This paddle day happened on Saturday the 15th of June, 2024. We kayaked down the Bulgarian side of the Danube from Vidin to Lom, with Romania to our left. Contents1 Leaving Vidin + Saying Goodbye to Nimi2 Headwind Around Bogdan Island3 A Coffee Break in Ratiaria4 The Great Leap Eastwards to Lom5 Weaving Romanian and Bulgarian River Islands6 A Break in Paradise7 Arriving in Lom8 Our Stay in Lom9 Gained something from this article? Consider buying me a sparkling water!10 Yearning to share this post? I won’t stop you Leaving Vidin + Saying Goodbye to Nimi Our alarm went offContinue reading
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Kayak Trip Day 69: Calafat to Vidin – Border Crossing from Romania to Bulgaria by River
This kayak day happened on Sunday the 9th of June, 2024. We kayaked from Calafat in Romania to Vidin in Bulgaria on the Danube River. Though both countries are in the EU, they weren’t completely part of Schengen at the time. That’s why we needed to deal with bureaucracy and get a new ship manifest for Zucchini. Contents1 Leaving Romania by Boat: Lazy Saturday in Calafat2 Kayaking from Calafat to Vidin3 Arriving in Vidin: Baba Vida + City Beach + Cat!4 Bulgarian Water Police: Welcome to Vidin!5 Packing Up Zucchini + Meeting a Small Cat6 Six Days in Vidin7 Useful read?Continue reading
Kayak Trip Day 68: Iron Gate II Dam to Wildcamping Calafat – 74 Kilometers by Kayak
This kayak day happened on Friday the 7th of June, 2024. We kayaked from Comoara Istrului on the Gogoșu Branch of the Danube past the Iron Gate II hydroelectric power plant to Calafat. The Iron Gate II (Romanian: Porțile de Fier II – Serbian: Đerdap II) dam is the last (mandatory) Dam on the Danube before the Delta. Though we intended to go camping for one night and then kayak to the Romanian city of Calafat the next day, we ended up doing the whole distance in one go. This was a whopping 74.4 kilometers. Our previous distance record wasContinue reading
Yinj Tan — Hitchhiker Spotlight 🔦
On Fridays, we put a hitchhiker in the *spotlight. This week it’s Yinj Tan! Scroll down to read hitchhiking stories from her journeys. This spotlight first appeared on the 2nd of October 2020 in the NOMADS – Hitchhiking Club About Yinj First hitch: I guess it was 2014, back when I was still working in Singapore. I went to a walk with a friend and a couchsurfer, we got really tired to walk to the bus stop and the couchsurfer saw some other people hitchhiking, so he also tried and a lady driving a Mercedes sports car stopped and gaveContinue reading
Donaueschingen: Danube Kayak Trip Day Zero
Contents1 Mind of a Paddler2 Why the Danube?3 Researching & Planning3.1 Kayak Tours3.2 What Kind of Kayak?3.3 Mapping & Scheduling3.4 Ordering & Booking3.5 Unlucky Planning Jackpot4 Testing & Packing4.1 In the Netherlands4.2 In Germany5 Traveling & Preparing6 Donaueschingen: Origin of the Danube6.1 The Town6.2 The Hike to the Confluence6.3 The Zusammenfluss of the Brigach and Breg6.4 The Source of the Danube6.5 Visiting the Pegel (Water Depth Gauge) in Donaueschingen7 Share This Story on Pinterest! Mind of a Paddler I’ve decided to expand my mode-of-transport horizon beyond hitchhiking. This is because hitchhiking is kind of like my comfort zone by now,Continue reading
Copán to Kapan: A Reflection on Nine Months of Travel
Today is one of those days on the road to reflect on what you’ve done, where you’ve been, and what is ahead of you. Reflection days are the worst and the best, but mainly the worst. Here’s to the last nine months on the road. Since the 29th of December 2013 – minus 10 days in my Passport Nation (PN) – I have been traveling 2,5 continents by anticipated happenstance, sporadic opportunity, and a shameful slice of manipulation. That is already nine months of growth, but it would be silly not to acknowledge the decline as well. Many things and people haveContinue reading