Tag: views

Things to Do in San Juan del Sur: Cristo de La Misercordia

There are a few things to do in San Juan del Sur besides visit the beach – although the beaches are lovely! After one week, I’ve visited places that are tops on tourist lists, and some that aren’t. One of the first sites I visited was the statue of Cristo de la Misercordia, who sits 134 meters up on a hill overlooking the Pacific ocean.

Estatue de Cristo de la Misercordia

A pretty easy walk up a mostly paved road, or you can drive most of the way if you choose, the view is worth the hike. You can walk right from the beach of Playa del Sur through a residential neighborhood to the top. The site of the Christ statue offers a 360 view of the main town beach and more. Admission cost is $2. There is even a little chapel in the bottom of the statue!

It was interesting checking out the spot. According to the display in the church, the statue is quite new and was only completed in 2009.  They did a good job because this is definitely a tourist attraction! Lots of tourists go, and apparently Jimmy Carter and his wife went a few years ago (there’s a photo of them in the chapel).

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Photos from the Ischgl Alps

I took a lot of photos from the Ischgl Alps and the views are stunning. We had such a great 5 days skiing – the weather was beautiful, with blue skies and sunshine every day. The wifi in our hotel was not as good, so I didn’t get to post very much after our first day skiing.

The Ischgl Experience

Ischgl is a party town, but we thought the skiing was great too! I mean, there’s no shortage of bars, nightlife and restaurants, and we enjoyed all of them, on the slopes and in town.

Skiing the Ischgl Alps

Skiing the slopes, riding the chair lifts so high it takes hours to get back to the bottom, was an awesome experience.

Spending the day skiing between countries is another of the cool things about Ischgl. The resort is shared by Austria and Switzerland. We didn’t do it everyday, but we did have lunch in Switzerland. We just skied there and back like it was no big deal.

first day skiing Ischgl
photos of the Ischgl alps chair lift
Views photos of the Ischgl Alps
photos of the Ischgl alps
first day skiing Ischgl View
lunch view Ischgl Samnaun
Ski View Ischgl
photos of the Ischgl Alps
View Samnaum
Ischgl alps
first day skiing Ischgl views
The views!
Ischgl valley
Ischgl Valley view
Photos from beautiful Ischgl

Visiting ischgl

We flew to Munich and rented a car to drive to Ischgl, Austria. It’s about a 3 hour drive, through some lovely Bavarian villages and then into the mountains. Ischgl is serviced by buses also, and it is possible to go for the day if you don’t have lots of time.

It was hard to leave the Alps, but we had big plans for New Years in Munich.

Are you considering spending a week in the mountains? As you can tell, we loved the Austrian Alps. Take some inspiration from my photos from the Ischgl Alps.

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Taking a Break in Guatape

People from Medellin know where to go for their weekend breaks: Guatapé. This beautiful lakeside town is located just a short 90 minute bus ride from the city. We took the bus, which was relatively painless and on time, and joined the Colombians on a break in Guatape.

Guatape overview

Guatapé sits on a man-made reservoir built in the 1960s by the hydro-electric company, and offers water sports opportunities. Another draw is the town’s beautiful colorful art decorations. For hikers, the town’s giant rock called El Peñon is a popular climb featuring beautiful views of the water and mountains.

Where to stay in guatapé

Yesterday afternoon, the bus dropped us right across the street from our hostel, Mi Casa, which is a lovely spot outside of town, overlooking the water and El Peñon. The owners, Suzy and Sean, are German and English and couldn’t be nicer!

Hiking el peñon

Since the hostel is walking distance from the rock, that was our first “Must do” activity while taking a break in Guatape. It was a sweaty climb up the 650+ steps to the top but wow the views were worth it! Glad we got a warm-up hike in Bogota.

El Penon in Guatape
El Peñol – look at those stairs!
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