Mariachis and mescal
The first time ever I heard a mariachi sing was at a dinner club in Guadalajara, Mexico. I was seated in the front row surrounding a raised wooden stage and every time the mariachi stomped his cowboy boot, I’d feel vibrations ripple across the stage down into my toes. He sang of love, loss and betrayal and looked straight into my eyes. It didn’t matter to me that he was portly, wore a shiny, sequinned shirt and big sombrero, by the end of the first set I was madly in love. My swooning turned out to be the beginning of a bout of food poisoning and I spent the remainder of...
Read MoreGuatemala coffee…for a great cause
If you’re in Toronto and love a great cup of coffee, then it’s worth ordering authentic Guatemalan coffee from my pal, Ken McGuffin who, in addition to his mega media relations job at the Rotman School of Management has also managed to build a school in the highlands of Guatemala. You can read about his school-building activities in his Guatemala School Project blog or follow him on Twitter @schoolproject. Mayan girl near Coban About the coffee. It’s $10 for a 300 g bag and comes in a medium roast or a dark roast and in beans or ground. Café Justicia is Fair...
Read More5 unforgettable experiences during Day of the Dead in Guatemala
1) Explore a Kite Festival: Guatemalans believe the barrier between the realms of the living and the dead is at its most porous on Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) and the All Saints Day (Día de los Santos), so it’s an auspicious time to communicate with family ancestors by attaching messages to barriletes (kites) and letting the wind carry the messages up to the heavens. The best places to see these ceremonial kites are the barriletes fiestas held on November 1st in the central highlands near Santiago Sacatepéquez and Sumpango. 2) Eat a Special Breakfast: Day of the Dead...
Read MoreMexico on $25 a day
The first time I went to Mexico it was on a budget of $5 a day. We slept on Mismaloya beach, caught our own fish and bought fruit from a street vendor. Now, a swanky hotel has taken over the beach and $5 just gets you a cold Coca Cola. It might be tempting to think that the days of a budget Mexico vacation are gone, but it’s still possible to have a fabulous vacation for under $25 a day. Head south to Puerto Escondido and you”ll be rewarded with prices that are more 1980′s that 2011. Here’s how to do it: Sleep: Thanks to the surfing crowd, there’s...
Read MoreThe Ultimate Toolkit for Culinary Adventurers
I never knew Bob Blumer, the superstar host of the Food Network’s The Surreal Gourmet and I had much in common (except for my secret musings that he’d have made a good love match for my travel writing friend Wandering Carol ), until I found out that he often travels with a bottle of Tabasco hot sauce. It’s on my packing list too. For me, the best culinary adventures are all about discovery. Whether it’s a bottle of Waupoos apple cider from Prince Edward County, a spicy noodle dish at the night market in Kuala Lumpur or a luscious first-press olive oil in Spain...
Read MoreConfessions of a food smuggler
With the holidays coming up, I decided it was time to clean out my kitchen cupboards. What I found was a culinary snapshot of my year of travels. There was a tin of laver bread (seaweed) from Wales, a jar of smoked mussels from the Magdalen Islands, a chunk of rather scary-looking Cap Rond Jeune cheese from Quebec City and some still-fragrant nutmeg from Grenada. Many people come home from their trips laden with exotic home decor or other souvenir items. Me, I carry home food and booze. When I hit the streets in a foreign country, my itinerary always includes a stop at a local supermarket or...
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Wandering Carol
In 2003, I left the corporate world to try my hand at travel writing. Now, I travel the world, writing about people, places and cuisine. My writing has appeared in over 100 publications and anthologies. 
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