Traveling the world one color at a time.
Need to escape? Looking to be whisked away? Itching for travel inspiration?
Look no further than the islands of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands. The water is aquamarine and the sand is softer than sugar. I’m not a fan of the word “paradise,” but if there is such a place, it might look like this.
The Riviera Maya in Mexico is known for its awesome archeological ruins and ecological preservation. Though only just a short drive from Cancun, the vast majority of the Riviera Maya is far less developed. In general, protecting the land takes priority over providing huge oceanfront beaches for tourists. Natural species are allowed to flourish and are replenished when destroyed by Mother Nature. Wildlife (including creepy crawly critters) are allowed to live … and visitors just have to deal with them.
Just like other areas of Mexico, it is unique in its geographic location and local history, and the efforts in retaining its natural beauty make it a worthwhile stop on a trip to Mexico. However, this uniqueness also means that traveling to the Riviera Maya requires some special consideration and planning. If you are planning a trip to the Riviera Maya, here are a few tips to make your travels easier and more enjoyable:
Travel to the Cook Islands, and there are a few things you’re sure to encounter:
Sun.
Sand.
Flowers.
And coconuts.
When I travel to tropical destinations, I know that I’ll be spoiled with fresh fruit and seafood, but the prevalence of coconuts at absolutely every turn in the Cook Islands was so overwhelming that I actually took notice.
Food
One of the traditional Cook Islands dishes is ika mata, which is fresh yellow fin tuna lightly marinated with lemon, herbs and coconut cream. Besides being soaked in coconut cream, ika mata is actually sometimes served in a hollowed out coconut. We also ate coconut straight from the shell when we happened across one, as a side dish during breakfast and shredded on top of other fruits for a snack.
Need to escape? Looking to be whisked away? Itching for travel inspiration?
Look no further than Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley National Park, California. This was the vacation home of Walter Scott during the height of the mining boom in the 1920s and 1930s, and today it still holds a strange sense of mystery.
As a Peace Corps volunteer, I knew I wasn’t going to “save” the world. I also knew that if I could touch even one life in a significant way, then all the dirt, frustration and sickness would be worth it. If I had had an experience even remotely similar to Kris Holloway’s, I would have been absolutely ecstatic.
In her book Monique and the Mango Rains, Kris shares the day-to-day struggles and triumphs of her work with a village midwife in Mali. Monique is a woman in her early 20s with few supplies, inadequate space, a multitude of medical problems to treat and not enough hours in the day to tend to everything. In addition to her work as a midwife, Monique also deals with a deadbeat husband, cares for two families (hers and her husband’s) and doesn’t receive her entire paycheck. And yet she is smart, inquisitive, creative, compassionate and 100 percent likable. If I were Kris, I would have been smitten to have Monique as my Peace Corps partner as well.
Monique and the Mango Rains isn’t a saga of incredible proportions but rather the story of a simple village, the people who live there and the complex issues that arise in a culture where discrimination toward women and corruption are commonplace. Kris’ job in the village is to assist Monique with her midwifery duties in the rundown birthing house, but nothing is *just* a job in the Peace Corps. She also gets tied up in the politics of the village by helping Monique spend time with her true love Pascal, lobbying for Monique to be paid her entire salary and going through the proper channels for approvals to overhaul the birthing house.
It may be 65 degrees in the Las Vegas Valley, but it snowed on the ski mountain a mere 30-minute drive from our house. I know, I know. The words “Las Vegas” and “snow” do not belong in the same breath, but it’s true: Las Vegas has a ski and snowboard resort that is said to rival some of the most famous mountains in Utah, and it was the first ski resort to open this winter.
So there you go.
I’ll be the first to admit that I love the warm weather that comes with Las Vegas living, so the idea of bundling up in a winter jacket and layers that involved long underwear left my teeth chattering. Add to that the fact that I haven’t skied in nearly ten years and it was a whopping 15 degrees at 9:00 on a Saturday morning when I arrived at Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort and you have a fairly good idea of how I felt when I tumbled out of the car onto this place that felt a million miles from my nice warm bed.
Las Vegas Ski & Snow Resort is fairly robust considering the constraints its working within. If the mountain face was pointed even a few degrees in any other direction, the snow conditions would be drastically different, but because of its unique location in Lee’s Canyon at the base of Lee Peak, the resort is able to offer 16 trails and three chair lifts over 385 skiable acres. A large-scale renovation project expected to take 10 to 12 years to complete will increase the size of the resort to 50 trails and 10 lifts. Three special events and ski school yurts have already been built.
