It's the most wonderful time of the year: wrapping up sharing our trips! Here's the end of our July trip now. In the spirit of Newfoundlanders having time and space for their stories, I'll share one final one to wrap up my posts on our time in that place that felt of home and kindness together. If you haven't already read about our crab dinner with the community here, start there. Because it was at this fortuitous feast that we met new friends, a dad and his daughter on a trip togeth…
Here we are at last. Almost exactly a year later. And my 20th post on the most pristine trip of all: Patagonia. (The real accolades go to Walker for getting through editing and selecting, unsung hero of this wee blog!) We weren't in Santiago long, because we really used the city as a launch pad to see Valparaiso and the vineyards, but we were glad our travel agents didn't suggest longer there because it wasn't as designed for tourism as Buenos Aires. We stayed at the Singular, and we were very g…
(STILL a year late. Catching up!) After arriving in Santiago from Punta Arenas, we were delivered to our hotel, The Singular, which was clean, beautiful and very well serviced. We loved it there in the nabe of Lastarria, and our first night, had dinner at the hotel. We woke early the next morning for a full day drive with guide Felipe. He was a bit of a character, and was mainly interested in showing us the graffiti. Not our biggest interest, but the city's colors did pop and swirl around …
My friends, we are determined to wrap up sharing our trip to South America last year before this year ends: just a few more posts to share, but they are good ones! Case in point: this one is dedicated to the chubby lil penguin. Here's a preview to whet your appetite. We had one day to travel to Isla Magdalena on our Patagaonian trip, and departed in the morning from our hotel in Punta Arenas. Despite it being a 5 minute walk to the harbor, somehow our transfer bus took about 45 minutes to drive …
I sit in the glow of an over-decorated and possibly kitschy tree, the light of a silicon candle bulb waving proudly in the window. It's the most wonderful time of the year, truly. We are just back from a cold-but-cozy trip to the UK that I'll be sharing very soon, stags and highland cows and all, but it's time to finally tie a bow on Patagonia. Quick recap since it's been a year: we started in Argentina, traveled to Torres del Paine. Our guides from Awasi, magical hotel it was, drove us on…
(Notice: one year late post! We've got a lot lined up right after this, though, so stay perked for them!) We unexpectedly became little horse riders during our time in Patagonia. On our last full day, Diego took us to Laguna Azul to start a final ride with our two pals, Guachita and Carmen. Their home was at Tercera Barranca, a stunningly situated ranch near Laguna Azul. This was our steepest ride, and also the most open. Honestly, I could barely take an iPhone photo with the bouncing, so was am…
Why is it that the weather doesn't quite matter as much on vacation? While I always wish for the best, sometimes the weather showing what it's really like, instead of the possibility I dream, is part of the charm. Enter Fogo hiking in Newfoundland in July. Temperatures are into the 40s. And our first hike, out to Brimstone Head, supposedly one of the "Four Corners" of the world, an arm that reaches into the sea nearby the hotel. We went with PJ, the hotel's head of activities, who knew eve…
The weather is persistently clammy here in Brooklyn, although it is now officially autumn, and all I can think of are the crisp blue days of Fogo Island, staying in the most cozy hotel. Since the hotel is rather the central feature of the island's topography, as well as the hub of our stay, I wanted to share a little bit more about our time there and nearby. We woke up each morning to warm light off the sea. I peered through binoculars to see boats and possible whale spouts in the distance (alth…
As anyone who has walked down a city sidewalk, past the beady eyes of pigeon scavengers can tell you: my greatest fear is a flock of birds flapping in my face. So this post's joy comes as much as a surprise to me as it will to you. Background: On the ferry to Fogo Island, we met a few locals, who mentioned that if the boat tour was going to Little Fogo Islands while we were there, we should definitely take it. Our hotel did offer it, and while we were not sure another boat tour after our Twillin…
What drew us to Fogo was this mystical hotel whose existence is integrally tied to the community and rocky coast, lashed by salty waves, as anyplace in the world is. This deep sense of place enticed us to overpay for AirCanada flights and then continue to rejigger them 4 or 5 times after they changed the arrival times. And even more beautiful were the people, who talked with reverence of the cod, the coast, the wildflowers, and each other. And how they stayed, even when the fish were taken, and …