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Sean Plamondon
Sean Plamondon

Sean Plamondon

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    There's a huge story behind this famous cat
    Toms the guideLast of original city wallBest ravioli everView from restaurantThat sign is the name of the restaurant hahaBeef dumplings

    Riga - Day 2

    27 июля 2023 г., Латвия ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Joined a historical walking tour late morning through the old town. Such a fascinating but sad history. They have been consistently ruled by another country (many different ones) since the 1300s and didn't have their freedom until the berlin wall came down. Toms, the tour guide was incredibly detailed about every facet of life, then until now. And he's pretty hilarious too.

    Decided to splurge a bit and went to a semi pretentious rooftop restaurant in the middle of all the church spires. Both the view and the meal were amazing. And relative to Canadian prices was still very affordable.

    Rested at my apartment for a while and then found a gastropub for some yummy dumplings and then found my way through the labyrinth to banshees where i was the night before. Chatted with the same bartender for a bit. And then researched and booked my transportation for the next morning to Lithuania. And got myself home nice and early before another travel day.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    Unwittingly wandered across the border to see this church
    Cynthia from parisThomas from Austria

    Riga - Day 1

    26 июля 2023 г., Латвия ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Big travel day to reach Riga, the capital of Latvia. Caught a 1 hour train to a town just outside the Latvian border but had to wait 4 hours for my next train.

    Talked to the information kiosk and they recommended walking to the old town area and they pinpointed an area on my phone. I mistakenly went a bit beyond and was confused by a latvian flag on a building. Checked my map and sure enough i was just inside latvia haha. Walked a few blocks down the same street and i was back in estonia.. so weird. Didn't find much of interest but did find a nice restaurant.

    Back to the train station and hopped on the train finally. Met Cynthia from paris who is taking a year off work and traveling the world. She had recently gotten back from 2 months in canada.

    Once in riga, navigated to my really nice apartment rental in the old town. Then set off to explore. I was totally shocked how gorgeous this city is and i think it surpassed my opinion of tallinn. Striking baroque churches amongst beautiful buildings in a maze like atmosphere.

    Beer specialty restaurants are everywhere here. Craft beer lover's paradise. Had dinner at one and found another with a better selection. Chatted for a really long time with Thomas from Austria and then got myself to bed at a decent hour.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Tartu

    25 июля 2023 г., Эстония ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    Took a train in the morning southward to pretty Tartu. Not as amazing as Tallinn but i don't think anywhere is. But very cute old town with hundreds of restaurants and terraces everywhere

    Arrived a bit on the early side and there wasn't anyone in the hotel reception for a very long time so kinda stuck with my backpack to just hangout and wait

    Eventually got in but then tons of cold rain came down. Perfect time for a nap

    Went out later, found a cool subterranean german restaurant and then another subterranean beer spot. But packed it in early. Big travel day tomorrow and I'm not even sure yet how i will get to latvia    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Tallinn - Day 2

    23 июля 2023 г., Эстония ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Spent the day walking around the old town. Every turn is prettier that the prior one. Wandering around aimlessly is such a nice way to pass the time and relaxing on terraces watching the world go by

    I have the craziest hotel room. Apparently i am staying in a labyrinth. Took me 20 minutes to find my way out the first time. Attaching a video of it.

    Still not very warm. Quite a bit better and sunny compared to norway but always need a jacket.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Tallinn - Day 1

    22 июля 2023 г., Эстония ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Hopped on a ferry to estonia. Its seriously like a cruise ship. Crazy big
    As soon as i walked in i was offered a possible upgrade to business class for 100 bucks. I agreed and had an amazing luxury meal. Far better than any airport lounge i have been to

    Got myself to the old town of tallinn. Walked all along the wall for spectacular shots. It was unbelievable i was the only person on all these streets. Found a nice terrace for a pint and met two super nice girls (renata and nadia) from estonia. We chatted for 3.5 hours and after they left i went inside the establishment and made more friends. I think they might have been russian.

    People eventually lead me to some other locales before calling it a night. Fantastic start to the baltics. Estonia is such a passionate but wonderful place to be. Witnessed a few fights. One of them, i ran to the bar and got 2 pints and gave them to the two guys and said lets all be brothers, yes? We had a good time and hugged it out. Saving the world one pint at a time haha.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Helsinki - Day 2

    21 июля 2023 г., Финляндия ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Was originally planning to head to estonia but jay convinced me to stay one more day in helsinki. Had a blast the first night so why not

    My hotel was fully booked so i went to the Irish pub across the street to sort it out. Eddy the bartender from croatia was amazing and met guissepe who works at nearby fish restaurant. Jay joined me eventually and we went to that fish restaurant. Maybe the best seafood i ever had ... but the pricetag matched the quality

    Took a quick nap and in my wanderings found a place called bier bier. Felt compelled to try it out and met a few locals sitting next to me. Jay eventually showed up and all of us went to a poolhall... then a dance club

    Got into a bit of a disagreement with someone who kept bumping me on the dancefloor but when we stepped off to chat we were hugging minutes later like long lost friends. Europeans are a fiery bunch but incredibly passionate.

    I never actually got to see much of the city, but i am very rich in friends and experiences. Will be back!    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    1

    Helsinki - day 1

    20 июля 2023 г., Финляндия ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    I was super nervous about giving the airline my backpack but was one of the first ones off the carousel. Yay!

    I took the train frim the airport and fortunately my hotel was close to the helsinki train station. Scrambled to check-in and then get to a quiet pub to video conference a lawyer back in canada to finalize the sale of an investment property. Yay no longer a landlord!!

    Then had just enough time to shower and get to a couchsurfing meetup. I was feeling pretty nervous about it but had an amazing time. Its basically an event for travellers to connect but there was tons of finns there too.

    Had a hilarious back and forth with a girl who insisted she would destroy me at pool (she didn't) and lovely rose from norway handed me a microphone to sing a duet karaoke song already in progess which i am quite sure i butchered. Followed the remaining crowd to a gay club haha and danced the night away. Crazy fun. Huge shout outs to ollie and teemu. Jay from texas/Korea to the next day... to be continued ....    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    1

    Tromsø - Day 2

    19 июля 2023 г., Норвегия ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Slept in which was such a welcome change plus my tours all got cancelled. Semi disappointing. Kayaking under the midnight sun sounded phenomenal but the weather is so awful and i do not have the right clothes for ..... anything haha

    Had the best fish soup ever at a place on the ocean and then re-traced my steps to where i ended my night yesterday. Entertained james the bartender and lars with all my norway stories (yes there may be more layers to this onion).

    After that, randomly walked into a nice restaurant and sat down to get my bearings and i could hear someone yelling at me. It was the french christian bale (julien) working as a cook. He strongly objected to me taking his photo but too bad haha

    Finished the day back at the same pub where i started. James was gone but met some swedes and we shared hilarious stories until i tapped out early to get some much needed rest

    Ohhhh! And i got my backpack back. I literally cried at the reunion and said "whatever i did, i promise to never do it again" 😉    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Tromsø - day 1

    18 июля 2023 г., Норвегия ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    I arrived at the airport and talked to the baggage guy there. My backpack is in apparently in bergen. Geez i hope my backpack enjoys bergen as much i did. We are on separate vacations. I literally washed my clothes in the shower with a bar of soap and dried them with a hair dryer out of desperation tedious!

    My pre booked tours all got canceled for various reasons so my trip here is a bit muted. I am 400km above the arctic circle with much less purpose and a lot of time to relax. But still in shorts haha. The mountains here are all snow capped and its pretty cold.

    I found a local brewery on the same street as my hotel and of course popped in there. I was used to paying an ungodly rate of $17 per beer here in norway so didn't even think to ask how much. My visa card registered $32 for one beer at this brewery! Geezus. I'm not easily shocked but i could have used some support at this moment.

    Left the brewery and randomly into a restaurant i found on the way. Was hanging out with the bartender when the manager came downstairs and went on a crazy rant. I made a joke about hoping to never get on her bad side. And before i knew it i was invited to join her friends in the lounge upstairs.

    So i went to that lounge and chatted with everyone - very warm and nice people. There's some stories to be told here but i will leave that out of this blog. Lets just say northern norway is a bit nuts. I did my best to watch and be supportive of everyone. Yikes!

    One of the guys (zack) invited me to go to a nearby pool hall so i happily left the drama and showed those guys how its done haha. Never lost a game. I can usually hold my own and more at pool.

    From there, me and michael from poland plus 2 new Norwegian friends found another cool wine bar to hang out in. I met a french guy who looks remarkably like Christian Bale. You decide :) will attach to the photos. And thats my day.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    1
    11

    Bergen - Day 2

    17 июля 2023 г., Норвегия ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Headed off today on a 12 hour tour of fjords and waterfalls. This tour was almost entirely self guided. The tour company gave me a detailed list of instructions and destinations with many different types of transportations and often tight transfer windows. Its remarkable how organized, efficient and accurate this country is with its arrival and departure schedules. I usually had 5-10 minutes to transfer. Not much room for error with that but it all worked perfectly. One coach bus was 3 minutes late and the driver apologized to me several times as i boarded haha.

    My day started with a train, then a minibus, then a boat, then a coach bus, another coach bus, then a boat, then a personal driver and finished on a coach bus. I had prepaid for everything but no one ever asked me for proof of payment on all those different legs. Same for my train from the airport. 100% honour system here wow.

    Unfortunately, it was another cold, rainy day. The scenery was dramatic but low lying clouds often obscured the views sadly.

    The highlight of the day was vøringsfossen waterfall. Multiple waterfalls on different sides of a really deep gorge and dozens of different viewing platforms in some really unique spots. Luckily the clouds mostly moved out just as i arrived. Got some great pics and then a huge cloud rolled in 15 minutes later and i couldn't see anything after that. Fortunate to have that brief moment.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Bergen - Day 1

    16 июля 2023 г., Норвегия ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    My business class air france ticket allows me expedited security passage, lounge access and baggage priority. That last item seemed lacking when i arrived in bergen but my backpack did not 😳

    Especially problematic because i was still wearing shorts and sandals from paris weather but in bergen the temperature was 14C, and very windy and very rainy. I felt like i time traveled to November. And very unfortunately, my backpack would be enjoying paris weather without me until tuesday (two days later).

    But not much i can do. Walked from the tram station to the nearby harbour. Found the open fish market and some very pretty venues but was getting pelted with rain pretty good too. No umbrella and no rain gear, so i ducked for cover into a nearby pub.

    The bartender was really sweet and after telling him my predicament he rummaged thru lost and found and gave me an umbrella and helped me find a good restaurant for dinner too.

    After wandering the quaint streets and a quick nap, went for a traditional nordic dinner and some surprisingly excellent craft beers. Met the lovely Alejandra from mexico there and chatted away with her for quite a while. Eventually parted ways and i bounced around the harbour bars a bit until i found a cool cave bar and befriended a group of Norwegians and travellers who now live in bergen full time too. And eventually back to the hotel. Crappy start to the day but excellent finish    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon
    Pretty sure this is scottish sarcasm

    Paris

    15 июля 2023 г., Франция ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

    Not a great day.

    Missed my flight to oslo this morning. I thought the flight was at 11am and i casually arrived at the airport around 8:40. I got up and left before my alarm even went off.

    Then noticed at the airport my flight is actually at 930 😳

    I started scrambling to find my airline counter. Got wrong directions from one employee and later proper directions from another

    Found the counter and the guy there tells me its closed. And that its been closed since 8:50 making it sound like ages ago. I look at the time and say "dude, thats 4 minutes ago! Comon, pleeeaaase?". But no luck

    So i scrambled and found a flight to bergen norway with an overnight in paris. Not a terrible plight minus the 8 hours in the edinburgh airport. Ugh

    Finally got to my hotel in the paris latin quarter at 10pm. Walked around to some nice sights and eventually found a beer specialty place and settled in. Was totally enjoying the quiet moment and 10 minutes later a brit bachelor party crashed my table. They were all super fun actually and my night became a whole lot more lively. Perks of traveling alone sometimes

    Edit: and met a super nice parisian couple (maude and elie) after i wrote this. We talked politics for half an hour, which you would never know from our goofy pic. Wish we had met earlier but need to sleep too    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Edinburgh- Day 2

    14 июля 2023 г., Шотландия ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Finally a bed to sleep in. Wow i needed that. Who knew? :)

    Wandered around in the afternoon to a million spots i used to know 20 years ago. Had lunch at a restaurant i waitered at (the filling station) in a different life and then met up with my walking tour. The tour was a historical tour of the old town mixed in with beer tastings at a variety of pubs. Me and 3 americans plus Ian the tour guide. I purposely wound him up by asking his thoughts on the accuracy of Braveheart. Ohhh my god i set him off on a huge rant. If you're ever in scotland, definitely bring up braveheart semi sincerely to get hilarious reactions.

    After the tour i climbed up Jacob's ladder to Calton hill for some super cheesy touristy shots of the city and then walked an hour in a lot of rain into Leith. I was told the old port had been revitalized greatly so i wanted to see it before leaving.

    Found a brewery on the way to dry off for a bit and met Andy who was just the most friendly guy ever. Was planning to stay for 30 mins and then continue to the port but good banter turned into 2.5 hours instead.

    Andy recommended a pub at the port called Malt and Hops.... fantastic recommendation. I think i met the entire clientele of that establishment without even trying. Everyone there was incredibly friendly and hilarious. Jon insisted on giving me a scotch tasting lesson and i couldn't convince josh that he was actually a concussed Oscar Isaac. Dead ringer :)

    Excited for norway next but definitely sad to leave Scotland too. Magical place for me.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Edinburgh Day 1

    13 июля 2023 г., Шотландия ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Crazy start to my trip!

    After meeting several nice people at the toronto airport (hi jeff and cindy!), i ran into a long time dear friend Jon who i hadn't seen in 4 years on the airplane. We switched seats and chatted the entire 7 hour flight to Scotland

    Arrived at 630am and my hotel didn't allow checkins until 3pm so i was in a bit of a bind. But Jon was going to Bev and Nick's house for his stay so i went with him. 20+ years ago i worked with Bev in an Edinburgh restaurant and part of a group trip i organized thru the middle east. And Bev and Nick visited Jon and I in 2006. Oh boy was she shocked when i arrived at her house.

    Got a bit of sleep and spent the afternoon catching up in their backyard. Then caught a train to Edinburgh and did a walkabout seeing the gorgeous medieval parts of the old town and finding all the places i used to work at and a few places i lived too. Nostalgia overload!

    I had pre-booked a pub crawl tour that started at 8pm. At 7 i was incredibly tired and almost bailed but decided to force myself to go and be social. Pub crawl had 45 people from all over the world. Met 4 aussies right away and spent the rest of the night mostly with them. One is coincidentally moving to ottawa in late August for classes at OttawaU. So glad i went. Absolute hilarious fun. What a day. Oh yes... i almost forgot. Everyone thought i was around 35. Haha (i am 51)    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonScandinavia and the BalticsSean Plamondon

    Leaving.... on a jet plane

    12 июля 2023 г., Канада ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    My next adventure awaits in a lot of not so warm places. Scotland is never hot. Pretty confident the arctic circle isn't either. But maybe the baltics will bring back some summer heat .. not sure but will find out soon.

    Either way, I'm super excited to start exploring castles, fjords and lots of northern medieval European cities. And as usual, taking myself to some lesser known locales.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Mexico City

    26 июля 2022 г., Мексика ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Got up early and drove 2.5 hours through volcano land to the san salvador airport. Can't get enough of the beautiful landscapes in these countries. Off to mexico city for one day.

    Scariest landing I've ever had. The pilot literally bounced the plane off the tarmac and back up in the air and got control of it and set it back down. There was no applause on this one :) I left permanent fingernail imprints in the upholstery

    Stayed at hotel canada a block away from the cathedral. Wandered around and got some pictures of nice old buildings before sundown and then decided to see what mexico city had to offer in microbrews.

    Found a really nice cerverceria on my walk but it was poor in selection. Then ubered to tiny Roma brewery and then walked a few blocks to Falling Piano brewery. This place was the real deal with all the giant kettles on location and a great selection (and a falling piano). From there walked a few more blocks to Yeccan. Fantastic beers and hung out with the owner Francisco for quite a while. They even closed the place for a staff meeting but let me stay for quite a while to chat with local Freddie.

    Then made my way to the nearby trendy area of Condesa and bounced in and out of a few places before ending the last night of my trip. Nice way to finish it    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon
    Massive mountains in the background
    Family of cats in the cave ceilingA km of transports lined up for inspection to enter hondurasFrom the side of the volcanoMy hotel viewCrazy storm

    Playa Las Tunas

    25 июля 2022 г., Сальвадор ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Big drive today back to el salvador. About an hour into the drive, i stopped at Cave Taulabe and checked that out for about 30 minutes. Lots of different chambers and formations.

    Then drove back through the dramatic mountains to the el salvador border, which only took about 15 minutes to get past customs on the way back.

    Tried to drive to the top of Conchagua Volcano near La Union but about 90% of the way my gas gauge started blinking. It seemed wise to not run out of gas near the top of a volcano, so I turned around, very sadly. The top section of road was very similar to Guatemala's craziest highway and painful to have travelled it both directions without reaching the summit.

    Salvaged the remainder of the day driving to very pretty and very quiet Playa Las Tunas. Had a great meal of fish topped with shrimp, drowning in cheese and some sauce right on the beach in town. So good. And finished the day at a nice seaside hotel down the road a bit. Hopped in the ocean quickly before a massive storm hit the area hard. Last ocean for a    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Lake Yojoa - Day 2

    24 июля 2022 г., Гондурас ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Started the day with a very tasty honduran breakfast called Baleada which is a tortilla stuffed with all sorts of yummy ingredients. Then drove 40 minutes on winding jungle roads to Pulhapanzak waterfalls, the biggest in honduras.

    Got pictures from all the different platforms and then found the office for waterfall excursions. I had read that the tour behind the falls and into caves was excellent so i signed up and ended up part of a huge group (20+) from north carolina. This definitely impacted the adventure.

    We hiked to the base of the falls, over rocks and into the water, then climbed into the falls and shimmied in and out of caves, hanging onto ropes as the water pounded us. The size of the group often left me under huge amounts of falling water and intense spray while i waited for the big group to move forward. There was so much water, I often couldn't see and had to follow the rope and find footings semi blindly. And we couldn't all fit in the caves so some of us always were left exposed to the intense spray.

    I took a lot of videos with my phone inside a waterproof case but it was hard to hang on to the rope with one hand and hold the phone up with the other. Anyways, easily one of the most intense experiences i have ever had. Wow.

    Then decided to also do the zipline over the falls too. Which ended up yielding some unbelievable views. The zipline course had 4 lines over the river before the big drop and another 4 lines over the falls and beyond. Took about an hour and well worth the 20 dollars. Met Nick who works at the American embassy in honduras.

    On the drive back to the hotel i passed by some sort of parade being setup, and then i stopped at the river area with all the kayaks just before the hotel and relaxed there for a while. The owner Carlos kept coming by to make sure I was comfortable and happy and eventually asked me to join his table. Left there before sundown. Hung out more with Daniel the general manager of the hotel and Polly from England. She is 22, alone and teaching in the honduras capital for 6 months. Very impressive.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Lake Yojoa - Day 1

    24 июля 2022 г., Гондурас ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Another dramatic drive through and over mountain tops to reach Lake Yojoa. Honduras is extremely mountainous and pretty. I had to circumnavigate the lake to reach my hotel, which is a jungle lodge and also a brewery/roastery. Rustic cabins in the jungle and cute outdoor eating areas and hammocks.

    Sampled some of their home brewed beers while waiting for my cabin to be ready and then rented a kayak in the nearby river and made my way to the lake. I thought i was paying for a guided kayak tour but the guy pushed me and my kayak in the river and waved goodbye to me haha. Took quite a while on the river before reaching the lake but worth the effort. Mountains surrounding the lake on all sides but also big dark clouds rolling in, so decided I better start paddling back soon. I found a small cantina on the lakeshore, so I paddled up and as i got out of the kayak, i slipped and fell into the lake with my phone in my pocket!! Uh oh.

    Then paddled back furiously to try to beat the storm. Got hit with some rain but ultimately just beat the storm because wow it rained a lot over several hours. Took a small nap and then to the restaurant area for food and beers. I was wearing a port alberni (British Columbia) brewery tshirt that i bought last october when i was there with friends, and a holland guy approached me because he was there in canada a month ago. Chatted a lot with him and his girlfriend. And i also met the general manager of the lodge and chatted with him for over an hour. Then finished the night hanging out with a really nice couple from honduras, carmine and juan carlos who kept filling my glass from their pitcher.

    As for my phone, i wasn't able to charge it because there was "moisture in the charging port" area - no kidding! I spent a few hours trying to get the water out and was getting concerned as my battery was getting low and i wouldn't have a way to communicate with the world or even navigate my way out of here haha. And the offline translator on my phone is invaluable to me. I took the fan in my room and put it up against my charging port... and thankfully 8 hours later, the moisture was gone. Phew!! The hotel GM also gave me a bag of rice for it but in the end, i didn't need it.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Comayagua

    22 июля 2022 г., Гондурас ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    Drove down the coast to check out some of el salvador's far reaches that are much less traveled. Reached El Jaguay point and got to a vantage point of being able to see the Gulf of Fonseca and its islands that belong to El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras. Backtracked a bit and popped into Las Tunas which had a very unique setting of buildings on stilts on the beach and the tide creating a river between buildings and like the beach is inside to town. Hard to describe, will attach a vid.

    From here, headed to the Honduras border. Took me a very long time to get across this border. At the El Salvador exit office, i was told I needed to checkin online for honduras. I tried to do it but it didn't work and figured i would get there and sort it out at the honduras entry office.

    Then i got to a bridge and a border stop where i was given a link to another online form. Every time i submitted, I would get an error and all my info would get wiped out. I eventually did the whole thing in front of an official on my 4th attempt, and he witnessed it and gave me a piece of paper. Drove a bit further and entered a large building with a huge lineup to finally get my passport stamped. Whole thing took me 90 minutes but i admit if i knew the steps, it would have been a lot faster.

    Finally, in Honduras. Shockingly, it was a brand new 4 lane divided highway the entire drive to comayagua; which was a gorgeous drive high up in the mountains often with panoramic views all around. Arrived at my very cute downtown hotel and went off to see the town before it got dark. Very pretty colonial town in the mountains but unfortunately clouds blocked out the views.

    Grabbed some supper, and bounced around to a few different locations but was very quiet, especially for a friday. Went to a pretty beer garden and to a hotel owned craft beer place that was very ornate. Locals told me nothing really happens here until Saturday. Oh well, at least everyone was really nice and i get more much needed sleep :)    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    El Cuco

    21 июля 2022 г., Сальвадор ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Woke up on the airport bench around 3am surrounded by bolivians in their cute hats everywhere. My flight to panama was at 6am, so I was finally able to checkin. Had a 3.5 hour layover in Panama and sitting upright in an airport lounge chair was not cutting it, so I found a nice carpeted area in a corner to lie down for an hour or so. Soooo tired. Woke up and i started a trend with many others lying down nearby too.

    Finally arrived in San Salvador, picked up my rental car, and drove 2.5 hours to remote southwest coastal beach town El Cuco, passing by many huge volcanoes. Beautiful. The resort I booked was decent but in desperate need of a makeover. Hopped in the ocean for a bit and then drove to the tiny town area for some ceviche at a very rustic restaurant on the beach. This town is so sleepy that all the restaurants closed before 8 oclock and they kicked me out. On the short drive back to the resort, i stopped at a local outdoor cantina for a beer and in bed early... which was much needed.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon
    Proof I am capable of catching a flightMy bed for the night

    Quito

    20 июля 2022 г., Эквадор ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Slept in again but this time i really needed to not do that because i missed my flight to guayaquil. Rebooked a flight for the evening and headed back to Tiesto's cafe for their amazing steaks. The waiter literally cuts it with a spoon when delivering it to demonstrate how tender it is. So good. And this time they put me at the exact same table in the atrium area that i was at 2.5 years ago. Very nostalgic.

    Got my backpack and found a nice place downtown to relax until my flight. When it was time to go, i couldn't find a taxi forever, at least 30 to 40 minutes. And when I got to the airport, they said i missed checkin by 5 minutes. Argh! Twice in one day! Rebooked my flight to the Quito airport and then a very early flight to san salvador via panama.

    Since my flight arrived at 9:30pm in quito and my departure was at 6am, i decided I would just sleep in the airport and be sure to not have any more flight issues. Found a nice comfy bench with a cushion and made it home for a number of hours.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Cuenca - Day 2

    19 июля 2022 г., Эквадор ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Slept in and excitedly made my way to my favorite restaurant ever, tiestos cafe. Ordered their famous steak and giant prawns. This is incredibly hard to beat.

    Walked around and captured some nice buildings and sat down at a few terraces along the way. The night prior I coughed a lot and had a sore throat and lost my voice too. I went to a pharmacist and got some losanges plus antibiotics. I have had this a few times with an infection in my throat. Feels similar. Otherwise i am fine.

    After a nap, i finished the day at craft beer location and met a lot of people from different countries. Peru, Colombia, China, honduras, united states, Norway and ecuador of course. Eventually this location closed and the Honduras guy told us he has a restaurant a block away and we all piled in there instead.

    I showed him why his tap lines were expelling mostly foam haha and Otherwise a hilarious night of laughs and good vibes. The Norwegian viking guy had me in stitches all night. And everyone else was lovely. Amazing unexpected night of global friendships.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Cuenca - Day 1

    18 июля 2022 г., Эквадор ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    I was going to say I had a quick breakfast but this is montanita. Nothing is quick. Found the bus stop at 11am and luckily boarded a bus immediately. Unluckily, it was not a direct bus. Took me 2 buses and 4.5 hours to get to the guayaquil bus station. And despite the bus station being meters away from the airport, it took 30 minutes to get there. Ah latin America haha

    And when I tried to check in, the girl assisting me printed out my baggage tag and for some reason i looked at the airport codes on the tags (which i never do but will always do from now on) and could see it was wrong. My bag was going to go to quito first. I would have not received it in cuenca. I questioned it right away and they agreed it was wrong and that took another 30 minutes to sort out.

    Finally in quenca, checked into my old world posada and then walked around taking a few pictures of the gorgeous buildings here. Found a downtown brewery location and hung out at the bar where i met Gabriela who was just grabbing food to go but we chatted over an hour. Everything was closed on a Monday but found a tiny karaoke place and met 3 more locals, one who took more of a liking to me than i would ever reciprocate haha. Anyways, nice people.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin AmericaSean Plamondon

    Montanita - Day 2

    17 июля 2022 г., Эквадор ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Started the day with a yummy ceviche by the beach. And then spent the afternoon on the beach sipping a few beers listening to my music and riding the boogie board i rented. I was very tempted to ride a surf board instead but wasn't feeling that ambitious today. And relaxed watching surfers in the waves. So enjoyable. Amazed to see many of the really good surfers were young kids.

    Again, lousy weather. No sun, not hot, and not cold but definitely not the montanita i had in mind when planning this trip. Instead of spending 4 days in montanita, i found a cheap flight the next day to get to cuenca instead. Which is also exciting... I love cuenca. It will be much cooler but more to do and see.

    As it got darker, i relocated to a restaurant in town where i ran into jeff (new orleans) and Valentina (Quito) again. I had already chatted with them a few times and our paths kept on crossing. Really nice, friendly couple.

    Most of the town was closed this day. Massive difference from Saturday night when it felt like the whole country was in montanita. Found another place to wind down and got to bed at a good hour. Another travel day tomorrow, so seemed wise. Unfortunately my hotel room was poorly situated as others clearly did not have the same desire to sleep and it was another night of loud music.    Читать далее

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