The Seaweed in Playa del Carmen

Published by dvotravels on 30. April 2019 | Permalink

Hi everyone! Today I am going to talk about our road trip in Mexico. Right now I am travelling through Mexico with a friend of mine from Switzerland. We have a lot of fun. We arrived couple days ago from Cuba and flew directly to Cancun.

For our 2 weeks road trip we rented a nice Chevrolet to explore the state Yacután.

Playa del Carmen

First stop Playa del Carmen, a trendy town right at the beach, famous for its nightlife, bars and restaurants. You will find huge hotel complexes, all kinds of food and places to relax. They also offer massages, jetski rentals and boat tours.

Where we stayed?

We stayed at the Gran SAHARA Hotel two blocks away from the beach. The hotel offers a breakfast, a pool on the roof and nice rooms. We payed 40 dollars a night for two person, pretty nice!

Breakfast included

You can eat breakfast in the restaurant next to the hotel. It is simple, fruit with a toast and coffee or tea with orange juice. If you want to add eggs or something else it will cost.

Gran SAHARA Hotel

There are a lot of hotels right at the beach which offer a lot but there is a downside!

Playa del Carmen, how is the beach?

So if you look up this place in the internet (Google) it will blow you away. Everything you need, crystal clear water, white sand and nice beach bars to enjoy your stay. But the nature has planned something different. The whole beach is covered with seaweed. Not just a little, tons of it! It covers the beach and the first couple meters in to the water. The smell is really bad and makes it not enjoyable at all.

I felt bad for all the people who booked expensive hotels right at the beach. We asked around and can say that it changes from time to time. There are months during the year where you will be able to swim with much less seaweed. But in this month April not. This problem goes down the whole coast to Tulum and more. There are a lot of activities like diving in cenotes like caves, diving with whale sharks, which is amazing and visiting Maya ruins. So it is still worth a visit!

I will keep you posted on my travel as much as I can, since I don’t want to leave my friend alone all the time.

Thanks for reading my Post about Playa del Carmen in MEXICO!

Links: website: http://perfspots.com/dvotravels steemit: https://steemit.com/@dvotravels instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daveone91/ here i book flights: https://goo.gl/HRhxoy here i book hotels: https://goo.gl/9UxEDR more links: http://perfspots.com/links

Salento and the misty Valle de Cocora!

Published by dvotravels on 20. April 2019 | Permalink

Today I am going to talk about Salento a little town in the department Quindío.

Salento is almost 1900 metres above sea level and surrounded by mountains. The town counts around 7500 inhabitants and a lot of tourists. Coloured houses, nice little restaurants and bars, shops with handmade jewellery and souvenirs. A quiet but still interesting nightlife with lovely bars that offer live music to enjoy the cold mountain air and have a drink.

Source

The Colombian coffee culture and chilled out vibes make it a must see. Everything is walkable and has a lot of attractions like hiking, horse riding, paragliding and coffee tasting.

A coffee plantation tour: 1 day

In walking distance of the town there are several coffee farms which offer tours to get to know more about the process of making coffee and the Colombian culture behind it. At the end of the tours there will be served a fresh made coffee from the farm.

Take the chance to buy a bag of coffee to support them. They life from the tours and the tourists. A tour lasts around 1 hour, so plan in advanced which farms you want to visit since there is time for more than one in a day.

Hike at Valle de Cocora: 1 day

To take a picture for you next postcard you have to hopp on a 4×4 jeep at the main square of Salento to the Valle de Cocora. The hike takes around 5 to 6 hours through the green valley passing by the famous wax palms of Quindio, up to the countless viewpoints on the way. Whether you walk through the misty forest or the sunny valley your camera or phone will be your best friend on the way to capture the mysterious and incomparable beauty you will encounter.

Makes sure to bring:

Hiking shoes
Snacks and water
Rain jacket
A hat and sunglasses
Camera or Phone
Mosquito spray

You will not get bored even if you decide to stay couple more days at Salento, since the chilled vibe and culture will take you in completely.

How to get to Salento?

There are two main airports nearby. One at Armenia and the other at Pereira. Buses leave from either of the town’s bus terminals and take around 2 hours up the curvy roads. You can catch a bus at the Salento bus terminal located a little out of the city to get back to the airport. The bus tickets are really cheap, if you prefer a more comfortable way with taxi you will have to pay around 150 dollars.

My opinion?

So my opinion at the end? For sure a must do if you are traveling through Colombia. It is not comparable to the main cities like Bogotá, Medellín and Cali or the Caribbean region of Colombia. One of the most beautiful places I have seen in this country. So don’t think long and just book your flight!

So thanks a lot for reading my post. I hope it helps and will make your next Colombian trip a great experience.

Links:
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steemit: https://steemit.com/@dvotravels
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Surfing at the Bahia Surf Camp Brazil

Published by dvotravels on 19. April 2019 | Permalink

BAHIA SURF CAMP BRAZIL

Surf camp in Brazil. In a private area are the Bahia Surf Camp.

The Camp is near the Salvador Airport. They offer you to pick you up, but I don’t remember the price.

You have everything you need. Three big and fine meals. The beach in front of the door and surfboards for free disposal. The Surf camp offers 2h surf lessons per day. Depending the conditions you will be surfing in the morning or afternoon.

The surf teachers are specialists in their field and divide all into the appropriate level. It was a lot of fun to learn with them. The beach is gorgeous, as no one can enter the private area. Perfect for chilling with your camp mates after a surf and enjoying the nice sunsets.

When eating breakfast, monkeys will normally join you and say hello with their little babies on their backs. What an experience.

More information about the Camp: https://www.bahiasurfcamp.com/

So Thanks for Reading my second part of that Blog and I hope to see you soon again on my channel.

Links:
website: http://perfspots.com/dvotravels
steemit: https://steemit.com/@dvotravels
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daveone91/ here i book flights: https://goo.gl/HRhxoy
here i book hotels: https://goo.gl/9UxEDR
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The broken Surfboard! Road Trip part 2

Published by dvotravels on 16. April 2019 | Permalink

Hi everyone! My next post for today, second part of my road Trip.

On the road to Santa Teresa

So Santa Teresa is just a 1 hour drive away from Montezuma and also right on the beach. The Town itself is a little bigger but also more touristic.

Selina Hostel in Santa Teresa

We stayed at the Selina Hostel at Santa Teresa North, because the town is quit big, they built two of them. Selina is a group of Hostels all around Costa Rica which normally offer pools, restaurants, bars and a lot of fun! The town has something about it. The hippy surfer vibe, sunny weather year-round and the over 30° dagrees make you want to stay longer than planned.

Surfboard rental

As a beginner or intermediate surfer you can rent your boards and get some surf lessons to get started! The prices for a 6 hour rental of a surfboard is 7 dollars and 24 hours around 10 dollars. We didn’t check the other rentals, so I think there are even cheaper ones.

Party time and long nights?

So what about party in Santa Teresa? You are a lion that wants to party all night long, enjoy the beach and dance to some nice beats till the morning hours? Santa Teresa is the perfect place for you!

The Banana Beach Hotel and Restaurant is the place to be to relax and enjoy the surf, sun and sand right at the beach. At night you will have some nice DJ’s giving all they have got to get you dancing till the early hours.

Saturday – Surfday – Funday

So after our night out at the Banana Beach we woke up around 10 o’clock to grab a bite in the nearby restaurant PURA VIDA which offers awesome typical Costa Rican food to affordable prices. And it is located right next to the hostel! Perfect!

Later we packed our stuff and headed to the famous and beautiful beach Playa Hermosa.

Since we are all professional surfers since years, joking! We rented surfboards for the day.

Some of us chilled under the trees and the others headed out to the ocean to try catching some waves. They were kind of small at the beginning but got bigger and bigger. At 4 o’clock my five friends headed out for a last surf but just four came back! We all were wondering and worried what had happened. 20 minutes later my friend finally came, but with two boards instead of one!

Happily she was fine, but had a really hard time out there within the big waves with a broken board, reaching for air and trying to get on land again. The whole thing cost her 160 dollars, but at least she was fine!

When the sun goes down slowly and everyone gets in a nice relaxed mood.

At night we just went for a bite in a nice restaurant and drank some beers. We were all so tired from the day that we almost not made it to midnight. Sunday morning we just packed our stuff and headed back to Tamarindo. A 5 hour drive back in the heat of Costa Rica.

So Thanks for Reading my Second part of that Blog and I hope to see you soon again on my channel.

Links:
website: http://perfspots.com/dvotravels
steemit: https://steemit.com/@dvotravels
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daveone91/ here i book flights: https://goo.gl/HRhxoy
here i book hotels: https://goo.gl/9UxEDR
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Road Trip to Montezuma Costa Rica

Published by dvotravels on 15. April 2019 | Permalink

Hi everyone! First part of my trip!

From Thursday the 11. April till Sunday the 14. April we did a road trip from Costa Rica Tamarindo to Montezuma and Santa Teresa Beach. Today I am going to write about our first stop.

Thursday morning I woke up around 8 o’clock, one hour before school. I started my classes at 9 o’clock and wrote my final exam since I finished my Spanish course that day. At around midday me and my friends were done and headed home to grab our stuff, so we could leave on time around 13.00 pm. So there we were on the road for almost 5 hours to our next stop, the little hippy town Montezuma.

The nature of Costa Rica doesn’t disappoint at all!

On the road adventures

The roads in Costa Rica are not that nice. I would definitely recommend anyone to rent a bigger car like an SUV then just a small regular one. The roads can get really bumpy and together with a strong rain it will be impossible to reach your destination. Midway we had to wait 30 minutes because of street construction but other than that everything was totally fine. Singing, enjoying the view, the beautiful nature makes any road trip a memory.

After 5 hours we arrived at Montezuma and checked in at our hostel right at the BEACH! The hostel offers hammocks to chill and enjoy the sunrise and watch the waves roll in.

Montezuma is not a really big town but has pretty fancy restaurants, bars and a chill vibe. There is not much around.

Hiking to the waterfall

Friday morning we woke up around 8 o’clock got some breakfast and headed out to a little waterfall track near the village. I took us a little hike up through the woods to get there. Tracking shoes might be a good idea since the rocks are sharp and steep.

People climbed up that stones and jumped down from around 8 meters. It was kind of fun to watch, but imagine if something happens out there?

At around 1 o’clock we headed to our next destination Santa Teresa beach to meet some friends, bt first we had to take a swim in the ocean again!

I mean how beautiful is that place?

So thanks for reading my blog and I hope to see you again on my channel for the second part.

Happiness is not a destination, it’s a way of life! Travel the World!

Links:
website: http://perfspots.com/dvotravels
steemit: https://steemit.com/@dvotravels
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daveone91/ here i book flights: https://goo.gl/HRhxoy
here i book hotels: https://goo.gl/9UxEDR
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The high plateau Brazil!

Published by dvotravels on 11. April 2019 | Permalink

Hi everyone! A short blog about our first days on discovery tour.

At the beginning at our trip through the nature of Brazil we first spent 2 nights at a finca near a high plateau. Waking up within the jungle is kind of impressing!

We headed down the bumpy roads and made our first stop near a little waterfall just a 30 minute walk away from the car. On our way we passed by some nice animals that were worth photographing. It was heating up really fast, so we were happy to walk under the trees to our stop. The nature of Brazil never fails to impress.

Here some photos I took from the animals.

The high Plateau

Later on we made our way down to the high plateau 615-544-0039 , walking in the midday sun. It was all worth it!

Birds flying around, a mesmerizing view hundreds of meters down the plateau and the quiet sound of the waterfall. An endless world, still untouched what makes this even more special.

As a refreshment after the walks under the burning sun we cooled down ourselves in a little lake. you could slip down the rocks in the middle of the waterfall, luckily nobody got hurt since the rocks were kind of sharp!

After swimming around and enjoying our afternoon we went back to our finca. Since it started to rain there was nothing more to do then chill out in my hammock.

The next day we drove to our next destination. This blog is coming up soon!

So thanks for reading my blog and I hope to see you again on my channel.

Happiness is not a destination, it’s a way of life! Travel the World!

Links:
website: http://perfspots.com/dvotravels
steemit: https://steemit.com/@dvotravels
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daveone91/

here i book flights: https://goo.gl/HRhxoy
here i book hotels: https://goo.gl/9UxEDR
more links: http://perfspots.com/links

Skyscrapers of São Paolo Brazil

Published by dvotravels on 9. April 2019 | Permalink

I have never seen so many skyscrapers in my entire live!

Hi everyone! My next post is about my Brasil trip!

On our trip through Brazil we stayed for 2 days in São Paolo. With the surrounding neighbourhoods the city counts 30 million inhabitants and is so far the biggest of them all.

São Paulo is also the economic centrum of Brazil and stands out for its traditional architecture. It is for sure worth a weekend trip or 2-3 days visit.

Within walls and buildings there are still a lot of places to explore like parks, shopping malls, restaurants and trendy areas. You like Chinese food? Just visit the Chinatown. You like to party? Just visit the area around the Paulista Avenue! We stayed at a big Airbnb apartment near to all nice parts of the city.

Skyscrapers everywhere!

There are more than 1000 buildings higher than 100 meters, so to really get a view over the city and be able to realize how big this metropolitan city really is, you have to get on top of one of the skyscrapers.

In the centre we managed to take an elevator up the floors to be overwhelmed from the view.
This are pictures we took from up there. I mean how is this even possible? It’s hard to imagine for a Suisse guy like me that cities like this exist. Switzerland has around 9 million inhabitants and this ‘’City’’ over 14 million.

@ivansnz weh had a great time!

So thanks for reading my blog and I hope to see you again on my channel.

Happiness is not a destination, it’s a way of life! Travel the World!

Links:
website: http://perfspots.com/dvotravels
steemit: https://steemit.com/@dvotravels
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I dived with Sharks!! Wow

Published by dvotravels on 8. April 2019 | Permalink

Hi everyone! David here with a new post!

So do you guys like diving? I for sure do! So that post is about my dive experience in Colombia and what made me do it!

At my 1 month trip through Colombia I stayed a couple days at Taganga beach at Santa Marta. Right at the Caribbean Ocean and next to the Tayrona Park, it’s the perfect destination to do your dive certificate.

I did my Open Water Dive course at the Reef Sheperd dive center! Best thing I could have done! http://www.reef-shepherd.com/en/home/ .The prices in Colombia are from another world.

My sister payed for the same course 600 dollars and I spend just 200 dollars for everything! So if you’re planning to do a course, do it in Colombia!

But what made me do it? Why did I decide to dive? In all these years I was never really interested in doing it or trying it out till I went to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. IT CHANGED EVERYTHING!

In my 6 days stay, I spent 4 days at the Island Santa Cruz. Snorkelling, hiking, swimming in the turquoise water, white sand and Iguanas laying around made my trip unforgettable.

Walking by tons of Dive Shops, pictures of the beautiful undersea world and seeing that crystal clear water made me start to wonder, what is there in the depths of the sea? I couldn’t resist and had to do a dive! But wait a second? Without a Dive Certificate it is impossible to go diving right? Wrong!

Most of the Dive Shops at the Galapagos Islands offer Discovery dives that allow you to dive together with a dive instructor to a depth of 12 meters max. So the day finally came and I spend my 170 dollar for my first dive! What an experience.

My first Dive at Galapagos

First we stopped near the actual diving point to do a test dive and get to know all the rules. The team did a pretty awesome job explaining everything I needed to know to feel safe.

After a quick instruction in the water we headed to our diving point and dived.

When I finally got used to the depth and the breathing I started realising the beauty under water, the colours, different fishes and flowers. It is latterly an untouched world.

As we dives deeper and deeper we came by some sharks. GET OUT OF THERE, might be the first thought, but no, you can actually dive with them or lets at least say next to them.

Here are some shots they took from the group of Reef Sharks we saw.

The colours just blew me away and how shiny everything was. It also felt so close. Like I could actually touch them.

So what I realised is, that there is so much more to explore in the world than just what we see every day in our lives. The ocean covers a huge part of the world but you actually don’t even know a lot about it. So if you ever have the chance to dive at Galapagos just do it. It was mesmerizing.

So thanks for reading my blog and I hope to see you again on my channel. I will post a video about my dive soon!

Happiness is not a destination, it’s a way of life! Travel the World!

Links:
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steemit: https://steemit.com/@dvotravels
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The Basilica del Voto Nacional at Quito

Published by dvotravels on 6. April 2019 | Permalink

Ancient churches in Quito

Today I am going to tell you about my favourite church in Quito and show you some picture I took.

The Historical centre of Quito is listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site and known as one of the best preserved old towns in Latin America. This neighbourhood is full of plazas, museums and churches. One of the most interesting churches was this one.

The Basilica del Voto Nacional

The Basilica del Voto Nacional is the largest of all churches at Quito and inspired by Bourges Cathedral in France.

It is the largest neo-Gothic cathedral in the World. The construction began in 1887 and was almost finished by 1909. Local legend says that when the Basilica is completed, the end of the world will come. So it technically remains ‘’unfinished’’. Like you can see on the picture, they are still in construction till today and it doesn’t look like they are going to finish it soon!

The Basilica is 140 m long and 35 meters wide. If you want to see the sanctuary you can pay a 1 dollar, the regular entry costs around 3 dollars. I think this is a fair price.

There are tours for a few dollars if you want to know more about the history of that church. We did it and it was worth it. At the end you can choose if you want to tip something and how much.

There is a lift inside which brings you up the upper floors and also staircases to climb the towers for a mesmerizing few over the city and the surounding mountains. Definitely nothing for you if you have a fear of heights. But if you get up there you will be able to take some great pictures.

Thanks for reading my post and taking the time 615-544-2806 , see you next time!

Thanks for reading my post! Hope to see you next time!

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steemit: https://steemit.com/@dvotravels
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The Basilica del Voto Nacional Quito

Published by dvotravels on 2. April 2019 | Permalink

Ancient churches in Quito

Today I am going to tell you about my favourite church in Quito and show you some picture I took.

The Basilica del Voto Nacional

The Basilica del Voto Nacional is the largest of all churches at Quito and inspired by Bourges Cathedral in France.

The Basilica is 140 m long and 35 meters wide. If you want to see the sanctuary you can pay a 1 dollar 615-544-0631 , the regular entry costs around 3 dollars. I think this is a fair price.

There are tours for a few dollars if you want to know more about the history of that church. We did it and it was worth it. At the end you can choose if you want to tip something and how much.

Thanks for reading my post and taking the time, see you next time!

Thanks for reading my post! Hope to see you next time!

Links:
website: http://perfspots.com/dvotravels
steemit: https://steemit.com/@dvotravels
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daveone91/