Xochimilco, Mexico

When I first arrived in Mexico City, this was one of the most frequently recommended places to visit. “It’s kind of like Mexico’s version of Venice” somebody told me.

After a quick image search I saw that it was lots of colourful boats floating down a river, so that’s what I imagined: a calm, quiet, lazy-river-style experience. It’s not. It’s so much more than that. First of all, it’s not just one river, but a labyrinth of connecting rivers and islands on a lake. And it’s not quiet and calm, oh no. Each boat fits 15 or so people, and a speaker, so you can play music from your phone, and dance. It’s a boat party more than anything else, and it’s amazing. Smaller boats come by selling food and decorations. There’s even Mariachi boats who’ll come and serenade anyone who asks. Other people’s boats pass and greet you and often join in the singing and dancing.

Boats bump into each other which makes everyone laugh, and it’s just a great, lively atmosphere overall. And it’s not just tourists, most of the boats in fact are filled with other Mexican people, often celebrating birthdays or out for a fun family experience. There’s toilet stops along the way, where you can also top up on drinks and snacks.

The islands are occupied by people, sometimes houses, sometimes small allotments and greenhouses. (I should note that there are an enormous number of stray dogs, but they are all generally well fed, either by the residents or the passing visitors.) Depending on how far you go on the boat there is “The Island of Dolls”, an island off the river where a man has put hundreds of toy dolls (now mostly deteriorating and rather creepy) in honour of a girl he found drowned in the lake. Some say it’s haunted and are scared to go near it, others find it really intriguing.

I, like everyone else, would recommend visiting Xochimilco (pronounced sochi-mealco, by the way). It’s a great place to take photos and to hang out with a group, and the local residents rely on the tourism economy. The only thing I would say is to go with a trusted tour provider or with a local who knows the place. It’s about 45 mins away from the actually centre of the city and on your way there people will try to sell you passes or lead you to an entrance where they can charge you a higher fee, it’s a classic tourist trap, but if you’re in the know then you can find another entrance where you just pay the normal cost per head for the renting of the boat.

 

Berlin, Germany

A few years ago I took a last minute trip to the German capital because the world seemed gloomy and I needed a break. Luckily, I have friends from the city who were able to give me recommendations and Berlin is such a cool place anyway, we were pretty much guaranteed to have a good time.

Without many plans, and two days to kill, we wandered the streets, turning down any alley that took our fancy. We walked pretty much the full length of city, seeing old and new, east and west, and we loved every minute of it. 

Favorites: architecture, greenery, street art, quirky restaurants and cafes, the fact that people took their dogs into shops and let me pet them.

Least favorites: cold cold cold (-6 to be exact, although we did go in mid November so what can you expect), basically nowhere opens before 11 so don't bother getting up early, and we weren't able to get a direct flight, but I guess that's not Berlin's fault.  

It was the first place we've ever visited that my ex boyfriend agreed he'd actually like to live there. It was so pretty that I got caught up and forgot to take photos. My friend insists that the weather is better in the summer, so hopefully I'll be back to see it again. 

Linn Falls

I'm trying to make the most of the weekends to practice different types of photography, and, lets be honest, get content for my instagram. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the best landscape photographer in the world. It's not something I've ever focused on, but living in such a beautiful country I think it's a shame not to take advantage of the environment around me, so I'm trying to get better. If nothing else it gets me out the house for a while! 

This weekend I decided to drag my boyfriend on a 'hike' to Linn Falls in Aberlour. I love waterfalls and he loves outdoor walks. It's not really a 'hike', it's a really easy 15 minute walk (although it was a bit muddy), past the Aberlour Distillery and fields of sheep. Initially we struggled to find it because I just followed Google maps. Walk Highlands gives a much more accurate idea of how to get there. But in getting lost we stopped by a shop to get picnic supplies, so I'm not complaining. 

BEHIND THE SCENES

 

Exploring Bergen

At the end of October, me and my colleagues at Northport took a group trip to Bergen, Norway. The rural landscape and weather was not too different from Scotland, so it wasn't a huge shock to the system. One thing that did grab my attention was the colorful houses, they were everywhere, and I loved them! It was so lovely and uplifting to look around and see a blue house, red house, yellow house, black house, white house, all different, standing next to each other in a beautiful colourful row. We had planned to travel around more of Norway, to get to see a fjord or two, but weather and time constraints meant we ended up sticking pretty close to where we were staying near Lindås.

I loved the days we went into the city though, Bergen was beautiful, even in the rain. I felt so safe and comfortable and welcome, so I was more than happy to wander off on my own. We went up the Fløibanen, the Bergen funicular railway. I highly reccommend it. We went very early in the day so we missed most of the other tourists, thankfully. We went on a short hike and found the goats that hang out at the top of the mountain - I loved them!  The only downside to the trip, and I'm sure everyone who has ever been on holiday to Norway has said the same - It's very expensive. Everything is. We just stocked up at the supermarket so we didn't have to eat out too often so it was fine.  Overall I loved it. If I had the money I'd live there, in a lovely colourful house, and hang out with goats all day. A girl can dream.

BEHIND THE SCENES