Viva la Vida Travel with Carmen Schaffer

There are many kinds of travelers in this world; those that want to lounge on the beach and let their worries wash away with the tides, those that crave the adrenaline rush of white water rafting,  those that want a sort of "light bulb" vacation that ignites their spirit and motivates them to do more with their life. and then there's everything in between. There is no right or wrong to a persons travel goals, the most important thing to note is that they come away from their travels better for it. As a former social worker, I have worked with people from every walk of life, representing many countries from around the world. Working with them allowed me to see first hand how their culture works,not only within our U.S. borders but within their people and in their countries. In working with people from other cultures as well as with  our fellow U.S. citizens, I was keenly aware of the fears that both parties brought to the table when it came to understanding and interacti...

Well, my first trip to Puerto Vallarta will most definitely NOT be my last trip. I've been to Mazatlan, Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Riviera Maya but none of those places compare to Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta sits within the Bay of Banderas surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains. The combination of the Pacific ocean, the mountains and the quaintness of Puerto Vallarta makes it a truly unique destination. I was privileged enough to be a guest of Hard Rock resorts in Riviera Nayarit ~ which is about 15 minutes away from old town Puerto Vallarta. There are what feels like miles of sugar soft beaches in either direction from Hard Rock so needless to say, I had to discover both to the left and to the right on my morning and evening strolls on the beach. While on my beach strolls, I discovered empty baby turtle shells scattered on the beach. At first site, I thought they were ping pong balls but then quickly realized that 1.) there were no ping pong tables around, haha! an...

I'm en route to Puerto Vallarta and have three glorious hours in the Sky Harbor airport. Upon landing, the airport was bustling and buzzing with frenetic energy.  I thought I'd blend in with the crowd and wander around a while and do some window shopping, but much to my amazement, there was nothing to look at. I can't kill three hours in a news stand pouring over magazines and gum packs so I decided to grab myself  a slice of pizza and salad and drag myself to a chair that looked out over the tarmac. It was 9:00 a.m., and I don't usually eat pizza and salad for breakfast but considering I'd been awake since 3:30 a.m., I figured I was ready for lunch. What I love about traveling is simply people watching. Airports are a great place to watch people. Most of the people in the B terminal at the airport were headed to either Hawaii or Cabo San Lucas so there were a lot of jovial spirits ready to get their relaxation on. What I also love about traveling is eaves droppin...

I am always on a mission to learn all that I can about anything travel so tonight I went to learn about Windstar Cruises. I honestly didn't know a thing about the product or the destinations but went in with an open and curious mind. As far as cruising goes, people either love it or hate it so I like to see just what's out there for the in-betweeners, like me. Personally, I'm not a big fan of large scale ships and disembarking upon a port of call in a swarm of tourist frenzy,but that's me and everyone has their own likes and dislikes. That's what makes the world such a cool place. Anyhoo, onto Windstar. Windstar ships are meant to make you feel that you are sailing on your own yacht. Who doesn't want to do that? It's luxury, personalized attention, exceptional cuisine and a whole lot of YOU time. Windstar guests are typically experienced travelers who want a more intimate experience who are usually around the age of 45-65.  A Windstar cruise may not be...

     It's obvious that I eat, breathe and sleep travel but I've been thinking a lot lately about the importance of travel and it's long term impact on the traveler. Growing up on the cold plains of North Dakota, I often found myself longing to catch that next airplane to Fantasy Island.I dreamt of the story I would create when I, myself landed on Fantasy Island and hob nobbed with Ricardo Montalbon.      North Dakota was two things : green and blue ( most days ) in the summer time and grey and white in the winter time. The biggest adventure I had growing up was trudging through thigh high drifts of snow. Getting out of North Dakota was forefront in my mind. The intense curiosity to know what more was out there in this great big world was eating away at me.      I first came in contact with another culture when I was about 8 years old. We had received a couple of Cambodian refugees in our community and I was immediately drawn to them. They s...

I headed down to the island of Jamaica compliments of the Jamaican Tourism Board last week and discovered even MORE reasons why  a fellow lover of travel should go to Jamaica. The tagline for the Jamaican Tourism Board is, "Once you go, you know" and that couldn't be more accurate. This has been the third time since last July that I have been to Jamaica and every single time I go, I marvel at all this island has to offer. Upon landing, we were greeted by and escorted through immigration lines, bypassing all of the eager travelers and feeling a bit like royalty. Travelers going to Jamaica need to take advantage of the Club Mobay benefits both coming to and leaving Jamaica. It's the perfect way to create the best, most relaxed vacation ever. Club Mobay offers travelers the option of being greeted at the end of the gateway and escorted through immigration. Upon departure, travelers check their bags, head to the Club Mobay desk, check in and again, get a lovely...