Part 1: Going to California Part 2: The Baja Bus Part 3: Wayward Journeys Part 4: Ciudad de Mexico Part 5: The Golden Key Sporting a Yuca-Tan Somewhere along the Mexican trail, as my friends back home froze their asses off, I lost sight of my goal: a beach lapped by azure waters. The journey to Yucatan was to get back on track, to the Caribbean, do some snorkelling, hang on the beach, stare at some bikinis ... the whole nine yards. Due west from Jamaica, over the horizon fro

by Elaine Weeks Nadi, Fiji, August, 15, 1986 A FALSE START “Sir!  Please, come with me for lovely view and pool!  Very cheap!” “Bula! How about you come to my place for nice relaxing time?” “Madame, please, come to my hotel!” Waving hotel flyers, a throng of touts make a bee-line towards Chris and I as we drag our gear out of Customs and Immigration. Pink and purple sky glowing through the open walls of the airport lobby remind us how little sleep we’d managed in the past 24

“The wild places are where we began.  When they end, so do we.” David Brower, Friends of the Earth Sumatra: the sixth largest island in the world. Sumatra has a wide range of plant and animal species but has lost almost 50% of its tropical rainforest since we visited in 1987. Visions dancing in our head: tigers, elephants, rhinoceros, and the orang-utans, along with deep jungles, sand beaches; smoking volcanoes; a wild place unencumbered by man. So we thought... We were desp

Elaine Weeks “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making plans" John Lennon In 1996, we had an opportunity to establish a business in a (then) booming SE Asian economy. Here’s a small part of what happened to us: When my husband and I married, we celebrated with a year- long honeymoon backpacking adventure around the world. Eleven years later, we welcomed an opportunity to again explore Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. But this time we would not be alone: our two c

My love affair with travel began at an early age; in this tale, I am only 17 years old, bit hard by the travel bug. Escaping the Ice Age- if only temporarily! Back in my high school days, Florida was the place to be during the traditional March school break – if you had the cash! The hot spot was Fort Lauderdale aka Fort Liquordale; rumour had it the beach was long, the sand white, the water blue, the babes bikinied- a place where like-minded students partied all night. As I