Archive for the 'Beach' Category
On Thursday August 20th, after lunch with my son and future daughter in law, I left Portland Oregon and headed south on the the I-5 ,then US 101 before arriving in California’s northernmost town, Crescent City for the evening.
Crescent City is a big fishing port . The water is slightly warmer than nearby Oregon, in the high 50s, so I was able to swim. I had had a delicious seafood soup breakfast before heading to Humboldt County.
Eureka, the county seat, is a funky old town reminiscent of 1960s San Francisco. Most Californians have never visited Humboldt , one of the most remote end unspoiled coastlines in the Lower 48.
I was privileged to spend a night in Shelter Cove, an isolated community at the end of a long and windy road that raises and lowers up to 3000 feet before arriving at sea level.It’s very hard to find a room there.
Incredible black sand beaches with very dangerous surf. The Cove of Shelter Cove is where all water activity takes place. Please see the video at the top of the page. The summer weather is pleasant, about 70 and sunny in the afternoons, but the winter can bring up to 100 inches of rain from December to March.
Northern Humboldt is home to huge legal marijuana farms supplying the California marketplace. One can smell it while driving by the tents used for growing and drying.
After Humboldt it was off to volcanic Lassen National Park. See the video. Night was spent in Reno Nevada – not in the COVID restricted casino but in a huge luxurious suite at $ 90 a night.
2 nights in Tahoe, 2 nights in cold smoky San Francisco and a night in Carmel are all highlighted in the video. The plan was to drive down Big Sur, but again ,closed because of massive fires. I wound up at the farm home of a friend in Ojai. Finally was getting towards Southern California.
TotalAdventure has always been interested in living part time in Los Angeles. A week in an AirBnb as I did in Santa Monica this time, and last year, a week in Beverly Hills.
Although Santa Monica stayed cool, never going over 90, Las Angeles County experienced its’ hottest day in history on September 6th. We drove to Van Nuys to experience it – 121 degrees ! Also the hottest temperature ever recorded west of any mountain range in California.
On September 10th – it was time to head back to the East.
Lucky for me, my birthday fell within this trip to Cameroon. To celebrate, some of the sanctuary staff took me to Tsaben Beach. About a half hour from the town of Limbe, Tsaben Beach was the antithesis of polluted Down Beach. In fact, it is among the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen in my life. Black volcanic sand and rocks line the crystal blue water, and lush greenery is ever present. A row of pavilions provides a shady spot to down some beers and play cards.
Our visit took place during the rainy season in Cameroon, so tide was too high and rough to swim, and the sky was too cloudy to see the rumored breath-taking sunset. According to the locals, it was a flop of a beach day, but I think it was the most beautiful beach and best birthday I’ve ever experienced.
TotalAdventure does not currently have adventures in Cameroon, but we invite Cameroon companies to apply. TotalAdventure has some great trips to South Africa https://bit.ly/2WPNkPb
Vietnam Voyage Is A 23 minute excursion from Saigon to DaNang by air, from DaNang to Hue by train and then from Hue to Hanoi by air. TotalAdventure explores the main sites of the 4 historic cities with culinary adventures ,such as cobra snake in Hanoi.
On January 12 TotalAdventure returned to Cuba – the first of a few explorations this year. The following posts provide a great visualization of a slowly transitioning Cuba.
On Monday, January 16 ,TotalAdventure drove to Esenada Nombre de Dios on the Gulf of Mexico. Other than Mexico itself, it is the only place on the Gulf where one can actually see mountains – the limestone monoliths of Viñales about 30 miles distant.
As the peninsula was only 30 miles away, we thought it would be a quick morning trip to explore’s the area’s possibility as an eco-resort ( not likely ) and a snorkel swim. However, the roads were in serious need of repaving and turned out to be an all day excursion instead.
Iconic lighthouse, about half way between Florida and Mexico.
The Gulf beaches are clean and peaceful. TotalAdventure is exploring areas that might be good for an eco-resort – but the coral reef is not well developed in this area.
A deserted subtropic isle.
One of the world’s newer nations, Montenegro declared independence from Serbia in 2006. Montenegro escaped the vicious wars that tore apart and destroyed most of the other Yugoslav Republics. TotalAdventure entered by bus from Mostar,Bosnia on Sunday night, June 26th. On Monday we hired a local driver ( 65 Euro) to take us to Bar – where we took the last leg of our Eurail trip – about one hour to the capital city,Podgorica.
The Bay of Kotor is a Fjord coming in from theAdriatic Sea.
Islands with churches dot the Bay. Montenegro is primarily Serbian Orthodox.
Herceg Novi ,near Croatia and Bosnia , is beautiful and more isolated from tourist crowds to the South.
Medieval Ruins in Kotor Town.
Stevi Stefan – for Serbia’s Elite !
Herceg Novi.
Adriatic Coastline. About 50 miles north of Albania.
Sunset over the capital city of Podgorica – known as Titograd in Titoist times.
TotalAdventure finally had some time to relax after a whirlwind journey. We stayed int eh luxurious resort town of Bodrum, on the Aegean Sea Our gracious host was Nezih Çavuşoğlu,the well known Turkish artist we met in Istanbul in 2012. Read the November,2012 article here. You can review , and perhaps buy his paintings here on Artsy.
Balcony at the house of the Artist.
Crystal clear Aegean waters. The atmosphere was peaceful in the days after the attack at Ataturk, hundreds of kilometers to the north.
A newly constructed Mosque.
The peaceful Mosque interior.
Bodrum by night.
Delicious fresh seafood every night.
TotalAdventure has just returned from a road trip in Cuba, only 45 minutes away from our home city of Miami. A 45 minute flight and 57 years back in time.Due to limited internet access TotalAdventure was unable to upload video and photos on a daily basis. The entire story of the trip will be uploaded shortly, with many great photos.
For current adventures in Cuba CLICK HERE.
Whirlwind week of October 12 continues. Less than 72 hours after skiing the slopes of El Colorado, TotalAdventure was bodysurfing at Ipanema Beach in Rio.
Waves were small, about 3 to 4 feet, but perfect for bodysurfing.
Rio is now getting ready for the 2016 Summer Olympics – which in August,will be their winter – making it easier for outdoor sports like long distance running.
For TotalAdventure journeys in Brazil – CLICK HERE.
A recap of ArcticTropic’s Australian Adventure last February. We are soon relaunching as totaladventure.travel and are currently in testing phase.