The DR2

In December, I took my side of our family to the DR.  Nickie and I, my daughters Celeste and Brittany, Britt's husband Kris and their 2 children Audrey and Lukas.  We had a grand old time, but found it a bit tricky to organize outings, as we were staying in 3 rooms in the resort.  On reflection, we thought for Nickie's side of the family, it might be better to rent a large house instead of several rooms in a resort.  We could spend time at the house, swim in the pool and enjoy meals as a family.  My side of the family numbers 7.  There are actually more than 7, but let's not overcomplicate this story.  Nickie's side numbers 14.  Most live in Ontario, but 4 are in British Columbia.  To say the logistics were complicated is an understatement!  Due to visa restrictions (I'm striving to keep this simple), one of her sons and his fiance could not accompany us.

Using triangulation, we chose a vacation spot that is equidistance from Ontario and BC.  Yes, you are correct, we chose Puerto Vallarta!  We had just finished booking the flights and accommodations when all hell broke out in Mexico.  A drug lord was killed and the riots began.  Where, you ask?  Hmm...  Puerto Vallarta!  I know what you are thinking... Bad things seem to follow me wherever I travel.  Perhaps it would be advisable not to travel to destinations where I am going.  One benefit of reading this travel blog is you can find out where to avoid travelling.  Just saying!

Time for Plan B

The re-booking could have been worse.  Nickie lost half the cost of the house rental in Mexico.  I can't quite blame the owner, as she was not likely to re-book it.  The flights were more complicated, as Nickie did not receive an outright reimbursement, but a partial credit that was quite tricky to re-book flights.

We decided on a large house in the Dominican Republic.  As the credits were with Flair Air, who do not have direct flights from Vancouver to the DR, it was decided to fly Nickie's daughter and family from Vancouver to Toronto.  A few days later, we would fly together to the DR.

Large pool!

I have never travelled with such a large group before.  Somehow, 12 of us made it to the airport and boarded our plane without much histrionics.  We played a version of musical chairs on the plane, primarily because Flair seems to deliberately separate travelers, likely so that they pony up the cost of obtaining conjoining seats.  An example is Sarah, Nickie's daughter was seated far from her sons, one being 6 and the other 8 years of age.  I know we are supposed to sit in our designated seats so that when the plane crashes, they can tag the remains, but perhaps Flair (and other airlines) could use more gracious algorithms for seating their customers?

Spacious downstairs

The owner of the house was very accommodating, booking rides to and from the airport, renting us 2 cars and responding quickly when there was an issue with the house.  And unfortunately, there always seems to be issues with accommodations in the DR, and other Caribbean countries.  Partially my fault, but when we arrived, we could not gain entry at the gate.  We were staying at a golf course and in order to pass the security gate, we had to show the guards QRL codes.  How do we get the QRL codes?  By providing the owner with our passport information.  Unfortunately, before we left Canada, she asked me for "information" on the party, so I provided her with the names.  I asked if this was sufficient, but received no response.  So we waited at the gate while Amita sent the owner pictures of everyone's passports.  We were then provided with the QRL codes.  It was fun, but not in a good way.

The house was quite large!  Our group consisted of 4 adult couples, 2 small children (1 and 3) and 2 older children (6 and 8).  We used 5 of the house's 6 bedrooms, all of which had ensuites, although at times, hot water was optional.

Nickie posing on the beach

The house also had a well stocked kitchen, large dining room, living room, outdoor dining room and pool.  Did I mention there was 12 of us?  I was flabbergasted at the amount of food, water, beer and wine (not in that order) we consumed.  We bought eight 10 liter jugs of water and had to buy more the next day!  It was great to see how everyone pitched in and helped with making the meals, maintaining an adequate supply of Pina Coladas and washing the dishes.  Yes there was a dishwasher, but of course it did not work.  We had need of a mechanic (Jason) in order to resurrect the BBQ.

Home in the DR

Because we spent so much time together, I think the objective of reuniting the family (and for me, getting to know them better) was a success.  We spent considerable time at the pool, went on a few walks along the golf course and hit the beach on 2 occasions.  We ate supper out twice.  It was not overly expensive, once you factor in that we were 12 people, but eating at the house was much more relaxing.  Not that anyone imbibed excessively, but driving in the DR is not something I would recommend after 6 glasses of wine.  At the house, a few drinks during the meal was more comfortable.

The flight home was uneventful.  The next day. Sarah's family had to fly home to Vancouver.  All in all, although a beach vacation is not my preference, it was a fun week!

Nicaragua: Not crowded!

In January 2026, Nickie and I were hunkering down in Ontario, enjoying the massive snowfalls and chilly temperatures.  What could be better, you ask?  Let's take a look!  We had considered Costa Rica, but we had left it too late and accommodations were sparse.  Since Nicaragua was a less popular travel destination, we were able to find reasonable flights and accommodations.  We booked a trip leaving in 5 days!

Some shoveling required

Temperatures in January/February in Nicaragua are quite pleasant.  Of course, anything is pleasant after enduring -20 degrees and shoveling snow until your arms fall off.  Since driving in Nicaragua is tricky (plenty of horror stories regarding what happens if you are in a serious accident) and we were not familiar with the country, we decided to stay in an ecolodge.  They picked us up at the airport, which was a really good idea.  I have no doubt we would not have made it to the Hacienda without getting lost for 3 or 4 days.  The main highways are well marked, but there is no signage on the secondary roads.  And the country roads are almost impassable!

The road to the Hacienda!

The Hacienda was wonderful.  Well appointed cottages, a small but refreshing pool and incredible vistas.  In the distance was a volcano with smoke pouring out of it.  The hacienda was not busy during the week and was visited by locals on the weekend.  It was a bit surreal as we were the only guests for most of the time.  It gave us a feeling of what the rich and famous experience, when they allegedly rent the entire lodge. 4 - 5 staff waiting on us, no waiting for meals or drinks.  We had supper with a couple from California one night, which was a refreshing change from eating by ourselves.

Masaya volcano as seen from the Hacienda

Because the hacienda was rather remote and we did not have a car, we were forced to spend considerable time lounging about the bar and pool.  Not exactly torture, but infrequently I find idle time to be a challenge.  By "infrequently" I mean "frequently".  We went on 3 excursions and hiked almost every day.  We hiked near the volcano, which was cool but a tad disturbing.  Our guide would show us smoke coming out of the ground, which was awesome, but made me wonder what exactly we were walking on...  Hmm.  Don't dwell on it!

View from the pool

We drove to the top of the Masaya volcano and peered into the smoking caldera.  Again, totally awesome, but just don't dwell on what might happen if the volcano went KABANG!  Time at the volcano was limited to 5 minutes.  I did not have the nerve to ask why.  Let's assume it was the toxic atmosphere, not the likelihood of getting coated with lava.  Nickie's hat blew off her head and landed on the other side of the barricade, a few inches from a 300 meter vertical drop into the caldera.  I offered to retrieve her hat (it was worth more than $10!) but thankfully she declined my offer.  Actually, she mentioned something about limited cerebral capacity.  I think she was talking about the hat.

Masaya Volcano

Go get the hat please...

Another excursion was to the nearby city of Granada.  We took a boat out to some islands that had formed during an eruption of the Mombacho volcano.  There were some very cool cottages on the islands whom our guide declared to be worth a million dollars.  It is hard to be impressed with the value of large cottages on private islands when they cost about the same as a shack in Toronto.  We visited the old section of Granada, then went on a hike along the Laguna de Apoyo.  The hike was great and we met up with a few fellow Canadians.  We saw some local wildlife that looked a bit like an aardvark.

Nice cottage!

Other days we hiked along the dirt roads and trails near the hacienda.  The area is rather poor (we were told not to hike with our phones) but quite beautiful.  We hiked into the small town of Masatepe and ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant.

Sunset at the Hacienda

Overall, Nicaragua is safe enough to visit and a worthy country to explore.  It is quite poor, so be careful when travelling there.

 

The DR

In 2025, Nickie and I decided to bring our families on a vacation, to provide our families with a chance to reconnect and spend time together.  My non-extended family tallies at 7 people.  Nickie's family tallies at 14.  We decided to plan 2 trips, one for each family.  Trying to organize a vacation for 21 people would be ludicrous.

Since my daughter Brittany is a teacher, we were constrained to a trip over the Christmas break.  Ideally, we would depart on December 26, so that we could celebrate Christmas with other family members and Britt could get back from a week's holiday before her school year started.  I checked prices and was surprised to find out trips south were expensive during the holiday break.  I heard what you just said and did not appreciate it!  Departing on December 26 would cost about $3,000 CAD more than departing on December 24.  Alas, my "plan" caused quite a bit of disruption for the various celebrations with other family members.

Chilling on the Beach

Overall, the week was wonderful, as we were able to interact with the family on a more frequent basis than normal.  We got to know Britt's 2 children better and spent time with Kris (Britt's husband) and my 2 daughters.  I see a bit of Celeste, but usually it is only for lunch on days I am busy at my Creemore house.

Pool #802B

All-inclusive vacations are not high on my travel wish list, as there is a dearth of interesting sights and few hiking trails.  It was also tricky to arrange anything (outings, supper, beaching) with the whole group.  We were in 3 rooms, so communication alone was tricky.  For Nickie's family, we have rented a large house in Mexico, instead of staying at a resort.

Overall, the trip was well worth it, as we were able to spend time together.  In terms of repeating the trip, I think other options would be better, especially once the grandchildren get older and more adventurous trips become viable.

Cheers!

New Zealand

 New Zealand has been on the list for so long, it is quite embarrassing.  Our biggest challenge was to determine how long we should allocate to New Zealand.  With 18 time zone changes, travel alone takes time.  The easiest way to grasp the time zone change is to think of travel to New Zealand as the same as Europe (6 hours ahead) but you miss a day.  This still causes me some confusion, but if I hold my head at a slight angle, I can usually figure it out.  Nickie is of the opinion that I should IGNORE the time change and adjust to the current time.  Not very likely!

Outbound travel was exciting, but not in a good way.  Our itinerary was to fly from Pearson (YYZ) to Chicago (ORD) with 1 time zone change and an hour layover before flying to Dallas (DFW).  Then a 75 minute layover before flying to Auckland (AUK).  Travel time was from 16:44 on Wednesday until 16:10 on Thursday (times in EST).  We flew with American Airlines, although the leg from YYZ to ORD was on their affiliate carrier American Eagle.  Yes, something always happens to me when I fly, but seriously?  I could not check in online and was instructed to check in at the airport.  No problem, I guessed that having 3 flights was the reason.  Nope!  When we tried to check in at the airport, we were told that we needed a visa before they would check us in.  What?  Since when?  I mentioned to the person at the check-in counter that Canadians do not need a visa to visit New Zealand.  No matter, no visa, no check-in.  We quickly submitted a visa application online.  There are 3 options:  normal (10 days), fast (up to 18 hours) and ludicrously quick (under 2 hours).  We selected the fastest option, as our plane departed in 3 hours.  2 hours later (we were slightly late for check-in) and $600 out of pocket, we were checked in.  After going in circles for 2 weeks, American Airline would not even acknowledge that their policy is wrong.  Even the person at customs in New Zealand told us we did not need a visa.  Here's the catch.  Americans need a visa to visit New Zealand, not Canadians.  Thanks American Airlines.

Travel tip:  Don't fly American Airlines.

We landed in Auckland after being up (tragically short naps on flights don't count) for 34 hours.  Time to drive on the wrong side of the road!  Fortunately, we had booked a room near the airport, so driving on the left side for the first time was for only 20 minutes.  I should mention that I never drove on the right side while in New Zealand, although I incorporated a pre-drive mental ritual where I thought very hard about what not to do in order to stave off dying.

Many Waterfalls!

Surfs up!

We planned to visit the north island for 1 week and 2 weeks on the south island.  With travel, the trip was a total of 23 days.  We saw quite a few iconic sights, but to say we cover most of the hot spots in 3 weeks is ludicrous.  New Zealand has an inordinate number of beautiful vistas.  I don't think the locals have seen them all.  Did I mention that the hiking is epic?

We stayed in 9 different spots:  Karaka, Raglan, Rotura, Tauranga, Auckland, Christchurch, Omarama, Te Anua and Queenstown.  Due to domestic flights, we stayed in Christchurch and Auckland on 2 occasions each.  Yes, I have a spreadsheet for the trip, why would you ask such apparent question?

Hiking along the ridge

Hiking on the north island was indeed challenging.  We actually turned back on one hike.  The hike started with a steep climb up a mountain, followed by a traverse along a ridge.  On either side of the meter wide ridge was about a 400 meter drop-off.  It might have been more, but I was disinclined to verify the actual extent of the cliff.  After negotiating the ridge for an hour (it seemed longer) we arrived at a steep slope (roughly 60 degree) that was covered in roots and slick mud.  To make it much safer, someone had installed a heavy chain, with which we could pull ourselves up the slope.  Falling would result in a fast drop down the slope, then launching out over the 400 meter cliff.  We decided to turn back.

Other hikes were gentler and easier, but still incredibly beautiful.  It was also a treat to experience longer days, with sunsets scheduled for about 8:00 PM.

Rose garden

The food was quite good.  Restaurant meals were a bit expensive ($40 NZD for mains) but not much worse than Canadian prices, once the exchange rate and lack of tipping were factored in.  Wine pricing was also similar to Canadian prices, but there seemed to be less of a mark-up in the restaurants.  Gas was more expensive ($2.50 NZD per litre) but we lucked out at the car rental, so not as shocking at the pumps.  The car rental company had a backlog of vehicles to clean and there were about 12 customers waiting for their car.  Once cars became available, they were quickly issued to waiting customers, independent of what we had requested.  We were given a small hybrid, which was quite miserly in its fuel consumption.

Beach!

The south island was, not surprisingly, also very beautiful.  The hiking trails all seemed to have incredible vistas or points of interest.  We watched as they poured soap into a geyser (I kid you not!) that resulted in a 10 meter eruption.  We watched surfers and people riding electric hydrofoils and witnessed an avalanche.  Too cool!

A LONG tunnel on a hike

Beautiful

Wild terrain

Soon it was time for our flight from Christchurch to Auckland.  The next day we boarded our flight to Toronto.

Overall, New Zealand is well worth the prolonged travel.  I think we saw enough that returning will be doubtful.  30 hours travelling gets old as we get old.

Next:  Dominican Republic with my family.  We are also planning a trip to Mexico with Nickie's family.  These blog entries will have to wait as we just booked a trip to Nicaragua, departing in 5 days.

Cheers!