http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/First-Circle/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from First Circle en-us Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:15:25 +0000 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:15:25 +0000 I found myself in Eilat for the second time in five days. I had made a mad dash to Cairo to see the Egyptian Museum and the pyramids I wouldnrsquot be able to forgive myself if I had made it this far without seeing them but finally it was time to relax after two weeks in the always challenging but also extremely rewarding Arabic countries of Egypt Jordan and Syria. I was only in town for t http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/South-District/Ein-Gedi/blog-390430.html Most aspiring adventurers often get their starts in conventional settings. While the exoticism of India or the orientalism of Japan can be very enticing the settings themselves are often very challenging for the inexperienced traveler. And so many travelers have their humble beginnings in Europe with its concentration of culture relatively small distances and its comprehensive transportatio http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/blog-390428.html I had made plans to travel to Peru for my summer vacation and as I was going alone my mother asked if she might join me so she could see Macchu Picchu. After hearing numerous others experiences of traveling with their parents as adults I figured that it could only enhance the journey. So after picking her up at the airport in Lima we set out on a condensed version of the southern Gringo Trai http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Cusco/Machu-Picchu/blog-384418.html Just like every traveler who returns from their first big journey with the travel bug I sat for months pondering how I should proceed from my first humble steps as an explorer of the world. One thing was sure though after my first big journey I was in no way prepared financially for a return to the road so quickly. And so while I hastened to finish off my university degree numerous ideas ra http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/South/Petra/blog-366615.html My plan for the day was a relatively modest one. While some of the days in my past involved neckbreaking tours of cities or sites I was in the Barbados for a four day weekend that I had more or less taken spontaneously in November. A few years previous I had acquired my SCUBA diving license and finally I was eager to give it a try. A refresher course in Montreal at the Olympic Stadium broug http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Barbados/blog-366613.html If there is one thing that the budget traveler knows the least about a place it is often the food. Whereas traveling cheaply often opens up many more doors in terms of meeting people and seeing more the first thing cut most budgets is the food. In a sense this makes the occasional feast all the more memorable for the regular traveler it is not as irregular of an occurrence for the budget tra http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-364361.html My family had as a whole displaced themselves to Charlottetown in the early 1980s. The move from the large city of Ottawa to the much smaller city of Charlottetown brought with it some challenges. Gone were the regular routines friends and pathways and in their place stood ones from a smaller and more isolated place. It was here that I first remember ever having been in a used book store. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Prince-Edward-Island/Charlottetown/blog-364189.html The first day of travel is always the most confusing and often the most tiring. It is when the traveler has to deal with new languages and new customs in new surroundings all the while often being jet lagged. I recall reading in a travel guide about the amount of culture shock that you can expect in any given place. Georgia wasnrsquot listed as one of the countries with the most expected tr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Georgia/Tbilisi-District/Tbilisi/blog-364187.html It must be said that when considering the myriad of cultures and peoples across the world that there will always be some sort of preconceptions generalizations or biases. I even find myself despite my rather extensive travel record occasionally making statements which I cannot back up with fact. But nowhere did I come against so much unfair prejudice as when I dealt with Syrians. It seemed http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/blog-363179.html I love to travel and it should be noted first that I fall into that subcategory of travelers that actually revels in counting countries traveled to and collecting stamps in passports. However as someone who fastidiously keeps records of where and when I have been I had to set myself certain guidelines. First of all what counts as an actual experience and what not. Essentially I devise http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Texas/Houston/blog-362503.html Such is the sordid combination of fats sodium nitrates and meat which make up the hot dog that it is rarely considered a delicacy. But my many travels have led me to experience this ignoble sausage in many shapes and forms. The mecca for this mysterious meat is none other than New York City. Here hot dogs are hawked at street corners ubiquitously and the advent of gourmet hot dogs have led t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Malta/Malta/blog-362243.html In midFebruary of last year for want of anything better to do I took up my roommate's invitation to go to a postcard writing workshop. As I was with my roommate we arrived late I'm not aware that he has ever actually been on time for anything in his life. When we got there the class was in the midst of introducing themselves. I am not one to think that everyone who travels has to http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/New-Brunswick/Fredericton/blog-360825.html The joy of traveling comes from many elements whether it be sampling new foods sleeping in new surroundings or exploring new places. Two of the major ones alternate modes of transportation and meeting new people are combined in one activity that being hitchhiking. Despite a decent travel resume all of my hitchhiking experiences have occurred in Canada or the USA. When I travel I a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/blog-359353.html There comes a time in every adventurers experience when they have the opportunity to do something out of their range. For a cruise ship aficionado for instance this might take the form of a jungle trek when at a port of call. For me as a usual diehard budget backpacker this would mean simply breaking into a higher budget class. In December of 2005 as I read my books for Spain and Morocco http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Ceuta-Melilla/Ceuta/blog-335417.html Travel destinations often have their genesis in very modest settings and so it was that I was sitting with a friend on a public bus in Ottawa talking about the San Diego Zoo when I saw a sign for a special fare for bus tickets within North America. As my mind drew together two related threads I began to work the logistics of the possible journey. As every traveler knows the two most essentia http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Iowa/Des-Moines/blog-334363.html The decision to go to Africa was one which came to me all of a sudden. In the early stages of our relationship Aleks and I had agreed to a cruise in the Caribbean. As our relationship grew deeper and more meaningful we decided that marriage should follow and that this cruise would act as a sort of honeymoon for us. The cruise however was not the logistical simplicity that I had foreseen. Whi http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-332748.html The nature of our acquaintance was not very profound in fact so much so that I never even learned her name. And in so being our relationship was not very different from hundreds of other hostellers that I had met in my travels. And the fact that I met her at the intercity bus station in Amsterdam in the early predawn morning although a strange meeting place is neither particularly notewort http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-332747.html The foreign locales exotic cultures and enticing cuisines which we encounter during our journeys are all experiences which make travel such a reward. Every now and then we come across something else which is a little different. While this can take many forms one of the most common is the chance to try new sports. And so during my journey to Peru as I sat conversing with some other travelers i http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Peru/Ica/Huacachina/blog-332744.html My recentlyproposedto fiancee Aleks and I decided that we would take our first big trip together and we chose one of my dream destinations Victoria Falls in ZambiaZimbabwe. Although the Falls were amazing we decided that with a full week at our disposal that an overnight safari to Chobe National Park in Botswana would be equally amazing. A daytime boat ride introduced us to the park wher http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Botswana/North-West/Chobe-National-Park/blog-290271.html My most vivid memory from this day was the young mother with daughter in tow who boarded the train in Bebra. I was riding the regional trains in southern Germany with my end goal being Trier on the Luxembourg border. But here were these two strangers traveling seemingly anywhere and it occurred to me that my fellow travelers riding that day on a fast train would be missing this ex http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Thuringia/Eisenach/blog-290270.html