The new issue of Wanderlust hit the newsstands last week. And its feature on mysteries worth travelling to has certainly created a buzz. DavidRoss went as far as saying it was one of the best and most interesting issues since he started started subscribing.
He was commenting on Natalie Mortimer’s post asking fellow myWanderlusters the mysterious places they’d like to visit, nominating the statues at San Augustin in Colombia as the one that tops her list.
I dropped by San Augustin a few years back, and while the statues were indeed impressive, it was an impromptu fiesta in a local bar that remains fixed most firmly in my memory. The highlight of the evening was when a man wearing a poncho, slouch hat and a South American moustache started dancing around, waving a machete. Surprised – and a little disappointed that everyone was backing away from him – he implored people to come join him.
“He says not to worry,” translated the barman. “And wants you to know that he’s the butcher.”
The biggest mystery of my visit was that he thought that would reassure me.
But I digress. Elsewhere on the Forum, Mik asks what your travel plans for October are, Chandaala wants some advice on the Algarve and mattyboy876 sets a cat among the pigeons by asking whether it’s better to travel independently or on a tour. Join the bun-fight here.
There are no great mysteries over at Experiences. Just more great stories, written well. Having said that, a mystery is solved. WildKiwi explains why they were so smitten by Ferg Burgers in Queenstown.
If there is an underlying theme, it seems to be about going ‘home’. FarawayVisions has a lovely tale about finding her family in a Bombay slum. And Sundail has written a bitter-sweet story about a journey to a place that used to be home. Hmoat01, on the other hand, serves up part three of her ‘Walking with Poetry’ series.
If you’re hankering for a bit of interrailing hijinx and shenanigans, make sure you drop by suzycatpope’s lively tale about crossing into Serbia.
There’s lots of advice from different corners of the world this week on Just Back From. Treacleminer has been to Iran, and apart from the food, found a lot to like about the place. Trishd has returned from autumn in New England hooked on pumpkin beer. And roovilla is in the midst of a Baltic adventure, sending back advice on Helsinki and Tallinn. Welshdragon, meanwhile, has been to Lake Louise where she enjoyed a nice cup of coffee at the Lake Agnes teahouse.
Oh, and Daisy, the Flower in Power at the Towers, has returned from Croatia looking tanned and relaxed, raving about Zagreb.
Finally, to Photography, where you’ll find lots of strange and perplexing photos that have been entered into our Mysterious mini-photo competition. You’ll also find some terrific photos from Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, posted by mattyboy876. And two sets from treacleminer’s resent excursion to Iran, one on Shiraz, the other on Persepolis.
I was particularly pleased that he had a photo of the carved figures in Persepolis ‘walking’ up the staircase. I’m a simple man and it doesn't take much to impress me.
No mysteries there.
