Where We Rested Our Weary Heads

July 10 Simon & Joanne's, North Vancouver - welcoming, comfortable bed, extremely helpful & understanding
July 11&12 Glovers in Peachland - awesome hospitality, relaxing and restoring.
July 13&14 Red Carpet Inn, Banff- clean, dog friendly, Main Street location, CAA
July 15- 19 Perkins - we were amazingly well taken care of at Paul's Aunt Islay's and Uncle Earl's in Calgary!
July 19 - 23 - Coulter house in Gillette and cabin in Pine Haven, Wyoming: perfect timing, accomodation fantastic, and most of all a wonderful family visit
July 23 - 27 - watersports, hiking, campfire, singing, great food and a rare opportunity to hang out with family at the McMillan's at West Hawk Lake.
July 27 - Villa Bianca, Schreiber, Ontario. motel beside the trans canada hwy, friendly bikers next door, pizza and KFC in lobby, clean enough.
July 28 - Old Mill Motel, Blind River, Ontario: 1st motel we saw in Blind River, on the shores of Lake Huron, clean (laminate flooring, which feels much cleaner I have to say!) and comfortable!
July 29-Aug 1 - site 119, Canisbay Lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario. Beautiful, warm lakes, nice walks/hikes, excellent facilities (free warm showers, washing machines, washrooms plus outhouses), great company (Kathy, Rich, Zachary, Kyra, Roch, Sue, Eric, Patty, Jim, Sreve, Tim)
Aug 1&2 Best Western, Niagara Falls, Ontario - fantastic pet program ( little dog welcome package, could leave her in the room when we went touring around- HUGE bonus!!), wifi pretty consistent, clean, comfortable)
Aug 3 - 5 - Cathy and Real's in Ottawa.  Cathy and the kids were away but Real was a wonderful host - of particular mention is his amazing maps!!  Thanks Real!!
Aug 6&7 Auberge Montreal, Espace Confort - Fantastic little place somewhere in between a hostel and hotel.  Very clean, reasonably priced, friendly staff, in the Latin Quartier on St. Denis street, about a 20 min. walk to Vieux Montreal.
Aug. 8&9 Hotel Le Dauphin, Quebec City - right off the highway, 10 min from Old Quebec, super comfortable, recently renovated, very modern, huge buffet breakfast.
Aug 10 - 13 Kathy and Rich Gate, Truro, Nova Scotia - Jessy has finally arrived at her new home (for the next year)!
Aug. 14&15 Inverary Resort, Baddeck, Nova Scotia (Cape Breton Island) - got a super deal through the visitor information centre when we entered Cape Breton.  Lots of variety in accommodation and restaurants, lake side toys (kayaks, etc.), evening bonfires, small indoor pool.
Aug. 16-18  Kathy and Rich Gate, Truro, Nova Scotia
Aug 19-21 PEI National Park, Cavendish Beach Campground windy, beautiful beach, lovely sunrises and sunsets,
Aug 22-24 Kathy and Rich Gate, Truro, Nova Scotia
Aug 25-29 Karen and Craig Nann, Newport, Rhode Island
Aug. 31 Lima, Peru
Sept 1-26 Cusco (volunteer house for Peru's Challenge in LaRapa), Peru
Sept. 27 Puno
Sept. 28 Amantani Island - Clara's house!
Sept. 29 & 30 Arequipa - Casa de mi Abuela Hotel also a hostel. swimming pool, grassy spaces, fantastic buffet breakfast
Oct. 1 Chivay (Colca Canyon)  a short drive out of town but nestled amongst the hills with hammocks overlooking the valley - Mamayachi hotel
Oct. 2 Overnight bus to Nazca
Oct. 3 Lima El Faro Inn Hotel
Oct. 4-7 Casa Canabal, Geramani area of Cartagena, Columbia a little pricey but an oasis!!
Oct. 8 night bus to Medellin
Oct. 9-12 Art Hotel, El Poblado neighbourhood (Zona Rosa) - about $85 per night plus the taxes will kick it higher.  We decided to pay a little more for places in Columbia so that we were in a safe place with a greater feeling of security.Was a gorgeous hotel, very modern, super wifi in the room and great breakfasts!
Oct. 12 - 15  Colonial House Hostel, Quito - $9 per night per person (about $30 with tax for the 3 of us).  About a 10 minute walk to the old city from here.  Super volunteers to help with tours etc. and owner, Ornelio, who cooks delicious breakfasts. Not new and fancy but full of character and good vibes.  Wifi only worked on bottom floor.  We loved it!!
Oct. 16 - 19 queen Beatrice - GAP6 - touring around Galapagos Islands. Catamaran, 16 passengers max., hot tub, bar at the back, lounge chairs on top deck, comfy rooms though a little rocky!!
Oct. 19-21 Colonial House Hostel, Quito
Oct. 22 - 24- Shiripuno Lodge, Amazon Jungle - Fernando did a fantastic job guiding us through the jungle.  Was a long journey to reach the lodge ( from Coca a 2 hour drive and 4 hour motorized canoe).  Lodge was very rustic, food was amazing, people were great!  No wifi or electricitz - a true escape from everything modern!
Oct. 24 - Colonial House Hostel, Quito
Oct. 25-Nov. 1 - Ayres Potenos Hostel, San Telmo, Buenos Aires - a funky hostel in a funky district of BA.  Comfortable, quite a good breakfast spread, BIG hostel.
(Oct. 26-28 Heather at the Bambu Hostel Mini in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina - very YOUTH hostel-ish, had a flood in the room I had been sleeping in on the 28th and ended up staying 1 more night at the Tropical Hotel, paid for by LAN)
Nov. 1 - 2 Hostal del Barrio -  Barrio Bellevista, Santiago do Chile - Met at the airport by Christian, the owner who was a great guy.  Hostel is an old house in a great area!  Comfortable enough though they definitely need new pillows!
Nov. 3 - 8 Casa Kultour, Cerro Alegre, Valparaiso, Chile - Needed to get out of the big city and recharge our batteries.  Found a lovely family run hostel where we were happy to lay our heads, catch up on some reading, math, blogs, photo uploading and some good ol' R&R!
Nov 10 - 17 Sydney Suites, Wyndham properties, Sydney, Australia - thanks to a timeshare type program that Wilma passed down.  A 1 bedroom with kitchenette right downtown.  Easy to get to all public transport options and a few downtown places to walk.
Nov. 18-19 Bounce Hostel, Sydney, Australia - a new hostel right across from Central Station.  Fantastic kitchen and lounge area!
Nov. 19-22  Traveller's Oasis Hostel, Cairns, Australia - super friendly, great tour booking desk, pool
Nov. 22 - Dec. 6 Backpackers Van - drove down the East coast of Australia as far as Byron Bay and then back up to Brisbane to drop it off
Dec. 6 - 9 YHA Brisbane - newer hostel in convenient location, big kitchen, comfortable beds, clean
Dec. 9 - 12 Wyndham Resorts Perth - West Perth area, very quiet on the weekend (nothing open).  hotel was super modern, clean, felt great!!
Dec. 12 Spent the night in the car on a sides street in Albany
Dec. 13 YHA Walpole - tiny town, very basic room with fairly comfortable beds. Fantastic, well-stocked kitchen and friendly owner (Peggy)
Dec. 14 YHA Augusta - clean and comfortable enough beds.  Windy town!  Good fish and chip place down the road.
Dec. 15-16 YHA Bunbury - small hostel, with a very big tv.  Chloe got a little room to herself and was VERY happy!
Dec. 17 - Cervantes Lodge - near the Pinnacles.  Seafood platter for dinner at the "club"
Dec. 18 - Dongara Backpackers Hostel - this one was a true gem!!  Wonderfully decorated rooms, comfortable beds, super friendly hosts, bakery next door!
Dec. 19-21 - Kalbarri YHA - a bit of a legdown after the dongara hostel,... very basic somewhat dated hostel with limited cooking supplies in the kitchen.
Dec. 21 - Air Asia -1:00 am flight to Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia
Dec. 22 - Jan. 2 - Villa L'Orange, cucukan village,  Bali, Indonesia - amazing Balinese villa, black beach  on one side, big pool, 2 friendly dogs, lots of space, delicious meals!  Lucky us!!!
Jan. 2 - 6 Juliantos Resort, Gili Air, Indonesia - Gili Air was amazing!  Laid back, quiet, great snorkeling.  Juliantos was fine but there are lots of others that were probably great too.
Jan. 6 - 8 Puri Sading Hotel, Sanur, Bali, Indonesia - very comfortable, nice looking pool.  We had a short stay so didn't test it out!
Jan. 8-11 Be My Guest Guesthouse,  Kata Beach, Phuket, Thailand - fine place, clean. wifi not working for any of our electronics.  Ended up at a restaurant across the street for the free wifi "Sugar and Spice".
Night bus to Bangkok
Jan. 12-14 Niras Bangkok Cultural Hostel, Bankok, Thailand -  We really liked this place.  It was close to major tourist sites (grand palace, reclining buddha, Kosan road) and a good (and cheap) pad thai restaurant across the street.  Really helpful and friendly staff. (Karen's recommendation) good wifi.
Night bus to Chaingmai
Jan. 15-18 MD House, Chaingmai, Thailand - A big, basic place to stay.  Staff were friendly, travel agent out front helped book all tours (convenient), breakfast included, free wifi worked well in room. (Karen's recommendation)
Night train/bus/taxi to Cambodia
Jan. 20-24 Siem Reap Hostel, Siem Reap, Cambodia - a great hostel with wonderful staff and lots tips for tours (like Angkor, floating forest, silk worm farm)
Jan. 25 flight to Pakse, overnight bus to Vientiane
Jan. 26 Souphaphone Guesthouse, Vientiane, Laos - clean, super comfy bed, fine breakfast, couldn't connect to wifi (Chloe's first trip advisor find!)
Jan. 27  ihouse, Vientiane, Laos - moved for better wifi, comfy, clean - all in king size bed
Jan. 28&29 Mountain Riverview Guesthouse, Vand Vieng - great view, comfy enough, clean enough, good price ($35 for 2 nights)
Jan. 30 ihouse, Vientiane, Laos - wifi no longer reliable breakfast of baguette and jam not good (found Joma cafe and LOVED it - here for breakfast and afternoon snacks!
Jan. 31 overnight train to Bangkok
Feb. 1 Niras Bankoc Cultural Hostel, Bangkok, Thailand - forgot that had to stay in same bed - not a king!  Still love this place.  Warm welcome when we arrived.
Feb. 2 Night bus to Krabi/Ko Lanta
Feb. 3-9 Banana Garden Home, Klung Dao Beach, Ko Lanta Island, Thailand - a little bungalow with own washroom, pretty clean, a/c, mosquito nets, reasonably priced, right on the beach, good wifi, terrible breakfast (white toast and jam)  _ Maddy stayed in Mermaid Boutique House and we enjoyed breakfast with her one morning - amazing!!  We also booked all tours and travel through them.
Feb. 10-12 Niras Bankoc Cultural Hostel, Bangkok, Thailand - found out we could pay a little more for an extra bed.  Loving this place even more now!!!
Feb. 13&14 The Jennifer Hotel, Delhi, India
March 7 JHT Hotel, Delhi, India - modern, clean, in a little higher end of town
March 8, Dubai International Airport, UAE
March 9-14 The Lions Guesthouse, Tamberskloef, Cape Town, SA - loved it! Antony and Cybil were super hosts, Chloe had her own room for the first 6 nights.  Cooked most nights in the modern kitchen and hung out in the living room.  A nice warm homey feel plus met lots of other travelers.
March 15 Skeiding Guest Farm, between Swellendam and Heidleberg, SA - dinner and breakfast amazing! Ostriches in the field and dogs to pat.
March 16&17 Afrovibe HI Hostel, Sedgefield, SA
March 18 Storms River Flashpacker Lodge, Storms River, SA  lovely couple, clean and private room, Canopy tour in tsitsikama forest (fun!!)
March 19&20 Chrislin African Lodge, Addo - just outside Addo Elephant Park
March 21-23 The Coffee Shack, Coffee Bay, SA - bit of a party hostel but so much fun!  Went on a group hike to Hole in the Wall, even joined in on the pool tournament (both out in the 2nd round). met Sanne (Holland) and Cam (US)
March 24&25 Karma Backpackers, Kestell, SA - Drakensberg Mountains
March 26 Funky Monkeys Backpackers, Nelspruit, SA - just outside of Kruger National Park
March 27&28 Skukoza Rest Camp, Kruger Park, SA - stayed in a safari tent.  cots, sheets and blankets, fridge and fan - campsite style shared bathroom
March 29 & 30 Oliphants Rest Camp, Kruger Park, SA - stayed in a hut.  Big thunder storm during the night and a few drops of water leaked through the roof.
March 31  Letaba Rest Camp, Kruger Park, SA Stayed in a hut.  Deer right outside the door - gave Chloe an April Fools scare!  Kitchen on the porch.
April 1 Lakeview Backpackers, Johannasberg, SA - Chloe booked this one!  a room in a house very close to the airport, good neighbourhood (electric fence around property and security guards seen roaming the neighbourhood.
April 2-5 Jollyboys Camp, Livingston, Zambia - we took up 3 of the 4 beds in our little dorm and no one else showed up.  Campsite style washrooms, ordered food at bar mostly
April 6 Lusaka Backpackers, Lusaka, Zambia - Chloe's first night in a dorm.  Unfortunately right beside the bar, otherwise fairly comfy beds, so-so showers
April 7-12 Red Chilli Hideaway (Hostel), Kampala, Uganda - C & H hear all 6 nights, Paul in Biwindi park traking gorillas for 2 nights.  Good wifi, food at hotel kitchen decent, pizza good!
April 13 & 14 Red Chilli Rest Camp, Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda - safari tents (2 per tent - P had his own).  Hippo munching right outside our tents - big excitement!!
April 15  Red Chilli Hideaway (Hostel), Kampala, Uganda - stayed in 8 bed mixed dorm - pretty comfy and quieter than the 3 bed room the other nights
April 16 Doha, Qatar - hands down the fanciest hotel we've stayed in - free for us with the 14 hour layover with Qatar Airways.  Breakfast included (and dinner if we had wanted it).  Amazing beds and pillows and water pressure! Had it all!!!
April 17-20 Copper Studios apartment (Airbnb),  Beyoglu district, Istanbul, Turkey - near Galata Tower, comfy little 1 bedroom with fold down ikea couch for C, real quilts, little bathroom and kitchen area.  Great area - walked to Bazaar District and Sultanhamet District across Galata Bridge.
April 21-23 Deep Green Bungalows, Olympos, Turkey - a small, seaside town near Antalya where vacationers go to relax, swim in the mediteranean, tour some ruins, see eternal flames, hike,... Deep Green was a family run business with very friendly staff and good meals included in the price ($35/night)
April 24 - Overnight bus to Goreme
April 25 & 26 Emre's Cave House Hostel and Pension, Goreme, Turkey - basic rooms (can stay in a "cave room" if you want a dorm) in a great little town!!!
April 27 - Overnight bus to Istanbul
April 28 - May 4 Enrico's Airbnb apartment, Rome, Italy
May 5 - 11 Villa Cafaggiolo, Rosano /Pontessieve, Italy (Tuscany area, near Florence).  A stone house able to sleep 6 people (2 bedrooms with a double and single each).  The property has a pool (that is seasonally heated, so don't expect it to be warm enough to swim in May!), horses (which you can look at and pat lightly if you feel comfortable).  Definitely need a car to get around and see things.  Took day trips to Pisa, Sienna, Florence.
May 12 - San Pietro Hotel, Villa Franca, (closest area to Verona airport) Italy.  Great little hotel, new and nicely decorated with good showers and 24 hour free wifi that worked mainly in the lobby.
May 13-15 Hotel Castillo, Venice, Italy - very close to Saint Marc's square, tons of restaurants and shopping nearby.  Pay for the location but it's definitely worth it to be in the Centre of Venice!!
May 16-21 Mats and Ebba's house (Peru's Challenge Friends) in Lilleby, Torsland (near Gothenburg), Sweden.  Fantastic stay here in our little downstairs room.  Sun went down at around 10:00pm and rose again around 4:00am so an blindfold for sleeping is a good idea!!
May 22-24 Elias and Sanna's apartment (airbnb)   Skebokvarnsvägen, Stockholm, Sweden
May 25-27 Helena's apartment (Peru's Challenge Friend) in Lulea, Sweden.  Quite far north in Sweden where there is about 2-3 hours of darkness at this time of year.
May 28 - June 1 Klaudia's apartment (airbnb)  near Plaza Catalunya, and La Rambla, Barcelona.
Great location and a super friendly host!
June 1&2 - Hotel Castilla Alicante - Playa de San Juan, Alicante, Spain.  Feeling the need to be beach side and be able to cool off in the hot weather, we booked a place in Costa Blanca through Agoda.  2 blocks to the beach and a good sized pool was perfect!
June 3&4 - Hospedaje Almohada - Granada, Spain.  A quaint little hostel in the windy streets of Granada.  Happened to be the only guests at the time but a fantastic place to rest our heads!
June 5-7 The Architect Hostel - Seville, Spain. (Chloe's booking) A very new hostel so was all clean and fresh feeling.  Pretty good breakfast for a hostel and good shower pressure and wifi!  4 bed dorm - Scottish roomy for the 1st night and then to ourselves.
June 8&9 Hostal Posada Los Alcazares - Cordoba, Spain.  Directly across from La Mezquita.  Can walk to everything here so as long as you're in the old town it's all close.  Great little breakfast place across the street as well.  Very nice owner though didn't speak any English so was a little hard to understand each other.
June 10-12  Hostal Luz - Madrid, Spain. (Chloe's booking)
June 13-17 Airbnb - Cannes, France