Allan Stratton's Blog, page 5

CUBA: ONCE UPON A TIME...

Once upon a time... I wasn't so old. The picture above is of me and Daniel twenty years ago, back when we had hair -- and glasses were kinda big. It's taken at dusk in Varadero outside the restaurant of what was a then-3-Star hotel (HAHAHAHAHA) the Kawama. Before the revolution it was a casino. It's just down the beach from Al Capone's old pad, on a strip where Cary Grant, half of Hollywood, and REAL gangsters -- like The Godfather gangsters -- used to jog, gamble and barbecue. Anyway, the Ka...

BOOK GIVEAWAY: AND A SHOUT OUT TO MAD KING LUDWIG

I've been very bad about posting these past two weeks. BORDERLINE has just come out and I'm racing against a first draft deadline for my new novel. (Title initials G.R.A.) I know, excuses, excuses. And okay, my official deadline is really May 1, but I'm going to be away in Vietnam and Cambodia as of next Friday, so I made this unofficial deadline to kick my ass in gear. I have never been late for a deadline in my life, and as an Obsessive/Compulsive that fact exerts ever growing pressure on m...

BOOK LOVERS BALL

Okay, so this post is way late. But anyway, every year the Toronto Public Library has a swanky do to raise money. People and companies spend a fair chunk of change to go to a ballroom in the Royal York Hotel, see a fashion show based on popular novels, and eat fabulous food with a writer at their table. The writers are basically court jesters, there to amuse the guests.

This year I was asked to be one of the writers. It's a great honor and I had a fab time, although I must say cocktail parties...

BORDERLINE: RAVES AND MEOWS!

Okay, I've been very good about writing about fun travel adventures. But my new book BORDERLINE comes out March 9, so please forgive the forthcoming writer's ego. (Hey, it's my birthday today, too, so gimme a break, eh? I am too damn old for complaints, okay? :))

Anyway, BORDERLINE HAS HAD FANTASTIC REVIEWS AND BLURBS. I've posted them below -- BUT -- between each one is a picture of my kitty-kids. So have a good scroll. And please know that Daniel and I have bought our tickets to Vietnam/Camb...

MY NEW BOOK: BORDERLINE

Well... Last post I asked what people would like to read about -- and I got emails and comments at livejournal and elsewhere that a number of you want to hear about my new book -- BORDERLINE. So okay. For the next week that's what you'll get, because, hey BORDERLINE is coming out March 9, so if I don't talk it up a little now what's the point of having a blog, eh? :)



(Above: Me talking stuff up.)

First though -- and very connected to BORDERLINE: Holly Cupala, one of the readergirlz divas is pos...

15 THINGS I'LL NEVER FORGET

That's my foot hanging out the open door of an old Russian helicopter sputtering its way above my resort in north-east Cuba en route to a trip over the Sierra Maestre mountains to Santiago. I was strapped by a simple waist-only-seatbelt into what seemed to be a car seat bolted to the wall. Thought I'd start with this to grab some attention. Cheesy, I know, but hey.

Anyway, I'm back from Argentina and my new novel BORDERLINE is coming out March 9. It's had great pre-publication reviews includin...

ARGENTINA: A FEW FOR THE ROAD

Next post we're back home and on to something new. But let's close Argentina/Buenos Aires with shots from three gardens and the zoo. The Botanical Gardens is set between major multi-lane downtown streets. But one step inside and your shoulders drop:



Another peaceful spot? The Japanese Garden in the park along the waterfront:





And the small garden enclosed by our hotel, the Melia Recoleta:



I have very mixed feelings about zoos, but this is very open air and spacious. they also let you feed the ani...

BUENOS AIRES REDUX

Well, we're back in Buenos Aires to close our trip. Today, a few images I didn't get into the earlier posts: a couple of cool buildings, and a few tourist cliches such as the obelisk above. I don't get why every city thinks it has to have one, and why every city says theirs is the biggest. Hmm... don't think I'll go there.

One thing do like to see, though, are national art galleries. The one in Buenos Aires is fantastic. While the first floor is second-rate paintings by major world artists, ...

HUMAHUACA GORGE

Well a picture says a thousand words. So maybe I should just shut up and let you see some pictures. You'll immediately recognize the Seven-Coloured Mountain. I wasn't exaggerating, was I? It all happened when the earth's plates smashed up, with mineral deposits being hoisted in vast swaths of rock. And being so dry, there's no vegetation to cover over the colours.


























Note the cross on top of the hill. It's the town cemetery. Like the Incas, people still choose the highest...

ARGENTINA: A LITTLE SALT WITH YOUR FRIES?

Yup, you're looking at a heckuva lot of salt. This salt plain is en route to the Humahuaca gorge and the famous Seven-Colored mountain. It goes as far in all directions and is twelve feet deep. The miners who carve the blocks straight down are on a day off. So, aside from salt shakers, where does all this stuff go?

Into bricks. That's right. Salt bricks. Up close, they look like this:



"What would you use salt bricks for?" I hear you say. "I mean, you can't built anything out of salt." Think...