We visited the amazing Elephant Jungle Sanctuary while in Thailand, nestled in the rolling hills outside Chiang Mai. We did lots of research before picking somewhere to visit the lovely Asian elephants. This spot won us over for its positive reviews and work to not only provide sanctuary for elephants in need, but also to educate locals on proper care. The EJS Care Project funds the sanctuary and their website has some really great resources on how their program works. We decided to splurge and participate in the two day, overnight stay with the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. I can’t emphasize ..read more

As is tradition, in mid-August, we took off to Algonquin for a mother-daughter backcountry camping trip. Our itinerary was two nights on Rosebary Lake with a day trip to Longbow Lake, and one night on Tim Lake. Day 1 – Friday We left the GTA early and arrived at the permit office by 9:15am. The weather forecast looked ominous for the first two days in the park but promised nice weather to round out the trip. As predicted we unpacked and paddled across Tim Lake in a downpour. We planned to stay on Tim Lake for the last night, so we checked out sites on the way by. The paddle to the 120m port ..read more

It has been a slow year for horseback riding. Unfortunately, last fall Miss Scout pulled the check ligament and the superior digital flexor tendon in both front legs. At the time and because she was, I thought it was the end of her riding career. She recovered better than expected with the help of great vets, rest, and lots of shock wave therapy. She may never jump the big jumps again, but at 17 I really can’t complain. As August drew to a close, we were cantering more and I thought a beach adventure sounded perfect! I previously went to the beach with horses, but we discovered a much more lo ..read more

The last leg of our Belize trip was to San Pedro, Ambergris Caye – off the coast of mainland Belize. We split our trip between the mainland and the islands off the coast of Belize. There is such a contrast between continental life and life on the islands in Belize, but it is worth seeing both. Mainland is where all the adventure activities are and the islands is where you find picture perfect beaches and scuba diving. Getting to Ambergris Caye We took a 45 minute water taxi to San Pedro, which departs from Belize City. You can get there easily from the airport via taxi or the car rental servi ..read more

Ever wanted to run away and join the circus? Well now you don’t have to, but you can still get the experience. The Toronto School of the Circus Arts has been around for a while, but is not often thought of when it comes to Friday night activities. In one way it feels like a hidden gem in the city. They offer adult class packages, but my favourite thing is the flying trapeze. What is even better? They have drop in flying trapeze every Friday night to try it out. This is a great commitment free way to see what circus school is all about. Or it can be a fun night out with friends, a date night o ..read more

A short walk through a dense jungle canopy and we emerged to Mayan ruins towering above us – almost like a walk back in time. The monkeys could be heard howling around us while they protested our early morning arrival. We were at Lamanai Ruins in Belize. This tour is offered by a number of guides from anywhere between $45 – $85 USD. Instead, of paying for the tour, we rented a car and drove to the ruins. The only thing we missed was a boat tour on the river, but we did this another time. The drive to Lamanai added to our adventure. Our directions were to take the main road through Shipyard an ..read more

When the opportunity to camp in a jungle, on the side of a mountain, overlooking a beach in Colombia came up, the obvious answer was YES! Now I should clarify that this was glamping and some very nice glamping at that! We stayed in the Ecohabs in Tayrona Park.  Tayrona offers stunning expanses of beach, dotted with huge smooth rocks to the backdrop of a dense, lush jungle. It’s a not so hidden gem on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Getting to Tayrona Park Tayrona Park is about a 45 minute drive from Santa Marta, Colombia. There are buses that run this route, but for ease of travel we took a ..read more