Explore East Asia

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” – John Muir » We climbed Ben Nevis a couple of weeks ago - Scotland\'s and the UK\'s highest peak at 1,345m or 4,413ft. 🏔️ Despite checking the weather daily for the best possible conditions when planning our hike, we walked up into the clouds.☁️ Apparently it\'s a bit of a running joke locally in the surrounding area and the nearest town Fort William that \'The Ben\' is in fact actually there when pointing it out to tourists and sightsee-ers as the summit is more often shrouded in clouds than not! In fact, the name \"Beinn Nibheis\" in Scottish Gaelic translates to \'mountain with its head in the clouds\'! The views on the way up made up for it though! 😁 » Oh and now we\'ve climbed 3 out of the 5 highest peaks in the UK and Ireland. Carrauntoohill (1,038m) in Ireland 🇮🇪, Slieve Donard (850m) in Northern Ireland and Ben Nevis (1,345m) in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. Scaffell Pike (978m) in England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and Snowdon (1,085m) in Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 are still to be checked off! 😀 » Do you like hiking? Have you climbed any mountains? Let us know! ☺️ » #WanderingOn #WanderingScotland #BenNevis

\"In the end, you’re just happy you were there – with your eyes open – and lived to see it.\" — Anthony Bourdain » Getting up close and meeting some of the friendly locals in the Scottish Highlands. 😉 This deer had no fear of us, was so inquisitive and came straight over to greet us! So incredible and such an unforgettable moment! 🦌 Gave us all the Bambi feels! 🥰 » Have you ever gotten up close with local wildlife? 🤔 Where? We\'d love to know! ☺️ » #WanderingOn #WanderingScotland #ScottishHighlands

“Never let your memories be greater than your dreams.”⁠ — Douglas Ivester⁠ ↠⁠ We stumbled upon this incredible dreamy beach Playa Careyeros when we were road tripping around Sayulita last October. As you can see we had the place all to ourselves!🌴⁠ ↠⁠ Back then, we took just being able to go on a road trip at the drop of a hat completely for granted.⁠ ↠⁠ We know now it kinda feels like all everyone has is travel memories BUT things are changing slowly but surely! We are already dreaming and planning so many adventures when we can get out and about again!⁠ ↠⁠ We want to walk the West Highland Way 🥾🎒, road trip Scotland\'s epic North Coast 500 🚗, climb Ben Nevis AND the highest peaks in Wales and England meaning we\'ll have summited the five peaks in the UK and Ireland. ⛰️ There\'s so much of Scotland and the rest of the UK to be explored over the next year and we know we\'ll make it back to Mexico and Latin America to explore more eventually!⁠ ↠⁠ We are busy dreaming away and now we can meet up with other households outdoors!! 🥳⁠ ⁠↠ Tag whoever you\'re most looking forward to catching up with in real life below! 😁⁠ ↠⁠ #WanderingOn #WeLiveToTravel #Mexico🇲🇽 #Nayarit

\"No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.\"⁠ — Nelson Mandela⁠ ⁠ \"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.\"⁠ — Martin Luther King Jr.⁠ ⁠ “Never look down on anybody unless you\'re helping him up.”⁠ — Jesse Jackson⁠ ⁠➳⁠ 📷 Views from the first floor of the Hagia Sophia Museum looking towards The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey 🇹🇷⁠ ➳⁠ We understand that being white and therefore, inherently privileged, we can never truly understand this struggle, however, we completely stand with the movement and the idea that all human beings everywhere in the world should be treated equally and have the same chances and opportunities in life.⁠ ⁠➳ Unfortunately, this isn\'t the case and the thought that someone can be treated differently simply because of the colour of their skin absolutely breaks our hearts.💔⁠ ⁠➳ In our privileged position, we need to learn about and educate ourselves about these issues in every way we can and do our best to change the views of those around us.⁠ ⁠➳ To quote another great changemaker, Mahatma Gandhi, you need to “be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ⁠ It starts with you, to move in the world with love and respect for all.⁠ ❤️✨✌ #BlackLivesMatter⁠

\"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.\" — Helen Keller » Edinburgh Castle looms down on the statue of Sir James Young Simpson in Princes Street Gardens. » Sir James Young Simpson was a famous Scottish obstetrician who lived from 1811 to 1870. Simpson is a very significant figure in the history of medicine and he was the first man ever to be knighted for his contributions to the field. » After testing it out himself, Simpson\'s understanding of the anaesthetic properties of chloroform had a major impact on how surgery could be carried out. As Simpson is mainly remembered for introducing anaesthesia to childbirth, his discoveries had a huge impact on enabling people all over the world to overcome suffering.😊 » We didn\'t know any of this until we took this photo and googled his name! 😁😂 However, Edinburgh is very well known for its medical history and there are even medical history walking tours on offer in the city usually. » Edinburgh\'s Surgeons\' Hall Museum is one of the oldest museums in Scotland and contains the largest and most historic collections of surgical pathology in the world, including bone and tissue specimens and human remains. Sounds creepy but we can\'t wait to check it out when it reopens.😁 Have you visited it?! Would you? Let us know if you have or would! 💬👇 » #ArmchairTravel

“Because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing.” —Dr. Seuss » Brian standing in absolute awe at the El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itza!🗿🇲🇽 » Built by the Mayans sometime between the 8th and 12th centuries, Chichen Itza is a huge complex of Mayan ruins located on the northern half of Mexico’s beautiful Yucatan Peninsula.🗿🇲🇽 The complex is an inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. » Built from limestone, El Castillo stands at a height of 30m including a 6m temple on top. Each of the pyramid\'s four sides has 91 steps up it, making 364 steps total, with the temple topping the pyramid considered an additional step totalling 365, each step representing a day in the calendar.📆 El Castillo is also known as the Temple of Kukulkan as it served as a temple to the Mayan feathered serpent god Kukulkan, or Quetzalcoatl.🐍 » We visited this time last year, however, the spring and autumn equinoxes are the best days to visit to see the “descent of Kukulkan\".🐍 » According to legend, twice a year when the day and night are in balance 🌗, the pyramid is visited by its namesake Kukulkan.🐍 Thanks to the crafty and mathematically brilliant architecture of the Mayans combined with the natural rotation of the Earth on the equinox, an amazing eerie image of a giant snake crawling down the temple is created. Kukulkan returns to earth to provide blessings for a full harvest and good health before bathing in the sacred waters below and continuing on his way to the underworld. » If you can\'t visit on either equinox, don\'t worry! The phenomenon is recreated nightly during the Light and Sounds Show at 7pm in winter and 8pm in summer. » We love doing things independently as much as we can when we travel. As Chichen Itza is located just a couple of hours drive away from Playa del Carmen (and Cancun) we rented a car and drove there ourselves so we didn\'t get to stay for the light show as we had to drive back.🚗 » What\'s your travel style? Are you a DIY person or do you prefer to go on an organised tour? Let us know in the comments below!💬👇 » #WanderingOn #LiveToTravel #Mexico #ChichenItza #SevenWondersOfTheWorld

“Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully.” — Kristen Butler » The sun sets over Edinburgh from Calton Hill, one of the seven hills of Edinburgh.🌆 » Set right in the city centre, Calton Hill is unmistakable with its unfinished Athenian acropolis poking above the skyline, giving Edinburgh it\'s nickname, the \"Athens of the North\". » It\'s a popular sunset spot as it\'s easily accessed - it only takes about five minutes to get to the top of the hill from two staircases on either side, or you can drive up and park - and it offers panoramic views down the length of Princes Street and of Edinburgh Castle.🏰 There are also great views of the coloured cliffs of the Salisbury Crags, Arthur\'s Seat, and the slopes of Holyrood Park.⛰️ » On the last night of April, up to 12,000 people take to Calton Hill for the Beltane Fire Festival, an ancient Celtic fertility festival. 🔥 Traditionally, Beltane was the start of the pastoral summer where animals were taken from their winter shelter to the fields and \"Beltane\" is the Gaelic word for May. » In Edinburgh\'s revivalist celebration of Beltane, three hundred or so voluntary performers from the Beltane Fire Festival Society celebrate the ending of the \'dreich\' (Scottish slang for dreary and bleak) Scottish winter and the hoped-for season of warmth and new growth with drumming, fire performance, revelry, and a ritualised procession around Calton Hill. 🔥 As well as the fiery displays, acrobatics, pulsating drums, and body-painted theatrics, the Beltane Fire Festival Society retell an immersive story for the crowd. » The revival of this festival started in 1988 as a free event but is now ticketed. There is also a Samhuinn (Samhain) Fire Festival on Halloween night which traditionally marked the beginning of winter in the Celtic calendar. 🎃 We hope to catch the Samhuinn Fire Festival festival later in the year! » Have been to any interesting cultural festivals? Let us know!💬👇 » #WanderingOn #LiveToTravel #EdinburghScotland #CaltonHill