I never really thought about the phrase "gone bananas!" much. But people use it to describe someone going kind of crazy over something else. I think I recently learned first-hand where the phrase originated.

It's pretty common knowledge that monkeys love bananas, right? Well I had the opportunity to hang out with some monkeys on my recent trip to Costa Rica, and learned that monkeys truly go crazy over bananas. Crazy. They go bananas. Here are some video clips of us feeding the monkeys on a boat tour and in the national park in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica.


The clip where the camera is really shaky is where I'm shooting the video and feeding a monkey at the same time. Multi-tasking at its best.

You have to book the Inca Trail months in advance to secure a spot. Only 500 people are allowed on the trail each day and about 300 of these spots are reserved for workers. If I've done my math correctly, that leaves only 200 spots left for tourists. These strict regulations were set to protect the trail, the natural environment and the Inca ruins.

About six weeks before I left for Peru, I got an email from my brother, in Australia at the time on his around-the-world journey, telling me that he heard it was difficult to get permits for the trail. So I went online and found a website with a counter that tells you how many permits are left on the trail for the day you want to go. The site also said that you needed passport numbers to book the hike, and I didn't have my brother's. I called some travel agencies to see if they would book us without one number and had no luck. As I watched the counter slip from 42 spaces, to 27, to 12, I tried sending him telepathic messages to call me or email me with his passport number. But that didn't work either. The permits were soon gone for our chosen day.

He finally calls with the necessary information. I got us the last permits available for the following day. The following week was already booked solid, so we really lucked out. Que suerte. We ran into many people on our trip who tried to get permits for the trail months before their trips and had no success.

But we did. And the trek was amazing. I don't think there is any other way to see Machu Picchu. The Inca Trail was equally as amazing as Machu Picchu itself. Hiking at sunrise, nighttime skies full of stars, strong sun, heavy rain, cloud forests, jungle, Dead Woman's Pass, coca tea...

You feel like a talented photographer because the views offer prize-winning photographs. The people are kind. The vibe is magical. The ambiance is mysterious and unpredictable. One moment you are under strong sun in a valley, the next, you are in the clouds, and a moment later you are in a rainforest. A true vacation. And you end up in an ancient city in the clouds.

Below is a video of our journey on the Inca Trail. I highly recommend the trip. Tourists are now required to do the trek with a tour group--we used SAS Travel and they were excellent. But make sure you book it early!

Newsweek recently posted a great article on their site about unhealthy destinations for a summer vacation.

Detroit and Memphis topped the list, more for murders and thieves than for being bad for your health.

Three cities in Southern California captured the 3rd, 4th and 5th positions: Long Beach, Riverside and LA. The American Lung Association claims these cities have the worst pollution-ridden air (surprise, surprise).

Phoenix and Houston are too hot, Florida restaurants have trouble maintaining health codes and Lexington, KY is bad for allergies.

As enticing as these places normally sound, I don't think it will be hard to stay away from them this summer!

Although, strangely enough, Riverside--which is probably the most unappealing location on the list--happens to have a quarry where local climbers go to get a good workout close to home. Not even the rotting garbage and decomposing dogs can keep climbers from getting on granite.

Excerpts from We Shall Continue in Style
by Adrian and Kirsten Korosec

A few final thoughts and photos of our time trekking in Torres Del Paine and other parts of Patagonia. The following happened to us or people we know.

You know you're trekking in Patagonia when ...

1) You say "Hola" about 100 times on any given day passing trekkers on the trail.

2) Three-fourths of the people you just said "Hola" to are not from South America and don't speak Spanish.

3) You quickly learn there is a huge difference between trekkers and tourists. The trekkers you meet are far more interesting than you are and they all seem to speak four languages.

4) You get dirty. So dirty that buses often have signs forbidding trekkers from taking off their shoes.

5) Random dogs follow you for miles into a national park where NO PERROS ARE ALLOWED. Everyone asks the gringo ... ¿Su perro?



6) The wind knocks you over.

7) A mouse chews through your tent and eats your crackers while you're sleeping.

8)It's so hot that you strip down to a T-shirt and shorts, and then it rains. And then the wind picks up. Five minutes later it's so hot you strip down to a T-shirt and shorts again.



9) Rain gear is the only effective mosquito repellent.



10) The "trail" you're following may have been erected by a blindfolded, drunken Chileno.

11) Maté is like having your own guide. It is never lost in translation and when shared all language barriers seem to fall away.

12) The bridges seem like they might fall apart. Sometimes they do.

12) It's entirely possible that the ice in your Pisco Sour came from an iceberg.

I just got my travelocity email and they are now offering a fare watcher program where you can choose up to 10 destinations that you would love to go to, or plan to go to, and they will notify you with price changes and special offers. I wish I had signed up for this before I booked my Cayman Islands trip. I could have watched the prices over time and had something to compare my actual fare to.

http://community.active.com/blogs-create-post!default.jspa?blogID=2674

1) Book now...just sit down, figure out what you want to do and book the flight before the fares spike. Kayak.com has weekly and daily fare alerts. Sign up by plugging in where you want to go and how much you want to pay and they will email you when the fare meets (or beats) your target price.

2) On Kayak.com you can also check the airfare history by clicking on "chart" view after searching for a fare. In some cases it may be much cheaper to fly over New Years weekend than over Christmas.

3) Check alternative airports! It might be a little further away but well worth the savings.

4) If you book your holiday ticket through Delta, sign up for the 'tickets for life ' sweepstakes first for a chance to win 2.5 million miles, then book your flight.

It's hard not to be active when you're in Santa Cruz mountains. I travelled from San Diego to San Jose this weekend to visit my boyfriend, who happens to live across the street from an open space preserve and down the street from Castle Rock State Park. This is the view that becons to him daily:

What impressed most me was that skyline drive, a narrow, winding mountain road, with little-to-no shoulder was packed with cyclists. Not the perfectly manicured cyclists you see in southern california, but average Joes wearing cotton Ts just looking for a workout in the gorgeous outdoors. Cars lined the pull-outs and hikers, bikers and explorers crowded the trails in the open space preserve the entire weekend. I opted for a casual hike so I could take it all in:

We spent Saturday morning in the mountains, then headed into San Francisco for a taste of the city--hitting up Millennium Restaurant for some gourmet vegetarian cuisine and then Orpheum Theater to see Avenue Q.

All in all, San Francisco / San Jose turned out to be a great destination to get active in the outdoors!