#258: The Pitons (2nd Ed, pg 1101)

You will notice in the post, you don't actually see The Pitons!

That is because when I went to St. Lucia, 1) it was before my obsession with the 1000 Places book began - it was actually just 2 years after it was written), 2) The Pitons was left out of the original edition and this trip was long before the 2nd edition was published and 3) I was here on my honeymoon which means I only had eyes for this guy!

So, anyway, even though I don't have any "Pitons" pictures, rest assured we saw them.  I think it's probably pretty hard to go to St. Lucia and not see them!

Verdict:  Well, for me, St. Lucia in general is a must-do but mostly because of all the sentimental reasons I have from being there.  Taking the emotion out of it, I don't think you have to see the Pitons before you die.  They add beauty and uniqueness to the landscape, but all in all, St. Lucia is similar to other caribbean islands. 

#257: El Yunque National Forest (2nd Ed pg 1096)

In November, 2006, Dave and I traveled to Puerto Rico.  Our original plan was to take a cruise from here.  Sadly, they wouldn't let me 7-month pregnant self on the ship, so we ended up staying in PR for the week.  The upside of that is that we got to visit El Yunque National Rainforest!

Unfortunately, all my pics are of just Dave because I didn't think it was a good idea to go rock scrambling to waterfalls during my 3rd trimester ;)  

Verdict:  It's a beautiful well-preserved rainforest.  Lost of trails and waterfalls and natural beauty.  And it's something most people miss out on if they just go to PR to hop on/off a cruise ship.  It's definitely worth doing while in PR, but doesn't make my "must do before you die book" so I think Patricia Shultz got it right the first time (this was not listed in the 1st edition) 

#256: Zona Colonial (2nd Ed pg 1083)

In April 2008, when I was hugely pregnant with my Tanner, Dave and I decided to take a "Babymoon" to Dominican Republic.  We stayed at an all inclusive resort, as probably most DR visitors do.  However, the people we talked to at the resort stayed at the resort the whole time,  probably also as most people do.  Not me!  When I go to a new place, I am there to explore! So, one of the things we did was travel to Santo Domingo.  

As it mentions in the 1000 Places book, Santo Domingo has many of the New Word's "first" including the first cathedral, fort, hospital, monastery, number, customs house, university, paved road, etc.  

Verdict:  I think it's  shame to come here and just stay at the beach (although the beaches are beautiful!) the whole time and miss out on what this historical city has to offer.  Even so, I still wouldn't put it up there as a must-see-before-you-die experience. 

#255: Cayman Islands (2nd Ed, pg 1074)

In Nov. 2003, I went on a caribbean cruise with three girlfriends and Grand Cayman was on the itinerary.  I was very excited about checking out the Cayman islands!

It's a major tourist trap for sure, but we did it anyway - went to Hell.  It's a legit town in Grand Cayman with it's own post office and everything.  So, it's worth a stop just to send family a friends a post card from Hell ;)

The town got it's name from all the black lava rocks.

We also went to see the sea turtles.  Aside from turtles in the water, there are sea turtle "farms".

And places where you can hold the turtles.

There are also places you can eat the turtles!

Which now, looking back, I feel kind of guilty about doing.

I think it was one of those "When in Rome" type deals!

But our absolute highlight of our Cayman Islands experience was taking a boat out to Stingray City!

There are tons and tons of stingrays that are used to humans.  So, you can just swim amongst dozens of them all around you.  So cool!  You can't really tell, but I am getting a "stingray massage" in this picture.  The guy behind me is holding a huge stingray and rubbing it over my back.

And here I am holding a massive stingray.

Verdict:  Yes!  I loved Grand Cayman!  I loved everything we did here.  I've been all over the caribbean, but I've never been anywhere like Stingray City.  I feel like so many of the caribbean islands blend into each other, but this one is definitely unique, which makes it worth checking out!

#254: Clubs Paradise (2nd Ed pg 1065)

I have been here twice.  Once in 2009 (I have a ton from that trip, but need to dig them up) and then again in 2012 (when I took this picture).  Both times, I came here on a cruise.  The time in 2009, I did a deep exploration of this entire area.  The Atlantis is a site to behold.  You can swim with dolphins, play in the cove and beach area, see the stingray feedings, walk through the aquarium in the tube with the aquarium surrounding all sides of you, see/ride the waterslides coming out of man-made pyramids, etc -  It's really quite something!

Verdict:  Based on my description above, it should probably be a yes.  But I'm actually going to say "no."  And it's because even thought it's really cool, it's just not all the way up there in the "things before you die" category.  It's great.  Your kids will love it, you will love it.  But you still don't have to do it. 

#253: The Inca Trails (2nd Ed pg 1043)

May 2006

I have to add this picture in because it is such an integral part of our Incan Trail experience.

This cursed meal!

We've gone over it a hundred times, and all of us are now 100% convinced that it was here we contracted shigella.

But of course, it doesn't hit you right away. It festers and then hits you with a violent vengeance!

So, the morning after eating that fateful meal, we started the Inca Trail!

Ready to go for the hike of a lifetime!

And..... it hit!

During our first night on the trail, Carrie and I woke up with the most violent, unrelenting nausea, vomiting and diarrhea we've ever experienced in our life.  We legit thought we were going to die.  It went on, and on, and on.  No bathrooms, no plumbing, no fresh water, no bed.  We were on our own. However, due to the fact that new people start the Incan trail to MP every day and there are only a certain number of people allowed on the trail, dying or not, we were told we had to get up and hike the next day.  They said we could hike down or hike up, but we had to hike.  We figured,  as long as we had to hike, we may as well hike toward our destination, so we put one foot in front of the other and eventually, these two half-dead women made it over Dead Woman's pass, the most challenging part of the trail.

I honestly don't know what we would have done without these awesome porters helping us!  They carried all the camping equipment and set up our tents at each of our three primitive camp sights. 

I'm still not sure how we survived, but somehow we did and lived to tell the story!

And were rewarded with spectacular views every step of the way!

Verdict:  Absolutely!!  Of course I wish I could re-live this experience without the most intense intestinal illness of my life, but it still goes down as one of the most amazing things I've ever done.  I'm so glad the 2nd edition puts "Incan Trails" as a separate entry.  Most people just take the train up to Machu Picchu.  But the hike on the Incan Trail was an experience in and of itself, and in my opinion, was an even more amazing experience than seeing the site itself.  And you appreciate it even more once you get there.  You've earned that view!  You've worked for it! And MP, while absolutely a must do as well, is a several hour experience and you're done.  The Trails is a several day experience, so you soak in so much along the way.  In fact, if there was a Top 100 in the world, this would make my list - it was that amazing!

#252: Tulum and the Riviera Maya (2nd Ed pg 959)

We went to the Riviera Maya in March 2012.

However, I am just now entering this post (Feb. 23, 2019) because this didn't make it into the 1st edition. Tulum and the Riviera Maya was added to the 2nd edition.  And for good reason!  Although there are many impressive ruins and ancient temples and cities throughout Mexico, Tulum is unique in that it is on the water. And therefore, in my option, the most impressive because of the natural, unrivaled, backdrop.

Verdict:  Yes.  It was a mistake to leave this out of the first one!  Glad to see that oversight was corrected and added to the 2nd edition.  It truly is a sight to behold!