Greencaviar Travel

I frequented the beaches of Carmel, Monterey, Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz off Highway 1,  but never took much photos.  After seeing pictures of Santa Cruz posted by a family member in Facebook, I realized the beauty of the landscape.   So during my recent visit I took some pictures and videos.  First is the video of Natural Bridge Beach.  Natural Bridge has a lookout point that offers incredible views out towards the Pacific Ocean and to see seabirds, seals and otters frolicking in the water. Further down the beach are tidepools that offer a glimpse of life beneath the sea.   It's a great place to catch the waves (boogie board), fly a kite and enjoy a beautiful scenery.   Video of Natural Bridge Beach The second video is a video of Twin Bridges Beach.  Twin Bridges Beach has expansive play area.  A great place to play in the sand, play volleyball, Frisbee, fly a kite and to watch the boats come and go from the harbor, ...

It’s 6:00am. I looked over the window from my hotel room and saw the shiny rooftops. The purple jacaranda tree-lined street looked gloomy. It rained all night.  It was not the weather I was expecting from Portugal. Since I was already in Portugal I thought I would visit some World Heritage sites. So I signed up for a day trip to visit 3 of the seven Portugal Wonders and a visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady at Fatima. I figured, the clouds would probably dissipate by the time we reached our destination. Our first stop was Obidos. This fortified village of whitewashed houses and narrow streets has a distinctive feel of a bygone era and medieval atmosphere. It seemed a world away from the coastal region of Cascais and Estoril I visited the day earlier. Our next stop was Nazar -- a medieval fishing village.  As a sucker for ocean beach, I found this trip to be enjoyable.  I loved the expansive views of the beach and the Atlantic Ocean.  Before lunch tim...

My plan was to spend some time at the Basque country in Spain and have a relaxing stay at the luxurious Hotel Riscal in Bilbao after my Camino De Santiago walk. But unable to exchange my hotel points, I changed my travel plans and booked a flight to Lisbon, Portugal. Luckily I was able to use my hotel points at the Sheraton Hotel and SPA.  My first day in Lisbon was literally spent relaxing, getting a massage and facial at the hotel/SPA.  The following day, I decided to explore the city.  I walked through Alfama, the oldest section of Lisbon, and visited a museum, historical landmarks, and the World Heritage sites of ' Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém '. Lisbon has very similar topography as San Francisco. A lengthy bus ride the following day, took me along the coast of Sintra, Cascais, Estoril and Cabo De Roca. In Sintra, the highlight was the Pena Palace, the greatest example of romantic architecture in Portugal, built in 19th century upon a hillt...

     I was in Galicia, Spain doing the Camino De Santiago walk when my cousin's family from Lugo, Spain came to visit me at my rural hotel and offered to take me out. I have not met them in person before, but through Facebook, we got to know each other well. They knew I love the ocean, the beach and that I wanted to visit San San Sebastian and the Basque region of Spain. Upon learning that I cancelled my plans on going to San Sebastian after the walk, my cousin's husband, Ruben, decided to take me to A Coruña - 1 1/2 hour drive from my rural hotel. I never heard of A Coruna before I arrived in Galicia, a charming city of around a quarter million inhabitants on Spain's Northwestern coast. So on our way to a Coruna, Ruben - a well-traveled marine engineer, told me that it's one of his favorite cities in Spain, 2nd only to San Sebastian and Barcelona. (Later, I found the common thread between his favorite cities). Just having finished a segment of my Camino De...

When asked what my motivation was for doing the Camino, I jokingly answered, “to check off my list of things to do before I die.” But deep inside, I had a very personal reason for walking the Camino. Four months after recovering from cancer, I joined the San Francisco Bay to Breaker marathon and surprisingly surpassed my goal. So I decided to take on a more challenging physical activity. Walking the Camino seemed to be a natural choice since it combined both spiritual and physical activities. Also, I had always wanted to go to Northern Spain to experience the culture and cuisine that's instinctively Northern Spain. I thought it would be overly ambitious for me to walk 800 kilometers from the French/Spanish Pyrenees border all the way to Santiago de Compostela, or carry a heavy load on my back, so I signed up for the +100k walking tour. Meeting in Madrid  I met my fellow walking travelers in Madrid. My fellow travelers, ages ranging from 19-70 came from different parts ...

I usually load up on chewing gum before a flight because it helps equalize ‘airplane ear,' fights boredom on a long flight while freshening my breath. But on a flight from Manila to Singapore, I was ‘chewing gum’ free. You see, before I left Manila my friend reminded me not to chew gum in Singapore. They also reminded me of the caning of an American boy, and the ‘Contemplacion Story’ (a story about a Filipino domestic worker who was executed in Singapore). Ancient history I thought! The reason I went to Singapore was to take advantage of the United Airlines Mileage Plus multi-city booking that I only paid with 80,000 mileage points. Without the mileage point, this booking would have cost me around $14,000.00. It was a multi-city flight from San Francisco to Tokyo, Tokyo to Manila, Manila to Korea, and Korea to San Francisco with a connecting flight and 10-hour layover at Singapore Changi Airport. Not wanting to wait at an airport for 10 hours, I decided to book a...