White Cinderella Castle On The Danube

  With the River Danube running through the centre of the city, Budapest is a spectacular city!   Did you know that there are two separate cities that make up Budapest? Buda is on the West side of the Danube and Pest (pronounced Pesht) is on the East side of… Continue reading

Stomping Your Feet Does Not Help

  It started with a comedy of errors. Freezing rain cancelled our flight out of Toronto to Nicaragua so there were 40-minute line-ups at the pay phones just to try to re-schedule. T was relatively new at “travel glitches” and was wringing his hands in anxiety. After many years of travel… Continue reading

Half-Asleep, Half-Awake

Half-asleep, half-awake, over-stimulated in airports, under-stimulated on long flights, out-of-sorts, out-of-routine, off-keel, and off-base, much like when you wake up after surgery with the effects of heavy-duty drugs. In short,  jet lag.   And in this condition, you are expected to navigate new airports…   And take off your jacket, sweater,… Continue reading

Chocolate Withdrawal & Turtle For Supper

For such a tiny island, we had some amazing varieties of food on Little Corn Island. There was mostly Nica (Nicaraguan) food, but our favourite restaurant was the Cuban Café, which served delicious Coconut Lobster.    Dinners at Lobster Inn   The dinners at our hotel, the Lobster Inn, were… Continue reading

Argentina: How To Kayak Without Getting Wet

  Had we gone canoeing here on our own, we would surely have been lost for days.   The Parana Delta in Argentina is a maze of tiny waterways through a wetlands jungle forest. It is one of the largest deltas in the world covering over 8000 square feet. The… Continue reading

The Cure For Boredom Is Curiosity

  We’re off another adventure! I’m a little nervous though and I have no idea why. Maybe it’s just excitement, or the stress of wondering if I have covered all the bases. Staying in another country for four months is not quite the same as a one week or one… Continue reading

Borneo: Stripped Naked By An Orangutan

  Sepilok Orangutan Nursery   We were still giddy from seeing the wild Orangutans that morning.  After returning to the gorgeous Sepilok Nature Resort, we had lunch and a short break before we headed to the Sepilok Orangutan Nursery and Rehabilitation Centre.   The Orangutan Nursery and Rehabilitation Centre houses… Continue reading

Penang, Malaysia: What Is A Chew Jetty?

  Walking toward the Chew Jetty, we were excited. We had heard it was a fantastic sight, the highlight of Penang.     First of All, What is a Jetty?   It’s an odd name, but not odd for the Chinese in Malaysia. Jetty is the name of an actual… Continue reading

Come Rain Or Snow…

  Happily touring around Ireland enjoying the lush richness of every shade of green imaginable, from lime green to kelly green to deep sage green, we could hardly believe how beautiful it was.      Our B&B was lovely, but with icy cold bedrooms, as most are. The outside day… Continue reading

Borneo: Rare Sighting of the Cutest Pygmy Elephants

A Rare Experience   We felt extremely privileged to see the Pygmy Elephants in Borneo.   These Borneo Elephants are the cutest elephants you have ever seen! They look like they are straight out of a Disney movie. They have big baby-face heads, big floppy ears, chubby tummies, straight husks… Continue reading

With My Eyes Closed

  “Want to go to Argentina?” I said to my friend D. “What? Argentina? Hmm… I don’t know… how long?” “Just a month. There is a great price out of LA.” “A month! I can’t get that much time off work.” “Are you sure? Have you asked?” “No. Ok, I’ll… Continue reading

The Gilligans’ Island Experience

Internet Hut: After receiving 3 or 4 completely different directions for getting to the only Internet access on Little Corn Island, we traipsed through the jungle to the East side of the island and after ten minutes came to a tiny Gilligan Island style hut with two old computers. We… Continue reading

Staying With A Family In Ecuador

We love to host people from other countries in our home in Canada, and that’s how we met Fernando and Toa from Ecuador. Nothing tells you as much about a country as a home stay with a local family.   Sites like www.hospitalityclub.org, and www.couchsurfing.org and www.globalfreeloaders.com offer free stays of… Continue reading

A People Study in Aix (or Classic French Style)

  Aix is an elegant city with extremely well-dressed people, cobblestone streets, book stores, parks, gardens, and it has the beautiful Fountain la Rotunde at the end of the Cours Mirabeau, often compared to the Champs-Elysees street in Paris. There is a cultural air in Aix, and a hint of snobbishness.  … Continue reading

The Sexiest Dance in Mexico

  One of the sexiest dances I’ve ever seen, except for the Argentine Tango, is this Cumbia. We just happened upon a fiesta in the little town of Chelem, west of Progreso, in the Yucatan region of Mexico. Part of the fiesta was a Cumbia Dance performance.   We had… Continue reading

Little Boy Gets Buried in Sand

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  One evening on Isla Mujeres, Mexico, the sunset was particularly beautiful. We walked out onto the beach, closer to the water, to take a few colourful sunset photos. A Mexican man and his four children were laughing and playing beside a table and chairs. I asked if I might… Continue reading

Car and Driver In Ecuador, Cheaper Than Car Rental

  Usually we rent a car and explore a country on our own. There is such a joyous freedom in being able to stop when you want and where you want, or take that little side road, or stop at that quaint little village.   This time though, after a… Continue reading

Lol Tun Cave, Yucatan: An Underground Castle

  Grottoes Loltún, Lol Tun Cave, Yucatan: An Underground Castle Take a walk into Lol Tun (Grottoes Loltún) Cave, and it feels like you are walking into a grandiose cathedral or castle. It is a bit of a rough walk down and into the cave but it is well worth… Continue reading

If I Had One Thousand Dollars…

  We’ve been researching all kinds of travel accessories to see if there are any that are truly worthwhile, and which ones are just another tech toy to take up more precious room in your carry-on.   But I wish they would invent one friggin’ cord that works in ALL… Continue reading

CUBA: Let’s Do The Time Warp Again… It’s A Jump To The Left…

  If you have ever wanted to go back to the 1950’s, you can easily do it in Havana, or anywhere in Cuba (with the exception of the tourist resorts).   It’s fun to actually feel the Cuba time warp. For us, it was like going back to our childhoods…. Continue reading