MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Ytravelblog:  Caz and Craig have been traveling around the world since 1997!  They are typically ranked in the top 3 in terms of traffic to their site.  Not only will you read about their adventures…if you’re a travel blogger you can learn about the craft of blogging.

Cumi & Ciki:  I love food.  You love food.   They love food and write all about it in their adventures.

Pause The Moment:  Bored with “Work Hard.  Save Money.  Stay out of Trouble”, Ryan went to Dublin in 2007 and has been traveling since.

Nomadic Samuel:  “Miles away from ordinary…dripping from sarcasm”.  He invites you on to share his journeys and promises it won’t be a boring life.

Johnny Vagabond:  I actually stopped reading his blogs and just rediscovered it.  He’s got a nice layout and his stories focus on traveling on a budget.

The Runaway Guide:  Leif is a young but well traveled 23 year old travel blogger who has been on the road since he was 16.  He is proud he has never drank his own urine to survive though he does mention he ate an ant in Australia that tasted like lemonade.  And his favorite country is Turkey.

The Travel Tart:  Offbeat trails from a travel addict.

Translates to - "Oh the places still to go". I picked this up in an the art gallery store in San Miguel de Allende.

The sky was passionately red.

Getting there was an adventure in itself.   We started off at sunrise.  The sky was the deepest fiery red we had seen.  We were in a rented apartment in neighborhood of Trastavere and we pulled our luggage through the quiet streets of Rome half a mile to the train station.  The ride was about an hour long.  Once we arrived at our train stop, we started asking where the bus stop was.  The hard thing was that NO ONE spoke English and we did not speak Italian.  We took a gamble after some muddled English/Italian and stood by our bus stop.  We board a bus which stopped to pick up the rowdiest high school kids we had every encountered.  It was a bumpy, loud, and crowded.  There weren’t much seats so we had to put our luggage on our laps.  Comfy!

I can almost see the chestnut trees from here.

We were so relieved to finally get to Soriano nel Cimino.  Which is a lovely hill town overlooking valleys famous for their Porcini mushrooms.  The town was quiet… and hardly anyone was walking around.  We later found out the population was extremely small.  Most of the inhabitants were older.  Again… we realized we didn’t know where our Castle…. yes I said Castle… was.  We had booked a room in the Palazzo Catalani and didn’t know how to get to it.  After a few minutes… we figured… well… it’s a castle.. so let’s just head up as it must be in the highest point.

Road leading up to the castle.

After a few minutes of admiring the views.  A very nice gentleman came by on a red moped.  He asked us if we were staying at Palazzo Catalani to which we said yes.  He introduced himself as the GM.  He let us know he had been looking for us all afternoon (how nice) and that he was going to send the porter down for our bags….but that we would have to walk (we didn’t mind) because the porter’s car was very small (see picture below)Not enough room for us in this one.

Not enough room for us in this one.

This is the super cool scooter of the GM.

So what’s Soriano Nel Cimino like?  It’s quiet!  And after the chaotic busy streets of Rome – this was a welcome surprise.  Staying in a castle that was built in the 17th Century was delightful.  We took a walking tour and marveled at how old everything was.  How most of these structures were still standing after 300 years.   During our walk the older citizens of town would come out and say hello.  Our guide told us that there wasn’t a lot of “street traffic” and the older inhabitants were friendly and craving company since all their kids and grandkids were living in the busier cities.

During the time we were there, the month long Chestnut festivals were going on.  To celebrate this the town decorated by flying their “family flags”.  Each of the four roads belonged to a family and each gate – led to that families area of town they controlled.  It was fun to watch the parades and skits in the town center.

We ended our evenings back in our “castle”.  There were only 6 or so other couples there.  We enjoyed the evenings over great food and wine.

We could see this from our castle.

The flags symbolize the family in that section of town.

There are four main roads that lead to the town's center. And the colors of the family flag were flying that day. Each street was different.

Jus to make sure ... the families even made sure the roads clearly stated who was in control in this part of town.

Quick... take the picture.

When you stay in a castle you get an old key. And the GM gave us a bottle of wine too.

This mural tells the story of the lady who raised the alarm during an invasion... which allowed the town to rally.. .and ultimatley save it from invasion.

Very very old church.

Hmmm - trying to get out of a parking ticket doesn't work even in country hill town.

Baskets for sale in the town center during the Chestnut Festival

These gates are about 300 years old.

Quiet hallway galleries

Probably one of the coldest days for me in my life. This was at Orsini Castle. It took me about 2 hours to defrost. I had one 4 layers.

Quiet evenings back at the castle.

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In Thailand, elephant parks, tours, rides, and shows are within miles of each other.  I haven’t actually climbed to ride one yet.  I’m not even sure I want to.  I feel it’s a bit cruel and pointless.  When you’re on top of the elephant you can’t see or relate.  You’re just bumpily riding along perched higher than if you would be on a horse.  Feels pointless.  But I could feed, take photos, hang out with them for hours on end.

They love bananas

On a recent business trip my colleague and I took an afternoon to look for “family friendly” activities.  If you’re not familiar with Pattaya, it’s more well known for the go go dancers and anything goes night life.   Everywhere you look when you’re close to the town center, you know it’s catered to adult entertainment.  There’s a massage parlor every 4 stores, and there are tons of young looking women walking around with men of all shapes and sized.

Finding something family friendly to do means you have to leave the center part of town.  But we asked around and talked to a few concierge desks and were armed with are list.  We got in the car and explored.  And so we discovered Nong Nooch Park where we hung out and fed elephants.

The elephant’s trunk is an extension of the upper lip and nose.

I also put more photos in the Facebook album which you can visit by clicking on this link:  More elephant photos.

The trunk functions for grasping, breathing, feeding, dusting, smelling, drinking, lifting, sound production/communication, defense/protection, and sensing.

This baby elephant was playing with a water hose and rolling around in between.

Elephants cry, play, have incredible memories, and laugh!

Elephant trunks can get very heavy. It is not uncommon to see elephants resting them over a tusk!

All suited up for a show.

It’s been three and a half years since our last New York vacation.  Been all around the world since.   And in deciding this year’s annual trip…. we both looked at each other and agreed it was time to visit New York again.

Central Park was where we started and ended our days.  We’d wake up in our quaint railroad style B&B in Spanish Harlem, drink our coffee and head out through the Park.   I enjoyed those quiet mornings when it seemed we had the park to ourselves while everyone else was at work.  We’d sip our coffee and chat about the adventures ahead.  Always kept a loose agenda and let our feet, nose and eyes lead the way.

Here’s a few photos of those morning walks.

We'd walk for miles in the morning

Central Park, Great Mall

I had always dreamed of walking here.

And so we lingered a while.

We actually never crossed that bridge... maybe next time?

I can see we're close to the edge of the Park. Not quite ready to leave yet.

Let's hold on to this quiet time a little while longer.

ok... so we're a little hungry. Time for a donut!

You have to fly into Dipolog via an airline from Manila such as Cebu Pacific.   The resort is about 45 minutes from Dipolog downtown area.  You drive through a very remote area.  The landscape is lush and green with the occasional small farm houses or shacks.

The resort itself is situated on private grounds.   You stay in bungalow type accommodations, rustic traditional Filipino design but comfortable.  Even had a small fridge in the bathroom.  Has AC and even hot water.  Resort has 1 pool, restaurant, beach, tennis courts, basketball courts, walking and I think even horse trails.

Dakak beach resort is a great quiet alternative to the most popular spots such as Boracay.  Very quiet here – and just how I like it. Nearby towns Dapitan has the best seafood, small little town and still feels like the old quiet times I new as kid growing up there.

Outrigger at Dakak Beach Resort

View of Dakak Beach Resort from the Restaurant

Our Bungalow

They do a good job sharing their adventures.  I guarantee you haven’t seen a travel video like the likes of this before.  My favorite part starts around minute 5 when Adelaide goes from peeking down the side of a mountain to dancing with her fans.

Adelaide Marcus is a local artist residing in San Diego and you can visit her websites: www.artbyadelaide.com and www.theshimmysisters.com.  Akira Chan, the man behind the lens is another talented soul and you can visit his website at www.akirachan.com.  Thank you both for sharing your adventures.

And after 14 years of visiting Cabo…I finally made the…errr… pilgrimage to this famous hotel in the middle of the Baja Desert.

I found myself in the car with my friend…and my conservative self was asking…was this a good idea to be driving out to the middle of nowhere? Between my “hola” and her “como estas” I figured we knew enough Spanish to get by.

So off we went, cameras in tow into the car we went an hour through the surprisingly (desert) lush country. Sand on the left. Dirt and cactus on the right. My eyes firmly on the windy yet very well paved road below. I kind of felt like a race car driver until I got reminded I didn’t want to get a ticket on this deserted road.

We arrived at the hotel, small and plain looking at first glance. It reminded me of old photos I had seen. I’ve since done my research and learned that the hotel has had different names. Don Antonio Wong Tobasco and his wife, Sra. Trinidad Castillo de Tabasco, began construction on the hotel in 1947 and named it Hotel California. In the 70′s to early 80′s it was known as the Hotel Mission Todos Santos and then it became the Hotel California once again.

Now… keep in mind that this small little town is … in the middle of the desert in an unknown part of the Baja peninsula. As the story goes, a real estate mystery man started a rumor in the 80”s to create excitement about the area. Call him a marketer beyond his time and one that liked to bend the truth… he started to tell everyone that listened that the very hotel was where Don Henley stayed for $2 per night and that’s where he wrote that song. By the way – he slept on a hammock. No turn down service for him.

Todos Santos grew. A fine Italian restaurant opened and attracted further attention. Journalists, tourists, and groupies (ahem) have flocked since. All while humming the song in the car on the drive there.

In 1997, a journalist by the name of Joe Cummings wrote Don Henley to verify the legend. Don Henley immediately replied by fax (there was no emails, texts or such back then), “I can tell you unequivocally that neither myself nor any of the other band members have had any sort of association – business or pleasure – with that establishment.”

Oh SIGH!

Of course – I only found this out after my visit.

Nevertheless.

It was a fine boutique hotel. Extremely colorful lobby. Charming gift shop, bar, and courtyards. The colors were from the very warm and vibrant palette only found in Mexico.

It was about 4pm and there was impromptu tango in the hotel lobby. Everyone was having fun. And who care’s that Don Henley hadn’t been there. It’s still a worthwhile place to visit while you’re in Cabo.

I wonder how many women he's delighted and danced with?

A painter spilled all his paint and used broad strokes to turn it into art

Intricate door in Hotel California courtyard

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