1. Travel

Pathfinders: top posts from June 2018

The palm-fringed shoreline of the San Blas Islands, Panama © Andy Troy / 500px This month's round up includes a tale of a voyage from Honduras to Panama, via the beautiful San Blas Islands © Andy Troy / 500px

Throughout June our Pathfinder community has been on the move, literally. This month we’ve read stories of turbulent voyages across open seas, personal pilgrimages to remote Irish surf villages and colourful crawls through Budapest’s best ruin bars (for the sake of research of course!).

In hopes of inspiring you to embark on your own odyssey, here’s some of our favourite blog posts produced by our Pathfinders during June.

Bundoran: How a remote Irish village turned into an international surf town – Christophe Gaillard

You’d imagine most European surfers seeking an Easter break would opt for the warm waters of The Algarve, or maybe the golden sands of Biarritz, but in this post Chris recalls his personal pilgrimage to Bundoran, a remote Irish coastal town that has swelled from a single-street village to the ‘surf capital of Ireland’. A personal narrative about the author’s desire to take on the wild Atlantic waves is combined with an overview of the town’s intriguing history, resulting in a well-rounded read that evokes a keen sense of place.

Chris is a Dublin-based blogger who endeavours to inspire travellers to visit the Celtic regions of the world. Discover more of Chris’s travels at celticwanderlust.com.

Kayaking glacial meltwater in Canada – Lisa Michele Burns

An extraordinary natural phenomenon is brought beautifully to life in Lisa’s post, which details her experience kayaking the turquoise meltwaters that form along the contours of British Columbia‘s glaciers for a few short weeks each spring. While the snaps of the brilliantly blue streams contrasted with the snowy landscapes are the star of the show, there’s something almost magical about this activity – so natural and yet mildly surreal – that should leave all aquatic adventurers itching to get involved.

Lisa is an Australian photojournalist in search of amazing landscapes to document. Follow her blog at thewanderinglens.com.

Sailing the San Blas Islands – Becky Mangan

In the modern era of cheap air fares and luxurious, high-speed trains, sometimes getting from one destination to the next is viewed as more of an inconvenience than a potential adventure. Step up Becky, with her engaging story of a five-day voyage from Colombia to Panama aboard the Gypsy Moth, a large catamaran. This is a classic travel yarn: an inspiring and exciting story full of well-formed characters and witty anecdotes – far more exciting than any in-flight movie.

Becky is an Australian blogger with an affinity for the ocean. Read more of her work at bikiniadventures.com.au.

10 summer vacation destinations to escape the crowds – Michelle Joy

Working to combat overtourism – the act of concentrated tourism having adverse effects on a destination or attraction – is high on our agenda at Lonely Planet, and Michelle’s post is a great resource for those who don’t want to contribute to this global issue. Here Michelle asks a cross section of travel bloggers to select their favourite lesser-visited summer destinations – with choices ranging from idyllic remote atolls to dramatic far-flung fjords – where visitors are more likely to interact with local people, rather than rub shoulders with other tourists.

Michelle is a freelance writer living in Texas and traveling as often as possible. Keep up with her adventures at harborsandhavens.com.

Pub hopping around Budapest’s best ruin bars – Dave McClane

Budapest’s ruin bars are a big draw for travellers and, thanks to evocative descriptions and crisp imagery, after reading this post we feel like we’ve joined Dave on a crawl through a handful of these ramshackle drinking establishments. While focusing largely on the modern appeal of these venues, Dave’s post also delves into the district’s darker history – including its time serving as a Jewish ghetto following WWII – and ends with a useful listicle segment highlighting the authors favourite of the many modern-day drinking spots, topping off a very refreshing read.

Dave is a 30-something Yorkshireman on a quest to see – and photograph – as much of the world as possible. See more of his work at manvsglobe.com.

RUNNERS-UP

Governors Island: New York’s most unique day trip – Corey Cook
Yen Tu: A pilgrimage to Vietnamese buddhism – Justin Rickey
Why a microadventure is good for the soul – Rachael Harrison

Find out what else the Lonely Planet Pathfinders are up to by checking out the Pathfinders forum on Thorn Tree.

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