On one of our first days at the RIU Palace in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, we started hearing other guests talk about a secret beach. It was referred to as obscenely beautiful, with lots of shady spots to be found under the palm trees. The more we heard about it, the more we decided we wanted to see it. Everyone said to just walk left, down the beach, go around the cliff and you will be there.
One morning, after lunch, me, hubby, and our travel buddy Paula set off for this gorgeous beach. We turned left down the beach and a little while later came to the cliff. Apparently, none of us had heard the complete instructions for going around the cliff.
It jutted out into the ocean that was filled with a lot of rocks. We made the executive decision to walk around the cliff the other direction.
This way took us up a small footpath, around the cliff, and we came out on a gravel road. We could tell others had been back there on foot and on horse. This is where our Waiting For Godot story begins. The play by Samuel Beckett (buy it here), is basically a play in which nothing happens. It has the characters continually wait for Godot, but they come to no definite conclusions. This is how I felt about our hike to the secret beach.
We walked. And we walked. We walked uphill, we walked downhill. We walked for what seemed like forever. We walked up another hill, thinking the beach had to be just on the other side. It wasn’t.
When we had started out that morning, while still on the beach, I had pointed at a ridge and joked that if we found ourselves on the road that was visible way up near the top, we had probably gone too far. When we reached a stretch of that road that allowed us to see back to our beach, we realized that’s exactly what happened! We were almost at the top of that ridge.
We turned around and began walking back. It turns out we walked about 6 miles that day, but only really needed to have gone 2 to get to the secret beach. The crucial instruction that we missed was that we were supposed to go during low tide, when we could easily have walked around the front side of the cliff to the secret beach. I suppose that the next time we decide to go find the next secret beach, we will know to get better instructions AND pay attention to them. Or, we’ll just need to return to the RIU Palace in Costa Rica now that we know how to find their secret beach.
More Costa Rica–RIU Palace
A couple of years ago, we caught an end-of-season sale on Apple Vacations to go to Costa Rica. While we had many options of excursions, we really didn’t leave the resort for much. If you want to see what we left the resort for, you can check it out here. There was so much to do at the RIU Palace!
Hubby and I love getting massages and the first thing we did was get a chair massage poolside the day we arrived. Not a bad start to vacay! We then made an appointment to visit the resort’s spa, which was a Renova Spa. We had a nice relaxing couples massage that also included hanging out afterwards in their quiet community Jacuzzi.
The next day, we discovered the beach spas set up on the beach by locals. As much as we love massages, and when we discovered that their massages were half the price of the spa, we reserved time for two more massages each, for later in the week. It sounded so relaxing to have a massage on the beach. During the beach massages, when you can hear people walking by, laughing and chatting, and the massage ladies are recruiting their next appointment from passers-by during your time, you realize that it maybe wasn’t as relaxing as it sounded.
In hindsight, I preferred the spa massage more even though it cost more.. The quiet and serenity of Renova Spa, was just what I needed on vacay.
On the beach, we were also lucky enough to have vendors who were peddling all kinds of souvenir-worthy wares. You could find anything from wood-carvings to pottery, from dresses and cover-ups to jewelry. I had a particularly good time shopping with the jewelry lady. She had so many incredible pieces, and sometimes finding the matching sets in what she had, became challenging. It took quite a bit of time to stock up on sets for my friends, but it was worth her while. I ended up buying a LOT of it!
So much, in fact, that she threw in a wood-carved vase for free! She was such a sweetie!
Later in the week, we discovered there was going to be a poolside class on carving fruits. One of our travel buddies, Paula, and I showed up for it. Wow! Could these guys carve some incredible designs!
And they did it so fast and made it look so easy! But here’s what mine turned out like:
I’m not the craftiest one in the bunch, but I’ll keep practicing…
If I haven’t mentioned before how incredible the food is at a Riu Palace (oh wait, I have here) I must bring it up again, since we spent a lot of time dining on resort with our friends. We had a sushi restaurant where I could get Sake—I love the stuff! The Papagayo, which was the steakhouse, gave you the options of steak and lobster. It was so good, we went back twice! Saving the best for last, our themed buffet restaurant had seafood night the last night we were there.
The line for lobster tails stayed 20 people deep the entire time we were there for dinner. Luckily, hubby made friends with our waitress who admirably kept going over to the cook for more lobster, so we wouldn’t have to stand in the line. I believe he polished off 8 tails in the end. I might also add, that was ALL he ate. He loves lobster so much, he said there was no room for sides.
The last thing I discovered at our resort, that I really took a liking to were Cassava chips. Cassava is similar to a potato, but is actually what tapioca is made from. While I’m no fan of tapioca, I really enjoyed the chips.
The next time I go to Costa Rica, I do vow to leave the resort and experience more of the culture and environment. However, for this trip the Riu Palace was a great experience.
Monkeying Around in Costa Rica
A couple of years back, we found a steal of a deal on a trip to Guanacaste, Costa Rica because it was the last non-stop flight for the season. Costa Rica had been on the “list” for a long time, so we couldn’t pass up going. This trip was to a RIU Palace, which is one of our favorite resort brands. We like it enough that we got married at RIU in Negril, Jamaica. What we didn’t realize in Jamaica, but we learned in Costa Rica, is that the “Palace” side would have been slightly more upscale–better food, premium drinks, and adults only.
Costa Rica is known for it’s population of monkeys, and in doing my research, I discovered a place called Monkey’s Bar just down from our resort where guests would go to watch and feed the monkeys. Much to hubby’s chagrin, I made him get up so early on a number of mornings that it wasn’t even light out, just so we could go down to Monkey’s Bar. It wasn’t open in mornings, but it looked like a pretty neat place to grab a beer in the evening.
Some people would feed the monkey’s bananas and strawberries. We didn’t. Most mornings we could barely see them, and only once did our friend get to see one up close. They were really cute, but reputably vicious.
We hung out a lot with our friends on this trip, but one afternoon we took a snorkeling and sunset cruise excursion. We went out on a huge catamaran, the Vision, and toured the Gulf of Papagayo.
The crew served a really tasty light lunch and there were fun cocktails available.
We stopped off to do a little snorkeling and then continued over to Monkey Head Rock. Who knew we’d even see monkeys in the ocean?
Shortly after the big rock, we ran into some dolphins swimming along side our boat. They looked like they were having as much fun as we were having, yet looked so graceful.
We then witnessed one of the most beautiful, albeit cloudy sunsets ever before being returned back to the RIU.
I may just have considered it to be so beautiful, because we had just had one of the most relaxed, fun days ever. It was a day that will make me always consider Costa Rica a wonderful, beautiful place!
A Morning Engagement–Best Sunrise Ever!
We were in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in February a few years ago. Hubby wasn’t yet my hubby and we decided this trip would be great for him to get his scuba certification. I was already certified, so I decided to work on my advanced certification. Needless to say, this vacay turned in to more of a “working” dive trip. We didn’t have much free time, but I think we made the most out of the time we DID have.
We were at an Iberostar resort, which is one of my favorites. Our villa rooms were close to the pool and dive shop and were nicely decorated. We had turtles living in the courtyard.
I loved the colors of the buildings because they complemented the colors of the sunrise here. Over the years, hubby and I, upon arrival, determine if we are in a locale that will have a better sunrise or sunset and then we make sure to watch some. Due to the way Punta Cana is situated in the DR, we determined sunrises here should be incredible.
The food was also something to write home about. We loved that there was an ice cream “parlor” right next to the pool, and one afternoon, lunch was served poolside–a paella with prawns the size of small lobsters.
Besides diving, we got in a substantial amount of pool and beach time. And there were always chairs available at both. The ocean was a little rough, so we probably camped more at the pool.
We did get the chance to take one excursion–an all-day trip to Saona Island–which is a protected nature reserve. We took a long bus ride over to Hacienda Dominicus and got to use their amenities while waiting for our boat. We then went out for diving (the rest of our group went snorkeling) just off Saona Island. After our dive, we had an incredible beach BBQ and had time to relax and enjoy their beach. There were a few vendors selling their wares, and on our way back we got to stop at a natural pool where we got to see starfish. (Don’t worry, the one in the picture was not alive. The boat hands had planted many of them, so no one would disturb the live ones.)
My favorite part about being on the trip to Saona Island is that I got to meet my friend Melissa. She is one of the encouraging people I had met along the blogging path and you may want to check out her blog The Mellyboo Project. We had a great time on our bus trip back to our Iberostar and she is quite the inspiration!
Our last morning in Punta Cana was Valentine’s Day. We again got up before dawn so we could watch sunrise on the beach. It didn’t even cross my mind that this would be the BEST sunrise ever. We found a nice spot on the beach and had fun posing with the rising sun in the palms of our hands. Just after daybreak, Sonny got down on one knee in the sand and asked if I would marry him. Of course I said yes! We still keep up our tradition of catching sunrises and sunsets wherever we go, but none will be quite as special as this one was.
A Morning Engagement–Best Sunrise Ever!
We were in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in February a few years ago. Hubby wasn’t yet my hubby and we decided this trip would be great for him to get his scuba certification. I was already certified, so I decided to work on my advanced certification. Needless to say, this vacay turned in to more of a “working” dive trip. We didn’t have much free time, but I think we made the most out of the time we DID have.
We were at an Iberostar resort, which is one of my favorites. Our villa rooms were close to the pool and dive shop and were nicely decorated. We had turtles living in the courtyard.
I loved the colors of the buildings because they complemented the colors of the sunrise here. Over the years, hubby and I, upon arrival, determine if we are in a locale that will have a better sunrise or sunset and then we make sure to watch some. Due to the way Punta Cana is situated in the DR, we determined sunrises here should be incredible.
The food was also something to write home about. We loved that there was an ice cream “parlor” right next to the pool, and one afternoon, lunch was served poolside–a paella with prawns the size of small lobsters.Besides diving, we got in a substantial amount of pool and beach time. And there were always chairs available at both. The ocean was a little rough, so we probably camped more at the pool.
We did get the chance to take one excursion–an all-day trip to Saona Island–which is a protected nature reserve. We took a long bus ride over to Hacienda Dominicus and got to use their amenities while waiting for our boat. We then went out for diving (the rest of our group went snorkeling) just off Saona Island. After our dive, we had an incredible beach BBQ and had time to relax and enjoy their beach. There were a few vendors selling their wares, and on our way back we got to stop at a natural pool where we got to see starfish. (Don’t worry, the one in the picture was not alive. The boat hands had planted many of them, so no one would disturb the live ones.)My favorite part about being on the trip to Saona Island is that I got to meet my friend Melissa. She is one of the encouraging people I had met along the blogging path and you may want to check out her blog The Mellyboo Project. We had a great time on our bus trip back to our Iberostar and she is quite the inspiration!
Our last morning in Punta Cana was Valentine’s Day. We again got up before dawn so we could watch sunrise on the beach. It didn’t even cross my mind that this would be the BEST sunrise ever. We found a nice spot on the beach and had fun posing with the rising sun in the palms of our hands. Just after daybreak, Sonny got down on one knee in the sand and asked if I would marry him. Of course I said yes! We still keep up our tradition of catching sunrises and sunsets wherever we go, but none will be quite as special as this one was.
Should I Stay or Should I Go…To Mexico?
Just a quick nod to the old Clash song Should I Stay or Should I Go.
The US State Department has recently issued warnings for Americans traveling to Mexico. This warning is only the latest: “Gun battles between rival criminal organizations or with Mexican authorities have taken place on streets and in public places during broad daylight.” The warning goes on to mention US citizens being murdered in car-jackings and highway robberies, most frequently at night and on isolated roads. The state of Quintana Roo, which is where Cancun, Cozumel, and Playa Del Carmen are located has recently been added to the list.
Add the Zika Virus (mosquito transmitted illness) to the list along with allegations of tainted alcohol at some of the major all-inclusive resorts and now you’ve got me wondering if my upcoming vacation in the Riviera Maya will be safe enough?
We’re still going to go, but here is my list of ways I plan to stay safe:
- plan to participate in guided excursions, with other hotel guests, likely on a bus together
- cooperate if you go through a check point–government or unauthorized
- be careful not to flash large amounts of cash around (Ha, ha! That shouldn’t be a problem!)
- be prepared for pick-pockets
- keep my cell phone under my control so stolen information from it cannot be used for ransom purposes
- be aware that corruption exists everywhere
- wear insect repellant on and off the resorts (maybe this one will help prevent the Zika virus and maybe keep local pests away)
- limit outdoor activities at dusk and dawn when mosquitos are more prevalent
- avoid excessive alcohol consumption
- bring booze into the resort purchased from duty-free shopping in the airport
- stick to beers or wines at the resort
- don’t leave drinks sitting anywhere unattended
- check the resort out in advance (the resort we’re going to hasn’t had any reports of tainted alcohol)
- ask the bartender to open bottles in front of you–a sealed bottle likely hasn’t been tainted or re-filled with bootleg booze
- research medical providers in the area in advance, like before we go
- be sure you have travel insurance in place
- if you feel ill, stop and seek medical assistance
- be observant of your surroundings and aware of anything suspicious
Really, just use the same common sense you should typically use when traveling somewhere new or foreign. To keep my trip to Mexico in perspective, the current murder rate in Quintana Roo is still pretty comparable to my hometown of St. Louis, MO. I haven’t stopped traveling there because of the crime, I just use some additional sense about it.
If you have other suggestions of tips to add to the list, feel free to leave me a comment.
Otherwise, in the words of James Taylor, Mexico! (click below)
Travel Music Tuesday–Chronixx
I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this song. Please take a listen and let me know what you think. It’s not just that the tune is so happy, if you listen to the lyrics, Chronixx tells a beautiful story. I would love to see this song go beyond Jamaica and become an international hit!
Chronixx – Smile Jamaica (Official Video) – prod. by Silly Walks Discotheque
You can buy and download the song by clicking the pic below:
I'm no Wanderer, Nomad, or Expeditioner
I don’t do never-ending trips, living out of my backpack, forgoing my home address, staying at hostels. I don’t choose to travel to obscure places, with nothing but a carry-on, working along the way to pay my way, or seek out particularly adventurous activities. You will never find me sky-diving in Singapore, or extreme hiking a volcano in Hawaii. Those are great endeavors for those younger, with fewer responsibilities, or fewer restraints who have higher aspirations in their lives. I don’t knock them for it. I admire them for it, and more power to them for doing it.
That type of travelling is not for me. Maybe a long time ago I would have done some of those things, but I guess I’m just at a point in life where I just like to go places. I like to go nice, pretty places–typically with a beach. I am a scuba diver, so I frequently will go somewhere that has good diving. (I guess I WOULD consider diving with sharks someday, but that’s because most sea creatures don’t even realize you are there.)
I really prefer a nice resort, in a nice locale, with good food, cocktails and company. I like to take trips that I consider relaxing. While I do like to get out and experience the culture and architecture, I do like to come back to my nice resort at the end of the day, have a cocktail or two, eat a nice dinner (especially if there is seafood involved), watch the sunset, and maybe catch an entertaining show.
I like to meet and mingle with the other guests at my resort, whether it’s Don and Stephanie who live a couple of hours away from us back home, or Jeff and Terri from New Jersey, or Paul and Silvia who live in another country.
I’m not a fan of “roughing” it, which means I like air-conditioned (or heated) rooms when necessary. Sometimes, I just like to have a day to sit in my chair on the beach and read a mindless novel. Maybe I want to go up to the resort spa and get a massage. There may even be an evening where I don’t even want to go to dinner. I like a resort that will let me order room service. Sometimes, I’m happy when the resort brings local vendors in to peddle their wares. I’m not big on shopping, but this allows me to pick up the few necessary souvenirs without finding a driver to take me on a shopping trip.
I always try to take a couple of excursions when in a new locale, however, I don’t really feel zip-lining, parasailing, or horseback riding in the ocean are activities I need to do in every, single country I visit. Been there, done that. I will go out on a boat almost anywhere. It’s a good way to see some of the natural scenery. Now, if it includes a pirate show, lobster dinner, or snorkeling stops during the ride–BONUS! I like tours that include history of the area or cultural information. Sometimes, I may even join in on volunteer excursions. Or, I can just park it at the beach or pool and be perfectly content.
Maybe that makes me a boring person, or selfish, or whatever. I think I’m just a typical person who likes to use vacation time away to re-charge while not completely being a beach bum. I try to experience all aspects of my trip and just BE in the moment and creating memories. Feel free to comment below on how you like to vacation. I’d like to hear if there are others like me.
Tragedy in Huatulco
Well, not really a tragedy, but definitely a small scare. After our mountain excursion which included hiking to the Llano Grande waterfall, I got to experience Mexican Medico care. I remember on the ride back to the resort, having an achy feeling on my face right on my jawline. I didn’t really think much of it, I figured I was about to have a break-out from using so much sunblock on my face.
I woke around 2 am to excruciating pain on my jawline. When I reached up to touch my face, I realized something was really wrong. In the dark of our room, I could feel a knot on my jaw that was burning hot and about the size of an egg. I quietly laid in bed until about 5 am, but when I realized it was getting bigger and probably wasn’t going to go away without some antibiotics, I woke hubby. I wouldn’t let him turn on the lights to look at the assumably freakish-looking growth on my face. Instead, I told him he was going to have to get me to a doctor–and soon!
We knew there was a Medico on resort, and called the front desk to find out where he was located and what were his hours. Apparently, the front office agent thought my 6 am call was serious enough and he patched me on through to the Medico, whom I obviously woke up. He said he would be on resort by 9 am and could see me then. I was in so much pain by then, we were waiting at his office an hour early.
The doctor was dressed in a pink shirt, white pants, and pink shoes and had two assistants who’s combined age probably wasn’t even 40. (Really, they looked like tweens.) He took a look at my face and said he believed I had been bitten by “something” and said he would need to give me a shot in the cheek (he clarified big cheek, not little cheek) and write me 2 prescriptions, which I could then fill conveniently right in his office. He said it would require $450 USD in order to get treatment.
I was in the habit of charging resort services to the room and presumed I could do that with the medico visit. Nope! No credit cards either. He said $450, cash, US dinero. I was rooting through my small purse (it’s really only big enough to carry a little cash and a cell phone) trying to count up my cash on hand. The tweens, who were now on either side of me intently looking down into my purse as I was sorting the cash, now felt like thugs. I was sure if I balked at giving them every last dollar I had in my little purse, they would take it anyway. We had only brought about half of the requested amount up from the room with us (thinking certainly it wouldn’t cost THAT much), but the good doctor said he would be leaving the office soon and we could put the rest in an envelope and slip it under his door before noon that day.
After my shot, and 2 filled prescriptions for medicines I’ve never heard of, we left the Medico’s office. We returned before noon and slipped the rest of the money under his office door. It really felt like we were committing some type of crime instead of paying the doctor’s bill. Thankfully, within a couple of days, the swelling in my face had subsided and I was starting to feel better.
This was one of the incidents that made me see the value in travel insurance (see my post on Why You MUST Buy Travel Insurance). While this small claim probably wouldn’t have even met the deductible I likely would have chosen, and I still would have had to pay cash, what if it had been worse or cost even more? Or what if I didn’t have the cash on hand? I don’t even want to think about that.
Huatulco, Mexico
Until the 1980s, Huatulco, (Oaxaca) Mexico was little more than a small coffee-growing area. In 1984, the National Fund of Tourism decided to begin development of the area to develop a tourist development similar to Cancun, but on the Pacific coast of Mexico. So far, I would have to say they are succeeding. Thankfully, Huatulco is a bit more spread out than Cancun giving the resorts a more secluded, laid back feel than in Cancun.
We found a bargain on FunJet–non-stop from St. Louis to Huatulco for an entire week. Having never heard of Huatulco, we did minimal research on the place and decided the price was right for a week. What a great decision!
We stayed at Secrets, which is considered an Unlimited Luxury All Inclusive Resort and was adult-only. At first I was a little bummed–we were planning to book a swim out suite–and I literally watched the last one sell out on FunJet. We ended up in a regular room that was beautifully decorated and overlooked the pool and beach, but my next trip to Secrets will be in a swim out. They looked incredibly fun and the pool waiters served drinks to the private pools which were connected to each room.
This resort is more compact because it’s set into the hills, so it’s more up and down than sprawled out. We loved riding the glass elevator up to the sky bar each evening and hanging out there until we decided where to go for dinner.
Usually at an AI resort, hubby and I go to the spa at least once for a couples massage. Secrets had a Pevonia spa that had a hydrotherapy circuit–which we had never experienced before. If you ever get the chance for a hydrotherapy massage, go for it. This was one of the best massages we had ever had and we now search out resort spas that have hydrotherapy.
There were lots of very reasonably priced excursions to take in Huatulco as well. Because it’s a relatively “young” tourist area, the tour companies basically give the excursions away. We took a mountain excursion that lasted all day, took us up in the mountains, hiking to the Llano Grande waterfall, providing a wonderful lunch, and stopping at local shops on our way back to the resort.
Another excursion we went on was a boat tour/snorkeling excursion of five local bays and coastline of Huatulco. The snorkeling was decent even though the currents were pretty strong and we got to see some neat rock formations and smaller towns along the coast.
Luckily we were there during the “dry” season. Apparently, during the rainy season, which is June through September, it rains non-stop for most of every day. The locals we talked with in the mountains were telling us about how during the last rainy season, which had just ended, they had been trapped in the mountains for days because most of the roads were too waterlogged or completely washed out and they couldn’t drive them. It’s a little more rustic way of life than I’m accustomed to.
Back at the resort, we had some incredibly good restaurants. We found a seafood restaurant that was so good, we went to it twice. I enjoyed some delicious salmon one night, after some seafood soup. Thank goodness there was a little walk back to the resort from the seafood restaurant because I definitely ate too much.
We also enjoyed that we had a Japanese/Sushi restaurant at the resort. My favorite part of that dinner was that they served sake. (I know most people don’t like the stuff, but for some reason, I love it.) I liked it so much, our waiter gave me a small carafe to take with me back to the lobby.
The best thing of all about this particular trip was that we met some really awesome people, Meg and Jason were a lot of fun, and Jacki and Josh were like our oldest besties straight out of the gate. We hung out with them for a lot of the trip, relaxing at the pool bar and going to dinner together a couple of evenings. I sure hope we get to see them soon on another fun vacation!