Hello friends! My name is Jenia and I am the writer and creator behind these pages. Ever since I learned how to read, I loved books about traveling and started dreaming about seeing all these beautiful places “in person”. But for me, at that time, it was nearly impossible… See, I was born in Russia, and most of my childhood happened at a time of the Soviet Union. Traveling was only for the chosen few… When I was a teenager, the Soviet Union collapsed and people could finally go abroad without repercussions. But my parents couldn’t afford any trips abroad, so exploring the world remained a distant dream. That is until I won a trip to England at 19 years old, all expenses paid, from a radio competition. It was like winning a huge lottery! That trip changed my life. As soon as I started making a little money myself, I saved it all for traveling and no one could stop me anymore!
A lot of time has passed since that first trip to England… Now I live in Saint Augustine, which is a gorgeous coastal historic town in Florida, USA. I have been to 50+ countries, over 20 of them I explored with my husband Michael. I truly believe that traveling is not only a perfect way to satiate our ever-present curiosity about the world, but it is a powerful tool to promote peace. People should educate themselves about different countries, different traditions, cultures, beliefs, and then maybe they will not be so scared of each other, they will understand each other better. At least I do hope so…
At the moment, I do not focus on the quantity of the countries I visit, but rather on the quality. I know there are a lot of limitations, sometimes there are only so many days we can spend on the road, sometimes there is a cost factor… But when I can, I try to exercise “slow” traveling, staying at our travel destinations as long as possible and really explore them. It was a lot easier when we traveled around the United States with our RV Camping Trailer, because lodging costs were a lot lower. So, we dedicate a lot on this website to the RV traveling lifestyle.
Besides exploring new destinations, Michael and I love sailing, and we have sailed our sailboat around Florida and the Bahamas. We were pretty new at that when we bought our boat Elysia, so we have made many mistakes, which we also documented, along with our victories and adventures. I hope this information can be useful to you!
Additionally, I must confess, I am a huge fan of the TV show “Ancient Aliens”. You may or may not agree with me, but I am convinced that there is definitely something there and our knowledge of history of the mankind is limited… So, I always try to include at least one or two “Ancient Alien” locations in my journeys, whenever possible… For those, check out the “Ancient Alien Locations” tab in the menu, where I post stuff that has to do with UFO sightings, ancient mysterious places, petroglyphs, geoglyphs and such.
At first Michael and I posted a lot about our trips and adventures on Facebook and other social media. Our friends and family loved our diaries and kept asking us to start a blog. They convinced us that the information we share can be of use to many people. So, here it is! You can read these pages, take what you need and leave the rest. Maybe you can build your own itinerary based on what you read. I do hope you enjoy these materials and can use them to make your own adventures brighter, safer and more memorable. In the end, it’s the memories and experiences that count the most!
