Granada is a city I could visualize myself living in, though I would find it difficult to be so far away from the beach. Central Granada has the usual combination of old and new buildings. Gran Via de Colon and Calle Reyes Catolicos are main streets that have restaurants and other businesses lined along them. We found the Plaza Nueva area a good place to find a room and keep us nearby to our main interest, the Alhambra. The plaza has many hotels or hostals close by, and in the evening the restaurants in the plaza offer some decent meals while the local musicians come out to add to the atmosphere. One night we were fortunate enough to strike → Continue Reading
Author: Raymond Esparza
I think we all like the “idea” of an adventure. Going out and meeting the world head on, simply taking that chance that bit of risk our common sense tells us not to act upon. Or doing something which normally would not be considered among your personality traits; at least how others perceive you. Your inner “closet” desires need to be full-filled. Sometimes, you have to take that flying leap into the unknown. It doesn’t matter if you fall flat on your face and make a fool of yourself, or end up looking like a clown. Feeling that rush of adrenaline through your body, that electrifying sensation of your brain synapses firing off because you just had an experience like no other. Sure your adventure could be a jump out of a plane at 13,000ft., or a deep sea dive, it could even be as adventurous as a once in a lifetime night with a sexy woman you finally achieved the courage to ask out. What ever your adventure may be, don’t just dream about, do it!
Good deals in Thailand
With the political turmoil settling down in Bangkok, there are sure to be some good deals available. The week long shut down of the two main airports is estimated to have cost over 3 billion dollars, and it is estimated about 2 million tourists may cancel their flights to the country. The anti-government demonstrations are said to have had a worse economic impact than the Tsunami that hit the resort areas back in 2004. Fortunately, there were no reported tourist injuries, and violence and vandalism was virtually nonexistent.
Now that the dust has cleared the tourism industry is trying to get their business back on track. The Tourism Authority of Thailand announced a plan for a promotional campaigns to get the ball rolling. Additionally, many hotels are offering free rooms and special fares → Continue Reading
Amazon Jungle Lodge Peru part 2
We stayed at the Explorama Lodge in May, so we avoided the crowds that can arrive during June, July and August. It was just three of us, and our guide Segundo, so we didn’t have to wait for anybody else. Our days included going on hikes through the jungle and jumping on a small boat to cruise around the Amazon River. Everywhere we went we saw some amazing, diverse vegetation, animals and insects.
The mosquitoes were not as bad as I thought they would be. Wearing a long sleeve shirt, long pants and a hat are a good idea, and using clothing made of quick-dry type of materials is an advantage. Our hikes around the jungle were hot and → Continue Reading
Amazon Jungle Lodge Peru part 1
We entered the Amazon through Iquitos, Peru. The city is a gateway to many Amazonian lodges and riverboat trips. I discovered the Explorama Lodge through recommendations on the web and their own web site. I was impressed with their prompt responses to my emails and their informative web site. There were a few other lodges that caught my eye, but Explorama had the options I was looking for and date flexibility I needed.
Our Explorama guide picked us up in the morning at our hostel in Iquitos. Being our first time heading to the Amazon, we were a bit apprehensive to give the guide our return plane tickets and passports. Having learned earlier that Explorama was considered to be → Continue Reading