People always says that a visit to Cuba is similar to being transported back to another time period. This was most definitely true shortly after leaving the airport. As we made the one hour drive to our hotel, it was perfectly normal and common to see horse drawn buggies, individuals on horseback and many people waiting on the side of the road to hitchhike. Little did I know until this experience that oil is in short supply (much of it is imported from Venezuela) and individuals who do own cars (vintage Chevies and other American cars) are legally obligated to give [View Full Entry]

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I was torn whether to write this blog as this destination is a place many speak of visiting one day... perhaps to see the first supposed 7 star hotel Burj al Arab or to visit the Palm Jumeirah. Perhaps my disinterest in writing on Dubai stem from the fact that my expectations of the place were not in check and thus this blog resembles a mad rant and reflects more of my dislike for Dubai rather than the likes. I suppose it all began with the stress of wondering whether: a. Alitalia would go bankrupt before Dubai thus leaving us to [View Full Entry]

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It seemed as though the universe was not impressed at my travel plans and did everything in its power to dissuade me. It all began with Zoom Airlines. It looked like the perfect ticket. Direct flight from Calgary to Glasgow and direct back from Paris to Calgary. I received an email while in Guatemala informing me that Zoom was now indeed bankrupt and all refund requests were to be made through the credit card company. Trying to get a refund through my credit card is uncertain as they merely said they would “look into the matter” giving me little comfort when [View Full Entry]

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On a spur of the moment in our hotel room in Spain, we decided to book tickets to go see Moulin Rouge. We dutifully forked over our credit card number and had no idea what to expect other than our included half bottle of champagne per person. When we got to Moulin Rouge the line for the 11pm show must have been four city blocks long. We half expected to have nosebleed seats at the very back of the theatre. Instead, we were ushered to the front row seats. By front row, I mean that we personally inspected the topless dancers [View Full Entry]

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People weren't kidding when they said Scotland would be cold, cloudy and/or rainy. In fact, many tourists came prepared with down jackets and mittens. The Edinburgh castle was my token tourist stop on my two day stopover in Scotland before descending to warmer regions of Europe. I was pleasantly surprised at how the British have embraced tourism and their love of all things historical and turned it into a commercial art form. I was greeted at the Edinburgh castle gates by efficient staff dressed in crested castle attire directing me to the entrance/ticket booth. Inside, well-placed sig [View Full Entry]

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Unfortunately, most of our actual time spent in Spain consisted of shopping (for shoes). Both Keely and I had made previous trips here so our tourist content was kept to one day. Our hotel room was in a central area of town (El Raval) but the room was an utter shoebox with it being easier to hop over the bed to get to the bathroom and vice versa (our shower was conveniently located in the corner between the sink and bidet... no shower curtain necessary). First shopping stop was the outlets La Roca Village. We had high expectations for this place [View Full Entry]

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I was a bit apprehensive of this particular stop before I reached Rio Dulce due to news of murders and the like of both tourists and locals in the weeks before. The area is known as a point of entry/departure for the drug trade coming through the Caribbean via Livingston. However, I emerged unscathed and this area (and Livingston) is probably one of my favourite places in Guatemala. Rio Dulce is a unique area with Carribean influence and American ex-pats living in their yachts. Post-Hurricaine Katrina, Rio Dulce and its Lago Izabal are one of the few areas that yachts can [View Full Entry]

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Tikal is definitely one of the well worn stops on the backpack circuit of Guatemala and rightfully so. To not go to Tikal would be the equivalent of not going to Macchu Picchu while in Peru or missing out on Chichen Itza in Mexico. Although I didn't find the death imagery as prevalent at Tikal as I did at Chichen Itza it was still exciting with the added bonus of howler monkeys roaring in the distance. I was a bit thrown off when I first heard the howler monkey. Having never heard them previously, I thought it would have been more [View Full Entry]

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So after hitting up the Guatemalan circuit, its the List of random observations you've been waiting for (compiled with help from my dear friend Michelle). Future blogs commenting on specific places are to come. Miss riding your old yellow school bus? No worries. Its been dressed up, accessoried with various religious goods and phrases and is waiting for you in Guatemala. Such fantastic phrases include "Mi Dios es Real" or "Jesus es mi Dios" or "Dios vive". Feel a little lacklustre in your sex/drugs/rock n roll lifestyle? Make a visit to Maximon and pay for a favor. Or at le [View Full Entry]

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Things went pleasantly well considering we had little to no expectations for the trip. Its perhaps an odd thing to say considering we had booked ourselves into a supposedly swank all inclusive in the Mayan Riviera but some reviews had been harsh on the Regency Princess as the hotel resort had only opened a few months earlier and they were still clearly working out the kinks. Other than nightly flooding in our room from our shower, things were pretty good. Perhaps its a bit odd to be blogging about an all-inclusive as most don't really consider it authentic adventure travelling. It [View Full Entry]

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