OUR BIG TRIP
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BEST BEACHESBackpacking through Europe, Asia and America was a once in a lifetime experience and along the way we saw some amazing sights that will stay with us for the rest of our days.
We keep being asked what places we most enjoyed visiting on the trip. It is very difficult to choose but we have had a think and drawn up a list of our top 10 favourite beaches. To read a full account about our experiences on each one please click on the title. The first stop on our entire big trip, Miami Beach is simply the best beach I have ever visited. Replete with lush palm trees and gleaming skyscrapers Miami Beach's spectacular waterfront location and the refreshing waters of the Atlantic Ocean are a pleasure to experience. With the sun shining we spent many hours revelling in the sheer exhilaration and joy of lazing on its soft white sand, which stretches off as far as the eye can see, and swimming in the inviting ocean. An encounter that I will never forget, Miami Beach was the perfect place to start our big trip. Tucked away in the Bahamas the heavenly island of Half Moon Cay is unique in that it is owned entirely by the cruise company Holland America. Although the only way to get here it seems is by booking on a cruise the island's picture perfect crescent shaped bay of white sand, palm trees and pristine aqua marine waters make it very worthwhile. A bona fide paradise island Half Moon Cay has everything you could wish and is the perfect place to relax. That is if you are prepared to walk a few hundred metres to find yourself a quiet spot away from the rest of the ship's passengers. As well as being a dreamy place to swim and sunbath, Half Moon Cay provides some good opportunities to snorkel and the fusion of yellow, purple, blue, green and orange fish and coral conveys a marvellous kaleidoscope of marine life that is as seductive as it is fascinating. Overall a fantastic beach to relax on. Forming a huge cove around the sapphire waters of the Bahia de la Concha, San Sebastian's two beaches, the Playa de la Concha and the Playa de Ondarreta provide a fantastic environment in which to relax. With sleek golden sand curving gently for a stretch of 2km the Playa de la Concha is the larger and more popular of the two. Indeed at the weekend its flat smooth texture hosts upwards of 3 concurrent football matches on full size pitches marked into its surface. Joined by a stretch of serrated rockpools the second beach, the Playa de Onderetta, is a shorter, rougher expanse of sand whose soft grainy consistency is much more challenging to your legs. In total it took us over an hour to complete a return journey from the start of the Playa de la Concha to the end of the Playa de Onderetta and back. However it was incredibly stimulating. Furthermore as we visited here in January, whilst most of the locals were at work, there were times when walking along the beaches that there was no one within 250 yards of us. Absolutely fantastic. Situated in the south west of France, Biarritz is a glitzy, sophisticated coastal resort that is centred around the magnificent Grand Plage beach. Best viewed from the Rocher de la Vierge, a lofty islet accessed by a quaint footbridge, the flat, sweeping stretch of beach is spectacularly offset by the rock strewn coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. With the sun glinting brilliantly off the trillions of tiny pebbles that form the beach's surface, the relentless ocean waves crashing furiously against the rocks and the hazy silhouette of a lighthouse hovering imperiously in the distance, the Grand Plage is a spectacular beach to stroll around. However as the pebbles give substantially with the tread of your feet, walking along the Grand Plage can be hard work. Nonetheless with such a beautiful environment at your disposal it is definitely worth the effort. Tucked away in a quiet corner of Nevada's Lake Tahoe, Baldwin's Beach is an idyllic stretch of golden, grainy sand that is wonderfully offset by crystal clear water and rugged mountain peaks. Although having to pay 5 dollars to enter the beach puts some people off, the charge it seems is put to good use for the beach is spotlessly maintained and there is not a speck of litter to be seen anywhere. Although the water was too cold for us to swim in when we were there its shimmering emerald colour was extremely inviting and it was all we could do to stop ourselves from jumping in. Furthermore another benefit to paying the entry fee, especially when you visit on a week day off season, is that you virtually have the beach to yourselves. So much so that when sunbathed there our nearest neighbour sat more than 500 yards away from us. A fabulous place to simply wile away an afternoon the scenic pull of the beach and the lake was so mesmeric that we failed to notice 3 ducks plonk themselves no more than 6 feet in front of us. It was almost as if they were sharing the majesty of the moment with us. Lucky for them they get to experience it everyday. Consisting of a vast expanse of soft white sand that gently curves round the Gulf of Cagliari, Poetta Beach is about the only good thing in Cagliari. Framed by mountains on one side, lined with beachfront restaurants and offset by a tranquil carpet of crystal clear water its location is a postcard manufacturers dream. Even though the timing of our visit there was not condusive to swimming I am sure that there can be few nicer beach locations in the country to go for a dip. Extending for as far as the eye can see the beach's flat soft sand makes it easy to traverse, yet to our surprise when we were there, for such a lovely day and incredible setting, we found that we had virtually the entire beach to ourselves. With hardly anyone else around we took full advantage of this seclusion, spending the best part of two hours walking up and down the shoreline and skimming pebbles off the surface of the sea. It was a great way and great place to spend the afternoon. That is, of course, until it was time for us to catch the bus home. The Greek Island of Santorini possesses one of the most unique, volatile and incredibly spectacular settings I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing. Once part of a chain of volcanoes more than a million years ago the area's landscape changed dramatically when a series of destructive earthquakes and eruptions came to a head in the form of what is believed to have been the largest explosion in the earth's history. As more than 30 cubic kilometres of lava overflowed and a jet of ash 36 kilometres high shot into the air the resulting carnage was catastrophic. The middle of the island caved in, forming a caldera that quickly became submerged by the sea. By the time the dust had settled mother nature had begun the process of turning Santorini's landscape into one of the most striking and inspiring locations in the world. Amongst such an impressive backdrop lie the stunning black beaches of Kamari, a vast carpet of dark volcanic sand, framed by limestone cliffs, that offsets the brilliant blue surface of the Aegean Sea. A fantastic place to work on your tan, a few hours here can be very stimulating. However the use of beach mats is essential because at times the sand gets so hot that people walking barefoot across the surface look as if they are mimicking one of the Monty Python 'Ministry of Silly Walks' sketches. Nonetheless if you come prepared you will find that the black beaches of Kamari are a wonderful place to kick back and relax. Situated on Brac Island, the largest island in the Central Dalmatia region, Zlatni Rat is the most famous beach in Croatia. A vast surface of grey rocky pebbles that separates the Adriatic with a sleek curve that extends for more than 500 metres, the beach takes a great photograph. As the island receives more than 2700 hours of sunshine every year the beach can get crowded. However when we went there on my birthday we were lucky enough to find it positively bereft of people. Subsequently for more than 2 hours we cocooned ourselves in a dream like state revelling in the radiant sun, the gentle ripples of the translucent sea, the breathtaking views of the neighbouring hills and the heavenly solitude we found ourselves in. A great spot to sit and relax, Zlatni Rat was the kind of place where nothing seems to matter. For us, on our big trip, it was exactly what we were looking for. Amorgos is a breathtaking island. Framed by steep sloping mountains of dusty, raw sunbaked rock, garnished with lush clumps of bottle green foliage and a sprinkling of brilliant white buildings, the port of Aegiali holds the kind of setting that makes film makers drool. Dominated by an exquisite arc of soft, golden powdery sand, lined with palm trees that gently curves around a mirror of water so clear that you could almost drink it, Aegiali emits the kind of wish you were here ambience that one associates with a castaway paradise. Radiating an aura that is enhanced by a tranquility born from a location, as the furthest eastern island of the Cyclades, that sees very few visitors out of season, Aegiali possesses the perfect-get-away-from-it-all beach. Indeed as only 2 of 9 tourists that disembarked the ferry on our arrival we felt like we had the entire place pretty much to ourselves and with often no more than 3 or 4 people lying on the beach at any one time we were able to relax and sunbath in total serenity. Quietly tucked away on the southeastern ridge of Vancouver Island, Beacon Hill Park is one of Victoria's true gems. As the city's largest, and possibly most beautiful park, it is a great place to exercise, picnic or simply kickback and unwind. At the very tip of the southern edge of the park lies Finlayson Point, a coarse but nonetheless gorgeous pebbly beach that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. Littered with driftwood the beach has a dramatic but nonetheless alluring feel which fits in neatly to Victoria's overall atmosphere of culture and sophistication. For over an hour we rested here taking in the impressive views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, whilst gently lobbing pebbles into the placid water and observing the symmetrical ripples that formed on impact. It was an incredibly relaxing and enjoyable way to spend the afternoon and an extremely pleasant environment in which to do it.
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