Globe Corner Blogs

Photo by Kate

A number of times on our vacation last month in Turks and Caicos, we looked around the beach, and saw no one. Really, no one. Just some crabs, and some birds, but that’s it.

We embarked on this vacation with Thoreauesque goals: not so much transcendentalism or  civil disobedience, but just to get the heck away from people. We hardly had to try; even on the main island of Providenciales, all we had to do was avoid Grace Bay, and we found deserted stretches of white sand and strangely blue waters.

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We opted not to stay in Grace Bay, the main resort area with some of the most beautiful beaches on the island, but instead followed our solitary path out to Northwest Point, part of Provo known for the diving and the Marine National Park. There are only two resorts at this end of the island: the super-swank Amanyara and the very mellow, laid-back Northwest Point Resort (where we stayed). At either place, the beaches are empty and great for walking or some low-key snorkeling.

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Ecuador --photo by Meghan

I recently traveled to Ecuador with a friend…and went without a plan.  We decided against one of the more traditional Ecuadorian travel destinations, with saddened hearts, but happy wallets – the Galapagos was just not a budget travel destination.  We decided instead to do an Amazon trek followed by some coastal R&R.  I think I had a more lively time this way. (And I certainly encountered more bugs.)

Fleeing the jungle and heading toward the coast with pre-primed sunburns and enough mosquito bites to look like smallpox victims, we arrived in Manta to the smell of fish factories, and the greeting of a statue in the town’s center – a large tuna and tuna can on a stick like a massive kebab.  A large-ish town filled with swimming pools, fish markets and discotheques, we unfortunately didn’t stay long enough to experience more of Manta’s flavor than that.

Panama hats --photo by Meghan

Early one morning we took our cab driver, Hugo, a short, jovial man, and his yellow mini-SUV taxi shopping in Montichristi.  It is a quaint, white washed and cobblestoned town with a gorgeous cathedral set among hills and has a collective chip on its shoulder. The streets are lined with vendors so unwilling to budge on prices that they would rather see you go across the street than pay them $1 less.  Hammocks, wooden figurines, necklaces, more hammocks and the infamous Montichristi “Panama” hat are all for sale from every Montichristi tiendas. But then again, maybe it has a right to be grumpy.

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Fijian beach - photo by Meghan

The freezing weather of New England this October has led my mind to stray to better days and warmer climes.  About this time three years ago, I was fortunate enough to find myself lying on a deserted tropical beach, befriending locals, and running around without electricity or running fresh water.

What drew me to Fiji was, of course, the tropical weather, white sand beaches, and palm trees, but what really interested me was the culture.  Fiji is a country comprised of hundreds of small islands, some of the more remote of which house tribal populations.  The last reported case of cannibalism, historically a tradition among some of the Fijian peoples, was in 1994.

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National Geographic Central America map

I recently returned from a trip where I drove through Mexico and all of Central America (sans Belize): Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, back through Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and finally Panama. Browsing through the Central America section of the store, I came across Joan Didion’s Salvador. As always, Didion captured her subject through her lens of unsettling physical disconnection. Given the country’s violent, bloody, and war-torn history, this lens was a perfect fit.

In planning our El Salvadorian itinerary, we found the Pacific coast to be a much more pleasant option than the north, where the main attraction, according to both the Rough Guide and the Lonely Planet guide, was the Genocide Museum. We opted instead for two days on the beach. And they were very pleasant.

Despite the bad rap El Salvador gets, or maybe because of it, we were able to find not just beach front, but “beach on” accommodations for the night. The highway simply ended at the water and opened up to a series of colonial homes converted into restaurants and sleeping accommodations. Families frolicked in the water, while street vendors shooed the stray dogs hoping to catch a bite of their french fries. At high tide, the veranda-style restaurant where we ate was surrounded by the ocean. One had only to walk down three steps to be in the water. We shut the joint down with drinks and fresh seafood only to find that the entire beach front area was closed by 7:30 pm.

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Fun at the Beach

Weather-wise, it was perfect in Boston this weekend. Everyone seemed to be in a fantastic mood, people broke out their summer clothes, neighbors were sitting on their stoops, invitations to barbecues were popping up, and people were seriously starting to plan trips to the beach. Thanks to the weather forecast, I now know that the sun will disappear soon – most likely on my next day off from work – but that shouldn’t stop me or anyone from planning their next beach adventure. One must be prepared to take advantage of every weather-permitting opportunity. My godson Andy, who is featured in the photo, is always ready and willing to head to the closest beach. All he needs is his hat, shorts, sunscreen, adult supervision and he is ready to go. All the adult supervisors need to know is where to go. Continue Reading »

Anjuna Beach from a lounge chair - photo by Nicole

After three weeks in bustling Bangalore, I decided that I needed some time away from the smog, traffic, and (above all) the autorickshaws.  But where is one to go, when you’re stuck in Bangalore and are hankering for some time away from it all (especially the autorickshaws)?

Luckily, I had some help deciding.  The Hindu holiday Diwali was last week, and with a few days off from work to get out of rainy Karnataka, some of the girls I am staying with were headed to Goa.  A week at the beach?  Count me in. Continue Reading »