Robyn's Wanderings

Santiago's Hills

Poor Santiago….and, well, Buenos Aires and  other South American cities near Chile. How was Chile supposed to know that they had a volcano that would ground flights?

Last Friday Chile’s Puyehue-Cordon-Caulle volcano range, about 800km (500 miles) south of Santiago, began erupting and has created a cloud as far as Buenos Aires that has caused problems in the city.

And it keeps causing problems. Thousands of Chileans had to be evacuated from their homes and rains threatened to bring landslides to the area. So sad.

Santiago is such an amazing city and Chile is such an amazing country. I suppose this is how Iceland felt? And Chile could be in for more. It’s one of the most volcanic countries on Earth with more than 3,000 volcanoes (80 of which are active) running the length of the thin South American land.

Want to see more photos from the eruption last week? Check it out here.

I know the eruption will mean flights have been delayed or canceled, but I hope for Chile’s sake and those who have not been there, that it doesn’t deter tourists for too long.

Santiago alone is enough to warrant multiple write-ups about this beautiful country. With it’s variety of neighbourhoods, great food, fun people and beautiful background of the Andes, Santiago is a town worth making a trek for.

Which way in Buenos Aires?

to know which way is up. Which is why this Friday it’s an optical illusion brought to you from the Art Gallery in La Boca (a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires).

Usually it’s associated with coloured houses and tourists getting mugged, but me and my travel buddies found safety from the crowds and a break from the colour on the roof top of the museum.

The museum also offered an optical illusion.

Because who knows which way is up, right? If you’re a traveler you know what I mean. When is it right to stop traveling? What is the right answer?

Are you supposed to stop? Are you supposed to settle down? Are babies supposed to be what you want? Is that the right way to lead life?

Or is it so tempting to hit the road again when you look at your photos of Argentina you almost book your ticket South? And is your need so strong to meet new people and be bombarded with different views that you actually envision yourself sitting in a youth hostel?

I don’t know where I am. I am traveling between images and so I thought La Boca might help on this Friday photo of the day. Visit Robyn’s Argentina Photos for more images.

Wandering the streets of Buenos Aires

“Robyn, I don’t know if I can come to Buenos Aires.”

“What! Why not?”

“They say there are street protests by students often and there are pickpockets. My mom is worried.”

“Uh, Rachel you live in New York City. Seriously?”

The absurdity must have hit home; Rachel met me in Buenos Aires. And not a minute too soon. I had been traveling for almost a year around the world last year and I was tired. I wanted a friendly face.

I couldn’t believe the United States’ Government had almost gotten in the way. I’ll be the first to admit it: I never check travel advisories. They seem like a waste of time. Unfortunately my friend, and travel buddy, Rachel wasn’t quite so reckless and nearly ruined her trip! We both survived. We actually even saw a protest (it was a bunch of students with a sheet, monitored by Police and controlled through the streets).

Which got me to thinking this week, as I watched Egypt erupt into flames, Tunisia turn upside down and foreigners flee for the first flight, how do you know travel is safe?

Well I suppose my Rock Fever column in The Royal Gazette this week starts with an obvious one: you don’t know. Each time you board that plane you don’t know if you’ll land. When you sail away into the sunset, how are you sure you’ll come back? You don’t.

Which is why you have to head to two which is: plan for what you can control. Get your vaccinations, bring

Be careful with the water when visiting Egypt (and there are no protests!)

your hand sanitizer and check whether you can eat raw food and drink water in your destination! At least if you can keep yourself healthy you’ll be better prepared for anything that might come your way.

Of course, you could check three: the United States’ Government travel advisories at: http://travel.state.gov/travel. On their website you can check the country you are going to travel to and see what the American’s worry about.

I’m afraid they worry about a lot. That’s why my tip four is to take that website with a good dose of perspective. Look at Rachel? New York was the centre of one of the most internationally, transformational terrorist attacks in the last decade or even two and a NewYorker is worried about some pick pockets in Buenos Aires?

What I’m saying for tip five, then, is not to let these advisories advise you against travel to “exotic” places. We don’t think for two minutes about boarding a plane to go to New York, but to head to Malaysia?

Well in Malaysia (and anywhere outside of Bermuda, of course) my tip six would be to adhere to the warnings and advisories of your bank! Tell them where you are going (even if you don’t tell anyone else!) or face losing the use of your credit cards. Or in my case, know which countries are entirely blocked by your bank. Yes, the entirety of Malaysia is blocked for ATM use by Bank of Butterfield clients, apparently. In Malaysia I spent my trip visiting banks to withdraw on my credit card. The trip could have been a lot less safe if I hadn’t had a travel buddy with me to provide cash until I could get to a bank (it was a holiday when I arrived).

Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!

I’m lucky my Malaysia emergency proved to be easy enough to resolve when I knew why my ATM card was being declined. What’s not easy to resolve are major clashes in countries. Which is my tip seven and make sure you check the news for the country you are going to visit or where you are!

Sound obvious? Well I’ll be the first to say I didn’t think about it while navigating the world. When I was in Chandigarh, India it was my mother who was thousands of miles away, mind you, who told me there were violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims miles from me. Luckily they were far enough away from Chandigarh, which was perfectly calm and quiet. I boarded the bus to Delhi and, as you know, I made it.

Of course my mom was worried, but tip eight is a reason I don’t always check the news and the advisories: clashes and protests are never (almost) as bad as the lines in a newspaper or the screen explain it. Well unless the country has literally shut-down internet and countries are evacuating their citizens. Then I might worry. But more often than not the problems are in a particular area of the country. Not in that area? Worry slightly less.

And tip nine is, unfortunately for women: take extra precaution wherever you are. Don’t go out at night on your own; an innocent walk in Cusco, Peru could turn into a drive-by bum grab even with male travel buddies there! Imagine if I’d been on my own?! Leave a bag (light enough so you can move it in an emergency and heavy enough so you hear it move if an uninvited guest arrives) in front of your locked, hotel room door. Want more ideas? Visit my post on female travelers or Wanderlust and Lipstick!

La Cholita wrestling in La Paz, Bolivia: Bolivian women in skirts and braids wrestle with their foes!

And finally tip ten, after scaring the daylights out of you, is: don’t let any country intimidate you from visiting it. Some countries will be poorer. Some will have infrastructure that could use some help. All countries will have a tour that can help you navigate pitfalls that could arise and provide you with tour guides with local insight. That is, if you’re worried about doing it on your own. Just don’t let that stop you from experiencing cultures, food, landscapes and languages that include women with plaits wrestling in Bolivia or the crackling of a glacier in Chile.

Of course if you’re Bermudian or a resident you will be facing questions when you visit these new places, right? You said….you promised you would try somewhere new! Well when you do you’ll want to take with you my travel cheat sheet in next week’s column and of course visit here for your daily dose of travel tips and tales!

Trying to climb into the hills of Cusco, Peru

Puff. Pant. Puff. Pant. Groan.

“Ha ha you guys are struggling to get up the hill and I’m the one that smokes!”

“Whatever Anthony. I’ve only been here for a day. What’s Daniel’s excuse?”

“Ok Robyn, but don’t you run or something?”

The three of us had met in our dorm room in Cusco, Peru, which is more than 11,000 feet above sea level or 3,400 metres, the night before. Daniel and Anthony, had already been in this gateway city to Machu Picchu for two days and me, one, so I felt justified in still gasping for breath.

The scary part? We were just trying to scale the minor hills behind Cusco, which are littered with ruins, llamas and a Jesus statue. Our puffing and panting had nothing to do, with the infamous Inca Trail (between four ad five days of crazy hiking through mountains).

To be fair my body, I threw it from Lima at 1,600 feet or 500 metres above sea level to more than 11,000 feet or 3,400 metres in an hour via plane. Had I taken my time via bus I may have adjusted. Perhaps this is why they serve oxygen at the airport? I’m not kidding.

But why do we experience altitude sickness? According to Dr. David Barber who is the Travel Clinic physician for the Department of Health in Bermuda, it happens because the amount of oxygen in the air decreases as we rise. This means: “People have to breathe harder to get the same amount of oxygen. People at high altitude also lose more water from their lungs when they expel the air.”

What are the symptoms? Headaches, gasping for breath and losing your appetite (not a bad one for me after binging in Argentina on steak and wine).

What’s my point this week in the Rock Fever Column with The Royal Gazette? Yes I am sure you would like me to get to it and it’s to take care of yourself on the road. When you are far from home things like altitude sickness could occur and if you don’t know what to do you may struggle to find doctors. So what should you do if you have altitude sickness? Drink lots of water and limit your exercise until your body adjusts. Well at least if it’s mild sickness. Oxygen (like at the Cusco airport) can also help while a doctor can prescribe drugs (thought not usually necessary) to help.

Which brings me to tip two in the ‘how-to-stay-healthy-on-the-road’ column this week: bring your drugs with you. Dr. Barber suggests having a good supply of medications you regularly need AND carrying them in your hand luggage. You know….in case the luggage gets lost.

Bringing medications prescribed by a doctor at home, leads to tip three in this healthy travel column: make sure you are in good health when starting to travel: dental problems and infections need to be addressed pre-travel.

A visit to the doctor post-trip may also be necessary. Malaria is particularly prevalent throughout Africa, but is also a problem in India and some other South East Asian countries. The pills to help prevent the disease are by prescription (pre-travel!) but if you return  and you don’t feel well (symptoms include high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like illness) tip four is: make sure you tell your doctor EXACTLY where you’ve been so they can make a proper diagnosis.

Before you go, you should follow tip five and check with the Center for Disease Control (www.cdc.com) or guidebooks about the country you are going to and how safe their water and food is to consume. A Thai salad was fine. An Egyptian smoothie wasn’t.

Water bottles, drinking with a straw to keep away germs and hand sanitizer (it's there....in the lower right corner)

What does this tell you? How about the street food stall in India? Yeah tip six is that street stall in India is going to have questionable cleaning practices. So bring plenty of hand sanitizer which is compact, cleans hands and cleans cutlery!

And ensure the food you eat is fully cooked or the kind you can peel i.e. bananas, oranges. Why? Well Dr. Barber explained some illness including: Hepatitis A, which causes a liver infection and can cause Jaundice and Hepatitis E which can be dangerous for pregnant women and is similar to A are spread through contaminated food. I can personally attest to the intestinal parasite Giardia which was killed with two rounds of prescriptions. It wasn’t pretty.

Which leads to tip seven and sustenance of life which is: watching the water you consume….and that doesn’t have to be in the form of a glass. Nope. Depending on the CDC’s country diagnosis make sure you use bottled water for both drinking AND cleaning the teeth. Dr. Barber reminded travelers that of course ice is only as good as the water so if you can’t drink the water…..don’t use ice. Boiled water or water sterilizing tablets are alternatives while straws help keep contamination from the soda cans.

But water and food are not the only concerns. Tip eight is watch out for the cheese. This is not a Pink Floyd song with a hidden meaning. It’s seriously dangerous to eat dairy that has not been pasteurized properly.

Of course you shouldn’t stress too much about your trip though….don’t let it lead to alcohol abuse. Missed trains, planes delayed and travel buddies who don’t work can lead to the bottle. But tip nine is to restrain yourself. Dr. Barber explained that accidents, especially road accidents, are common for travelers. These can be attributed to unfamiliar roads, the ‘wrong side’ factor, but also the alcohol!

Coming from Bermuda our trips will also include plane travel. Well unless you’re doing the-soon-to-be ubiquitous term “stay-cation”. That said my final tip from Dr. Barber this week is to travel in comfort. Deep Vein Thrombosis – a blood clot in a deep vein (hence the name) – is a serious concern with prolonged travel in a plane or bus. Dr. Barber’s advice: Get up and move around when you can. Some other advice: Wear comfortable clothes! Nothing too tight.

Finally make sure you don’t pick-up germs from the plane with hand-washing and the antiseptic you don’t use for your cutlery in India.

Do you have any tips for traveling healthy? Leave them here or email at skinnerrobyn@gmail.com or visit my group on Facebook.

Mom and baby alpaca in the North of Argentina

“Honestly Robyn, I can’t stay here. There is mould in the ceiling. We need to find somewhere else.”

“Ok, ok I hear you. Let’s just chill tonight. I don’t have the energy and tomorrow we can search for a better place.”

As me and my fellow Bermudian Travel buddy, Jennie, meandered down the stairs of our Argentinian hostel a family was going up. They had an infant in a stroller and were struggling.

“How can they honestly do that? I can’t stand being here as a single person let alone with kids!”

“I don’t know Robyn, but if I have kids I will NOT be staying in a place like this.”

Last year while I was traveling solo around the world I had few, if any, responsibilities. If I wanted to go somewhere I could. If I wanted to be out till 4 a.m. I could. Most of the time the people I met were like me. And then, sometimes, there was a family. I might not agree with their accommodation choice, but I have a lot of respect for what they were doing – traveling without letting a child change their plans.

Robyn, how are you going to write about traveling with children? You don’t have any. Good question. Luckily my friends do. Caroline Wright, who has a one-year-old stepped-up to the plate with advice from her recent trip to Italy and London with her extended family, husband and son. And today, Monday, for my Rock Fever Column in The Royal Gazette she helped me put together some tips.

Caroline’s trip to London and Italy meant a lot of adults and one little person which starts tips for traveling with children at one with: rent a home. “We rented a villa for one week on Lake Garda, north of Italy and before traveling we made sure there was a crib and high chair available in the villa.”

But if you need to book a hotel, tip two is: “Always book one that says they are child friendly – we made sure each place had a crib for Jacob and allowed him to be a child. The Atheneum Hotel in London was amazing and catered to everything you requested – they had a crib, baby slippers and robe, games, stuffed animals and books in the room for Jacob and they even brought milk and cookies each night (we didn’t let him eat the cookies before bed so Mummy and Daddy decided to enjoy them).”

To get around buses and trains are best when you’re solo. When you have a child tip three is rent a car with car seat: “Each day we took a car trip to a different location – Venice, Milan, Verona, around Lake Garda. Car trips were long (always over 1 hour) so we made sure we had snacks, water, books and toys on hand to keep Jacob occupied if need be.”

Or: “It’s best to get a personal driver (and pre-book a car seat in their car) – they can take you at your own pace along the Amalfi Coast and stop where you want and take pictures of you and your family – this also meant Jacob was able to sleep in the car if the sights didn’t excite him enough”

But while a car seat and stroller for your destination might work for a lot of places tip four is: “If your child is too little to walk on their own, a backpack was a wise investment for Venice – there are many stairs to go over bridges and the narrow streets make it awkward to push a stroller. Pompeii was a location where the backpack was again needed, Jacob was able to see everything at our height and it meant a less bumpy ride for him.”

Of course bathrooms are adult-friendly (most of the time), but diaper duty can be tricky. So tip five is: “Always have a changing mat with you – there weren’t any changing tables in the public or restaurant bathrooms so many times Jacob would get his diaper changed on the floor between tables, on counter tops, in the back of the car, etc”

Zoobies - hippo, cat, giraffe, turtle-shaped pillows/blankets and toys in one for kids on trips

Children may need changing, but they also need (and even I know this) comfortable things like their blankets and pillows. Which is why tip six is bring what they know: Zoobies – animal cuddly toys which serve as toy, pillow and blanket are available at The Harbourmaster. While pacifiers do what their name implies: “We had gotten out of using the pacifier during the day (only for naps and night time) – however, we had to carry a few with us always as most days we left the villa at 9am and didn’t return until 11pm so nap times were unknown and crankiness could set in and any moment – the pacifier helped soothe him

“If you use a pacifier, always take extra as we lost many while Jacob fell asleep in the stroller and the pacifier would fall out without anyone knowing – currently there is a fluorescent green pacifier somewhere on the streets of Venice.”

While eating can be difficult for me -try and find Gluten-free food somewhere in an Italian restaurant- try finding child-friendly food……so tip seven from Caroline is ensure you have toys to keep them entertained.

“When eating in restaurants it’s handy to have small toys for them to play with while you’re waiting for your food. Jacob had his little cars and animals to keep him entertained, however the bread basket was more entertainment for him since he could eat it.”

You won’t always find something for them to eat, so tip eight is bring snacks and try to create variety in eating habits: “We tried to keep him on a healthy eating schedule but with restaurant eating and snacking throughout the trip, it wasn’t kept up. Little markets in Italy sold great fruit so he was able to eat a lot of that and he definitely sampled his fair share of ice cream, as did the rest of us.

“By the time we got to London, we did most of our eating in parks so Jacob wouldn’t have to sit in a high chair anymore, he got very tired of them (and all the different varieties we were given) – here he was able to run around, chase birds then come back and take a bite of food then do it all over again.”

Which brings us to tip nine, which is to trust people around you and enjoy the culture. Caroline said: “Everywhere we went in Italy, the people were so friendly and accommodating especially when they saw we had a baby – they all wanted to kiss him, play with him and even babysit – we got countless offers – one time when Anthony was shopping for pants, the store attendant entertained Jacob the whole time while I watched, it was adorable.”

And finally ten: “Don’t hold back on doing activities just because you have a one year old – if you’re not allowed to do it then you can’t (we weren’t able to go to the Opera in Verona as kids under 4 weren’t permitted) but we were able to ride on an open air double decker bus, go swimming in a cold lake, go on a gondola ride, travel up a funicular.”

Have you got more tips for children traveling? Comment below or send them to skinnerrobyn@gmail.com!

Taking a time-out on the streets of Buenos Aires

“Keep your eyes down or you’ll get asked to dance.”

My eyes stayed plastered to the floor and sometimes, just to mix it up, on the table. I was NOT going to Tango and no one was going to catch my eye.

That’s the danger in the local dance halls in Buenos Aires. Like the one my friends Maria and Jennie dragged me to in the capital of Argentina. A sparse dance hall, there were a multitude of tables and chairs that emptied to fill the rectangular dance floor when the band resumed.

It was a freakish and yet amazing site to see hundreds suddenly move en masse. But Tango is not the only draw to Argentina. Nor is South America the only continent you can visit from here.

Nope! What about the frozen continent? What about Antarctica? What about taking it with Tauck World Discovery and do it in luxury?

Route for Antarctica

The best part? From select American cities the airfare to Buenos Aires is only $890 per person and, AND… if you are a repeat customer you get two nights free in a hotel at the beginning or end of the trip. If you are a new customer you get one free night!

And what does the trip include? Good question. Two days in Buenos Aires before flying to the southern tip of Argentina.  A visit to the Terra del Fuego National park? Some Penguins? Some Glaciers? Sign me up.

Or perhaps you want to wander where the Incas did? Well prior to the Spanish decided to enter South America. Tauck also has a 13-day tour for you too. It’s $4,655 per person and includes Peru and Bolivia. But who can forget Machu Picchu? Well Tauck can’t and you won’t.

Peru and Bolivia

Finish you Inca trail with La Paz, which was founded in 1548 by Spaniards. The highest capital city in the world above sea level, La Paz is also home to the highest golf course on Earth; in the thin air, a good tee shot will travel an amazing distance! Venture just outside the city to explore the lunar-like badlands dubbed the Valle De La Luna (Valley of the Moon), a stone landscape of deep gullies and bizarre rock formations, before heading to La Paz’s city center to soak up some local color in the bustling Indian Market.

OR maybe you’re look for something to do with the family? Something for the kids for Christmas? What about visiting the Christmas markets in Europe?

For 8 days and $1,990 per person Tauck’s new Christmas Market river cruise along the Danube from Vienna to Nürnberg aboard ms Swiss Jewel offers a new approach to discovering the magic of the Christmas Markets in Germany and Austria… a 700-year holiday tradition!

And remember Tauck’s Tours can all be booked through CTravel and are subject to the extra night or two hotel stays for free! Contact CTravel for more details.

Where's my travel buddy?

It’s Monday, which means…..well if you haven’t caught-on yet it’s when my weekly column makes its way into The Royal Gazette’s pages as Rock Fever.

What is it this week? What else? Traveling Solo as a Female. Here it is:

“You walk like an Egyptian.”

My eyes rolled.

“Hey .. hey … you walk like an Egyptian. Where are you from? Are you married?”

This is not a new rendition of The Bangles’ 1980s hit. Nope. This was the soundtrack for my walk from the Karnak Temple (the largest religious complex in the world) back to my hostel in Luxor, Egypt.

My ring quickly moved from my middle finger to my empty “ring” finger.

“Yes. Yes I am. I am going back to my husband now,” I said, but my crooner persisted tripping over himself to follow.

“Where is he? Where are you from? Do you want a tour?”

“NO. I am married. Good-bye.”

I hadn’t told my travel buddy, but he was now with me till death did us part so I could navigate my way out of a possible threatening situation. So women out there looking for a ring on your finger? Try the Egyptian marriage route.

Or failing that, experience it as a travel tip for solo females: wear a ring on your “ring” finger. Unfortunately in a number of cultures women are still not respected unless they have a man by their side. So fake it and wear a ring on your finger to deter possible suitors.

Women, like at home, have to be more wary than men when travelling (hence this week’s column), BUT … and this is a big but that you would not get from sitting on the couch at home – don’t let it discourage you from travelling solo.

One of the questions I always got when I returned from travelling around the world last year, was: “Were you ever scared?” And the answer is: “No.” I took precautions and honestly sometimes, no often, travelling as a female was actually easier. Women are less threatening than men. That means both men and women travellers are more likely to trust a female before they would trust a man. And if you think I am being biased … well just ask a Swede I met in Argentina. He complained during an hour-long hike about how hard it was to be a single man travelling. Perhaps being male wasn’t his only problem, but he had a point. A single man is a danger for women and therefore limits the pool of travellers to meet.

Solo in Argentina

So friends are easier for women to make, even ones we don’t want, which is why in Egypt where even the wedding ring doesn’t discourage a Bangles crooner tip two is: duck into a shop. I did and it was a fair trade shop run by women. A scarf, ring and empty wallet later, my harasser left and I continued to walk back to the hostel.

Tip three: failing a fair trade shop try a hotel and tell the people working there what the problem is. Nowhere in the world will a woman be told to get out or not taken care of. That’s the beauty of our sex too!

But beauty is not always something you want to advertise, which leads me to tip four: dress conservatively. This applied for me in India, the Middle East and some places in Asia (i.e. Vietnam), but it could be anywhere if you don’t want to draw attention to yourself. In Egypt the men salivated over the buses of Russian tourists. Why? Because the women walked around in short-shorts, bathing-suit tops and heels in the middle of Cairo. Equivalent? Women walking through Hamilton topless. Can you see how this would cause problems? So dress appropriately no matter how hot it may be. Loose dresses and light pants will help.

But don’t think that because you have dressed appropriately you lose your tenacity! So tip five is: appear confident wherever you are even when lost (insert man joke and not asking directions). In Chiang Mai, Thailand I decided to walk to a temple outside of the walled city. I got lost, but I didn’t let on. If I needed time to think I would pretend to cross the road and I eventually found a park. I stopped and could casually take a map out to figure out where I was. Never show weakness, because someone preying on women will notice.

Which makes it easier if you are with someone. Tip six: stay in hostels, preferably dorms, and relax in the inevitable social area to meet other travellers. While a dorm room means you have to worry about your bag it also means you are not alone and nothing worse can happen.

But if you’re not a hostel person nor do you want to stay in a dorm then tip seven is: join activities where you will meet other people. I met a great travel buddy while trading spring rolls over a Thai cooking class. It helps to have someone who will worry if you don’t come back at night.

Which leads to eight: women, unfortunately, we are the anti-vampires. When the sun sets we should ensure we have a way home if we are not already home. Once I didn’t adhere to this rule and I kicked myself the entire walk through Chiang Mai, Thailand. I was fine, but you never know. Take a cab or ensure you are with friends to go home with when it starts getting dark.

Cusco at night....not the safest place for single females to wander

But number nine: never let a man into your room (or lady man as one hostel door instructed me in Chiang Mai). This is obvious, but too often, I think, overlooked.

Most importantly, though, after all this advice is tip ten: to trust your instincts. I know this sounds ridiculous, but as women we have spent years honing our sixth sense so use it! Be smart, listen to Jiminy Cricket (your conscience) and enjoy your travels.

I know most of the travel experts/writers out there seem to be men, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go out there and do it too. And it doesn’t have to be the Eat, Pray, Love scenario (i.e. a woman going to find herself and finds a soulmate). I did it. I survived a year that saw trekking up Machu Picchu, camping in Thailand and kayaking in Vietnam. I didn’t find Prince Charming, but I loved it.

[slideshow] ”Does anyone need coca leaves?”
Huh? What kind of tour had my friend Jenny taken me on? I looked at her.

“Robyn, it’s totally normal here. You’re going more than 3,000 metres above sea level and chewing coca leaves helps with the nausea.”

But these leaves are more than altitude – acquainters. In Andean culture these leaves play an important ceremonial role.

Oh and in case anyone was wondering, yes coca leaves are the material cocaine is made from and they are legal in Argentina. But before you start thinking I was drugging myself I will let you know that it takes more than a kilo of the leaves to make some minor amount of the drug.

Jenny and I shared some coca leaves (it comes in tea and candy too!) and continued on our van tour of the pink/red/yellow and incredible hills of Northern Argentina.

And the buses were ok….I mean if you like an Argentinian Idol wannabe singing over the mic or a guide who couldn’t be bothered to speak at all. And I got antsy! We barely walked and the tours required hours of sitting on a bus. We had booked the cheapo tour and it showed.

Which is why I wish I had known about the Backroads Tours which combine exercise and culture in a nicely tied package complete with wine tasting and dulce de leche (a butterscotch-type spread that Argentinians eat on everything).

So where do they go? Here’s the map of the 8 night/7 Day trip and it includes many of the sites I included in my gallery before.

But, you ask, how much does it cost? Well they cater to both couples and singles. For singles it ranges from $800 to $920.

I can’t think of any reason not to do this tour. They even have some tours in October this year! I wish I had!

But if you’ve done the North of Argentina or you’re hankering for the Patagonian wilds, Backroads have those options too!!

Just check with CTravel (because it is CTravel Thursdays!!) and they can help with all of your bookings.

Fancy visiting the Asian side of the world? Yeah I did too! I spent almost four months here, ate my weight in Pad Thai and then finally headed to South America.

But did you want to do something this fall? A cheap and cheerful trip to Dubai/India/Thailand and Vietnam….to name a few?

Or maybe you’re looking for a great deal that will still get you off-island (and away from Rock Fever) next spring?

Well Oceania Cruises, through CTravel are offering some amazing deals on trips – 63% off!! So do you know how much that means the above trip will cost? For 25 nights to go from Hong Kong to Dubai it ranges from $3,125 to $6,250.

Before? It ranged from $8,199 to $14,699. How crazy is that? Totally nuts if you ask me, but don’t. Instead ask CTravel agents who know what this is all about!

I can’t think of a sport I don’t do….oh wait there’s golf. But hey that’s me. Luckily we’re different people and lots seem to enjoy watching this little ball round the green.

So if you’re one of these why not book your trip to the Masters’ Tournament in Augusta next April. I know, I know it seems to early to plan that, but it’s not.

Why? Because Horizon & Co are offering $500 less on packages for anyone who books their trips  with CTravel before August 1 this year.

What do they include? Absolute luxury for four days of incredible golf. I can’t say much more but you know that CTravel definitely can. So check out what they’ve got and remember to return to my daily blog….tomorrow!