These last couple months have been excellent and extremely busy. I’ve been knocking out life goals left and right, and things show no sign of slowing down. I spent the month of September in the Balkans, exploring a part of the world I’ve long been interested in seeing (posts coming soon!). Last weekend I completed…
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Since returning home from Cuba, I’ve been asked dozens of questions about traveling here. My fellow Americans are just as intrigued by this forbidden fruit of the Caribbean as I was. Despite our governments best efforts, travel to Cuba can’t be completely reversed and there are still many opportunities for Americans to visit. If you…
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A few weeks ago, my friend Marissa over at Postcards to Seattle and I got Nitrox certified. It’s something I’ve been interested in doing for awhile since being able to use Enriched Air allows you to dive for longer and you’re less likely to feel fatigued when you’re done. Plus, the course only takes a…
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Once again we’re up at 4am to get ready for day 2 of the STP. Despite our early night, I have little interest in getting out of bed. Everything hurts and I am so tired from cycling 100 miles yesterday. But I’m not going to get back to my own bed by staying here, so…
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If you grew up in the Pacific Northwest, chances are good you’ve heard of the Seattle to Portland bike ride, or STP. Every year, 10,000 people hop on their bikes and ride the 200+ miles to Portland, Oregon over one or two days. If you had asked me a year ago if I would ever…
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It’s our last full day in Cuba and we’re up bright and early. Today we’re visiting Laguna Guanaroca, about 40 minutes outside Cienfuegos, to see the flamingos that live there. And I for one, can’t wait! We’re attempting to arrive as soon as they open as this is a popular activity and the groups fill…
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Before I tell you about Cienfuegos, I should probably fill you in on how we got here. It’s the latest chapter of “Kelsey and Maggie’s Cuban Transportation Saga”. For many reasons, we didn’t buy our bus ticket from Trinidad to Cienfuegos in advanced. So once again, we find ourselves at the bus station the morning…
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I’m not usually much of a museum person on my travels. If it’s a big one like the Prado in Madrid, then sure, I’ll give it a few hours. But generally they don’t hold much interest for me. However, while reading through my guidebook on Trinidad, I came across the Museo Histórico Municipal. It’s the former…
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As you’ve probably heard me mention before, information on tourist activities in Cuba was really hard to come by before my trip. Especially for anything outside of Havana. The Lonely Planet guidebook has a blurb about hiking to a waterfall in Parque el Cubano, part of Topes de Collantes National Park, but aside from that brief…
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Allow me to introduce you to my favorite city in Cuba – Trinidad. I admit, I’m guilty of thinking of Cuba as only Havana. However, Trinidad is full of colonial charm and is one of the best preserved cities in Cuba. It’s a small town and not heavy on sites, but it’s the perfect place…
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After our crazy morning attempting to get back to Havana, we settle into our new accommodations and head back out in search of dinner. From our previous explorations, Havana Vieja seems to have the most restaurants, so this is the direction we go. On the way, we pass another of Ernest Hemmingway’s former haunts –…
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Remember how I told you about buying bus tickets in Cuba, how we lucked out on our way to Vinales but it wouldn’t always be that way? Well today is the day I find out just how screwy Cuban transportation can be. And this is only the first of three times we deal with this…
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