Travel For Two

Maldives: Swimming With The Fishes

Posted on December 16th, 2009 by k.
Categories: Asia, Travel.

“It is a hell of a lot better than going to London Bridge on a Monday morning.” Indeed, this Monday morning was not typical. For one, I can’t recall any time I’ve been awakened by K screaming at six in the morning.

“Dolphins!”

Half dressed in our pajamas, we clung to the edge of the sun deck on our over-water bungalow watching a half dozen pointed fins bob and dance through the water. They followed the edge of the reef, where the water turns from paradise aqua to a majestic blue. It is the same path we snorkeled daily. Ah, if only we were swimming there right now…

But wait. Why can’t we? Quickly trying to think of the cons, all we got were pros. Beautiful morning light. No sunburn. No other snorklers to dodge. Breakfast wasn’t for a couple hours. No waiting for food to digest after breakfast.

Perhaps K found one, “But isn’t it feeding time? What if we run into a shark and it eats us?”

“That’s silly,” I replied. “And that’s better than being eaten by an eel.” K doesn’t like eels–they’re creepy.

With nothing standing in our way, we jumped in our suits, pulled on our masks and fins and descended the stairs from our bungalow down into the cool morning water. As quick as we were, the dolphins were quicker and had passed out of sight. We wouldn’t be swimming with Flipper and his friends this morning. Perhaps tomorrow we should sleep in our swimsuits?

That first snorkel was charmed. We could have been visiting an aquarium with the laundry list of wildlfie we saw during our stay–sea turtle, a ray, varied trigger and banner fish, pipe fish, varied parrot fish, anemones, clown fish, lion fish, barracuda, puffer fish, box fish, tuna, eels (ick!), surgeon fish, manta rays, unicorn fish, almost every fish imaginable for the region. And it was seen just outside our bungalow.  Though, luckily, no shark, yet. Though, in the end, we saw three.

Stepping back in time, the highlight of our magical first day was arriving by sea plane. At this point, we have traveled enough that truly unique and novel experiences are getting harder to find. We often draw parallels to previous trips or a combination of other experiences. The sea plane, however, was definitely new.

Out of an endless expanse of sea, we recognized our island through the small porthole of a window. The barefoot piloting duo pointed the nose down at the water. There was no runway or buoys. Only water. I could see it through the front window rapidly getting closer. “Don’t planes usually point the nose up when landing?” I thought to myself. If I hadn’t known better I’d be reaching for the life jacket under my seat.

Our sunsets were so vivid that they rippled like ribbons of brighly coloured sorbet through the sky. And just when we thought we had reached the nirvana of heaven on earth, two shooting stars appeared over our bungalow’s sundeck at night. They literally landed in the sea so close that we could hear the sound of their last moments being snuffed…bringing our most wonderful holiday to a close. Magical.

To see more photos from the Maldives, click here.

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Pesto, anyone?

Posted on October 18th, 2009 by k.
Categories: Europe, Travel.

We’re back from Vernazza with G’s Parents. We had a great time eating our weight in pesto (yum!), anchovies, and drinking cheap (yet ever-solid) Italian wine… And to work it all off, we fit in a few hikes, too.

It was the perfect low-key destination for catching up with A&V and also having a bit of autumnal sunshine before the winter sets in for good. Thank you A&V–we had a great weekend! May the pesto pride live on…do share the wealth if you figure out the recipe

Some friends may remember our first trip to the Cinque Terre back in 2004. We loved it so much the first go-round that we couldn’t resist the opportunity to go back when A&V were going to be in the ‘rough vicinity’. And it didn’t disappoint. For those of you who have also been and would like an update, here’s a quick compare/contrast…

What’s the same? 2004-2009

• The same two Sicilian brothers have a quaint pastry shoppe at the top of the hill.
• One of the brothers still flatters every female below the age of 40
• The path from Vernazza to Monterosso is still unpaved
• The pesto
• It’s still a stunning, charming town

What’s Changed? 2004-2009

• Just about everyone in town has an American accent…tourism is booming, even in the off-season
• The prices are MUCH higher (no doubt in thanks to the Euro’s recent strength…)
• The shopkeepers have their own personal copies of the Rick Steves guidebook and quote from it…
• More upscale tourist shoppes in town (rather than just the ‘local’ grocers when we were last there)
• There are now wooden guardrails along much of the trail from Vernazza to Monterosso
• The locals aren’t quite so friendly…still very approachable, but they’re more ‘businesslike’ now

Vernazza’s still on our ‘favourites’ list and we had an incredible time, but it was a bit of a disappointment to see the impact tourism has had on the region since our last visit in 2004.

For more photos from our most recent trip to Vernazza, click here.

And for a few from 2004, click here.

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Tallinn, A Tasty Treat

Posted on September 13th, 2009 by g.
Categories: Europe, Travel.

Our expectations weren’t high for our weekend getaway, traveling to Tallinn (Estonia) with our friends Shaun and Lottie. Under Russian and Soviet control for hundreds of years, we were prepared for a somewhat depressed and developing country. We counted on the lackluster cuisine you might expect from eastern European countries, served up in the soviet concrete architecture to match.

But we found a treat. Tallinn’s café culture rivals Paris and Vienna’s, and the bars, clubs and variety of cuisine make it a great town to eat, drink and be merry. And it is all packed into a charming old town with city wall fortifications, towers, churches and, of course, the central square.

Like London, Tallinn offers a wide range of cuisine. So, we weren’t stuck with the local fare of pickled herring and jellied eel. We instead sampled Estonian, but also enjoyed delicious Russian, Indian, French, African and even Tex Mex. And it was all surprisingly well done. We mixed in some locally brewed beer in an Austrian style beer house, a fine bottle of European wine in a fantastically cozy wine cellar, and, of course, a few drinks sitting on the town’s main square.

To satisfy Shaun’s craving for ugly Soviet-era concrete blocks, we took the street car to the outskirts of town. Much to his dismay, we came up empty. We weren’t much help in his quest as we pointed out every pretty building and park we passed along the way. While the town doesn’t boast the grandiose style of Prague, it has its share of iconic elements and fine architectural touches. The entrance, through the main gate, made for a stunning first impression followed by the imposing town hall tower of the main square. The onion domed Orthodox church reminded us of Moscow and also made for a great photograph.

Tallinn’s unique mix of Scandinavian, Russian and eastern European influences proved to be a great recipe for a great weekend with good friends, fine wine and tasty food.

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Dubrovnik is Beautiful

Posted on July 13th, 2009 by g.
Categories: Europe, Travel.

Perhaps one of our favorite destinations. It has the old world
charm of Prague with the coast of Cinque Terre. And who would have thought that we’d love octopus salad.

Unfortunately we had to reschedule our kayaking due to rough seas. We’ll try again tomorrow. Today we are off to Mljet — a natural island and national park away from tourists with cycling and boating.

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Welcome to Croatia

Posted on July 11th, 2009 by g.
Categories: Europe, Travel.

And It has been a wonderful welcome. We arrived in Dubrovnik last night after flight delays (ugh) and were greeted with fireworks marking the opening of their summer festival. Fun! It has been one of our easiest arrivals with the bus waiting right outside the terminal and taking us straight to the old town. Our host was waiting for us at the gate and took us to our room where he had a chilled bottle of wine waiting for us in honor of K’s birthday.

We wandered out into the center of the old town to the Stradun (main street) lined with fire torches and capped with a stage. The festival is a major local event. It seems everyone in town was out on the streets and dressed to be seen. We walked around, ate a seafood dinner and enjoyed some of the music before turning in for the night.

Today has been gorgeous despite the forecasts for storms. We have soaked up the sun on the rocks of the old wall and the ’sandy’ (read pebbly) beach. It has been wonderfully relaxing with more to come.

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One Sea, Red Sea, Two Sea, Dead Sea

Posted on May 17th, 2009 by g.
Categories: Asia, Travel.

We crossed the border back into Israel and took a quick detour into Eilat to dip our toes into the Red Sea. While standing on the beach, looking to our left we saw Jordan. Looking to our right we saw Egypt.

Then we headed north to the Dead Sea and one of the highlights of our Israel trip. The Dead Sea is the saltiest sea on Earth with over 33% salinity and the lowest point on Earth at 400 meters below sea level. The high oxygen levels and minerals in the water make it popular spas. And bobbing like a cork is fun!

I was afraid that it would be novel rather than enjoyable, but in fact we loved floating and relaxing in the calm salty waters our first day. We stayed all afternoon bobbing in the water and soaking up some sun. While we received loads of warnings about the salty water causing small cuts to sting, it wasn’t that bad. However, the bottom of the sea is coated with sharp pointy salt crystal that really hurt to walk on. Top tip for dead sea visitors — bring some type of shoe to wear in the water.

The windy second day stirred up some waves that made it a bit tougher to relax in the water. You do not want to get the water on your face as it stings your eyes and lips. So we took our photos and then opted for the mud masks — from head to toe. The mud is supposed to have properties that make it attractive for spa treatments. It certainly did something — it is incredible how soft out skin felt. The hype about the dead sea treatments can’t be just hype.

While at the Dead Sea, we stayed at the Ein Gedi Kibbutz. A kibbutz is a commune and is a popular way of life in Israel. People have freedom to choose to live in the commune, unlike in communist nations, but as a part of the commune, they share in the work and belongings of the community. The kibbutz has morphed over the years, and many now cater to tourism.

Ein Gedi is actually an oasis. In the middle of the desert, there is a patch of lush green with waterfalls and pools. We hiked up in the afternoon for a dip.

We spent a night in Tel Aviv in between Nazareth and Petra and finished our trip with another night in Tel Aviv. Heading back from the Dead Sea, we took the highway through the West Bank. We didn’t venture to any Palestinian towns, but saw the fences and roadblocks imposed on the borders. It really left me with mixed feelings. We also some great signs while driving through the desert warning us of camels!

Back in Tel Aviv, this time we headed into town first. We visited the art museum where we saw pieces by Piccaso, Monet and Van Gogh and others. We ate frozen yoghurt Israeli style with fresh fruit toppings, wandered through the market and found an nice sidewalk restaurant for lunch. Then it was too the beach to catch our last rays, dip our toes in the Mediterranean one last time and watch the sunset on our Israel trip.

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Petra Jordan

Posted on May 14th, 2009 by g.
Categories: Asia, Travel.

Crossing the border from Israel to Jordan was a real experience. It is the first time that we crossed an international border that felt like a real border. Each side had the armed guards at the gate with watch towers, barbed wire and a strip of no-mans land in the middle. We couldn’t take our car with us, so we parked it and carried our bags over to the other side. From there we grabbed a Taxi to drive us the 2 hours to Petra.

Living in a big city and a wealthy nation, it seems foreign to us to take a Taxi long distances. But in some parts of the world, it is very affordable (by our standards) and the most efficient way to travel. For the same cost of catching a taxi across town in London, we were able to travel the 120km.

We arrived in Petra in the evening just in time for the Petra by night tour. Our first views of the ancient city came walking down the luminary lined canyon to the Treasury — the most famous of the stone carved building facades. It is also featured in one of the Indiana Jones movies (can anybody name which one? and which scene?).

This magical introduction was followed by a full day hiking through the ancient sites. Out cab driver’s advice was perfect — we stared early and hiked to the opposite end first to see the Monastery — the second most famous building. The early start kept us fresh for the 800 stairs at the end and we beat the crowds to have the place to ourselves. We enjoyed an early box lunch provided by our hotel while taking in the view.

While eating lunch, we met the local goats. They were looking for food and weren’t shy. A big one approached us and headed straight for our bag. I moved the bag and gave him a ’shoo’ as usually works with a dog. This goat was more persistent. He continued for the bag and didn’t have a problem going through me. K and I looked at each other and realized this was going to require more effort. I stood up and blocked the goat with my back to him while K quickly gathered up our things. The goat wasn’t happy about this and gave me a bit of a buck on the backside. With all but K’s sweater in our hands, we thought we were clear. But you know that saying about goats eating anything? He went after the sweater! Fortunately we beat him to it and made our get-away. It was quite comical. And even more comical watching the goats approach the next group of hiker’s arrive. We managed to catch one goat on video struggling with a bag.

That night we learned to cook some traditional dishes at The Petra Kitchen.

After two days in Petra, it was back to Israel for a dip in the Dead Sea. I’ll wrap our trip with that and Tel Aviv in the next post.

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