Cypress Mountain – July 2013
Hello!
I am Claus, a 30-something year-old Mexican / Canadian guy who is really into travel, and enjoys writing about his experiences abroad. I also post a ton of photos from my travels, all of which are my own, most taken by me (except of course the non-selfie ones taken of me). If I use a picture taken by one of my friends during our travels together, I will always give credit.
I’ve been fortunate enough to live in four countries in my life (Mexico, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom), and have so far visited 32 countries worldwide. I’m a bit behind on my blog (oops), but I do update regularly, so visit often to see what’s new.
See Where I’ve Been to read blog posts by specific country, or check out what I’ve been up to lately and where I plan on going in the near future. Otherwise, feel free to browse through my blog and most importantly, I hope you enjoy reading!
Like what you see? Become my groupie on Facebook!
I also write freelance; if you’d like to work with me, please contact me.
A Little More About Me:
• I have traveled to 32 countries so far.
• If I had to define my travel style, I’d say I’m on the higher end of flashpacking, although I sometimes indulge in more luxurious travel.
• Lately I’ve really been embracing new systems like couch surfing, airbnb and misterbnb along with the standard hotel and hostel combination. I once also slept in a park in Paris when I as young and dumb.
• Travel is my biggest passion, but I also have a strong love for beer, and have been known to be a notorious foodie, especially when I travel. I especially like eating and drinking all the local stuff! I also love chocolate.
• I have a weird obsession with world maps. I spend ridiculous amounts of time staring at maps and imagining new journeys I could take, places I need to visit, or simply admiring the beautiful place that we call home (Earth, that is).
• This blog has been known to be a little gay from time to time. Check out all LGBT-related posts.
• I have worked in the travel industry on and off for over eight years now, which doesn’t help with my travel bug! I also write freelance blog posts and articles from time to time, and I’m always open to opportunities related to this, so please contact me with any leads.
• Although I have traveled mostly alone for about five years, I finally met an amazing partner in crime to share the experience with, so expect a lot more “we” terminology in the newest posts.
• I like attention. No, honestly… I REALLY like attention. So please comment as much as you want, like my posts, visit my blog often, and become my loyal fan on Facebook, as all these things make me very happy!
• Meeting fellow travel lovers is a hobby of mine, so please connect on Twitter, and let me know if you’re ever in my current city, as I’ll be happy to show you around! I also post some photos on instagram from time to time.
Clausito's Footprints 
Welcome to the world of travel Claus. It is marvelous, full with things one could not expect to see, to get new experiences etc. Remember that summer, fall and winter give different views of site. Spring, well, maybe in Paris or in some place in the Mediterranean.
Happy blogging and travel!
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=)
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Hey, I absolutely love your site! I was wondering if I could use one of your pictures for a site currently in development, could you please email me?
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Hi Claus, thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. I really liked yours, lots of info and of course the food and beverages section is my favourite so far 😉
just that made me click on “follow”. Es bueno saber que hay mas gente como uno alla afuera jeje.
saludos y ojala sigas leyendo mis posts, yo leere los tuyos.
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Gracias Octavio!
Tu blog combina dos de mis cosas favoritas: la comida, y el viaje… voy a seguir leyendo definitivamente!
Ahi nos mantenemos en contacto 🙂
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Hi Claus! I was looking up information on LGTB Italy and found your blog: it’s just great. I noticed that you have been all around Italy, and I was just wondering what your impressions about gay life there, both in the north and in the south? Coming from Vancouver, many of the customs I have seen in Italy baffle me (even though I’m Italian myself).
Cheers,
Michael
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Hey Michael!
Thanks for your comments. Italy is a great place, I loved my time there… I actually didn’t get to visit any of the gay bars there though.
I did meet a guy in Rome and from what I got from him, gay nightlife is very fun, but although largely accepted, it remains a little underground (ie: you need to know where the bars are as they are not well marked / advertised).
Another thing you may notice is that the gay scene is going to be a little more cruisey / hook-upey… because Catholic religion plays such a big role in Italian culture, very few people actually come out fully, so it’s still very old-school!
This of course was back in 2007 though, so things may have changed over the last few years!
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Hey Claus, thanks so much for your response! What you’ve written makes perfect sense, in fact. The Church is everywhere in Italy, and for some reason people still think homosexuality is considered a psychiatric disorder, though this is from my experiences in Rome and further South.
I was also curious about you. If you hadn’t mentioned LGTB, I wouldn’t have necessarily picked up on it at all. Identifying as gay myself (and straight-acting and looking), I’m wondering if “straight-acting” creates any special issues for gay travelers to Italy? In my case everyone (and his mother) goes all out to try to get me married when I’m there…just, not to a nice guy 😦
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(I meant to hit “Notify me of follow-up comments via email”).
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Haha, it’s always a tricky balance. I find in many cultures (especially those in which religion plays a big role on the daily life of people) I often have to “come out” over and over again as people don’t necessarily pick up on it.
On the other hand, it is sometimes a blessing that it isn’t always necessarily obvious, as there are still many parts of the world where being different is still not overly accepted, and it makes it harder to visit. Blessing in disguise, I guess.
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Hi, Claus.
I would like your permission to use one of your travel photos in a promotional video. It’s the one of Ocho Rio Beach on your Jamaica page.
Of course you’ll get a photo credit and I can send you a digital link to the spot when it’s posted. Thank you for your kind attention.
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Thank you for reading and clicking the “like” button on my blog. It means a lot to me when someone reads and relates enough to spend the time to do that. Thanks again.
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Nice site
The statue in the Vatican of the man with a key. Who is that?
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Thank you for your comment!
That statue would be St Peter (it’s at St Peter’s Basilica), and the key he is holding is the key to Heaven as per the Bible.
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Hola Clausito!! I just saw you’ve moved back to Canada!! Are you back with FC? I don’t have your email, and have deactivated all my social media, so I hope to connect with you here!! Te extrano, mi amigo 🙂
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Nat!! I was actually thinking about you not too long ago, about our trip to Glasgow to visit Lindsey in November 2013! email me clausgurumeta@gmail.com and I’ll update you on everything xx
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wow! we really like the new look! especially the quick visual overview! thumbs up!
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Thank you guys! After almost 5 years it was time for an update. Been a lot of work as I have to go into every post and up-size each photo… Only 1/4 of the way there, but the images look awesome so it’s worth the time!
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