Check
out Mosquito Heaven
under Glimpses of the Road, back on Randy's Travel Page.
Hitting the Beach
One of the nice things about the Third World is that it encompasses most of the world's tropical beach paradises. Miami Beach and Nice don't hold a candle to the Maldives and Philippines. Most people include a beach or two in their itinerary, and you could spend several years just moving around from beach to beach if you wanted. The situation can be anything from a fancy hotel to a noisy tourist strip, a quiet grass shack, or camping out on a deserted ribbon of sand.
If you plan two days on one beach, three for the next, and so on, your relaxing can be just as hectic as sightseeing. Allow yourself a week or more in one nice place, or just leave it open-ended to really enjoy the true spirit of vagabondage. You will meet travelers who have been "stuck" on one beach for months.
In tropical areas, beaches are often backed by jungle, mangrove swamps, thickets, or palm groves, which are the playgrounds of mosquitoes, sand flies, et al. The farther from this vegetation, and the closer to the sea that you stay, the less trouble you will have with these pests. If you are lucky, there will be a good breeze blowing day and night to keep them away from the beach, and if you are smart, you will get a hut (or pitch a tent) that faces directly into that wind. When the wind dies, as it does for a few weeks between the seasons or monsoons, you may be in for a bad time with the bugs. In most places, the winds change at dawn and dusk, and this coincides with the greatest activity of the mosquitoes. The amount of bugs depends on the season, the winds, and apparently on other factors, because it can vary greatly from year to year in the same place. Locals sometimes burn coconut husks outside their homes because they make a lot of smoke to keep mosquitoes away; you need a real fire under the husks to get them going.
Check
out Mosquito Heaven
under Glimpses of the Road, back on Randy's Travel Page.
Coconuts can kill. Well, they can certainly crack your skull open when falling from the tree, which they can do at any time. If you have ever woken up from your shady nap to the earthshaking thud of a falling coconut, you have realized the real danger. They don't take deliberate aim at people, but it is a very good policy not to spread your beach or picnic blanket directly underneath a loaded coconut tree.
Indecent exposure can create cultural conflicts. Many of us would like to strip down to levels of undress that are just not acceptable to the local populace. Some beach areas post signs making it clear what is not acceptable -- usually topless bathing by women; please respect any such requests, to avoid offending local sensibilities. In most Third World locations (except certain South Pacific islands), topless bathing -- or even bikinis and briefs -- are offensive to the morals of local villagers. They may not say anything, but it doesn't mean that they do not find such behavior immoral and offensive. You will find some popular resort areas where topless, and, rarely, even nude bathing is tolerated as the price of gaining the tourist business, so enjoy it where you can and seek out such places for the pursuit of your perfect tan. In many other places you risk the censure of the local villagers and police. Consider that it is much more comfortable to relax on the beach without constantly checking the underbrush to see who may be catching you indecently (and illegally) clad. Lying on the beach is one thing, (often this is exclusively tourist territory), but be sure to put on a shirt and shorts or sarong before wandering into the local village.
Sky Gazing
While you're at the beach, and spending most of your time outside, take the opportunity to learn something about the phases of the moon, if not the stars. Every day the moon rises about 50 minutes later. (In higher latitudes this may vary from thirty minutes to one hour at the spring and autumn equinoxes, but it remains fairly constant near the equator.) The full moon rises in the east just as the sun goes down in the west, that's why it's full -- because the sun is opposite and we see the full reflection of the sun's light. Seven days earlier, the moon rises about 6 hours earlier than the sunset, so at dusk the half moon can be seen overhead, reflecting only half of the sun's light because of the different angle. Seven days after the full moon, its other half can be seen as it rises 6 hours after sunset, or high in the sky before dawn. When there is no moon, the moon and the sun rise and set at about the same time, and in the same part of the sky.
The new crescent moon can be seen going down in the west, just after sunset. I like to be on the beach at the full moon, especially on an eastern coast where it will rise over the sea. The moon will actually appear completely round for three nights, the middle one being the 'official' full moon. After that, it starts to get a little lop-sided, but the location of the lop-sidedness will differ depending on your latitude. The exact date of the each full moon will also vary around the world.
Naturally, you will be astounded by the quantity and clarity of the stars in rural areas. I never managed to get a star map or astronomy book down to the beach with me, but you could certainly put it to great use anywhere out in the countryside. I usually just make up my own pseudo-constellations from whatever patterns I see in the sky.
CAMPING OUT
In my travel tips on What to Take, I give specific recommendations about the kind of gear you can take for camping out. Developing actual camping skills requires some experience, and you would do well to read up a bit if you are not already an experienced camper. Teaching camping skills is just beyond the scope of this book, and since camping out will not be a major activity for many Third World travelers, I will not go into detail about camping skills, precautions, and tips. Instead, I will steer you to a few good books on the subject.
One of the best sources I have seen for travelers who want to camp on the beach is "The People's Guide to Mexico", by Carl Franz. It is specific to Mexico, and contains much more than camping tips, but you won't find a much better description of how to build a hut, stove and furniture, and how to survive on the beach in Spartan luxury. "The Complete Walker", by Colin Fletcher is one of the best sources for backpack campers, and some of the information will be enlightening to travel campers. "The Camper's Companion", by Rick Greenspan and Hal Khan is another guide for home (not travel) backpackers. It also provides star charts (Northern Hemisphere), fishing knots, and many recipes that probably require ingredients you won't find in the Third World.
"Backpacking and Trekking in Peru and Bolivia", and "Backpacking and Trekking in Mexico and Central America", by Hilary Brandt are good starting places for those looking forward to camping in Latin America. They cover a number of hiking routes, a few camping fundamentals, and also deal quite a bit with just getting along in the country.
Happy Trails!
Randy's Travel Page
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