I created the “Travellers’ Tales” section to give other travellers an opportunity to talk about their travels. Today I would like to introduce you to Alya and Campbell, travel bloggers from Russia and South Africa, respectively. They blog at Stingy Nomads .
I would love to hear about your travels too. Go to “Travellers’ Tales” , fill in the quick questionnaire and email it to me with your blog links.
We’re Stingy Nomads, a nomadic couple that have been exploring the world together for four years since the day we met. Campbell is a scientist from South Africa, Alya is a linguist from Russia. Both are adventure addicts, outdoor and camping lovers. We travel around the world in search of great mountains, amazing dive spots and perfect waves.
Our first shared travel memory is from the Philippines where we met. We went hiking with a local guide in beautiful rice paddies. Alya always walks very fast and I was struggling to keep up with her. Our guide was having a tough time but didn’t want to show it. He kept asking Alya “Madam, slow down your husband won’t make it, he’s very tired!” By that time, we knew each other for about a week and definitely had no intention on getting married.
Taj Mahal, India
Difficult to say. We’re always on holiday but the at the same time, we are always working on our blog. The last place we went to outside of South Africa was Russia, Alya’s home country.
We climbed Elbrus Mountain, the highest peak in Europe and did some sightseeing in Moscow and St.Petersburg.
Our best “holiday” - though sometimes it felt more like work - was a year of hitch-hiking through Latin America. We started in Mexico, continued through Central America and South America all the way to the South of Patagonia. It was a great experience. We met some amazing people, went to incredible places and did many hikes in the Andes.
It depends on the activity: For diving - Indonesia, one of the best dive places in the world. For hiking - Peru, Chile and Nepal have stunning mountains and beautiful scenery. For food and cultural experience - India. And of course, we love South Africa for its diversity and beauty.
We always travel together but our favourite travel buddy is our dog, Chile. If we have a chance, we always take her with us.
We’d say a camera. We love taking photos!
If you want to go somewhere or do something, never listen to people saying it’s impossible, too expensive, or not worth it… Go and see for yourself. What is impossible for somebody else can be possible for you.
There is not one place. There are many of them. And the more you travel, the more places you have in your bucket list. Yes, it sounds strange but it’s true. Some of our bucket list places; Raja Ampat, a diving paradise in Indonesia, Mongolia, and Kamchatka in Russia.
Cape Point, South Africa
We get a new favourite place after every trip to South Africa. We just came back from the Northern Cape and absolutely loved Kgalagadi Transfrontier park.
The worst experience was when Alya lost her big backpack while hitch-hiking in the South of Chile. It fell from a bakkie somewhere on the way and we couldn’t find it again. Luckily there were only clothes in the backpack. All the important stuff; documents, camera, phone etc. were in her small backpack. After that, we slept in one sleeping bag for a month which wasn’t that bad. At least it was warm.
Our main occupation and way to connect with the world is our travel blog Stingy Nomads.
Our Facebook page is Stingy Nomads.
Thank you, Alya and Campbell , for sharing your fascinating travels with us!
I would love to hear about your travels too. Go to “Travellers’ Tales”, fill in the quick questionnaire and email it to me with your blog links.
Who will I feature next? I’ve got an exciting line-up ahead. Make sure you subscribe to the free newsletter so you don’t miss out on some exciting travel tales.
Sara Essop is a travel blogger and writer based in South Africa. She writes about family travel and experiences around the world. Although she has been to 50 countries thus far, she especially loves showcasing her beautiful country and is a certified South Africa Specialist.
Alya and Campbell are both great world travelers and awesome writers, I love the blogs written by them, everything is systematically organized and all contents are genuinely informative.