Life as a Chef Aboard a Private Yacht

I found another yachtie out there on the web. Niall's site, The Life of a Private Chef has a lot of video footage of St. Martin, Antigua and other some places in the Med. Looks like he's retired from yachting like me, but you can still follow his adventures in the archives!

Life Span of a Travel Blog

Today I went to check up on one of my favorite travel blogs and the final post said that the author had finished up on his traveling and therefore that was the end of the blog. So, then I realized that this actually happens frequently with travel blogs. The personal journeys of the authors only last for a certain amount of time. Some people blog about their year long around-the-world trip and then when it's over the blog is over. Some people blog about being an expatriate in another country, then eventually they return back to their home country. Very few people, I have noticed, have on-going travel blogs, because at some point people just finally settle down. Andy from hobotraveler.com seems to be an exception!

I'm trying to figure out how to have a sustainable blog. I travel pretty frequently, but I am afraid my blog is getting stale. I have not even been out of the country in about a year. How sad is that?

What makes a travel blog interesting? I know I like to read about personal stories from travel blogs. Tell me what type of blog you all are reading out there and why? For travel tips? To learn about new adventures and places? What is the point?

Travel Channel's 5Takes Tiffany Burnett

I don't know about you, but when I can't travel the next best thing is to hear about other people who are. If you've ever watched the Travel Channel you may have seen the show 5Takes where they take 5 ordinary people and send them on a journey to document their adventures as Travel Journalists (TJs they like to call them). It's kind of like MTV's The Real World but with purpose. Last season, the 5 TJs explored the Pacific Rim. The season before that it was Europe. The show is fantastic, the locations interesting, but what really makes the show so enjoyable to watch are the people.

The crew from the Pacific Rim seemed to have a real passion for traveling and exploring different cultures. The show is over and the TJs have returned to their normal lives, but one in particular, Tiffany Burnett is turning Travel Journalism into her career. She has a blog and podcast as well as a few videos on YouTube that are excellently filmed and entertaining. Basically, she's making a career out of my dream job.

I'm moving back to St. Maarten!

So, all this talk about the Caribbean on my blog has made me miss the Caribbean. In light of that fact, I have decided to move back to the Caribbean. The Caribbean is home to me, like Texas, and I miss it so much. So starting December 1, this blog, my podcast, One Girl, Her Backpack and a Passion for Travel, and my Travel Consultant business, Via Via Travel, are all moving back to St. Martin. Yay! I'm looking forward to having a tan again!

List of Major Islands in the Caribbean

I've made a list of the major islands of the Caribbean. Keeping the islands straight can be a bit confusing.




Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands (BVI-Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda, Anegada)
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Curacao
Dominica (not the same as the Dominican Republic)
Dominican Republic (on the island of Hispanola)
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Haiti (on the island of Hispanola)
Honduras
Jamaica
Martinique
Puerto Rico
Saint Kitts
Nevis
Saba (pronounced Say-buh)
St. Bart
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
St. Maarten/St. Martin
Trinidad
Tobago
Turks and Caicos
U.S. Virgin Islands (St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix)

Another Amazing Girl Traveling the World

I just read a really inspiring article entitled, "How To Sail Around The World and Surf" about 26 year old Liz Clark in National Geographic Adventure. The article mentions her blog Swell Voyage where she has documented her adventure over the last 5 months. Liz writes

The voyage of Swell is a return to the essence of surf exploration. It is the pure enjoyment of elemental pleasures and absolute indulgence in the enlightenment of travel. It is a journey to promote respect for our natural environment, especially the ocean, to appreciate cultural differences, to challenge myself, and to inspire others to face their fears and live out their dreams.

The article is in the print magazine of National Geographic Adventure along with 10 other inspiring people living their dream adventure. If you can't do it on your own for whatever reason, check their stories out and live vicariously.