San Juan del Sur

Coloured Buildings

San Juan del Sur has been known as a fishing village/surf haven for a number of years and is now a trending tourist destination. It’s location on the pacific coast of Nicaragua makes it a nice base for people who wish to explore the various beaches in the area.  The appeal of day trips along the coast has attracted Cruise ships to include it as a Port of Call and a number of boutique hotels have opened in the town. The day I visited the area I felt like I had dropped into the 1950’s as I sipped my “Tona” (the local beer) however the community has been a travel destination for a very long time.

 

Hotel Victoriano

During the mid 1800s people travelling between California and the Eastern seaboard often crossed via Nicaragua rather than trek overland on a route created and managed by the Cornelius Vanderbilt. San Juan del Sur was a transit point on the Pacific and The Hotel Victoriano still includes Mark Twain as one of its famous occupants.  Downtown wooden buildings painted in a variety of colours retreat from the shoreline and are reminiscent of the Mediterranean. As you approach the water you pass the Malecon which follows the curve of the Bay and find restaurants, surf shops and charter boat services before arriving at the beach.

The day that I was there we enjoyed lunch at Restaurant El Timon which is located at the high tide mark in the middle of the Bay. The open air location offers inviting views of the ocean where surfers were riding easy swells and a mixture of yachts and fishing boats were tendered further out. Similar to Rio the area has a statue “Christ of Mercy” located on a high cliff at its north end. Our meals were presented nicely and prices for most entrées were about 350.00 Córdobas, or 16.00 Canadian.

I feel that this area is going to become popular: Nicaragua has a low cost of living that appeals to budget travellers and retirees are establishing expat communities on the hills above the town. There are a number of undeveloped beaches in the district so sooner or later resorts will be built. For now you may want to beat the crowd and experience its funky atmosphere.

Aqua Wellness Resort

Wellness-the state of being in good physical and mental health.

I have never been truly clear on the concept of a Wellness Vacation. To me wellness is a physical and mental state, a conscious pursuit but not a travel product. Many resorts include “wellness” in their spa programs as an option on a list of treatments however a holistic approach like that at The Aqua Wellness Resort in Nicaragua seems to meet my expectation of a wellness destination.

 

This property has been physically constructed so that it blends in with the tropical forest and it was only after a long tour of the resort that I realized it had fifty rooms. Villa units are suspended above the jungle floor to minimize their environmental impact and connected with the common areas by a network of crushed lava pathways. As a result of these efforts turtles nest on their beach and often Howler monkeys populate the trees at night.

 

Guest accommodations are located on the side of a steep hill giving each room privacy and a view of the either the bay or the forest and inside the units beds are placed in front of the window so you get to enjoy the natural setting even at night. Walking over one of the wooden bridges I felt like I was at a cottage or a calm retreat. One concession to luxury I noticed was that many units featured individual plunge pools overlooking the bay.

 

Food served at the resort is produced locally and leans to vegetarian appetites so while the menu depends on what is in season you know that the food will be fresh. Our host, Jose Menendez, stated that the resort’s staff philosophy was unobtrusive mindful service offered with a genuine desire to enhance the guest’s experience. Even during our short tour we experienced that attentiveness: upon arrival we were all provided with cool towels and offered refreshments that were caringly presented.

 

The physical and social environment at the Aqua Wellness Resort are conducive to that pursuit of Wellness and can help guests find that self-awareness to carry home with them after their stay. It emphasizes the statement that travel enhances the traveller…

Ephesus

The day started with breakfast on the roof top terrace.  Then three of us walked to the Isa Bey Mosque, built in 1375 and still in use while being restored.  There are massive chandeliers with electricity saving bulbs and the columns were salvaged from the ruins of  Ephesus.  We put on black and white geometric patterned chadors and head scarves. The Imam gave us a tour and said  he does not like the machine made carpet.  His son made the tiles in the store which raises money for the restoration of the mosque.  Of course I bought one and told him Inshallah I will be back in Turkey one day.  A surreal experience.

Then a shoeshine man started cleaning my shoes despite my protests. I gave him three lira, he wanted 20, I said 5, we agreed on 10 as I snatched back my 5 before it became 15.  So $5 for a shoeshine and lesson learned to not slow down while saying no.  Sellers can sometimes be persistent to the point of being aggressive.  We take it in stride.

The basilica of St John and the Citadel are really something, ruins but requires less imagination to envision than Troy.  You can see forever from the site.

I cannot even describe Ephesus so will not attempt to.  It is huge and fascinating with a population of 250,000 at its peak and everything was clad in blinding white marble. We went at 3:00 pm rather than at 9:00 am with the thousands of cruise ship tourists.  I have about 100 photos.  It took about three hours to walk through.  It is incredible.

All in all it was a wonderful day ending with a walk around a small country village, apple tea at the cafe, then supper in the garden of a Turkish family.  He is a guide, she restores antiquities.  They have a mission to preserve village life.  Everything was homemade, organic, fresh and vegetarian. The olives were from their trees, homemade olive oil, unbelievable salads, delicious pea stew and an eggplant dish that I had two helpings of even though I am not a huge fan of eggplant.  I have the recipe.  Shredded carrots stir fried in olive oil and mixed with yoghurt.....I cleaned the plate.  Dessert was fresh honeydew melon and watermelon.  This is a new venture and we were the first group. It will be a success. 

Hierapolis and Pamukkale

Turkey has an array of stray animals: cats (there cannot possibly be a single mouse in Turkey), dogs (which are tagged, neutered and vaccinated for rabies etc) and even fowl.  We found ducks and roosters in the strangest places.....like the driveway of our last hotel where one duck decided to do his own call to prayer about 3:00 am. Right under our window.

Today we exchanged peach orchards for fig orchards; the best figs are all exported. Our driver stopped the bus in a village, jumped out and returned five minutes later with a huge bag of freshly picked cherries for us all.  We really like Genghis and will miss him after he drops us at the airport for our flight to Istanbul.  

The ruins of both the necropolis and the town of Hierapolis were fascinating.  The calcium carbonate cliffs of Pamukkale are downright strange. We walked down the hillside barefoot in the gushing water which flowed through six pools.

Lots of construction in Turkey, especially apartment buildings, 3-4 stories in smaller areas and buildings like the Marilyn Monroe one in Mississauga in the cities.  They are needed for the growing population if under 30's.  With 75 million people and so mountainous, most people live in apartments. Some buildings have what looks like bread ovens built into the balconies.  They are actually coal bar-b-ques!  Western Turkey is incredibly fertile, sort of like southwestern Ontario.  The fruit has been amazing.

November 16, Granada, Nicaragua

Granada: Reinvention of a city

We all have heard the catch phrase “reinvention” and there are many examples of people who reinvented themselves (Madonna), companies (National Geographic) or even Countries (China). The term sounds progressive and trendy but in some cases it is simply a refining process. For instance the Nicaraguan city of Granada is undergoing its fourth reincarnation after enduring civil and economic hardship. The town site was originally settled by Cordoba in the year of 1524 on the northern shore of Lake Nicaragua. Its location ended a journey often travelled by conquistadors, priests and pirates en route from Caribbean up the Rio De San Juan and to the Pacific. This easy access made the city a natural target for privateers and it was razed three times.
 

Lake Nicaragua close to Granada

While Buccaneers no longer threaten the country a civil war (Oliver North and the Contra-Tehran Affair) occurred from 1983 to 1988 and was followed by a US embargo which crippled their economy. Our tour guide to the area told us that Canada aided the Nicaragua during that period by circumventing the embargo and supplying Nicaragua with grain. He said that the people’s motto at the time was “bread, but with dignity”.

The country is now rebuilding and Granada was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. This city exemplifies a traditional Spanish settlement not only by its buildings but also by the layout of the streets: a large central square dominated by a Cathedral and administrative offices with streets leading off at right angles.  Hotels and restaurants now occupy the spaces that housed wealthy families and being in these establishments can give you a feel for what life must have been like during the 1700’s.

Parque Central with Granada Cathedral in the back ground

Buildings are restored to the colonial style of the seventeenth century and must adhere to strict standards: high ceilings, tall doors and interior courtyards but no building can exceed a height of two stories. Walls are constructed of adobe and roofs must be tiled over a supporting framework of Castia cane. At one of the reconstructed hotels I visited rooms had no exterior windows because itwas not consistent with the Colonial Style. One point in which the restoration deviates from history is that residents are allowed use a wide palate of colours to paint their homes giving the community a very tropical vibe.

 

 
This re-creation has attracted tourists to the area who are drawn by its history and surrounding landscape. Many of these visitors found the cost of living to be low relative to their home country and now form a large expatriate community. Both outcomes have brought money into the locale and further restorations including La Polvora Fortress are now underway. Granada is an example of successful reinvention but that is the value of experience.

La Polvora Fortress

 

Sail - Tall Ship Celebration

Every five years "Sail" is hosted by many European Port Cities. In Amsterdam the event is highly promoted and involves charter, vacation and educational boats. The congregation of heritage sailing ships involves parades, dragon boat teams and celebrates craft of a different age. I had the opportunity to preview some of the vessels when they docked in Ijmuiden.

Minerva

Bus Service in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands most bus schedules can be accessed on the Internet. At bus stops you will see signs which display when the bus is expected to arrive when the next one is coming. Please be aware that drivers will not stop unless you signal (wave them) down. You are able to pay for your fares on the bus and the drivers are quite friendly and able to speak several languages. Wi-Fi is free on the bus and you simply collecting on the mobile_connextion Internet Provider. The sign in page would be pulled up to appear you agree to the terms and conditions. See your stop press one of the signaling buttons and the driver will pull over at the stop.

European Baggage Lockers

Most major rail stations in Europe have banks of lockers where you can leave your luggage while exploring a city. Usually there are differing sizes of lockers available at different prices. You need to pay by credit card or some only work with coins. You simply put your luggage in a locker close the door and pay the required fee: a barcoded receipt will be generated which you carry with you until you want to call reclaim your luggage

 

Locker Rental Panel

A Garbage Truck in the Red Light District

Cyclists in Amsterdam are wild: through a bizarre mixture of traffic planning, legislation and momentum bikes often take the right of way on the city's streets. Against my host's recommendations I decided to try a bicycle tour with Mike's Bike Tours of Amsterdam  (http://www.mikesbiketoursamsterdam.com/) my reasoning being that having completed a couple triathlons I had the aggressiveness to navigate the traffic.

Our tour leader was Mike 2 who knows the city well and is quite personable. Our first stop was Leidseplein which is an entertainment center criss-crossed with tram tracks. Everyone navigated the square successfully and proceeded to Vondelpark and then to the Museumplein (an area surrounded my art museums). We were equipped with seven speed bikes which worked for the terrain we cycled: while the city is flat some of the bridges offer the challenge of an incline. Eventually we arrived at  the Little Bridge where a barge was dredging bicycles up from the canal and illustrated the fact that bikes are frequently stolen then dumped.

De Waag - One of Amsterdam's Medeaval Gates

Proceeding past the Hermitage and Zoo we ended up at the Scheepvaartmuseum (it is a naval institution not zoological) which is close to Centraal Station. At this point traffic became very congested and we took a side street through the red light district with it's mass of pedestrians. Rather than invite hostility of prostitutes in the area we were advised to glance not stare (or take photos). The streets narrowed and unfortunately we got snagged behind a garbage truck that was breaking down drywall. This was where the trip ground to a halt: while Mike was able to get some of the participants through the bottleneck eventually the workers would not allow the rest of the group to pass. Our guide eventually found a detour but for fifteen minutes our tourist site was the sanitation truck.



Dam Square



 

Our tour continued through the packed streets of Dam Square, past the Anne Frank House and ended at the Noorderkerk (North Church) in the Jordaan District. I found that I ended the tour with a better understanding of Amsterdam and a the knowledge about where in the city cycling works best.

Delft Tower close to the Flower Market

Antwerp

The Antwerp Centraal Station hosts train, subway, bus and tram services for the city. It abuts the Diamond District as well as the Zoo. There are significant art collections shown with in the city and if you get a subway pass you can easily access the city’s museums.  

Antwerp Old Market Square

The Old Market, Town Hall and Our Lady of Antwerp Cathedral are in close proximity to each other and a network of pedestrian streets surround these sites. South of this district is the Fashion Museum and a number of high end stores are located there as well.

Our Lady of Antwerp Cathedral

 

Bruges

 

Bruges is a historical trading city located east of Ghent but is smaller and more touristy. Two major streets lead to the Centrum and the pedestrian area is limited to the Market Square (Grote Markt). The Belfry of Bruges is located at the south end of the square and many people climb it to get a view of the city.

Belfrey of Bruges

Canal cruises are popular in Bruges and let tourists experience the city from a historic perspective. While Bruges is picturesque most stores and attractions usually close at five o’clock limiting the activities tourists can pursue in the evening. However the upside is that the crowds dissipate and the streets are peaceful to walk through.



View from the Canal

 

We travelled to Bruges by train and could not find any public transit to access the historical area so we walked for twenty minutes from the rail station to the city's Centrum. 

Molded Chocolate

One of Our stops was "Juliette's Artisanale Koekenbakkerij " to sample some of their chocolate creations: Pastachio Intense, Basilic (savory basil flavor which I loved), Tea, Pastachio Artiste, Croquet Nougat and Amaretto.

Towers of Bruges

Ghent Running Tour

I love Running Tours: you get to see a lot of sites in a short period of time, understand the distance between places and experience the destination through the eyes of a local. This morning I got to explore Ghent with Wim Van de Putte from City Running Tours Ghent (http://www.readytogo.be/#_=_) .  Ghent was historically a significant port city and continues to offer a port container services in its industrial area. My tour centered around the historical pedestrian area of the city.

One of the cities first wells (five were privately owned)

Ghent's Initial Port Canal with tax house in the distance

 

Ghent has attempted to bring people back into the city by excluding scars from the heritage areas. Parking lots have been moved underground and replaced with cobblestone Plaza's. Canals that were covered over are now being reopened. The city plans to double the space designated as "pedestrian access" within the next year.

Sint Peitresplein with underground car-park facilities in the foreground.

 

August 11 Rotterdam and Ghent

Using intercity trains with Eurail offers you a great deal of flexibility when traveling between two cities. An example is that on my trip from Haarlem to Ghent  I was able to add a stop in Rotterdam and explore that city.

Rotterdam Centraal Station "The Shark"

 

Rotterdam contrasts with the more traditional Haarlem and Amsterdam because of it's modern architecture. There are sculptures in the streets and design of the Centraal Rail Station has gotten it the nickname "The Shark".


Fountain in the Street

Rude Garden Gnome Sculpture

 

Continuing on from Amsterdam I transferred trains again in Antwerp which is a gigantic station extending over five stories with three levels of rail platforms.

Topmost Victorian Level of Antwerp Central Station

The city of Ghent has a number of train stations and I ultimately got off of the train at St. Peter's. 

One hundred meters west of the train station doors is the tram platform and it costs EUR3.00 to get to the Centrum you can also get a taxi to your hotel for about EUR8.00. Cars our banned in the historic area but underground parking is located beneath some of the city's cobble stone squares. Ghent's medeaval core is very picturesque with many sidewalk cafes and restaurants overlooking the canal. I chose the "Trollkelder" (Troll Celler), a beer bar with low vaulted ceilings in the basement which made you feel like you were in a scene from "Lord of the Rings".

Canal in Ghent

 

August 10, Amsterdam

Viewed aerially Amsterdam looks like an onion with a series of concentric canals expanding from Dam Square. Many of these canals are connected by intersecting waterways and through history served as the city’s transportation network. The Amstel River is  one of the main ones and figures historically: so we started our tour of the city along it's bank. This morning we followed the waterway past the Amstel hotel, Hermitage Museum, Opera House, Thai open air market and visited Rembrandt’s House Museum.

The Amstel Hotel

 Rembrandt’s House Museum is a restoration of the artist’s original home and gives the visitor insights about how he was inspired and captured realism in his historically themed paintings. Once you have completed your tour you can cross the street to de Sluyswachl, a bar established in 1695 and picture yourself in medieval times drinking a beer just as the artist had.

Drinks at "de Sluyswachl"

From Rembrandt’s House we continued eastward to the Nieuwmkt Square and ultimately Dam Square before visiting central station. Many of the squares exclude cars and you will see Café’s which extend far into the space. Centraal station is a major transportation hub located in the center of Amsterdam on the Rhine River. Several hotels at varying price ranges are adjacent to the station and you can find Currency exchange and banking services inside.

Centraal Station and all the streets that connect it to Dam square are quite busy. City has many streets designated only for pedestrians. There are number of middle and upper end shops and restaurants situated on these open alleys. Walking down these streets you frequently see buildings and architectural details from the 16th century. Our return took us through the Leidsplein and we enjoyed dinner at Diverto, a Mediterranean restaurant that served their dishes family style.

August 9, Haarlem and Ijmuiden an Zee

Upon approach to Amsterdam airport our plane circled over the ocean and I saw groups of fishing trawlers cruising past large arrays of off shore wind generators. Then as we got closer to Schiphol canals, reservoirs and long thin farm tracts came into view. The airport itself has a lot of retail shops and passenger services are well signed. Ground transportation services are clustered at the airport plaza and central to all terminals. The bus station is unmanned and located on the ground level while the train station is down one level. I was meeting my friend in Haarlem and able to take a direct bus.

Bus schedules are posted at the airport stop and detail differing routes with the post number of the next departing coach: the Red Line is the major airport service around Amsterdam. Once determining the route number and final destination on your route wait for a coach displaying the corresponding information and board. Video panels are located at the front of each bus and detail the upcoming stops with your estimated time of arrival at each point. Outside from the airport most bus stops have LED panels which list when the current and next available bus depart.

Windmill on Main Canal in Haarlem

Haarlem is located thirty minutes northwest of Amsterdam and is popular with tourists. Both the train and bus station are merged together: travelers can also find a bicycle rental location and secure baggage lockers. South of the station you find an old town square adjoined on opposite sides by the Cathedral and Town Hall which were both built in the 1400s. We ate lunch at XO, one of the square’s sidewalk cafes and I enjoyed a “Radler Grapefruit” (a grapefruit flavoured wheat beer). Servers in the Netherlands feel that it is rude to interrupt patrons so you may have to request that someone take your order or prepare your bill. Walking east of the square you see canals with traditionally styled houseboats and a gigantic Windmill.

Beach at Ijmuiden

The expansive beach at Ijmuiden is a popular spot for kite boarding and there are sandbars which create shallow areas extending far out into the water. Ijmuiden is located on the North Sea but the water felt quite warm. Back from the shore you see beach cabins which families own or rent during the summer months. After visiting the beach you can go back to the port where seafood restaurants are located in heritage buildings along the waterfront.

Booking directly with an Airline

Are you sure your airline offers the support you require? Last week clients contacted me because they were stranded in San Jose Costa Rica due to the eruption of a volcano. Their airline does not offer many flights to San Jose so airport services are handled by a local contractor and reservations are managed by a call center located in Mexico City. No staff members were available until departure time and the agents at the call center did not have the ability to reissue tickets. As an advocate for my client I was able to have the tickets exchanged, reconfirm their reservation, verify their insurance coverage and send it all them in an email. Do you wish to take risks when you travel or do you prefer to have qualified backup?