Category Archives: international travel
A week in the Sun…
It was a fun filled week in the sun spent with some great friends… over the week I took a pile of photos and this post will show some of them-so bare with me..
I flew on my Birthday to Toronto, was met at the airport by Kat and my mum. When I got back to Kat and John’s place… I was surprised with a HUGE platter of sushi, and birthday cake. It was such a fabulous surprise, I’m so blessed with such a thoughtful family.
I was surprised with BALLOONS on my bed to help celebrate my birthday…Thanks to Katie! It was another great surprise to walk in and see my bed covered with balloons.
It was fabulous to walk on the beach, with the smell of the ocean and sand under my feet!
I stayed at the El Cozumeleno Beach Resort it was fabulous, the people who worked there are amazing! It was a fun family friendly resort…the poolside was so nice. The beach wasn’t a ‘sandy’ so you can walk in (but if you went on the other side of the pier you could easily walk in). But once you got over the rock/coral at the shore.. it had FABULOUS snorkeling right in front of the resort!
Collecting shells was a fun thing to do…
On Dec 15th…we headed into town to do some shopping and sight seeing. Katie made friends with these parrots!
It was such a fun filled afternoon…stoping by Carlos’n Charlies for a bite to eat…and some more birthday celebrations! There was a few cruise ship groups there and the party was in full swing when we came! A few of us in the group got some henna tattoos that last about 2 weeks–on Facebook you probably saw mine.
Walking around the streets…there were tons of spots for photo ops!
When we came home from the afternoon in town… after a brief siesta…we went for dinner, and the Mexican Cultural night! Awesome music, and dancing performances–I can’t believe that those ladies danced with bottles, trays filled with glasses and bottles and candles that were burning on their HEADS!
The sunsets were amazing…every night different colours were painted on the horizon, as the sun went down!
On December 17th… Jason and Kim took us to the “other side” of the island..where there is no cell reception or power! On our way there we stopped for a tour at this Tequila Place. I learned lots of facts about Tequila-it’s history, how it was made…and of course had a few samples! Casper our guide…was so knowledgeable and provided tons of information!
You never know what fun you’ll get into after a tequila tasting….
Leaving the Tequila Tour we saw this SIGN… have to love Mexico, and their fun signs… glad to know I could have had a “Free Pee-Pee Station”, if I needed!
Our next stop of the day was Coconuts for some refreshment and lunch… it was a fun vibe being there… filled with shirts, and other paraphernalia that people have left behind. Totally reminded me of some of the bars I had been while travelling in Australia…while travelling up to the Alice Springs from Adelaide.
One drink was all I needed…and some water!Mmmm shrimp tacos…they were so good! The view looking over the cliff was pretty awesome too…
I got to watch a server feed the Chameleon… then he offered me a grasshopper to feed it myself! (that’s the bottom photo…MY hand feeding that guy!) Such a long tongue…
We went a bit further down the road to find a beach to chill out at… The surf was really high–and red flags were out… so we only played in the surf as it came up and splashed at our ankles. We were warned by the lifeguards on duty…
Beaches are something I love.. the surf, the salt smell…the random crabs running around!
So in this photo of me you can see my “tattoo”…3 foot prints-that look more like paw prints… Fun for a holiday, but not for all time! I will get my ‘real’ tattoo at some point…but it won’t be paw prints and it won’t be on that location on my body!
All dressed up… ready to head to Senor Frogs 10th Anniversary, another fun night ended by tacos by the “biker” bar… A beautiful sunset, dinner at a local steak place, coco-cola in a glass bottle with a straw and street performers in the square! Great memories of a wonderful Sunday night.
This is an amazing artist… working at the corner of the square…to watch him create a beautiful works of art out of spray paint and paper! My one regret is not getting one of his paintings…next time! These shots were of him creating a piece of art for Dorothy.
On Monday December 19th… we went on a snorkelling tour with Fury Catamarans! It was a fun afternoon… walking out to the catamaran.
Raising the sails takes all hands…
On our way to our first of two stops to snorkel. I couldn’t believe how HUGE cruise ships are…
I don’t know about you…but you need to be “always prepared to snorkel!” The Captain of the boat… steered like this all the way… I kind of liked his style!
After stopping at our two different reefs to do some snorkelling (which made me wish I was actually diving, not just floating on the surface!)… and remember–“follow the big Buoy” heaven forbid if we could snorkel outside of the ‘pack’!
We headed to the “Beach Party spot” for a cheese burger, salads and more drinks… there were fun water blow-up things to play with…but I just watched!
My only complaint of the day was it seemed so rushed… I remember going on a similar ‘cruise/trip’ while in Cuba..but it was a FULL day not a 1/2 a day! I suppose that this was the difference…
Back on the boat and heading home… the ‘dance-floor’ opened up… and we had a blast, dancing while the boat cruised over the waves.
My last full day in Cozumel was filled with fun in the sun (when it wasn’t behind the clouds), Pina Colodas (made with real coconut), dancing and laughter! Laughter with new friends and old ones too…
Dorothy thanks for being an awesome roommate… it was great meeting you, and all the best as you go on your next adventure in Alberta!
I had such a great week… it almost seemed too short! There were many laughs with old friends and new… I enjoyed Cozumel and totally would return. The resort had excellent service–and people working there were so friendly and helpful. Thanks Kim for inviting me and letting me be part of your holiday in the sun! We should do this again…
Looking out the window as I left Cozumel, Mexico…. in the distance you can see the towers of the resort I stayed at! What a fabulous vacation in the sun…it was everything I needed and even more!
>Four Days that Changed Me
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One of the many children I took photos of… they loved to see themselves on the back of my camera!
In the morning we visited a school and met with some Youth Entrepreneurs…I took heaps of photos..but well didn’t want to overload you all with photos (as this is going to be the ‘BIGGEST’ post ever!)…
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>Columbia…
>I just wanted to let everyone know… I made it back from Cartagenia, Columbia safe and sound.. .my 4 days in South America were wonderful!! I still have a bunch of processing to do—both photos (over 2,000 shot) and thinking through what I saw!! I will get back to you all with a post sharing some of these stories I learned, and photos I took as soon as I can get to it!
For now.. I’m going to give you a post all about my first day on the road back to the ‘peg!!
>Un-Expected Traveling…
>It’s really interesting to me how things happen… some might call it destiny, others being in the right spot at the right time, and others just plain lucky! About 2 weeks ago, I woke up at my mum’s house… checked my Facebook… (on my iPhone)… and got this email from a good friend! He works at Opportunity International Canada. This organization is all about micro finance. Basically, well my understanding of it is,… helps people in the third world, access small business loans so that they can jump start local economyfrom the bottom up… (here is some more information about that!) My friend was going on a trip to Columbia.. to visit some of the clients, and check out micro fiance and how it works.
Ok, so back to the email…. my friend explained that there was a trip upcoming to Columbia… and he was wondering if I could come along and be the ..photographer… (I was very excited!!). You might ask? why did he think of me? Well in early July I had stopped by their house… and hung out with his wife (also my friend).. and their adorable little girl who was 7 months… and shot a bunch of portraits…. when I dropped them off at their house… I had a conversation with him and basically said something like this: ” you need to be BRUTALLY honest.. as a parent would you pay for a product like this? Like if they are GOOD or NOT” (apparently I have confidence issues….) And his response was to offer me a trip to Columbia to take photos for the YAO Columbia trip! (to be used in print materials, websites etc…)
So I suppose that’s how I find myself on the night before I fly to Columbia for 4 days… I’m pretty stoked… I’ve never been to South America… and well to be able to do a photography gig internationally, well that’s even more exciting… I also am excited for what I will see… and hopefully it might add some perspective to my life, and what I might think are crazy struggles in my life.. but in the grand scheme of it… aren’t that big of issues!!
If you want to follow along…YAO’s First Insight Trip to Arjona, Colombia, click on the link!
I’ll be posting photos when I get back to Canada….at some point…as after I land, I’m starting to drive back to the ‘peg… but this time I’ll have an accomplice!!