travel Archives • Page 7 of 11 • The Bliss Movement

Barbados, Caribbean, Mood and Mindset, Self-Care, Travel

The Traveler’s Shift

I zoom through. Cities, countries, museums and temples, I zoom through them all. That has been my past travel experience nearly everywhere but Thailand. It paved the way for the title of this blog, a whirlwind. A travel affair where I leave after one short, intense kiss. I land in one destination and move frantically through it, desperate to see it all in three days or a week and then I disappear, leaving a city or a country behind me without seeing but a sliver of it. I've questioned this way of travel before and yet I continued to justify it. In some places th[...]

Barbados, Caribbean, Travel

Grenade Hall, Barbados: Mahogany Forests and Coastal Views

"If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree," - Michael Crichton If you took my suggestion from my previous post about visiting the wildlife reserve in Barbados you will be pleased to find that your admission into the animal kingdom also allows you a jaunt up to the Grenade Hall signal station and the mahogany forest that surrounds it. Walking to the left of the ticket booth and, if you're lucky, a monkey taking a rest on the bench, you'll find yourself walking up a trail made of brick that wi[...]

Barbados, Caribbean, Travel

Monkeying Around at Barbados Wildlife Reserve

Imagine a place where diverse wildlife are allowed to roam freely, interacting not only with one another but also with the people visiting the reserve. You walk down a brick path lined with mahogany trees and a family of monkeys come jumping out in front of you. Red brocket deer walk past close enough to touch without a care in the world, completely unafraid of your presence. Tortoises saunter slowly down the path and rest in the cool dirt, peacocks show off their beautiful colors, and a giant python sleeps the day away. These are just some of the things you[...]

Barbados, Caribbean, Travel

Barbados’ Holetown Festival

Each year in mid-February, Holetown celebrates the anniversary of the first settlement in Barbados by hosting the annual Holetown Festival. A mix-mash of tourists and locals crowd the streets to get a glimpse at all of the local products on offer in a long jumble of tents. As you make your way through you'll pass bands playing local bajan music and can enjoy the tastes and smells of bajan foods like fish cakes, macaroni pie, and lots of barbecue chicken. Warning to the vegetarians attending the festival: it can be difficult to find vegetarian or vegan foods but t[...]

Barbados, Caribbean, Travel

Take a Stroll Through Batts Rock Beach, Barbados

"The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul." - Wyland Just a short stroll away from my dorm is a white, sandy beach with turquoise waters kissing the sand. It's a popular place for snorkeling and picnics but is never too crowded and it's quickly becoming my go-to spot to relax after a hard day at work. I don't believe I can do it justice through my words, so put on your flip-flops and take a walk along the sand for yourself.[...]

Barbados, Caribbean

The Man Behind the Stone

If you walk along a particular stretch of beach, from Paradise to Batts Rock, you'll come across a number of coral stone statues, each of different shape and size. Clearly made by hand, stones delicately balance atop one another in such a way to make an intriguing piece of art. These stone statues appear along the beach, placed individually or in groups. I noticed them on my first afternoon at the beach and they always made me wonder what their story were. A few days ago, my questions were answered. As the sun began to set over the sea a man made his way down t[...]

Barbados, Caribbean, Travel

Errol Barrow Day at Rockley Beach

Everybody loves a good reason to have a day off. For Bajan's one of those days lands on January 21, or what is more commonly known as Errol Barrow Day. Everybody seems to know of and speak highly of Errol Barrow, Barbados' former prime minister. A man who, from what I've been told, was not only a fair leader of this island but also a devoted activist who led Barbados to independence and contributed to many great things for Barbados. To commemorate his memory, January 21 has been declared a national holiday in his name and the majority of Bajan's on the island are[...]

Tips, Planning and Packing, Travel

Three Accessories to Travel in Style

Call it vanity, but sometimes you just feel better when you don't arrive to a destination with red eyes, crazy hair and wrinkly clothes. It's happened to me too many times because I always put off purchasing these three accessories, claiming I could never find any that I loved. Well, times have changed and I am now fully prepared to arrive looking at least a little better than I used to. The Sunglasses Have you ever woken up and stumbled out of an airplane in the middle of the night, far earlier than any human should be awake with swollen, bloodshot eyes, eyelas[...]

Tips, Planning and Packing

What’s In My Carry-On

Deciding what to pack in a carry-on can be a daunting task for the inexperienced traveler, but it doesn't have to be as hard as you think! If you want to walk through security with ease, keep your carry-on baggage to a minimum. Keep jewelry to a minimum and leave most in your checked luggage to avoid setting off the alarm and keep your bag organized so that you can unload what needs to be unloaded quickly and minimizing that flustered feeling of having everything falling out all over the place. I have a few items that are always in my carry-on. 1. Passport - a n[...]

Alberta, Canada, Travel

A Hike Through Grotto Canyon, Alberta

With the crisp winter chill in the air and impending snow on the horizon, I've been reminiscing about warm summer days and breezy autumn afternoons - an afternoon hike in particular. Like any well organized individual, I had a summer bucket list. Hiking was the last remaining and after my recent hike in the mountains I was finally able to cross that off the list as well (even if it is technically not summer anymore). I tagged along with my roommate on a recent Saturday morning and after throwing on our hiking clothes and grabbing bottles of water, we took off dow[...]

Self-Care, Travel

When Your Love of the World is Stronger than Your Desire to Love a Person

“I don’t know where I am going, but I am on my way.” -Carl Sagan Every time I check my news feed I am bombarded with couples madly in love with each other. There are engagement announcements, girls showing off the new diamonds on their ring finger, wedding dates, pregnancy announcements and baby photos. I realize that the age I am now is a perfectly acceptable age to get married and have kids... but that is the farthest thing from my mind. Hell, I can't even commit to a relationship without my brain piping in and asking "what's the point?" Having my brain[...]

San Francisco, United States

An Afternoon In Alcatraz

"Break the rules and you go to prison, break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz," - Author Unknown We've all heard of Alcatraz. A prison located on a very small island off the San Francisco Bay, where there was no chance of escape and if you did, then you had the sea to battle next. A prison that housed the likes of Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, and Mickey Cohen. Walking through, the cells are tiny and dismal and the entire prison has a harsh feeling to it compared to modern day prisons. The best room of the place was easily the kitchen, where[...]