Dutch Peter and I left El Salvador after Christmas, with no real plans of our next adventure. We heard from  other backpackers who suggested for us to  check out Leon Nicaragua, so that is where we were headed. We drove through Honduras, on the worst roads in Central America. People often  say it is part of the Pan America highway, and everyone who drives it pays for it?....Don’t know where that money is going?
We drove to Leon, a nice little Colonial city and stayed  for a couple of days. We then drove off to another Colonial City, Granada.  Motoring around the lake on the way to Granada, we experienced for the first time a Policia  trying to take us for money. We got pulled over. Alarm set in!. They acused me of not wearing a seatbelt? As well, we were also charged for not having a front licence plate! The Policia  took and held  my license and told me to go to a  bank in the next town and withdraw  $200.00 US for him!. At  the time, they were in the back of their van. I had some money, about $50.00 bucks, and tried to give it to him. He yelled “NO”, go back into your van and we will talk. The Policia do not like people pulling out cash in public where other people might  see. We came up with another $75 dollars, made a deal and got my  licence back! Wow, what an experience and we continued onward! Can you believe about  half hour later, another Policia  pulled us over. I explained to them strait out that another couple Policia a while back  took all our money. I was upset,  and said rather loudly ” we have no money left”. I felt I got robbed by someone who  has authority (police)over me and it’s not a good feeling. When in Granada I just wanted to get out of the country. I told Peter that my wish was to go to a small beach and just chill out for a couple of days. So that is how we ended up in San Juan del Sur. It  was a great place to just relax, chill, reenergize and it was only about an hour to the Costa Rica boarder. We saw totally amazing fireworks all over town, particularly after midnight. I did get a bit of the fireworks on video .Approaching the grand finale, they had  a “burning man” displayed in the middle of the street full of fireworks and firecrackers. We watched him burn! Wow, just maybe this is the day where women can get back at their man…lol. Things are so different when you travel!   ​

’It’s New Years day and I am on the road again, alone, this time to Playa del Coco, Costa Rica. I have visited there before with my nephew Shane and his cousin Josh. A few years ago, I took the two of them to a hostel for their first time. At the time, we were staying in a five star resort, but the contrast to a hostel was a great experience for them. The same hostel was not available when I arrived this time, so I found another one nearby. The usual routine when I enter a new hostel is to  let them know I will sleep in my campervan. Usually this gets me a great deal! Upon entering this hostel, the room was large and had air conditioning that really worked. I ended up staying in the room for the night. Oh, did I sleep! Lounging around the hostel, I got acquainted to three fun guys: Joel from Costa Rica, Leon from Germany and Korbyn from California. I discussed the fact that I was off to San Jose the next day and asked if they wanted to join me on the trip in Old Faithful?  Well, both Joel and Leon lived in San Jose, and accepted a ride there with gleam. Korbyn, we called him (Bruce) because that was on the back of his football shirt, and myself went to visit an old friend of mine from Calgary. He and his wife Olga were great hosts. We had dinner, a few drinks even breakfast the next morning. Thanks again Scott and Olga for your hospitality! The next morning after breakfast, Korbyn and I were back on the road to Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. We found a great place to stay at the Rocking J’s campsite/hostel. Wow, it was so big! I think they had about 100 tents to rent or bring your own tents, hammocks, dorms and private rooms. Here were the two of us in a campervan, sometimes a bit boring! I heard they had 600 people there the night before. After a few days, I told  Korbyn it’s time for me to commence the final leg of my  journey to  Panama, a place where I have a few good friends. If truth be known, I am a bit worried about Korbyn because he is only 19 years of age with not much experience travelling and backpacking. He likes to drink and buy people drinks. He is a good kid, and I asked a mature Canadian traveller that I met that night, to keep  an eye on him for me. After talking to Korbyn the next morning, he assured me that there is nothing to worry about. He said he will take good care of himself and thanked me for caring and being his friend.  I will definitely call him upon his return to LA on Sunday.
On the road again with Old Faithful (the campervan)….
Pete Montgomery TravelCheapWithPete.com
​​

​Merry Christmas to my friends and family. Off camera I had tears of joy after the family figured out what I was trying to say giving them a bicycle for a Christmas gift, they were all so excited. Drove them all home afterwards and they invited Dutch Peter and I to their place anytime. It all started off a couple of days ago when I asked the manager of the hostel if he knew of any family that are in need in the area he told me about the grandparents bringing up these four young children. I ask if he can invite the family to the hostel to have dinner with them. The dinner was really nice, the kids were so good. The family was polite and we had fun trying to figure out what we were trying to say to each other which is always a good time. 
​
The 64 year old grandmother who takes care of 4 grandchildren with age range from  8 to 13 ran around the hostel hugging and thanking everyone. In the restaurant they had a TV, the children were so excited to watch the TV but when dinner came they turned it off, washed their hands and really enjoyed their meal with Dutch Peter and I. We had a great three days staying in a small surfing village in El Tunco, El Salvador just relaxed and the highlight was having the family over for Christmas.

This is what Christmas is about to me, giving to strangers and to see the smiles and joy in their faces. So many in need that need our help in this world. If you see a homeless person, just make them smile make them feel good tell them a joke, maybe give them food, or clothing you no longer need. Let’s work together to make this world a better place. Merry Christmas to my two daughters and their extended families love you and miss you all, You don't even have to speak the same language to communicate.

We made a wrong turn on our way to Lanquin and therefore had to take a scenic road. It may have been longer but well worth it: About a 6 hour drive in the jungle and mountains on roads that look like we should not have gone through... but old faithful (the van) made it. Even though we had to stop over night in a place where we did not want to stay, but I didn’t want to drive at night... especially on those roads! Next to that, the brakes had to cool down as they were smoking.
​

I was driving while shooting this video. Pete Montgomery from TravelCheapWithPete.com

Pete Montgomery from TravelCheapWithPete.com

From Aguascalientes to Playa Del Carmen. Took two nights and three days of driving. You don’t want to drive at night because you just don’t know the shape of the roads and you have to see where you’re going.
 
Three towns that come to mind. The first  one is Quere Caro, it's  so beautiful. New houses, condos mixed with the old city along the mountain side. Another town that  was interesting was Pulbla . I saw live volcano’s. Wow! looked like a big cloud of steam coming from it, I did by pass Mexico city and in I think it was San Jose Cayachapa driving from the top of a mountain to the valley below was stunning so lush and green with all the homes and some farm land below, lucky they were good roads to drive on. This is the time I needed my camera man Joe. He would have even knew the town and he would have made me stop for a photo.
On my way here I ran into about a dozen police stop checks and I only got pulled over twice. The English and Spanish thing works in my favour sometimes, they just laughed while I tried my best Spanish with a smile of course, and then they just let me go on my way. 
​

This place is absolutely gorgeous and cost me nothing, thanks to my Calgary friends Glen Beckel and Terry B. Terry’s big 2,400 sf condo on the 20 th floor has three large bedrooms with a amazing ocean and city views. They invited me in to stay and I get to hang out with a couple good guys for a week! The 5 star condo is renting for $1500/week, well worth the price for its great location, close to everything. From my $3 to $5 a day hostel to a luxury condo what a nice treat thanks to my two Calgary buddies.
 
During my travels I often stay in hostels. l let them know I’m a blogger when I  travel to  Mexico and central America. I ask for a special price for using their facilities [washroom, shower, pool and kitchen]. I explain that I will be sleeping in my van parked outside the Hostel. On this trip, I am also looking to find some fellow travellers who might share the gas and tolls. I find that people who stay in hostels have each other’s back. A bond between all of us forms and we often hang out for dinner, lunch, walks and sometimes even a beer or two. The Hostel has all our information as we are all being tracked by our passports. Nice to know that if something happens, copies of our passports at our disposal.  

I am always looking for fun places great deals on the road. Around every corner there is one!. In Puerto Vallarta, there are two great, bars, Cheeky monkey and Sea monkey beers for a buck  and I was finding loads off great restaurants cheap  $8 to $12 dinner’s that include  chips and salsa with your meal. Terry took us to a couple of really good spots for steak and spaghetti. These were high end places but the price was very affordable! Oh, love the food here in Puerto Vallarta.

​ Well it’s time for me to move on now to Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, about a 28 hour drive. It should take about three days or longer depending on length of stay along the way. One town I must visit is Aguascalientes, a city in the centre of Mexico. I met Marcela in Calgary a few years ago who makes her home in Aguascalientes. She invited me to her place any time I’m around her city she only lives 2 hours from Guadalajara what a beautiful drive from PV to Guadalajara Mexico, and the city of Guadalajara is also so beautiful, stayed at a hostel in Guadalajara to see if anyone wants to join me and help pay for the gas and tolls J they charged me $10.00 and I get to sleep in my van again this hostel even has a pool table. Now in Aguascalientes.
 
I am so grateful to my friend Terry B for inviting me to stay at  his luxury condo in Puerto Vallarta. What a great way to start my journey south to Panama City. I am zig zagging my way there because I am exploring all Mexico and Central America. I love travelling and the freedom that comes with it….Been on the road one month already and the experiences have been over the top….Learning tons!!!! 
 
Pete Montgomery the high end guy from TravelCheapWithPete.com always looking for deals for you....

I want to thank Joe again for stepping in and do the Blogging on our travels together from Calgary to Phoenix. I do agree with Joe that I am all over the map when it comes to putting a trip together. I’m all over the map for a reason, I love diversity. I get to experience firsthand  a wide variety  of  counties, cultures and sceneries  that I drive through. I enjoy the ride and watching the world unfold around me! Joe, on the other hand, loves to take pictures. He takes more pictures than anyone I know. Many times I had to quickly stop on busy freeways, narrow roads, and dangerous cliffs and do U turns for his picture. I courageously told Joe one day on our travels, that he does not see much and then takes a picture of it.  Joe went nuts. “No one has ever said anything to him before about that”, was his reply. After some deep soul searching by Joe, he did agree to slow down on the pictures and relax, experience more, see more of the scenery. During the trip, the camaraderie between Joe and I was priceless. We took shots at each other constantly, we never laughed so hard in my life!

 Anyone who wants to join me on my travels, look at my contact page. There you will find my phone #’s and email’s. I still can’t believe that I picked up a sim card in Vegas for $60.00/ month. Unlimited talk, text and 4 gigs of data that I can use  in Canada, Mexico and of course the US. Hey, maybe I should open up the first AT&T store in Canada and Mexico. I should send this great idea to the Dragons Den and Shark Tank and AT&T. We pay way too much in Canada - time for change.

Before I drove my Van into Mexico, I had to purchase Mexican auto insurance. I picked it up from Alan @ Motor Mexico for $254.00, active for six months. I have myself covered even though I may never go back home. Oh, I forgot my two daughters Crystal and Tiffany might read this blog…. Its okay girls, I will see you every summer and I know you would like to visit me where it is warm in winter. In addition to auto insurance, a vehicle permit is required at a cost of $268.00 US, returnable upon departing Mexico. As a final point, I paid about $140.00 US for highway tolls so far and I still have lots to see in Mexico.

 It has been expensive entering Mexico. It is a new country with different policies and standards, each requiring time, patience and $. I plan to save on food and living expenses I will make up for it I got a real nice place on airbnb my own room and bathroom for $20.00 US and the couple that own the house are from Calgary, check out their room on airbnb for my first couple of nights in Puerto Vallarta, my van will be my home for most of my travels, right now I am staying at a hostel where I have full use of everything but I will sleep in the van, it started off for free but the reception did not know that it was free so she charged me $7.00, I will fix that up later, I agree I should pay something say $5.00 a night,  I know everything will balance out for me, for sure!

c.c Dragons Den, Shark Tank and AT&T
 Blog from Pete Montgomery from Travel Cheap With Pete com

​Blog by Joe Forzani for “Travel Cheap With Pete
We drove Pete’s Dodge Van, “Old Faithful”[we named it after Yellowstone old geyser that has been going forever]. The most exciting part was actually driving through the desert. Driving keeps you alert and awake. Reno to Las Vegas was 7 hours.  We would argue and scrap as to who would drive, then never give up the captains seat once we got it. To get the seat one time, Pete even tried to bribe me with Melatonin pills, hoping I would surrender....Didn’t work, but he tried....lol. Driving through the desert was boring and tormenting, straight, very flat roads for miles on end, nothing to see but dried sage bushes and a couple ancient gas stations....Conversation topics between Pete and I included married life, divorce life, kids, food, the universe and philosophies of life....When Pete got into his philosophies, I fell asleep....We had a better understanding of each other for sure...

​We arrived in Las Vegas early evening. Pete had the idea to look for a hotel in Old Vegas[Freemont Street].Upon entering the busy area, traffic came to a halt  because of the thousands of costume parader’s strolling the narrow streets. Half Vegas was there, owning, walking/crossing the streets at will...Bedlam for anyone there, we were in the middle of a Brazilian Carnival... Still looking for a hotel after a couple frustrating hours,, we tried to stay calm and think our way through. And we did!...We drove to an out of the way hotel and pulled up Hotels.com for anything in Vegas...Up came a 4 star next to Hard Rock at a great rate....Wow, from dejection to elation in 20 minutes...After tidying up it was off to Hard Rock for some supper and more parade watching!...Halloween in Vegas is like nothing on earth. People who would normally be boring dressers wore extremely creative, colorful costumes with themes ranging from the wild sexy bodies to Little Red Riding Hood....Endless supplies of costumes stumbled by us, often in groups showing off their “I wanna be glitter”. We couldn’t get enough, never laughed so hard...Want to have real fun, Halloween in Vegas!

Next day, Pete suggested to eat where the locals eat, a couple blocks off the strip.  Ellis Island is the best deal in town. We had half a bbq chicken, rack ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, cole slaw and corn bread, all for 12 bucks. And, 2 buck drinks with Monday night Football. We needed a wheel barrel to get us out of there. Definitely a guy thing.... lol .
A few miles outside Las Vegas heading south, lies a large Hotel/Outlet Mall called Primm, state line of Nevada and California.  The Outlet mall carries all the best higher end stores and the brand name labels can be addicting .I do recommend this outlet on your travels...Pete got all excited when we dropped into Whiskey Pete’s, he said they named it after him...lol. Once inside we found Bonnie and Clyde’s death car. Very interesting display of the bullet ridden car and documented history of the tragedy. The video and newspaper clippings depict a detailed version of the event  and included Clyde’s death shirt. Bonny and Clyde were Bank Robbers and committed  murders, yet movies created a powerful love story between the two...Drama, you make the call....Wow, to imagine the two of them were  actually in that car....​

Montana....Our goal first day was Billings Montana. We were 100 miles short at dusk so settled in a hotel in Lewistown. Saturday 9pm town was closed, everything shut down, except for a small Pizza Hut who let us in, finally. We ordered water and pizza and shock occurred when milky water arrived looking like it was taken from a slew out back and pizza hand cooked in a microwave. No sickness and in bed by 10 pm.... Next morning after toast and hard boiled eggs we drove through Billings and arrived in Bighorn National Park, home of Custer’s last stand. Large vast area of battle ground, the land is untouched since the battle in 1876. Maps and war video pointed us to the battle strategy and grave sites where 176 of Custer's 7th Calvary died. There is a fence around where Custer had his final moments along with his 20 or so men. Very memorable, certainly a turning point in Native lifestyle and the expansion of the Wild West. ​

Wyoming....Spent a beautiful day in Yellowstone National Park....Driving around the park we saw many highlights including large, amazing waterfalls dug deep into geologically colorful rock formations....The  Old Faithful Geyser showed us how delicate and complicated the earth crust is and left wondering how little control man has over its built up pressures....We drove the full circle of Yellowstone, past many narrow walking paths, beautiful fall October landscapes, herds of buffalo, elk, deer and coyotes....It was great to be alive and Pete stopped every 100 yds for one of my pictures. We then drove on to Pocatello Idaho for a well deserved nights rest...​

Utah...Early next morning drove to Logan Utah, home of Utah State University...90 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah State was my home and football team for 4 years. I receiver a football scholarship and degree  there out of high school ,and grew up in so many ways...Pete and I visited my old dormitory and even chatted with the student now living in my old  room...He couldn’t believe I lived there 48 yrs ago...We visited the football stadium and took great pictures on the field...It was a beautiful, clear warm day and so were the memories...Utah State is a real power house in College academics and athletics today....After lunch in Logan, it was a long 7hr drive through  the long and vast Great Salt Lake  to Elko Nevada...​

Nevada....Next morning it was on the busy freeway again, driving cruise control 70 mph and passing multitudes of 18 wheelers....Nevada is total desert and straight highways, and needless to say we drank many coffee’s and munched on healthy veggies while chatting up stimulating conversations....We wouldn’t see a town or city for hours on end, but roads and the days were perfect so time flew by...Pete always gave me the long boring roads while he drove the scenic, curvy roads with little traffic...Driving became a great team game....It was on to Reno Nevada, the Biggest Little City in the World....Reno is also home to my first roommate at Utah State. We haven’t seen each other for many years, but finally connected and committed to visiting him...We chatted for hours, talking old times like it was yesterday...Willie and his girlfriend Toni were superb hosts, suggesting places to visit and cooking delicious meals....Willie was head of  Fish and Wildlife for the State of Nevada and did he have the stories...Can you believe there are 35,000 wild horses roaming the open lands of Nevada...They took us on a tour of the Reno countryside, visiting an old 1875 silver mining town, Virginia City. Saw legendary boot hill, Bucket of Blood Saloon and the original suicide table at the Delta Saloon where many a gambler lots thousands then  killed themselves...The old town is completely  renovated but the legends and stories pour out of it....Pete and I couldn’t get enough...From old history we drove to Beautiful Lake Tahoe...Set high in the mountains looking over Reno, Lake Tahoe is a clean, fresh clear lake surrounded by mountains and forest...Scenic views everywhere, and summer brings hikers, boaters and sun worshipers for around the globe...Absolutely pristine....​

​Driving from Calgary to Panama City, Panama in my new campervan. My buddy Joe Forzani is travelling with me for a couple of weeks in the States, then I’m on my own to Mexico for a month. The remainder of the trip to Central America is a man with no plans. I will get Joe to do the blogging for the first two weeks for Travel Cheap With Pete com  

I started off with a couple of buddies from Calgary in Playa Del Carmen Mexico. We stayed at the Rio hostel but they wanted to go to a hotel. I myself I like to stay at hostels for a couple of nights mostly if it is a city I have never been to. You learn so much of where to go and where not to go but the best thing is you find better deals than the hotels give you. We had a great Christmas (turkey) dinner at a restaurant in Playa. It was hard to find at first but we found a good dinner, never give up it's always there right in front of you. I ended up telling the guys I wanted to go to Panama for New Years.

March 15              Youtube video
It’s O V E R, my least favourite part of a TV. show called "just for laugh gags" at the end of each episode they say "it’s over,and I never want the show to end and the same goes for my winter holidays. Time to get back to work, to the job I love and I enjoy the people I work for. I decided to take this winter off without pay. For my friends around the world just check it out, link for laughs gags, you will see what I mean. 

I often get asked  what is my favorite country in the world, my answer is I love the whole world and all the people on this great planet of ours.

Cheers and I am so grateful to all new people I met and the friends that joined me while traveling this year; Lorraine, Josh, Kevin, Ann, Adrienne, Gabriela, Antony, Yossitt, Jason, Sal, Desman, Dean, Joe, Norm, Darlene, Jayne, John, Fernando, Terry, Susan, Paola so many more ! a big thanks to Ricardo the guy that robed me, first time for me but I laughed when I first realized that I got ripped off.  I trust everyone still; however I did learn my lesson and feel a bit foolish. 
  
Thanks to all my video camera operators mostly strangers that I met, no one took off and ran with my camera,
which shows that most people can be trusted. 

Some good bloopers-videos; the first one is where I bought everyone a drink in a local Mexican bar, everyone was picking on a guy they called Ricky Martin just for fun. The second video is where my friend
Paola said that us Canadians are crazy but you will see that she only meant I am crazy we had such a good laugh together.

Youtube video Ricky Martin and Youtube video Crazy me, she did not mean all Canadians
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I made it to Cuba twice again this winter. Cuba has a special place in my heart I just love the people there and it always feels safe. We like to hand out candy, coloring books, toys and clothing the locals are trusting and really appreciate it.
 
The first video you will see me hand out candies to the children on the streets and yes their parents are nearby watching and most of the time they will come over and take some too. In the second video you will see some off the
old cars driving down the road.

 Youtube video handing out candies and Youtube video old cars in Havana Cuba
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I was also in Panama twice this winter, special love for this Country too.  There is always so much to see and do. The city is modern, it was easy for me to find good deals on food and accommodations, even when it was two days before Carnival I found a 4 star hotel for $66.00 a night. I could not believe the rate, when I checked it out 2 hours later the rate went up to $88.00 a night.  I found it on Booking buddy (hotel El Panama).

 I also like the Transit in Panama. They have busses that look like lit up school buses, they remind me of party buses; however, they are not, you will see in this video what I mean.
 
                                              Youtube video Panama city public bus

 This video is a simulation of the Panama Canal; it really feels like you are operating the ship.
                                    Youtube Video Panama Canal simulation
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 San Felipe Panama city, I’ve been coming here the past two years and can’t believe the big changes in this area. They have restored the old buildings that once looked like they were going to collapse at anytime.  The area is looking amazing with all the improvements and many tourist like to come visit. This video I will show you how they restore the old to the new.
                                            Youtube video San Felipe Panama city
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Panama Carnival, one of the reasons I went to Panama is I wanted to take some videos of Carnival in two small towns Las Tablas and Pedasi but I could not find a room so I ended up in Panama city to see Carnival it was not
the same, more locals in the small towns but still had a great time in the city. 
                                             Youtube video Panama city Carnival
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I was in Mexico 3 times this winter. I went to Puerto Vallarta for my 1st time. I only spent a couple of days there but check out the street show in this video.
                                                             Youtube video street fire show
I took a bus about 5 hours south of Puerto Vallarta to Barra Navidad, Mexico to visit my friends Terry and
Susan. I met so many wonderful people there, I will be back. It was a great time, cheers!

This video was taken at our friends Darlene’s restaurant/bar and hotel Luna Y Coyote; you will see she is camera shy trying to run away or maybe she just wanted to dance?  Darlene also mentioned she may turn her place into a hostel next season.
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                                                       Youtube video Darlene’s restaurant/bar and hotel Luna Y Coyote

February 8, 2014 
Greetings family and friends, I am back traveling again, now in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the first time.  Looks like this city will be great for walking and I will be sure to wear a sun hat. I’m planning to visit my friends Terry and his girlfriend Susan, they live about 5 hours south via bus ride.  

I went for my MRI on Saturday morning and asked the tech if she thought it would be okay to travel, she said I would get the results near the end of next week from my doctor. She said call your doctor next week, so I got out of the cold and here I am traveling again.

I’m still on a non paid leave from work, and I was home during one of the worst cold spells this winter; surprisingly I did not find it as bad as I usually do as I really do not like the cold. I have to say after what I went through in Columbia with the possible heatstroke, although scary it was a great wake-up call. I also heard from a good source that once you have had heatstroke you are always prone to get it again.  I rarely sunbathe on the beach or by the pool, just touring in that hot sun I have felt the effects and I will no longer drink sugar drinks, and hydrate with pure water
instead. 
 

February 7th 2014
I love the amazing art work that a lot of people put on their homes (casas) in Cartagena, Columbia. 

Time to travel again. I came back to Canada to see a doctor about my injured shoulder (motorcycle accident) I had last spring. I thought while I was here at home I should go see my family doctor about what happened to me in Colombia. I still think it is heatstroke; however, the doctor is a bit concerned about the dizziness in my head, so he booked me in for an MRI brain scan Saturday, February 8th. I booked Puerto Vallarta, Mexico the afternoon of the MRI to visit my friends Terry and Susan. I feel confident the MRI will turn out good, they will let me know in the morning if they see something wrong. I will call my doctor for the results in a week that is how long it takes for him to get them. I have never been to Puerto Vallarta, looking forward to seeing the city and then after I get the results I think I will book Panama again. Cheers everyone!

January 25th 2014   
This video is from across the hall from my hotel room at the ibis hotel got it for $44.00 usd a night from of course go to TravelCheapWithPete .com scroll down to tripbase or travelbuddy hit hotel and they will compare for you. It’s only a bus ride to the beach 80 cents each way. This Hotel has been the best deal on this trip.It is very safe in the city of Cancun and at the Americas mall across the street I just had a T-bone steak, potatoes and veggies for under $11.00 usd in the food court they even have servers serving you. Looks like it’s getting to be that time again, time to go home

January 22 2014                        Youtube video  Bill and Krystal said it was worth it driving the Ferrari..

The guy driving the Ferrari, Bill from New Jersey and his girl Krystal both drove the Ferrari and said it was a blast they loved it. I talked them into sticking around for the go-carts with my friends from Germany, Spain and my long time friend Josh from Cancun and another guy that was standing behind me while taping, I had to use that video because he did mention the Canadian race car driver being a winner I never did catch his name but he was from South Carolina. It was fun but not fair I had a slow cart, I’m still a happy loser. They normally don’t have the go-cards during the day but I gave them my TravelCheapWithPete card and they called it a promotional race, I could have not paid anything but I felt that it was wrong so I did pay a bit, a lot less.
Thanks Exotic Rides Cancun

January 20th 2014

I stopped in for a beer last night.  It was where my trip started on December 23, 2013 at the Rio Hostel in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.  I’m always welcome there even if I’m not a paying guest. They have a rooftop bar with a pool; it gets busy at 10:00 because ladies can drink for free for an hour.  I decided to go up there to shoot my video and have a quick beer.
 
Staying in hostels while traveling may not be for everyone; however, I will share with you why myself and
many other travellers prefer hostels.  The truth is most travellers are on a budget because they are exploring more than one country/region. Hostels are also a great way to meet new likeminded people. Some people chose Hostels because it is a lot cheaper than other accommodations and some like the party atmosphere that some hostels have.  I would say that the main reason I prefer hostels to any other accommodation is you get to meet so many people through all the common areas through out the hostel and outside of the hostel too. I think the travellers who stay in hostels are kind, caring and reliable. I feel if you need anyone they would be there for you. I have experienced a few different situations where we have all been there for each other.  I have been there for a friend who lost her credit card in Malaysia. Another time in Rio De Janeiro during Carnival a few of us from the hostel witness someone getting robed on the beach, she was screaming and we saw a man running towards us with a purse he realized he had nowhere to go as he was confronted by a group of people so he just dropped the bag and walked away.  We did not go after him as it is sometimes a good idea not to get involved in a foreign country just encase of any corruption. I just feel staying in hostels while traveling is a safe place where we all become family.
I have taken my two daughters to a hostel in Maui 10 years ago and even my 6 star daughter Tiffany liked it and had fun.

You never know until you try, if you have yet stayed in a hostel before I recommend it!  You could try in your own backyard too; I like to go on a quick weekend getaway sometimes to the Banff international hostel which is about an
hour in a half away from my home. It's a good way to become more open sharing such close space with strangers who soon become friends.
It was too bad that I was not in a hostel at the time I went down with heatstroke (I think I would have felt less afraid), in a strange country around people I can trust.  There is just something special about the bound fellow travellers share!
On my way to Cancun today on the Ado bus looking out the window, I came across a hotel I was looking at from my website of course scroll down to bookingbuddy and they compare I hit priceline under $100.00 usd and saw a hotel I was looking at the day before, could not believe the price of $44.00 usd in a brand new hotel they call it a three star this is a 4 star in Canada, great location across from the biggest mall on the eastern side of Mexico and close to Centro Cancun without the noise. Check out ibis Cancun

January 19th 014

Feeling so much better today, I hear it will take a few days to be back to normal, thanks everyone for their concerns and help on what I should do to get better. I will post something every day until I get home Saturday night.

I am moving to Cancun tomorrow change of plans again I am not going to stay at a resort now, too
tempting free drinks too much food and a beach so I have decided to go to the City of Cancun hang out with the locals. I want to find some (friends) drivers for the go carts.  if you watch the video you will see what I mean. They have a new race track in Cancun where you can drive a Ferrari or a Lamborghini for a price of $450.00 usd 6 times around a race track I don’t think it is worth it, just to say you drove one of those sports cars, they will not allow you to race against anyone else. But I can race against others in a go-cart for $22.00 usd that sounds more exciting, no worries Tiff I will wait until I am 100 % healthy.


Yes I did say in the video that the more money I spend the less my two daughters will get for their inherence, just kidding girls, I know you both want me to have fun and live life to the fullest :) see I’m back to normal I still have a sense of humor. I know saying that was so bad.

                                           Youtube video exotic rides Cancun Lamborghini
You will see the guy in the background of the video he is the salesmen for the track. exotic rides Cancun
______________________________________________________________________

January 18th 2014

I had a scary thing happen to me while I was in Columbia. I think I had heat stroke at times I would feel light headed really dizzy it felt like when I bent over it felt like i was going to fall on my face and my eyes were going to the back... of my head it was scary for a couple of days.I think I have been going too hard not partying hard but going out every day at about 8:00 am get back to my hotel to clean up for dinner and then go out again until 11:00 or 12:00 at
night. I found if I felt it coming on I would get back to the hotel for an afternoon rest that worked I felt good again, I thought it would be better going out in the public if I ever went down, someone would be there for me. Yesterday
at the Cartagena airport I felt it coming on again so I just walked around for a bit it seemed to work. Now I am back in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico moving to Cancun in a couple of days to an all-inclusive no drinking just to take it easy
before heading home on the 25th and I will see my doctor then. The reason I did not post this sooner is I did not want my daughter Tiffany to know as she would have played my mother again and made everyone panic even myself. It is a lot cooler here in Mexico and I feel a lot better and if it comes on again I will take the first plane to Canada Tiffany.
If anyone has experienced this before, I think it was heat stroke call or text me 984 128 4699 I don’t know the
country code for some reason I can’t text anyone back  or email me back. Not public because Tiffany will be watching lol.. After all this I need a holiday lol..  
                                                       
                                       Youtube video My camera man Tony will talk about Cartagena Columbia  

Now for my next video of Cartagena, Columbia I loved it met a lot of good people there I even met a couple from my home town Rexdale (Toronto) no I did not know them back then but lived only a few blocks away they were on a cruise ship so they could only see this great city during the day, they missed a great night life there

January 16th 2014 
Hi my friends, I am going to post two videos one from old town and one from the new city, so many great street shows. I would like to thank all the great people I have met here in Cartagena, Columbia I will be back maybe even
next month. I am off to Mexico in the morning for a week. My friends in Calgary the flights are getting cheap again check out sell off vacations (flight only). I have been in Cartagena, Columbia for a week now and just loving it, an amazing night life in old town and new city. I have been shooting loads of video now I have to figure out how to put them on my website.   
          
    Youtube video   New city, Cartagena Columbia Youtube video  Old town, Cartagena Columbia
                                           Youtube video I always like to ride the local buses in the counties I go to.

January 14th 2014
In my first video I would like to invite you all to Panama. If any of my friends from around the world can join me in beautiful Panama next month (February)
.
In my second video you will see I was in a taxi on my way back to my hostel to make myself a peanut butter jam sandwich and fruit for lunch, a couple of blocks from my private room hostel casa Areka which is $35.00 usd a night and was just two blocks away from the Donald Trump towers (resort) at a cost of about $260.00 usd a night.  On a previous trip I was able to get them down to about $149.00 a night; therefore, my third video is of me at the Donald Trump towers, where I am inquiring about the rates. I was trying to negotiated to get the same rate for a night and see
if I can use the pool again; like I did last time I was there.  Again they were hospitable and had no problem, the Travel Cheap With Pete Card worked again ;).  I asked a server at the hotel if he can help me shoot the forth video with me and he was happy to help!  In my final video I walked over to my friend Dan’s hostel "Villa Vento Surf". Dan is kind and let’s me drop by anytime to use the pool which is  about a 25 minute walk from the hostel I was staying at "Oswald’s hostel Casa Areka". They both are great hostels and are good friends who will
help each other out.

 I did rent a car for a couple of days in the city. I love the way they drive in Panama, you have to be aggressive
and use your horn often, and try not to get mad just enjoy the experience! I rented the car to visit my friend Jill who is from Calgary and she lives in Panama for the winter. Jill has a beautiful condo in Bela beach resort on the
Caribbean side which is about an hour and a half from downtown Panama city.I was able to enjoy a relaxing visit with Jill, thanks again girl.  

Dean, Joe and Norm let’s do it again? Perhaps we can bring a few more people on this trip to Panama and
while we are down here maybe a few days in Columbia too. The tour guide is free as I just love to share my passion of travel with friends and furthermore we will find the best deals out there, after all they don't call me Travel Cheap With Pete for nothing.
                 Youtube video of me inviting my friends from around the world to join me in Panama

It Really is a Small World
I find it pretty common to run into people you know while you’re in
places like Mexico or Cuba because most Canadians travel there. I have a few stories- too many to mention them all. I remember Thailand, where I ran into a guy I went to elementary school with. Joey was into Thai boxing and a couple of other things that I thought were funny. I met an Italian guy in New Zealand, who was learning English. I ran into him again five countries later in Thailand.He freaked and could not believe it. I laughed and said, “Let’s have a beer.”



The funniest coincidence occurred when I was traveling through Singapore and Malaysia with two girls from England and a guy I had just met named Ron from Calgary. When I was boarding a boat in Thailand, I ran into Ron and another girl named Dana, whom I knew from Calgary They were traveling together and holding hands. They had met each other in Thailand.

While in Panama City a couple of years ago, I was walking by an outside restaurant and I looked at this girl who looked like my friend, Jill, from Calgary and it was. I walked up and said hi. She was just in the process of
buying a beautiful condo with a beach on the Caribbean side of Panama where she lives for the winter months. Lucky girl.

While I was in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico I was at a Telcel store. Telcel is a Mexican mobile phone store. I wanted to find out why I can’t text some people. I saw the clerk having a hard time communicating  in broken English
with a Polish couple, so I went behind the counter to help her thanks to my new 99 cent app translator. I got the deal done for all and while she was busy with them I asked the next person, Denis, in line, “Can I help you?” He had a problem with texting with his Canadian phone. I also tried and could not get the phone to text. At the same time I told him that I don’t work here; I’m just trying to help out and I mentioned that I’m also from Canada and gave him my TravelCheapWithPete card. He had heard of me on a job site in Calgary. He said that he had heard
of TravelCheapWithPete from Mark, another worker at the job site. I said, “Wow. I also work with you. I am your union rep on holidays.” 

For the next couple of days Denis and I hung out. I took him to a resort in Cancun where other union members were staying. On Christmas Day I put on my Facebook page that I was in Playa Del Carmen and my friend, Adrienne, invited me to join her and her sister Suzanne's family for Christmas dinner. Wow, what a treat with great people from home. I thanked host very much. It was great.

The Prices in Mexico have Gone Up

I found that the prices in Mexico for accommodations and restaurants
  had gone up from 20 to 50 percent, but it is still a lot cheaper than Canada and the States.

Talk about cheap-how about free!  Yes, the girls at the hostel drink free
between 10 and 11 PM.  A few bars later we found even more bars. The girls got free drinks. They call it “ladies night”.;-)

In every country I go to I like to stay in a hostel for the first couple of nights because that’s where you can learn so much about places to go, things to see and, most of all, the great people you get to meet from around the world. Even though I left the Rio Hostel in Playa Del Carmen I was still welcome to hang out with everyone after I formally checked-out. The think I like about hostel is “a home cooked meal.”

Talk about prices: My lovely daughter, “Princess” Tiffany, went to St. Lucia with her husband, Bill, and stayed in the Sandals resort (wow). They came in too late to take a helicopter to the resort. Instead, they took a bus and took the helicopter from the resort to the airport on the way back.:-0

They flew from Calgary, west to Vancouver, then east to Montreal. On the afternoon of the next day they finally made it to St Lucia. (They could have called me for a better itinerary. I know I could have gotten them a better flight and maybe even a better deal by calling the Sandals to say that I am TravelCheapWithPete.  You never know unless you try.) They had a great vacation for a week. (Don’t tell them that I will spend the same dollars in two months traveling.)

I am so lucky I took a leave of absent for two months off work
without pay. :-P
I wrote this on my flight from Cancun to one of my most
favorite places in the world, Panama.  I’m off to somewhere new,
Columbia, in 6 days for two weeks..

Never judge a book by its cover, never assume... just ask.

A Union President (me), a union member by the name of Sal and his 10 year old son Desman went traveling with some well to do business guys, Dean, Joe and Norm all from Calgary and now good friends for life. At the end of the day during this trip, I came to the conclusion that we are all the same, just good people.

Talking to the guys before we went to Cuba I let them know that a 5 star in Cuba is more like a 4 star in most Countries. Mainly because of the food being bland as they do not add spice, so always make sure to take some with you and of course the beds aren’t quite as nice either. The problem I don't like is the 4 1/2 and up star resorts are too far away from downtown Varadero so you have to take a bus or a taxi to get to where there is more to see and do more interaction with the great people of Cuba too. After I showed the guys my regular 3 1/2 star Cautro Palmas Resort that I normally stay at, they all agreed that my normal 3 1/2 star would be a better place for all of us single guys for the day and night life. Now I will never assume what I think people will like better, I will just explain that at the 3/12 star the food will not be as good, the beds will not be as good as a 5 star and the entertainment (night show will not be as good). I find it better because I am never at the resort anyways through the day or night as there is so much to see and do and by the time I get back to the resort if I make it back I am so tired that that hard bed is so comfortable.

Some people go to the Resorts just to hang out at the beach, pool, eat, party and watch the shows. I'm not going to judge people that just want to hang out and have fun at the resort, that's just not me, I may do a bit of that (get my money's worth) but my thing to do is show the friends I go with the way Cuban's are. Right from the way they live and that you don’t have to be afraid of them as they love to take you to their homes and have you eat and drink with their families.

One of the tours I like to take my friends on is going and renting scooters for the day and going to a small town called Matanzas as it's just a small taste of what they will see in Havana as Havana is totally like a different world. When I take people there I like to hand out candies and gifts to the children and their parents and it feels so good just seeing a smile on their faces as they receive something from us. So when it was time to find a place to stay for the night in Havana I said to the guys that there is a 5 star hotel about a block and a half from where we ended up staying and to my surprise Joe and I stayed at a family's house for $25.00 a night and Dean and Norm stayed at a 2 1/2 star hotel for $31.00 a night about a half a block from us. We all had a blast, Dean and Joe went to the amazing Tropicana show while Norm and I hung out on the streets of Havana and met back at the hotel at around 1:00 a.m. Sal and his son Desman did not make it to Havana as they had plans for a jeep/safari the next day but we did the scooter to Matanzas thing together and I loved seeing his son Desman give out candies and gifts to the children and their families. The whole trip we all had a blast, we all got along and nothing went wrong. Okay I will admit that I do get a laugh when I see people first arrive in Cuba and expect it will be the same as back home but it's not. In regards to their technology and internet you need passions dial up which is so slow and for me to have a Cuban cell it cost me $50.00 for just the SIM card that I rented for 14 days and then I put $30.00 on it for calls and texting at a cost of $1.00 a text and $1.00 a local or Canadian call. If I used the $30.00 up I had to wait in a long line up to put more money on the phone. The good thing is that it was free to receive calls and texts, the Cubans get it cheaper than that.

Talk about communication/technology. We were in a restaurant and Joe mentioned to all of us sitting there to take a look around and see what we noticed different compared to a restaurant back home. We all looked around and none of us noticed anything different at all. He said that people are actually communicating with each other, that no one had a cell phone out texting or what not. It was truly amazing to look around and see what he had just pointed out.

After a week I said goodbye to my trip mates and for week two I had my friend Tony also a Union member show up and I had to do it all again and yes I loved it! We did the scooter to Matanzas and a night in Havana and by the end of the week everyone knew Tony at the resort. I just couldn’t keep up to him (party) but I did see most of the shows that week. The last day we were there Tony and I went golfing and we played with another twosome named Kerry and Marilyn who were from Ontario. I told them I was handicapped, meaning I only had one arm (hand) as my left shoulder is still hurting from the motorcycle accident this past spring. At the start it was bad but after a while I was getting better. I played once this summer in a tournament, not bad and I can play with both hands on short chips and putt. When Tony and I went to the airport to come home, I ran into 2 other people I knew plus 4 union members that were at other resorts.

Other people (union members I hung out with down there was Jason and his girlfriend Christen as they were at the Riu resort too and also my friend Fernando was staying at the 3 ½ star resort where him and I and a group stayed last year.

My first day back to work, Sal came into my office to say thanks for a great trip for him and his son Desman. He also said that when they went to the airport they got pulled over by a baggage handler and the guy said to Desman "Thank you so much for coming to his city Matanzas to hand out candies and gifts to all the people in the pizza place". When we were at the same place, Joe got the bill and said what is this $12.00 for 5 pizzas and 5 cokes he thought something was wrong. I looked at it and said to Joe "No that is the real price so we can just tip big". We always tipped and we always got great service no matter where we went. I know that the people really appreciate receiving the candies, gifts and tips but sometimes it’s even better when you hear it from the Cubans a couple of days later like Desman did it just makes it that much more special. I loved watching Desman hand things out to them because he had a smile that went from ear to ear, which is truly what it is all about. I think it means as much to us to be able to do it, as it does to them!

The bottom line is. Never judge or assume anything or anybody! We are all the same one way or another...

Pictures coming soon as they are in Italy right now, I'm just the tour guide :)

Pete Montgomery