Tag Archives: Mexico

British Columbia, North America, Update

2014: Travel Retrospective

Wow, 2014 was a year of travel near and far. A year that was busy and fulfilling, was also a year of change for the site, though the migration to self-hosting is still not complete!  Maintaining a writing focus, while working full-time (sometimes more than full-time), and managing a household is a struggle of a balancing act.  Sometimes, it’s more about living the experience, than writing it all down for y’all.  Sorry, but it’s true.

Looking back on all of the mini-trips, visitors and experiences we had over the year, I thought I’d put together a recap of sorts.  So here it is folks, your 2014 Travel Retrospective.

WINTER

January was a month of lingering cough and cold that felt like it was never, ever going away!  Finally, we were well enough to travel, and made it to Mexico to visit Andrew.  The Mayan Riviera, though not normally my go to vacation scene, was a great little getaway. (You can read about it HERE.)

February was a quiet month for travel because we had visitors here for a sporting event.  There was plenty of time for card games, snacking and catching up between their beloved curling games.  (FYI:  You couldn’t pay me to watch curling. It’s BORING!)

Bombardier Dash 8-300 prop
The Bombardier Dash 8-300 purrs like a kitten

March gave me the opportunity to go to Edmonton to visit Jessie.  We spent a few days chatting, shopping, and touring some of the most hideous Dream Lottery homes ever built.   Driving to Edmonton is always a laborious task, but well worth the scenery.  However, for this trip, I hopped the 1 hour flight.  SO. MUCH. BETTER.  On the flight home, I connected with my sister-in-law and nephew in Calgary, and we were all able to fly home together.  Little Ben flew like a champ. (His mom did too;  anyone who can fly with a toddler deserves a prize!)

SPRING

April and May kept us closer to home.   We had a couple of day trips to Vancouver & Kelowna.  Vancouver is always a nice getaway even during spring showers.  For a change we chose not to drive through the city, and take the Sky Train instead.

Vancouver SkyTrain Map
Thanks for the SkyTrain map Wikimedia commons!

I’ve LOVED the SkyTrain since Expo ’86.  And, traveling like a tourist in your own backyard is kind of fun once in a while.   We spent the day shopping with my Aunt; I purchased a fab little backpack that has been one of my favorite gear purchases this year.

Then, the most shocking event in the history of our friendship with Andrew occurred in June.  HE. GOT. MARRIED!  This from the guy who has been an opponent to marriage and monogamy for as long as I can remember, not that he’s for being single, unfaithful or promiscuous either, he’s just never been pepped up about marriage.  Well, Andrew met his match in his wife, and we couldn’t be happier for them.  We travelled to Golden for the festivities.  Catching up with old  friends and laughing until our sides hurt made for a super fun weekend.

SUMMER

Moose Crossing SignOddly, I visited the Columbia River Valley twice in less than 30 days.  Once for the aforementioned impromptu wedding, and once for a “camping” trip with Jessie and her family for the first week of July.  (Q: Is it still technically classified as camping if you’re sleeping in a double bed, have air conditioning and a DVD player?)

Fort Steele
Fort Steele, BC

We “camped” near Radium Hot Springs, at Redstreak Provincial Campground. One of the days we drove through to Cranbrook and Kimberly.  Along the way we stopped at Fort Steele, a heritage town with a sweet little steam engine train.

Seven Parks in the  Canadian Rockies share a UNESCO designation.  Driving through the beauty of Rogers Pass to the Burgess Shale, it’s easy to understand why.

My friend  Stacey came home from Alberta in August, and it was nice to catch up with her for a quick visit.    Jon and I stayed pretty close to home for the most part.  We made a few trips to the Lake.

Seymour
Seymour. She’s a beauty when she doesn’t smell like wet dog.

Lake days are always filled with long hours at the beach, way too many snacks, and pseudo-competitive card games–mix that up with some sun screen, and a couple of wet dogs, and you’ve got the full package.  We brought our niece with us for one of the trips.  She’s quite the car dancer.  The kid has moves even while buckled into a car seat.

FALL

Our new little nephew was born the first week of September…while we were waiting for a flight in Toronto.  Yep, we missed his arrival because we were traveling to Spain.   Jon and I spent two weeks touring through Spain visiting some gorgeous historic sites.  More on that adventure to come.  Trust me, I’ll be very busy writing over the next couple months.

October was ridiculously busy month for me work wise.  A co-worker was diagnosed with cancer, so we lost an integral member of the team while she left to focus on getting herself well.   I missed our annual tradition of visiting the pumpkin patch.  Jon was able to go, and had a great time with the kids.  Later in the month, we were able to sneak away for an afternoon to visit the Adam’s River Salmon Run.  Our niece and nephew were so excited to see all of the fish.  We’ll have to make it an annual tradition too.

Salmon Run
Adam’s River Salmon Run, BC

In November, Fazh decided to go to Denmark.  He asked me to plan the trip about a week before he decided he was leaving.   For so many reasons the task was nearly impossible!  Through some divine intervention, I was able to find his Danish friend on the internet, and he ended up having a once in a lifetime trip.    And now, Fazh too must focus on getting himself well.

December, while frazzling, has updated/reinforced my outlook that the “small stuff” shouldn’t even be a blip on the radar.  There are so many more important ways to spend time than focusing on trivial matters.

That brings us back to January.  Our newest nephew was born on the 2nd.  Fortunately, we were in the same city for his arrival.   At present we just wait to hear from surgeons, so that they get Fazh fixed up.

We’ve had so many wonderful adventures this year; Thanks to everyone who was a part of them.

Here’s to 2015,

~j

Mexico, North America

Mexico: Visiting a Friend in the Riviera Maya

This January we decided to go visit a friend who had been working as a SCUBA instructor in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.  So, with 2 days notice, we booked flights, and took off for the week to hang out on the Mayan Riviera.

Playa del Carmen is about 45 minutes away from Cancun.  We easily hopped on the airport shuttle, and met our friend Andrew at the bus station on Quinta Avenida.  (FYI: Quinta Avenida is one of the busiest most obnoxious shopping streets ever–more on that later!)

As neither of us are really “beach” people, we needed a plan to enjoy the most of our stay in the resort filled paradise.  We quickly learned how to take the colectivo busses (5 pesos each) so we could travel to and from Andrew’s apartment.  With three of us, traveling by car was a cheap convenient option for longer distances, so we decided to rent a car to explore some of the sites in the state of Quintana Roo.

CHICHÉN ITZÁ
UNESCO Designation at Chichen Itza
UNESCO Designation at Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World AND a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Lucky for us, these Mayan ruins were close enough to Playa Del Carmen that we were able to make a day trip to the site.  We hopped in the car and quickly learned to spot the GIANT Mexican Speedbumps AKA “topes” along the way!

El Castillo, Kukulcan Pyramid - Chichen Itza Mexico
El Castillo, Kukulcan Pyramid – Chichen Itza Mexico

El Castillo, the iconic Kukulcan pyramid of the Yucatan, is definitely the main attraction of Chichen Itza.  The structure has all sorts of astronomical importance for when and how the sun hits during equinoxes and solstices.   Google it up if you’re interested.

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On the way from Chichen Itza back to our home base, we stopped in the sweet little colonial town of Valladolid.  It would have been nice if we’d have had more time to explore all that the town had to offer as it was a super cute place.

People would have to sit face to face and have a conversation.
San Servacio Church, Valladolid
COBA

For our second day with the rental car, we decided to head to Coba.  Coba was the largest and most powerful Mayan city before the rise of Chichen Itza.  These Mayan Ruins also have the largest pyramid of the Yucatan Peninsula.  As a visitor, I enjoyed the atmosphere of Coba much more than Chichen Itza.  Though there were dozens more touts which is a definite draw back to any site, the pathways through the jungle, and the trees/shade made up for it.

The tallest pyramid on the Yucatan Peninsula.
La Iglesia, Coba
Maybe another time?
TULUM
Pelican - Tulum Beach
Pelican – Tulum Beach

We made it to the beach at Tulum, but due to time constraints missed visiting these ruins.  After having seen the two previous archeological sites, we weren’t super disappointed at missing Tulum.  The beach itself was beautiful.  Such fine sand, almost like confectionary sugar, and some pelicans bobbing along on the waves made me a happy gal.

The Caribbean Sea, Tulum
The Caribbean Sea, Tulum
BEST OF THE REST
Cruise Ship Cozumel
One of the many cruise ships plaguing the Cozumel coastline.

We were left with a few days to fill up, and I had heard great things about Cozumel from friends and coworkers.   Cozumel is a short ferry ride from Playa del Carmen, and is supposed to be a fun way to spend the day.

SUCH A  DISAPOINTMENT!

Cozumel is touts on steroids, and beyond that, it is horribly packed with cruise ship passengers.  Visiting Cozumel was a huge waste of time and money.  If you’re there for SCUBA, I’m sure you’d have a great time.  We did not.

After the shit-show of Cozumel, I was certain Xcaret would be a horrible experience as well.  We are not fans of zoos/aquariums in general.  The reviews online were utterly horrendous! Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised.  For us, it was actually an alright facility.

Note: We did not participate in any of the water activities.  If you’re into snorkeling or swimming with dolphins/sting rays feel free.  That’s not my cup o’ tea.  Guaranteed my opinion would have changed to the negative had I taken part in any of those activities.

Scarlet Macaw - Xcaret
Scarlet Macaw – Xcaret

We were able to see baby Sea Turtles at various ages as part of the Sea Turtle Conservation program.  The Butterfly Garden was kind of neat.  We saw dozens and dozens of birds, parrots, macaws, flamingos etc.  Xcaret is part of conservation efforts for Scarlet Macaws.

Red Forehead Parrot – Xcaret
Flamingos at Xcaret

This vacation really was a different experience for us.  Typically, we don’t stay in one city for more than 3 or 4 days, and we’ve never had a host or home to settle in.  Being able to set a home base definitely made for a more enjoyable adventure in Mexico.

Mmmm tacos.
Mmmm tacos, before adding the delicious toppings.

We were able to experience several things that we would have missed out on otherwise–like using colectivos, going to the movies, eating at the same little taco stand, drinking Horchata, and even just relaxing in the evenings playing card games.

All in all it was an enjoyable winter interlude in Mexico.  Thanks Andrew for the hospitality!

~j

Update

Update

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I have been trying to find a way to get back into writing for a while now.  Let’s not fail to point out it has been just over a year since anything was last updated.  This isn’t because the two of us haven’t been out and about in the world, but more so because I wanted to take a step back from spending time online.  Ironically, by quickly posting photos on Facebook, the majority of stories feel like they’ve been told.  (And, then there’s Pinterest, which is completely counteractive to anything productive!)

However, writing about our travels is something that I actually enjoy.  Even if I’m only one of a handful of people who reads any of this now, it is a great way to remember where we’ve been.  In an effort to catch everyone up to speed, I will be filling a few missing posts from Asia, and a lot of posts from New Zealand.  My return from New Zealand was pretty much where everything shared here stopped; there were a few Middle East posts to let friends and family know we were still alright on our trip, but nothing of significance.  At that time, I had spent a lot of time writing and editing photos from the trip by creating a book for Fazh.   With any luck I’ll be able to use some of the book as photo essays, and you’ll be up to speed in no time.  Then, to tackle the entirety of Jordan and Israel, and Mexico after that.

I’ve also been toying with the idea of posting information from pre-blog travels – mostly because the photos are hilarious!  I’m sure at least one of my siblings would like to forget Super Bowl Sunday in Las Vegas 2004.  I might also try including travels closer to home as well.  After all, British Columbia is one of the most beautiful places on earth!

In the next few weeks there will be quite a bit more activity here, as I ease back into the blogosphere.

Happy Travels,
~j

 

Mexico, North America

Shrine of Guadalupe

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On the way home from Peru, we had a 2 day stay in Mexico City. There were a few sites I wanted to see, but for some reason I was a little nervous about being there. The Metropolis that is Mexico is home to over 21 million people. It is the largest city in North America, so you can see why it would be a little intimidating! That said, we managed the metro, and navigating the bus system to everything we wanted to see.

Obviously the city is very old which brings along a lot of interesting, dingy, smelly places. The um, how to explain…aroma? of the City was olfactory assault in its highest art form. On certain streets, just walking around brought on an onslaught of odour. Seriously, I can’t even explain it. Surprisingly, the metro system was actually fairly clean. (At least we didn’t see the same amount of human feces on train cars in Mexico as we did in Paris!) There were sanitation people sweeping platforms and stairways 24/7.

The touts were inescapable, but at least humourous on the metro. People would hop on trying to sell literally everything and anything. We were offered crossword puzzle books, ancient computer repair manuals, rulers, CD’s, and my personal favourite–back scratchers.

While in Mexico, we visited the pyramids at Teotihuacan and Templo Mayor as mentioned previously. We climbed the Pyramid of the Sun. (FYI: It is the 3rd largest pyramid in the world.) I didn’t include photos earlier; here they are now.

Teotihuacan UNESCO designation
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan Staircase
When we arrived at Teotihuacan there was an insane performance going on. Thanks to Google, I now know that it is called the Danza de los Voladores de Papantla. The geek in me loves that the ceremony is recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage.

We also went to the Shrine of Guadalupe. The history of the shrine is similar to that of the Orvieto Duomo. To shorten up the lesson for you–in 1531 a catholic peasant had a vision of the Virgin Mary. She told him to build a church where she was standing so that she could offer love, compassion and protection to the people. The peasant, Juan Diego, spoke to the Bishop. The Bishop didn’t believe him and wanted some miraculous proof.

The Virgin appeared to Juan Diego again, and told him to pick flowers and gather them in his apron. Though it was winter, the flowers grew at his feet, he gathered them and went to the Bishop. An image of the Virgin Mary was imprinted on the apron. Thus, providing the miracle the Bishop wanted and the rest is history.

Shrine of Guadalupe Mexico City
Interior Shrine of Guadalupe Mexico City
The Shrine of Guadalupe is the most visited Catholic Shrine in the world. The original basilica that was completed in 1536 is beautiful. There is a new basilica on the site as well. It is kind of gaudy, round shaped, and looks like it should for a building of the late 1970’s. We didn’t enter the new basilica to see the actual apron, or tilma on display above the alter. Church service was going on, and out of respect we stayed out. I was surprised how few people were at the site as I was expecting more visible pilgrimage that I’ve seen elsewhere (e.g.: people crawling or on their knees in hopes that their prayers would be answered.) Still, a site of such importance for so many people is humbling.

Now for science: The cloth has been examined with infrared photography, ultraviolet imaging, and stereo-microscopy. The earliest analysis shows that no under-drawing to rough out the image and no over-varnish on the image. The latter 2 show several layers beneath the current painting with all sorts of different pigments consistent with artist’s materials used in the 1500’s. There are also cracks, flaking of paint and sketch lines that would make it seem that the image was sketched before being painted.

Even with all the scientific analysis to create doubts of the miracle, the tilma still has some pretty impressive attributes. Thanks Wikipedia for the info.

The tilma has maintained its structural integrity over nearly 500 years, while replicas normally last only about 15 years before suffering degradation; it repaired itself with no external help after a 1791 ammonia spill that did considerable damage, and in 1926 an anarchist bomb destroyed the altar, but left the icon unharmed.

In 1929 and 1951 photographers found a figure reflected in the Virgin’s eyes; upon inspection they said that the reflection was tripled in what is called the Purkinje effect, commonly found in human eyes. An ophthalmologist, Dr. Jose Aste Tonsmann, later enlarged an image of the Virgin’s eyes by 2500x and found not only the aforementioned single figure, but images of all the witnesses present when the tilma was first revealed before Zumaragga in 1531, plus a small family group of mother, father, and a group of children, in the center of the Virgin’s eyes, fourteen persons in all.

Numerous Catholic websites repeat an unsourced claim that in 1936 biochemist Richard Kuhn analyzed a sample of the fabric and announced that the pigments used were from no known source, whether animal, mineral or vegetable. Dr. Philip Serna Callahan, who photographed the icon under infrared light, discovered from his photographs that portions of the face, hands, robe, and mantle had been painted in one step, with no sketches or corrections and no visible brush strokes.

I have no doubt that there is paint on the image–whether the miraculous image itself has been painted upon over the years, or painted completely is debatable, but you have to admit that the eyeball thing is a little bizarre.

ps: Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico. Juan Diego was also made a saint in 2002. He’s the first Mexican to achieve sainthood.

 

Mexico, North America

Is my forehead red?

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At the airport waiting for the flight home. Should be back in Vancouver in 11 hours and home in about 15 or 16. Today we took the metro to the historic center of Mexico City. (ps: the Mexican Metro is set up the same as the French Metro. Easy peasy!). We visited an archaeological site that basically shows 7 different evolutions of the buildings and the people that lived in them.

It is kinda crazy when you can see what the modern day buildings are built on top of. Yesterday we ended up taking a bus to Teotihuacan. Teotihuacan is an interesting place but most of it is scorched earth with no shade. (kind of like The Kumsheen Resort in the pre-pool/pre-air conditioning days) Not a good day to forget the sunscreen! Oops!

I would have enjoyed the site a lot more if there weren’t so many touts and chatzski sellers trying to sell their crappy crap to me every second step.  So annoying!

The bus ride on the way there should have been a good indication of what to expect. For the hour long drive there the driver kept picking up people selling ice cream, candy, cold drinks etc. And then he picked up Mexican Stevie Wonder who serenaded us for about 20 minutes. Jon took some good video. (NB: Video to be added after we get home. I’m not that technologically advanced when we’re on the road!)

The bus ride home was 2/3 the price of the one there and I’m guessing there was some sort of deal for standing room only.  We are still alive, so no worries. Maybe Greyhound should look into new pricing policies?

More on the bus system later friends, must go find Squatzi some more clothes.
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Update

Obsessed much?

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unesco bookFor some reason, I’m obsessed with UNESCO sites. I want to see them, I want to know about them, I want to visit them. It is an odd little phase I’m going through. FYI: There are 890 UNESCO World Heritage Sites as of 2010. Jon thinks that our apartment might as well be a UNESCO site, everything else is, so why not is his view point. Really, the dust balls and smudgy windows are hardly an attraction.

Because I’m a total nerd, and also slightly addicted to Chapters, I bought this book. I’m sure as we continue to travel (IF we’re fortunate enough to be able to travel), we’ll select sites that we’re interested in, and if I’m lucky enough, that’ll have one more site to cross off the humongous list.

So, if we’re keeping tally, and I am, I have been to 10 sites so far. The Palace and Park of Versailles, The Historic Centre of Rome & the Properties of the Holy See, Vatican City, Venice and its Lagoon, Westminster Palace & Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, Banks of the Seine France, Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Archeological Areas of Pompei & Herculaneum, and the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks.

After Peru, if everything goes according to plan, the count will be 17. Cusco, Machu Picchu, Chan Chan, Historic Centre of Lima, Historic Centre of Arequipa, Historic Centre of Mexico City, and Teotihuacan.

Too bad if I finally went to the Dinosaur Museum in Alberta and visited Dinosaur Provincial Park, I’d get another site crossed off the list.
Peru, South America

Thanks Magellan!

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Peru_mapI’m not a traveler who can picture where I’m going to be or what I’m going to do until I see it on paper. There’s gotta be a daily itinerary or a play by play and a map to get sorted out. We’re gonna cover a lot of the North, West and South of Peru. That’s lots of country to see in not too many days, but we’ll get it done. The previous post was done basically from memory, which the only reason I know is because Jon has told me the plans about a hundred times over the past year….not kidding!

I still had to ask where we were going in Mexico–apparently Teotihuacan is not the same a Chichen Itza. Good thing he likes me!

 

Peru, South America

30 More Days!

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It almost doesn’t seem real yet because Jon’s been the one doing all the research and planning for this trip. I can’t even picture the complete itinerary, but he could tell you times and numbers for all the flights and busses we’ve got to take.

We’re pretty organized this time around as we’ve already got the bulk of our travel supplies. We’ve gone to get the appropriate vaccines and pills, and now just have to wait. (ps: my arm hurt like a mofo for more than 2 weeks after the travel shots!)So here’s the major attractions that I can remember from the plans we’ve got:

We fly from Vancouver to Lima and then to Arequipa. Then there is a tour of Colca Canyon, which thanks to Wikipedia I now know Colca Canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, but not as vertical. This is where we hope to ease into the altitude while we see the Andean Condor. Nothing like jumping to 3300m right away. (FYI: We live at 377m, and people start feeling altitude sickness above 2400m)After Colca Canyon, we’re off to Puno and Lake Titicaca. At 3800m,

Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world. It looks bloody cold, yet all warnings say wear loads of sun screen to prevent sun burn. Apparently high altitude = no sun protection from the atmosphere. I suppose I should add sunscreen to the list of stuff we still need.From Puno we’re flying to Cusco. Cusco looks amazing. I’m looking forward to just wandering around and taking tons of pictures and checking out all the beautiful buildings. Cusco is at 3310m altitude. Let’s just hope we’re acclimatized by now and not feeling like death.

The next obvious place to visit from Cusco is Machu Picchu. You can’t really go to Peru and not visit Machu Picchu. That’d be like going to Paris and skipping the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower. After all the turmoil Peru has been going through from horrific mudslides this winter, I’m relieved that we’re able to get to Machu Picchu at all. We’re not doing the 4-day Inca Trail trek as we only have 16 days for the entire trip.  Once we’ve finished our tour of Machu Picchu and Cusco, we fly back to Lima for 2 more crazy days packed full of plans. They’re going to be insane, but we’re going to try to visit Islas Ballestas and the next day Chan Chan. (Bonus: Cusco, Machu Picchu and Chan Chan are 3 more UNESCO World Heritage Site to cross off my list!)

The tour of Islas Ballestas will take us along the coast on a boat. Hopefully we’ll see all sorts of birds (penguins, pelicans, flamingos) and dolphins, sea lions etc. Most of the travel books warn that it is stinky and that we’ll probably get pooped on.

From Islas Ballestas it is back to Lima for a flight to Trujillo which is adjacent to Chan Chan. I’ve read a bit about Chan Chan, and it seems like it’ll be worth the visit.We had a choice of flying the Nazca Lines or visiting Chan Chan. It was a tough decision, but ultimately, I didn’t really want to fly over Nazca and feel like vomiting for the entire flight. (Almost every review, blog, article about the flying the Nazca lines includes vomiting.)

So that’s a little recap of the Peruvian leg of the journey. We’ll have 2 days in Mexico City visiting Teotihuacan. And then home.