La Mariscal: The place where gringos hang out

December 9, 2011 | 2 Comments

It was peak winter in Dombivli, my hometown on the outskirts of Mumbai, India. It was a particularly cold winter, I remember vividly, with temperatures falling to 7ºC at night. In Mumbai, this was unheard of and people were falling sick because nobody is prepared for such weather. I had to wear a sweater, haha...
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December 2, 2011 | 4 Comments

Niagara on the lake, a little town on the southern shores of Lake Ontario, close to Niagara Falls, is very colourful. Besides the fact that it’s fall (I visited this place earlier this year) and nature is at its colorful best, it’s the variety of stores and brightly painted storefronts that are making the town cheerful. I see a little girl, a toddler really, picking up a red maple leaf from the ground and showing it to her mommy. The mother, expressing her admiration, lifts the baby up and wipes her hands clean. The child wants the leaf bac...
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December 1, 2011 | 10 Comments

I spent a quiet evening here, sitting on different benches under leafy trees that cover the plaza, eating foamy meringue with strawberries, taking pictures and watching life go by. Sometimes, as a traveller, I feel far removed and distant from the reality of people who are, say, leaving from work to go home, or a group of friends huddled together, or kids running behind the balloon man and their mom's running after them. Back in Toronto, I would be immersed in a generic routine like this, too busy to watch and observe life...
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November 26, 2011 | 7 Comments

After I was sufficiently cold, wet and had hurled enough curses at Indra the god of rain, it stopped raining. (Try saying, “Stop messing around with the ladies, don’t you have anything else to do?”) And a car appeared, giving me a sympathetic look. Thus, the conditions of making me miserable had been satisfied and I got a ride back to the town of Cotacachi by late afternoon...
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November 25, 2011 | 2 Comments

I wake up early in the morning and go out to see this little town of Khurutang, near Punakha. The sky is cloudy and the wind is gentle. A ray of sun occasionally pierces through the blanket of fog, suddenly lighting up the golden spire on top of a building. It looks mysterious, almost like a Hitchcock movie plot, so I walk in that direction. ...
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November 23, 2011 | 2 Comments

Early in the morning bakers all over Cayambe wake up to mix wheat flour, sugar, margarine, yeast and a bit of salt. Then, they let the dough rise for about an hour before they begin kneading and stretching it to cut it into little pieces that are neatly lined on baking sheets. On average, a bizcocho shop bakes between 1,500 and 2,000 pieces a day, so you can get warm, out-of-the-oven bizcochos any time of day...
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November 21, 2011 | 7 Comments

Quito, as you may know, is located in a valley surrounded by mountains and peaks on all sides. In addition, the city has some tall structures from where the views are breathtaking.

1. Basílica del Voto Nacional – atop steep stairs and rickety planks
2. “TeleferiQo” – on the flanks of Volcano Pichincha
3. El Panecillo – from inside the virgin of Quito
4. Itchimbía – the other side...
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November 17, 2011 | 9 Comments

35 million passengers used this airport in 2010, making it the 12th busiest in USA. Most of the traffic occurs on concourse D also called the “north terminal”, and a hub for American Airlines. Typical layovers are 3-6 hours long, which can be a bit too long to kill.

Here are some free things you could do to keep yourself entertained...
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