Guest Post by Cheryl Williams Arriving in Rio in the evening we planned on taking an uber to our accommodation, but that proved to be a bit more difficult than expected. We realized that they won’t pick you up right…
On the Road Again- Brazil
Sao Paulo After nearly three years, we were on the road, or rather, in the air. With flights from Vancouver grounded a few days before our flight due to the winter storms, which had now moved towards Montreal, Cheryl and…
Mexican Memories Part II-Guadalajara and Tequila
WELCOME TO THE BIG CITY: GUADALAJARA Arriving at the new bus station in Guadalajara after the laundry fiasco in Barra de Navidad, we jumped in a cab and headed to the fancy hostel I had stayed in when I spent…
Alone in Lamu
It’s always a good sign when the driver spends the first 5 minutes bailing out the bottom of the boat before you can leave the island. Just when I thought he was done he switched to the other, smaller bailer…
Hiking Mt. Kenya
After another night in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and walking to the airport from the hostel, I arrived in Nairobi at night and grabbed a taxi to my hotel in a very sketchy (but convenient) neighbourhood near all…
Harar- Eastern Ethiopia
After Marieke and Jon left for Lalibela on their very early bus, Cheryl and I had a lazy morning, enjoying the superb buffet breakfast at our hotel and got a free ride to the airport with their airport shuttle at…
How to Hike the Simien Mountains Independently- and Save (Some) Money
I was determined to do the Simien Mountains without joining a tour. Partly because I knew it would be cheaper, particularly for a group, and partly because most people joined a tour, so I wanted to buck the trend. The…
The Hassles of Hawzen
I had been warned that Ethiopia was a bit of a hassle. But I also figured that I had just spent months traveling around Africa, and so would be fairly prepared. This experience helped, but it also meant I was…
Jinja- source of the Nile
Jinja is Uganda’s third largest city, but after Kampala, felt really small. Which was kind of nice, particularly for running errands. In Kampala, we had struggled to do errands (other than the great thrift shopping), but here we easily found…
In which my bed bugs turn into Bilharzia- Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kampala
From Lake Bunyoni, we caught a boat ride, taxi, bus and matatu (shared minivan) to arrive in Katunguru, a small town sitting at the entrance to Queen Elizabeth National Park. As soon as we got off the matatu we were…