my fabulous blog

Costa Rica

2007-12-07T14:49:58-08:00

Costa Rica, a lush land that is often the destination for eco-tourists, is located in Central America between Nicaragua and Panama. Although it is relatively small - about the size of West Virginia - there is a lot packed into it.

If you're looking for adventure, this is a great place to go! You can do anything from ziplining through the cloud forest to whitewater rafting to surfing to deep sea fishing...and of course all these kinds of experiences are great things to put on your honeymoon registry :-)

My favorite adventure was a one day trip on the Pacuare River. The vegetation on the riverbanks is incredibly dense, so dense that most of the monkeys, birds, sloths and jaguars that live there are hidden from your sight. You'll surely hear the howls of the monkeys as you drift by and the calls of tropical birds announcing your presence. My favorite part of the trip was maneuvering under a waterfall that cascaded out of the green to fall into our raft as we passed underneath.

Up in the Monteverde area, a couple of students took off one day to swing on vines Tarzan style. Many of us visited a butterfly garden where we tried to outdo one another with photos. Everyone on our trip took the time to go through the cloud forest either with a guide or on our own. If you are interested, this is the place for ziplining or a trip along the suspended walkways in the forest canopy.

Because Costa Rica is located in some of the newest land on the planet, you'll find a number of active volcanoes that you can visit -- and the nighttime view can be absolutely spectacular!

Traveling in Costa Rica is made easier for those of us from the US since most of the population speaks at least some English.

Funny honeymoon registry items

2007-11-30T11:05:45-08:00

One of the things that I enjoy the most about working on the registry at TheBigDay is finding funny or clever items that couples have put on their registries. A recent one is from a couple from the Big Apple, listed as a "Hot Damn Media Interface." The description they offered their guests is "At least we think that's what HDMI stands for. We need it to actually use the PS3 we are so eager to enjoy."

I'll admit that I had to look up the Hot Damn Cable in order to be able to tell you that it's a cable for a Playstation 3 and that HDMI stands for high-definition media interconnect.

What a lot of people don't understand about the honeymoon registry here at TheBigDay is that they can make up whatever they want for their items. In other words, you don't need to limit yourselves to listing airfare, rooms, meals and the like! One of our early couples had snake charming lessons listed - they were going on an extended trip through China, India, and the Mediterranean and were planning to pick up some new skills on the way.

We have some statistical evidence that couples who customize their registries (that is, those who don't just use the stock items we have) do better gift-wise than those who don't.

Both Vicki and I are here to help by answering questions, making suggestions and sharing our experience with the couples who use the registry. We can be contacted by email, phone, IM etc. here.

Back to the Cook Islands

2007-11-19T14:35:51-08:00

It's November in the Pacific Northwest where, according to the Mt. St. Helens web site, "it has either just stopped raining, is currently raining, or is getting ready to rain." With a forecast like that, you can see why many of us from the Northwest head out to the sunshine in the 6 month long winter!

The recent rains have made me look longingly at the photos of our trip last year to the Cook Islands. The Cooks are located in the South Pacific between Tahiti and Samoa. If you're looking for an authentic South Pacific experience this may be the destination for you! Their official site can give you a lot of basic information on the Islands as well as a really nice slide show.

So, when it rains in Oregon, where TheBigDay is located, my thoughts turn to the sunshine of the Cooks. Fortunatley, imagining ourselves in other places is part of our jobs as TheBigDay is a honeymoon registry and travel agency and finding the right destinations for our clients is what we do best! If the Cooks are of interest, check out our listing of Cook Islands resorts and give us a call at 800-304-1141 or contact me directly.

Destination: New Zealand

2007-10-03T09:54:12-07:00

Some friends took a bicycle trip to New Zealand several years ago staying in farmstays, resorts, and with people they met along the way. Until I started looking into a trip of my own, I had no idea there were so many luxury resorts in New Zealand. There are and they can be spectacular!

One of these that I came across is the Matakauri Lodge outside of Queenstown in an alpine setting on the South Island. Matakauri combines fine dining, a spa, amazing views of Lake Wakatipu and beautiful accommodations. The lodge can serve as a base for trips to destinations such as Milford Sound and for fishing right on the Lake right in front of the lodge itself.

Visitors from Nepal

2007-08-17T14:56:29-07:00

Tahiti - a where to go guide!

2007-02-20T17:30:44-08:00

Surely anyone who has seen Gauguin's paintings of this tropical paradise has entertained thoughts of visiting Tahiti! Where it once took months to travel there by sailing ship, these islands in the South Pacific can be reached in just over 8 hours by plane from Los Angeles. When you step off into the tropical air and are greeted by a Tahitian woman offering you flowers and hear the island music (picture taken in the early morning sunlight) you will be enchanted. Select a tiare flower and breathe in the gardenia-like scent; close your eyes and listen to the music.

My only real time in Tahiti was in the airport on the way to and from the Cook Islands - a total of about 5 hours - so I don't have first hand knowledge about the islands, but our Tahiti Travel Guide is there to help out anyone who is interested in visiting this destination.

An anniversary registry - for the perfect gift!

2007-02-13T13:51:27-08:00

TheBigDay.com, the leading honeymoon registy, is responding to the many requests we have had over the last several years by setting up a registry for couples who are celebrating anniversaries.

The anniversary registry will function the same as our popular honeymoon registry does and will answer the question of what to give a couple who has been married for 25 years! The registry allows guests to the celebration to give the couple fun gifts like romantic dinners, spa treatments or helicopter trips.

Many couples who are celebrating those BIG anniversaries will be taking time to travel together to places near and far. My husband and I did just that last summer when we went (with our family) to the Cook Islands to celebrate our 35th anniversary.

The most desirable water beds around!

2007-02-06T16:25:28-08:00

One of the most popular requests we get for accommodations is for overwater bungalows. Tahiti is the destination where most of these are found, but both Fiji and the Caribbean have them as well.

Punta Caracol in Panama is the latest one we've found with overwater bungalows - and they have a honeymoon special there! From what I've been able to tell from their photos online, this resort isn't as luxurious as those in Tahiti, but it's not as expensive either. Electricity is provided by solar panels and they have a "bio-digestor that debugs waste water avoiding any type of pollution of (their) pristine environment." Activites at the resort include snorkeling coral reefs, boat rides to visit Indian communities, hiking the rainforest and dolphin watching.

Machu Picchu or Machhapuchre?

2007-01-15T12:13:46-08:00

In a previous post I mentioned that the Royal Nepal Airlines had mistakenly published a poster with a picture of Machu Picchu and the heading "Have you seen Nepal?"

About the same time, my daughter wrote to me asking if I had heard the latest news from Nepal, and, knowing she was really talking about the encouraging news of the Maoists joining the government, I jokingly sent her a link to the article on the poster goof instead and asked if that was the news she was talking about.

She said that there is a mountain in Nepal named Machhapuchre - surprisingly close to Machu Picchu in letters and possibly pronunciation (my Nepali is limited to three words - amma, didi and ba, meaning mom, sister and dad so I'm not really sure of how Machhapuchre is pronounced). Still, it makes me think twice about flying on Nepal Airlines. (Don't ask me about sacrificing goats, blood and airplane tires.)

Here's a picture of Machhapuchre, which, from some angles looks a bit like the Matterhorn, but not really like Machu Picchu! Machhapuchre is part of the Annapurna range and is located more or less north of Pokhara, which is to the west and slightly north of Khatmandu.

Khatmandu in the Andes?

2007-01-12T16:17:01-08:00

News this week from the Kingdom of Nepal - come visit!

Well, you may be disappointed to learn that the photo displayed in the Royal Nepal Airlines advertisement for tourism was of the well known Inca ruins of Machu Picchu. Royal Nepal has apologized to Peru for putting the picture on a poster under the slogan "Have you seen Nepal?"

Apparently, for Royal Nepal Airlines, the answer is NO. Kinda gives you pause when you think about flying with them, doesn't it?

Nepal has just emerged from a very difficult time when there was a Maoist revolt underway. Politics have settled down, and things are better in the kingdom. Now they are hoping for the tourists to return.

Our family has had a personal connection with Nepal for about a dozen years now, from the time when our daughter, Amanda, did a homestay with the Karki family in a village some distance from Khatmandu. Amanda and Meena are the ones in the photo with the flower leis. The photo was taken in 2005 when Meena went back to see her family for the first time in four years.

Nearly six years ago, Meena, one of the daughters in the family, came to the US, went to high school in Marquette, Michigan, for a year and then on to study nursing at Northern Michigan University, graduating in May 2006.

Much credit goes to Sally (pictured here with Meena) and Bruce Closser who hosted her in their home for her high school year and guided her through NMU as well. All those who know Meena feel we cannot thank them enough for all they have done for her.