A Travel Blog by Katie Chavez
The first time Malapascua Island in the Philippines popped up on my radar was when a British expat, who lived on the island and owned one of the dive shops, was murdered there. This didn’t stop me wanting to visit, but it could be one of the reasons why my time there felt clouded with […] Read more…
Maybe I would have felt differently about Koh Tao had I not been sick. But maybe not. Sairee beach on Koh Tao was the first place I stayed in Thailand that lived up to the bad stereotypes. It was overrun with young, drunk teenage backpackers, tourist bars blaring annoying pop music, rotten-smelling streets that were […] Read more…
I always suspected that Kauai, known as the Garden Island, might end up being my favorite Hawaiian Island. It was a sneaking suspicion based solely on what others had to say about it. It was the greenest island. It has the most beautiful beaches. It is more laid back and less touristy than the other […] Read more…
My time on Hornby Island should have been different. I envisioned lying on the famous white sand beach and swimming in the clear waters of Tribune Bay. Hiking through the temperate rainforest and enjoying carefree summer days on a beautiful island paradise. Unfortunately my experience there couldn’t have been further from what I imagined. It […] Read more…
It was hard choosing an island to visit during our short four day stay in tropical North Queensland. Really hard. First World problems, I know. On one hand there was Green Island, a sand island with white sand beaches and offshore snorkeling. Then there was the larger, mountainous Fitzroy Island with its rainforest walking trails […] Read more…
I had been excited to visit Key West ever since I heard that it is full of social outcasts that don’t fit in anywhere else in the US. It even has the nickname ‘Key Weird’. People are accepted here for who they are, eccentricities and all, and that appealed to me. Along with the island’s […] Read more…
Volunteering on Denman Island only became part of our plans at the last minute because of our bad experience at Osoyoos. It is funny how the unplanned parts of your travels, and in life in general, can sometimes turn out to be the most satisfying. After arriving by ferry from Vancouver to Nanaimo on Vancouver […] Read more…
Prince Edward Island is famed for its beautiful beaches, abundant seafood, bucolic farmland, red soil and cliffs and of course: Anne of Green Gables. I never read the books myself but obviously a lot of people did as everywhere you look in PEI there is some reference to Anne. In fact the main reason that […] Read more…
Our first glimpse of Belize was our 30 minute stop on Ambergris Caye to clear Customs and Immigration. It is the first country I have been to where you can go through Customs with bare feet; the building is a shed and the floor is sand. On arrival on Caye Caulker, we were greeted by […] Read more…