More Beach Time Activities
Although, as we said earlier, the old favorites are always fun which is why they’re still popular. Still, the beach isn’t just for kids and teenagers. Even if you don't go salt water fishing all the family can enjoy the shore provided, of course, “elbow-to-elbow” tourists aren't the order of the day. You can also do more than just get that great tan or terrible sunburn. Get up and get active with these additional suggestions in part 2 of this article post.Let's pick up with:

6. Relax or get a “surf massage”

Soak and soothe those aching bones with a relaxing massage. In numerous resort areas there are locals who offer this service right at the beach. Be sure to negotiate prices before services are rendered to avoid any price gouging. Another alternative is to let the sea and surf “massage” you as you lay there. It’s free and the surf never gets tired or overcharges you. Sit facing the surf with your legs outstretched. Move forward until the surf covers you up to the belly button. Change positions forward, backwards or other variations as the surf changes.

photo: walking a surf-washed beach near Bahia Solano, Choco, Colombia

7. Go walking

Already identified as a “best” exercise activity, walking is almost always pleasant. Walking on dry sand gives you more of a “workout” than walking on sand that is still damp from the receded surf. For maximum huff and puff, try walking in the surf itself. A normal rate of walking is a mile and a half in fifteen minutes, so a thirty minute walk is a good workout for the day. Fifteen minutes out, fifteen minutes back to your starting point should do you nicely.

8. Nature watch or people watch

Okay so if you’re just in a “do nothing for awhile” mood then nature or people watch depending on where you are. Pick a good vantage point and note what happens all around you. Is that couple married or dating? What do you think they do for a living? What can you tell about them from watching? What animals, birds or sea life are common where you are? Are there sharks? Dolphins? Crabs? Squid or other unusual forms of marine life? What fauna frequents the area? What about snakes?

I was more than a little surprised to learn from a local resident that feral cats are a big problem in Acapulco. As I paid more attention during my comings and goings in and around the city I noticed the feral felines were almost everywhere. They could become especially troublesome late at night.

These and other imaginative activities can help turn a “lay in the sun and burn” day at the beach into a much more relaxing, creative or stimulating time for you and the family. Try some of these as an alternative to the usual “do nothing” day.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. Need professional, original salt or fresh water fishing related content or articles for your blog, newsletter or website? Have a question, request, or want to receive more information or to be added to his articles and information mailing list? Contact the author at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com/

What You Should Know About Living in the Rain Forest - Part 1

What's It Like?
What’s it like to live away from “civilization” in the arms of a beach front tropical rain forest? Here are some scenes from my time there.

Emerald-breasted hummingbirds flit in and out feeding from a tree of red and white tendriled flowers. Butterflies dart and dance among lush green foliage all around you. Their markings are a virtual explosion of colors; iridescent blues and greens, yellows with black designs, spotted oranges, yellows and purples on dark background wings.

Sunsets are spectacular panoramas of reds, pinks, purples, oranges and yellows tinged with patterns in grays, blues and purples. Jehovah God’s paintbrush creates a different scene each evening for your viewing pleasure.

photo: pulling fresh coconuts down from a tree in Jurubida, on Colombia's Pacific Coast

A Refreshing Drink
Would you like a refreshing drink? Along the beach are coconut groves with trees laden down with as many as 20 or more full, ripe coconuts each. Go ahead, take one or two. In a matter of minutes you can peel and open them. A full glass or two of “water” is inside each one. Drink it straight from the coconut. Then split the fruit open to scoop out and enjoy the soft, creamy white meat. It’s healthy, nutritious and all natural. It’s good for you too.

Rains are soft and warm. You can even collect and drink the water. There’s no pollution of any kind. Water from rain forest fed streams is used for drinking after filtration. No chemicals added. No boiling or sterilization required.

Go ahead, walk along the beach. For miles there’s only you, the flora and fauna of an unspoiled earth. The scurrying and antics of the sand crabs will amuse you. Chirping and croaking of brilliant blue-skinned frogs with their starkly contrasting yellow markings will startle and amaze you.

Cast your gaze across the multi-colored waters of the Pacific Ocean. You can see the dolphins playing in the water less than 50 yards from the beach. Go ahead, take a swim. In this part of the world where there are dolphins there are no sharks. The gentle surf is warm and clean. Your swim will refresh you. Fish are abundant in streams and rivers. Put on a mask and snorkel. Stick your face in the water and watch myriads of rainbow-hued fish dart around and between your legs.

Never Go Hungry
Few dangers pose a threat if you are aware of your surroundings and their significance in the eco-system of the tropical rain forest. Know the flora and fauna. Mesh into the flow of nature and wondrous, beautiful experiences will fill your existence. You will never go hungry. Care for your environment and it will sustain you. “Civilization” will gradually lose its luster and pull. Pleasures like these must have filled the Garden of Eden.

To view a video of a live Giant Rhinoceros Beetle as pictured above, go to:
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=iDw5P46VCe4

Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, get your copy of his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” by sending an e-mail with "free ELT Ebook" in the subject line.

How I Went Tropical to Fish for Salt and Fresh Water Species

Fish Migrate Like Birds Do

The migration of different species along the eastern U.S. seaboard kept me going on regular trips throughout most of the year. Spring meant smaller Blues and Weakfish. Summer offered Tautog with their bait-stealing expertise and tasty fillets. Fall almost always meant big, “slammer” Blues. Early in December, I watched for the full moon. Why? Because that was my cue to go for night Whiting. Often, this would be my last trip of the year until the following spring when the annual cycle would start all over again. Then I went tropical.

Going Tropical
But those, for me were the “Good Ole’ Days” from more than a dozen years ago. Now my lines part the waters of the South American Pacific Ocean and the turgid depths of Amazon River and Orinoco River basins. Now the razor-sharp teeth of several species of the Piranha family greet me as the rise above the water’s surface. Or at other times I play a three and a half foot long Dorado on eight to twelve pound mono as it leaps, rocks and rolls along with all other type of aerial acrobatics in a sometimes successful bid for more time gorging on schools of small bait fish. At least you’ll have some great stories about “the ones that got away”.

A Freight Train
Yet again, a muscle-straining tug-of-war ensues when I’ve latched into an underwater, runaway freight train called an Albacore which hits your bait or deep-running lure with such force your rod can be snapped as you wince in pain while the line makes hamburger of your fingers and palm. They used to laugh at me for wearing gloves in tropical weather until the first time one of my mates nearly lost a hand like that. Now I chuckle each trip as I watch them put on their gloves. They look at me funny when I chuckle, but then they all know why I smirk.

Photo: My local guide, Pepe, holds up the average-sized slammer Albacore that nearly took off one of my fingers

The Sharks
Then, there are the sharks. The Bull Shark is the worst. They come up very near to the surface when you’ve hooked one. They want to look at you, you see. They size you and your boat up – and then the fight is on. They try to spin your boat if it’s small enough. Or flip it over with a casual “bump” or two. They’ll swim under you, around you, dive, surface, swim in patterns or make runs. They twist, roll and execute all manner of maneuvers to foul your line, tangle it, break it or cause your boat or you to capsize, flip or sink. If that happens, you’re dead – literally.

Savvy salt-water fishermen almost never fish alone and use the largest boat available. That way, at least, you’ll have a fighting chance at surviving a hookup with a Bull Shark. Heck, who knows, if you hang in there long enough, you’ll even have a fair shot at boating the shark. That is if you’re stupid enough or knowledgeable and brave enough to want to.

Don’t be put off though. A world of exciting adventure fishing awaits any hardy enough to tackle these dangerous denizens on their own turf. Prepare well, have a knowledgeable local guide and pack a water-proof video or digital camera. Then get set for enough thrills to last a lifetime.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. Need professional quality, original Salt and Fresh water Fishing-related articles or content for your Blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? For more fishing article samples, information, or a no-obligation quote e-mail the author at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

How I Fish for Salt and Fresh Water Species All Year Long

Salt Water Wanderlust

The truth is I’ve always been an inveterate fisherman. From my days on muddy rivers as a youth in Baltimore, Maryland through stints living in London, England, Paris, France, Barcelona, Spain and Colombia, South America, I’ve always sought a way to get a line in the water somehow.

Photo: My youngest son, Lamont holds up a summer flounder that didn’t get away!

An Annual Fishing Cycle
During my years living in the Philadelphia area, I regularly read the fishing reports pages in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News tabloid for a hint of the action offshore in New Jersey from Brielle and Belmar to Cape May. When reports tended towards the more encouraging side, I’d saddle up and head for the mid-regional coast of New Jersey to get on a party boat. More often than not, the captain and I both did our jobs and once the fish were located I eagerly set to work on hooking my share of whatever schools of fish we were anchored over. Not a lot of skill was involved, but some knowledge of baits, rigs and tackle was frequently helpful.

The migration of different species along the eastern U.S. seaboard kept me going on regular trips throughout most of the year. Spring meant smaller Blues and Weakfish. Summer offered the occasional beach-caught flounder, noisy Croakers or Tautog with their bait-stealing expertise and tasty fillets. Fall almost always meant big, “slammer” Blues that could bury the line into your bleeding hands and fingers in a flash, the occasional small shark or sea Eel and a variety of ocean panfish like Spots, Sea Bass and Ling.

Winter Kill
Early in December, I watched for the full moon. Why? Because that was my cue to go for night Whiting. Not only do these one-pound average or so fish take the multiple hooks on your line in twos, threes and fours, but they’re a lot of fun to catch, make good eating and are plentiful. The only catch was the weather. Full moon nights in early winter brought temperatures so low they’d make an Eskimo blush. The wind cooperated with healthy gusts on a regular basis, requiring you to continually hold on with one hand or risk a swim with Davey Jones. The swells were murder. We all dressed for winter-kill.

I had so many layers of clothing on I practically lost count. A wool cap, hooded parka, ski-mask and scarf were all only for my head. The boat was full of fishermen with half-pints in their pockets. Virtually everyone on the night Whiting boat went home with a hundred or more fish. The terminal tackle was different too. No live cut bait here. A slender spoon rigged with a fluorescent plastic tube was all you needed for the busiest time of your fishing life. Often, this would be my last trip of the year until the following spring when the annual cycle would start all over again.

Fishing Year Round
As with just about anything, if you really want to be successful and become an expert, you need to practice or participate in the specialized activity as frequently and regularly as possible. Salt and fresh water fishing are no exception, find ways to go fishing as much of the year as you can. Fish all you can and your knowledge and success with grow by leaps and bounds.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. Need professional quality, original, Salt and Fresh water Fishing-related articles or content for your Blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? For a no-obligation quote send an e-mail to lynchlarrym@gmail.com