Christian's Adventures

Last summer, daddy and daughter spent a month in Sicily, Italy. From there, they we were able to ferry over to the island nation of Malta located in the middle of the Mediterranean sea.

Malta is slightly less than twice the size of Washington DC, about 120 square miles.

We spent the first few days exploring the city streets of the capital Valletta.

Malta’s population is just under half a million. This country recognizes two official languages: English and Maltese.

Enclosed balconies are a staple in Malta.

We loved the details we saw while exploring. Almost every door had a unique handle.

The Apostle Paul was shipwrecked on Malta while sailing to Rome. See Acts 28.

Comino, an island off the northern end of Malta, is virtually uninhabited, but it has the Blue Lagoon! We heard of the pristine blue waters and wanted to check it out.

As you can see, we weren’t the only ones that wanted to enjoy this beautiful setting!

Reward for a weekend spent exploring a sunny new country? A specialty milkshake atop a peak overlooking the entire island.

San Marino is the smallest republic of the entire world and one of the least visited countries in all of Western Europe. Many people don’t even know it exists.

The country takes its name from Marinus, a stonemason who lived on a Roman island in modern-day Croatia, but fled to mountain in Italy because he was being persecuted for his Christian faith. Here he built a small church and reconstructed a city wall and thus founded what is now the city and state of San Marino in 301AD.

When I heard about this little country, I knew I had to visit!

The country’s economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and tourism. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus. It is the only country with more vehicles than people.

San Marino is entirely surrounded by the country of Italy, but is indeed an independent country. I enlisted my Italian cousin, Andreas, to accompany me on this journey.

After taking long train and bus rides from the western coast of Italy, we arrived in the tiny, mountainous country. We actually found a very relaxed campground to stay at with a superb pool!

We had to hike quite a bit to reach the famous towers and old city walls.

The view from the top of the country is amazing!

These towers protected the country through the generations. San Marino is considered to have the earliest written constitution still in effect and is the world’s oldest republic.

In all, a great little trip to a great little country!

I had always wanted to visit Machu Picchu and Peru. Once it came time to burn the last of my vacation days before I lost them, I decide to make the last minute trip. My wife couldn’t make it because she just started a new job, and my kids couldn’t make it because of the four day hike to Machu Pichu. I enlisted my good buddies, Nic and Jeremy, to join me on the adventure!

The first stop was Cusco, the staging center for all treks to Machu Picchu.

The old town square in Cusco delights!

A statue of the last Inca emperor points the way to the city in the clouds.

In this Peruvian depiction of the Last Supper, Jesus breaks bread with Machu Picchu in the background while the disciples feast on guinea pig, a traditional Peruvian delicacy.

But there are other Peruvian delicacies as well, like this ceviche served fresh in the local market.

The three amigos chilling with some llamas before the big hike to Machu Picchu. Nic is on the left, and Jeremy on the right.

Alpaca, the cousin of the llama, provides great yarn, but also makes an awesome burger. Peruvians don’t eat llamas.

The Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu is a four day and three night trek reaching altitudes over 15,000 feet and is an alternative to the traditional Inca Trail.

We awoke from camp after the first day of trekking to some stunning Andes scenery.

The Andes are the second highest mountains in the world, after the Himalayans, and people often get a touch of altitude sickness. In Jeremey’s case, the touch was severe. If he hadn’t been rushed to the hospital he would most likely have died within 48 hours of leaving the first day’s campsite.

After I escorted Jeremy back to Cusco so he could make his full recovery in the hospital, I took an alternate route to Machu Picchu that followed this river by train.

The end of the line is Aguascalientes, or Machu Picchu City, the small town (inaccessible by car) at the foot of Machu Picchu. I met up with Nic who completed the full trek here, and we enjoyed the hot springs.

Early the next morning, we made it to Machu Picchu! Weather wasn’t great, but after a long week, it felt good to have arrived at this iconic location.

Here’s an alternate view with my buddy Nic on the far right.

The bros pose at the entrance to the city. It was bittersweet that Jeremy couldn’t make it with us, be he fully recovered, and made it up himself by the end of his trip – and on a sunny day!

Machu Picchu is definitely one of the most photogenic places I’ve been, even in the rain and mist.

On our last night, we celebrated by sharing Peruvian Cuy, or guinea pig. Wikipedia says, “Traditionally, the animal was reserved for ceremonial meals by indigenous people in the Andean highlands, but since the 1960s, it has become more socially acceptable for consumption by all people. It continues to be a major part of the diet in Peru and Bolivia, particularly in the Andes Mountains highlands.”

Although little Princeton couldn’t make this trip, he helped daddy unpack, and was stoked on his Alpaca sneakers I brought back.