Years ago, on the northwest coast of Tortola, a man named Bomba had a vision. A vision of locals and tourists, gathered together under the light of the full moon, dancing and drinking, celebrating life, and getting trippy on mushroom tea. (Hey, I said the guy had visions, didn’t I?) Years later, his parties are still going strong.
Ziploc Bags- A Traveler’s Best Friend
Somewhere in your home, you have Ziploc bags. They’re probably under the kitchen sink, next to the trash bags and in front of the green and yellow kitchen sponges. Ziploc bags are handy, but it wasn’t until my recent trip that I realized that they had uses outside of the kitchen.
Dining In Reykjavik
Who would have guessed that Reykjavik would be a culinary delight? I mean, seriously; they have minimal farmland, they have to use greenhouses to grow vegetables, and they live in fear of volcanoes and earthquakes every day. But I guess all that hardship and fear has given them a lust for life that can be found in some of their food. But not in the hot dogs. I’ll get to that in a bit. Just for reference, the conversion rate when I was there was about 1,000 kroners = $8. Unsurprisingly, a lot of drinks cost 1,000 kroners. I guess they don’t like making change for drunk tourists who can’t figure out the local Monopoly money.
Iceland
I just returned from a 5 day trip to Iceland, and it was probably one of the best trips that I’ve been on. Let me first say that Iceland is not someplace that was on my bucket list. Far from it. I prefer warm climates, preferably beaches or pools with swim-up bars. Iceland is a frozen tundra of sub-freezing temperatures and fast winds that come whipping off the North Atlantic. The cold weather limits the number of trees on the island; the only native tree is some type of birch that grows to about knee-high. They’ve manually planted some pines, but they’re nowhere near the coast, so the wind comes in off of the water and smacks you in the face at full speed. Why anyone lives on this ridiculous spine-numbing island is beyond me. I know the Vikings that decided to settle in Iceland were tough, but apparently they were stupid, too. All that being said, I’m glad that someone settled here and built an airport and a nice hotel for people like me, because this was one heck of a fun trip.
Montego Bay
Ahh, Jamaica, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 1- You’re sunny and warm. 2- You have a swim up bar. Well, that’s good enough for me. My bags are packed. The Iberostar Rose Hall Beach resort, just outside of Montego Bay, is a wallet-friendly option for anyone who’s looking for a quick getaway during the winter. A beach view room was about $200/night for just me (I think it was about $250/night for double occupancy). That’s not a bad price, considering it’s all-inclusive. Throw in flights from DC and a shared shuttle to the property ($10 each way), and I had a 4 day/ 3 night getaway for under $1,100. Not dirt cheap, but it’s not too bad when the winter hits hard and you need to dig yourself out from under the snow. Of course, we’re having an unseasonably warm winter in DC this year, so when I left it was around 50 degrees. But who cares? I was in Jamaica, mon.
Comfort and Long Flights
It used to be that flying was a special occasion. People got dressed up, the food was good, and it was something to be enjoyed. As the price point dropped, the riffraff started to travel, and airlines started to lower the quality of the travel to lower cost and improve their profits. Now you see people dressed like slobs, acting like the plane is their living room, with no regard for the people around them. There are even websites dedicated to these people. Any schmuck with a credit card can fly. While we can’t control what everyone does around us, there are things that we can do to try to make our own flights a little less painful. Here are a couple of tricks that I’ve been using for years on longer flights to help make them easier and more comfortable.
Costa Rican Beer
If someone offers you a good Costa Rican beer, they’re not your friend. They’re lying to you. There’s no such thing as a good Costa Rican beer. Before I get into this, I would like to remind you that I’m not a beer snob. I’ll drink pretty much anything you put in front of me, although I’m not a fan of the trend towards excess hops. Aside from that, I like beer. But not Costa Rican beer.
Surfing in Costa Rica
I was about halfway into my first 90 minute surfing lesson when the hangover hit. There I was, floating on the waves, under the warm Costa Rican sun, bobbing lazily in what most people would consider a tropical heaven, and my head was pounding like a 2 year old with a new drum set. I was paying less attention to the timing of the waves and more attention to wondering whether I could throw up in the water without anyone noticing. It also occurred to me that smart surfers didn’t surf drunk and good surfers wouldn’t surf hungover. Since I was neither smart nor good, I was both drunk and hungover. Pretty impressive, since I’d only been in country for less than 4 hours. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Witch’s Rock Surf Camp and Tamarindo
My buddy Al and I landed at the Liberia airport in Costa Rica on Wednesday shortly after lunch. Getting through customs and immigration was lightning fast. I don’t get out of domestic flights as quickly as I got through the Liberia airport, which was a really nice change of pace from the usual hassles of international travel. We found our shuttle bus driver, and he told us that we were waiting for one more person, so we should hang out with 2 other people who were riding with us and that he’d be with us in about 30-45 minutes. Al and I took advantage of the window of opportunity to
Be aware
As the holiday season approaches, more of us will be taking trips to see family and friends. Most of those trips will be domestic, visiting the cities and towns that we grew up in. But no matter where your travels take you, from Akron to Zanzibar, you should always be aware of your surroundings. Always pay attention to who’s touching your bags and when. Don’t let them out of your sight, and make sure they’re secured. It’s easy to get complacent when you travel often or when you’re tired from a long day of travel. Taking things out of your bag may take a few seconds, and that’s what we are usually on alert for. But it’s quite easy to put something in.