No, I’m not talking to the 80’s hit by The Bangles. I haven’t quite lost my head like that yet. Though….No no I haven’t lost my head like that at all.
Who was I talking to? Well just about every Egyptian man who lined the streets of Luxor desperate to get hold of me or catch my attention.
I’m not being vain. Believe me. The last think I wanted was to catch their eye. It was just something they did! To everyone!
What am I talking about? Well I’m talking about my trip around the world last year, that landed me in Egypt for two weeks. I went from Cairo to Aswan to Luxor and back to Cairo again.
It was an incredible trip that I did by train. Have you ever woken-up to see the Nile drift by you? I didn’t think so. It’s stunning.
Which is why you should book to go NOW! Don’t delay. Why? Well for one reason the CTravel agency in Bermuda can get you a great deal.
In fact if you book by December 31st you can received a discount of as much as $700 on a ten day trip through Egypt! Four of those days will be on a boat.
Need I say more? Well you’d be traveling the same route I did. But unlike the backpacker I was, you will travel from Cairo and along the Nile, in the company of distinguished Egyptologists, who will happily explain both modern and ancient Egypt.
Visit bazaars alive with color and fragrant spices, and gain an appreciation for Egypt’s unique diversity. And the best part? Sailing along the Nile on the 47-guest Salacia.
So make sure you contact CTravel today to book your discounted tour of Egypt.
Or do your cultural tendencies lean toward the musical kind? Perhaps a little Jazz will lighten your day? How about for nine days?
Jazz Cruise
Yep well through the company My Escapades and CTravel, you could be sailing with 80 Jazz greats for nine days!
With the likes of Johnny Mandel, James Moody, Wycliffe Gordon, Jeff Hamilton, Jon Gordon, Freddy Cole, Shelly Berg, and Ernie Adams to name a few.
Imagine listening to the soothing sounds of Jazz while navigating through the Caribbean! From Fort Lauderdale to Nassau, San Juan, St. Maarten and Half Moon Cay, you’ll have an amazing time for the price of just $2,599 per person.
The best part for Bermudians is that price includes flights from Toronto to Ft. Lauderdale to begin the trip. With the introduction of WestJet that’s an easy and cheap connection to make!
Or are you looking for something more hardcore? Maybe a trip up and down the world? How about from Cape
Rome
Town, South Africa to Rome, Italy?!
Well Princess Cruises through CTravel are offering a cruise in April next year that costs only $5,499 per person and is 26 days!
How cool would that be? It would be.
You’d be taken to Namibia, Ghana, Senegal, Togo and then to Spain, France and of course Italy!
And the price starts at just $5,999 per person for the 26-day cruise!
Of course I’m missing some of the countries in the list, but you wouldn’t when you travel in style with Princess Cruise lines!
So make sure you enjoy your holidays now, book your holidays for later and of course come back tomorrow for more Robyn’s Wanderings!
I had to stay. I had just completed my Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course in Prague, Czech Republic. My apartment was new and so was the job at Berlitz language school.
I was not going to be flying back to Bermuda for Christmas. It was the first time I had spent the holiday away and I was slightly worried about how I would handle it in this landlocked country.
Where would I find a beach? What crazy Canadians would I watch swimming on Christmas Day? And then I saw the kiddie pool on my Prague corner. Huh?
The temperatures had descended below freezing and mittens upon mittens captured my hands, and the Czechs had pulled out bath tubs onto their streets.
What could possess them to do such a thing?
Well I wasn’t sure either when I spent a Christmas in Prague seven years ago. So as I walked home one day, trying to keep my toes from falling off in temperatures more suitable to snowmen, I watched as a crazy Czech dove his arm into a pool of water. Seconds later his arm and a massive fish (carp) came out.
I had to ask my Czech friends. This can’t be right. Is he really doing this? Why would he be doing this? Why wouldn’t they just go to a butcher counter in a warm supermarket? All of that seemed sane to me.
Unfortunately, for the butcher that is, warm and Christmas Eve dinner do not go hand in hand in Prague. Instead carp, which is the Czech’s Christmas Eve dinner, is supposed to be kept alive as long as possible before chow-time. That means tubs on the side of the road until they are butchered. Some Czech’s even forgo the butchering and take their carp home alive to sit in their bathtubs until Christmas Eve! Forget the goldfish pet!
Even crazier? Carp is supposed to be (I was never brave to try it) salty and boney, but it’s tradition. Don’t believe me? Don’t think the Czech’s are up for the cold? Check out this video:
Llama in Peru also on the menu?
Go figure. Christmas traditions around the world can strike the odd chord. Of course we have our own in Bermuda and sometimes they make sense (cassava pie) and sometimes they don’t (Elbow Beach boozing), which is why I’m writing about them this week for my Rock Fever Column in The Royal Gazette.
But last year I was not in Prague or Bermuda. This time last year rather than trying to decide which slippers I’m going to give my mom (ooops there goes the surprise) I was navigating Peru.
Well Peru and then Bolivia! These would be my last stops on my trip around the world. I would not, however, be spending Christmas in either place. Nope.
After 12 months on the road, I was ready to go home.
So I missed the celebration. But this year as I sit comfortably at home I was curious. What are the traditions in South America? What do Peruvians eat/do for the holiday? Well good thing my friend and soon-to-be travel buddy is from Peru.
According to my STB travel buddy, Christmas in Peru? It’s Turkey. Yeah, not very exciting or different from home (Bermuda).
I mean this is a country that eats guinea pig on a regular basis. No, I am not kidding. They eat what we call pets. Maybe they’re good? I wouldn’t know. Unfortunately all the menus I saw in Peru made the guinea pig look completely revolting.
However, according to my STB travel buddy: “People in different regions will vary their Christmas menu so some people may actually eat the little gerbil creatures, but for the majority, it’s turkey with various side dishes (often including tamales) and champagne. Panetón and hot chocolate are very popular too.”
Mmmmm….tamales. They were with a massive hit with me when I was in Peru! How can they not be? Wrapped in banana leaves, completed with corn flour and filled with meat there is literally nothing I can think of that would stop me from not loving them!
Want to learn how to make them? Yeah me too so I found this somewhat long-ish film on youtube for our enjoyment:
All this food is eaten at a get-together, party or dinner on Christmas eve which culminates at midnight and everyone wishes everyone else Merry Christmas!
Of course this is the hottest time of the year (we are talking the Southern Hemisphere here) so in Bolivia Christmas food generally focuses on picana.
Pic…what? Picana. It’s a soup made of a soup made of chicken, beef, corn and spices and is eaten usually on Christmas. Well it could be the Eve or the Day, but that just depends on the Bolivian family.
Accompanying the soup? Salads, roast pork or roast beef, and an abundance of tropical fruit and for a sweet it will be eat taffy-filled wafer cookies called “turrón“.
Unfortunately I never indulged in this amazing feast because I was whisked away by American Airlines.
As I touched my toes to Bermuda soil I was, in what can only be described as ironic, directed to arrive in London, England. My family was spending Christmas abroad.
With four days in Bermuda I packed a new bag and was set for London. Of course in England they have their own traditions for Christmas: It’s Crackers! Which of course we have in Bermuda.
Cross your arms for Crackers!
But not ones you can eat. Well I suppose you could and then you’d probably be quite sick. In any case, the Cracker tradition is not one I have ever seen in the United States.
It requires using one of these (pictured to the right) of bundles between two people and pulling them apart. Out pops a toy, a joke and a hat!
The history of it?
Of course this tradition started with who else? A Brit. Thomas Smith in 1846 to be precise. Why? Well because he had been in Paris and seen bon-bons wrapped in tissue paper. He took the idea back to England, wrapped poems in them and eventually transformed the entire idea with a banger (chemically impregnated paper that explodes when pulled).
His sons took over the business and in the 1900’s and in the 1930’s love poems turned to jokes. Ahhh the Christmas traditions explained.
Cassava Pie!
Unlike Americans, however, the British are not happy with one day-off and instead have two! Boxing Day (like us of course!), which is December 26th or Boxing Day. Want to know where our day-off comes from? Well that was a day when boys used to go round collecting money in clay boxes. When the boxes were full, they broke them open.
This year, however, I will take a break from traveling. Yes, I will be in Bermuda and will only have to travel as far as one parish to another to indulge in Turkey, ham, beans, carrots and the traditional Cassava pie!
You don’t know what cassava pie is?! Sacrilege! It is of course based on cassava, which is a starch-filled root that grows in poor soil. Hence why the early settlers, dating back to 1612, made it into everything they could.
But just because it grew-up in poor soil doesn’t mean it tastes poorly. Never! And the best part is that it is totally safe for celiacs! Well, that is, once it is cleaned properly. Cleaned improperly and you have some serious cyanide poisoning.
Bermudians, me, traditionally, now, buy it frozen, drain it, fill it with eggs and plenty of butter, chicken and even sometimes pork.
It’s a weird tradition because though everyone eats it on Christmas Day, not everyone makes it the same way. Some make it sweet, some make it savory. It’s all about your taste buds.
Which has made me hungry! It’s time to enjoy and indulge wherever you are so have a Happy Holiday, visit the Bermuda National Museum for more traditions, and of course visit here tomorrow for all your vacation needs!
Get your Gift Certificate by November 30th and win two tickets!
I know we don’t celebrate it in Bermuda. Well, we don’t celebrate this meal on the fourth Thursday of November since 1863 unless you are American or have the American heritage.
But why do Americans celebrate it? Well apparently way back when, Americans were not quite as hardy and they barely made it through their first winter in a new land.
They put together a meal of venison, calms, fruit, pumpkin, etc… and sat down for three days! Yes, three days. They managed to consume enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Native Americans.
Not a bad job. Now that food feeds a family of five. Just kidding.
But why am I bringing this up? Good question. Fancy celebrating Thanksgiving in the country that founded it? For free? Why not, right? I do!
Want to finish a bit of Christmas shopping too?!? I know. I know. You’re thinking: “This is boring, Robyn. Just tell us.”
Ok well if you go into CTravel by November 30th and buy a gift certificate for someone on your Christmas gift list (or even yourself) you’ll be entered to win two tickets to anywhere in the United States!
No I’m not kidding! So what are you waiting for?
More suggestions? We that’s good because CTravel has also launched a new website for those looking for more travel ideas.
What’s it called? CTravel Society. It has all of your travel advisories, currency converter, FAA tips, etc.! So check it out and find-out about their latest ventures.
And finally…..what are you doing tonight? Need an excuse to shop?
Well perfect then.
The Phoenix Centre is opening its doors to the lucky shoppers who make it to the store between 6.30 and 9.00 p.m. tonight!
Sip, shop, sample and save!!!
Need I say more? Well how about if you get your Christmas gifts sorted now you can fly to Jamaica directly from Bermuda for the holidays!
Don’t bother having to connect through America or swing through London.
For Christmas CTravel can connect you directly to Jamaica for the low price of $1,200 per person.
That runs from December 18th to January 8th and the price includes all of your accommodations!
Optional visits to Cuba, Panama, Santo Domingo and other islands can also be arranged.
For more information or to make a reservation please contact: Pam Maybury at: 294-6908 or email: pamm@ctravel.bm
Welcome to Robyn Skinner's website. I'm from Bermuda, am a freelance journalist and have spent the last year traveling around the world solo. Visit My Postcards for the travel columns over the last year and every other page here for more information on...travels...and me!
Robyn's Wanderings 