Lingo in Transit

Travel, Languages and Life

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  • Exploring Patzcuaro and Janitzio, Mexico

    Exploring Patzcuaro and Janitzio, Mexico

    Following on from the recount of my time in Mexico (last stop Guadalajara), the next stop on our Mexican adventures was to a pueblo blanco Patzcuaro. On first impressions, I thought this was the inspiration for the Pixar movie Coco from the white and red building facades. It is indeed, not the town that inspired the movie but the towns are on opposite sides of the Lake Patzcuaro, so I was close.

    Patzcuaro is in the state of Michoacan, a state that is also famous for its’ gangs and avocadoes. In fact, prior to leaving Australia, our Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had classified this state as a ‘do not travel’ and I stared at that for alittle while. It is safe to say that our group was fine, there was no trouble and we carried on without a problem.

    The main historical city centre of Patzcuaro is easily covered on foot. The cobblestoned paths and colonial styled buildings made this town so different from the others that we had stopped at earlier on our trip. There were market stalls, outdoor food and fruit markets, restaurants and cafes dotted around the squares. We walked to the Basilica de la Nuestra Señora de Salud (Basilica dedicated to the Virgin of Health) and Templo El Sagrario, which is the oldest church in Patzcuaro. There was also the Casa de los Once Patios where there are small artisan stores housed in a double storey building.

    • Purple bougainvilleas in the Plaza Grande
    • Basilica de la Nuestra Señora de Salud
    • Casa de los Once Patios- showcasing artisans and their works
    • Templo del Sagrario
    • Templo El Sagrario





    Janitzio

    The next day, we took a colourful boat to the island of Janitzio. As we got closer to the island, we were delighted to a show of traditional butterfly fishing by 3 men in their boats. Fishing use to be the main trade in town but Janitzio is now famous for the Day of Dead (Dia de Muertos) festival where candle lit boats make their way to the island and people spend the night at the church and graveyards on the island.

    When we arrive on the island, it is clear that it’s a tourist destination and the only direction to go is up. Winding up the island are restaurants, cafes and souvenir stores. The incline is steep and also slippery at times. At the top, the 40m statue of Jose Maria Morelos awaits. Morelos is one of the leaders of Mexican Independence and hoped to abolish slavery and racial distinctions. A former Priest, he joined in on the call to arms to free Mexico from Spanish rule and rounded up recruits to his army. He was a true believer of equality for all Mexicans, and is greatly honored by having the state of Morelos and city Morelia were named after him and he is appears on the 50 peso note.

    • The base of Morelos where there are cafes and bars which weren’t open yet

    Inside the body of the Morelos, there is a winding staircase that takes you up to the raised fist which is also a look out. The walls leading all the way up are painted with the timeline of Morelos life. At the very stop, you can catch a 360 view of Lake Pátczuaro and surrounding mountains.

    Catch Up On The Other Mexico Posts:

    Top 8 things to do in Mexico City
    Day trip from Mexico City to Teotihuacan
    Day trip to Teotihuacan from Mexico City
    Spending a day in Queretaro
    First Impression of Mexico
    Day trip to Bernal
    Exploring Guanajuato
    Mexican Food: Cactus (Nopal)

  • Exposing Inequalities With A Vaccine Travel Passport

    Many developed countries are in the midst of a vaccine roll out and there has been chatter here and there about a so called vaccine travel passport. In these conversations, people compare it to the yellow fever vaccine passport. It seems bizarre to me that we are comparing this COVID19 vaccine which, let’s face it, is still quite elementary and comparing it to the yellow fever vaccine which has many more years of data under it’s belt and is a get once and be protected vaccine.

    Photo by Mat Napo on Unsplash

    The data is still coming in as to how long the COVID19 vaccine is actually effective for and that it is still possible to spread the virus even after vaccination.

    Yet, the solution seems to be putting in place a travel passport. A passport that just shows you’ve been vaccinated but still at the risk of carrying the virus and spreading it to people who are not or cannot be vaccinated for a myriad of reasons. A passport that only shows that you’ve been vaccinated for this strain of the virus. Is the idea here to have people from developed countries vaccinated so that they can go out and attend to developing countries who rely on tourism for much of their income? Or is it so citizens of developed countries can only travel to other developed countries?

    It’s a passport that only those in wealthy countries will have and I don’t believe for a minute that it will allow you to travel to any country as you please. “Travel bubbles” will soon open and not to every neighbouring country. Only those that politically make sense of course. The jury is out on which company’s vaccine will be “accepted” in this passport scheme. Obviously, this will also most probably be a political matter. Strengthening of ties and allies.

    Soon enough, we’re going to need to be vaccinated for all strains every year. Where does it stop? Do they want to implement a passport for the flu as well? Coronovirus’s have been around before and will continue to be around.

    And why are private companies all of sudden getting a say on all of this? QANTAS have been very vocal about the need for all passengers to be vaccinated as a condition of travel. Whilst the World Travel and Tourism Council are against this. I can see it already, airlines marketing their flight as virus free and only vaccinated individuals are allowed but please pay premium to fly with us. Fly with us and us only as we are certified *insert some made up metrics or award here*.

    At the beginning it was all about reducing the number of severe cases and from overloading our health care system.

    And now, I’m not sure what it’s about anymore.

  • Birds Eye View From The Sydney Tower Eye

    Birds Eye View From The Sydney Tower Eye

    One humble evening in October 2020, I decided to go and get Maccas (or McDonalds) for dinner. Little did I know that this humble evening would lead me to the tallest building in Sydney. Maccas were running their annual monopoly game where eligible purchases means you get ticket stubs where you can potentially win free meals or even a some money.

    I peeled off the ticket stubs that were on the drink carton and burger box. Who knows, maybe I did win a free filet o fish (my fav) or a million dollars.

    And I did win something! A single admission to the observation deck in the Sydney Tower Eye (formally known as the Centrepoint Tower)!

    Completed in 1981, the tower stands at 309 metres and offers a 360 degree view over Sydney. The admission to the observation deck is purely for the deck. There’s also the option to add on a Skywalk which is a guided outdoor walk complete with harnesses. There’s also the Skyfeast, a restaurant on a different floor to the observation deck that offers a revolving view. Reservations are to be made in advanced.

    We’ve had a very rainy summer here so it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I booked in my spot. With the same luck on my side, the weather held up well. Booking was easy online and you can select the time you want to visit. What a dilemma, was morning going to be nice, lunch or evening? There are timeslots every 15 minutes that you can book with the first being 10am and last being 6:45pm. Once at the deck, you can stay as long as you want. The tower closes at 8pm and contains a small snack counter. There are plenty of window seating and couches to take in the view.

    I booked at 5pm time slot and ended up staying until they closed at 8pm to be able to catch sunset. Enjoy!

    • View towards the East and the sea
    • Looking green thanks to a very wet summer
  • Sitting Under White Lights- Return To The Office

    Sitting Under White Lights- Return To The Office

    We’ve received that gentle nudge to return back to the office a few days a week.

    I started my current role after the pandemic started so have only met my desk in recent weeks. It’s a room with glaring white overhead lights and a tinted window that looks out to another building’s wall. If bend over and angle your head, you might see the sky.

    Photo by Proxyclick Visitor Management System on Unsplash

    You could say it’s badly designed and doesn’t inspire me to go in. Frankly, I could work from home forever and don’t feel the need to “bounce ideas off each other” or make myself feel better by socialising.

    Considering how much time was spent in the workplace, little thought seems to have gone into it. The walls and ceiling are all white. Everything is so white.

    You always hear that a good working space should have a lot of natural light, plants, wood and some colour. I’ve yet to meet an office space that I like and has all these elements.

    There is no lounging area or small meeting rooms where small team meetings can occur. To me, having these spaces allows for more thinking out the box, more socialising between teams and offers some space for privacy for phone calls especially when shared offices or open offices are the norm these days.

    Photo by Thea Ye on Unsplash

    It is also freezing cold. I’m so use to offices being cold, you just have to have a jacket or scarf with you at all times. The afternoons are spent going to the kitchen to prepare more tea to keep warm.

    But I’m not sure why. If our work can be done remotely, why shouldn’t remote working just be the norm now? It means that people can be in locations that they want to be in, working the hours that they can or working around other commitments. It means less time commuting and having to organise one’s self.

    Perhaps this is what is feared. Employees gaining their life back.

    What would the perfect workplace look like to you?

  • The Story of Hallstat and Mosquitoes

    The Story of Hallstat and Mosquitoes

    I had booked a few days to stay in one of the most picturesque places, Hallstat, with the idea that I would be renting a bike and riding around surrounded by the beautiful mountains. I might even have a dip in the lake and spend long days reading in the shade outside or have a glass of wine in the town of Hallstat amongst the other tourists. Just generally enjoying the outdoors, clean air and some peace and quiet in a beautiful place.

    Sadly, this is not how it turned out at all.

    Hallstat is one of those tourist towns where busloads of visitors stop off all day and then it’s empty at night. I found a nice hostel like accommodation across the lake in Obertraun. Away from the hustle. There is a local bus that goes between the 2 towns so it’s easy to get about around the lake without a car.

    I spent my first morning catching the furnicular up to the 5 Fingers. As I am afraid of heights, every time the furnicular climbed up and got to one of the towers holding the cable up, everything shook and we swayed. Needless to say, I was gripping onto the poles for dear life and couldn’t wait until we reached land once again. At the top, I was in awe of the views and watched parachute gliders run off one side of the mountain whilst sheeps grazed on the other side. It was such a clear day which made for some great pictures and sun glare. Looking back, I should’ve worn my walking shoes so that I could have spend more time walking about as there were many tracks to get to other lookouts but it was fairly hot and thought I would just be a tourist and go for the main ones instead.

    By afternoon, it was time to join the locals for a dip in the lake. It was scorching hot (even for an Australian) so I couldn’t wait and found a place to bob around in the water and enjoy the mountain views from the water. Later that evening when I went out for dinner, I came back and realised that I hadn’t closed the window (there was no aircon in the room) and there were some mosquitoes inside. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep but I was exhausted and quickly went into dream land hoping they would just make their own way out the window.

    The next morning, OH THE NEXT MORNING. I woke up to my legs covered in bites and it was the one and only time in my life that I had received so many bites. I usually always get a reaction to mosquito bites so during the summer, you won’t find me hanging around outside once the sun starts to set because it’s feeding hour for them. So low and behold, an allergic reaction did occur. And boy was it itchy.

    Really itchy.

    I had not anticipated that I would be needing any stop itch cream (oh young and naive one) but at this point, would have loved to be in a bath with calamine lotion. So into town I went to try and find something. Anything for the itch.

    I had no such luck in town, all I could find were lavender soap bars and citronella spray (call me a skeptic, but does citronella even work?). I bumped into the hostel owner who seemed shocked to find someone’s legs covered in so many bright red spots. She called the local doctor and made an appointment for me for the next availability. Which was the next day!

    I busied myself in the morning by going to the Salt Mine to take my mind off the itch. When I could finally see the town doctor in the afternoon, she gave me some cleaning spray and cream for my bites and sent me on my way. At least, some sort of remedy. I cut my stay short in Obertraun and headed for Vienna the next day where it was cooler and I wouldn’t have to be bitten anymore!

    PS. The bites were no longer itchy after a few days although I travelled the next few weeks with slightly discoloured spots on my legs. There are no longer any traces of these bites on my legs.

  • Top 10 Easy Self Care Ideas For Wellbeing

    Top 10 Easy Self Care Ideas For Wellbeing

    Self care to me is about bettering myself. Working towards my goals and feeling good within myself. I always make sure that I try to spend as much of my time as possible working on hobbies and activities that will make the tomorrow me better off and also recharges me. I think I have always been head strong on this matter leading myself to put my foot down when I get invited to things that I don’t really care for. Throwback to my younger 20s when I told my friends to stop inviting me to go clubbing with them because I would rather be asleep (oh yes, I did that). Here is my top 10 list.

    Photo by Rebecca Cairns on Unsplash
    1. Have a hot beverage
      There is something so comforting about having a hot drink. I’m not sure if it’s because your body loves being at it’s 37.5C or it sits well in your stomach. If you follow Ayurveda medicine, hot drinks are recommended throughout the day to assist circulation and hydration and if you follow Chinese medicine, hot drinks are suppose to restore balance in your body. I’m not sure of the western science behind this, but I’m keeping my tea breaks.
    2. Yoga
      I’m no expert yogi but I do like to start and end my days with some yoga stretches. It’s great to actually breathe and also feel your body rather than be in odd seated positions all day. Maybe you have gained some bad habits of sitting or standing and a great way to realign is to relax all your joints (including your clenched jaw!) and lie on the floor. Yoga and stretching promotes mobility and blood flow so do yourself a favor and get stretching.
    3. Go for a walk
      The research that being out in nature is good for you is irrefutable. Great for circulation, getting fresh air and a healthy dose of vitamin C. Without your health, you won’t be able to do anything so if you’re wanting to get more active, going for walks is a great and free place to start. Walking as been my go to activity during the pandemic and something I look forward to after my working day.
    4. Soak your feet
      This is especially good for cold and gloomy days or if you’ve been on your feet for a long period of time. If you’re someone who suffers from cold feet more often than not, this could be a great way to warm up. Add some epsom salt or essential oils if you want and soak for a little while. You might go the whole deal and give your feet some much needed scrub followed by a rich cream.
    Photo by Rune Enstad on Unsplash

    5. Read a book
    Journey to make belief places or learn something completely new. There is something revitising about getting away from all the tech, finding a comfortable place and to be with yourself, someone else’s thoughts and quietness for a while. Perhaps spend some time in a library surrounded by other like-minded people.

    6. Connect with friends and/or family
    It is no secret that the pandemic has been hard for everyone across the globe. In particular, there has been a lot of research into loneliness and recently, Japan has appointed a Minister of Loneliness. Mental health has been on the steady increase in the past decade with it still being taboo in some places. There has been greater awareness in reaching out to others to feel connected, talk and support each other. Reach out to friends and family for your dose of social connectivity. Not only will you probably share a laugh and information but you’ll be helping each other’s mental health in the process.

    7. Listen to music from a different country
    Introduce some new tunes to your place to change the mood. Travel across the world without needing to actually leave your home. You might discover your new favourite artist or playlists. Perhaps the music will evoke some happy memories or get you dancing around. Or if you’re going to be more spiritual about it- let the music stir your soul.

    8. Put out a scent
    Another way to change up the mood is by lighting a candle, have a diffuser on or clean with essential oils. Breathe deeply, relax and admire the beautiful scents.

    Photo by Derek Thomson on Unsplash

    9. Inversion
    How often is it that we stay upright for most of our day? Yet when we were kids, we spent our time rolling around and tumbling on the floor. Another favourite after a long day of walking, or just a long day is to lie on the floor and prop your legs up against the wall. I particularly like doing this after flying to get the legs feeling alive again.

    10. Work on your goals
    What better way to self care than to actually work on your goals? This could be such a variety of things like starting a new sport, writing, working on your business idea, learning to cook more meals, changing careers or learning about X. Create some time to focus on and work on your goals.

    What are some of your favourite self care activities?

  • Friendly Friday: Something Different

    Friendly Friday: Something Different

    The Friendly Friday Challenge is now a fortnightly challenge co-hosted by Amanda from Something to Ponder About and Sandy from The Sandy Chronicles.

    Different often has a bad undertone to it. It’s almost disapproving. How dare it be something different! That cannot possibly be. It doesn’t fit my understanding of the world and my stereotypes and I am angry for that and WILL NOT ACCEPT IT.

    But difference is where we find new ideas, new inspirations and new friends. Here, it is where the small pleasure lie and where dreams start and get infinitely bigger. It changes how we see the world and the view from which we see the world. I’ve found a handful of photos to share that I thought found the different in life. While writing this, I’ve just realised that these photos were taken of things that weren’t at eye level.

    Different hidden in plain sight but not where you were looking.

    Cactus growing from the roof- Mexico
    Rolling pin decor- Australia
    A shelf full of beautiful door knobs- Australia
    Llamas and alpacas roaming the hotel grounds- Peru
    Tiny sombrero on the street- Mexico
    Pot plants on rooftops- Mexico

    How to join the Challenge

    • Write a post titled ‘Friendly Friday- xxx Prompt name xxx’ with tag ‘Friendly Friday’
    • Include a link to the original Friendly Friendly Challenge post on the host’s blog
    • Optionally, you can include the latest Friendly Friday Challenge logo. Download it here.
    • Comment on the host’s Friendly Friday post, so that other readers can find and read your response.
    • Remember to include a link to your post in your comment. This will guarantee a visit, in the event the automatic ping-back does not work.
    • Visit other Friendly Friday entries by following their links. It’s fun!
    • Follow the host blogs to see future Friendly Friday Challenges
  • Nosalgia: Longing For This Flight Moment

    Nosalgia: Longing For This Flight Moment

    I show my boarding ticket to the flight attendant and they tell me which aisle to go down. They are all smiling and look so well put together with not a hair out of line. I wonder how they always look so good even through night flights.

    I’m always so excited to be on huge planes and feel a sense of camraderie with all my fellow passengers. I stand in the aisle waiting for all the passengers in front of me to figure out what and how their bags are going into the overhead. Some have overshot their seats and are backing up. We’re all backing up.

    Photo by Suhyeon Choi on Unsplash

    I check my ticket for the 10th time since I got it printed at the check-in desk. I eye the people sitting around me when I can spot my seat. I’m shuffling in my seat trying to figure out where to put everything. The wrapped plane blanket, pillow, my own scarf, the headphones and my other bag going under the seat in front of me are all under me, in my arms or on me. The plane pillow is a repeat offender of not knowing what to do with it. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable behind my back, sometimes it’s wedged between the arm handle and my leg. But it keeps falling on the floor.

    I feel flustered and am not sure if it’s from all the excitement or the air-con hasn’t been turned to full blast yet.

    They bring around a hot towel. I’m never really sure what I’m suppose to do with it. I wipe it on my face realising that it’s just about to open all my facial pores. It gets cold quickly so I finish with wiping my hands because that’s what everyone else is doing when I look around. I then try to figure out where to keep it but settle on leaving it haphazardly dangling from the fold out table or back seat pocket.

    I do an audit of the available movies and make my mental list. I only pick out a handful knowing that I want to sleep on this flight at some point.

    The menu card comes around. I’m always excited to see what options we’ll have. I’m delighted that there’s an entree and dessert. Can’t wait for the bread roll and salted butter. I always buy unsalted butter at home so this will be a great holiday treat. I make note of my 1st preference and then a back up incase my 1st isn’t available. I don’t want food regret.

    Photo by Alev Takil on Unsplash

    The safety video plays, I always like to watch the attendants and wonder if they get annoyed when passengers don’t pay attention. I look around to my nearest exit. It brings me some reassurance but I’m not going to think anymore about this. Sometimes, the safety video are so well made and/or funny. Special mention to New Zealand Airways for having a Lord of the Rings themed one and to Qatar Airline for having the Barcelona football team star in one of their videos. We take off, the holiday has officially started.

    The drinks cart comes around. I always think I should try the tomato juice but stick to my usual. Sometimes I get a nice old gin and tonic and settle snugly into my seat and movie. Better get comfortable, there’s another 8 hours until we reach Asia for our stopover.

    Missing travel?
    Here are 5 Ways to Armchair Travel
    Views From The Plane Window

  • First taste of Poland: Exploring Wroclaw

    First taste of Poland: Exploring Wroclaw

    Lingo in Transit's avatarLingo in Transit

    I wasn’t sure what to expect in my first town in Poland. We took the bus from Berlin and arrived by evening (5hr bus ride). You know when you’ve seen so many images of a place you know what is awaiting. This was not like that. First off, the name of the city is not pronounced at all like it’s written (vrots-wahf). Second of all, how are the universities in Europe so ornate and beautiful!?

    Beautiful market square

    We just stayed in walking distance to the Market Square and the main train station and it was easy to keep walking around. We couldn’t wait to sample the local cuisine and eagerly tried the delicious polish donut- pączki, zurek soup served in a big bread roll, stuffed cabbage and more pierogis during our few days in Wrocław. It was soon decided that we love polish cuisine and couldn’t wait to continue…

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  • I’ve Already Got Enough

    Do you know that moment when you catch yourself doing something automatically that you were working towards in your life or self development?

    A week or so ago, I was in a candle store browsing. I was in a different part of town for the day so indulged in quick walk along the shopping strip. I didn’t need any new candles but I do like to have a smell of unsual scents or combinations that I haven’t smelt before. Beeswax candles seem to be the latest hip product and obviously curious, was something on my radar. In the store, I noticed these little try sized beeswax candle in a little handle-less cup. So cute!

    Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

    Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have thought twice and would have carried this little mint green cup with its small beeswax candle to the counter. I didn’t have to think about where to burn the candle and then added bonus would be this little cute cup.

    But something stopped me.

    This past year as given me plenty of hours to spend at home. Around all my things. I realised that I had come to have the mindframe of having backups and excess of what I actually use and need. Back up creams, toothpaste, toothfloss and 4 candles. One back up seems ok, but not 3 or 4. Herein lies my realisation that I have enough. I don’t need another candle. Perhaps, I should actually use up all my backups before purchasing anything new?

    And so started my journey of finding all my back-ups for a stocktake and placing items out in the open so that I could see and use them.

    Photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash

    My new automatic reflex in that candle store has since brought me an inner smile. All this time of creating a ideal way that I want to live in terms of consumerism, to practising it, having an internal dialogue and living it has come to deeply ingrained fruition.

    Have you recently started using items that have been sitting around untouched? What are they?

    If you want to read more about my journey in consuming more consciously, I wrote about the start of my purposeful consumption journey here. You can find ways to reduce, reuse and reuse clothing here.