I recently returned from a quick trip to Cuba. As with any new destination, I tried to do as much research as possible in advance. I was surprised with how much outdated, contradictory, or intentionally misleading content exists on the subject of traveling to Cuba as an American. So, for this trip tip, I’m going…
View MoreSo, it’s illegal right? Nope – see my other post about legally traveling to Cuba. What about money? The money situation in Cuba is a mess for tourists and Cubans alike. For Americans, there’s one extra bit of hassle – you won’t be able to access your US bank through ATMs or credit cards, so…
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You should visit Reunion Island because it’s a jaw-droppingly gorgeous destination for adventure with a unique cultural background and hints of European character. Reunion is a wild collection of interesting facts – the furthest east you can go in the European Union, reached via the longest domestic flight in the world. It’s barely visited by…
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I recently returned from a quick trip to Cuba. I’ll be doing some separate trip tips about the logistics of such a trip, but for now I wanted to capture some memories of the experience. This was a “see it before our politics make it harder” trip, and I came away with a much deeper…
View MoreOn our trip to Reunion Island, we shot 2,039 photos. That kind of volume can be a challenge to deal with. While you can certainly go deep on photo management, there are a few basics every traveler should square away. Pay the Tax Whether you’re an Apple iPhone user, or you’re in the Android ecosystem,…
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This post is part of a series called Reunion Island 2024 We’re headed home, this time for real! I’m writing from our flight to Paris – success! Yesterday, for our last day on the island, we went out for a little hike, and explored Saint Denis a bit more. The city still isn’t fully up…
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This post is part of a series called Reunion Island 2024 (Here’s the story of the hurricane) The storm really got going around 4 or 5am yesterday – I was really glad we had shutters on our window, which made it seem a lot less threatening. Around 9, we wandered down to the dining room…
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This post is part of a series called Reunion Island 2024 (’cause a hard rain’s a-gonna fall) Within the admittedly somewhat skewed grading curve we’re operating on, today went well. We’re in Saint-Denis in the north, hopefully ready to ride out the storm. Neither of us slept particularly well last night – there was a…
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This post is part of a series called Reunion Island 2024 Today was a bit of a washout. We woke up to beautiful sunny skies and enjoyed our last (we thought) morning on Reunion. Ominously, around 6am I got a WhatsApp message from our Airbnb host letting us know about a cyclone approaching the island….
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This post is part of a series called Reunion Island 2024 Our second to last day on Reunion, and our last scheduled activity – rock climbing at Piton Maïdo. This was another booking with Olivier from Adventures Reunion, but this time it was a private booking – just the two of us. We left the…
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This post is part of a series called Reunion Island 2024 Technically not a bridge but rather a meadow, but it turns out the answer is yes. Today we went paragliding! Paragliding happens all over Reunion, but the real hotspot is Saint Leu, with a landing zone right next to the Kelonia turtle sanctuary. Before…
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This post is part of a series called Reunion Island 2024 (Actually, our alarm was set for 1:30am, but as an elder millennial I couldn’t resist the Simpsons reference.) Today we hiked the “Trois Salazes” with Adventures Reunion. This is going to be one of those nights where I stay up late waiting for photos…
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This post is part of a series called Reunion Island 2024 When you travel to a volcano with a geologist, there are days that are going to be about rocks. Like, lots of rocks. (before we get into the day – all the comments for this trip were gummed up in WordPress, I wasn’t trying…
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This post is part of a series called Reunion Island 2024 Today we wanted to get up into the mountains, to get a better sense (and view) of the island. The ever-trusty (though not always trustworthy) AllTrails had pointed us to a hike across three volcanos, with about 2500 feet of elevation gain over an…
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This post is part of a series called Reunion Island 2024 Today was a “getting our bearings” day – a chance to explore and get a sense of the island. A vibe check as the kids say. We started our day off with coffee and fruit overlooking the ocean. So that was ok. After a…
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This post is part of a series called Reunion Island 2024 Even though Minnesota isn’t giving us much in the way of winter this year, it still seemed like good practice to get away from the cold and gray for a little bit. So, after a couple long travel days, we’re on Reunion Island, a…
View MoreThis is the time of year when a lot of us think about putting together photo books of our trips. Every December, I collect all of our travel blog posts from the past year, along with some photos, and print a single copy. It’s a fun thing to have on the bookshelf to flip through…
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Hiring a driver for a day, or a few days, can be a time- and money-saving way to get around while traveling. But lots of folks don’t do it, because it’s one area of travel that hasn’t (yet) been fully app-ified. Why Hire a Driver? Obviously services like Uber, Bolt and DiDi make it easy…
View MoreI love shopping for bags. In part, that’s because no bag is totally perfect, so you’re always on the lookout for something just a little bit better. My go-to travel setup is a 40L Lowe Alpine bag that I’ve had for 25 years, and a 22L ultralight daypack from Gregory. I think this is basically…
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