A bit off-the-beaten-path, El Rey National Park, Argentina doesn’t get huge visitor numbers, but if you can manage the time, and the bumpy roads, it is well worth the effort to visit.
Bird in El Rey National Park
A small group of us hit El Rey for a day of hiking with Federico from Norte Trekking Expeditions based in Salta.
Hiking in El Rey National Park
Upon arrival, we quickly came across an abundance of wildlife, with wading birds and butterflies seemingly around every corner as we hiked along a river and through some marshlands. While there are some larger animals in the park, such as the tapir on their park logo, you’re more likely to come across a plethora of birds as there are numerous streams and marshlands in the park.
El Rey National Park Hiking Trail
There were colourful birds I had never seen before, and some larger birds like herons, which gracefully flew by. Years ago I used to ignore birds, but the more I travel, the more I have started to appreciate the differences in birds around the world. Argentina definitely had a few surprises for me.
Berry in El Rey National Park
Bromeliad in El Rey National Park
It was pretty much a full day of hiking in El Rey National Park, with a stop for a lunch break. During that entire time, our little group only crossed paths with one other group of a few people, so we were free to listen to the sounds of the forest.
El Rey National Park
El Rey National Park was quite interesting because it had such a range of landscapes, even a rainforest! Who would expect to come across a rainforest in Argentina? I didn’t expect that. Federico was a great guide, providing enough historic background about things like old buildings, and the variety of landscapes, flora and fauna that we were seeing along the way.
Egret in El Rey National Park
While more elusive animals such as tapir and jaguar did indeed elude us, we did watch a troupe of monkeys swinging between trees across a stream. The Popayán River which is a central part of the park was packed with schools fairly large fish too. Walking along the trails there were plenty of tiny critters to keep us entertained. The weather was bright, hot and sunny, so wading through the water was nice and refreshing.
Hiking in El Rey National Park
I’d return to the area again for sure, and do some camping or more in-depth hiking adventures further into the park.
I seem to be drawn to remote islands, and the Faroes definitely fit into that categorization.
Until recently, most people that I have met on my travels, even avid travellers, hadn’t heard of the Faroe Islands. I visited a five years ago, and it seems that the secret has slowly been starting to get out. Even so…people I meet that do know it’s a little European nation still can’t point to it on a map! The only people who ever seem to have some passion about the Faroes are ones that heard something about some dolphins or whales being killed there.
Torshavn – Statue outside the Mayors Office
Church in Torshavn, Faroe Islands
Dolphins, no. But whales, yes. They call it the “Grind”, and it is a hot topic among the Faroese and anybody who visits these islands that are off in the North Atlantic ocean. But there is a lot more to these amazing islands than that. (For the record, yes I did eat whale in the Faroes, when a couple of different people offered me some from their private supply.)
The Famous Gasadalur Waterfall
Town of Gjogv in the Faroe Islands
By definition the Faroe Islands are an autonomous territory of Denmark. despite strong ties to the mainland, the Faroes are fiercely independent, with their own money and plenty of pride – so don’t make the mistake of calling the Danish!
Exploring Torshavn!
Grass-Roofed House
My purpose for travelling around the Faroes was to soak up the lush green scenery, enjoy plenty of Faroese music, take some photographs of strange landscapes and curious creatures. I saw plenty of whales and sheep, puffins and other seabirds. When in the towns, I found the old-style green-roofed houses particularly interesting. Today, they’re mostly historic buildings and special areas, not so practical by modern standards.
Tinganes – Parliament Area of Torshavn
Great Views of Streymoy Island
I hiked around admiring many waterfalls and had fun seeing how nervous my guide got when driving towards oncoming traffic going through the lengthy, one-lane tunnels that connected some of the islands. Really, those tunnels were quite cool – a cross between playing chicken and frogger – it was a fine line between too aggressive and too cautious. Don’t drive fast enough and you’ll get stuck in a tunnel pullout, causing a logjam behind you (only space for 1-3 cars in each pull out). But if you’re too aggressive, you might race to the next pullout when it isn’t your turn, causing oncoming traffic to screech to a halt or backup. I’m sure it would make for an entertaining TV channel to watch, except for the fact that traffic jams and traffic in general is pretty rare in the Faroe Islands.
Bordoy Island – Tunnel to Klaksvik
Which way to go?
Outside of Torshavn, even Klaksvik, the next “big” city seems sleepy quiet. It’s peaceful, the weather is generally pleasant during the short summer – not too hot, maybe a bit rainy. People smile when you walk past them on the street. Most of them speak English and seem very well educated and welcoming.
It’s a small nation of islands, at about the same latitude as Iceland, but that is about the only thing similar between them. The Faroes don’t have dramatic volcanoes and geysers. It’s lush, green mountains and waterfalls here. Much more like Scotland. Fishing, farming, music and arts are all big in the Faroe Islands. Farming though, not so much for food, but sheep. There are plenty of sheep in the Faroes, so knitwear and wool clothes are very popular. Sadly, the harsh climate, despite being lush and green here, doesn’t allow for growing much produce. Rhubarb is a big crop, potatoes can be grown. But with a sparse, small population of ~50,000 total, there aren’t any huge farming operations aside from fish farms.
Exploring Saksun on Streymoy Island
Beautiful Scenery of the Faroe Islands
They do get a steady supply of food from Denmark and Europe. Grocery stores are mostly well-stocked, but the variety of fresh fruit, vegetables and meats were all a bit lacking in the stores I went to. Sure, lots of apples, root vegetables and frozen meats, but in general seafood is the name of the game in the Faroes. No shortage of candy bars, sodas and snacks though!
Horses in the Faroe Islands
Sheep in the Shade, no shortage of Sheep in the Faroes!
Oddly, each island in the Faroes really has it’s own personality too. Some are only accessible by boat or helicopter, others have numerous historic buildings on them, and some seem to be straight out of a fairytale book.
I was happy that there were some craft breweries in the Faroe Islands, which made more than adequate beers. I enjoyed more than my fair share of local beers at the G! Festival, a fantastic music festival that was the finishing highlight of my Faroe islands adventure. I’m intrigued to return and visit in winter next time, although I’d also like to explore and hike around some of the further, remote areas of the islands too. Hard to choose! I did enjoy their fun “remote tourism” tours on Facebook this past spring, where you could interact with, and “control” a local Faroese guide as they walked around the islands!
Leypannagjogv Waterfall
Wandering around Bour on Vagar Island
It was a quirky, cool concept, something that seemed quite fitting for the Faroe Islands. If you’re like me and prefer different travel destinations, consider the Faroes when it comes time to travel again.
Hot Pot time in Gota during the G! Festival
G! Festival in the Faroe Islands
Living Room Concert Series in Torshavn with Marius and Hedin
A few final photos of Faroes! If you do visit, know that it’s so green because rain is pretty common – it rains more than 200 days a year in the Faroes! Don’t expect a ton of heat either, as even in mid-summer it rarely reaches 13C /55F. It’s often cloudy during summer too, but when the sun comes out, the islands light up with tons of vibrancy…it’s a great place for photography.
Gjogv in the Faroes
An impressive Christian Church on Bordoy Island
Kirkjubour on Streymoy Island
Akraberg on Suduroy Island, the Southern Tip of the Faroes
I’ve only been walking for 10 minutes, but all I’m saying to myself is “Death Valley, what the hell!?”
Badwater Basin. The lowest point in North America at -282ft below sea level is turning up the heat this late afternoon. It’s not even summer yet, as I visited in early June, but the temperature is at 120F, or 49C. I parked the car in the parking lot and went for a walk out onto the open salt flats – because why not wander out into the searing heat without a single tree or source of shade nearby?
Boardwalk at Badwater Basin
I feel like I am being burned from all directions.
The sun is pounding down from a nearly cloudless sky. It seems to be mocking the hat I have on, as if it will really do me any good in this crazy heat.
The ground is caked dry. Save for a few weird holes dug into the salty surface that exude a gooey liquid. Likely some salty brine. Some brown, some white, the ground itself also mocks you in Badwater Basin. Protect yourself from the sun as much as you want, don’t forget about some searing heat and reflections from the ground too.
Dry, cracked ground in Death Valley
I have been outside for almost 15 minutes now, and I recall the guy on the radio saying you burn in 5 minutes in these conditions. Being cooked from above and below, I feel like I am good to keep going further to a spot that looks like it will make for a scenic photo.
There is only one other person out this far in Badwater Basin, everyone else took a short 5 minute or less jaunt before scurrying back to their cool cars. Part of why I think I am good to keep going is because of the strong wind blowing.
Sure, the wind is hot. Like standing in front of a furnace. So it is stupidly dry too. I think it was 3% humidity out. Basically pure dryness. So I’m not sweating. My lips want to crack and throat is dry, but at least it isn’t humid and I “feel strong” so keep on walking.
Death Valley National Park, Hiking out in the Badwater Basin
A few minutes later I turn around to take some photos. Now, not facing the sun and wind, I can feel that I am indeed starting to burn already. Also, yep, I’m a bit tired. Not exhausted or anything, but I can definitely tell this climate is doing its best to destroy me.
I am about half as far as I wanted to go. But I swallow my pride, tell Death Valley to screw itself one more time, and begin the walk back to my car. I’m out on the flat lands of Badwater Basin for maybe 30 minutes in late afternoon in early June.
Badwater Basin – Elevation Sign
But when I do get back into my car, my body seems to want to overheat. Weird. I felt great, if not a bit tired, when hiking out there. But the actual surface of my skin is crazy hot. I start to sweat in the car. I don’t have heat stroke or anything, it is just kind of weird that I was so dry outside and now I’m sweating.
I guzzle a litre of water like it’s a shot glass and realize how crazy quick you can get dehydrated in Death Valley National Park. I start to wonder if my decision to camp in Death Valley overnight might not be the smartest move.
Death Valley – Earth’s Lowest Sign
Then it dawns on me that people actually lived and worked here. Some people still do! Who would ever want to live here? The thought of working in the old mining operations, or living in the area out of choice seems ridiculous. There are places on earth where we are not meant to be, and despite its beauty, I think Death Valley is one of them.
With that said, I’d love to return and visit again, ha! Maybe with an extra thick layer of sunscreen next time.
I wasn’t surprised, but at the same time felt a bit guilty I hadn’t posted a warning about them years ago. You see they still owe me $2,000 from when I worked for them many years ago.
Broken Down Moose Travel Van – Was it a Sign of Things to Come?
It was sad to see they hadn’t cleaned up their act, but knowing that the “Moose East” operations are now out of business and no more travellers will be harmed by sketchy business operations, brings a bit of closure. Doubly sad is that there is a big void for the service that Moose Travel tried to provide – affordable backpacking trips in Eastern Canada. They could have done it so much better and been a very successful company.
For anyone curious to know more on my background working with Moose Travel, here is a blog post from 2016 that I never got around to publishing when they were still in operation. At the time I didn’t want to give them any publicity, as small as this little blog may be.
The life of freelancers…
The travel industry is not known as one of the highest paying industries, but it sure can be a ton of fun if you work with the right businesses.
Making money as a travel writer and travel marketing consultant can be challenging. You may be offered amazing trips around the world, in lieu of pay, for creating an entire marketing plan. Or perhaps an online outlet wants to pay you $25 for a travel article that will take you 4 hours to write. Depending on your current situation, sometimes you have to accept those opportunities.
Thankfully, if you stick with it, you can find permanent contracts, or clients that happily pay your reasonable professional fee of $90/hour because they know you produce results.
Hungry Deer on a Moose Trip
Working for Moose Travel, back in 2012 and 2013…
Not too many years ago, I was a tour guide and tour driver with Moose Travel Network in Canada. For an entire season I enjoyed showing visitors to Canada the best of Ontario and Quebec. I had intended to continue working with them the next season even though it was a job that paid next to nothing. How come? Because it was an active, fun outdoor job and the only way I was able to afford to pay my bills each month was because they also hired to do some marketing and social media work for them.
Quiet Time on a Moose Trip
Things went smoothly for a number of months, then they decided to reduce the monthly pay on the marketing and social media side of things. Alright, no worries. You get what you pay for, so I reduced the marketing content appropriately.
Problems with Moose Travel
Then, as the summer went on and I was enjoying being a tour guide, Moose Travel started to skip payments on the social media and marketing efforts. I had to chase them to get late payments. Very annoying, I still had plenty of bills to pay and was now on the road for weeks at a time, making it difficult to secure other paying freelance gigs.
By the end of the season, once tours were finished and there were no more travellers to drive around, they still owed me a chunk of money for that consulting side of things. I chased them every week or so, and they had a long list of excuses for not paying. It became a source of stress since the tour guiding season was over.
Here I am, a solo freelancer, trying to survive, and another small business doesn’t care if they pay me.
Hiking is More fun when You’re being Paid
I thought only big corporations did that kind of crap. But I wasn’t going to cause a huge issue about it, as they were saying they would pay me, and I was still doing my monthly marketing and social media efforts for them as I sought out new job opportunities.
Moose Travel Didn’t Like Paying Others Either
I remember having a good chat with Ben Teskey, the then-owner of the Wolf Den Hostel in Algonquin Park. I had brought a Moose Travel group there towards the end of the season and everyone was having a great time playing cards or sitting around the campfire. It had become practice for Moose Travel to give their guides a pre-paid credit card before each tour, to pay for certain hotels, fuel and food.
Ben was always strict in making sure everything was fully paid up right away – before we could go to our rooms and before giving the groups a run down of the hostel facilities, he lined everyone up to pay. He told me he had previously invoiced Moose Travel for their groups, but it had become a huge pain and he didn’t get paid for months and months. It got to the point where he had to call them up and tell them if they didn’t pay upfront they couldn’t stay any more.
That Feeling when Moose Travel gives you the Silent Treatment
Smart guy! He wasn’t the only person I talked to that had the same story about issues collecting payments. I’ve learned to adopt similar practices now when I have new clients, since you never know which company might screw you over!
At least I knew that it wasn’t just me who Moose Travel was treating with a complete lack of respect when it came to paying their clients and suppliers. I didn’t make me feel any better, but I learned not to take it personally, it had just become a poor business practice that they seemed to think was acceptable.
Week by week, month by month, the stress grew as Moose Travel Network continued to miss their own self-imposed payment deadlines. “We’ll get the money to you next week” was the kind of thing I would frequently hear. Heading in to the new year, I was still chasing them for payment, with their overdue amount creeping up to $3000.
Nice Sunset, but how about a Paycheque?
For someone like me who didn’t have a “real” job at the time, but still had a mortgage to pay, that is a big chunk of money.
Partial Payments, Cancelled Payments, More Excuses
So, the next season I had changed my mind and had no intention of returning as a driver and guide. But I had every intention of collecting that money I was owed. I continued to send overdue payment emails and spoke to Moose Travel owner Megan Lalancette on the phone multiple times. Every time I got a verbal or email promise that payment would be made soon.
Realizing that these marketing services were seen as disposable by Moose, but that their tour guides were an integral part of their business, I figured the only way I may get the marketing/consulting side of things paid was to return as a guide for the next season. By being a guide, I had something of value again – the ability to actually run their tours! So I signed on, and sure enough after all those many months of no payments, I received a partial payment of the overdue marketing funds from the year before.
Say Cheese and Find a new Job
Shortly after this, better paying, less-stressful work opportunities came along, so I had to resign from being a Driver and Guide for Moose Travel. It was such a relief! I had collected about 1/2 of the marketing services money they owed me up to that point.
Moose Travel Goes Silent
After resigning from the driving and guiding duties, Moose Travel kept me on to continue to do some social media work for them each month. I was optimistic that the payments would continue to come through as they had while I was guiding the previous month, but I was wrong.
Payments stopped coming through again, so I knew it was time to cut things loose. They had hired a new marketing person, but had kept me on doing social postings. I knew that person would eventually take things over, so I advised Moose Travel that I’d be terminating my consulting services that June, and their final amount owing was $2000. I was even so kind as to keep some scheduled content running for them into July and August, free of charge.
Over the next couple of months many emails were exchanged. I tried to elevate things by saying I may have to go to a collection agency or let other people know about this situation. But payment was never received. Here are a few direct quotes from emails I received from the owner of Moose Travel, Megan Lalancette:
“I will send partial payment today to clear the outstanding balance.”
“Sorry, I have been away. I will get a payment out to you tomorrow.”
“Happy New Year to you as well. The season is just starting to pick up so we should be able to send something shortly. Again, thanks for your patience.”
“I will send you $500 today to start to pay this balance down.”
Notice one of those said “Happy New Year”? Ya, it dragged on into the next year. So, needless to say the amount still owing was $2000.
Now, in support of Moose Travel, they did send a wire-transfer payment of $500 as the last quote above mentions. But I was travelling and didn’t see the email right away. When I did see it (3 days after receiving it), there was also a “cancelled payment” message. The accountant at Moose Travel apparently got worried they sent payment to the wrong email, and cancelled it just 48 hours after sending.
A Moose! It was actually pretty rare to spot a Moose on a Moose trip
They didn’t bother to contact me to verify it was the right email, they simply cancelled it. I haven’t received a payment since then, despite confirming that it was the correct email. Who cancels a wire transfer after 48 hours, especially when you’ve sent transfers to that exact same email in the past?
As for those promised payment emails and phone calls, well my emails to info@moosetravel.com and megan@moosetravel.com never get replied to, and I left phone messages on their answering machine to no avail. After assuming I was put on some kind of blacklist by Moose Travel, I finally got in touch with Megan from Moose Travel one last time, almost three years later (January 2016) and it seemed payment was on the way! I even agreed to accept $1700 instead of the $2000 they owe me – if they paid it right away. Even that effort to get things settled didn’t work, as Megan went silent again.
Moose Travel’s Stall Tactics Worked…
From 2012 to 2016. Weeks became months, months became years, and now I had the paperwork ready to file off a lawsuit against Moose Travel. Sadly, I didn’t know what the typical statue of limitations was on such issues and of course had waited too long. I suspect now that was part of the plan on the Moose Travel end with their constant delay tactics. On the bright side, I did become more familiar with the process to take next time, in case someone else tries to skip out on payments to Red Hunt Travel.
I had a fun time going everywhere from Ottawa and Montreal to Halifax and Charlottetown with Moose Travel, thanks to the cool people who took the trips. It really was a shame I could never promote their trips in good conscience as there was always this lingering lack of trust behind the scenes.
Happy Travellers in Quebec
I’m sure almost everyone else I know would have spammed them on social media and reported them to the BBB and posted plenty of negative reviews about them. That really isn’t my approach, but should Moose Travel ever be reincarnated and start up again, I’d be very wary of giving them any money. Unfortunately there aren’t really any other great alternatives out there that I can recommend.
Have you dealt with any clients or companies who refused to pay? Have you had a poor experience with Moose Travel in recent years too? If so, let us all know so other people won’t make the same mistake trying to work with them!
One small side note, The owners of Moose Travel in western Canada were different, with the two company’s being totally different behind the scenes. While I haven’t worked with them, it may still be alright to travel with Moose in BC and Alberta.
Have you ever gone camping for Thanksgiving? We did the other year and had an absolute blast!
Autumn colours, cool nights and a cozy rustic cabin made for an ideal Thanksgiving getaway at Bonnechere Provincial Park. Enjoying some of the last warm days before fall took full effect, our group had a fantastic time exploring the park and taking advantage of the somewhat quiet conditions that fall camping allows for.
Rustic Cabin at Bonnechere Provincial Park
While the rustic cabins seemed booked up, the campground itself looked to only be 1/2 or 2/3rd full. Considering the weather was better than most of the summer, we felt lucky being able to go hiking on the trails, and canoeing down the river in relative peace and quiet, save for the sounds of busy birds, beavers, squirrels and chipmunks running around.
One fun highlight at Bonnechere that cracked us up was the McNaugton Trail with its “Footprints in Time”, which we dubbed “infologs” instead, as we thought it was a catchier name! it was actually a lot of fun reading and learning about the traditional local First Nations history and culture in a traditional way.
An “Infolog” at Bonnechere
By the light of the moon, we even did a midnight paddle down the river all the way to the lake. So peaceful, except for the occasional “splash” from an animal slipping into the water as we paddled by.
We even had time to take in a few games of horseshoes! How about that? Bonnechere was a surprising park for all of us. It had been on our radar before, but we were impressed by the range of trails, the nice beach area and the overall features of the park. While we are not camping for thanksgiving this year, it is quite possibly the start of a new tradition for years going forward.
Rustic Cabining at Bonnechere
What is a Rustic Cabin?
First off, it isn’t too rustic!
By rustic they mean it doesn’t have a washroom on-site, so you have to use the communal bathrooms and showers just as if you were car camping. But the rustic cabin does come with a screened in porch area, a spacious living room area and kitchen, plus two bedrooms.
BBQ Area at the Cabin
Outside you get firewood included, a BBQ area with propane BBQ included and a canoe for your use as well! Pretty sweet, if you consider that the cost of those extras can add up pretty quickly.
In fact, we had so much space around our cabin at Bonnechere that we were able to take advantage of the nice weather and play some lawn games like bocce ball and spikeball when we weren’t enjoying a campfire.
Horseshoes anyone?
The cabin kitchen had a kettle and mini-fridge and microwave that were handy. We did bring a couple of coolers along to keep extra food cold on the screened in patio, since it was Thanksgiving after all and we BBQ’d a turkey breast, along with all the extras for a special dinner.
We spent our days exploring the park, and sitting by the campfire, or lounging in a hammock we put up near the river. It was a hard camping experience to beat. With more and more Ontario Parks adding some rustic cabins, yurts or other accommodation options, this is the way to go for those early season and late season weekends where weather might not always cooperate – or where you simply want some extra comforts compared to sleeping in a tent.
Chipmunk!
We did have a short time of rain on our camping weekend, but a high-stakes game of Yahtzee in the cabin quickly turned that into a fun time too. A visit from one of the park wardens was fun too, giving us some insights into what it is like working at Ontario Parks, seemed like quite an interesting gig!
We can imagine this park to be a popular, busy place during peak summer months. It has a lot to offer for families with kids and the beach was impressive too. While we didn’t go swimming on Thanksgiving weekend, we were tempted! maybe we’ll have to return to go for a dip next time?
Hammock Time at Bonnechere
Checking out the little Library
Canoeing back to our cabin at Bonnechere Provincial Park
