The clock strikes 9:15 AM in Rio de Janeiro. It’s April, and the heat is not excessive, so the weather allows for a lazy Saturday morning. Yet, there is an urge to explore the vibrant streets of the city and pay homage to the ever-present sun. I get up and take a quick shower, while […]
I hate soup. As a child (and even now, if I’m being honest), I always used a fork when eating thin, brothy soups. It was rebellion in cutlery form. When I became a vegetarian as a teenager, all my mother could think to feed me was soup after soup after soup. She still sends frozen […]
Bold statement coming in: I’m declaring 2023 the year for Peru and, heck, why not 2024, too! The short and the sweet of it is as follows: the shadow cast by the pandemic, coupled with political unrest earlier this year, has resulted in a slower return to travel than many other countries have experienced over […]
When I was a child, I was mad at my parents for buying a family van instead of a horse. I refused to understand why using a horse to get around the suburbs of Toronto was not a practical choice and that a van would be much more suitable for our family. As you can […]
Integral to the grandiose setting, the alluring mist and immensity of sound that comes from getting close to the Iguazú Falls is the often overlooked, culturally and naturally diverse province of Misiones. Political borders aside, this area is the heart of Argentina’s Atlantic Rainforest. Misiones province was named after the Jesuit missions that formed there […]
Uruguay is of wood and marble, of grain and sheen; where rural charm sits at the table next to aristocracy and both happily have sand between their toes or dirt under the nail from the outdoor explorations of the day. Olive orchards, hillside wineries, cattle ranches and small fishing boats all populate this tiny pear-shaped […]
I’m no expert. I don’t have bitters at home or dried fruits, nor proper stemware. Those who know me know that typically I drink straight from the can. But every once in a while I do like to treat myself to a cocktail. Something fancy. And a few weeks ago I was in Colombia for […]
There was a time period at the end of the 70’s, when rock and roll belched up 15 minute ballads sticky with hairspray, and the efficiency of a 2-4 beat and counterculture got lost in the woods and egos of stadium shows. We ended up with “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”. Fortunately punk rock and […]
I’ve freshly returned from Havana where I spent time as an ordinary traveler. A trip on my own time, on my own dime, of my own curiosity. I boarded the plane wide-eyed, and with dance shoes and dusty Spanish in tow. I’ve been fascinated by the dance/music of Rumba, Son, Salsa, Casino Rueda for some […]
The first stanza of Federico Garcia Lorca’s poem ‘Romance Sonámbulo‘ (‘Sleepwalking Romance’) translates: Green, how I want you green Green wind, green branches The boat out on the sea The horse on the mountain Written by the 20th century Spanish poet, the poem was arguably inspired by a European landscape and context, an azure Mediterranean sea and […]
Lately I’ve been on the search for the perfect beach, and not because I particularly love beaches. But because I enjoy travelling with my kids, and a good beach is an ace in the hole. Grab a bucket and shovel, and the sand can bring endless hours of creativity and fun. And swimming in warm […]
Ibitipoca. Tough to pronounce; hard to get to; but well worth the effort. Here goes: Ibitipoca is pronounced “ee-bitch-ee-pokah” (sounds like a palavrão I know). But it actually comes from the indigenous Tupi-guarani language in which “ybytyra” = mountain, and “pok” = burst, a combination of words the natives used to describe the intense roaring […]
The Post Office Essays There is a particular magic we humans get to do. We can have an idea then translate it into a series of symbols which others, years later, can read, so that the idea enters into their mind. We can write and create books and essays and letters, and mark down our […]
“How to Talk About Places You’ve Never Been” is a book I bought a few years ago when I began teaching in the travel department of the local college. Had my passport been stolen? Was this cheating? Was my professional integrity in tatters? No on all fronts. In fact, despite my initial sense of existential […]
As the world has been forced to slow down and the future still holds so much uncertainty, I find myself pouring over old photographs, dissecting memories of trips most dear to me, remembering places which I’m glad I’m took the time to visit. Prominent among them is Barichara in Colombia – a place I barely […]
You are called papa not ‘patata’, you were not born Castillian: you are dark like our skin, we are Americans, potato, we are Indians. – Pablo Neruda, Ode to the Potato Similar to other fuels on a grand scale, the quest to harness sources of consumable energy has been the cause of migrations, the root of […]