Edition 15 | From Equator to Arctic, a touch of luxury, Northern Lights hunting, and more.
Plus: Begin your travel rewards journey with me.
Greetings from 35,000 feet.
I’m currently en route to Yellowknife, the capital city (and the only city) of Canada’s Northwest Territories. Why go to one of the coldest — and most northern — parts of the continent? Well, because Yellowknife is the Northern Lights capital of North America. 2024 is my year of more adventure travel, and this long weekend trip will have some of that: dog sledding, Indigenous-led experiences, -20 degree Fahrenheit temperatures, and (hopefully) spotting swirls of ethereal light.
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IN THIS EDITION.
Travel contrasts in Central America.
Words of affirmation & my latest stories.
Northern Lights & my first IMM.
1. Travel contradictions and contrasts.
I love the experience of travel contrasts (fly me there in a lie-flat seat but then immediately take me to eat street food and the most local market you can find).
My first trip of the year — technically it was a trip that started in 2023 — took me to Costa Rica and Nicaragua, a whirlwind 10 days of incredible adventure, nauseating mini-bus rides, unnecessary chaos, and a little bit of luxury to cap it all off.
Most of the trip was with Competitours, a company that arranges mystery team travel competitions. Think: The Amazing Race, Amateur Edition. The gist is immersion by doing — we’re talking blindfolded salsa dancing, careening down an active volcano by sled, scuba diving and surfing experiences (my first time trying either), milking cows on a Costa Rican farm, and more. Each of these activities had some kind of scoring component and was gamified so points were assigned and tracked throughout the trip. [Spoiler alert: My friend Andrew and I came in 4th place out of 4 teams.]
On the not-to-great side, candidly, it was a logistical nightmare not knowing anything — that’s right, I didn’t know where we were going, what we were doing next, or how we were getting there. New Year’s Eve plans? Forget about it. Ultimately, the lack of communication and secrecy — in the name of racking up points and trying to win this “game” — hindered the actual travel element of the experience.
Currently, the way Competitours is set up is a bit of a contradiction — it leans too heavily on the game components and not enough on the local experiences (or really, common sense logistics). Thankfully, that’s fairly easy to rectify and I’m hoping future iterations see more of that Goldilocks balance because the company has so much potential.
Near the end of the trip, my friend Andrew and I crossed the land border from Nicaragua back into Costa Rica, a three-hour-long affair in the heat that makes waiting in any immigration line at the airport seem like an absolute luxury. (But hey, now I can say I cross a land border by foot?)
And don’t feel bad for us. Waiting on the other side was two nights of pampering at the Four Seasons Papagayo, a gated enclave of five-star bliss that rounded out my Central American experience. Expect a video from the hotel for Travel + Leisure soon.
On my Delta flight home, I watched Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations episode on Nicaragua. It was enlightening, definitely a buzzkill, and it was Tony through and through. We witness Nicaragua through the eyes of people who actually live there, not just a reflection of what he thought the country was.
“Nicaragua is a spectacularly beautiful country. The food is great. The rum even better. The people are proud, generous, funny, and sophisticated at every level of society. I hope the show makes people want to visit this beautiful nation with so much to offer, to see not only what Nicaragua is, but what it can be.”
— Anthony Bourdain
A plug: Kickstart your points game with me.
I do travel rewards, credit cards, and points & miles consultations. Whether you’re looking for a new credit card or hoping to book an upcoming trip with points (or just completely lost on where to start), I can help.
Set up some time to chat. Reply to this email and I’ll get back to you.
(In December, my first paying clients ever took their trip, an EgyptAir business class round-trip flight and an African safari!)
2. Words of affirmation & some of my latest stories.
Sometimes writing the stories and videos that I create feel like screaming into a black hole so feedback — whether it's from an editor, a reader, a viewer — is so appreciated. I took the first chunk of January off and last week, it felt really good to jump back into the swing of things and work with good people — and be affirmed.
Manifesting more of this for the year ahead.
A few of my recent stories…
For USA Today: Best ways to use Chase points
For Business Insider: A look inside the new Chase Sapphire Lounge LaGuardia
For The Washington Post: You can filter the Boeing 737 Max 9 out of your flight search
For CNN: ‘Sustainable luxury’ is all the rage. But how does it actually work?
3. Upcoming travel: Hunting for Northern Lights, New York, and more.
As mentioned, I’m en route to far, far northern Canada as I head on a Northern Lights expedition. Talk about whiplash from Central American weather.
Then, next week, I’m off to New York City for my first-ever IMM — and I hope to meet some media and travel folks there. Other upcoming confirmed travel:
February: Home in Los Angeles, Atlanta
March: Miami and Montana
April: Seoul, Bangkok, Toronto
As a reminder for PRs and editors, I cover a wide variety of travel topics from timely trends, points and miles, hot new hotels, and all things that go (airlines, airports, and lounges).
Thanks for reading and until next time.