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5 Tips for Planning a Trip Once Travel Is Safe

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5 Tips for Planning a Trip Once Travel Is Safe

Because the novel coronavirus spreads through person-to-person contact, responsible, health-conscious people throughout Canada have been staying close to home for over a year to avoid either contracting COVID-19 through travel or unwittingly spreading it to others in far-flung places. Fortunately, such extreme measures may not be necessary for much longer. Vaccine administration in Canada and the United States has been swift and efficient. The more people become vaccinated, not only in these two countries but around the world, the easier it will be to return to regular activities, including travel.

We may not be at herd immunity yet, but you can be ready when the time comes by starting to think about plans for your next vacation now. Here are some tips for how to make your plans safely and effectively.

  1. Consider Staying Close to Home at First

You may be eager to take a cruise to Puerto Rico the moment that you are vaccinated. If one is available, and you are willing to observe whatever safety measures are imposed on the cruise ship, that is entirely valid. However, it may be that there are attractions closer to home that you have never visited before. In Alberta alone, there are many beautiful and interesting places to visit, such as Jasper National Park and Banff. If you’ve never been skiing in the Canadian Rockies, now may be the perfect opportunity. These proximal attractions may be more accessible than trips to another province or another country during what appears to be the tail end of the pandemic.

  1. Expect To Follow Safety Guidelines

While the vaccines currently being administered in Canada and the United States are proven effective at preventing severe disease from infection with the novel coronavirus, research has yet to determine conclusively whether they prevent the spread of infection to non-vaccinated people. Therefore, even after you receive your vaccine and feel safe to travel, you will still need to abide by safety precautions, at least for a while, to avoid unintentionally infecting an unvaccinated person while you are asymptomatic. Until enough people are vaccinated or scientists know more about the ability of the vaccine to prevent the spread, you must continue to wear masks and observe social distancing.

  1. Have Specific Goals in Mind

After such a long time refraining from travel, you should have a specific intention in planning your first trip. It doesn’t have to be anything too detailed. Maybe your goal is to visit family, or it can be something as simple as seeing someplace that you’ve never been. Whatever the case, you should have an achievable objective in mind as you plan your trip.

  1. Be Flexible

While the current pandemic outlook appears bright for the most part, circumstances may change without warning, whether for better or worse. Planning a future vacation gives you something to look forward to, which can help to serve as a mechanism for dealing with lingering restrictions. Just bear in mind that you may not be able to go exactly where you want and do exactly what you want exactly when you want. Be flexible enough to make changes in response to the state of things both where you live and where you wish to travel. Pay particular attention to cancellation policies when booking travel, accommodations, etc. Many such policies have been made more flexible in response to the pandemic, so now is a great time to take advantage of that.

  1. Learn About Your Destination

Planning your trip can be seen as an extension of the vacation. Learning as much as you can about where you want to go can be a restorative step in itself. Take advantage of the time you have before your trip to learn as much as you can beforehand. Read books about it illustrated with color photographs and watch documentary programs about it on television. You may feel that you are already there long before you ever get to go. Even if you have to delay your trip, you’ll have something with which to occupy yourself in the meantime.

Additionally, the more you learn about your destination before you get there, the more confident you will feel upon your arrival.

The author of this story may have received compensation from some of the companies that are linked in this article. 

Click here to find a fantastic series – European Favourites by Paul Almeida.

My European Favourites – Lisbon’s Belem District

 

Food and Dining

“Cook With Meg” creating community through online courses and camps for 3 years now

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News release from CookWithMeg.com

VIRTUAL COOKING SCHOOL THAT STARTED DURING PANDEMIC CELEBRATES 3 YEARS

On March 23, 2020, 27 families from across Canada connected via Zoom amidst the early days of lockdown to Cook with Meg. In this 4 day virtual cooking series, they made Picky Eater Sheet Pan Pancakes, Sticky Chicken Lo-Mein Noodle Bowls, Freaky Friday Fried Rice and That’s A Lotsa Pizza D’oh using limited ingredients with former MasterChef Canada finalist Meg Tucker.

Many will remember when food products and ingredients were not readily available, so families used what they had, or what grocery stores click and collect services would provide. Through these daily cooking lessons, families not only cooked together, but formed friendships across the miles. Week after week, month after month, Cook with Meg grew to include families from Canada, USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Families became friends. We became a Cook with Meg Community.

Today, with over 6000 Zoom connections to thousands of families, the Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year award and hundreds of five star reviews, Cook with Meg continues to thrive. Meg partners with the Egg Farmers of Alberta, Central Alberta Co-op, Alberta Pulse Growers, and Salton Canada to offer incredible experiences to families. She blends her years of experience and talents as a professional cook together by providing live and on-demand cooking classes and camps for families in six countries. Whether it’s a class tackling some of the latest food trends, attending a virtual culinary summer camp, or an adult date night class, Meg’s passion goes far beyond teaching people how to cook. It’s building life skills, it’s practicing patience, it’s building kitchen confidence, strengthening family bonds and boosting self esteem.

No matter where you live, Meg says “everyone can connect through making and sharing food”. To do that, Meg carefully designs her classes and camps in ways that help people to connect with their inner chef and the people around them.

A message from Meg: “To every person that has supported the Cook with Meg adventure. Whether you registered for a class, attended a class, liked a post on social, or shared us with your friends and family, THANK YOU. Thank you to all the families who continue to believe in the value of online learning, specifically in the kitchen. We often get asked if we will transition to “in person” classes, now that “life is getting back to normal”. I have one simple answer. I always say we know that virtual and online learning was here before the pandemic, and it’s definitely not going anywhere. I love it because for parents, you don’t have to pack your kids in the car and drive them all over town. Your kids are getting to learn in YOUR kitchen, using your own appliances and tools. There is no learning curve, only a beautiful path to KITCHEN CONFIDENCE! So the answer is no. We are a virtual cooking school and will remain as such. This allows us to keep our costs low for you, to provide families with an amazing opportunity to learn and make friends all over the world, without boundaries!”

Head to cookwithmeg.com to register for one of our upcoming classes, and watch our social as Summer Camp registration officially opens May 1.

*******************

Meg Tucker has been creating shared experiences through media for over twenty years. Creator of the Shaw TV original kids cooking show Just One Bite, and a top twenty-five finalist on Masterchef Canada, Meg’s catchy enthusiasm for life brings joy to everyone she meets in front of and behind her kitchen counter.

When the world shifted in March 2020, Meg made the ultimate pivot to build a food community called Cook with Meg..

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Gerry Feehan

Croatia – Pedal and Sea

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On our second day of riding, while huffing and puffing up an absurdly steep Croatian road, I said to my wife Florence, ‘Perhaps it would be wise if you were to switch to an e-bike. The guide says the grade is going to get even tougher over the next few days.’ As she pedaled away, Florence remarked, ‘You use electricity. I’ll use electrolytes.’ Then she accelerated up the slope and disappeared around a bend in the lane. I stopped disheartened, dismounted and examined my bicycle, hoping to discover a low tire or some other mechanical excuse to abandon the climb.

We were on a seven-day ‘Pedal and Sea’ adventure on the Dalmatian Coast. We’d been forewarned that it’d be a tough slog. Preparedness being my motto, I spent weeks before departure supplementing my strict training regime with long-distance cycling. The calculations were precise. Twice a week I’d do 4 kilometers of pedaling — followed by a beer and a small nachos plate. Or was it 3 kilometers of pedaling, 2 brewskies and a medium quesadilla? No matter. The critical thing was to arrive in Croatia in tiptop condition, ready to pedal.

Ironically, the town we flew into was called Split. A Roman Emperor named Diocletian was among the first to vacation on the Dalmatian Coast. He loved Split so much that, after subjugating the locals and burning a few Christians at the stake, he retired here in 305 AD and built a gargantuan palace hewn from local limestone. Today, his enormous fortress still overlooks the quaint harbour. From the palace it’s a short walk up into Marjan Forest Park, which offers splendid views of the city and the surrounding Adriatic Sea.

We boarded our bark, The Azimut in nearby Trogir. We enjoyed a spread of fresh seafood as the boat motored out of port and into the open sea. Our guides Antonio and Andrei introduced themselves and outlined the program for the upcoming week. After lunch the whole group sat on deck marveling at the pristine, azure water as the Azimut skipped across the flat sea.

Two hours later we landed on Solta island. We disembarked, mounted our steel steeds and enjoyed a leisurely ride to the stony interior of the island. We returned to the boat in time to watch the sun sink into the flaming Adriatic. Then cocktails, then a scrumptious supper, then a few late-night laughs — then off to our berths for some well-earned jet-lagged shut eye.

In the morning I emerged from our stateroom, ordered a latte and watched the crew undertake the laborious daily task of manhandling a boatload of bicycles, bucket-brigade style, from the mezzanine deck to the dock. After breakfast we gathered en masse on the quay, strapped paniers to bikes, secured helmets to heads and awaited instructions. I surveyed my fellow Azimut shipmates, many of whom donned colourful attire advertising past cycling glories. The advanced age of some instilled in me a degree of cockiness. I decided to take it easy on them this first full day of riding; let them know it was okay for old geezers and geezerettes to share the road with me. On the first steep hill four septuagenarians pedaled by me in unison, peloton-style, instantly leaving me in the dust. As they rotated away, not judging a book by its leathered cover came spinning into my mind.

The itinerary was pretty much the same each day — one beautiful Croatian Island after another, but with ever steeper terrain and longer rides. Our flamboyant, able skipper was Captain Jadran. Every morning he stood at the helm, clad in a pink shirt, orange shorts, flip flops and a groovy Navy hat, part Humphrey Bogart, part Austin Powers. A cigarette dangled perpetually from his lips, which he removed only to shout sharp commands at the crew.

Our dapper Captain

There were 36 guests on board the Azimut. Antonio and Andrei our large, male mother geese, patiently and attentively looked after the whole flock, guiding us from start to finish every day, on every ride. They replaced chains felled by faulty gear changes, fixed flattened tires and bandaged the occasional scrape.

Although most of us started out using good old-fashioned human power, slowly but surely more and more e-bikes started popping up on the quay in the morning.

Before the week was half over the hard-core contingent was whittled down to less than ten. And those that made the switch did not switch back. But they certainly smiled a lot more. E-bikes have enabled the family to play together — and stay together. If mom is hard-core but dad and the kids aren’t as enthusiastic, they can still bike together the live-long day.

Fantastic Views

Pristine Harbours

Spoiler: we were not the first travellers to discover Croatia. Although we arrived in September’s shoulder season, the ports, even at smaller remote islands, were crowded — boats often stacked 6-deep, necessitating a circuitous, ship-to-ship hopping expedition to get ashore. Dubrovnik, the gem of Dalmatia, was crawling with visitors. Circumnavigating the City’s famous wall, a 2-kilometre stretch offering heavenly views of the ancient city and port, was a push and shove affair.

Fortunately, we didn’t spend too much time with the maddening crowd. Our days were occupied riding bucolic island byways, our nights rocking on board with the boisterous satisfaction of having conquered thigh-burning mountain passes.

Most of our ocean crossings took less than a couple hours and land was always in sight. The longest haul was from Hvar to the island of Vis — a two-pack sail for the captain. At the height of cold war fears, communist strongman Marshal Tito installed a secret submarine base along Vis’ rugged coast. But frankly, after an arduous cross-island ride, I was less interested in consuming cold war trivia than in downing a large serving of Viska, traditional island dough aroused with olive oil and stuffed with onion, anchovies and tomatoes.

Lunch!

Relaxing on deck after a hard day

The toughest ride was on Korcula. This leg was only a little over 50km, but there were several brutal climbs. Fortunately the pain was abated by frequent stops to admire the stunning white limestone cliffs spilling into the aquamarine Adriatic. The day ended at a small roadside shop where we quaffed a well-earned Radler (a delicious concoction of flavoured soda and beer) purchased from an indifferent Korculan shopkeeper. To be clear, not all Croatian shopkeepers are indifferent.

Some are also grumpy.

Radler time

On our last night on board the ship, at the Captain’s dinner, Jadran thanked us and offered a toast to all his guests. I manufactured an impromptu rendition of the Azimut Blues on my ever-present ukulele. When I finished the ditty, the captain, who had exchanged his colourful garb for proper navy attire, ceremoniously adorned me with a Croatian captain’s hat. An unlit smoke hung from his lips. I looked down at his feet: flip-flops.

Gerry

If you go: https://www.pedalandseaadventures.com/

Lights out

Gerry Feehan is an award-winning travel writer and photographer. He lives in Kimberley, BC.

Thanks to Kennedy Wealth Management for sponsoring this series.  Click on the ads and learn more about this long-term local business.

 

 

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