Travel Blog

Puerto Rico’s street art scene I think that few people really ever enjoy the street art scene in Puerto Rico. San Juan in of itself, has some great works by some very renown artists. One of the things that I noticed a lot was there are many works that are attempting to beautify areas of the city that are otherwise …

Driving in Puerto Rico and the Various Alternatives Should you? Transportation in Puerto Rico and Tips for Getting Around the Island I recently spent 8 months living in Puerto Rico. I know that a lot of Americans, and other foreigners, would ask lots of questions about getting around Puerto Rico via public transportation and/or driving around the island, riding a …

An Alternative Hostel Etiquette Article Well I am back on writing articles about my experiences working in a hostel. I started my series on hostel management some time ago and have a decent amount to add to it yet. I haven’t added to it for a while due to a slight lack of time, but I’ll likely be back-writing articles as I …

25 Things to do in San Juan Puerto Rico San Juan is by default Puerto Rico‘s most visited city. As a capital city with a bustling international airport, San Juan receives tourists by the droves annually. The city also makes for a great hub for those wishing to get around the island and it is often a starting and/or finishing …

A Quick Refresher Lesson in Why I Travel The other day I had a wonderful discussion with someone that I thought I would share. The person, a middle-aged man who has lived the better half of his life as a nomad. He grew up as an expat child and continued on from there. Traveling is, as he put it, in …

Street Food in Puerto Rico Food is an important aspect in all areas of the world. Puerto Rico is no exception. Since I came to Puerto Rico, I’ve learned one important thing: Puerto Ricans take their food seriously. The food is never fried and always healthy. (That is a joke by the way. Go on, you can laugh 🙂 ) …

How Getting To Know Your Hostel Can Help You To Improve Your Hostel There are many things to that one can do to improve a hostel. However, when someone first takes over as manager, it is essential for a few things to happen. There may be cleaning, organizing, and generic things to do that can drastically improve your hostel. However, …

Meet Ed of the Where the hell is that Taiwan guy? video series. Introduction: Ed Wu has an inspiring story to share. He came up with an idea to promote his native culture around 2 years ago and has since traveled to 65 countries on 5 continents. He’s made videos for YouTube that have become internet sensations now totaling to …

So now that I have started to work as a hostel manager, I have decided to open up a new series on my site. I’d like to introduce you to this new section on hostel management and tips for running a hostel. I will be sharing what I learn along the way, my experiences, tips, tools, and maybe even some …

Lessons from Youth Sports and How I’ve Applied Them to Traveling and My Life I decided to write this as a tribute to my former coaches and teachers. I think that our teachers and coaches are some of the most under-appreciated heroes in our society and should be thanked more often. Education is a pinnacle aspect of society and those who dedicate …

You may recall a few months ago when I was traveling in Spain. I went to Costa Brava in Spain’s Catalunya region and did a kayaking/snorkeling excursion there. When I was staying at my hostel there I met some very friendly and mature Norwegian teenagers who were backpacking around for a few weeks. We exchanged stories and I learned about …

I have done urban exploring several times in the past. One of my favorites was Hotel Belvedere in Dubrovnik Croatia. I never got around to making a post on that one though. Perhaps, I should. Since I arrived in Puerto Rico, I’ve noticed that there is a fairly high quantity of abandoned buildings. That is why I chose to label …

A Budget Friendly How To Do-it-Yourself Guide to the Bacardi Tour in Puerto Rico I recently took the tour of the Bacardi distillery near San Juan Puerto Rico, and I learned a lot of things that I thought I would share with you. I found the tour to be fun and interesting, but learned that it doesn’t need to be …

La Isla del Encanto The Island of Enchantment Puerto Rico for me has been a long time coming. I have had vested interest in it because I’ve got family here somewhere and I am fascinated to learn more about both Caribbean history and island-culture. Before leaving for Puerto Rico, I had a lot of mixed emotions and thoughts about what …

Beating Barcelona’s Notorious Thieves How to beat them: A few true stories of pickpockets in Barcelona I have been asked many times in my travel about questions of safety or similar causes. In some cities in particular, especially the more visited ones, safety is a primary concern of many people. One of these cities is Barcelona. In my experience, Barcelona …

A Reflection on the Current State of Spain With Some Thoughts of Optimism As many of you know, I spent the better half of this past summer in Spain. I have been to Spain some in the past so this was not my first introduction to Spanish culture. It was however a unique experience. This trip was not only unique …

Travel video improvement tips I was asked by a reader to write a post on how to improve your travel videos. I should mention first that I am no expert. I do think that I have improved, but I still have a long way to go. If you look at some of my first attempts at creating travel videos, you’ll …

Segovia, España Segovia is a small city, which is about an hour outside of Madrid. It is located in the region of Castile and León. The city is interesting for many reasons, but mainly because it has some of the best Roman ruins in Europe. Segovia, typically an afternoon stopover for many tourists, has much more than meets the eye. …

Muslim for a Day The day I visited a mosque during Ramadan One of the things that I love so much about traveling is the opportunity to throw away past prejudices and assumptions and learn about other’s points of views in real-time for myself. When we do this as travelers, we are able to humanize people and reduce the extreme …

International Marketing Done Right! I am happy to share that Hostelling International’s Big Blog Exchange won 1st place in the WYSE Travel Confederation’s Global Youth Travel Awards for marketing innovation. It was wonderful to take part in something that was so well organized and thought out, and I think that they were aptly rewarded for their efforts. Their campaign was global …

Richard Arthur Book I of the Sun I of the Sun: A young man travels on a one-way ticket to Southeast Asia to find out, in search of freedom and everything that comes with it. Free from responsibility, free from others, free from himself. He discovers paradise islands and electric cities, and gets hooked on crazy liquor, cheap pills, loose women …

A Quick Tour of Southern Louisiana This was an eventful weekend in Louisiana. One that I will certainly remember for some time now. The weekend actually started on Thursday for me. There was a party and celebration that turned out to be a birthday celebration for me. We shared food and spirits, and danced the night away to a variety …

Dave’s Travel Pages Recently completing a cycling trip from Alaska to Argentina, Dave is a travel enthusiast with over 20 years of experience. Since he started traveling Dave’s curiosity has driven him to the four corners of the globe. Intrigued by his cycling experiences, I recently caught up with Dave for a little Q & A. Here is the result. …

A new learning experience… Well, last Sunday I went to a local mercado in Lafayette to take part in a celebration of Mexican Independence. Before going, I knew very little of what the independence was about or what the significance of this particular day, which was September 15th. I asked a few people, but most just said it was Mexican …

Barcelona Neighborhoods Barcelona is a city of eccentric people, lively energy, and a multitude of beautiful places. The city is the capital of the Catalunya region and is in many ways the epicenter of Catalan pride. It is home to locals, immigrants, foreigners, students, and receives larger number of visitors annually in comparison to many other European cities. It is …

Antique Market in Louisiana One of the great things about living in a small-historically rich state called Louisiana is the abundance of relics and cultural legacies that are left behind for generations. Traditionally, the modern history of the United States is a relatively young one. Therefore, finding antiques in the United States can be a real treat as the majority …

Capture the Color in Photos First off, I’d like to send a special thanks to Aryn from Driftwood and Daydreams for nominating me for the Capture the Color contest. I’ve been following Aryn for some time now and she has a really great site. She’s a polyglot with a sense of adventure for enjoying life. I admire her ability to …

Expressions of Love From the streets of Córdoba, España The Spanish are typically known for being some of the more warm and romantic people. I especially noted that when talking about aspects of Spanish hospitality. Outside of that though, Spanish tend to be very expressive when it comes to love and passion. They can be dramatic at times, but would …

My Second Hitchhiking Experience It has been almost a year since my first hitchhiking experience in Morocco. I am still new to the art of hitchhiking, and to be totally honest, I am still not always comfortable reaching out. That being said, I have become increasingly more comfortable with my two experiences as both have been positive and can be …

Deltebre Catalunya and the local culture of the Catalan people Recently on an excursion throughout Spain, I visited the Deltebre region of southern Catalunya. There I met an interestingly similar culture, which was in some ways like southwest Louisiana to me. Here is a video that I made about this trip. It includes footage from local dancing rituals, cooking, fishing, …

A Cup of Tea Can Change Your Life The other day I stopped at a local café to have a tea. I had been frequenting this café for a few days and somewhat befriended the owner. A young Turkish man not much older than myself. He is a hard-worker and a very knowledgeable individual, speaking nearly 6 languages. On this …

Rubboards, Zydeco Beats and Louisiana Flair The Heart and Soul of the Cajun Culture In my travels, I have been amazed by the fact that so many people know about Louisiana music. Before leaving home, I never knew the impact that the music had on different people from around the world. Typically, people know mostly of Louisiana Jazz music and …

Couchsurfing: Is it legit? An overview, some tragic stories, happy moments, and my experiences with it When asking such a general question with such a large organization, it becomes difficult to answer such a question. Truthfully, Couchsurfing, like other forms of social media, has the propensity to attract an array of people both good and bad. There are inevitably some …

New Video Remembering España A highlight from my recent trip around Spain, plus a look at some not so well-known aspects of Spanish culture. Be sure to check out Delta del Ebre also! I used some new tips in this video. Thanks to a friend who is a professional in making videos. He  gave me some editing tips for improving …

Hello readers! I would just like to personally take this opportunity to thank you all for being so supportive in my journey to create this travel blog and website. The last few months have been really exciting for me as a blogger. I have received many new followers and readers, and it is great to have you all on board! …

Aragon, España A road trip to me is always one of the greatest signs of freedom. Road trips are a great way to explore any place as you get to make more stops and detours than you would with any regular bus or train route. In fact, sometimes it is necessary to have a car to make it to some …

Learning about Aragon A stay in Zaragoza, Aragon’s primate city Nestled between Spain’s northern coastal region Basque country and the infamous Catalunya, is a region called Aragon. The name Aragon, commonly associated in pop culture with fictional tales such as the Lord of the Rings, is a region of superior significance to Spain and its establishment as a sovereign nation. …

Barcelona: How to explore like a local Insider tips Barcelona: From free WiFi to partying like a local Barcelona is one of my favorite European cities. It is one of the most visited cities in Europe for a reason, but I think that most people never find its true beauty. The majority of Barcelona’s tourists come looking for one of …

More than just tourism Learning the land from a Master in Deltebre La Cava The delta for the Ebro river is a region of southern Catalunya, which is of significant economic, cultural, and traditional importance to the Catalan people. The local folklore and musical traditions trace their roots back hundreds of years to many of the historical tales of the …

Kayak Catalunya For my final destination in Catalunya I recently visited the city of Deltebre in southern Catalunya. Deltebre is a word that derives its name from the words delta and l’ebre. Delta meaning exactly that, the delta of a river, and l’ebre being the Catalan name for the river Ebro. The Ebro river runs from northern Spain to Deltebre where …

Un pueblo de La Ruta del Ferro, Alberg Ruta del Ferro, El Monestario, y Count Arnau Sant Joan de les Abadesses Sant Joan es un pueblo que está muy cerca de la ciudad Ripoll. Hay cuentos que dicen que Sant Joan es un nucleo de las origéns de la cultura Catalana.  El monasterio en Sant Joan es un de las …

Wild Horses, Vacas, and True Beauty Recounting Valle de Nùria Spain and the highest hostel in Europe When I think of reasons to get off the beaten path in Spain I can think of few more places to recommend than the Valle de Nuria in Catalunya. Nùria is one of those places that mesmerizes you with its beauty. Everywhere you look nature …

Learning about Girona I have passed through Girona a few times in the past as it is a popular airport for people on their way to Barcelona. Even though I have heard good things about it, I never got the opportunity to actually visit the city until now. Getting to know Girona has been pleasant as I really had no …

Excursion in Costa Brava: Kayaking and Snorkeling in Costa Brava Llança (Catalunya) In the past when I have visited Spain and Catalunya, I have always wanted to go on a nature excursion. Recently while traveling in Catalunya, I decided to head up to a small coastal town called Llança to fulfill this desire. Llança, as I found, is a peaceful little town …

Llança Espanya A good spot for resting After completing my quick but dense pass through Barcelona, I have now moved on to my first new city in Catalunya. Llança is officially the first city outside of Barcelona in Catalunya that I have visited. The culture and language of Catalunya is very interesting to me and I look forward to seeing …