Farsighted Fly Girl

Barbados is an island noted for upscale dining and luxury hotels but there's another side to "Bim.". I ventured out of the busy capital of Bridgetown and took a hiking tour of the untamed East Coast of the island. I immediately noticed a difference between the hilly landscape of the East Coast and the South Coast, where most of the hotels are located. Nature grabs all the attention here. There are few hotels or even people to distract from the beauty. Everywhere I looked, spectacular views of the Atlantic commanded attention. The East Coast is where Barbados agriculture is centered and I spotted fields of bananas, passion fruit bushes and almond trees. The panoramas of lush green and sparkling blue ocean waves really made me think I was on another island. Barbados is famously flat so I wasn't expecting all the hills I had to hike under the unrelenting Caribbean sun. The tour is called Hike, Grill and Chill,  so I was really happy to relax in the shade...

A highlight of visiting the Yucatan Peninsula is swimming in a cenote (se note tay).  These natural wonders are underwater sinkholes found in caverns and caves, which are the hallmark of the areas' geography. The peninsula is composed of  porous limestone with no visible rivers. The rivers are all underground, formed where fresh water collects. There are supposedly 6000 cenotes all over the Yucatan peninsula. The Maya considered them cleansing and sacred. They also believed that they symbolized the entrance to the underworld . As you can see from the photo above, climbing down into the dark cavern with caution signs decorating the opening ,does give the feeling of  entering the netherworld. This cenote is called X-keken and it boasts a natural sky light that floods sunbeams into the darkness. The effect is stunning, like a glistening underground pond. When we visited, the cenote was filled with locals dipping into the cool water. Outside, the temperature was abou...

Kaua'i is a topographically diverse island filled with gorgeous canyons, lovely beaches and sweeping mountains. You have to experience all of these aspects to really get the complete picture of Kaua'i and one of the most adventurous options is to go mountain tubing. I love mountains and I love being in the water so mountain tubing sounded like a fun, if slightly scary excursion to try. I glimpsed the mountains looming over every place I visited on the island and I figured mountain tubing would be a much easier way to see them up close than hiking them. Kauai Backcountry features the only mountain tubing experience  on the gorgeous grounds of the former Lihue Plantation.  I not only gained upfront views of Kaua'i's  majestic mountains, I witnessed the expertise of the complex irrigation system of tunnels and flumes hand dug over a century ago. That's what I call an adventure. The tour starts with the tour guide outfitting passengers in headlamps, gloves...

I'm back and I'm overwhelmed. My experiences in Kauai has altered me on so many levels that I didn't know where to begin with my posts. It has  actually taken me a weeks just to mentally shift back from Kauai and more days to decide what would be my first account. In a week of cultural exploration and natural spectacles, there's a lot to choose. So I went with the most dramatic.  Waimea Canyon unfolds with such dazzling beauty that it literally snatches your breath away. It was a long, hour drive from the South Side of Kauai to the West Side, where the canyon stretches 14 miles long, one mile wide and 3,600 feet deep. I wasn't quite prepared when I faced these panoramas of crags and valley gorges, washed in shades of  emerald and russet. They don't call it the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" for nothing. I know these pix look like  re-touched post cards or professional shots but I took them with my little Cannon 495. There really isn't much c...

Visiting Puerto Rico is always exciting but this time we had an unexpected dose of excitement. The day we were scheduled to leave, Hurricane Earl arrived with gusting winds and a vicious downpour.  I've experienced many tornadoes but never a hurricane so I was a little dumbstruck. What exactly do you do during a hurricane? Of course, El Conquistador Resort staff is used to dealing with hurricanes so all the electricity was shut off and guests were advised to stay inside. As the palm trees bowed with the powerful winds and buckets of rain puddled everywhere we stepped,  we stood in a long line to check out. Dozens of panicked travelers were trying to book early flights to escape Earl but we already had our flight and we didn't worry. We flew safely back home and when we arrived, news shows flashed images of El Conquistador, which was located in the heart of the hurricane, as well as mudslides and flooding on the Eastern side of the island.  W...

Zip lines may look like the latest travel torture trend but it appears a lot scarier than it is. Imagine flying above the trees, sharing views with birds and monkeys.  You get so captured by the sights that you forget that you're thousands of feet in the air. I've zipped through plenty of rain forests and tree tops but St. Kitts Sky Safari was a slightly different experience. That's Kelly in the photo above. He helped my group cover our bodies in the pounds of required equipment. Unlike other zip lines, Sky Safari uses a carriage that you actually sit on, making it more comfortable and secure. The first contraption was a bodysuit/harness that would do any super hero proud. This was topped by a helmet and trolley carriage that we toted on our shoulders. Here, Jody models the sexiness of the entire getup. With Mt. Liamuiga looming ahead of us, we flew through the rain forest at 1,350 feet. The first zip line is dubbed The Boss and it towers 250 feet above the r...

Yesterday, I finally talked to the man who changed my mind about airline service. With all the nickle and diming, security hassles and overall disreguard for customers, airline flights have become something I want to get through as quickly as possible.  Forget smiling attendants and helpful ticket agents, I'm just happy  to make it through security and in a seat.  So when I flew into Fort Lauderdale for my connecting flight to Eleuthera, I was aiming to get  out of there as quickly as possible.  I had no idea that my experience would not be close to quick and that I might not make it out of Florida at all. You see, I didn't book my ticket. The PR agency that organized my press trip did.  It seems that they only left 20 minutes to connect to my flight. Apparently, that's an illegal procedure because you're required to allow at least an hour.  Especially in Fort Lauderdale. If you've never been to Fort Lauderdale Airport, let me explain. It is an ...

One of the things that excited me most about Cozumel was the chance to explore the Mayan goddess Ixchel's shrine at San Gervasio. The 2,000 year old structure covers 125 acres in the Cozumel rain forest. Mimi, our authoritative guide above, showed our group the intricacies of ancient Mayan culture. San Gervasio is the biggest archaeological site in Cozumel and is located in the center of the island. Ixchel is the Mayan goddess of the moon and fertility and women made the pilgrimage to the shrine from as far away as what is now Belize and Guatemala to ensure that they birthed the average 18 kids expected of a Mayan woman. The structures were created from a mixture of stucco, honey, gum and crushed shells. Temples typically boasted a sauna and a steam bath with hot rocks so that followers could purify themselves by sweating, praying and meditating. The steps to the shrines are very small, forcing worshipers to walk sideways so as not to look the priest in the face, which is a sign of...

All terrain vehicles supply another cool way to see St. Lucia. Rolling along the Honeymoon Beach area of Vieux Fort, on the island’s southern tip, the picturesque countryside and small fishing villages serve as a vivid backdrop. St. Lucia's landscape is extremely hilly and rocky so navigating an ATV can be a little jarring initially. I'd never rode an ATV and was slightly intimidated by the various gears. After bumping over rocks, potholes and hills along the rugged Atlantic coastline for about 30 minutes, you learn how to swerve around all of the obstructions. The heat from the ATV's engine can also burn your shins. Mine started tingling after about 15 minutes. Guides provide makeshift shin guards that do the trick with pieces of foam and an elastic band to hold them in place. Lead by the baby-faced and charming Bash, we glide past small houses perched on hilltops, bamboo and cinnamon trees and cows and goats freely roaming. The ATVs roll through coconut and banana plan...

A tropical island isn't the typical backdrop for a heavily equipped game of paintball but St. Lucia provides an unexpected Caribbean activity with an 11,000 square foot paintball field. Nestled among coconut palms and izora blossoms on the Coconut Bay Resort in Vieux Fort, a retro industrial-inspired war zone beckons. I'm not a huge fun of paintball or any activity that requires three layers of protection, especially in camouflage. But I can't pass up any travel adventure that promises a one of a kind experience. Guides strap a chest guard around your torso and then pull on a heavy tan camouflage jumpsuit. After an overview of rules and safety, players are equipped with mask, helmet and a 3-4 pound paintball marker, ready for battle. The poof sound of paintballs whizzing fills the air. If you're playing against seasoned paintballers, you're likely to be covered in crayon yellow paint splotches very quickly. A white canopy shelters eliminated players and onlookers. R...

Zip Lining is one of those travel activities that intimidates a lot of people. I guess pairing sky-scraping heights with jungles and a single rope to hang from does sound scary. But it doesn't have to be. I sailed through the St.Lucian rain forest with not a flicker of fear. I glanced at the tops of palm trees and touched oversize ferns. A light sprinkle of rain started to fall and the experience was even more magical, even though it was hard to see after awhile. It was exhilarating because I'm tall and I could see the floor of the forest just a few feet beneath my legs. It's not so upsetting when you can imagine jumping from the rope and safely to the ground. St. Lucia is a small island and accordingly, it's zip line tour is relatively small. On the other hand, I have known the gripping fear that comes from facing a true zip line. By true, I mean a zip line strung atop tree canopies of at least 20 feet. A few years ago in Costa Rica, I forced myself to do the zip l...

I love adventure. I don't love creepy situations. Generally speaking, it pays to be open to new experiences except when you're freaked out. I learned the hard way that when your inner voice is telling you to beware, it's best to listen and forget about that great travel experience that you're passing up. On my last night in Brazil I stayed in a 400-year-old convent. Yes, it has been converted into a hotel but there's very little evidence of this. A huge crucifix carved from what looks like petrified wood looms in the lobby. Christ hangs from it with suffering and pain carefully etched into his face. The hallways and rooms are painted a stark, institution ,white. All of the floors creek. The key chain I was handed for my room looked like it was at least 100 years old. It was heavy brass and displayed the Carmelite symbol. No decorations mar the minimalistic and dark atmosphere except an oil painting of the last supper in the lobby. Compared to the rest of the place,...