tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23438238762806474872011-11-28T13:09:39.417-08:00Traditional black and white photographer.Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-61487256135576219722011-11-16T21:53:00.000-08:002011-11-17T12:53:08.078-08:00

Morocco in 1990 & the Morocco now are worlds apart! Still every bit as exotic & mystical though but much less daunting for the Westerner. On my first visit, with my travel buddy Sara, we arrived for the beginning of Ramadan, the month-long fast, a bit weary, but excited, about our new adventure destination. Since we came from mainland Spain, we took a ferry from Algeciras to Ceuta. (Ceuta

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-49611421545548849412011-09-15T21:01:00.000-07:002011-09-16T13:19:25.789-07:00

Very recently (last month) I went to back to Trinidad, my "home" country. Lots of great new adventures but this is not why I'm writing. From Canada, going to Trinidad is a long trip which includes arriving in Port-of-Spain at odd hours. Therefore I chose to spend a night in Miami to arrive in Trinidad's capital at a decent hour. So, after landing in Miami, I was looking for the hotel

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-30691168359684880202011-03-23T18:15:00.000-07:002011-09-16T13:09:33.489-07:00

One of my wishes when I was a kid was to see African animals in their natural environment. I was in a hostel in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, when I met someone who made my wish come true. He had the bakkie (truck, 4x4), the tent, all the camping equipment & was looking for someone to share the costs with.  I quickly said: "Yes, please!". We spent 7-8 days in Hwange National Park & 1 day

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-49684543596677185772010-12-18T22:05:00.000-08:002010-12-27T12:52:32.424-08:00

Mac & his dog in front of part of his tree house. Moz 1997. Me staying at an out-of-town hotel on the border town of Zimbabwe, called Mutare, led me to spend 7 days in a tree house in the middle of the Mozambican jungle. Stuff one only dream of but, on that day, it really happened to me. This man called Mac, was giving me a lift into town when he asked if I wanted to spend 7 days in Mozambique.

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-88628839145292311622010-04-20T12:36:00.000-07:002010-04-20T13:03:52.470-07:00

Sara & I decided to go fruit picking in Norway, mainly on a whim.  We had heard from a friend that it was not only possible but also could be good money. Having  no money, we decided to hitchhike there. The easiest way was to hitch to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and take a ferry across to Bergen.  When we got there, after many  adventures, (like sleeping on someone's  living room floor in Newcastle.),

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-34949036676559103452010-01-04T16:09:00.000-08:002010-01-04T16:09:12.515-08:00

How I ended up in Hawaii is quite a story. Sara had convinced me to go to Australia with her (I was easily convinced!). Since we were flying from Los Angeles, USA, we took a 4days & 4nights  bus trip from Montreal to LA. Many adventures along the way. We stopped to sleep in Chicago, Las Vegas (but we didn't get much sleep there!) and Denver. Our flight included a 2 days stop-over in Hawaii. On

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-38785216390398938332009-10-05T20:29:00.000-07:002009-10-05T20:29:13.484-07:00

Growing up,  I was taught to be scared of hitch-hiking by society in general and, of course, those horror movies like "The Hitch-Hiker". Therefore the very first time I tried it, I was very scared. It was in Germany, on the outskirts of Cologne, with a "seasonned" friend. She did all the "work".  Gabriele & I also hitched our way to Amsterdam to meet a sweet Swedish friend of mine. Call me

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-80630162881633897542009-09-08T16:30:00.000-07:002009-09-08T16:55:17.768-07:00

Sara and I were going to Australia for 1 year. (minimum!) Since we were flying from Los Angeles, we took buses from Montreal, Canada, to LA. It was a 5-day trip, full of adventures. We made 3 stop-overs to sleep in a real bed: Chicago, Las Vegas and Denver. What I want to talk about today is about our stay in Las Vegas. It was day-time when the bus rolled-in town. Day-time Las Vegas is quite

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-12198466254318384682009-08-13T15:03:00.001-07:002009-08-13T17:40:53.021-07:00

Sorry it's been a while. Lots of excuses but my best excuse is: it's been a crazy last couple of months with all the Birthdays!New-Zealand:The first thing that strucked me when I got in the airport is how British it is! The police wear the same ridiculous hats as English bobbies!But this is not the story I want to relate. You can find out more in the book I'm writing about my 19 years of travel/

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-57753722009898386772009-05-29T19:00:00.001-07:002010-04-13T16:58:34.427-07:00

I was looking for a pic of them but have none, so I found this unrelated pic of a Rye bottleshop in England. This is a band that I discovered (actually someone brought me to see them!) back in March or April 1989. It's the kind of band that if you feel blue, you go see them and you feel great! They were playing every Sunday at Elephant & Castle pub in London. There were 5 members and many

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-42624393392821075062009-05-09T13:35:00.000-07:002009-05-29T18:59:56.730-07:00

The restaurant started life in the basement of The Pembridge Hotel in 1989. It was runned by 2 young South Africans: Anton and Jonatan.I was part of the cleaning-before-opening process and started as a waitress. I made a poor waitress. After a tiff, I was quickly put Head of salad bar kitchen. That was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. I was in charge of making the cold starters, the desserts

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-29983876693985592212009-04-29T16:49:00.001-07:002009-05-09T13:34:50.673-07:00

What can I say about the Pembridge hotel, or where do I start? The location: Bayswater, London, UK.It was where I started my real life. It was a Backpacker's than a "proper" hotel, full of young travellers like me, broke and eager to explore the world. How I got there? A long story (of which I will explain more in the book I'm writing) but here's the jist. I was living in Germany and after 1 1/2

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-51868622708322293702009-03-26T15:06:00.000-07:002009-03-26T17:44:29.624-07:00

Travis with his dog, Simonton, in front of his house. (Taken with a polaroid cam.)After, Sara and I returned from Jamaica, Sara returned to Canada to pursue her studies. I stayed back in Fort Lauderdale. I just worked long enough (10 days) to make some money to get out of there.I met a

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-79212399161726369502009-03-24T17:37:00.000-07:002009-03-24T17:41:46.097-07:00

I just added a "widget" that makes it really easy to follow my blog. It's on the side bar, near the bottom. So don't be shy and travel with me!For more photos, visit my Flickr stream, the link is at the top on the side bar.

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-11213730036344300532009-03-10T12:22:00.000-07:002009-03-12T16:42:18.731-07:00

I don't have any pictures of my Hasselblad 500CM but here's a photo taken with it, taken circa 1987.For those who don't know, a Hasselblad is the Rolls Royce of the medium format camera and it's expensive. How I came to own one is not the story here. When I started to travel, I brought it along with me. In the late 80s, I was living in London, England, in a youth hostel. I kept it locked in the

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-87706731224953028812009-02-15T13:17:00.000-08:002009-02-15T15:55:13.534-08:00

Our host "Chest" and his friend "Froggy". 1993As soon as our Jamaican friend in Ottawa found out we (Sara & I) wanted to go a Jamaica, he sent us to his village, Central Village, between Kingston and Spanish Town. (locals call it "Spain".)As soon as we arrived at Kingston airport, we knew we were in for quite a "ride"!Since our guest didn't know we were coming yet, he wasn't there to meet us.

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-53205230369322299342008-12-26T17:01:00.000-08:002009-02-14T14:29:36.322-08:00

After my amazing experience at Notting Hill Carnival in London, England, I wanted to experience it's inspiration Carnival in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.Carnival in Trinidad is not a 2-day thing like in London- it's a 2 month-long of festivities and for some (if not most), it's a year-long thing!All of the competitions and fetes (parties) starts immediately after Christmas.There's the Capypso "tents"

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-30336371576325793242008-12-09T12:57:00.000-08:002008-12-26T17:11:38.289-08:00

I'm getting away from my usual travel stories just to let you know that I'm flavor of the day in The International Analogue Photographic Society on this great wide planet better known as the internet.The address is " http://www.thiaps.com/ and a way to wish you all a Happy Holidays! Hélène

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-4258210094678606632008-12-02T17:32:00.000-08:002009-02-16T16:07:44.160-08:00

On my first visit to Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), I wound up in this charming fishing village at the end of Tobago island .It was a classic case of "love at first sight", and I hadn't even set a foot in the village yet. I had a lovely rustic old house up on the hill over-looking the village. I was the lucky first "tourist" to stay in that former home turned into a rent house. How I got it? I

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-81875154355552319242008-11-11T13:50:00.000-08:002008-11-13T15:14:17.222-08:00

I was living in a backpackers in Bayswater, London, England in my early 20s. It was close to Hyde Park, so one morning, very early (6 am I think), I got up and went to the park in search of photos. I met this man and we had a very long conversation until another homeless man came with a bottle of vodka and some orange juice. I moved on when they both got too drunk and weren't fun anymore. Another

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-25944651256723046382008-10-26T12:46:00.000-07:002008-11-14T13:29:18.457-08:00

RITD was owned by Anton, a friend of mine, met years previously in a London backpackers and it was the coolest musie venue/pool bar/pizza joint in Capetown in the late 90s!I worked for him some nights behind the bar in the downstairs music venue, where local bands played. (some great, others not-so great) It was THE place to hear the local talent and the beginning place of many bands.Other nights

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-89625823219807382712008-10-16T08:21:00.000-07:002008-10-26T12:46:33.936-07:00

It happened in South Africa, in Ficksburg to be more precise, near the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho.I had been travelling all day by mini-bus (local buses) from Durban via PieterMaritzburg, Ladysmith, Harrismith, Kwakwa to arrived in Ficksburg after sundown. I was a bit uneasy because it was in the "African" part of town and I had no idea where to go. I needed worry because as soon as I step out

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-30173743263598516102008-10-08T16:17:00.001-07:002008-10-14T17:45:57.373-07:00

This time I will derail from talking about my travel stories to talk about the artist that influenced my youth.I think I was 13 or 14 years old when I first saw HIM in concert, on the insistence of my cousin. I did not know much of Peter Gabriel's music being an avid fan of "old" Genesis.I remember during that first concert (his 2nd solo-meaning sin-Genesis.) during the song "Lay your hands on

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-47457763948073296622008-09-25T20:15:00.000-07:002008-09-25T21:18:14.262-07:00

This is one of THE most incredible travel experiences of my short life!!! (ok not that short anymore!)Sara & I were in the beginning of a 3 month stay in her uncle's "villa" in sunny Andalucia. We soon got bored with lounging around and decided to go to Portugal. Because we had no money, we decided to hitch-hike there. After a cold February night in '90 sleeping on a beach (remember we had no

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-54011985289950413832008-09-16T14:27:00.001-07:002008-09-17T21:12:39.566-07:00

"...the funship, so much fun on the one ship...."It started when in Sydney, Australia. Sara and I were looking for a way to return to Fiji. We answered an ad and started working on the Fairstar on its next voyage. The ship had 5 bars, a hairdressing shop, a shop, a pool, 2 dinning rooms, a discotheque and I'm forgetting what else. Sounds exotic and fun? Probably was for the passengers. Being a

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-27733379812984304072008-09-05T10:38:00.000-07:002008-09-05T11:10:02.017-07:00

It was on my first trip to Europe that I encountered my first castle: the Dover castle in England. I arrived in England by boat. My first view was of the white cliffs of Dover. I remember a man (bloke) gave me a lift from the pier to the town and he had a good laugh when I wanted to get in the car on the wrong side. I had forgotten that in England, everything was on "the other side". I was

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-46648381725935005782008-09-01T18:48:00.000-07:002008-09-04T10:51:38.286-07:00

I just have to speak about it some more and tell you the story of our stay in Uluibau village on Moturiki island. We spent 3 marvelous weeks, living with these people. We mostly did not much but also participated in daily life chores. Watching the women and kids fishing on low tide was magical. They run in circle with a net, when it's together, they proceed to run in all directions hitting the

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-4975967309902607552008-08-25T19:51:00.000-07:002008-08-25T20:31:21.982-07:00

South Pacific islands. Those words immediately conjure images of tropical paradise in everyone's mind. Well, it is. It's incredibly beautiful: coconut tree-filled islands with crystal-clear turquoise seas and white, endless sandy beaches. What hit me as soon as I stepped off the airplane was the sweet smell in the air. I later discovered that the sweet smell is the coconut oil, infused with wild

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-52005833527205459722008-08-17T17:29:00.000-07:002008-08-17T17:57:48.172-07:00

Before I go on with some of my most memorable travel experiences, I should tell you how it all started....well, not from the very beginning, that would take too long, but how I met my travel buddy during my second trip to Europe. I had been living in London, England since April 1989 when I met Sara a few months later. We met when sharing a big 8-bed dorm, nicknamed "The Tree House", in the

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-53994727518255309262008-08-08T18:59:00.000-07:002008-08-08T19:22:25.202-07:00

Better known as Victoria Falls.How I got there is another long story. While in Zimbabwe, I hooked up with Kiwi, Peter "Thinking-all-the-time" Johnson. He had transport (a bakkie), camping equipment, and needed someone to share the costs with. We spent a few turbulent days in Hwange National Park and drove to Vic Falls for a day. What a breathtaking sight! This is the falls that

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-87360228872119777772008-07-21T18:54:00.001-07:002008-12-12T19:55:06.765-08:00

The first time I saw the sea, I was 11 or 12 yo. It was actually the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. Although we went to Disneyland, I was totally mesmerized by the sea. It made such an impact on me that, upon my return, at school we had to write a poem on anything we liked. I choose to write mine about the sea. What can I say? It calms me, make me feel like I can do anything I want. It erases the

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-10692946436119431742008-07-13T20:24:00.000-07:002008-12-12T19:55:07.086-08:00

Mélodie is my 3 y.o. Godaugther. Her B'day is actually on the 15th but since it's the middle of the week and her parents r in the middle of moving house.....She had so many gifts that she kept asking if it was hers 4 every single one! Too cute! She's only 3 but looks like she's 4 or 5, she's so tall....but I guess that's her parents fault cos they r both so tall! About 2 go make the icing and

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343823876280647487.post-30047608848086450342008-07-08T20:44:00.000-07:002008-12-12T19:55:07.307-08:00

Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare, IrelandI'm new here so I thought I would start out with answering a little questionnaire. Here it goes:Initially I wanted to be...an air stewardess.My favorite music is... reggae.My favorite movie is...Pulp Fiction.My favorite TV shows are...Alf, Weeds and Spaced.My favorite food is...Caribbean food like buljol with coconut bake.I am

Elenihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02753681911188217584noreply@blogger.com2