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Travel Experta’s Pick of the Week
Posted by: | CommentsWaterproof Dual Power LED Flashlight
If you follow my blog you know that my family and I were recently visiting the Lanquin caves in Guatemala. What you don’t know is that when we were getting ready I honestly thought we were going to need flashlights or lanterns for this new adventure. I was also concerned about the fact that the place we were visiting was surrounded by water and if there was no water there was a lot of humidity.
This meant I had a new mission: To find waterproof lanterns that were suitable for us adults and my son (he’s 6 years old). This time I found the perfect thing without having to try many. It is a small but powerful lantern that weights no more than 1 pound.
But it gets better, when I was reading the instructions looking for the kind of batteries it used I found out that it will save you a couple of bucks too because if you shake it for about half a minute it saves enough energy for 5 min. How cool is that? If your batteries run out of power just shake it and you have a few more minutes of light. Plus at very low levels it is eco friendly.
Since I am really curious and I wanted to test if all they claimed that the flashlight does I tested if it was really waterproof and floatable. And it is!
I might sound like a kid in Christmas that just opened a new toy but this flashlight really amazed me.
Oh, and in case you were wondering we ended up not needing the flashlights because the cave is very well illuminated in the inside.
Interested? Buy it Here!
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Guatemala Restaurant Review – JP’s RumBar, A New Orleans Style Bar in Antigua
Posted by: | Comments
Cost: average
Food Quality: decent
Decor: bar like with a New Orleans feel
Service: Decent
Cuisine Type: New Orleans – French Creole
Location: 7th Street #11 , Antigua Guatemala
Phone: 7882 – 4244
Website: JP’s BumBar
Some Facts for You
Rumbar is a bar that offers live music, jazz, blues, creole and cajun dishes. This place was made to have a New Orleans kind of ambience in one of Antigua Guatemala’s most transited streets. You will find this bar opened for lunch and dinner.
Personal Review
The Rum Bar is more for intimate parties than for dinners, because if you arrive early enough you can have some quality time, but at night it becomes a full on bar which makes it hard to really hear or do anything.
The food is only New Orleans styled food, so if you want other choices, this isn’t the best place to go.
Don’t forget to check out more fun foods and recipes at Wanderfood Wednesday.
Costa Rica Testimonial – Sara Painter
Posted by: | CommentsGet Away Vacation in Costa Rica
Just wanted to give you an update on our trip! We had a great time! Everything was so smooth and super!
We picked up the car with no troubles and it was the perfect car. We loved Mountain Paradise Hotel. It was great!
Desafio tours were great for the canyoneering and horseback tour. They were very professional, yet fun. We also LOVED Pedro with Cano Negro- he was very informative and really knew the information he provided us. It was a great tour! Also, SkyTrek was great.
Sara
USA
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Contest!
Posted by: | CommentsWin a 1 Night Stay in a Luxurious Hotel in London
Have you even wanted to stay in a riverside 5 star hotel in London? Well this is your chance!
I just found out that EasyToBook.com is currently offering a one night stay in the luxurious Plaza on the River B & B for two people. The free night is valid for one year after the winner is announced so you can take some time to plan it. How perfect is this for a romantic night away from the daily routine?
Tell me how to enter already!
All you have to do to win this prize is to follow @EasyToBook on twitter and send them a message of why you deserve to win a night in this luxurious B & B. But remember it has to be in less than 140 characters. Then you add in the hashtag: #etbprize and you are in!
You must do this before Friday 3rd of September and wait for your answer. The winner will be picked and announced via Twitter.
Need more information? Click Here!
Spotlight Guatemala
Posted by: | CommentsHostal Santa Cruz in Xetulul Guatemala
Xetulul is a beautiful, award winning theme park known as the best in Central America. It is located in the Retalhuleu Department of Guatemala. But it isn’t only a theme park. They also offer a great water park called Xocomil and four beautiful hotels. For me this is the idea of the perfect place for a family vacation. The first time I visited it I stayed in the one called Hostal Santa Cruz.
The hotel is a complex of 10 Mediterranean style buildings and is located right across the street from the Xetulul and Xocomil Parks. There is also an underground mini train that takes you from the hotel to any of the parks.
The beautiful and luxurious rooms also have a balcony. Plus the staff is great. They are very welcoming an always have a smile on their face.
Some of the services that are common to all the hotels are a play room with ping pong and some toys for the kids, a convenience store and a clinic for emergencies.
Oh, and the food how to forget about it! After a long day having fun in the rides it was the perfect way to end the day. We got a 5 star Italian dinner.
Hostal Santa Cruz is amazing, the grounds are beautiful, there are free peacocks running around and the parks are every kid’s and adult’s dream. It was the perfect weekend!
Contact me for great discounts for a spectacular stay in Hostal Santa Cruz!
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Great Deals for Flights to Costa Rica
Weekly Travel Tip
Posted by: | CommentsHave a Great Road Trip # 8
Because traveling in Central America is very different than traveling in any other part of the world here is the eighth of a series of travel tips for those planning a road trip. Go here to see the first seven: Check the Engine, Take Some Food With You, Pack Some Garbage Bags, Stay Safe, Take Secondary Roads, Take Turns When Driving and Don’t Forget Your Sunscreen.
This is a pretty basic and obvious one that we seem to overlook most of the time: don’t wait until gas is on empty to start looking for a gas station! The reason for that is that in some Central American highways you might not find a gas station for long distances. I don’t think it’s a fun thing to run out of gas in the middle of an unknown country.
Get more Weekly Travel Tips here for a safe trip!
Family Travel – Lanquin Caves Guatemala
Posted by: | CommentsA Family Adventure in The Lanquin Caves of Guatemala
Last week I talked about my fantastic experience in getting to know the beautiful town of Cobán. But that’s not all we did in the region. The day after we explored the town we headed to one of the main attractions of the area: The Lanquin Caves. Before I tell you all about our experience let me explain to you what the Lanquin Caves are:
The Lanquin Caves are located off the highway that runs between the towns of Lanquin and Coban. This national park was one of the first protected areas declared in Guatemala. It is an enormous and beautiful complex with limestone formations so big that no-one has ever discovered the end of this cave system. Modern Mayas from all over Guatemala still believe the cave is the “heart of heaven”.
I’m completely in love with this place. The surroundings and everything is beautiful and we got there before sunset just in time for the most fabulous show you could ever imagine. I still can’t get over it! We saw hundreds or maybe thousands of bats waking up and leaving the cave all together. They looked like a huge black cloud over our heads. It was incredible!
After this mind blowing experience we kept on walking inside the cave through paths that were well illuminated where we could see a lot of beautiful rock formations and even an old altar where ancient and modern Mayans still practice their rituals.
I loved this place for its beauty and uniqueness; I mean there is even a huge tower made out of stone in there! My son also had a lot of fun trying to climb up some rocks and looking at the bats. For me this is one of those places in Guatemala that you have to visit. But if you do go make sure to take some insect repellent with you, since it’s such a wet place there are a lot of mosquitoes.
Don’t forget to drop by next week for my adventure in Semuc Champey.
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Don’t forget to check out more Photo Friday in Delicious Baby.
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Travel Experta’s Pick of the Week
Posted by: | CommentsLoving Naturals Organic DEET Free Insect Repellent
I live in Guatemala and we are in the middle of the rainy season. This implies a lot of mosquitoes trying to eat you up. Even if your house and neighborhood are kept without accumulated water, these guys will go after you!
Plus most mosquitoes are just annoying but some other may be carriers of Dengue and I don’t want my little boys exposed to that.
So I bought a bug repellent. The bad thing was that it smelled really bad and it was a pain to have it on for too long. I kept on trying other products and after a couple of fail attempts I found the perfect bug repellent. Why it is perfect for me?
1. It is a 100% organic. At first I had a hard time believing this but when I actually got it, smelled it and read the ingredients I was convinced and in love with it.
2. It has a pleasant smell. So I can spray it on my kids without giving them a headache.
3. It’s compact. It comes in a 4oz. presentation so I can take it anywhere I want. This is great for those family trips around the country and I know for a fact that this is a plus for all travelers.
4. And this is the most important thing for me: It’s effective. It really does keep mosquitoes away from you and not just for a couple of minutes. The effect lasts hours.
Since I’ve done my share of traveling I know how much it sucks to be eaten up by bugs while you are trying to enjoy the nature around you. I also know that none of us is trying to hurt the environment while traveling. So give it a try!
Interested? Buy it Here!
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Costa Rica Restaurant Review
Posted by: | CommentsBBQ El Chicote, One of San Jose’s Oldest Steakhouses
Cost: $10 to $20
Food Quality: Good
Decor: Beautiful, Discrete
Service: Attempt
Cuisine Type: Steakhouse / Seafood
Location: Two Blocks West from I.C.E, North Sabana, San Jose Costa Rica
Phone: 2532 – 0936
Website: BBQ El Chicote
Some Facts for You
El Chicote is a beautiful restaurant in San Jose with 46 years of history that started as a drive inn surrounded by coffee plantations. In this steakhouse the most popular dish trough the years has been the “Baby Beef”. They also have a wide selection of wines from over 12 countries. Nowadays this restaurant has been awarded with five forks by the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism.
Don’t forget to check out more fun foods and recipes at Wanderfood Wednesday.
Costa Rica Testimonial – Ylenia Garrison
Posted by: | CommentsRomantic Getaway in Costa Rica
It was GREAT!! We loved all the places we stayed and loved driving around the country seeing everything – no problems with the car, it was perfect. I have to say our favorite was the Canyoneering – it was so beautiful and the guides were so fun = we loved Arenal. We loved the beach as well and had a wonderful trip. Thanks so much again for all your help!!
Ylenia Garrison
USA
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