Hello there, we are Katja and Mic, We Just Travel travel blog team, and we love to travel. Kind of simple 🙂 Check out our live Instagram feed on @wejusttravel. We started our big 18-month adventure in Asia in the beginning of 2014 with a month in Sri Lanka, then used lots of toilet paper in 4 months in India (1 amazing month on Andaman islands), hiked in Nepal, ate everything in Thailand and went from living in the muddy jungle of Mentawai to a cute house in Bali. We’ve…
After 7 months of being in Asia we are still adjusting to our home country, Slovenia. Not only the bad but also to the beauty of it. The weather was not really cooperative and loads of rain prevented us to go out of the capital, to the country side.
Sun finally came out this weekend and we went for a road trip to Pokljuka, for some mushroom hunting.
What we usually do is just drive to somewhere close to touristy areas but stop close by and park somewhere by the road. Then we pin our parking spot (so we don’t forget where we’re parked) and go to the forest. The best places to find forest’s treasures are steep areas where other people don’t want to go. 🙂 Oh, sunshine, I’ve missed you so.
Oh, and check out this beautiful watch from Daniel Wellington – it’s called Classic Petite Ashfield and it has a black dial and black MATTE mesh strap. It comes in rose gold or silver details. My, oh, my, a perfect watch for your black soul. 😀
I know Kendall wears it for a night out but I think it also looks gorgeous with those beautiful poisonous mushrooms. <3
You can get a 15% discount on Ashfield or anything else on www.danielwellington.com with our code WEJUST15.
Aaah, Maldives, they seem to be the perfect postcard picture everyone dreams about! But is there anything to do there, besides lying on the beach and watching coconuts fall down on pristine white sand?
I admit, I thought we would be bored here since we like to be active and explore new places. Fortunately, I was wrong. 🙂 Maldives are much more than staying in a private resort doing nothing. And most of all, they are affordable! The local islands are amazing, people friendly and the diving is one of the best in the world. Let me just say: Sharks, mantas and rays! Yay!
PS: Thanks to Fulidhoo Dive for letting me use heir pics!
Want to visit Maldives but you think you’ll be bored in a resort and want to experience something more local? Read our travel itinerary to Maldives and visit cute local islands.
So, Maldives are also a diving paradise, who knew? 🙂 We had to see it for ourselves and we found a great dive shop called Fulidhoo Dive. This is actually a PADI 5* Dive Resort and is located right on the public beach, next to Kinan retreat. We met Adele and Ali, the owners, and talked about the best diving spots. They immediately said: ”You should dive with nurse sharks. It’s like swimming in shark soup!”. Wait, what? Does that mean we get to dive with real sharks (one of my all time wishes!)? Yes, yes it does. 🙂
Ali was our guide and you can just tell he has great passion about it. Safety comes first with Fulidhoo Dive team and that includes new gear, air of the best quality and a nice and comfortable boat. His briefings were precise and informative and it meant a lot to us that we are in good hands (which was not the case in some other countries). The standards in Maldives are hiiiiigh not like in other Asian dive shops and we finally got to see what those 5 stars stand for.
Our first dive was a night dive near Alimatha resort where nurse sharks hang out. This was the place where they used to discard food and nurse sharks were feeding on it, especially at night. This has stopped but nurse sharks still like it there. They lounge on the sand and scratch their backs on the floor. Because it was a night dive, it felt so mysterious to me (I had only been to one night dive during my advanced course), you know, getting dark and all. But the dive site is actually very easy (you just need to adjust to the current and hold on to a rock or stick your light in the sand) and as soon as we descended there were MANY sharks! There were probably at least 20 but 5 were very very close, lying on the sand. Huge chubby nurse sharks, right here! You can get close and relax right next to them but please resist yourself from touching them. They will probably touch you anyway since they like to move around. 🙂 This dive site is quite popular and can get crowded but we were lucky and in the end we were alone with the sharks! On the way back we laid on the roof of the boat and watched billions of stars – milky way was so thick it almost looked like clouds. <3
Fulidhoo has some awesome channels where all kinds of fish swim through, also pelagic fish. On our way to the dive site, Ali and Adele got a telephone call that mantas are close by. Come on, Maldives, can you get any cooler?! Ali found them and we quickly jumped in the water to swim with them. I get goosebumps every time I remember how I was trying to catch a huge manta who then just decided to turn around and swim right under me. Surreal.
Our first dive was good, we got to see some sharks and turtles but our second dive was great! We saw a big sting ray lying on the corals, turtles swimming buy, many coral fish, colorful mantis shrimp, many scorpion fish, two sharks and an eagle ray swimming above us. It was amazing!
This unfortunately stayed on our wishlist. The weather on the last day was not good and we had to skip this one. There is supposed to be a cave with beautiful soft corals of pastel rainbow colors (omg, sounds like something I want to wear!)that are best seen at night.
You know what they say – you need to leave something for your next visit. And we are so looking forward to visit Maldives again. 🙂
Check out Fulidhoo Dive’s Facebook page and YouTube channel to see more videos and pictures.
Maldives were, after 7 months of traveling, that big red juicy cherry on top of everything we’ve experienced and were the perfect ending to our travels. We were surprised how interesting and different than our expectations they proved to be. The islands are picture-postcard beautiful – white sand, light turquoise water, gentle and beautiful people. Our time went by so fast and we were talking about going back the hole ride home. We’ve prepared Maldives travel itinerary based on our experiences – we think you’ll like it, too!
So basically every blog post about Maldives starts with: Maldives used to be high-end-resort-only country but couple years ago (this now means almost 10 years ago) people on the local islands got permission to build guesthouses and low budget traveling is now possible in Maldives! It’s true, but let me update you just a bit. Traveling on a very low budget (like Thailand and Indonesia) is still not possible but low-medium budget is very manageable. There are plenty of local islands to visit and some guesthouses offer better prices (especially in low season) than others. This kind of tourism is developing quite fast and somewhere also big hotels can be found on local islands (some places had even 10 guesthouses in the making – which is a lot for such small islands like Maldives).
Maldives can be very expensive if you go to resorts on private islands where you’ll pay a lot for accommodation, food (because there’s no choice) and transfer to the islands. But Maldives can be traveled in a much cheaper and more authentic way – by visiting the local islands.
Our friend Nina visited Gran Canaria recently and had a great time roadtrippin around this beautiful island. Check out her advice and itinerary for Gran Canaria.
This was my second time visiting Gran Canaria. If you’re craving some sun during the last Spring months, this is one of the cheapest trips to take. However, the nature of this island is seamlessly beautiful, sandy beaches are vast and picturesque, and the vibe of the locals is nice and loose.
When I visited Gran Canaria for the first time, I went there with my friends, and the second time I went with my husband. Both times I wanted to be free and explore this volcanic island, so I suggested to hire a car. Car hire prices in Gran Canaria are fairly reasonable. If you book it in advance, you can get a nice car for 10 to 15 EUR per day. Regarding the size of this island, it would be a shame if you would do this trip carless.
When I visited Gran Canaria for the first time, I made a mistake – I visited it in July. Yeah . . . Don’t do that. When Summer in Gran Canaria (late May to September), the temperatures are just too high for me personally.
This time I went in early March and it was perfect. Daily temperatures in this time of year raise up to 30ºC, but nights are still nicely fresh. Also, nature in late Spring is so much more vibrant. Hike to Roque Bentayga or walk in Jardin Canario is just amazing at this time.
So, it made me think. I’ve learned from my mistake and since I hired a car both times, I have a feeling I have a pretty good sense of what to see and what to skip. Many of my friends asked me for advice on how to experience Gran Canaria and I noticed my proposed itinerary is always the same.
First of all, Airbnb is seriously cheaper than staying in a hotel. Plus, me and my husband are not a resort-type-of-a-couple, so we prefer staying in an apartment from where we can drive to any place we feel like. Gran Canaria has numerous beaches all around so there is no reason you would stay at one place the whole time.
Renting an apartment also allows us to have control about our culinary choices and fun-time.
I prefer South part of Gran Canaria. Book ahead and easily you’ll find charming apartments near the seaside – for a price around 70 EUR per night. In Meloneras you’ll found endless cafes, bars and restaurants. Nearby sandy beaches will please you most of days and for the rest of it, you’ll have time to explore Gran Canaria with your car.
Hire a car at Gran Canaria Las Palmas Airport. Drive to the South to your chosen apartment or a resort if that’s your thing. Explore the city of Meloneras by foot and go for a cake or Effes.
The south has some of the most beautiful beaches, although they are pretty vast and crowded. Playa del Inglés is probably the most famous one. Maspalomas is also a beach worthy of your visit. Camel riding is popular there – and I must say a fun experience. Also, the nearby dunes are a sight to see – and take pictures of it. If you can’t hold still – like me – Pozo Izquierdo could be a great choice for you. It’s a windsurfing heaven on earth.
After a few days of bathing in the sun and exploring mainstream beaches, you’ll want to go away – to find some peace and quiet and explore Gran Canaria. That’s when a car will become your saviour.
Roque Nublo is a volcanic centre of the volcanic Gran Canaria. You can drive there to see the volcanic crater of Caldera de Tejeda or you can book a 10km tour, which will reveal all of the amazingness of its surroundings.
After of few days of rocky scenery and sandy beaches, it’s nice to see some greens and lively river. There are several guided tours if you don’t want to go alone.
This is one of my favourite places in Gran Canaria. I just love nature and discover unusual vegetation of the world. Jardin Canario is a beautiful botanical garden – free of charge – and magical place for a long stroll with your loved one.
I’m not so much into trained dolphins and zoos but Palmitos Park has something I find quite amazing – a butterfly house. It’s a walk-through greenhouse – packed with more butterflies you could count. A number of plants, colourful orchids and fragile butterflies are truly amazing . . .
If you’re like me, you always visit the old part of the country you’re in. For Gran Canaria, this is Vegueta – which is UNESCO protected as a World Heritage Site. Be sure to visit Casa de Colon (Christoper Columbus’ house which was turned into the museum) while you’re there. After you’ll have enough of wandering you can relax on a golden Playa de Las Canteras.
If you’ll stay in Maspalomas you’ll have a wonderful opportunity to watch the starts like a professional. AstroGC organizes excellent astronomy workshops – designed according to the night’s sky of the day of a workshop.
Hope this article helps your visit to Gran Canaria. I’m sure you’ll have a great time!
The third part of our zen temple experience is posted almost exactly 2 years after the first two. We visited Zen temple in June of 2015 and now in July 2017. This is not your everyday temple stay. Some things were much easier (like complicated ritual of eating) and some were much more difficult (like meditation). We were just in a different state of mind.
If you’re new here: Fumonken is a zen temple in Kyoto, very close to the golden Kinkakuji temple. It’s not the Western type of zen where everything is relaxed and happy. It’s the military type of zen that is a bit strange at first but you feel getting very focused with the routine. You can read the introductory post here and the schedule here (it hasn’t changed).