A Parade of Designs

Carnival season is in motion here in New Orleans. The houses have exchanged their Christmas decor for the purple, gold, and green of Mardi Gras. Flags are hung and King Cakes are baking. Its like having a second Christmas coming, and we are anxiously awaiting to celebrate and watch the parades from our small office on St. Charles Avenue.

So in honor of our first Mardi Gras while living in the NOLA, today we are offering up a small parade of our own. A parade of some our recent design work done for some truly amazing travel bloggers and writers.

Astahaya: Private Caribbean Charter

www.astahaya.com

Astahaya.com was actually our very first job as ‘The Traveling Designers’. We met the owners (Tom & Christian) while boat sitting in Curacao, and we all became fast friends. They wanted a website to showcase their beautiful yacht for private charters, and well, we were more than happy to help. In fact, the entire website was designed and built from the spacious salon of Astahaya. We recently updated the website with new information. Working on it again brought back a lot of fond memories of our journey through the Caribbean and of all the friends we made. If you would like to see some amazing photos of a truly spectacular yacht, be sure to check out Astahaya.
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Aly & John in: “Pirates of the Paria” (a graphic blog episode)

Excerpt from Travelouge April 1st, 2010

We were now somewhere in the middle of the Gulf of Paria. Alyson and I were both uneasy. Neither of us had stopped scanning the horizon since we had entered the “Boca del Serpiente” Channel just before sunrise. The Paria is a small body of water separating the isle of Trinidad from the Venezuelan mainland, and it’s notorious for pirate attacks. Passage through the gulf can only be made through the two separate channels leading in and out of the Paria. Entry from the south via the Mouth of the Serpent and from the north by the Mouth of the Dragon.

“In the mouth of the snake and out the mouth of the dragon.”

A route we would rather have avoided, but weather conditions dictated that we had to sail today…and this was the quickest passage. Sometimes it is hard to decide who to fear more…man or Mother Nature. Hopefully, if all went well we would be passing out of the “Boca del Dragon” Channel in a couple of hours.

The winds had been picking up steadily since day break. A 20 knot breeze out of the southeast kept us on a broad reach making between 6-8 knots. Despite the increasing winds, we carried on under full genoa and main. We were anxious to put the Paria and its rumors of pirates to our stern.
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Amazing Knockers

Cartagena is home to some amazing knockers. Though plastic surgery is almost a national pastime here, we are not talking about the girls today. Sorry boys. Also known as “The Door To The Americas,” Cartagena boasts some of the most beautiful architecture in the Americas. Once you’ve strolled through the romantic streets of the old city you’ll understand why it’s been designated a world heritage site since 1984. We have walked these streets almost everyday since being in Colombia and still never tire of seeing something new in a building or plaza that we missed the last time around. The details that adorn the buildings and streets are what keep it so interesting. So today we will start with some of the details of the city that have fascinated us and from there pan out to the overall city and sights. I hope you find these knockers as fascinating as we did.

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Aly & John in “Island of Fire” a Graphic Blog Episode

Excerpt from Travelouge May 20, 2009

It was growing dark outside.  I could visibly see the fading light through the thatched roof of the hut where we were being held.  It had been quiet now for several hours.

Alyson sat across from me on the sandy floor.  Her concern shown in the terrified expression on her face.  Even in the dimly lit hut I could see it.  I had been wrestling with the bindings on my arms ever since we had been captured the day before.  (more…)

“Jaunting Tales” a Graphic Blog

Jaunting Tales with Aly and John

 
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