Home > User profile
Close Map
Profile
Change Images
  • V!VA Travel Guides

I am an avid traveler am interested in much more than typical resort stays. I want to talk to the locals, eat the local food, and go out where the locals go. I don't want to take shortcuts while traveling; why take an hour plane ride in Cuba when all the Cubans hitchhike or go by camion, even if it takes all day? I believe it is often the hardest experiences in other cultures that are the most rewarding.

  • Hometown

    Philadelphia, PA, USA

  • Location now

    New York, NY

  • Work published

    No previously published articles

  • Travel philosophy

    Step outside of yourself and live like a local.

  • Craziest place

    Bastimientos: the automobile-free island on the eastern shores of Panama

  • Bizarre experience

    Not sure if I should write this here, but this was the most bizarre......Being surrounded by masturbating men in a theater in Cuba. And no, it was not an x-rated movie, it was "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

    OR

     

    Eating at a sushi restaurant in Korea, at a table surrounded by fish tanks, and having the chef come pick out our meal, and minutes later serve squirming octopus tentacles with chili sauce.

  • Advice

    Forget your expectations of a place and let it surprise you. The best travel experiences are spontaneous.

  • Dream destination

    I have so many, but at the moment probably Thailand.

  • Traveled before

    India, Jamaica, Tortola, Canada, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Costa Rica, France, Italy, Spain, Norway, Panama, Cuba, Argentina, Uruguay, South Korea

  • Going next

    Brazil and Argentina

Anila's Guide Book Entries

Activities

V!VA List Articles

V!VA World

  • Fruta ¡BOMBA!

    Nov 05, 2007 - Baracoa, Cuba

    Amarili befriended us in Baracoa, a small tropical town on the eastern edge of Cuba. Like many locals, she was ......

    Read More

Get the book

book
Buy V!VA Book

Direct or on Amazon.com

Top Places to go in Latin America - as rated by V!VA Members