Archive for travel

Around the world – Cretaceous Park in Sucre

where the bus leaves you

In my opinion, visiting Cretaceous Park is a must thing out of 12 things to do in Sucre, Bolivia.

To get there take a bus number 4 from Sucre and get out at the last stop at Parque Cretácico just a few minutes from Sucre town.

 

where the bus leaves you

where the bus leaves you

I was surprised when the bus driver told me to get out just outside of a cement company, it all looked destroyed around. But once I climbed up the hill and paid the entrance (30 Bolivianos for foreigners, 5 bolivianos for the camera), I understood why.

the view when walking up to Cretaceous Park

the view when walking up to Cretaceous Park

First, once I walked the hill up to the Cretaceous Park in Sucre, I watched a video about the dinosaurs and their life. Then a guide walked me around the park and explained me some important facts. We saw some replicas of different species of the dinosaurs, including the biggest titanosaurus tall 18 metres and long 36 metres which is the biggest sculpture of the whole world.

We can see a replica of ankylosaurus which footprints were discovered in the South America for the first time here in the limestone wall.

It was the wall around the park which I saw from the main road but had no idea what it was about until the guide showed me. There were so many huge dinosaur footprints on it! It was because the mud covered them throthout the

Only in 1994 the cement company Fancesa found at this place what is now the world’s biggest paleontological site – Cretaceous Park in Sucre. It is around 1,500 metres long limestone wall of Cal Orck’o, tall 110 metres that is covered by dinosaur tracks that died some 68 to 65 million years ago. There are around 5055 dinosaur tracks of at least 8 to 15 species and 320 different animals. There we can see 581 metres of continuous walking of a middle size carnivorous which is the world record of dinosaur tracks in one place.

110 m tall limestone wall with dinosaur tracks

110 m tall limestone wall with dinosaur tracks

1500 m long limestone wall with dinosaur tracks

I really enjoyed looking at the tracks at the wall, and all the life-sized dinosaur statues. There is also a souvenir shop and a museum with a lot of fossils, dinosaur bones and a replica of a dinosaur found in Chubut province in Argentina. Outside of the museum you can learn more about the past of the area from the pictures and explanations. I am really happy I paid a visit to this parque cretacico as I didn’t know it was the world’s largest dinosaur tracks site. And as I was sick and couldn’t do the trekking to Crater de Maragua observing dinosaur tracks in the nature, I could at least visit the park and see some dinosaur footprints there.

Unwelcome animals in hotels and houses around the world

a huge green fly in Costa Rica

Being from Slovakia it does not make it easy to get used to things one cannot find back home. Living in an apartment on the 6th floor for 18 years meant I hardly ever saw any unwelcome animals inside (not talking about pets now). Yes, from time to time we could see a big grasshopper but we’ve never figured out how it got so high. Beside mosquitoes, wasps, bees or some cute little birds (mostly sparrows) very occasionally we could also spot a bug. I have heard a mouse or a little rat could appear in a Slovak house but never met any face to face yet, thankfully!

I am a huge lover of animals and like them so much our encounters sometimes make me cry of happiness and fill my heart with a gratitude. But insects, rats and some other animals just do not belong into the house or any other accommodation, I think. That being said, I’m afraid you can easily imagine my face each time I find an unwelcome animal in hotels or other type of accommodation I stay in when traveling around the world.

The worst to me is to see an animal late night, during the night or early morning which brings back my insomnia and maybe even some paranoia.

a huge green fly in Costa Rica

a huge green fly in Costa Rica

 

The first time ever I was disgusted by such a thing was when I used to live in Madrid during the University. We found a cockroach in our apartment on the 4th floor and it took three people to kill it with a thick telephone book. Also one night coming back from a party it was dificult not to step on a cockroach when crossing a road as they were just all around. I still have goose bumps and a horrible look on my face when I remember it.

I had many bad experiences with cockroaches ever since. Once in a cute hotel in Mexico, my room was just next to the swimming pool on the first floor so I could just open my door and jump into the cool water. I just took a shower after swimming and heard a tick tick noise when walking out of the shower. I saw 2 cockroaches passing underneath my room door and one headed straight into my open suitcase with clothes. I was terrified. I ran to the reception still with just a towel around me and half wet and scared the receptionist – a guy younger than me. He must have thought I was out of my mind or something. He just took a spray and sprayed it over one cockroach that was already leaving my room. It just turned over and died with its legs up. The second cockroach was more of a problem. The receptionist had to take all my clothes out of the suitcase, including my underwear (ouch!) and find the cockroach that then jumped out as if nothing so the receptionist just stepped on it. The end of the World War III.

I am not even going to start about all the different bugs I have seen in hotels and houses around the world. I don’t even know most of their names.

Costa Rica was one of the countries that trained my patience and dealing with disgusting feeling when seeing all those unwelcome animals. As most of Costa Rica is covered by rainforest, expect ”weird” animals you are maybe not used to. At least I am not. Huge green grasshoppers, lizards of every kind and colour, lovely blue-coloured crabs (at least these were beautiful), millions of ants (some of them bite and even get into your bed) and flying insects were what I got to see every day in my hotels and villas around. But as well very pretty humming birds that I found in my shower or bedroom.

a lizard in the sink in Costa Rica

a lizard in the sink in Costa Rica

a big grasshopper

a big grasshopper

Once on Koh Lanta in Thailand I was sleeping and heard a weird noise coming from under my bed. I found out there were little frogs that maybe didn’t want me to be alone. I had to sleep with a shirt on my head not to hear them.

a frog in my house on Koh Lanta

a frog in my house on Koh Lanta

Unwelcome animals in hotels or houses when traveling around the world don’t have to be something you won’t like. I remember we had a lovely visitor in my friend’s house on Koh Phangan (a Thai island) one night – a fat blue bird.

a blue bird on Koh Phangan

a blue bird on Koh Phangan

Do you mind to find unwelcome animals in hotels or houses around the world? What was the weirdest one you have ever seen? Where?

Quote of the week – Decisions change life

No one is asking you to quit your job, sell everything, leave everything and everyone at home and just travel around the world like I did even though it was the most important and the best decision of my life (and also many others did the same). I always say everything is about the details and it was proved right many times. Yes, even small things can really change a lot. Decisions change life.

 

6 things to do in Caldes de Malavella

so happy about the in-room jacuzzi

Caldes de Malavella is a charming town in Spain very close to Girona airport, 81 km from France and 89 km from Barcelona. Being a small town, it still offers its visitors a lot of different things to do. Surprisingly, there are more older people visiting but I would love us the younger ones find out about this hidden gem too.

 

6 things to do in Caldes de Malavella:

 

1. thermal baths. The town has been known for its healing thermal water since the Roman era. There are a few thermal baths here nowadays. Go soak in Balneari Prats which is my favorite one, get delicious dinner there, enjoy in-room jacuzzi in Acqua room and pamper yourself every day with a different hydrotherapy treatment. I hope you get time to try a shower massage. I swear you won’t regret your time spent there. Just check out how I enjoyed Balneari Prats.

so happy about the in-room jacuzzi

so happy about the in-room jacuzzi

thermal water swimming pool at Balneari Prats

thermal water swimming pool at Balneari Prats

 

2. drink thermal water. The sources of thermal water in Caldes de Malavella are not just good for rheuma and circulation, but also have digestive properties. You can walk the streets of the town and find a couple of fountains around. The famous one is the Fountain of the Mine with 60 Celsius degrees mineral water.

drinking thermal water in Caldes de Malavella

drinking thermal water in Caldes de Malavella

 

3. history. If you want to get a bit of history during your visit, in Aquae CALIDAE (old name of Caldes) you can do that. Visit the remains of the Roman baths in the city centre and find out more about how it all started here with the thermal baths. Yes, already the Romans were using the properties of the mineral springs in the area.

next to Roman remains

next to Roman remains

remains of the Roman baths

remains of the Roman baths

 

4. walk. I always say that walking you will keep fit when traveling and also see the most. And in Caldes de Malavella there is a bunch of beautiful buildings everywhere around you that you just cannot miss. Modernist, ecclectic and neoclassical buildings can be found here not just along Rambla Recolons boulevard.

Casa Rosa in Caldes de Malavella

Casa Rosa in Caldes de Malavella

 

5. churches and castles. In the town itself there is St. Stephen’s church built in the Reinnasance and also Sant Grau.

Castle Malavella from the 11th and 12th century (the town got its name after 2 castles – Caldes and Malavella) with its Saint Maurice chapel are definitely worth visiting if you stay for a few days. The best time to visit is 22nd September during the Feast of the Saint when you can go back in histor and see the traditional Sardana dance.

hermitage Sant Grau in Caldes de Malavella

hermitage Sant Grau in Caldes de Malavella

 

6. Camp of the Dolls. Ever wondered what to do in Caldes de Malavella once you have visited everything else? In spring and aumunt every year just outside of the town, the archaeologists gather to keep digging for important Pleistocene animal and fossil remains. The old volcanic area became extraordinary archaeological site in Catalonia due to the fact how well-preserved all the remains found here are.

And a bonus thing – please watch the sunset. This place is great for those pinky sunsets you usually see somewhere at the beach 🙂

beautiful sunset in Caldes de Malavella

beautiful sunset in Caldes de Malavella

colourful buildings of Caldes de Malavella

colourful buildings of Caldes de Malavella

 

Find out more reasons why I fell in love with Caldes de Malavella when I visited in September 2012.

 

Thanks to Costa Brava tourism for making this trip possible.

 

Thanksgiving 2012 – what I am thankful for

no one is perfect

In Slovakia, we do not celebrate Thanksgiving at all. But I am sure we should be thankful for so many things in life … and yes, every day, not just at Thanksgiving. A very true cliche.

Besides so many obvious things I am grateful for, such as my family, friends, love and everything I have ever had, there are also some other things.

 

I am thankful for not being fake because I dislike fake nails, fake boobs, fake eyelashes and most of all fake people. So if I say something to you, I mean it. If I make a face that says something, that’s exactly what I want to say. No secrets of this kind.

no one is perfect

 

enemies

 

 

I keep hearing how people are jealous of others. Guys tell me that so many women hate me … why? Why they don’t work their ass off harder? Why they don’t exercise more? Why they don’t live healthy? Why they are stuck in job they don’t like? Why they don’t do what they love the most? Because I do all of this. And doing it to get what I want and where I want to be now gives me no time to be jealus of someone else.

 

 

I am also thankful for both all the positive and negative moments in my life as they all mean something and they taught me important lessons. I have achieved a lot that means much to me but there have been things I just did not get. Thank you for those too as it’s meant to be this way 🙂

luck

 

What are you thankful for at Thanksgiving?