Mountain City's Travel Blog

Canoes have become the ultimate symbol of Canada’s sub-Arctic indigenous people. Living where there are more freshwater lakes and rivers than anywhere else on the planet, they became one of the great inland water travelling cultures of the world.European arrivals quickly came to appreciate the indigenous people’s mastery of building and navigating their canoes. ‘Voyageurs’ and trappers adopted indigenous peoples’...

Whether African or Asian, elephants around the world are revered for their majesty, intelligence, and as an example of astonishing sensitivity in one of the world’s largest creatures. Seeing elephants in their natural setting remains a touchstone of travel for many who have African safaris on their bucket lists.August 12th is World Elephant Day, which celebrates these magnificent creatures. It...

In 2021, UNESCO created a new, transnational World Heritage site: 11 towns in 7 European countries that collectively make up The Great Spa Towns of Europe. All of the towns developed around natural mineral water springs, many of which were used therapeutically from Europe’s earliest history. Together, the Great Spa Towns of Europe represent the international European spa culture that grew...

There are more ‘Blue Holes’ in The Bahamas than anywhere else in the world, as well as the deepest Blue Hole on earth. From the surface, they can appear mythical, and in fact, Blue Holes feature in a number of Bahamian marine legends. But these distinct circles of dark blue water surrounded by an ocean of brilliant cerulean blue are not portals...

Miami has always been one of the hottest destinations on the continent, with art, design and architecture creds, a blistering beach/ party scene, vibrant cultural scene that reflects the city’s status as a Latin American hub, and a celebrity/ jet set appeal that never seems to die down. This summer, the city’s getting even hotter, with three hotel openings set to...

It’s one of the biggest trends in cruising. Not getting bigger, but getting out there. In style. Expedition cruises used to be only for the most intrepid travelers. You would join a working research vessel on its voyage to a very distant destination, tolerating the discomfort for the once-in-a-lifetime experience of getting up close and personal with the unique and fascinating natural...

Many of us have spent hours of our own childhoods or alongside our favorite kids immersed in stories like the Snow Queen, the Emperor’s New Clothes, the Princess and the Pea, the Nightingale, and the Little Mermaid, either in timeless storybooks or Disney movie incarnations.Now, the author who created these immortal works is being reinterpreted and remembered in a new...

This month, English fans of ‘footy’ had lots to celebrate. Despite a heartbreaking loss in the finals of the Euros, it was England’s best performance ever in the continent’s biggest game. Soccer, that is. Britain is the birthplace of the modern sport that has traveled around the world to become the most popular in the world. It’s also morphed into...

Holy-moly it's hot!

New Zealand is in celebration mode in July with the arrival of Matariki. It's a constellation of stars that rises in New Zealand skies, shining their brightest in the first week of the month. Known to astronomers as Pleiades or the Seven Sisters, Matariki is believed to have formed more than 100 million years ago, and this pre-historic cluster of...

They are among the Caribbean’s best kept secrets. The forty islands and cays that make up the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are favored by travelers in the know for their pristine waters, picture-perfect white sand beaches and conch and lobster fisheries that make local dining such a joy. TCI’s archipelago is strung out along the sea at the tail-end...

Every year on June 29th, eighty-one million people in 14 European countries celebrate the single river that ties them together and provides drinking water, food, power, recreation, jobs and transportation. Danube Day annually marks the signing of the Danube River Protection Convention, which facilitates collaboration between the countries of the Danube River and the rivers that flow into it to...

Get out a sharpie – there’s a new ocean to label on your map of the world. Or globe, if you have one. You might have to update your travel bucket list, too. If you’ve already ticked off ‘visit all the oceans of the world’, you’ll have to uncheck that box. Even if you’ve seen, swum in, or sailed upon the...

It’s news that marries two of the fastest-growing styles of travel: river cruising and family heritage travel. AmaWaterways has partnered with Ancestry, the company that specializes in genomics and connecting people to their family history. The river cruise line has done family-heritage themed cruises before, but now, you’ll be able to uncover specific details about your own family. That’s because...

On some islands, they like to tell you how many beaches they have, or days of sunshine. On Nevis, it’s how many different varieties of mangoes they have. The answer? Officially, nearly four dozen – and unofficially, it’s estimated nearly 200 different varieties of mangoes grow on this tiny Caribbean island.Nevis makes up the other part of the twin-island nation...

 In Japan, it’s called the ‘Castle in the Sky’, but international travelers who’ve discovered historic Takeda Castle have compared it to another mountain-top historic ruin half a world away in South America. Peru’s Machu Picchu has made most intrepid travelers’ bucket lists of adventures. But Japan’s Takeda Castle (pronounced: ‘tah-kay-dah’) - that's about the same age as Peru's Machu Picchu...

The pleasures of this past years’ travelling has largely been via Netflix, YouTube and other online video sources. We’ve seen some darn spectacular corners of planet earth. Please join Martin Aldrich, John Houston and myself onboard an a-day-in-the-life-of expedition cruise to the breathtaking Canadian High Arctic.We’ll also take a glimpse into the life, the culture, dance and the timeless art...

It’s been quite a couple of years!

Are your heartstrings pulled by a deep curiosity to immerse in a faraway culture? Do you have a desire to learn about your Ancestry and family roots? Has the past year found you dreaming of taking your children and grandchildren on a memory-making adventure? Maybe your reason to travel is to improve on a language whilst cooking with locals in...

The leaders of the world’s seven biggest democratic economies are meeting in Cornwall, England, and it’s putting the Southwest region of the country under a spotlight. Maybe you’ve heard of ‘bleisure’ travel? It’s about tacking on a leisure vacation to a business trip. We’re not sure if the leaders of the Western World have the time for a little independent...