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WASHINGTON TIMES
TORONTO (AP) – Grab your toque (what Canadians call a wool hat) and get your game face on if you’re heading for the NBA All-Star Game in the 6ix -a term coined by rapper Drake, Toronto’s unofficial ambassador, for his hometown.
TORONTO STAR
BRANSON, MO.-There are cities that are all about the Christmas holiday season. And then there’s Branson. This southern Missouri city, flanked by the Ozark mountains, amplifies the season to Vegas-style heights.
GLOBE AND MAIL
As I careen down a gravelly path encircling Chile’s largest lake, gripping my mountain bike’s handlebars for my dear and sometimes wayward life, I think about whether I’m wearing appropriate underwear should I find myself flung flat out at the bottom of the hill. Funny how your mother’s voice drifts into your head during such moments.
TORONTO STAR
WAILEA, MAUI-“Pick a tail, any tail you’d like,” says Lila Jones, pointing to an oversized bag filled with shiny, colourful mermaid tails lounging on the creamy, butterscotch sand of Makena beach.
I feel like I’ve stepped up to a beach-based game booth where my prize is my being transformed into a sea goddess.
TORONTO STAR
NEAR SAN IGNACIO, BELIZE-“Our Maya ancestors saw caves as a portal to the underworld, often referred to as ‘Xibalba,’ which translates to ‘the place of fear or fright.’ They believed evil spirits, demons and monsters were guarding caves and only elites, priests and their entourage were permitted to access them; commoners were not allowed to go in,” says caving tour guide Gliss Penados.
TORONTO STAR
HAIDA GWAII, B.C.—“Sometimes you feel insignificant, but then you walk on these lands and it lifts you up. You realize everything is connected and that you are as important to the planet as is it to you,” says master basket-weaver April Churchill Davis.
TRAVELAGE WEST
After falling on hard times during and after the 2008 recession, Porto is dusting itself off quite well. And this rebirth is attracting hip travelers curious about this cultural movement, which is being cultivated by its younger generation who want to build up the city with their own vision while steadfastly protecting their heritage.
MONTECRISTO
“Look, ma, no feet!”
I never thought I’d utter those words while driving, but here I am, skirting corners along winding roads in the quaint enclave of Montauk in New York’s Long Island, putting the pedal to the metal sans, well, my own feet.
“Pretty cool, eh?” says my car companion, who has, perhaps against his better judgement, trusted me with his life.
MONTECRISTO
“When you’re ready to shoot, say ‘pull.’ When I hear that ‘pull,’ I’ll throw the clay,” says my shooting instructor Myron Weirich, who has just placed a large Weatherby semi-automatic 20-gauge shotgun in the wee arms of this little lady.