2013 Top 5 Favourite Places

I hadn’t gotten around to posting my final 2013 Top 5’s, so I am going to bombard you with the final ones in the next few minutes starting with the best places I got to see last year.

I revisited many great places and stumbled across some new but the following were my Top 5 Favourite Places from 2013:

1. Nicaragua
A beautiful Central American country of proud and courteous people. Almost 20% of the countries landmass is protected and there are 76 designated National Parks and Reserves. Nicaragua has had to endure a very sad history, and the smiles on the faces of every Nicaraguan we had the pleasure to meet suggested that there is a much brighter future ahead for this beautiful land. Still developing as a tourist destination, but don’t wait to visit.

Travelogue: Nicaragua

2. Banff, Alberta, Canada
At 4,600 feet there are many higher places to travel to than Banff, but when I was there I had this feeling of being very close to heaven. The mountains that surround Banff on all sides are breathtaking with dark evergreen trees layering them like a blanket. It is a beautiful little place, one of the most picturesque I have seen in North America. I was there ‘working’ which didn’t give me enough time to visit the apparent even more stunning Lake Louise and Jasper. Next time.

3. Panama City, Panama
Panama City has for the longest time been a city that I wanted to visit. Maybe it was the canal, or it’s history or maybe just the hats. Steeped in history but remarkably modern. Some of Panama City looks like it is frozen in time yet turn a corner and huge cranes race to build the next skyscraper. Gritty and charming, often on the same street, it was a very fascinating city and the simple yet ingenious Panama Canal was exactly as I had hoped.

Travelogue: Panama City

4. Miami Beach, Florida
Miami has become our little home away from home and we have been considering buying a place there. Everything happens in the must-be-seen South Miami, whereas north of the city the pace is slower and one can hide happily within it’s pedestrian beach towns.

Travelogue: Miami Beach

5. Beaver Creek
We were here again recently, our 4th visit, which is so very unlike us. A serene ski and summer town that boasts the ambiance of a modern resort coupled with the unhurried feel of an alpine village.

Travelogue: Beaver Creek