Category: travel

PEI hospitality

On By Rick McIn gymnastics, travel, traveloguesLeave a comment

Jim and Lea Rand were my most excellent hosts in PEI.

I enjoyed fresh baking, ate surf and turf. We toasted marshmallows and poured Bailey’s into the melted centres. Mmmm.

The family has it’s own beach volleyball court and games were very competitive.

volleyball-rands.jpg

Jim, spiker right, has been running the gym in Charlottetown for 31 years. He’s 2 years retired from teaching and now can devote himself full-time to gym and home construction projects.

Lea is still working two jobs. : )

lea.jpg

The club is planning their first ever trip to a Japanese gymnastics meet.

This was the last post on this travelogue. It’s back to Calgary after over 4 weeks on the road.

PEI CFAs

On By Rick McIn photos, travel, traveloguesLeave a comment

The CFAs (Come From Aways) after a gymnastics coaches course were taken on tour to Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.

wesley.jpg

We took in the beach and later visited the home of Anne of Green Gables.

Actually, she was just a character in a novel. This must be the home of the author, Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Actually, Lucy Maud lived nearby. This is a restoration of a farm which inspired the novel — for the benefit of Japanese tourists.

anne.jpg
Anne of Green Gables
33 more photos on Flickr

The best highlight of the trip for me was wandering the quiet seaside village of North Rustico.

» next travelogue post on this trip – PEI hospitality

biking Prince Edward Island

On By Rick McIn cycling, photos, travel, traveloguesLeave a comment

Unexpectedly I found time to bike a day on the new “rails to trails” path on PEI.

It’s an ideal way to see this rustic, rural Province.

A sidetrip took me to the north coast beaches and Dalvay-by-the-Sea, built 1896, in Prince Edward Island National Park.

pei.jpg
26 more photos on Flickr

One day I will return to do bike the entire 470km Confederation Trail.

» next travelogue post on this trip – PEI CFAs

a day in New Brunswick

On By Rick McIn photos, travel, traveloguesLeave a comment

New Brunswick was on “the list” since Rocco raved about the Province. He owns a beach house there.

I mentally drafted versions of this post while standing hopelessly trying to hitchhike to the Bay of Fundy.

Rocco bears the full brunt of my gratitude:

“New Brunswick is a pretty bog infested with mosquitos and profane, obese, chain-smoking, beer-swilling unwed mothers. The public transportation sucks … – disappointed in New Brunswick”

I had hoped to write-up one of the major hikes, especially Fundy Trail Footpath. But I never got there.

Still, I must concede we had one great day in a rent-a-car touring to Kouchibouguac National Park and Shediac.

pirate.jpg
24 more New Brunswick photos on Flickr

» next travelogue post on this trip – biking Prince Edward Island

vacation in Libya?

On By Rick McIn Islam, travelLeave a comment

A friend worked years ago in Muammar al-Gaddafi-land and had some wonderful experiences.

But do you really want to vacation there?

Tripoli: Once a Pariah, Now a Hot Spot – New York Times

To Tripoli from Rome or Milan, a round-trip ticket will cost about $250.

Until Libya establishes services in the United States, Americans must apply for visas through Libya’s offices in other countries. The nearest is in Canada, the Libyan People’s Bureau in Ottawa. Libya only grants visas to tourists who arrange their travel with travel agents registered in Libya. Even then, Libya has recently denied entry to visa holders without warning or explanation.

Tours go to well-preserved Roman and Greek ruins of Leptis Magna and Sabratha.

300px-Muammar_al-Gaddafi.jpg
your tour guide

25 best unknown places to visit

On By Rick McIn Islam, travelLeave a comment

How does Sal, Siwa, Imlil, Agadez sound?

Or, Kas, Triglav National Park, Algamitas, Erice, Calvi or Lohéac?

Yep, they sure live up to the title. The first set is located in Africa, the second set in Europe and I haven’t heard of a single one.

Budget Travel asked professionals who tour the world on their company dime to come up with the very best, undiscovered locales …

source – Gadling.com – the traveller’s weblog

I have heard of Siwa. Friends in Egypt raved about this charming Berber oasis close to the Libyan border and I have always wanted to go there. Sounds like a desert paradise.

siwa-1.jpg
Siwa – Wikipedia

Gadling.com now my favourite blog

On By Rick McIn blogs, humour, product endorsements, travelLeave a comment

This is my kind of travel website!

spy-tours.jpgBerlin and Moscow are two exotic cities which struck fear into the hearts of western spies throughout the Cold War.

There is nowhere on this planet more legendary for espionage and things-that-go-bump-in-the-night than these two capitals. Sadly, with the fall of communism their glory days have long passed. The spooks and their haunts, however, still remain.

Lovers of the Spy Genre will be happy to hear that The Smithsonian is conducting a nine-day tour this October that whisks cloak-and-dagger fans through the former headquarters of East Germany’s Stasi, the KGB Museum in Moscow, the Glienicke Bridge (where spy exchanges were conducted), Gorky Park, the remains of the Berlin Wall and a host of other John LeCarre locations. The tour will even be joined by retired KGB officers in Moscow who will undoubtedly have a handful of great stories to tell.

The cost is $6695 and must be paid with small, non-sequential bills or uncut diamonds.

Red Corner: Spy Tour – Gadling

Mike the activist

On By Rick McIn government, travel, traveloguesLeave a comment

I visited Moncton, New Brunswick on a failed attempt to do some coastal hiking.

Happily, the town’s first hostel (The C’Mon Inn) opened this summer. I met some very interesting people.

I rented a car and 5 of us took a road trip up to Koochi Koochi Koo National Park (Kouchibouguac) to stroll the Kelly’s beach dunes. It was a nice day.

Even better was scrambling the Shediac Lobster.

It was an education to spend the day with Mike, the first real activist I’ve ever known. Those people on TV protesting globalization — that’s Mike. He was at the Battle of Seattle, the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999.

Mike was badly hurt protesting The Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, 2001, a round of negotiations regarding a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Next Mike was inside the tent for the G8 summit 2002 in Kananaskis, Alberta representing Oxfam.

Right now he is an inactive activist, back at school, earning another degree.

But the passion is there. He is committed to, and very knowledgeable on, many important causes facing this planet. I admire Mike’s commitment and courage. And I wish him well into the future. We will keep in touch.

» next travelogue post on this trip – a day in New Brunswick

“Lhasa Vegas”

On By Rick McIn audiocasts, government, philosophy, travelLeave a comment

pf01.jpgXeni Jardin, the popular BoingBoing.net blogger, has a good podcast on NPR radio:

Tradition vs. Change in ‘Lhasa Vegas’

When I was in Tibet in 1997 there were already good internet cafes. It seems the more remote an area, the more important the internet becomes.

Needless to say, the Dalai Lama is jive to the technology, but with a caution:

The internet’s contribution to the diffusion and dissemination of knowledge and information is truly remarkable.

“By itself the internet cannot feed the poor, defend the oppressed, or protect those subject to natural disasters, but by keeping us informed it can allow those of us who have the opportunity to give whatever help we can.”