Category Archives: Just another blog

“Pura Vida” – Arenal and La Fortuna, Costa Rica.

September 16, 2014 The travel brat Leave a comment

Flower, typical of what you would see in Costa Rica. — Bromeliad , typical of what you would see in Costa Rica.

I had always wanted to go to Costa Rica. Several years ago, a co-worker of mine had told me about a trip to Costa Rica and how much he fell in love with the place. Now his girlfriend’s family has a business there and he travels there almost every other month to visit. The stories he told and photos he shared of Costa Rica really peaked my interest and placed it high on my bucket list.

Costa Rica’s unofficial slogan is “Pura Vida” which means Pure Life. Costa Rica is mostly a rural country, decorated with tropical rainforests. Biologically, Costa Rica might be one of the richest places on earth where you can find some of the greenest vegetation, as well as hundreds of species of birds and other wildlife. The beauty of this country is the peacefulness of the people. My experience is that the “Ticos” (locals) were very warm and welcoming with a laid back type of lifestyle.

Photo of a bird we saw on one of our hikes.

It was the summer of 2011 and I had just returned from Greece. I took a trip to Barnes and Noble and bought Frommer’s guide to Costa Rica and started thinking about my next trip. I looked online, searched through pictures on the Internet and found travel blogs about Costa Rica. It looked so lush, green and beautiful and the idea of wandering through a rainforest really excited me. I love animals and wildlife and I dreamt about the day that I would come face to face with a sloth or a monkey.

In 2011, a friend of mine Joe who was a commercial airline pilot and I were sharing travel stories. One of the things we had in common was a desire to travel. He traveled many times for work, but typically on the east coast of the US. One of the great benefits of a commercial pilot is the ability to fly to different places around the world for next to nothing. I remember sharing stories of places we had been and places we wanted to travel. One of the places we talked about was Costa Rica. We then decided to plan a trip together.

Joe had travel connections so I allowed him to make the hotel reservations as long as we were able to visit the places I wanted and included some of the activities I like. I enjoy staying in nice hotels, but honestly when I travel; I spend very little time in the hotel and prefer being out seeing the country or city. As long as the hotel is clean, safe and provides good service, I may skip on some of the amenities. Joe on the other hand, liked things first class so we came to a compromise. We found that October is the rainy season in Costa Rica and hotels are very reasonably priced and have off-peak rates. We had decided on visiting three different areas in the week we were in Costa Rica: La Fortuna/Arenal, Montverde Cloud Forest and Manuel Antonio National Park.

Tropical landscape at Tabacon Resort -Arenal, Costa Rica

We left Fort Lauderdale on Friday morning, October 7^th to fly in to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. Upon Landing, we retrieved our luggage and headed to rent a car for the trip. Little did we know what the excitement and danger of renting and driving a car in Costa Rica would be like. We rented a JEEP 4×4 as we were warned that many of the roads were not completely paved and a four-wheel drive was recommended. The Jeep was a manual transmission as were most of the car options we had. There were no bells and whistles in the car, no navigation systems. Just a shell, air conditioning and tires. Now, I personally am not a huge fan of driving to begin with. I always said that when I hit millions, the first thing I would do is hire a driver. I am not a bad driver but when given the opportunity, I prefer to be a passenger. With that being said, Joe would be the sole driver on our trip and I would do my best to navigate as we headed north through potholes and roads temporarily closed due to landslides and of course dealing with maniac drivers.

La Fortuna is approximately 90 miles from San Jose. In the United States, you would guess that is about an hour and a half drive. In Costa Rica, depending on traffic and road conditions, 90 miles means about three and a half hours. The attendant at the car rental kiosk gave us directions on how to get to La Fortuna. I had a map from my handy Frommer’s guide, but unfortunately, with no street signs, it is somewhat difficult to figure out where you would turn or what road you are on. I remember asking a local (they call them Ticos) directions where our hotel was and the response was “It is fifty meters north of the bank”. I should have remembered to pack a compass.

After about a four-hour drive, Joe and I stopped in La Fortuna for a quick bite to eat and to pick up some drinks before we headed to Arenal. We stopped at a small restaurant next to a market. We had ordered traditional Spanish dishes – Pollo (Chicken) and casado (which is rice and beans mixed together). Casado is a staple item with most meals in Costa Rica, not much different than the traditional Spanish meal you might get in South Florida.

After lunch, we headed to Arenal, which is just northwest of La Fortuna and home to the Arenal Volcano. Arenal is an active volcano and on a clear night, you might see the tip of Arenal if the lava is flowing. At the base of Arenal is a series of natural hot springs. We were staying at the Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal resort. The resort was definitely one of the first class accommodations available in La Fortuna. The grounds were green, lush and scattered with a variety of tropical vegetation. I was impressed that the hotel encouraged their guests to be “carbon neutral” and was actively involved in various local conservation programs. The weather was wet and cloudy, and although our room faced the volcano, we were unable to see the peak the first day we were there. The pool area was large and had a swim up bar. Next to the pool was the spa where you could get a massage after visiting the hot springs or hiking through the rainforest. The hotel had a restaurant in which the food was extremely good. It was however pretty expensive and in the future I would recommend finding a place in La Fortuna for dinner and drinks.

Tabacon Resort - Arenal, Costa Rica. — Tabacon Resort – Arenal, Costa Rica.

The next day, Joe and I took a hike through Arenal National Park. We had packed water, nuts, dried fruit and various snacks to keep our energy level high in a backpack and had our cameras ready for a sloth sighting. On this particular day, the weather was warm so we wore shorts and light clothing. The sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day. You cannot actually hike up Arenal Mountain, as it is too dangerous when the volcano is active. Arenal National Park does however, have trails through the forest and over old lava flows. The forrest was amazing. Ton’s of birds, plants. There were hanging bridges and tunnels. I am afraid of heights but you cannot resist a walk out on to the hanging bridge to see what is below and around you. That was the easy part of the day. Now Florida is typically flat, with not a lot of hills. I have hiked many times before during trips to the mountains so when we discussed hiking through Arenal Park, I did not hesitate or worry this would be above my skill level. Climbing through and over volcanic boulders for several hours however , I realized I was not in the shape I used to be. The view of the Volcano was awesome nonetheless.

Arenal Volcano. You can see the rocky terrain making it difficult to hike at times.

Me on a hanging bridge, Arenal Park. — Me on a hanging bridge, Arenal National Park.

In the evening, we chose to visit the hot springs. The hot springs charged a small entrance fee, however because we were staying at the resort, we were able to go for free. There were areas of the hot springs that were warmer than others. The closer to the volcano, the hotter the springs were. The floor of the hot spring is soft and feels muddy if you are not used to it. In the center was a large pool. Off to the side was a stronger stream that flowed over a waterfall, which gave an amazing shoulder massage when you sat under it. You also have a great view of the volcano. There is nothing more relaxing than sitting in a hot spring, drink in hand, while receiving a heated natural massage from the waterfall while viewing the volcano.

We did not get to see the lava flow, as the volcano was not active while we were there. We did however get a good view of the tip. The hike through Arenal National Park is a must do, but the hot springs was the definitely the highlight of those few days in Arenal.

The next day we were headed off for our drive to Montverde.

Just another blog

An Afternoon in Little Havana

September 3, 2014 The travel brat Leave a comment

Having lived in South Florida for many years, I have yet to take advantage of all the wonders and highlights of this multi-cultural mecca. The opportunities of what to see and do on a given day are endless. Thousands of tourists flock to Miami annually to soak up the sun, the culture and the history of this wonderful city, yet for me, I have local access to the heart of the Caribbean melting pot.

My first visit to Miami was the summer of 1985. We moved to Key West, Florida from Germany. Before making the move to the Keys, we spent a few days in Miami. My father took us on an afternoon airboat ride through the Everglades promising us we would see alligators. We spent a couple of days in Miami Beach savoring the first bit of beach we had seen since a summer trip to Italy the year before, our pale white skin burned for days after that trip. Living in Key West, my friends and I would occasionally make the three-hour drive to Miami for a night out, shopping or maybe a concert. Once I moved up to Deerfield Beach, my trips to Miami became fewer and far between, reserved mostly for a special occasion, a concert, or a night out at a club. In college, one of my good friends started working for American Airlines and had moved to a little apartment off of 8^th street in Miami. I remember spending the night with her in her small apartment. We did our first South Beach experience together, dancing all night long in a trendy club during the height of the “Art Deco movement” that took place in 1980’s to restore Miami Beach to some of it’s original glory from the 1930’s. One spring, I remember attending “Calle Ocho” with her. “Calle Ocho” is an annual street party that takes place in March of every year. People come from all over to enjoy this one-day street festival with food, music, dancing, conga lines and Latin performers.

Living about an hour outside of Miami, my trips here have been typically for business reasons, to the airport or Port of Miami or reserved for a fun weekend in South Beach with friends. I recently met someone who lives in Miami. My new friend Joe is of Cuban and Spanish background and spent some time living in Northern Spain, but was raised in Miami. Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend the day with him while he was able to show me “his city”. Joe is an architect, so naturally has an appreciation for art and design, but I say “his city” because of the passion he has for Miami, his history and truly taking advantage of all that it has to offer.

Our day started with me meeting him in Tropical Park where I left my car so we could ride together. Knowing my curiosity for trying something new and different, Joe proudly took me to Little Havana for lunch. Little Havana is a little piece of Cuba in Miami. Not far from downtown Miami and it’s art deco high rises, Little Havana is a gem on it’s own. Lining the street, there were cigar shops; café’s, meat markets and theatres resembling the charm of old time Cuba. As Joe shared with me his opinions on the where to get the best Ceviche and a brief tour of the different landmarks we passed, we decided to park and get lunch at one of the many choices of authentic Cuban restaurants in the area. We chose to eat at El Cristo, a small café with menu of traditional Cuban dishes. I have eaten Cuban food many times, but being the picky eater I am, I tend to stick with what I know and like. Today was an adventure and I happily wanted to take my friend’s suggestion for something different on the menu. We ordered a Tostones appetizer, (Fried plantains with garlic sauce.) I ordered the Boliche Asado, a marinated pot roast with vegetables with a tomato-based sauce with a side of beans and rice. Joe ordered Rabo Encendido or Oxtail. I had never had Oxtail before, and although it was a favored traditional dish among some of my former colleagues, this was my first adventure into trying it. I am not sure I would ever order it myself, but it had an interesting flavor with a hint of cloves and garlic. We finished our lunch off with an espresso or Cuban Café, typical after a meal.

After lunch, we opted to stroll down Calle Ocho to look at the different shops and cafes. An occasional tourist bus would ride by, a reminder that this little town is a must see on a visit to Miami. We walked into a small shop with various Cuban postcards and souvenirs. On the wall was a collection of vintage prints depicting Cuba as the one time most sought after vacation destination in the Caribbean. In front of the register was a selection of hand rolled cigars. Next, we walked into an art gallery, with a collection of works from local artists, one being a friend of Joe’s. On many of the buildings in Little Havana you can also find murals painted on the walls where local business owners allow artists to transform their structures with colorful images. Joe informed me of an event called “Viernes Culturales” or “Cultural Fridays”, that is a festival where locals and tourists can experience the collection of arts and culture that happens the last Friday of each month in Little Havana. I have made a mental note to put that on my list of things to do.

Part of a mural painted on the side of a building. Little Havana, Miami

As we continued down the street, we walked to the Tower Theatre. The Tower theatre is a historic theatre. During the 50’s Cuban refugees who came to Miami, used the theatre not only as entertainment but also as an introduction to American culture. The theatre has been restored in an Art Deco style and now a landmark in Little Havana. Inside the theatre, classic film posters of the works of Federico Fellini lined the walls. We contemplated catching the 6pm showing of “Yves Saint Laurent” or another indie classic. Across the street from the theatre was an ice cream shop with homemade flavors such as Cuban Vanilla or Thai Coconut with Siracha sauce. The floor of the shop was designed in classic Cuban tiles, each one hand painted with a different colorful print, reminiscent of the Havana style décor.

Not far from the theatre is Domino Park. Older generations of Cubans gather there in the afternoons to play dominoes, a favorite game in Latin or Caribbean America. You can find “Paseo de las Estrellas” or the “Walk of the Stars”, stars dedicated to Latin American artists, actors or musicians. On the corner of 13^th Avenue is the Bay of Pig’s memorial as well as the memorial to Jose Marti, the famous poet from Havana. Just a block away was a street bar claiming to have the “best mojitos” where locals sat on barstools catching up about the comings and goings of their day.

Photobomb with the "Gallo" on Calle Ocho — Photobomb with the “Gallo” on Calle Ocho

It was getting later so we decided to head to South Beach to finish off our evening with a drink and conversation. We parked on Ocean Drive and opted to stop at News Café, a cute sidewalk restaurant in the Art Deco district of Miami Beach. I had a Martini, Joe a Mojito. Gianni Versace, the famous designer came to this restaurant daily for breakfast before he was killed in his home not far from the quaint Café. We watched the locals dine and the tourists armed with their Armani shopping bags. We walked and admired the architecture of the hotels that lined Ocean Boulevard, each with a unique flair and design that brings you back to 1930’s.

Drinks at "News Cafe" in South Beach. — Drinks at “News Cafe” in South Beach.

As I thought about my day in Miami, I realized that traveling does not have to be a trip. For me, traveling is an opportunity to engage the adventurous side of my personality and connect with someone or something different. Traveling is an education, a cultural awakening. For me, it is stepping outside of my comfort zone to try something new, or see things from an alternative perspective. And for me, my afternoon in Little Havana showed me that adventure is not always far away, it can also exist in my own backyard.

http://www.elcristorestaurant.com.

http://www.towertheatermiami.com/visitorInfo.aspx

http://www.viernesculturales.org/

Just another blog

“Single woman, loves to travel”

August 17, 2014 The travel brat Leave a comment

On my dating site profiles, the headings usually read something like “Single woman loves to travel”. “Looking for my next adventure”. What I am looking for tends to emphasize my obsession with “wanderlust”. Everyone loves to travel right? This should be a piece of cake. It should be easy to meet someone because with “travel” as your keyword, the number of potential matches is endless. As I searched through countless profiles looking for someone who might be a potential date and hopefully a companion on my next journey, I came to one conclusion. I learned that people like a lot of things and we all know that a dating profile is much like a resume. It’s the best version of your real self. It gets you the interview, but not the job. If you only knew the number of people I have met that “love to travel” but their job, their financial situation or their family life makes it virtually impossible for that to be a reality. To a few, travel consists of a trip to the Keys, or visits to family in New York. They might speak about their annual trip to Orlando or that one time they used their uncle’s time share for a ski trip. To some, spending ten hours on an airplane to a destination where you needed to use “google translate” to order dinner was a foreign concept to them, no pun intended. I once met a guy who on a moment’s notice can fly off to some exotic destination. Although I longed to be able to do that, a little bit of planning and saving was still necessary on my part. Travel means different things to different people. The “adventure scale” for people falls somewhere between 1 and 10 and I was looking for more of an 8.

I was married for ten years. We met when I was in college and started dating after I graduated. My ex was born and raised in South Florida but was a former Air Force sargeant and spent a great deal of time living in England and Italy as well as California. During our marriage, my ex and I did our share of traveling, but most of it in the Caribbean. Living in Florida, we are a short plane ride to many Islands making that an easy and somewhat affordable vacation. Back in the day, to travel to the Bahamas, Mexico or the Dominican Republic, all you needed was a license and a birth certificate. No passport even needed. We went on a couple of cruises. Cruises are great, everything is included and it is a great way to see many places in a short period of time, but not much time to really get to know the country or city that you are visiting. I think on a cruise you sometimes miss out on the “experience” when only given 8 hours at a particular destination. When we were younger we visited Cancun and partied like it was spring break. We had our honeymoon in Jamaica at one of those all inclusive resorts. In Jamaica, although it was against the advice of the resort staff, we ventured off the grounds a couple of times to really “see Jamaica”. We did our share of travel in the US as well. Some was to visit friends, others were to do sight seeing. One of our favorite trips was to the Blue Ridge Mountains where we stayed in a cabin. We hiked, kayaked and enjoyed the nature around us. We had an annual beach house vacation with a group of friends that we did every year before school started.

During our marriage, I had often talked about wanting to go to Europe. When discussing travel destinations, his response was usually “now is not a good time to go to Europe”. I never quite understood what he meant by that. Was it the exchange rate? Was it because the “French did not like Americans”? Maybe it was the potential violence that might plague us on our trip? No offense but Miami had a far worse reputation for crimes on tourists at that time than any place that was on my bucket list. We even went to Hawaii, a bucket list item of mine, on our ten year anniversary. That was a trip I talked about for years with my ex. Living in the tropical paradise that we do, he was sure that a vacation in Hawaii would be like vacationing in our backyard and not something he was really excited about. He was pleasantly surprised that it was in fact completely different than Florida, the warm climate really being the only commonality.

Our flight to Hawaii was a long and adventurous one. Hurricane Katrina was hitting landfall and although we were on standby until it was determined that South Florida would not be hit, Katrina would cause an unimaginable level of damage and casualties in New Orleans. I remember turning on the TV in our hotel room and feeling guilty for enjoying a five star vacation while thousands of people lost their homes and lives.

We left Fort Lauderdale on a rainy morning in September, 2005. Our connecting flight to Honolulu was in Dallas. We did not have enough points for both of us to fly first class so we were lucky enough to get the first row in coach. My ex was tall and had long legs, so the additional leg room was a plus. During the flight we watched the movie “Tommy Boy” on our portable DVD player. During the “Fat guy in a little coat” scene the man to my right laughed and told me that was one of his favorite scenes from that movie. My seatmate was a man in his mid 30’s. He was from Connecticut but had lived and worked in New York City for HBO. While I thought that seemed like a pretty cool job compared to my job as a logistics manager, he shared with me how hard the job was and how much stress he was under and how unhappy he had become. He was traveling alone so I asked if he was visiting friends or family in Hawaii. My new friend had quit his high paying job in New York and booked a flight to Hawaii. His plans were to live in a small apartment and learn to surf while he waited tables. At the time, I thought he was crazy to quit a high paying job to do something he dreamed about. Little did I know that nine years later I would be doing the same thing.

In 2008, I saw the movie Mama Mia. It was based on the Broadway Musical with the entire score compiled of ABBA’s greatest hits. I loved singing along with the movie, but one vision of the movie that stayed with me was that it was filmed in Greece on the Island Skopelos. I had never been to Greece and I knew there were many Greek Islands but seeing how beautiful Skopelos was, I was determined to visit Greece one day.

I desperately wanted to start traveling, Greece being one of the first places on my list. I am single with no kids making it easy to do what I want or go where I want on a vacation. I only have to make arrangements for a dog sitter while I am gone. Most of my friends are married or have kids making it hard for them to take vacation alone. For some of them money is an issue. Some of my friends just don’t share the same passion I do. I am no longer married and after my divorce, except for one trip to Spain in 2008, most of my travel plans were solo. When I brought up traveling to Greece, none of my friends were interested or able and I there I was still, “A single woman who loves to travel”. In 2010, I joined a travel website to meet other single travelers. I never met anyone. Although it was not a “dating site”, most of my emails were from lonely men who were looking to meet a woman, the traveling piece was optional. I joined a group from “Meetup.com” in this area that catered to single travelers. I met a woman who was a couple years older than me who was married but her husband hated to travel. She was a real estate agent working part time and had a lot more time than I did to travel. Although it seemed that we wanted to visit some similar places, I learned that she was looking more for a friend and not so much a travel mate since she constantly called and texted me and always wanted to “do lunch” when I was working. I just wanted to find someone to travel with. I felt pretty comfortable planning the trip myself but ten days traveling solo just did not sound as fun. My next step would be researching singles travel groups.

I came across BestSinglesTravel.com through an internet search. They were one of many travel groups that offered a “Greek Island Hopping” vacation that catered to singles. I knew I wanted to be in a group that was close to my age. I like to party but did not want to relive my college days again and did not want to be with a group who called it a day at 9pm either. I looked at prices and itineraries, checked dates and narrowed my search down to just a couple of groups. BestSinglesTravel.com also had a Facebook page where they posted photos and stories from other travelers from different trips. I found a couple of people that had taken the most recent Greek Island Hopping Tour and messaged them asking their opinions and feedback about using BestSinglesTravel. I already had put a deposit down but paying the remaining balance seemed like a big commitment without doing my homework. I got mixed reviews, but most were positive so I took my chance and booked it for May of 2011. When I told my friends and co-workers about booking a trip to a foreign country where I would be rooming with someone that I never met , they looked at me as if I was crazy. To many people, that was a big adventure, something they could never do. I am not a shy person and feel extremely comfortable meeting new people but I admit I was a bit nervous. I told myself whatever happened, it was all part of the adventure.

Greece by far was my best vacation ever. I am not sure if it was the destination, the group of people I met, the travel host or the liberating feeling that you stepped outside of your comfort zone and did something on your own for the first time. Maybe it was all of the above. I think the biggest lesson this trip taught me is that you don’t have to wait to do what you want, whether it is waiting for the right time or the right person. There is a saying that goes, “there is no time like the present”. There is a lot of truth in that. Don’t wait for what you want, Just do it. Whatever happens, it is all part of the adventure.