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The water taxi revved its outboard motors, spitting the scent of gasoline into the tropical air, and then took off, headed from Belize City to San Pedro Town on Ambergris Caye, 56 kilometres away.

With each trip I take, I make it a point to bring home cultural souvenirs 鈥� gold nuggets of experiences I鈥檒l remember all my life.

For those of you who love to cruise and are not content floating from island to island or from country to country, Un-Cruise Adventures CEO and captain Dan Blanchard and executive vice-president Tim Jaycox have something completely different to offer

Over the next few months I鈥檓 going to feature five river cruise lines 鈥� one at a time. This week, the first one out of the hat is Avalon Waterways. Translating ocean-cruise speak into river-cruise speak can be difficult.

They say that for every church in Rome, there鈥檚 a bank in Milan. The economic success of postwar Italy can be attributed, at least in part, to this city of bankers, publicists and pasta power-lunchers.

BIG SUR, Calif. 鈥� McWay Falls is picture perfect. The waterfall drops 24 metres into sandy McWay Cove along California鈥檚 Big Sur.

The lowering sun glares in my eyes as I walk down a hill above Hookipa Beach, famed favourite of windsurfers. In a warm, gusting breeze, offshore surfers wait for breakers.

These days, 鈥渂udget European travel鈥� includes point-to-point flights within Europe. When I started travelling, no one spending their own money bought one-way air tickets within Europe. It was prohibitively expensive.

SAN DIEGO 鈥� You and I both know where to find an endless supply of watchable animals 鈥� felines, canines, reptiles, eating, sleeping, swinging, swatting, spooning. It鈥檚 hard to look away. Time flies by. 鈥淵es,鈥� you say with a sigh.