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My name is Maryse Lafreniere. I have lived in Vancouver on the West coast of Canada for half of my life. I was born in Montreal forty-something years ago. I speak French and English and I have been studying Spanish for a few years. I like traveling to Latin America where my Spanish comes in handy. Beside travels, I am a keen hiker and I can be seen on a mountain trail most week-ends. I took most of the photos on this site with my small Olympus Infinity.  Here is how to contact the companies that provided my wonderful adventures. I enjoyed all my trips so I can recommend all of these companies: Adventures AbroadThe guide was well organized and knowledgeable, we stayed in luxurious hotels, ate in nice restaurants and had our own luxurious bus. It was a little pricier than the other tours but everything was included in the price except alcohol and lunches. This company tends to appeal to an older population. 2148-20800 Westminster Highway ExploreOn this tour, we used a variety of transportation which were all included in the price: bus, train, boat, plane. We paid for our own food and all the excursions were optional so we paid as we went along. In Canada, the tours can be booked from Canada Trek Holidays: Explore is an England-based outfit. The head office in the U.K. can be reached at 01252 319448. In the U.S. the toll Free number is 800 227 8747. In Australia: 1 800 221 931 G.A.P. AdventuresThis Canadian company appeals to the more adventurous type of travelers who do not mind carrying their own bags and riding the "chicken" busses (they use a variety of local transport). It's very economical, some excursions are optional (pay as you go) and the meals are not included. I enjoyed most of our hotels for the local colour they provided. G.A.P. Head Office Everest TrekkingMy trip to Nepal was organized by Everest Trekking, a company founded by a Nepalese engineer, Tashi Sherpa. It was well-organized and we were looked after so well on the trek. The staff was very attentive, the food was good, we even had cakes and pies baked on a portable propane stove. In Canada, Gord and Gail Konantz look after the travel logistics for North Americans. They can be reached at: Choosing a company/choosing a destination:I organized my trip to South America around my desire to see Machu Picchu, the Inca ruins perched in the high Peruvian Andes. I had read about Machu Picchu in Readers Digest when I was a child and it had captured my imagination. It made sense to see other sites while I was in South America. Lake Titicaca sounded fascinating so I decided to go to Bolivia since it's next door to Peru. I ordered brochures from various companies (read the fine print and learn to read between the lines) and compared:
Planning the 2 trips to Mexico was simple: I read a lot about Mexico, so I knew I wanted to see colonial cities and certain archeological sites. Adventures Abroad covered most of those places so I went with them. I didn't choose their one-week extension to the Yucatan because they didn't include Palenque, a ‘must' on my list. When I came home, I felt that something was missing so I started reading brochures again. I picked a G.A.P. tour because they were including Chiapas (and Palenque) with the Yucatan and their travel style would provide a contrast to the more luxurious Adventures Abroad. So, 4 months later, I was back in Mexico for a very different type of travels. I enjoyed both trips, travelling in the lap of luxury with our own tour bus had advantages (I had beautiful rooms to myself, no one else was travelling alone and I had said I was willing to share so I didn't have to pay the single supplement. I had to keep telling myself: "don't get used to that".). In contrast, travelling in "chicken buses" offered a different flavour of the country. I'm glad I experienced both. When choosing a destination it is very important to be well-informed:
If you would like more information about my trips, please e-mail me at: mlafren at yahoo.com (replace the at by @)  .
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