Erika Bisbocci
Erika is an avid traveler and explorer of over ninety countries on six different continents. Since 2011, she has spent time studying Arabic in the Middle East, teaching English in Namibia and working as a flight attendant for a major US airline. When not traveling overseas, she loves exploring her own backyard in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
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The Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland
According to legend, the hexagonal columns along Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast were built by Irish giant, Fionn mac Cumhaill. As the story goes, Fionn created a causeway across the North Channel in order to challenge Scottish giant, Benandonner, to battle. Yet, Fionn soon realized that he had underestimated his enemy. In an ingenious plot twist, he conned his Scottish foe by disguising himself as a baby. The plan worked flawlessly. Upon crossing the causeway to Northern Ireland and seeing the large baby, the Scottish giant panicked. If the child is…
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A Donegal Road Trip along the Wild Atlantic Way
County Donegal is Ireland’s wild child. Home to some of the country’s most sublime scenery, the northwest corner of the country boasts gold-sand beaches, towering cliffs and rugged hillsides. Shrouded in mist and battered by the elements, its evocative landscapes are like the backdrop of a fantasy novel. The Donegal road trip along the Wild Atlantic Way wraps around the topsy-turvy coastline of this Gaelic-speaking region. From abandoned castles, to quaint seaside villages, to majestic mist-covered landscapes, the winding coastal route showcases many of the top things to do in…
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Hiking in Santo Antão: Cape Verde’s Mountain Paradise
Santo Antão is, without a doubt, Cape Verde’s most visually striking island. Featuring chiseled canyons, terraced mountainsides, a vast network of hiking trails, and fertile river valleys, the vertical land mass is both hyperbolically beautiful and uniquely individual. I’ve never seen a place quite like Santo Antão. Cape Verde’s emerald isle has a Caribbean-like vibe and a European flair. The island’s culture is an amalgam of Portuguese and mainland African influences. Its jaw-dropping scenery resembles that of a fantasyland. If Kauai’s Na Pali Coast were to have a child with…
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Traveling the Oregon Outback Scenic Byway
Oregon often conjures images of lush rain-soaked forests and snowcapped mountains. But towering trees and dizzying shades of green only paint a small picture of the state’s beauty and intrigue. What if I were to tell you that Oregon is two thirds desert? Or that, in the Oregon Outback, cowboy country is alive and well? Growing up, I didn’t give much thought to the barren eastern half of the state. Like most people, I assumed that there wasn’t much to see amongst the nothingness. However, I’ve recently begun to realize…
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A Perfect Toledo Day Trip from Madrid
Toledo is one of Spain’s most magnificent and storied cities. Positioned on a hill overlooking the Tagus River, the attraction-packed gem is a popular day trip from Madrid and a highlight of travel to Central Spain. Much of Toledo’s beauty lies in its pretty church-speckled streets, its decorated synagogue walls and its tucked-away mosques. With its monument-laden core, Toledo is a testament to the harmony which once existed between the world’s three monotheistic faiths. As a result, mosques, cathedrals and synagogues cram into the city’s dense and compact core. Walking…
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Visiting the Montserrat Monastery in Spain
Montserrat Mountain lies at the heart of Catalan identity. Sculpted over millennia by wind and frost, the mountain is instantly recognizable. Its knobs and rock formations protrude skyward, like gnarled fingers that extend from weathered hands. Amidst its jumble of rocky turrets and spires, Montserrat conceals some of Spain’s most revered icons, paintings, and scenic vistas. MONTSERRAT IN SPAIN: AN OVERVIEW Montserrat lies 50km northeast of Barcelona and 150km south of Andorra, in the Spanish breakaway region of Catalonia. Its name, ‘serrated mountain’ in Catalan, describes the rock spires…
