Take me out to the ball game… Opening weekend was a hit…

If you are a true baseball fan the arrival of spring means only one thing, PLAYBALL!!!! Major League Baseball is back. Records will be broken; millions of fans will go to the stadiums to see which of the 30 teams will be called World Series Champions. Baseball is the National Pastime in the United States, there is a movement to make opening day a national holiday so the fans can gather and enjoy this beautiful game in the ballpark or at their place of choice.

Opening day is special in baseball, the start of a long season brings hope to all team participating and is the beginning of new stories that will create lifetime memories for players and fans. I have been a Mets fan since the 80’s and while there are not many World Series championships (2 World Series ’69 & ’86), for this season hopes are high with the signing of Juan Soto, Lindor coming back after a spectacular year, and the return of the Polar Bear Pete Alonso for at least another year. For a cool story before the start check this video on Cam Smith call to the show from the Houston Astros a rookie player drafted in the 1st round in 2023 by the Cubs and then traded to the Astros.

Possibly one of the best 1-2-3 batters line up in the game today

Mets were opening the 2025 season in Houston to play the Astros a team with good history of boricuas players including Jose “Cheo” Cruz who is inducted into the Astros Hall of Fame. We had the opportunity in the past to enjoy games in Daikin Park (Previously Minute Maid Park) and enjoy Astros baseball, when Carlos Correa was on the team. Going back on the opening weekend with the Mets playing there would make it special. Game #1 was Thursday, but the next 2 were Friday and Saturday giving us the opportunity to watch both games. Plan was in motion to enjoy opening weekend MLB baseball.

We arrived at downtown Houston and quickly prepared to walk to the stadium and join the party, immediately you could feel the excitement of Mets fans with many people walking around the city with Mets colors. You always find fans from the visiting team, but it was clear that it was opening weekend and with the hype around the team plus a fan group named the 7 Line Army the number of Mets fans was bigger than normal. The stadium had a great atmosphere for both teams and after losing Thursday, Mets won the Friday game in a very tight contest it was an awesome experience with loud “Let’s Go Mets” chants and the Astros cheering their team with good energy.

Tons of 7 Line Mets fan at the tailgate before the game. Soto engaging with fans pre-game

The last game of the series saw the Mets lost to the Astros on an almost sold-out stadium, atmosphere again was great, and you could see 4 big sections where the 7 Line Mets fan group were seating. I was impressed with the number of Mets die-hard fans that are part of the group and travel across the country to support their team. At the end of the first series Mets were playing with a 1-2 record, as a fan you want the “W” in every game. Hey, this start is better than the 0-5 start from last year. The team showed good signs of being a very competitive team, with a chance to fight for the championship.

Great attendance for both games at Daikin Park

The extra innings for this opening weekend was going to Arlington to watch the Rangers play the Boston Red Sox in their home field called Global Life Field with Jacob de Grom pitching for the local team. Since we arrived in Chicago, we have embraced baseball and started visiting the different cities and stadiums where MLB teams are located and the Global Life Field would be stadium #10. The stadium is located near the AT&T stadium and right beside their old baseball stadium in a very nice area called Texas Live!; where you can do eating, drinking and watch a game or hear some live music.

3 big stadiums in the same area, and our Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez present

We got early to Arlington and have time to enjoy baseball culture in Arlington; you could see a good number of fans from the Red Sox and Rangers that got early enjoying the restaurants and bars outside the ballpark. Once I entered the stadium was impressed with how they build it with great spaces, great food (24-inch Hot Dog-Burrito) and entertainment including the dot race (Seems every MLB is getting a race on). If you are in the area, give yourself a chance to watch Rangers baseball and a must do, go to Hurtado BBQ and get their Brisket nachos, go early because the line is huge but for now the best nachos in a baseball stadium by far.

Huge spaces and great facilities, Huge Stores, Lines, and Food Options

It was a very good game, where Jacob de Grom had a solid outing and in a close game the Rangers won. It is always fun watch the local team win (Unless they play the Mets :-), the fans were into the game and cheer hard to support their team, Red Sox had fans but not as loud as the Mets were in Houston. Baseball has always been a game to be enjoyed with family and friends; took the opportunity and meet with one of my high school buddies and we spend a great afternoon.

Boricuas in the Rangers Hall of Fame and good friends that live in Texas!!!!

Excited for this new baseball season and for the trips to come and explore new cities and ballparks to enjoy this beautiful game. Thanks for taking time to look at this post, please share it with your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time…

Exploring the Korea Baseball Experience on Opening Weekend 2024… Ready for MLB 2025

Now that we are getting ready for the start of the new MLB season and looking back to my travel last year, I was lucky to experience Korean big leagues during their opening weekend while visiting Seoul, Korea. The KBO is a younger league when compared to MLB it was founded in 1982, just 43 years ago in comparison the National League that was established in 1876 or 149 years ago.

Old School Tickets and traditional presentation of teams!!!

Like many boricuas, I played baseball at a very young age (5-6 years old) my first league was in Sagrado Corazon (Cupey) and continued playing until I graduated from high school all these years generated tons of great memories that I still relive today. Playing baseball was about fun and friends, it was getting cable tv at home in the early 80’s where I truly became a fan, remember just watching games with my dad and manually switching from channel 5 (WGN-Cubs) to channel 8 (TBS-Braves) and watch the games. Eventually we also got WPIX and became a Mets fan in 1986 (Won World Series), today still waiting for them to win again (Topic for another post).

Mass Transportation in these big cities facilitates going to the games, language can make it difficult 🙂

Coming back to my opening day experience in Korea, baseball is one of the most followed sports and is the one with the highest live attendance for games. The KBO has 10 teams and stadiums that can seat more than 20,000 fans, each team play 144 games in a season playing 6 days a week with Monday off. The game that I saw featured the Kia Tigers vs the Doosan Bears, both teams started in 1982 the year the league started. The Kia Tigers are the most successful team in the league with 12 championships (2024 Champs), currently owned by the Kia corporation; the Bears are the local Seoul team with four championships under their belt, owned by Doosan the oldest running company in Korea (Founded 1896).

Once I got to the stadium, using their subway it was clear that the game would be a sell out with lots of people everywhere and huge lines to buy tickets. It was good that I arrived early, since language was going to be an issue, and it was a bit of a challenge to get my ticket to get in the game. After getting the ticket, decided to walk around the park and began to enjoy how they live the baseball culture. Walking towards the entrance I noticed fans at the game were on average much younger than the US, also you see more women in the stadium that in a ballpark in the US. Search for insight and found that women are embracing baseball a lot in Korea.

Inside the stadium the feeling and vibes were very similar than a game in the US, lots of food and drinks in some cases US staples but also you could find Korean delicacies like fried shrimps or noodles (Kimchi and Pork Belly, great combo!!!) also available merchandise of all sorts like personalized jerseys, caps, t-shirts. One machine that I found interesting was a vending machine that would print and sell custom baseball players trading cards, there was a long line during all the game with people making selections of their favorite player, since it was opening day, I assume that was the reason for the long line.

You have entertainers, driving the chanting for both teams!!!

When the game starts it is like watching a boxing match, the energy you see from both teams is incredible and I am talking both inside and outside the field. When a team goes to the offensive all their fans start rooting and chanting at the same time, to support the fans you see some entertainers that bring the crowd energy to another level. It was very impressive to see how this energy moves from one team to another as the game progress, you could see the fans were really into the game supporting their teams and also following the game. The energy during the game was incredible and how the fans enjoyed the game, made the experience better it was a victory for the Kia Tigers that day but for me it was a personal win to have the opportunity and enjoy baseball in the other side of the world.

My Korean baseball experience was very satisfying from getting to the ballpark to taking the train back and would recommend to any baseball fan to have it. People in Korea not only know the game, but they also truly enjoy it and makes it a great activity for friends and family. I truly think this sport will continue to grow in the future, with a strong young fan base and a product that can resemble a MLB experience. This week starts the 2025 MLB season and will be traveling to Houston to see my NY Mets in the opening weekend #LGM.

Happy to meet great people at work that kelp me on this adventure…

Thanks to my Korean friends for helping me having this experience and for you as a reader for taking time to look at this post, please share it with your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time…

Tips for an Unforgettable “Chinchorreo” Experience in Puerto Rico

If you ask a Boricua what is a “Chinchorro”? they will describe a small bar, that serves local food while playing local festive music. So “Chinchorreo” would be the act of going on a day trip stopping in a good number of “Chinchorros” to eat, drink, and have a good time with family and friends.

Puerto Rico have the best X-mas in the World!!!!

The word “Chinchorro” has different meaning in other places of Latin America, in Venezuela it can mean a hammock and in Cuba could mean a small boat. For us in Puerto Rico the ward “Chinchorro” has been used to call a small bar since 1930 according to historians; during that time, people used horses and carriages to move from place to place stopping in places to have food, drinks and get some rest.

Great place to go with friends or just meet new great people…

We are fortunate to have family and friends that like “Chinchorrear”, for us is a must do if you are spending time over the holidays. The activity is one that help showcase the beauty of our island, and how fun us Boricuas can be. There are many routes to select and do the activity, most picturesque ones are along the central mountains, going through different municipalities like: Cayey, Aibonito, Orocovis, Jayuya, Ciales. Every route is different, but all of them will offer good food, music, sights, and friendly people.

Country Side or near the sea, natural beauty is always present…

Once you get to a “Chinchorro”, there are a couple of tips to get the most enjoyment out of that stop and here are my 5 tips.

Plan to stop at 3-4 “Chinchorros” during your visit
- The idea is to spend time at each stop, so you can enjoy the best of what the place has to offer, Plan to spend on average 1-1.5 HR per stop. You are not in a hurry and use the time to enjoy the views, talk to the people and have fun
- You can stretch and go for places , in my opinion is not about quantity and more about the quality of the stop. I prefer to go less places but get to enjoy more time in the “Chinchorro” having fun, if a place is super full go to the next and maybe on the way back you can stop and go in.

All “Chinchorros” are not created equal…

Ask what are their specialties before ordering… then get some!!!
- Medalla is our local beer and it is a superb mass produced beer, Beer culture has grown in Puerto Rico and you will find a good number of small brands made by local breweries here a couple of breweries: Boqueron Brewing, Ocean Lab Brewing, Old Harbor
- Besides great beer, you can also find great cocktails in the different places. If you want to enjoy a cocktail, you may find a good creative mojito or an alcoholic drink with some fresh juice like grapefruit or Passion Fruit. As the “Chinchorros” have evolved the owners have identified that having great cocktails creates differentiation versus other places, just ask and see if they have some special drink that you can enjoy.

You will find a great selection of food and drinks…

If you see live music… STOP, you will get to enjoy a free show
- In all of the “Chinchorros” you will find music, either from a streaming service or some live presentation. This is an important piece in the experience and can either add to an awesome experience or make you go out fast and furious to another place. Get to the place and feel the vibe… you will quickly see if the music is adding to your experience or not
- Watch Out for a big bus of people getting down in a Chinchorro ready to party with their own instruments and start a “parranda”… Don’t be shy and get into the chorus, it adds to the fun. You will see this big groups celebrating birthdays, business retreats, boricuas from the “diaspora” or a high school reunion.

Music is an important part off of the outing… From professional to just for fun!!!

Be Patient… You are in Island Time
- Expect a good number of people at each stop… This places can get busy, just Chillax and go with the flow. If you went out to “Chinchorrear”, there is no need to stress over a line, take the time and start talking with the person you just met in the line or even better pay a drink to someone just for fun. We are here to have a blast!!!
- If you come from a big city, you will see a change of pace from the hustle and bustle of city life. This is an important element for you to understand, here seconds are minutes and people don’t have to punch a clock to get to the next meeting.

Happy to call Puerto Rico my “Patria” – “Boricua hasta en la luna”

If you are in Puerto Rico, give yourself a chance to a great day and connect to the island with a real experience. You can go to the Puerto Rico tourism (Discover Puerto Rico) page and just search “Chinchorro” and you will get a list of couple of them. Thanks for reading and please share this post with your friends. Sign in to get our updates. Also follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Muscat in Oman: Mix of charm and classic taste; a weekend escape destination in the middle east

After exploring some very modern cities in UAE and Qatar, we wanted also to explore a more traditional city in the Middle East and when searching for destinations we found Muscat to be an excellent alternative due to distance from Dubai (500KM) and the history they have. Muscat is famous for its ancient and modern structures, such as Portuguese forts from 16th century and the modern Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque; one additional important highlight that we found was their incredible fresh seafood (Omani Lobster was awesome!!!)

Taking advantage of a long weekend and to celebrate our wedding anniversary we flew flydubai into Muscat for a 4d/3n stay, this amount of time allowed us for a couple of day tours and also some time to relax at the pool and beach of a great hotel where we found a great deal. I can tell you that our itinerary was enough time to get a good taste of Muscat and explore the highlights the city has to offer.

When doing research for the stay, I found that there is a hotel in Muscat that was originally built as an Omani Royal Palace to host the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1985 and to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the late Sultan Qaboos accession to power. For more than 10 years the palace has been operated by the Ritz Carlton under the name Al Bustan Palace a Ritz Carlton Hotel and while they have modernized and upgraded parts of the property, their mission is to maintain the Omani essence and protect the heritage of the hotel.

The stay at the hotel was perfect, not only the property is beautiful but the employees and quality of food is top notch. Before arriving at Muscat, I shared that we were celebrating our anniversary and the hotel had some nice details to make our stay more memorable. If you come to celebrate a special occasion in Muscat, this hotel is a great choice to stay in, here are some photos that try to capture the beauty of the location. One thing you need to try is the Omani Lobster, what a great dish they prepared us in their chinese restaurant called China Mood.

Muscat is an old city, that traces back to the 1st century AD as a important trading port between the east and west it was ruled by indigenous tribes and also the Persians, Portuguese and Ottoman empire. Reading about Muscat, one interesting piece of information was that it was a military power with influence extending as far as East Africa and Zanzibar. It was on the 1970´s that Muscat started rapid infrastructure development with the accession of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan leading to rapid economic growth; his reign was almost for 50 years making it the longest serving leader in the Middle East at the time of death.

If you fly into the city, you will arrive in Muscat International Airport a small airport when compared to Dubai International but one of the nicest airports I have seen with very elegant details across the terminal. The immigration process was a bit slow when compared to other airports in the zone but after that moving around the city is very efficient with their taxi system, another interesting fact about Oman is that taxi drivers must be Omani locals making the trip more like a cultural experience.

One thing you will see in Muscat is that there are no really tall buildings, and they are similar white to beige color. It is said that the previous Sultan wanted Oman to maintain the natural beauty of the country and not change it with tall skyscrapers like Dubai, also maintaining similar colors of the buildings to be consistent to the eyes. You can truly enjoy Muscat natural views and how the city blends perfectly through the landscape, it is something rarely seen in other cities and great to experience.

If there is a concert in the Opera house, a must do…

During the tour we got to see some great places and sights, there are other attractions a bit farther that you should explore like Wadi Shab & Bimmah sinkhole that we did not go but should be done if you have time. Here a list of some of the must do that we experienced:

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque: Beautiful Mosque, with local people there to talk and learn about Muslim religion
Mutrah Souq: Fairly traditional Souq in front of the sea, can walk and have fun negotiating prices for souvenirs
Royal Opera House: Impressive building inside and out, if there is a show is a must do
Al Alam Palace: Very nice structure, with views to the sea and some forts
National Museum of Oman: Opportunity to learn more about the country and their history

Visiting the market and talking with locals is always fun…

Muscat charm and simple enchantment makes it a very nice city to explore in the Middle East and if you want a more traditional experience is a place to go. Thanks for reading the post, please share to your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Bali: Unique sights, independent cultural heritage, and deep religious beliefs…

Just got back from a short break in Bali, enjoying this province island of Indonesia that is well known across the globe and is one of the top tourist destinations in the world. Bali is the only Hindu majority province in Indonesia with more than 90% of the population adhering to Balinese Hinduism, making this a key highlight as a tourist since Hinduism is not a religion that I am very familiar. There are 4.3 million people living in Bali split in 9 regencies, with traces of people living 2000BC that migrated from Taiwan; it was under Dutch control until 1949 when Indonesia was recognized as a country and Bali became a province.

One of the iconic images from Bali is, called Candi Bentar. (Ulun Danu Beratan Temple)

Bali is a great place for surfing, with many beaches available to practice the sport and with impressive views like in Tanah Lot where people surf in front of beautiful temples. Since 80% of the economy is based on tourism, you will find accommodations of all budgets along the beaches and in the countryside with rooms overlooking into rice paddies or even the change to have a room looking towards Mount Batur an active volcano.

Once you arrive at Denpasar, capital of Bali and go outside you clearly see that the people of Bali are one of their biggest assets; the people are looking to politely provide service to you and very respectful of your space as you manage the busy arrival term towards the taxi or transportation that will take you to your destination. For us we decided to stay in Ubud, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency; is promoted as the arts and Culture Center of Bali and if you don’t stay there is a must place to go and explore.

There is lot of traffic in Bali, biggest roads are only 2 lanes with one lane at each side for rural roads also if you add the big number of motorcycles in the street it can get a bit overwhelming. My recommendation for a short stay is to hire a driver / tour guide that can take you to the different places, reducing the risk of driving in these roads that are unknown to you. Be prepared to spend a bit of time as you move from place to place, it was not a hassle but if you have a limited number of days you will spend 10-12 hours going to some awesome places so it´s worth it.

We decided to hire a 2 full days guide that would take us across the island to some of the best sights, plus had another full day for us to explore Ubud Center. After looking for tours, I found this company that had good reviews and local knowledge of Bali, here is the tour guide LINK if you want more info. Our guide was one of the partners of Putu Arnawad, Mr Kadek was a great guide very knowledgeable of the island he made us feel safe and the trip was very enjoyable.

Here is a list of things we did, Bali has tons more things to do and depending on the number of days you can include more things, for 2 days of tours I think we were very aggressive and got to see most of the great things Bali has to offer. You can use this as a reference if you are planning to go, I have also included some photos of the places so you can see some of the beauties of Bali:

Ubud Center – Spend 1/2 in Ubud enjoy some shopping and sightseeing, here 2 great places to eat and chillax: Lunch at Ibu Susu Bar (Mixology) / Dinner at Nusantara (Indonesian Food)
Ubud Palace – Go and do the Legong and Barong Dance show, interesting form of dance that is pure Balinese
Tanah Lot Temple & Batu Balong Temple – By the beach, is a beautiful sunset place
Ulun Danu Beratan Temple – Beautiful temple in a big space, great place to see some hindu ritual, lots of locals go there
Goa Gajah also known as Elephant Cave (Built in 9th century) – Smaller temple but interesting to see the fountain and bathing pool discovered in 1954
Pura Tirta Empul – Explore a local hindu custom of spiritual cleansing, can be experienced live
Tegallalang Rice Terraces – beautiful sight and ingenious water irrigation technology, you can see people working the land (Hard working people)
Blue Lagoon Beach – hidden cozy beach, great place to relax by the sea
Candidasa Beach – Beachfront lunch, there are many restaurants to choose and enjoy
Twin Lakes – Lakes were formed after the mountain collapse and separated the body of water, you can see them from the top of the road
Banyumala Waterfalls – There are many to choose but this one is impressive and you can even go in the water if you want
Luwak Coffee stop – Enjoy one of the most expensive coffees in the world and learn the process to get it (Or not)

Bali offers options for everyone; I recommend that you get to explore a bit of everything and have a full taste of their offerings including having some of the local food (Best Fried Rice in the world). Learning about their culture and religious beliefs help you understand why the Balinese people are so warm and acceptant of all foreigners; people make the difference and in this case Bali locals bring the experience to another level.

For our stay in Ubud we decided to stay at the Maya Ubud resort HOTEL LINK and have the forest-valley experience that you see in ads when you research Bali and it was worth it. This resort is a local company focused on providing great personalized service, the property offer different rooms and the facilities, specially the pool by the river are phenomenal. You can stay in this hotel if you want top notch service, with great food and best in class accommodations.

Bali is definitely a destination to go if you want to experience something different, great people and different traditions are a big hit. Thanks for reading the post, please share to your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Dubai winter, you will love the time outside!!!

If Dubai summer is a tough time of the year to be outside in the desert heat with temperatures above 40 Celcius (100+F) every day, the winter seasons is completely the opposite with “cold” weather from 16 to 26 Celsius and do I need to add sunny with no rain. Is the time of the year where you only plan to do things outside enjoying the great places Dubai has to offer like going to the beach, seating outside in a restaurant for a drink/meal, watch a nice sunset or ride a bike across the city exploring it.

Beach during winter months is a great option, water is cold for my taste but just enjoying the sun is more than enough.

We have been living in Dubai Marina for the past 2 years and as empty nesters it offers a great environment if you don’t mind being in a tourist area; being so close to the beach, restaurants and bars makes it an enviable place to live. From Marina you have easy access to the metro, tram, water taxi, scooters, and bikes, there is no excuse to enjoy yourself outside and have a good time.

A couple weeks back we decided for a different outing and enjoy the benefit of having a Careem bike station in front of the building, for $20AED ($5.50 USD) you get to rent a e-bike for the day with unrestricted trips of 45 minutes. The service is very easy to use, you just need a mobile to download the app, register and be ready to enjoy the service, the only thing is that every 45 minutes you need to stop a a station lock the bike and then unlock it again to start new 45 min.

Dubai is a flat city, riding an e- bike is easy, plus the infrastructure help to get you along good distances. Our plan was to bike 40km, from marina to Dubai mall and do some sightseeing along the way, finishing in the mall for some shopping and a good late lunch. The route would be mostly across the beach shore making it more enjoyable, passing through some of the most iconic places in Dubai like the Burj Al Arab, Kite Beach, and the Burj Khalifa.

As you can see from the photos, it is a great way to explore the city and exercise a bit (bike e-system makes it easy). Now that winter has arrived, we will enjoy the next 3 to 4 months outside before is time back again to go inside the buildings and turn on the AC to manage the intense heat of the desert.

If you come to Dubai during these months, take advantage of the great weather and explore all the beauties of this great city. Thanks for reading the post, please share to your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Kenya safari: Truly a unique experience, wildlife and nature at its best…

This past October I celebrated my birthday (the big 50) and after looking into many alternatives decided to do a big trip to Kenya, interesting enough it would be my 50th country visited. It was clear that Kenya needed to be the destination since the trip would be a celebration of the big 50 in my 50th country with the mission to see the Big 5 (most famous African large animals).

The Big Five captured through my camera lens… what an honor to experience this

There are many operators that do Safari in Africa and they plan with you accordingly to the budget you have, after comparing some of the companies I decided to go with a company called Spirit of Kenya. The service they provided in terms of communication and designing of the trip was very good and more important the 5 days / 4 night safari was top notch delivering high ratings in all aspect from the vehicle, food, lodging, and guide (Derick our guide was awesome, Vanessa our sales consultant great communication).

We combined the safari with a couple of nights at one of the top beaches in Africa called Diani Beach, this is a great plan to do since you can enjoy a different aspect of Kenya but with the benefit that you will continue finding great people. Here we stayed at a small property called Galu 723 , in a beach bungalow that was 10 steps to the beach, I will do a separate post on Diani Beach and will give share our experience in this great destination.

Just a sample of Diani Beach, more in an additional post (Really Impressive Place)

Our safari consisted in visiting 3 important areas of Kenya, where you can get to experience at a close range some of the best wildlife in this country and possibly in the world. Once we landed in Nairobi, we were greeted by the tour operator and arrangements for us to go into the first stop Lake Naivasha a couple of hours outside Nairobi. Our transportation for the trip was a very comfortable safari van, it worked very well for us 2 as we had enough space to move around the game drives and also was very smooth in the open road.

LAKE NAIVASHA / HELL´S GATE

What a great first stop with a different approach to the game drive, this one was on a small boat in the lake. Since it was our first activity in the safari it worked as a great introduction of the following days, a game drive is an activity where you get to admire nature always on the lookout to find animals being themselves in the wild, it is so great to see these beautiful animals roaming through the reserve.

Imaging you on a boat and get to see the Hippo just beside you!!!

In Lake Naivasha we encountered the hippo and got to see the massive size and their ability to swim in the water, impressive to see them in the water protecting from the sun and resting so they can go hunt in the night. Here at the lake, we had also the opportunity to see some birds at close range, even got to see an eagle and some birds fishing out of the lake. The way these birds feed is impressive with a very high level of success on getting fish out of the water. There are local guides that take you in this adventure, he was very knowledgeable and fun making this experience unique.

Water is very calm, you really enjoy the trip

The second part of the adventure here was Hell’s Gate National Park, a small park that provides the opportunity to do some hiking across different cliffs. The hiking was around 60 minutes and take you to some areas where you can see great views of the ravine including some hot springs along the way. This park serves as inspiration for the Lion King movie. Make time to come here and go hiking, it will be a great adventure.

Some Amazing views in the park, clearly you can see the Lion King inspiration

Before going to Maasai Mara, we stayed the night in the Enashipai resort and spa hotel, it is a hotel by the lake and provides great accommodation and food. In all the places we stayed people were great, always welcoming and open to sharing their stories and for this I feel very fortunate to cross path with all this great people. Maybe we stayed less than 12 hours in the property, but the quality made it unforgettable and with some rest to Maasai Mara.

Great hotel and great people in Lake Naivasha

MAASAI MARA

Maasai Mara is one of the most famous and important wildlife conservation and wilderness areas in Africa, world-renowned for its exceptional populations of lions, leopard, cheetah, elephants and is also host to the Great Migration. The reserve is contiguous to the Serengeti National park in Tanzania.

Bring a good camera to the Safari, it is a must (Good Zoom 8X)

Here you can find the Big Five, but due to poaching the Rhino suffered and got to a very low population and today the Maasai Mara is a protected area looking to preserve the black rhino. During our trip we did not encounter any rhino here and was at Lake Nakuru, where we saw both the white and black rhino. The most difficult animal to spot is the Leopard, since they are mostly hidden and not easily seen, we got to see a Leopard during our visit to the Mara and the pictures reflect how beautiful is this animal.

In the Maasai Mara we stayed in a camp inside the reserve for 2 nights, this provided more time to cover different areas of the reserve and admire the beauty of the park and the good number of animals you encounter during the day. As part of the game drives we got to see a couple of crossings used by thousands of animals on a yearly basis in what is called the Great Migration, a time when due to availability of food Gazelles, Wildebeest, Zebras began a roughly 800 kilometers journey. The Great Migration has secured a place in the Seven Natural wonders of Africa and as one of the new wonders of the world.

One of the crossings for the Great Migration

Here in the Mara, you understand the importance of having a great guide for the tour. The job of the guide is to truly make your trip one for the ages, our guide Derick not only had the knowledge of the place but know other guides and the ability of him to communicate with the rest of the guide was fundamental to really enjoy the game drives, being at the right place in the right time to capture some impressive images of this beautiful animals creating memories that will live with us for life.

Some of the great views we had thanks to our Guide interest for showcasing the best of the Mara

The hotel we stayed in the Maasai Mara was Mara Bush Camp a place inside the reserve and one of the unique attractions of this place is a Hippo Pool and river that sits in front of your tent and brings a very close encounter with this impressive animals the hippo. Our camp consisted of only 10 tents, with huge space and a balcony with open view to the hippos, here you can see and hear them from a close distance. The camp is a great property with very nice tents, good restaurant, a very cool bar and lounge plus personalized service that makes you feel secure and at home.

On the third day we said goodbye to the Mara, not after being extremely pleased with all of the attention of the people in the camp and with some out of this world game drives as you can appreciate in some of the photos. Leaving the Mara we were only one short to see the big five and this next day was going to be my birthday, I was looking forward to get a good present from Kenya and get pictures from the rhino so would be able to cross the big five from my list, this would need to come from Lake Nakuru our last stop.

LAKE NAKURU

Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley Lakes, it lies to the south of Nakuru and is protected by Lake Nakuru National Park. Here in the lake, you will find many varieties of birds including thousands of flamingos (smaller to the ones I have seen in America), the park also has expanded to provide a sanctuary for black rhinos and making sure poachers don’t come near them. The park might be small, but the concentration of animals is important with Giraffes, Zebras, Baboons, Antelope and more than 100 Black and White Rhinos in the park.

As we entered the park the black rhino was ready to welcome us in the park and what a beautiful animal it is, I do hope that the actions to preserve them can be enough and not lose the species due to poachers. During the visit we also got to see the white rhino, also impressive size and very elegant roaming in the park, what a great day to finally finish viewing the big five. As the day ended, we had one last place to stay and this one is perched at the top of a 100 meter high rock looking at the lake it called The Cliff. This camp located inside the park provides great views of the Lake and the tents are placed so you can wake up with the sunrise into your tent, one amazing experience to have.

I will be doing additional posts on Kenya and try to fully capture the different stops in our trip, just wanted to share initial thoughts on this amazing destination and get you excited to come and visit Kenya. Thanks for reading the post, please share it and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Istanbul the city across two continents and one big heart…

Our first visit to Istanbul the most populous city in Europe was a great opportunity to understand better some of the greatest chapters of world history, I remember in school talking about the Roman Empire, Constantinople, the crusades and never imagine having the opportunity to visit and explore where history happened.

Some of the views of the Galata Towers are impressive, the Basilica cistern is an engineer marvel

When you visit Istanbul and walk the streets, you witness how great a city can balance between the old and historic, with the new and modern aspects of urban life. A city that have traces of civilization of more than 8,000 thousand years is a city that can definitely share a story or two about world civilization. Is an awesome pedestrian city with lots of connectivity (Walking, Metro, Bus, Tram, Taxi, Boat) to go and visit the multiple historic sites that the city offers to share their story.

You can travel in the second oldest railway in the world.. also you can use taxi and ferry

Because of work we stayed in both the European and Asian side, but after doing it I would recommend staying in both sides: in the Asian you find good places to enjoy awesome food, great sea views, and hip neighborhoods and in the European side there are tons of places to stay with great collective transportation options to the many tourist attractions. I was happy with our selections, here are links to 2 of the hotels we stayed at during our visit. First one is called The Marmara Pera with a very nice rooftop and a top restaurant is a good alternative to use as home base, the second one is called Fer Hotel, the location and their employees are very good.

This hotels are so close to the sights, easy to explore

We were only in Istanbul a total of 4 nights; it is not enough for sure but with a combination of tours and going by ourselves we were able to really see most of the top things you need to see and also taste some of the best food Istanbul has to offer. My recommendation to maximize your time is to do: 1 private city tour and explore the city with a local, this helps you when you are on your own / 1 food tour with a small group because food taste better when is shared with people / the rest of the time do some research and go explore by yourselves enjoy at your pace what the city has to offer.

Istanbul is a walkable city… enjoy fully

There are too many things to do in Istanbul and I could put a long list of things for you to do, but for me when you travel part of the fun is to create your own memories; let me just share 5 things you could that will help create and awesome Turkish experience:

Taste of 2 Continents Food Tour, for a gastro-cultural experience: You can find this tour in TripAdvisor, for me one of the best I had since they have a good blend of food and sightseeing.

Food tours wirth a group are the best… truly enjoy meeting new people, while having great food

Night dinner in one of the many fine restaurants Istanbul Offers: We had many good meals, one of them was at Mikla one of the top restaurants in the city with many recognitions. I did the tasting menu and was phenomenal.

Do a Turkish breakfast and eat all the sweets they offer: Turkish breakfast is very different from the western world with the mix of sweet and salty, but once you try it you will love it. Also, the Turkish sweets are out of this world and a must in Istanbul

Remember sweets and the Turkish breakfast… Don´t miss it

Go to one of the many rooftops, have a drink and enjoy the view: Finding a place where you can see 2 continents at the same time is rather unique in the world, if you throw a good drink and some music it makes for a wonderful time.

The city provides great places to relax and enjoy the view

By some good walking shoes and explore the many historic sites: Spend the time walking and exploring the city, you never know when you will find a 400/800/1,000+ years old structure with tons of history. Really cool!!!

So many great sights to see and explore… walk,walk,walk

Exploring Istanbul, plus doing Cappadocia was a great way to learn a bit of Turkey history, their gastronomy, and their people. Turkey will be one experience we will always cherish; the people are incredible with good attention and true desire that your time is well spent. Thanks for reading the post, please share it and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Cappadocia: Go back more than 2,000 years and get transported in history, plus a one in a billion hot air balloon experience

This past August we had the opportunity to visit Turkey and explore Istanbul (City in 2 continents), plus a 2-day escape to Cappadocia where the famous hot air balloon ride is done above some amazing sights with more than 2,000 years history. You will see some of the impressive sights in Cappadocia, a place where not only the balloon ride is a must but also the food, museums, and the cool cave hotels are a must do. Let me tell you this now that I was there, stay 2 nights in Cappadocia is completely worth it.

If you like sunrises or sunsets… Cappadocia is your place

To get there from Istanbul we took a fast 75-minute flight to Kayseri, after landing is a 50 min ride by car to the smaller cities of Goreme, Urgup, Ortahisar. These locations are the ones where all the action happens, if you book a balloon ride they will pick you up at your hotel. There are plenty of places to stay in Cappadocia, my recommendation is to try a cave hotel. We found one small one with a great view to a rock castle in Ortahisar; the hotel names is Doda Artisanal Cave hotel. Great experience with big rooms, nice outside sitting areas with awesome views but the most important part was the personalized service we received. Must do the Turkish breakfast in the terrace in the open air.

Because we went for only one night, our calendar was packed with activities but also squeezed time to relax and enjoy the small-town life. The first day we did a full day tour of Cappadocia, where they would take us to the main highlights and share some of the history of this place including the Goreme Open Air Museum, Fairy Chimneys and one of the many underground cities that were used from protection from the many incursions along hundreds of years. Getting a licensed tour is a must here, you get more details and some of the colorful stories that only a local guide can share; one last point is that you stimulate the local economy. Here some highlights from the daily tour:

GOREME OPEN AIR MUSEUM (UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE)

Imagine a place where thousands of years ago a volcano erupted. Ash and lava fell across the landscape and hardened to form rocks. After many years of erosion formed the fairy chimneys that we see today, plus locals realized that they could carve into rocks and turned them into houses and churches. In this museum you can see some Churches/Temples made inside the rock and the place was a monastery where people came and studied/learn Christianism then they could continue their journey and spread the word. The place is impressive if you understand the role of this place on the biggest religion of the world.

Tons of history to learn and reflect… BTW no WIFI available 🙂

FAIRY CHIMNEYS @ ZELVE PASABAGLAR

One of the best places to admire the fairy chimneys is Pasabaglar also known as valley of the priest it contains some of the most striking fairy chimneys in Cappadocia. In ancient times, Christian clergymen lived and served as missionaries in Paşabaglar. The priests, who lived here, created living spaces and religious shrines in the valley throughout their lives (Some of them lived secluded at the top of one of the chimneys). Is incredible how by walking through the area you feel transported to those times.

The Chimney formations are a great example on how it takes time to be iconic

We also went to other sights like one underground city and a cafe at the top of a mountain where you can see the Rock Castle and the many impressive cave structure around Cappadocia, our guide was great, very knowledgeable of the area and the history of Turkey it was a great first day. At night we went to Goreme one of the busiest places and had dinner in one of many rooftop restaurant called Haruna, it was a great choice made by our hotel and the best way to finish that day in preparation to our Hot Air Balloon Ride.

Goreme is a must place to visit: night for a great dinner or morning to admire the balloons

For sure the top activity in Cappadocia is the Hot Air Balloon ride, it is something spectacular and unique, the hour you spend flying is magical and more when you can truly admire all the beauty of the place, plus you get to see the sunrise from the air is something I will never forget. There was a good amount of research in order to select the company I would trust taking us a 1,000 feet in the air in a wooden basket and a hot air balloon and after analyzing I decided with Butterfly Balloons, what a great selection it was. They are true professionals with great logistics and communication, you feel comfortable in trusting your life in this adventure.

You may see lots of thing in the photos, but is so calm up there…

You start early in the day, pick up time was 4:25 am, at this time you go to their home base while they finish preparation and take you to the takeoff zone with the rest of the people. Is impressive the number of vans moving across the city in the morning getting the people to their respective places, I learn that only 100 balloons fly at the beginning of the day and then other 50 balloons it looks very well managed. You get to your takeoff zone early in the morning and see the preparation on the balloons, adrenaline starts pumping. Once they get the balloons ready, is go time. You receive one last security brief and up we go!!! Our balloon had a capacity of 20 people, but they kept it at 16 to have a bit more space, it did not feel crowded.

Pictures don’t make justice to the flight but give perspective to the grandeur of the place; it feels so calm when you are up there, it is time for you to connect you with the world. The captain showed great dexterity taking us up and down across the mountains; during the whole flight there was communication from the balloon to the people in the ground, making feel you secure. After the landing you get your certificate for flying (still not a pilot :-)) and the traditional champagne celebration that dates to 1783 when in one of the first balloon flights the captain used a bottle of champagne in goodwill to the farmers where he landed. From the landing site they take you back to the hotel, still early in the morning around 9AM to have another great Turkish breakfast before doing a bit of horseback and back to Istanbul.

I promise is not a photoshop pic… is real

Our whole Turkey trip was awesome and our 36 hours in Cappadocia were just spectacular, great experience and one we will always cherish. Thanks for reading the post, please share it and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam: where dragons came to rest… A good place to get lost and chillax…

A short 2 hours drive from Hanoi you can reach 1 of the 8 World Heritage sites Vietnam has to offer and is called Ha Long Bay (HaLong means descending dragon), the bay features thousands of karsts and islet in various shapes and sizes. It is part of a larger zone that includes Bai Tu Long bay and Cat Ba Island, this zone include the same geography and climate to Ha Long Bay.

Traveling through this water and just looking at nature is overwhelming, such impressive beauty you get the real feeling of being lost in the middle of the earth

We were on a tight schedule, so we decided to do a 1 night cruise and experience some of the highlights of the zone; you can also do 2 nights and get deeper into the bay and explore other places if you have the time and money to do it. After our experience I would say that the 1 day cruise is enough to appreciate Ha Long bay beauty and have a memorable experience in one of the many cruises they offer but, you will not be able to go far and see some other beautiful sights Ha Long bay offers.

Great road from Hanoi, you can get some rest or have a local delicacy in one of the stops… Once you arrive the pier you can relax before the boat to your cruise…

If you are taking a cruise most probably you will arrive in Tuan Chau port, we saw many companies that have their office for Check In to the Cruise here; different to other places that you get in the boat direct from the pier here they take you on a small ferry to the cruise and do the boarding along the bay. They do this to make sure you start deep into the bay and maximize your time there; logistics would not work if you take the boat from land. It is important to understand that if you are going from Hanoi it will be 3 to 4 hour trip to get into the cruise (Road + Ferry); is a lot of time but the next 24 hours are packed with great things to experience.

Boats are similar in size, important to check amenities and reviews from other fellow travelers

There are many choices of cruises for Ha Long Bay, most of them have similar schedules and amenities. As you do research you will find different levels to choose from, of course at the end will be based on the budget and the amenities you want; my recommendation is that you book direct with the company you want to use and ask for the latest photos and brochures before you make the decision. We decided for Mon Cheri Cruises and what a great choice it was; the boat was a classic one very well kept with great rooms (Ours had huge windows looking to the Bay and a big balcony), Food and Drinks were great, Activities and organization on point, and the crew were very professional and helpful.

Our room balcony was great to enjoy the awesome view, dining in the small restaurant meant to be cozy with a close experience with other passengers

The 1 night schedule is packed with activities but we did not fill rushed, it was laid out in a way that there was time to enjoy the boat and the beauty of Ha Long Bay. After you get on board, there is the final check in and a buffet lunch before the cruise start moving across Lan Ha Bay where you start enjoying breathtaking scenery. Here you can do a little bit of Kayaking or just enjoy from the top of the cruise (cocktail in hand), use the pool while surrounded from mountains coming out of the water. Being there you start to understand the legend about a mother dragon and her children who spat jewels and jade, which turned into islands and islets and created a firm wall intercepting the invaders. Later, the dragon family decided to stay here; and the name “Hạ Long” was born.

In the afternoon they offered a cooking demonstration at the top of the boat, with a happy hour where you could enjoy a couple of drinks and just admire the sunset in the Gulf of Tonkin. Before going to dinner you have time to enjoy your balcony in the room, it was a great opportunity for me to realize how blessed I am on enjoying this destinations and also get to know cultures little known to me. Dinner was held at the main dining room, very good food and the right amount leaving enough space to catch a nightcap in the bar and also try your luck in squid fishing (not that lucky in our case).

We met some great people, fellow travelers and also some local people that made the experience better

Next morning was an early breakfast before going in a boat for 30 minutes to visit Trung Trang, one of the most impressive caves in Cat Ba island, Vietnam. The limestone cave has thousands of stalactites in various shapes, this place was amazing and very different from other caves I have seen. After this visit you go back to the boat and prepare for the check out and one last lunch before going back to the Port and back to Hanoi.

All the boats light at night, you can hear some music and fun!!!

It was a packed 24 hours but the sights will be remembered forever, this place has a unique charm very difficult to find anywhere else. Is important that you find a good cruise because it also adds to the experience in particular good rooms with a view, less rooms making it more cozy and with enough reviews that you feel comfortable with the decision you are making. This stop in our trip was truly memorable.

Still one post to go on Vietnam, where I share a little bit on Ho Chi Minh city (Previously Saigon). Thanks for reading the post, please share it and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….