I Go to Rio…de Janeiro

22 October 2016 / travellingross / Leave a comment

7– 11 September 2016

Travellingross Rating: 8 out of 10

Rio de Janeiro is a mega city of the world that I have wanted to see for a while. Having visited iconic cities across the world I was keen to compare. About an hour from the airport to my small Copacabana Airbnb apartment and it was time for dinner. Having read multiple stories of theft, muggings and violence, I was prepared to get robbed so I had a decoy wallet and minimal belongings on my person. But I found the neighborhood around my place fine although full of graffiti. Well, like any city with a few questionable characters and back lanes you wouldn’t walk down in broad daylight let alone after dark. And it’s dark by 6pm.

The beach is as expected – mammoth, crowded and scenic. The weather for most days was cloudy, and I spent the best part of a day venturing to Barra to collect my Paralympic tickets. I like how there are bars/food places right on the beach edge and they make use of all the sand for beach volleyball and other activities. And the sand is so soft.

View from my apartment

Copacabana Beach

I guess this is so your feet don’t burn in the hot sand

Copacabana Beach

Paralympic logo

Next time I will stay here

Sugar Loaf

Looking to Copacabana

Copacabana Beach

My security detail

I asked for a tequila sunrise…

Jesus! on a hill!

The main activity for me in Rio was the Paralympics – I bought tickets to athletics, track cycling and swimming all for $60! Here are some random highlights and observations that I noted at the time:

Athletics was at the Olympic stadium and had events going on everywhere you look and takes a while to work out. Great seats just left of the track finish line. One woman from Mali led all the way in the 1500m but then dropped back in the last lap and almost gave up but the crowd cheered for her and she picked up her head and finished the race. Inspiring.

Track cycling was at the Olympic Park (which seriously lacked shade) and was cool to see but repetitive watching heat after heat of 4000m. I thought there would be a variety of categories competing but I guess from a scheduling perspective it is sensible to not do this. Watching cyclists with 1 leg is incredible and makes me never want to complain about exercise again! Swimming was also at the Olympic Park and I had great seats right above the media where the medalists came by for a photo call.

Olympic Stadium

Athletics

The small crowd made a lot of noise when he won

Funny that they were selling Sydney stuff

Olympic Park

Shade was rare. I ate with a bunch of people getting shade under the over-pass

backstroke swimmer with no arms!

Really sweet to see him greet his family

Never seen someone so happy to get bronze

Blind swimmers. I learned so much from watching these sports.

Random observations: Brazilians say coca, not coke or cola. Lots and lots of people with bracers.

The journey to visit Christ the Redeemer statue took all afternoon and had line after line after line. I’m not sure if this is everyday or because it was a Sunday and the first clear weather in 4 days. As I waited literally hours I kept thinking to myself that this better be worth it. Thankfully it was. Fantastic views, iconic statue, and watching people be fools trying to get the best selfie. It was packed. Having accomplished this, I rewarded myself with a night out in Ipanema before a morning flight to Salvador.

Christ the Redeemer

View

There are mats so you can lay down and take photos. Very stupid.

Crowds

The look of redemption

Macarana Stadium

Never knew there is a chapel inside the Christ

Escalators

Pano

The Amazing Caribbean Race: Windward & Leeward Islands

9 August 2016 / travellingross / Leave a comment

23 July – 8 August 2016

This break was all about the islands. Cover as many as I could to get a taste and determine which ones to come back to for longer. Due to best flight times, I had to depart a day late and return a day earlier giving me two restful days in Paramaribo but meant one fewer island to tick off. A part of me wants to lay claim to visiting as many islands as I can while I’m working this location – at this point I’ve got a year left. But it’s also very relaxing, enjoyable, knowledge fulfilling and…who wouldn’t want to travel the Caribbean! Especially when you can be in Barbados in 4 hours.

Barbados – 9/10

5 nights. Turtle Beach Resort. Discounted for low season.
Within a few minutes of checking into my room, I stood on the 4th floor balcony looking at the amazing view and down below in a public laneway access to the beach a tall young local man started talking to me. After a moment to decipher his accent, I realised he was trying to sell me cocaine. Welcome to Barbados. This happened another time on the beach. As someone not at all into drugs, I find it unsavory and disturbing.
Very rough surf on the south coast, when I traveled to the west it was so much calmer. Next time I will stay on the west coast.
Staying at an all-inclusive for the first time was good to not have to worry about food choices or paying for drinks, but I did feel locked up. Like on a cruise ship.
I drank a lot more than normal instinctively trying to get my money’s worth.
Lots of children. Next time I’ll find an adults only all inclusive.
This country is less developed than I expected.

View from room

Turtle snorkel catamaran tour

The hotel I tried to stay at but ‘couples only’.

Golf time

Grenada – 7/10

2 nights. Allamanda Resort. Good location on the beach and cheap.
Again offered drugs within moments of stepping onto the beach.
The fort overlooking St Johns is totally without maintenance and a public safety risk, but great views of the harbor and port.
I had not realised that this country had a communist coup in the late 70’s, then another coup where the prime minister and cabinet were locked up in the fort and executed. Then the USA invaded and ‘liberated’ the nation because they thought the new military government was building an airstrip to support Soviet and Cuban air craft to refuel in the southern Caribbean.
I walked into a nutmeg store and said hi to the young male attendant as I was the only one in the store. He immediately replied “you know me”. I stared and wandered. He said “look at me well”. Then it dawned on me that we sat next to each other on the 1 hour flight from Barbados to Grenada. Small part of the world.
Grand Anse is a nice long public beach with clean water and nice sand.
Found a nice marina with a bar, restaurant and pool. A rare place that was new, functional and welcoming.

View from the fort

View from the fort

Grand Anse beach

St Lucia – 6/10

2 nights. La Haut Resort. Way out of Soufrière town.
Taxi from airport to hotel was an hour and cost 80 usd! A signal that this island is not cheap.
Too mountainous which makes for bad beaches, and long travel times.
Gros Piton hike was the toughest I’ve done. My calf muscles were sore for days.
Incredible views from La Haut plantation resort were amazing but the place closed for good the day I checked out. Up for sale. Spooky quiet at night which had me laying in bed thinking I was in the movie paranormal activity.

View from room

From the town pier.

The ‘trail’ up the mountain. Crazy.

View from the top of Gros Piton

After hiking up for 2 tough hours

Up in the clouds

Petite Piton

Having a beer afterwards. Watching the CPL – T20 west indies style.

The hotel owners house!

The hotel owners house! – random rain storm

and rainbow

Martinique – 9/10

2 nights. Can’t remember the hotel as I literally walked off the ferry and checked into the first hotel I found. But it was nice. Except the level 3 elevator door didn’t work. And I was on level 3.
Finally a developed island! A carrefour grocery store, paved sidewalks, street lighting and people leave you alone rather than try to sell you cheap bead necklaces.
Only downside is it’s French speaking, but that could be a positive since people leave me alone!
21st century buses, roads and intersections. Hub of a ferry system.
Bakeries and food that is beyond chicken and Creole
Although I almost got run down crossing a road. I hate crossing roads.
The beaches close to town are not very nice. And full of local children.
Service is snail pace.
I’d definitely come back and couple it with other French islands. I think the French funding and connection to the European Union means they must abide by EU standards which are much higher than the former British colonies that are poor.

Dominica – 3/10

1 night that turned into 2. Fort Young Hotel. Lovely refurbished hotel and best part of Roseau.
Do not return. Undeveloped, wrecked by a recent storm, mountainous with long travel times on bad roads, dull landmarks. Although, no one bothered me to sell stuff on the streets or offer me tours like I was in Lucia.
Roseau is a simple under developed town with nothing noteworthy. Except for my hotel, which was modern, sprawling and good service.
The activities desk while seemingly professional, postponed my organized tour of the island not once but twice. Fully knowing that I only had 2 days 1 night on the island. And although I’d paid already for something they couldn’t offer anymore, did not provide a partial refund or even a genuine apology. Giving me the sense this happens often.
As if Dominica knew I didn’t like her, she punished me further by hovering a rain storm over the island at the time of my evening flight causing it to be cancelled and being put up by liat airlines in a hotel room with no ac and a ceiling fan moving so slow it may as well have been switched off.

Hotel

President’s House and Office, opposite the hotel

Trafalgar Falls

Hot baths. Literally baths.

Says everything about Dominica

Antigua – 8/10

3 nights that was supposed to be 4 except for Dominica. Airbnb apartment in English Harbour. Well located with lovely views, but in a loft with no cross breeze so it was stinking bloody hot.
Very modern airport.
Renting a car was simple and easy to cruise around. Although some hairy corners on what should be single lane one way roads.
Again no hassle from the locals and I rode a public ‘bus’ to town with ease for a dollar. The bus is a mini van that loads in the people, most without seatbelts. Similar to what I rode in Grenada.
Beaches are lovely but not as postcard worthy as I believed from Google images. But I do believe the phrase that there are as many beaches as there are days in the year on Antigua.
I’d likely come back and use this as a base to explore Barbuda, St Kitts and St Barts.

View from my room

Pigeon Beach. My closest beach. Ok

Climbed a hill

Halfmoon Beach. Lots of seaweed washed up recently. Not as nice as claimed.

Jolly Beach

And that’s it. No hurricane. Although it threatened. Some islands I’d come back to, others are firmly on the DNR list. Definitely prefer ferries over planes where I could. Easier to get around than I thought and lots of research online that you can just google and make it up when you wake up!

Turtle Time in Galibi, Suriname

16 June 2016 / travellingross / 1 Comment

11-12 June 2016

7 out of 10

After my first standard rotation of 23 days for quite some time, I decided to spend the first few days of break in Suriname to explore more of the country and see the turtles that come ashore for a few months a year to lay eggs. I missed it last year, so booked a 2 day tour and set off. After a night out in Parbo first…

The tour set off at 8:30 am in a vehicle that did not have seat belts for the passengers in the back seats. And along the same highway I travel to work, but this time instead of turning at Moengo, we went all the way to Albina. It was interesting to cross the Marowijne River into French Guyana and see prices in Euro and the French flag flying. The canoe trip to Galibi (not accessible by road) was fun and occasionally bumpy rocking against the waves. Accommodation was much better than expected with simple bed in my own room as only six on the tour. The town is dull and unremarkable.

Saw two turtles, one of each type and watched them dig a hole and lay eggs. Was great and fascinating to watch these creatures. But thought we’d see more and wait around to watch the turtles cover their eggs and head back to the ocean. Instead we left soon after the egg laying started. Likely because a bunch of other tourists arrived on the same stretch of beach. Up until then we had been alone which was peaceful. After a rough and horrible canoe trip back to town, we arrived at 11pm for a game of cards. In my mind I thought we would be out til 3am or so.

The guide did not communicate a single word of English, so fortunately a Spanish girl who also is fluent in Dutch translated the key points for me. It was a lot of driving/travelling in 2 days, but overall I enjoyed it. And it was great to see more of the country I’ve been working in for eighteen months. Something I never wanted to do in Ghana.

How to Make this Trip

Tour booked through Jenny Tours

Road side sloth rescue. He was a bit wet

Memorial to 36 murdered people during the civil war

Leaving Albina for French Guyana

In the canoe

Cool

France

Famous prison

Somehow we dodged this storm. I was worried.

Galibi ‘hotel’

Beds at Galibi. Better than I thought – a hammock

Leatherback making her nest

So delicate to scoop out the sand after being rough to create this large area

Green Sea Turtle

Leatherback

Galibi school – Winnie the Pooh!

Galibi school

Galibi beach time

Token work photos – Mill

Token work photos – CIL

Ping pong at Rec Room

The night before the day after. Fun in Parbo.

Aruba and Cuba: Turning Thirty Three

4 August 20154 August 2015 / travellingross / Leave a comment

Wednesday 17 June to Tuesday 14 July 2015

travellingross rating = 9/10

I worked a 16/12 day rotation this time around to provide team coverage at site. Short and rushed, but productive. In need of some me-time, I planned 5 nights in Aruba to relax and do nothing, then head to Cuba with Melissa for my birthday. Both of us wanted to visit Cuba and it seems everyone else wants to go as well since the USA was scheduled to open their Embassy in July after closing it in the early 1960’s following the communist revolution. The thought is that with the Americans recommencing diplomatic relations, Cuba will become Americanised with all the marketing and commercialisation that comes with that. So our breaks aligned for these few days and we jumped on the Cuban bandwagon.

But before that was Aruba. I stayed here for 1 night on my first trip to Suriname in October 2014. Back then, I judged the place fairly harsh for just a 24 hour jet-lagged layover. I found it very crowded with high rise resorts crammed along the best sections of beach and traffic jams in the heart of town. I decided to give Aruba a second chance, mainly because it is one flight from Suriname and very easy. The flight from Suriname was delayed and I arrived 3 hours late. Fortunately my airport pick up was waiting for me – a big black guy named Bully! Bully was standing with my name on a sign and another guy was waiting with him. This other guy saw my name on the sign and asked if I was Latvian. His Mum’s last name is same as mine, which originates in Latvia. Not many make that connection.

I took the recommendation of a colleague to stay at a small beach house complex that was perfect for what I needed. Self contained, private, away from the high rises but close enough to walk to the better parts of the beach. Aruba is very windy, however my open front room was well protected and I could sit on the deck all afternoon without being blown away. A couple of times I went downtown. Called a taxi and cost $20 usd. Getting back, I hailed a taxi and he volunteered a price of $12 usd. Two things either happened: call out fee, or agree to price before getting in which I normally do but get lazy with.

So Aruba was much better second time around. And I discovered things I would like to explore for a third time if that comes my way. In fact, I spent 8 hours here on way back from Cuba waiting for a connecting flight. Was nice to know where to go for that time and feel comfortable…almost not like a tourist for the first time in months and months!

I met Melissa at the Aruba airport and we took two flights on Copa Airlines via Panama City to Havana, Cuba. It was hard to plan in advance for this component of the break. There’s not much internet based tourism sites and the ones that exist are run by the Government and not 100% reliable. We booked 3 nights at one hotel to start, with intent to rent a car and head west along the coast. As it turned out, renting a car is something that must be planned a month or so in advance! So we ended up doing a couple of day trips – one to Vinales in the west to see some fascinating limestone formations called magotes. And another to the Havana beach in the east which was scenic but some sections with litter floating in the water and not many facilities.

So, we got to know Havana very well. Did a lot of walking of the historic centre, a long trek through the cemetery and then to Revolution Square. Hot days. The city does not have much greenery and is the definition of a concrete jungle with many old buildings crumbling like you would imagine the streets of some Syrian city. The day after my birthday was meant to be when we rented a car, but given the lack of car availability, we went in search of a new hotel and that was a mission and a half. Nothing was available. And you can’t just jump on booking.com because they do not support Cuban travel. Nor does tripadvisor. Bloody communist history ruining it for the modern day traveller.

Skype is blocked here, so rather than birthday chats I exchanged whatsapp audio messages over breakfast and then Melissa and I headed into town to tour the Revolution Museum and then wander the Malecon oceanfront drive. Back to the hotel for a swim, duty free vintage French (Reims) Champagne (thanks Melissa!), and get ready for our ‘Havana Nights’ tour. It was just a small group tour that included dinner (basic food), visit to the fort for 9pm cannon firing (I am fascinated by forts so this was cool to do), and a very flamboyant salsa singing/dance show at the Nacionale Hotel (2 hours was a bit much but interesting to watch). We then went in search of a nightclub and the taxi driver took us to a local place where I downed a double rum and coke, and that was enough for me. Back to the hotel for a night cap whisky (I’m not a rum fan) and reminisce about 33 great years of life. When my sisters turned 33, I told them it was the same age that Jesus was crucified. No one told me this when I turned 33. So I told it to myself as I passed out at 2am.

Cuban Observations

No billboards or street advertising
Not a shortage of taxis, constantly calling out at u if you want a cab. Seemingly new yellow cabs for tourists and the old 50s cars targeted at locals who share rides. Agree price before getting in as no meters.
Not that isolated like I expected. Western music and drinks and food everywhere.
No ATM’s. People lining up at banks to withdraw or change money. USD has a 12% commission whereas other currencies 5%. Need to convert to local tourist currency (CUC) which is 1 for 1 to USD but they take this commission. So it’s a forced money making thing for them. Bring Euros or Canadian dollars to exchange.
Customer Service is rude and abrupt.
An operator is required to connect your calls in hotels.
Hotels advertise as 5 star when they might get 3.5 or 4 in Australia or USA.
Internet is expensive, censored (including phone apps), and limited availability usually in hotel lobbies. One place was $7 usd an hour.
A Cuban Tourist Card is needed (like a visa) and can be purchased at airport counter before departing for USD $20.
Work emails (or any other Gmail accounts) don’t connect. But hotmail does.
Most people we met were taking 2+ weeks for Cuba. Factoring in time for things to go wrong, and the slow pace of getting things done.
USA credit/debit cards are not accepted.
No phone service on Telstra.

Websites and Tips to Make this Trip

Stayed at:

Aruba – Beachhouse Aruba for USD $185/night for fully contained ocean view; but garden view without kitchenette is USD $85/night. Plus tax. Only 8 units and secluded. beachhousearuba.com
Havana –
- Quinta Avenida Hotel for Euro 87.40/night twin room. Nice hotel with lovely pool, but far out from the main town for a tourist.
- Melia Cohiba for USD $208/night for deluxe room. I signed up for their rewards program when booking to get a 20% discount. Expensive but after searching the city for a hotel, this was well worth it. www.melia.com

CIL tanks going up quick.

Excavator Simulator challenge. I didn’t lose!

Bugs

put labels on the bins I say.

The beaches are too shallow though. I know, always gotta be something wrong for travellingross

Re-lax-ing

No idea what they were trying to do or fix.

When you wash your own clothes in the kitchen sink, hang them to dry and they block your view of the beach

Saratoga

A birthday photo in front a tank that Castro fired from. Box ticked hahaha

Cabinet room. This was the original Presidential Palace.

A capitalists worst nightmare

The fort where cannon is fired each night at 9pm

I really like my birthday gift

Birthday night with tour guide and Melissa

So much colour

Dry tobacco in b/g

All the wealthy mansions were given over as Embassies following the revolution

Replica of the Pieta in Vatican

From a co-worker. Nawwwww

First day in Aruba

4 July 20154 July 2015 / travellingross / Leave a comment

View from my hotel room

Walking along the beach

Miami and a Bahamas Cruise

12 June 201512 June 2015 / travellingross / Leave a comment

Friday 29 May to Friday 5 June 2015

travellingross rating = 8/10

The last work rotation was a hectic 16 days. A short one due to time owed from a longer rotation earlier this year. So there was not much time to ease back into it following my return from Amsterdam, which sucked cause it took me 5 days to get back into the time zone and hit fifth gear (it’s hard for me to admit that, as I used to claim there is no such thing as jet lag). Although that direct flight back was excellent with an economy comfort paid upgrade and landing at a decent afternoon hour versus the usual late night flight. There’s not much to report from a work front so I’ll include a couple photos and say it was training, budget planning, rain (350mm wettest month of the year), co hosting 5 Colorado school of mines visitors, stray dog ‘management’, and Suriname re elected their president. Interesting how developing countries care much more about elections than developed countries seem to.

I departed site a day after my sister’s birthday 28 May and had orchestrated a large group of us who all happened to be in Parbo at same time to have a night on the town. Something I would never do in Ghana so another sign I prefer this place. Great night and a rude awakening to get the 4 am shuttle to the airport for a 7:15am flight to Miami via Curacao. In the morning rush, I somehow lost my external hard drive that has my laptop and phone back-ups on it along with movies, music, and photos. Yeah so, my entire life ready for someone to hijack my identity. Weirdest thing is when I got to Miami the cable was in my suitcase, but not the actual device. I was sure it must be in the Suriname hotel but no. It’s a lesson to protect this like gold in future. Everything on there (except movies) is backed up on another external hard drive thanks to my OCD, so I don’t think I’ve lost much. Just hate losing stuff and this year is not trending well in that regard.

3 nights in Miami staying in a 5 star hotel was bliss. Time to sleep in, order room service each night, tick off some long due to-do list items. I usually file all my property and finance e-documents promptly but haven’t since November 2014. That’s just one example of how my organised life has got away from me since starting in Suriname.

On 1 June I set off on a 4 night Bahamas cruise. I’ve spent years thinking about whether I would like a cruise. Too old, too confining, crowded, hitting an iceberg. The usual hesitations. But with my placement in the Caribbean area I knew it was cruise moment of truth. After researching many farther afield options with different companies, I settled on a shorter Norwegian cruise in case I hated it. The reality was so different to expectations. Hard to spot a 65+ person with a diversity of ages, club techno music on the pool deck with a party atmosphere, big drinking culture, and lots of space. The balcony room was spacious enough with a bigger bathroom than expected but overall dated and tired. There were 3 stops but I didn’t get off at Nassau as it was rainy terrible weather. This suited me to have a chill catch up day. They push the paid shore excursions but no obligation and I did my own thing. Easy enough except Grand Bahamas was a long taxi trip from port and not well organised. The evening entertainment is well structured and sort of corny, repeated. There is a casino on board and that surprised me although it shouldn’t.

Docking back in Miami at 7am, you had to be off the boat by 930am. I’m very glad to have done a cruise finally and rid some of the doubts. I would do another one, on a different company to compare and ideally around a few more islands. I do feel an obligation to get off at each stop so maybe a cruise with a couple full days at sea would suit me more.

My desire for a ‘do nothing’ break was not getting any more realistic as the night before docking back in Miami I booked flights and tickets to see the U2 concert in Denver as well as my good friend who was about to have baby number 1!

Random Observations

I love that USA has everything I can get at home – groceries, snacks, restaurants. But that can be overwhelming to me who is less used to that choice and range nowadays. I walk into a store and almost step back at the number of aisles and check outs.
I went to an Italian cafe and ordered a Greek salad. Delicious.
Losing my external hard drive was eye opening to realise how much personal data I carried on that with such a care free attitude. Now it’s in the hands of someone who could choose to delete all the data by formatting it or go through all my files…and maybe steal my identity.
Miami is easy for me
I go through moments of wanting to party and be around a herd of people, to wanting to be alone in a hotel room without seeing another human being. Miami typically is associated with the former, but I craved the latter. Especially after getting the party out of me in Parbo.
Grand Bahamas – “this is where John Travolta’s son died” stated the taxi driver as the first opening line of her tourism remarks
Cruise ship air con seemingly set to 16C so it is freezing inside
The movement felt on the ship is more than I expected, like you’re drunk and swaying. This was only night one. Other days were never felt. Not sure why.
Food is good
Internet is $25 per day
Champagne selection sucks – Presecco.
Announcements get annoying and too frequent
Many restaurant options, half complimentary. The others with a cover charge of $15-30
Great Stirrup Cay was beautiful and exactly how I pictured the Bahamas. Walk further along the beach to find more secluded bays with some of the clearest water I’ve seen – where kayaks look like they are floating on air rather than gliding across the water surface.

CIL

Mill

Christening my new name engraved glass from Amsterdam

that’s where the cruise ships depart from

cause 1 shower head is not enough

Felt rough, but always better than this guy!

with Miami in background

South Beach

loooooong corridors

Games room

1 of the many bars

Took ages to not see Miami anymore. From the room balcony

Not sure how the poor feel about this

Parked up

The ship in b/g

Costa Rica: Road Trippin, Hiking Volcanoes, White Water Tubing

6 April 20156 April 2015 / travellingross / Leave a comment

Tuesday 17 March to Monday 23 March 2015

travellingross rating = 8/10

I didn’t need to be at the Panama City airport until 4:30 pm so I had most of the day to relax and final minute explore. Being St Patrick’s Day I went to the Irish Pub a couple of blocks from my hotel for lunch only to find it closed. Huh. I arrived at the airport to hunt down Madison, my friend who I met in Ghana during that Project and together again in Suriname. She is from Nevada and another reason for my tainted accent and un-Australian words. And also the reason for my now relaxed approach to travel, not booking everything, not over-planning as much. Pre-Madison I would never roll into a town without booking something, but that’s pretty much how this whole trip went.

Madison had flown in from Suriname and waiting in Panama City to connect with me for the 1.5 hr flight north to San Jose, Costa Rica. This capital city does not have good reviews, but I found it better than expectations and while busy, slightly dirty and chaotic, it had many shops and facilities that were enough for me. Nothing globally amazing from a touristic perspective though. We overnighted here and then got an afternoon tourist shuttle bus for $50 USD each 4 hours north to the tourist epicentre of La Fortuna.

La Fortuna was great. Right on the edge of the Arenal Volcano Park with many things to do. In hindsight we should’ve stayed here longer than the 2 nights we allocated. Our full day was a morning hike up a dormant volcano that has a green lagoon at the summit looking up to Arenal. A crazy steep and rough ‘path’ takes you to the top which would be very slippery in the wet. It was good to explore this though as Costa Rica is not as forested as I previously thought and this national park showcases some of their best. Which after being in Suriname is not as good. We had lunch at the waterfall nearby and then taxi’d to the Baldi Hot Springs which were awesome. Not a natural representation of hot springs, but swim up bars in 30C plus water with 28 pools and some that are insanely hot. Aside from the 150 kids on a school trip, it was bliss. We both dislike kids (especially teens laughing and taking up our barman’s time for soft drinks) so this was annoying. It was not until dark that we found the “sin ninos” pools (no kids!). The drinks were more expensive but worth it for the peace and higher quality hotter pools. We rode some slides too. One that you’re meant to only go down the slide, go around once and then drop out the bottom. For some reason I kept going round and round like 4 times before I forced myself to drop out. I badly bruised my tailbone in the process and a slight rip in my brand new board-shorts right on the bum. The food made up for this with an excellent buffet. I would go back in an instant.

After discussing transport options with our awesome hotel reception guy, we rented a car and hit the road to our only pre-arranged part of the trip. Meeting up with some Suriname work mates at Blue River. This drive took 4 hours to get 150 km. Terrible roads made from sharp rocks and plenty of potholes to dodge; tested my driving skill a bit. We got to the resort and I seriously thought our GPS had navigated us incorrectly. It didn’t look at all like the website. But it was the right place. We glanced at each other with the same ‘what have we got ourselves into’ look and checked in. The rooms were huge and comfortable, except for the lack of bar fridge for our champagne and the poor water pressure. The resort is not what I would call a resort. Run down and lacking in features so it was disappointing since it was the most expensive and hard to get to accommodation of our trip together. Very weak internet was only at reception which is a 300m walk so that sucks for people who have yet to book their next destination. Not much of this place made sense to me. There wasn’t even a view. The Blue River is impressive – volcanic minerals reacting together to create bright blue water. The only activity we did (aside from cover ourselves in mud, stand in the green hot springs) was tubing. Now, my understanding of tubing is gentle floating down a river with beer in hand sitting in an inflated tube. This was far from that. White water tubing that should be done in a raft. Knee and elbow pads, helmet, life vest, shoes. It was an hour that made me feel like I was in a washing machine. My body aint cut out for that and I ended up hitting rocks with my butt and constantly trying to navigate away from rocks.

We left early morning to head towards Liberia where everywhere in the city had lost internet. So without a plan we made a snap decision based on a conversation I had with 2 girls in Blue River to head to Playa del Coco on the coast. As we drove in, it was apparently a tourist haven but maybe the wrong time of year as the landscape looked like a fire had been through or so tinder dry that one spark would set off a wildfire. It was HOT. And the beach was black sand and not very appealing to swim. But a good spot to be.

Next day I dropped Madison at another beach town – more crappy roads to get there since I selected the ‘scenic route’ on Google maps. I then drove 4 hours back to San Jose on decent highways but without overtaking lanes which was frustrating. Saw many monkeys in the trees above the road. And some very scenic landscapes. Didn’t stop once and rolled into the hotel at nightfall with the fuel light flashing and ‘estimated km remaining of 0’. Perfect. Only took one wrong turn on a roundabout and stayed on my right side of the road the whole time. Checked in and laying on the bed checking my messages when the phone rang. Reception asking how everything was. And “Sir, I am sorry to tell you that your vehicle has a flat tyre”. WHAT. We drove on terrible roads and I get a flat in the middle of the city. And it’s the only part of the road-side assistance that the rental car company doesn’t cover. I can change a tyre, but it was the last thing I felt like doing after the long day. So I ate at Denny’s across the road and then got my hands dirty. My last tyre change experience in Perth was not so great, so this time I was impressed with myself and restored faith in my abilities. With that, I spent my last night in Costa Rica.

Websites and Tips to Make this Trip

Stayed at:

San Jose – Holiday Inn city for USD $92/night; then Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton at Airport for USD $150. Both good and great locations for what you need.
La Fortuna – Hotel Monte Real for USD $86/night. Highly recommend.
Blue River – Blue River Resort & Hot Springs for USD $128/night. Not worth it and too isolated. I’m sure there are better places to stay to visit Blue River. Or day trip in from Liberia.
Playa del Coco – M&M Hotel for $50/night. Cheap and simple with shared kitchen. Includes breakfast.

Rental car through www.adobecar.com

Baldi Hot Springs was USD $68 per person and discounted when booking from hotel. Included buffet dinner and you can run a bar tab and pay on credit card at end. www.baldihotsprings.cr

Don’t pay for tours of the green lagoon or waterfall. Just get a cab and do it yourself.

Road trippin

Arenal Volcano from La Fortuna main street

Not so attractive

If this is paradise, I want a refund

Madison makes me break all my rules

Recuperating in Tobago

23 February 20156 March 2015 / travellingross / Leave a comment

Wednesday 4 February to Tuesday 10 February 2015

travellingross rating = 6/10

It’s never a pleasant experience going to the airport hungover, let alone get up at 4 am to pack all my belongings, get in a taxi, head to the airport in snow, navigate the Denver airport and spend all day travelling. Fortunately, I had Matt with me as we were both on the same flights through to Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. Even more fortunately, I was going to a Caribbean island for 6 nights of 100% relaxation. The travel was ok, but I remember sitting on the tarmac during our Houston layover for more than an hour. And United Airlines (as with most USA airlines) have terrible or non-existent in-flight entertainment or food. Didn’t help that trying to watch Dumb & Dumber 2 on my laptop stopped at the 40 minute mark for no reason and then my laptop battery was going flat. Ah, 1^st world problems. Matt and I had enough time for a beer together in Port of Spain airport (yes we can both back it up) as he headed back to Suriname for his last rotation and I boarded a 25 minute flight across to the island of Tobago.

Lots of people have told me to avoid Trinidad, but that Tobago is really nice and worth a visit. Apparently the bigger island of Trinidad is wealthier but full of crime, dirt and people. Tobago only has a 60,000 population and a diversity of things to do. Surprisingly, I had to pay a $67 USD visa to enter T&T which does not apply to USA or Canada citizens. I received mild questioning as to why I did not have a visa before arrival but was able to fill a form and get a visa waiver at immigration.

I stayed at the Kariwak Holistic Haven Hotel. An exotic name for a relaxing retreat. Very close to the airport and tropical with bird feeders, two pools, a yoga hall, hammocks and a general vibe of simple relaxation. This was just what I wanted. I always like to stay by the beach on coastal places but this was perfect. I didn’t drink a drop of alcohol on Tobago. Nor did I swim in the ocean. Time to detox, sleep til midday, laze by the pool (ozone treated rather than chlorine or salt and it was awesome!), read, etc. I did two touristy things – walked to Pigeon Point beach (ok but too touristy for a beach), and a half day rainforest tour of one of the world’s oldest conservation reserves that was founded in 1776 and this was really good. A particular highlight was receiving a random phone call at 10pm from Perth Airport to ask where I wanted my suitcase delivered to!!! Totally out of the blue and unexpected. My bag was finally found. Sure, in Perth which is no good to me, but in safe hands with all contents! Unbelievable.

Overall, Tobago was not that great or memorable. I found Curacao to be better with nicer beaches, better people and cleaner. Tobago felt like Africa in places and too under-developed for my liking. The hotel was great and I’m sure the diving is good. But I think the Caribbean has better to offer than Tobago.

Websites and Tips to Make this Trip

Booked the hotel through www.kariwak.com for USD $205 per night for pool side room

Rainforest tour through Harris’ Jungle Tours USD $65 or 400 TT www.harris-jungle-tours.com

Denver airport – departing

Tobago, Crown Point

I didn’t even try to get the bird in this – so many around

Appropriate shirt

Too small, too public, bad sand

No idea what this bird is, but we spent ages trying to photo it. And it’s not even that pretty.

Bliss

Loved the reflections

I have a thing for moss in rainforests

Like an angel

Home of Curacao Liqueur

15 December 2014 / travellingross / Leave a comment

Friday 14 to Wednesday 19 November 2014

Curacao. Yet another country I didn’t know existed and a name I pronounced entirely incorrect (it’s cure-a-sow not koo-rac-o). But a country that has intriguing character, great people and many turquoise bays to explore. And to be fair to myself for another geography failure, it is a country that only became official in 2010 when the Dutch Antilles were separated under the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Getting to Curacao from Fort Lauderdale I became trapped in a terrible traffic jam of gridlock hell that amplified frustration when trying to get to the airport for a 10:50am flight. I roared into the rental car return, raced to check-in and then I became one of ‘those people’ trying to cram 4 bags into 2 to meet the TSA requirements of only 2 pieces of hand-luggage. All along I was worried they’d weigh my bags but instead it was all about the number of items. Rejected by the TSA security, I was against the wall between the water fountain and the toilet stuffing souvenirs, food and belongings into my back pack and then kneeling on my carry-on suitcase to zip it up. In the end I got to the gate only to be told my suitcase was now too fat and would have to be checked. Free of charge. $25 saving, a lot of sweat and a bit of stress. Next time I’ll know better. This could be the first and last attempt at carry-on only.

3 hrs later and I landed mid-afternoon in Willemstad, the capital of Curacao. In Fort Lauderdale the night before, and under the influence of some beers, I booked the Marriot beachfront hotel through an app on my phone. I have a policy of not staying in Marriot’s because they tend to be the ones targeted by terrorists. But the Hilton was booked and the Marriot had the beach hotel vibe I was chasing for 5 nights ahead of my return to work. Getting to my room and any concerns about expense or being blown up washed away literally with the waves outside my room. I love these kind of hotels and have always enjoyed these vacations whether it be in Zanzibar, Turks & Caicos, or Broome. The check-in process was the best I’ve experienced anywhere.

The sea water here is perfect temperature. It rained a fair bit though and was cloudy 70% of the time which meant it wasn’t really hot enough for me to feel like beach weather. People smoke on the beach which annoys me. I used the steam room everyday. I’ve added ‘steam room’ to my ‘Dream Home’ list.

Other highlights included renting a scooter for a couple of days and cruising around the island to the Sea Aquarium, along the coast to some truly beautiful bays and out to the factory where the Curacao liqueur is made. It’s a brief tour here, but interesting to learn how this orange flavoured blue drink originated and is now the component of many cocktails around the world. All because of importing Spanish oranges that suffered in the hot Caribbean climate to generate the famous liqueur that now comes in many colours but blue is the most recognised. Wandering around the two sides of Willemstad was enjoyable. The harbour inlet separates the two sides but is joined by a mobile pedestrian bridge that opens for ships, tug boats etc. Very relaxing to sit at one of the waterside restaurants with beer in hand watching the ships go by. Ahhhhhh island life.

Websites Used to Make this Trip

Booked the scooter through www.curacaoscooters.com

On a rare clear day