One of the main things we were looking forward to in Belize was getting out to explore the barrier reef. On our second full day, we went scuba diving and got our first taste of the reef.
The first dive, at Bottom Time, was not quite what I expected. I thought the reef would be one of the best I’d ever seen and that there would be tropical fish everywhere. However, this wasn’t the case. Sure there were a lot of corals, but not the vibrant colors I’m used to and the fish were quite scarce.
What was cool were the nurse sharks. These guys would swim so close to us and didn’t care at all that we were there. We also saw spotted eagle rays, lots of lionfish, a huge pufferfish, a giant lobster, shrimp, barracuda, a moray eel, and more.
While descending on the second dive, I felt like someone was jabbing an ice pick into my eye brow once I was down at 15′. I tried coming up and going back down only to have the same sensation so I aborted the dive. I’ve never had to do that before, and still don’t fully know why it happened, but it sounds like I got a sinus squeeze which commonly happens to divers. Chuck was able to do the dive and said it was similar to the first, so at least I didn’t miss out on much.
On our 3rd day, I was still in a lot of pain from the sinus squeeze, but decided to snorkel anyway. I’m so glad I did as this was my favorite ocean time of the entire trip. We went to Mexico Rocks which was right off of our resort. We saw so many stingrays and they were so close!
We also got to see some conchs up close.
We also saw a barracuda that followed us (I didn’t like him one bit), a green moray eel, lobsters, lots of lionfish, flounders, Sergeant majors, ocean triggerfish, trunkfish, a horseshoe conch, anemone, and 2 fish that were kissing in addition to stingrays, spotted eagle rays and another nurse shark.
BarracudaTrunkfish
On Day 4, we snorkeled at Hol Chan Marine Reserve and at Shark Ray Alley. Both sites are famous and considered ‘must do’.
At Hol Chan we saw similar fish and corals to our Mexico Rocks snorkel. We also saw a spiny starfish and a worm like a Christmas Tree worm.
Moray EelSpotted eagle ray
On the way to Shark Ray alley, we stopped at a fishing boat that was feeding the fish. Here we saw a ton of fish, rays, and even a sea turtle looking for a hand out.
At Shark Ray alley, we quickly got in the water as our boat captain chummed the water. It was complete mayhem as nurse sharks and fish swarmed in hoping to get a bite to eat. We were only a few feet away from the action which was amazing to watch.
On Day 6, we went back to Mexico Rocks as I wanted more time in the water. This snorkel ended up being similar to the other two except we saw a group of squid. I chased these guys down and spent a long time watching them. I found it so cool how they lined up in a straight line formation and followed each other around.
SquidSquid in a row
Our dive guide found a trunkfish with a remora harassing it, so he pulled the trunkfish out of the water to discourage the remora and sent them both on their way. The remora kept looking for a new home and followed us around for the rest of the snorkel. At the end of the snorkel, I saw the fish stuck to Chuck’s chest! I couldn’t stop laughing. Unfortunately I didn’t get a good picture.
The remora that was harassing the trunkfishTrunkfish being freed of his harasser
We even saw jellyfish. Luckily they don’t sting, but I wasn’t a fan of being that close to them regardless.
Jellyfish
Overall I’m quite happy with our ocean time in Belize aside from the sinus squeeze. The water was a fantastic temperature and it was so nice to explore a coral reef again. I was especially happy with how many rays we saw – I love spotted eagle rays – and how close we got to nurse sharks. I loved seeing the squid too and I’ve never seen lobsters that large before.
Our trip this year took us to Ambergris Caye, which is an island off the coast of Belize and right next to the Belize Barrier Reef. We were looking forward to some sun, ocean, and swimming with tropical fish and this place definitely delivered.
We had a nice 6am flight to Belize via Atlanta. Once in Belize, we flew in a tiny, 12 person plane about 15 minutes out to the island. We flew so low you could see the reef and the other islands.
From there, we had to take a boat taxi about 20 minutes to our place. But once we arrived, all the traveling was worth it! We were greeted with rum cocktails and an inviting resort with amazing views, turquoise blue water, and soft, powdery sand.
The view from our balcony
Unfortunately, paradise was ruined by tiny no-see-ums that harassed us anytime we were outside. They even attacked our faces while in the pool. We were forced to eat inside on our first day and for breakfast the next morning because we were being eaten alive.
Luckily, in a strange way, we started getting extremely strong winds for the rest of our stay which kept the bugs at bay. We would gladly take the wind over the bugs, so it ended up being a good thing and salvaged our stay. The forecast called for rain for our entire visit, but we only got the occasional storm coming through which never lasted for long.
On Day 2, we took the kayaks out exploring hoping to snorkel or see some fish. Sadly, we weren’t allowed to take them out very far and could only explore the sea grass areas and some mangroves.
On Day 3, we finally got into the ocean when we went scuba diving. And on days 4-6 we went out snorkeling each day. We spent the rest of the time lounging around and trying most of the resort’s cocktails.
Happiness is a rum drink in a heated pool (the gorgeous view doesn’t hurt either)
On Day 6, we headed into the main town to explore. We found the town very underwhelming and returned to the resort after about 30 minutes.
On Day 7, it was time to pack up and take the 3 flights home.
All in all, I’m glad we went to Belize, but I don’t need feel the need to return especially since the bugs are so out of control. It was really nice to get some sun, ocean, and tropical fish.
Many years ago, Chuck shared a video of his friend bungee jumping off the Victoria Falls Bridge. It honestly looked terrifying. In subsequent years I kept hearing about bungee jumping off the bridge. The bridge sounded like one of THE best places in the world to bungee jump and I figured if I was ever going to do that, it’d be there.
Then I discovered that at the Bridge you can bungee or do the Swing which is like bungee jumping except you don’t end up upside down and you swing like a pendulum at the bottom instead of bouncing back up. Yes, please!
Before our trip, all of us were interested in doing the Swing jump. However, the kids were too young to jump off the bridge, but they could do the Gorge Swing at a gorge near the falls.
A little bit after their jump, it was time for me to do it. I kind of didn’t want to. We were at the end of our trip and I’d done so many cool, incredible things and was happy with how the whole trip had gone. Why tempt fate? Why add one more thing at the end?
Well, because I’m me and I knew I’d regret not doing it for the rest of my life. If I was ever going to do it, it was here and it was now. So I paid my money, and tried not to panic.
Victoria Falls Bridge
The jump area was empty and we didn’t see anyone jumping our entire time in Victoria Falls. And the guys running the place were so laid back and were chatting away while they got me suited up. I was not feeling confident.
Trying to look confident and excited
Then it was go time. I got to the edge, counted down from 3, and stood there. I just couldn’t make myself jump. I looked over the edge and my mind was a jumble of “WTF am I doing?” and “OK, I can do this”. The guys running it started giving me a hard time, but I told them to just give me a minute. I took a deep breath, counted down from 3, and… jumped.
I fell completely weightless for a few seconds. I can’t even explain how that feels. It’s surreal and your mind is trying to figure out what is happening and everything slows down making it seem longer than it really is. It’s actually a pretty disconcerting feeling, but a neat sensation to experience as well.
After falling for a few seconds, I felt the tug of the rope and I started to swing out into the gorge. My first thought as I started to swing? “I didn’t die!” At this point, I relaxed and enjoyed the swinging. After swinging the first arc, I looked up and waved to Chuck and the kids on the Bridge. I may have yelled out a loud “Woot” as well.
See the tiny speck that is me down there?
I swung back and forth a few times, swinging under the bridge then back into the gorge. That part was really cool and gave me a chance to look around and really experience where I was and what I was doing.
Then it was time to hoist me back up. Beckett hated this part of his jump, but I didn’t mind it at all…
…until I got to the catwalk under the bridge. The guy there hoisted my legs over the railing, but had me dangling backwards and tilted precariously towards the gorge. And then he unhooked one of my cables. I grabbed onto the rope and to him for dear life as I thought I was going to fall backwards back into the gorge. This moment was pure terror and no amount of convincing could make me let go. Eventually, I trusted him that he had me and I let go at which point they got me up and over the railing and onto safe ground. Phew!
From there, I had to clip in and out of the catwalk as I walked under the bridge to the side. It probably should’ve been scary, but it wasn’t at all. Eventually I got to the edge of the bridge where Chuck and the kids were waiting for me, and after a hug from Beckett, I declared :
It honestly took me a while to sort the whole experience out and come off the adrenaline high. I was so glad I did it, but amazed and freaked out that I did it at the same time.
I did it!Proof!
Later that night as I tried to fall asleep, I kept experiencing the free fall sensation and it would jolt me awake. Not fun.
Now that I’ve had time to reflect on it, I still think it was one of the scariest and stupidest things I’ve ever done. That said, I’m so glad I did it and experienced it, but I’m not sure I ever need to do it again. It was definitely a cool, adventurous experience though, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone adventurous.
After our amazing first day in Kruger, we still had 4 more full days in the park plus the morning of leaving the park. And what an incredible few days those turned out to be as well.
The morning of day 2, I woke at the crack of dawn and went down to the restaurant deck to see if I could catch any early morning predators. I didn’t see much except a mama and baby hippo and some kudu grazing near the restaurant.
Mama and baby hippo and a 3rd hippo in the waterKudu
After breakfast, we checked out of Lower Sabie camp and headed to Satara camp. The two camps are 93km apart and the trip was expected to take 3:45. It took us about 5+ hours, but that included a stop at Tshokwane picnic spot for an unusual lunch. Along the way we saw more giraffe, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, impala, warthog, and elephants.
ElephantBuffaloZebra and buffaloZebra crossing the roadElephant spraying himself with mud
We also saw a few new animals such as ostriches (that were fighting), vervet monkeys at the picnic spot, and baboons running along the road.
Ostriches fighting
Our trip also took a little longer because we had an elephant in the road that wouldn’t move. An oncoming car tried to go around him, but the elephant promptly put a stop to that and made them back up, so we had to wait for him to move on.
Elephant in the road. Nope, not going to try to go past him!
We also made a pit stop at Nkumbe hill lookout for a great view of Kruger. The landscape was very different here from what we’d seen in Lower Sabie.
View from Nkumbe Hill lookout
Once at Satara camp, we laid low the rest of the day. We still got to see impala, kudu, a tree squirrel, and baboons at camp. There was also a snake at camp, but we’re not going to talk about that.
Baboons playing at campOur hut at Satara and our rental car
Day 3 was supposed to be a low-key day without anything scheduled except a guided night drive and doing some laundry. We woke at the crack of dawn anyway to try to see some predators (they hunt in the early mornings and late in the day). We were out for about an hour before we stumbled upon some Southern Ground Hornbills. We only knew what they were because we’d seen signs about them being endangered and to report them for tracking if you see them, which we did. It was really cool to see something endangered and “rare”.
Endangered Southern Ground Hornbill
We also had some good viewing of the usual animals including a giraffe walking across the road. In fact, I could do an entire blog post of all the animals we had to stop to let cross the road.
Giraffe in the road
We were giving up and heading back to camp for breakfast when we spotted a lion walking in the road. He eventually stopped and looked at us for a while before lying down. He was amazing to watch! We saw him licking himself, but my favorite part was watching him turn towards the breeze, close his eyes, and enjoy the breeze. With our binoculars we got close up views of him too. Eventually he got up and walked into the bush and within about 15′ he was gone from view. What an incredible experience.
Lion enjoying the breezeLion licking his paws
That afternoon Chuck and I went out right before sunset, but we didn’t see anything new. And then that night we went out on a guided night drive from 8-10pm. It’s pitch black out so they give a few people searchlights that they use to canvas the dark. We found a male and female lion hanging out, then we found a male lion sleeping the road. Our game vehicle pulled up right next to him – no joke, our wheels were maybe 6′ from him. He could’ve easily stood up and tried to eat us, but luckily he was happier to sleep.
Lion sleeping in the roadThis shows how close we really are to him. I think that’s Beckett’s head in the way.
We also saw jackals, a genet cat, and an owl as well as some of the usual animals.
Day 4 it was time to leave Satara and make the 4 hour drive to Skukuza camp. We made a brief pit stop at Tshockwane picnic spot for a potty break then motored to Skukuza. The vegetation got so thick near Skukuza that you couldn’t see a thing unless it was right next to the road or there was a mob of cars pulled over pointing out something interesting. We still saw ostrich, 2 more lions, elephants, zebra, wildebeest, impala, warthog, baboon, kudu, and hippos out of the water. And we saw a honey badger!
OstrichKudu crossing the road2 lions on the river bankMom and baby elephantWarthog
Once at camp, we ate lunch then checked into our cottage by the river.
Our cottage in Skukuza
Then Chuck and I went out on a sunset drive hunting for leopard or cheetah. Instead we saw a hyena that trotted beside our car. He was much cooler than I expected.
HyenaHyena
Day 5 was our last full day in Kruger. I woke really early and was treated to a mass migration of birds along the river. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen and lasted a good 20 minutes. There had to be hundreds of thousands of birds that flew by!
Mara was kind of over all the driving at this point, but Beckett convinced me to sign up for a sunset drive with him as he was hoping to see a bushbaby.
Chuck and I were still hunting for leopard and/or cheetah so we went out in the morning, but didn’t see any. We did find a troop of baboons covering a bridge though. They were all over and cars were forced to slalom around them if they wanted to cross. When we tried to cross, we had one baboon jump on the back of our car! He sat there looking into our trunk and at us. Eventually we drove away and he fell off although he tried really hard to hold onto our rear wiper. Crazy!
Baboon on our car windowBaboons all over the bridge
That evening Beckett and I headed out on the most amazing guided sunset drive. You can read more about it here.
Chuck and Mara stayed back at camp and had an African braai. A braai is basically a BBQ and the camps have BBQ grills set up outside the huts and throughout camp. They grilled impala, steak, corn, potatoes, and garlic bread and had a fantastic time!
Mara, grill masterImpala, steak, garlic bread, corn, and potatoes
After our sunset drive, Beckett and I grabbed dinner and on the way back to our cottage, Chuck spotted the biggest porcupine I’ve ever seen. He started following it trying to get a picture and I was trying to light it with my flashlight. That is until the porcupine started running at me, so I promptly turned and ran away. I wish we’d gotten a good picture because he was huge and so cool looking.
Day 6 came and it was time to check out and leave the park. We drove about 2 hours to one of the gates and got one last look at all our favorite animals along the way: giraffe, elephants, antelope, a rhino mom and her baby, and more. We even saw a female lion eating a buffalo kill.
Baby rhino – so cute!VulturesLots of vultures in a tree near a lion killMore hornbills?
We also got a family picture before leaving the park.
Last morning in Kruger
I was only a tiny bit sad to be leaving the park only because the experience was over. Even though I’d been dreaming of an African safari for as long as I can remember, our time in Kruger exceeded my expectations. I’m still blown away by all the animals and birds we saw. And I feel much richer and so incredibly lucky for having experienced this amazing adventure. All of us do. What a highlight of my life!
Here are a few more pictures and video:
My favorite birdWaterbuckShows Mara’s perspective of animals crossing the roadAnother colorful rainbow birdCool treeTermite moundGuinea Fowl – Mara called them African chickens because they were everywhereCrocodile
Day 2 (Lower Sabie to Satara):
Driving Route: We took the H10 north from Lower Sabie camp to Tshokwane picnic spot (approx. 40km and took about 2.5 hours) Animals: Giraffe, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, impala, warthog, elephant, ostrich, baboon, and monkeys at Tshokwane
Driving Route: After Tshokwane picnic spot, we took the H1-3 to Satara (approx. 44km and took about 2 hours) Animals: Elephant, giraffe
Animals at Satara camp: Baboon, kudu, impala, tree squirrel, vervet monkey
Driving Route for sunset drive (4:30pm): S100 Animals: Zebra, giraffe
Day 4 (Satara to Skukuza):
Driving Route: We took the H1-3 from Satara to Tshokwane. Then we took the H1-2 from Tshokwane to Skukuza. The whole trip is around 93km and took about 4:45 Animals: Ostrich, honey badger, elephant, zebra, wildebeest, impala, warthog, baboon, hippos out of the water, 2 lions, kudu
Driving Route for sunset drive (4:30pm): H4-1 Animals: Hyena, buffalo
Day 5 (Skukuza):
Driving Route: We took the H4-1 to the H12 bridge and back Animals: Baboons on H12 bridge, monkey, kudu, impala and warthogs near camp. Porcupine and a small antelope at camp.
Day 6 (Skukuza to Malelane Gate):
Driving Route: We took the H3 from Skukuza to Malelane gate. It took about 2:15. Animals: Rhino mom and baby, lion with buffalo kill, elephants, giraffe, zebra, impala, kudu, vultures
I’ve dreamed of going on an African safari since I was a kid. Back then it seemed unrealistic and reserved for the ultra-rich. As I got into my 20s, I started seeing affordable deals and knew it could happen someday. So when I first created my bucket list in my late 20s, the African safari was #1 on the travel list. However, it still took me another 20+ years to get there. But I finally got there! And I got to take my kids and husband along which was the icing on the cake.
We arrived at the Crocodile River outside the park around 10am and immediately saw hippos and crocodiles in the river! Upon crossing the bridge, we saw our first giraffe as he casually ate then walked right in front of our car!
Hippos in the Crocodile RiverGiraffe about to cross the road
We weren’t even in the park yet and had already seen 3 different types of animals!
After entering the park, we headed to the Hippo Pools to see more hippos. Along the way we saw a rhino in the distance, more giraffe, a dwarf mongoose, and of course hippos at the pools.
Hippos at the Hippo Pools
We then headed to the Lower Sabie camp. It’s only 34km to camp, but given that you want to go very slowly so as not to miss anything, it took us about 2 1/2 hours to get there. It also took a long time because we kept stopping over and over to see the animals.
We quickly came upon 3 White Rhinos grazing right next to the road! I can’t even describe how excited we were. We sat there for a long time watching them and taking pictures and video. I still feel so incredibly lucky we got such a great rhino sighting!!
3 RhinosClose up of a white rhino
As we drove on we saw warthogs, more giraffes, zebra, wildebeest, and so many impala.
Warthogs. There was a baby warthog, but I didn’t get a picture of him.Wildebeest crossing the roadZebraZebras, impala, and a cool birdI love his stripesHerd of impala with warthogs and a zebra mixed inZebra and impala
After that, we came to some water and saw a huge crocodile basking in the sun. We also saw some neat bird – I think he’s the Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill.
CrocodileSouthern Yellow-billed Hornbill (I think)
Next, we came upon a herd of elephants beside the road. One of them was pulling bark off a tree and eating it. One of the moms had a baby with her and after a while, she looked at us, flared her ears, and made it clear we were no longer welcome, so we quickly drove away.
Elephant pulling bark off a tree and eating it
Next up was more giraffe and hippos out of the water!
Giraffe in foreground with hippos in the backgroundHippos out of the waterPretty heron?!?
As if that wasn’t enough, as we got near camp, there was a mass of cars pulled off looking at a lion! Our first lion sighting in the first few hours!
See the lion right above the tree stump?
We finally pulled into camp around 1:30pm quite hungry. The restaurant was on a fantastic deck with an incredible view. As we ate, we saw at least 10 giraffes across the river and some buffalo relaxing at the water’s edge.
The restaurant at Lower Sabie Camp. Not the best picture, but the only one I have of the deck and surrounds.View from the restaurantBlack bellied starling?!? These guys were all over the restaurant trying to swoop in for a snack.
After getting settled into our cottage at camp, Chuck and I went to Sunset Dam around 4:30pm for sunset. There are usually big cat sightings at the dam, but we only saw more hippos, crocodiles, and a bunch of birds. It was still neat to see though.
Hippo in the water, crocodiles on the edge of the water, and a storkHippo with it’s mouth openBeautiful, rainbow bird. I have no idea what it is, so I referred to them as “fun birds” the whole trip.
At dinner, we were treated to a beautiful sky. We also had a barn owl in the rafters hooting away. And there were impala and kudu grazing in the grasses beside the restaurant. Unreal.
I’m still in awe of our first day in Kruger. It was a complete highlight of my life, and even the kids and Chuck were blown away by all they saw. Definitely a dream come true for me!
Driving Route:
We entered Kruger via the R571 from Komatipoort to the Crocodile Bridge Gate.
After the gate, we took the left fork to the S25, then a left onto S27 to the Hippo Pools.
We then retraced back to the gate and took the right fork onto H4-2 to Lower Sabie camp.
The H4-2 trip is 34km and was scheduled to take 1:20, but it took us about 2 hours.
Animal Sightings:
Before the Crocodile Bridge Gate: Hippopotamus, Crocodile, Giraffe
To/From the Hippo Pools: Giraffe, Rhinoceros, Dwarf Mongoose, Hippopotamus
Along H4-2 from Crocodile Bridge Gate to Lower Sabie camp: Rhinoceros, Warthog, Impala, Wildebeest, Zebra, Giraffe, Hippopotamus, Elephant, Lion, Crocodile
At Lower Sabie camp: Buffalo, Hippopotamus, Kudu, Impala, Giraffe, Barn Owl, and lots of birds
At Sunset Dam: Hippopotamus, Crocodile, Storks, and lots of other birds
I remember watching a nature show years ago and seeing Great Whites leaping out of the air at a place called Seal Island near Cape Town, South Africa. It instantly got put on my bucket list, although it was one of the few experiences on my list that made me really nervous.
It turns out, the great whites only leap out of the air at this one spot and only for a few months out of the year. As luck would have it, that time frame coincided with when we’d be there!
I asked the kids if they wanted to go along, and they were both huge yeses. In fact, I was the only nervous one out of the 4 of us.
So on our 2nd day in Cape Town, we got up at 4:30am and drove an hour south of Cape Town to Simon’s Town. Around 7am we headed out in the freezing cold with our fingers crossed we’d see some sharks. It was so cold out that the 3 of us bought hats at a different dive shop to try to keep warm, yet we still needed their cover ups and blankets to not be miserable.
After 30 minutes, we arrived at Seal Island and started the look out for the sharks.
Seal Island in the distance
The sharks are hunting baby seals that are going out feed with the adults for the first time. So first you find a group of seals returning to Seal Island then watch them to see if they get attacked. I LOVED seeing the seals swimming in – and seeing the babies – and quickly found myself rooting for the seals to have a safe passage even though I really wanted to see a shark.
After about 30 minutes, the dive company, African Shark Eco Charters, towed a decoy behind the boat for about 30 minutes hoping a shark would go for the decoy. Unfortunately we didn’t see any sharks and the other boats didn’t seem to be having any better luck. In fact, it was really quiet out there and nobody seemed to be seeing anything.
We tried towing the decoy some more, then took a spin around Seal Island before anchoring up and chumming the water. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. …And nothing.
Luckily the ocean was pretty calm and flat, but Mara still got sick and threw up a few times. Beckett and I did OK though. Once it warmed up, he was enjoying himself.
We stayed out there an extra hour hoping to get lucky, but finally gave up around 11:30am, took one last spin around Seal Island, and went back to shore.
Our dive company offers a voucher to go back out for free if you don’t see any sharks, so we were hopeful we could go out the next day. But then we found out they were completely booked for the next day which was our last day in Cape Town. It was looking like we got shut out of seeing the sharks and spent a ton of $$ on a boat ride. 🙁
We checked in with the dive company a couple more times in the hope that someone canceled, but they were still full.
Driving back from Simon’s Town
Once we got back to our AirBnb, we called again and this time found out they had 2 spots available. Mara didn’t want to go out again, but Beckett did so we had to figure out who got to go. We decided that Chuck and I would go and the kids would stay home and sleep in which Beckett said he as fine with.
So at 4:30 the next morning, Chuck and I headed back down to Simon’s Town hoping to get lucky.
As soon as we got out to Seal Island, there was a shark attack nearby. I missed the initial strike, but was able to see the shark strike a couple more times.
Then there was another attack!
Shark attack!
Once things died down, they towed the decoy to see if we’d get any bites. And we did!
Shark attack!
They then dropped anchor, chummed the water, and set out the dive cage. Four people jumped at going first so they got all suited up in thick wetsuits – the water is COLD – and waited. Once the crew saw a shark, they hopped into the cage and got an underwater view of a shark swimming by. I think they saw 2-3 sharks before their time was up.
The shark cageCan you see the shark?!?Shark!
Chuck and I were in the next group and hopped into the cage. Despite the 7mm wetsuit, hood, and boots, the bitterly cold water still makes its way in. And our hands were exposed which didn’t help.
Waiting for our turnIn the shark cageFrom in the cageIn the cage
I personally hated being in the cage. I didn’t have a good place to anchor my feet without them sticking out, I was trying to hold on to the top of the cage so my head didn’t slam into it as the water bobbed us around and slammed us into the boat, and I was shaking because I was so cold. I kept thinking about getting out, but knew I’d regret it if I missed seeing a shark.
Eventually the crew yelled that shark was approaching and told us to go underwater and look near the buoy. We had scuba hoses so we could breathe underwater – that’s why I picked this particular company – so we could watch without having to come up for breaths.
I saw a huge shark lazily swim maybe 10′ in front of us before he turned and headed out in the distance. I couldn’t believe it! The water is so murky, yet I still got a good look at him.
We hung out for a while longer in the cage, but didn’t get anymore sightings. Once out of the cage, I realized that I was the only one in our group of 4 to see the shark! I have no idea how they missed him, but felt even more fortunate that I saw him!
Sadly that was the last shark sighting of the day and after waiting around a bit longer, we headed back to shore.
I’m so grateful that Chuck and I got to go back out a 2nd time and that we got to see some sharks. I was sad the kids never got to see one, but seeing as Beckett was throwing up when we got back to our rental, it ended up working out for the best.
View of Reykjavik from the top of the Hallgrímskirkja Church
I traveled to Reykjavik after 2 great days in Copenhagen on the free stopover deal on WOW Air. I arrived at my hotel, the CenterHotel Plaza, around 4pm quite hungry as I missed lunch again while traveling. After dropping my things, I walked about 5 minutes to the harbor to the Saegreifinn (Sea Baron) restaurant for their world famous lobster soup. I had just watched a Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern where they showed how it was made, so I had been looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I only give it a “meh”. It was good, but not great. I was still glad to try it though and enjoyed the experience as well.
Lobster soup at Saegreifinn
After relaxing at the hotel, I went out for a proper dinner of fish and chips. I tried Ling which made for a pretty good fish and chips.
Then it was time to head out on my Northern Lights tour! I returned after midnight and had to immediately get to sleep as I had early morning the next day going on my Golden Circle tour.
I returned from the tour around 5:30pm and quickly headed out for a meal of Plokkfiskur which is a fish, potato, and cheese gratin.
Plokkfiskur with rye bread
Then it was time to explore downtown Reykjavik so I walked one of the main streets up to Hallgrímskirkja Church then walked back on Laugavegur, the main shopping street.
Skólavörðustígur streetHallgrímskirkja Church
That night I didn’t have any plans so I went to a bar across the street from my hotel, Micro Bar, and had a local, Icelandic beer – very good – before getting some sleep.
The next morning I finally got to sleep in and have a casual breakfast at the hotel as my next excursion didn’t leave till noon. Unfortunately there was a bit of a snafu with getting picked up for my Blue Lagoon excursion. I stupidly waited inside (but looking out) as I had done for my 2 other tours because it was freezing rain outside. But these guys didn’t stop at my hotel and stopped down the street at a bus stop. When I checked in with the front desk, they told me about waiting at the bus stop and I was told to take the taxi to the bus terminal for the main bus to the Blue Lagoon. Luckily there was a taxi out front who raced me there in time, but then my credit cards wouldn’t work for some strange reason. He actually let me go without paying as I didn’t have any cash either, so I was able to make my bus in time. I almost cried when he told me to go – what a nice person! Phew!
The bus trip takes about 50 minutes to the Blue Lagoon and it’s great to see the topography along the way.
The Blue Lagoon is awesome! It’s definitely an experience. You have to shower naked before getting dressed and going down, but they do have private showers and they give you a towel so it wasn’t a big deal. They also have an indoor pool that goes outside so you don’t have to walk outside in the freezing cold to get in.
The water is so warm, it’s like crawling into a fantastically huge bath.
First stop was making my way to the face mask bar and slathering myself with the silica mud. It was awesome seeing everyone walking around with their faces covered in white goop! Of course I was the only person without their phone taking selfies, so I don’t have any pictures to share. Once you’ve let the mask set, you rinse off, then do the algae mask, which is a green/gray goop this time!
While that was working on my wrinkles, I swam all around the place then up to the swim up bar. My ticket included a drink so I opted for a glass of Prosecco which I enjoyed while sitting on a bench in the lagoon.
At this point, it was freezing rain on us and the wind was brutal on our faces so it was starting to get a bit unpleasant. I also was feeling really off that day since I’d been sick the entire trip, so I decided to leave the lagoon after only 45 minutes or so. Once dry and warm, I was able to get a snack before taking the bus back to my hotel.
Then it was time for an insanely late lunch of grilled scallops back at the Saegreifinn, before wandering around the downtown some more. Later I went out for a steak sandwich to The Laundromat Cafe, which is exactly as it sounds, a laundromat with an attached cafe. Even though I didn’t do laundry, the food was delicious so it was worth going.
The next morning it was raining out, but there was still one thing left I wanted to do – go up to the top of the Hallgrímskirkja Church. Even though it was about 10:30am and the sun had just risen, it was still so dark and gray because of the rain. It was still really cool to see Reykjavik in all directions!
Hallgrímskirkja Church
The inside of the church is really cool too with this amazing pipe organ. An organist came in and was playing the organ so I sat and listened to him for a while before heading back.
Inside of Hallgrímskirkja Church
Then it was time to pack up and head to the airport for my flight back to the US. I was sad to leave Iceland, but also looking forward to returning home as I’d missed Chuck and the kids so much.
All in all, I really enjoyed my time in Iceland. When I arrived, the land near the airport reminded me of the Big Island except covered in snow. Parts of it looked as expected and parts of it didn’t. It was also pretty chilly, but not nearly as bad as I worried, I guess because I was dressed for it. It was also wonderful to get out in nature and see pristine land, breathe the clean air, and drink the pure water. I definitely loved my time there and was glad I finally made it to this Bucket List destination.
Iceland from the airSome land on my flight back to the USGreenland?
Photo courtesy of Thor Ostensen of Discover Iceland
I’ve wanted to see the Northern Lights for as long as I can remember. Every year I’d see the cheap deals to Iceland and want to book a trip to see them, but never did. This year, however, I finally took the plunge and bought one of the crazy deals from WOW Air to see Copenhagen and hopefully see the Aurora Borealis in Iceland.
I booked the Disco Northern Lights minibus tour with Discover Iceland for my first night in Reykjavik. If you don’t see the lights the first night, they’ll let you go out another night for free so this left me with 2 more chances to see them if the first night didn’t work.
As soon as we left the lights of Reykjavik, our guide, Thor, pointed out the start of the Aurora Borealis out the windows of the minibus. He opted to take us near the mountains only 20-30 minutes out of town as we could already see them.
On the way, Thor told us exactly how to set our DSLR cameras, so we were prepared to take pictures as soon as we arrived.
Once I got out of the minibus, the lights were on full display. I couldn’t believe my luck!
The interesting thing is that they don’t look exactly like they do in the pictures. They’re more white wispiness with occasional colors. They’re still spectacular and I felt so lucky to finally see them with my own eyes.
Photo courtesy of Thor Ostensen of Discover IcelandPhoto courtesy of Thor Ostensen of Discover IcelandPhoto courtesy of Thor Ostensen of Discover Iceland
Thor helped me set up a tripod and I started snapping picture after picture. In the meantime, he took a bunch of pictures which he later shared with us. He also took pictures of each of us in front of the lights by having us stand frozen for about 10 seconds then briefly flashing a light on us. What an amazing keepsake!
Unfortunately, none of my pictures turned out well at all – I think my focus wasn’t set right but it also appears my tripod kept moving so they ended up blurry.
Here are my best shots 🙁
The stars were also incredible that night and Jupiter was so bright it was like a tiny moon in the sky.
Photo courtesy of Thor Ostensen of Discover IcelandAt least some of my star pictures turned out ok
After about an hour, Thor broke out the hot cocoa and cookies to help warm us as we stood in the 14°F cold. My hands and feet started to get quite cold, but I didn’t care as I took in the beauty of nature around me.
We stayed in the same spot for about 1:30 before finally calling it quits and heading back to Reykjavik. We could see the lights on the trip back and they started to get even more incredible, so Thor pulled off for a brief view. As soon as I got out of the bus, the lights were a brilliant green and were lighting up a huge section of the sky. They were even more magical than what we saw earlier and I think I stood there with my mouth open uttering “wow” as I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I swear those images are forever sealed in my memory.
I got back to my hotel a bit after midnight still pinching myself.
I highly recommend Discover Iceland especially after talking to other travelers that went on the big bus trips. They didn’t have nearly the same experience, didn’t get help with their cameras, didn’t get their picture taken, and didn’t get the guide’s pictures emailed to them later. Also, while we were out there alone, they were somewhere else with 100s of others. They definitely made the experience even greater.
I’ve wanted to see massive sand dunes and go dune buggy riding for a while, so I was really excited when I found out Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area was close to where we were staying on the Oregon coast. We debated whether we should rent some and drive ourselves or go on a tour and leave the driving to an expert. We opted for the second option because we knew they’d really give us the dune buggy adventure we were looking for.
There were a total of 6 of us plus a driver in our sandrail (buggy). The kids sat up front with the driver, Chuck and I were in the middle seats and another couple was in back. We started off slowly driving through some forest and then we got to the dunes. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was nothing but sand dunes stretching out in front of us! It was incredible!
The driver then took off and we went flying over the dunes. He knew exactly how to come over the ridge and barrel down the other side before flying up another dune. And he would go onto the side of the dune and bank the buggy so you felt like you might flip before he’d barrel down again. It was a complete thrill! The only downside is that the sand flying into your face and mouth HURTS when you’re going that fast! Luckily I was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and closed myself up so I looked like the sand people in Star Wars but Chuck and the kids had to stick it out.
Our 1/2 hour was up way too fast and we were all a bit sad as we headed out of the dunes. I have to say this experience exceeded my expectations. I’m so glad we went with the expert driver as he gave us such a thrilling ride!
Video of the tour:
Logistics: We booked with Sandland Adventures and did the 1/2 hour Sandrail tour. Definitely wear long pants, sneakers and a hooded sweatshirt to protect yourself from the sand!
Before we came to the Galapagos, we each picked which experiences we most wanted and also which animals we most wanted to see. Near the top of my list was penguins! Yes, they have penguins in the Galapagos! They can only be found on 2 islands but only 1, Isabela, is (semi-)easily accessible to those doing a land based tour. We knew adding a 3rd island to our trip was going to keep us really busy, but I didn’t want to miss the chance to swim with wild penguins, so we figured out an itinerary that included Isabela and figured out that snorkeling at Los Túneles, aka The Tunnels, was the best place to go.
Los Túneles is about a 45 min boat trip from Puerto Villamil, which is the main town on Isabela. It’s a rocky trip out but we were lucky that it wasn’t too bad on the day we went. We were also REALLY lucky that we had some great animal sightings on the trip out. We saw a massive manta ray somersault out of the water twice, a baby hammerhead shark, and mating turtles.
We first stopped at an area outside of the Tunnels where we snorkeled for 2 hours. There weren’t that many fish or even coral, however, there were a lot of other cool things: Huge sea turtles munching away, lots of reef sharks hanging out in a cave, a marbled ray, a massive lobster (thing had to be 5lbs!), a big parrotfish, and a really cool eel that looked more like a sea snake than an eel. However, the highlight of this snorkel, for me at least, was seeing a seahorse!
I also found one of the more interesting things I’ve ever found in the ocean – a $5 bill. If you don’t know, I tend to find money all over the place and have found random money in many of the countries we’ve visited even if we’re just there for a few hours. Usually it’s pennies or some other small coin, but this time, it was a $5 floating in the water. I asked our group who lost money out of their pocket and no one had so they clapped for me and my good fortune.
The money fishSeahorseSea turtleSea turtleHuge lobsterMarbled rayEel that looked a lot more like a snake9 Whitetip reef sharks in a caveThe Chuck fish
After our snorkel, we headed over to The Tunnels to see the penguins. We weren’t sure if we’d be able to get in as other boats were having trouble, but our captain surfed us in no problem.
I was so excited to see the penguins and we quickly got into the water to get a closer view. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any penguins swimming in the water as they were content to hang out on the rocks.
There were also blue-footed boobies hanging out on the other rocks, so we were able to swim near them for a closer view.
A pelican then flew in and landed on one of the rocks. So cool!
After snorkeling here, we headed over to the actual Tunnels which were so pretty. We ate a quick lunch then headed up on the rocks for a look around.
Then it was finally time to head back to Puerto Villamil. However on the way we were treated to some jumping manta rays.
We then came upon a rock that had Nazca boobies alongside Blue-footed boobies.
Then it was back to the dock and our hotel.
Logistics: We booked our trip with Scuba Galapagos which is located in The Wooden House hotel. I was able to arrange the trip via email before we left the US. The trip was $90USD pp which included lunch. The good: They were really good at spotting wildlife. The bad: the boat didn’t have a bathroom or any shade which would be nice on a 6 hour trip, lunch was a warm ham sandwich, and we had a 1Km walk home from the dock after the trip. Lastly, the guides spoke both Spanish and English, however, most of the people on the boat spoke Spanish so they didn’t bother to translate as much into English for us English speakers. This made us feel a little clueless on some things and ignored other times. Overall, they wouldn’t be my first choice, but they were a fine choice and we had a magical day so I really can’t complain.
Despite our travels in 2013 and 2014, we hadn’t had an adults-only vacation for about 2 years. Luckily Chuck’s mom Carla came to the rescue, and flew down to babysit the kids while we went to Sonoma and Napa for 4 nights.
Our first night was spent with Chuck’s friend Bonny in Santa Rosa. In the morning we had a great breakfast then got a tour of Bonny’s property including her 2.5 acres of grapes. Then it was off for some wine tasting!
We dropped our car off at Coppola then drove to Stonestreet Winery which is owned by Jackson Family Wineries. Bonny has been here multiple times and knows one of the executives so we got VIP (free!) tastings. We sat outside looking at a gorgeous view as we were treated to both the white and red wines. I’m not usually a big white wine drinker but the one Chardonnay was the best Chardonnay I’ve ever had (I think it was the 2012 Cougar Ridge Chardonnay).
Then it was on to tasting the reds. These were some of the best red wines I’ve ever had. I think it was the 2012 Cougar Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon that was amazing. Smooth, balanced, with many subtle flavors all blending together in perfect harmony. They also brought out a few of the high end “back room” wines. Once again, the red wine, 2010 Christopher’s Cabernet Sauvignon, was beyond words and Chuck and I “fought” over each sip.
The two of us with Bonny at Stonestreet. Wonderful place to relax and enjoy wine!
After our time at Stonestreet, we made a quick stop for lunch and then drove back to Coppola. The best thing about being here was the grounds and all the movie memorabilia. We even got to see his Oscars which was pretty cool. Once again Bonny hooked us up with a free tasting although I didn’t really enjoy any of the wines.
View from CoppolaOscars!
Bonny had to leave us at this point but suggested DaVero which is a small farm and winery. Not only did they have pretty good wine, but they had delicious jam and olive oil. They also had the cutest little piglets we got to see.
We were pretty full of wine at this point (well I was, Chuck was driving), so we headed to Healdsburg for dinner. After a fine dinner at Healdsburg Bar & Grill, we headed to our hotel, the Hampton Inn Windsor, checked in and went to bed pretty early.
On Friday, it was off to Napa! First we drove to Calistoga and had some BBQ before another free tasting (thanks again Bonny!) at Freemark Abbey. The wines were pretty good but since we’d been spoiled at Stonestreet, they didn’t seem like anything to write home about.
Then we drove to Yountville to pick up pastries and bread at Bouchon Bakery. The macarons were a close second to the ones at Ladurée in Paris. So good!
Next up was Cakebread. I had the highest hopes for this winery and paid extra for the special red wine tasting. The wines sounded so good so I figured this was the place to blow the budget. Turns out we were the only ones that signed up for this particular time so we had our own private tasting! Score!
The bad part was that we didn’t like the wines that much. They were good but young (so the guy told us but now I know what a young wine tastes like). They were pleasant but lacked depth and character. They’d probably be delicious aged for a few years but I wasn’t going to buy any at their prices and risk it.
Last on the agenda was a tasting at Domaine Carneros. I picked this place because of the photos – it looked incredible. They also mostly serve sparkling wines, and even though I’m not much a fan of sparkling wine, I thought it would be nice to try something different and mix things up. Actually I should say that I didn’t used to be a fan of sparkling wine until my visit here. They completely changed my mind.
Panorama of the view at Domaine Carneros
Our tasting consisted of 4 sparkling wines – 2 bruts, 1 rose and 1 demi-sec – although we were treated to an extra one. They were delicious. Interesting, balanced, well rounded and with bubbles. Our favorite was the Blanc de Noir which is made from Pinot Noir grapes. This stuff was so good that we enjoyed another glass AND bought our first bottle of wine to take home. The grounds are beautiful and it was such a wonderful place to sit and enjoy a glass of bubbly while watching the world go by.
4 glasses of happy at Domaine Carneros
After our bubbly, it was off to dinner at Ristorante Allegria in downtown Napa. Chuck and I had eaten here once before on our first trip to Napa and it was an amazing meal – one of those meals of a lifetime. We had no delusions that it would be as remarkable the 2nd time but still knew we’d have a very good meal. Boy were we both wrong. We both ordered the same thing as last time, Wild Mushroom Ravioli for me and Gnocchi al Pesto for Chuck, and they were every bit as good as our first trip. I think I spent the entire meal with my eyes closed savoring every single bite and making mmmmm noises. It was that good.
On Saturday, it was Sonoma day. We first headed to Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve to see some redwoods. There was a redwood tree there that was 310′ tall and another was 1400 years old! Incredible. It was such a treat to visit this park and surround ourselves in old redwood trees. Quite amazing.
Colonel Armstrong – 308′ tall and 1400 years oldSee the tiny speck that is Chuck?
Next we headed to downtown Sonoma to check it out. Mara had just been studying the missions of California and her assigned mission was Mission San Francisco Solano which happened to be in Sonoma, CA. So Chuck and I stopped by to take a tour and some pictures to share with Mara.
Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma, CA
Then it was time for some more wine! First stop was Imagery which we enjoyed. They had a White Burgundy that I’m still thinking about and now I wish I’d bought a bottle. I did enjoy a nice glass of it while basking in the sun. They also had a couple of other wines I’ve never had before which is always fun.
We had time to squeeze in one more winery, so we hightailed it to Benziger. I really enjoyed their wines as well, especially their Pinot Noir and their Gewürztraminer. In fact, I enjoyed them so much that I had a glass of Pinot Noir while at the vineyard and brought a bottle of the 2013 Gewürztraminer home.
Benziger
Chuck found us a great, little Indian restaurant so we loaded up on Indian food for dinner and headed back to our hotel.
The next morning, it was time to head to airport and head home. After 4 nights away it was definitely good to be back home and with our kids again. But I’m already dreaming of my return to wine country some day.
Subtle enough? We’d heard of the sapphire-blue waters, cute white villages, and breathtaking cliffs along the crescent of the caldera, and it all lived up to the promise (and then some!) Easily one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been.
On our first day, we just laid low and poked around Fira a bit. Though Fira is the hub of the island, it’s still really small and only takes a few minutes to walk around.
We were blown away with both the views and all the cute houses, walkways, and almost everything else. It really does ooze charm and romance!
First impression: holy crap, this is gorgeous!!The volcano rising from the sea in the middle of the caldera
Sunset our first day was really killer!
Fira is gorgeous with the afternoon sun!
On our second day, we hiked a couple miles to the nearby villages of Firostefani and Imerovigli. Beautiful views of buildings and ocean. We loved it so much we decided to add 2 extra days to our trip.
Most of the walk was along a path like this.Looking back towards Firostefani in the foreground and Fira down belowCool little stone houses like this are all around.
Mara wanted to pose and I’m not sure if Beckett is mocking or playing along.More ocean awesomenessLooking up at Imerovigli
After some rest back at the room, we took the bus out to Oia at the Northern tip, which is famous for it’s sunsets. There were a few clouds on the horizon, so it wasn’t as spectactular as the day before (though still very nice!), but the village is really cute and worth a visit just to look around.
Cool view of the moon after sunset
On our last day, we rented ATVs and went around the Southern part of the island. They were in kind of rough shape and it felt like we were taking our lives into our hands at times, but we all had fun and saw some cool stuff!
Loving their trip around the island
A view of Fira, Firostefani, and Imerovigli from the South.
I had been wishing for a break from Greek food, and while we were driving along, we found a Mexican place (amusing name – Senor Zorba). After a little more exploring, we doubled back and ate there for lunch. Good food and a great view!
Red sand beach
Cool house we saw while exploring EmporioDonkeys really are used by the locals, not just for tourism and rides up the cliffs.
Some of these paths are pretty narrow!
Yep, narrow!
Finally, that’s not a sunset, it’s a moonrise over a nearby island, just a few hours before we left.
A final note – if you go to Santorini, I heavily recommend Costa Marina Villas. The rooms are really cool, a short walk from the Fira town square and Marina provided us with such a friendly, helpful experience. She helped us with several recommendations, printed out travel documents for us, and even arranged a little room for us after we’d checked out where we could rest while waiting for the ferry. If you contact her through their website, you can get a better deal than from the booking engines.
Mara: Ever since I was 3 or 4, I wanted to the visit the Eiffel Tower. My mom promised she would take me there. I finally went at age 9. The first time I saw it, it was the best thing ever.
(Mom here: As Mara said, we started talking about the Eiffel Tower when Mara was 3 or 4. I don’t remember why exactly – if there was a book we read with the Eiffel Tower in it or what – but I do remember the conversation and telling her about Paris and the Tower. And I promised I would take her there some day. In fact, I even added it to my bucket list. Over the past 5-6 years, Paris got brought up more times than I can count. We’d always talk about going to Paris and I kept promising her that “some day” I would take her. So once we decided to spend 2 months in Spain, it became a no-brainer to fly up to Paris. By that point, Beckett was almost as excited to go as well.
Getting to Paris was only half of it. The REAL excitement was finally seeing the Eiffel Tower and seeing it up close. This was the moment we talked about over many years and Mara’s reaction to seeing it was priceless (see below).
Even though Mara is scared of heights, she was brave and went up it at 9:30pm at night. She was only scared for a little bit but quickly got comfortable and had no problems going to the tippy top.
THIS was the highlight of her, and our, trip to Paris. And it was worth the wait!)
Our first up-close view of the Eiffel Tower
Here are some pictures of us in front of the Eiffel Tower:
Mara: When we went up it, I was scared. But then I got used to it. It took an hour to get to the tippy top. But it was worth it. The views were amazing. It got so late.
This is pretty indicative of the night at that point – it was about 11pm and Mara was wiped and Beck was wired from being overtired
While we enjoy some sightseeing while we travel, we enjoy activities and adventures even more. So once we booked our tickets to Morocco, I started looking for fun things to do while there. I came across some highly-recommended ATV tours, and since riding ATVs was on Kirsten’s bucket list, we decided to go for it.
The company picked us up near our hotel and drove us about 40 minutes out to their center in the desert. We started off by driving a bit over an hour, winding through palm groves and the occasional little village.
Taking a break about halfway through our tour
Apparently being a shepherd is still an actual occupation. We passed several shepherds tending their flock and moving them around for grazing.
On our way back, we took a break at a little Berber settlement where we had tea and pastries.
I got to / had to pour the tea for our table. You start the pour low, then lift the pot higher as you get the aim settled correctly.
Beckett and Mara also got a chance to drive the ATVs with our guide helping them.
This was Beckett’s favorite part.
A boy passed by with his donkey, and our guide got him to let Beckett take a little ride.
Hey, camels! Gotta take a picture with the camels, right?
We got back to the base and saw the camel tour finishing up. Looks fun, but uncomfortable.
Overall, we had a blast on the tour. Just riding the ATVs was fun, but it was also really cool to see the countryside and how people live out there. It’s a view we’d have never gotten in the Medina.
We used a company called Dunes & Desert and the cost was 55 Euros per driver, 15 E for each kid. The total tour lasted 2 1/2 hours or so.
For a few years now, Kirsten had a bucket list item of attending a big-time European soccer match. So once we made plans to come to Spain, we started working out how to knock this off.
Barcelona was already on our list to visit while in Spain, and FC Barcelona is one of the top teams in the world and regarded by many as one of the great teams of all time, so we decided to schedule our trip there to coincide with a game.
Camp Nou is the stadium for FCB and it’s big, holding about 99,000, the vast majority of which are season tickets. Lucky for us, they were playing a terrible team the week we were going, so were able to find 4 seats together after some searching. 4 seats together in the 3rd of 4 levels ran us 43 Euros each.
First impression as we walked in – WOW. What an incredibly beautiful pitch (field)!! Seems weird to fawn over some grass, but it was immaculate and spectacular!
Beckett and I are wearing the FCB jerseys we bought in Chiang Mai before leaving. They’ve got to be authentic, right?!
There were about 75,000 in attendance for the game, making it about 75% full. People sang team cheers and songs at times, but it was fairly quiet most of the time.
It was also much different than a US sporting event in that it was all about the game. No music during dead balls, no halftime entertainment, no contests, no smoke and pyros during the player introductions. The food was very basic – just a few sandwiches, hot dogs, and popcorn, but no “culinary experience”. What a concept, eh?
The game itself was great – Barca scored in the 2nd minute and went on to win 6-0. Messi had a couple goals and Neymar had a rocket for the 6th goal. While it wasn’t the intense and rowdy experience one often associates with European soccer, it was still a fantastic experience and definitely gave us a better appreciation of the game.
Surprisingly, this was about as crazy or rowdy as it got, with flag waving and cheering.Pregame handshakesFree kickGoalkeeper is in trouble here but the pass across didn’t connectThe goalkeeper came way out and Messi chipped the shot over his head and into the netGOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!Layin’ out for a save6-0 is about as good as it gets!Lots of fun merchandise outside the gates.
We originally wanted to zipline in Hawaii, but put that off once we knew we were heading to Thailand.
Flight of the Gibbon is about a 45 minute drive up into the mountains East of Chiang Mai. The scenery was great, but the last 15-20 min are twisty-turny and our driver was a bit aggressive. Luckily none of us got sick, but if we’d had another 5 minutes, it could’ve been ugly.
After you’re geared up, they drive you about 5 minutes to the start of the course where you get a safety briefing.
Beckett is all geared up!Kir ready to go!
You start out with a couple of small ziplines then hike about 15 minutes uphill to get to the longest line on the course, over a half mile. From there, you mostly zig zag across a valley, with some shorter lines, bridges, and stairs mixed in.
It’s waaaay up high, but Beckett didn’t mind.
They have a couple tandem zips, which is where these next two pictures were taken.
I love this next picture. Beckett was fearless and had the time of his life, just kicking and making all sorts of joyous noise!
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
I made it!
The rest of us had a really good time too!
Kir is FLYING!!!!!Grandma Jane flies across
There were a few “Indiana Jones” bridges we crossed. They sway and rock quite a bit. We were tethered, but it’s still kinda freaky.
Kirsten going across a bridgeLooking down through one of the “Indiana Jones” bridges we crossed.
At the end, you’re still way up high, so you abseil twice down about 75 feet. In English, that means they just hitch you to a rope and lower you straight down.
Down the hatch!Kirsten abseiling down from the final platform.
And yes, there were Gibbons. They live up by the start of zipline #3, so you get to check them out while resting from the hike up the mountain.
Sadly after 3 hours and 33 different stations with dozens of ziplines, it was over. But what an experience!
Who’s got two thumbs and loves ziplining? THIS GUY!We survived.
I was a little skeptical about doing ziplining, especially given the cost. However, it was quite the thrilling experience. It’s a really neat way to experience the jungle and you get enough adrenaline from the heights and obstacles that it’s not just a lame nature tour.
To do this, just book with Flight of the Gibbon directly and they pick you up in town. There’s very little room for cars up there, so driving yourself is discouraged. Cost was 3,300 Baht (about $11o US) with no discount for Beckett.
We initially flew into Bangkok and spent a week there. We didn’t do a whole lot the first couple of days as we recovered from the flight and adjusted the time different (17 hours ahead). After a few days we swung by the Grand Palace and Wat Pho to see the Reclining Buddha.
On Saturday, we went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market with is the largest weekend market in the entire world. It was one of the coolest markets I’ve ever been to and we had a good time wandering around many of the little stalls (15,000 of them in total). We ended up staying till Sunday just so we could hit this market and I’m so glad we did.
Tuk Tuks! And our first Tuk Tuk ride.
Mara loves coconuts
Street markets
Mr. Jones’ Orphanage – tons of delicious desserts and a bear to cuddle with as well
Sailing on the The Chao Phraya river
Our first street food including Thai Iced Tea and Pad Thai
I first flew into Hong Kong in 2005 when I flew from Washington D.C. to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was back when the airport was in the middle of the city (and one of the most dangerous airports to fly into in the world) and I could see the city all lit up at night thru the big picture windows from my airport terminal. Unfortunately it was such a brief layover that I didn’t have the time to leave the airport and never got to actually see the city.
Fast forward 18 years and Hong Kong was a stop on our flight from Kona, HI to Bangkok, Thailand. We had a few choices of layover times so, of course, I took the longest layover time of about 16 hours.
On one of our many flights
We flew in at night and immediately went to a hotel nearby (the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriot) for the night. We’d already flown from Kona to Honolulu to Guam to Hong Kong and were all pretty wrecked.
At the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriot Hotel
After a good night of sleep, we got up early, had breakfast at the hotel then ventured into Hong Kong. We rode the Airport Express right into the center of Hong Kong island.
Airport Express
From there we wandered to the Star Ferry terminal and took the famous Star Ferry over to Kowloon.
Star Ferry from Hong Kong to KowloonBeckett on the Star Ferry
After walking around Kowloon for maybe 30 minutes, we rode the Star Ferry back to Hong Kong, then took the Airport Express back to our hotel to pick up our luggage and back to the airport for our flight to Bangkok. Of course we stopped off for some tasty ramen at the airport before our flight!
Ramen!
Even though I was only briefly in Hong Kong, and it was so overcast and miserable, I was happy to finally see the city with my own eyes. Maybe some day I’ll return, but for now, I’m satisfied.
On Thursday, Chuck and I took the kayak down to Kealakekua Bay which is about 30 min south of Kona. There are usually dolphins swimming in the bay but it’s also known for having great snorkeling on the north side of the bay near the Captain Cook memorial.
So we paddled out and when some dolphins came near, Chuck jumped in the water with them. After a while, I jumped in the water and waited patiently. Sure enough, dolphins started swimming under me and near me. I had at least 4 different encounters with the dolphins being close to me. At one point, there were about 30 dolphins swimming under and beside me. And at another point, some dolphins were near the surface and one got maybe 10′ from me before he turned and headed off in another direction.
Aside from seeing them, we could hear them “talk” to each other. And other times we’d see them jump and spin out of the water too.
After swimming with them for a while, we kayaked over to the north side and snorkeled for a bit.
It was one of the cooler things I’ve ever experienced and I can’t wait to take the kayak back down there with the kids next time.
Update: Chuck and I were lucky enough to experience this again also at Kealakekua Bay. This time, one of the dolphins (above), circled around me a couple of times close enough for me to touch (I didn’t). He (she?) looked me in the eye then swam off to join their friends. It was an unbelievable experience to be so close and feel a connection to a beautiful, wild animal.
After 30 minutes, we arrived at Seal Island and started the look out for the sharks.
