Touchstones to Belize

 Dreaming of Belize?  Me, too!  

Let's talk about what your Belize adventure could look like.   Grab a free 20-minute call by clicking right here!

Floating on impossibly turquoise water....  and snorkeling in it, too



Listening to jungle sounds as I slept in my treehouse in the Guanacaste,

and feeling like Indiana Jones as I jumped in the cave entrance of ATM




The sweet juice of dragon fruit on my lips... the slippery feel of a sting ray in my arms



The tropical breeze floating over my porch as I rested with my book, Ode to the One Eyed Lady.

These are my most treasured memories of Belize. 

Tough Love Travel will show you a different Belize.  

Wondering how different?

  Check it out, right here!

Spring Break at Belize Island Camp!

A few years ago, I headed down to Belize with my 2 teenage sons for island watersports camp on Glover's Atoll.




The big appeal?   The nonstop buffet of activities from windsurfing,  to surf kayaking at sunset, to snorkeling, to time in the hammock palapa was irresistible to us!

One activity that we particularly loved was the sea kayaking.  Paddling through unimaginably turquoise water, we'd pause as sharks swerved just inches beneath our craft.   

We dropped little mushroom anchors on the sea floor so we could get out and snorkel.  

It felt like swimming around an aquarium!

Life on the atoll was incredible too.   Located about 2 hours offshore from Dangriga,  our watersports island offered a rustic but comfortable camp life...

  

We slept in simple beds in cabanas right on the beach, with the sea breeze wafting through the open windows.    We flew our bathing suits on the railings to dry in the tropical sun and we enjoyed our private small porch overlooking the sea for quiet afternoon interludes with a book.  

 I spent that Spring Break reading Ode to the One Eyed Lady, a novel by Anderson about Belize's Hurricane of '92. 

 As scuba divers,  we knew that "The Wall" was a bucket-list item and we were excited to have it located right here, at Glovers Atoll .... well, at least my sons were excited.  This underwater sheer cliff lets a diver float ever deeper, studying the colorful marine plants and meeting the frequent sharks, while below, the diver sees nothing by a pure sapphire abyss.

My boys eagerly strayed away from the guide, exhilarated by the sheer drop of rock on one side, the great unknown of open sea behind and below them.

But me?  I was much less intrepid, hovering so close to our guide that our flippers kept knocking.  I maneuvered myself over and over, to stay between the "Wall" and  my guide.

Fortunately, the marine life was even more powerful than my fears.  
A giant eagle ray flapped by.   20' above us, silhouetted against the surface, a hawksbill turtle paddled about.   Up and down the coral wall,  small crabs and spiny lobsters tucked into the coral.



Many parts of the experience took me right back to summer camp as a child...  
We ate family style meals in an open-air cabana with our feet in the sand.  
We took sun showers that were still cool despite the hot tropical sun which warmed the tanks.  
We spent hours, just hanging out on the wharf or beach, contemplating the wide open nature before us.

It was a gift of freedom!

This sensation visited me over and over throughout the week, and returns now, as I look at the photos, and remember this almost sacred place in my vacation log.

Need a Spring Break plan this year?  

I am here to help!  

Get a free 20-minute phone call to talk about the possibilities.  Click here now!

Kids in the saddle: horseback riding vacations for families

When my boys were 2, 4, 6, and 8, we spent a week at Rock Springs Guest Ranch.

The ranch had wranglers to cater specifically to the attention span and skills of kids, and they hosted nightly special events:  square dancing, game night.


In case you're thinking "ho hum", let me tell you that it was pretty thrilling the evening that a posse of wild Indians (aka the wranglers) wheeled around the cabin, in full body paint, and hooped and hollered through camp, bareback!

Every person, no matter their age, got their own horse - even Tom, my 2-year-old whose elderly steed, Spot, we feared had one hoof dangerously close to the glue pot.  But between this older horse's mellow temperament and the attentive wranglers, a young child was able to participate in the week's riding, even in the rodeo where he came home with a ribbon from the egg-in-spoon races.

The older kids had a ball, spending hours exploring the dry pine forests of the high desert around Bend.   They'd take short runs,  stop to build debris shelters, and - their favorite - cross the many water canals on horseback!

My kids came home, with a taste of the West in their mouths.  Yes, the carrots and apple slices that they fed their mounts came out of the ranch frig, but the scent of Oregon's dry pine woods remains a touchstone to the real West!

Interested in taking YOUR family on a ranch vacation this summer?   

There are so many choices - different programs, different price points, different accessibility.   

Want some help? 

Call or email me today: 

(609) 923-0304

melanie@toughlovetravel.com

Horseback riding in Denali!

Summer 2014 in Denali is already filling up. I am here to help! 

I offer free 20-minute calls to talk about the possibilities for YOUR trip!

In the shadow of Mt McKinley, you can whitewater raft, dogsled, hike, and 4-wheel drive.  But did you know that you can horseback ride in Denali too?



The National Park forbids horses within park boundaries, but Denali NP abuts 325,000 acres of state parkland,

And in this region, less than 11 miles from the NP entrance, you can meet Ivana to go horseback riding in Denali.

On the evening that I went horseback riding in Denali, the trail ride started at Ivana's farm, down a dirt road outside of Healy.  She a true frontierswoman, living on this electricity-free farm (yes, that means no credit cards), operating a skin-tanning operation in her garage. As you ride, she regales you with tales of hunting and gun policy from this 49th state, as well as her childhood, growing up with horses in Europe.

Accompanied by the resident St Bernard, the spirited horses carried us out of the paddock, through stands of tiaga spruce and up into the hills.

• How to cook a moose?   
• What's horseback riding in Denali like when it's -20*?   
• Will the caribou scare our horses? 

We learned these things and more.  But most of all, we sucked in lung-fulls of crystalline alpine air and photographed the immeasurable beauty of the land of the midnight sun.


DETAILS OF HORSEBACK RIDING IN DENALI
You've got to be at least 7 years old but you can weigh as much as you like because Ivana's got draft horses on the farm to carry you.
You can choose any ride from 1 hour to a 3-day pack trip, and you need no horseback riding experience, although shorter rides are recommended for novices.
Horseback riding in Denali starts at $110/hour and run around $300 for a full day.

AFTER HORSEBACK RIDING IN DENALI?
I spent a memorable day following this little guy (below) around Horseshoe Lake Trail, admiring him and his industrious friends as they worked for hours on a dam.

I spurned the big fancy lodges at Denali National Park entrance and set myself up instead at these charismatic log cabins that come complete with modern baths, super friendly and attentive front-desk service, and unbeatable views - wide-reaching vistas of the park, perched above (read as:  sheltered from) the "circus" at the park entrance.






I also inexpensively rented a bike from the Lynx Creek store at the park entrance and tooled around, on paved and evenly cindered paths, the entire front of the park:  Visitors Center, sled dog kennels, railroad-overlook bridge, and more.

YOU, TOO, WANT TO SEE A LESS-TRAVELED DENALI? 
Are you confused by the bus system to get into Denali? 

Do you want more than the formulaic tours offered by the big companies? 

Would you like advice from an expert with on-the-ground experience so that you don't come home saying, "I wish I had known about THAT!" 

I've have been to Denali, by van and train.  I've rafted, ridden the bus throughout the park, hiked off-piste, slept by Wonder Lake, and - of course - gone horseback riding in Denali.
I would love to show you how to do it!
Call me at Tough Love Travel (609) 923-0304 or email me here, today!   

Summer 2014 is already filling up!