I’ve been lucky enough in my lifetime to see the Northern Lights in my home province of Manitoba, Canada as well as while visiting Greenland and Iceland. They really are spectacular! Have you ever wondered how those bright dancing lights are created? They are actually collisions between electrically charged particles …
Picking up where I left off in my previous blog (I was talking about food), if you ever go to Porto, it’s a must to have a “Francesinha”, (meaning Little Frenchie or simply Frenchie in Portuguese) originally from Porto, made with bread, wet-cured ham, linguiça, fresh sausage like chipolata, steak …
Our latest newsletter has Portugal as the featured destination. When asked to write a blog to feature in it, I thought it would be easy! After all, I am Portuguese and lived there until I was 39 before moving to Canada. But in fact, it isn’t that easy! There is so …
Ian & Margot in front of Arctic Circle Marker, Naujaat
I was escorting a group of clients to venture out to the Floe Edge in the community of Naujaat, Nunavut (formerly Repulse Bay and translated as “seagull nesting place”) and to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day on the summer solstice – June 21, 2018. It was a very special place to be on this particular day, in that Naujaat is located exactly on the Arctic Circle. Read More >
Wow, What an awesome time it is cruising on The Danube River. I went on a AmaWaterways Christmas Market Cruise and had a really exciting, informative and fun trip. Since I am a polar bear you can imagine the funny looks and stares I got while on the ship. I could not get over how many super cool things the ship had to offer. Read More >
Welcome aboard.
Hearing that every time I walked down the gang plank onto the ship made me feel so at home. It was even a warmer welcome when I was offered a hot towel and a glass of hot Gluwein (mulled wine) to refresh myself. I was on an Ama Waterways 7-day Christmas Market Cruise down the Danube River. Wow did I have some fun! Read More >
“Sssshhhh, turn around quietly and look out the window.” Those were the words said in hushed tones by our tour host as we were happily sitting in the lounge car of the Tundra Buggy Lodge™, having a wee drink before dinner. We turned and looked in awe, as right outside the windows, casually strolling by in the tell-tale pigeon-toed gait, was a big, beautiful polar bear. You could hear the intake of breath as we all marvelled at the incredible wonder of nature walking right by us. “That’s a young male, about 3 years old” our guide informed us. His powerful muscles rippled underneath his fur telling us that he is a force of nature, a natural hunter and predator. But the round, black eyes and black nose set in that white face offered all of us that unmistakable sense of “Oh, you look cute enough to cuddle”. A feeling best kept as thought and not action! These are not cute and cuddly toys! Read More >
One thinks of the smooth, peaty, rich taste of Scotch when thinking of the alcohol of choice for Scots and the symbolic drink of Scotland. However the new trend is the distilling of gin. For hundreds of years Scotch has been distilled in oak casks in the Highlands of Scotland. It takes at least 3 years for a genuine scotch to be distilled and bottled, with the majority being distilled for far longer. Today, there are over 120 Scotch distillers in Scotland. Read More >
When attending travel seminars, there is never enough time to explore the destination in which you are visiting. However, I always try and give myself at least one full day to explore the sites, pick up some souvenirs, and try the local cuisine.
This time it was Halifax, Nova Scotia and one day was definitely not enough. I started my day with a Starbucks coffee, which was hard to find (definitely more pubs in Halifax than coffee shops). Then boarded my half day tour to Peggy’s Cove. Read More >
One of the many activities offered by Tambopata Eco Lodge is a visit to the nearby farm that supplies most of the produce served to guests and staff.
As our boat neared the dock, we were greeted by the farm’s friendly dogs. The first task was to feed the numerous free-range chickens. After that, our guides displayed most of the fruits grown on the farm and explained what each one was. Sampling many of the fruits was the best part of the tour. We tried papaya, plantains, lady-finger bananas, carambola, lemon, orange, grapefruit, and fish-eye peppers. Noni, a super-fruit related to the acąi which looks a bit like a spotted potato, was the least favourite; the consensus was that it smells and tastes like stinky feet or blue cheese. Read More >
What can one learn from walking in another’s shoes (or in this case, bare feet)? More than I could have ever imagined!!! When in the Deception Valley area of Botswana with my husband and our two teenage sons, we were fortunate enough to spend the day trekking through the Kalahari Desert with a fascinating father and son team from the local indigenous San Tribe.
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The more special your travel dream, the more we can help you get there! That has been the motto of the Great Canadian Travel Company since its beginnings in 1980 and was when I became associated with the company. I had a dream travel destination – Africa, and more specifically the legendary Timbuktu. Great Canadian Travel has since provided me the opportunity to travel to Africa on more than 30 occasions. My dream has earned me the designation of Africa Expert in the company.
