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.
A photo of a Uinta Ground Squirrel in Yellowstone National Park
I’m a fan of squirrels. They, like raccoons, have been able to adapt to so many different landscapes and environments. These Uinta Ground Squirrels find their homes pretty much anywhere with open fields and grass lands. While this guy was photographed in Yellowstone National Park, they go as far south as Utah, but prefer the Rocky Mountain states.
This one was one of many scurrying around part of the park, as they tend to live in groups, or colonies. While I’m used to seeing tree squirrels skipping their hibernating plans and being around almost all year in Canada, these ground squirrels tend to only be active for about 4 months of the year. They aestivate in summer and hibernate in winter…guess they’re not fans of extreme temperatures!
Once again the travel blogging industry was whipped into a frenzy recently after an image appeared on the Delta Airlines Facebook page.
Friday morning, Delta Airlines posted an image of a funny, or scary, Llama in front of Machu Picchu as a way to promote their Atlanta to Lima flights. The post generated positive comments at first, but then about five hours after it was posted, the travel blogger who took the photo chimed in with the following comment.
Now that should have been the end of the story. They take their dialogue private, determine how their image arrived on that page, then move on and both live happily ever after. However it wasn’t, partially thanks to a tweet and Facebook post (since deleted / hidden) that the travel blogger sent out:
I watched the Delta post turn into a one-sided battleground as the day progressed. Every story has two-sides to it, right? so I waited for Delta Airlines to provide a response of their own before making any judgements, others were not so patient.
It seems that ‘expect me to contact you shortly’ really meant – ‘I am going to unleash the wrath of the travel blogger community on you and smear your name in the mud’. Within 13 minutes of their post, other travel bloggers chimed in, crying foul and telling Delta they should be ashamed for using this image without permission, some people even accusing Delta Airlines of stealing the image.
A few of my favourite Facebook and Twitter comments are below, one thing I found troubling was that nobody seemed to bother to do their own research into the situation, to see if there was any way whatsoever that Delta could have used the image legitimately. Many of these comments are Founding Members of the newly formed Professional Travel Bloggers Association(PTBA), who are supposed to act professionally and maintain accuracy with their information.
Sadly, it’s moments like these that can easily have professional journalists snickering at the travel blogging industry, not to mention companies and tourist boards re-considering if working with travel bloggers is really worth the hassle.
The list of negative comments goes on and on (those last two crack me up, are Kate and Travelbllgr the same person?). Some of these people I don’t know and have never heard of, but others are well known in the online travel world, even respected by some. This is the part that saddens me most, especially the PTBA Founding Members, who are not upholding the code of ethics they are supposed to represent. Instead they’ve taken a lemming-like mentality that permeates our constant communication, instant gratification world.
Yes, the majority of the blame of course lies on the shoulders of Erica Kuschel over at Over Yonderlust, who failed to check into the issue before seeking vengeance. In reality it should have been a happy moment for Over Yonderlust and, if handled appropriately, may have resulted in them getting some extra exposure and credit from Delta. But, everyone else who came out with guns ‘a blazing has done their own part in giving potential industry partners the wrong signal.
If anyone took the time to think about the scenario, it should seem improbable that an organization like Delta would be so foolish to hijack or steal someone’s image. Maybe a bit of fact-checking was needed? Indeed, after some time, Delta provided the following response, stating that they had indeed purchased the image from Getty Images – check out the link yourself.
Funny enough though, even after this response, the bashing of Delta continued both on Facebook and Twitter.
Now, it is four days later, and Over Yonderlust hasn’t acknowledged any wrong-doing whatsoever. They did remove their two Facebook posts however. These are some of their last mentions of the issue:
Now, I’m no expert on Stock Photography, but if I sign an agreement with a company like Getty, who may license out my image to virtually any person or company out there, I would be pretty sure to do some due diligence before starting any kind of public bashing about someone using my photos. Some people are pissed off that Erica didn’t get any credit for the image, others are mad that she hasn’t been paid and many think she should have received both. Thankfully a few people saw it with a more level-headed approach:
It’s a troubling situation that almost every person who calls themselves a travel blogger is struggling to make money. This desperation is what, in my opinion, partially leads to these type of outbursts on social media and travel blog forums.
But, how often do you see a name credit on a stock photo? Almost never. How quickly do you get paid for stock photos? Not immediately. Take a look at the basic Getty producer agreement details. It clearly states that what they sell for you this month, will appear on your statement next month, and you’ll get paid in two months. I don’t know if this is the type of agreement Erica has with Getty, but I would hope she knows what her agreement terms are. Some other people share this same sentiment:
Knowing that the people at Over Yonderlust have had an agreement in place with Getty for some time, their initial statement that Delta was using their image without permission has no credibility. Then following up on comments later, stating that the issue as they haven’t been paid yet is, again, not an issue – they’ll get payment when the terms of their agreement warrants it. It’s quite inexcusable to have your images available for purchase through an agency, then bash the end-users who pay for them.
Above that, we’re not just dealing with a new member in the travel blogging industry either, this is someone that has a following, just like many of the people who posted comments in the Delta Facebook post. In fact, Over Yonderlust are also a Founding Members of the previously mentioned Professional Travel Bloggers Association.
A month or two ago I considered joining the new Professional Travel Bloggers Association as its premise seemed solid. Giving legitimacy to the travel blogging industry by promoting professionalism and strengthening relationships with the travel industry. Their code of ethics is an inspiring treat to read and asserts that their members will always: strive for accuracy (not in this case), be accountable (perhaps if they all apologize), respect intellectual property (a bit too aggressively?), act civil and dignified without personal attacks (is it ok to attack companies though?) and be professional.
Ooops, sorry Delta, I guess the PTBA didn’t think you’d mind if their Founding Members publicly bashed you. Do you still want to join the PTBA as an industry member? No hard feelings, right?
If I were Delta, I’d be left with a very sour taste in my mouth after this entire fiasco. Giving them credit, the travel blogger who started it all does seem genuinely concerned about the outcome. While they did ask other travel bloggers to ‘calm down’, I think the wording of these messages (and deleting their Facebook posts) lacks accountability on their part.
The damage has been done. Even so, I only count two people who have seemingly sent any type of apology to Delta for this debacle. I guess most others are happy to just carry on as if nothing happened.
I suspect few, if any others will apologize to Delta, and I’m apparently not the only one who thinks they deserve better. A few people out there agree that apologies are needed here. Kudos to a select few other travel bloggers out there too who kept a clear perspective and refrained from commenting until they had more information.
Perhaps the PTBA isn’t a total loss, but then what do you do with the members who acted against the entire foundation of the association? Do you ban them? Is this post an over-reaction to an over-reaction? Possibly. Does the PTBA release a public apology to Delta on behalf of their members who acted out of line? Or do they ignore the issue and pretend it never happened, sending a signal that it doesn’t really matter how their members (and Founding Members) act on their behalf, following their code of ethics is merely a suggestion.
I know I’ll be curiously watching how developments with the PTBA unfold in coming months as they have elections to create a Board of Directors. The results of such elections could heavily influence my opinion on whether or not the association can, and will, be able to achieve the goals it has outlined for itself.
Becoming a professional in any field isn’t something that should be taken lightly. You’re not just in it for yourself, you’re in it for the betterment of the entire industry. What you do affects others both positively and negatively. It goes far beyond putting another badge on your blog or a promotional line in your media kit when you’re pitching for a free press trip. So come on now guys and girls, it’s time for you all to swallow some of your pride and own up and apologize to Delta and your fellow travel bloggers.
As for Delta, you have to give them credit for being calm and concerned about the situation once it was brought to their attention. While they could have possibly reacted faster, they took the right path, something that the non-lemming posters on Facebook appreciated.
If you got ensnared in this debacle, feel free to drop me a line here and chat about your thoughts on how these types of actions and reactions impact the effectiveness of an organization like the PTBA. To anyone mentioned in this post who has since apologized for or retracted their comments, good on you!
It may seem odd, but for many people the excitement for summer camping in Ontario starts around Christmas time.
I’m not talking about getting a tent or Ontario Parks gift card as a present (although both would be cool), I’m talking about booking a campsite for your first camping trip of the year.
A Well-Treed, Large Camp Site at Wakami Lake
May 2-4 long weekend is the unofficial start to summer camping season and in Ontario you can book a campsite up to 5 months ahead of time. This means when you’re enjoying a Christmas dinner, you can be thinking about where to camp in May. The next long weekend in Ontario is Canada Day and shortly after that is my birthday, so early July is my favourite time for camping in Ontario. Long daylight hours lure me further north in need of a nature fix. Sometimes it’s a park many have never heard of, like Esker Lakes Provincial Park, while other times it is a popular park like Killarney Provincial Park.
Now time for my camping confession:
I have never camped in Algonquin Provincial Park
An ‘Alligator’ in Ontario – from the Logging Museum in Algonquin Park
Algonquin Park is an icon of Ontario. It is a big park, a very big park. At 7,600sq km it’s bigger than your average Caribbean or South Pacific island. It is also only 250km north of Toronto, making it very accessible to most people who live in Ontario. For outdoor and nature lovers, camping in Algonquin Park is a childhood rite of passage. It is where many people first spot a Moose in the wild, or hear Wolves howling at night. It is where you may first hear the haunting call of the Common Loon, or where you’ll take off on your first back-country canoe camping adventure.
It is one of our most cherished parks in Ontario and I have visited Algonquin Park somewhere around 20 times. But, I’ve only ever visited for day trips, or stayed overnight at cabins nearby, like the Wolf Den Nature Retreat. I did try camping at Algonquin once. It was a July long weekend and we took off to grab one of the first-come, first-serve sites that can not be reserved ahead of time. Standing in line, the person in front of us scored the very last site.
A Moose, spotted through the trees, at Algonquin Provincial Park
It was July and this massive park was 100% full. It was teeming with Canadians and other visitors who wanted to go camping, canoeing, swimming and hiking. The Highway 60 Corridor, which is home to most of the camp grounds and visitor facilities, had a constant stream of cars zooming along.
So, on a whim, we decided to keep driving north, to another park, in search of a camp site. We drove past Grundy Lake Provincial Park, past Killarney Provincial Park. We kept going past Sudbury, then beyond Sault Ste. Marie. After driving for about eight hours after Algonquin, we came to Lake Superior Provincial Park and set up camp.
Pictographs at Agawa Rock in Lake Superior Provincial Park
It was a great weekend of hiking on quiet trails and enjoying the rugged coastline of Lake Superior. It also got me hooked on the more northern parks of Ontario.
That was many years ago and I have camped at dozens of provincial parks since then but I’ve never had the urge to go camping at Algonquin Park. In a weird way, the popularity of Algonquin helped turn me on to the great, lesser-visited parks we have in our province. I still enjoy visiting Algonquin Park every year as it has superb hiking trails and canoe routes, but when it comes time to pitch a tent, my sights are set further north.
A Grey Wolf at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
I do know many people who swear by Algonquin Park and will go on 10-day canoeing adventures into the depths of the park. It definitely has a special place in many people’s hearts and I know – one day – I will explore the park more, and go camping there. But the beauty of Ontario is that we have such diversity. Our province is so large that the trees and animals I may see at Wakami Lake Provincial Park may differ from those I see further north at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park or further south at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park.
So, to me, as impressive as it is, Algonquin is the ‘everyone’ park that attracts the crowds. Now, I’ll admit I have gone camping at many smaller parks during crowded, noisy times. So it isn’t just the fact that it’s a popular park that makes me avoid camping there. In fact, I know it is such a large park that it is easy to spend a week there without encountering other people. It’s just not my style of travel to do what everyone else likes to do. I crave different experiences in different places. Algonquin is famous for Moose-spotting, but other parks, with different environments and landscapes, are better for spotting other wildlife, a factor that weighs heavily on where I decide to camp.
Groundhogs are one animal I’ve more commonly seen in Ontario Parks other than Algonquin Park
You will find me up at Algonquin Park soon though. As the spring takes hold and snow begins to melt in coming weeks, the Moose migrate to roadside ditches in search of salty goodness. For a couple of weeks of the year it isn’t unheard of to come across a dozen Moose on a visit to Algonquin during this time. But, it will only be a day trip for me as I have other parks to book my camping sites at.
Craft beer in South America isn’t anything new. When I was in Argentina in 2004 there were microbrews as far south as Ushuaia and I sampled some craft beer in Sucre, Bolivia back in 2007. But when I first passed through Peru there wasn’t much to get excited about.
Thankfully Peru is catching up to some of their South American neighbours, albeit on a small scale. The beer of dominance today is Pilsen, while Cristal is pretty much everywhere as well. Interestingly, the beer that was everywhere last time I visited (Cusquena) is still popular but has branched out offering more unique styles and seems positioned as a higher-end brew now.
Dragon’s Palate in Cusco is one place that serves up good food, and their own Microbrews
As with my Craft Beers of Ecuador post, I’ll break things down for Peru in terms of mass-produced popular beers and the harder to find, locally brewed craft beers. While it isn’t so easy finding some of these brews the good news for beer lovers is that more craft, artesanal brewers are popping up in Peru. Lima, Cuzco and even Iquitos have some locally available (but still hard to find) beers. In time, hopefully craft beer will become more common in this South American country.
Popular Beers in Peru
These are the beers you’ll see on t-shirts or find in virtually any bar in Peru, they’re pretty much all pale looking lagers, with the exception of some of the more recent adventurous offerings from Cusquena. SABMiller owns a bunch of the most popular Peruvian breweries.
A 1.1L bottle of Pilsen Callao
Pilsen Callao from Backus y Johnston (SABMiller)
Straw lager taste, a light flavourless brew. That’s about all you need to know. Apparently the most popular brew in Peru at the moment (although similar claims are made by Cristal), it’s also the watery-est and dullest of the bunch. Officially, it’s supposedly a maltier beer by style, by it fails in this regard. The 1.1L bottles that are popular for sharing are fun, but lower your expectations to appreciate this generic brew. If you somehow really like the taste of this, then you’ll love Cristal.
Pale yellow, lifeless looking beer that has no head retention. At best it is an easy to drink grainy lager that is best served ice cold in the heat of the sun. Aroma is corn, soap, fermented something. Taste is light, mild sour, blandness. It’s just nothing really…flavoured water with some alcohol added. I’d say it is worse than Pilsen, hmm perhaps…hard to gauge the difference. They’re both painfully non-de-script lagers, the type of cheap beers most backpackers and travellers consume in vast quantities, then suffer the consequences for the next day. But hey…at less than half the price of a good beer, like Norton Porter, I can’t fault the budget beer drinkers.
Cusquena Premium, the first Peru beer I had years ago
Cusqueña Premium from Cervecera del sur del Peru (SABMiller)
Last time I was in Peru, this was ‘the’ beer. Things have changed and Cusquena isn’t the Everyman beer. The beer itself though hasn’t seemingly changed, so it seems that it’s just been a marketing shift in beer consumption in Peru. Insights aside, this beer is a decent brew for a pale yellow lager. Grainy? A bit. Flavour? A bit. Drink it cold…the one I had in the snow at home in Canada was better than the ones in warmer weather in Peru.
A non-SABMiller brew! Ajeper is a small multi-national beverage company and it seems their beers are a little better than some – on par with Cusquena anyways. This beer has an almost headless pour with a wafting smell of grainy wheat and sourness. Not promising. Pale yellow straw colour, this beer is unfortunately another generic brew. The especial/export label does nothing to help it. I had hoped for this to be a fine lager, but it tastes muted, a mild flavour of grains with little substance. Another forgettable Peruvian beer, but not as bad as Cristal or Pilsen Callao.
Great looking bottle, first impression is promising. Damn! It’s a light grainy lager again! I don’t have to pour this one out of the bottle to know it is likely pale yellow in colour. It’s not ‘as’ grainy as some, and is decently drinkable. I wouldn’t say it is a ‘Cerveza premium’ as the bottle states but I’d put it closer to the top of widely available Peruvian beers. Overall aroma is sweet corn and grain, a bit sugary. Taste is also grains, but a bit sweet. Abrupt, dry finish leaves you craving more flavour, as there isn’t much of it here. I put this in the league of Heineken- an over marketed, under delivering brew. Rant aside, drink this before the other big beers of Peru if given a choice.
That covers the main ‘big’ beers I had in Peru. I didn’t sample everything the country has to offer, but it’s a solid run down of what to expect. Now, on to the more adventurous macro brews. In terms of South American offerings, you could almost call these craft beer. They all have distinct flavours and styles, beyond your pale lagers.
Cusquena De Trigo, a wheat beer!
Cusqueña De Trigo from Cervecera del sur del Peru (SABMiller)
A wheat beer in Peru? This pleasant surprise wasn’t the easiest to find, but was worth the effort. Medium opaque-murkiness it’s a light orange colour. A local could mistake this for looking like chicha if it weren’t for the monstrous amount of foamy head you get while pouring. Aroma was a little grainy and typical lager yeast, not so wheaty. But the flavour was wheat beer and quite refreshing. Nothing outstanding but high marks for Peru, I would happily drink this simple wheat beer again.
Apu Cerveza de Coca from Backus y Johnston (SABMiller)
You can’t go tp peru without giving in to the coca plant hype. Chew coca leaves, drink coca tea…or drink coca beer! Very light colour with a hazy translucent look. It has a huge smell of lemons, looking and smelling like lemonade. It’s easy to drink but has an odd spiciness alongside that zesty lemon. It really doesn’t taste like a beer, but more an alcoholic juice. You would liken it to a Radlermass beer I guess, but with more of an edge. It’s actually better than what I expected…although tastes nothing like what I expected. Best part of the beer is that the label calls it a ‘smart drink’! It’s worth a try for novelty sake, but far from a good beer.
Cusqueña Malta from Cervecera del sur del Peru (SABMiller)
This black beauty is a schwarzbier and is sweet and malty as the name would suggest. One of the darkest beers I had in Peru. It was sugary and a bit syrupy but not so bad overall. There is definitely more complexity of taste to this than your common lagers. It is a beer that you can enjoy while dining on Alpaca steak! But not the most session-able brew. Decent finish, no real lingering after-taste aside from some caramel flavour. All around, a decent effort and beer.
Cusqueña Red Lager from Cervecera del sur del Peru (SABMiller)
This beer is actually a golden orange colour, not quite red or amber. The taste is fresh and mildly sweet. A bit grainy but not like most Peruvian lagers. Expect a big frothy head during the pour. This one falls in the middle of the pack in terms of quality and taste. It’s far better than the light lagers, but not nearly as good as the craft beers. If you’re looking for a bit of flavour without having to pay more for your beer in Peru, this is a decent option. Definitely passable and above average for Peru. Has a light, pleasant finish, a bit wet not dry.
Now for the good stuff! These are, in my opinion, the best beers in Peru. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to find craft beer in Peru, in particularly around the main square in Cuzco and also in Lima. As I didn’t have time to explore Lima on my recent trip, I’ll focus on sharing the craft beers I had in Cuzco.
Nortons Pale Ale – Looks like swamp water, but tastes good
Nortons Pale Ale at Norton Rat’s Tavern in Cusco
This was the first pint I had in Peru. Yes – a pint, not a bottle of beer! Unfiltered beer I assume. It looked like some kind of orange-brown cloudy Metamucil drink and had a slight sediment left in the bottom of the pint glass. Taste was nice and crisp though. An ever so slight bitterness lingers at the end, while the smell was fresh, a bit fruity and sweet. It is not like any pale ale I’ve seen before but the taste is similar. By Peruvian standards, delicious. This beer was the first time I tasted any hint of bitterness and hops in a beer in Peru. Norton Rat’s Pub has only started brewing their own beers somewhat recently, and while they may not blow you away, they are leaps and bounds better than the light lagers you get used to in South America.
Snortin Norton Porter at Norton Rat’s Tavern in Cusco
My favourite Norton beer. It’s a shame that so many beer drinkers may pass through Peru without realizing well-crafted, tasty beers exist here!
A good beer, wit ha great name – Snortin Norton Porter
There was a definite coffee aroma to this dark, but not black beer. It had a different colour for a porter. It was dark, but with a more brown than black colour. Aside from that it was a joy to drink. Light on the lips it was a bit watery upfront but quickly delivered on coffee and toffee flavours. It had a fairly long lasting dry finish too. From wet to dry it’s a nice effort for a porter beer. The clingy light brown head is evidence that it’s been brewed with passion, or at least quality ingredients. No evident sediment in this brew, unlike their Pale Ale.
Nortons Brown Ale, ok, but could be better
Nortons Brown Ale at Norton Rat’s Tavern in Cusco
A bit dark inside the bar so the colour was hard to distinguish. Definitely a darkish beer but can’t tell how ‘brown’ it is. Aroma was wet, not so strong. Trying to discern this beers characteristics was tougher than their other two brews I had. Taste was a brown ale though. They did get the core elements of that right. A bit of molasses flavour but quite mild. As this beer warmed up, it’s flavours and aromas became more pronounced. So after 1/2 a pint we’ve got a sugary smelling brew that has a medium mouth feel and moderate caramel molasses flavour profile, with a hint of nut or nutmeg flavour. It is far from a light lager, yet fails a bit as everything was just slightly underwhelming with this. A brown ale, or even a nut brown ale, could work so well with the natural ingredients found in Peru…this one needs to be tinkered with, nice but this was my least favourite Nortons brew.
Dragon’s Tears, a tasty American Pale Ale
Dragon’s Tears at Dragon’s Palate in Cusco
Not only did this fun place have good beer, they had good food too! With a little beer garden area, it’s a great spot and right beside a good bakery too. When I visited they didn’t have their Dragon’s Breath Honey Pilsner or Dragon’s Blood Nut Brown beers available, so I got their American Pale Ale, called Dragon’s Tears. The beer poured a mildly opaque yellow-orange colour with a decent amount of sticky head. Good amount of bitterness to this brew. It smelled crisp as well, with a lemon citrus freshness to it. Does not look nor smell like a beer from Peru. It drinks easily with a nice, long finish that leaves a bit of a sour grapefruit, bitter hop flavour in your mouth. Overall, my favourite beer in Peru.
There you go, a run down of 13 beers from Peru. Hopefully on your journey to Peru you’ll be able to sample something beyond Cristal, Pilsen and Cusquena.
Looking a little fearsome, this Long-Tailed Macaque, also called a Crab-Eating Macaque, took a moment to call out in between his eating and grooming sessions.
These macaques were the monkeys most plentifully seen along the riverbanks and in the trees during a visit to the Kinabatangan River in Borneo. These macaques have 10 different subspecies and are the third most widespread primate on earth, found throughout much of Asia.
Being so plentiful, it’s not a sad surprise that they are also commonly used for medical experiments. The alternative crab-eating name is a bit of a misnomer as they don’t favour eating crabs at all. They can eat crabs and other small animals, but tend to prefer to eat flowers, fruits, seeds and plants.
The long-tailed name version is much more appropriate as their tail is often longer than the entire rest of their body!
