SAN FRANCISCO

We arrived later to San Francisco than we thought but we found the hotel without too much hassle and although all their parking was gone there was a space out front we just had to be out by 9am. I wasn't planning on it after the long drive the day before but needs must I suppose.

Since one of the most iconic things San Francisco is named for is the Painted Ladies, I must go and see them. We saw the ones near Alamo Square and the detail on them is incredible. I am impressed in the talent of the people that built them.

 

I'm a fan of Full House although I only watched it a few years ago since I wasn't born yet back then, I needed to find the house that is represented as the Tanner's residence. I wasn't the only one there as you can see by this woman not wanting to move out my way!  
 

The Golden Gate Bridge is definitely the thing you think of when San Francisco is mentioned. How could I not go and see it? I'd seen a photo taken on a beach with the bridge in the background at sunset and I needed to find it. Unfortunately it wasn't at all sunny when we were there but still perfectly clear. I'd found out the beach we were looking for was Baker beach. We found it and about a hundred different fishermen. It was still awesome though.

 

I'd also heard of a place called Battery Spencer that sounded like a perfect viewpoint. I made the most of my satnav that served as a wifi hotspot and realised the time back home would mean my parents would be home. I thought I'd surprise them. I attempted to face time them and when they answered on the 3rd attempt I held my phone as close to my face as possible so they didn't know where I was. I said I had something to show them and I turned the camera and just watched the smiles grow on their face. Other than a couple messages saying I had made it to the states this was the first time since I'd left home that they had heard from me and it couldn't have been any better.

 

Finally though it was time to get some proper food so before we had to head to the airport and return my car (sobs), Denny's was calling my name! I did the total American thing. I got the burger and milkshake. I regretted after when I couldn't finish either but it was damn good.

 

Next stop Seattle.

Toodles for now.

PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY - Los Angeles to San Francisco

November 3rd. Today we are driving out of Los Angeles and making our way up to San Francisco via the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway. This is one of those roads, like Route 66, that I feel I just have to drive along.

It was around 9 am when we left our hotel in Los Angeles to start the journey hoping to get to San Francisco not too late in the day with the stops we would like to make on the way. The first thing though is to get out of the busy LA city and to the beach. I wanted to see Santa Monica and the Pacific Ocean. I live in England and have only been to places around the Atlantic Ocean. I knew it would look exactly the same but it would give me a feeling. The realisation of where I am in the world. Somewhere I never thought, only hoped, I would get to.

Once we got to the beach we headed north along the coast. We had the windows down, music up, the sun was shining. It was like a dream.

Going through Malibu I just had to hear Miley Cyrus' Malibu song. I am absolutely in love with that song and I don't think there was a better place to hear it. Like I said, it felt like I was in a dream.

The Big Sur was definitely the number 1 stop I wanted to make because for one Bixby Bridge is a gorgeous piece of architecture and also I promised a friend I would take a picture there for him on his birthday and I don't break my promises.

 

 

 

The entire way up to San Francisco the views were incredible. This was something I definitely wouldn't forget. It took my breath away constantly and I'm glad I got to drive an awesome car in the process.

Driving the Pacific Coast Highway was a dream. I don't remember anything else so beautiful. The beach and the ocean is my happy place. If I wasn't certain before, I definitely was now.

Next stop is San Francisco.

Toodles for now.

Our final full day in Mexico! - Trip Day 15

I got up at 7. I just couldn't stay in bed any longer. But everyone else seemed to still be sleeping so I very quietly left the room to get myself breakfast. Watermelon, scrambled egg and they graced me with my favourite of French toast. My morning was filled by a couple hours at the beach before our last dive at 11. We had to wait for a storm to pass but once it had, we ventured out for the very last time. We ended it all with a barracuda and some turtles.

Our final lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich and chips. Some people after lunch volunteered to do some turtle blood testing. This would've included trying to catch the turtles in the first place and they are very strong. I passed on that one. Instead I went for a snorkel around the bay and saw a ton of turtles. Great way to end the trip.

I showered for the final time in Mexico and we finished the evening with an ecology quiz with dinner. This trip has been amazing. I am so glad I experienced this.
Toodles for now.

Day 2 of the Open water diver course! - Trip Day 12

Day 2 of the dive course started with pancakes, a lecture at the CEA and a theory class and quiz. Then our second trip to the hotel pool to learn some more dive skills which included taking the mask off and on again under the water. It took a little while for our entire group to master. It's harder than you think.

Lunch wasn't until 2pm and consisted of a burger and chips. Once lunch went down we went back to the dive centre for our second open water dive to practise what we just did in the pool but this time out in the open ocean. This time we went to Half Moon Bay and did the skills 16 metres deep. This dive was incredible. After we practised the skills we had time to go around some of the coral reefs and 2 eagle rays glided past us. It was a thing straight out of Finding Nemo! Also a barracuda and some turtle egg shell too.

When we ascended, after a 5m stop to decompress, we did some tired man tows. I pulled Alex along by his tank whilst he laid on his back but I don't think we even went anywhere. He found it funny and turned and pushed me the rest of the way by my feet. So much for him being the 'tired man'. We got back onto the boat and out of our equipment and basically became a speed boat on the way back to shore. It was a lot of fun. Alex and Analie signed our Padi dive books and got them stamped.

Dinner was chicken and rice. Then a lecture and a turtle talk and a turtle walk. We walked along to Playa Tortuga to see some turtles nesting, a couple were beginning to. We had a bucket of baby turtles to release into the ocean but they were sleeping so we couldn't release them otherwise they'll just get eaten. I fell asleep on some random hotels sun lounger as we were told we would be woken if anything happened. Unfortunately nothing really did and the rest of the team had to wake me up so we could go back to our hotel. As we were walking back along the beach some woman said hello to us and then continued to follow us for a while. It was creepy.

 

Toodles for now.

Trip Day 10

It was an early start as our coach was leaving at 7.30am for Akumal. We had to empty our tent, sweep it and mop it before taking a group picture in front of the sign. We said our goodbyes and left Calakmul for probably the last time. The coach on the way back up north was the same as the one we rode down on. Comfy seats, apparently was used for a baseball team.

 

The journey was long since Akumal wasn't too far from Cancun and it took us 7 hours to get between Cancun and Calakmul last week. We stopped again at that little shop on the way for some snacks. These Doritos are really good by the way.

 

 

 

When we arrived we got a tour of the facilities and our room. A room which was filled with 6 bunk beds and 1 bathroom. Then we had lunch. It was pizza. I loved the food the local village made for us but to have some normal food was incredible!

After lunch we had a couple hours free so we headed to the beach. It was about a 3 minute walk and it was well worth the wait. We hadn't been given our snorkels yet but we still went into the water and found some turtles! It was the best feeling ever. One stuck its head out of the water right in front of me.

For dinner we had spaghetti and garlic bread. Once again it was normal food. Afterwards we went down the road to this little ice cream place and had some rocky road ice cream. Sat on the beach for a little bit before it shut. The beaches shut at a certain time to let the turtles come onto the shore to lay their eggs. We moved to the bar/restaurant that was by the beach for a while. They didn't seem to care about the age limits for drinking. Everyone had a drink anyway. The beer was called Sol. Never heard of that one before, it must be a Mexican thing.

Toodles for now.


Cancun, Mexico - Trip Day 2

If you haven't seen my last post I found my diary from back in 2013 when I did a conservation trip to Mexico and I decided to relive it and share it with you at the same time. I'm also trying to find all the photos too, currently not on my present laptop.

Day 2: Cancun, Mexico.
After a really hot night I managed to find the air con switch and after that it was lovely and cool. We were told the night before that we were to be outside by 9am and since I was still on UK time I was out way before that. I made the most of it and sat out in the sun. It was already getting hot. Although we were told to be out by 9, the guy who said that was no where to be seen until way after that himself.

Breakfast was watermelon, grapefruit, bread and jam and muffins! Still so weird to me that people eat those for breakfast. It was so good. We got ready and headed to the beach which didn't take long as it was only a 2 minute walk away. White sandy beaches with perfectly clear blue sea. Paradise. Of course I went for a swim. A short one as it was very choppy, but swimming none the less. We decided to go back to the hotel (before we were a burnt crisp) via Exxo - the Tesco of Mexico, they're everywhere! - for a refreshing bottle of freezing cold water. It was heaven in a bottle. We spent the afternoon on sun lounger at our hotel under a gazebo because being burnt whilst carrying a heavy rucksack just didn't seem at all fun. One person didn't think the same though. I thought I saw a lobster in the middle of our hotel.

Dinner was a restaurant ten minutes down the street to a local Mexican place. I had chicken enchiladas and a number 9 juice of strawberries, pineapple and orange. Seriously there was about 30 different flavours and it was huge! The food was delicious.

And after our very busy day (don't worry the sarcasm follows me everywhere! There's plenty more where that comes from) we went back to our hotel for bed. Tomorrow is down to business. The expedition begins.

Toodles for now.

My Travel Bucket List

There are so many places in the world that I would love to go and explore. The hardest part of having so many places that I want to go to is where to go first. So, I have created my very own Travel Bucket List of the top 10 places that I would like to travel to in my life rather than writing a full list which would probably end up having 95% of the world's countries on it. It kind of makes it easier to determine where to go. I will now only have a decision of between 10 countries rather than 186. I will also say that my top 10 is in no particular order except for Hawai'i. That is definitely the number 1 item on my bucket list.

My Travel Bucket List:

·   Hawai'i - Yes, I would love to travel to many places in the USA but by far, Hawai'i is at the top of my USA list. Hawai'i has a kind of vibe that I want to experience. From the gorgeous beaches of Waikiki to the unbelievable views from the top of Mount Olomana. There is so much to offer. Plus I would love to swim with the sharks. Scary yes I know but I do like to have a bit of adrenaline running through my system.

Mount Olomana

·   Thailand - To be able to be up close with elephants! Mess about with them in a river. How awesome does that sound? And to Kayak in the beautiful Khao Sok National Park.

Khao Sok National Park

·   South Africa - An African safari across the Kalahari Desert seeing all those animals in the wild. Lions, zebras, giraffes! I mean, I love to see them all at the zoo so to be able to see their natural habitat would be incredible. Also I want to hike up to Lion's Head and see the stunning views across the coast of Cape Town.

·   Australia - I want to learn to surf in the waves of Bondi Beach and visit the iconic Sydney Opera House. It's one of those things that you kind of have to visit whilst in Australia.

·   Fiji - I want to stay at the Poseidon Underwater Resort. A bit different of a view from your bedroom than in a normal hotel anyway! And plus those beaches!

·   Iceland - It's a pretty cold choice but not too cold if you go to the blue lagoon. I would love to snorkel and dive through Silfra. A gap between 2 tectonic plates where you will literally be swimming between continents.

Silfra

·    Switzerland - I want to learn to ski/snowboard so the best place to do that must be Switzerland or well I guess Austria works too. Either one of those I would just love!

·    Barcelona - I don't know what it is but Barcelona just sounds like a cool place to go for a weekend getaway! Considering it is only a 2 hour flight away, a long weekend sounds perfect.

·    Peru - I want to climb to the top of Machu Picchu and hike the Inca Trail.

Machu Picchu

·    China - I would love to walk along the entire Great Wall of China but maybe just a little bit will do. I hear it is pretty large!

·    Rio de Janeiro - Carnival seems like a fun time to travel to Brazil but the thing that I would love to do most of all is to hang-glide around the Christ the Redeemer Statue. Amazing views right there.

Christ the Redeemer

You may or may not have noticed that I did add an extra one on this list because as I was writing, I did think of another place that I couldn't help but have on here. So that's my top 11 destinations on my Travel Bucket List. This is going to take me a while to complete but hopefully one day it will be done.