Travel tips I have learned (Part 2)
Here is the next installment of favorite travel tips (Part 2)
6. Prescriptions-E-mail yourself a separate list of your prescriptions in case you lose or forget your medication. Also, never put your prescription medication in checked luggage. If the airline loses your checked luggage, you lose your medication.
7. Glasses-If you wear glasses, my doctor suggests to always keep a copy of your optical prescription with you, because if you are in a foreign country and need glasses or contacts, the prescriptions are universal in language and can easily be understood. Or, simply carry an extra pair.
8. Vaccinations-I log all my vaccinations on the yellow universal shot card record that you can get from your doctor. How many people can really remember when they got their last yellow fever or tetanus shot? I keep the shot record at home in a secure place and carry a copy of it with my passport.
9. Light up the way-I always carry a small, high intensity flashlight in case I am traveling to countries with frequent power outages. Amazing, the number of times I have needed this. Nothing worse than being in an unfamiliar place in the dark. I also carry it in my backpack if I am going to be out at night.
All the hard-core travelers I have met consider a small flashlight an absolute nececessity.
10. Compass-Take a small compass with you. Can’t tell you the number of times I have come up out of a subway or arrived in a strange city and immediately used my compass to get my bearings
Stay tuned-more travel tips coming!
Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net
To read about my other travels click here or http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/mytravels/
Comments? Please post below or email me at ssb11@prodigy.net
Travel tips I have learned through the years (Part 1)
Travel tips I have learned through the years-Part 1
Every time I travel, I try to learn new things I can use that will make my journeys less stressful. Some I have come up with myself, but mostly I have learned from others along the way. So, I thought it only fair that I in turn, pass them on to you as well.
I am going to post (5) five new tips each week. The blogs will be a running list and I expect this subject to be good for 5-6 weeks. Make sure you check it each week.
If you want to be e-mailed when I update my blog,you can click “subscribe” above. If you have any ideas, please feel free to make your comments, so we can all benefit. You can also e-mail me at ssb11@prodigy.net
Here is my ever changing list:
1. Passport-I always carry a couple of extra copies of my passport in a separate place when I travel. When I am on the streets, I always leave my original in my room in a safe place and carry only a copy with me for ID purposes. If you have to replace your passport it’s easier if you already have a copy. Some people scan their passport into their computer and e-mail it to themselves.
2. Credit Cards-You want to e-mail yourself the numbers of your credit cards (along with 1-800 #’s) in case you lose them.
3. Credit Card notification-I always call my credit card companies before leaving the U.S. to alert them I will be making charges in other countries. You don’t want to experience a security cancellation on your card while you are traveling. I have heard horror stories about people being abroad and having their credit cards cancelled because of the security software many companies use.
Many credit card companies are now charging “foreign transaction fees” when making charges abroad. These include paying for hotels that are not in the Continental U.S. or Alaska or Hawaii. These charges often times apply even if they are made in USD. It recently happened to me when I bought a COPA airline ticket on the internet and paid a hotel bill at the Marriott in Panama City, Panama where the USD is the official currency. I was socked with a 3% surcharge fee!
4. Splitting up the dinero-I always split up my cash and credit cards into two/three different places. Never carry all your cash with you. Keep the majority in a safe place. Some people will carry a ATM card that is specifically linked to a separate “special vacation account” with only a limited amount of money in it. Also, most banks have a daily limit on the amount of cash that can be taken out of your account.
5. Security wallet-For security purposes, I have found the security wallet that attaches to your belt with two loops and fits down the inside of your pants seems to work best. Here is the link for it:
http://www.eaglecreek.com/accessories/security_id/UnderCover-Hidden-Pocket-40024/
Next-Stay tuned for new travel tips each week. If you want to send me some new ones, you can e-mail me at ssb11@prodigy.net and I will batch them together and post them at the end (unless I have already posted in within my own blog)
See my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com:
Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net
To read about my other travels click here or http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/mytravels/
Comments? Please post below or email me at ssb11@prodigy.net
Mexico (Part 23-Final Part) -Last Day in San Cristobal de las Casas
The next morning, Bela at Belas B&B, called her driver to drive us to the airport in Tuxtla Gutierrez, which was over an hour away. It was nice to be able to sit back, enjoy the beautiful drive, and converse with the driver—-in Spanish, of course!
The airport in Tuxtla in very modern. You can see the photo here:
I gorged myself on some nachos and water while I thought about our great week in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico.
Final comments:
I have been to a number of different cities in Mexico and I must say that San Cristobal is my favorite. It is a delightful town with lots of activities. We felt perfectly safe the entire time we were there. In addition to great restaurants and shops, there are a number of attractions in the area (you already read about San Juan de Chamula).
The easiest way to get to San Cristobal is to fly to Tuxtla (TGZ) and take a taxi to San Cristobal. There are plenty of very nice hotels in San Cristobal. If you want a real experience though, you should try a B&B such as Bela’s.
Hope you enjoyed Mexico. If you have comments you can post them here or e-mail me at ssb11@prodigy.net
If you want some great Mexican food recipes I notice that Dave Cathey, The Oklahoman’s food editor has some great recipes on his web site. You can find it here: http://blog.newsok.com/fooddude/category/mexican-food/
BTW-If you want to check out some really neat stuff about what is happening on the redesigned Newsok.com then you need to check out Alan Herzberger’s update here
View my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com: Colombia: http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/ Mexico: http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/
Caribbean island of Barbuda: http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/
San Juan with a 5 hour layover: http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/
Fly around the U.S. for the day: http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/
Travel Tips-Coming Soon
I have only one more blog on Mexico and then I will start a blog for a few weeks on travel tips I have learned along the way. I plan to start those on Feb. 20. In the meantime, stay tuned for the last installment on Chiapas, Mexico posting this week, Feb. 13.
Thanks
Steve Barrymore
Mexico (Part 22) A special visit to a school on the outskirts of San Cristobal de las Casas
The last day in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
Since we are from Oklahoma, we asked Helga at Instituto Jovel to try to set up a tour of an agricultural project for our last afternoon in San Cristobal de las Casas. She obliged.
A taxi took us out to the outskirts of town, dropped us off and we ended up a school that was similar to a vo-tech training school with lots of activities going on such as carpenter shop, bakery, welding shop, vegetable gardens, etc.
We went into the office, explained who we were, and why we were there. The director assigned a young lady to give us a walking tour—totally in Spanish. She spoke no English.
Have to say, it was really interesting to see the students all focusing on learning a trade. We stopped in several of the buildings and spoke with students. They seemed as interested in us as we did in them.
One of the school buildings-
More of the school buildings–
Typical students walking to class–
In the bakery, they wanted us to sample some of their cooking. I could have stayed in there all day!!
Carol going into the bakery-
After about an hour, our tour guide said goodbye and allowed us to walk through the property by ourselves. We promised to obey any signs dictating where not to walk, etc.
The Carpenter Shop
As we strolled through the vegetable gardens (all organic)the health and size of the plants was really amazing.
Translation of the above sign–You are prohibited from cutting the medicinal plants
Carol pulling a weed–who is kidding who?
The corn looked to be at least 10 feet high. High as an elephant’s eye!
At one point, one of the workers came out of the field to speak with us. He answered all of our questions and asked us questions in return about what types of vegetables we grew in our garden at home.
At the end of the afternoon, we certainly felt like we may have been two of only a handful of outsiders that had been privileged to have observed this training school.
Next-Final comments about San Cristobal de las Casas
If you want some great Mexican food recipes I notice that Dave Cathey, The Oklahoman’s food editor has some great recipes on his web site. You can find it here: http://blog.newsok.com/fooddude/category/mexican-food/
BTW-If you want to check out some really neat stuff about what is happening on the redesigned Newsok.com then you need to check out Alan Herzberger’s update here
View my other travel blogs on NewsOk.com: Colombia: http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/colombia/ Mexico: http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/mexico/ Caribbean island of Barbuda: http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/barbuda/
San Juan with a 5 hour layover: http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/san-juan-puerto-rico/
Fly around the U.S. for the day: http://blog.newsok.com/thewanderer/category/day-trip/
