I’d never wanted a vacation to be over before it started.
Maybe it was because I knew we’d be over when the trip ended. Maybe I was trying to delay the inevitable. Continue reading It Won’t Go: On Breaking Up After a Climbing Trip
“Even sweetness can scratch the throat, grandma said, so stir the sugar well.” – Ocean Vuong in “Notebook Fragments”
The thing is, I don’t like sugar in my coffee. But, I was taught recently that a spoonful of sugar in the pot — if you do it Turkish style — makes the final product creamier, frothier, tastier. I have to admit, he’s right.
2018 had its sweet moments, but I didn’t always stir well. Continue reading The Sweet and Salty of 2018: Reflecting on a Year of Love and Travel
The Flying Goat Camp & Hostel is the new kid on the block in Geyikbayiri. They are distinct in the area for their smaller size and communal vibe.
I had chosen this camp because it looked relaxed, friendly, and picturesque. It lived up to expectations. Continue reading The Flying Goat Camp & Hostel: All About Community In Geyikbayırı, Turkey (Climbing Hostel Review)
Review of climbing in Ballikayalar, Istanbul, Turkey. Continue reading The Best Climbing near Istanbul – Ballikayalar, Turkey aka the sweet, sweet Honey Crag! (Trip Report)
My account of hiking Orla Perć , Poland’s most dangerous trail. Continue reading How to Survive Poland’s Most Dangerous Trail: Hiking Orla Perć (Part 2)
Before Taking Flight on Orla Perć… My Not Very Good Stay in Zakopane Orla Perć is known as the most difficult and dangerous hiking trail in Poland. According to Wikipedia more than 140 people have lost their lives on the route. For the 4.5km stretch of hiking/ scrambling/ climbing, that comes out to 31.11 people … Continue reading How to Survive Poland’s Most Dangerous Trail: It Starts With a Very Bad Stay in Zakopane (Part 1)
Europe, Round 3, began as a non-start. I arrived at Logan on Saturday night nervous about the next leg of my trip. Terminal E is laid out in a long corridor, and I began distractedly searching for Primera Air to check in. I walked down the length of the counters, back and forth. No … Continue reading For the Sake of Self-Interest and Re: The Return to Europe
I started to feel anxious in Lviv. The month-long stay was coming to an end and I didn’t know much more about the city than when I arrived. The only “museum” I visited was the masochism-themed bar, Masoch, eponymously named for Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the 1800s Lviv author and sexual submissive (obviously). There … Continue reading The Delta Between Expectations and Reality: Anxiety in Lviv
For me, the objective is simplicity.
The aim of my travels has been about the pursuit of freedom, especially mentally. I want to live in a manner that feels authentic to who I am.
Aaron Gerry 