On the Road Again

For a few upcoming weeks, my company has shut down completely. No one is allowed on the premises, meaning I suddenly have some free time. A co-worker asked me what my plans were for the forced down time and I responded 'Sleep.' After she chastised me for being too young to require that much sleep (love her!) she told me of her plans to travel to Iceland.

And that's all it took.

That tiny suggestion of travel and I couldn't satisfy the itch until I too booked a flight.

Between work and other general life challenges I have barely had time to plan anything, which has stressed me out slightly. Even more so since I'm usually the rock up and travel buddy, jumping on to the hard work of others' planned trips or as a kind friend described me, 'a travel leech'. I haven't prepared myself for all the work that goes behind planning a trip. Ugh! Where am I going to stay and when? How am I getting there? What am I going to do while there? Such an effort! I should just stay home....I kid, I kid. But it seriously is hard. I started out with one itinerary at the beginning of the planning stage and ending with something completely different. Even leaving a part of it completely open for spontaneity. That's just how I roll.

So expect some radio silence on this blog for the next few weeks as I didn't manage to schedule any posts (same reason as above. TLDR: It's hard work!).

I'll be returning in April with more South America posts (it's the trip that keeps on giving), some hometown tourist items from Toronto the Good, and obviously lots more to come of my latest adventure!

I'll be spending some time in Ireland, Scotland, London, the Lake District, and I have a long layover in Amsterdam. If you have any recommendations or travel tips, please do share them with me in the comments or if your interested in meeting up old school and by old school I mean IRL then email me!

I will miss you my lovelies. Catchya on the flip side!

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My Favourite Hidden Gems: Travel Linkup

While thinking about this month's #TravelLinkup I couldn't really decide on just one travel hidden gem, I mean, there are just so many! So instead, here's a round up of just a few of my favourite hidden gems.

First up, God’s Own Junkyard in Walthamstow-Central, London.  A neon museum next to a gin palace and micro-brewery? That's my kind of place. Despite this place being all over the blogosphere it's nothing compared to being surrounded by the warm glow of the neon lights.

If you've seen In Bruges (and move past the murderous, cussing, Colin Ferrell bits) then you'll know what I'm talking about when adding this Flemish town to my travel gems list. I recommend taking a canal tour.

Bolivia. I'm still working my way through a few more posts from this gem of a country. Seriously, go to South America hit up all the usual suspects like Ecuador, Chile, Peru, but you should definitely add Bolivia to that list!

Visiting Quebec City for the first time a couple summers ago, I discovered that Canada has some kick-ass hidden gems too.

Little bit of self promotion here, maybe if I big-up my hometown more of my English friends will visit! The suburbs of the GTA are a travel hidden gem. (We're very near the Toronto airport btw)


At the beginning of each month, I like to take part in the monthly travel link up hosted on the incredible blogs by Angie, Emma, Polly and this month's special co-host, Tiffany of  A Girl and her Passport. You can join in too by leaving a comment below, checking out other posts on the link up, or adding your own post to the widget now until March 7th.

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Isla Incahuasi: Unexpected Loveliness

The cactus forest or Isla Incahuasi, was the 2nd stop on our Salt Flats tour (check out the Train Graveyard) and popped out of nowhere from the white reflective grounds of the Salar de Uyuni. The rocky outcrop of land is 3,656 meters above sea level and 61 acres (24.62 hectares) with giant cactuses (or is it cacti?) and a 360 panorama of the world's largest salt flat.

Although I knew we would be stopping at this island, but I really didn't know what to expect. It turned out to be one of my favourite spots of the whole tour. 

I take a lot of photos generally, but even I was surprised by how each corner along the 1 hour long walking path threw up a new captivating scene that I just had to capture. 

Oh how this place delighted me. Being on a tour, we were there for a limited time, but I could have spent so much more time there, just soaking in the crazy beauty of these spiky plants.

Ever been somewhere you weren't expecting much and it was the opposite? Tell me about it

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A Stop in Copacabana, Bolivia

We had such big plans for our brief stop in Copacabana, Bolivia. 

But darned if things turned out how we planned. 

We knew we'd be passing through the small lake side town twice so we decided to save the exploring for our return trip, focusing our first visit on one of the amazing remote islands found on Lake Titicaca, Isla del Sol. 

I had googled all the things to do in Copacabana and we estimated that we could get a fair bit of them in during our 6 hour stop over. There's the Copacabana Cathedral, Cerro Calvario, Horca del Inca, walking along the coast line, eating trout from the lake, walking the main drag Avenida 6 de Agosto, and even a museum.

We were actually really looking forward to our time to explore and that's when the travel sickness struck!

Eimear had been struggling for some days, but in the morning on the day we were set to arrive in Copacabana is when my body decided to break down too. All our anticipation and planning was for nothing as we could do little more than weakly sit and stare out into the water. 

At first I had thought maybe some walking might do me some good.

I was wrong.

I should note here, that Copacabana is 3,841m above sea level, and all the streets running into town from the water's edge are UP HILL.

Off I went. I explored, I rested. I explored, I rested. I took as many photos as I could manage, figuring I wouldn't remember much about the place and would at least want something to look back on.

It was a bustling little town, with 3 separate markets taking place in the main squares and being a Sunday the regular parade of decorated cars lined the street in front of the cathedral. People come from all over Bolivia to get their cars blessed by a priest. Buying a car, new or old, they get it blessed. If they drive for a living, they get their vehicle blessed. Heading out on a long road trip, don't forget to get the car blessed. And with the traffic and general road conditions of Bolivia (*hint* they were all under construction), I don't blame them for wanting a little divine intervention from Pachamama.

The vehicles are adorned with flower arrangements, trinkets, and toys purchased from the market stalls that line the streets near the cathedral. People celebrate with champagne, or bottles of coke--all depending on their price point--spraying the car with bubbles once the blessing is done.

I wish I could actually have seen the event in action, but at least I got to enjoy some of the aftermath. (Check out Danielle and Oscar's blog  Be Lost, for some beautiful pictures of the event)

By this point in my wander up the hill to the cathedral, I was completely winded and drained of energy, fighting waves of nausea, and gut pain (tmi?), I found a park bench and parked it. I spent the next half hour people-watching and contemplating my death rather than walking back down the hill.

I mean in retrospect, spending that time watching a regular Sunday going down around the square was quite enjoyable. Just wish I hadn't been inflicted with the searing pain in my gut and fevered sweating.

Now I could have written a post about how wonderful Copacabana was (which it was) and present my time there as perfect, as the photos alone might give that impression, but the reality was that I couldn't wait to leave this beautiful coastal town and get myself into a proper bed (and be close to a bathroom tbh). Instead, I spent my time being preoccupied with thoughts of how the hell I was going to survive the next 7 hours on an overnight bus to Cusco before I could make it to that heavenly bed.

Ever have a trip not quite go your way? Tell me about it in the comments below.

At the beginning of each month, I like to take part in the monthly travel link up hosted on the incredible blogs by Angie, Emma, Polly and this month's special co-host, Eppie. You can join in too by leaving a comment below, checking out other posts on the link up, or adding your own post to the widget now until February 7th.

Don't miss a post! 

Sign up for email posts (found on the sidebar), like my facebook page, or follow me on bloglovin'. You can also keep up with my instagram feed and I occasionally tweet.

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