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Vacationing in S??thole countries


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2018 Aug 26, 9:05am   9,378 views  52 comments

by bob2356   ➕follow (1)   💰tip   ignore  

Took the tykes out for a summer vacation of windsurfing,kietsurfng, surfing, wakeboarding (sense a water theme?), horseback, etc, etc. etc.

Did a house swap with a buddy for the first 2 weeks. Off to sunny Puerto Rico for the first time. Not very impressed. I've been around a good deal of the Caribbean and PR has more money than most caribbean places for sure. Good roads, mostly late model cars, tons of rt 46 in NJ type shopping ala walmart/homedepot/bestbuy. Tons of US fast food too. No beggars and very little sweet vendors. It's not all that attractive an Island. Beaches on the north shore are narrow and usually up against a rocky hill. The south shore is mostly mangrove with no beaches. Drove pretty much all the way around the island and didn't see that much hurricane damage left.

Stayed at his nice apartment in La Parguera in the south west corner. Sleepy to the point of comatose 4 days a week; Insane out of control party spot 3 days a week. If you want to do kitesurfing you have hire someone take you out on a boat to the mangrove islands which is a hassle, but since you are already out on a boat wake boarding is already baked in. PR local food is pretty much Caribbean standard something fried wrapped in fried dough of some type. Mashed fried plantains for a starch unlike Cuba, Jamaica, or DR with rice and beens. Went to see a movie (huge cineplex) and had to sit through 35 minutes of previews and advertising. Really loud advertising. Only once. PR drivers are actually timid. Very strange for a latino country. San Juan is a very pedestrian city. A couple nice hoods, but not many. Not going back to PR.

Back to the states for a week then 3 weeks in Cartagena Columbia. Why Cartagena? Cheap airfare like 320 round trip from Baltimore via Lauderdale on spirit (FWIW customs in Lauderdale sucks, really sucks, much worse than many 3rd would countries. Customs in Columbia was quick and efficient, one of the best I've seen) , cheap lodging like $90 a night for a very nice hi rise 2 bedroom apartment overlooking the water), and most important good sailing at a school recommended by a friend. I finally decided it was time to take a full kitesurfing course and break out of being terminal beginner. Went windsurfing in Lago de Calima in western Columbia 2 years ago, but it was really rural. It was backpackers hostels mostly and the night life consisted of counting stars and listening to crickets unless you wanted to drive an hour to Cali. Wanted just a little more urban environment.

No real expectations beyond typical caribbean experience. Wow, Cartagena was awesome. Loved it. Cosmopolitan, vibrant, clean, young. Beautiful city. Skyline like dubai or miami with a bunch of hi rises. The city is locked in by water in kind of a T shape. The top of the T is the caribbean, to the left is Cartagena bay, and to the right is a huge lake and mangrove swamp. Which means the entire city is pretty much water front. The beaches are packed most days. The T intersection is the old walled city and Getsamani an up and coming yuppie/backpackers area. Left of the T on the peninsula is all the tourism. Right and base of the T are residential. The downside is almost all the beaches are on the other side of a road so there aren't really many beachfront restaurants Took the usual 2-3 days of how the fuck does everything work in this country period to get going.

The old city is amazing. Dating to the 1500's and surrounded by 10 miles of wall that is 10-30 ft high and 10-30ft thick. You can walk on top of the wall almost all the way around. A lot of the wall is overlooking the Caribbean. Think of the old city as a really really big mostly pedestrian shopping mall with 500 year old architecture. Super clean and almost all in excellent shape. Huge number of kids flying kites in the big grounds in front to the wall. Lots and lots of great looking restaurants and interesting shopping. Actually that was true all over the city. Crime is low and no one seemed concerned that I talked to. No beggars, but a good number of street vendors. They are polite and respectful. A simple no is sufficient.

Hot every day high 80's and humid. Since its only 3 degrees north of the equator, 200 miles roughly it's high 80's 365 days a year. It was actually cooler and with the sea breezes it was more comfortable than my area of northern new england was this summer. Weird considering I'm an hour from the canadian border. Pretty dry area of Columbia with somewhat scrubby vegetation. No malaria though. Beaches were ok but not great. The city beaches are mostly pretty firm sand that you could easily drive on with the 100 ft right at the water being softer. Breakwaters every couple hundred yards . In the eastern area's of the city the bus and taxi service runs on the beach. Pretty cool. Sailing was pretty good. The sailing school is about 5 miles east of the city where there are no breakwaters. Good thing for beginner kietsurfers. Just a cement block shack on the beach but excellent equipment and instructors. Yes I got up and going finally. Cartagena actually faces somewhat west as the coast curves south at that point. The wind doesn't always track the coast so 3 days out of 4 is good. A couple hundred miles further east sticks out a lot more and gets stronger and much more consistent trade winds. Serous desert at that point though. Cabo de la Vela is a 2 hour ride through the desert in a jeep, has no electricity or running water (buckets of water are provided to shower), the only accommodations are hammocks yet there are 3 kitesurfing/windsurfing resort/schools there. That's serious wind.

You need rudimentary spanish or a good dictionary and lots of gestures. English is spoken but not extensively. Or take a Spanish speaking spouse like I did since my spanish is limited to bathroom, beer, and used tires. Money is really really confusing. They issued new bills without all the zeros but didn't take the old ones out of circulation. So 50,000 20,000 10,000 5,000 2000 is the same as 50,20,10,5,2 and are all used interchangeably. Not very intuitive standing in line with 10 people behind you. Exchange is 3000 to 1 official 2700 to 1 street. Pretty solid currency. A little disconcerting to get a bill for 300,000 for dinner though. Didn't rent a car. Taxis are everywhere and dirt cheap. 2-4 bucks anywhere in the city. Rented a taxi for 5 hours to go to the Aviario Nacional de Colombia for $75. A good amount of traffic but it moves fine. Never sat n a traffic jam are than a couple minutes at a really major intersection.Typical aggressive latino drivers.

Lots to do. Funny thing is once you get there a lot more shows up on internet searches. I guess google/goduckgo/etc. limit by your location so you don[t see as much in the states. I've found that before with other countries. Food, shopping, casinos, beach, night life (this is a latino city), surfing, windsurfing (right next to our apartment in the middle of the city), boat rides, tour buses, fishing, etc., etc., etc. They love their chiva party buses. It's an open sided bus with a band and a bar that you can jam in with lots of other people and do hop on hop off bar hopping. The spousal unit went for a hot mud bath in the world's smallest active volcano. It's like 30 ft high with a rickety scaffold to get up and inside where there is another ticket scaffold to get into the mud. The Aviario was great. Columbia is ground zero for birds.

Snorkling/diving wasn't happening. The city beaches don't have reefs and the water is a little cloudy with all the wind and wave action. The Islands in the bay have reefs and diving but it seems to be a real hassle to do and there is some bad press about scams. The island tours also lock you in for the whole day and I didn't want to go snorkeling for a couple hours than sit on a beach the rest of the day waiting for my ride home I don't sit on beaches. Beaches are a path to go play in the water.

Lots of variety of food. More interesting restaurants than could be explored in a decade. Obviously fish and seafood was a biggie. Sides usually include a salad which is really nice. Plus fried plantin frequently which is so so as far as i'm concerned. Best fruit I've ever eaten. Almost no fast food. Almost no chain store shopping either. Went to the best supermarket I've ever seen called carulla's. Meats, cheeses, fruits, veggies, fresh baked bread like I've never seen They had a 10x10 rack of hanging cured hams that looked awesome. Amazing. I really wanted one to bring home, but customs would have had a fit.

No pictures, camera died on trip home and I need to get the card read onto a stick.

Well worth a look for anyone looking for a warm vacation with lots of water and a happening city. Direct from Lauderdale and Miami 2.5 hours.

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13   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 8:04pm  

bob2356 says
Hopefully you are flying into Liberia


Flight is not booked, but that's the plan. Should be by Friday. Have heard some nasty stories about San Jose.

Thanks for the tips. And then there's diarrhea:

MrMagic says
You should have asked, I would have told you it was a shithole country, and I would have saved you a ton of time and money.

Live and learn.
14   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 8:08pm  

I sense some jealously on the board lately. Some people like to sit at their computer 24/7. No direction in life. Oh well. Us with the means will travel and have some fun in our lives, not on the computer or with our left/right hand.
15   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 8:08pm  

MrMagic says

You should have asked, I would have told you it was a shithole country, and I would have saved you a ton of time and money.

Live and learn.


Not good with sarcasm are we? I didn't spent much money and I certainly don't need help saving of time and money.. I had a fine time. Like I said, PR was ok but nothing special.
16   MrMagic   2018 Aug 26, 8:12pm  

WookieMan says
Thanks for the tips. And then there's diarrhea:


WookieMan says
Us with the means will travel and have some fun in our lives, not on the computer or with our left/right hand.


Nice, more quality comments from a forum moderator.
17   MrMagic   2018 Aug 26, 8:13pm  

bob2356 says
Not good with sarcasm are we?


You're short novel was all sarcasm?
18   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 8:14pm  

WookieMan says

Flight is not booked, but that's the plan. Should be by Friday. Have heard some nasty stories about San Jose.

Thanks for the tips. And then there's diarrhea:


San Jose is like any city. If you see grandma's pushing babies you are ok. If you see hookers and drug dealers then not so good. I never got the Tijuana two step either time in costa rica. and was a month each time. Had it for 5 weeks straight in DR. I saw a bumper sticker in Tanzania that said "Happiness in Africa is a dry fart".
19   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 8:14pm  

MrMagic says
bob2356 says
Not good with sarcasm are we?


You're short novel was all sarcasm?


No the title was. Everyone else got it.
20   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 8:23pm  

MrMagic says
bob2356 says
Not good with sarcasm are we?


You're short novel was all sarcasm?


This is why you're human trash. Bob could have spent ZERO time and never posted this. Some of us here found value in a well thought out post. This is why many of us like patnet. Except for the threads you interject your vomit.
21   MrMagic   2018 Aug 26, 8:25pm  

bob2356 says
No the title was.


Actually the title was accurate for P.R. It is a shithole. I've been there either 3 or 4 times, totally not impressed.
22   MrMagic   2018 Aug 26, 8:27pm  

WookieMan says
This is why you're human trash.


Nice, more quality comments from a forum moderator.
23   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 8:30pm  

MrMagic says
bob2356 says
No the title was.


Actually the title was accurate for P.R. It is a shithole. I've been there either 3 or 4 times, totally not impressed.


So is it 3 or 4? Either way, I'm not impressed.
24   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 8:37pm  

WookieMan says


So is it 3 or 4? Either way, I'm not impressed.


Why are you getting into a pissing contest with CIC/sniper/lefthanded/mrmagic anyway? If he enjoys his dark existence then good for him. Bon Appétit
25   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 8:37pm  

@Patrick - I think the idea has been floated before. Bob took some time and made a massively thoughtful vacation thread. I'm not helping the situation, but this thread is getting shit on by the usual character. Any chance thread creators can knock commenters out? Maybe make it a credit system where you can only do it three times a month, etc? This had the potential to get a lot of people clicking in and, well, you know.
26   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 8:46pm  

bob2356 says
Why are you getting into a pissing contest with CIC/sniper/lefthanded/mrmagic anyway? If he enjoys his dark existence then good for him. Bon Appét.


I hear you. I'm sick of it though. He's trashing the forum. You might, but in 6 months, would you make the same post about your adventures here? Not sure you can answer that with a solid yes. Anyone that posts here almost immediately gets crapped on for unintelligible reasons. It's like someone gave a retard acid or something.

Am I fighting a losing battle? Probably. He was banned and gone for a while though and I think that's when the forum flourished the most. The moderation situation pissed off some users, but I think that was a matter of time anyway. Although it'd be nice to have some fresh thoughts. I sincerely liked your post and wish there was more of that shit.

This board can be vibrant, but we're being held back by the trash. This is not a mic drop moment, as I'll be around as long as this is a going thing. But I'm not digging the vibe lately. It was a better place without you know who.
27   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 9:02pm  

Strategist says
Glad you had fun. I have been to Jamaica and Bahamas, and absolutely loved it. Cuba is on my radar screen.


I looked for my trip to cuba thread for you but it seems to have disappeared from patnet. Too bad that one had pictures. Trump has killed americans going to cuba once again. Not that I care, I just won't use my US passport if I go back.
28   bob2356   2018 Aug 26, 9:08pm  

WookieMan says

I hear you. I'm sick of it though. He's trashing the forum. You might, but in 6 months, would you make the same post about your adventures here? Not sure you can answer that with a solid yes. Anyone that posts here almost immediately gets crapped on for unintelligible reasons. It's like someone gave a retard acid or something.


I would. There are plenty of reasonable people here. I'm certainly not letting his problems become my problems. Usually I just find it laughable anyway or if I'm bored I'll play his silly games to amuse myself.
29   WookieMan   2018 Aug 26, 9:20pm  

bob2356 says
WookieMan says

I hear you. I'm sick of it though. He's trashing the forum. You might, but in 6 months, would you make the same post about your adventures here? Not sure you can answer that with a solid yes. Anyone that posts here almost immediately gets crapped on for unintelligible reasons. It's like someone gave a retard acid or something.


I would. There are plenty of reasonable people here. I'm certainly not letting his problems become my problems. Usually I just find it laughable anyway or if I'm bored I'll play his silly games to amuse myself.


Again. I hear you. There would likely be more reasonable people here though. And his problems are his problems. I sleep well at night and don't worry about it. When my fingers are dancing on the keyboard, I will fight the bs though. It's like 10 lifelong buddies hanging out and one of them got into meth. Meth head needs to go.

I can literally go on a rampage and delete every one of his comments at say 4am my time. I haven't and won't. He's made edits hours after making a post and won't even admit it. As I said, I'm fighting a losing battle, but oh well. I'll try to make it fun.
30   clambo   2018 Aug 27, 6:05am  

Re: Learning to Kite surf. I would check out Jupiter FL in the springtime. There is wind but 80F water, no waves, no crowds, no crime, no language barrier, excellent Palm Beach airport about 20 minutes away. I saw there is an instructor, maybe there are several.

The title referred to Puerto Rico and Colombia as "shithole countries." I don't believe Colombia is a shithole county, and I would go there before Puerto Rico for sure.

The author didn't mention what my friend from Colombia mentioned about Cartagena; single men may notice the abundant eye candy strolling around.

I remember reading the US State Dept. had an abbreviation for countries like El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala etc. "TFC"=Totally Fucked Country
31   CBOEtrader   2018 Aug 27, 7:18am  

Really great summary thanks for sharing.

Do you know anything about living in PR for 153 days/yr to pay no income taxes? I'm sure I'm misrepresenting the rule, but I've heard there is a way. A few of my Chicago buddies are now wintering in PR for this reason.
32   bob2356   2018 Aug 27, 7:35am  

clambo says
The title referred to Puerto Rico and Colombia as "shithole countries." I don't believe Colombia is a shithole county, and I would go there before Puerto Rico for sure.


Wow doesn't anyone have a sense of humor any more? or notice the title was totally at odds with the content? Lighten up guys, it was a little tweak at trump and the trumptards that apparently was too sophisticated for the target audience. Mea Culpa.

clambo says
Re: Learning to Kite surf. I would check out Jupiter FL in the springtime. There is wind but 80F water, no waves, no crowds, no crime, no language barrier, excellent Palm Beach airport about 20 minutes away


and at the jersey shore where one of my asshole buddies from our windsurfing racing days runs a kite school. Who was the one that recommended pure kiteboarding in Cartagena to me. Serous windsurfer/kitesurfers is a small community and a surprising number of the people know each other.

If I have to explain why I prefer to check out destinations beyond jupiter fl or the jersey shore then I don't think I can. Hanging out having a great time in exotic (or some not so exotic) locations with the usual crowd of lived around the world worked around the world adventure sport expats (oh shit I am one of those people) who are just fascinating comparing places and adventures doesn't happen in jupiter fl. or any of the amazing experiences available if you want them.
33   zzyzzx   2018 Aug 27, 7:36am  

If I am used to shitty Chesapeake Bay beaches, will I find PR beaches acceptable?
34   bob2356   2018 Aug 27, 8:01am  

CBOEtrader says
Really great summary thanks for sharing.

Do you know anything about living in PR for 153 days/yr to pay no income taxes? I'm sure I'm misrepresenting the rule, but I've heard there is a way. A few of my Chicago buddies are now wintering in PR for this reason.


I looked at this very carefully a few years ago when I was looking for a place for my umbrella LLC. It's 183 days but you also have to pass the “bona fide resident” test. That's a lot tougher. Here are some of the things the IRS looks at.
The location of your permanent home;
The location of your family;
The location of personal belongings, such as automobiles, furniture, clothing, and jewelry;
The location of social, political, cultural, professional, or religious organizations with which you have a current relationship;
The location where you conduct your routine personal banking activities;
The place where you conduct business activities (other than those that go into determining your tax home);
The location of the jurisdiction in which you hold a driver’s license;
The location of the jurisdiction in which you vote;
The location of charitable organizations to which you contribute; and
The country of residence you designate on forms and documents.

If you are using act 20 or act 22 to have a business, which can only be for "eligible services" only, in PR the rules are pretty complicated and restrictive to get the tax rate, You also have to have a bona fide residence to claim for the business. The really big if is how long the tax breaks will last with PR going bankrupt quickly.

If you really have buddies wintering in PR and claiming residence they are going to get a very rude and expensive shock at some point. or maybe not, the IRS has been so gutted that it seems tax evasion is becoming worth the gamble to a lot of people. Just don't work for trump. Even if I could bring myself to be dishonest I sure don't have the guts to try it.
35   joshuatrio   2018 Aug 27, 8:11am  

Nice Bob, looks like fun. Columbia's always been on my bucket list and your post might just tempt me to do it next year.

Wife and I did Puerto Rico a year or two ago (before the hurricane smacked it) and we really enjoyed it. We've been to just about every island and the Caribbean, and felt that it was the nicest of them. Maybe because it was the most Americanized... that and we spent most of our time in old san juan.
36   Goran_K   2018 Aug 27, 8:37am  

Awesome vacation report. I have to visit South America more often.
37   Goran_K   2018 Aug 27, 8:44am  

WookieMan says
This board can be vibrant, but we're being held back by the trash. This is not a mic drop moment, as I'll be around as long as this is a going thing. But I'm not digging the vibe lately. It was a better place without you know who.


The ignore function works decently well on this forum, perhaps that could be an option.
38   RWSGFY   2018 Aug 27, 11:35am  

WookieMan says
Have heard some nasty stories about San Jose.


I used SJ as CR entry-exit point and it was completely uneventful. Even spent a night in a small hotel near the airport before an early flight back home.
39   bob2356   2018 Aug 27, 11:41am  

joshuatrio says

Wife and I did Puerto Rico a year or two ago (before the hurricane smacked it) and we really enjoyed it. We've been to just about every island and the Caribbean, and felt that it was the nicest of them. Maybe because it was the most Americanized... that and we spent most of our time in old san juan.


PR is far and away the most Americanized place in the Caribbean and despite what some people somehow read in I did have fun. I just didn't find it to be all that interesting. Too many walmarts/maceverything too little native culture or interesting things to do. Every place has pluses and minuses. DR has amazing things to do, but the trash, beggars and very aggressive street vendors are a real pain in the ass. Cuba is fascinating, safe, and clean but lacks any real tourist infrastructure other than some all inclusive resorts. If you aren't comfortable eating in true native restaurants (which are sometimes in someones house) then you are out of luck. We ended up having lunch of roasted chicken cooked over an open fire in the back yard of our horseback guides very primitive house. Fascinating man, proud veteran of the Angola war. My 9 year old kept eyeing the live chickens and the cooking chickens but didn't ask the question she was obviously thinking. Not the usual tourism experience for most people. Jamaica has some of the best beaches in the Caribbean but has truly dangerous crime outside of walled resorts. So forth and so on. It's all a compromise everywhere you go.

If you liked old san iuan and I did like it also, cartagena old city will be amazing.
40   bob2356   2018 Aug 27, 11:45am  

DASKAA says
WookieMan says
Have heard some nasty stories about San Jose.


I used SJ as CR entry-exit point and it was completely uneventful. Even spent a night in a small hotel near the airport before an early flight back home.


I've heard some truly nasty stories about Chicago. Stay out of bad area's, if you don't know ask. Grannies with babies good, hookers and drug dealers bad. It's not rocket science.
41   WookieMan   2018 Aug 27, 4:10pm  

@MrMagic - You travel at all? Any insight on some cool places to go? You've said you're retired, so interested in all the travel you've completed. Looking for new places to go. I've got Cancun in November, Costa Rica in January, Big Sky snowboarding in Feb, Phoenix for Spring Break, Lake Tahoe over the summer, Northern CA up to Seattle after labor day. Need to fill in some of the blanks and am looking for good ideas.
42   MrMagic   2018 Aug 27, 6:29pm  

WookieMan says
You travel at all?


Did you forget this?

MrMagic says
Actually the title was accurate for P.R. It is a shithole. I've been there either 3 or 4 times,


WookieMan says
You've said you're retired, so interested in all the travel you've completed.


People only travel in retirement? They don't travel before they retire?

WookieMan says
Any insight on some cool places to go?


Looking for cool, how about the Arctic Circle?
43   WookieMan   2018 Aug 27, 6:42pm  

MrMagic says
WookieMan says
You travel at all?


Did you forget this?

MrMagic says
Actually the title was accurate for P.R. It is a shithole. I've been there either 3 or 4 times,


WookieMan says
You've said you're retired, so interested in all the travel you've completed.


People only travel in retirement? They don't travel before they retire?

WookieMan says
Any insight on some cool places to go?


Looking for cool, how about the Arctic Circle?


Classic. So you don't.
44   WookieMan   2018 Aug 27, 6:45pm  

Not sure why my question to you would elicit such a negative response.
45   WookieMan   2018 Aug 27, 6:47pm  

MrMagic says
WookieMan says
You travel at all?


Did you forget this?

MrMagic says
Actually the title was accurate for P.R. It is a shithole. I've been there either 3 or 4 times,


So was it 3 or 4 times to PR? Where did you stay or go in PR? Any resort, hotel or beach recommendations?
46   MrMagic   2018 Aug 27, 7:32pm  

WookieMan says
Not sure why my question to you would elicit such a negative response.


What negative response. I gave you answers. Don't like them, oh well.

WookieMan says
So was it 3 or 4 times to PR? Where did you stay or go in PR? Any resort, hotel or beach recommendations?


Does it really matter if it was 3 or 4? Which part of "shithole" don't you understand?

Are you planning on continuing your trolling again tonight? Do you really think you'll get an honest response?
47   bob2356   2018 Aug 27, 8:21pm  

WookieMan says
@MrMagic - You travel at all? Any insight on some cool places to go? You've said you're retired, so interested in all the travel you've completed. Looking for new places to go. I've got Cancun in November, Costa Rica in January, Big Sky snowboarding in Feb, Phoenix for Spring Break, Lake Tahoe over the summer, Northern CA up to Seattle after labor day. Need to fill in some of the blanks and am looking for good ideas.
\

BIg Sky is a pretty awesome big mountain. Some seriously steep gnarly terrain. Quite a bit of traversing too which is a bit of a hassle on a board. Hopefully they fixed that with the expansion the last few years. Really cold mountain. I was in summit country CO twice last winter. Vail, Copper, Breck. First time back since I lived in leadville in 75 and 76. Hated it. Either you have to stay in mega expensive hotels close to the slopes or spend a huge amount of time shuttling around on buses and such. Used to be pretty low key. place I'm sticking with monarch or telluride for my CO boarding from now on.

How far afield, for how long, and what interests are you looking for ideas for?

One suggestion is go up the oregon coast instead of I5 then drive along the columbia into portland. The washington coast is much less interesting which is why you might as well cut in to portland. Take the MT Hood loop if time allows. The gorge and hood river are worth seeing. Lunch at ttimberline lodge is always nice. Allow a lot of time up the coast, its a slow go. Really slow. The joke in Portland used to be was it faster to go golfing in bandon by the sea (south coast) or go to St Andrews in Scotland. I lived in Astoria, Portland, and on Mt Hood so I know the area very well.

Captain condom says DON"T FEED THE TROLL. He has to live his life being him. That's punishment enough.
48   WookieMan   2018 Aug 27, 9:37pm  

bob2356 says
BIg Sky is a pretty awesome big mountain.


My buddy lives in Bozeman. So assuming decent weather, I should be able to stay free at his place and do a couple days a Big Sky commuting down there. Might do Bridger Bowl as well. It's not a big deal, but was kind of stunned at lift ticket prices for Big Sky.

Went out to Big Sky early July, that's where the pictures with the houses in them was from earlier in the thread. Moonlight basin specifically. A touch pricey, but the views of the Spanish Peaks from the house we stayed in was top 5 view for a property I've stayed in. Top notch.

I haven't done any winter trips to CO. Love CO, have been out there the last 3 summers. I'm not digging the growth there though. Good for the people that were there before and are reaping the property value increases. I think they're behind the curve though with infrastructure (I70 specifically). We'll see. The supplier for my wife's company has been begging her to work out there, but $400k for a modest house in a decent neighborhood now is a bit nuts. Shit needs to calm down a little bit out there. We bought very well in IL, so throwing $400k plus for a subdivision house is not my idea of a good time.

MT Hood is happening no matter what. As a midwesterner, I've been lucky enough to get there twice. Wife and kids haven't been. Too cool not to see, so we're hitting it up. Obviously redwoods will be some part of the trip as we'll likely fly into the Bay Area and make our way up to Seattle for the conference. We're planning for about 1 week SFO up to the Seattle area. So we have time, but I know there's a lot there having done it a couple times. Any tips are appreciated.

bob2356 says
How far afield, for how long, and what interests are you looking for ideas for?


North, central & (northern) south America. I'm a points junkie and can fly probably 4-5 times a year for free on Southwest with the wife and two kids. Austria is potentially on the table between now and late April as far as Europe goes for family reasons. Australia & New Zealand are top 5 bucket list locations, but on the back burner. I'm a taller guy though and I dread those flights. Again, the points game, so might play that and in 2-4 years try that and get a higher class fare. For the next couple years it's probably domestic and northern hemisphere locales though.

Troll topic. Arghh. While it looks like I'm feeding it, I pretend to think I'm taking the food from it. I've touched a nerve, that's for sure at a minimum.
49   WookieMan   2018 Aug 27, 10:00pm  

MrMagic says
WookieMan says
So was it 3 or 4 times to PR? Where did you stay or go in PR? Any resort, hotel or beach recommendations?


Does it really matter if it was 3 or 4? Which part of "shithole" don't you understand?

Are you planning on continuing your trolling again tonight? Do you really think you'll get an honest response?


Why the hostility? I was just asking if you traveled and had any recs. You could have just said no I don't travel. Or it was only 3 times to PR, I was mistaken because I somehow forgot where I've been. Tone it down a nacho.
50   bob2356   2018 Aug 27, 10:52pm  

WookieMan says

MT Hood is happening no matter what. As a midwesterner, I've been lucky enough to get there twice. Wife and kids haven't been. Too cool not to see, so we're hitting it up. Obviously redwoods will be some part of the trip


Yep all the redwoods parks above Eurika are truly awesome. Mt hood is a great place. One of my favorite places I've lived. Too bad I sold my cabin in zig zag. I could have rented it cheap.

WookieMan says
Australia & New Zealand are top 5 bucket list locations, but on the back burner. I'm a taller guy though and I dread those flights.


If you get serous about OZ/NZ I lived in both for many years. I'm very familiar with both countries, NZ more than OZ. First rule is never fly a US carrier overseas. The flag carriers are so much better than any US carrier. I'm 6'2" and the flag carriers are tolerable. Second rule is 1 week is way too short and 2 weeks is just too short. With 20+ hours travel each way and 8 time zones the first 2-3 days are just waste city. I've gone across dozens of times, trust me on this. Third rule choose one country. There is no way to see both in one trip and enjoy anything. They look close and distances not bad on a map. That's because the pacific is so huge. NZ is much smaller but driving in NZ is 50 tops, if you're lucky. Oz is the size of the US so everything is a long way apart and the cities are big.
51   WookieMan   2018 Aug 28, 8:58am  

bob2356 says
If you get serous about OZ/NZ I lived in both for many years.


I'll hit you up when the time comes. Best, best case we'd maybe be looking at flights in late 2019 or early 2020 and traveling sometime in late 2020. Likely would be 2021 though. We'd bring the kids and my youngest is probably at least a year or two away from truly remembering and enjoying a trip like that if we're dropping the cash on a flight like that. We've pegged 2 weeks with the travel days, but sounds like we'll need a touch more.

As usual, thanks for the tips. Appreciate posts/threads like this outside of my childish troll feeding cluttering it up. I can't resist sometimes.
52   bob2356   2018 Aug 28, 2:04pm  

WookieMan says
I'll hit you up when the time comes. Best, best case we'd maybe be looking at flights in late 2019 or early 2020 and traveling sometime in late 2020.


Hopefully I'll be living back in NZ by 2021. I would seriously allow 3 weeks if at all possible. There is a lot to see and do in either country and jet lag will be with you most of the first week. You really just want to pick several areas and relax, not do the frantic if it's tuesday this must be brussels thing. FWIW NZ playgrounds are the best on the planet. There are no lawsuits in NZ to restrict design, there are lots of kids, and parents have a if they get hurt then they will know better next time attitude.

You might want to give some consideration to breaking the flight up and flying through one of the islands or even spending a day on one of the Islands each way. It's usually cheaper, but you will have to book through the carrier site usually. I've done it with Fiji air and air tahiti nui (both have terrific service). You have to balance that off with dealing with luggage and a hotel if you stay over plus 3 legs vs 2. Lounging in the infinity pool watching the sun set over the south pacific sipping umbrella drinks at the InterContinental Tahiti in Papeete is a pretty nice way to spend an airport layover in my opinion. Intercontinental will negate any and all savings on airfares though.

On the domestic front have you ever been to Taos NM? When I lived in OKC I used to spend a lot of weekends camping in the high desert and hiking the Sangro de Christos around Taos as well as skiing in the winter. Terrific place. Lots of reds in the mountains and high enough (7000) the air is crystal clear. The loop around by Eagle nest is stunning. The lake there is brutally cold though looks just like mono lake in the opening of High Plains Drifter. The rio grande gorge is a worth a look. Only an hour and a half or so drive from Sante Fe. The opera house there is amazing. I don't know how much its changed in the last 20 years since I've been, but I'm sure it's still really special.

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