This was a strange year for me. I didn't see any new countries but I still had some great adventure travel. I spent two months living in Harar, Ethiopia, writing a series about it for all you fine folks. I'd visited this fascinating medieval walled city back in 2010 during a road trip in Ethiopia and passed through on my way to Somaliland. The three weeks I spent in Harar in 2010 convinced me I had to come back and learn more.

This time, however, I came to settle in for a while. My colleague--local historian, author, and guide Mohammed Jami Guleid (harartourguide @gmail.com)--helped me explore Ethiopia's Somali region and meet the Argobba, a little-visited tribe. Other highlights included feeding a pack of hyenas and meeting a traditional African healer. The best part of my stay, however, was the day-to-day life of visiting friends and making new ones. Harar is a small town and it seemed that by the end of my two months there everyone knew me.

Sadly, that was my only adventure travel in 2011. I didn't get to do my usual long-distance hike, scheduled in late August right after my birthday. I like to do these to prove to myself that I'm not old yet. In previous years I've blogged about hiking the East Highland Way and Hadrian's Wall. Hopefully I'll bring you another long-distance hike in 2012.

My main adventure travel destination this coming year is the Orkney Islands. My family will be along for this one and we'll be exploring these rugged isles far to the north of Scotland. I've always wanted to see the Orkneys for their bleak grandeur and archaeological sites such as the mysterious brochs and stone circles like the Ring of Brodgar, pictured below courtesy flickr user joeri-c. Last summer I checked out an Ordnance Survey map of Orkneys and found that the farm right next to it is called "Sean". Looks like I'm fated to go.

Other plans include a short trip to The Gambia and another trip back to Ethiopia. I need to get some funds for both of these adventures so I can't guarantee they'll happen. If they do, you'll certainly hear about it!

Of course I wasn't the only Gadling blogger to have adventures. The one that made me most jealous was Alex Robertson Textor's series on Far Europe, and of course Jon Bowermaster is always doing something cool.

What were your adventure travel highlights for 2011? What are you plans for next year? Share your adventures in the comment section!

Filed under: Hiking, Africa, Ethiopia, Budget Travel