jordan hargrave

hauteboy

Visited countries/territories:
South America:
Colombia, Ecuador (+Galapagos), Peru, Bolivia, Chile (+Easter Island), Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana

Caribbean:
Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada (+Carriacou), St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, St. Martin, St. Maarten, Guadeloupe, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Jamaica, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, St. Kitts & Nevis, Dominica, St. Lucia, Aruba

North America:
Canada, Mexico, USA (+Alaska, Hawaii), Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua

Oceania:
French Polynesia, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia (+Tasmania)

Africa:
Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire

Asia:
Japan, China (+Hong Kong, Macau), Mongolia, North Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia (Bali), Myanmar, Malaysia (+Sabah,Sarawak), India (+Andaman Islands), Brunei, East Timor, Philippines, Bhutan

Middle East:
Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar

Europe:
Iceland, Spain (+Canary Islands, Melilla), Portugal (+Madeira), Great Britain (+Wales,England,Scotland,Gibraltar), Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Germany (+Busingen), Italy (+Campione d'Italia), Vatican City, Monaco, Greece (+Crete), Cyprus (+Northern Cyprus), Lithuania, Latvia, Russia (+Kaliningrad), Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway (+Svalbard), Sweden, Denmark, Aland Islands, San Marino, Finland, Estonia, Belarus

Travel Blog Posts

Pendjari Park

Published: June 5th 2010Africa » Benin » North

Antelope

hauteboy
May 14th 2010

May 14, 2010 Hotel: Hotel de la Pendjari, Benin Today was the start of our two-day safari to Pendjari Park, on the border of Benin and Burkina Faso. It is one of the best organized parks in West Africa, well maintained and has a list of accredited guides. We left the hotel around 6AM for the 2-hr drive to the park entrance. There are several guesthouses near the entrance to the park, but the only hotel inside the park is some 75kms from the entrance, quite a drive! The road from Nati to Tanguieta was paved, followed by dirt piste to the park gates. From there it was rattling washboard road all the way to the hotel.. I felt a little dizzy so popped a Dramamine which helped immensely. We arranged for 60,000 CFA per day ... read more

Words: 687 | Comments: 0 | Photos: 12 | Videos: 0120 Views

North to Nati

Published: June 5th 2010Africa » Benin » North » Natitingou

This was not our bus

hauteboy
May 13th 2010

May 13, 2010 Hotel: Hotel Bourgogne, Natitingou, Benin http://www.natitingou.org/bourgogne/ A LONG day of travel planned today, covering over 400 kms north to Natitingou (Nati). We went back to the maquis where we had dinner, the book had mentioned that a Belgian tourist had taught the chef how to make crepes. They were delicious with homemade mango jam, yummy! Our guide Marc picked us up on the moto-taxis for the ride back to Bohicon.. this is where the main north-south road passes. We bought a bus ticket around 9:00AM and waited.. and waited as bus after bus arrived from the south (but not our bus). Finally our bus arrived, only to have no seats available.. that was one problem we were worried about as the buses start in Cotonou. We managed to get on anyway and sit ... read more

Words: 584 | Comments: 0 | Photos: 5 | Videos: 082 Views

That Voodoo that you do

Published: June 5th 2010Africa » Benin » South » Abomey

Our bus to Bohicon

hauteboy
May 12th 2010

May 12, 2010 Hotel: Chez Monique, Abomey, Benin We woke up this morning around 5:30 to get to the bus station, hoping to catch an actual bus for the 3-hr ride north to Abomey. One thing we had noticed in Benin was the proliferation of motorcycle taxis, known as zemidjans (or zems for short). The drivers all wear yellow or purple shirts, and the cost is pretty cheap. It was so early though (still dark out) and there weren't many out on the street yet, we had to wait a few minutes before a moto came by, he then drove off and was able to get two more. They plunked our bags onto the handlebars and then we rode off into the cool morning air on the pillion. About $0.60 to the bus station, at Etoile ... read more

Words: 978 | Comments: 0 | Photos: 11 | Videos: 0124 Views

Fetishes and Ouidah

Published: June 3rd 2010Africa » Benin

Fetish market, Lome

hauteboy
May 11th 2010

May 11, 2010 Hotel: Hotel Chant d'Oiseau, Cotonou, Benin Today we were going to do some sightseeing around Lome before heading over to Benin.. Togo is kind of low on sights to see. We walked down to the beach, which seemed quite nice with palm trees and lots of sand, but not good for swimming due to strong currents and the fact that it's used as a public toilet. We could definitely tell the difference between Togo and Ghana.. the buildings were run down, the cars were in worse shape, just a sense of neglect. Togo used to be quite a popular tourist destination back in the 70's before there were political problems in the 80's/90s, we noticed there were several old hotels that had seen better days. As we were walking down the beach we ... read more

Words: 847 | Comments: 0 | Photos: 5 | Videos: 0164 Views

Hide and seek embassies

Published: June 3rd 2010Africa » Togo » Lome

Hotel room, New Haven hotel

hauteboy
May 10th 2010

May 10, 2010 Hotel: Auberge Le Galion, Lome, Togo, 8000 XOF http://www.hotel-galion.com/ I woke up about 4AM to the sounds of rain.. this is the rainy season in West Africa and I had been worried how that would affect our travel plans. Luckily it stopped soon and we had our breakfast of toasted Wonderbread and tea. Our plans today were to get our Benin visa, then possibly a little sightseeing in Accra before heading east to Togo. Togo issues a 7-day visa at the border but Benin only issues a 48-hr transit visa on arrival; we needed 5 days and so needed to get a visa ahead of time. The first trick was actually finding the embassy, apparently it has moved since the last guidebooks have been published. I found a map supposedly showing the new ... read more

Words: 1087 | Comments: 0 | Photos: 3 | Videos: 0186 Views

Off to Accra

Published: June 3rd 2010Africa » Ghana » Greater Accra » Accra

hauteboy
May 9th 2010

Just finished a three-week overland trip through West Africa with my travel buddies, Accra to Abidjan overland via Timbuktu. We'd been planning this trip now for several years before finally getting our schedules synced. We would start out in Accra, head east via Lome to Cotonou, then up north through Benin to Pendjari Park before transiting Burkina Faso to Mali. After visiting Mopti, the Dogon Country and Timbuktu, we would head back south through Burkina Faso to Ghana again, down to the coast and head west, ending our trip in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Travel in West Africa can be challenging; just getting there can be difficult due to limited flight schedules and routings, then there are other issues such as costly visas and immunizations to worry about. Two of us were able to use our Delta ... read more

Words: 1270 | Comments: 1 | Photos: 0 | Videos: 0196 Views

Dino-schlock in Drumheller

Published: June 19th 2009North America » Canada » Alberta » Drumheller

World's largest dinosaur

hauteboy
May 29th 2009

May 29 Hotel: Fairmont Palliser Calgary Our last full day in the Rockies. We didn't really have any plans for the day but we had to be in Calgary tonight as my wife was flying back home early tomorrow. We were looking at things to do/see along the way to Calgary, or near Calgary. I had noticed the Dinosaur Park and the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller on our maps, that sounded like a neat detour.. although it was clear on the opposite side of Calgary from the mountains. We also thought about driving around Kananaskis Country a bit. We showed up at the breakfast buffet at the hotel right at 8 which is a bad idea as all the tour groups are arriving then for breakfast; better to come before 8 or after 9. We ... read more

Words: 842 | Comments: 0 | Photos: 5 | Videos: 0506 Views

Banff, the Burgess Shale and the Icefields Parkway

Published: June 19th 2009North America » Canada » Alberta » Banff National Park

Banff Gondola

hauteboy
May 28th 2009

May 26 Hotel: Fairmont Banff Springs Today the plan was to pick up our rental car and explore the area around Banff. We had arranged a one-way rental from Avis to drop off in Calgary the following Saturday. That ended up being pretty pricy; a one-way rental that was 1 day too short to be counted as a weekly; also picking up from a neighborhood Avis station. Nome of the coupons/AWD I tried really brought the price down any! There was also the issue of parking; the Fairmonts in Banff and Lake Louise charge ~$30-$35 per night for parking! Luckily I had read on Flyertalk just before leaving that there were places to park nearby for free. In Banff you can park along the road leading away from the hotel. In Lake Louise there is a ... read more

Words: 2060 | Comments: 1 | Photos: 8 | Videos: 0519 Views

Riding the Rocky Mountain Rails

Published: June 19th 2009North America » Canada » British Columbia » Kamloops

Gold Leaf car

hauteboy
May 25th 2009

May24 Train: Vancouver to Kamloops, Rocky Mountaineer Gold Leaf Hotel: Kamloops Towne Lodge We had asked if we could get on the bus shuttle to the train station as many people on the train were also staying at the Fairmont. They wanted $20 apiece though so we decided to catch a cab instead. The bright orange Prius cab only took a few minutes to get to the Rocky Mountaineer station (they have their own station separate from the CPR passenger terminal) through the deserted Sunday morning streets. We hadn't had time to grab breakfast and had hoped there was something to eat at the station, unfortunately they only had coffee. There are separate checkin lines for Gold Leaf and Red Leaf passengers; the Gold Leaf one seemed to take forever with only a few people ahead ... read more

Words: 2010 | Comments: 2 | Photos: 4 | Videos: 0664 Views

Totem Poles and Tojo's rolls

Published: June 19th 2009North America » Canada » British Columbia » Vancouver

Totem poles in Stanley park

hauteboy
May 23rd 2009

May22 Hotel: Courtyard San Antonio Airport, $89 San Antonio airport is only 1h15 from our house, but since our flight was at 6AM, that meant we either had to leave the house at 3AM and risk a flat tire, etc. or head down the night before and get a nights sleep so that we would be refreshed for Vancouver the next day. I found a great park and fly deal for $89 at the Courtyard San Antonio; considering parking at the airport for the 8 days would have been $50. It would also count as a hotel partner toward the Delta 25k partners promo. As it was we got a late start out of Austin; my wife had to work until 9PM and it was almost midnight by the time we finally started driving for San ... read more