Beach Travel

That is to say it is not technical and can be attempted by even non-experienced mountaineers, provided they acclimatize. While Cotopaxi is just one of Ecuador's many peaks studding the Andean spine of country, its appeal lies in its superlative title as "the active volcano closest to the sun". Other peaks may be higher above sea level, but because of the planet's equatorial bulge, Cotopaxi is furthest from the center of the earth.

When I lived in Quito, on clear days, I would catch glimpses of its sky-scraping shape, deceptively close. How could I not be fascinated? So one fine summer weekend, I took on the mountain, and faced the hardest physical challenge of my life. Each one of the nearly 6,000 meters of the mountain had to be labored for, slowly, painfully, and breathlessly, to reach that final climax.

It was like lugging a refrigerator, with each leg in a cast, and a bear sitting on my chest. Mercifully, a calorie-laden lunch at the refuge restored me enough to walk up to the glacier, where we spent the rest of the afternoon practicing fitting crampons and side-stepping up the icy snow. The sunset was splendid, as the ochre-red of Cotopaxi's incline cut sharply against the naked greenish-brown of the lower foothills.

By 7pm, we were all tucked into our sleeping bags, trying to rest. The ascent is done in the cold of the night because the hard equatorial sun dangerously softens the snow during the day. At midnight, the dorm became alive with the clunks, zips and snaps of equipment being fitted. We marched out into a clear, moonlit night, we roped ourselves to our guides, and set off.

Initially, we kicked our way up scree, in a long line of at least 50 climbers. The lights of Quito twinkled in the distant valley, as if seen from a plane. Orion tilted in the inky sky. An hour later, we attacked the glacier, digging our crampons into the snow. My guide, an Ecuadorean strong as an ox, charged along, sometimes sinking knee-deep into a crevice as he pulled us past other groups trudging up the path.

All of a sudden a strip of unnaturally orange light appeared – dawn! I got a second wind and dug my toes into the slope, with the desperate hope of a shipwrecked person sighting shore. The growing light also revealed how horribly steep the mountainside was. Instead I looked at the triangular shape of Cotopaxi's shadow advancing on a blanket of clouds, to the west.

Attractions at Myrtle Beach

When you think of Myrtle Beach, you just automatically think of golf. It is true that golf is big...really, really big in Myrtle Beach but that is not the only form of entertainment that is available. There are many things to do and many places to go in Myrtle Beach other than the 117 golf courses in the area. Here are a few ideas of where to go and what to see when you visit Myrtle Beach:

Ripley’s Aquarium:

This is an amazing attraction! The facility cost in excess of forty million dollars and it is worth every penny of it. There are sharks, jellyfish, stingrays and exotic fish galore that can be seen from a moving walk-way below the 750,000 gallon tank. There are interactive exhibits that will thrill your inner child and there are dive shows that are presented hourly. You really don’t want to miss this one.

Magiquest:

This is an amazing adventure for kids, teens and, yes, adults. Each visitor is given their own magic wand which brings the 20,000 square foot “enchanted” realm to life. Each clue leads the ‘explorer’ deeper and deeper into a magical realm. The realm is filled with characters and creatures that will never been forgotten. Each magic wand has a memory. If you return again and again, you can begin your quest from where you stopped the last time and retain all of the magical powers that you have gained.

Broadway on the Beach:

This is a Myrtle Beach experience that should now be overlooked. You can shop! Boy! Can you ever shop around the lagoon! These are some of the best and most unusual shops that I have ever seen. The billboards that surround Broadway on the Beach all scream, “Where Myrtle Beach Comes to Life”! No kidding...it really does come to life. Over in one corner sits the NASCAR Speedway with eleven types of NASCAR experiences for all ages and the NASCAR Cafe. There are several villages that surround a huge lagoon. There is a New England Fishing Village and the Caribbean Village. There is also the Charleston Boardwalk, and Broadway Commons with the Coastal Federal Baseball Field that is home to the minor league Atlanta Braves.

The Palace Theater:

The Palace Theater is part of the enormous Broadway on the Beach complex but it merits being discussed separately. The 2700 seat theater opened in October 1995. There are big, big stars that perform there on a regular basis. The complex also boasts of more than 100 retail stores and 12 restaurants (including a Hard Rock Cafe and Mickey Gilley's Texas Cafe).

The Gatlin Brothers Theatre:

The Gatlin Brothers Theater opened in 1994 when the Gatlin Brothers decided to retire from the road and make Myrtle Beach their permanent home. The bothers perform nightly at the theater except on nights when they have special guest performers who are also big names in the music business like Roy Clark, Mel Tillis, and Lee Greenwood.

There is golf in Myrtle Beach, but there is so much more. Don’t miss any of it!