Thankful in Jamaica

Two weeks ago, I decided that all I wanted for Thanksgiving was to relax on a Caribbean beach.  I booked a last minute flight to Montego Bay, Jamaica and was settled on Negril beach on Wednesday to celebrate the holiday!

I stayed at the Negril Yoga Center (http://www.negrilyoga.com/ room Casa I) which was in essence a beautiful garden with bungalows surrounding a large wooden yoga platform.  My days began with outdoor yoga, progressed to the beach and a simple lunch at One Love restaurant (beach hut serving one dish a day), back to reading on my veranda and then out to eat in local haunts and listening to reggae with my bungalow neighbors (Kajsa/Maya from Sweden, Igmar from Santorini, and Paul from Australia).  Rinse and repeat for five days!

I did take in a few of the Negril must-dos.  I went to Rick's Cafe to see cliff diving at sunset, drank rum at Margaritaville, experienced the famed Hedonism resort and danced the night away at a jerk festival.  But mostly, I just fell in love with Jamaica.  I have never been so relaxed on a trip.

I would love to have seen more of the countryside like the waterfalls, mountains and gone to the Bob Marley museum... but I just couldn't tear myself away from the sand and warm Caribbean Sea.  Thankfully, I will have something new to visit on my next trip to this island paradise--Yeahmon!

Getting Wet in Galapagos

After a quick trip back to Quito to pick-up my scuba gear, it was time to join my dive buddies for the flight to the Galapagos Islands.  The Galapagos Archipelago lies over 600 miles off the coast of mainland Ecuador.  Although there are 13 major volcanic islands and many more small islands in the Galapagos, only 5 are inhabited. The entire area is a national park and human interaction is very regulated and kept to a minimum.  The best thing about the Galapagos Islands is that the animals and marine life do not shy away from humans.  It is easy to get upclose and personal with the real Galapagos residents.

We landed in San Cristal and boarded our home for the next week, the Peter Hughes dive boat Sky Dancer.  As one of only five boats certified for diving in the Galapagos, we got right to business with a check dive and navigation to outer islands.  The itinerary was packed with 4 dives a day and a long navigation out to Wolf and Darwin islands--diving Mecca.  The group was primarily British with a couple from Canada, Peru and one other American onboard also.  My roommate and dive buddy Alison was a British diplomat, who had just finished a three year assignment in India.  Our cabin was on the top deck with large windows and a nice bathroom.  The diving was nothing short of spectacular and we were lucky to have Fabricio, the most experienced Dive guide in the Galapagos (over 10,000 dives) leading our group.  We saw it all!  Swimming with countless whale sharks and hammerheads topped everyone's list.  We also saw beautiful Manta Rays, dolphins, turtles, sea lions.  The lava formations under the islands did have some nice color and tropical fish, but we spent a lot of the time staring into the blue for big game. 

It was so exciting to cross the Equator and go from cold to warm waters in different currents.  I was the least experienced of my group and learned a great deal.  I completed my Nitrox course and got a new certification while on board. Despite my infected eye and head cold, I logged three dives a day and saw I came to see.  My personal highlight was playing with the baby sea lion!

We made a couple of land stops during the cruise to check out some of the famous wildlife on the islands like the giant tortoises, marine iguanas, both species of sea lions, and the strange bird population.  Education was a priority on the trip including lively discussions on the history and current environmental protection steps in the region.  We even had a last night dinner celebration in the town on Santa Cruz where we toasted our great diving experience!

After the flight back to Quito, I grabbed a taxi directly to the La Mitad Del Mundo (middle of the world city) to see the yellow painted line of the Equator. Had to do it!  While the myths about drain directions in the different hemisphere's aren't true, you do weigh less at the Equator.  Every little .3% helps.

My last night in Ecuador was wonderful.  We had a group dinner on the terrace of the Secret Garden with sweeping views of the city lights.  I am thankful for these 16 days to unplug, test my limits and focus on the natural beauty in Ecuador!

Adventures in Banos

One big attraction in Banos is the series of waterfalls in the area. You can bike ride for 60k and see them, like my roomies did, or you can take the local short tour bus to the same places. Guess which I chose... I boarded the cute little bus with locals and had a ball. We rode in cable cars across gorges to waterfalls and hiked down to the bottom to feel the rush of the MacKay Falls. Loved it!

After my half day of waterfall action I decided that something had to be done about the extreme stye on my eye. It looked like a volcano and was ruining my photos! I consulted with my doctor in NYC who thought that I should wait until I get home to take action and not scuba dive in the meantime (Don´t know what part of I´m on a dive trip to the Galapagos didn´t translate). I went to a local doctor who spoke no English, but "absesso" conveyed. He got some surgical tools and a neddle from a rolled up dinner napkin and went at my eye until I screamed, which is more than the other adventure activities could do. I was off with a handfull of prescriptions to prevent death from absesso and a $35 bill. Wish me luck.

The next day it was time for more thrills. My Dutch friends and my new German friend, Sandra, and I went Canyoning. Basically we hiked up a mountain and repelled down through four waterfalls and then slid down two more. It was serious fun and we felt like we had taken on nature and won!

We spent all our early evenings in the public baths melting away. One friend, Carson, enjoyed the baths so much he couldn´t bring himself to move on to the next town. Or was it the intoxicating atmosphere of Banos?

I left Banos on a luxury bus back to Quito this morning ($3.50 for 4 hour trip) and arrived in the early afternoon. I had time to see some more of the old town Quito and to climb the spires of the Basilica del Voto National, which has Galapagos animals to protect it instead of mythical creatures. I just had dinner at the hostel with a fabulous view of Quito and am getting ready for my next adventure. I will be under water in the Galapagos Islands living aboard a boat for a week and will summarize the experience when I come back to civilization. Adios!

The Great Crater Lake and Beyond

Several of our merry band of travelers were headed to the adventure town of Banos, but in very different ways. Two adorable Dutch girls, Anya and Marsha and me hired the driver from Cotopaxi to take us off the beaten path and visit the volcano crater lake of Laguna Quilotoa. Anya read something about it in her guidebook and it sounded like an adventure. Enrique and Harley joined the party and rode all day in the back of the pickup truck!

It was a beautiful day and I feel like I got to see the real Ecuador. Women in traditional dress with hats and fushia ponchos, families working the fields, a bustling town market, etc. We stopped for lunch in a small town where we bought rolls from the bakery and a whole chicken and cheese from another place to make divine sandwiches for a picnic. Our Barcelona born Enrique was invaluable to get things done and make sure we weren't missing anything fun.

The drive was scenic, but nothing could have prepared me for the beauty of the Laguna Quilotoa. Stunning! We were all silent as we peered over the edge at the glowing green lake nestled in the volcano crater. The locals claim the lake has no bottom and it does look magical. We hiked down taking photos constantly and arranged to ride donkeys back to the top. It was so worth the long drive!

We hit Banos at about 6pm on Wednesday and our friends from Cotopaxi were walking to the new hostel, Plantas y Blanco, at the exact same time. It was a cause for celebration--it doesn´t take much! Our hostel has a cafe/bar roof deck with a waterfall view--all for $7.50 a night in a 4 bed room with our own bath.

Banos is where travelers and locals come to have a good time. There are countless adventure activities and the premier attraction is the public hot baths, said to have healing powers. The thermal baths and many area waterfalls are gifts from the impressive local active volcano Tungurahua (throat of fire).

I had a lovely dinner with Anya and Marsha and we planned our activities to get the most out of this exciting town!

Getting High in Cotopaxi

The Secret Garden Cotopaxi hostel is a family home, working farm, and retreat all in one. The view of six volcanos with the snow covered Cotopaxi as the star was simply breathtaking. We arrived in time to settle into our quaint bunk rooms (mine had 8 beds surrounding a potbelly stove) and have lunch. After being served a lovely meal of Ecuadorian stew at the long wooden table we were invited on a nice hike up to a nearby waterfall. I pulled on the rubber boots and headed out with the group, 4 dogs and two guides.

I am just lucky to be alive! We went over, under, through and around thick vegetation, slippery rocks, sheer drops in big rubber boots with the oxygen available at 12,000ft. The waterfall was beautiful, but more importantly we bonded as a group, basically trying to stay alive! If it were not for Patrick, from Switzerland, who pulled or pushed me on many occasions, you would have nothing to read. Patrick, who just finished his degree in molecular biology, won the money for his South American trip on a game show that sounds like our Family Feud. The stories are wonderful here...

The waterfall experience made the next days´ Cotopaxi climb to the Jose Rivas Refuge seem possible. I survived with the limited air available at 16,000ft and made my way up the ground lava to the Refuge. This is the place the climbers sleep before leaving at 1am to head to the summit. None of our group took this on! The weather changes rapidly on the volcano and we were rewarded with some great sun to match the cold wind whipping down from the glacier. It was a great experience!

My two days at the hostel were truly special. We woke up each day with the sun and the rooster. The first person up checked the sunrise and woke everyone if it was a clear shot of Cotopaxi. If so, we would all grab cameras and tumble out in pjs to get the shot before climbing back in until breakfast at 7:30. Everyone did different activities during the day meeting back for an afternoon of laziness in hammocks before snacks and cocktails at 5pm. Big group dinners turned into fun evenings chatting by the fire. When we turned in exhausted, the staff had built a fire in our stove and lit candles everywhere. What an experience!

Operation Ecuador

My vacation got off to a rocky start last Saturday with airline malfunctions threatening my first day in Ecuador. But, persistence pays and got me to an alternate city, Guayaquil, with a free hotel. I ended up having a ball in the coastal town of Guayaquil, an easy flight to Quito the next day and a great story to tell.

Quito is not only the capital, but also the soul of Ecuador. Nestled in the Andes, at almost 10,000ft it is the world's second highest capital. The area called Old Town is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and the location of my hostel home base in Ecuador, The Secret Garden. The top floor of the hostel is an open air cafe/bar with a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains and lively Quito.

Within minutes of arriving at the Secret Garden, I met an delightful Australian couple who were headed to the art museum that happened to top my list for the afternoon. The Museo del Banco Central put the pre colonial, colonial and revolutionary periods and art movements in context for me. I am now eager to learn more as I travel around this small and proud country.

By some miracle, my luggage arrived on the evening flight from Miami and I picked up my bags without incident. I made it back to the hostel in time for dessert and to spend the evening sitting around a fire built in a wheel barrow hearing travel stories and soaking up the lights of Quito. My list of places to see is growing by the minute.

The next morning me and about 16 others from the hostel hopped in two trucks for a ride out to the middle of nowhere. We tied the backpacks on the roof and headed to the Cotopaxi National Park.

Merci Montreal

Last Wednesday, I opened one of those emails promoting last minute travel deals. I saw Montreal RT for $128 and started packing. One call to Steve in Boston and he jumped in the car to meet me at the cool Hotel Nelligan in Old Montreal. It was hard to believe that a 55 minute flight transported me to such a cosmopolitan city with old world flair. Still wondering why it took me so long to visit...

Before Steve arrived on Saturday, I spent several hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "Grandeur Nature," the exhibition of American and Canadian landscape paintings and photography was outstanding and made me want to spend more time with nature. Next trip Niagara!

When Steve wheeled into town my cultural tour of Montreal shifted to roof top terrace cocktails--the perfect way to see such a lovely city! We drank and danced our way around the Plateau area and the Village, took a long walk by the Saint-Laurent River, which is brilliantly incorporated into the city, had great meals in Old Montreal and even went on a tour of the Notre-Dame Basilica, which dates back to 1642.

For lunch today, I joined Marie-Josee, an amazing woman who owns a top PR firm in Montreal called CASACOM. She took me to a delightful tented terrace where we had local venison and talked of the joys and challenges of life in our profession. Armed with Marie-Josee's recommendations I shopped my way around the trendy parts of Montreal, finding a few things I simply had to take back with me to NYC. Back at home tonight, I'm already missing the opportunity to cave the local Montreal delicacy of french fries covered in gravy. Maybe next time!

Seattle Grace

A year ago I was blogging from a Worldcom conference in Amsterdam--this year the meeting was in Seattle. Same tulip growing weather, but no canals. I had a great time networking with PR folks from around the world and as always, I also managed to squeeze in some local fun!

We stayed at the Sheraton which was a short walk to the fresh fish and flowers of Pike Place Market and the first Starbucks. Of course, I got the mandatory cup of Joe and took it shopping to Seattle's own Nordstrom's. I also rode the Monorail over to the site of 1962 World's Fair to get a view from the Space Needle. Mt Rainier looked amazing! But, the real reason for my trip to this area was the Frank Gehry designed Experience Music Project. The fun, colorful building did not disappoint! The exhibit was also exciting--I learned to play the guitar, drums, keyboard and mix music in one hour! I wonder what native son, Jimmy Hendricks, would have thought of my music...

Our hotel was also very close to the Seattle Art Museum which was on my list of places to view the glass art work of Dale Chihuly. I met Chihuly 15 years ago at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and fell in love with his Studio Glass movement. The artist is from Tacoma originally.

Speaking of Tacoma, my Dad was stationed at McChord AFB in Tacoma in 1950. He joked that the Air Force would probably send him as far from his home in Pensacola as possible--and they did. He has spoken fondly of the area all his life, and so I drove down on Saturday to check it out. I stopped off to see Snoqualmire Falls, of Twin Peaks fame on the way for a bit of NW nature.

I thoroughly enjoyed the downtown arts center in Tacoma! The Museum of Glass had a theater for resident glass blowers to work and I could have watched them all day. I struck gold on my tour of Chihuly works. He designed a pedestrian bridge full of his pieces including the seaforms pictured above. I even had lunch at the bar in the Swiss Tavern, where Chihuly used to eat every day. He loaned the owner 8 large pieces to decorate the bar. I sat next to metal worker who said that he worked with the artist to protect the large glass pieces currently hanging in the courthouse.

Last week was a winner -- from bonding with cool international PR pros to great cultural experiences and a taste of nature. Think I'll go have a cup of coffee and relax...

Soaking Up Manuel Antonio

Four days in paradise have gone far too quickly! I've met wonderful people, mainly from Canada and the US, sat for hours on jungle fringed beaches, sailed with dolphins and snorkeled with a rainbow of tropical fish, and hiked in the Manuel Antonio state park with monkeys and sloughs. It doesn't get much better!

The sunset was a big occasion every night. One night I watched it from El Avión, a restaurant made from one of the Iran Contra planes. The owners bought Ollie´s Folly and moved it up to Manuel Antonio piece by piece creating a historic bar. I met a great Canadian woman who was traveling Central America doing research for her graduate thesis on women´s security issues in Central America. She was fascinating and so ready to change the world.

I watched another sunset at Ronny´s Place, which I highly recommend. Open air kitchen with cement tables perched on the hill side. We ran into Lauren and Brian from Miami who went on the Canyoning adventure in La Fortuna. Our seafood dinners were delicious and the view was spectacular!

My last sunset scene was the Adult pool at Costa Verde, my hotel. It is perfectly located on the side of a cliff to watch the day end. I met a couple of guys, James and Edan, and swam with them until all the colors had faded. We went on to dinner at a BBQ place and then hit Bambú Jam, the hopping salsa dancing spot. They had just taken salsa lessons in their last town, so we tore up the dance floor!

I hate to leave this coastal/jungle spot and hope to come back for another relaxing vacation here one day!

Pura Vida

The Costa Rica anthem is Pura Vida or Pure lIfe. What a wonderful way to think of 2009! I ended 2008 with a 5 hour beautiful drive from Monteverde to the coastal town of Manuel Antonio. I've traded up from hostels to a pretty little resort called Costa Verde and this photo is from my balcony. The Costa Verde slogan is "Still more Monkeys than people." I can hear them howling and can't wait to see one!

I went down into the little town of Quepos to ring in the new year. The first person I met in the adorable restaurant "El Gran Escape" was from Pensacola! It truly is a small world! I met several ex pats and now understand why they want to live in Costa Rica! The party took over the town. A salsa band got everyone dancing in the streets and there was a huge fireworks show overhead at midnight. So, here's to a Pura Vida in 2009!