We got out of the plane at the Lima airport. First impression? The airport building seemed to be modern but it was dirty and neglected. But it was what we had expected. Tourists do not visit Peru in order to marvel at orderliness and tidiness. We were instantly surrounded by some faces. Dozens of faces. Most of them speaking in broken English.

Most of our trips were carefully thought out: respected travel agency, fixed dates, price and most importantly – destination. Sometimes, however, an impulse, intuition, sixth sense urge you to do something completely unexpected. We had not prepared any plan for this trip, perhaps it was the matter of an exceptionally cold winter, lack of sun and endorphins…

You log in, surf the net, browse through various websites… winter looms from behind the window, but still you can admire colorful pictures displaying on your computer screen.

Tykocin is a relatively small, but still very picturesque town situated upon the Narew River. The town is inhabited by aproximately 2000 people. In spite of its small area, the town is proud of the numerous monuments, local stories and legends. In this brief study, we will do our best to bring to you its local colour. Nevertheless, in order to experience the unique atmosphere of the region, you will have to come to Tycikon on your own.

    There are numerous enchanting and beautiful spots around us, which are waiting to be discovered. To find them, one may browse the web, visit a library or ask friends about their travel experiences.

    Wierszalin is another fascinating site that we came across completely accidentally. In spite of its long tradition and numerous historical records describing the village, we had not heard about the place until our friend told us about it while laying tiles in the bathroom. Darek, the friend, threw the tiles away, sat and told us a vivid story sipping coffee, one cup after another.  

    On the route of our trips, another abutment of reflection over the beauty of the region and its interesting history is Suraż. There is a couple of reasons, due to which it’s worth to mention this town. Going to Suraż we need to remember that it is not a typical tourist town. There is not much monuments there, however it’s worth to visit the private museum of Mr. Litwińczuk, to reach the peak of Bona Sforza or to come into a monumental church, which dates back to 1876. If the weather is fine, it’s worth to visit the public beach by the Narew river. However, history of this place is fascinating, therefore not using possibility of visiting this town while being nearby, should be considered a major abuse.

18^th – 20^th of July 2008 

    The weather was good. For the first time, I took part in Czarna Hańcza kayaking trip a year ago. I found this river so enchanting, that I decided to show it to Justynka. This year, I managed to make this dream come true. And there is a lot things worth seeing there, because Hańcza valley is just wonderful. It is very shallow river with numerous windings, almost crystal clear water and extremely rapid stream. Valley of the river is magical. You feel amazing relaxation even in spite of muscle ache caused by paddling. Communion with such a beautiful nature improves well-being and positively disposes towards life.

    Today, we would like to invite you to Kurowo. The place may be easily reached from Łapy, Bialystok, Choroszcz and Tykocin. The seat Narew National Park is located there; not Kurowo itself but two other places situated nearby are the most important matters here. Driving next to the gas station in Jeżewo, we should turn not into Tykocin direction, but in the other way into direction of Sokoły. Then, about two kilometers further we turn again into direction of Kurowo.

    Croatia is located in the Middle Europe, by the Adriatic Sea. We had been unaware of the country’s diversity in terms of landscape, food and culture before we went there. On our way south along the Adriatic Sea, we can observe the original nature attractions. The Pannonian Lowland welcomes us with the cities and villages typical for this region, we drive through the oak and beech forests, enchanting grasslands and can observe typical European fauna. The picturesque karstic scenery takes as to the motorway which runs across limestone mountains and hills overgrown with short coniferous flora up to the South borders of Croatia. The highest peak in Croatia, Dinara (1831m) is one of the most impressive sites, which cannot be overlooked on the way to Dubrovnik.