near the historic center of Madaba gave me at least a little time to adjust to the 11 hour time loss on the nearly 30-hour trip from California. In addition to wandering around the city one day, I spent much of my final day there visiting three of Jordan’s eastern desert castles.

Birds mosaic at Madaba Archeological Park (admission here, and in all other cultural sites I visited is included with the Jordan Pass)

The original Tree of Life mosaic, Madaba

A small portion of the Madaba mosaic map from the 6th century CE, the oldest known geographic floor mosaic in art history. Restoration work was ongoing at St George Orthodox Church, and the tiles were difficult to photograph.

Qasr Harrana, possibly an Umayyad caravanserai

Qusayr (“little castle”) Amra. This Umayyad desert retreat, famous for its frescoes, was once part of a much larger complex.

Qasr al-Azraq, constructed from the local basalt. Strategic for its location near the only oasis for hundreds of miles, it was renovated and expanded by the Ayyubids in the 13th century. It was Lawrence of Arabia’s desert headquarters during the winter of 1917. I should have hired a local guide as there were no placards explaining the site.

On my third day, I joined up with five other clients in the KE Adventures group to drive down to southern Jordan for a week-long hiking and cultural trip in Wadi Rum and Petra.

Leaving the village of Wadi Rum (not visible to the right) on our short hike to Abu Aina

Our local bedouin guide, Selim, on our hike to Abu Aina

Our first night’s camp. Land Cruiser’s transported most of our luggage, leaving us with only a light day pack to carry.

Murat, our leader, scrambling to Burdah Bridge.

Burdah Bridge. The scramble from the desert floor to the top of the bridge was for me the best hike of the trip.

View from the top of Burdah Bridge. That’s Maggie right center.

The view up Jebel Khasch, on the third day in Wadi Rum

Climbing some angled slabs on Jebel Khasch

Maggie on the summit of Jebel Khasch (1700m)

Jebel Um Adaami, the highest point in Jordan and our next objective, seen from Jebel Khasch.

A natural amphitheatre on the Jebel Khasch massif, which we traversed

Egyptian autumn crocus (*Colchicum ritchii*) near our third camp. There weren’t many flowers at this time of year, mostly just sand verbena and this crocus.

Jebel Um Adaami summit vista towards the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia is on the left (south)

With Maggie and the Jordanian flag on the summit of Jebel Um Adaami (1854m)

Desert vista on our afternoon hike following the ascent of Jebel Um Adaami

Our final sunset in Wadi Rum, seen from Salim’s permanent camp, featuring real beds and hot showers, which felt great after 3 nights of wild camping.

After five days and four nights in the Wadi Rum desert, we drove north to Wadi Musa for for two days of walking and sightseeing at Petra.

The famous Treasury appears as we walk through the dramatic chasm of the Siq

The Treasury. Unsurprisingly, there were relatively few tourists at Petra.

The Monastery at Petra. About a 1/2 hour hike above the Siq, it it every bit as amazing as the Treasury.

Jebel Haroun, to the east of Petra. Its summit was our objective for our final hike.

Jebel Haroun chapel. Murat is on the left.

The rest of our group of six left for England at the conclusion of our two days walking around Petra. Maggie and I instead headed for Amman where we had rented an AirBnb apartment for three nights off Rainbow Street near the First Circle. From that base we took a guided tour of the nearby old town (mostly seeing a variety of markets!) and then headed north the following day for a day of archeology.

Roman columns at Umm Qais in far northern Jordan. Although hazy, we were able to see Lake Tiberias (aka the Sea of Galilee) from the escarpment.

A hall in Ajloun Castle. I wasn’t able to get a good picture of the castle itself due to low clouds and only having my phone with me.

A mosaic tile at Ajloun Castle. I love this guy’s worried look as the the leopard is eyeing his donkey.

The colonnaded Roman road toward the west gate at Jerash, one of the most extensive Roman ruins outside of Italy.

Jerash colonnades with the modern city in the background

The setting sun at Jerash. We had left it until last on a long day, which limited how much we could cover. It would be easy to spend an entire day only at Jerash.

At the Holiday Inn Dead Sea Resort. The Dead Sea is of course the lowest point on Earth, at 430 meters (1411 ft) below sea level. As with the rest of the country, tourism here has almost come to a halt since October.

This rare rainy day in the California desert enabled me to finally finish this blog post! This weekend I head down to Baja California Sur for a week of warm sun, hikes, and birding. If I get a few decent photos, I will post them in February. Until then, stay warm.

The Vagabond Hiker

PS I naughtily included one photo I took at Gold Butte National Monument in Nevada, implying that it was from Jordan. Did you spot it?

Summer in the Cities

December 4, 2023

Loyal readers of this blog will know that most of my time is spent in the mountains and deserts of the world, hiking, trekking, and climbing. On occasion, though, I crave some culture, history, and decent vegan cuisine. With bases in Italy and Britain this past summer, I was ideally situated to visit several capital cities in Europe that were new to me. Others cities served as stepping off points for mountain adventures. In all case except one, my main means of exploring each city was by walking, in every instance including a guided tour of the cities’ more historic areas.

I trust you will enjoy this change from my usual mountain and desert photos to mark the milestone of blog post #100. Rather than present the photos in chronological order, I have listed them from my least to most favorite cities visited in 2023.

#9. Islamabad

Staying in Islamabad before and after any trekking or climbing excursion to Pakistan is mandatory. Because of safety reasons we stayed in a mediocre hotel in an area of town with nothing interesting to see, no decent restaurants, and no walking possibilities except once as a group to change money. (Speaking of which, if money is no object, the hotel to stay at is La Serena). And while it was my least favorite city this past summer, there were a couple of highlights worth sharing from our guided bus tour.

At the Faisal Mosque. Named after King Faisal bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia (who funded it), this mosque is a symbol of the friendship between the two countries. Although Friday prayers were is session at the time we visited, the worshipers largely ignored us.

Daman-e-Koh. A park with manicured grounds and sweeping views overlooking the city, lake, and Faisal Mosque. Note a couple monkeys in the lower right. Their antics were amusing, though I am usually not a big fan.

A truck at a paint shop in an industrial area of the city. If you’ve never seen a Pakistani Bedford truck painted like this, they are truly amazing: a rolling work of art.

#8. Belgrade

As far as European capital cities go, Belgrade was one of the least interesting of all that I’ve seen over the decades. While I found a fine vegan cafe a block from my hotel, the city’s architecture was generally boring, the one park I found nearby to visit (around the historic Belgrade Fortress) was crowded and noisy (granted, it was a Saturday), and the botanical garden was closed for a private function. The biggest plus was that by visiting Serbia, there now remain only three countries in Europe that I haven’t seen! I was quite happy to leave at the end of the weekend.

Pioneer Park and the Presidential Palace. My very engaging city tour started here, the cleanest area of the Old Town.

Church of the Holy Trinity (Russian Orthodox). An absolutely gorgeous little church where a wedding reception was just concluding.

#7. Yerevan

My main purpose of traveling to Armenia was for hiking and trekking in the Lesser Caucasus and Geghama Mountains (see my earlier post). Yerevan seemed to me very congested (partly due to a national celebration on the day we returned). Our cultural guide was very knowledgeable, and she was determined to impart as much of her knowledge as humanly possible.

History Museum at the Republic Square, the main square of the city. The turbulent history of Armenia is never far from the surface of any discussion.

The Vagabond Hiker holding onto a Spider sculpture

Mount Ararat from the Cascade Complex, the nicest part of town. I was on my belly to capture this photo with the flowers in the foreground. Although in Turkey, Mt. Ararat is sacred to all Armenians.

#6. Baku

Having some extra time in Tbilisi, Georgia (see below), I took a 40 minute flight to Baku, Azerbaijan for a one night stay. One night and one full day was about the right amount of time to see the more interesting sites of this city, the lowest capital city in the world at 92 ft below sea level.

Sabir garden and monument, named after the famous Azeri satirical poet and philosopher. Our city tour began in this calm place, just outside the walled Old Town (note the wall in the background).

Maiden Tower. An interesting and mysterious history of this famous landmark in Baku.

The Crescent Hotel (**still** under construction), reflected in the Caspian Sea. The oil slicks that covered much of the water near the shore may not be evident here.

#5. Marrakech

As it was my third time in this amazing city, I didn’t stay long, only for the two nights that book-ended a climb of Mount Toubkal. The Majorelle Gardens and numerous historic sites were outside the scope of my visit. But I got a couple of photos nonetheless. The two that follow were shown in my Toubkal climbing blog from June. Pardon the repeat.

Interior courtyard of the Riad Alida. If you visit Marrakech, for certain stay in a traditional Riad. And if you are on a budget, you could do a lot worse than this family-run establishment just outside the Medina.

Koutoubia mosque at sunset, from the terrace of our restaurant. It’s minaret was damaged three months later during the severe earthquake that struck the Atlas Mountains.

#4. Riga

The fact that I ranked this lovely capital city of Latvia outside of my top 3 gives some idea of the level of gastronomic, cultural, and urban walking experiences I enjoyed last summer.

Nativity of Christ Orthodox Cathedral. For me a standout in a city with many interesting churches.

National Opera and Ballet, neither of which was performing in June.

Bastejkalna Park, a linear green space along the City Canal. The extensive Vērmane Garden nearby was also enjoyable, and not too crowded even on a warm(ish) Friday in June.

#3. Tbilisi

After my KE trek in Georgia was cancelled I quickly came up with some new plans (see my post from July), and based myself at a fantastic Airbnb in Old Town Tbilisi for 12 days. I was not disappointed. (The only downside was that the nightclubs seemed to go strong until 4 or 5 AM, even during the week. Bring earplugs.)

City view from above the Botanic Garden (behind me). The Old Town and surrounding areas were for the most part very clean and safe. I just wish the Botanic Garden had opened earlier; by late morning in July it was over 80 degrees and humid, so I saved it for a future visit.

Metekhi Virgin Mary Assumption Church at night, on a promontory overlooking the Kura River. This ancient Georgian-style church is the most picturesque in Tbilisi.

Tbilisi_Archive Restaurant entrance — The Restaurant Archive entrance, adjacent to the Wine Museum. This was the only fine dining experience I had in Tbilisi. The standard tourist restaurants were quite fine!

Night view of Tbilisi from my penthouse balcony at 5 Wine Rise.

#2. Luxembourg

My three nights’ stay in the upper town of this capital city of the Duchy of Luxembourg was time (and money!) well spent. With free public transport, several interesting museums, numerous parks and some good vegan cuisine, I found little to not like (other than the prices) about this ancient city. Honestly, it was a toss-up between Luxembourg and my chosen city for the top spot.

A panoramic view (at 0.5x) from the Pétrusse casemates to the lower city

A pathway along Parcs de la Pétrusse. The Alzette River joins this one a bit upstream from here. I didn’t have enough time to see all that I wanted to in the city, though I did visit an art exhibition and a local history museum.

Another view in the Parcs de la Pétrusse. A bit of the upper town, historically home to the burgesses and nobility, is seen on top of these cliffs.

#1. Vilnius

For some reason (most likely ignorance), my expectations for a two night stay in the capital of Lithuania were not high. They should have been! This city was absolutely stunning and more than deserved the European Capital of Culture designation in 2009. And the urban nature is second to none: some 46 percent of Vilnius is designated green space: parks, squares, and forests . To top it off, the fantastic restaurant, Rosehip Vegan Bistro, was a stone’s throw from my Airbnb. Whittling it down to six photos was very difficult. You’ll just have to visit Vilnius yourself!

Old Town Panorama from the Three Crosses Monument

Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania

In less than two weeks I depart California for Jordan. My time there will be divided between hiking in the Wadi Rum area in the south and enjoying some of the many cultural attractions, mostly in the north. Christmas Day will be spent exploring Petra (with about a million others I suppose). I’ll share some of the photos with you in January. Until then,

Happy Holidays!