The Garden of Happiness

  One day I was out shopping at the mall in downtown Budapest at West End City Centre Mall…   It’s a huge five-level mall!   Not without its charms…   A bit disgruntled that I could not find a single thing I particularly wanted to buy, I was equally… 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

Pay To Pee

  God Forbid if you have to go to the bathroom in Italy train stations.   First of all, they are scarce and hard to find. There is usually only one bathroom, and these train stations are huge! Train stations are the size of malls, with many shops and restaurants,… Continue reading

4-Legged Beach Bums in the Yucatan

  When we moved from Merida to the beach near Telchac Puerto, we had no idea we would have so many visitors, especially these kind.   First challenge though, was finding the tiny sand road turnoff to our beach house. It was a bit of a challenge, even in daylight,… Continue reading

Cote D’Azur, The French Riviera and Provence

  So what is the difference between the Cote d’Azur, the French Riviera and Provence? It was confusing, but eventually we sorted it out. The Cote d’Azur in English is The French Riviera. Provence is the short form of the entire region, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. There are still all kinds of regions, districts,… Continue reading

Dumbest Travel Gadgets

TRAVEL PILLOW – Total Travel Pillow Gone are the days of flying when you could expect to find a pillow and blanket on your seat. Now it’s more of a DIY experience. Functioning as a travel pillow and blanket in one, the Total Travel Pillow claims to keep you warm and reduce… Continue reading

Best Off-The-Beaten-Path Beach and Town In The Yucatan, Mexico

Progresso It was exciting to see the sublime azure ocean come into view as you drive in to Progresso on the North coast of the Yucatan. We were here is 2008 and it was just a small fishing village with a beautiful miles-long sandy beach and clear aquamarine water. As we drove… Continue reading

Alligator Sausage and Praline Bacon in New Orleans

P1100398 Crocodile Sausage Close Up 2

  You could go to New Orleans just to experience New Orleans food, never mind the world-famous musicians and bands, the friendly people, the wild parades, and the unique culture.    The food is that good! It is “fun food” too.   You cannot help but have a good time in… Continue reading

An Entire Exotic Island to Yourself in Tonga

  We had rented a cabin and were about to spend a week on an uninhabited island, Uoleva Island, in the Haap’ai Group of Tonga. It was an island we would have all to ourselves with absolutely breathtaking white powder beaches and crystal clear turquoise water (perfect for skinny dipping). There were no roads, no… Continue reading

A Mosquito In Your Wine… Is Better Than A Bee In Your Beer

  While I screamed and hollered and swore at my computer with the new hard drive that would not load emails from the external drive back-up, T went merrily off to the Merida Zoo. He has been into long walks lately, so he walked. It was a long walk on… Continue reading

Tonga: The Sexiest Men In The World

Sexy smiling Tongan man at Kava Ceremony

  First of all, there is something I need to explain. What you are about to discover is that in this country…. … the bigger and the broader you are, the more prestige you have!   Quite a reversal from the cultural expectations in North America! Every time I tell someone… Continue reading

19 Things We Can’t Travel Without

    After years of travelling all over the world, there are certain things that we consider travel must-haves when we travel.   Here is our Travel Must-Haves List:   Camera   Sony Cyber-shot DSC R100 – this is the best little travel camera you could ever have. It takes high quality pictures… Continue reading

The Secret, Cheap, Hauntingly Beautiful Mangrove Tour

  It was only by accident that we heard about the Mangrove Tour. We were swimming in a cenote at some Mayan Ruins in the Yucatan, Mexico, when a woman was telling other people about this amazing tour that no one knows about because it originates in a little village… Continue reading

Paraguay: Pride of the Guarani

[mapsmarker marker=”1″] We left Iguazu Falls on a high of blustering waterfalls surrounding us in a circle of thundering water, but we forgot to tell you about our excursion to Paraguay.   We booked a catamaran boat excursion down the Iguazu and Parana Rivers into Paraguay.   The Iguazu and… Continue reading

The End of That Little Road

I wonder what is at the end of that little road?! That question lead us to find some amazing places that tourists seldom get to see.  All the way through New Zealand, we slid off the main highway to see what was at the end of “that little road”.  … 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

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

Searching For Crocodiles By Flashlight In The Amazon

  Well, I have done some crazy things in the past, but this one about tops them all.   On a pitch-black night, in the middle of the Amazon Jungle, in Ecuador, we canoed on a swamp searching for crocodiles by flashlight, with a 12-year-old native Quechua Indian navigating.   We… Continue reading

Gyor, Hungary

  I was so excited to return to my favourite small town in Hungary: Gyor.   Near the border of Slovakia and only an hour and a half to continue to Vienna, it’s a pleasant two hour drive from Budapest to Gyor…   Gyor (pronounced “Dyur”) is packed with charm,… 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