The beach view at Tippy's

If you travel to the narrow,110 mile-long island of Eleuthera, you’ll be charmed by its quiet beauty and famous pink sands. There’s a lot to do on Eleuthera’s beaches, from bone fishing to fish fry parties.  My favorite activity combined the loveliness of  Eleuthera’s beaches with the distinctive Bahamian cuisine. No place reveals the perfection of this pairing the way that Tippy’s Beach Bistro does.

Typically, when you think beach-side dining, fast food options like hamburgers, fish patties and crab cakes come to mind, in a grubby shack-type setting.  Well there’s nothing grubby and fast food about Tippy’s.  Located on the Atlantic beach between Governor’s Harbour and North  Palmetto, Tippy’s exudes a sophisticated, open-air elegance with  interlocking, open gazebos furnished with wooden tables and benches crafted from  shutters and a bar made  from the weathered wood of an old dock.  Inside, there’s more formal table and chairs but inside or out, the food is amazing. The chalkboard menu changes daily and often offer lobster pizza, cracked conch and the Bahamian staple of conch fritters. I tried the arugula, cucumber and papaya salad along with a margarita pizza topped with goat cheese.  Both were fresh and expertly prepared.  Tippy’s is known for upscale Italian cuisine and the prices reflect that, ranging from $12 for appetizers to $22 for entrees.  The best part of the meal is taking a few steps to the powdery, white sand beach, where you can take a dip or just lounge on the sand.  There’s even a shower to rinse off the saltwater and sand afterwards.

Photo by Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

Sugar Bay Beach in St. Thomas

With a name like Sugar Bay, you’d expect powdery sand and calm, crystalline waters and Sugar Bay beach definitely lives up to its name. I visited St. Thomas on a press trip, courtesy of Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort and the beach was the first place I checked out.  It’s a tiny beach but it packs in lots of activity. 

The turquoise waves are gentle at Sugar Bay but the water close to the shore is lined with limestone and rocks so swim shoes are a good idea. The beach is a few steps from the hotel’s bar and grill so there are always waiters available to get a drink or snack.  Boats, kayaks  and jet skis  cover the end of the beach, which is the headquarters for the Water Sports Center.  There’s also sunset cruises that head out from the beach twice a week.  On afternoon that I was there, Delroy from the hotel was carving faces into coconuts. It looked like fun but I couldn’t drag myself away from my lounging chair to join in.  There’s a light breeze that frequents Sugar Bay beach as well as a large sea grape tree that provides lots of shade. I’d say its the perfect lounging beach if you don’t want to kayak or jet ski.   My favorite memory is lolling in a hammock and watching the sunset.

Photo courtesy of  Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

I just received an email from a couple, Dave and Linda, who purchased my beach guidebook. They live near the coast here in southwest Florida and are particularly interested in kayaking and snorkeling in addition to exploring the beaches. In part, they wrote:
We will be trying snorkeling at Crescent beach, Point of Rocks tomorrow, but [...]

Necker Island - Infinite Romance courtesy of neckerisland.virgin.com

When I was fourteen someone, a friend, asked me what I would buy if I had “all the money in the world.” I immediately said “my own island.” I guess Sir Richard Branson had the same idea when he bought Necker Island. I was not suspicious that he had stolen my idea until I heard about the twenty-two room villa completely Balinese in style boating a full 360 degree view of the entire island. I’ve always wanted a Balinese villa atop an island with a view of….everything. I bet he has an infinity pool, a garden showing off birds of paradise plants in every color of the rainbow and rambutan trees. I love rambutans. Not sure about the rambutan trees but when looking at the Necker Island website they had a picture of a small floating boat (probably on an infinity edge pool) filled with sushi and sushi rolls of all types (that almost trumps the rambutans in my book) and I’m pretty sure I saw hints of a beautiful garden. In addition, the villa is fully equipped with a staff of 31.

Sir Richard did such an amazing job of making Necker Island so romantic even he fell in love and got married there. When the Bransons are not on the island people with deep enough pockets are allowed to rent out the island. Although not always open to all couples for rent, generally because Europe’s aristocrats and international celebs get first pick, the island can be rented by couples four times a year during what is called “Celebration Week.” Costs? $19,000 per couple per week all-inclusive OR rent the entire island and invite 14 of your closest friends for $22,500 per day. If you feel like really celebrating with more of your friends (26 to be exact) it will run you $36,000 per day. Although not the only way to enjoy a Virgin Island vacation, it sure is one way to spend big on the Virgin Islands. Personally, I’m good with a well made Painkiller, some conch and a deserted beach.

Sebastien Tobler

Colliding Continents

I’ve gotten quite a few photos of jellyfish over the last few years. This year I’ve received quite a few photos of By-the-Wind Sailors (Velella velella). But this photo by Natalie Wetherington of Brandon, FL is by far the very best close up I’ve seen so far. These are very small jellyfish, ranging from an [...]

Just a short distance north of La Paz, Mexico lies Puerto Balandra, a saltwater lagoon that boasts eight unspoiled bays with spectacular beaches. The waters in the bays are shallow enough to walk around the right-hand cliff to Playa Balandra, also known as Playa El Hongo (Mushroom Beach) for its famous rock formation that resembles a giant mushroom. Once you have seen the formation, the mystery of the fountain in La Paz’s central plaza is solved – the strange looking lump in its center is a replica of this mushroom-shaped rock.

Mushroom rock formation at Balandra Beach, La Paz, Mexico

While most come to Balandra Beach to see the balancing rock that is featured on so many postcards, they stay for the pristine white beaches and powdery sand. However, unlike many other beaches in and around La Paz, services are limited at Puerto Balandra. Although food and beverage vendors usually appear on the weekends, there are no established restaurants or palapas on site, so it is best bring a box lunch or food to cook at the BBQ pits at the south end of the beach.

One of the many beaches to discover in Puerto Balandra's shallow bay

Visitors who prefer more services would do well to travel a bit further north to Playa Tecolote, which is more developed with a couple of restaurants, picnic tables, and an improved parking lot, but if peace and serenity are what you seek, Balandra Beach is the spot.

Photo Credit: Barbara Weibel
Article by Barbara Weibel of Hole In The Donut Travels

A couple of weeks ago I loaded my bike up on my car and drove down to Myakka River State Park. My family used to go there frequently when I was a kid. I camped there several times, both with my family and with the Boy Scouts (Troop 12 of Bradenton).
I hadn’t visited the park [...]

La Paz, Mexico is a land of stunning contrasts, where reddish limestone cliffs soar above crystalline turquoise seas and golden sunsets burnish deserts dotted with sentinel-like cardon cactus, elephant trees and thorny chollas. Nowhere is this beauty more astonishing than Espiritu Santo Island, a protected nature preserve at the northern tip of the Bay of La Paz in Baja California’s Sea of Cortez.

Corralito Beach on Espiritu Santo Island near La Paz, Mexico

On this island paradise, where cliffs meet sea and sky meets desert, astonishingly beautiful beaches have formed. Some of the better known include Punta Lupona, Playa Dispense, Playa San Gabriel, Ensenada de Pescadores, Candelero, Playa Ballena, Mesteno, and Playa Partido, but I was destined for a lesser known cove that the locals call Corralito Beach. I hopped out of the boat into thigh-high water, waded to shore, and climbed to the upper edge of the beach. As the boat vanished into the distance I surveyed my surroundings. Not a soul was to be seen and the only evidence of civilization was a flimsy shelter on a distant spit of sand, used occasionally by fishermen who camp on the island.

Rocky arms wrapped around the precious cove; on the left, a volcanic massif glittered in shades of black and red, while a limb of cactus-strewn desert jutted on the right. Between the two swept an exquisite white beach of powdery sand unmarred by footprints other than my own. Beyond the blinding white sand stretched the most gorgeous turquoise sea I have ever seen, with a coral reef within easy swimming distance.

The view from Corralito Beach on Espiritu Santo Island

I spent the better part of an hour snorkeling the reef before splaying on the beach to soak up some rays while enjoying a delicious box lunch. I was sad when the boat returned to pick me up, but happy to learn that camping is possible with a permit. Someday I will return with cooler, tent and sleeping bag and stay until I have had my fill of the amazing serenity at Corralito Beach.

Photo Credit: Barbara Weibel
Article by Barbara Weibel of Hole In The Donut Travels

A few weeks back I wrote about a volunteer training class at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Shores. The class was to recruit volunteers to help out at the avian hospital during the spring nesting season.
I decided to volunteer one day each week to help care for baby birds that are brought in. Most [...]

The reports of Man-of-War jellyfish on Florida’s Atlantic Ocean coast just keep pouring in. These easterly winds are blowing them in out of the Gulf Stream. Expect them to keep coming in as long as the easterlies continue.
All the jellyfish photos on this page were submitted by Craig and Nina Beaudry of Sebring, Florida and [...]

Every once in a while someone leaves a comment on my blog to promote their website, product, or service. Usually I delete those kinds of promotional comment posts. However, “Rich” left a comment on one of my posts this morning with a link promoting his orange beach safety cones. I thought it deserved mention, since [...]

What is your favorite sign of Spring where you live?

If you’re like me, you started out spending a lot of time on Twitter, mostly trying to figure out how to use it effectively. You’ve probably been using Hootsuite or Tweetdeck or some other productivity tool.
Then you realized Twitter was sucking up your life. So you decided to limit your time on Twitter. Unfortunately you [...]

If you’ve been keeping up with this blog recently you may have noticed the many reports of blue jellyfish and purple sea snails (aka “the blue fleet) washing up on Florida’s Atlantic beaches in the past month or so. Above is a photo from Jeff Poje of Miami showing two Portuguese Man-of-War jellyfish (Physalia) among [...]

On the Pacific side of Mexico’s Baja California, in the tiny fishing village of Pescadero, a virtually undiscovered beach stretches for mile after mile. Fifteen minutes north lies the town of Todos Santos. Once a sleepy village, this artists enclave and its lovely beaches have long since been “discovered.” To the south are Cerritos and Cabo San Lucas, both overbuilt and overrun with tourists. But Pescadero is still just a handful of homes scattered across the high dunes behind the beach, many owned by U.S. and Canadian citizens. Aside from those residents, savvy local fishermen, and in-the-know surfers, this gorgeous strip of pristine sand is known to few.

Miles of beach sweep toward the northern point, a favorite surf break

Pescadero is not particularly welcoming to swimmers. The currents run strong on the Pacific side of Baja. But it offers up bounty for fishermen, whether surf casting or taking a boat offshore, and the northern point creates the kind of waves that surfers dream about. Much of the land is owned by one family, and they are in the process of building a palapa restaurant at the point, so the beach is bound to become more well known. But with the enormous expanse of sand that stretches from the southern end to the northern point, it will be many years before this beach is overrun or even the least bit crowded.

Surf fishing is popular with in-the-know locals

Day trips are great, but should you want to stick around for an extended time and drink in the serenity, there are numerous accommodation choices, ranging from a couple of upscale resorts to basic surf-shack-grab-a-hammock hostel operations. Pescadero is easily reached by car over good roads, or by bus from either La Paz or Cabo San Lucas.

Photo Credit: Barbara Weibel
Article by Barbara Weibel of Hole In The Donut Travels

At the tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula a narrow breach in the sheer rock walls shelter two delightful beaches, Lover’s Beach and Divorce Beach. Lying back-to-back on this narrow isthmus, Lover’s Beach faces the Sea of Cortez and Divorce Beach faces the Pacific Ocean. The only way to visit these two gems is by boat, but fortunately this is no problem, since dozens of glass-bottom boat captains at Darsena Marina are only too happy to whisk you across the harbor for a fee of $5-6 per person.

Lover's Beach, tucked around the corner from the famous rock arch

While it is simple to arrange for passage, it is more difficult to actually set foot on these beaches. The waves here are often high and strong, and there is no dock. Captains bring their launches as close to shore as possible at Lover’s Beach, but passengers must ultimately jump out into the water, so it is advisable to wear swimwear and not bring a lot of gear. When the waves are not rough, it is possible to swim and even snorkel a bit at Lover’s Beach, as long as you do not round the point. Currents on the Pacific side are so strong that it is not advisable to get into the water at all; the rough seas here are perhaps the reason it was named Divorce Beach.

Lover's Beach on the Sea of Cortez side at Land's End

Once on the beach, the scenery is astounding: soft creamy pink sand with aquamarine water, all surrounded by towering rock spires painted black, ochre, and brown. Shake out your beach towel and enjoy a cerveza (beer) from one of the vendors who haul drinks to the beaches in coolers every morning. Or search the rock nooks and crannies for pirate graffiti. In the 1940’s, John Steinbeck wrote about Lover’s Beach, which was then called Playa Doña Chepa:

“The tip of the Cape at San Lucas, with the huge gray Friars standing up on the end, has behind the rocks a little beach which is a small boy’s dream of pirates . . . and this little beach must so have appealed to earlier men, for the names of pirates are still in the rock, and the pirate ships did dart out of here and did come back.“

After a few hours (or at whatever time you have pre-arranged) your captain will return to pick you up. Unless the seas are extremely calm on the day you visit, getting back into the boat can be a challenge, necessitating wading out into the water and timing your jump with the trough of a wave. But despite the challenges, a visit to Lover’s and Divorce Beaches is definitely worth the trouble.

Photo Credit: Top: el vaquero; bottom: naz66
Article by Barbara Weibel of Hole In The Donut Travels

If you want to avoid traffic and parking issues, arrive at the beach by 9:30 a.m. during nice spring weather. It’s worth it!

Sipadan Island, Malaysia by Flickr user tclee9300y

Sipadan is a limestone island. That is really about it. There is nothing to do on the actual island itself, no amusement parks, big resorts with casinos, mini golf or entertainment centers. The magic of Sipadan lies underwater where scuba divers are provided with amazing wall dives where the drop off reaches 2,800 feet into the blue. Snorkelers of all levels will be amazed at what they are able to find within twenty feet off the beach. This is the result of over a thousand years of coral development atop a volcanic cone.

Over 3,000 species of fish and coral life have been classified on Sipadan alone and the sea turtle population on Sipadan is known to be one of the largest in the world, underscoring the perfect conditions for marine life. In fact, the marine life is so amazing and so impressive that Jacques Cousteau himself said it is a rare treat calling it “…an untouched piece of art.” It is no wonder that Sipadan is considered one of the top 10 dive sites in the world.

Once common around the world, islands like Sipadan are becoming increasingly rare having been developed and over dived. Sipadan, like many places, is not immune to such development and the increasing presence of less rustic bungalows are the telltale signs of development. One thing hindering development on the island, are the islamic extremists from the island of Mindanao, Philippines who have kidnapped tourists in the past. Today the Malaysian military has a clear presence on the island doing its best to protect tourists. I would say proceed with caution if you plan on going but then again, wouldn’t you always proceed with caution anyway to go somewhere remote? I believe so. Although, if you really want to stay safe, I guess there is always the local aquarium option.

So is it really worth going? Well, here is the full quote from Mr. Cousteau “I have seen other places like Sipadan, 45 years ago, but now, no more. Now, we have found again an untouched piece of art…”

Sebastien Tobler

Colliding Continents

I spent Saturday morning birding at Fort Desoto Park with the friendly folks of the St. Petersburg Audubon Society. We were looking for shorebirds, which turned out to be in short supply. So we turned our attention to having a look for the Brown-crested flycatcher that has been reported in the north beach area for [...]