2016 Posts

The lead up to Christmas involved lots of holiday cheer in the form of drinking and eating way too much. Lots of friends having dinner parties and drinking games made for some big nights. Our apartment had a Christmas eve …Read More »

Christmas came early with a visit from Jarrah, Mikey and Andrew. They arrived to Lake Louise amid more minus 30 degree temperatures which I’m sure was a big shock for them. After a leisurely breakfast on day 1 we braved …Read More »

Snowboarding and trips to Banff have kept me occupied the last few weeks. Activities have included a ski lesson, rock climbing, hot springs and even a trip out to Kicking Horse resort for opening day. We’ve had some brutally cold …Read More »

It’s been a month since my last post and a bit has happened in that time. Megan is back from her family hiking adventures in Chile. They had a great time even though it snowed them into their tents a …Read More »

So the last couple of weeks for me has been a waiting game. everyone here is in limbo as we wait at work for temps to drop low enough to consistently make snow and on days off everyone is waiting …Read More »

A Canadian Thanksgiving, not sure if we did it right because not one out of the 6 of us were from Canada but we had a great time anyways! We had baked camembert and cranberry sauce for entrée then roast chicken …Read More »

After Banff we continued north, stopping along to hike to Boom Lake, an easy 10km round trip. We were the first ones in the trail, starting the morning at a crisp 1°C at 10am, with a light dusting of snow …Read More »

It was an easy flight from Guatemala City to Houston and then from Houston to Calgary, Canada. Hot toasted bagels with cream cheese in the airport at Houston made me miss New York with nothing much else happening for the …Read More »

​Leaving Xela, we headed off to Lake Atitlan for a few days. We stayed in San Marcos and then San Pedro. The first day we got to the lake the weather was horrible but we had absolutely beautiful days following …Read More »

This was our last weekend in Xela, a little sad but we had a blast at the final school activity and then a party Saturday night with our friends. The school activity was a trip to the zip line course …Read More »

The independence week finished with another concert and then a quiet weekend recovering from lots of partying. This week gone was our last week at school and now we’re packing up to go to Lake Atitlan for a few days …Read More »

15th of September, one of the biggest days on the Guatemalan calendar. They’ve been ramping up the party atmosphere and activities for the last week and now it’s time to party!! Everyone has been setting up stands, food stalls, decorations …Read More »

Getting to Semuc Champey we got off the shuttle bus and transferred to the back of a pickup. Driving the 45min through barely populated rainforest to the hostel in the dark while lightning flashed behind the mountains around us was …Read More »

Last week we took a school holiday and travelled to Antigua and Semuc Champey. The trip was really about Semuc but given we didn’t need a whole week there and the travel is a whole day from Xela we decided …Read More »

No news to report this week. Still doing school things 5 days a week, 5hrs a day. We went for a hike up the back of Xela into the farms behind the giant “Holywood” like sign that actually says Cristo …Read More »

Quick, I better get this updated for my Sunday night readers… This week has seen us hit 111 days away, kind of a milestone so we’re treating ourselves to a few drinks out in town. The last week has also seen …Read More »

Last weekend we gathered together with students from our school and booked a two-day hike up the highest peak in Central America, Volcan Tajumulco. It reaches 4,220m high and looking out to the west, you see over Mexico and all …Read More »

Last week we took a break from school on a Wednesday and took the opportunity to hike up a nearby extinct volcano, Volcan Santa Maria. The day didn’t start great with getting on the wrong bus and so what should …Read More »

So the last week has been spent in Xela, Guatemala with Spanish lessons for 5hrs every morning. It’s been a tough week with the feeling of being back at school, complete with homework to do every night. That combined with …Read More »

From Belize into Flores, Guatemala via bus. No problems here and a couple of days spent exploring flores and the water around the tiny Island as well as a day trip out to Tikal ruins. Next we went out to …Read More »

Quick and easy trip across the border from Mexico into Belize. Took a packed local bus down to Belize City to hop on a water taxi out to Caye Caulker. Caye Caulker was amazing. We only spent four days there …Read More »

See you later Mexico!! So we’ve finished our travels through this amazing country. It’s been almost a month since we flew into Mexico City and today we will take a bus to Chetumal and cross the border into Belize. Last …Read More »

By winding road I mean I’m stuck in the back of a crowded and overheated bus willing myself not to throw up as we careen along this extremely bumpy (mexico loves speed bumps EVERYWHERE), curvy road through the mountains. Not …Read More »

A day of transit from JFK airport into Mexico City! Tacos were one of the first things on the agenda. We had been avoiding Mexican food in the US knowing we would soon have the real thing and it hasn’t …Read More »

Another week in NYC down. Today we head to JFK airport to fly to Mexico City. The last week has been a mix of the city and exploring Long Island and around the neighbourhood. Obama was in town doing some …Read More »

New York, what can I say? So many movies and TV shows are based here that it seems like my friends from Seinfeld or How I Met Your Mother should be inviting me to lunch. The MET, Times Square, Rockefeller …Read More »

I just boarded the bus in Boston to head to NYC. Pretty excited to spend the next couple of weeks exploring the big apple! We left Halifax a few days ago, flying into Boston. Boston played the part and we …Read More »

Big wilderness landscapes and rugged coastlines dominated the last week with lots and lots of driving. After leaving Tadoussac we headed down to Fredericton and then Moncton before crossing over for a couple of days on Prince Edward Island (PEI). …Read More »

“Moose watch!” My game of choice for the drive north into Tadoussac. Leftover snow drifts and bitterly cold wind created what I imagined as the ideal backdrop to come across a herd of the big hairies on the road. Alas …Read More »

Beebs (Justin Bieber for those of you who aren’t on a nickname basis with him) came to play in town while we were there. He wanted to hang out but I didn’t have time to catch up with him. Pretty …Read More »

More adventures in Montreal. Biking around during the day and Cirque du Soleil that night.Read More »

From Ottawa to Montreal. Not sure what the go is but it dropped like 15 degrees and was somewhere just above 0°C for the first two days. When you’ve packed mostly for Mexico summer, this isn’t great. The Caters turned …Read More »

A few days spent in Ottawa, exploring, drinking and eating. Just by luck we coincided with the Ottawa Poutine Festival so we became acquainted with these. They are made from hot chips, gravy, cheese curds and topping of your choice.Read More »

Left LA and spent a day in transit, stopping at JFK airport in New York. Was hoping for a view of NYC from the plane but it was rainy and overcast so was out of luck. Landed in Toronto around …Read More »

Spent a day roaming LA with Jarrah acting as tour guide. First the urban light installation and La Brea tar pits. Then on to grand central market for lunch. Afterwards a walk through Cinco de Mayo celebrations and into Olivera …Read More »

An uneventful and sleepless flight from Brisbane to LA leaves Daniel and Megan very tired on our first morning in the US. Thanks to Jarrah+Mikey for the pickup and the sweet free accommodation one block from Venice Beach!!Read More »

Take the leap, the end of a chapter, fly the coop, regardless of the cliche used, I finally did it. I quit my job as a Commercial Manager at a gold mine and packed up all my stuff into storage …Read More »