Belize Summer Getaway - Aug 2012

Hidden getaway....

If you ever want sneak off to a place that speaks of serene beauty and tropical relaxation, just south of Mexico is a small country formerly known as the British Honduras. Belize boasts a warm year round climate, white sand beaches and fascinating outdoor adventure for the interests of all ages. A go-to spot for newlywed couples and families for years, Belize has been attracting more diverse groups, like ours, year round. The summer is a typically low-season time-frame but the annual Costa Maya Culture & Music Festival is a definite worthy attraction in August. Our bags are packed - let's go....

Arriving....

Once your international flight arrives on the mainland, you'll need to get over Ambergris Caye (pronounced "key"). For the natives a 2-hour ferry ride is in order, but the quickest route for visiting vacationers is by "puddle-jumper". Have your digital camera ready - there's some great views of Belize Bay to capture during the 15 minute flight. Within minutes of landing your headed with bags in tow to meet your hotel pickup and your Belize adventure begins...

San Pedro is the main community on Ambergris and has all the makings of any southern town found in the US. There's a serene, majestic feel to it with a town square, boutique shops, supermarkets, family restaurants, clubs and live music bars. The energy is laid back. The attitude is relaxed. No need to worry about the world you left behind while your on "La Isla Bonita". Dress accordingly. Just chill.

Just south of San Pedro's main strip was our resort, The Villas at Bayan Bay. The Bayan Bay property has 60 condo-style 1200 square foot suites with capacity for up to 4 adults each, a swimming pool and a private beach. A full service restaurant is steps away, if you don't wish to cook in your room. Even better, you can arrange all of your personal or family water-sport, fishing, and Mayan adventure tours with ease right on site.

Kicking back ....

After getting situated in your room and recharged a bit, grab a seat at the restaurant or pool and ask the Bayan Bay staff to suggest their most popular food dishes at Rico's. Why? Because the first point of interest in Belize is to sample the local signature lunch and dinner favorites. You see, the Belizian chefs are masterful with their choice of spices and seafood and many of the eateries are family run.

While the sun is high, take a dip in the property pool or pull up a deck chair under a palm tree to escape the penetrating rays. The pleasant sea breeze will do just the trick to get you feeling at home. Make certain to keep the pool hostesses busy with tropical drink requests during this first afternoon. Not a bad start to your getaway!

The days can be long and lazy, but dusk sets in on Ambergris and that's a good time venture into town for a while. Take a nice stroll along the beach to get near the nightlife or hail a taxi passing down the main road. My personal recommendation, is to rent a golf cart from the hotel desk. Golf carts are the primary choice of private transportation next to bicycles here. If you have a family or group, cart rentals will add to the whole experience of Belize.

Downtown San Pedro is known for it's choice of restaurants. You are almost assured to not be disappointed with any choice, but Elvi's Kitchen and Caramba are two of my picks. Try any selection of the Mayan fish at Caramba's - you'll see what I mean!

The excitement of the start of the Costa Maya Festival weekend gets everyone here in an upbeat mood. Lots of Belizeans from the mainland venture over to the island to enjoy the festival as well. Most people are walking about, watching the street performers in the square and bar hopping to pass the time. Our group’s first nite ended hearing some great live music at Fido's. Fido's always has a great mix of locals and tourists hanging out there. Some nights feature a live DJ or reggae band, but the bartenders are friendly, engaging and are excellent at introducing newcomers to Fido's Specialty Drink Shot Menu. This is a fun place, especially after a few shots, lol.

Sailing, Snorkeling & Dancing ....

Friday, is the best day before the weekend to get out early for a trip over to the neighboring island of Caye Caulker (pronounced Key Kaulker). The shopping and food are supposed be a bit cheaper there, but first there’s some blue ocean sub marine exploring to do.

If you're a certified diver, that's a plus, but for the novice ocean dweller, barrier reef snorkeling will be a perfect adventure. Get your group to take up a nice positions around every available area of the catamaran, the sail and snorkel swims will last a few hours at minimum. Mingle amongst your party, sun bath or even catch up on some sleep to fill most of your time, as the ship pilot ferry's us out to the drop points. Once you get your basic instruction, the underwater world of this reef comes into full view. Take a nice water camera (digital or disposable), you won't want to miss any of the critters swimming below and near you – it’s truly amazing. Did I mention the second part of the snorkel swim is in shark & sting ray alley? Oh, yes, make a note please. Not everyone will opt to participate in that snorkel dive, but those who do won't forget it!

After 90 minutes around the reef, the catarman speeds (speeding is relative since it is wind powered) over to the next highlight of the day, a visit to Caye Kaulker. Caye Kaulker is not as large or vibrant as Ambergris, but quite charming in it’s own right and has a really small town feel. You can grab your choice of good eats here and find those unique shopping items along the roadside without the tourist pricing. Have extra sunscreen and good walking shoes handy to stroll thru the white sand streets. We found a few quaint bars along the main road and the homemade ice cream shops are excellent! Relax in the shade and enjoy a long conversation with the locals, but keep track of the time – the boat captain is strict about the afternoon departure time. Your day tour ends with a nice sunset sail back to Ambergis Caye! Rest and freshen up when your back at your room...the weekend nightlife begins tonite.

The location of where you have chosen to stay while in Belize makes all the difference for your choice of activities (if you choose to be active, lol). Most beach front resorts or bed & breakfast inns are close to the action in San Pedro town. Walk along the beach and you’ll find a number of small family-run restaurants. Our resort was home to one of the most popular places, Rico's Grill. The annual Costa Maya Festival is in full swing now. Cultural performances, amusements, a beauty pageant and even a midnite reggae concert are enough to keep the native islanders excited. The center center of town will be buzzing. Bring your dancing shoes. The performance by this year's headliner, Kevyn Little, was quite entertaining, and I think we got to sleep sometime after 3am that night.

Jungle Deep ....

We'd barely enough time to get dressed after the getting in from the concert when it was time to get up. Saturday ecotour activities are big a highlight of any vacation trip. Our guide for the day, Daniel Nunez, was already waiting at the hotel dock for the 7am pickup. Off we go.....speeding across the bay…this time back towards the northern river coast of the mainland. It’s very soothing to ride along the open blue water in the early morning hours. A school of dolphins got a kick out of our ride too, playing and jumping in the wake of our boat. This was pretty cool to experience up close - another reason to have your camera at the ready.

Breakfast was served, while we navigated the twisting jungle river topography. Next were shuffled into a van for a long scenic drive through the countryside. Danny gave us a lot of history on Belize during this time and shared folk stories about the early colonial settlers here. This makes for a great conversation. The final leg along the jungle river is awe-inspiring, you are in the heart of nature's beauty. The arrival at our destination needs no announcement....when you get close, you'll know. It's almost like you can feel ancient spirits that once lived there waiting to greet you. Then, peeking out just behind the tree tops is the Mayan city of Lamanai.

Hidden way back in the jungle canopy the remnants of a fascinating culture exist for adventurists to see. Centuries old history & architecture excavated and unburied in plain view. The size of the building structures are impressive. Surprisingly, 75% of the city is still hidden in the earth and unseen. So many questions come to mind about the Mayan history while you visit here, you almost forget about the heat and humidity. For the fit and daring, take a climb (long rope provided) to the top of the High Temple. Over 100 feet up - the view is stunning, and not to be forgotten. Intriguing. Spiritual. Humbling. Well worth the 5 hour trek to get there and back. Wow, we got loads of great shots this day!

As a bonus to the day in the jungle, our tour guide/captain, invited us to his family’s restaurant for dinner that evening. We accepted and enjoyed a great meal at Hurricanes Ceviche Bar & Grill Restaurant. You see, Daniel is a 7th generation Belizian. He's been fishing/sailing/touring these waters around Belize for years and has several businesses throughout the area. He even owns over 500 lobster traps and even built the speed boat we'd been riding in. Wow, this guy works non-stop, just so we (us visitors) don’t have to when we visit. I like that. Belize has good people and good vibes. Well it's been a full day indeed, time to turn in or in our case, pass out. What will we do tomorrow? If could be another day of laid back activities or maybe we can finally do some jet skiing. No matter what, you get the general idea – the choices in Belize are boundless!

Now that you've heard it here from me and the Funky People Travel Group - add Belize to the top of your vacation list. It's not just for couples anymore. It’s a great destination to come to/come back to. You'll love it and the people. We'll be back here again, real soon....Ciao for now Belize!

Check out the photos & videos from this trip at: Belize Summer Getaway 2012 !

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Panama Tour - May 2009

This entry was originally published on funkypeopleonline.com on June 6, 2009. It has been edited to fit this format.

Welcome back,

Another Memorial Day Weekend has gone by and the Funky People Panama Tour is history! Each year our getaway destinations bring a different mix of personalities and this year was no exception. (I'm sure this was a warm-up for a bigger time on our upcoming return trip to Brazil)

Now before I get into the trip details, I have to first thank Val Slayton of Tra-Val Services, who worked closely with us on many details of this trip. Special thanks to Nyasha Warren for making my introduction to Panama much smoother. We also had the usual help from many friends of the Funky People family who promoted this trip via their own internet circles. Once again, I appreciate your continued support!

What was so hot about Panama? In a nutshell, I can say that the activities and antics were just as varied as the travelers that joined us in Central America. Not to be directly compared with our previous excursions, Panama has its own flair of culture, history and entertainment. The weekend moved at such a pace that we're still a bit exhausted at this point. If you yearn for the energy of Las Vegas mixed with South Beach Miami, then you will enjoy Panama! Pack a comfortable set of casual shoes or sneakers, it seems we were rarely sitting down...

The Decapolis and Veneto hotels were superb locations to introduce our travelers to the energy and mystique of Panama City. Why stay in the hotel? This area of the city was sort of like being in Times Square and the Wall Street sections of NYC. Everything was at your disposal, local shops, malls, boutiques, casinos, discotheques Panamanian eateries, restaurants, and outdoor cafes - just get out and walk around. Most places offered comfortable atmosphere for tourists and very good pricing. Our first few days took us to see the famous locks of the Panama Canal, an amazingly complex engineering marvel, the historical center of Panama, Casco Viejo, and the Calzada de Amador (or Amador Causeway), which is the very scenic entrance way to the city that connects South America and North America. Panama has the largest duty free shopping zone outside of China, which means you can find almost anything (and I mean anything) to buy for cheap in it's numerous shopping centers and malls. Serious shoppers, beware!

Walking around Panama City gives you a real sense of the vibrant skyline - it is a blend of old and new architecture. Known mostly for the Panama Canal, which drives nearly 1/3 of the entire economy, Panama is also home to many exotic birds, insects and plant life. For eco-tour nature lovers, it's a dream location. The Soberania National Park, just minutes from our city hotel, is the only rainforest to exist in a metropolitan city. Here are a few more things Panama, you probably didn't know.....

#1: The oldest operating railroad in the world exists in Panama. It travels only from Colon (on the Atlantic coast) south to Panama City and was originally built to transport settlers moving west during the California Gold Rush of the late 1800's.

#2: In 1903, the United States, assisted in Panama's declaration of independence from Colombia with Naval protection. The U.S was then awarded rights to what later became the Panama Canal Zone. The U.S. was responsible for completing construction and managing Panama Canal operations until December 1999.

#3: Panama in the original Indian language means "abundance of fish". Other versions refer to the name as meaning "many butterflies".

#4: Panama is the only place in the world where you can swim in two oceans on the same day. The Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean are only 80km apart. You will also see that the Sun also rises over the Pacific Ocean and sets over the Atlantic Ocean.

#5: Almost half of the 3 million residents of Panama live in Panama City. The cultural and racial landscape is made up of many Latin ethnicities, Amerindian tribes, and African, Caribbean and European descendents.

#6: Panama's major export products are bananas, rice, corn, sugar cane, coffee and shrimps bought mostly by Costa Rica, Germany and other European countries!

#7: Panama City is home to over 180 international banks. It is a haven for international investment, but the huge banking industry is due in large part to the commerce driven by the cargo ships that transit the Panama Canal. Each ship must wire transfer a toll fee payment of $100,000 to 250,000, at least 24 hours before entering the Canal waterway. (Sorry Visa is not accepted.) The Canal toll is really considered a discount, when the alternative is to travel around the southern tip of South America at a cost of $1 million dollars and an extra 3 weeks at sea, thus higher prices for consumers at the store.

While the city energy lured many in our group daily, our couples who opted for a more serene environment at the Decameron Beach & Golf Resort in Playa Blanca, got just that. Just over 90 mins outside of Panama City, there were lazy days, moonlit nights and ocean breezes. The Decameron has one of the best beach front locations on the Pacific coast of Panama. There is a local town of Farrallon nearby where you can shop for hand-crafted Indian art and pottery, enjoy dining and bar nightlife. Or you can just kick back, mill about the expansive property, soak up the sun rays, and enjoy the stage show lineups, all while sipping a Balboa or Atlas (Panamanian beers) or a mixture of fruit daiquiris with local rum liquors. For those that dare to swing with the locals, try any one of their high-octane "whiskey on the rocks" concoctions (usually a dark bourbon or scotch). I call this the Panama party-starter, but it ended the night early for others, lol.

Now, with all the daytime touring, cultural exploring, and late night socializing at hot spots like The Loft, La Bogedita, Guru and Club Seis, we did take time to eat the much talked about Panamanian food. No need to spend more than $5 on a good meal, just follow the locals. Shout-out to the friendly staff at El Trapiche restaurant! There are now many of us that are hooked on several Panama dishes like, Platano Maduro, Ceviche, Yucca (a tropical version of the potato), Sancocho (a hearty chicken soup spiced with culandro), and Corvina (filet grilled or fried sea bass) with Arroz con guandu (rice cooked with an African bean). All this after you've had your typical egg breakfast, and a few, Hojaldras (Panamanian doughnuts) with some potent Panama coffee!

Panama is very affordable, safe and picturesque for families, friends and couples. Pass this page to someone who is interested in a Central American vacation treasure. Check out the shots of our weekend travels!! The web link below will direct you to the vacation photo albums. Hello again, to our new found travel mates from New York, Boston, Miami and North Carolina! For those of you who missed joining us - new destinations await our visit!

Remember, being "Funky" is simply a mindset. What's yours? Encourage others to get connected to our member sites, activities, and soul music sounds. On Facebook use our group page or listen to our "workplace friendly" internet radio station anytime at www.FunkyPeopleradio.net. Hasta luego mis amigos!

Click Here to view the Panama Vacation Tour 2009 photo albums !

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All rights are reserved.

Costa Rica Tour - May 2008

This entry was originally published on funkypeopleonline.com on June 4, 2008. It has been re-edited to fit this format.

Welcome home,

Another Memorial Day Weekend and the Funky People 2008 Costa Rica Tour are history. We cannot wait to get the travel group back together again and we won't have to wait until next May. The October 2009 weekend trip is right around the corner...but more on that later. We're feelin' quite satisfied right now because the memories from Central America are still so vivid.

Now to summarize things, let me start by giving a big round of thanks to Jeannine Quiller of Way To Go Tours , who worked diligently on pulling together many aspects of our trip. We must also thank Alejandro Rodriguez Gomez of Destination Tours, Jorge Umana and his sound crew of Entretenmiento Corporativo, and Jose & Pablo of Mr. Tom's Graphics for their efforts in making the group activities and event promotions run smoothly. I have said this many times, the business of entertainment and leisure travel particularly in a foreign country IS NOT an easy task. We could not have pulled this weekend off without the help of our trip partners, sponsors, contacts and all of our new found friends in Costa Rica. We also had help from a slew of US colleagues and friends who spread the word via their own web channels and we must thank the many of them as well. Shouts out to Malaika Moran of www.Socialstep.com, DJ Herbert and DJ Cosi of the Freedom Party in NYC and Marc Smooth & Stone Jackson of www.EarCandyNYC.com, Josh Suggs of Delta's Restaurant, and Asya Shein at www.Fusicology.com. I also cannot forget my frat, Curt Gilmore of Gil & Gil Entertainment, Tony Motley & Dion Ross of the Motley Empire, Carl Parish and Terrance Barker for the Jersey push. To my close friends and FP road crew, I appreciate your support once again.

Producing a concert in the midst of organizing a group vacation trip was a bit of a challenge, but those who know of the Funky People Online social & business vision are accustomed to our quest of finding great entertainment experiences in new locations. Kudos to the travelers that also subscribe to our view of not traveling to the same 'ole trip locations each year. We had the best personalities and people to make this our most enjoyable vacation trip to date. Can a better time be had? That is what is truly funky.....

I can say that everybody had a really great time. Wow!! Five days seemed to flash by in an instant. The Barcelo Playa Langosta Hotel staff did a super job attending to our group when necessary. The hotel food was delicious and the atmosphere was always very comfortable. We especially got kick out of seeing the natural residents that lived on our hotel property, lol. It was not uncommon to see exotic birds, mammals and insects strolling about the place. Iguanas, crabs, raccoons, turtles, spiders, tuscans, other flying, crawling things we've never seen and oh yeah, some really cool monkeys!! Hey, we were in a tropical rainforest, what else did you expect?

So what does one do while in Costa Rica? Well, "CR" is one place where you can just enjoy some leisure time, keep the adrenaline going with outdoor adventure or a little of both. In particular, you can go to the beach and work on your tan, try your hand at surfing (almost everyone has a surf board), take an eco-tour trip, shop for hand-crafted art and pottery, eat fresh meals at a local restaurant, mingle with the people and travelers from abroad, or dance up a storm at night to the great reggae music! You should know that "Ticos" (as the Costa Rican people are referred to) are among the warmest and friendliest types you will come across and they love to have a really good time. Most importantly, while doing all of what is mentioned here you should keep yourself hydrated from the intense sun with popular Costa Rican drinks. If bottled water is not your speed, "Guaro" or "Cacique" (the very potent moonshine rum) and "Imperial" (the national beer) flows continuously.

Our time on vacation taught us a lot of about the country of Costa Rica. Here are a few things you probably didn't know.....

#1: Costa Rica was named "rich coast" for the gold that was found in abundance upon Christopher Columbus' arrival.

#2: In a country that is the roughly the size of West Virginia, Costa Rica is home to more bio-diversity than all of North America of Europe. This includes more than 800 species of wild birds, approximately 9,000 Plant Species, 34,000 Insect Species, 205 Mammalian Species, 220 Reptilian Species, and 160 different Amphibious Species.

#3: The seeds of the national tree is said to bring good luck to the person who carries it. The national tree of Costa Rica is called the “Guanacaste” (which means “Human Ear”); named by the indigenous Chorotega people because of the shape of the fruit that the tree bears.

#4: Playa Tamarindo (2 miles from our resort) is the one of the Top 5 Beaches in the country! It is known for its' lure to the Pacific coast surfing culture and was featured in the motion picture "Endless Summer".

#5: Since 1948, Costa Rica is the only country without an army or military of any kind. It's the most peaceful country in the Western Hemisphere!

#6: Costa Rica boasts having more teachers than policeman! It's Literacy Rate of 96.2% is the second highest in the world. There are over 6,147 primary, secondary and higher education schools.

#7: Costa Rica has the 15th top ranked medical and healthcare system in the world.

#8: Costa Rica has an established public civil infrastructure that provides 90.4% of the population with Health Services Coverage, 92% with access to Telephone Service, and 99% of the population with Piped Water to their households.

#9: Although Soccer (or "Football" as it is called outside of the USA), is the national sport, nearly 80% of the baseballs are manufactured in Costa Rica.

#10: Coffee is the country's most revered drink. Recognized as among the worlds finest for over 150 years; coffee is not native to Costa Rica. Arabica seeds were brought over by the Spanish from Ethiopia in 1808. The temperate climate and fruitful volcanic soil of the Central Valley areas of Costa Rica were perfect for coffee's infant development, and it swiftly became the country's #1 export to this day.

When the FP travel group arrived they had already spent half of Friday traveling, so they were eager to check out the social landscape. Our weekend started with a sunset dinner reception at the popular Camaron Dorado ("Golden Shrimp") beach side restaurant. Jamie, Oscar and staff made sure we were well fed with a 3-course Costa Rican meal. This helped the group flow right over into the Opening Night Party at the Crazy Monkey Bar. Tamarindo's own El Touche` band and DJ Pipe` set the energy for evening's guests, NYC's Freedom Party DJs. This normally lively bar was definitely boosted up several levels as DJ Herbert & DJ Cosi rocked an international crowd of more than 400 with their signature NY soul music style. Whoa - the Freedom Party in Costa Rica - off the hook! Our sponsor, Red Bull (of Costa Rica), kept the sexy bartenders busy all night with unheard of drink specials. By the time the doors closed, everyone was tired, and jet-lagged, but were excited and pumped about what they had just witnessed - our Costa Rica weekend had indeed begun! Thanks to Felipe and Jeff for hosting us at the Crazy Monkey Bar for the evening.

Saturday provided everyone time to recover and mingle about town during the day. The hotel guests were treated to smooth lounge sounds by the pool with DJ Cosi and me on the decks that afternoon. It was a great way to recharge batteries. Those "Guaro Vidas" and "Guaro Sours" did plenty to get us into the proper groove! Did anyone get the chicken recipe from the hotel bar cook? (No one told me Big Momma was from Costa Rica)

By nightfall, the whole town was a buzz about the special invited guest performers. This was the first time that Marfil, the most famous, historic band in Costa Rica would perform in this area of Guanacaste and, boy were the people appreciative. How good was Marfil? Well, when a reggae band plays original songs and everything from Bob Marley to Tito Puente to John Cougar Melloncamp, you know you're hearing a great live performance. You simply had to be there to see over 500 people from the surrounding towns jam to a 2 hour concert set in a steady light rain. No roof? Whatever - nothing seemed to stop the audience from dancing past 3am to the sounds of DJ Cosi, DJ Higher Link and myself, Tee Alford. Someone even lost their shoes - the energy was crazy! Big up massive to Marcella & Sebastian of the Babylon Reggae Bar and Imperial, La Cerveza de Costa Rica for hosting this major show. I never once hesitated when I had the opportunity to collaborate on this very special cultural music event. For a long time event promoter, it was truly a unique first time experience for me in a foreign country. Pura Vida - we have an extended Funky People family in Costa Rica for life! Jorge Umana you are the man!

The next few days gave us time to relax, lounge, shop and explore the local area a bit more both day and night. The final day saw the group taking an eco-tour to Rincon de La Vieja National Park for action and nature activities. How cool was it to horseback ride, water slide down a 1600 ft. drop, zip line like Tarzan across the forest tree canopy, and relax in the volcanic hot water springs after a natural mud bath... all in one day? We won't forget our crazy cool driver "Gato" and tour guide, Felipe aka "Dr. Phil" either. Felipe was like the Crocodile Hunter dude, only Costa Rican. He knew everything there was to know about the wildlife terrain in the volcano park. Raw cashew nuts in the wild are fatally poisonous and pineapple is actually not a fruit but a plant? Ok, I now realize I must have been asleep in Biology class all those years. Check out the shots and videos - what a day - what a vacation!!

If you're looking for a great place to visit, live or retire to, do consider COSTA RICA. Pass this e-mail along to show everyone just how beautiful this country is and what a great time we had. The web link below will direct you to the udpated photo albums and trip videos. For those of you who missed this trip - we're not gonna wait for you and your friends. There are plenty more exciting and exotic places to see - so our plan is to keep things moving. Won't you please join us next time? More vacation trips are already in the works. To find out where we're headed, subscribe to the FP e-mail list and watch your inbox for the future announcements! Until then...Pura Vida!

Click Here to view all of our Costa Rica Vacation Tour 2008 photo albums & vids.

The Funky People® event brands, logos and images are registered US trademarks.
All rights are reserved.