Travels to North Pacific
This morning, I was thrilled to dive the Catalina Islands with Aquacenter Diving in Playa Flamingo. The Catalinas compose an archipelago of volcanic and sedimentary islands just a few miles offshore from Flamingo. Due to soft coral and fragile sea fans, these islands are normally, but not exclusively, reserved for intermediate to advanced divers who can navigate deep and drift dives (where divers are transported by tidal currents) without a problem. Today, visibility was decent – between 20 and 30 feet – and our hopes of seeing exceptional marine life were high.
A small speedboat …
Location: Gold Coast, North Pacific, Playa Brasilito, Playa Conchal, Playa Flamingo »
Activities: Horseback Riding, Scuba Diving and Snorkeling »
In preparation for today’s canopy tour, I ate a protein-filled vegetable omelet at Flamingo Beach Resort’s restaurant, Arenas. However, I probably would have skipped breakfast had I known what a long, rocky road I would be bumping along en route to the countryside.
The “monkey bus” picked me and two other guests up in the lobby at 8:15 a.m. The flatbed was as tough as a tank and fun to ride in, but seemed to have an insufferable maximum speed of only 13 miles per hour. We bounced along ten minutes of paved street and 15 …
Location: Gold Coast, North Pacific, Playa Flamingo »
Activities: Canopy Tours, Pacific Beaches »
After all the sun and physical activity from these last few days, I was in need of some all-inclusive relaxation at Playa Flamingo. Buses depart Playa del Coco hourly for Liberia, and I arrived a few minutes late as the vehicle was pulling away. Thankfully, the bus driver took pity on me – the clueless foreigner running with heavy luggage – and stopped to let me on.
I was struck by the contrast of this experience with my trip to Amsterdam, where I watched a tram operator slam the trolley door on a woman with a …
Location: Gold Coast, North Pacific, Playa Flamingo »
Activities: Dancing, Day Spas, Pacific Beaches »
