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Sean Plamondon
Sean Plamondon

Sean Plamondon

traveled in 86 countries Read more🇨🇦Ottawa
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  • Sean PlamondonArgentinaSean Plamondon

    And, we are off..

    January 16, 2022 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ -17 °C

    When I booked this trip I certainly wasn't anticipating this omicron mess, But I am triple vaxed, and pretty sure I have already had omicron.. so gonna give this travel thing a try again.

    I could have used some clerical staff for all the paperwork involved. Proof of vaccine x2, proof of covid insurance, proof of a negative pcr test taken within 72 hours of the flight, a few declaration forms to the Argentinian government and finally a declaration form and copies of everything to air canada. Showing up at the airport without all these things would end the trip right there.

    My favorite part of travel is the unexpected turns. This morning I got a big one. The furnace stopped working and the house was 13 degrees. Luckily I called my hvac guy i met at camping last summer and he was able to fix it before my train to Montreal. Well mostly, he has to replace a part still but all of that is arranged now. Phew. Not the relaxing start I was hoping for. If that had occurred a day later maybe my pipes burst, my cats freeze to death and polar bears move in.

    One last thought in this airport entry.. I am getting far too used to the maple leaf lounge comforts. Sitting at a nice bar,, sipping a Guinness, watching the Dallas cowboys lose (they really have thought of everything!), ordering food.. all free. Next up, my business class pod on the plane. I wonder how many other people in business class checked in with a backpack haha.    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala

    Belize City

    March 22, 2020 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Started our day with s 3.5 hour drive from Placencia to Belize City. Really beautiful drive with jungle right to the highway edge all along the Hummingbird highway. Checked into our hotel and dropped off Alexa and mom and then returned our Jeep.

    When we first rented the jeep, about 20 minutes later on a highway, a large rock kicked up from a truck and put a big crack in the windshield. So i was dreading the moment of returning the jeep and sorting that issue out. But somehow they didn't notice, or didn't care, and they even gave me a free ride back to my hotel.

    Our hotel was awesome. Nice restaurant, lovely gardens and a large pool. Spent the day lounging by the pool and finishing off the beer and wine we had bought in hopkins and placencia. It was actually really busy too with lots of families all around the pool area. Hadn't seen this many people in a long time. Last sleep and off to the airport.    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala

    Placencia - Day 3

    March 21, 2020 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    I woke up and decided to try to change my air canada flight on expedia again. Success!, plus $850 to do it for all 3 of us. Now we are booked on two different flights home to cover our bases. Surely we will get on one of them hours before the border here slams shut hard for a long time.

    Felt better about things but i admit it was a nagging issue mentally. We really should have found an excursion but we just had another lazy day at the beach again. I walked the long boardwalk to its southern point and back. 80 percent of everything is shut down due to lack of tourists. Seriously, we are the last of the mohicans everywhere and its a bit unsettling now.

    All the Americans i met (and kept my distance from) had already flown home. Flights coming here wouldn't be dropping anyone off and only picking people up. Corporations and their bottom line concerned me that we might see cancelled flights. But out of my hands now and hoping for the best. Fantastic to be here in the sun and enjoying restaurants and bars but its an uneasy fantastic heh.

    And omg we have played maybe our 500th game of blokus. We are ready for world class competition. Our level of cut throat play has become saudi arabia impressive. Beware!    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala
    1

    Placencia - Day 2

    March 20, 2020 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Beaches and logistics sums up most of the past couple of days.

    First we heard caye caulker was mostly shutting down because of a lack of tourists, so we cancelled our hotel there. Then started hearing different rumours about the airport and borders all closing, and different days. Yesterday read on the airport website that it was closing on the 23rd and our flight was leaving on the 25th. Uh oh.

    Couldn't get our direct flight to Toronto changed to monday because it was full but did manage to book a delta flight to toronto through atlanta. And contacted the embassies to make sure we could transit through American airports without quarantining. We can. Phew.

    Rest of the day was being lazy by the beach. Not entirely easy to enjoy with all the uncertainty ahead of us, but much better than back home in the cold and quarantining and everything being closed. And discovered the best nachos ever. Annnnnd... my first IPA craft beer of the trip! Banner day, minus all the worldwide doom and gloom, and dying and uncertainty of getting home 😉    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala
    1

    Placencia - Day 1

    March 19, 2020 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Felt sad checking out of our dream cabana in hopkins and alexa was especially sad to leave all the doggies that she spent time with everyday.

    Had breakfast at a tiny mom and pop place. While sitting there, there must have been at least 20 different locals who walked in for one reason or another and every single person gave us a friendly hello. This country is over the top friendly everywhere we go, and especially Hopkins. Everyone walking by on the street says hi. While driving, everyone on the sidewalk waves. Even guys doing roadwork will stop, smile and wave.

    The drive to Placencia is only an hour and a lot of the drive is along some pretty coastline and through some pretty swank neighbourhoods. I had an apartment rented which took us a long time to find. My mapping app and booking.com had its location incorrectly mapped.

    While asking for directions, the person referred to my mom as my wife. Thats twice that has happened! I'm not sure how to feel about that lol.

    Spent the afternoon at the beach, sipping beers and jumping in and out of the ocean. The beach is very pretty but we cant help but compare everything to hopkins. Man, we are so spoiled haha.

    And its so quiet everywhere. This place is wall to wall resorts and hotels and its mostly empty at every turn.    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala
    Awoke to about 20 pelicans in front of our cabana
    Leaf cutter antsBase of antelope fallsAscent to top of antelope fallsTop of antelope fallsTypical scenery on our hike. Really hard to decribe its beautyLower Bocawina FallsLower Bocawina Falls and its swimming holeSome well earned beverages

    Hopkins - Day 3

    March 18, 2020 in Belize ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    Was hoping to leave early today but Alexa was sound asleep until 9am so i was content to get a late start instead. By the time we had breakfast and got groceries, it was well after 11. Mom decided she's had enough jungle and opted for another beach day.

    Thank god we have a jeep. The road to Mayflower Bocawina National Park was an uneven and bumpy dirt road. Got some good information from the park warden and started our hike up to 1000ft antelope falls through the dense jungle. Took about 30 mins to reach the base of the falls and it felt amazing to stick our feet in the cold water as it was really humid and a relatively steep walk.

    Then it got harder. To get to the top of the falls, it was much steeper and there were ropes to haul yourself up the trail. Another 30 minutes later, we reached the top and jumped into a natural swimming hole. There were a few more cascading falls just above the swimming hole that i climbed while alexa wrote in her journal.

    After descending, we drove a bit deeper into the park and hiked the much easier Bocawina Falls trail which also had a nice swimming hole at its base. We cooled off there and horsed around on a natural waterslide i found and headed back. There was an upper bocawina falls above that one, but we were tired.

    We grabbed a relaxing drink at the park's jungle lodge and headed back to Hopkins. Didn't see much wildlife. I saw one of those upright running lizards on the way in, tons of leaf cutter ants and we could hear the roar of the howler monkeys at the jungle lodge.

    Got back and found mom relaxing on the seaside front porch, reading a book. Had another great meal at a local spot and we all were in bed early.    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala
    2

    Hopkins - Day 2

    March 17, 2020 in Belize ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    The plan today was to have zero plans. I think we executed it beautifully. Slept in late and then found a tiny (one table!) breakfast place around 10:30 and had the worlds best grilled cheese sandwich, with turkey and ham and peppers and onions and mayo. Mouth is watering just thinking about it.

    Then spent a few hours splashing in and out of the water, watching pelicans dive bomb fish in the ocean in front of us, swaying in hammocks and playing with neighborhood dogs that begged for our attention.

    Mom was content to stay by the beach near our cabana while Alexa and I walked up and down the coast both directions. It was almost entirely local resident homes in both directions with the odd cabana rental and a huge resort that seemed too pristine compared to our amazing natural and secluded slice of heaven. Seriously, this is idyllic.

    Later we all went to a nearby (hmmm) restaurant/pub/shack called Driftwood for supper and also for st paddys AND to watch the garifuna drumming performance Hopkins is famous for. Stayed for a few hours of drumming and then off to bed early as we have a big day tomorrow...    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala
    11

    Hopkins - Day 1

    March 16, 2020 in Belize ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Thank the good lord no snakes were in my mom's mattress last night, because i don't think there's enough wine in this country to make things ok.

    After breakfast we headed to St. Herman's National park which had a self guided cave to venture into. So Alexa and I put on our headlamps and i outfitted mom with a flashlight. On the jungle hike there, Alexa twice saw a lizard "Alfred" that runs upright on two feet! I really wish i saw that. She has a weird knack for spotting all creatures.

    We finally reached the opening of the cave and started descending down into it. And mom suddenly had a moment where it looked like she was thinking "i have seen this movie and it didn't work out so well for the tourists" and she announced she would not be going any further, which quickly progressed to "i will see you back at the car", and off she went. So Alexa and i descended deep into the pitch black cave. It was pretty eerie and cool at the same time.

    After collecting mom in the parking lot, we drove to a jungle swimming hole called the blue hole. We all jumped in and cooled off. Alexa and i noticed a small cave downstream and waded over to it. The echo as we approached was awesome, so i walked into the cave yelling silly things and a flood of bats flew out and scared the crap out of me.

    From the swimming hole, we drove a bit further down the hummingbird highway to Billy Barquedier National Park, and hiked through a dense jungle trail to a waterfall and swimming hole. Alexa and i had fun climbing the rocks at the waterfall and mom decided a nearby boulder needed some company and watched us splash around.

    On the walk back, Alexa was leading the way maybe 15 steps ahead when she turned around terrified and started running towards us. And then ran right past us. Mom and i looked at eachother wondering what she had seen, so we stopped dead in our tracks. Alexa was hysterical and we could barely understand a word she said for quite a while. Finally we understood she saw a huge black snake with yellow spots curled up on the trail. I went over but there was nothing there. It probably took off the other way just as fast.

    Hopping back in the car, we drove to Hopkins, which is a authentic garifuna community (jamaican) with gorgeous beaches. So we settled in quick and altered between hopping waves in the ridiculously warm waters, and lounging back in beachside hammocks. Topped off by an awesome beachside meal. Great day.    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala

    Jaguar Creek

    March 15, 2020 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    While people back home are making sacrifices like restricting their movement, no large gatherings and only purchasing one package of toilet paper at a time, we too were making sacrifices like not going to Guatemala and instead going to the Belize zoo and staying in a jungle lodge. Painful, i know :)

    I had heard the belize zoo was small but really well done. They were mostly right. Extremely well done and not small at all. It was a zoo for only animals found in belize and was basically set up in the jungle. For example, monkeys weren't in enclosures but in a forest area. And all the animals are rescues from the wild with the goal of setting them back into the wild once they are better and able. Animals include spider monkeys, howler monkeys, crocodiles, jaguars, jaguarundis, pumas, ocelots, tapir, coatis, vultures, harpy eagles, toucans, and deer. And more, but i forget now.

    After the zoo, we drove to the jungle lodge "Jaguar Creek" i booked the evening before. It was in a very isolated location in a heavily forested area of jungle. We had an entire 2 bedroom cabin to ourselves. Alexa and i hiked the 30 minute loop trail through the jungle and then hopped into the creek's natural pool by a small waterfall to cool off, while mom relaxed at the cabin. This place has no A/C, no tv and no wifi, which i didn't realize when i booked it, but its really nice to be out in nature. Mom was perhaps less enthusiastic as it took me a while to convince her there were no snakes inside her mattress.

    Disappointingly, we didn't spot any wildlife here, but we did hear the ferocious roar of the howler monkeys as we went to bed. Hopefully tomorrow we will reach the coast.    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala
    Sharron and AlanOscar the amazing bartender who took me on a nocturnal tour of san ignacio

    San Ignacio - Day 2

    March 14, 2020 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    It was the first day that we didn't need to get up at any specific time so we lazily lounged around our cabana until about 10:30am. And then hopped in the jeep and drove to Xunantunich, another ancient mayan site.

    To get there, we had to take the world's shortest ferry ride (a statistic i just made up), which holds just 4 cars and crosses a small river and is propelled by a hand crank. And free.

    The actual site isn't as expansive as other locations i have visited, but the main temple was massive. Alexa and i made our way to the top, and on the way up, we noticed some people were focused on the nearby jungle trees. The back of the temple was against a hill so we wandered off to take some pictures of the spider monkeys and some large iguanas. And then continued to the top. It was so high, people at the bottom looked like ants. Mom was pretty knackered from the walk uphill to the site and relaxed in the shade as we climbed up and down the temple.

    When we got back to San ignacio, we stopped at a large market and had some tacos for lunch. As we were eating, we saw Alan and Sharron from Indiana who we met at Lamanai a few days ago.

    Then went back to our hotel and relaxed in the pool. We decided going to Tikal, Guatemala was no longer viable because the border was likely to close soon and we didn't want to get stuck on the Guatemala side. Which was disappointing as it was the whole reason this trip was booked. So i spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out a new plan and where to stay.

    For supper, we drove into town to a really cool restaurant that a few people recommended and ran into Alan and Sharron again. Funny how that happens sometimes.    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala
    1
    With our guide Richard at lunch

    San Ignacio - Day 1

    March 13, 2020 in Belize ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    This morning we hopped back into our jeep and headed southwest to the Nohoch Che'en caves reserve. There aren't many highways in Belize, but signage isn't great so i have been utilizing a cool offline app called Maps.Me to help with navigation. Plus my mom. Where this gets especially interesting is combining the map app with my mom as i drive. Lets just say its a work in progress, and leave it at that :) Definitely some kinks to work out of the system and some pretty funny moments, and no wrong turns yet haha.

    Once we arrived, we hired a guide, suited up with helmets and life jackets and some inner tubes for the river. After a 30 minute hike through some attractive jungle scenery, into the water we went with our tubes. This is the ultimate lazy river, floating down the river and into a massive cave. Our tubes were tied together and our guide maneuvered us through the pitch black cave for about 30 minutes. Thankfully, we were all wearing headlamps, so we could see the stalagtites and stalagmites plus a number of bats flying around. Some were vampire bats, according to the guide. Eventually came out the other side of the cave and peacefully floated our way back to the starting point.

    From there we were off to San Ignacio for the night. Our guide Richard lives there so we gave him a lift and treated him to lunch on the waý too. Then settled into our very comfortable new accomodations which are situated on top of a hill overlooking the city. Its mostly individual cute cabins with thatch rooves, plus a nice restaurant and 3 cascading swimming pools. Excellent spot to finish our day.    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala
    Alexa at the topCarlos, the howler monkey whispererSome R&R after an awesome day

    Orange Walk - Day 2

    March 12, 2020 in Belize ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    Started our first adventure with an hour boat ride down the New River. We boarded a relatively small boat that seated about 12 people but it had some serious horsepower. The river had narrow, winding channels with jungle on both shores, and our boat flew through it, angling left and right, gliding around all the tight corners. It felt like a video game. Every now and then, our driver would notice a croc (martha, as per alexa) or exotic birds (ospreys and egrets) and stop for us to get a pic.

    Shortly after the river widening, we docked to start exploring the ancient mayan ruins of Lamanai. They are in the middle of a jungle and as far as i know, are inaccessible by car. Following the well cleared paths lead to several different temples built around 100 BC! Alexa and i climbed to the top of all of them while mom enjoyed the views from very low altitude :)

    A number of times we could hear or see monkeys moving through the trees above us. Our guide Carlos did his best howler monkey sound and amazingly got the monkeys in the trees to start their freaky monster noises. Its really impossible to describe them. Just think horror movie monster noises, or as carlos said "welcome to Jurassic park".

    Our guides provided us with a home cooked meal of chicken, rice and plantains, and shortly after we zipped back through the narrow river channels back to Orange Walk. Spent the rest of our day lounging at our hotel's serene riverside restaurant and enjoying more food and board games.    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala
    3
    1

    Orange Walk - Day 1

    March 11, 2020 in Belize ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    And we're off!

    It was mostly a day of waiting. Got up at 4am (bleh!!) to catch our 6am flight. The connection in Toronto was delayed by 40 minutes. Then upon landing in belize city, had to wait over an hour to get through customs. And waited another hour for our car rental to be ready. And drove one hour north to Orange Walk in our Jeep Liberty.

    Our hotel is well outside the city, situated on a picturesque location by the "New River". Now it finally felt like the vacation had started. Sitting by the river, sipping some drinks, munching on some yummy belizean meals and enjoying the peaceful nature all around us. Alexa found a baby crocodile just below our balcony and named it Jerry. Exotic birds skimming over the water. Geckos scurrying around us looking for insects. This definitely wasn't Ottawa or Cornwall in March :)

    I booked our river/temple tour for the next day and settled in for some tasty stouts and some hard fought games of Blokus. Looking forward to our first real adventure starting tomorrow. Oh yeah, everyone is ridiculously nice and friendly. Very easy to feel at home already.    Read more

  • Belize and Guatemala

    5 weeks from today

    February 5, 2020 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ -9 °C

    Taking my mother and daughter on a whirlwind tour of temples, jungle, beaches, caves, waterfalls and islands. Dialing down the luxury, and amping up the adventure.

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    1

    Heading Home

    January 30, 2020 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ -3 °C

    Contacted my driver Edgar from my initial visit to Quito who brought me to the airport again. Such a sweet guy. He was so happy to see me and wants me to keep in touch. Hope to see him again someday.

    Just about every asian at the Quito airport was wearing protective face masks from the coronavirus outbreak, plus some of the airport staff.

    ......

    The following is a complete transcript of my interaction with Toronto customs:
    Me: Hi !! 😁
    Customs: Have you been to China in the past 14 days?😐
    Me: No.😬
    Customs: Welcome back.😶    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon

    Quito - Swan song

    January 29, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Took a 3.5 hour bus ride from Banos to Quito and booked the same hotel from my arrival. Rained all day which is too bad as i was hoping to get some good shots of massive, snow-capped Cotopaxi Mtn on the way.

    The couple i met in Cuenca (but live in quito) were very kind to invite me out for dinner, but are quite far from where i am staying (Cumbaya), so i opted to stay close by my hotel and keep it an early night. Splurged a bit at a large nearby market and then hit up a few microbrew locations that my american friend David in banos recommended, which was a nice finale. Bandidos brewery was pretty impressive.

    In 17 days, I saw so much of Ecuador but i really want to come back to see and do so many other things. Galapagos islands, Quilotoa crater, the amazon jungle, more Banos adventures, northern coast of esmeralda, Cotopaxi, and even peak one of towering mountains surrounding Quito. Would probably need at least another 17 days to do half of that. For a tiny country, it remarkably has a lot to offer.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    1
    Bottom right of image is the cliff ledge i had to cling to before descending. Freaky!

    Banos - Day 3

    January 28, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Canyoning is what i signed up for today. Which in pictures at the tour operator showed images of rappelling down a waterfall with ropes.

    It was a bit more involved than that heh. The entire excursion was making our way through a narrow canyon with fast moving waters gushing through it. Sometimes it involved swimming through sections, hopping over huge rocks amongst the whitewater, jumping off the top of small waterfalls into the pools below, shimmying across rock walls with ropes and of course rappelling down huge cliff walls alongside the waterfalls.

    One of the jumps was pretty intimidating. A 30 foot drop into the pool in front of where the waterfall splashed down with sheer rock walls on both sides and then needing to grab a rescue line that the tour guide would toss and hauling yourself in against a strong swirling current.

    We all had wetsuits for the cold waters, life jackets to not drown, and harnesses to rope ourselves in for all the shimmying and rappelling. Plus helmets.

    For the first rappelling, we had to climb up a rock wall and wait on a small ledge over top of a large waterfall while the guides set up the rope system. This really unnerved me. I was harnessed in, but i felt so exposed at the same time. And then to rappel down, you have to lean yourself backwards over the cliff and have your body perpendicular to the cliff, facing upwards to the sky. But its a lot easier than it sounds once you get past the initial fear of dying that your brain screams at you repeatedly haha.

    The rope goes through some tight loops in your harness, making it very easy to control your speed. You can slowly walk your way backwards down the cliff wall, or push off the rock wall with your feet and release a bit of rope at the same time to drop yourself downward in a hopping motion. Once i got past the first waterfall, i was excited to do the rest of them.

    Started at 9am and didn't finish until 4pm. Which was immediately followed by some survival celebration beers. What a day. Capped off the night at another brewpub i stumbled upon with some new friends.

    I couldn't bring my phone into the canyon today so i got a few images off the internet of the same falls we rappelled.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon

    Banos - Day 2

    January 27, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The plan was double the adventure today. Whitewater rafting in the morning and repelling down a waterfall in the afternoon.

    Took an hour to drive to the rafting location, 30 minutes of wet suit integration plus safety instructions on what to do if anyone should per chance get tossed from the raft. In the oft chance, but longshot of course 😉

    These rafts were much smaller than my previous experience and i immediately thought how we are going to get tossed around like rag dolls. I was sitting in the "captain" position in the front with an Irishman and we were taking class IV rapids head on. Total tidal wave experience lol.

    A huge frenchman decided he wanted to sit in the front with us and sure enough, we nearly capsized from the weight on the first major rapid, tossing both the irishman and the frechman. Our raft nearly folded in two and i somehow held on and kept the front from getting completely sucked down into the rapid. I hauled the huge Irishman back into the raft thanks to the pre launch lessons and the Frenchman got hauled in by the second raft in our group. A third raft nearby completely flipped. And a bit later, 5 people got tossed from the second raft. My eyes were wide open haha. This was new territory for me.

    We got better at it as a team, with no one else getting tossed and hit huge rapids head on for sport the rest of the way. Hilarious fun. Unfortunately i couldn't bring my camera for pics and i wont receive pics from the tour company for two more days.. so all i have is a wetsuit pic for now.

    Didn't get back until 2:30pm, so walked over to the tour company and re-booked my waterfall repelling for the next morning. Took a nap from exhaustion, checked out the basilica, a market and some more brew pubs, an awesome supper, plus a cool bar/club with a huge bonfire in the middle. Sweet day. I love this town!    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    3 blocks from my hotel
    Back porch and garden behind my room11Volcano we drove around over an hour of the bus ride1

    Banos - Day 1

    January 26, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    The day started officially at 8:45 when the bus from Cuenca to Banos departed. Seven hours of following winding roads across mountain tops with spectacular views and hollywood movies dubbed with spanish voiceovers. And the odd local briefly hopping on the bus selling bags of fruits, peanuts and other stuff i cannot begin to identify.

    After finally descending the mountain tops into banos, i could see what the fuss was about. There's mountains on all sides of this tight valley and a massive volcano looming over the town. And a large waterfall literally 3 blocks from my hotel. Its a town that consists almost entirely of restaurants, hotels, shops and tour operators. I have 3 days booked here, but i think a week would have been ideal. There's so much to do.

    Booked my adventure for tomorrow, and then tracked down the town's brewpub as a well deserved reward from the very long, but picturesque bus ride. Really looking forward to tomorrow.. stay tuned :)    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    1

    Cuenca - Day 3

    January 25, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Until today, i had really good fortune with weather. It only rained while i was sleeping or while in transit. But it rained pretty much all day today. I also felt like i was coming down with a cold so it was the perfect day to be lazy in bed and catch up on some zzz's.

    But i did get to check out a really nice restaurant called el mercado that had been recommended to me. The food here in cuenca has been amazingly good.

    Otherwise, it was early to bed to rest up for a big travel day tomorrow. A 7 hour bus ride to banos.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon

    Cuenca - Day 2

    January 24, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Last night ended up being a bit late and i got up today feeling tired and non social. Figured today would be a nice quiet one to myself. Wrong :)

    I had been recommended Los Tiestos for a meal in cuenca so i wandered around the cute colonial streets until i found it. The head chef Juan took my order so of course i asked him what he recommends. It was the best steak ever!!! When the waiter delivered it, he demonstrated how he could cut it with a spoon, and easily. Wow! Amazing.

    I asked the girl at the table behind me to take my picture and that snowballed into her and her husband (Lino and Vero) asking me to join their table, drink some of their wine bottle, eat some of their food, plus dessert. And as we chatted they offered to also take me some places when i return to Quito. So sweet. I was very quick to insist they stay with me if they visit Canada. Every single food item was incredible. This place is an absolute must-visit for any foodie. I told lino how ouzo turns cloudy white after adding water and he became obsessed ordering different anise type alcohols to reproduce the affect. Yikes, we were feeling good when we left

    I also got to know Juan the chef and another local, Ben who took me to his partially constructed food venue at the main plaza. I was being treated like long lost family. Even the couple, Lino and Vero invited me to a private function for later tonight. So touching how they all made me part of their circle. I am hugely touched.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon

    Cuenca - Day 1

    January 23, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Today was mostly a travel day. Drove the rental car back to guayaquil in 2.5 hours. Then got in a commuter van for 3.5 hours to cuenca. That was a pretty crazy drive through the mountains on super windy roads. I slept through most of it, but at one point i opened my eyes to see we were driving through a cloud and the driver had maybe 20 feet of visibility! I decided this was an experience i didn't need to witness and went back to sleep.

    Woke up as we were being dropped off in some outskirt area of town. No hotel booked yet. I needed to find a restaurant to get wifi and figure things out, but nothing like that around. So i asked a taxi to take me to the cathedral... and from there parked my backpack in a cool restaurant, ordered a beer and started figuring out where to stay.

    Got in a bit late, so haven't seen much yet, but the little I've seen is gorgeous. Cobblestone streets and pretty much every single building is deserving of its own photography moment.

    Found my way down towards the lively area near the river and a very popular micro brewery where i met matias from Uruguay. Interesting guy who travels all over south America selling plumbing pieces he buys in china.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    Nicolas and David

    Montanita -Day 4

    January 22, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Last night i went back to the place with the pool table and played against a bunch of locals for hours, including David who i hung out on the beach with the night before and also became buddies with Nicolas originally from Peru. Starting to get to know the staff at certain restaurants here and a bunch of locals. Its nice to walk around town and hear my name called out or being greeted with huge smiles and fist bumps. A bit sad its my last day here. And i am casually curious about looking into properties here too.

    Woke up today incredibly sore all over. This surfing experience is having a serious physical impact. I actually feel 48 for a change haha. And no matter how much sun screen i put on, my nose gets redder and redder. I was very close to not surfing today but i don't know when my next opportunity will be, so it was time to suck it up and get back out there and enjoy the moment.

    Today went worse than yesterday. My timing was awful. Balance sucked. I read the waves poorly. And my pop ups were lazy, often going to one knee before standing up. I'm worn out and it shows. I really should go back to the 12 foot board until i get better.

    Three hour drive tomorrow morning to get the rental car back to guayaquil, so made it an early night. One thing i won't miss is all the mosquitos. My legs are covered in bites. Chao montanita.

    Edit: surfing pics are me    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    1

    Montanita - Day 3

    January 21, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Lets start with last night. I *wanted* to sleep, but there was a loud private party of 10 at the establishment next door, so I figured it made more sense to check out montanita's nightlife than be annoyed in my room.

    Found a club that has a permanent resident cat on the bar every night. Then destroyed some local guys in a game of pool. And then some beer on the beach out with one of them. Got in at 4am and the private party next door was still going strong argh! Now i know why there are earplugs in my bathroom.

    Next morning i took my second stab at surfing. Dear diary, surfing is hard! The end. Lol

    I can't pinpoint exactly what went wrong.. i had an 8 foot board today instead of a 12 foot board.. which was less forgiving. But when i caught a wave, i was able to zigzag all over with it. Felt amazing. The downside is not being as easy to get up. Plus all my muscles were tight and sore.. so i felt less energetic and a bit lazy with my pop ups. Timing was poor too. So hard. I can do better.

    After surfing, tried a bunch of awesome craft beers at the place next door to the surf school. Paul from alaska eventually joined me and we did our best to provide the restaurant with some valuable empties for the recycling depot. IPAs were an endangered species by the time we left haha. Off now to see if that club cat is still sleeping on the bar.........    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    My hotel on the left
    Not meLove the surf culture hereSome hard earned beers were consumed afterwards1My surf instructor, ricky

    Montanita - Day 2

    January 20, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Okay I'm being dramatic but lets just say my first crack at surfing was amazing.

    My teacher is a ridiculously fit guy and i can see why. All my upper body muscles are killing me right now. We started with lots of stretches on the beach, then some practicing in the sand going from a pushup and popping up with *arm strength only* into a sideways standing position. Add a tipsy board and the ocean and you can imagine its not easy. Plus your feet need to wind up in the right spots or it all goes sideways fast. Sometimes literally.

    Shockingly i got up on my very first try (and bailed hard seconds later). My teacher was impressed. On my 4th try i rode the wave all the way in. Once my teacher stopped holding the board for me before the wave arrived and not giving me instructions on when to paddle and when to pop up, it got a lot harder. Reading the waves is an acquired skill in itself. And timing is huge. So is stamina. A number of times my pop ups were a bit lazy and didn't work out so great.

    Eventually he left me to take what he taught me and to fend for myself. Sometimes i would be too far back on the board and the front would pop out of the water and I'd fall backward into the ocean. Other times i would be too on top of the wave and the front tip would dive as i went down the wave and it would go under the water like a submarine and I'd go barrelling forward over the board.

    And of course every now and then i would do everything just right and ride it until the end. I imagine my smile was ear to ear in those moments. Spent a few hours afterwards over a few beers thinking about every attempt and what i did wrong, what i did right and what the result was. Like golf, you need to be doing 20 different things correctly at once. I can't wait to try again. Is it tomorrow yet?    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon

    Montanita - Day 1

    January 19, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Decided to rent a car and cruise through all the western coastal towns to montanita. Far more expensive but the flexibility was very appealing. I was told there are so many awesome beach towns, i felt it hopefully was an investment worth making.

    But driving out of guayaquil had me worried. People in the city drive like they are being chased by hitmen. Despite most roads having marked lanes, everyone drives like its a nascar track. And seem completely unaware there is a blindspot. Stop signs are optional. Pedestrians are collateral damage. And cutting off others is sport.

    Anyways it went fine, probably aided greatly by being a sunday. Once i hit the western coast, it was one gorgeous beach town after another. So amazing. I very quickly felt that the 4 days i earmarked for the rental was too short. Its flexibility suddenly felt like a handicap. Ironic.

    On arrival to montanita, i had three goals. Find accomodations, sign up with a surfing school, and find a place to watch the nfl playoffs. The latter became priority number 1.. by a lot heh.

    Montanita has a gorgeous beach and amazing vibe in the streets. Endless restaurants and quaint thatch hut accomodations and other nightlife spots. Plus street craft vendors everywhere. Charm oozing all over.

    I found a place for the football games, then walked across the street and paid for a tiki hut room and booked my surf school for the morning - all without moving more than 30 meters. Oh yes, ceviche for both lunch and supper :) life is good.    Read more

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