I knew a journey to England would be on my travel list, I figured it was around #20 or so for my travel goals. Late in 2003, my friends gave me a call and told me there is a great travel special to England and asked if I would go. I told them to let me think about it and I'd get back with them. I called them back promptly and asked again how much it was. I told Victoria that I'd let them know in 24 hours. I read up on the special as the flight was well under $300 [View Full Entry]

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My vacation to Holland was slowly winding down so the last 2 days I spent in Amsterdam. I thoroughly enjoyed Amsterdam and one characteristic of Amsterdam is there is a lot of bicycles! I even saw "suits" riding their bikes to work which I thought was pretty cool. Another thing I enjoyed when I was in Amsterdam, is most of my dinners I ate outside. The weather was pleasant, I don't think I ever saw one fly, which is a true luxury! I had a variety of food, ranging from italian, indian, to dutch. One place that I will recommend is [View Full Entry]

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Our first stop is Zaanse Schans. The area was named 'De Zaanse Schans' after a trench was built in 1574 to hold back Spanish troops during the eighty year war between the Netherlands and Spain. Zaanse Schans was built up on dikes. The dikes were probably built as early as the thirteenth century, the first villages were built along these at a later date. Until late in the last century these were typical 'dike-villages'. In the beginning of the 18th century there were about 500 windmills in the area, of which very few are in operation today. Zaanse Schans has a [View Full Entry]

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In 1995 my friend was telling me that when he was on his way to safari in Africa, they had a layover in Amsterdam. Dave told me how beautiful it was flying into Amsterdam because he could see all of the tulip fields. He knew that tulips were one of my favorite flowers and had given me a couple of postcards from Amsterdam. I decided that at some point, I'd have to add Holland to my list of travels. Fast foward to late 2002, I was surfing the web and there was a travel special that was so darn good. The [View Full Entry]

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We arrived at Playa Samara, on the pacific side of Costa Rica. Playa Samara has a reputation of being one of the country’s safest beaches due to the protection provided by a coral reef. The beach extends for 4 miles. The tropical forest surrounding the area gives you a chance to see Howler Monkeys and Sloths. We stayed at Hotel Las Brisas del Pacifico, which is located on Samara Beach, Guanacaste. We were fortunate to stay in the top bungalows which gave us a view of Samara Beach. In staying in the bungalows, don’t be afraid if you hear a deep [View Full Entry]

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After the exciting whitewater rafting on the Pacuare River, our next destination is Arenal Volcano. We arrived at Hotel San Bosco which is located in La Fortuna. The hotel is nice, clean, and inexpensive. From the hotel, on a clear day you can see Arenal Volcano. Early in the morning, the volcano was partly covered by clouds and the weather was overcast, which made photographing it quite a challenge. Arenal Volcano is the only volcano in Costa Rica constantly active since it woke up after 400 years with the big 1968 eruption producing huge ash columns, explosions & glowing red lava [View Full Entry]

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Our first stop in the Monteverde / Santa Elena region was the Serpentarium (Snake Farm). It was quite an experience in more ways than one. There was a room full of nothing but Boa Constrictors in all sizes, shapes, and ages. I was so intrigued photographing them, that I wasn't aware of what I almost stepped on. I was backing up to take a photo when I heard this loud hissing that resembled a cat hissing. I turned around and looked, I was about to step on a pregnant Boa Constrictor. The old saying of "If Mama ain't happy, no one's [View Full Entry]

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I picked Costa Rica for the whitewater rafting and also because it had the jungle and the beach. It's really the best of both worlds. Costa Rica has 800 species of ferns, 1,000 of orchids, 2,000 kinds of trees, and 200 species of mammals. I had a feeling that I was going to be in floral and fauna heaven. I was pretty much right! Costa Rica has the Caribbean on the east and the Pacific on the west. Costa Rica Has Nicaragua to the North and Panama to the South. My flight to San Jose took 3.5 hours. When you go [View Full Entry]

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I ended my vacation in Belize at Cancun. I took the bus from Belize City back to Cancun. Since my rear was sunburned it was a bit of an uncomfortable ride, even though the bus was similar in comfort to a Greyhound. It was a very long day to say the least. I decided that all of my activities in Cancun for the next day would involve walking and taking photographs. I was quite surprised to see Plant Hollywood in Cancun. The hotels were in every style I could imagine. Cancun is very touristy. I toured some of the markets, everyone [View Full Entry]

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One of the best features of my trip was snorkeling in the cayes (pronounced keys) in Belize. The Belize Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the Caribbean and second largest in the world. The reef runs 185 miles in length. I didn't realize this while snorkeling (until my guide pointed this out), there was a drop off, in which the water was 600 feet deep! The water was warm and crystal clear. I managed to see: Nurse Sharks, Barracuda, Angelfish, Bluestriped Grunt, Yellowtail Snapper, and other types of fish. I saw a Sea Cucumber, starfish, brain coral, sea fans [View Full Entry]

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