Puerto Vallarta started becoming a resort town in the 1960’s and since then it has grown into a town of nearly 350,000 people. Most are locals but many are retirees and anyone who decided to visit it often enough to purchase a condominium there. This growth has prompted the development of many hotels and condominiums. The area of newer development is called Nuevo Vallarta, which is mainly a hotel zone. So if you like to be in the middle of all the action, day and night, than staying in a hotel in Nuevo Vallarta is the place for you; many touristy shops and restaurants are located here. However, there are other locations such as Zona Hotelera and Zona Marina that offer beautiful hotel accommodations as well.

In Puerto Vallarta the tourist can enjoy everything under the sun including golfing, whale watching, sport fishing and ecotourism. Surfers from all over the world have even found a place to surf in the northern town of Sayulita, about 25 miles north of PV. However, for off the beaten path beaches you may want to take a water taxi ride to the small fishing town of either Quimixto or Yelapa. To get to these towns you will need to get to the suburb called Boca de Tomatlan, reached by taking the Barra de Navidad road or carretera, traveling south of Puerto Vallarta; getting to the fishing towns could be on either taxi or public bus. Once there, you will find a few small water taxis (basically small fishing boats) that will transport you to one of the three small fishing villages. The first stop is Las Animas, next is Quimixto, and the final one is Yelapa. If agreed, the water taxi will drop you off where you wish in the morning and will come back for you at a predetermined hour in the afternoon. Quimixto is the most recommendable of the three to visit; but going early is the best bet to avoid crowds. In Quimixto you will find a hiking trail leading to a beautiful water fall; this area is wonderful for hiking.

A few hotels, especially those located in the southern parts of Vallarta such as in Conchas Chinas and Mismaloya offer their own private beach, such as Dreams Resort and Spa. However, there are many alternate hotel options, for an array of budgets, with a short distance to the beaches in that area. This area is surrounded by more tropical greenery and you will also find eco adventures such as canopy tours.

On the opposite end, the Northern side is what many refer to as the Riviera Nayarit (Nayarit is the state bordering north of Jalisco, which is the state Puerto Vallarta is in), but the official name is Punta Mita. Punta Mita is also a beautiful location, without the closeness of the mountains as found in the south, but a beautiful area with newer developments. One of these new developments is the exclusive and luxurious Four Seasons Hotel; located about 42 km from Puerto Vallarta airport.

Puerto Vallarta has everything a beach town can offer; beach, nightlife, small town ambiance, archeological site (Ixtapa) and it has been transformed into a creative and artistic Mecca. Many talented retirees and professional artists have made this town their home. This makes Puerto Vallarta a great place to view art displays as well theatrical events. It’s a good idea to always check with your hotel concierge or front desk for information on performances during your stay.   In the evenings one can enjoy anything from a loud, fun atmosphere of the restaurant bars found on the Malecon, to a quieter seafood dinner , to a possible art exhibition, whether it be performed or displayed.

Puerto Vallarta is a very unique destination in Mexico. Many tourists are repeat tourists for many reasons and the best part is that the place maintains its beauty and charm. So whether you travel alone, with your loved one or your whole family I am certain that Puerto Vallarta will not disappoint.

See you in PV and Happy Travels!

We strolled around the ship looking at various sites including:

The Winter Garden, a lovely, light-filled indoor/outdoor poolside setting with a retractable glass ceiling was lovely.  I could only imagine sitting in the Winter Garden with a good book in hand and having a glass of champagne.  There are two swimming pools on board. One of the pools is located in the back of the ship perfect for sunbathing and enjoying a view of the ocean. Queens and Princess Grill dining.  The restaurants are identical.  Elegant surroundings, lovely ocean views, expansive decks and a private lounge for cocktails and meeting friends.   A courtyard connects both restaurants. Queen and Princess Grill passengers can mingle with each other and enjoy el fresco dining in the lovely Tuscan-inspired setting of The Courtyard. The Queens Room (ballroom) is elegantly appointed and is the perfect setting for the Royal Nights themed balls. Hemispheres with its 270-degree ocean view and circular skylight for stargazing was beautiful.  There is a special designated area for around the world passengers to meet and socialize. I’ve seen photos of the Library but it is even better then portrayed in the photos.  Two storeys of rich polished woods linked with the spiral staircase.  We were told that there are nearly 6,000 titles available to the passengers. The Royal Spa has a large hydro-pool and heated lounge chairs. The fitness center is located at the front of the ship and all of the treadmills face out to the sea. The Royal Court TheatrePassengers can reserve a box for $25.00 per person evokes the grand theatres of London’s West End, and offers the first private boxes of any theatre at sea and unobstructed sightlines.  Thirty minutes prior to the production there is a private lounge where they will be served champagne and dessert. A few minutes before Showtime a Cunard White Star escort takes them to their private box where they will enjoy champagne, truffles and an entertaining production.  This special event cannot be reserved until the passengers are on board.  Best to reserve as soon as you get on the ship. It is a popular event. I had lunch in Britannia Restaurant.  The food was quite good and the service excellent.  It is a two-storey venue and has an elegant and intimate atmosphere.  We had a peek at Todd English’s restaurant and I would feel confident to recommend it for a special evening. Cost for Todd English is $20.00pp for lunch and $30.00pp for dinner. A lunch at the Golden Lion Pub of fish and chips is complimentary ConneXions Internet Centre had an adequate amount of computers setup in private cubicles.  2 hours is $47.95, 4 hours is $89.95 and 8 hours is $167.95.

AMERICANS LOVE London for a lot of reasons, aside from what we laughingly say about Londoners speaking almost understandable English. It’s a city with endless diversified pleasures for all tastes.

In the summertime it’s a great place to join with people from all over the world. I spent a week there last summer savoring the scene, before taking a Princess cruise around the British Isles.

Dining, drinking or walking the summer streets in London is almost like being everywhere else at the same time. The joyful chatter coming from visiting tourists is a cacophony of up to 80 different languages and it’s mostly happy talk. The attraction of London is universal.

Being in London is an immersion in culture, entertainment, shopping, dining or simply pub crawling. The London pubs are so crowded on weekend evenings, it’s standing room only extending out on the sidewalks. Soho is the place to see and be seen. Londoners are beer drinkers and the suds flow freely from taps not bottles. Any pub will have an assortment of up to a dozen or more different beers and ales to pull.

Daytime in London is a totally different scene, whether it’s upscale shopping at the world’s greatest department store, Harrods, or mixing with the lower end at Camden Lock. There are thousands of stalls at Camden Lock selling everything from far-out clothing and jewelry to trendy and more traditional things. For people watching it’s hard to beat this outdoor circus atmosphere.

Not to be missed is the London theater scene, better than New York’s Broadway for a number of reasons. London theaters are many, and mostly on the small side. No matter where you sit to watch a performance you feel more intimately involved because you are closer to the stage. And the cost of admission usually is less.

Except for the few truly hit shows, which are sold out well in advance, half-price tickets are the rule rather than the exception. In Leicester Square the city operates a booth selling tickets for many of that day’s matinee and evening performances at half price. Private ticket agents with stalls and offices in the surrounding streets also offer bargain-priced tickets for shows that may not be available at the city booth, and you can get tickets there for future performances.

One way for an economical theater evening is to purchase a package deal, dinner and the theater at cut-rate price for both. Numerous ads for this are available by looking for “London theater-dinner package” on Google.

London is a shopper’s paradise. If its toys you’re after, London has the greatest toy store in the world, Hamley’s. This store on Regent Street, near Oxford Street, is 249 years old with five floors of extensive displays of things to amuse and delight youngsters. It’s more than just displaying toys. It includes demonstrations. Hamley’s employs 50 young people to show you what you can’t live without once you see what it can do.

For a unique dining experience my favorite is an off-beat crypt in St. Martin in the Fields Church, at Trafalgar Square. The crypt floor consists of well-trodden tombstones of historic church figures. It’s a huge room with open seating tables. There is a self-service, cafeteria-style section serving both hot and cold dishes, all delightfully prepared. But the piece de resistance is a superb bread pudding, the like of which is unmatched even in the city’s high-priced restaurants.

London can be expensive for a visitor. The exchange rate with the pound hasn’t been good for the dollar lately. Hotel rooms do run high. But, there’s a good way to lower that cost. If you plan to stay at least a week, rent a furnished apartment. You get all the comforts of home in a prime area at maybe half the price of what a hotel would cost. Search for these apartments by Googling “London furnished flat.”

The song may say, “I love Paris in the springtime.” But summers in London are cooler in temperature and warmer in almost every other way.

Ed Arnow can be reached at BrentwoodBuzz@aol.com.

This is The Cruise for the person who wishes low profile albeit attentive service.  By the time you have returned from breakfast topside cabins were remade, fresh Bulgari amenities replacing used ones, fresh ice in the ice bucket, and specially requested juices and sodas replenished in the mini-fridge.  Our cabin was completely ready and renewed for the day.  The ship has 3 cabin decks with ample outdoor space for walking or lounging, a small casino bar area downstairs and ample bar services topside, poolside and inside, a watersports deck in back and ample area to be either quiet or busier with others on board.  Up top are the famed lounging sunbeds.  These fabulously comfortable deep-cushioned deck beds can be made up at night for sleeping under the limitless star-filled skies!!!  Dining is just that — taken either in the lovely dining salon or up top on the varied deck dining areas with tables for two, four or more depending on your personal choice.  You can just enjoy the company of your traveling companion or with new-found shipboard friends.  There are no set dining start times so you dine as you wish and times you desire.  Everything on board SeaDream is meant to let you enjoy your time in your own fashion.  The wonderful Thai spa services are simply fabulous.  And if you must work out, there is a gym and even golf simulator room for your use.  This could not have been a more perfect five days of total enjoyment.

Ports-of-call:  Gustavia, St Barts was amazing with a long Swedish history and city design and a harbor full of some of the largest private yachts I have ever seen.  Our 4,333 ton SeaDream II seemed almost part of the family of private yacht cruisers anchored in the larger outer harbor area.  Dockside in town various private yachts were lined up side by side.  I had always heard that the air landing on the island was an heart-thumping arrival experience.  I climbed the saddle of the two hills behind town to find a small prop plane arriving just over my head and diving down to land expertly on the small strip.  French and Swedish traditions live side by side.  The liquor outlet advertised itself in both French & Swedish.  French is the language of St Barts today.   We also cruised over to spend time in the British Virgin Islands — lovely and unspoiled Virgin Gorda, Norman Island with its amazing cove and water, and finished our short cruise with the famed “beach lunch and champagne/caviar splash” on impeccable Joost van Dyke.  Yes, the Dutch were here, too!!!  Bathing suits on, we waded into the water where a surfboard manned by our ship’s chef and maitre d’hôtel and several of our waiters attired in slightly wet clothes served glasses of champagne along with caviar and all its accompaniments to applause and the clicking of camera lens as we waded in.  Great fun!

St Thomas proved once again that history trumps modernity.  The roots of this busy island keep cropping up in street names (Toldboldgade which is Danish), in left-side driving (England left her imprint here), in the variety of religious houses of worship (Lutheran founded by the Danes; Jewish in the 2nd oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, as well as Catholic, Protestant and other declarative Christian houses of worship).  As a former free port as well as long time European entrepôt and former slave trading community, today’s population reflects the diversity of peoples who came here to live.  Island living means graciousness and hospitality to others.  Once outside the most densely visited sites of the busy cruise port restaurant-shops-souvenir warehouse district (itself fun and historical) you can feel the inherent grace of the island.  Waters are azure, aqua and green blue; palms and bougainvilleas sway and rustle in the tropical breezes, and fabulous iguanas are found along warmed walls and rocks, some green in their new lives - some more rusty/gray as they age.  Ah, island life.

Spend 12 days aboard the luxurious Crown Princess as it shuttles you to a wide range of dream ports in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. I’ve just returned from the last of its 2009 British cruises, but there are four more scheduled for the Crown Princess in 2010, beginning in June.

The trip is a blend of the present and the past. For Titanic buffs, it’s history relived. The Crown Princess sails out of Southampton, England, where the Titanic set sail with a shipload of passengers and crew for a fateful encounter with an iceberg. The Titanic’s second and what turned out to be her last port of call was at Cobh, Ireland, where Titanic memorabilia now abounds. It also was our port call but hardly our last. We docked at the same pier where the Titanic docked so many years before. Later in our voyage, we called at Belfast, in Northern Ireland, where the Titanic was built. Side trips from the Crown Princess took us to the Titanic’s shipyard and dry dock, still standing frozen in time. To top it off, there’s a Thai restaurant in Belfast, where you can dine and toast the ship. It’s called The Thaitanic.

The cruise offered a great deal more than Titanic memories. In Liverpool, we were overwhelmed with present-day tributes to the Beatles. The shadows of John, Paul, George and Ringo are everywhere. Liverpool reeks with Fab Four Beatlemania. You travel around this city to an ever-increasing Beatle beat. Songs of the Beatles enjoy a huge following, but it’s a matter of taste. My taste in music leans more toward the unforgettable words and music of Cole Porter. The ship gave us a gourmet musical treat on this score. A Cole Porter Review featuring a nonstop medley of Porter’s music was nothing short of fabulous. It was a super production in the ship’s theater featuring the ship’s orchestra and 17 singers and dancers multi-costumed in front of elaborate stage sets on a nonstop visit to Porterville.

This cruise has a different kind of taste to savor for lovers of fine Irish and Scotch liquor. During our port visit at Cobh-Cork, we toured Ireland’s famed Jameson’s Distillery for an educational introduction to the intricate process in making Irish whiskey. In Glasgow, Scotland, we had a parallel experience at a distillery for Scotch.

Back aboard the Crown Princess, it’s the plush life at whatever speed you want to travel. Passengers do it at their own pace, gambling in the casino, relaxing on deck or in one of the many bars and lounges. Some of them are with entertainment and some without. The ship’s theater has nightly shows on a grander scale. A Princess cruise specializes in catering to many different passenger tastes. Dining can be at a scheduled time or at your own pace with “Anytime Dining.” Two of the four large dining rooms are for those who desire elastic dining times.  It’s true on all 18 Princess cruise ships, making numerous fans of the Princess approach to freestyle dining. Around the world, there are 7½ million passengers in the Princess Captain’s Circle, indicating they have done multiple cruises on the line.

All told, we stopped at four ports in Britain, two in Ireland and three in Scotland. Our final port was supposed to have been at Le Havre, France, but it didn’t happen. Gale winds in the North Sea and English Channel made that leg of the trip impossible. It was a disappointment for passengers who had booked tours to Paris, or to the Normandy D-Day beaches.  The English captain of the Crown Princess, Nick Nash, put it succinctly. “The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority, and we have found it necessary to cancel our call at Le Havre. We regret any passenger disappointment. But I have no other choice. The weather simply has beaten me.”

The official name is Bahias de Huatulco (or Bays of Huatulco). The area is made up of 9 bays with about 36 beaches, from the most rustic virgin beach to the most popular swimmable beach.  The more popular bays are Bahia de Santa Cruz, Bahia Chahue and Bahia Tangolunda. Most of the bays are not resort developed yet and may not be so easily seen from the road or have easy access to get to. If renting a car, which I would recommend for at least a couple of days, you are able to explore the different beaches in the different bays at your own leisure.
Huatulco has four main parts, all within a mile or two of each other, these are, Tangolunda, Santa Cruz, La Crucecita, and Chahue.

Huatulco is a fairly new tourist destination since it only started being developed in the 1980’s. The area is protected by FONATUR, a government agency dedicated to the development of tourism in Mexico. The result is an ecologically friendly area that is protected against future development. And for those nature-concerned travelers, you will like this piece of fact, Huatulco has been awarded the Green Globe certification and it is the only resort in Mexico to have received this award. Cancun and Puerto Vallarta…eat your heart out!

So, you ask, what can I do there beside beach swimming and sunbathing? Well, my fellow travelers, despite the under developed conditions and lack of a huge international tourism crowd, Huatulco has many services to offer, such as restaurants, hotels and tourism operators. The traveler can enjoy activities such as golfing, hiking, biking, kayaking, snorkeling, diving, boat touring, motor touring, horseback riding, and coffee plantation tours. Hotels vary depending on your budget; you can get something as exclusive as Dreams Resort Huatulco or Las Brisas Huatulco, to more affordable type accommodations. I’m sure one of the expert Casto Travel leisure agents will set you up in a fantastic hotel. Oh and as far as security for tourist, it is quite safe; all its parts have a small town atmosphere.

One beach I recommend that is not too far out of the way, but it can get a bit crowded is Playa La Entrega. This beach is great for snorkeling. One way to find secluded beaches that are not very visible from the road is to do as I did. While driving around on the main road that runs parallel to the beach beware of parked vehicles on the side of the road. If you come across a few with nothing in sight of where the car owners could be, then you’ll likely find an entrance to a small trail leading to a beautiful secluded beach. Just remember to test the waters first as there are no lifeguards on duty. Some of these beaches may have quite a drop in your initial steps into the ocean.

I hope you make it to Huatulco one day, but I also hope you keep it a secret because we would not want to make this beautiful place too crowded.

The airport is 20 minutes from the resorts in Tangolunda and the major carrier is Mexicana.

Happy Travels!

New England is a wonderful travel destination at all times of the year – however I think it is the most glorious in the fall.

We picked Route 7, which follows the Housatonic River along the western edge of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. Our first stop was in Kent which is lovely little town. We hiked in Kent Falls State Park along beautiful water falls.  Drove across the Bulls Covered bridge and hiked along the Bull’s Bridge Gorge. We were constantly oo-ing and ah-ing over the colors and the scenery.  Leaving Kent there was the Cornwall covered bridge to drive across.

Our next stop was in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where the highlight was the Norman Rockwell Museum. Norman Rockwell spent his last 20 years there. Nearby in Lenox there is the National Historic Landmark, The Mount. The 1902 estate of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edith Wharton with  acres of beautiful gardens.

We continued north to Williamstown to visit the Clark Art Institute with its outstanding collection of European and American art. The Clark is surrounded by 140 acres of woodlands, meadows and hiking trails.  We spent the night in Addison, Vermont (near Middlebury) in the most charming country inn, the Whitford House (off the beaten track). The nearby town of Vergennes is well worth a visit.

Before ending our trip in Burlington, we visited Shelburne open air Museum. A complex of 37 buildings on 45 acres with an incredible collection of folk art, furnishings, tools etc used in the early years of the 20th century. We returned home with many bottles of Vermont maple syrup and decided we need to go back for more exploring of this beautiful part of the country.

I feel so lucky to live near San Francisco so I can take advantage of the secret staircases spread throughout the city.  San Francisco is a walking town much the same as Paris is a walking town.

In the late 1980’s I discovered a book called “STAIRCASE WALKS IN SAN FRANCISCO” by Adah Bakalinsky.  Ever since discovering this book my friends and I drive to San Francisco once a month and take one of Adah’s staircase walks.  We can do one of the staircases in June and it looks completely different if we do it in January.  So, we try to not do them the same time of year.

San Francisco is a “walking city.”  Built upon 42 hills, it is surrounded by the Bay on the east, the Pacific Ocean on the west, a peninsula on the south and the Golden Gate Bridge on the north.  Within these confines, variety is constant.  Because of the hills you get breathtaking views of the city and the water, and the   hills accelerate changes in your perspective as one walks around corners or circles the ridges.  Some of the walks are quite strenuous, although I feel the terrific views justify the strain.

You simply cannot do the stairways without Adah’s book.  With book in hand we follow her guide and if we didn’t have the book we probably wouldn’t find most of the staircases as most are hidden and we are always so shocked when we look to our left or right and sure enough – there is a staircase taking us up or down to another street.

If you live near San Francisco or if you are visiting, all you need is two hours, a bottle of water and good walking shoes and you will have a wonderful time.

Amazing what one remembers from a unique experience — did you know that polar bears have very flexible noses so that they can quietly wait for a ringed seal to pop out of a hole in the ice but still smell possible dangers to the left and right of them by angling their nostrils to either side?  Did you know that they have their claws up on the top of their very fully padded feet so that the nails make no noise as they stalk on the ice?   These and many other natural details we learned on an amazing journey to CHURCHILL, MANITOBA  — the Polar Bear Watching Capital of the North.   Churchill, a small town of 850 citizens located on the shores of Hudson Bay hosts a gathering of the polar bears of the region as they wait for the pack ice on the Bay to harden.  They are awaiting a seal meal after almost 4 months of no food intake and can only do this once the ice hardens..  Large males, females with one or two yearling cubs or with their “coy” (cub of year… this year’s issue) as well as  younger females await the ice and regain their energy for the feast time ahead.

Fascinated photographers, amateur naturalists and polar bear enthusiasts come from around the world to Churchill during October/November each year to view the variety of wildlife in this Arctic region.  What can you see??  Arctic fox, red fox, Arctic hare, ptarmigan, sable, gyrfalcon, hardy ravens, and the ever-so-fascinating polar bears.  With -15ºC temperatures (warm compared to later in the winter season) and brisk winds, I had to find my old Antarctica gear in the bottom of drawers and the back of the closet in order to be prepared for time on the taiga and tundra.  I traveled with Frontiers North on the “Enthusiasts Program” which gave me time to experience my first dog sled rides with eager and hardy running dogs of the Wapusk Adventures dog stable.  The town of Churchill has solid citizens proud of their town and clear in their purpose — full of good humor and many, many “just escaped’ polar bear stories … you have to look left, right, in front and behind you when you step out of doors.  Actually, the town has a 24/7 Polar Bear patrol to make sure the bears don’t wander into town.  The nightly 1000pm curfew siren reminds kids that they must be at home and inside for safety.  Those occasional nighttime forays by an errant bear may result in being put in Bear Jail, then tranqilized and finally helicoptered about 50 miles from town to be released on the shores of the Hudson Bay ice flow.

I spent two full days on a famed Tundra Buggy (specially designed hardy vehicles on huge industrial-sized rubber tires with a viewing cabin on top as well as an open deck platform on the back) traveling across the landscape in search of wildlife and bears in particular.  Our naturalist guide and experienced driver helped us spot a variety of bears — sleeping quietly in the low taiga willows, walking behind agéd but very small spruce trees, male bears sparring on the ice testing their strengths with each other in mock fights, and mother bears with twins or small coy cubs ever wary for larger and more aggressive males.  One full day we spent in town visiting the outstanding Eskimo Museum and the Parks Canada Museum and Historical display.  We were able to see an amazing video of the remarkable Northern Lights (we did not see it in real-time as we were close to the full moon).  The real Aurora Borealis will have to await another adventure to the far northern climes.

I was in Washington, D.C. first weekend of October 2009   to participate as “ground crew” for the teen-aged youngsters of friends of mine.   It was the first time to see what this unusual and fantastic adventure in Weightless Flying was all about.  Hands down, or is it feet up, it was a 110% success for all of us.

Zero G is the brainchild of an entrepreneur and an ex-astronaut.  It took ten years for certification, testing and development so that the well-controlled set of flight patterns flown by a specially outfitted 727 jet gives maximum enjoyment and full experience to the 35 guests aboard.  Flying for about 1.5 hours and alternating weightless and ‘weighted’ segments, it is the same experience that our own astronauts utilized to acclimatize themselves to the movements/activities they would need to know in space.

The 727 has its own dedicated airspace in which it performs a series of parabolic maneuvers so that the first three rounds are of Martian and Moon weights and the final 12 are simulating total weightlessness of space.   Done in a graduated introductory series to accustom the guests on board to the feel and safe fun of this unique state-of-existence, it is an exhilirating ‘one off’ ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ treat.  BUT this doesn’t have to be once in your lifetime … many on board the flight were returning for their 2nd, 3rd or more times!!!

I can only tell you that dressed in my “ground staff” flight suit (the same you get for your actual flight activities) I longed to be able to board and join them for their adventure in the sky.   There is a little graduation ceremony and in order to know what that is, I strongly encourage you to check it out and participate. When the Junior Birdsmen and Birdswomen walked back into base after their flights, their eyes sparkeled and they had been changed in a way that can only be experienced to understand!!

Way to go!!!