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At Grownup Travels, we believe in the kind of travel where you bring home stories, not souvenirs. We are up for adventures with rough edges but soft landings, accommodations that are unique or boutique, and the kind of cultural experiences that make your travels truly memorable. Read some of our latest articles below, scroll down to browse a destination that interests you, or visit our photo galleries that are sure to fuel your wanderlust.
Silver Under Superior: the Story of the World’s Strangest (and Richest) Underwater Mine
It was a perfect day for a mid-September zodiac boat tour out on the waters of Lake Superior near Thunder Bay: the sun was blazing, the skies were a brilliant blue and the waters were almost mirror-calm, a far cry from the ‘Gales of November’ made famous in Gordon Lightfoot’s ballad, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. We had already rounded the famous Sleeping Giant landmark and were heading towards Porphyry Island to spend a few hours exploring its volcanic black beaches and lighthouse. Ahead of us was a small island about the size of a Toronto studio condo unit. When our captain and guide said that we were looking at the site where the richest silver mine in the world once operated, I thought he was talking about something on the shore. “Wait, where?” I asked. And he pointed to the 540 square foot rock that I was looking at. “Silver Islet”, he said. “Look closely and you can still see the entrances to the mine shafts about a foot under the water.”
Wait, what!!??
Lac Témiscamingue: Discover it’s Folklore, Fur Trading History and Logging Legacy
For more than a century, there have been rumours of a mysterious creature called a ‘mugwump’ inhabiting this northern Canadian lake. Not unlike the famous Loch Ness monster, local witnesses recount tales of seeing a 20-foot long serpentine body occasionally breaking the surface of the deep, still waters. Even before the mugwump stories began to surface (pun intended), generations-old indigenous legends told of hairy little rock demons, or Memegwesiwag, who lived here in the rock crevices and sheer cliffs of the same lake, uttering supernatural noises and stealing fish off the lines of fishermen venturing too close. Indigenous guides would attempt to appease those creatures with offerings of tobacco, to help still the lake’s waters and facilitate a calmer passage, and fur traders reported the sound of knocking on the undersides of their boats. So where is this lake? Read on!
Should You Visit Japan in Cherry Blossom Season?
Every traveller contemplating a visit to Japan has no doubt seen countless photos of pink cherry blossoms exploding all over the country in the spring. Even if many of these photos are so over-saturated that they don’t reflect reality, there’s an undeniable allure to this time of year, which is one of the reasons why this particular season in Japan is so incredibly busy. Another reason is that the Japanese themselves are also enamoured with this season, so it’s not just travellers from outside the country that come to see this spectacle – it’s the residents as well that contribute to the congestion you’ll find anywhere there is a tree in bloom. So, this begs the question: Should you travel to Japan during cherry blossom season or not?
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