Where's Walrond?: Flying out

by Karen Walrond on

This afternoon, my family and I are flying out to an
Undisclosed Location to spend the Easter holiday weekend.  This is actually a little holiday that we planned about
a month ago, almost at the spur of the moment — our good friends, Joanna and Peter, have recently certified as scuba
divers.  Since my husband Marcus and I love to dive, but haven’t since the birth of our daughter, we thought we’d
plan a vacation together with this family — that way, we could dive in shifts, while the remaining pair stay on land
to watch our kids.

In an effort to make our trip a bit more interesting (and see how well your geographical
knowledge of the world is), I thought we could have a little contest here on Gadling.  Over the next few days,
I’ll post photographs and clues of our location, and giving you the opportunity to guess where in the world I am. 
The first person who guesses, both city and country, will win a souvenir purchased from our location.  I promise to
stay away from A – Gadling – staffer – went – to – an – Undisclosed – Location – and – all – I – got – was – this –
lousy – t-shirt – type gift-shop items — I’ll purchase something worthwhile.

Okay, so wish me good
travels.  And to get you started, some clues:

  • it’s a place known for its diving;
  • it’s a great place for lovers; and
  • its name is often mispronounced.

Good luck!

Gadling Podcasts

by Erik Olsen on

As I was writing the last post, I started to
think to myself that a lot of folks probably don’t know we’ve done a fair number of podcasts here. I’ve got some ideas
for new ones we’ll likely be producing here shortly, but I figured I’d remind folks that there are several good ones
already available that you might be interested in. The list of folks we’ve talked to is rather eclectic, from the
well-known diver and star of Undersea Detectives, John
Chatterton, to undersea explorer Fabien Cousteau and,
most recently Josh Davis, author of
The Underdog.

And we are also on
itunes, so feel free to subscribe for your
ipod.

And if you’re interested in any of our other previous podcasts besides those mentioned above, here
is a quick list:

     — James O’Reilly, Executive Editor of Traveler’s Tales
     — Lonely Planet’s Don
George
     — Eric
Stiller, kayaker and the author of Keep Australia on Your Left
     — Jim Benning, co-editor of the online travel site
Worldhum
     — Dean
LaTourrette and Kristine Enea, travel authors
     — Cafe Reggio

Dive Trinidad & Tobago

by Karen Walrond on

On
Thursday, my family and I will be going to an Undisclosed Location* to spend the Easter holiday
diving.  Because it had been three years since my previous dive, as Easter approached, I began to get more and
more nervous about the prospect of going underwater.  What if I forgot everything? What if a Great White Shark
came out of nowhere and ate me alive? What if — not out of the realm of possibility — I just forgot to turn on the
air in my tank?

In order to help mitigate some of my nervousness, I decided to ask a friend of mine who was
currently taking a scuba diving course if I could tag along with her on her certification dive.  She was taking
her course with Ron Tiah of Dive TNT — clearly one of the best scuba schools on
the island.  Ron kindly allowed me to join his group today, and join them for two dives "down de islands."
The day started out promising — there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and Ron is clearly a diving pro — safety is his
primary concern, immediately followed by ensuring that his divers have a good time.  On both dives we did today, he
prefaced each one with a thorough safety briefing, but also with a little bit of history and local lore about the area
and dive sites.  Three of my five diving companions were from overseas; however, because of Ron’s thorough
research, even I learned new bits of trivia about my homeland.  Truly entertaining.

The only
disappointment of the day came with the water clarity.  Trinidad is located about 9 miles off the coast of
Venezuela; and because of Venezuela’s Orinoco river, a lot of algae ends up being deposited in the seas around
Trinidad.  The water, therefore was quite green — great for attracting sea life (we saw many turtles, eels,
lobsters and large fish), but horrible for visibility.  Ron says that today’s visibility is one of the best he’s
seen in months.  I shudder to think.  I’m told, however, that Tobago diving conditions are world’s better —
some of the best in the world — and conveniently, Ron runs an operation there, as well.

Still, mission
accomplished — I definitely feel much more comfortable about my skills as a result of today’s dives, and am ready to
hit the Undisclosed Location with considerable gusto.  However, my recommendations for people thinking about
diving in Trinidad & Tobago:

1)  If you’re interested in becoming PADI certified, and you happen to
be in Trinidad & Tobago, you can’t do better than Dive TNT.  I’ve been
diving all over the world, and Ron’s group are extremely safety conscious, coupled with an enthusiasm and an easy-going
attitude that is hard to beat.  You’ll love learning from them.

2)  If, however, you’re already
certified, I’d skip Trinidad and take the 15-minute flight to Tobago, where dive conditions are much more
favourable.  That said, I’d still recommend you hook up with Ron — you couldn’t be in better hands.

*Undisclosed Location — Stay tuned for our new feature, "Where’s
Walrond?" beginning on Friday.  Over this coming weekend, I’ll be posting clues and photographs for you to
guess where I’m on holiday — the first reader to guess correctly which city and country I’m in will win a prize direct
from that location.

Amansala Bikini Boot Camp

by Karen Walrond on

Yesterday, I was whining to a friend of mine on the
phone.

"I just don’t get it.  I’m working out, and not losing any weight.  My butt? 
It’s getting its own gravitational pull, it’s so big."

"Oh please," my friend
responded.  "Don’t even talk to me.  I can’t seem to stop eating.  I’m apparently on a mission to
inhale everything in sight."

The unfortunate whining continued, and when I got off the phone, I didn’t
feel any better.  I wish I could just get a sign of what I’m supposed to do, I thought to myself.

The sign came this morning, as I was on the treadmill.

I was leafing through my copy of MACO Destinations (which, by the way, is one of the best magazines out there when it
comes to great recreational travel in the Caribbean and Central America), and I came across Amansala Resort,  an "eco-chic resort in Tulum, Mexico." 
Located on the Caribbean side of Mexico, Amansala’s claim to fame is the Bikini Boot Camp — a six-night package guaranteed to make
you look better in your bikini.  The no-phones-no-television-no-computers resort boasts all fresh, organic meals, a
wonderful spa, and the boot camp comes with six hours a day of exercise — but since it comes in the form of yoga, long
beach walks, snorkeling, and visits to Mayan ruins, guests will hardly mind.  The resort has also been visited by
many of the rich and famous:  Jude Law, Sienna Miller, Cindy Crawford, Jade Jagger and Benicio del Toro, to name a
few.

As of the time of the printing of MACO, the package cost $1575 for the six night camp, and includes all
meals, drinks, activities, plus two massages and a Mayan clay treatment.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to tell
my friend we need to call our travel agent.

Vintage Cruise Voyages

by Adrienne Wilson on

Considering some of the negative press cruise ships have been given over what seems like the last year or so, you’d imagine people would be shaking in their boots to hit the high seas, but such is not the case. Travelers are still taking to the ocean’s sometimes choppy waters and opting to make more out of their experiences on board rather than when they dock in say, St. Thomas. Least that’s what a new cruise liner called Vintage Voyages hopes to encourage on their extreme-theme vintage reenactment voyages. While themes like quilting, jazz, wine and murder mystery tours on deck are nothing new and have been popular for ages, Vintage Voyages has stepped it up a notch, providing a variety of packages catering to more adventure minded travelers with a thirst for history.

Take the Columbus Rediscovery Vintage Voyage for example. Noted as one of the most exclusive cruises, 90 participants set sail much the same way Christopher Columbus did back in 1492 on his way to discover the New World. Interestingly enough the cruise has three ships named after the original Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. Travelers on each ship are required to dress the way Columbus and his crew did and function under the same basic conditions. Meals include bread, beer, hard biscuits, fish and salted meat served nightly. Sleeping will only be allowed on the deck of the ship in cramped, damp conditions much like how the seamen used to rest. The cruise lasts 71 days at sea embarking from Spain and arriving in the Bahamas – where it is said Columbus first saw landfall. Vintage Voyages also prides itself in the cost of the rediscovery voyage asking interested parties to pay only what would be equivalent to what King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella gave Columbus in the 1400’s. ($450 USD.)

The company advertises the tour as a perfect event for extended family reunions.

Other packages include:

  • Titanic Shipwreck Vintage Voyage – Reenact the entire three hours the Titanic spent at sea. (Must be a certified diver for the ship sinking part.)
  • Moby Dick Literary Vintage Voyage – Hunt for white whales on the Pequod.
  • Gilligan’s Island TV Vintage Voyage – Play your favorite character from the show for the entire first season.