I summed up what I know of my plan previously, and I think that’s still accurate so far. From here I’m off for a night in Vancouver, then over to Victoria for the rest of February. I can hardly wait! I’m also going to make a point of getting down to good old Seattle while I’m in the area. The big unknown is what group I’ll be able to sign up with in order to volunteer in Haiti. I guess we’ll see how it all plays out.

As usual this week’s summary is a compilation of good articles from around the web, plus whatever other random crap I have on hand.

If you’re not a fan of touristy crowds, then you’ll be as excited about this list as I was. Ten really cool places around the world that are off the tourist map. I’ll probably be in the Caribbean anyways, so I’ll be looking for a chance to check out La Désirade. Have you been anywhere on this list? Or where on the list looks enticing to you? Ooh, or do you know a secret spot that isn’t on the list?!

This week was the first of a new series over at Monkey Brewster, New Brew Tuesday. This week’s beer was Marke Altenmünster Maibock and I’m looking forward to seeing which beers come around in the future.

To be brutally honest, your best chance at true happiness in life is a magic amulet. Studies have shown that magic amulets are awesome for improving your life in all sorts of unreasonable ways. Real studies. With that in mind, head on over to Johnny Vagabond where you can easily win your choice of a magic amulet from Thailand. Personally, I’m going to win the “Marry Liz Lemon” amulet. See if I don’t.

This week I found two more cool travel blogs. I recommend Pamela (Spunky Girl Monologues) and Chérie (The Travel bee) if you’re in the market for some more travel blog goodness.

Speaking of travel blogs, if you have one of your own, or you’re looking to start one, then you’ll want to consider the new Travel Blog Success site that launches this Monday, Feb 1st. It’s definitely worth taking a look at if you’re serious about travel blogging. I’ll also have my review and thoughts on Travel Blog Success coming up here on Monday.

Congratulations to Chris for taking a big step in his dream to get the hell out of Australia. And also congratulations to Cailin for taking a big step in her dream to get the hell into Australia. Anyone else up for a “grass is always greener..” cliche right about now?

To wrap up this weeks wrap up, here’s my weak attempt to get a photo of the huge, fluffy snowflakes we had here earlier this week. Apparently snowflake photography is very hard. It really made my day to have one more nice snowfall before leaving. If you’re super bored, you can click through on the picture to view my whole Montréal album. As usual for me, I didn’t personally take a lot of these.

Keep on truckin’!

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// shawn

Thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed, I appreciate it! Please be sure to stop by the site sometimes and leave a comment so I know you're still alive. I worry about you. Are you eating okay? Ok, see ya! -- Week Sauce: Adios Montréal is a post from: Rerunaround

Nicaragua is quite possibly where I’ve had the most fun backpacking. I hate to generalize like that, but if I had to pick one place to call the “best so far”, it’s probably there. I definitely recommend it, and I also recommend reading Art of Backpacking’s Tips on Backpacking in Nicaragua. It’s a beautiful country with super nice people and heaps to do. Plus it’s much cheaper and less touristy (almost like they go hand in hand) than neighbouring Costa Rica. The picture above is the tastiest coffee I’ve ever had, which was in Ometepe, Nicaragua. Now that I look at it, I admit the picture doesn’t relay much about the tastiness of the coffee, but that’s really your problem.

So apparently bed bugs aren’t just some cutesy thing that parents made up. It turns out they’re actually fairly gross and prolific. This last year I’ve seen a few articles on them, but this post by T-Roy on GoBackpacking really sums up everything you need to know. I’d consider this article required reading for every traveler.

If you’re interested in seeing some travel shows about places you will never ever go, then check out this article that Lauren did on the VICE travel guides. I’m on episode 4 of the Liberia series and it is really great. The horrible, crazy, shocking and amazing type of great.

Also this week, Matt finally learned to scuba dive (and was nearly murdered by a Portuguese woman), Jeannie finally came up with a travel route, and Steph posted up a sweet compilation of her Montenegro pictures.

On a congratulatory theme; Happy 3rd anniversary GoBackpacking! Way to go on quitting that job, Diana! And welcome to the travel blogging scene, Ayngelina!

I wanted to test out this video feature that my camera has, plus capture the view I’ve been enjoying from this apartment. This what downtown Montreal looks like from a 17th floor perspective. My apartment is small, and the windows are large, so this is what I see from everywhere in the apartment except from the toilet and under the sink. It’s a bit shaky and weird, but hey it’s my first time. It’s also -12°C plus wind chill, so you’re welcome to stand out there and try to do better if you like.

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// shawn

Thanks for subscribing to my RSS feed, I appreciate it! Please be sure to stop by the site sometimes and leave a comment so I know you're still alive. I worry about you. Are you eating okay? Ok, see ya! -- Week Sauce: Now In HD! is a post from: Rerunaround