vagabond

Back To Guatemala: Tikal Ruins

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My tuk tuk pitched out into traffic and jolted to a stop at the first set of lights. As it turned green, the motorcycle beside us lurched into a cat wheel, shooting ahead of us, the scooter next to him bolted after him, and our tuk tuk picked up the rear, gears grinding, engine struggling as it coughed to life and chugged through the intersection. Each gear shift was a screeching protest from the stressed engine. We puttered across the bridge and made our way from Santa Elena into the beautiful and quaint Flores. Cobblestone streets in abysmal disrepair took over for the pavement and we bumped our way along to my hostel, Los Amigos. Continue reading →

Semuc Champey; Where The River Hides Beneath The Earth

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Ah Semuc Champey, the treasure of Guatemala. How many times did I Google you and stare in wonder  at your picturesque beauty? Too many to count. You were the main reason I returned to Guatemala. How could I say I traveled this beautiful country if I had not rested my eyes on the fabled Semuc Champey, meaning ‘where the river hides beneath the earth’.

As I write this, I’m sitting in my rustic little ‘A’ frame thatch-roofed hut.  The front end, opposite the door and where my bed is positioned, has a three foot high railing and that is all- it’s left entirely open. The rain is hammering down, the torrents coming down in waves, thunder is reverberating in the distance and the occasional flash of lightening sends a blaze of light into the hut. It smells of wet jungle – moist vegetation and damp earth. I sit shrouded in the opaque protection of my bug net and once again I am astounded that this is my life. Continue reading →

Semana Santa In Leon, Nicaragua

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With salt in our hair, and sand in every crevice of our bodies,  our little crew of four set out yet again after five relaxing days at Playa Gigante. We had booked some rooms at the Surfing Turtle in Leon, Nicaragua to spend Semana Santa in the big city. However, we made the rookie mistake of thinking that their Easter holidays were the same as our own back in our respective countries- Monday and Friday. Nope. Way off. Continue reading →

Ometepe Island, Nicaragua

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It was a sad goodbye that we paid Laguna de Apoyo. We all packed up our bags, and some of us our hangovers and regrets over lost phones. It was time to move on yet again.

Ometepe island was the one major destination in Nicaragua that seemed to come up again and again from other travellers. It was the must see/do of the country. Thus, we all had rather high expectations heading there. We made our way by shared taxi to the port town of San Jorge, near Rivas. We walked down the pier heading towards what looked like a safe and reputable ferry. Continue reading →

We Are the Wanderers

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Now that my departure date is looming near, I’ve become more and more vocal with friends, family, co-workers and even strangers about my upcoming adventure. I eagerly tell people about my plans when they ask because I’m beyond excited about the fact that I’m actually following my dreams. The conversation usually goes something like this:

Them- “Oh, you’re leaving Yellowknife? Where are you going?”

Me- “I’m going traveling!”

Them- “Oh how exciting, where?”

Me- “The world!”

The conversation then goes either one of two ways:

Continue reading →