Cultural Travel

My family and I just got back from a 7-day Royal Caribbean cruise that took us to Labadee, Haiti and Cozumel, Mexico. (The ship was supposed to dock in Falmouth, Jamaica also, but Hurricane Sandy had other plans.) As you can see from the photo above, we went aboard the Allure of the Seas — the biggest cruise ship in the world! While I’ll attempt to give you a sense of what it was like through a series of photos,Read More ...

Last Thursday, my family and I traveled to San Diego for my stepson’s graduation from the Marines. It was a crazy, weekend-long trip, but we were happy to all be together for such an important and proud moment in our family’s life. Since Santiago’s padrino and his family moved to that beautiful city last year, we were lucky enough to be able to stay with them. And, because they are Mexican and are used to crossing the border between San DiegoRead More ...

That special time of year has finally arrived! Fall is here, and to much of our little ones delight we can start preparing for Halloween. Disneyland is a great place to go year-round, and it gets even better during Mickey’s Hallloween Party. Mickey’s party takes place after regular park hours and it offers a great, fun-filled time for our little ones to have age-appropriate Halloween fun. During this time all of the Disney villains take over the park, and there isRead More ...

Our family was fortunate to have had the opportunity to once again immerse our children in Spanish by traveling abroad. You may remember that last year we spent the summer in Peru. This summer was spent in Costa Rica. There really is nothing like travel to enhance your child’s language skills and to provide them with global and cultural understanding. Such trips require planning and effort, but the work is well worth it. Since I do not have family livingRead More ...

We just HAD to share this because we both love the concept of the contest and the fact that one of you could win a trip to Latin America to connect with our Latino roots, heritage, language and foods! What a gift! The contest is in Spanish, but open to all, and is called “Momentos de Calidad.” To enter all you have to do is visit the contest site hosted by Discovery Familia and write some sentences sharing what areRead More ...

Every time I come to Chile I am reminded of how lucky and priveldged I am to be able to travel and actually have a relationship with my family, that culturally I am well connected and most importantly that I speak the language, without that, I would be lost. I know that many who have come to the US have not been able to visit their country and if they have, maybe it’s once every few years. Growing up, IRead More ...

Wow! That’s really the first word that came out of my mouth when we stepped foot into Cars Land, the brand new experience at Disney California Adventure that opened yesterday. There is so much I want to tell you about this Cars Land, like how it’s been five years in the making and how perfectly Disney and Pixar managed to recreate Radiator Springs and make you feel like you really stepped into the movie. I’m actually writing this from the mediaRead More ...

“I want my kids to be immersed in REAL Mexican culture”…and “San Miguel has just so many ex-pats”; “it’s not ‘authentic’ enough…”. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard comments like these. My children and I are currently on a six-month stay in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and before it’s done, we will have been here an entire year. Needless to say, my response to these sorts of comments has definitely done a 180°. Admittedly, IRead More ...