Jorge Quinteros

Safeguard in Dubrovnik

I mentioned before our experience of walking the surrounding walls in the old city of Dubrovnik and I wanted to share another of the many views that we came across. We spent over 2 hours walking it’s circumference because it’s inevitable not stopping to photograph and occasionally rest.

With the exception of the other major cities we visited like Rome, Venice, Pisa and Florence, Dubrovnik was the one destination I wasn’t too acquainted with so my expectations was not nearly as high but it turns out that the city is one of the most visited beautiful places in Croatia so it had to be good. Walled cities are generally architecturally impressive but Dubrovnik is on it’s own in this category. That deep blue refreshing background you notice is the Adriatic sea.

Abandoned Shack

Costa Maya, Mexico was 1 of 4 destinations that we visited during our cruise vacation. Once we disembarked and looked pass the recently spruced up privately own facilities with swim bars, duty free shops and vibrant people that welcomed all passengers, that’s when we really establish a sense of what lied beyond the fascade that you see when you first arrive.

Back in 2007, the port was set to receive up to almost 1 million passengers traveling on cruise lines alone but after the category 5 devastation that resulted from hurricane Dean, anything that looked promising then still appeared bleak 2 years after.

Like anywhere else, the local vendors that constantly approached us wanting make a sale of their hand-made products were just trying to make a living, raise a family and get through an ordeal that is more than noticable when we toured the town. Abandoned shacks like these were numerous but a decent portion has been rebuilt to keep the fact alive that the Costa Maya still offers that refreshed and unique experience that travelers seek.

Speaking Spanish came in more than useful to me and when you have a connection with the people, the news you hear about the place even after you’ve left becomes somewhat personal.

Touring St. Kitts

For me, going on an organized all inclusive resort is not traveling. At best, it’s all a relaxation, food and alcoholic consumption adventure that characterizes what it’s like being on a cruise ship, unless you of course choose to participate in other more life changing experiences.

In my eyes, travel is about going on journeys to experience new things, people, and places. It’s about gaining insights into new cultures, trying local food and leaving the place with some knowledge of the rhythm of local life and cross-examining their circumstances with yours and feeling a sense of transformation inside because of it.

During our Carnival vacation, at every port we docked, there was little escape from local tour guides trying to coax us to take part in one of their many private excursions to tour the island. The best you can do with that many people talking to you is to politely voice your disinterest and walk away.

While in St.Kitts, I recall saying to one guide that kept flashing his brochure to us, “We’re just going to walk around instead but thank you for the offer” and to that he replied, “You can walk around all day but nothing of what you see will mean anything if there’s no story behind it”.

What bothered me about the statement was that he was right. Generally speaking, tour guides are expected to know a city intimately and offer guests interpretive information such as history and anecdotes on all sites and after some haggling, we were fortunate to book one that offered us all that plus more.

At $25 a person for a 3hrs tour, he was adamant in not being paid until we were brought back to the ship and at that point I sensed his commitment to his profession and not because he marketed himself as “being the best” on what he did but because he wanted to focus on what the tour offered and not on how much it would cost.

Awaiting Sunrise

Land based vacations are enjoyable, but I’ve already grown accustom to waking up in a different country before the sun rises. Most of our recent travels have involved cruise lines and the idea of exploring new beaches, different cultures and exotics foods has become a theme which I’m not ready to give up yet .

Normally we’ve always settle for interior rooms that often resemble a jail cell but on this occasion we splurged on one with a balcony view. By choice, I slept on the side of the bed closest to the window so that I can quickly calculate when was the ideal time to sneak out and shoot a sunrise. I took this photograph as the sun slowly ascended in San Juan, Puerto Rico as our ship was docking back.

Arc de Triomphe

To say there’s no city like Paris may be a cliche’, but it’s a profoundly true statement. I’ve had the fine pleasure of visiting this spectacular city in two occasions with each stay being completely original from the other.

When you choose to go will have an impact on how much you’ll be able to see. Summer and Spring is the most expensive but the added expense is worthwhile in comparison to the bone-chilling weather of Winter that I bow never to go through again because I endure enough of it here in New York.

When I’m asked about what it was like, I always start off by saying that “If you don’t appreciate art, history, culture and a lot of walking, then don’t even bother making the trip.” I think you have to be able to first esteem the artfulness in your city or town before justifying going half-way across the world thinking that your value for it will be different. I’ll admit that The Da Vinci Code movie was the driving force for my wife and I going.

As for this photograph, it took me a total of 8 shots standing in the middle of a packed cross section on the hectic Champs Elysees avenue in Paris until I was satisfied with a photo that best represented being in the presence of the enormous Arc de Triomphe.

Added to the pressure was the reality the not all of us visit Paris, so this moment was significant, rare and it wasn’t something I wanted to screw up. The complete amount of other things that begged to be photographed in the area were endless and quite frankly overwhelming, so deciding how to approach my subject before framing the shot was priority.