Good day,

Taking a helicopter tour of Cape Town, South Africa the other day was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done and it came as a complete surprise! After visiting Robben Island, it was time for sushi at Willoughby & Co. aka “Fine Purveyors of Sea Food” and we basically went to town, ordering everything that lived in the sea and more. If you follow this blog, you know that I’m a huge fan of seafood and at one point remember saying “I think this is the best day of my life”, that was before the helicopter tour of Cape Town…

After lunch we headed to the van for a “surprise” and about 2 minutes later we were there. Someone said “We’re going on a helicopter ride”  and I thought they were crazy, then I realized that yes, we really were going on helicopter tour… Madness broke out and the entire #VisitSouthAfrica crew of bloggers reverted back to their 7 year old selves the moment they ran downstairs on Christmas and saw what Santa had brought.  Things like helicopter tours typically don’t happen, let alone as an afternoon surprise…

We went on the tour with Helicopters Cape Town and it lasted roughly 20 minutes. It’s basically a compressed yet extended tour similar to the one we took the other day in the post “Day Tour of Cape Town“, only this one was from 2000 feet. It was Teri aka Travelista‘s birthday and she’s the only lady so naturally we let her grab the front seat. Nate and Ryan had good camera equipment and grabbed the land side while myself and my man from Escape to the Cape took ocean side. I saw Ryan’s footage today and it is amazing. Will be buying a GoPro in the not too distant future, I digress…

This footage is a bit choppy as I’m leaning over Ryan to capture it and filmed with an iPhone 4. That said, it gives you an idea of the tour and a teaser of what you’ll see should you opt for such an activity. The tour seems to be quite popular as when we were landing, other groups were going up while others were getting briefed. The views were some of the most spectacular I’ve seen in my life and travels through 43 countries. The images will forever be burnt into my psyche and if you can swing it while in Cape Town, highly recommended.

Afterward we headed to the Grand Africa which boasts the slogan “Where grand-chic meets retro romance…” and it’s pretty accurate. The place is situated ocean-side and had a very lively vibe to it with a whole array of interesting and classy people from around the world. Considering we had not eaten enough seafood at lunch, myself and Dave decided to get their famous” mixed seafood platter for two” which could also read “mixed seafood platter for 20″. It was delicious and everything was eaten except a few morsels of fish that simply couldn’t find a spot in the seafood parking lots that were our stomachs.

Call it intuition but that day really may have been the best day of my life, if not definitely one of the most memorable…

Tips hat,

P.S: Who would of thought taking a chance to follow my dreams in 2009 would lead me here!? You’ll never know unless you go…

Good day,

Was at breakfast when I saw this boardwalk of sorts going towards the ocean, then found myself walking on it. Moments later I had my trusty iphone out and filmed the opening segment. Once on Table Mountain, decided to just film the whole day to give you an idea of what it’s like here in Cape Town.

We took a tour with Escape to the Cape, our guide was beyond gregarious and very knowledgeable. He was also arrested as a political prisoner back in 1990, incredibly interesting gent. After Table Mountain we headed to Hout Bay, Boulders Beach & Cape Point. Stay tuned for a typical update covering this matter tomorrow.

Tips hat,

Good day,

Here’s the summary for those of you with ADHD – went deep sea fishing off Little Corn Island with Captain Randy from Three Brothers and helped pull in over 70 yellow tail today. Can you say !?!? I’ve never witnessed in my entire life such abundance, let alone of the protein filled delicious variety. We fished for a while and nothing happened except the dog got sea sick, I was starting to feel green as we trolled towards Jamaica with nothing biting…

Suddenly we hit this spot and Randy tells his son Randy to drop the anchor and our lines go in. No more than 10 seconds later and the Captain has a fish in the line, his son has one. Not long after I get a bite and lose it, go figure. This spot was out there and before long it became what every fisherman ever dreamed of, a pure straight up feeding frenzy where every cast you throw gets action as it hits the ocean floor. I lost most of them as they are tricky and I’m a novice with the hand line – it’s easier, faster and more rewarding but requires a sense of feel I’m lacking.

Back to the feeding frenzy, they were coming out like they were going out of style like every yellow tail in the vast Caribbean Sea wanted to join the suicide party taking place in the bottom of our boat. Personally pulled in 5-10 fish, Randy Junior kept his fish separate to count them and tallied 25 and Captain Randy was just pulling them out non stop as though it was some fishing commercial for the hottest new lure on the scene. We used a heavy weight to get it to bottom, tied a hook 3 feet up and put 1 sardine on.

After a few yellow tails came in, took a small one and put a hook through its back and threw it overboard attached to a much thicker line that Captain Randy held. Within 15 seconds it got a massive tug and the fish was gone. We reloaded and never felt a thing. After several hours and roughly 70+ fish being brought in we decided to call it a day.

We trolled around the northern coast effectively making a tour of the island. The island is so much larger than you imagine when living there. The size of the island and what is accessible from the main roads / common through ways are totally different but back to fishing already…

On the way in we trolled with a small yellow tail for barracuda and caught nothing but the fish was cut up aka got a solid bite. On the topic of Barracuda… While we were going out to sea we noticed a massive storm come in hit the island, it was intense. One of those clouds that rained hard but left as quick as it came. Not far from us was a gent in a small 10 foot aluminum boat with 15HP outboard motor…

It had a cool blue canopy with a cooler below and an attractive Spanish lady sitting in the front. As we cruised by I noticed him holding the line up and struggling while bracing himself on the side of the boat. His other hand sent a large hook through the side of an even larger barracuda and he hauled it into his boat before throwing it in his cooler, he’s as manly as they come. Then watched him make sure it was dead as the lady in the front smiled.

Today was one of the best days since leaving my job in September 2009.

If you want to go deep sea fishing with Captain Randy, contact him at Three Brothers Guesthouse and the price is $25 a person.

Hola,

Have spent the last two days in Leon and haven’t been up to all that much besides doing some work, experiencing whatever it is that life gives you and snapping shots. Ryan made a video from some footage we took on the second day in Granada and put together a video about dining at some local eatery. Eating at small local establishments has to be one of my favorite things about travel, in fact I’m off to a similar one right now. Figured I’d throw this up now because if not now, when?

Last night I met a guy who used to follow the Grateful Dead around and who has been living in Nicaragua for over 15 years. I asked him a whole slew of questions about anything and everything my curious mind could conjure. I’ll share some of what I’ve learned and photos tomorrow.

Tomorrow I *may* be going on a 2 day volcano hike but still undecided.

Will say that the Cathedral of the Assumption is incredible and has an undeniable aura.

Tips hat,

Everyone tells you that doing a foreign currency exchange on the streets is a bad idea, I know. Turns out in Nicaragua it’s legal and the gents on street corners with massive wads of cash are legit and licensed! First found out about this from a Nicaraguan gentleman on the plane who said he exclusively changes foreign currency on the streets as the banks are not to be trusted and will rob you blind.

As it happens, the street exchanger did have the best rate by a long shot and it was a seamless transaction.

Who would have thought!?

My friend Ryan and I were walking around Granada, Nicaragua and getting involved so to speak when he decided to buy this random treat from the streets. One thing led to another and we decided to film it, next thing you know it turns out to be this delicious coco street treat and this local lady comes over to get amongst it.

People that are just straight up jovial make my day.

I’m in heaven and so chilled out that I routinely check for my pulse.

Managua, Nicaragua is not known as a nice place but it is where the international airport is. Most people who fly in leave immediately to elsewhere. If you’re going to take a taxi from Managua to Granada, recommend you do it during the day. If it is daytime, cross the street to the Best Western and have one of their drivers take you, it’s a safer bet, they have new cars and will cost you around $40. The opening bid was $50 and a local guy I met on the plane said locals would pay $30, $35 is probably possible if you wanna haggle.

Read the full update on Boston to Managua to Granada, Nicaragua.

This video is of the Jamaican bobsled experience at Mystic Mountain in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Was supposed to go live a few days ago but a random comedy of errors occurred that need not be discussed now.  The ride is about 700 meters and if you go “pedal to the metal” you’ll probably feel like your heart wants to jump out of your chest at some point or another…

Always happy to come home but already missing Jamaica…

Tips hat,

P.S: Leaving for Boston in 2-3 days, time to get an express passport renewal and tie up loose ends. Will visit my family in Boston and then catch a one way flight to Central America on the 19th, stay tuned…

Greetings,

Just arrived at the Iberostar Grand Hotel in Montego Bay, Jamaica and the sun is shining and I’m dying to get involved. This place is class and I even have my own butler, the gentleman named Wheeler who is dressed to the 9′s. The next few days will be hectic so taking this time to do things like hang out by the pool and have a drink at the swim up bar. Will note, you can find hotels like this at the lowest rate guaranteed with EasytoBook.

This place is awesome, felt a video was most appropriate.

Tips hat,

This video is from the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

Really enjoyed the exhibit of old military vehicles that are featured above.