Monkey Mia is located about 800km north of Perth, Western Australia and is most famous for it’s friendly dolphins. Visitors to the attraction have the opportunity to feed and get close to several bottlenose dolphins. Unlike other dolphin attractions around the world though, these dolphins are not in captivity. They’ve been fed at this location since the 60s and have come to trust the spot as a good source of food and a safe place to be. While there are many restrictions in place to protect the beautiful creatures, it is more spectacular than any amount of dolphin riding you can do in Florida or Mexico, simply because these dolphins are free.

I had the pleasure of visiting Monkey Mia in 1992, when we stopped there during a road trip up the West Coast of Australia which ended at Exmouth. The entire West Coast of Australia is absolutely breath taking, probably the most beautiful landscape, beaches, oddities and wildlife I’ve ever been privy to in my entire life. And Monkey Mia was a definite highlight. Of course, the dolphins made it extra special, but the grounds themselves were awe-inspiring. It’s virtually in the middle of nowhere, with nothing else around but the Monkey Mia resort structures and a campground. The beach, aside from the dolphin feeding spot, is fairly deserted. I remember standing in a purple-skied dusk on a stunning beach as our friend caught a parrot fish and barbecued it for dinner. The whole place is just breathtaking.

It’s set in the middle of Western Australia’s Shark Bay and sees sunshine 320 days per year. It doesn’t matter what time of year you visit, because it’s sunny year round, but also because the dolphins visit daily, not seasonally. It is absolutely free to see the dolphins as well.

Monkey Mia is considered a World Heritage site and a dolphin research site. It is so fully worth going to see. For more information:

1. Wikipedia
2. Monkey Mia Resort
3. Visiting Monkey Mia

australia, western australia, monkey mia, dolphins, resort, shark bay

MostTraveledPeople  (MTP) is a really cool new web site where you can login (with Facebook Connect if you want) and list all of the places you’ve traveled, keeping track of how many countries, states or provinces you’ve been to and comparing it to other people, turning the whole thing into a big contest. Boast about your travel achievements and drool over others. People who have done a lot of traveling tend to have these competitions with each other anyway, so here’s a way to keep track online and compare with all the other members. You’ll be ranked by gender, age, photos, miles, etc.

This site is more than just a worldwide competition between the most traveled people in the world, it also hosts a myriad of travel resources, such as maps and reviews, World Heritage Site info and a huge list of locations around the World. This seems like an absolutely fantastic way to waste your time! Go check it out: Most Traveled People and be sure to like them on Facebook: MTP and follow them on Twitter: @MostTraveled

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The Mayan Riviera, Playa Del Carmen to be exact, is where I lived for two years of my life. This place is pretty much a tropical playground with so much to do. Here are 9 of the most spectacular ways to spend a day there:

1. Tulum – This gorgeous town is home to mind-blowing Mayan ruins overlooking a vibrant turquoise sea. Entrance to the ruins is free on Sundays, and you’re definitely going to want to hop into a cab after you’re done checking out ancient Mayan history, and heading on down to the main beach. This beach is a stretch of powder-soft white sand, and slightly wavy Caribbean ocean in shades of blue and green you never thought possible. The whole scene looks like a photoshopped screensaver, absolutely too good to be true. But it is true. End this perfect day with dinner at Mezzanine, an upscale Thai restaurant run entirely on wind and solar power.

2. Visit a cenote – Cenotes are sinkholes found all around the Mayan Riviera. They contain cool groundwater and on a hot summer day in Caribbean Mexico, are just about the only relief from the heat. There are many different public cenotes, some with zip lines, some with rope swings, some with cliffs to jump off of. You can even scuba dive to the depths of some and swim through underwater caves. The ones I loved the most were right off the Carratera Federal and cost no more than 3 or 4 dollars to enter. Of these, Cenote Cristalino and Cenote Azule were the best, just a few minutes south of Playa Del Carmen. Catch a collectivo out of Playa for a couple dollars, tell them where you’re headed and they’ll drop you off where you need to be.

3. Cozumel – Cozumel is a small island just off the coast of Mexico, and accessible from Playa Del Carmen. It’s quick to cross by ferry and on the other side you can rent scooters, jeeps or cars to get around. It’s fairly inexpensive to do so and totally worth it as there are so many things to see on Cozumel outside of the town. There are other, smaller towns like El Cedral, that have Mayan ruins in them and a really great town center with churches and horses and souvenir shops. You can also hit up one of the hundreds of beaches, some deserted, some packed to the brim with people. Rent snorkel gear and check out the sea life which can be spectacular on a good day. A great time to go to Cozumel is during Carnival which is in February.

4. Puerto Morelos – A small town in between Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, with an amazing beach. On the beach there is a lighthouse that is crooked from years and years of being beaten down by hurricanes. the beach at Puerto Morelos is stunning and less of a tourist attraction than Playa or Cancun, so you can leave the heaving techno music behind and have a tranquil afternoon in the sun in near solitude. The tiny town is also home to my favorite English book store where you can buy or trade in your old books for used books. its run by fellow Canadians out of Calgary and is only open during the fall and winter months. A 3 dollar bus ride from the bus station on 5th avenue in Playa Del Carmen will get you there in air-conditioned luxury.

5. Akumal – A tiny bay south of Playa Del Carmen, closed in by a reef is home to many sea turtles who lay their eggs on the beach and swim in the bay during the day. I’ve been to this place countless times and I’ve never not seen a sea turtle. Bring your snorkel gear or rent it there and be sure to go out and swim with these creatures. They are amazing and cute even, when they come up out of the water for air. There’s not much else in the way of colorful sea life there, but the trip is worth it for the turtles and the beach as well. It’s a tranquil place and was one of my favorites by far. grab a collectivo from Playa for a couple bucks and they’ll take you there. There are restaurants right on the beach, as well as dive shops in which you can rent snorkel gear, though they tend to overdo it with life vests and wet suits and all you really need is a mask and snorkel.

6. A Beach Bar – I’m Canadian so this wouldn’t be a truthful list if I didn’t include a day of drinking Mexican beer in the hot sun. There is really nothing quite like laying around all day sipping ice cold beers and going for a dip in the Caribbean whenever the heat becomes too much. Even better is taking that beer into the ocean with you, although technically in the town of Playa, that’s not allowed. But like most rules there, they are really just rough guidelines and you can pretty much make up your own rules as you go along. One of the best places to keep the rounds coming all day, is Zenzi beach club. They have free beach lounges and beachside service as well as some of the friendliest staff and regulars in town. The food is also reasonably priced and very good, and on Sundays, 100 pesos will get you all you can eat barbecue with burgers, pork, chicken, sausage and salads. Another great stop on the beach in Playa is Bad Boys Beach Bar, opened by the late, great, Captain Dave and home to house band the nasty Bastards who will play some of your favorite classic rock tunes Thursdays and Saturday nights starting at 7, while you sit in the soft white sand and down Dos Equis until you can’t stand up.

7. The Peanut Pet Shelter & Coco’s Cat Rescue – If you spend any time at all in Playa Del Carmen, Cancun or Tulum, you won’t be able to help but notice the poor dogs and cats running around, starving, street smart animals who need someone to care for them desperately. There are a lot of people who want to do something, and only a handful that actually do. Andy & Jen of the Peanut Pet Shelter open the shelter up most Saturdays to the public so they can come in and participate in the dog wash. Basically, they was each dog that’s being cared for at the shelter and all the volunteers help. It’s a lot of fun getting soaked by shaking, happy, rescued dogs in the heat of the Mayan sun, and getting to know the critters that a lot of the expat community in Playa Del Carmen has fallen in love with. There are ample ways to help them out as well, through donations, purchasing merchandise and sponsoring your favorite puppy. Coco’s Cat Rescue is a similar operation and hosts kitten cuddling day every week on Fridays. Two very worthy causes, amazing people and fun ways to spend a day in Mexico.

mexico, playa del carmen, tulum, akumal, puerto morelos, mayan rivira, riviera maya, cenote, caribbean, peanut pet shelter, coco’s cat rescue, travel, things to do, tours

Hunter S. Thompson was the creator of Gonzo journalism, the author of one of my favorite movies, and was completely and utterly bonkers.  When there was a story about Thompson in papers, it usually involved Hell’s Angels, accidental gunfire and property stolen from other renowned authors’ estates. The man lived life and no one could really argue that. Of course, he was most known for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas which is gut-splittingly hilarious, much like the movie starring Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro, but his lesser known novel, The Rum Diary, is just as good a read.

The novel was written in the 60s, published in the 90s and set in the 50s. It centers around a reporter, Paul Kemp, who moves from New York to Puerto Rico to work for a newspaper. What ensues is a whirlwind of alcoholism, jealousy, violence and fear of aging that all takes place in San Juan. the Caribbean backdrop lends itself to the obscene amount of rum being consumed, and the heat and frustration throughout. It made me want to visit Puerto Rico, have a bit of rum and imagine Hunter S. Thompson being picked up by the Puerto Rican police.

Check out the book:

And check out Puerto Rico:

Welcome to Puerto Rico! History, government, geography, and culture.
Puerto Rico Vacations and Travel Guide | By Puerto Rico Channel
San Juan, Puerto Rico Hotels, Tourism, Things to Do, Restaurants – Yahoo! Travel

the rum diary, hunter s. thompson, fear and loathing in las vegas, puerto rico, san juan, travel, rum

Vacation Express is a 20 year old travel company based out of Atlanta, Georgia that offers spectacular travel packages to the Caribbean, Mexico and Costa Rica. The company has embraced social media and social networking, making use of Twitter, Facebook and their own blog. You can follow this twitter account for deal announcements and savings on travel packages to these amazing destinations, as well as travel tips, news, photos and gossip. This is definitely one of the best uses of social media, and a worthy Twitter user to follow. Go check them out:

Web Site: vacationexpress.com
Twitter: @VacationExpress
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vacationexpress

vacation express, caribbean, mexico, costa rica, travel packages, destinations, twitter

The Oregon Vortex is a circular area in the middle of the Oregon woods, where the strangest phenomenon occurs. For a long time, animals and some humans alike will not set foot within this area, and birds are never seen flying overhead. Within the boundaries of this strange place, it is as though the rules of physics are completely reversed. It is entirely perceptual and can be captured on film.

Within the Vortex is a house, aptly named the House of Mystery, which was once a gold assay office. Gold miners in the early 1900s would come in to weigh their gold findings and would become baffled when the weight was entirely wrong. In 1910, the House of Mystery slid and came to rest at a strange angle which intensifies some of the strange perceptions people have in the Vortex.

Some of the phenomenon reported within the Vortex are balls rolling uphill, people change height as they walk from one area to another, at certain markers on the ground, your body is forced into a gentle, circular swaying motion, compasses go crazy, and a lot more. Here’s an example of a ball rolling uphill:

A lot of people have a lot of different theories regarding why this phenomenon occurs here. Some people insist it is paranormal, a theory which is further fueled by claims that the ghost of John Lister, a geologist who came to study the area, has ben spotted from time to time. A more scientific approach claims it is a “whirlpool of force”, like a tornado, that is electric and magnetic in nature, and that the force causes light to bend in ways it doesn’t normally and therefore, causes our perception to be altered.

When I visited, all of the phenomenon they claimed would happen, did, with the exception of ghost-spotting, and it was a truly eerie place, oddly quite for a forest. There were no animal sounds, not even birds. Legend holds that even Native Americans in the area long ago, would not enter it and considered it the “forbidden ground” because their horses refused to enter.

The Oregon Vortex is open seven days a week from March 1st until Halloween. It is free for children 5 and under and admission for older children and adults range from $7 to $10.

For more info:

- Oregon Vortex Official Web Site
- Wikipedia
- The Oregon Vortex

oregon vortex, vortex, oregon, travel, roadside attraction

With Travellr, you can ask your travel questions and have them answered by locals and people who’ve been there. You can answer questions you know the answers to about places you’ve been or live and you can learn new things about any place in the world. Travellr is basically like Yahoo! Answers, but for travelers. The responses tend to be a lot more coherent and intelligent as well. Here’s a great question with an in-depth answer:
You can connect with Facebook as well, so go sign up and check it out: Travellr and be sure to follow them on Twitter: @travellr

travellr, questions, answers, travel

Continued from My Top 25 Travel Songs Part 4

#5 Toto – Africa

#4 Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way

#3 Cat Stevens – Peace Train

#2 Arcade Fire – Born on a Train

#1 John Denver – Leaving on a Jet Plane

See the master list of all 25 top travel songs here

travel songs, video, travel, john denver, arcade fire, cat stevens, toto, fleetwood mac

Big Sur by Jack Kerouac is, in my mind, a masterpiece. Most likely because I consider Jack Kerouac my favorite author ever and for a period of time, could not be found without a copy of Dharma Bums, tattered and rolled up in one of my pockets. I am biased. I love this man’s writing. The obvious travel book by Jack Kerouac is On The Road, and while it is his most recognizable book, and his most successful, Big Sur is considered by many literary critics to be Kerouac’s masterpiece. For those of you who are fon of a more stream-of-consciousness style of writing as I am, it is easy to see why. This isn’t a pretentious, carefully-crafted, chapter-by-chapter, sprung-from-a-rigid-outline type of novel where the plot reaches a climax and there’s some neat resolution at the end. This book is an experience. You are there, with Jack Kerouac, drinking, feeling his age, experiencing the sound of the Pacific waves hitting the Northern California coast. When you completely immerse yourself in this book, you live what he is living and it’s a profound experience. He writes like people talk. He writes like a human being, with flaws, and raw, unfiltered emotion. I know that my fellow travelers out there, get that profound feeling when the stumble onto something breathtaking somewhere far from home. It’s moving, it’s mystical, it’s spiritual, it is awe-inspiring. Kerouac captures this moment so many times and by the end you’re left with nothing but desire to be standing on the cliffs of that beautiful, rugged coastline:

…this poor haunted canyon which again gives me the willies as we walk under the bridge and come to those heartless breakers busting in on sand higher than earth and looking like the heartlessness of wisdom –Besides I suddenly notice as if for the first time the awful way the leaves of the canyon that have managed to be blown to the surf are all hesitantly advancing in gusts of wind then finally plunging into the surf, to be dispersed and belted and melted and taken off to sea –I turn around and notice how the wind is just harrying them off trees and into the sea, just hurrying them as it were to death –In my condition they look human trembling to that brink –Hastening, hastening —In that awful huge roar blast of autumn Sur wind.

I actually did go to Big Sure after reading this book, and realized very quickly why this place inspired such a beautifully written book.

So, go check out Big Sur by Jack Kerouac, then pack up the car and drive to this amazing place in Northern California.

More info:

- Big Sur Chamber of Commerce
- Wikipedia
- Visitor’s Guide
- Tourism Info

jack kerouac, big sur, california, travel

This is how you really discover a culture. Forget fancy hotels, fine dining and “assembly line” tours from international tour companies, Karikuy is a tour company that offers you a look at the real Peru, by real Peruvians. You get the local price for everything from food to admissions to archaeological sites and best of all, portions of their earnings go to their non-profit that aims to help Peru grow. From the web site:

The most important and ultimate goal of Karikuy; Project Ñawpa Kutiq aims to build green communities in the Andes. Promoting the advancement of Art, Science and Culture, Ñawpa Kutiq; “return of the past / return of the future” builds on ancient models of communal service and organization to enhance labor and the quality of life for it’s residents.

A free and responsible social democracy is the foundation on which Project Ñawpa Kutiq will be built. Self sustaining technology will gradually be implemented in creating a carbon free community. Organic agriculture and the expertise of generations old farming techniques will feed the entire populace as it once did during the Inca Empire.

Phase 1 of the Ñawpa Kutiq Project consist of raising funds to acquire land to begin work on Phase 2 which will begin to lay the foundation of housing and town infastructure. Through your help this project will manifest from vision to reality. Your business with Karikuy and/or direct involvement with the project will undoubtabley help us succed in this goal of not just providing a better future for Peruvians but also serving as a model for communities worldwide.

And that’s just one of the goals this socially-conscious tour company has and they’re using Twitter to help get the word out there. With just over 13,000 followers on Twitter, they seem to be doing a great job. This probably has a great deal to with the fact that their Twitter stream is packed full of information about Peru, from the normal travel stuff like locations, tours and photos, but they also tweet Peruvian recipes, books about Peru, videos, Peruvian news and so much more. This is one of the best Twitter users I’ve come across from any industry, and I highly recommend following them. Check it out: @Karikuy

More Info

- Web Site
- Facebook
- YouTube
- MySpace

peru, tours, travel, karikuy, non-profit, twitter