I’m over at PhilliversTravels.com today if you want to hear How to do Rome in Two Days! Just click that link
Tag Archives: Philliver’s Travels
I Found Your Personal Kokomo
No, this sculpture isn’t in the sleepy beach town that I’ll you about if the left hemisphere of my brain doesn’t talk me out of it. The sleepy beach town that I loved so much on my recent trip does not have that gigantic, beautiful sculpture. That’s in Playa del Carmen where I arrived after taking the ferry from San Miguel, Cozumel.
My goal on this trip was to evaluate two towns in Mexico in my quest to choose my next home. My one set in stone demand is that my future home is close enough to a beach where I can grab a cuppa in the morning and walk to waves and have my toes in the sand. See below. I was teaching myself to order coffee in Spanish at 7:21 a.m. across the street from the beach. If you’re a traveler, keep the Google translate app handy on the front screen of your phone.
(Just a couple days after that trip, my desire to move somewhere warm and sunny was reinforced when at home the outdoor temp was 8 degrees (-13 degrees celsius) and we had about 10 inches of snow) The first four nights of my trip were in the very colorful town of San Miguel on the island of Cozumel.
There are many wonderful things about Cozumel; the jungles, the Aztec ruins, fantasic restaurants and that it’s surrounded by sandy beaches and warm Caribbean water. But…during the day when the cruise ships deposit another couple thousands of tourists into San Miguel, it feels like Spring Break all day most days. My friend Bel, who writes for International Living and lives on the island several blocks north of the madness, says that her neighborhood is nothing like the port area. The best time to visit San Miguel, Cozumel is likely to be during the summer months if you want to avoid the crowds. When I retire, I don’t want to have to battle crowds just to get to Starbucks or the beach at 7:00 in the morning.
So after I took the ferry to the mainland, I rented a car and drove north to the beach town that might change my life.
I had arrived at my AirBNB earlier and it was literally a 50 yard walk to the beach. I hated it though, so I moved to a very affordable mom and pop hotel that had this view. It was completely stunning how affordable this hotel was. I took the above picture from my balcony. It wasn’t super luxurious, but I just used it to sleep eight hours each night. I’ll give you the name at the end of this article.
Keep in mind that I was visiting this small beach town during the high season. It was the first week of January, the time when so many northerners from Canada and the States flood Mexico to get away from the snow. And I walked into a hotel and got the best room in the building immediately. I’m not saying that it was a bad hotel. It wasn’t. I’m saying that just about every other beach town like Tulum or any of the Playa named towns on the east side of Mexico were likely Spring Break for the over 60 set.
Am I advertising for Corona? Not necessarily, but if they want to sponsor my travels if I keep taking pictures like this, I won’t complain.
Everyone’s question when they are looking to move to other countries is “Is the cost of living really less than at home. The answer is yes, with a caveat. I was stayling down by the beach and I was only there three days. I’d estimate that restaurant meal prices were about 25% less than in the States. Walking down the street I was chatted up by a Canadian woman who said she lived in the middle of town and her impression was that the further you are from the beach, the costs get lower. I didn’t need to go away from the beach area though because there was a supermarket in this town that rivals any supermarket in the States.
One thing that I loved about this community was the music. One evening I was just walking around the neighborhood and I heard music. I followed the music until I found a very nice three floor restaurant called La Sirena. Each floor had something different going on, and I followed the beautiful Spanish music to the third floor open air bar where people were dancing with reckless abandon. Loud, happy, and spinning everywhere. I stepped into the middle of the celebration and soaked in the joyous atmosphere.
I was so immersed in the moment that I didn’t take a picture. This is from La Sirena’s website. Apparently it always looks like this.
But the intoxicating Spanish music wasn’t just at this bar, it was everywhere. There were traditional troubadours who would just walk up to the outdoor seating of restaurants. During the day there were traditional mariachi bands that would just set up on a sidewalk. On the beaches there were traditional Aztec singers and dancers. Also, near my hotel there was a Music Hall that had live classic rock for the the over 60 folks visiting town.
At 4:00 pm they block off the main street so the restaurants can have outside seating. Look at that picture! During the busy season for heading south and the street is so chill.
This (below) was my favorite coffee shop that I wnt to daily. It’s named The Local Cafe. Absolutely great!
Open at 7:00
So where is this incredible sleepy beach town? It’s Puerto Morelos which is about halfway between Cancun and Tulum. The next time you’re in Mexico, don’t drive by the Puerto Morales exit to spend more in Cancun or Tulum. I’d rather stay here.
Thanks for reading! ~Phil
Yes, I’m Still in Mexico. Visit Me At My Other Bog
Yes, I’m still in Mexico enjoying my “Walkabout” and also trying not to worry when I don’t know something. There’s all kinds of things to learn, like how does a country as big as Mexico even function using pesos? And why are there wild jungle animals everywhere? My big win today was getting my clothes washed at a Mexican laundromat. Just pop over to Phillivers Travels to see what else I’ve been up to!
Today Find Me At My Other Blog!
Today go visit me at my travel blog, https://philliverstravels.com/ , where I’m begining to explore the world and look for my new home! First stop, Mexico! I’m on my way there this morning. You can also follow my week in Mexico on Instagram where I’m Phillivers_Travels
Come with me, I don’t want to walk the Earth alone!
Posted in Humor, Uncategorized
Tagged Philliver's Travels, The Phil Factor, Travel blogging
Walking The Earth Alone
Pic from dreamstime
When I began the Phillivers’s Travels travel blog in 2021 I had dreams of humorously chronicling my adventures, and those of other travel personalities that I’d interview. As often happens, the universe had other ideas. That’s why I’ve been very inconsistent here over the last couple years. I am now at a turning point in my life, and I intend to finish what I started with this blog and myself. I hope you enjoy it.
I didn’t know that I loved travel until I started traveling. As a kid my parents took us camping in the northern New York mountains, but it was the same place every year. It was nice, and I had a ton of fun with all my cousins whose families joined us every year, but it didn’t spark any desire to go elsewhere. There was also that one trip to Kingston, Ontario Canada, but that was just an elementary school field trip. Shout out to Mrs. Hill who spent the entire years field trip budget on that. Then when I became an adult it was a couple Disney World trips with the kids, a and that one trip to San Diego, (and Mexico for an afternoon.) All fine, but that was it. Then I got the job that lit a fire in my heart to see the rest of the world.
In one inspirational moment, I said one sentence that got me the job and changed the course of my life. Later I was flown to Richmond, Virginia for training. Not super exciting, I know, but a company liked me enough to fly me there for a week of training. On one of the last days of that training, myself, Michael Vick, George Thorogood and most of the nations media ended up in the same hotel lobby at the same time. That was certainly memorable, but that’s not what triggered my burning desire to see everywhere. It was the next work trip just three weeks later when the entire company went to Cancun. Yawn, I know there’s a billion kids on Spring Break there every year, but fortunately I was not there during Spring Break.
That’s me & Mona Lisa over my shoulder just hanging out in the Louvre in Paris.
It was a big resort in Mexico, and that week was the longest time I’d ever spent in another country. It was the first time that I stayed long enough to notice and enjoy the different culture. Fortunately, my job kept taking me to other places in the world and in my head and my heart, there’s no going back. I want to see all of the world, and live in other countries. Unfortunately, I’m no longer with that company, but yay, now I can pick which countries that I see and which I might want to live in.
That picture is of me in Italy in 2009. To this day I love that picture. That was my first trip out of North America/Canada/Mexico. My first overseas trip, and I still have that shirt and wore it on a trip a few weeks ago. If all goes well you’ll see some more pictures of me in that shirt.
If you want to follow my exploring you can follow Philliver’sTravels. The blog isn’t brand new and already has plenty of content. I’ll continue to tell stories, from past trips and talk about future trips. I’ll interview some other travel writers, and chronicle my travels in hope that the story will end with me on a far away beach with a cup of coffee in my hand.
Thanks for reading me! ~Phil
If You Live Somewhere, I’m Looking For You!
This post isn’t as creepy as the title might suggest. When you’re planning a vacation and choosing cities and areas to visit, all travel ads make everywhere look amazing, right? Have you ever wished you knew someone who lived where you plan to go so you can get an inside scoop about the best places to go, stay, and eat?
As I said in the title, if you live somewhere, I want your help. If you may remember, in May of this year I started a travel blog called Philliver’s Travels. I travel more than most but not as much as some, so my problem in writing a travel blog is that I haven’t been everywhere yet. That’s where you come in, if you want to. And hopefully it results in me writing better posts and you gaining a few more followers for your blog.
About a week ago I started a series I call 50/50. My goal is to write a post about all 50 of the states in the United States in 50 days. (Don’t check out yet if you’re from another country because after I finish the States I’d like to get some expert advice on traveling to so many countries that I haven’t been to yet.) I’m looking for volunteers from any state in the United States to just answer a few questions by email to help give my readers some of that insider advice we all want. OR, if you want to write an entire post about your home state, you’re welcome to take over Philliver’s Travels for a day!
What’s in it for you? In the post that you contribute to, or completely write, I or you can plug your blog with a link and summary about it, so hopefully we all get more followers and online friends, and better information for when we travel. Also, if you could follow Philliver’s Travels that would be great because the 8 views a day are really bumming me out.
Have a great Sunday, and safe travels! ~Phil
Posted in blog, blogging, travel, travel advice, Uncategorized
Tagged Philliver's Travels, The Phil Factor #ThePhilFactor, travel advice, travel humor
Top Ten Tuesday! Ten Travel Tips You Must Know!
Happy Tuesday everybody. Well, I guess it’s more of a happy Tuesday if you’re getting ready for a trip this weekend. As a prelude to my new travel website and writing venture, Philliver’s Travels, this post is a preview of some of the content you’ll see there.
As we all know, travel is fun and exciting, but it can be a little less than fun when things go wrong. So, to kick things off for my new site, I collaborated with freelance travel writer and International Living magazine/website contributor, Bel Woodhouse , to give you some things to think about before you leave home.
10. Have a “Go-bag” You know who has go-bags? Criminals & smart travelers. (One of those two are my target audience. Which are you?) What I mean by a Go-Bag, is when you travel, don’t take your home phone charger. Don’t take your entire medicine bottle from the cabinet, and for cripes sake, don’t take your toothbrush from home! Buy an extra phone charger, travel toothbrush, tiny tubes of toothpaste, and a weeks worth of your meds. Put them in your suitcase and leave them there! ALL. THE. TIME. That way, you’ll have less things to remember to pack. If you leave things behind at your hotel when you’re heading home, you won’t be out of luck until you can replace those items. As a man that has bought my fair share and your fair share of phone chargers when I get to a destination, having a Go-bag is a smart move.
9. (From Bel) Always have a good old fashioned paper map. Don’t rely on technology. Batteries go flat, coverage gets spotty, phones are stolen. Paper doesn’t let you down. I’ve had one in 30+ countries and have never been lost, mugged or had anything bad happen. EVER.
8. Count your kids: Traveling as a family? This ain’t your local shopping mall. Don’t take your eyes off your little ones. If there’s anything Home Alone taught us, it’s that you need to count your kids wherever you go. MacCaulay Culkin was left home alone and look how he turned out:
6. Do the Math! Growing up, I hated mathematics. When you travel, it comes in handy. Just because it seems like you have plenty of time to get to your gate, don’t be fooled. If you show up at the airport Friday-Monday, four days of the week, you need to factor in extra drop off luggage line time and the security line time. On those four days there’s a higher volume of travelers and lines will be longer and slower. Also, if you have connecting flights, book your flights with at least a one hour and ten minute window between the first flight landing and the second flight taking off. Trust me on that one.
5. (From Bel) Keep the majority of your money on your person, not in your wallet in case someone lifts it.
4. How to tip the housekeeping staff: If you’re staying in a hotel or resort with daily housekeeping, tipping them is customary, but how and when you tip makes a difference. $5 a day American is pretty standard, but should vary depending on the hotel you’re at. Let’s say you’re staying five days, do you dole out that $5 each day or wait until the end of your stay? Don’t wait until the end of the stay. Leave at least a $10 tip the first morning and spread the rest out over the week. My reason? Sometimes if you tip well early, you get better service, like a few extra coffee pods, extra towels, chocolates on the pillow, or just a generally better room cleaning. These folks work hard. Don’t be stingy!
3. (From Bel) Have situational awareness. Take note of what and who is around you. I was in a market in Nicaragua and made eye contact with a guy, then held my camera close until he moved past me only to push over another young woman and steal her camera. Know who and what is around you and keep an eye on your stuff.
2. Talk to the hotel/resort staff before going out: Not every hotel has a concierge, but the staff at every hotel is knowledgeable about the surrounding area and they always have tips and tricks to make your adventures safer, less costly, and more fun. Ask them if there’s some not so well known restaurants that are secret gems.
1. (From Bel) The biggest thing -Always be polite, manners get you everywhere in every country. Show respect. You are a guest and you’re not entitled to everything you want. I have seen many tourists be invited by locals on free tours and into their homes for a meal just by being polite. It opens doors and means the world to people no matter what country you’re in. It is the difference between a traveler and a tourist.
Thank you Bel for visiting #ThePhilFactor and thank you for being part of my Philliver’s Travels blog launch this coming Saturday.
Bel: “I love helping any way I can when someone has the courage to reach for the stars and try to achieve a new dream, project or just have a creative outlet. If you have the courage to try, you can enrich your life in so many ways. I used to be in the Navy, now I’m living my dream life in the Caribbean. Anything is possible when you have the courage to try.”
I couldn’t have been luckier to find Bel on IG (@thetravelbag.guru) and she couldn’t be any nicer. Come back on Saturday for the Philliver’s Travels blog launch and my interview with Bel. Have a great Tuesday! ~Phil
Posted in Top Ten, Top Ten Tuesday, travel, travel advice, Uncategorized
My New Adventure: Philliver’s Travels
Good morning and happy Sunday. As many of you have seen on social media, I’m launching a new website on Saturday, May 1, Philliver’s Travels. The focus will be on travel. Over the last 15 years, because of my job and my desire to get away from the dreary northeast of the United States, I’ve travelled more than most, but not as much as some.
A beach in The Bahamas from my trip three years ago.
Unlike The Phil Factor, which has been all about finding humor in everyday situations, Philliver’s Travels will have travel reviews of locations, attractions and hotels and restaurants, educational information on how to travel hack to take a vacation without having to empty your life’s savings, and of course funny stories about my travel experiences. For all the smart stuff about travelling internationally and travel hacking, I’ll bring in experts for interviews.
Fort Myer’s Beach, Florida, on the Gulf coast
The Phil Factor isn’t going away, but it will remain more of an occasional blog as it has been for the past two years. If you have enjoyed my humor here, I hope that you’ll visit Philliver’s Travels regularly for that same humor applied to travel and the people and places I go. You’ll be able to find me on social media through a new Instagram, @phillivers_travels.
This Tuesday I’ll be giving a preview of some of the content you’ll see on Philliver’s Travels with a brand new Tuesday Top Ten list of travel tips from myself and International Living‘s (IG’s thetravelbag.guru) Bel Woodhouse! Have a great Sunday! ~Phil (or should I say Philliver?) Btw, how many of you get the Philliver’s Travels reference? I’m thinking that about 50% of you get it and the other half just think it’s weird. Let me know in the comments!
Posted in Top Ten, Top Ten Tuesday, travel, Uncategorized
Tagged blogging, Philliver's Travels, The Phil Factor, travel, travel humor
The Top Ten Things I Learned in London and Paris
10. It’s just a ten minute walk: If you ask anyone in London directions to anywhere they’ll tell you it’s just a ten minute walk. Me: “Excuse me sir, I’d like to visit the Swiss Alps. How do I get there?” English doorman: “Oh that’s easy. Just go to the corner, turn left, walk a bit and then go right at the sign. It’s about a ten minute walk.”
9. The English are terrible at giving directions: No offense to my English friends, but some of your countrymen are completely barmy when giving directions. I don’t know, maybe they were just screwing with tourists for fun. When I’d ask for directions I always needed to ask directions two more times along the way.
8. It’s time to spruce up your money: The queen is on every piece of money. It’s confusing. You’re a country that’s been around forever and only one person is worthy of being on your money? How about Elton John, David Beckham, Dr. Who or the Monty Python guys?
7. Every building is important: I took a guided tour of the city in the open top of a double-decker bus with a tour guide giving information over the P.A. system. Every frickin’ building in London is at least a thousand years old and used to be something important. Tour guide: “The building on your right may be a McDonald’s now, but in the year 1237 it was the McDonald’s where William Shakespeare wrote all of his plays while noshing on a McRib.”
6. The English don’t learn: About 500 years ago half of London’s population was wiped out by a plague transmitted by fleas from rats. The English were saved when Bennie Hill accidentally knocked over a lantern in Mrs. O’Leary’s barn and the whole city burned down, killing the rats and their fleas. Last week it was a very pleasant day as I strolled through a park and saw many, many English happily feeding squirrels out of their hands. Yes, the same squirrels that we in America regard as nothing more than rats with fluffy tails. Hello? Has it occurred to the English that squirrels can carry fleas? When there’s another plague in London I won’t be surprised.
5. The French are nice: Contrary to their reputation I found the French to be very friendly. Of course I only spent a day there and I was spending money in their shops and restaurants, but whenever I entered anywhere I was greeted with a cheerful “Bon jour!” and when I left a just as friendly “Au revoir!” Definitely nicer than going into stores in the States. The picture below is me on the second observation deck of the Eiffel Tower.
4. If you’re lactose intolerant France is not your friend: I ate at two small restaurants on the day I was there. Every item on both menus included cheese.
3. The English know how to start the day: Big breakfasts full of ham and sausage and eggs. I miss those. The English don’t stop there though. They add eggs to all kinds of sandwiches all day long too. They also eat a lot of duck. Duck eggs, I’m not sure about.
2. The American Champagne: In conversation with me an Englishman joked that Coke is “The American Champagne.” Um, yeah, so what? You want to start a war over it? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
1. Bicycle, Bicycle! I want to ride my bicycle…: In England the cyclists are suicidal. The cyclists share the roads with cars, and there is no designated bicycle lane. London streets are not straight. They’re mostly curvy and the taxis, cars and buses fly around as if they’re in a Grand Prix race. The cyclists, without helmets as well, weave in and out of traffic with aplomb. What’s nice is that since cars are on the opposite side of the road over there, at most crosswalks they painted “Look right” or “Look left” for the pedestrians. I only almost got clipped by a taxi once.
1A. Hyde Park is good for jogging and snogging: London’s Hyde Park, which is akin to New York’s Central Park is good for “jogging and snogging” as my sarcastic tour guide put it. I’m not sure if the jogging and snogging are simultaneous or occur on separate trips, but it’s nice they’ve put up a sign and designated an area of the park for it.
As always, if you enjoy #ThePhilFactor please share by hitting a social media button or two below. Have a great Tuesday! Au Revoir!
Posted in Humor, travel, Uncategorized
Tagged London, Paris, Philliver's Travels, The Phil Factor, travel
