Soundtrack for 6 nights in a lonely hotel room

Posted on January 7, 2012 by julie

Text & Photo: Julie Schwietert Collazo

**

Hotel rooms make me lonely, even the loveliest ones.

My lovely hotel room on a recent trip to Amsterdam.

My lovely hotel room on a recent trip to Amsterdam.

I can go strong all day, but when I return to my hotel room, devoid of anything other than my bags to say “This is your place,” well, I get sad, and fast.

You may know that I have a crazy, crazy passion for love songs in Spanish. When I’m alone in a hotel room, I DJ myself through the loneliness by pulling up dramatic love songs^ on YouTube (forget Pandora, whose “Latin music” selection is pretty lame).

Seems strange to cure loneliness with plaintive songs, perhaps, but it works for me.

Here’s my soundtrack for six nights in a lonely hotel room:

-“Acompañame a Estar Solo,” Ricardo Arjona

-“La Nave del Olvido,” Cristian

-“Remolino,” Francisco Cespedes with Ana Belen

-“Yolanda”, Pablo Milanes

-“Me Dedique a Perderte,” Alejandro Fernandez

-“Yo Queria,” Cristian

-“Como Si No Nos Hubieramos Amado,” Laura Pausini

-“Lento,” Julieta Venegas

-“Lola,” Chayanne

-“Quitemonos la Ropa,” Alexandre Pires

-“Volver a Amar,” Cristian

-“Peces de Ciudad,” Ana Belen

-“Siete,” Carlos Varela

-“El Alma al Aire,” Alejandro Sanz

-“Guitarra Mia,” Polo Montanez

-“Si No Te Hubieras Ido,” Marco Antonio Solis

What’s your travel soundtrack, and when do you cue it?

–
^Not all the “love songs” are love for a person; a few are about love for a place or idea.

Categories: Latin America | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Coming soon: Prince Harry in Belize

Posted on January 6, 2012 by julie

Text: Julie Schwietert Collazo
Photo: An Honorable German
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(l-r) Princes William and Harry

(l-r) Princes William and Harry


I can finally tell you the news I’ve been sitting on for a week and a half: Prince Harry is coming to Belize this spring, and I’ll be part of the media corps.

As part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration, members of the Royal Family will be traveling to “every Realm as well as undertaking visits to Commonwealth countries, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories.” Prince Harry has been assigned to Belize, Jamaica, and The Bahamas.

While the final itinerary has not been established, I’ve been given a sneak peek of some activities being planned for the Prince and I’m pretty excited. Though I’ve never been a Royals watcher, I’m honored to have been asked to accompany the Prince during his visit.

Not surprisingly, the Prince’s visit will also be documented unofficially via locals’ photos and gossipy tidbits, sent out via twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms. The Prince’s visit even has a hash tag: #HarryinBelize.

I’ll be writing about the Prince here, as well as for other print and online outlets. I’m also accepting assignments, so if you’re an editor or publisher with a particular interest in the global galavanting of the Royal Family, please email me directly: writingjulie[at]gmail[dot]com.

Categories: Belize, Caribbean, Central America | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Belize live chat: Maya 2012

Posted on January 5, 2012 by julie

Text & Photo:
Julie Schwietert Collazo
**

Altun Ha Maya Site

Altun Ha Maya Site


2012 is the year when the Maya calendar “ends.” You’ve probably heard “end of the world” rumors and wondered what, exactly, it all means. Tomorrow’s your chance to find out.

Our second live chat on twitter takes place tomorrow at 3 PM Eastern (US)/2 PM Belize, and the theme of the chat is Maya 2012. The chat will be co-hosted by Norbert Figueroa (@globotreks), an architect and travel blogger who has spent the last three months in Belize and who recently interviewed Belize’s preeminent archaeologist, Dr. Jaime Awe, and by Joshua Berman, author of the MAYA 2012: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras (Avalon Travel, 2011).

Use the #VisitBelize hash tag to join the conversation!

Categories: Belize | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Mona on my mind

Posted on January 3, 2012 by julie

Text: Julie Schwietert Collazo
Photo: The Lighthouse People (via Google images)
**

Isla Mona and the Eiffel Lighthouse

Isla Mona and the Eiffel Lighthouse

Most travel/place-based writers have a list, whether mental or written, of the places that intrigue them, the places they want to research, experience, and write about. I have many of these, but one that’s been rattling around in my mind for several years now, and one that’s a bit easier and more affordable for me to reach immediately than some of the other places on my list, is Puerto Rico’s Isla Mona.

Francisco and I lived in Puerto Rico for 2.5 years, and though we covered a good bit of this relatively small island (and got married on Vieques, one of several of the mainland’s outlying islands), we never made it to Mona.

Located off Puerto Rico’s west coast, Mona is a bit of a mystery. It’s not inhabited by full-time residents other than a handful of rangers who are there to facilitate research of visiting scientists (and to round up Dominican and Cuban refugees who end up there en route to Puerto Rico or elsewhere). So there you have at least two very, very interesting stories. But there are many, many more.

Just as its geographic location makes it a flashpoint for Caribbean migration today, its positioning and its relative lack of oversight made it prime territory for rum running during Prohibition. It’s been called the Galapagos of the Caribbean, home to several endemic species. And–and I find this absolutely intriguing–Gustav Eiffel (yes, of Eiffel Tower renown) designed a lighthouse that stands there today and which was inscribed on the US National Register of Historic Places in the 1980s.

So yeah, I’ve been kind of dying to go there for a while now, but the timing just hasn’t been right. The passage between mainland PR and Mona is, according to some seafaring friends in the know, pretty rough, and between being pregnant and then having a newborn/infant, chartering a skipper and boat to ferry me through roiling waters didn’t seem too smart. But Mona’s been on my mind a lot again, lately, and with news last year that developers have set their beady, greedy eyes on the island, I’ve decided that 2012 is the year I’ve got to get there.

What about you? Where are you hoping to go this year and why?

Categories: Puerto Rico | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2011′s 50 List and a Peek at 2012

Posted on December 31, 2011 by julie

Text & Photos:
Julie Schwietert Collazo
**
Inspired by my friend JoAnna Haugen and her annual “100 Challenge”, I’m wrapping up 2011 by reflecting on 50 things I did for the first time in 2011. Why 50 instead of 100? Because I have a two year old pulling at my leg as I write this.

If you were one of the people who shared one or more of these experiences with me–or who made one possible– thank you.

1. Took a hot air balloon ride… over the Pyrenees.
2. Saw charreria in Guadalajara.
3. Traveled to Spain.

Trying archery for the first time in the Pyrenees

Trying archery for the first time in the Pyrenees


4. Tried my hand at archery.
5. Saw my byline in National Geographic Traveler…
6. …and Budget Travel.
7. Went to the Pan American Games.
8. Took an overnight bus through the mountains in Mexico.
9. Went to Chiapas.
10. Went canyoning.
11. Drank a piemonte.
12. Ate chestnuts roasted on an open fire in Zurich.
13. Went to Hawaii with Francisco and Mariel.
14. Ate a persimmon.
15. Interviewed a First Lady and…
Me with Kim Simplis-Barrow, the First Lady of Belize

Me with Kim Simplis-Barrow, the First Lady of Belize


16. …had a BBQ dinner with her and the Prime Minister (of Belize).
17. Wrote a book proposal.
18. Went foraging for ceps.
19. Went to a Formula 1 race…
20. …and rode in an F1 car.
21. Read Roberto Bolaño’s The Savage Detectives (finally).
22. Felt absolutely inspired for months on end by Ferran Adria.
23. Used a book light to read in bed.
24. Gave talks at international conferences.
25. Paid for someone’s passport so he could travel for the first time.
26. Bought a Christmas tree in New York City (I’ve lived here 12 years but was rarely here for Christmas).
27. Got a Global Entry card.
28. Figured out what glasswort (aka samphire, sea beans, or pickleweed) is and started trying to find it in NYC.
29. Visited the library at NYC’s Instituto Cervantes.
30. Rode the Roosevelt Island tram.
31. Went to an outdoor movie on Roosevelt Island.
32. Drank a Mexican Firing Squad at Dutch Kills.
33. Saw Pablo Milanes live with Francisco.
34. Saw Gazillion Bubble Show with Francisco and Mariel.
35. Took Mariel roller skating.
36. Made ginger snaps.
37. Accepted the Society of American Travel Writers’ silver Lowell Thomas Award for best online travel magazine.
38. Ate at more than one Michelin starred restaurant.
39. Became a member of a non-profit’s Board of Directors.
40. Went for a ride on a fireboat.
41. Rode a Segway.
42. Went to the Dali Museum.
43. Went to Provincetown/Cape Cod.
44. Visited Newtown Creek’s Nature Walk.
Mariel at the Queens County Farm Museum.

Mariel at the Queens County Farm Museum.


45. Went to the Queens County Farm Museum.
46. Went on a tour of Kykuit.
47. Explored Gateway National Recreation Area.
48. Went to Acapulco.
49. Ate macarons (and now there’s no turning back).
50. Bought kangaroo steaks.

*
And a sneak peek at plans and dreams for 2012:

-travel to the Dominican Republic.
-finally visit Africa. (This isn’t actually planned yet, but if you want to help out….)
-take a foraging class with the New York Mycological Society.
-publish a book.
-interview a royal.
-spend the night at a Maya site.
-take an introductory Catalan class.
-build up the strength and skills to kayak up the Hudson River by summer’s end.
-expand my publication credits beyond travel magazines.
-bike more.
-transfer my parents’ Super 8 films and then watch them all.
-cook more.
-fly a kite with Mariel.

How about you? What are some of your best experiences of 2011 and what do you hope to experience in 2012?

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | 5 Comments