The advantage of visiting Dominica in the off season is avoiding all the cruise ship traffic. The disadvantage is risking the rainy season – both a high risk of “storms,” it’s just a matter of which type of storm annoys you the most, crowds or clouds. Give me the rain any day! Continue reading
Whenever I ask any of the locals to recommend the best sights to see in the area, they are always quick to come up with a “best” list – best beach, best waterfall, best hike….but it is always amended with, “…..but don’t go there alone!” When I ask them what’s the worst that could happen, I don’t get many specifics beyond, “it’s just not a good idea.” After about the third such warning, I decided to acquiesce, stimulate the local economy and hire a guide. Continue reading
View from San Juan to Dominica
I had two noteworthy experiences during my connection through the San Juan Airport – the first was the wacky TSA woman who said to me after I had passed through their big “Beam me up, Scotty” scanner, “I need to massage your hair piece.” I asked her three times to repeat what she had said before she finally explained in broken English that she needed me to remove the clip from my hair while she ran her latex-covered fingers through my hair — I kid you not! Continue reading
The second half of my shopping spree from my ebay proceeds was a new Sea Eagle 330 inflatable kayak. I have wanted a kayak for some time now, but with no garage, along with having to climb stairs to get from my storage to the car, I feared a typical hard shell kayak would end up like my bicycle – the effort to stow it outweighs the pleasure of the ride. So at only 26 pounds, I decided to give the inflatable a try, at least until I figured out if I liked kayaking as much as I thought I might. Continue reading
Since my recent goals have all been focused on downsizing, I rarely spend money on myself anymore. My rule of thumb is, if it won’t fit in a motor home or a boat, I don’t buy it. However, I recently came across two splurge items that fit that criteria… Continue reading
The morning before my late afternoon flight back to Bogota, I took the local bus for the 15 minute ride to nearby Taganga, what was once a remote fishing village now turned “gringo haven” for backpackers and SCUBA diving enthusiasts. I had considered staying here instead of Santa Marta, but had to make the choice between the national park and diving, as I was simply running out of time. Continue reading
I awoke very early to run errands and get all my stuff together for what I hoped would be an overnight visit to Parque Tayrona. According to the Lonely Planet, there was food available in the park, but I figured I had better take some provisions, just in case. Being Sunday morning, there wasn´t much to choose from except salchichas (vienna sausages) and mixed nuts and raisins from the minimart. Continue reading
Another nice bus ride with a window seat from Cartagena to Santa Marta through Barranquilla, where I met three nice backpacking girls in the bus station, fresh out of college from San Diego, all fluent in Spanish. I traded them the cost of a cab ride from the bus station to the Centro in exchange for their translating skills. At a buck per person, they thought the taxi was too expensive and were planning to take the bus. Given my challenge of navigational Spanish, I definitely got the best end of the deal. Continue reading
The most popular day trip out of Cartagena is an hour away by boat to the island of Playa Blanca…emphasis on “most popular!” It was a mob scene with what had to be 300 people crowded at the dock waiting for their number to be called, herded through the loading pen and wedged into the small boats so tightly there was no chance of hitting a wave and bouncing out. Continue reading
The Colombian Quarter — not to be confused with the French Quarter…well, it could, actually. If Colombia is a dangerous country, someone needs to tell all the tourists! The streets are packed! Cartagena is very much like New Orleans, only instead of the muddy Mississippi river, Continue reading