DON'T DELAY

Toronto, Ontario, Canada
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!



I like to think that my group of friends is pretty diverse, but the one thing I have in common with the vast majority of them, over anything else, would have to be the love of travel. We all share it. It's hard for me to think of any of my friends who don't love to travel. I suppose this isn't the most strange thing that could ever be, after all travel is the most amazing thing we can do in this world.



I truly can not understand how anybody would want to miss out on a chance to see every corner of this great planet we live on. There is so much diversity, so many amazing cultures, traditions, people and places to discover. I know this both from my personal experiences and the experiences of the people around me. Be them my friends from home who bring their stories back, or the fellow nomads I meet along the way who carry a world of stories within them, I love to hear personal accounts of all the places I know I want to go, and the ones I want to go to now that I've heard about them.



There is no experience as real, or as important, as meeting the people you share this planet with. I think if we all put travel high on our list of priorities, no matter the level of luxury (although I think budget travel should be a pre-requisite for life), the world would be a better place. We should all be able to learn about other people's traditions with curiosity and interest and without prejudice. Easily one of the things I'm most proud of, in my life, is the list of places in this big, beautiful world that I have seen. Many of them I hope to see again but the planet is a big place and there is a lot of amazing ground to cover.



Having said that, this huge planet is actually a very small world. Travel teaches us that better than anything. I have yet to go on a long trip and not bump into someone I know or someone with whom I share a mutual friend or occurrence (which says nothing for the people I meet who are from my country or city). It's an indescribable experience to travel the world (especially solo). It's not something you can ever truly understand until you do it. True it's not cheap, but it can likely be cheaper then you first imagine a huge trip to be, and there is nothing wrong with keeping the trip in close proximity to home if that's all you can afford at that time. The important thing is to just get out there! AS SOON AS POSSIBLE



Throughout this entry are some of my favourite pictures from my trip. Top to bottom.
1. Orchids at the farm just outside Antigua, Guatemala
2. Glass bottles encorporated into a wall just outside the Weary Traveller Hostel in Tulum, Mexico
3. Just so I know how far away I am from home, in the Carribean on Caye Caulker, Belize
4. At the top of the smoking Pacaya Volcano just outside Antigua, Guatemala
5. Ignacios cabanas at daybreak on the eastern shore of Caye Caulker, Belize
6. A traditionally dressed Guatemalan woman at the Sunday market at Chichicastenengo, Guatemala
7. I couldn't leave this without a picture from Costa Rica. It was a tough choice but Elvia wins out. This was taken on my last morning in Mal Pais at her family restaurant. We actually spent a lot of time with Elvia. She is one of hte most inspiring people I've ever met. She's 12 years old.





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TO ONE OF THOSE SPECIAL FRIENDS WHO IS CURRENTLY ABROAD!

I finally got an email from my friend Glen today. He's been in Europe since September and I miss him terribly. i am also very happy that he's having such a great time. His list of countries is growing rapidly and there's still no definite word as to when we may see him back on this side of the pond again. I'mjust glad he's happy and enjoying all that Europe has to offer. He sent me a few pictures and it was so great to see how he's doing. I guess I finally got the email after sending threatening "communicate with me" messages to him via our friend Jeremy who is over there visiting him this week. In all honesty we've boht been neglecting our communications lately but we've also both been on the road for most that time learning new things, meeting new people and seeing new places. So, I'm just glad to have heard from him and hope that either on this side or that one I'll see him again sometime soon. I wanted to post a couple pictures, of myself and Jeremy, taken specifically for Glen as we chatted about him at a wrap party about a month ago. We miss you much Glen Diggy! xoxoxo




WE MISS YOU MUCH BUDDY!

APOCALYPSE NOW...HMM?

June 6, 2006 (6/6/06)
Collingwood, Ontario, Canada (C/O/C)

Okay, so today's date is apparently a signal of the apocalypse, or even the beginning. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Firstly, I feel there have been many apocalyptic signs in recent years; September 11, 2001, December 26, 2004, August 29, 2005 all the dates on which I consider having seen some signs of the apocalypse. Immense human, environmental and even political devastation. So then why should some random date be a sign? Well that begs the answer "duh, it's 666", but I take a slight issue with that answer only because, using my highly tuned justification skills, I could argue that the date is actually more 6606 than 666. Again, I realize that being as it's the year 06 and zeros are nil, meaning nothing meaning a clear space in the date and 666. I guess I just figure that the fact that it's a date is kind of the reason the zero is actually completely important and valid to the overall date. I mean technically there was once an actually 6/6/6, 2000 years later it seems that was not the day of the apocalypse, but then what do I know? At 26 years old, clearly I wasn't around then.

So, to all the beautiful little Gemini babies who are born today (and even those who are just celebrating), fear not the day you were born and enjoy it to the fullest for years to come. I'm happy to say I've enjoyed my day very much and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ALL!!