Yes, you can surf in Tofino at Christmastime. Big Sur has its ‘big wave’ attractions, for sure. And Oahu’s North Shore – brilliant. However, I’m not sure anything can top this. Breathtaking!

From the French website, Zapiks, the VIDEO IS HERE!

[Source: Biggest Teahupoo Ever]

The Top 5 websites.

PINK PALACE
You’ve gotta be in the mood for it. Drop the backpack and enjoy! ‘Nuff said.

CRUISE THE GREEK ISLANDS
If you’re arriving via cruise ship as I did, then this might be the best place to start.

GREEK ISLANDS SPECIALISTS
From Greeka.com – the Greek Islands specialists. This gives a good overview of the island.

AGNI TRAVEL CORFU
Agni Travel is a terrific resoruce for properties on the island – even apartment rentals if you plan on staying awhile. Plus, it has all kinds of information on the food, the sights, transportation… very good resource. Also, they’re based on the island itself.

CORFU WIKI
Facts, figures and data… covering the bases.

[REW]

Have you been to Corfu? Tell us about it. Comments below.

The Top 5 websites.

GREEK NATIONAL TOURISM ORGANISATION
This is the official link to the GNTO – the Greek National Tourism Organisation. Since any trip to Crete usually begins in Athens, you’ll want to check this site out. The people here are very helpful.

EXPLORE CRETE
A terrific hodge-podge of information about the island.

CRETE WIKI
If it’s basic data you’re looking for, the Wiki is your place to start.

INTERKRITI
An excellent site with plenty of ‘mouth-watering’ photos and a good forum for Q&A. I used this site myself on three different trips to Crete.

OLYMPIC AIRLINES
The official airline of Greece. Olympic has had its share of ups and downs (literally!) in the past few years, but remains one of my favorite airlines.

[REW]

Do you have a favorite Greek island? Tell us about it. Comments below.

But while the soap made suds and the cord worked as a clothes line, the rubber ball often failed miserably as a universal fits-all sink stopper. It made for a poor seal and I was always knocking it out of place, sending my precious sudsy water down the drain.

But while doing laundry today in Belize, I stumbled upon a solution: The Dry Bag.

A dry bag is simply a waterproof bag with a roll-up top. You put in the items you want to keep dry, roll-up and lock the top and presto: your stuff is protected.

I have a couple of dry bags in my travel kit. A smaller one for things like portable electronics (never worry again about taking your point-and-shoot camera on a canoe trip) and a larger one for bigger things like DSLR cameras and lenses.

Which brings me back to my discovery: rather than using a dry bag to keep water out, I used it to keep water in! I filled my large dry bag (about 10 litres) with a couple of dirty bits of clothing, a couple of capfuls of biodegradable detergent and tap water. I squeezed the clothes until they were soapy, sealed the bag, shook it for a few minutes and let it sit.

An hour or so later I repeated squeezing process (fun!) and then poured out the soapy water. I found that by rolling and kneading the dry bag I was able to squeeze out most of the soapy water. I refilled the bag with clean water to rinse out any remaining soap.

After squeezing most of the water out a second (or third) time, I removed the clothes and hung them in the sun to dry.

The beauty of the dry bag is that you use much less water and you can let your clothes soak overnight — meaning less work. And if they’re not dry before you have to hit the road, you can use the dry bag for damp stuff. That is, if you don’t need it for something else.

I will now carry a dry bag just for laundry… and then use it to carry containers of liquid (like tanning lotion) when I’m flying.

And in the spirit of multi-use, I reckon you could also use a dry bag as a portable aquarium. Or to mix a large batch of Sangria!

[DCM

Do you have any other travel tips? Tell us about them. Comments below.

If you travel, you know that getting connected can be difficult. Whether it’s a Cyrillic keyboard or a sketchy connection, going online can be a royal pain in the arse.

An example of this is happening as I type this post. I have a tenuous WiFi connection and my MacBook will only recognize the connection when I boot it up in Windows XP. What is THAT about?

Luckily, I have a backup.

It’s a device I mentioned in an earlier post as a multi-purpose tool that helps lighten the load: The iPod Touch.

When I first saw the Touch, it was at the Apple store in Seattle. I was about to jet off to Ukraine and I was looking for something to replace my laptop as a way of getting online. Having learned my lesson the hard way, I can tell you that a roaming mobile phone is no option. I could have bought a half-dozen iPods with what I’d foolishly spent on outrageous (and often hidden) roaming fees.

When I first saw the Touch in the Apple showroom, I was impressed. Big screen. No moving parts. And lots of games with which to kill time in the airport. I was taken aback when I discovered it could connect, via WiFi, to the outside world. If an open network is nearby, the Touch gives you truly portable email and web browsing capabilities. And because it’s WiFi, it’s generally free (unless you pay to access someone’s network). No roaming fees. No surprises.

At the time, however, I was also in the market for a tool to back up memory cards from my digital camera. You could do this with earlier iPod iterations, but not very well. And, disappointingly, not with the Touch. My dream of having a media player, communicator and storage device all in one unit remained elusive. And, last spring, it was a deal breaker.

Fast forward to this Fall. I was about to embark on a journey to Central America, a place where I have no real desire to bring my laptop. Granted, I did bring it — but it will be staying in Belize as I chicken-bus it across Guatemala.

I decided to give the Touch another try. I ordered up the 16GB version from Apple’s website — and in the interest of saving a few bucks, I picked up a reconditioned unit. Same warranty, same product; lower price.


After several weeks on the road, I must say that iLove my iPod Touch. In one small and incredibly flat unit, I can carry with me thousands of music tracks, hours of films and television and some games. But most importantly, I can connect to the outside world. I can scan the web, check blogs, instant message and email to my hearts content. And it costs me NOTHING. NOTHING!!

And, it works very, very well. I can lie in bed in my Caye Caulker cabana and follow the pennant races, email my mom, post to my blog and then watch a TV show or listen to some music.

The only drawback is writing long-winded posts and emails is tiring with the touchscreen keyboard. Note to inventors: how about a wireless keyboard/cradle for the Touch?

With the exception of the aforementioned long-winded posts, my laptop has become redundant. With my Touch I can connect to the world for free. I can’t call anyone on it, but hell, that’s what my mobile phone is for. And who calls anymore, anyway?

[DCM]

Where have you found the best (and the worst) WiFi on your travels? Tell us about it. Comments below.