When departing for a trip, the very first vacation photo you must always take is of your car with the sign in the background showing where in the parking lot you left it. Bear in mind that some parking lots have stupid systems. For instance, at the long term economy...
Activities / Nature / Tropics
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published December 8, 2015 · Last modified December 7, 2015
With my face in the water I can hear nothing but the sound of my own breathing. I am enveloped in a peaceful, tranquil, blue world. One filled with sea turtles. A lot of people talk about what a fantastic experience it is to swim with dolphins. Admittedly, the idea...
Facts & Trivia / Miscellaneous
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published December 4, 2015 · Last modified November 24, 2015
Throughout all the islands of the West Indies, there are laws prohibiting anyone from buying, selling, owning or wearing any article of camouflage clothing. I forgot to mention this to my daughter and did not notice as we flew into Trinidad that she was wearing camouflage cargo shorts. They apparently...
Adventure / Modes of Transport / Nature / Off-the-beaten-path / USA / Wandering
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published December 1, 2015 · Last modified November 24, 2015
“Look straight down,” the balloonist told us, “you see that dirt road that kind of squiggles off to the left? If you were to follow it down into that canyon you’d end up at a bunch of dinosaur fossils.” “Real fossils?” “Yes. Still embedded in the rocks. There’s a walking...
Adventure / Facts & Trivia / Nature / Tropics
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published November 27, 2015 · Last modified November 17, 2015
Most people have a fairly romantic notion of swimming beneath a waterfall. I’ve done it. More than once. You’ve probably never given this much thought but there are different types of waterfalls. When fantasizing about swimming under a waterfall, most people think about what’s called a free-standing waterfall. That’s where...
Like everyone else, I have preferences but as a rule, I’m not brand loyal. Not to airlines, not to hotels, not to gas stations, not to websites… pretty much not to anything. Sometimes that might hurt me but most of the time it serves me quite well. I belong to...
Practically everyone has a tale of lost luggage. Mine includes a $90 bottle of 10 year old rum, some contraband coffee beans, smuggled fruit and foreign currency. Our first trip to the islands of the West Indies was a great adventure! My daughter and I toured a 16th century sugar...
With the tropical rainforest canopy stretching overhead, our guide Brandon pointed out different species of trees to the dozen or so of us in his group. As he did, he casually raised his walking stick into the air and jabbed it into a large black bulb in the side of...
I’ve always had a knack for making birthdays and holidays special. Even when getting caught up in the materialistic, consumer culture of America, I still tried to put my own special twist on it. On literally the day my daughter was born we had a “zero birthday” party for her....
by Jeffrey Kontur · Published November 10, 2015 · Last modified November 17, 2015
In this 2nd installment of looking at how I plan great trips on the cheap, I will show what happens when I’m forced to take a completely different approach. Martiniqué, West Indies – January 2016 People traveling: 2 Length of Trip: 6 days Destinations: 3 Total combined cost: $961 The trip to...