Posts Tagged With: beach

The Seashell Tree

Posted on December 2, 2020 by crystalburney

My travels this year have looked very different—mainly just around my house. As both a travel addict and a flight attendant, being home for this long has been very strange for me, and while I’ve got lots of cleaning and reading done, one of my main outlets has been crafting.

I’ve always been a creative person, and while I usually lean towards music and drama, this year has allowed me to really spend some time exploring my visual arts side by painting, crocheting and using my Cricut on an almost daily basis. At this rate, I’m going to come out of Covid-19 with a craft emporium in my house!

Now that we are into December and Christmas is just around the corner, my latest craft helped me bring some travel memories and the illusion of being at the beach into my home in Canada, where outside there is now over a foot of snow.

I’ve been collecting a few shells from all the beaches I’ve been to around the world, and now have quite a large collection. I figured maybe I could use them to create some kind of beachy Christmas tree, so the Sparkling Seashell Tree was born!

Materials:

  • Hot glue gun & glue sticks
  • Styrofoam floral cone (I got mine at Michael’s)
  • Seashells- variety of sizes, shapes, colours
  • Something for your tree topper. (I used a resin starfish I had ordered from Amazon)
  • Turquoise glitter paint

I glued the shells on starting with the larger ones and then filling in gaps with the smaller shells. I chose to use mainly white shells to cover the green floral cone and then filled in the gaps with a mix of small, colourful shells and uniquely shaped shells to give the tree some colour and make it look like ornaments. This part took far longer than I thought it would…although this could also be because I was watching Hallmark Christmas movies as I was crafting and kept getting distracted!

For years now, I’ve gotten into the habit of writing where I got each shell on the back (using the airport codes for the tiny shells), so it was fun to look at them and reminisce about my travels as I was gluing them on. I found shells from Costa Rica, Panama, various places around Mexico, Jamaica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, Antigua, St. Lucia, Kenya, Portugal, Florida and more.

Once they were all attached, I painted two of my turquoise resin starfish with glitter paint, glued them together and placed them at the top of the tree. Then I finished it off by adding some turquoise glitter paint to some of the white shells spaced out around the tree to add a bit of sparkle.

And voilà! — I had a beautiful Seashell Tree to add a little warmth to this 2020 holiday season! 

Categories: Blog, Crafts, North America, Where in the World | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A quick trip to Cabo

Posted on June 6, 2019 by crystalburney

Sun, sand, stunning views and tacos…what’s not to love about Cabo? After years of taking planes full of bachelor parties, wedding groups and vacationers to this beautiful spot on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, I finally got the chance to spend a couple of days enjoying the beaches here myself.

Playa El Médano, Cabo San Lucas

While I was mainly looking to unwind, hang out at the beach and of course stuff myself full of tacos and guac and chips, a trip to Cabo isn’t complete without taking a boat out to see the famous El Arco – The Arch of Cabo San Lucas. Rum punch in hand, we set off on our sunset booze cruise to see the arch and hopefully spot a whale or two.

El Arco de Cabo San Lucas – also known as ‘Lands End’ – marks the spot where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez. We sailed past Playa del Amor, or “Lover’s Beach,” a secluded beach surrounding the Arch. Sea lions and pelicans could be found lounging on the rocks around the beach.

We stopped for a photo near the Arch before rounding the corner into the rougher waters of the Pacific Ocean. On the other side, we found what our Captain said was “Divorce Beach,” with waves and wind crashing in – quite a contrast to the calm “Lover’s Beach.” Here, we also spotted the first of several Humpback whales breaching!!

As we watched the sun begin to set, a mother Humpback and her calf came by and the baby put on quite a show, leaping out of the water, playing away. What an incredible sight!

Another great spot to check out is Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo. It’s a colourful spot to wander around any day, but on Thursday evenings it becomes even more colourful. Art Walk was established by the Gallery District Association to encourage art lovers and tourists to step away from the Main Square and explore the artwork and galleries found along the cobblestone streets. This event runs each Thursday evening from 5-9pm between the months of November and June.

I enjoyed our time checking out a few beaches, but one of my favourites was Playa Palmilla in San Jose del Cabo, a much quieter beach than some found in Cabo San Lucas.

Kayaking at Playa Palmilla

Here, we took kayaks out into the waves for a cruise around, looking up at the huge houses on the hills, and a Humpback whale came by to say hello. Even though it didn’t come too close, it was still incredible to be out on the water with a whale!

View from our condo
View from our condo

What a beautiful place in Mexico. I can’t wait to come back and explore some more of what Cabo has to offer!

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Another year, another January

Posted on January 27, 2017 by crystalburney

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January: the start of a new year and the month where I once again grow older. It’s also the time I start planning where in the world I want to be when the 12th of the month comes around.20170116_1128560

This year, I set off for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a few days of sunshine, sand and all-you-can-eat tacos!

 

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While we spent most of our time lounging at the beach and walking around the marina area, admiring the huge boats and searching for iguanas, we did set out one day to go zip lining through the El Eden jungle.

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Hand feeding iguanas

It was a bit of a drive from the Marina area where we were staying, but it gave us a chance to see some of the Old Town and drive along the beautiful coastline in Puerto Vallarta, picking out all the houses I would love to own!

El Eden is located upriver from the Mismaloya beach, above sea level in the lush green jungle of the Sierra Cuale. It’s a popular natural attraction in Puerto Vallarta that became famous after being used as the set for much of the Predator film, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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Here, at the El Eden Canopy Tour, we posed with the Predator before getting into our harnesses, drawing on our warrior paint, and heading to the zip lines. It started out slow, moving to larger, faster zip lines as you made your way up into the jungle to fly over the river on the canopy’s 10 zip lines. You also had to be sure to avoid the Predator, who could sometimes be found lurking about.

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If you make it through with your skin still intact (if you haven’t seen Predator, now would be a good time), you can celebrate with a beer and some chips and guacamole at the El Eden Jungle restaurant, next to the Mismaloya River.  You can even go for a dip by the waterfall or swing Tarzan-style into the refreshing, turquoise pool.

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Not a bad way to spend an afternoon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!

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Tips

  • Bring bug spray – the bugs are bad in the jungle!
  • The restaurant is expensive if you are looking for a full meal.
  • The canopy tour is great, but the price of the souvenir photo disk was not. While you aren’t allowed any cameras on the zip lines, be sure to take a few of your own photos before and after if you want to save some money.

 

Welcome to Puerto Vallarta
Entrance to the Marina area
El Faro, in the Marina
Iguana watching
Having dinner with the crocs!
El Eden
Heading into El Eden
Beautiful Puerto Vallarta Sunset
Watching the sun set over the water
‘The Boy on the Seahorse’ Statue along the boardwalk

 

 

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Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Posted on March 2, 2015 by crystalburney

Looking for a change of pace from Cancun’s busy strip? Then, Playa del Carmen is the place to be!  While it’s no longer the small fishing village is was until the 1980s, Playa (as the locals call it) is still definitely more laid back than nearby Cancun.  Less than an hour from Cancun’s International airport, and only a ferry ride from Cozumel, Playa has become a busy vacation hot spot.

The clear turquoise waters and white sand beach, is filled with beach volleyball, sunbathers and beach bars, along with numerous hotels and resorts.

Just up from the beach is  Quinta Avenida or 5th Aveunue,  Playa’s main drag.  This street is a see-and-be-seen spot.  Spread along the avenue are mutli-coloured shops, restuarants, bars, cafes, hotels and nightclubs.  While strolling along here you almost feel like you could be somewhere in Europe- but with tastier Mexican dishes!

Looking for the less touristy side of Playa del Carmen?  All you need to do is head a few blocks away from 5th Avenue.  Suddenly, the delicious homemade tacos drop from 80 pesos or more down to 10 pesos, the beer to 15 pesos and the crowds of people almost disappear.

Colourful artwork along the avenue
Delicious Mexican food at La Vagabunda
Unique street signs
Church on 5th Ave.
Brightly coloured souvenir shops can be found all along 5th Ave
Beautiful statue greeting you at the beach
Strolling along Quinta Avenida
10 Peso tacos!

 

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