Another canyoning trip to Italy. Italy truly is a paradise for canyoning.
The first day of the trip – Val Tovanella (V4A3V).
Photo by RickPhoto by Rick
Beautiful, quite slippery here & there and the water level was quite high. In some places too high for my liking. So we did some practice and built a zipline or two.
The next day we did Val Fogare inferiore (V4A4IV). It is a very very beautiful canyon, very diverse. Unfortunately, not really permitted. There are some negotiations about it apparently.
Some photos of me made by Rick.
The next day our friend joined us and so did the rain. We had to change our plans. So we did 2 short canyons – Torrente Cunaz and Torrente Chiavola. They were both shorter than 3 hours altogether, from car to car.
Torrente Chiavola (V4A2II) is a cute canyon, with a dinosaur footprint at the end. Normally it is done, when the surrounding canyons have too much water. So it was a perfect choice.
Torrente Cunaz (V3A2III) – it was nothing crazy special, but nice. In some spots there should be anchors added.
I have not been diving a lot so far. I know I love it. I want to do more of it. That is why Rick and I decided to try a liveaboard. This one was great. As their motto goes DIVE EAT SLEEP REPEAT. We traveled to Marsa Alam airport (Egypt), stayed the night in Port Ghalib and next day we board our boat. 6 full days of diving, 7 nights of sleeping. When we got off, we were still rocking.
Here are some Port Ghalib photos at night. There is a very chill camel on the beach of our hotel. Also, see our boat and cabin on the upper deck.
We did altogether 19 dives and here is some statistics of what we saw. It was beautiful!
Countless turtles
Busy, protective and adorable anemones (nemos)
Countless blue spotted rays
1 hammerhead
3 giant pufferfish
A shoal of many squids
A few triggerfish, bluefin trevallies & many other fish
Many morays
1 barracuda & 1 crocodilefish
1 sank safari boat
Many adorable nemos
Hammerhead in the deep blue
Protective nemos
Beautiful reefs, pinnacles, swim-through and other features that Red Sea offers.
Plenty of beautiful marine life.
Sunken safari boat.
A shoal of squids
On the photo you can see all the dive sites. We have met the nicest people, that we ganged up with. Thank you for your company.
Rio Macile or also known as Brussile (V4A4IV). Very popular canyon, with “proper” anchors and even SOS signs at each anchor. We did it in 3 hours, from car to car.
It is beautiful, but quite cold. The last rappel is 60 m and it is quite magnificent. Unfortunately, I do not have a great photo of it. I only have pictures from the top and straight up from the bottom (the bottom 3 photos).
Photo by RickPhoto by RickPhoto by RickPhoto by RickPhoto by Rick
Rio Pissanda (V4A2III) is 4.5 hour canyon (car to car) in Italy. It is a nice, continuing canyon. Meaning, not much walking in between, but rappel after rappel. The highest rappels are 25 m, 35 m and 40 m. It is quite slippery and the water is not the cleanest.
Photo by RickPhoto by RickPhoto by RickPhoto by Rick
Rappelling was fun and not too technical. I enjoyed that it was not much walking.
Celebrating my birthday this year was very fun. On Sunday we went on pre-birthday MTB ride at Monte Jouf.
We did a 2 hour ride (moving time).
Uphill on the road.
This was the most fun trail – Puerto escondido, which I got to do twice, thanks to shuttle bunny Rick.
Photos by Rick
We have also done Barbarossa, Kraken and DH Jouf II parte, with which we have started our ride. Fun trails, Barbarossa was my least favorite though.
Photo by Rick
The next day, my birthday, we went diving to Y40. Because my wish was to dive on my birthday, not ski as earlier years. I use my iPhone underwater with the housing Divevolk.
Underwater photos are very blue-toned, so to have more “realistic” colors, I use Dive+ app, which restores colors. Look at some before and after photos. Photos made of me were made by Rick and I edited them.
The utmost depth of Y40 is 40 m. Well, if you lie on the floor, it’s actually 41 m. Very cool place to practice your diving skills.
Next day we went canyoning to Torrente Favarinis. A short 40 min walk to the entrance and more than 2 hours canyoning tour. It took us more than described, because I was downclimbing and walking slower than otherwise. I broke my record. I did a 50 m rappel by myself. It was the last out of 7 waterfalls of the canyon.
Photo by RickPhoto by Rick
When you finish you are practically by the car, which is my favorite ending a canyoning tour.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi were not on my list, honestly. It is not really a destination I would choose. But my mother has wanted to visit for a very long time. Due to her cancer, corona and me mentally preparing for it we were deciding for it a very long time. Finally, in January of 2025 we were both ready for it. 😊
Just when we were leaving, I found a spot on my skin. It looked like the start of Lyme disease. So I had to start taking antibiotics. And I was sick with a cough for the third week in a row. So, I had to say bye bye to diving, which I was really looking forward to. Nonetheless, we still went on a snorkeling trip in Fujairah. Life rewarded me with at least 6 turtles in one spot and 2 black tips swimming right by me.
Fujairah was a nice one day trip. So was Abu Dhabi. The highlight of the trip was Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. We visited several other stops. We were not really impressed by Ferrari World Yas Island (outside only). The Abu Dhabi Dates Market was nothing special, as were Marina Mall, Miraj Museum, The Corniche, and Emirates Heritage Village. Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental was the most interesting of these ones.
Photo by tour guidePhoto by tour guide
In Dubai we visited the Old Town, where we joined a short tour. So we saw Dubai Spice Souk, Grand Souk, Souk Al Seef and Dubai Gold Souk. We even took an abra ride along Dubai Creek (a traditional boat ride). At the beginning of the tour they offered us some Arab tea and at the end camel milk with saffron.
Another day we visited Jumeirah beach and Dubai Marina, which is already much more luxurious than Old Town. On the way we spotted the Dubai Frame.
But of course nothing says “luxurious” more than the Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa. There is nothing money can’t buy here. You just have to have it. We didn’t spend lots of euros to go up Burj Khalifa. Instead, we went up Sky Views Observatory and Museum of the Future. In both I was actually impressed.
The view from Sky Views ObservatoryEarly morning selfie, no crowds
What impressed me the most and freaked me out as well was Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo. I decided to do a Shark Walker Cage, since I couldn’t dive. Otherwise I would dive in an aquarium for sure. Just because you can. That is the whole idea of Dubai basically.
Dubai has everything. The same with food. You can have whatever you want and your money can buy. But you need money.
Restaurant at Wyndham Dubai DeiraRestaurant at Wyndham Dubai DeiraDynamite Bites at Jumeirah BeachSALT CAMPSALT CAMPSALT CAMPThe original Dubai chocolateTime Out Market Dubai
We loved this Japanese restaurant Miyako at Hyatt Regency Dubai. We went there twice, since it was also close to our hotel.
Dubai was an experience like no other. For once in your life I recommend to see it. A place like no other. Also it is very clean everywhere. OCD approved.
It was a beautiful, sunny, winter Saturday in December. My best friend, her partner and I agreed to hike up to Vošca (Woschza). It is a 1737 m high mountain in the Karavanke mountains. It was snow everywhere, making it very magical, but also harder to walk of course.
We took less than 2.5 hours up and a bit more than 1.5 hours down, around 8 km and 800 m height difference.
Almost at the topPhoto by SimoPhoto by Simo
Very nice and easy walk, even in Winter. I would say it is also a good tour skiing spot, but I’m no expert.
After that we went for the best pancakes around – 76 Surf food in Kranjska Gora.
This was actually our second diving holidays with Rick. In the South Ari Atoll, Maldives. Unfortunately, the case of my GoPro was scratched and my underwater videos/photos are pretty bad quality. But the diving was still incredible. Here is a list of what we have seen:
1 whale shark (while snorkeling actually)
1 very big stingray
1 shipwreck
3 eagle rays
5 turtles
8 manta rays
More than 10 sharkies
Countless fishies
Mantas’ cleaning station
A whole dive of just watching mantas
Spotting a whale shark when snorkeling
The island’s name we were on is Dhigurah. The sunsets were just indescribable. One end of the island was very long and narrow, where also a sandbank formed. Influencers loved that place.
Enjoying my last lunch on the island and the flight back to Male.
It is an alpine valley, stretching between Bohinj & Trenta. The number of lakes is debatable. Some disappear and some look more like puddles. Still, it has been agreed to be 7. Vesna and I started our hike from Planina Blato. It started off very foggy or actually cloudy. We were right in the clouds.
We were getting worried, but soon after we were rewarded. Not only that the sun came out, but also the clouds started to clear out. And we saw the most gorgeous view of the Double Lake.
To the Triglav Lakes Lodge we needed around 3 hours. We had a short stop, had a sandwich, some sugar and took some more photos.
Then onto the next one – Lake Ledvica, i.e. Lake Kidney. It is obvious where the name is from. It is apparently the biggest and the deepest.
Panoramic view of the Lake Kidney.
Before we reached Central Sava Lodge at Prehodavci, we saw the Green Lake and the Brown Lake. These are honestly more like puddles, but they are still beautiful.
The view from the Lodge was just incredible. Just before we got to it, an Alpine chamois kept us company for a while.
We arrived to our goal, but the day was not over yet. We still had to get back to the car.
When we were descending we were gifted with the most beautiful sunset and views of the valley below.
It was the most beautiful day with 29 km hiked, around 1500 m elevation done and 10 hours elapsed. After that, we went for a well-deserved dinner at Hiša Pr’ Pristavc. We had delicious food. The kindest person made us the yummiest bread to go with our dishes. They also surprised us with the sweetest treat. Thank you, sir, for making our day even better. Great day with a great ending. Thank you, Vesna, for your company and a great vibe.
My friend and I wished to travel somewhere for “potato” holiday as we call it in Slovenian. We both wanted to go somewhere warm, not too far and somewhere different. In the same breath we decided for Malta.
Malta is an interesting mixture of European and African, which I have not encountered anywhere before. We did not rent a car, but rather used public transportation and it is totally doable. We decided to stay close to Valetta, in St. Julian’s area. We chose it because of variety of restaurants, bistros and bars. Our first night we started off with a dinner in a One Star Michelin restaurant – Rosami. The building itself is grandiose when you arrive. The simple, elegant but cozy ambiance on the inside makes you feel comfortable. And the food was just superb.
St Julian’s at nightSt. Julian’s at night
The next day we went on a free walking tour of Valetta. I believe this is the best thing to do in capitals or cities. You see and learn much more than on your own. Maybe also see some secrets you wouldn’t have otherwise.
After the tour we continued to walk around by ourselves. Filigree is a Maltese craft, where artisans weave silver wires into stunning patterns, making all kinds of jewellery. I bought myself a pair of earrings.
FiligreeLots of movies filmed in MaltaTriton’s fountain at sunset
The following day we went on a boat trip. We visited Comino and Gozo. It was a lovely day with some swimming and exploring.
On the way to Comino.
Comino.
Our boat
After we visited Gozo, where we had time to explore around.
They drove us to the main sights on Gozo with a shuttle bus. Have to say there was enough time to see and even eat some traditional pastries – very yummy.
PastizzImqaret
On our boat ride back we had some more beautiful views of the island.
In the evening we returned to St. Julian’s and went to Gululu, because I wished to try Fenek Imtektek – traditional Maltese rabbit stew. We also tasted Fwied tal- fenek moqli, which is rabbit liver with gravy.
Fwied tal- fenek moqliFenek Imtektek
Our last day we went to see Marsaxxlok – Malta’s little fishing village. Very quaint. We had some fishy lunch there of course.
Our next and last stop was Mdina. We saw the Game-of-Thrones famous Mdina Gate. We also visited St. Paul’s Catacombs – which are a must to visit.
Mdina GateMdina GateBasilica of St. PaulSt. Paul’s Cathedral
Malta is definitely worth a visit with lots to see and explore. One day I can go back and also do some diving. It was short and sweet, with many delicious foods.
Anjability 