Spain

Aranjuez was established as a place for resting and relaxation for the royal family. Its palaces, and the way they were constructed, in harmony with the nature that surrounds them, and the parks that were designed around them, are still special places to visit, and because of their uniqueness, were declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 2001. Aranjuez is situated on the banks of the river Tajo, or Tagus, and this location was used to the advantage of the city and the development of extensive gardens and parks.
Actually, the Arabs were first to construct a village on this site in the 11th century, but it was only when the kings of Spain decided to make the site a relaxation area that it turned into an important place. Of course, apart from the local favourable circumstances, one of the main advantages of Aranjuez is its closeness to the capital Madrid. Nowadays, going to Aranjuez can easily be done by suburban train from the metropole. While the station is on the outskirts of town, a 10 minute walk will take you to the first palace.
Most of the city is divided in square city blocks, which reminded me of the typical grid of cities and towns in the New World. Very convenient to explore a city. It is pleasant to walk around the city itself, but the main attractions lie in the enormous parks. The Jardín del Principe, or Garden of the Prince, is a huge area to explore, with hidden houses like the Real Casa del Labrador, with fountains, small lakes, pavillions, and a walking path along the bank of the river Tagus. Finally, Plaza San Antonio, the main square of the city and close to the royal palace, deserves special mention because of the royal chapel, the fountain, and the porticoes.

Redfish Fishing

“What are you fishing for?” the man asked me. “Redfish”, I responded. “Not with that you ain’t, not here”, he said with a smirk. I had caught redfish before on a rod and reel that was half the size of the rig currently in my hand and did not foresee any problems today. Not only that, but I also had a bucket of live finger mullet that I had just caught minutes earlier and I knew they were a favorite bait of most fish that inhabit Sebastian inlet. “What do you mean?” I replied indignantly. “Your rod is too short and that reel don’t hold enough line to catch a redfish here” he shot back and then continued by asking, “What do you have for bait?” After learning that I had live finger mullet, the man who later introduced himself as Nick, asked for one and then asked me if I wanted to catch a redfish. I said “yes” and handed him a mullet. Nick took his ten-foot surf rod and hooked the mullet on his line. He then sent that mullet - like a rocket launched from nearby Cape Canaveral - half way across the inlet and three times as far as my casts were traveling. I now was beginning to understand why Nick was not confident in my rod and reel. You need an extra long surf style rod and sufficient line to throw your bait far enough to reach the fish. After making his cast Nick handed me the rod and said, “Start reeling.” I started reeling and BAM! Immediately, I hooked a fish and after fighting for almost 30 minutes, I landed the biggest redfish of my life. “Want to do that again?” Nick asked me. In response, I shouted, “Absolutely!” I then handed him another mullet. Just like before, Nick launched this second mullet into the inlet and handed me the rod. Instantly, a fish hit the bait and after another 30 minutes, I reeled in the second largest redfish of my life. This happened a total of four times. After two solid hours of fighting these substantial fish, my arms were worn out and I needed a break. I started giving away my mullet to other fishermen on the pier because I knew, at the rate of one mullet every 30 minutes, I would never use them all.

My wife Loren and I had left Fort Lauderdale and traveled to Sebastian Inlet after Hurricane Wilma knocked out our power and water. It turned out to be a smarter move than we initially knew, because although the water was restored after three days, electricity to our house remained out for over two weeks. We spent part of these two weeks in a small Bed & Breakfast located in Melbourne Beach about 15 miles north of Sebastian Inlet State Park. The park straddles Sebastian Inlet and extends from the Atlantic Ocean on the east side to the Indian River Lagoon on the west side. Visitors can enjoy a wide variety of activities including fishing, surfing, swimming, sunbathing, shell collecting, snorkeling, canoeing, kayaking, boating and camping. However, with the wonderful beauty of the park it would be easy to spend an entire day just strolling the over three miles of pristine beach that is contained within the park. Camping is best experienced from November through May when the weather is cooler and more pleasant.

Sebastian is one of the most productive fishing destinations on the entire east coast of Florida. Common catches for anglers include snook, redfish, bluefish, spanish mackerel, flounder, black drum, jack and a variety of sharks. The inlet can be easily fished from jetties located on either the north or south side of the inlet and from a catwalk that runs under a bridge that spans the inlet. With a boat, canoe or kayak you can explore and fish both in the ocean and the lagoon in addition to the inlet that connects them. There is a boat ramp in the park providing boaters with easy access to the area. There is also a bait and tackle store located near the north jetty that sells fishing licenses, bait and tackle and rents rods and reels.

In addition to fishing, the inlet is equally well known for the quality of its surfing. The inlet’s configuration creates a surf break that is very popular with the surfing crowd. Several major surfing competitions are held here annually drawing surfers and spectators from across the country. If the sun gets too hot, visitors can move indoors by visiting two museums in the park. The McLarty Treasure Museum features the history of the 1715 Spanish treasure fleet while the Sebastian Fishing Museum tells the history of the local fishing industry. Waterfront pavilions and the mile-long Hammock Trail provide more shady venues to escape the sun and either picnic or hike.

With a visit to Sebastian Inlet you learn that it is located in an area of Florida known as the Space Coast. This area is home to many other famous destinations including Canaveral National Seashore, Ron Jons Surf Shop and the Kennedy Space Center. The most famous of these, the Kennedy Space Center, provides visitors an opportunity to experience the past, present and future activities of America’s space program. Guided tours provide access to space launch operations, launch pads, rockets and incredible technology from both the past and present. Visitors can experience interactive space flight simulators, touch a real piece of Mars, board the Space Shuttle Explorer and spend time at the Astronaut Hall of Fame. For a truly incredible visit, check the launch schedules that are published in advance via the internet, and with a little planning, you can schedule your trip to include the viewing of an actual launch of the Space Shuttle.

One of Bahamas’ Great Island Getaways

The call came from my friend, “Hey, would you want to go to Bimini for a week and stay on my boat I have docked there?” I didn’t have to think twice. After a quick look at my day timer I said, “Yes!” and was, suddenly, committed to an impromptu vacation. I would soon find out how incredible this set of Bahamian islands are.
A short flight to Bimini was a superb way to begin the adventure to this small and quaint island. From Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport, via Bimini Island Air, we soared in a small eight-seater plane, blessed with stunning views, from take off to landing. I was filled with excitement flying through the huge puffy clouds towards the two islands that would be my host for a week. As we approached the islands I noticed the long, skinny boomer rang shape of North Bimini, as compared to the smooth round shape of South Bimini. We landed at the airport on South Bimini. It was then that the adventure truly began.

From the airport, I needed to get to North Bimini where my friend’s boat was docked at the Big Game Club, a busy marina where many boats from the U.S. rest. At the airport, a few of us got into a local taxi. There are land and water taxis on both islands. The land fare includes the water taxi fee of $5. The short ride transported us to the water taxis, which then transported us to North Bimini, where most of the attractions are located. The water taxis would have taken me to the Big Game Club but I choose to walk from the drop off instead. You can’t get lost on North Bimini. There are only two roads, the King’s, and the Queen’s highway. I walked a short distance to the boat dock and found my friend’s boat, where I was going to make home for the next week.

Snorkeling was the activity of my trip. The waters there are some of the clearest I had ever seen. We were able to see 50 – 100 feet under water, with glimpses of the sandy bottom and colorful reefs. A few miles off shore flows the Gulf Stream where the depth of the ocean drops from 100 feet to thousands of feet. One sunny day we snorkeled in the Gulf Stream, where, instead of snatching views of reef dwellers, we experienced a light show hosted by the one and only Mother Nature, as sunbeams cut through the warm waters in numerous different directions. As you can imagine, the best part of snorkeling was the chance to swim the reefs around the island. The reefs gave us a chance to experience two unique formations, Three Sisters, off North Bimini, and Atlantis Road. The Atlantis Road rock formation is thought to be the uncovered “lost city” from the prehistoric civilization of Atlantis. We had the opportunity to snorkel around the reefs just off the beach as well. This experience is a must for the beginner snorkeler. It offers plenty of sea life, and a boat wreck, all with the security of close proximity to the shore. For scuba lovers, there are some spectacular dive spots, such as Little Cavern and Rainbow Reef.

Boating around the island also offers adventures in local sea life. I had the special chance to be the guest of some intriguing hosts; stingrays off the shore of a small island off South Bimini, and a plethora of wild dolphins off North and South Bimini. Bimini is noted for some of the most playful dolphins in the world. We ran into plenty of spotted and bottlenose dolphins. As we approached the dolphin’s playground, we realized that time spent with wild dolphins is never a dull experience. These dolphins, like most, took advantage of the presence of the boat, by swimming and jumping in the boat’s wake. Once the boat stopped, the dolphins got bored and swam off quickly. Fortunately, there were plenty of dolphins to encounter for the duration of the day.

There is one convenient attribute of Bimini to note. If the wind is rough and blowing, you can be assured that one side of the island will be calm. You can anchor your boat on the calm side, and head off to explore for the day. The day we were there, the wind was blowing hard on the eastern part of the island, but the western part was flat as glass. We were not able to take the boat out, but walking and playing on the beach was fulfilling. This beach is located on the Western side of the north island, with plenty of sand to nestle in, large trees to catch some shade under, and picnic benches, built by the locals, to utilize near the shore. If you walk to the northern part of North Bimini Island, there is an intimate park, with beautiful trees and a picnic area, a nice variation from the rest of the mostly treeless island.

If you have a day to spend on the island and decide not to partake in boating, you should consider some of the island’s other activities. One possibility…you could walk the entire island. On North Bimini it may take a few hours to walk from one tip to the other. You should bring plenty of water, to combat the potential level of heat. You could also stop into a few tourist attractions, such as the Hemingway Museum, Bimini Museum, or Open Air Market.

Pictures and stories of “Papa” Ernest Hemingway adorn the Hemingway Musuem. They tell stories of how he made Bimini one of his favorite getaways. He frequented the Complete Angler, a local bar where the Musuem is located. Visit one of his homes and see where he wrote a good portion of his books, To Have and Have Not, and Islands in the Stream. At the museum we learned that one of the main reasons Hemingway loved this island is because Bimini has long been know as the big-game-fishing capital of the Bahamas. Deep-sea anglers find bliss here, for in its waters roam great warriors such as marlin, swordfish, giant tuna, wahoo, sailfish, and bonefish.

If you plan to visit the Bimini Museum we highly suggest that you find out when the museum will be open. This is the Bahamas! The doors may not open during “normal” business hours. As the Bahamians would say, “Relax mon”. Indeed, guests of Bimini must remember to relax and go with the flow. A superb place to do this is at the Open Air Market, which has some unique shopping opportunities from local Bahamian cloths, liquors, and other souvenirs.

After re-boarding the boat, we continued to spend the week snorkeling and relaxing. We spent almost every night on the boat, except Wednesday night, the night North Bimini, particularly Bailey Town, comes alive. The locals and the tourists get together for some zesty fun. We started the night eating dinner at the most popular restaurant, the Red Lion Tavern. The food and service were decent. They have some of the best cracked conch around, in my opinion. I made my meal from cracked conch and conch chowder. After a pleasant dinner we headed to the Complete Angler for some Ring Toss, a locals’ bar game, and dancing to the tunes of local musicians. The music is always up beat and can make anyone want to jump up and down. We danced past midnight.