Salar de Uyuni is one of the most amazing places on earth.
I did cross the fames salt flats in 2009. Photos.
I’d love to go back after a rain storm.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Category: travel
My NEW Drone is the DJI Neo 1
Sadly, my expensive DJI Mini 4 Pro is no more. It’s back somewhere in S.E. Asia.
As a replacement, I bought last year’s model (discounted) of the DJI Neo.
- cost as I post CAD $209
- much less expensive than the Mini 4 Pro
- more durable
- 4K/30fps only
- no obstacle avoidance
- Super lightweight (135g)
- faster to launch. No satellites needed.
- can be used indoors safely
The Mini 4 Pro was a huge commitment for travel. Neo 1 is a fraction of the size, weight, and bulk. I’ll shoot more video in more places with what I call a …
Toy Drone
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Travel Video – 2025 “Year of Islands”
I’ve been following travel vloggers Zac and Ine since 2021.
This year they decided to move slower. And mostly visit islands around the world.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Rick’s Travels in 2026 ⛰
So far — I’m planning to keep traveling in the new year.
I start Kilimanjaro on Feb. 14, 2026.
To train and gain some altitude acclimatization, I’ll be in Ecuador above 3000m for some weeks prior.
I have flights booked through to Kenya. And will be deciding my East Africa itinerary from there.
Then most likely to Dubai. And Oman for hiking and cycling.
Then back to Calgary for some spring skiing.
After that …
… living every day as if it’s my last. 😀
Christmas – La Quinta, California
I’d celebrated Christmas with my parents all but two years of my life.
But with both Mom and Dad gone in 2025, joined my brother Rob and his wife Yvonne for the Yule in La Quinta, California. This was their 4th winter renting a beautiful place from Canadian friends.
Loved it!
The Mediterranean climate is perfect for year round cycling and hiking.
YES it’s a bit odd celebrating the traditional Great White North Christmas in a town at 20C.
The municipal park is nicely decorated for the holidays. We walked Charlie there once or twice a day.
Highlight for me was FREE COFFEE at City Hall !
This is ME awaiting my next free Latte. 😀
Actually the grub was pretty good at home with Rob doing much of the cooking and kitchen clean-up.
We only ate at a restaurant one time. Home cooking is the rule.
When we wanted an orange, we picked one off the tree in the back yard.
I spent a fair bit of time at the library.
La Quinta place names are mostly Spanish. There’s much recognition of the sacrifices of military. And the First Nations.
We had a hot tub about every second night.
California should probably just become the 11th Canadian Province. 😀
Consider me won over to the snowbird annual vacation.
We’ve also scheduled Christmas dinner for January 11th in Calgary.
Love the Mediterranean Climate
December in Southern California is perfect weather for me.
Sunny and dry. Not too hot. No humidity.
Here’s where a Canadian snowbird wants to spend part of the winter.
Mediterranean climates typically offer 250 to over 320 sunny days per year.
Shorts and t-shirt every day. ☀️
The main cause of Mediterranean, or dry summer, climate is the subtropical ridge, which extends towards the pole of the hemisphere in question during the summer and migrates towards the equator during the winter. …
Areas with this climate are also where the so-called “Mediterranean trinity” of major agricultural crops have traditionally been successfully grown (wheat, grapes and olives). As a result, these regions are notable for their high-quality wines, grapeseed/olive oils, and bread products.
… Because most regions with a Mediterranean climate are near large bodies of water, temperatures are generally moderate, with a comparatively small range of temperatures between the winter low and summer high.
Southern California is a great place to visit …
Alberni Bam Bam: A Bikepacking Route on Vancouver Island
It finally dawned on me that I can no longer easily hike and cycle on Vancouver Island. We’ve sold my parents former home on Vancouver Island.
In the past, I’ve cycled large sections of this challenging route. Looks ideal for an experienced bikepacker who wants to find out what coastal rainforest wilderness is like.
Unpaved about 70% of a 450-kilometer loop. It starts and ends in Nanaimo, British Columbia, for those coming from the mainland. You don’t need a motor vehicle.
It links gravel roads, rough doubletrack, and a four-hour boat ride up the Alberni Inlet, featuring numerous swim spots, old-growth forests, quirky communities, and so much more.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Christmas in California
California in December is amazing.
Trump welcomed me into the USA — then had me attacked by wild horses. 😀
California is a great place to visit in winter. I’ll be doing plenty of cycling and hiking.
For 2025, it’s Christmas here with my brother Rob and his wife Yvonne. And their dog Charlie.
We’ll have our official Christmas dinner in Calgary on January 11th. The Great White North.
Ho. Ho. Ho.
My Berlin Koffer by Michèle Allaire-Rowan
My Berlin Koffer – Blissful Memories (2025) is the 2nd of my friend Michèle’s series of lifetime retrospectives.
It’s available on Amazon.
Michèle reads the audio version.
Her first autobiography is Crossing Borders and Cultural Divides (published 2022) which ends 1975.
This book is focused on Michèle’s 10 years in West Berlin — one of the most unique and interesting cities of the world. She lived there 1976 to 1986. Moving only to marry her husband Garth.
If it wasn’t for Garth, she might still be living in Berlin. 😀
Formally controlled by the Western Allies (England, France, USA), West Berlin was surrounded by the Berlin Wall, built in 1961, and bleak East Germany.
German students going to school there could avoid military service. The counter-culture was artistic freedom and living life to the fullest. Nightclubs had no closing. A haven for hippies, punks, musicians (like David Bowie & Iggy Pop), Michèle, and her friends.
My Berlin Koffer is a time capsule of West Berlin between 1976 and 1986, a time when the city was literally an island of freedom in the middle of Eastern Europe, restricted by the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall.
After a few years of teaching in England and in France, Mimi is looking for a change in her life.
West Berlin in the 1970s offers affordable rents, a good university, part-time jobs, and an abundance of cultural events.
For a young, educated woman with plenty of room in her suitcase, the island of freedom seems to be the ideal place in which to settle.
It’s a long and winding road to learning German, studying for a master’s, and finding an interesting job, while enjoying cinema, theatre, music, art, as well as socializing with cosmopolitan friends and adapting to a new culture.
Will this extraordinary city which never sleeps enable Mimi to find what she wants and eventually fill her suitcase?
And if it ever overflows, will she ever be able to leave?
I’d been waiting for Michèle’s Berlin book because my first flight to Europe (1974, I believe) landed West Berlin. I recall that trip vividly. It was a really BIG deal for me. Checkpoint Charlie.
A Gymnastics tour organized by Hajo Elsholtz.
I’m wondering if German boyfriend Alex has a copy of this book. 😀
Visiting Vancouver Before Christmas
Returning from 4 months in Asia, I landed for 3 nights in Vancouver.
Ron and Kate hosting. As usual … 😀
Kate had organized a surprise birthday weekend celebration for Rocco.
I jumped out of a Lonsdale Quay coffee shop to surprise him and Maureen.
We enjoyed a meal at the lively JÄGERHOF restaurant near the Quay. Schnitzel, spaetzle, and bratwurst in a cozy, alpine-themed setting.
Though I was quite jet lagged, and just getting over a cold, we still packed the weekend with laughs, golf, great food, Christmas celebration, …
Ron played around with A.I. photo editing app Nano Banana. Some hilarious results.
December is BUSY month at Chez Shewchuk. All the important people have birthdays — AND Christmas, New Years.
Thanks to all.
Rick McCharles 