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Sean Plamondon
Sean Plamondon

Sean Plamondon

s’est rendu dans 90 pays. En savoir plus🇨🇦Ottawa
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  • Sicily, Malta & Tunisia

    Valletta

    14 mai 2024, Malte ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Flight to Malta wasn't until 3pm, and still over an hour drive away from where we were. With a lot of time remaining, decided to maximize our time and drive to the town of Enna perched high up on a mountain. Managed to walk the cute streets to some pretty piazzas and cathedrals. But didn't linger very long and got back on the road to return our rental car and get to the airport.

    Landed in Valletta, Malta a while later and immediately could tell malta was going to be something special. All the buildings are beautifully ornate and grand. And all are the same sandstone color too. Incredibly striking. Every turn and block offered something beautiful. And extremely lively place with endless restaurants and shops throughout.

    Found a place for a quick bite on a really cool vertical street filled with tables and chairs on every stair going down the steep hill. Then found a craft beer specialty spot and settled in. Alice the bartender shocked me with her beer knowledge and was super sweet to chat with too.    En savoir plus

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  • Sicily, Malta & Tunisia

    Caltanisetta

    13 mai 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    After about 20 minutes walking up and down narrow hilly streets, finally found our car and headed off to Agrigento. Once we arrived, got really stuck in a series of insanely narrow streets. I had to reverse a lot plus a lot of inching back and forth to get the angle just right on turns. Its a minor miracle we still have all the paint on the sides of our car :)

    After a nice lunch in town, drove to the valley of the temples. Its an ancient greek city dating back to 450 BC ! I was shocked to see so many ancient structures still standing. Really spectacular. And hot!

    After that, drove another hour to a smaller town in the middle of the island called caltanisetta where we found a few places to eat and get some much needed rest. One younger guy near us at a cafe came over and asked if we were tourists. He was amazed any tourists would come to this town haha. It was cute, but ya pretty small and sleepy.    En savoir plus

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  • Sicily, Malta & Tunisia

    Sciacca

    12 mai 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Very pretty drive along the northern coast to the small town Trapina. Walked around the narrow streets and had a really nice lunch by the water.

    After lunch continued on toward Sciacca (pronounced sh-ocka). At one point during the drive on the highway, i accidentally cut off another driver who was in my blind spot. He honked of course but then everything after that was wildly insane. He would get alongside me and inch my way over and over trying to run us off the highway. I had to brake hard to let him fly by and continue on. But he kept coming back and doing the same thing. Eventually came across a police car waving traffic through so i pulled over. But that guy pulled over too and got out of his car and charged toward me wanting to fight. I drove away but he got back in his car and harrassed us for a really long time. Crazy stressful. Until he finally sped up and left. Super unstable person. And he had a baby in his backseat too!

    Arrived in Sciatta and walked around to see the sights in this very hilly town. I admit, it was a bit underwhelming compared to everything we had seen in other cities and we especially had a hard time finding an open restaurant.

    After a ton of exploring and a lot of uphill climbs we finally found an outdoor cafe and then a tiny pub to settle in to. Ended up getting to know the bartender and wife and parents who were all there too. Plus a few other locals. Nice finish to a strange day.    En savoir plus

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  • Sicily, Malta & Tunisia

    Palermo

    11 mai 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Started the morning with a relaxing, and grueling uphill hike to the top of the giant cliff above cefalu :) Incredible views from the top. And amazing they were able to build such fortifications in such a dramatic location.

    After a quick meal next to the cathedral, drove up the coast to palermo. Intentionally chose the winding coastal road which took longer but so gorgeous with the mountains and ocean colliding.

    Wandered around to a lot of nice churches and admired the beautiful architecture. Found some crazy streets with endless terraces completely filled with Italians enjoying the life. Extremely lively city and very friendly too.

    Devon was exhausted and went to bed early. Kris found a restaurant that had a 7 course fish foodie experience for an amount incredibly cheaper than anything you could ever dream of in canada. Even the ice cream dessert had fishy flavors but still surprisingly good. Who knew!?

    We tried to find a craft beer place i found via google but on the way traversed a parking lot that was converted into a crazy block party. We never reached the craft beer place cuz it was just so hilarious fun at the parking lot party. Really fun place and super easy to meet people at. Amazing night all around    En savoir plus

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  • Sicily, Malta & Tunisia

    Cefalu

    10 mai 2024, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    In the morning, the plaza outside our hotel had been transformed into a massive sprawling market. Unfortunately we didn't have time to explore the market because we had to pick up our rental car and then also pick up Kris and Devon at the airport.

    Drove about an hour part way up the north side of mt Etna for a tour we booked on the volcano. Shortly after starting the hike, Soni had to abort because she was having an issue with her diabetic sugar levels or something like that and she returned to the restaurant where we started. And the rest of us continued to the crater rim.

    After that, drove a bit over 3 hours high up through the mountains and eventually by the sea to cefalu, a very picture perfect seaside town. Had dinner by the water and watched the sunset and eventually finished the evening at a nice rooftop spot.    En savoir plus

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  • Sicily, Malta & Tunisia
    Despite all odds, made our flight to Rome from DC
    Flight to SicilyRoman amphitheater. Apparently sat 15,000 people back in the dayAmazing seafood pasta by the basilicaNew friends Jody and Tania from New Zealand1Soni doesn't approve of this pic hahaBest artisinal white beer i have hadSuper nice staff at the last place close to our apartment

    Catania

    9 mai 2024, Italie ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Back exploring the world. And this trip will be with my lovely friend Soni. Plus meeting up with Kris and Devon too for a couple of days.

    The start to this trip was very awkward. Had a one hour connection in Washington but unfortunately the flight out of ottawa was delayed by one hour as well. Missing our flight to Rome from Washington seemed depressingly guaranteed. Bummer. And really gonna mess up some critical plans.

    But on arrival in Washington, ran a few kilometers across two terminals plus a train in-between and super fortunately they were waiting for us at the gate. Soooo happy.

    Over 8 hours later arrived in Rome and a few hours after that, finally in Catania, Sicily.

    Soni and i walked around the quaint streets and beautiful buildings until finally arriving at the piazza with the main basilica. Sat down shortly after for dinner on a nearby busy street. Started to rain and a couple next to us were getting rained on so we invited them to join us at our table with total canopy coverage. Super nice couple (Jody and Tania) from New Zealand. Spent about 2 hours with them before they had to go to their dinner reservation.

    Wandered back towards our apartment rental and stopped in at a really nice old school place with beautiful stone and brick arches throughout and super nice staff. And a wonderful craft white beer that was sweet as a cocktail.

    Super great day despite getting about 2 hours sleep :) The future is looking extra bright 🌞    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    Alexa bravely sporting the cusco jersey in lima :)
    Awesome cliff side restaurantMy insane catch of the day mealRabassa family at a nearby beachUrban beachKennedy park areaThe last supper togetherFound this sign at the last spot of this trip. Not sure what it means but i feel included :)

    Lima - Day 2

    15 mars 2024, Pérou ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    The first day of the trip without any specific agenda. No flights or trains, or tours or hikes.

    So we didn't get going until close to noon. Walked to this huge mall built down the side of a cliff for lunch. I asked the waiter what he recommended and he said the catch of the day is fantastic. So i went with that. He then told me there's 3 ways it can be prepared. Ceviche style, fried, or a third option that i didn't know what it was. He highly recommended the 3rd option so i happily agreed, curious what i would get.

    It was a huge tray the size of a full lasagne tin filled with soup and a whole fish inside the soup plus a lot of yucca and other smaller vegetables. He pulled the fish and yucca out for me onto plates and said the rest is soup for me. That soup could feed 10 people!! Anyways it was amazing. I ate all the fish and a bit of the soup but i really barely put a dent in what i received. Felt bad to waste so much.

    From there, we went looking for a taxi to the beach. This guy outside the mall with official looking clothing and an id dangling from his neck agreed to a price with me. But when we walked to his car, there weren't any taxi markings whatsoever on it and he was already being a bit pushy. I didn't feel comfortable, and politely walked away and into a real taxi not too far away. Maybe it was fine but not worth finding out.

    Found a nice spot on playa agua dulce and rented an umbrella and 2 chairs relatively close to the water and we enjoyed a few hours in the sun and waves.

    Eventually made our way back to our hotel. Alexa wanted some quiet time to herself, so i got her some food and then walked to the busiest part of miraflores to see what kind of craft beer i could find. Only about a 10 minute walk. Abdel and family ended up at a nice restaurant a block away, so i joined them for a bit and eventually said our goodbyes because alexa and i are flying home in the morning while those guys have one more day in lima.

    And thats pretty much our trip minus boring packing, taxis and airport stuff. I will definitely return to peru. It was a relatively short trip and peru has so much more to see and discover. I have felt pretty safe in all my south america travels so far (but with my usual precautionary measures), and Peru definitely felt quite a bit safer than brazil, Argentina, Colombia and ecuador.

    Just about everyone we encountered in peru were incredibly friendly, and happy and really nice. Very salt of the earth experience.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon

    Lima - Day 1

    14 mars 2024, Pérou ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Another travel day getting ourselves to Lima which meant another relatively early wakeup and a lot of time in airports, taxis and in flight.

    Finally arrived at our hotel early afternoon both feeling pretty tired. Found a nearby place for some lunch and then back to the hotel. Alexa wasn't feeling great and very tired so she took the afternoon to rest up. Lots of early mornings and busy days taking their toll.

    Our hotel is in lima's nicest neighborhood Miraflores close to the ocean, but situated high above on a clifftop. Walked along the clifftop paths for a bit and met up with the Rabassa family at Mango's restaurant situated over the ocean. Taught them how to play Donut (card game) which was a lot of fun.

    And later we all went for supper at a place near the hotel and then bed. Was a very welcome chill day to recharge our batteries and relax.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    Alexa's favorite restaurant ever
    Even the bathroom is coolCute passageways like this everywhereView from high up San BlasBaby alpaca kissesTook a lot of willpower to not kidnap this alpacaOne of many hidden markets as you wander the streetsInside one of the cathedral chambersLook at the fork for scale haha. Tiniest mugs everShopping in the san pedro marketI cant believe people eat snouts. YuckOutside the stadium before the gameResdy to cheer on the home teamFirst goal of the gameRiot police breaking up the team brawl

    Cusco - Day 2

    13 mars 2024, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We got up early for our day trip to the famous Rainbow mountain. Very shortly after departing, found out we would be spending 9+ hours in the bus to get there and back and the details at the mountain were different too. We decided to abort and managed to get half our money back

    So we had a casual day wandering the city and lots of relaxing too. Found a really cool restaurant called Dr Beer and Miss Potato where alexa got chocolate waffles and i had omelette and tacos apparently :) All the music there was on Alexa's playlist and she was immensely happy about every aspect of that place, even the bathroom was cool.

    From there, went higher into San Blas for some great views of the city. Took a lot of narrow cobblestone passageways/streets on the way down and came across some Bolivians with their pet alpacas with indescribably soft wool coats. I don't know why, but farm animals always try to kiss me when i bend over for a photo. Then continued downhill more, passing someone carrying a baby lamb and hidden markets and finally to the main plaza. You never know what you'll find in cusco as you wander around. Definitely worth it to venture off the main streets.

    At the plaza found a brewery place overlooking everything where i had super cute tiny sample mugs the size of my thumb and alexa had an exotic fruit juice mixture. Before leaving the plaza, we quickly toured the massive cathedral which was amazing inside. And some jewelry shopping for alexa. Silver is really cheap here.

    Then met up the abdel and family in the massive San Pedro market which literally has anything you can think of. After making a few purchases, unwisely walked through the meat area. Seeing the animal parts and smells were really overwhelming and alexa had to exit the market and eventually back to our apartment and rest a bit. I was pretty grossed out too.

    Late afternoon, we walked to the stadium, met up with our gang, bought jerseys and went in to watch the cusco soccer team battle a lima team. Before entering the stadium, I got interviewed on tv shortly after putting on my jersey haha.. they loved that we were canadians cheering on cusco.

     My first south american footy match! And oh boy, what a game! So many crazy scoring chances, 3 goals, lots of fouls, an ejection, and a massive brawl between both teams where the riot police had to run onto the field to break it up. I thought the riot police were there to repel the fans haha! And from start to finish, the stadium was soooo loud with both fanbases trying to out-scream each other. Cusco scoring the game winning goal in the final minutes set the entire stadium into a crazy celebratory frenzy. Amazing experience. What a great, mostly unplanned day.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    View from our apartmentPachapapa restaurant11

    Cusco - Day 1

    12 mars 2024, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Began the day with a 90 minute train ride to Ollantaytambo, followed by a 2 hour bus ride to cusco. Such incredible scenery the whole way again.

    It was a 20 minute walk to our apartment rental from the bus drop off, so decided to walk. But didn't realize the last 7 minutes of that walk was up really steep hills and with backpacks on our backs. We didn't feel so great after that and I'm sure the altitude (11,000 feet) was a big part of that.

    Rested a bit in the apartment but i think we both needed to get some food in us so we found a great spot in san blas plaza with a wood kiln oven and an outdoors courtyard. We were very content to relax there for a few hours and wait to see what abdel and family to find us.

    Eventually they joined us and we all followed a recommended walking route in my travel book which took us through charming narrow cobblestone streets, and many different central areas and markets.

    Stopped at one more restaurant for a late snack and called it a night. Even though we didn't exactly do a lot today, i think we were all pretty tired.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    Mountain behind alexa is our destination
    Tiger spiderUp waynu pichu we goAlmost at the top"Stairs of death"We did it!Abdel, max and calebTouching the cloudsThe not so easy trek backThankfully lots of ropes to cling toFinal details from FredyMy blogging locationGuinea pig!

    Aguas Calientes - Day 3

    11 mars 2024, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    For day 2 at machu picchu, we hired a guide (Fredy) to show us and explain the ancient city and to also take us up wayna (huanya) picchu mountain. Another cloudy day but much better visuals of the mountains around us off and on.

    After a very educational tour of the ancient city, up we went to try to summit wayna picchu. This hike was even steeper than yesterday's mountain but half the height and much more interesting hike too with incredible views throughout.

    Our guide was great to take videos and pictures of us throughout the climb. At the summit, there are many different giant rock features to get great photos from which was fun to climb over too.

    After descending and finishing the ancient city tour, grabbed some lunch and eventually back to our hotel. Alexa rested for a while and i found a nice place by the river to write my blog and relax with a beer.

    After a quick nap and shower, we met back up with the group at another restaurant by the river. Abdel tried the guinea pig which is a peru delicatessen. I admit it was pretty tssty but couldn't help but feel sorry for the little guy.

    The kids went out to find a good dessert place while we had a few beverages to cap the night. And start to pack up for the trip to cusco tomorrow.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    Our hike in the clouds
    Rachel's stopping pointSuper steep climb for 2 hours like thisFinally at the top but minimal viewWe did it!Totally in the clouds at the summitTreacherous descent !Just as we descended, the clouds opened a bitMillion dollar viewGetting rained on but we didn't care360 degrees of beautyRachel much better dressed than us :)And of course, blue skies when descended back to the townAlexa's yummy trout supper

    Aguas Calientes - Day 2

    10 mars 2024, Pérou ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Another early morning, up at 6am. Quickly got ready, quicker breakfast and out the door by 6:50 to figure out how to get a bus up to machu picchu. And i do mean UP :)

    Lots of confusion for us. We got in a big line on the street but then found out we had to buy tickets at the office. So rachel and caleb raced off to get our tickets while i tried to hold our spot in line. I kept getting hassled that i couldn't be in line without tickets but i found a way to not lose our spot. After Rachel arrived, she thought she lost her phone and sent caleb a block up to look but the bus was boarding. He got back just in time. Alexa and i got on first and sat at the back and eventually noticed rachel and caleb weren't on the bus yet and then we all realized i had all 4 tickets in my hand haha. They got the last 2 spots. Phew.

    The bus ride up the mountain is otherworldly. But were heavily covered in clouds too. Still, all the mountains here are so vertical, it was very striking regardless. Once at the ancient city, everything was in the clouds. Didn't matter too much because we signed up for a hike to the top of machu picchu mountain, high above the ancient site. 4 hour round trip hike.

    Incredibly gruelling hike to the top. Took us about 2 hours but we were all exhausted. Poor rachel decided to only go 1/4 of the way and wait for us to return. At the top, we were unfortunately completely in the clouds and couldn't see anything. But every now and then some clouds would part and we'd briefly enjoy great views momentarily.

    After a long, painful and treacherous hike back down, we got incredibly lucky with the clouds breaking up for some awesome views of the ancient city. Got really wet in the process too but i didn't care. This is what we came for.

    After descending back to the town, rested up for a bit and finally met up with abdel and max who had missed their original flight due to passport issues and travelled in transit almost 40 hours straight to catch up with us. Had an amazing peruvian meal at andio and put our tired bodies to bed.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    1

    Aguas Calientes - Day 1

    9 mars 2024, Pérou ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Another early, big travel day to get ourselves really close to Machu Picchu. Started with an 8am flight to Cusco which required getting up at 530am.

    Once in cusco, made our way to the main Armas Plaza which was really striking with beautiful old buildings and the mountains around us too. Our taxi driver told us we needed to have cocao tea right away to help us with the elevation difference because we just went from sea level to 11,000 feet. So found a cafe in the plaza and also coordinated with Rachel and Caleb to meet up.

    We went for lunch at a fantastic spot overlooking the plaza and a better view of the mountains and then off to the Inca Rail office to catch our bus to Ollantaytambo. We had to split up briefly because Rachel and Caleb had to go get their luggage first from their hotel. The bus was about to leave and they sent me a message that they were lost! I tried to stall the bus and just as we pulled onto the road they thankfully arrived! Phew!

    Fantastic bus ride up into the mountains and through many cute villages. Stopped for a bit at an awesome lookout spot and had some fun moments with some local llamas.

    Then a huge descent eventually arriving at Ollantaytambo where we boarded a train to Aguas Calientes. Easily the most gorgeous train ride i have been on as we snaked through a very narrow corridor of jagged mountains on both sides.

    Finally at aguas calientes around 630pm. Total pedestrian town as there's no way to get here except via train. Lots of cute markets and high mountains tightly surrounding it

    Found our hotel and a restaurant not too far away and then eventually rested up for another early morning ... to Machu Picchu wooo    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    Enjoying the ottawa maple leaf lounge
    Finally on last leg to PeruImmigration lineAnd finally arrived enjoying a free hotel beverage

    Peru!

    8 mars 2024, Pérou ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Very early start to the day with a 3am alarm to get to the airport by 4am. Followed by a 2 hour layover at the Montreal airport. Then a 4 hour flight to miami and another 4 hour layover. And one more 5.5 flight and we are in Peru finally. Phew long day.

    Met a nice guy on the last plane next to me from miami and we talked politics and football for about 90 minutes. And he gave me a lot of good tips for peruvian dishes to try. Looking forward to putting this new knowledge into effect :) I have heard very good things about peruvian food 🤤

    Immigration took about 30 minutes and then checked into our hotel attached to the airport. Flying again in the morning so extremely convenient location for tonight.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonYucatanSean Plamondon

    Playa del Carmen

    22 décembre 2023, Mexique ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Started the day with a short drive to Hacienda Oxman to swim in their cenote. Another really deep cenote and long roots and vines hanging all the way down from the ground level high above.

    Spent about 30 minutes swimming there and then drove 90 minutes south to Tulum. Unfortunately the mayan ruins were a very long wait so decided to skip it. Went to the Tulum brewery instead. Gorgeous restaurant, almost like fine dining. But the prices were outrageous. For example, a burger was 50 Canadian dollars! So i just had a couple of small samples of their beers and instead found a really nice restaurant on the ocean.

    Then drove an hour to playa del carmen. My first time back in almost 20 years and wow has it ever grown! Found a few great craft beer places amongst the craziness of this city to finish off a fantastic adventure in the yucatan peninsula.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonYucatanSean Plamondon
    View from my Homun hotel room
    Chichen ItzaChichen ItzaChichen ItzaChichen ItzaChichen ItzaIk Kil cenoteIk Kil cenoteIk Kil cenoteX'Keken cenoteSamula cenoteIdilio restaurant/brewery

    Valladolid

    21 décembre 2023, Mexique ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Started the day with a 90 minute drive to famous chichen itza. The crowds and lineups to get in were awful. The main pyramid is gorgeous but compared to other ancient mayan sites i have been to, the supporting structures were a tad underwhelming. Thoroughly enjoyed walking around but also happy to eventually escape the crowds.

    From there drove a whopping 5 minutes to Ik Kil cenote. This cenote was something else. They are all amazing in their own way but this was a really deep sinkhole and huge vines cascading all the way down to the water. So beautiful.

    Drove another hour to just outside of valladolid to two more cenotes, both were caves with holes in the top to let some natural light in. After splashing around there for an hour, found the hotel in the city and headed out for food.

    Found an amazing outdoor place for food and specialty beer. Ordered a bunch of tapas and some grilled mushrooms

    Wandered to an Irish pub which was disppointing and eventually found a lively spot in the northern part of the city with a live rock/mex band. Great finish to another awesome day.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonYucatanSean Plamondon
    Edzna
    EdznaGassing up at someone's houseUxmalUxmalUxmalUxmalUxmalUxmalUxmalX'batun cenoteX'batun cenotedzonbakal CenoteCenote kankirixcheCenote kankirixcheCenote kankirixcheCenote kankirixcheCenote noh-mozunlHomun hotel

    Homun

    20 décembre 2023, Mexique ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Extremely ambitious travel plans today. Got up after 6, so that i could be out the door at 7 and on the road early because i knew the travel distances were substantial and the stops along were going to be great and not quick at all.

    Started off with an hour long drive to the ancient mayan site called Edzna. Fair sized site with lots of beautiful old structures. Spent about 30 minutes walking through the entire spot.

    Then had a 2 hour drive to Uxmal, another mayan site. But en route i realized i had a bit of a problem. Half way to Edzna i noticed my gas was getting a bit low. And i was now halfway to Uxmal with an hour to go and my gas tank warning was showing. There just weren't any gas stations or even towns bigger than a tiny village. Asked some locals in a village about gas and directed me to a person's house down a side road. Sure enough, a woman there was selling gas. I asked for 200 persos worth of gas and she brought out a bunch of Gatorade bottles filled with gas and poured it all into my car. Another new experience :)

    An hour later arrived at Uxmal. Very impressive ancient site. Huge temples, and structures plus amazing detailed carvings everywhere. Stayed about 45 minutes and then hit the road again.

    Drove another hour to X'batun cenote which was an incredible blue looking lagoon carved out of stone and a semi crater below trees and long dangling vines to the water. Relaxed there for a while and then went another 3 minutes further down the same road to Dzonbakal cenote which was more of a cave cenote also with striking blue water. Definitely not as impressive as the first but very nice to hang out in there and i could hear lots of bats chirping away.

    Drove another 45 minutes to Kankirixche cenote. Another cave like cenote but this one had a partial opening letting the light in. Maybd my favourite so far.

    And a very difficult to reach finale, at noh-mozunl cenote. Drove down really crazy uneven dirt roads through tight bush for ages and eventually reached a rock wall barricade to prevent any cars from continuing. After a local told me to continue i went on by foot and found maybe the best cenote yet in a cave like hole but full circle opening high above. Had to descend down a crazy ricketty staircase. Took a few pics and hurried back to the car. Wasn't anticipating i would have to backtrack, so getting to the hotel in homun took a lot longer but eventually made it just after the sun went down.

    Super fun day exploring mayan sites and cenotes.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonYucatanSean Plamondon

    Campeche

    19 décembre 2023, Mexique ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Slept in a little bit and then drove an hour to san ignacio cenote. Most of that hour was just trying to get out of merida - what a chaotic city.

    San ignacio cenote was more of a resort. Really nice restaurant, hotel, pool, lounging areas, artificial river. And a cave underneath it all with a natural pool of water. Swam around in the underground cenote and relaxed there for a bit and then had a yucatan styled lunch. It was cheese stuffed with pork; and no, i didn't say that backwards accidentally haha. Very tasty.

    Drove another hour south to Ich ha lol xaan cenote. This cenote had very shallow waters but with incredible colors. One of them had crazy blue water and the other had crazy blue colored rocks, almost like someone painted them.

    And another 30 minute drive to the seaside town of campeche. Its a walled city with lots of beautifully restored and colorful streets and buildings. Campeche is famous for its pirate atracks back in the day, which is the reason it was eventually a walled city.

    Did a quick walkabout and then got myself to a waterfront restaurant to watch the sunset while enjoying some ceviche and a beer.

    Finished the evening closer to my hotel on a very vibrant pedestrian street full of restaurants and shops. Have to be up at 6am the next morning and still not caught up on sleep, so didn't stay out very late.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonYucatanSean Plamondon

    Merida

    18 décembre 2023, Mexique ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Arrived at 1pm in cancun. By the time i got through customs and got my rental car, it was 2pm and then drove 4 hours straight to the lovely town of Merida in the center of Yucatan state.

    Stayed downtown so everything is walkable. Strolled past the cathedral and some other nice churches and found a nice courtyard spot for supper. Then wandered off to a few craft beer locations nearby before calling it a night.

    I had to be up at 3:30am for my flight to cancun, and getting more sleep was very much needed    En savoir plus

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  • Colombia v2.0

    Bogota - Day 4

    18 novembre 2023, Colombie ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Last day in Colombia. Kris flew home in the morning, a day before my return.

    I had a number of ideas to get outside the city to caves or visit a pretty town nearby but the weather wasnt so great.

    So i decided to just have a mostly relaxing day. Walked around bolivar plaza and enjoyed all the nice old buildings. Grabbed some lunch at bogota brewing company and then took some ubers to some craft breweries a bit away from the old town.

    The first one wasn't all that great. Tried two styles and both were very odd flavors. Not for me. Too malty i think. The second one was fantastic. Really good beer, great music, friendly bartender. I bought a tshirt and a beer glass there too and stayed a while.

    From there, i went back to the old town for supper at a nice place with live music. And after that popped into another place with live music as i was walking by. Really nice finish to the trip with something a bit different to close out on.

    Got back to the hotel around 130am and i had to get up at 6am... which isn't much time for sleep but i would rather utilize all my time i have in colombia and catch up on rest in canada 😁    En savoir plus

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  • Colombia v2.0

    Bogota - Day 3

    17 novembre 2023, Colombie ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    After Kris found some much needed sunburn cream for himself, we ventured off to hike to the summit of monserrate. The walk is a traditional el camino for residents of bogota to the church atop the mountain

    Its a fairly steep climb and exhausting under normal circumstances. But with Bogotá's already lofty elevation, adding 500 more meters contributed significantly to my lack of climitization. For most of the walk, i was struggling to get enough oxygen and the last 100m, i was a bit dizzy and disoriented. But we did it! And with fabulous views above the massive sprawling city.

    There are two very nice restaurants at the summit. We chose to eat at the traditional colombian restaurant over the french one. Prices were significantly greater than any other place we had been but wow was the food good. We feasted like kings and also enjoyed a few beers on the terrace. When we left the restaurant, we had to ascend 20+ stairs and we nearly keeled over. I guess the altitude plus beers were a strange combination.

    Later, went to one of the many bogota beer company locations. While enjoying some yummy craft beers, a bunch of locals invited me to join their table and share their massive beer tower with them. And after that, they took Kris and i to some dance clubs which ended up being a really fun night.    En savoir plus

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  • Colombia v2.0

    Puerto Nariño - Day 3 / Bogota

    16 novembre 2023, Colombie ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Started the morning walking 20 minutes to a large property to see the wild monkeys. Unfortunately the monkeys were somewhere else that day. But we did have fun feeding the macaws there and enjoying the beautiful estate overlooking the amazon river. For some reason the macaws didn't like Kris much cuz one bit him pretty good haha.

    After that went to the local museum which had great examples of all the wildlife in the area

    Our boat back to leticia was at 3, so we all had lunch and then sat at a bar near the river and had a few laughs until our boat came around. Pretty sure i will be visiting Mike and Charlie in belgium within the next year. Awesome guys.. we all got along famously right away. Jack was awesome too but australia is a fair wee bit further to reach. Hugs all around on departure.

    Had to wait 3 hours in leticia for our flight to bogota, so kris and i found a spot downtown for food and beer to kill a few hours

    We still had no hotel bookes yet for bogota and unfortunately we couldn't get our internet to work so we scrambled to book something at 10:30pm as we left the bogota airport. The place we booked with didn't allow checkins after 10pm, so we had a really difficult conversation on arrival at the hotel but eventually figured out an arrangement and we were no longer homeless yay

    Bounced around some nearby bars until we found 2 good ones that had great latin music that had everyone up and dancing (except us). And eventually headed home for the night. We were pretty tired.    En savoir plus

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  • Colombia v2.0

    Puerto Nariño (Amazon) - Day 2

    15 novembre 2023, Colombie ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Edit: re uploading vids and pics.. something went wrong on the first try

    Three more people joined our tour in the morning. Charlie and Mike from Belgium and Jack from Australia.

    Started the day looking for dolphins. Strangely enough, the amazon river has 2 types of dolphins, grey and pink. We got really lucky and saw so many grey dolphins jumping out of the water. And a bunch of pink ones breaching the surface of the water

    After that, boated over to a sandbar, and swam in the amazon for 30 minutes or so. Just enough to scorch everyone's shoulders but the water was so warm and refreshing that it was hard to think of anything else - like sunscreen apparently!

    Spent the early afternoon having lunch and getting to know the guys over some beers. Then started our colombia side jungle hike. First half of the hike was around dusk, in a much denser jungle than the peru side. The second half of the hike was completely in the dark with our headlamps and flashlights.

    Our guide was amazing at finding all sorts of massive insects, including tarantulas. Plus some poison dart frogs and of course jack the Australian found a snake haha. So cliché. Most of the insects were the size of my hand.

    Once we got back, had a quick supper at the hotel and then off to a place for some beers together.    En savoir plus

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  • Colombia v2.0

    Puerto Nariño (Amazon) Day 1

    14 novembre 2023, Colombie ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Had a 630am pickup to catch our 7am public transportation river boat from leticia to puerto nariña. 2 hour boat ride down the amazon and then greeted by Brehiner who will be our dedicated tour guide the next few days.

    This part of the amazon is interesting because the borders of cokombia, peru and brazil are all a few kilometers from each other. In puerto nariño, colombia is on one side of the amazon river. and peru is on the orher side of the river.

    Shortly after arriving, we got onto a smaller boat with our guide and a couple from germany/austria and headed to the peru side of the river where we would spend the next 5 hours in the peruvian jungle.

    Right away our guides found sloths in the trees. Most were really high up and hard to see but they found some much closer. Plus a number of vultures, exotic frogs, toucan, and some really strange looking bugs and plants. Plus crazy jungle trees. I can't describe how hot and humid that walk was. We were completely drenched just walking around.

    Had lunch in a remote tiny village and then back to our boat and back to colombia where Ramona and Tobias departed back to leticia. We had 90 minutes to lie down and try to cool off. I have never enjoyed a cold shower so much in my life! I actually took one cold shower, lay down for a bit and then took a second cold shower before our next excursion.

    Around 4pm, we were back in the boat, outfitted with rain gear and heading down the amazon to find a good spot for piranha fishing!

    We used sausage as bait and the piranha were incredibly adept at taking the bait off the hook without being able to feel. After a while i got a good system of slowly moving my hook so i could feel a bit of resistance and then pull hard if so. 7 different times i pulled a piranha out of the water but they fell off my hook each time. No one actually caught one but it was a really fun experience.

    Back in town, met up with our guide for some beers and eventually a very sound sleep to the sound of very loud frogs and bugs chirping away.    En savoir plus

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  • Colombia v2.0
    Sergio

    Leticia

    13 novembre 2023, Colombie ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    A mostly unexciting travel day. However, what lay ahead left us with soaring anticipation.

    Had to fly back to Bogota with a 3 hour layover and then catch a plane to Leticia, which is the gateway to the Amazon where we will start a 3 day tour with our guide i pre-hired.

    Didn't arrive in Leticia until 8pm. Sergio and his father greeted us at the airport and drove us to their office in town where they outfitted us with some rubber boots, and gave us a rundown about the start of our tour the next morning. It was nice to meet Sergio finally because i had been talking to him for quite a while arranging this tour. After that, sergio's father drove us to our nearby hotel.

    Wandered out to find some food at an arepa place and another spot for a few cold beers before getting to bed. Wow was it humid and thats at 10pm. I cant imagine how it will be midday in the jungle the next few days.

    Then off to bed because 530am was going to come quickly the next morning!    En savoir plus

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  • Colombia v2.0

    Medellin - Day 4

    12 novembre 2023, Colombie

    Kris and i both slept in, which nullified a few ideas i had for today like parasailing and repelling down a waterfall.

    Instead, we signed up for a very popular grafitti and history tour. This tour takes place in the barrios (slums) of medellin but has now become a massive tourist attraction. The history of how commune 13 was established on the side of a mountain is equally fascinating and tragic. It used to be one of the most dangerous places in the world but that has been mostly cleaned up and is now a vibrant community with an immense amount of culture.

    Our walking tour climbed high up through the jungle of makeshift structures, learning about its history and the deeper meaning of many of the murals. We were also treated to a performance of professional break dancers, who were some of the most athletic and coordinated people I've ever witnessed.

    We went into galleries, treated to a local dessert, and even created some of our own graffiti with a spray can. And the views of the city were quite amazing too

    Our tour had 9 people, and 7 of us were canadians. 3 others were also from ottawa. Too funny. Got to know Sam and his girlfriend a bit and shared an uber on the long drive back to the richy area of el poblado.

    Went to a rooftop bar for snacks and beverages before heading out for one last meal in medellin. In bed relatively early for the travel day tomorrow    En savoir plus

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