All posts by Red Hunt

A former journalist and business analyst that now works in the world of travel marketing. Based in Toronto, Red Hunt has travelled to more than 50 countries over the past 15 years. You can follow Red on Instagram or Twitter.

Travel Articles

I Went to Machu Picchu and Had a Good Time

December 29, 2013 Red Hunt 2 Comments

I finally caved in and went to Peru and Machu Picchu.

Happily, I must say that I enjoyed it and had a good time. The reason for enjoying my time in Peru? Spending it with good people, slowing down my travels to take more time for photography and avoiding the larger groups and crowds.

The required Llama at Machu Picchu photo

Avoiding Peru for 8 years

While most people put Machu Picchu high on their travel list, I aggressively avoided it for almost a decade. You see, 9.5 years before I finally went I started working for a (then small) tour company called Gap Adventures. The company grew every year and I watched more than 100 colleagues and co-workers over the years travel to Peru, show me their photos and exclaim how amazing Machu Picchu and the country of Peru were.

During those years I wrote tour itineraries, newsletter stories and website articles about Machu Picchu nearly every month. I answered phone calls from travellers and sold trips to people who were convinced that I’d hiked the Inca Trail, as I knew it all by heart and could envision the entire trip in my mind. Blah blah blah…start at Km 82, blah blah blah…Dead Woman’s Pass…blah blah blah…Sungate. I knew all the trails – The Lares Trek, Salkantay Trek, Classic Inca Trail and more. Peru was a permanent fixture around the office and as the company grew and stories kept pouring in, I lost all interest in visiting.

Cusco in Peru — Cusco, or Cuzco, was actually quite a bit of fun – tasty Alpaca steaks and craft beers

I felt like I had spent an eternity in Cusco and hiking in the Andes to see Machu Picchu. Visiting Machu Picchu became as exciting to me as watching an inch worm slowly make it’s way across a tree branch. (Actually inch worms seemed more interesting.) People I worked with started to simply assume I’d been to Peru and seen Machu Picchu – it practically became a requirement that your first work trip was to Peru.

The country, the experience, “Peru” itself had become a commodity over those years. I mean we used to brag about sending more people on the Inca Trail than any other company. We had trips laving every day, supported a weaving project for women in the Sacred Valley, we trained porters to guide tourists on the Inca Trail, our offices in Cusco and Lima had more staff than many other adventure travel company’s had at their head office – Peru was everywhere and everything.

Taking a break at Moray, Peru — Taking a break at the interesting site of Moray after biking around the Andes Mountains in Peru

Being freed from the daily Peru onslaught

Almost 8 years after selling those first Peru trips, I parted ways with the now not-so-small tour company called G Adventures and never made it to Peru.

After being freed of the incessant barrage of Peruvian information I slowly started to gain a bit of wonder about Peru. I mean it did create many life-changing experiences for travellers year after year, going by the emails and testimonials I used to receive. There had to be something special about Machu Picchu perhaps?

Alpaca yarn colours — Alpaca yarn. The bright colours are dyed with chemicals, whereas the duller colours are dyed naturally

Fast forward a year and, as fate would have it, I ended up winning a trip to Peru with another company called Intrepid Travel.

Heading to Peru, by way of the Galapagos

I had a new job and new freedom, life was good. So after living down in the Galapagos Islands for a while, a (free) side-trip to Peru seemed like a no-brainer. I could finally judge for myself what this Machu Picchu place was about, without actually having to spend much to get there. I was able to keep expectations low.

I had a great time in Cusco, eating Alpaca steaks and mountain biking around the Sacred Valley. I hooked up with two other travellers for a short 3 person tour to Machu Picchu and I think it was the ideal experience. It didn’t feel like a group trip, it was like we were just 3 friends who hired a guide to show us some towns and bring us to Machu Picchu. If I was going to like Peru, this was the way to do it.

Finally Visiting Machu Picchu

After about a week in Peru it was finally time to see what all the fuss was about. Time to head to Machu Picchu.

A drizzly, overcast day greeted us, which was actually great as it meant we didn’t have to get up quite so early to take the bus to Machu Picchu. (That “watch the sun rise” at Machu Picchu dream isn’t often a reality as the mountains are commonly shrouded in mist and clouds early in the morning.)

Wayna Picchu at Machu Picchu — View of Wayna Picchu in the clouds at Machu Picchu

My little group of three had a couple hours of touring around the Machu Picchu ruins before parting ways with our guide and having the place free to roam as we wished. We slowly walked around the site, visiting the Inka Bridge and many popular spots, waiting for the heat of the later morning sun to start to burn the clouds away and unveil Machu Picchu, Wayna Picchu and the entire mountain area.

I passed by a couple of G Adventures groups, and thought how lucky I was to be sharing this place with just a couple of new friends, for some reason the people in those groups weren’t smiling and didn’t seem as enthused about Machu Picchu as my two travel buddies. I think, perhaps, they must’ve hiked the Inca Trail and spent the past two days hiking in rain and sleeping in flooded tents. Any Inca Trail hikers I ran into that day told me they had wished they had skipped the Inca Trail as the weather had been terrible.

The Inka Bridge at Machu Picchu – looks safe, right?

And so, after a couple more hours it came time to head back to Machu Picchu Pueblo for a late lunch. I’d been satisfied with my time at MP. I took photos, I enjoyed what I saw and I was happy it happened. It wasn’t as magical as some people made me think it would be, but I imagine that is because I’ve been to many other amazing places and my preference has always leaned towards wildlife destinations.

My favourite part of walking around Machu Picchu? Spotting a couple of lizards, some llamas and small rodent things, similar to Chinchillas!

Still, I was super happy to visit Machu Picchu. Unlike the Galapagos Islands, it isn’t high on my list for places to return to – I can understand, however, that it has a big impact on many travellers who appreciate the history, culture and impressive setting of the “Lost City of the Incas”.

Feeding some Alpaca Huacayos in the Andes was even more fun than seeing Machu Picchu

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Polar Bear

November 27, 2013 Red Hunt 2 Comments

Polar Bear in the Davis Strait — My first wild Polar Bear sighting, off the coast of Greenland

There are places in the world where Polar Bears are commonly seen, but they are few and far between.

Churchill, Manitoba during the right season in Canada, plus Wrangel Island in Russia and Svalbard, Norway are all known as terrific places for spotting Polar Bears. Still, a close-up encounter is rarely guaranteed, and sometimes not desired!

Polar Bears are smart, ambush hunters. The Inuit people I travelled with in the Arctic found it crazy that us southerners always wanted to get closer and closer to these powerful, dangerous animals. There are too many stories of Polar Bear attacks and “close calls” from the Inuit – they respect the bears and give them their space. I also learned from the Inuit that a healthy Polar bear will have a slightly yellow coloured fur, not white. So it was good to know this was a healthy bear.

With all that said, many people visit the Arctic without seeing a Polar Bear. Or, with a bit of luck you’ll get an encounter like this, with the bear at a safe distance. Called the “Ice bear” by some, Polar Bears are great swimmers, able to swim hundreds of km. It was a pleasure to spot this one in the Davis Strait after exploring the coast of Greenland for a few days.

Travel Articles

A Royal Resort in a Borneo Rainforest

November 25, 2013 Red Hunt 2 Comments

Royal Mulu Resort – this is the place to stay when at Mulu. It is right on the edge of the park and offers everything you need. Spa services, a pool and up-scale accommodations offer a surprising amount of comfort in a jungle location.

Now when I say it is the place to stay, it is pretty much the only place you can stay right near the park, with the exceptional of the actually Mulu National Park accommodations which include a dormitory room and some nice wooden cabins.

Royal Mulu Resort - Lounge Area — Royal Mulu Resort – Lounge Area

The resort is actually on the edge of the park and just a few minutes walk from a nearby town, where beers are much cheaper and snacks can be had for a bargain price, so you can splurge as much or as little as you want if you stay at the resort. Personally, I thought the buffet dinners at the Wildflower Restaurant in Mulu Resort were great. They had different options each night, including some unique specialities like sea urchin and manta ray. The manta ray was delicious, one of my 10 Surprisingly Tasty Animals selections!)

Gunung Mulu National Park - Pathway at Resort and Dorms — Gunung Mulu National Park – Pathway to Dorm Rooms near the Resort

There was a cafe here that had snacks and ice cream too, which go down really well when you’ve been hiking around in the humid forest all day! This is a muggy part of the world, where you can sweat simply by sitting. The resort has pretty much everything on offer from ATV rides to kayaking and caving adventures that can last for 15 hours. I was kind of sad that I didn’t have more time here as I was only able to choose a couple of the activities and chose mostly to explore the park by foot, which allowed more time for photography….at the expense of not doing some more exciting adventures.

The canopy walk was probably my favourite activity in the park, even more-so than exploring the famous caves. Overall, you need a few full days to explore the park and I’d suggest 4-5 days in case you get some bad rainy weather, which can happen.

It’s not the cheapest place to stay if you do hang out for 4-5 days though, so perhaps splitting your time between here and the park’s dorm accommodations is the way to go. That’s what I did (stay at the dorm first, then splurge at the end). There are tons of hikes around this part of the park, including the Head Hunters Trail and a challenging hike to the impressive Pinnacles – jagged limestone peaks carved out by rain and weather.

Royal Mulu Resort. Stilted Bungalow view. (Hazy picture due to extreme humidity!)

Mulu National Park - Dormitory Room — Mulu National Park – Basic Dormitory Room

I really liked visiting Mulu in Sarawak, Borneo but the only thing I was slightly disappointed about was the lack of wildlife. Aside from small creatures like lizards, geckos, butterflies and bugs, the most exciting thing I saw was some monkeys far away in the distance. If you’re going to Borneo for wildlife, I suggest heading over to the Kinabatangan River for your fix, instead of Mulu National Park.

Beer

Extreme Beers – Biggest, Boldest, Oldest

October 5, 2013 Red Hunt 8 Comments

I recently drank a beer that was my go-to beer of choice for many years. That was before I knew anything about hops or had heard of beer styles like tripel, dunkelweizen or imperial IPA’s. Those days were before I worked in Belgium and discovered just how many great, flavourful beers exist in the world.

Finishing that beer was a struggle and I found it surprising just how much my beer preferences have changed over the years. Then I stopped to take a look at some of the beers I’ve stashed away or bought since I began enjoying craft beer (and good beer in general).

Some Extreme Beers — A collection of 5 somewhat “extreme” beers, ranging from 32% alcohol to 35 years old.

I don’t know where the line is in terms of pushing the envelope too far when it comes to beer styles and brewing. I do know that I haven’t yet tried a chipotle / hot pepper beer that I actually enjoyed. I also know that when a rauchbier, or smoky beer, tastes like you’re drinking an ashtray it’s probably too extreme as well.

There was the battle to brew the strongest beer in the world for a couple of years. Actually the quest continues on, but a few years ago a Scottish brewery and German brewery squared off. Somewhat gimmicky perhaps, but the passion and creativity in making these beers was undeniable. I bought one of them, a 32% beer called Tactical Nuclear Penguin, included in the picture above.

A 32% beer sounds pretty extreme, doesn’t it?

Westvleteren 12 bottle cap — Westvleteren 12, or Westvleteren XII, one of the highest rated beers in the world

It was once the strongest beer in the world. It is still one of the strongest stouts in the world, but beers have now surpassed the 50% alcohol barrier. That’s pretty extreme.

Then there is the hoppiest beer battle. Some of them are like drinking liquid pine needles, some are so bitter and dry that you can only sip them. Many people say our palate can only handle so much bitterness, that brewing something beyond a certain threshold is pointless. But this battle for IBUs (International Bitterness Units) carries on.

Then there are other quests like limited-edition beers where people buy tickets to special events to buy a beer available for only one day a year. Events like Dark Lord Day and Zwanze Day come to mind, but there are many more.

How about old beers?

Cellaring beer is something that seems counter intuitive to most people, yet certain styles of beer were originally created centuries ago to age well during long voyages at sea. Other beers are bottle fermented, in that some yeast is left in the bottle, changing the complexity and flavour of the beer over time.

While I’ve aged beers for a handful of years, I recently went on a quest to see if I could find a beer older than I am. It was actually easier than I expected and not long after I had bottles of beer that were from 1992, 1978 and 1975. How crazy is that? Two of those beers are more than 35 years old!

A 35 year old beer — A bottle of Courage Russian Imperial Stout from 1978

It’s possible some of those “extremely old” beers have been ruined over time, but it is also possible they’ll all be great. I recently cracked one open, the 1978 bottle, and it opened with a faint “pffft”, just like a brand new bottle of beer. It poured out flat looking and black like engine oil. It tasted unlike any beer, wine or other alcohol I’ve ever had, with such a complex range of flavours it was hard to believe.

The ever elusive whales.

To some beer enthusiasts rare, high quality beers may be called “whales”. An extreme type of term, signifying how big, or special such a beer may be. For the most part they are old vintages of beers, similar to the 1978 beer I had. The main factor in becoming a whale is that the beer must now be very hard to find. Again, it’s a bit of a gamble as some old whales can get oxidized and ruined over the years, ending up as big disappointments. But, for some people, that is part of the fun of collection, cellaring and storing beers.

Now, those three old beers I mentioned – from 1992, 1978, 1975 – cost less than half of what one bottle of the next beer cost. This beer, from the Boston Beer Company, is undoubtedly the most expensive beer in regular production.

Each year, this being the tenth year, a blend of aged beers is brought together to create the Sam Adams Utopias. It comes with it’s own special glass and drinks more like a whisky than a beer. You can usually only buy it by the ounce at bars, if you can find it. People who seek out an entire bottle have been known to pay $200-300 for it. That beer, and its special glass are on the left in the picture at the top of this post.

Paying $200 or more for a beer is pretty extreme too isn’t it?

Then there are other beers simply created for fun. Flavours ranging from bacon to seaweed to gummy bears and everything in between are fair game to brewers. Other beers, like the huge 3L bottle of Stone Double Bastard (also in the picture up top) are simply meant to be fun, a big bottle to be shared with friends.

And that is what all of this extreme brewing comes down to. It’s about having fun and appreciating good beer. Old beers, big beers, strange beers. There is no shortage of good beer out there. I know I’m happy to have had the chance to buy these handful of special, or extreme, ones myself and can’t wait to share them with some other beer loving friends.

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: North American Red Squirrel

September 18, 2013 Red Hunt 1 Comment

These little squirrels are found across the majority of the US and Canada. Smaller than the gray or black squirrel, red squirrels in North America are a bit darker, almost brown in colour, compared to the Eurasian red squirrels.

Noisy, with a prolonged “chattering” sound, they’re not aggressive, but they also aren’t afraid to let you know if you’re in their territory. Indeed, territory is a big deal for North American red squirrels. From a young age, the only way to survive is for a squirrel to find it’s own territory and defend it from other squirrels. They prefer hardwood forests and in many parks you can see squirrels chasing each other around, defending their territories and the trees and food supply within it.

Some people find them cute, some think they’re like rats. I think they’re great little creatures. But they don’t have an easy life as they face a pile of predators from lynx and crows to foxes and weasels. It’s a pretty tough life for a red squirrel, with 4 out of 5 not surviving long enough to reach their first birthday!

Red Hunt Travel