Nourishing Journeys » Destinations

My $2000 GPS: Why You Need Travel Insurance

ahewcn — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 17:06:21 +0000

Last year my family decided to go to Spain to visit a friend I hadn’t seen for nearly 20 years. Amazingly we found a flight, not only direct from NYC to Malaga — a relatively obscure destination for most Americans, but we found those tickets for only $550 each! This was over $400 off of the normal price for tickets to Spain.

The one glitch? The website I bought the tickets through didn’t offer any kind of insurance at checkout.

Interestingly enough, I had recently been investing in the additional $20 or whatever price it is on every trip I had bought online over the past few years.

Even though it wasn’t offered, I kept saying to myself that I’d purchase the insurance before the trip. Unfortunately, a string of bad events kept me from making that purchase.

First, I got MSG poisoning on my trip to Jamaica 6 weeks earlier… and it lasted for 6 weeks. In fact I was only better at the beginning of the week that I was leaving for Spain.

Then my daughter got sick from swimming in a friend’s pool (they didn’t tell us that their kid had a virus!). So I spent the entire week before the trip, not only packing, but trying to nurse my child back to health.

Finally came the day of the trip. We planned 5 hours to get to the airport because driving into New York on a Friday afternoon in summer is sketchy. Even so, we had done the trip before and it only took 2 hours max.

We loaded into the car and got on the road. So exhausted from the week and lack of sleep the night before. I closed my eyes as my husband drove. As we got a few miles away from New York — TRAFFIC! Everything came to an almost complete stand still. I couldn’t believe it!

Instead of checking the directions the GPS was giving us and comparing it to the directions from the parking garage, we blindly followed the GPS directions which brought us right through New York City! Usually we go around through Staten Island, but by the time we had recognized the error — there was no turning back. There was no way to get off!

Finally, we arrived to the airport… ten minutes AFTER they closed the check-in counter! Needless to say, we were horrified.

So then, we spent the next THREE hours on a line for people who missed their flight — that didn’t even look that long when we got on it. When we got to the front of the line. The dude at the counter barely spoke English and his boss (an old black guy named Ivan) refused to sell us tickets for the following day’s flight for less than $3000 each — yes, that’s three THOUSAND! He gave us no compassion for having gotten stuck in 5 hours of traffic and could care less that he had us waiting on the line for 3 hours with a 5 year old. It was not 11pm and we didn’t even have a place to sleep that night!

I was so proud of my husband. He immediately called Delta’s customer service and explained the case to the agent and was able to procure 3 tickets for the next evenings flight for only $2000! I know this seems like a lot, but since we had gotten the first tickets so cheaply, this was a blessing because it still brought our tickets to a price similar to what most of the other people on the flight were probably paying.

So here are the lessons we learned from this experience:

ALWAYS get some kind of travel insurance that covers things like missed flights, lost baggage and health (especially if you’re doing any kind of adventure travel or are elderly). For a nominal fee, it can save you a lot of headaches.
NEVER trust your GPS! These can be handy devices (in fact, ours has European maps installed and helped us find the tiny street we were staying on in Granada), but often will not give you the best directions. Get mapquest directions to compare or download directions from the destination you are going to (such as the airport).
If you miss your flight, get on the line designated for people who are stranded, but start calling customer service for your airline IMMEDIATELY. Try to do anything possible to avoid standing on line for three hours.
DON’T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER! You can always get a better deal if you have to deal with a belligerent customer service agent.

How do the French stay so skinny?

ahewcn — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:39:30 +0000

Let me start by saying that there is no French paradox. Red wine will not unclog your arteries. Plenty of real fats — including the animal fats — minus an abundance of refined sugars will.

The French start the day with coffee (no cream or milk usually), yogurt, cheese, pâté, butter and baguette for breakfast. A piece of fruit (some berries, an apple, orange or pear) is also common, but rarely eaten alone. Occasionally a soft boiled egg is eaten time permitting. More recently, people will eat Muesli type cereals.

For lunch, a salad with meat, egg, tuna, etc is common as are things like steak frites (steak with fries) or an omelette with cheese, ham and fries. If you can’t sit down, you’ll probably get this served on half a baguette (but your waistline will pay for it!) or stop at a baker to pick up a quiche, pizza or croissant sandwich. But these bakery items are usually an accompaniment to a big salad. Sausages are eaten in some locations as well popular in some areas as well.

Dinner will likely depend on your schedule. If you work a 9-5 job, you’ll make dinner the biggest meal of the day. Otherwise, lunch is. If you eat in a restaurant, you might start with a nourishing soup, then move on to a slice of fish, frog legs, another steak or a chicken preparation. One of my favorite soups I enjoyed in Paris many years ago was made from pâté. Yum! At home, you may also begin with a soup followed by a simple chicken or fish dish or swap them both for a hearty stew and a salad. Mashed potatoes made with real butter and cream are also favorites on the French dinner table. When bread is eaten, it is usually a very small piece used to sop up the gravies on your plate or soup left in the bowl. In essence it is a way to get more fat soluble vitamins into your body.

Fruit is a typical dessert. Sometimes served with a little cheese. Sometimes cheese instead of fruit. Cakes and pies are generally reserved for the special occasions. A birthday party, anniversary, holiday, out-of-town visitor…. Not everyday and not as snacks.

The last time I was in France 5 years ago, I found that there are far more obese people. Many of these people seemed to believe what the Americans do which is that obesity is controlled by exercise alone. Meanwhile, many of them were eating lots of empty carbs including desserts whether it was in a restaurant or on a street, while their skinnier friends were eating salads, meat, cheese or nothing at all. So in effect, as the French (Italians, Spaniards, Germans etc) begin to follow our lead, little by little they too begin fighting the battle of the bulge. In effect it was indeed the presence of these delicious fats and animal foods that made the French live long as well. But in this too, we sadly begin to see a rapid decline. The take home message is that exercise is good, but it cannot replace real food.

Why purchase coconut oil when you can make it?

ahewcn — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:51:19 +0000

For centuries, people of the tropics have known the coconut to be one of the healthiest and most life-sustaining foods available. Unfortunately, due to a plethora of misinformation created by manufacturers of synthetic oils and nutrient-free juice drinks, the coconut has fallen out of favor even in those countries where it is amply found.

Such is the case in Jamaica. This summer, I was fortunate enough to visit members of my extended family that I barely new existed until a few years ago. Having cousins visit from their American cousin was a big deal and the two weeks we spent there were filled with many culinary delights.

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil by SunFood

At my request, my cousin, Jackie, showed me the traditional way that Jamaicans make coconut oil — a craft she learned from her mother, but so few younger Jamaicans are familiar with as their diet gives way to margarine and “bag juice” (essentially Kool-Aid in a bag). As expected, their health is suffering from this dramatic shift. Where not very long ago Jamaicans easily lived to the ripe old age of 100+ and vibrant until the end, now they succumb to diseases such as dementia, diabetes and cancer in their 60s, 70s and 80s. In fact, we had just missed the funeral of a 70-year old aunt a month earlier.

Typically, Jamaican coconut oil is not the organic virgin coconut oil that is finally getting it’s due in North American and European alternative health circles, but it seems to be just as effective at warding off disease and curing infections, thyroid and yeast conditions. The only issue I have with Jamaican coconut oil is that it is often made in aluminum pots since aluminum manufacturing is one of its largest industries along with tourism. (Driving the countryside in the parish of St. Elizabeth, you’ll notice very red soil. This contains bauxite, the mineral which makes aluminium.)

Here are a few photos of my cousin making Jamaican coconut oil.

First, she must tear the husk from the coconut which is deep inside.
	Then, copra (dried flesh) or coconut meat (fresh flesh) must be grated.
Here, you can see the difference between the copra (left) and the fresh coconut meat (right).The copra has a slightly translucent appearance. When it is opened, there is no water left inside and it feels rather oily to the touch. This is the preferred coconut used to make coconut oil.
	In this photo, you can see the coconut being boiled. As I stated above, this does not seem to destroy the beneficial properties much at all. When the water boils off, the oil rises to the top and a piece of coal (taken from the burned hardwood at the barbecue) is thrown in for a rich, roasted flavor!

For more information on the many benefits of coconut oil, consult one of the many excellent books by Bruce Fife.

Kingston Retreat

ahewcn — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:12:57 +0000

Jamaica has long had a reputation for violence as much as it does for its beautiful beaches. Kingston, the capitol, particularly conjures up images of gang wars and fighting in the streets. So I was conflicted and pretty nervous when a distant aunt invited my family to visit her in Kingston during our Jamaica trip. Of course, she had helped us tremendously by cluing us in on nice (safe) places to visit and the best methods of transportation around the island, so we felt obliged to pay her a visit. The only question I had was, would we be able to rent an apartment as we do everywhere else? Or would we be stuck in a hotel?

Our Kingston Hideaway

A quick internet search revealed that self-catering apartments were indeed available in Kingston, but the reviews were mixed and personal safety still remained a concern despite my aunt’s assurances. Then I stumbled upon the Blue Mountain Lofts, a beautiful house perched 20 minutes above the city at the foot of the Blue Mountains in a small town called Irish Town, famous for the renowned Strawberry Hill Resort owned by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell.

For only $75/night (off season) we rented this lovely property that sleeps seven and is well-stocked with all the amenities you might need from bedding and towels to tea, rice and other staples that might help you prepare a meal. It even has warm water in the showers! A rare treat in Jamaica. Whatever else you need (meat, produce, beverages) might be found in one of the small stores along the road a mere 2 minutes walk away. If there are any specialty items you absolutely need, make sure to stock up in town before you take the taxi or bus back up the hill.

Lush gardens surround the house

If you prefer not to cook though, right in town is the Café Blue where you can get a great Jamaican meal, cup of authentic Blue Mountain coffee and one of the best cheesecakes anywhere in the world! Further down the road (probably want to take a taxi), there is another clean little hut where you can get other Jamaican specialties. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to stop there.

The caretaker, Mrs. Schroeter, and cleaning lady who lives next door are excellent hosts, seeing to your every need. You are not only left with contact numbers for each of them, but also a cell phone is left in the house to make your experience more comfortable.

Night view of Kingston from 3000 feet above

The only piece of advice I can give you is that if you are going into Kingston, especially on a weekend day, take the local bus (about 30 cents US per person) up towards the final destination a few minutes up the road. Buses on the weekend are particularly infrequent and are likely to be jam packed on the way back down, so this way you reserve your seat early. When you are coming back up from Kingston, you can take the bus or take a taxi, which runs about US$1 per person. Although some people seem to have reservations about the taxi drivers in Kingston, note that the bus may not leave for an hour or so from the main stop. These buses cram as many people as possible into them and won’t leave until they are packed to the hilt. So plan your time wisely.

If you really need to stay in the center of town, then by all means do so. But if you’re like my family and want to experience some peace and quiet away from the hustle and bustle of the city with the occasional trip into town, then I cannot give a higher recommendation than the Blue Mountain Lofts home in Irish Town.

The Real Costa Rica?

ahewcn — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:54:43 +0000

OK. So we returned from our Costa Rica trip five weeks ago and, FINALLY, I’ve found some time to share both the disappointments and gems we encountered down there.

Costa Rica is a beautiful country hailed for its eco-friendly attributes — lush rain forests, mountains, and pristine beaches. But it is equally ridiculed for its boring, even awful, food. In both cases, we encountered major disillusionment, but luckily that led to discovering lots of friendly people and off the beaten track experiences.

The first disappointment was that while Costa Rica certainly had beautiful rain forests, dramatic mountains an gorgeous beaches (particularly the one where we stayed), it was far from environmentally conscious in so many ways. First of all, darn near everything is packaged in plastic. I understand that Costa Rica is a poor country. So fine, there is no opportunity to recycle all that plastic, but burning it by the side of the road? Well, that was the view driving along the highway every night after sundown — men standing over burning garbage (plastic and all) pushing it around with a stick. It smelled awful! And I don’t even want to think about the estrogens and other endocrine disruptors that were in the fumes these poor people were inhaling.

Now, maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t expect the country that kicked Starbucks out and is at least sort of embracing sustainable energy to be completely overrun with European hotels, ugly condos and Wal-Mart! Some of this expansion seems to be relatively new in the Jaco area, but nonetheless, it was a shame. While these places seemed to provide some jobs, in many (if not, most) cases, the development left many natives homeless. To boot, prices were totally jacked up! I’m from New York City and would never pay their inflated prices there, which made it a little difficult to get totally comfortable with paying their often ridiculous prices for simple services. But as much as possible, we tried to at least patronize the mom and pop establishments which often still were “overcharging”. Seeing as they were living in such an expensive area, it was easier to know that they would get 100% of profits instead of seeing it shipped back to the US or Europe.

We were also shocked to learn that it was really difficult to find native handcrafts — at least where we were. In fact, the Canadian woman who stayed in the apartment upstairs from us has been visiting Costa Rica every year for seven years and learned from friends who own a souvenir shop down there that most of the so-called Costa Rican handcrafts come from Thailand! Yes. And the Thai artisans who manufacture these goods are so in tune the Costa Rican fauna that they’ve sent wood carvings of bears with salmon down there bearing a “made in Costa Rica” sticker. So we never ran into the limited edition bear with salmon carving, but this piece of information explained why I thought the wooden products looked distinctly Asian.

This lack of reasonably priced and authentic Costa Rican souvenirs made gift shopping really difficult. It was further complicated by the fact that there was a virtual absence of nice food or toiletry items in any of the stores. That brings me to Costa Rican food, which I’ll continue with later.

What they don’t tell you about renting a car in CR

ahewcn — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:54:09 +0000

As a developing nation, Costa Rica is often promoted as a nearby, cheap and safe tourist destination. So when I booked a two-week Thrifty car rental for a mere $200, I wasn’t so surprised. But standing online at the rental agency, we quickly noticed renters standing at the desk were infuriated by the news they received.

It turns out that Costa Rica has an obligatory insurance policy that is not posted anywhere and you may only learn of ahead of time, if you book through a travel agent who specializes in the region. The rules and cost of this insurance apparently vary from one rental agency to another, but here are the basics you must know.

1) There are 3 tiers to the insurance program.

2) The most expensive, which costs US$40/day on an compact-sized vehicle covers darn-near anything that might happen to your car short of deliberately setting it on fire. So seriously consider this if you’re planning on doing lots of adventure driving as anything off the main highways is not only unpaved, but likely to involve flying rocks or cattle crossings.

3) The next tier at US$25/day is what we took. This covered damage to another driver’s car (if one were to be involved) or replacing a tire or broken window. At this price, the cost was essentially the same as renting a car in Western Europe.

4) The least expensive option cost US$20/day. It relied primarily on your US-based credit card’s insurance (CDW) and only pays for damages resulting from an accident. In this scenario you must foot the bill and await reimbursement, at least according to Thrifty.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m proficient in Spanish, but before leaving the parking lot, the Thrifty agent came to our car window and warned us that there is a police scam to be aware of. According to the agent, police sometimes stop Gringos on the road claiming that they violated some local traffic law. They will then ask you to pay the hefty fine on the spot. NEVER pay the fine directly to the cop in cash!!! What you need to do is ask the cop for his/her name. If they really are trying to con you, they will usually give up and let you go. If you really did break a law, they will give you a ticket which then you pay at any bank (and I think post office).

Keep in mind that the above insurance options vary from one company to another, each one stating that each option covers something different. While we were there, other travelers told us that they were offered only 2 options or even a 4th option. Many people (understandingly) consider this surcharge to be a government monopoly. It was very frustrating to experience this as our “Welcome to Costa Rica”, but we were able to put it behind us. And quite frankly, if this is what the government needed to do to feel “powerful”, then I hope it works for them. I just needed some rest and relaxation.

Some people hire taxis or vans to get around the country. This is fine, but keep in mind that not many towns (unless you’re in a really built-up touristy area) have restaurants or well-stocked bodegas where you can buy your food.

This can also be really pricey if the taxi isn’t based in your town and needs to travel 1/2 hour to pick you up. Furthermore, with the taxi option it’s much harder (I’d presume) to explore and take detours off the beaten track. If it’s anything like Europe or the States, I’m sure many drivers down there would gladly take you to their friend’s overpriced gift shops, making their commission from whatever you buy. So you may want to take that into consideration, but personally, exploring on our own is what eventually made the trip down there worthwhile.

Costa Rican Coffee Sucks!

ahewcn — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:52:45 +0000

This was a major source of anxiety when we arrived. I don’t generally drink a lot of coffee, but I figured in a country known to produce excellent coffee, a sip here and there would be a nice little indulgence. Unfortunately, what we were told was the best coffee was about as good as the stuff Dunkin’ Donuts serves at 3 o’clock in the morning.

Luckily our neighbors didn’t protect their wi-fi service we were able to locate Café Milagro on the internet.

Café Milagro was started by an American (also named Adrienne), who over a decade ago was equally horrified by the lack of good coffee available within the country. All the good stuff got shipped overseas!

Unlike me, however, Adrienne decided to stay and be part of the solution. She started out by acquiring a small coffee roaster in the town of Quepos. Over time, she gained the respect of the nearby coffee growers (who by now had stopped selling her bags of nails!) and locals who would swarm around her shop to smell the freshly roasted beans and enjoy a pastry.

Today, Adrienne has a thriving business. Café Milagro is now a very popular restaurant (seemingly popular with the gay crowd for all my homosexual friends!). And she’s also opened another restaurant about half way between Quepos and Manuel Antonio — considered by many the most beautiful of Costa Ricas national parks. Her coffees are available at several restaurants and hotels throughout the country and to you through the internet! She offers organic, whole bean, ground, dark and light roast all with flat rate shipping to the US of $9.95! If you visit, make sure to stop in the roasting building next door where you can also pick up some souvenirs and learn a little about the roasting process.

Another great place we found for coffee is a souvenir shop and restaurant called El Mirador del Cafetal, located about 50 minutes outside of San Jose on the road to Jacó. It will be on the driver’s side overlooking the west coast valley. Actually, there are only two restaurants on that mountain. It is the second one — only a few hundred meters past the first one. You can’t miss it.

It turns out that this restaurant is an extension of El Cafetal Inn, a coffee plantation and bed and breakfast in Atenas (20 minutes from the SJ airport). The view from this restaurant is breathtaking! And the souvenirs were not only reasonably priced, but had an authentic, Costa-Rican made look to them. El Mirador also sells coffee beans that you can bring home, including green beans that you can roast yourself, (although not vacuum-sealed to preserve freshness, so get them in the freezer when you get home!).

For food, I’d have to say that I enjoyed the food at El Mirador more than the fare at Café Milagro. The food at Milagro was not bad, but it had a distinctly American flair. A little like Friday’s gone Latin American with some experimental concoctions based on locally available foods. Milagro also had the soy milk option on the menu which just makes me cringe since soy is NOT the health food we’ve all led to believe (read The Whole Soy Story for the dirty details of this phenomenon or wait for my blog entry under health).

El Mirador’s menu, by contrast, featured an extensive selection of Latin American favorites such as black beans with yucca fries, chicharrones and tamales at really, really good prices. Because the country has been duped into widely using industrial oils in their cooking, it was unfortunately prepared with less than ideal ingredients. I considered this, however, a small price to pay for the spectacular views and more traditional menu that afternoon. To my knowledge, you cannot purchase their coffee over the internet.

As a final note, in the town of Quepos (same town as where Café Milagro is located) facing the bus station is a place called the MegaSuper. While this store caters to the expat crowd, complete with sushi fixin’s and a few fresh vegetables (rarer than you’d think it would be down there), it also carries Costa Rica’s most famous coffee, Café Britt. Café Britt isn’t only reputed to have excellent coffee, but they have a huge variety of shade-grown organic coffee, hot cocoa, chocolates, and iced drinks in interesting flavors. Keep in mind that they export the best, so that would probably put Café Britt on top since they are also available in the airports as well.

Eating Whole Foods in Costa Rica

ahewcn — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 04:10:29 +0000

Since Costa Rica has become a popular eco-friendly destination for nature lovers, I was really looking forward to some down-home native cooking during our time there. How horrified I was to discover no more than 3 vegetables at most of the farmers markets: broccoli, cauliflower and string beans — hardly tropical crops! But it didn’t stop there, trying to find local fats like coconut or palm oil (we stayed 20 minutes away from the palm oil plantations) was impossible. Meats were labeled tenderizado (tenderized) — whatever that meant — butchers didn’t have an answer. Even salt had fluoride added to it.

In fact, I’d say 90% of the food available was highly processed and sold in boxes, cans or bottles.

At first I was under the impression that the unavailability of indigenous foods had to do with the fact that we were staying in a more touristy area. There was a hole in this theory though. The only places where natural foods (not even talking organics or health food here) could be found were in the expat stores. The town of Quepos near Parque Manuel Antonio featured a good smathering of Italian restaurants and delis as well as a great catch-all store called El Super Más across from the bus station. Surprisingly, El Super Más was not outrageously priced. Some items were actually more reasonably priced there than at roadside stands (at least as far as the Gringo prices went).

Even though I was able to get some better produce in Quepos, I was really glad that I packed a few non-perishables in the suitcase. Cans of low mercury, PCB-free canned salmon; spicy Sicilian olives; and a little mineral-rich sea salt. Unfortunately, the only coconut oil I carried with me was scented with Tahitian monoi for my skin and hair.

This is where the beauty of renting a vacation apartment comes in. Up the road, in Esterillos Oeste, a fisherman sold fresh caught pargo (red snapper), pinky shrimp and tiburón (shark) daily. Down the road on the way to Parritas, a pleasant couple from the mountainous regions outside of San José sells farm fresh raw milk Costa Rican cheeses on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays ’til noon.

Quepos has a huge farmers market on Tuesdays and Saturdays. We didn’t get to visit this one (although we drove past it one night thinking we’d have another opportunity), but we were told by an American living there that the variety is much better than at roadside stands. I also met a guy named Reynaldo from the Caribbean side (a distant cousin maybe?) who was selling lobster and enormous pinky shrimp from the back of his refrigerated truck just down the street from the El Super Más.

The highlight was meeting Eliazar, a retired government worker who sells fresh-pressed azucar de caña (sugar cane juice) by the side of the road about 45 minutes north of Esterillos in Puntarenas. He was all too proud to show us his operation and his planation where he had some 26 varieties of fruits and vegetables growing: sugar cane, coconut, avocado, yucca, gandul, star fruit, sweet and sour lemons, oranges (which are actually green in the tropics), bananas, plantains (rhymes with mountain), papaya, cashews, even loofah… you name it, he had it!

As it was getting late at the time of our arrival, Eliazar invited us back for a visit the following Monday. When we got there, he was unable to get away from his juice cart because his help canceled on him at the last minute. That’s when he introduced us to his Nicaraguan neighbor, Guadalupe, who took us on a tour of a huge plantation just up the hill — really off the beaten track. It was really hot that day, but the views from there were spectacular and we learned a lot about local edibles as well as the fact that the plantation was picked clean regularly by Nicaraguans and Panamanians who brought the produce back to their home countries for sale. We still don’t understand why all this variety wasn’t offered locally. It seemed that Eliazar and Guadalupe were a bit of an oddity in their love of agriculture. They admitted that modern Costa Ricans existed mainly on processed foods from any of the local Wal-Mart owned chains.

We not only got to eat some of the best locally grown foods by meeting locals like Eliazar, Guadalupe and Reynaldo, but we met some really wonderful Ticos. We have several invites throughout the country to come back next year. We’re looking forward to it.