Tag Archives: beaches

Puerto López

by ladina

Flu had not seen the ocean for ages.

I must admit that I had got quite used to it during this round-the-world trip, enjoying very different seascapes over the past 16 months and, therefore, somewhere on the way, forgetting that for Swiss people being close to the ocean was quite extraordinary. Hence, visiting the Ecuadorian coast was very high on Flu’s to-do-list for her holidays and she would not be disappointed. José and I, for our part, were equally excited about stopping on the Pacific coast, for we had heard that humpback whales frequented the waters in summer and chances at observing those impressive cetaceans were high.

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Playa el Coco

by ladina

I guess we dreamed about that, when we were sweating in the unswerving heat of Montaña Grande: a deserted beach, a lost paradise on Earth, where we could relax and cool down in the water whenever we wanted. Though the waves of the Pacific Ocean — I still cannot fathom who named it like that — mostly raged so furiously that we would not swim in the sea, we found refuge in the pool that belonged to our hotel. No wonder we stayed for a whole week at Playa el Coco, tanning in the sun, playing frisbee on the beach and splashing in the pool. In the evenings we even had the chance to observe courageous little turtles which made their first journey into the vast deep blue, being swallowed by the waves and not returning on land until they would be old enough to lay their own eggs.

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Study

by jose

Arrived in Playa el Coco, Nicaragua, one thing was clear to us: we had not seen a prettier beach for a long time. In particular, the cliffs gracing the northern side of the bay were a perfect immobile counterpoint to the vast array of moods the Pacific Ocean could take, and a perfect subject for a photography study.

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Magnetic & Whitsunday Islands

by jose

“… The car ferry is cheaper, isn’t it?”
“Well, yeah, but you’d have to cross the bridge and then walk a fair distance to get ‘ere.”

I thanked the driver and clumsily got off the bus — with my backpack and the groceries in my hands, I was unable to turn around. The doors closed and the bus went on its way, to the Sealink ferry. The one we would not take.

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Phillip Island

by jose

Let us be honest: India, though a marvellous and eye-opening destination, has more than a fair share of hassles in pack for travelers. I have talked with people disgusted after leaving the country, seen travelers pack up for home almost as soon as they had arrived, and read so many warnings that I could tell stories about that fact without even mentioning my own experience. The short conclusion is: most people love and hate India. At the same time.

And even though I tend to think I loved it more than I hated it, Phillip Island (Victoria), where Aunt Coeri and Uncle Rod took us for some holidays, still was a huge shock for me. An agreeable shock, mind. As opposed to the mountains of garbage and plastic we had previously encountered, Phillip Island boasts a pristine or, if altered by man, well-conserved environment. The contrast with our months spent in India was tremendous; and this contrast, I think, made our enjoyment of the Australian flora and fauna all the better.

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Mumbai & Ellora

by jose

Ladina put down her whip, took off her hat and wiped the sweat off her brow. We had just escaped a deadly arrow trap followed by swinging axes when we had stumbled upon a long gallery. Astonished by our discovery, we slowly made our way along the walls, using our torch to bring light to ancient, crumbling bas-reliefs depicting what seemed to be forgotten gods in scenes of daily life: battling demons, wrenching entrails out of an agonizing enemy, or sometimes simply lifting mountains above their heads.

“I think we would better appreciate all of this if we had some historical context, or better still, theological explanations.”

“Let me get the Lonely Planet out”

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