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The Floor is Lava (and other reasons to watch your step)
Footwear might just be the most important component of the perfect pack for the Galapagos. Along with headwear (which we’ll get to), good footwear is critical for the islands. There are wet landings and dry landings, and as we’ve discovered, a lot of varied levels of moist landings in between. Different shoes are required for each. We have also been on a wide variety of walks. Walks on sand, walks on gravel, walks on corral, walks on rickety wooden stairs, and, walks on Lava. Each comes with its own warning label (or should!) Walks on Lava Walking on Lava is one of the many challenges we’ve faced on this trip…
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All smiles in the Galapagos
Hola amigos, We’re way behind on sharing adventures. Sorry. Since we landed in the Galapagos almost a week ago, it’s been a non-stop, steady stream of seeing animals, photographing animals, and then talking about the animals we’ve seen. It’s left little room for sharing our animal experiences. But today is our (your?) lucky day! We have a break. How could they possibly not have had time to write a single post, you might ask? Here is a typical itinerary of our time onboard the Natural Paradise: “The Galapagos isn’t a vacation” our bartender, Alejandro, wisely noted on our first day. And he’s right. But while we’re not rested, we are…
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Llamas vs. Alpacas (and other fun family-friendly facts)
We know some of our favourite kids are reading this blog (or that their parents are sharing it with them). Which is just awesome. Firstly, it’s amazing because we miss you all and knowing you’re reading our blog makes us feel like we’re all on a bit of an adventure together. And it makes us so happy to think that maybe one day we will be! Or, that you’ll have amazing travel adventures of your own and think of us. My love of travel was definitely sparked as a kid. My great aunt Min brought me back a panda-shaped pin from her trip to China. I still have it, and…
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But what did they eat?!
One of the things I love best about traveling with J, is that we can have the exact same adventures, and yet have entirely different takeaways from the experience. For example, while he’s nerding out over the Incan terraces and trying to wrap his head around the legacy of the Spanish settling Peru, I’m thinking about our next meal. I get this from my mom (hi, mom!). It’s a genetic trait that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I used to be embarrassed by the desire to eat (trauma from years of being recognized as ‘a good eater’ requires a lot of therapy and a separate post). But now, I…
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Hiking the (accurately named) ‘Stairs of Death’
Jay and I have a hike we like near our cottage at home. It’s called Coopers Lookout and it takes 45 minutes, round trip. The views are spectacular and there’s 10 minutes of ‘uphill scrambling’ that make us feel pretty fit. This is ironic, because when we travel the world we choose hikes that make us feel infinitely the opposite. In Australia, we hiked the Grampians. J claims he nearly died and I’m not sure I’d ever sweated quite so much. We followed it up with a hike over Table Mountain in Tasmania. This time we were wiser and packed snacks. We still struggled. Both pushed our physical limits, but…
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Lima, it’s bean a treat (many, in fact!)
Hola amigas! It’s been a busy few days of eating and drinking our way through Lima. Consider this a highlights reel of things we’ve consumed. We (I) had planned out our time in Lima with a focus on food. We had dinner reservations every night, and our daytime priorities revolved around eating as well. To make sure we didn’t miss a thing, we also crammed in a food and market tour on day 2. Of course, it’s hard to imagine food in Lima without Ceviche, so we didn’t even try. Please enjoy a gallery of the fresh, tangy and piquant piles of fish we basically inhaled. I also couldn’t have…
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The (elusive!) Perfect Pack
Some people are nervous travelers, I am a not. Instead, I am perfectionist traveller. Which is why this blog post starts well in advance of us getting on a plane, or anything close to departure time. Because, friends, if you know me, then you know that planning this trip has been a multi-month affair. To be fair, I’ve had more time to spend prepping for this trip than I typically do. And in between networking coffees, ‘working on myself’ and trying new recipes for vegetarian things that I love and Jay doesn’t hate, I have made this trip a PROJECT. And as with any project I’ve tasked myself with, I…
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Morocco: All the things. (Part 1)
J and I have a bad habit when we travel: we do it all. We’re not much for the beach, and we don’t care for resorts or lounging by the pool. We want to go to a place and soak up all it has to offer. But we struggle to balance our FOMO with the desire to return home feeling rested. It’s a ‘struggle’. We’ve been in Marrakech for a week, and we’ve been so busy doing things I’ve barely had time to post about it. So, in no particular order, here are some of the things we’ve done during our week ‘just chilling’ in Marrakech. We found our Riad…
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Korea: Solo in Seoul
It’s been a while since I’ve roamed a new city on my own. I’ve grown accustomed to asking for the city’s finest coffee, and having J conjure it for me from a careful triangulation of internet sources. When we are out and about, I vocalize a destination and like the Citymapper that he is, I follow him there. We map a city noting its craft breweries and hipster coffee shops, and along the way, we stop in at clothing shops, knick knack emporiums and home stores where we buy super random things by which to commemorate our journey. My job in these journeys is the food. I know my way…
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Planet Yukon
It’s hard to believe that Yukon is a part of Canada because it feels like another planet – or at least a place that should be somewhere far far away on the other side of the planet. Let’s explore the things and review some numbers from Mission: Yukon. We were on the ground in Yukon for 9 days. During that time we toured 7 “places” and surrounding areas: Whitehorse Haines Junction (+ Kathleen Lake + Silver City) Kluane park (pronounced “clue-a-nee”) Skagway (Alaska) Carcross (Caribou Crossing OMG – though we didn’t see any there) Dawson City (home of the gold rush) Tombstone park We went on 6(ish) hikes: Miles Canyon…
