The Backpacking Boomers

  • BLOG

  • ABOUT

  • CONTACT

  • More

    Use tab to navigate through the menu items.
    • All Posts
    • Travel Tips
    • Destinations
    Search
    And the Winner Is? Pushkar's legendary camel fair
    Cheryl
    • Feb 4, 2021
    • 3 min

    And the Winner Is? Pushkar's legendary camel fair

    It’s said Lord Brahma created Pushkar’s sacred lake by dropping a lotus flower into the middle of India’s Thar desert not long after the...
    50 views0 comments
    You're a Traveller, Not a Pack-Mule! How to Travel Light Even When Hitting Different Climatic Zones
    Cheryl
    • Jan 22, 2021
    • 3 min

    You're a Traveller, Not a Pack-Mule! How to Travel Light Even When Hitting Different Climatic Zones

    Looking for the road less travelled? Then ditch the rolling suitcase and sideline the expedition pack. Unless you’re in the personal...
    96 views1 comment
    Holy Cow!
    Cheryl
    • Oct 3, 2020
    • 3 min

    Holy Cow!

    The cow has discerning taste. Ignoring a selection of colourful scarves, carved trinkets and jewelry, it homes in on a bag of potato...
    46 views0 comments
    Humps and Lumps—Our Camel Safari in an Indian Desert.
    Cheryl
    • Sep 17, 2020
    • 2 min

    Humps and Lumps—Our Camel Safari in an Indian Desert.

    Relax, don't hold on so tight, my camel handler advises me. Easier said than done. I’m white-knuckled and stiff as a board; gravity is...
    49 views0 comments
    Varanasi
    Cheryl
    • Aug 16, 2020
    • 5 min

    Varanasi

    Indescribable is rarely a genuine descriptor; unless you’re taking about India’s most holy of cities—Varanasi. Nothing matches the...
    69 views1 comment
    Phalluses and Fertility in The Land of the Thunder Dragon
    Cheryl
    • Jul 4, 2020
    • 11 min

    Phalluses and Fertility in The Land of the Thunder Dragon

    My husband has been scrolling through websites for what seems like hours, searching for the right tour company to make our dream a...
    98 views0 comments
    Trekking to Bhutan's Sacred Tiger's Nest
    Cheryl
    • Jul 4, 2020
    • 2 min

    Trekking to Bhutan's Sacred Tiger's Nest

    I'm halfway through my trek and completely out of breath when I see it for the first time—The Tiger's Nest. Clinging to a cliff side 800...
    53 views0 comments
    Foggy Recollections of an Armenian Village
    Cheryl
    • May 14, 2020
    • 4 min

    Foggy Recollections of an Armenian Village

    I’m wearing every last bit of clothing I packed, and yet, the dampness seeps through, chilling me to the bone. But the Wings of Tatev...
    49 views1 comment
    The Disappearing Aral Sea
    Cheryl
    • May 3, 2020
    • 4 min

    The Disappearing Aral Sea

    Hulking, rusting ships, part of a former fishing fleet, lie incongruously in their desert graveyard. We're in Moynaq, Uzbekistan, once a...
    40 views0 comments
    Life Spills Out into the Streets of Centro Havana
    Cheryl
    • Apr 14, 2020
    • 4 min

    Life Spills Out into the Streets of Centro Havana

    The friendly baker next door shouts ¡Hola, amigos! as we leave our apartment each day. Four weeks into our stay in Centro Havana, we feel...
    47 views0 comments
    The Daily Hassle of Buying Basic Necessities in Havana
    Cheryl
    • Apr 11, 2020
    • 4 min

    The Daily Hassle of Buying Basic Necessities in Havana

    Jostling for space, we peer through the window of a grocery store in Havana, Cuba. Seeing large containers of water we join the growing...
    54 views0 comments
    Escape From Spain-Yes, I'm a Boomer and Yes, My Kids Were Right-I Should Have Come Home Sooner
    Cheryl
    • Apr 8, 2020
    • 5 min

    Escape From Spain-Yes, I'm a Boomer and Yes, My Kids Were Right-I Should Have Come Home Sooner

    It doesn’t sink in until we see that our fellow travellers are wearing Tyvek suits, gloves, masks and face shields—we have waited too...
    181 views0 comments
    Journey to Lahic, One of the Oldest Human Settlements in Azerbaijan
    Cheryl
    • Jan 19, 2020
    • 4 min

    Journey to Lahic, One of the Oldest Human Settlements in Azerbaijan

    Azerbaijan’s Baku International Bus Terminal, a massive multi-complex packed with stores, is more labyrinth than transit hub. The ticket...
    37 views0 comments
    Toro Toro, Bolivia
    Cheryl
    • Jan 3, 2020
    • 4 min

    Toro Toro, Bolivia

    It's 7am, and we're waiting outside the Toro Toro National Park offices in a town of the same name. There are more guides than tourists...
    22 views0 comments
    Tunisia, North Africa
    Cheryl
    • Dec 26, 2019
    • 4 min

    Tunisia, North Africa

    My heart is racing. It's day two of our trip and already I've lost two daughters and a son-in-law. When planning our trip to Tunisia, I...
    45 views1 comment
    Baku, Azerbaijan
    Cheryl
    • Dec 14, 2019
    • 3 min

    Baku, Azerbaijan

    Baku is lush, verdant, green — and surrounded by desert. Home to 4 million people and a forest of giant trees set amid manicured lawns,...
    42 views0 comments
    Karni Mata--Temple of Rats
    Cheryl
    • Dec 3, 2019
    • 2 min

    Karni Mata--Temple of Rats

    It's festival time and the small Indian town of Deshnok in Rajasthan, India is awash in colour as pilgrims, dressed in their finest saris...
    45 views0 comments
    Salar de Uyuni (Salt Flats), Bolivia
    Cheryl
    • Aug 17, 2019
    • 3 min

    Salar de Uyuni (Salt Flats), Bolivia

    Our oldest daughter, Shannon, is skeptical as she scans tour agency reviews. “This one is a no-go,” she says. “The driver got drunk,...
    84 views0 comments
    Madidi National Park
    Cheryl
    • Jul 14, 2019
    • 2 min

    Madidi National Park

    Monsoon rains beat on our roof and flood the streets of Rurrenabaque, a tiny town considered to be the gateway to Bolivia’s rain forest....
    67 views1 comment
    • b-facebook
    • Instagram Black Round