South of the Border traveling - June/2010

We would like to share with you a little bit about our recent RV trip to the south of the country. On this trip, we'll share some tips that may be  helpful if you're a beginner RVer.

Our Rig and Paul at Ocala National Forest - Florida.

Every time we travel south, our first dilema is when to go through New York City. We normally go through the Tapazee Bridge instead of going through the Washington Bridge.

Tip: if you're traveling from the Northeast, go through NY between 11:00 - 1:00 pm.

We take approximate 3 days to arrive in Florida. The great thing about RVing is taking the time to savor each overnight stay and enjoy them instead of just passing  through another city.

Entrance to the springs - just a short walk from our camp site

One of the big draws for us to go to Ocala National Forest, it was to visit the springs. We stayed at the state campground which is part of the forest and where the springs are located in this little town (village really...) called Salt Springs.

If you're looking for solitude, nature and being disconnected from civilization, then this is the place for you. While at the Ocala National Forest, we didn't have computer connectivity or cell phone reception. The two nearest cities from the forest are: From the campground you can turn left head torwards Ocala which is approximate 27 miles and the other way you'll arrive Palatka which is about 24 miles down the road.

The interesting thing about this spring is that if you were in the area boating/fishing and wanted to get cooled off, you can keep your boat at a short distance and come for a swim in the springs. The water is delightful because it is cold and refreshing (believe or not...). It is Florida after all and you normally can't find cold water anywhere. Well... go to to Salt Springs to experience a magic of a place and disconnect from civilization for a  while.

Salt Springs - Ocala National Forest (Florida)


From Ocala, we headed towards the West Coast and went to Dunedin where we stayed for 3 nights.

Honeymoon Island at Dunedin - Florida

We explored Dunedin and Clearwater area. There are some many hidden gems in the Clearwater area, you just need to take the time to explore.

From Dunedin, we headed to Fort Myers Beach.

If you have never been to the West Coast of Florida, you'll be for a treat. Fort Myers is one of those beaches that you'll go back once you've visited once. As you can imagine, the gulf water is very warm and great to play. 

Red Cocnut campground - Fort Myers (Florida)

Bird (not sure which kind...) Fort Myers Beach - FL

 We stayed at a lovely KOA campground in Savannah - Georgia

 

Hilton Head - SC

Hilton Head - South Carolina


            Awesome area to just hang out and relax at Hilton Head - SC

Paul and I had a great time on our RV trip to the south. We had an opportunity to see friends in Georgia which was such a treat. One thing that we took for granted was the heat. As you may notice from previous posts, we spent the US winter in Brazil which has opposite seasons. It was an extremely hot summer in Brazil and the place where we stayed was very HOT. So this means we're experiencing two hot summers in one year.

I would like to recommend if the heat bothers you too much, not to go to the south in the summer. Instead a good time to go is around March/April and October/November. One thing that continues to amaze me is how much we learn with each travel. Traveling is such a gift that we give ourselves and if you can fit into your schedule, plan a trip. One of the nicest thing about traveling is the planning itself. If you're stopping by this blog, please drop us note. See at our next travel (Catskill - New York). Thank you and happy travels.

Acadia National Park - Maine (US)

I haven't blogged for a while. Not sure why, however, here we're again. We wish to share a couple trips we have taken over the past 2 months. At the end of May we decided to go RVing up to the coast of Maine. We drove straight to Saco - Maine, where we stayed at lovely KOA campground. We were just a few minutes from Old Orchard beach. If you have never been to Maine or only have had experience with southern coast of this country, you'll be for a surprise when you arrive in Maine.

The rugged beauty, the old fishing villages that it seems like that the clock has stopped in time. The great people and great food there is hard to compare to any other place.

Let me tell you a little about our RVing experience before we dive into the beauty. As stated above we stayed at a very nice campground in Saco - Maine. The drive up there was very relaxed without any issues. Our agenda was to really get to Acadia National Park. My wonderful husband doesn't really believe in the latest gadgets of GPS. So this means, he studies the maps very well before leaving in the morning and making sure that the route we're taking makes senses for us and it is scenic. So, after spending a few days in Saco, we continued heading up the coast of Maine and we took route one (1). Since we had never taken this route, I thought that it was a solid plan. Little did I know that I had to close my eyes at times because I was scared that we were going to hit a church, a building or anything on the road.

Route one (1) up the coast of Maine is absolutely beautiful. If you can picture old fishing villages with beautiful churches, antiques and country stores, restaurants and cafe. It is absolutely a beautiful way to see the coast of Maine. However, from a view of a 38 foot Motor Home is a bit scary. 

We did manage however, to arrive at........oh my goodness, I forgot the name of the village where we parked our Motor Home. Our main objective was to explore Acadia National Park.  And, exploring we did!

During our second day there, we decided to go for a nice hike. We had bought these great hiking boots last year that we really hadn't used yet and we were dying to use it. So we got up early, I went for a small run (can't start the day without it...) and laced up our boots, made a couple sandwiches, packed our back packs with water, insect repellent and a few other essential items and we were ready for our much waited hiking day. 

We stopped at the visitor center where someone there showed us the map and the hiking trails. The trails were marked on the map as easy, moderate or hard hiking. So, we decided to start easy and hiking "Bubble Mountain,". Then, we felt so confident that we wanted to continue to do other hikes. We chose another trail.  However, this time we chose a very difficult trail that it was much more that we had set out to do. It was much more like rock climbing than hiking to us. We thought it was strange that we didn't see anyone hiking on this trail as you normally see on such a beautiful day. Come to find out, we had chosen one of the most difficult trails in that area. It was an amazing accomplishment and we were so exhausted, that by the end of the day even though we were hungry, we hardly had any energy to eat. We slept like babies that evening. 

We loved being at the coast of Maine. It is hard to explain the rugged beauty of this land. The only thing you can do is go there and visit yourself. If you go, taking the less travel path and without hurrying as we found route one (1) to be very scenic. It may be slow, however, you'll be amazed of its beauty. Join us for our next adventure in the south of the country.

                                     

The Island

We have the previlege to have a wonderful little apartment in the city of Governador Valadares, Brazil where we'll be spending a few months out of the year here. This location was chosen primarily because several members of our family lives here including my lovely mother.

The apartment is located on a beautiful island. In some ways living here in the island for the few months is like living in a small resort. Beautiful view of the mountain, great restaurants, great padaria (bakery), ice cream places and amazing place to do your exercise every day. One thing is for sure, you only stay sedentary living in the island, if you're a bit lazy or lacking motivation. Please allow us to share a bit of the island with you.

Banana tree... you may find several type of fruit trees growing in the island.

Rio Doce (sweet river)

This walking area makes a loop around the island

There is a bridge to come to the island. You can also take the balsa (passenger ferry) as well.... this ferry is made out of wood and there is no motor. There's a cable connecting from the mainland to the island and that's how the ferry goes back and forth all day long.

We lived on the 4th floor of this apartment complex.... you can actually see the outside covered area

Just an old beautiful tree.... another little one growing inside the trunk of the big tree too.... (nature is so amazing)

It can't get better than this for an area to exercise every day....(just beautiful location)

Beautiful view of the mountain walking around the island.

Paul pointing to the banana tree... it is amazing that these trees are in free land around the island.

 
We have a bit of fascination with these banana trees... they're so beautiful and it is such a joy to understand where our food comes from...

Does these trees looks ancient? I was always at awe to view such nature at the island...

Just so beautiful....

 
There are beautiful homes located at the island...... I love this one because it has an older look...

Don't you just love the vegetation around  the homes.... it is a truly tropical place

We hope that you had a glimpse of what a beautiful place where we spent about 4 and 1/2 months in the wintter of 2010. We'll be sharing more adventures... stay tuned and please feel free to share the contents of this blog.

Hang Gliding Tournament - Brazil/March 2009

Have you ever wished to do something really crazy and fun? Well... I wish I had the courage to fly on a Hang Glider. All the pilots looks like they're having an amazing time, flying like a bird. However, before I show some pictures of the Hang Gliding that happened in Governador Valadares from March 14th through the 20th, I would like to share with you if I  may a bit of history that surrounds this amazing sport.

"During the last part of the 19th century a German engineer made over Two-thousand successful flight on weight shift hang gliders. His name was Otto Lilienthal. The notes he kept of those experimental flights were a major source of inspiration for early aviation pioneers.

Unfortunately, once the Wright brothers achieved powered flight, Otto and hang gliding were largely forgotten. Forgotten that is until the late 1940‘s, when Dr Francis Rogallo (a NASA scientist) and his wife became interested in the gliding. Initially they worked in their spare time developing a flexible wing kite, which they patented in 1948. 


In the late 1950‘s NASA joined the "space race", and conducted a number of tests to see if the Rogallo wing could be used as a steerable recovery parachute for their space capsules.

When pictures of these trials were released, aviation enthusiasts in Australia and America immediately saw the potential of the Rogallo Flexwing for recreational flight. The hang glider was re-born. By the late 1960‘s enthusiasts, armed only with pictures cut out from magazines, were building their own bamboo and polythene Rogallos, and leaping off the nearest sand dune. With little or no information to go on, initial progress was often slow and hazardous.

Then in May 1971 the Otto Lilienthal Anniversary Meet was held in California. This event attracted enthusiasts from all over the country, and really caught the public‘s imagination." Excerpt history taken from the following site http://www.athleticscholarships.net/history-of-hang-gliding.htm

This event continues to attract people from all over the world. During the tournament, Paul and I met pilots from Germany, Canada, United States, France and Hungary. We had a lot fun with them and we asked a ton of questions regarding this sport. Let's see some cool pictures of the tournament.

Pilots getting ready for a day of flying....

A beautiful scene....

Beautiful clear sky for flying.....

Pilot about to take off...

Same pilot took off and is flying...

Do you have the courage? Flying high in the clouds....

Flying... some pilots getting ready to fly...

Pilots and people watching the tournament...

Very cool....

Just had so much fun watching and taking pictures...

Flying...

Amazing...

Thank you for allowing us to share some beautiful sights watching the Hang Gliders. We learned a lot from them and we're still amazed and in awe of the beauty of this sport. Please drop a comment, we would love to hear from you.

Traveling in Prado - Bahia (northern Brazil)

If you love warm weather, pristine beaches, great places to eat and relax, then you’ll love Prado. It was love at first sight for me. The moment that Paul and I arrived I could not believe the views. We stayed at a very beautiful, intimate and lovely pousada (same as a small hotel) called Ponta de Areia.


The beaches in Prado are very similar to the beaches in the Caribbean. Also, Prado offer delicious food that you may choose from several restaurants. You can sample local cuisine which is fantastic, or various type of food like French and Italian cuisine. If you go there for one week, you’ll be able to choose a different restaurant for lunch and dinner.

Also, I must say that all the people we met there, from the pousada staff, waiter and waitress and from the car rental (private person), was absolutely amazing. Very courteous, attentive and wanted to serve.

Prado also played an important role in Brazil’s discovery. The colonial houses, dating back to 1535, draw visitors to the Historical Center, where today it is still  possible to see the beautiful Church of Our Lady of the Conception. Together with Porto Seguro, Prado and Santa Cruz Cabrália is part of the Discovery Coast of Brazil.


Calm clear waters, coconut trees, and the formation of several natural swimming pools captivate the visitor who is looking for peace. In many areas of the coast, it is possible to dive and see the beauty of the bottom of the sea.


Ok…dive in and take a look at the pictures so you can see for yourself and maybe book the next flight to Brazil.


Found a campground in Prado - these campers had an amazing view. The RV featured here is from a couple from Swedden (shipped to Brazil to go RVing)

Driving torwards Tororao beach...... some of the views before our final destination

View from a restaurant we had lunch at Tororao beach - Prado.

If deserted beaches is your thing... then you'll find them in Prado

Town square - downtown Prado

Downtown Prado - beautiful restored old homes

Pool at Ponta de Areia where we stayed - http://www.pousadapontadeareia.com.br/

One of things we loved about staying here.... was all the wonderful little areas that you could relax....http://www.pousadapontadeareia.com.br/

Another relaxing area.... http://www.pousadapontadeareia.com.br/

Perfect reading area after the beach... http://www.pousadapontadeareia.com.br/

We hope we provided some useful information on where to go on your next vacation. We truly enjoyed our time in Prado and we'll definitely will be going back there another time. Stay tuned for the next post....