Here's a travel tip you don't hear everyday. If you happen to see a rainbow on your journey, follow it. There's a good chance you'll end up in a good place. Skeptical? I would be, had I not had the following experiences recently.

On our trek from Toronto to Bacalar we were "guided" by no less than 3 rainbows! The first one was spotted on our trip through the Rockies, on beautiful Lake Louise, Alberta, where we had an amazing time. Ok, so it isn't that hard to believe we had a great time in one of Canada's most scenic spots, rainbow or not, but we took note, as well as this gorgeous photo.

The next rainbow came to us in Toluca, Mexico, which is near Mexico City. We had pulled into town and were looking for a place to stay during a major downpour. We didn't know where we were going, the sun was going down, we had already enquired at 2 overpriced hotels and we were beginning to lose hope of finding a place to stay in our budget. We pulled into yet another potentially expensive hotel, and as P was inside enquiring about a room, a beautiful rainbow appeared right next to us. We took it as a sign and decided to stay the night, for sure enough it turned out to be a great hotel at a reasonable rate and we got a really good night's sleep.

The third rainbow helped us near the end of our journey, by appearing at the precise moment we were trying to decide whether to keep driving towards Escarcega or to take a side-trip to Palenque, the fabled Mayan city in the Chiapas rainforest. We were keen to see Palenque, but also exhausted and eager to reach our final destination. While we were debating, a striking rainbow appeared low over the horizon, straight ahead of us, and as it turned out, just above the turn-off for Palenque. So the decision was made to take the detour, based on this fortuitous sign, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions we made the entire trip. We ended up spending 3 amazing days and two restful nights in the jungle, exploring ancient ruins, enjoying great live music nightly, not to mention great food, delicious coffee, all the while surrounded by the serenity of the Chiapas highlands. Had it not been for that rainbow we might have kept driving and missed out on a truly wonderful experience.

Now I'm not a religious person, and these rainbows would probably not be considered "signs" in the biblical sense, but for us they symbolised something special. There's no denying that rainbows are a spectacular phenomena, even if they are just the effect of light passing through billions of tiny drops of water. But for whatever reason, on this trip, they were also benevolent spirits in the sky, guiding us, encouraging us, and ultimately helping us feel like this world really is a special place where magical things really do happen. So pay attention next time you see a rainbow. It could be trying to tell you something.