beaches travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Miami is a world of man -made islands and the original polo fields are new golf courses – Miami first make a loud at the beginning of the 20th century. Many times I wrote about Miami but this time I will mention some other interesting facts. I love Miami in part for all its flashy invention. In my opinion the big constructions are adding some serious substance to this subtropical city.

I suggest you this time exploring Miami on a two-day bike tour visiting city streets, galleries, delicious drives, one stop Haitian voodoo shops. You can covered 40 miles and 11 islands and used up an entire tube of sunblock.

One of my favorites building in Miami is Bacardi Building north to downtown Miami, at Biscyne and Northest 21st. This building is the greater example of how the International style meets the subtropics. I’m a modernist and I reckon we should protect the buildings of the past, but also the new architecture should reflect our own times and aspirations.

A fantastic way to experience Miami cultural diversity is through its culinary culture. Just north of downtown it’s Enriqueta, a delicious little Cuban spot with hundreds of fun and mostly family-run restaurants. There are incredible Cuban Nicaraguan, Peruvian, Brazilian and Argentine food. Miami has an extraordinary influence of cultures, but you have to get out of South Beach to feel it. The botanicas in Little Haiti are just an example for getting a sense of rich Haitian culture here.

For the first time, there is massive residential development in the downtown area that will transform what was once a dark working center into a great downtown. In addition to Museum Park (the new Miami Art Museum/Museum of Science complex) and the Performing Arts Center, over the next several years we will see a new Frank Gehry Soundspace for the New World Symphony and new Herzog & de Meuron and Enrique Norten buildings here in Miami Beach.

 

The AIR GAMES in Oludeniz, is an event for everyone from spectators to hard core acrobatic pilots. Also all new, beginner flyers are welcome. Oludeniz is a small resort village in the Mugla Province on the South West coast of Turkey on the Aegean Sea to the south and the high, steep sided Babadag Mountain, 14 km (9 mi) south of Fethiye.

Demonstrations of paragliding, skydiving, base-jumping, hangliding, para-motor flights, remote control plane shows, microlights, hard core acrobatic competitions, accuracy landing competitions. Also summer sun, beach and unbelievably turquoise sea is just in front of you. After the sunset the action does not stop, chilling out by watching snap-shots from the day in Cloud 9 and parties. Music, drinks, dancers and entertainment are until the crack of dawn.

It is becoming increasingly popular for festival goers to arrive early and get in a bit of relaxation or some sky time prior to the opening ceremony. Accommodation in Oludeniz is limited and fills up FAST so get in early. The Festival starts in 14th and ends in 18th, 2009.

Côte d’Azur is also popular in English as the French Riviera – it is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeastern corner of France, extending from Menton near the Italian border on the east to either Hyères or Cassis in the west. The Côte d’Azur was once one of the first resort areas in the world. It began as a health resort for ailing British tourists at the end of the 18th century, after that in the mid-19th century, when the railroad arrived, it became the playground and vacation spot of British, Russian, and other aristocrats, such as Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, when he was Prince of Wales.

In the first half of the 20th century it was visited by artists and writers such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Edith Wharton and Somerset Maugham, as well as wealthy Americans and Europeans. After World War II it became a popular destination for mass tourism and conventions, as well as a summer home and meeting place for celebrities from Brigitte Bardot to Elton John.

Officially, the Côte d’Azur is home to 163 nationalities with 83,962 foreign residents, although unofficial and semi-official estimates of the number of non-French nationals living in the area are often much higher. The French Riviera also contains the seaside resorts of Cannes, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Beaulieu, Cap d’Ail, Fréjus, Saint-Raphaël, and Saint-Tropez, and surrounds the principality of Monaco, with a total population of over 2m.

Monaco

The Marquesas Islands also emerged as ”The land of men” are a small group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, a collectivization of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The highest point in the region is the peak of Mount Oave, located on Ua Pu island at 1, 230m above sea level. Ua Pu is the third largest of the Marquesas Islands and the only major island that was unified under a single monarch prior to the arrival of European explorers.

The capital of the Marquesas Islands is the settlement of Taiohae on the island of Nuku Hiva.  The Marquesas Islands are the island group farthest from any continent in the world, lying between 900 and 1,200 km (550 and 725 miles) south of the equator and 1,371 km (852 miles) northeast of Tahiti.

Besides the lush tropical vegetation that goes culturally, the Marquesas are remarkably dry islands. They are the first major break in the prevailing easterly winds spawned from the extraordinarily dry Humboldt Current. The Marquesas Islands are thought to have formed by a center of upwelling magma called the Marquesas hotspot. The islands are divided in six communes. French and Tahitian are the only official languages of French Polynesia, and therefore of the Marquesas Islands as well, the Marquesan languages, in their various forms.

Accommodations are available in only a few hotels (Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa) and small family homes on each island. The islands offer a wide range of activities, as Landrover excursions, horseback riding, hiking over mountain trails and to inland cascades, picnics on the beach or mountains, deep-sea fishing, sailing, motorboat rides, visits to archaeological sites, visits to artisansí workshops to buy wood carvings, tapa hangings and monoi perfumed oils.

To get there by boat try the mixed-freighter ARANUI takes up to 100 passenger in air-conditioned cabins for a 16 day cruise from Tahiti to the Marquesas through the Tuamotu archipelago and back. It includes  deluxe accommodation and meals as well as land excursions in the various islands.

 

Among the large number of luxury-boutique hotels stands out a Pretty Beach House. This holiday house is an exclusive food-lovers Hamptons-esque private beach house resort just outside of Sydney that takes the concept of ‘weekend’ getaway to a new level. The resort is consisted of three private structures; relaxed, non-pretentious and homely beach villas nestled discreetly into a landscape full of hundreds of old gum trees which stand there like living art sculptures.

As soon as you arrived, a sense of peace and quiet descends upon you,  with fresh and stunning designer elements. The villas interiors are luxurious made of natural materials. Privacy is paramount which is why, each villa also has its own private swimming pool. There are no TVs in the villas, just a Bose Soundock with iPod and wireless internet so there’s nothing else to do but slide from day bed to pool and back again in a haze of sedation.

The real adventure in the Pretty Beach Villa begin when it’s time to eat! The Sydney chef Steve Manfredi is the master of the kitchen and largely responsible for the best part of the trip, exporting sophisticated, city fine dining into this laid-back environment. The chef often serves guests himself. If anything is worth it in your trip to Pretty Beach House is the delicious meal.

If you get tired of sleeping, lazing, eating and drinking, you can have a stroll down to Tallow Beach for a swim and a dose of dolphin watching. Or if you are looking for a piece of adventure hop into the Pretty Beach House boat or take out a helicopter ride over the area.

Barbados is an independent continental island situated east of the Caribbean Sea in the western Atlantic Ocean. The east coast of the island is home to clean, perfect and enormous waves. The island’s west coast is emerged as: powdery beaches, clear turquoise water, maincured estates, really maincured resorts and even though maincured golf courses. As well as this part of the island is known as the Platinium Coast, due to the color of its sparkling coastline. But this is Barbados of the travel agencies and guidebooks. This is only half the story. Let me tell you about the wild Barbados.

The eastern coast of Barbados is a whole other world. Hide away from the luxury resorts by acres of sugar cane fields, thick verdant forests and trees full of wild monkeys, this is Barbados’s real side. You could spend all your time in the west and never know the real Barbados. The east is run by the locals, not the tourists.

The main town in eastern Barbados is called Bathsheba. The town look as if it was once the playground of mythical creatures, because of the enormous limestone boulders strewn in the shallows. The wind sweeping along the hillside, which is hollowed by the warm blasts and palm trees. It’s a coastline carved by centuries of wind blowing from thousands of miles away.

With such an identity, come characters. This is a place, where people have names like Biju, Yellow and Chicken. But the real celebrity in town is Soup Bowl, the island’s biggest wave. ” When Soup Bowl is good, it gives you goose bumps”, said Ms. Pitcher – a surf teacher.

On a map, Barbados looks as if it is drifting out into the open Atlantic, which is exactly what makes Soup Bowl ideal. Soup Bowl is one of the tip three waves in the world. This wave can travel nearly three thousands miles in the open ocean, undisturbed by sandbars, reefs or land, before it breaks the island.

Aquatic life in Barbados isn’t just for world champions, professional athletes and people who want they could surf before they could walk. Much of the coasts offer makeshift beer bars, street food, vendors selling fried fish and cheap guesthouses that are so appealing to people who prefer to watch surfing, than waxing a board. But the locals will remind you one more time: What makes Barbados unique is that there is a single wave for everyone.

Anyone can surf Barbados and I mean anyone. You can close your eyes and point to the calendar – any day you hit, Barbados will have great beginner and intermediate waves. Action! Do you want a drink? Listen if I say Jamaica you think reggae right, but when I say Barbados nothing comes to mind and that has to change. But I would say also: Popular is good, too popular is dangerous!

American Airlines has nonstop flights from Kenedy Airport in New York to Grantley Adams International Airport in Seawell, Christ Church on the south side of Barbados, about a 25-minute drive from the surf beaches near Bathsheba.

Jose Ignacio is a beautiful fishing village on the Uruguay’s coast recommends to those of you, who prefer bohemian air of dirt roads, fashion stores and hostels. The only sounds are of Atlantic waves and the winds whisper. Loud clubs are forbidden and parties have a 2 a.m. curfew.

Working fishing boats on Brava beach.

Despite of the fact that Jose Ignacio has a small-town character you can find upscale dining, art galleries and boutiques like this one in the picture named El Canuto.

Hand-painted street signs.

Posada del Faro is a spectacular villa which offers Mediterranean-style rooms, surrounding by a small pool that faces beautiful  Jose Ignacio bay. High-season the price is double and starts at $380 a night.

The Restaurant Paradiso.

Uruguay is a country located in southeastern part of South America. The word Uruguay comes from the Guarani language, meaning ”river where the birds live”. The inhabitants of Uruguay before the colonization were various tribes of hunter, best known as the Charrua Indians. The country has impressive literacy traditions. Tango, candombe and murga are the three main styles of music there.

Corsica, one of the three largest islands in the Mediterranean, lies 100 miles South of the French Riviera, 50 miles from the Italian coastline and 8 miles from Sardinia. Corsica is almost the perfect holiday destination – perfect beaches, magnificent mountain scenery, fine towns and villages that simply belong in the surrounding landscape, and of course the climate.

Half of the population are concentrated in the two principal towns of Ajaccio and Bastia. Ajaccio is perched on one of the most beautiful bays in the world, with the mountains in the background remaining snow-capped right up into the spring. It is a great place to enjoy a stroll in the morning, perhaps along the old port or to the busy markets and the small streets of the old town. In Ajaccio you are rarely able to forget that you are in Napoleon Bonaparte’s home town, where he was born on 15 August 1769 in a house on rue Saint Charles. Corsica’s geography is most becoming, made up of over 20 mountains, numerous rivers, sandy white beaches, and rocky cliffs. The hundreds of beaches and 1,000 kilometer of coastline form the basis of many holidays on the island, with swimming, snorkeling, wind-surfing, scuba diving and sunbathing being the most popular activities. Also explore the island using hiking trails ranging from four-day ventures to near 200 km, 15 day trudges, while boat tours are ideal for reaching the more inaccessible areas of the coastline. The island has many mountain peaks higher than 2000 meters and the so called maquis covers a big part, rock rose, myrtle, strawberry trees, mastic trees and Asphodels. With excellent rock climbing and bouldering, beaches, culture and a landscape that reminds of many of the nicest places you could find in Europe, this rock climbing island is strongly recommended.

Some of the world’s most beautiful underwater environments are located in Sulawesi, Indonesia. There’s the Bunaken Marine Reserve with white sandy beaches, a dense population of fish, coral and deep underwater gullies and valleys; Lembeh Straits and its WWI shipwrecks and unusual black sand bottoms; the Togean Islands which host all major reef formations (fringing, barrier, patch and atoll); Wakatobi in Tukang Besi Archipelago and its fascinating fossil reef formations and a myriad of marine species, such as sperm and pilot whales, spinner, bottle-nose dolphins and dugongs; the sea garden of Takabonerate National Park, southwest of Selayar Island, which is the third largest coral atoll in the world, as the Banggai Archipelago, the Makassar Straits, Kapoposang, Bira and Selayar islands… the list of amazing location is endless.

The Lariang River, which runs for half its length of the Lore Lindu National Park, is a world-class venue for white-water rafting. Lore Lindu in Central Sulawesi is largest habitat for Sulawesi’s endemic mammals, such as the anoa, babirusa, deer, tarsius spectrum, cuscus, civets, squirrels, rats, and over 55 types of bats and more than 230 species of birds, including the maleo and red knobbed hornbill. See the ancient culture and ceremonies of Tana Toraja. Apart from the wonderful scenery of lush valleys and rice fields sheltered by rocky cliffs, Torajan villages are architectural masterpiece, consisting of the beautifully decorated Tongkonan houses. Coffins containing bones and skulls are kept in the cliffs and cave graves. These unique burial sites are a typical Torajan ritual. At Lemo, carved-out cliff balconies hold tau-taus, wooden effigies of the dead. A pre-historic cave at Miasa Te’ne (Leang Lompoa Cave) has finger painting depicting men and pigs. The cave was once inhabited by the Toalaean indigenous people some 5,000 years ago. In Bada Valley of Central Sulawesi, see mysterious megalithic statues. While the south which is home to the seafaring Buginese, see traditional boat-building techniques at Bantaeng and Bulukumba.150 species of rare butterflies are found at Bantimurung. Known as Turtle Island, Pasoso Island has a high population of green turtle. Between the months of September and October, the turtles lay their eggs in the island’s sandy beaches.

Cosy and quiet, the Koh Yao island will hide you in its worm gulfs, far away from crowded touristique destinations. The people here have preserved the traditions of simple and voluptuous in which harmony you have to live and rediscover yourself. Heavenly beautiful and philosophic, this island is away to the clean dimensions of the soul. If you cannot think of where else to sun bathe in style and indulge yourself in serenity while being provided with modern comforts, planning your holiday in Koh Yao would suit your desires.

The Paradise Koh Yao Boutique Beach Resort and Spa is located on Koh Yao Noi Island in Phang Nga, south of Thailand. “The Paradise” is a subtle blend of boutique beach resort and health spa; a tasteful and simple symbiosis of nature, comfort and style, amongst protected national parkland. Private villas and studios nestle adjacent to 400 meters of private untouched beach providing year round natural luxury.

Featuring car rental, travel counter, currency exchange, airport pick-up and drop-off, cocktail lounge, dry cleaning and laundry, nursery, this Koh Yao hotel is sure to make each guest’s trip an enjoyable one. Unwind after your day with a choice of massage, steam room, outdoor pool, indoor pool, water sports – just a few of the hotel’s excellent sporting and leisure offerings.

The resort goes by back to nature in total comfort, a perfect location to enjoy with the family, lay back, relax and be pampered while enjoying nature pure.

Thassos is a green greek island in the Aegean Sea and it is farfamed for its clean beaches, its hospitality, its tasty vine and the magnificent honey. The history of Thassos is lasting back into the antiquity. At that time, Thassos was famous for its goldmines and marble. Until today, you can see much archaeological treasures, which will make your journey to something special. Also the giant marble factories, which are exporting the marble in the whole world, will amaze you.

History of Thassos:

The island was colonized at an early date by Phoenicians, attracted probably by its gold mines; they founded a temple to the god Melqart, whom the Greeks identified as “Tyrian Heracles”, and whose cult was merged with Heracles in the course of the island’s Hellenization; the temple still existed in the time of Herodotus. An eponymous Thasos, son of Phoenix— or of Agenor, as Pausanias reported— is said to have been the leader of the Phoenicians, and to have given his name to the island.

In 720 708 BC, Thasos received a Greek colony from Paros. It was in a war which the Parian colonists waged with the Saians, a Thracian tribe, that the poet Archilochus threw away his shield. The Greeks extended their power to the mainland, where they owned gold mines which were even more valuable than those on the island. From these sources the Thasians drew great wealth, their annual revenues amounting to 200 or even 300 talents. Herodotus, who visited Thasos, says that the best mines on the island were those which had been opened by the Phoenicians on the east side of the island facing Samothrace.

The place was important during the Ionian Revolt against Persia. After the capture of Miletus (494 BC) Histiaeus, the Ionian leader, laid siege to Thasos. The attack failed, but, warned by the danger, the Thasians employed their revenues to build war ships and strengthen their fortifications. This excited the suspicions of the Persians, and Darius compelled them to surrender their ships and pull down their walls. After the defeat of Xerxes the Thasians joined the Delian confederacy; but afterwards, on account of a difference about the mines and marts on the mainland, they revolted.

The Athenians defeated them by sea, and, after a siege that lasted more than two years, took the capital, Thasos, probably in 463 BC, and compelled the Thasians to destroy their walls, surrender their ships, pay an indemnity and an annual contribution (in 449 BC this was 21 talents, from 445 BC about 30 talents), and resign their possessions on the mainland. In 411 BC, at the time of the oligarchical revolution at Athens, Thasos again revolted from Athens and received a Lacedaemonian governor; but in 407 BC the partisans of Lacedaemon were expelled, and the Athenians under Thrasybulus were admitted.

After the Battle of Aegospotami (405 BC), Thasos again fell into the hands of the Lacedaemonians under Lysander who formed a decarchy there; but the Athenians must have recovered it, for it formed one of the subjects of dispute between them and Philip II of Macedonia. In the embroilment between Philip III of Macedonia and the Romans, Thasos submitted to Philip, but received its freedom at the hands of the Romans after the battle of Cynoscephalae (197 BC), and it was still a “free” state in the time of Pliny.

After a period of Latin occupation, it was captured by the Turks in 1462; it was given by the Sultan Mahmud II to Mehemet Ali of Egypt. In 1914 during the Balkan Wars, Thasos became part of Greece. Thasos, the capital, stood on the north side of the island, and had two harbours, one of which was closed. Archilochus described Thasos as “an ass’s backbone crowned with wild wood,” and the description still suits the mountainous island with its forests of fir. The highest mountain, Ipsario or Ypsario, is 1045 m (3428 ft) high. Besides its gold mines, the wine, nuts and marble of Thasos were well known in antiquity. Thasian wine (a light bodied wine with a characteristic apple scent) was, in particular, quite famous; to the point where all Thasian coins carried the head of the wine god on one side and bunches of grape of the other.

Today, Thasos is a part of the Kavala prefecture and is the southernmost and the easternmost points in the prefecture. Thasos serves ferry routes to and from Kavala and a port at the eastern portion of the prefecture.

Thassos is very nice place if you like quiet and private beaches among the big rocks. There are maybe dozen of this kind of beaches along the island ( you can view some pictures taken by me below ).

Quite interesting place to visit is the ancient monastery built on one rock just above the sea. This monastery is dedicated to the Archangel Michel and is located on the road between Astris and Alyki, on a cliff. It is worth-seeing for its breathtaking location and for the construction itself. Unfortunately the local people has banned the photographing inside the monastery but i managed to get some shoots for you. Below are some very cool ancient sabres ( more than 50 indeed ) all different shape, size and time of creation, exhibited in the monastery. And not in last place Thassos is well known after its olive production. It seems that the olives are almost everywhere, except rocks and very steep slopes. Some trees are obviously very old. The three you can see below i more than 500 years old.