Instagram Photos - KRISTIN COLLUM

kristin.collum

🇺🇲🌎🧳 American traveling the world
🥾🏔️ who loves hiking in the mountains
🙏🏞️ and spending time in nature
🇻🇳 January in Vietnam!

My Vietnam Adventure - part 1 I promised myself

My Vietnam Adventure - part 1

I promised myself that I would post more regularly in 2025, and look at me starting strong! 😆 I am coddiwompling in Southeast Asia (SEA) for a few months starting with Vietnam, then Cambodia, Laos, maybe others, and hopefully ending with an epic cherry blossom Japan trek. We'll see how it unfolds 😊

This is my first time to Vietnam. I was based this week in Hanoi and visited Ha Long Bay, Nimh Binh, and Cat Ba Island/Han Lo Bay. I've hiked, kayaked, biked, and rented/rode a scooter for the first time. I've traveled by bus, cruise boat, cable car, scooter, jet boat, and car. I'm still jetlagged, but what a week!

No photos of it here but definitely a highlight was my night kayak with bioluminescent plankton! It too was a first for me 😁

1-Mua Cave viewpoint, Minh Binh
2-barefoot hiking/climbing on Monkey Island
3-Cat Ba National Park trail
4-Floating homes in Lan Ha bay
5-Mua Cave viewpoint, Minh Binh
6-Trang An river
7-Trang An river - 1km cave
8-Hanoi old gate
9-Ha Long Bay by kayak
10-Ha Long Bay sunset

#vietnam🇻🇳 #vietnamtravel #halongbay #minhbinh #monkeyislandvietnam #lanhabay #catbanationalpark #nightkayak #glowingplankton #muacave #tranganninhbinh #trangan #hanoivietnam

My 2024 In Review: 2024 has been epic! I spent ~8

My 2024 In Review: 2024 has been epic! I spent ~8 months in South America, ~3 months in Europe, and 3 weeks in Africa/Egypt - 14 countries total, 5 new to me for a lifetime total of 63 countries visited. I worked part-time April-November and now am retired early (I hit my FIRE goal!) Woot!

Highlights
- Uyuni Desert, Bolivia
- highest elevation climbed-Bolivia (5435m/17,830 ft)
- helicopter, water, both sides of Iguasu Falls, Brasil/Argentina
- Matterhorn, Zermatt, Switzerland
- Dolomites, Italy with beautiful fall colors
- Egyptian temples and pyramids with my daughters
- the people I met on treks/tours and several amazing Airbnb hosts

Lowlights

-several friends passing away, especially my close friend and mentor, Catherine, in March
-Internal war in Ecuador while there in January
-Protests in La Paz Bolivia while there in April
-InDrive ride getting a flat tire on a highway at night between Cairo and Giza and surviving a dicey 2 hour before rescue

Things I improved on:
Spanish, hydration, sunscreen! 😁

Group Treks
-4 refugios Bariloche, Argentina
-Colca canyon Arequipa, Peru
- Nevada Santa Isabel, Colombia

Countries Visited
Ecuador
Argentina
*Uruguay
*Bolivia
Peru
Colombia
Brazil
*Paraguay
Switzerland
Italy
*Egypt
Spain
*Gibraltar
Portugal

*first time

#2024 #digitalnomadwomen #hikingadventures #worldtraveler

Happy Holidays, thank you, and best wishes to the

Happy Holidays, thank you, and best wishes to the old and new friends I met in 2024! Thank you for sharing in my adventure -- and adding laughter, fun, and connection! May our paths cross again soon for new adventures. Happy 2025!

#happy2025 #adventurefriends #happyholidays2024
#gratitude #worldtraveler

Lisbon: Final fling of the Year For a few days be

Lisbon: Final fling of the Year

For a few days before returning to the US for Christmas, I visited Lisbon, Portugal. I was briefly here when I was a broke 20 year old 😆, so I was glad to revisit as more seasoned traveler. And I was really glad to visit at Christmas, with the lights, decorations, and festivals everywhere!

Some words about my photos:

* Riding the iconic yellow Cable Car (tram 28) was a cool and unique way to visit some of the key sights in town, especially going through such steep and narrow streets.

* The Lisbon Oceanarium was a highlight and one of the best aquariums I've been to. The sheer scale and diversity of marine life were mesmerizing. I especially loved the Leafy Sea Dragon and the Sun Fish -- I could have watched them for hours!

* Elevador de Santa Justa: while I didn't take a ride in this ornate elevator, I was fascinated by this Gothic novelty from an earlier time - built in 1902 by an apprentice to the architect of the Eiffel tower.

* Castelo de São Jorge: Exploring this historic fortress offered stunning panoramas of the city and a glimpse into Lisbon's rich past.

Lisbon, you were a dream! ❤️

#Lisbon #lisboa #Portugal #Travel #CityLife #Oceanarium #ElevadordeSantaJusta #CableCar #StGeorgesCastle #CastelodeSãoJorge #leafyseadragon #sunfish

Dec 2024: Seville needs more than a day! Wow! I

Dec 2024: Seville needs more than a day! Wow!

I started at the grandiose and magnificent Plaza de España, which was used as the city Theed on the planet Naboo in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. I think it's the most impressive plaza I've seen anywhere 😍

I spent a couple of hours at the Real Alcázar, which mixes and blends Islamic, Gothic, Mudejar, and Renaissance design, and where royalty have lived for centuries. It too was a film location -- it was used for the kingdom of Dorne scenes in Game of Thrones season 5!

The huge Gothic Seville Cathedral (3rd largest in the world after Rome and London) was quite impressive too and houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus.

Another fun fact is that the city is the setting for 153 operas -- the most famous include:
* The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini
* Carmen by Georges Bizet
* Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Such a beautiful city, and one I will definitely need to return to!

#seville #spain🇪🇸 #plazadeespaña #AlcazarofSeville
#CatedraldeSevilla #sevillecathedral

Dec 2024 - Gibraltar! I visited and hiked in Gib

Dec 2024 - Gibraltar!

I visited and hiked in Gibraltar, which is at the edge of the Mediterranean, just 15km from Morocco/Africa, and one side of the mythic pillars of Hercules, marking the boundary of the ancient known world.

Things I learned/experienced:

-it is a British territory, so not part of Schengen and I had to go through passport control. It has its own money, government, flag, etc and a lot of mysterious and secret banks 😆

-St. Michael's Cave: is a magnificent and gigantic cave filled with stunning stalactites and stalagmites, including one that looks like an angel! It also now is a 400-seat concert hall.

-Barbary Macaques: I encountered many of these wild monkeys while hiking. They are not aggressive, but I still was cautious and nervous as I navigated around them on narrow staircases. I missed my hiking stick.

-Hiking was good! I crossed a suspension bridge, climbed to the highest point of the Rock, checked out old war relics, took in the panoramic views along the ridgeline of the Strait of Gibraltar, then traversed some old staircases and paths from one side to the other, and enjoyed it all!

-John Lennon and Yoko Ono got married here in 1969. It was the Vegas of Europe in the day.

#gibraltar #rockofgibraltar #ukterritory #hikingadventures #stmichaelscave #macaquesofgibraltar

December 2024 - Not for those afraid of heights! E

December 2024 - Not for those afraid of heights! Earlier this month, I walked the Caminito del Rey (the King's Little Path) about a 1-hour drive from Malaga, Spain. It's a relatively short hike, taking around 2-3 hours to complete and helmets and guides are mandatory. The views are stunning, and I even spotted some mountain goats near the trail. It's a must-do with its vertigo-inducing views, a whole lotta history, and that adrenaline rush you get from being suspended 100 meters above a gorge.

#caminitodelrey👑 #spain🇪🇸 #málaga #andalusiatravel #hikingadventures #elchorro #kingslittlepathway #cliffsidewalk #vertigo

My Love Letter to the Dolomites 🥰😘 Hey Dol,

My Love Letter to the Dolomites 🥰😘

Hey Dol,

I've been thinking of you a lot lately
We had such a great month in October
And I don't know
I saw so many sides of you
But still feel like I just scratched the surface.
We had magical moments together and
I think I may have left something behind,
In your rugged peaks and crystal clear lakes.
You gave me so much that I feel like we're connected now.
And I was just thinking, ya know,
Maybe next fall we could, uh, meet again?
Yeah, I said it.

I love you 💋

PS I actually did lose a hiking stick, if anyone finds it 😂

#dolomites #italy🇮🇹 #hikingadventures #hikingwomen #naturelover💚 #digitalnomadwomen

October 2024 I spent in the Dolomites, Italy, wher

October 2024 I spent in the Dolomites, Italy, where I worked part-time and hiked the rest in beautiful fall colors!

Three most descriptive words:

-Larici! Larches! You think they're evergreens until the fall when they turn brilliant orange and yellow!

-Panorami / Vistas -- epic, noiconic, and everywhere! On every hike, usually from start to end, and on the road -- quite distracting while driving!

-Tornanti! Hairpin turns--which I did hundreds of in the month.

Highlights of my personal experiences and opinions on this trip:

-Classic Dolomites hike: Tre Cime
made me cry happy tears, like when a dream comes true

-Best animal sighting: Monte Crot
Chamois!!

-Favorite hike: Lake Sorapis
Fun, challenging, beautiful, and the lake was incredible!

-Best combo-history/views/towers: Cinque Torri
WWI fort and barracks, cool trail, cool rocks, great views. The drive up was one of the craziest ever.

-Most crowded/still cool: Lake Braies
So happy to go there with my daughter, Danielle! But the crowds were ridiculous...

-Most disappointing/wrong season: Seceda
Glad we saw it but it was too late in the season so not as pretty and not possible to hike to other cable car like I wanted. Really expensive.

-Most personally dangerous/oops: Lake Coldai
Ha, I accidentally went off trail and it took all my equipment and skill to get back on without death or injury. And that was before getting to the lake.

-Most photographed church: Cibiana di Cadore church
I had to take a photo every time I passed. It was always so enchanting!

#italy🇮🇹 #dolomites #hikingadventures #sorapislake
#lakebraies #seceda #montecrot #lakecoldai #fallcolors

October 2024 - The Upside Down. In the Italian Dol

October 2024 - The Upside Down. In the Italian Dolomites, I captured this most amazing view of hikers in the reflection of Laghi dei Piani! It was like I was watching an epic documentary!

I was hiking the very crowded Tre Cime trail and spotted these lakes below Refugio Auronzo reflecting the mountains so beautifully and barely a soul around. I was enjoying the solitude when these hikers caught my eye -- upside down in the water! It was so cool!

#italy🇮🇹 #dolomites #epichike #lakereflection #laghideipiani #trecimedilavaredo #refugioauronzo #italiandolomites #dolomitesphotography

In September 2024 - in Switzerland, I met a lot of

In September 2024 - in Switzerland, I met a lot of critters while hiking. Some were quite curious and overly friendly 😆

This first one is a Valais blacknose. Check out those horns!

#switzerland🇨🇭 #valais #valaisblacknosesheep #swissalps #swisscows #morecowbellplease #hikingadventures

September 2024 - I spent an incredible weekend in

September 2024 - I spent an incredible weekend in Zermatt, Switzerland, and was blessed with mostly clear skies. I enjoyed several cable car or bahn rides--including the highest cable car in Europe, breath-taking hikes (5 Lakes 😍😍), glaciers, desserts, a suspension bridge, a gorge, and a town without any fossil fuel vehicles! Oh, and of course, ***the Matterhorn***!!

-Skiing 365 days a year
-Zermatt has banned fossil fuel vehicles since 1931. You don't realize the stress of traffic noise on you until you experience the heavenly absence of it. Especially, in the mountains, the absence of motorcycles. 👍🏻👍🏻
-The Matterhorn, 4478/14,670ft, is the world's most photographed mountain
-I met a couple from Corsica celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with a trip to Zermatt 🤗
-the Matterhorn is on the Swiss/Italian border and shared
-while ascending in the Glacier Paradise gondola, just before reaching the top, and while dangling over a glacier, the gondola stopped for several minutes before finally starting to slooooowly climb to the final station. It was pretty gusty, so I guess that was why. Initially we were all cool, but 😆 we all were maybe a little nervous after a couple minutes.

#switzerland🇨🇭 #zermatt #matterhorn #5lakes #gornergorge #gornergrat #glacierparadise #breithorn

September 2024 (into October) - I stayed 4 weeks i

September 2024 (into October) - I stayed 4 weeks in Lourtier, Switzerland, nestled in the Alps between Chamonix and Zermatt and very near Verbier. I had everything a girl could want - epic trails and views out the door, amazing hosts that let me tag along on hikes and local events, sharp knives in the kitchen, and a 24x7 cheese vending machine down the road. 🤣

I enjoyed daily hikes with world class views in whatever weather -- sun, rain, snow, and got to watch the fall colors come into their own. I loved it all and miss my friends, the kitties, and "my" hill. 🥰🥰🥰🥰

#switzerland🇨🇭 #verbier #lourtier #hikingadventures #swissalps #mauvoisin #chanrion #brunet #montfort

November 2024 - I ended my Egyptian travels in Cai

November 2024 - I ended my Egyptian travels in Cairo with my two favorite people. It will be way too long till I see and adventure with my daughters again somewhere in the world. 🥰 Love you, Angel and Danielle! 😘😘

We visited the Citadel of Salal El Din and the Mohamed Ali mosque -- the alabaster mosque, a bazaar, went through Garbage City to the Cave church. In Al Azhar park, Danielle was a celebrity and took photos with many girls.

We also visited GEM - the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum (soooooo beautiful and huge), the hanging church, met some adorable kids on the street, and had Thanksgiving dinner on a sunset cruise on the Nile.

I don't have photos/video, but the most memorable event of our stay was going back home around 10pm to Giza from a Cairo food tour and our Indrive ride got a flat tire on the highway. Long story short, we were rescued by our Airbnb host's driver after an hour on the side of the road in an increasingly fraught situation. Ha. Good times...

#egypt🇪🇬 #cairo #cairocitadel #alabastermosque #hangingchurch #cairocavechurch #grandegyptianmuseum #alazharpark #garbagecitycairo

Nov 2024 - After seeing the pyramids, we visited a

Nov 2024 - After seeing the pyramids, we visited and explored the White Desert and Black Desert, several hours south of Cairo, and camped overnight.

#egypt🇪🇬 #whitedesert #blackdesert #desertcamping #sandboarding #cairo

Nov 2024 - My girls and I met in Cairo for Thanksg

Nov 2024 - My girls and I met in Cairo for Thanksgiving week to realize our dreams of visiting the pyramids! 🙏🏻🥰😎

#egypt🇪🇬 #greatpyramidsofgiza #sphynx #cairo #ancientegypt

Nov 2024 - I spent 5 days in Aswan, staying on the

Nov 2024 - I spent 5 days in Aswan, staying on the quiet Elephantine Island. I visited more amazing temples (Edfu Temple of Horus, Kom Ombu temple, Philae Temple, and the *** unbelievable Abu Sembel temples***), enjoyed the sunrise and sunset on the Nile and visiting and learning about Nubian culture, and checked out the unfinished obelisk and Aswan Dam.

While my favorite temple was Abu Sembel, the 3.5 hour drive each way from Aswan was idiotic. Everyone on every tour (hundreds daily) leaves Aswan at 4 am, all stopping half way at the same rest stop, arriving at the temples, and returning within 10-15 minutes of each other. The crowds at the temple were insane and completely avoidable 😭😭😭 Maybe there is a reason for this, but I got blank stares and confused looks when I asked why they couldn't stagger the tour times throughout the day....

And interesting fact -- Abu Sempel was moved stone by stone to higher ground as its original location is now underwater in Lake Nasser.

#egypt🇪🇬 #aswan #abusembel #egypttours #visitegypt #nileriver #nubianvillage

Nov 2024 - I spent a week in Luxor, Egypt, on the

Nov 2024 - I spent a week in Luxor, Egypt, on the Nile where I visited many temples and museums (Karnak, Luxor, Habu, Dandera, Hapshepsut), the Colossi of Memnon, the Valley of the Kings, tombs of the nobles, and enjoyed watching all the hot air balloons each morning and experienced a felucca ride at sunset.

August 2024: My last Iguaçu entry - this time fro

August 2024: My last Iguaçu entry - this time from the Brazil side. Each side is different. Each is amazing. I hope you can visit all sides yourself someday!

#brazil🇧🇷 #iguassufalls #fozdoiguaçu #adventuretravel #waterfalls

August 2024 on the Argentina side of Iguassu Falls

August 2024 on the Argentina side of Iguassu Falls. Everyone asks which side is better. Why does that have to be a question? Any side you can be on is the best! 🥰

#argentina🇦🇷 #iguazú #iguassufalls #8thwonderoftheworld #cataratasdeliguazú #waterfalls

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