The Journey After a day of walking around Addis second-guessing my options as to how I'd get to Bahir Dar, I finally found an Ethiopian Airlines office that would honor my discount without a round-trip ticket from and back to Canada. This meant that the flight to Bahir Dar would be 60 dollars instead of 150. After an hour delay at the airport and a somewhat stormy flight, I arrived in Bahir Dar at about 8PM. It was still much warmer outside than in Addis, and I was surprised to see that the streets were lined with palm trees. My guidebook (Bradt Travel Guide) didn't seem to recommend anywhere they had listed, but some Peace Corps volunteers recommended staying in this hotel: NGG Lounge While it's a large institutional-looking building, it's well constructed and the rooms ... read more

After a night in Cienfuegos, I arrived in Trinidad (an hour and a half away -- take a taxi or Transtur, not Viazul, to make it even shorter) hoping expecting to find a town that warrants its effusive descriptions in travel books. While I had heard some negative things from other travelers about how touristy the town is, I'd also heard that it's a can't-miss colonial town frozen in time. Sadly, in the end, I have to go with the former of the opinions: I was disappointed. THE TOWN I immediately found the perfectly polished city center to be disingenuous. Everything is perfectly manicured and restored, even more than inplaces like Granada, Nicaragua and Antigua, Guatemala. What bothered me the most about the main square is that unlike in Granada and Antigua, there are really no ... read more

Vinales is a four-hour bus ride from Havana. Many schedules show that it is a much longer trip, but it's untrue. If you're spending six or seven hours to get there, you're torturing yourself for no reason. The highway between is in pretty good shape, and there is practically no one on it. Only when you get close to Vinales does it start to get winding. A taxi (which, if you have two people or more, is somehow the same price as a bus) can get you there even faster. There is a plethora of casas particulares in Vinales. It's a small town, so everywhere is within walking distance. There are a few tourist agencies in town, but the owners of the casas really push to organize hikes, horseback riding, taxis to the beach, and other ... read more

Valladolid is the perfect place to use as a base while in the Yucatan. There are some tourists that come on buses from Cancun, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen, and thus some gringo-targeted shops and restaurants around the central park, but aside from that and an enclave of hotels on Los Frailes, it's an authentic Mexican small city that pays little attention to tourists. It's particularly refreshing after spending some time in Belize and Tulum, where the main attractions are beaches and activities, and not as much people and culture. Everyone is far friendlier inland and the city is perfectly clean, safe, and easy to navigate (all streets are in fact numbered and on a grid). It's also quite hot there, at least in late July. It was in the mid-nineties (F) every day and fairly ... read more

If you're backpacking from Mexico to Guatemala (or vice versa) along the coast, it's impossible to avoid Belize. I met some people who just did a straight bus shot through Belize without stopping, since it is an English speaking country, is heavily westernized, is pretty touristy, and is rather expensive. So, is it worth a stop in Caye Caulker if you are a backpacker passing through Belize between Guatemala and Mexico? Maybe. It's geared toward those on a budget, and you'll have plenty of company, but it just didn't catch me like it did some people. I might be missing something, though, since there are a few expats there who came and never left. This site gives a good idea of what you can do there. A few more notes: If you are looking to dive ... read more