For me, travel is a true obsession. I mean as soon as one trip ends and the plane wheels touch down on the runway of my home airport, new destinations and rough itineraries have already taken root in my mind and by day's end, I'm checking out potential tours and quotes for trips that may or may not become reality.
To be honest, I do far more travelling in my head than I do in real-life. Yes my job affords me opportunities to satisfy my wanderlust; however, it limits me to only certain periods throughout the year, specifically the high travel season periods of Christmas, Spring Break, & summer (I know, I know - no sympathy). That means essentially, that I can expect to pay anywhere from $300-$500 more for my plane ticket and $50-$100 more on accommodation than in the off-season. Obviously, this hasn't deterred me at all. Why? Well apart from my insatiable need to leave my home turf and my firmly entrenched belief that travel is always worth spending money on, I have become pretty good at bucking the price trends and proving many a travel agent wrong over the years. "You know prices will only go up from now on and you probably won't find your dates available anymore if you wait. Trust me...this is the best price." This is a very familiar line and one that really makes me wonder how much longer real flesh and bones travel agents can compete with the plethora of online resources. I track airfares pretty much like day-traders track the markets - daily. I watch the prices go up then down again, up and down until I see a sort of levelling off and then I pounce. Case in point, my trip to Costa Rica. I went to a travel agent in August 2015, inquiring about fares to Liberia for the Canadian Spring Break departing the night of March 11 (Friday) or the morning of the 12 (Saturday) and returning on March 20 (Sunday - last day before classes resume). Best price quoted 6 months out was $1389 with 2 stops each way, 1 overnight layover, arrival mid-afternoon on the 12th in Liberia and return Sunday with departure at 6:00 AM and arrival back home after midnight. Essentially, what that translated into was 2 days lost in Costa Rica and a real cost of closer to $1500 (with one night accommodation) for transport alone. I was told emphatically that this was under the typical going rate for such a hot destination at this time of the year and that I should buy now as fares will only increase (and availability decrease). I didn't take the bait. Six weeks out from my projected departure date, I still had no ticket and decided to go into another travel agency. This time, the cheapest flight was over $1800 for my chosen dates with 2 stops one-way (overnight layover) and 1 stop on return. I found this quote hard to believe since the previous day's price on an airline's site was $1130 and fares were clearly on a downward trend again. I had budgeted around $800-950 for airfare so I continued to wait - and then it happened. Using Google Flights, I found a quote from United, leaving Mar. 11 at night, overnight layover in Houston, arrival in Liberia early in the morning of the 12th, departing Liberia Mar. 20th at 1:15pm, 1 stop in Chicago, arriving back in Toronto at 11:30pm. Total price: $994.00. I jumped on it and practically saved myself between $395 - $800. Travel, like everything, requires work - there isn't any real concrete magic formula . Essentially, if you really want to travel affordably, you need to put the time and effort to do your research, be prepared to play a little chicken, and never accept the first quote offered - it is typically an inflated cost.
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This past summer, I did an 18 day trip in the Southwestern states of Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. I had travelled across these same lands with my parents a little over twenty years ago but back then I was a child who was pretty blasé about all the beautiful landscapes speeding by outside the car window. I was more concerned with where the next meal was or if our hotel had cable and a games room. So as we set out again on these roads this summer, I had only vague memories of the places I had seen back then. Many things I had forgotten about and rediscovered with new excitement, as if seeing them for the first time.
It's a damn good thing I've finally grown up and that I've also taken up the beautiful hobby of photography. It compels me to look out, to yell "STOP!" and get out of the car, to walk around and examine a plant, a rock, a river, or a mountain from every possible angle, to focus not just on the "bigger picture" but also the detail, to be patient for the right light to reveal something amazing or to catch nature in action. It makes me want to go out on that trail, see as much as I can, absorb it, capture it, and, most importantly, not forget it. Having said that though, I am not a "photographer." It's just that I don't have the focal stamina to sit down and write while I'm travelling - taking pictures is far easier and more enjoyable and allows me to share my passion for travel with others more efficiently. I have whittled down a collection of nearly 10,000 photos from this trip to a small representative selection of captures on my Galleries page. While they can't do full justice to this awesome and largely unspoiled, untamed corner of the US Southwest, I think they are enough to inspire others to get out there and admire nature's amazing craftsmanship. |
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