IHG Pointbreak Deals Released Through 31 Oct – Some Potential For Eco-tourists

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Tara

Although the IHG Pointsbreaks have been less inspiring in recent years, there are usually a few that can be used for eco-tourism and birding. At 5000 IHG Rewards per night, these are a great bargain if you can use them. Use your airline miles to get you to the country and the only thing left to pay is the rental car or taxi hire!

FULL POINTSBREAKS LIST

Here’s my picks:

PANAMA – Rent a car and visit Soberania National Park
CROWNE PLAZA PANAMA

COLOMBIA – Have your hotel book you a car & driver for the day and go to Chingaza National Park or BioAndina
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS & SUITES BOGOTA ZONA FINANCIERA

INDIA – Jaipur is about 3 hours from Bharatpur and the Keoladeo National Park, you’ll need to spend the night there to go birding at dawn.
CROWNE PLAZA JAIPUR TONK ROAD

AUSTRALIA – Rent a car and head up to the Blue Mountains.
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS SYDNEY MACQUARIE PARK

Cruise Ship Birding Made Simple

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Tara

A few months ago, I did a series targeted to the budget birder on birding from a cruise ship and how to put together your own birding cruise. Although this way does save you money and you can choose any ship you prefer, there is also an option for those who prefer an organized group birding cruise. Carefree Birding offers a variety of itineraries mostly around the Caribbean. You basically book the cruise component through their travel agency and then book a birding package for those who wish to go on the birding shore excursions (non-birding family members don’t have to book the excursions). This offers a nice option if you are short of time to do your own legwork in booking private birding shore excursions such as I did. Since you have to use their travel agency you do lose out on airline miles for booking through a frequent flyer mile portal such as United Cruises or bargaining for the cruise fare on Cruise Compete, but for many people time = money so they prefer to have everything organized for them.

James Currie of Birding Adventures did a cruise on the Celebrity Equinox (ship details here) and you can see what a typical birding cruise is like on his videos.

Costa Rica, Belize & Cozumel – it was nice to see their visit to Crooked Tree in Belize. I did this as a land trip and had a different experience because I was targeting parrots and didn’t do the water excursion.

Panama, Grand Cayman & Cartegena, Colombia – I wish I had known about the botanical gardens in Grand Cayman as we went to a different place back in 2008. I like their option better!

Gartered Trogon (Trogon caligatus)

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Tara

The Gartered Trogon (Trogon caligatus), also known as the northern violaceous trogon, is a near passerine bird in the trogon family, Trogonidae. It is found in forests in east-central Mexico, south through Central America, to north-western South America (west or north of the Andes in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela). It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the otherwise exclusively South American violaceous trogon (T. violaceus).

When I saw this bird during the shore excursion on my cruise in 2011, it was still being called a Violaceous Trogon. The split came sometime in 2012 and field guides published before then will use the old name. It gets confusing as I remember my guide calling it a Violaceous Trogon in Selva Verde in 2013!

My photo is blurry so I added shots of a male (1st pic) and female from Wikipedia to show the bird’s beautiful colours to advantage.

Their range extends from Mexico through most of Central America to the tip of South America in Colombia. I have seen them during a shore excursion in Puntarenas and in Selva Verde, Costa Rica.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

Birdlife (has not separated the Gartered and Violaceous Trogons)

Cornell Lab

Beauty of Birds

Xeno-canto

VIDEOS

Full Transit Of The Panama Canal

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Tara

There are 2 ways to do a Panama Canal cruise – full transit from Pacific to Caribbean or vv; or you can do a partial transit where the ship enters one side, usually the Caribbean, goes through a lock or two so you can see what it’s like and possibly stop for shore excursions.

Here’s an idea of what to expect in the way of shore excursions on a Panama Canal cruise.

Full transit

Stop in Colon (sometimes tagged on to a full transit)

Partial transit with stop in Gatun Lake

Partial or full transit with stop in Panama City (Fuerte Amador)

The day before we were due to go through the canal, I noticed some ADULTS doing crafts with construction paper and cardboard signs. It turned out they were making signs to wave at the photographer as we went through the canal. I decided to join in! Of course I had to feature a bird on my sign. I’m sure a 5 year old would have done better but I liked my finished product anyways!

The full transit we did in April 2011 went from Pacific to Caribbean with only a 3 hour stop in Colon so no time to go out. We were told to stay in the shopping centre for our own safety. We arrived at 5pm so it would have been too late to go anywhere else anyway. During the transit, our fantastic port lecturer, Dr Thomas Ryan gave a fascinating and detailed commentary as we went through the canal. We saw a few birds flying overhead but not very good views. If you have a stop in Panama City, I recommend going to Soberania NP (Rainforest Center). We did end up going there in August 2013.

We entered the canal at dawn. In the following pictorial you will see the pilot boats, Bridge of the Americas, banks of the canal, a few odd birds and ships we passed including another Princess ship. You can see the locks opening and closing with water levels going up and down and the Princess photographer down below aiming his camera at the people like us on the balconies.

Here we are docking at Colon. There’s a small shopping centre with various shops selling duty free goods and Panama handicrafts. You can guess which shops I went into! Those colourful embroidered goods are called “Molas” and they are hand-made by Kuna Indians. Quite a few with bird designs came home with us that evening!

This has become one of my favourite handbags and some of those molas are now decorating our home either on the walls or stitched onto pillows. Supporting local people at it’s best!

5 Hours Left For Big Savings On Club Carlson Panama & India

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Tara

The lucrative BOGO award night that comes with the Club Carlson Visa will be gone in 6 hours. However there is an overlap with a new promo to save 25% on Latin American hotels that you can take advantage of if you are quick. Two nights at the Radisson Summit for 11,250 points!

Most Club Carlson hotels in India went down as of 1 June so there is a small window of opportunity for a BOGO award there too!

A Couple Good IHG Pointbreaks For Eco-tourists

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Tara

The latest IHG Pointbreaks list which offers specified hotels for a bargain 5000 points was less than inspiring. Oceana & Africa missed out completely. The complete list can be found here. The best options are for people doing USA road trips. This list is valid for bookings through 31 July.

Consider these possibilities if you are headed to South America. Cuiaba is the gateway to the Pantanal. The hotel is pretty nice although not the best location if you are going for an early start. We did this trip in 2012 before I started this blog so I don’t have posts yet but I will be blogging my past trips as soon as I finish the current trips.

BRAZIL
HOLIDAY INN CUIABA

Although this hotel is a city property, Panama City’s small size means it’s not such a long drive to Soberania National Park. Get yourself an award ticket to PTY, a rental car and book a few nights for a long weekend of birding!

PANAMA
CROWNE PLAZA PANAMA

Copa & Lan Offer Cheap Fares To Central & South America

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Tara

Not enough miles? Want a quick eco-trip to Central or South America? These hit my email this morning.

LAN

Save to South America with Fares starting at $299. Book Now >>

Celebrate the long weekend by booking an amazing trip to South America! Purchase your roundtrip ticket before January 21, 2014 at 11:59pm (EST) to fly to select destinations in South America from the U.S. with fares starting from only $299. Take advantage of this incredible opportunity to save on a romantic Valentines’ weekend or fun Spring Break getaway. BOOK NOW >>

COPA

Take advantage of our exclusive offers and enjoy the irresistible destinations that Copa Airlines offers through the Hub of the Americas.

Origin	Destination	Before	Flash sale from*
Boston	Panama	~~$660~~	$554
Boston	Belo Horizonte	~~$1352~~	$1113
Chicago	Panama	~~$570~~	$481
Las Vegas	Panama	~~$520~~	$441
¹Los Angeles	Panama	~~$560~~	$473
¹Los Angeles	Bogota	~~$603~~	$510
¹Los Angeles	Punta Cana	~~$674~~	$573
²Miami	Panama	~~$410~~	$362
²Miami	Cartagena	~~$637~~	$519
³New York	Panama	~~$540~~	$457
³New York	Lima	~~$801~~	$670
⁴Orlando	Panama	~~$450~~	$384
⁴Orlando	San Andres	~~$680~~	$572
Tampa	Panama	~~$430~~	$368
Washington	Panama	~~$610~~	$513

Don’t wait any longer and travel to your favorite destination

My Top Twenty-Five Bird Sightings Of 2013

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Tara

Following on from last year’s post in which I highlighted only parrot sightings, this year I have expanded to all bird species. There were just so many birds who made a major impression on me! I have also increased the number to 25 since we did 3 birding trips this year. I didn’t always get good shots so I will put my own photo when I got one. Some of them were pretty quick! They are being presented in chronological order.

1. Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) – seen at Nimbokrang & Waigeo, Indonesia; March 2013

2. Lesser Bird-of-paradise, (Paradisaea minor) – seen at Nimbokrang, Indonesia; March 2013

I couldn’t get a photo as he stayed in the trees so here’s one taken in Jurong Bird park, Singapore.

3. Victoria Crowned Pigeon (Goura victoria) – seen at Nimbokrang, Indonesia; March 2013

Victoria Crowned Pigeons, Nimbokrang

4. Western or Arfak Parotia (Parotia sefilata) – seen at Siyoubring, Indonesia, March 2013 I’ll never forget this feathered Lord of the Dance trying so hard to woo 3 aloof females!

One female Western Parotia comes in for a closer look while the male shows his best moves. There were a couple other females higher up in the branches.

5. Vogelkop Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornata) – seen at Siyoubring, Indonesia, March 2013

OK lady Bowerbirds, come and check out my awesome bower!

6. Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus) – seen near Nimbokrang and on Waigeo Island, Indonesia, March 2013

7. Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise, (Cicinnurus respublica) – seen on Waigeo Island, Indonesia in March 2013. This little guy played hard-to-get with the camera.

Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise, Cicinnurus respublica

8. Red Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea rubra) – seen on Waigeo Island, Indonesia , March 2013.

Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra), Waigeo- dancing in the trees

9. Red-lored Parrot (Amazona autumnalis) – seen at Crooked Tree, Belize, Tikal, Laguna del Lagarto, Carara, Soberania, August 2013. This was the first parrot we saw after arriving in Central America so I chose him to represent all the Amazon species seen all over Central America.

Red-lored Amazon or Red-lored Parrot (Amazona autumnalis)

10. Keel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) – seen at Crooked Tree, Belize, Tikal, Selva Verde, Laguna del Lagarto, Soberania, August 2013

11. Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus) – seen at Selva Verde & Laguna del Lagarto, Costa Rica, August 2013

12. Golden-hooded Tanager (Tangara larvata) – seen at Laguna del Lagarto, Costa Rica, August 2013.

13. Brown-hooded Parrot (Pyrilia haematotis) – seen at Laguna del Lagarto, Costa Rica, August 2013.

14. Collared Araçari (Pteroglossus torquatus) – seen at Selva Verde, Laguna del Lagarto, Costa Rica, Soberania. August 2013.

15. Hummingbirds (all of them) – seen at Laguna del Lagarto, Monteverde, Savegre, Soberania. There is no way I can single out one species, they are all spectacular!

16. Chestnut-coloured Woodpecker (Celeus castaneus) – seen at Laguna del Lagarto, Costa Rica, August 2013

17. Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) – seen at Monteverde (Curi Cancha) & Savegre. I will never forget both sightings of this stunning bird! The first one because I found him by myself and the 2nd one because there were several of them and they hung around a while so I could watch them.

18. Sulphur-winged Parakeet (Pyrrhura hoffmanni) – seen at Savegre, Costa Rica, August 2013

I haven’t started the India & Sri Lanka series yet, we only got back a few weeks ago and I have been playing catch-up. These birds will be covered first thing in the New Year. The photos are a sneak-peek!

19. Malabar Parakeet (Psittacula columboides) – seen in Coorg, India; Nov. 2013. This time there were only fleeting glimpses of a flock flying overhead so the photo is one I took in 2011 in Kerala.

20. White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) – seen at Kithulgala, Sri Lanka. Dec 2013.

21. Layard’s Parakeet (Psittacula calthropae) – seen at Kithulgala & Sinharaja, Sri Lanka. Dec 2013. They were swift flyers and refused to perch & pose.

22. Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot (Loriculus beryllinus) – seen at Kithulgala, Sri Lanka. Dec 2013. At least he posed, albeit with the sun behind him!

23. Alexandrine Parakeet – (Psittacula eupatria) – seen at Kithulgala & Sinharaja, Sri Lanka. Dec 2013.

24. Malabar Trogon (Harpactes fasciatus) – seen at Sinharaja, Sri Lanka. Dec 2013. He only let me get one shot before turning his back.

25. Sri Lanka Blue Magpie or Ceylon Magpie (Urocissa ornata) – seen at Sinharaja, Sri Lanka. Dec 2013.

I didn’t get a photo of them since they stayed in the trees so here’s one from Wikipedia.

Copa Airlines – Routes For Eco-Tourists

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Tara

Copa Airlines is a member of Star Alliance and a very good member to know if you are headed to Central or South America for your eco-tourism adventure. Copa is a member of United’s Mileage Plus program and can be easily booked online using United miles and Avianca-Tava Lifemiles.

Some gateway cities I’d like you to take note of are Las Vegas (LAS), Toronto (YYZ), Mexico City (MEX) and Bogota (BOG). If you are either originating or transiting the USA to/from Central/South America, Las Vegas’ airport is a much less painful place to go through the formalities. We were on a full 737 in economy so no special privileges but we were through Customs and out to the car rental shuttles in less than 10 minutes (we didn’t check bags). People who are originating in Europe and don’t want to bother with a ESTA for the USA might want to fly to Toronto, Mexico City or Bogota to hook up with other Copa flights to their final destination.

This is a list of all their destinations.

SERVICE ON THE GROUND & ON BOARD

Seats in economy are in a 3 x 3 configuration, not my favourite. When I made the booking, I reserved an A & C seat for us and luckily no one took the middle seat. Entertainment is the old-fashioned over-head viewers, no AVOD at individual seats so you may want to bring your own entertainment. Business class seats are like US domestic first class seats.

The service was very good, I found the flight attendants friendly and competent. The flight was right on time. Although we were in economy, we had access to the Copa Club in Panama City (PTY) airport via a United Club pass from the Chase credit card; so got a free continental breakfast (cereal, toast, fruit, yogurt, coffee, juice, tea). They wouldn’t let me take photos inside.

The airport has a nice variety of gift shops if you have time to spend in transit here. The lines at immigration are extremely long, it took us almost an hour to clear as we were staying a few days. Think twice if you are in transit as the time to get out of the airport, then braving the traffic to get downtown to sightsee might take longer than you expect causing you to miss your flight. I wouldn’t try it unless I had at least 6 hours between flights.

BOOKING AWARD SEATS

Use United Airlines’ tool for best display options.

Getting award space is pretty easy, especially if you book in advance. United charges 17,500 miles in economy, Avianca Lifemiles charges 15,000 miles for the same.

Lima to Las Vegas is a very reasonable 20,000 miles in economy. A round trip at 40,000 miles would be an excellent use of either Ultimate Rewards points or United miles if you have gotten in on any of the credit card deals. Not quite a free trip, taxes add $50 each way but quite a bargain! You could also take a stop-over in Panama to extend your trip for the same price, well worth it for the superb birding!

Hotel Review: Courtyard Panama At Metromall Mall

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Tara

Courtyard Panama at Metromall Mall is a good place to stay if you have an early morning flight as it’s a straight shoot down Av Domingo Diaz to the airport.

Since Panama City (PTY) is the hub airport for COPA and a solid Star Alliance connection, many people will find themselves in need of an overnight near the airport. It’s a decent 3 star hotel and a bargain using 10,000 Marriott Reward points. Since I had points from a Facebook game in 2012, I thought this was a good use of them.

Beware of taxis which can be a rip-off $15 or even more coming from the airport. You can get a bus from the bus stop across the street from the hotel (use the bridge over the highway) for $1. Normally you need a bus pass which would bring the ride down to .40-.50 cents but it’s hard to find them so we just offered locals who had bus passes $1 each to get us on board. It would be really nice if this hotel would offer a free airport shuttle but they don’t.

The hotel is next door to a large modern shopping centre with a supermarket if you need to stock up on drinks. There is a food court with all kinds of cuisines on offer at reasonable prices. It has a swimming pool which we didn’t have time to use and free wifi with an average speed.

I would only recommend this hotel as a pre-flight stay as there are much nice places in Panama City, let alone the Radisson Summit near Soberania National Park! But since many flights do leave early in the morning, it may come in handy. Trip Advisor reviews seem to also agree the hotel serves it’s purpose as an airport hotel but nothing to get excited about.

If you are on a points stay, breakfast won’t be included. We used United Club passes to get into the Copa Club for continental breakfast.

If you don’t have Marriott points and are looking for a reasonably priced cash stay, also consider the Riande Aeropuerto Hotel which is a bit closer to the airport, has a free shuttle and has more attractive grounds (that look like they may attract birds)!

Miles To The Wild

Create unforgettable eco-tourism and birding adventures using miles & points!

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