Archive of ‘Travel‘

Between Grand Cayman, Roatán, Belize, and Cozumel, Cozumel easily my favourite (and by far the most beautiful). White-sand beaches, connected by dusty highways, cover most of the island’s circumference. While tourist buses exist, most visitors wander on their own by scooters, jeeps, or retro Beetles.

A word of warning to Jeep riders: don’t step on the plastic cover over the back tires. It will bend and you will fall. (Maybe even sack yourself. It was touch and go for a bit.)

Speaking of warnings, like most places in Mexico – steer clear of the food. Every time I visit Cozumel, I get food poisoning, and it always happens at the exact same spot (with this awful sign). Sure, you might have an iron stomach, and yes, it tastes great, but chances are, you’ll end up reeling in bed for a week and it’s just not worth it.

That said, if you do end up at that restaurant, go get yourself a full-body massage by the ocean. From now on, I demand every massage be done by water. Amazing.

Besides a nasty cut from earlier that morning (kids, when snorkling, watch out for tall coral and shallow water), Belize was fairly uneventful. While Grand Cayman and Roatán proved safe, Belize had a reputation I wasn’t willing to test on my own. So, to pass the time, I turned my eye from the locals to the tourists. Pretty benign stuff.

Following Grand Cayman, was the less commercialized (and more photogenic) Isla Roatan. Outside the tourist complex, the dusty streets were lined by tired buildings, housing equally humble stores. Many of the locals were eager to chat, but like the two girls pictured above, most of them were in for the dollar.

Photos are hard when you’re on tours, but a handful managed to squeak by quality assurance. Shuttled from the turtle farm, to Hell, to the beach, and ending in Stingray City, the Grand Cayman experience felt a little rushed – but was a blast all the same.

After all, how often do you get to kiss a stingray?

It’s been years since my last seafaring adventure, but this year, I snuck off to Telegraph Cove at the tip of Vancouver Island to get my fish on. Notable mentions include a couple dozen cohos, several pinks, my first halibut, a 50-pound skate – and of course, lots of solid photos.

Hit Flickr for the rest of days one, two, and three!

Life’s been a whirlwind, and I know I’ve left you all hanging again (sorry on that), but I figure disappearing to Maui for a wedding is an awfully good reason, don’t you think? It’s done wonders for my photography. Dig in!

The world-famous chapel at the Grand Wailea resort. Congratulations to the newlyweds, Laurie and Ken!

Just minutes from the chapel, a path ran the edge of the waterline, ending at this tree.

While travelling along Maui’s western coast, we found this beach, surely kin to Hollywood’s own.

While passing through Wailuku, we stopped at a small Thai restaurant. In the back hid this long-forgotten door.

Rain clouds sat heavy when we visited Haleakala (the highest point on Maui); the world is awfully quiet 10,000 feet above sea level – or maybe just when it rains.

On the trip back from Haleakala, we found this surfer’s paradise.

With hours to kill before our flight, we made one last jaunt for Hana. Halfway there sat this car, abandoned by the wayside.

Running out of time just short of Hana, we turned back and found a panoramic view of the great Pacific. Naturally, I was more interested in this fence.

The last photo of the trip and a very fitting one, standing before sunset at the end of the world.