Peregrinations: Steve's Blogs
Steve has been writing about travel since 1995 and in articles, blogs and press releases he covers various travel interests and provides great insight into destinations, travel trends, travel scams, and the joys of travel. This page includes past blogs . More recent experiences may be found here.
Six Hearts and Counting: Food, Travel and Fairuz!
A friend mentioned a Middle Eastern grocery store that sells fresh baba ghanoush, olives, pita and hummus. Having spent some time in the Middle East, I was curious and as soon as I entered the store I was transformed back to my journeys in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Tunisia and Turkey. The unique smells of the food and pastries wended their way through my mind and vivid flashbacks of exploring each of those countries popped into my brain like flashbulbs and stirred up my endorphins to no end! But the crowning moment in this journey of the senses came when I was chatting with one of the staff about the freshness of the hummus and just then, the sounds of Fairuz, the famous Egyptian songstress, emanated from the sound system. I knew the song well (Nassam Alaynal Hawa) and am not embarrassed to admit that it’s on my iPod. More... 
Travel Scams We Know and Love
Then there is the lucky bracelet scenario. You are taking photos of the grand churches in an historic public square in South America (or temples in Asia) when a cheery looking child comes up to you and asks if you would like a good luck bracelet at no charge. The bracelet is really just a colourful piece of wool string. As there is no charge and you want bring back a story of a nice experience, you agree. The child says s/he will give you one around each wrist for double the luck, and gives you a pair of scissors to hold (so you don’t question why both of your wrists are being tied together). After the string is tied the child grabs the scissors—along with your wallet or camera—and runs off into the crowd. You are left standing there with both wrists tied together. More... 
Surviving a Winter Destination Vacation
The rush is on for those last minute, what-do-you-mean-it’s sold-out, why-can’t- I –get- the- room- I –want, how-come-the-bus-has-to-wait-for-everyone-before-it-leaves-the-airport-for-the–resort, why-weren’t-we-told-about-this-fantastic-resort-that-is-on-the-way- to-our 3-star hotel’ ‘why-can’t -all-countries-agree-on-one-standard-for- hotel –star-ratings, winter vacation! Even though I’ve done my share of adventure travel in far-flung places on the globe, there have been times when a closer, usually less expensive holiday is in order and inevitably I end up scanning the last minute columns to see what creative ideas are being suggested. More... |
Travel Like you Mean it!
Most of us are familiar with the command to “do as I say, not as I do”, that is oftentimes the refuge for people in authority (parents, government leaders, bosses etc) who engage in questionable behaviour or practices, while at the same time demanding a different standard from their peers and underlings. And there is also the personal application to this ‘rule’, best illustrated in the classic scenario where a retail manager sees one of his salesmen arrive at work with a dour, sour, glum-faced expression. The salesman maintains this ‘stay-away-from-me’ look on his face throughout the morning. Finally the manager approaches to ask if anything is terribly wrong. The salesman says, “No”. The manager asks ‘why then are you so unhappy today”. The salesman says “I am happy”, to which the manager retorts, “so why don’t you tell that to you face....we have clients to serve”. More... 
Son of Scam
You are in a ceramics store in a tourist town. There are only a few people looking at the expensive, intricately coloured glass vases. Just then two local women enter the shop and greet the store owner. They slowly move toward you, causing you to move a bit closer to the woman looking and handling the vases. Then out of nowhere, the first local woman trips into the second local woman who bumps into you, which in true domino fashion, causes you to lose your balance and you bump into the woman handling the vases. The woman lets out a small scream just as the vase she is inspecting, crashes to the ground. All eyes are on you. More... 
Nowhere But Niigata: A Taste-Provoking Journey of Discovery
Part One: Sake and the Spirit of Niigata The choice was difficult. We could spend our last five days in Tokyo, a city that we had visited many times before where our favourite haunts beckoned us: the observation level of the Metropolitan Building to see Mt. Fuji, shopping for books at Kinokunya in Shinjuku, or at Disc Union for used CD’s, or for clothes at Muji and Uniqlo and then over to Tokyu Hands department store to shop for just about anything you can image. But this was too easy as it pandered to our comfort level. Too many travellers fall into this deceptively happy routine and therefore rarely consider that all-important ‘what else’ when they think of travelling again. More... |
Pining for Algonquin
The mystical strain of a loon’s cry is only one of the magnetic draws of Algonquin Park, nestled on the cusp of central and northern Ontario, about three hours drive from Toronto. The sensory appeal of this escape from routines, schedules, the city and stress has been luring me to return, time and time again over the past forty years. Sometimes it’s a pilgrimage to my favourite rocky outpost on Smoke Lake to read a book, reflect and listen to the noises of silent solitude of the lake, trees and birds. Sometimes it’s a morning-fresh hike on one of the trails with names such as Hardwood Lookout, Hemlock Bluff or Spruce Bog Boardwalk. But all the names in the park sing enchantment to me. Algonquin has long been imprinted in my mind, as the equivalent of serenity and pleasure More... Just Say Noh!
Nogeh Street is the main thoroughfare in an area filled with literally hundreds of Izakayas, restaurants, standing sake bars and regular bars and extends down the numerous side streets. The deal was that we could choose two restaurants from a list and enjoy some tasty treats and a drink. We immediately dashed to our first choice, Nishiki Sushi, where there happened to be two seats left amongst the fifteen or so, available. We ordered Sapporo Beer and a sushi platter and fell into one of those melt-in-your-mouth sushi trances that one can only experience in Japan. Ahhh… if only Toronto sushi could taste even half as good as this! More...
|
Waiting for that Indiana Jones Moment
The estimated crowd of 5000 world travellers sat with cameras ready and everything from hope to hoax written on their faces. The time was ticking toward the 4:00 pm ‘beginning’. With the clouds hiding the sun, some of the people started to wander to explore the Jaguar Temple and ball court, but kept peeking behind the corners of the Mayan architecture to check on the status of El Castillo, the Castle, also known as the Temple of Kukulkan. If we are lucky, the rays of the sun will hit the Temple of Kukulkan and turn the dark triangles on the side into forums of light as they travel down the pyramid toward the head of feathered serpent at the base of the staircase (the Kukulkan) and create an image of a slithering serpent. More... Visiting Poison Ivy Town
You’ve heard of uptown, downtown, shanty town and funky town? Now meet Poison Ivy town! Well, it’s not really called that, but in translation that is an approximation of what the famous Guatemalan town of Chichicastenango means. “Tenango” means “place of” and “Chichicas” refers to a local plant with similar properties to poison ivy. Once you brush up against it, you are itching all day. While we were itching to see the famous Sunday market, we were spared a brush with the town’s namesake. Chichicastenago is located about 3 hours northwest of Guatemala City. June is the rainy season and true to form, it was pouring that morning when Julio, our guide and driver picked us up at 6:00 am for the drive. More...
|
Presenting the Most Boring Destination on the Planet!
No one plans to deliver a negative destination presentation, but so many do through lack of skill, poor preparation, ignorance of how to use a podium or PowerPoint (PPT), failure to use voice inflection. No willingness to engage the audience and total disregard for the room set-up.
More... |
Habarana Highlights
Habarana lies in the centre of Sri Lanka’s cultural triangle where a number of fascinating attractions can be reached by car, usually within an hour, including Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Dambulla and Minneriya National Park. While we did not see Anuradhapura on this trip, we explored the other sites—each being an adventure unto itself. More...
|
Picture yourself Getting Scammed
In these litigious times, scammers are having a photo-perfect day!
Case in point: Every time you subscribe to a new internet program or service, you are asked to read a lengthy legal agreement and commit yourself to the terms and conditions. We know that some of the most subscribed sites include graphic, photo and cartoon downloads. We also know that many people don’t actually read the entire legal blurb, but instead they curse down to the bottom of the blurb, click on “Agree” and proceed with downloading the program. More... |
You Say Green, I See Red
As a relatively frequent traveller, in and out of Canada, I stay at a number of different hotels both private and mainstream. While the promotion of Green practices has certainly been stepped up over the years, the actual practice seems to be diminishing. Now that everyone has ‘done their bit’ and registered on various ‘we are green—we support the environment” web sites and directories, it seems that they have fallen into a green comfort zone. Green for most hotels (despite pop-up displays and ads throughout the lobby) has been relegated to that simple announcement on a printed card in your hotel room ...More...
|
The Squeaky Wheel Gets the ...Sake
I was brought up with the good counsel of my mom that “the squeaky wheel gets the oil”. This can be taken in two ways:
|
Fair Weather Travellers
The expression “fair weather friends” refers to those of your acquaintances who are there for you as long as everything is going well (i.e. the weather if fair). But as soon as you start having problems and wish to discuss them with your friends (i.e. stormy conditions are on the horizon), then these people are nowhere to be seen.
Hmmm… sounds familiar from a travel point of view. More... |
Ice Road Truckers...Reality for Real
Some of you may have seen the reality TV series. “Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Roads”. The program is filmed in India where three truckers, transplanted from the ice highways of Alaska, are challenged by the notorious road conditions in India that include narrow mountain passes, honking, irate drivers forced to follow behind a truck carrying tons of material, trucks passing trucks on disintegrating waterlogged roads, or roads that are directly being assaulted by rockslides, waterfalls and wandering cattle. You name it, the IRT people face these obstacles over and over (and over) again every week. More...
|
Lick 'em and Stick 'em : An Innovative Approach to buying postage on your travels
On a recent trip to South America I discovered a few travel scams that I had not encountered before. There was the official airport exchange booth, situated directly on the other side of immigration, where we were handed 8 counterfeit bills, mixed in with the other currency. There was the famous switch routine that up to now I had only read about, where the taxi driver takes a bill and quickly switches it for a bill of a lesser amount, and then suggests that the customer made a mistake and owes more money for the taxi ride. But one of the more clever and least expected scams involved postage! More...
|
Hellbent for Adventure?
Dramatic place names are attractive to travellers, especially to those looking for status and the prestige of saying “I visited ____ on my last trip”. And there is no shortage. Just a quick Google reveals such places as Heavens Door (UK), Hell (Cayman Islands), Hell (Michigan), Hell (Norway), Hell (Texas), Hell for Sertain (Kentucky) Hells Gate (New York), Hellhole Canyon (California) and of course there is Intercourse (Pennsylvania), Crotch Lake (Ontario) and Blow Me Down (Newfoundland). More...
|
Memories of the International Sahara Festival, Re-ignited
I see Zine Al Abidine ben Ali every day! Well let me explain. In December 2002 I attended the International Sahara Festival in Douz, Tunisia. Afterward, I visited the local tourist office and they were giving away posters of the event. Headlined across the top was the name of the Tunisian President, Zine Abidine ben Ali. Underneath was a graphic of a camel with palm trees, along with mention of the Festival Highlights, including the dromedary (one-humped camel) race. When I returned to Canada, I had the poster framed and to this day it graces one of the rooms in my home. More...
|
Travel Tips: Travel Scams Flourish During High Season
Some recent travels down south blasted some travel myths to pieces as well as confirmed that travel scamming is still an active industry. Near and south of the equator, where the weather is hot and Canadians flock, travel scams are in high gear.
Airport Exchange Rate: A good rule of thumb is to exchange money at the arrival airport. The exchange rates are generally very good, the currency you receive is legal, and you can avoid the hassle of trying to change money or travellers’ cheques at hotels or banks during your holiday. More... |
Cotton Castle Caught in Calamity
In 1990 I had the opportunity to spend three weeks in Turkey, travelling from Istanbul in the west to Diyarbakir in the East and down to Bodrum in the South. Through all this one of the more impressive sites was the blue hot water spring terraces of Pamukkale (pronounced Pa-moo-ka-le) in Denizli Province, in the south western part of the country. The brochures showed tourists flocking to bathe in the small pools that cascaded down the slope of a landscape that resembled a snow field—and this in the middle of July. These calcium carbonate deposits are what inspired the Romans to name the site ‘Pamukkale’, which means “Cotton Castle”. More...
|
Tell it Like It Is!
Are you a story teller? I am sure you have read a story out loud at some point in your past but I am talking here about relating a tale, describing an incident, conveying an experience, imparting advice based on your travels, and more. Some people think that their job as a travel professional is to ask the client questions, listen to their responses, and then answer their needs using the information in the brochure, the internet or other available literature. This is all fine and good except for one key aspect: Are you an order-taker or are you a relationship-builder? More...
|
Rising Above it all in Cappadocia
It was Sunday morning and we were in the town of Urgup, in Cappadocia Turkey. After a 10 hour direct flight from Toronto, we made a brief touch down in Istanbul on the Friday night, enough time to throw our bags in our room, check out the pedestrian mall by Taksim Square, enjoy a great meal at Haci-Baba Restaurant, have the hotel fix our air conditioning at 2:00 am, and even manage a few hours of sleep. By 5:15 am, we were in a taxi headed back to the airport for the 70 minute flight to Keyseri airport, about 45 minutes from the Cappadocia area. More...
|
Reading Through the Summer
Reading and relaxation have the same meaning to me. When I book a flight—whether for business or pleasure, my first thought always focuses on the opportunity I will have to catch up on my reading. Usually this consists of articles that I have seen in one of the dozen or so travel e-publications that I subscribe to. But during the summer, I try to actually read books! This summer was no exception and I enjoyed some excellent escapism through the 5 books listed below.
Pilgrim in the Palace of Words: A Journey Through the 6,000 Languages of Earth, by Glenn Dixon More... |
Fam Value
When people tell their friends that they are looking to a career as a travel counsellor, the usual reaction is “oh, you want to get a lot of free trips”. Well, those trips are referred to as “Familiarization Trips” or “Fam Trips” or “Fams”. They are not free, nor are they a vacation. Fam trips take time out of a travel counsellor’s work schedule, which means the person is not earning any commission while they are away. But the Return on Investment (ROI) for a travel professional can pay dividends, if the Fam is treated as an investment in learning about—and how –to market that destination. Fams serve as one of the key professional development tools that travel counsellors use to gain intimate knowledge of a destination. More...
|
The Other Side of Travel
Case in point…on a recent trip to Istanbul, the taxi driver was friendly enough, but then instead of pulling into the driveway of the hotel and letting us off at the main entrance where the hotel staff are posted, he pulled over on the roadside in front of the hotel, a distance from the main entrance, and turned to us to suggest that there was a surcharge on the fare, as it was after 8:00 pm. We had looked at the taxi meter a few minutes before and the rate was equivalent to $7.00 Canadian. Now, miraculously, the meter had gone into hyper-drive (the driver pushed a special button) and it indicated a fare equivalent to nearly $15.00 Canadian. No signs posted in the taxi indicated anything about an evening surcharge. More...
|
Cross Marketing Does not Mean you are Angry!
In a recent survey of travel professionals, the question was asked “Are you or your agency currently involved in any ‘cross-marketing’ programs with a book store whereby you send clients interested in purchasing travel guides or travel literature (perhaps at a discount) and the bookstore, in turn, displays some of your agency material in their travel section?”
Of the 80 respondents, 4% responded “Yes”; 63% responded “no” and 33% responded “I never thought about it but it sounds interesting”. Aha! So for those 33%, here is a bit of a pep talk on the value of cross-marketing. More... |
Sunday in Havana with Steve
Music at the Beer Tavern in Plaza Vieja
Our third trip to Cuba was an opportunity to do exactly what we wanted to do, on our own time. As most of the charters fly directory to the resorts, we chose a Sunwing flight into Varadaro Airport and then we made our way to the Iberostar Parque Central in Havana. The 2 ½ hour bus trip was broken up with a short break at a highway rest stop in Jibacoa where you can enjoy one of the creamiest Pina Colada’s you will get anywhere in the country. It just sets you in the right holiday ‘let’s start to relax’ mood!
The Iberostar is in a great location, down the street from the historic Hotel Inglaterra and the Capitol Building, and literally right around the corner from the Palacio de Bellas Artes and Obispo Street --which is the main pedestrian thoroughfare the runs from the El Floridita Bar (Hemingway’s famous Daquiri hangout) to the Plaza d’Armas.
Our first few days were spent wandering the back streets, taking photos, re-acquainting ourselves with the Brewery Restaurant in Plaza Vieja, where the outdoor seating, the live Cuban music, the crowds and the friendly waiters add up to a great experience in the Havana sunshine.
But Sunday was the day we had set aside and actually made plans and, with a touch of serendipity here and there (it’s amazing what two finger puppets can get you), it turned out to be a very enjoyable day.
We walked down Obispo Street and one of the few shops open at 9:00 am was a book store/poster shop. Many stores showcase posters of the 53rd anniversary of the Cuban Revolution featuring a picture of the aging Fidel Castro, but no one seemed to want to give one away or even sell a poster. This bookstore had a large selection of posters for collectors, some dating back to the 1960’s and sure enough, they had a 53rd Anniversary poster. As a student of history I bought one and while I’m still not quite sure where to display it, the poster is at least now part of the Gillick Archives!
Continuing on Obispo, we stopped at the bakery by the hotel Ambus Mundos (another Hemingway hangout) for some treats, and then headed to the Malecon for the 45 minute walk to Callejon de Hamel.
The Malecon refers to the sidewalk/seawall/roadway that stretches along the coast of Havana. On this day the waters were rough and crashed against the wall as well as onto the sidewalk in various places—but allowed for a lot of dramatic photos. Many of the crumbling buildings we saw a few years ago along the Malecon have been torn down with some more modern apartments and hotels taking their place, but it is still a fairly quiet deserted area, especially on a Sunday morning. We passed lots of fisherman standing by or sitting on the seawall as we walked in the direction of the Hotel Nacional off in the distance.
But the plan was to take a left turn before the Nacional to find Callejon de Hamel. We had been there before, but had read that on Sunday’s there was music and rumba dancing. The alley (callejon) is relatively short but full of colours and artistic interpretations of the Afro-Caribbean religion, Santeria. Salvador Gonzalez Escalona, the Camaguey-born artist painted many of the colourful murals in the 1990s, but there are also street sculptures, bathtubs featuring scenes from Saint Exupery’s Le Petite Prince. Art galleries, refreshment stands and a very small centre stage area.
The crowd started to gather by around 11:30 am and we tried to secure a good spot for taking photos. There were some children in the area so naturally we brought out the finger puppet toys to the delight of both the kids and their parents. One boy was so thrilled that we gave him second puppet and that led to an invitation to sit inside the chained off tourist area to have a front row seat for the festivities.
At exactly 12:00 noon, the crowd was greeted in English and Spanish (“...and welcome to our frennemies from the United States…ha ha ha “). Then the drummers started, the singers joined in, and for the next hour the rhythms, the dancing, the music, the interaction between the performers, the smiles, the intensity and the devotion to tradition, all took over to mesmerize and involve everyone in the celebration of the Santeria culture and religion.
With photos galore and even a few new friends, we walked back to downtown Havana through side streets, past the 1950’s cars for which Havana is famous, past brightly coloured and sadly dilapidated buildings, and through parts of the city where tourists don’t normally stroll. But in Havana there are salutations from people everywhere, and safety was never a concern.
We finished the day with a visit to the book stalls by Plaza D’Armas, a peak at the outdoor art market and craft market near in Central Park and then a snack of dark beer and tiny fried fish back in Plaza Vieja.
We left Havana the next day to explore other areas of the island. Due to our own time limitations, we could not return to Santiago or Trinidad this time, but were happy to have spent time in Havana. It is such a unique city and for those looking for a combination of history, culture, exploration and photography, then this is a must for any Cuba itinerary.
The Iberostar is in a great location, down the street from the historic Hotel Inglaterra and the Capitol Building, and literally right around the corner from the Palacio de Bellas Artes and Obispo Street --which is the main pedestrian thoroughfare the runs from the El Floridita Bar (Hemingway’s famous Daquiri hangout) to the Plaza d’Armas.
Our first few days were spent wandering the back streets, taking photos, re-acquainting ourselves with the Brewery Restaurant in Plaza Vieja, where the outdoor seating, the live Cuban music, the crowds and the friendly waiters add up to a great experience in the Havana sunshine.
But Sunday was the day we had set aside and actually made plans and, with a touch of serendipity here and there (it’s amazing what two finger puppets can get you), it turned out to be a very enjoyable day.
We walked down Obispo Street and one of the few shops open at 9:00 am was a book store/poster shop. Many stores showcase posters of the 53rd anniversary of the Cuban Revolution featuring a picture of the aging Fidel Castro, but no one seemed to want to give one away or even sell a poster. This bookstore had a large selection of posters for collectors, some dating back to the 1960’s and sure enough, they had a 53rd Anniversary poster. As a student of history I bought one and while I’m still not quite sure where to display it, the poster is at least now part of the Gillick Archives!
Continuing on Obispo, we stopped at the bakery by the hotel Ambus Mundos (another Hemingway hangout) for some treats, and then headed to the Malecon for the 45 minute walk to Callejon de Hamel.
The Malecon refers to the sidewalk/seawall/roadway that stretches along the coast of Havana. On this day the waters were rough and crashed against the wall as well as onto the sidewalk in various places—but allowed for a lot of dramatic photos. Many of the crumbling buildings we saw a few years ago along the Malecon have been torn down with some more modern apartments and hotels taking their place, but it is still a fairly quiet deserted area, especially on a Sunday morning. We passed lots of fisherman standing by or sitting on the seawall as we walked in the direction of the Hotel Nacional off in the distance.
But the plan was to take a left turn before the Nacional to find Callejon de Hamel. We had been there before, but had read that on Sunday’s there was music and rumba dancing. The alley (callejon) is relatively short but full of colours and artistic interpretations of the Afro-Caribbean religion, Santeria. Salvador Gonzalez Escalona, the Camaguey-born artist painted many of the colourful murals in the 1990s, but there are also street sculptures, bathtubs featuring scenes from Saint Exupery’s Le Petite Prince. Art galleries, refreshment stands and a very small centre stage area.
The crowd started to gather by around 11:30 am and we tried to secure a good spot for taking photos. There were some children in the area so naturally we brought out the finger puppet toys to the delight of both the kids and their parents. One boy was so thrilled that we gave him second puppet and that led to an invitation to sit inside the chained off tourist area to have a front row seat for the festivities.
At exactly 12:00 noon, the crowd was greeted in English and Spanish (“...and welcome to our frennemies from the United States…ha ha ha “). Then the drummers started, the singers joined in, and for the next hour the rhythms, the dancing, the music, the interaction between the performers, the smiles, the intensity and the devotion to tradition, all took over to mesmerize and involve everyone in the celebration of the Santeria culture and religion.
With photos galore and even a few new friends, we walked back to downtown Havana through side streets, past the 1950’s cars for which Havana is famous, past brightly coloured and sadly dilapidated buildings, and through parts of the city where tourists don’t normally stroll. But in Havana there are salutations from people everywhere, and safety was never a concern.
We finished the day with a visit to the book stalls by Plaza D’Armas, a peak at the outdoor art market and craft market near in Central Park and then a snack of dark beer and tiny fried fish back in Plaza Vieja.
We left Havana the next day to explore other areas of the island. Due to our own time limitations, we could not return to Santiago or Trinidad this time, but were happy to have spent time in Havana. It is such a unique city and for those looking for a combination of history, culture, exploration and photography, then this is a must for any Cuba itinerary.