Well, at our last post we were off to Lake Titicaca and it was a great site. We travelled down by bus and the country side is very stark and just not that pretty. But the lake is wonderful. We stayed in Puno, a small town on the lakeshore and went on a boat tour to some of the reed islands. We also visited an island that offered home stays and we stayed with a family overnight. Family was a mother and 3 sons. Two of the sons spoke very good English so that was helpful for us to visit. Food was real basic but accomodations were clean and OK. It was quite cold on the island but we had lots of blankets. The people in the village do some farming and some fishing and they take in tourists about once a month. The money they get from the tourists help support the families.
Nov 1 and we are off to Cuzco. We are travelling by bus and we have the front seats on the upper level so we can see everything along the way. It takes about 8 hours to get to Cuzco as we have several stops along the way to see churches, Inca ruins and a great lunch.
Cuzco is a lovely old colonial city with a great square, Plaza de Armas, great shopping and many, many restaurants. We checked out the Inca ruins of Sacsaywaman which is just above the city. We toured the whole site and walked about a thousand miles. We understand that the best place to have cuy (guinea pig) is in Cuzco but don't have the courage yet. Tomorrow shopping and then we are off to Machu
Picchu.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Well, I know we promised to update the blog about once a week but we have been on the move and not always with access to internet. We arrived in Lima on Oct 15 after about 14 hours. We came through San Francisco and the flight was good. Lima is a huge city with crazy traffic and even crazier drivers. They drive straddling the white line so they can change lanes easily. We almost had a heart attach just getting from the airport. After about 3 days in Lima, we were off to Arequipa, which is an old colonial city in the middle of the desert. Pretty city, really ugly countryside.
We took a tour to Colca Canyon, about 5 hours from Arequipa. The Canyon is huge, bigger than Grande Canyon but not nearly as pretty. Rock is all brown and grey. But, they have the condors there. Condors are huge birds that soar on the winds and are really quite wonderful. On the way to Colca Canyon, we travelled through a pass that was 15,000 feet and I got altitude sickness. I was really quite ill for a couple of days even though I was taking drugs. It went away when I descended and I just hope it does not come back at Machu Picchu. Jennifer, I now appreciate what you went through in Africa and I am sure mine was quite mild compared to yours.
After Colca Canyon we were off to the Nazca Lines, lines drawn in the desert 1500 years age. No one really knows what they are all about but I think the were made by aliens and it is their landing strip. We went up in a small plane so we could see them better and that was really quite exciting. Especially after we learned the planes are really not well maintained and they often have to make an emergency landing on the Pan American highway. While in Nazca, we visited a graveyard that is full of mummies still all wrapped up in rags with just their skulls sticking out. It was really quite bizarre and our pictures are wonderful. Today we are back in Arequipa and this afternoon we are going rafting on the river. Tomorrow we are off the Lake Titicaca and the reed islands.
We took a tour to Colca Canyon, about 5 hours from Arequipa. The Canyon is huge, bigger than Grande Canyon but not nearly as pretty. Rock is all brown and grey. But, they have the condors there. Condors are huge birds that soar on the winds and are really quite wonderful. On the way to Colca Canyon, we travelled through a pass that was 15,000 feet and I got altitude sickness. I was really quite ill for a couple of days even though I was taking drugs. It went away when I descended and I just hope it does not come back at Machu Picchu. Jennifer, I now appreciate what you went through in Africa and I am sure mine was quite mild compared to yours.
After Colca Canyon we were off to the Nazca Lines, lines drawn in the desert 1500 years age. No one really knows what they are all about but I think the were made by aliens and it is their landing strip. We went up in a small plane so we could see them better and that was really quite exciting. Especially after we learned the planes are really not well maintained and they often have to make an emergency landing on the Pan American highway. While in Nazca, we visited a graveyard that is full of mummies still all wrapped up in rags with just their skulls sticking out. It was really quite bizarre and our pictures are wonderful. Today we are back in Arequipa and this afternoon we are going rafting on the river. Tomorrow we are off the Lake Titicaca and the reed islands.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Helen & Donna are off on another adventure, this time to South America. We leave tomorrow for Lima, Peru and after a short stay there, we will go to Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Lake Titicaca, Cuzco and Machu Picchu. After that we go to Ecuador and the wonderful markets there and then off to Chile, spend some time in Santiago, Valparaiso, wine country and then down to the very tip. We will be home Dec 13 and will try to update our blog every week or so. Send us messages on our blog so we still know what is going on at home. Next post, probably Arequipa, Peru.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Just an afterthought
These are some of the favorite toilets!!!!
1) Serengeti-after our baloon ride we were treated to an English breakfast on the Serengeti so of course they needed a bif. This one had three sides only- the fourth was open and overlooking the vast plains of the Serengeti with hundreds of wildebeast, zebra and gazelles to view. It was called a loo with a view!
2) Chobe National Park in Botswana- We spent two nites camping while on a game drive. This toilet had four sides and no roof. We were able to see a very bright stars incuding the Southern Cross and a brilliant milky way .
3) Wine country in South Africa- this was a regular BR in a building. Immediately in front of the toilet was a large window that overlooked the rows and rows of autumn colored grape trees. Great view!
It doesn't take much to make us happy!
These are some of the favorite toilets!!!!
1) Serengeti-after our baloon ride we were treated to an English breakfast on the Serengeti so of course they needed a bif. This one had three sides only- the fourth was open and overlooking the vast plains of the Serengeti with hundreds of wildebeast, zebra and gazelles to view. It was called a loo with a view!
2) Chobe National Park in Botswana- We spent two nites camping while on a game drive. This toilet had four sides and no roof. We were able to see a very bright stars incuding the Southern Cross and a brilliant milky way .
3) Wine country in South Africa- this was a regular BR in a building. Immediately in front of the toilet was a large window that overlooked the rows and rows of autumn colored grape trees. Great view!
It doesn't take much to make us happy!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
We now have a car and are truly a danger to the world. Driving out of Cape Town in rush hour traffic and on the wrong side of the road made for some anxious moments but Helen got us through in one piece. We venture down the cape, stop for some fish & chips and visit with all the fishermen along the way. Their catch is on display on the pier and looks great. Tonight fish for supper.
The Cape is a piece of rock with the Atlantic on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other.The scenery is truly spectacular. I know we keep saying this, but for the cape it is true. We had a bit of a storm so the waves were really high and they pound into shore with terrific force. There are lots of little towns along the way and one is Boulder. Boulder's claim to fame is penguins, lots of little (about 18 inches high) penguins. They are so cute and funny when they walk. We spent about 2 hours just taking pictures and watching these little guys. We spend 2 days on the Cape, walking every trail and visiting some of the little towns. Travelling is a challenge, at one point we had to wait while the ostriches cross the road and at another point someone has hit a mother baboon and her baby is trying to make her get up. We wanted to get out and help but an injured baboon is no laughing matter.
On May 2 we head for the Garden Route only to discover that the start of the route is 300 km away so we decide to settle for some points along the south coast. We spent a few days in the charming town of Hermanus. Hermanus is in the middle of wine country and we spent a day traveling to the different cellar doors. Donna started out driving but the call of wine was to much for her to resist and soon Helen was behind the wheel. The views in the wine valley were amazing, the vines have started to change color and the hills are covered in red & yellow. These vineyards have wonderful old world charm and you could spend several days traveling throughout the countryside. But we only had one day and we are headed back to Cape Town.
We are back for our last day in Cape Town and are headed home tomorrow, May 6. See you all soon, Helen has 8,000 pictures and she expects you to see them all.
The Cape is a piece of rock with the Atlantic on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other.The scenery is truly spectacular. I know we keep saying this, but for the cape it is true. We had a bit of a storm so the waves were really high and they pound into shore with terrific force. There are lots of little towns along the way and one is Boulder. Boulder's claim to fame is penguins, lots of little (about 18 inches high) penguins. They are so cute and funny when they walk. We spent about 2 hours just taking pictures and watching these little guys. We spend 2 days on the Cape, walking every trail and visiting some of the little towns. Travelling is a challenge, at one point we had to wait while the ostriches cross the road and at another point someone has hit a mother baboon and her baby is trying to make her get up. We wanted to get out and help but an injured baboon is no laughing matter.
On May 2 we head for the Garden Route only to discover that the start of the route is 300 km away so we decide to settle for some points along the south coast. We spent a few days in the charming town of Hermanus. Hermanus is in the middle of wine country and we spent a day traveling to the different cellar doors. Donna started out driving but the call of wine was to much for her to resist and soon Helen was behind the wheel. The views in the wine valley were amazing, the vines have started to change color and the hills are covered in red & yellow. These vineyards have wonderful old world charm and you could spend several days traveling throughout the countryside. But we only had one day and we are headed back to Cape Town.
We are back for our last day in Cape Town and are headed home tomorrow, May 6. See you all soon, Helen has 8,000 pictures and she expects you to see them all.
We are on our way to Cape Town and have spent the whole day traveling. Arrive in Cape Town late and we are happy to be in our guest house. The morning dawns bright & clear but much cooler than we are used to. Cape Town is a beautiful city, the harbor has all been redeveloped with a ton of shops & restaurants. The restaurants are right up our alley, shopping not so much. We ride the hop on hop off bus and because the day is clear we go up Table Mountain. The view from the top is spectacular and we spend the afternoon hiking the table top. At times the sights were covered with the table cloth (cloud) but every once in a while it would clear and we could see the harbor and the city.
We visited District 6 Museum which is a reminder of what happened to some of the residents of a whole district that were displaced during apartheid. The pictures tell a story of a close community that is torn apart by policy. This is a wonderful city with a great history, some of it very sad but all of it interesting.
We ventured to Camps Bay and to Sea Point and had a wonderful walk along the sea wall. There is a huge park all along the waterfront and kids play football and everyone walks their dogs. It goes for miles and is a wonderful way to burn off lunch. The city has beautiful botanical gardens and we spent a couple of hours there. We have had wonderful seafood, and coupled with amazing South African wine, we are happy. All the seafood is cooked in at least a pound of butter but the Tums come in handy.
We arrange for a car and we are off tomorrow for The Cape.
We visited District 6 Museum which is a reminder of what happened to some of the residents of a whole district that were displaced during apartheid. The pictures tell a story of a close community that is torn apart by policy. This is a wonderful city with a great history, some of it very sad but all of it interesting.
We ventured to Camps Bay and to Sea Point and had a wonderful walk along the sea wall. There is a huge park all along the waterfront and kids play football and everyone walks their dogs. It goes for miles and is a wonderful way to burn off lunch. The city has beautiful botanical gardens and we spent a couple of hours there. We have had wonderful seafood, and coupled with amazing South African wine, we are happy. All the seafood is cooked in at least a pound of butter but the Tums come in handy.
We arrange for a car and we are off tomorrow for The Cape.
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