TRAVEL Archives | TRAVELS WITH TAM

Hamilton Pool in Texas is a great place to visit for Empty Nesters!

May 4, 2017 By Tam Warner 6 Comments

Hamilton Pool, Texas Hill Country, Lake Travis, Empty Nesters — **Hamilton Pool**

Texas Hill Country is for Empty Nesters!

Taking a hike around Hamilton Pool in the Hill Country is fun, and easy! Hamilton Pool is an historic swimming hole, about an hour outside of Austin. Hamilton Creek empties into the Pedernales River, spilling over limestone outcroppings to create a 50 foot waterfall. In Mexico, this would be known as a cenote. I thought it would be worth a look, and I was absolutely correct.

The pool is about a mile from the entrance to the trail. It is the Hill Country, so it is up and down, up and down. The path is rocky and uneven with plenty of gnarly roots. I had no trouble on it, actually, I love nature and I love paths like this. I am quite surefooted on uneven surfaces, it is only on smooth flat ground that I fall…or smooth steps. Hamilton Pool is one of those places where generations of people have enjoyed the “swimming hole”. The water is cool and green, and looks inviting, but unfortunately, there are times when one cannot swim because of high bacteria levels. Today was one of those days. There are signs that will tell you yay or nay!

After the hike, I could see why you would want a swim. Whew. So I checked out the caverns and the pool, and enjoyed some time just watching and listening to the waterfall. It is nice and cool under the roof of the outcropping. It was nice to actually sit behind the falls as well.

I headed back after 20 minutes at the pool (since there was no swimming I didn’t stay for a long time) and somehow, I missed the turn off to the main path back to the parking lot. Instead, I hiked an additional mile along the Pedernales River. I have no idea how I could have missed the main path….but I was in unfamiliar territory, and I thought, great, I can see myself lost, wandering along the river to the pool and back again for hours. I can hear Randy and the kids already, another “kooky” mom story! Fortunately, I managed to find the path again and headed up. And I mean UP. The Hill Country is very hilly indeed! So I did over 3 miles of up and down terrain. I can hear some snickering that 3 miles is not much distance. But hey, I am over 50 and I have a few health issues like having an erector set in my spine, 8 pedicle screws and rods holding it all together, so I am pretty happy with my hike this morning. I need action! Anyway, if you are near Austin, Tx or in the Hill Country, take a hike to Hamilton Pool. It is a beautiful place to relax.

It was an exciting dive in the Dampier Strait!

April 30, 2017 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

adventure, dampier strait, diving, travel solo — **Saonek Village has not only a jetty but a mosque and a lot of children who love to watch the divers!**

On day 8 of one of the best dive trips of my life, the Arenui Liveaboard headed into the Dampier Strait of Raja Ampat. Our dive sites were Cape Kri, Blue Magic, and Saonek Jetty. Saonek Jetty brought the biggest shock of the day! The dive site is at a jetty, just as it sounds, and it was a nice, shallow dive site. During my first dive there, I saw a Titan Triggerfish. The Titan has a bad reputation for being aggressive, and I had heard the stories of broken jaws, stitches, and broken ribs. Yikes! I have always been very respectful of the Titan, it is a meaty, muscular triggerfish. On this dive, I saw a Titan diving down, and realized it was building a nest. I didn’t go close to her, but she saw me and came after me with a vengeance! Scared me to death. I had my brand new camera in my brand new Nauticam housing, and the only thing between my face and the fish was my housing. As the fish shot toward me I pushed out at it with my housing. My thought was, great, my first trip with this gear and it is going to be broken. The Titan came after me three times, and how it did not crash into my housing dome I will never know. My dive buddy swam up afterward to make sure I was okay. Okay but a bit shaken, I admit!

Cape Kri was an absolutely beautiful dive site, one of the most visually beautiful of the trip, both above and below. A large group of Bumphead Parrotfish were in the shallows, hanging out on our safety stop. The light was decent so I was able to take good photos of them. They are so ugly, but big and fascinating to watch!

Blue Magic was a gorgeous dive site, and almost an eerie dive. The fish shoals were huge, and so still, we all knew there had to be predators around. We were rewarded with Black Tip Reef Sharks, and finding a Woebeggone Shark snoozing under a ledge. We did two dives at Blue Magic, so we also saw a variety of fish, and a couple of Giant Manta Rays!

Black Tip Reef Sharks were hanging around the shoals. It was so still and quiet!

It was a beautiful day of diving!

This completely awesome trip was a Ray of Hope Expedition from Marine Megafauna Foundation with Dr Andrea Marshall.

A Most Unpleasant Surprise on Dive Day 7 in Raja Ampat

April 23, 2017 By Tam Warner 4 Comments

raja ampat, day 7, sunset — **Beautiful Day 7 in late afternoon with a drone in the sky.**

Ear problems are a most unpleasant surprise! “I can’t dive because of my ears” is something I have heard a million times. Generally, it is not true, most people can clear their ears, and if you don’t believe me, just yawn! They clear. It is a fact that there are divers who have ear trouble, and my husband was among them. He burst his eardrum at least 3 times that we know of. I used to get what they call “swimmers ear”, which is an outside the ear infection that is very painful, but I haven’t had it in years. Until Raja Ampat!

On the 6th day of diving my ears began to hurt. By Day 7 I knew there had to be an infection, so I made the decision to skip the rest of the day’s diving, take antibiotics and ear drops, and rest. The day was spent sorting photos and resting, and by dinner I was feeling much better. Until I put alcohol based ear drops in my ear. I actually screamed the pain was so absolutely unexpected! A nurse on board told me that I had probably burst an eardrum. Well, I was pretty sure of it, and the alcohol drops just confirmed it. However, I could not miss the incredibly beautiful sunset dive! My ear ached a bit for the rest of the trip, but I was very careful and had no major issues. The benefit of having a burst eardrum? You don’t have to clear your ears! A little diver humor!

raja ampat, diving, sunset — **Tips of an anemone.**

How You Can Travel to a Different City Monthly!

April 12, 2017 By Tam Warner 33 Comments

explore, local, explore local box, travel monthly — **Isn’t this adorable? And YUMMY.**

Now you can travel monthly! Not everyone can travel extensively, or even very often, but thanks to a brand new company, Explore Local Box founded by Jessica Larrabee, you can! Receive a monthly box, or one time box, that explores the local flavors and cultures of other locales! I just went to Boston, and it was an awesome little trip! The box is so cute and I was excited to receive it. Anyone who loves to travel, and/or loves food, will love this gift. Just in time for Mother’s Day, and as a bonus you can use the code TWT10 to get 10% off your one time box, or the first box of a subscription! Check out Explore Local Box, and get your Travels with Tam discount!

explore, local, explore local box, travel monthly midlife women — **Just seeing that I received it made me instantly smile!**

It Was A Fantastic Journey to Tomolol Cave

April 9, 2017 By Tam Warner 18 Comments

My trip to Indonesia, like most of my other trips, was solo travel. The great thing about traveling solo on dive trips is you meet all kinds of new friends! After diving the Watch Towers, we went on an expedition to Tomolol Cave, a sacred site. A Muslim shrine is located at the entrance. Tomolol Cave has a river with fantastic limestone and rock formations. Most people use a life jacket or ring to float through the caves, much of it in the dark. Many people had lights, of course, so we could see the inner walls of the cave. From the boat to the caves on small boats, there is a pearl farm on the way. Boats must stop and pick up local guards to go to Tomolol Cave. One cannot take anything out of the cave, and the guards make sure no one dives the pearl farm for pearls!

misool, raja ampat, tomolol cave — The Pearl Farm worker’s residences.

The cave itself is like a cathedral to stone, water, and nature. Carnivorous Pitcher Plants hang on its outer walls. Misool is jungly along the rivers leading to the cave, and there are even cliff burial sites! It is bizarre to see human remains on the side of the cliffs. The presence of the guards guarantees they are not disturbed. Floating through the monoliths was a surreal experience, and one I tried to soak into my very skin. I never want to forget the beauty of Raja Ampat.

Beautiful Diving in Raja Ampat on Day 5!

April 6, 2017 By Tam Warner 14 Comments

raja ampat, scuba, diving, misool, watch tower — Shoal of snappers on Watch Towers

Misool Island continued to be good to us, and there was beautiful diving on day 5. It was a short dive day, so the dive had to be good! We went to Watch Towers, and enjoyed a great variety of fish and coral! And I saw my first Woebeggone Shark, so exciting! Enjoy!

Diving is sometimes similar to a Dr Seuss book.

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