The SunBreak » tours

Getaway: Seattle to San Juan’s Humpbacks and Back

Michael van Baker — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:31:21 +0000

"Humpbacks returning to Puget Sound in big numbers," says Q13, an assessment backed up by the Vancouver Sun, which calls it "humpback heaven" out there -- though it looks like both are cribbing from the same press release from the Pacific Whale Watch Association.

Seattle’s Winter Getaway Secret, Sayulita, Gets a “Magic Pueblo” Makeover

Michael van Baker — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:13:14 +0000

On my mid-January trip, I am also handed a cloud of construction-raised dust as Sayulita has just been designated a "Pueblo Magico" by Mexico's secretary of tourism, making it one of over 50 towns that have been selected because they occupy some symbolic spot in tourists hearts. In Sayulita's case, that spot has been, since the 1960s, lodged firmly in surfers' hearts, and through a wonderful symbiosis, Sayulita has grown from a small fishing village to a slightly larger (pop. 4,000-5,000) surfing-fishing village that is mostly free of tacky tourism.

Shore Notes From a First-Time Caribbean Cruise

Michael van Baker — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:30:53 +0000

The most pernicious misconception I had about cruising the Caribbean was the fantasy where I spent the whole time flat on my back on a lounge chair on the upper deck, working on a tan, harassing waiters for daiquiris, and making plans for "second lunch" at the buffet. You can do that, certainly, and cruise lines like to play up the pampering, but if you have an ounce of explorer in you, stopping at a new island each morning will have you up bright and early, ready to hit to the pier.