BOOK LOVERS BALL

Okay, so this post is way late. But anyway, every year the Toronto Public Library has a swanky do to raise money. People and companies spend a fair chunk of change to go to a ballroom in the Royal York Hotel, see a fashion show based on popular novels, and eat...

BORDERLINE: RAVES AND MEOWS!

Okay, I've been very good about writing about fun travel adventures. But my new book BORDERLINE comes out March 9, so please forgive the forthcoming writer's ego. (Hey, it's my birthday today, too, so gimme a break, eh? I am too damn old for complaints, okay?...

MY NEW BOOK: BORDERLINE

Well... Last post I asked what people would like to read about -- and I got emails and comments at livejournal and elsewhere that a number of you want to hear about my new book -- BORDERLINE. So okay. For the next week that's what you'll get, because, hey BORDERLINE...

15 THINGS I’LL NEVER FORGET

That's my foot hanging out the open door of an old Russian helicopter sputtering its way above my resort in north-east Cuba en route to a trip over the Sierra Maestre mountains to Santiago. I was strapped by a simple waist-only-seatbelt into what seemed to be a car...

ARGENTINA: A FEW FOR THE ROAD

Next post we're back home and on to something new. But let's close Argentina/Buenos Aires with shots from three gardens and the zoo. The Botanical Gardens is set between major multi-lane downtown streets. But one step inside and your shoulders drop:Another peaceful...

BUENOS AIRES REDUX

Well, we're back in Buenos Aires to close our trip. Today, a few images I didn't get into the earlier posts: a couple of cool buildings, and a few tourist cliches such as the obelisk above. I don't get why every city thinks it has to have one, and why every city says...

HUMAHUACA GORGE

Well a picture says a thousand words. So maybe I should just shut up and let you see some pictures. You'll immediately recognize the Seven-Coloured Mountain. I wasn't exaggerating, was I? It all happened when the earth's plates smashed up, with mineral deposits being...

ARGENTINA: A LITTLE SALT WITH YOUR FRIES?

Yup, you're looking at a heckuva lot of salt. This salt plain is en route to the Humahuaca gorge and the famous Seven-Colored mountain. It goes as far in all directions and is twelve feet deep. The miners who carve the blocks straight down are on a day off. So, aside...

CACHI — PLUS A PRE-INCAN CIVILIZATION

Cachi is a very small and very beautiful colonial town about a five hour drive from anywhere, aka Salta. It's in the pocket between two sets of mountains, so that despite how arid everything is around it, it's actually quite lush from the underground water that pools...

PAGING DR. FREUD!

Mixed in with the mountains in the Cachi gorge are stretches of cactus plains.Careful where you sit!Pablo also took us on walks through the rugged countryside.And into cattle canyons.But the real point of this post is to show you the fun we had driving. Remember how I...