Futurist Transhuman News Blog

Around the Bend Nature Tours of Bradenton, Florida has just won the District Wide Business Partner of the Year Award from the Manatee Chamber and the School Board of Manatee County.
Karen leads educational tours in the great outdoors and devotes her life to educating children and adults on the beauty and importance of nature here [...]

You may wonder what whistling has to do with the beach and why I’d be writing about a character named Whistling Tom.
One of the things you’ll notice when you hang around Florida’s coastal islands is that they attract all kinds of eccentric folks who are very successful at doing some fairly non-standard things.
I was at [...]

Thanks to a post by Ron Smith of USF’s BRDBRAIN listserve, I saw my first black tern today.
I’ve lived in Florida all my life and have paid pretty close attention to birds and I’ve seen a lot of terns, but never a black tern.
This afternoon Suzie and I took a drive across town to Gandy [...]

This evening we took a walk on passagrille beach hoping to watch a nice sunset. The sky was very overcast, but the sun did manage to peek through before it went down.
We stopped by Paradise Sweets for a smoothies. Summer is a great time to enjoy Passagrille since there are few visitors this time of [...]

I’ve been enjoying the Anna Maria City Pier since I was a kid in the early 1960’s. But even in those days the pier was something of a relic from another era. According to the Anna Maria Island Historical Society, the pier was originally a dock constructed in 1911 to attract wealthy people from Tampa [...]

Where do hatchling sea turtles go when they leave the nest?
The short answer is: they swim like crazy far out to sea until they encounter lines of floating seaweed called Sargassum. That’s where they’ll hide, eat and grow. Once in the Sargassum, some species of young turtles may spend as much as a decade [...]

You don’t have to spend much time on Florida’s coastal islands to run smack into the laid-back “wastin’ away in Margaritaville” philosophy made famous by Jimmy Buffet. This Tiki-bar philosophy finds expression in music, art and able practitioners all over the state, often brought to the Tiki-bar altar by life’s pressures and misfortunes.  As in [...]

I drove down to Bradenton to meet a buddy for lunch today, but his work schedule intervened and I faced the horrible prospect of lunch alone. Boo, hoo. So I did what any self-employed Florida native would do when faced with such a dire situation in the middle of the week on a hot July [...]

I absolutely should not be writing about the beaches in Xcalak. I should be keeping this little-known destination a secret, but I just can’t help myself. The only saving grace may be that Xcalak is definitely not for everyone, so perhaps letting the cat out of the bag won’t be the beginning of its ruination.

The only sign of life at the town's main beach were a few village kids

Xcalak (pronounced ISH kah lack), located at the very southern tip of the State of Quintana Roo on the Caribbean side of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, was for many years the capital of the State. Banks, grocery stores, gas stations, retail stores, an electric plant, ice cream factory and even a movie theater served residents who numbered in the thousands. Then disaster struck in the mid 50’s when a hurricane leveled the community. Rather than rebuild, the government moved the capital further north to Chetumal, and many of the traumatized residents left the area as well.

Today Xcalak, a sleepy settlement of about 300 people, is so far off-the-beaten-track that few tourists make the five-hour drive from Cancun. Those who do are usually divers bound for Banco Chinchorro or fly fishermen who arrive to test their skills on the sand flats. Beachgoers have not yet discovered the area’s charms, perhaps because the beaches here do not offer wide swaths of pure white white sand and crystalline turquoise water like those found to the north in Tulum. Quite the opposite is true: Xcalak’s beaches are narrow and covered with dried seaweed, and extensive beds of seagrass cover the ocean bottom just offshore in most places. But Xcalak offers things not often found in other beach locations.

Path through sea grass leads to exquisite snorkeling along an offshore reef

An offshore reef is easily reached from shore and offers amazing snorkeling. The reef is substantial enough that if forms a breakwater, keeping in-shore waters as calm as a lagoon, and it is possible to walk out for half a mile before the water reached chest high. The beach is virtually deserted; it is not uncommon to walk for miles without seeing another soul. And shell collectors will be in their glory, since thousands of giant conch shells litter the shoreline. Perhaps most astounding, several minor Mayan ruins have been discovered in the area, including one oceanfront site where pottery shards by the thousands are free for the picking. Whether you are a stressed out corporate type needing a place to unplug and unwind, a couple in search of a romantic vacation spot, or a beachophile looking to discover the next great destination, Xcalak is a perfect getaway in a forgotten corner of the world.

Photo Credit: Barbara Weibel
Article by Barbara Weibel of Cultural Travel with Hole In The Donut

This is the southern tip of Eyre Peninsula in south Australia. We love beaches, we all love being on a beach but sometimes just taking a step back and watching the amazing power of the ocean crashing against a rock face is just as enjoyable if not mesmerizing. Australia’s coast line is simply awe inspiring and is complete with hidden coves and remote beaches. This particular part of the Australian coastline has impressive cliff faces and is also a great place to watch giant whales pass by during their annual migration. This video by Vimeo user VTrider allows us to be thrown into a state of awe. Be sure to watch this in full screen mode.

By Sebastien Tobler

Colliding Continents

Bar and restaurant choices abound

A sweet little beach village on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, Cabarete is the center of the action for both laid-back and adventurous pursuits. Right on the sand are a handful of bars and restaurants (like Onno’s Bar, Bambu Bar and Kahuna’s sports bar) that stay open late and offer opportunities to sample something different every day. Want to dance the night away? Eat on the beach with the sand between your toes? People watch? You can do them all on Cabarete Beach.

Rarely content to sit still, sport enthusiasts have plenty of choices in Cabarete. Learn to kiteboard at the Dare2Fly kiteboarding center, owned by the Vela Cabarete Windsurf Center (where you can take windsurfing classes as well). On the beach, play volleyball until you need to chill out under a green Presidente umbrella that advertises the tasty Dominican beer. Get a cool one, if you like.

Get your sail on, or just watch the show

Cabarete is a great launching point for other North Coast adventures, such as scuba diving, mountain biking, horseback riding, canyoneering, and surfing. But when you’re done, come on back to Cabarete Beach to lounge on the soft sand and watch the world go by. Whether you’re watching a World Cup game in a bar or watching the windsurfers in Cabarete Bay, it’s the ideal place to dial up or dial down—as you like.

I was in the Dominican Republic as a guest of the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism, but the opinions in this post are my own.

Photo Credit: Jill K. Robinson

Article by Jill K. Robinson of dangerjillrobinson.com

If you’re going to be hanging around on Florida islands, you need to be able to recognize poison ivy so you can avoid it. It is a very versatile plant. It grows on the ground, in trees and on fences. Sometimes it can be everywhere. You don’t want to touch it–not even dead, dry leaves [...]

Where do hatchling sea turtles go when they leave the nest?
The short answer is: they swim like crazy far out to sea until they encounter lines of floating seaweed called Sargassum. That’s where they’ll hide, eat and grow. Once in the Sargassum, some species of young turtles may spend as much as a decade [...]

Palm Beach in Aruba

The best spot for people-watching in Aruba, Palm Beach has something for everyone: lounge chairs and umbrellas, beach bars and restaurants, room to roam, and a handful of sporting opportunities. Home to the high-rise hotels (such as the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino and Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort & Casino), it’s got ample space to feel like you have a little corner of beach to yourself.

Grab a lounge chair under a thatched-roof palapa, or float in the warm water and take advantage of the time to chill out under the Aruban sun. If you can’t dial down the energy that easily, take a long stroll and stop by a beach bar to get a thirst-quenching drink and a view of the local iguanas.

Find your own spot on the beach

Sport enthusiasts have plenty of choices. Play beach tennis at the Moomba Beach Bar, right next to the Marriott. On the other side of the same hotel, you can take a class at the nearby Dare2Fly kiteboarding center. For three lessons (kite mastery, “body dragging” and board lesson), the cost is $375. The Aruba Marriott also offers a special “Surf in to Luxury” package that includes accommodations at the Tradewinds Club and a free windsurfing or intro kiteboarding class.

The best thing about Palm Beach is the soft, talcum-powder sand. Dig your toes in while you sip from your umbrella drink, and pick the perfect time to dunk yourself in the calm, turquoise water. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether you’re snorkeling, swimming, sailing or floating. You’re in Aruba, and that’s all that counts.

I was in Aruba as a guest of the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, but the opinions in this post are my own.

Photo Credit: Jill K. Robinson

Article by Jill K. Robinson of dangerjillrobinson.com

This afternoon we decided to leave the computers behind and head for the beach. Pass-a-Grille was our choice as it’s close by.
We took a walk down to the jetty and enjoyed a view of a very green and vibrant Shell Key as we watched a rain shower form and start moving toward us.
We took shelter [...]

We made another run to Pine Island today for mangoes. It’s a tradition I started nearly 20 years ago. A new fruit stand has opened for business in a grove I’ve been driving past for years. Instead of wholesaling their mangoes this year they decided to open a retail stand on their property. Today they [...]

Ever dream of living the simple life on a South Pacific island?  Living in a palm hut near the beach, eating fish, coconuts, bananas and mangoes…ahh, that’s the life!
If so, you’ve probably read the book Kon-Tiki, by Thor Heyerdahl, about his trip aboard a balsa wood raft from Peru to the islands of the South [...]

Not so long ago, there was only one Majahual, Mexico, a small fishing village just two streets wide, sandwiched between the ocean and a vast inland expanse of mangrove swamps in the portion of the Yucatan peninsula known as the Costa Maya. Hoping to attract a larger share of the lucrative cruise market, the Mexican government began looking for a location to build a new dock that could accommodate the larger ships about to hit the market. With its pristine beaches and unblemished beauty Majahual was the obvious choice. By 2001 a berthing station and a new “town,” including a man-made private island with bars, restaurants, shops and pools, had been built a couple miles north of the original village.

Lighthouse at the end of the road marks a beautiful little pocket beach

While many cruise passengers are happy to spend the day in the Hard Rock Cafe and Starbucks in the shiny “new town,” others make the trek to the quaint original village. About halfway between the two, a pocket beach marked by a tall white lighthouse offers an ideal stopping place. Palm thatch umbrellas shade tables on the beach and a wooden beach shack with rope swings for chairs swings serves up tropical drinks and snacks. The sand here is is blindingly white and the sea a luscious shade of turquoise. An offshore reef is close enough for snorkeling, and the reef creates a protective inner lagoon great for swimming or examining the tiny marine creatures that inhabit the tide pools along the shore. Despite their good intentions, many of the cruise ship passengers bound for old Majahual never make it any further than Lighthouse Beach.

Palm thatch umbrellas shade tables on the beach

Photo Credit: Barbara Weibel
Article by Barbara Weibel of Cultural Travel with Hole In The Donut

Question: When is a jellyfish NOT a jellyfish?
Answer: When it’s a siphonophore or a chondrophore.
Prefer to listen to this blog post rather than read it? Click the play button on the player below. It’s about 5 minutes of me blathering on about jellyfish:

Recently I was taken to task in a politely pedantic comment left by [...]