Electric Passport

London - Belsize Park

2012-03-02T04:36:00.001-08:00

The Not-So-Endangered Toilet Crab of Costa Rica

2012-02-23T22:37:00.001-08:00

We recently returned from two weeks of volunteering at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica. It is truly a fabulous place that is doing so much in the areas of the education about as well as the rehabilitation and research of the Bradypus and Choloepus Sloth populations that live there. The sanctuary is certainly a top-notch operation. However, it is located deep in the jungle of Costa Rica. When you stay there you coexist with all sorts of creatures that you may not normally encounter in your day-to-day life. This can lead to some amazing adventures. One of the adventures we had involved a not-so-little crab that landed in our toilet. Yes, this is the pictorial tale of Toilet Crab.

...yes, we actually did take pictures of our toilet while on vacation.

...yes, we probably need to get out more.

...yes, this episode is now in our top 10 list of travel stories!

The tale of one wayward crab, a few random kitchen utensils scammed from the volunteer kitchen & a piece of salami on a shoelace…deep in the heart of the Costa Rican jungle.

Yes, this is a picture of a crab inside of a toilet bowl. This guy somehow swam up through the septic pipes & ended up in the toilet in our room one night after dinner. He wouldn't leave. When we told the staff about our little visitor they said, "Oh, you must be in Room 6" without blinking an eye. [head tilt] Obviously, this wasn't the first time our crab had checked into this toilet (we're in the jungle of Costa Rica & these things happen). Resigned to the fact that there would now be three of us sharing a bathroom for at least a few more hours we named him "Mr. Swirly." We also decided to limit our liquid intake that night as well as to flush first and then look before sitting whenever necessary.

The next morning the poor maintenance guy who drew the short straw came to our room on crab removal duty. His solution was to put a straightened-out wire hanger in the toilet to grab & pull the crab out & then toss him into the bag. (umm...seriously?) After standing around the toilet for quite some time waiting for the crab to come out the maintenance guy tells me (Lori) in Spanish that he had other things to do & that it would be up to me to continue to wait for Mr. Swirly to come out of hiding & then pull him out with the wire hanger contraption. One can just guess how well that worked.

Flash forward about 24 hours - After many unsuccessful attempts to flush Mr. Swirly away he became a bit of a celebrity with the staff & volunteers. Everyone who came in during that time exclaimed, "Wow, that's one big crab!" Yes, that's what we've been trying to tell you for the past day or so...

One of the other volunteers thought that we might be able to coax Mr. Swirly out with some meat attached to some sort of fishing line. Someone then produced a slice of salami. Someone else then dug out a shoelace and a fishing line was born.

Fishing for Mr. Swirly. Waiting...and waiting...and waiting... Trust us, The Deadliest Catch TV show was never quite this exciting or suspenseful...and probably never had so many adults standing around looking into a toilet bowl at a slice of salami on a shoelace while holding cameras.

After many tries (and much suspense & excitement) we finally were able to fish him out with that piece of salami tied to a shoelace…as well as a pair of salad tongs & that bent up wire clothes hanger. Yes, MacGyver would have been proud of this entire operation...though he would probably have used a gum wrapper and his duct tape with some minor explosives to get the crab out & then made crab cakes for dinner!

Mr. Swirly protesting his forced removal.

Extraction - This pic shows how big Mr. Swirly was.

Mr. Swirly's beauty shot.

Joel wrangling Mr. Swirly just outside of our room.

The procession down to the dock for the ceremonial tossing of Mr. Swirly into the lagoon.

Rob (the NOAA marine biologist) determining the sex of the crab before we tossed Ms. Swirly (yes, HE was actually a SHE) into the croc-filled lagoon.

Even though we never saw Toilet Crab again, for the rest of the two weeks we continued to embrace the whole "look before you sit" idea.

Two Weeks in Costa Rica

2012-02-21T17:18:00.002-08:00

We just spent two weeks volunteering at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica. The sanctuary is on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica and is in between Limon and Cahuita.

Click here for more information about the sloth sanctuary: http://www.slothsanctuary.com/

Buttercup - The first sloth at the sanctuary

One of the wild male sloths that came to visit the lady sloths at the sanctuary on Valentine's Day.

Another one of the wild male sloths that tried to visit the ladies in the sanctuary.

More Moscow Pics

2012-01-28T08:59:00.000-08:00

Moscow at Night

2012-01-25T21:21:00.000-08:00

Novodevichy Convent

1 of the 7 Sisters (or Stalin's Skyscrapers)

The Moscow Kremlin

St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square

GUM (state dept. store) in Red Square

Frozen Moskva River

They Build These in Russia, Too!

2012-01-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

We found this guy sitting outside of our hotel.

Moscow, Russia

2012-01-23T08:55:00.000-08:00

St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square in January (complete with a little snow)

The Roads in Belize - This Disclaimer Says it All

2011-12-07T14:45:00.001-08:00

Sign posted inside the truck used to take us to/from/around Hopkins

Diving Toucans in Belize!

2011-12-05T10:41:00.001-08:00

Caught these guys hanging out by the Sittee River in Belize.

Riga, Latvia

2011-11-14T15:51:00.001-08:00

Blackhead House


Black Cat House

Nativity Russian Orthodox Cathedral

Helsinki, Finland

2011-11-11T13:33:00.001-08:00

...is only a 2 hour ferry ride from Tallinn, Estonia. On 11/11/11 we took the 11am ferry to Helsinki.

Upensky Cathedral

Helsinki Cathedral - Senate Square

When in Helsinki, this is lunch

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn, Estonia

2011-11-10T00:05:00.001-08:00

Reminder of Soviet Occupation in Estonia

2011-11-07T02:39:00.000-08:00

This is one of the more interesting-looking buildings built in Tallinn, Estonia during the Soviet occupation. It is across the street from our hotel.

Estonia? Where's that?

2011-11-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

We get those questions...a lot...so here's a map that includes Estonia.

Scenes from London in September

2011-10-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

Warwick Castle

Birthplace of William Shakespeare

Christ Church Dining Hall (used in some of the Harry Potter films)

Yes, we saw "the dress" as well as the State Rooms inside Buckingham Palace

2012 Olympics Countdown

Changing of the Guard - Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace

More Changing of the Guard

Hall & Oates Benefit Concert in Portland

2011-09-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

Disney Does Alaska

2011-05-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

Doesn't that sound like the title of a seedy movie?

Not long ago we scored a $95 cruise for 2 to Alaska on Disney Cruise Line (balcony room, etc). We've been on this ship before & know that it's not all Mickey-in-your-face like it tends to be at the theme parks. It will be interesting to see what the Disneyifyed version of Alaska is.

Here's the itinerary:

Here's info. about the ship (Disney Wonder):

Yes, it will be fun. Yes, we want to push "the button" (see 2nd video if this doesn't make sense). Yes, we think we're already on cute overload...

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival 2011

2011-04-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from our recent trip to the Skagit Valley to see the daffodils & tulips in bloom:

"Fine Cuisine" Vending Machines Found All Around Amsterdam

2011-03-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

A Few Pics from Amsterdam

2011-03-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

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Amsterdam, Netherlands (Holland) March 2011

Café Söderberg

2011-01-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

We found this great place to eat lunch at in Stockholm.

Stockholm in January

2011-01-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

All of that white stuff at the bottom of the picture is snow sitting on top of an iced-over waterway.

Would You Like Ice With That?

2011-01-27T01:06:00.000-08:00

It's been so cold in Tallinn, Estonia that sheets of ice have formed on the Baltic Sea close to the shore (actually, the ice goes on for as far as we can see). This is the first time we've really noticed this since our arrival. Wow!!

A Few More Snapshots from Tallinn

2011-01-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

So, How Much Daylight is there in January in Estonia?

2011-01-25T00:25:00.000-08:00

Daylight seems to kick in around 10am. Everything starts to get dark again around 3:30pm.

Tallinn, Estonia in the Winter...Brrr!!!!!!

2011-01-24T06:17:00.000-08:00

A few years ago we traveled to Tallinn, Estonia in the summer & thought it was absolutely beautiful. We always wanted to go back & spend more time there. Well, we got our wish...except that this time we're there in mid-winter. Yup, it's cold & snowy but still very beautiful. Click on the image below to view an album of pictures from our trip to Estonia.

Tallinn, Estonia 2011

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Quick Trip to Paris

2011-01-24T05:21:00.000-08:00

We took the Eurostar train from London under The English Channel & into Paris for the day. Click on the image below to view the entire album of pictures from our time in Paris.

Paris 2011

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England - The Skype Tour

2011-01-18T07:12:00.000-08:00

This will be a posting of few words. We're in England for work but have had the chance to visit a few interesting places. Here we go!

White Cliffs of Dover

Windsor Castle

Leeds Castle (very windy)

Oxford

Canterbury

...and of course Harrods (the mother ship) during their annual sale

Sheephenge

2011-01-16T13:08:00.000-08:00

The British Heritage Society (BHS) has been ramping up the appeal of some of the classic tourist destinations. We recently hopped a coach out to Stonehenge and had a wonderful time there. It was a bit cold and windy, but what happened in the field next to Stonehenge made the bus ride, cold and wind more than worthwhile.

The BHS has produced an interactive show/presentation that runs continuously throughout the day at the top of each hour. They have trained several sheep to walk about and reenact the construction of Stonehenge. The larger, UK Romney sheep first circle left and then drop in place representing the inner circle of Bluestones of Stonehenge. Next, a small pack of Leicester Longwool sheep saunter in a clockwise motion before five pairs stand side-by-side, while others jump up on their backs to form the 5 triliths made of Sarsen stones.

Again, more Romneys file in to complete the outer circle.

Finally, large Shropshire Ram meanders out and plops down – representing the Frier’s Heel Stone.

Once completed, the entire company of sheep proceeds to eat large amounts of grass.

This amazing program runs hourly, Monday through Saturday from 8:00 AM to dusk; Sunday’s 10:00 AM to 4:00. April 4^th – April 7^th are dark due to shearing season.

FC Barcelona

2011-01-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

On our last full day in Barcelona we snagged 2 tickets to the FC Barcelona vs. Levante UD match! Barca won 2-1 & the locals celebrated afterward in the streets until 4:30am.

Below is a pic taken from our seats:

Malaga & Mijas, Spain

2011-01-02T10:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Costa del Sol! It's sunny at least 300 days out of the year. The views of the coast and the scenery are amazing!

Here's one accessory you will need:

Madeira, Portugal

2010-12-30T05:04:00.000-08:00

We made it to Portugal! The island of Madeira (and the town of Funchal) is a very quiet little stop. And yet there was so much to do.

The highlight of the day was when we went up the hill to an area called Monte. It is here where the locals have preserved an historical mode of transportation that was used by the locals to cart goods and produce down to the village from the upper reaches of the very steep hillside communities. Here is how it works… The have built wicker toboggans and put wooden rails on the bottom. Then, two locals push you down the hill! Now, the locals jump on and help steer/break, but they really just push you down the hill. Think Alaska dog racing with pavement instead of snow and gravity pulling you instead of dogs.

We also had an opportunity to sample the local Madeira wines. You don’t need drink the wine before the toboggan ride, but it could make it more interesting.

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Madeira, Portugal

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Grand Canaria...Sometimes you just have to be a tourist

2010-12-30T04:10:00.000-08:00

Ok, so after seeing so many historical sites, etc. we were on information & location overload. The fix for this is to do something extremely touristy. So, when we hit the island of Grand Canaria we rode camels along the dunes, sat by the beach & then hit the city.

Grand Canaria

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Agadir, Morocco

2010-12-27T10:32:00.000-08:00

While in Agadir, we rode camels at the Kasbah, toured around the city and hit a traditional show where Joel was pulled up on stage (see pics).

Agadir, Morocco

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Casablanca, Morocco

2010-12-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

While in Casablanca we toured the city & visited The King Hassan II Mosque (largest in Morocco and 2nd largest in the World), hit an open-air market, the King’s palace & a few other places.

Click on the picture below to view the album from Casablanca:

Casablanca, Morocco

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Christmas Eve in Montserrat, Spain

2010-12-25T08:28:00.000-08:00

Montserrat, Spain

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Happy Holidays from the Mediterranean

2010-12-25T01:25:00.000-08:00

The Islands of Malta

2010-12-23T04:40:00.000-08:00

Click on the picture below to view the Malta album:

Malta 2010

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Camel Rides Only $20

2010-12-21T13:00:00.000-08:00

...but another $50 to get off the camel. Seriously. This happened to some of the other tourists in Egypt (not us, though).

Egypt: The land of Mummies, the Nile and Pyramids

2010-12-21T06:15:00.000-08:00

As soon as we disembarked, we were whisked away to a relatively small “international” airport in Alexandria. Within an hour of arriving in port, we were up in the air headed for Luxor (the non-Vegas version) and the first leg of our tour. Once there, we boarded the bus that was to be our home for the next 13 hours.

It is here we met Bahgat (also know as Habiby) our tour guide. The initial day included stints at the Valley of the Kings, the Temple at Karnac, a mummification museum and the Temple of Luxor at night before finally getting dinner and some rest at our hotel that was situated right on the Nile river. In a word… Breathtaking.

The next morning had an early start, so a 5:00 wake-up call was needed. Again… Breathtaking. However, we really didn’t need to have the wake-up call as at a couple minutes before 5:00 AM, the mosque across the street started broadcasting the call to prayer. So our wake up was guaranteed.

Once cleaned up and back on the bus, we journeyed back to the airport and on a short flight up to Cairo. Cairo is am immense city filled with history, people of all walks of life, amazing architecture and traffic laws that appear to be merely suggestions. It was not uncommon to see a donkey-pulled cart next to a Mercedes; both waiting while people randomly step out and walk across 5 “suggested” lanes of traffic.

But it is in Cairo where we spent time at the National Museum of Egypt before heading out to see the Pyramids at Giza, several dozen camels, and the Sphinx. Once more… Breathtaking.

After a quick lunch and a not so quick bus ride back to Alexandria, we got back on the ship to begin the final leg of our Adventure in Egypt – plowing through almost a thousand photos. Since our Internet connection is terrible right now, we are not able to add captions to our posted pictures or embed them into this post.

Click on this link to view selected Egypt photos

BTW: More on the camels at Giza in a separate post.

Turkey – Izmir & Ephesus

2010-12-18T04:16:00.000-08:00

The first thing we noticed when we arrived in Turkey was that there were no…

Air traffic controller strikes that shut down air travel throughout the country (like in Spain)
Student protests & riots (like in Italy)
Labor protests & riots (like in Greece)

Obviously, we thought we were in the wrong country!

Seriously, the area of Turkey that is around Izmir is beautiful. Izmir is the 3^rd largest city in Turkey. We’d like to go back & spend more time there someday.

During our stay we visited the ruins of Ephesus, hit a carpet factory, saw much landscape (lots of oranges being grown) & did a bit of shopping.

Click on the picture below to view our album from Turkey:

Turkey 2010

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Cats Like Turkey – We Have Proof!

2010-12-17T23:49:00.000-08:00

Just outside of Izmir, Turkey are the ancient ruins of an Ionian Greek city called Ephesus. While many people visit this site on an annual basis, the real residents are cats…lots and lots of cats. Well fed cats who will pretty much eat anything food-related given to them except for apples (from what we saw others feeding them).

Greece was a Riot…and a Washout

2010-12-16T22:53:00.000-08:00

Well, we were supposed to head to Athens. Unfortunately, there was some sort of major labor strike going on there that included rioters who were setting the city on fire & doing other bad things so we diverted to Iraklion on the island of Crete instead.

We did get to see the city, visit some ancient ruins & do some shopping in Crete… all during a torrential, horizontal downpour. We’re thinking that Greece just might be a do-over someday soon.

Click on the picture below to view the Greece album:

Greece

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A Greek Unorthodox Nativity

2010-12-15T19:10:00.000-08:00

The people on the island of Crete have a long tradition of making due. While the island is largely considered the birthplace of one of the first advanced civilizations, it is a bit isolated from the rest of Greece and its closest neighbors of Egypt and Italy. This has resulted in a very creative approach to even the most traditional of Christmas decorations.

Take the Nativity scene captured here as an example…

Sure, the core elements are here. In the manger Mary, Joseph, the LBJ and even the wise men are all in attendance. However it is very difficult to acquire some of the tributes and/or gifts. Gold is readily available; as is the sometimes-elusive Frankincense. Myrrh unfortunately is nowhere to be found. So the cretins (is that really what they call themselves?) have found the next best thing to Myrrh. Look closely! Yep… it’s Mir, the Russian space station. In the Nativity, this is represented by the small Space shuttle wedged in between the right-most wise man and the sheep.

Nothing says Merry Christmas better than shuttles and sheep.

Rome wasn't built in a day but a bunch of students tore it down in an afternoon

2010-12-14T05:22:00.000-08:00

As we were driving into Rome we learned that protests were scheduled in the heart of the city. Although they were to be peaceful ones to protest the government raising university tuition, it was recommended that we avoid certain parts of the city.

Well, the Italians must have a different definition of what a “peaceful protest” is because things turned into a full-fledged riot roaming through Rome. Police were wearing riot gear & were shooting both tear gas & smoke grenades. Stores had broken windows & other damage done to them, cars were set on fire, etc. The riots pretty much shut down the city; making it challenging to get around. We did our best to avoid the major ugliness but did get caught in the immediate aftermath.

While unfortunate, the riot didn’t completely ruin our sightseeing of the ruins and we were able to get out of that area safely… We saw the Coliseum, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, a Christmas Market in Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain and the Flaming Garbage Truck of The Ancients (ok, this last one might have been due to the riot).

Click on the picture below to view a slideshow of our Rome adventure!

Rome 2010

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Barcelona 2010

2010-12-11T05:19:00.000-08:00

We’re jet lagged so the pictures have to do the talking for us. Click on the picture below to view the entire album.

Barcelona 2010

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Thanksgiving Weekend @ Walt Disney World

2010-11-28T10:02:00.000-08:00

WDW Thanksgiving Weekend 2010

Our Next Adventure!

2010-09-14T17:57:00.001-07:00

Follow the Traveling Chicken on Facebook!

2010-07-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that we tend to travel with a plastic chicken and then take pictures of him in front of various landmarks (it's not just us - it's L's whole team @ work who does this). Our chicken now has his own page on Facebook! So...become a fan and follow his travels. The whole thing is sort of like Flat Stanley, but only with a plastic chicken.

It all started at a retirement party in '07. A few dozen chickens were purchased as table centerpiece decorations. Afterward, there was a lot of plastic poultry left over. So now, anytime a team member travels to somewhere exotic (like Italy, Africa or Spokane) the chicken comes along & gets his picture taken in front of various landmarks, etc.

Follow The Traveling Chicken's adventures across the globe. Along the way, he may be kidnapped by tourists, chewed on by dogs, pecked at by pigeons or crunched in the baggage terminal.

Trouble Viewing Pictures??? Here's Plan B

2010-04-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

Over the past day or so a few of you have mentioned that you have not been able to view some of our embedded photo albums. This seems to be a new issue with Picasa (web program we use to upload pictures to) and it seems to mostly involve those who use Internet Explorer. Things seem to work just fine in Firefox or Safari. After looking at the Picasa tech support boards it seems as though some believe that the current fix involves something between turning around quickly 3 times during a blue moon with your eyes closed or lots of praying to strange idols...um, OK...

The Picasa folks will figure it out. Until then, here's our "fix." If you are having difficulties viewing any of our South American photo albums when you click on them then try clicking on these links instead:

This should work. Let us know if you continue to have problems.

Jamaica, the Sequel

2010-04-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, so for those of you who have either followed our travels for some time or have done a decent job of stalking this blog may already know that Jamaica is not one of our top 10 places to visit (the violence, the locals begging for tips @ every turn, our hurricane experience, etc). Well, the ship stopped in Ocho Rios. We got off the ship & spent some time in port. We survived.

Click on the image below to view pictures from our time in Jamaica:

Jamaica 2010

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Panama Canal - The Educational Post

2010-04-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

We traveled through the Panama Canal last week! We did this back in 2004 from the Caribbean Sea to Pacific Ocean. This time we are going through in the opposite direction (Pacific to Caribbean). It took our ship all day to completely go through the canal. Below is a map of where we were.

Exactly how does the Panama Canal work? Click on the links below to view brief animations of a ship traveling through the canal & of the locks:

Live Panama Canal Cameras

Click on the image below to view pictures from our recent transit through the Panama Canal:

Panama Canal '10

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Costa Rica - Time in the Rainforest

2010-04-22T19:51:00.001-07:00

Click on the image below to view pictures from our time in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica

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Panama Canal Here We Come!

2010-04-20T13:33:00.001-07:00

We’re heading through the Panama Canal on Wednesday (April 21^st). It will take all day to pass through the canal. There are cameras throughout. We are on the Norwegian Sun. It is the big white ship with a big yellow sun painted on the hull. Visit the link below to see what is passing through the Panama Canal right now.

Panama Canal Cameras: www.acp.gob.pa/eng/photo/camera-java.html

Trujillo, Peru

2010-04-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

This post is short & sweet (we're getting caught up with our posts). Click on the image below to view pictures of our time in Trujillo, Peru:

Trujillo, Peru

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Lima, Peru – We’re not in Chile anymore…

2010-04-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

The first thing we noticed about being in Lima, Peru was the security, police and guns…lots and lots of security, police officers and guns all over the place.

The second thing we noticed about being in Lima was the sheer size of the city. The last couple of ports had been smaller towns. Lima is huge! I think the guide said 7 million people. Much bigger than anything we expected.

Click on the image below to view pictures from our recent experience in Lima:

Lima, Peru

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Chicken in Chile & Peru

2010-04-19T18:06:00.001-07:00

If you have been reading our postings carefully, you know that the Chicken stopped speaking to us in Cusco. We missed a chance for a photo op with a young girl and her baby sheep. Anyway, when we went out to Machu Picchu, we decided we needed to make amends and bought a small souvenir to try and win him back over.

Needless to say, we scored big time and the Chicken has once again been our eager travel companion.

We have taken him around Chile and Peru and soon through the Panama Canal and then on to Costa Rica and Jamaica (small note… the Chicken is not too excited about Jamaica because he keeps on hearing about all the Jerk Chickens that seem so popular there; why can’t they simply be friendly instead of being jerks?)

Anyway, we have assembled several of the best Chicken photo shoots over the past several days. We invite you to click on the image below to get a small glimpse of the Chicken in Chile and Peru.

Chicken in Chile & Peru

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Arica – Welcome to one of the driest places on Earth

2010-04-18T15:52:00.000-07:00

Arica, Chile is about 11 miles south of the border with Peru. It receives 0.03 inches of rain a year. Yeah, that makes us thirsty, too. So, what does one do when visiting one of the driest places on Earth??? Spend the day in the Atacama Desert of course.

Squatter communities seemed to be present everywhere. Apparently, some people build “shacks” on some of the more undesirable land & live without electricity or water. Many of these people have jobs. The goal here is to force the government to develop the area, give them land and provide housing (utilities, etc.). After a certain length of time the squatters can “complain” to the government about their poor living conditions. The squatters are then offered government housing for a total cost (not monthly) of between $50- and $100 US dollars.

Click on the image below to view pictures from our time in Arica:

Arica, Chile

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Iquique – Just try to say that 3 times in a row!

2010-04-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

Iquique is in Northern Chile & is west of the Atacama Desert. The name translates to “laziness” which sort of fits since this is a beachfront community. Copper mining is king here. Those who work in the mines can make a decent living. Those who do not work in the mining industry tend to make around $250 (in US dollars) a month. This city had much more European/international influences to it than the others we’ve visited so far.

While we were in Iquique Joel was interviewed by CNN Chile – They were doing a story about tourism. Apparently, having a cruise ship visit this city was a huge deal for them (this doesn’t happen much here). Apparently, Joel didn’t look like a local, either.

Click on the image below to view pictures from Iquique:

Iquique, Chile

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Coquimbo, Chile – First Stop on the Slow Boat North

2010-04-13T12:31:00.001-07:00

Coquimbo is a small fishing town on the Chilean coast. It is north of Santiago. What can we say…it smelled a lot like fish. There were tons of cats & pelicans hanging around the fishing boats hoping to get a snack of fish parts from the fishermen.

The town sits along a hillside. The pathways up the hill do not go straight up. Instead, they zigzag up the hills. They sort of reminded us of Lombard Street in San Francisco. Click on the image below to view a few pictures (& captions) of Coquimbo:

Coquimbo, Chile

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So far, we like the Norwegian Sun. Being on it has been a great way to feel..uh…young. :-)

Valparaiso, Chile – Time to get on the big floating hotel

2010-04-13T08:29:00.001-07:00

Part two of our trip began in Valparaiso, Chile where we boarded the Norwegian Sun. From there we will head north, up through the Panama Canal & then end up in Miami.

The last time we went through the Panama Canal the average age of the passenger was 72. This time around, it is obvious that we are again some of the youngest passengers on this ship. Bring on those reminders to, “keep your wheelchairs out of the hallways at night!”

Santiago – You know the drill – Take off your jewelry or they’ll do it for you

2010-04-13T08:10:00.001-07:00

Yup, they’re still having aftershocks here. We experienced a few in the high 4 to low 5 magnitude ones. These weren’t enough to cause much damage, just enough to make our hotel sway back & forth & “roll” a bit. As we’ve continued to tour the city we’ve seen more & more pockets of earthquake damage. It’s sad to see piles of rubble where neighborhoods once stood, etc.

Click on the picture below to view some pictures from Santiago:

Santiago, Chile

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Central Market – We love cruising through the open markets when we travel. It always is one of the more memorable aspects of any of the city experiences we have. Places like Barcelona and Rome had these wonderful sections right off of a main street or square where stands upon stands of fresh fruit, seafood, meats, etc. are available. You can eat there, or take the stuff home for later. Thrown in are a few stands of local merchandise that is unique to the city. In Italy, it was Lemoncello. In Barcelona, it was dried/cured hams. It’s always a wonderful experience.

Santiago has one of these sections, too. It’s called the Central Market. As we prepared to get off the bus to visit it, the bus attendant came to us and started telling us how unsafe it was. We needed to not take stuff out of our packs. We should NEVER count out money in the open. We should be aware of our surroundings at all times. “I am not saying to not go, but be very careful.” With that enthusiastic and encouraging pep talk, we stepped off the bus.

We started walking to the entrance of the market and someone stopped us and asked if we wanted lunch (we had already eaten, so we said “no, thanks anyway”) and then he proceeded to tell me to wear our pack in the front. Don’t take it off. Keep one hand on the pack at all times. “It’s unsafe here. Oh, and no pictures. They will take your camera.” With another “thanks” and a quick moment to move the pack to my front, we dove into the market.

We made it about 3 restaurants deep before I got bumped really hard. A quick check for the existence of my wallet confirmed it was still there. Another hard knock about 5 minutes later had me checking again. And at this point, I basically was walking in this market with one hand in my front pocket on my wallet and one hand clutching the backpack that was slung across my chest. My resolve to delve deeper was shattered with another bump/knock/shove.

“Can we head out?” Yes, I was probably being a wuss, but if I was too worried about our stuff, I was not going to be able to have any fun.

On the way our, we asked someone at the Touristic bus counter when the next bus would arrive. He told us about 15 minutes and as we headed out to wait on the corner, he stopped us and said “no, no, no. Wait here. We have air-conditioning and the corner is not safe.”

Wuss or not, we went to the Central Market and managed to escape with all of our belongings and yet another most memorable experiences of Santiago.

Rocking & Rolling In Santiago

2010-04-11T06:21:00.000-07:00

Earthquake aftershocks do not = peaceful nights of sleep.

Enough said.

Touring the Sacred Valley in Peru

2010-04-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

Click on the image below to view pictures from our recent trip through the Sacred Valley tour of the Cusco Region in Peru.

Cusco & Sacred Valley

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Machu Picchu - If the Incas were such short people, how come they built such ginourmous stairs throughout the place?

2010-04-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

…and how come we felt the need to walk up & down every one of those stairs?

Machu Picchu was spectacular & we lucked out on the weather. We feel so privileged to have been able to experience another one of the wonders of the World. This lost Incan civilization was discovered by an American not too long ago. Here’s more info. to use or lose for more information about Machu Picchu. We spent the night at a wonderful & relaxing resort called The Inkaterra so we could spend more time at Machu Picchu. Click (or double-click) on the picture below to view a web album from the Machu Picchu portion of our trip:

Machu Picchu

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Besides rich architecture, culture & history, Machu Picchu has stairs. Lots & lots of stairs that are not for the faint of heart. So, after walking up & down those stairs all day long (with sore butts from the earlier bus ride) the thing we’re wondering is this: If the Incas were such short people, how come they built such ginourmous stairs throughout Machu Picchu?

Ideas?

Machu Picchu – Getting there deserves its own post

2010-04-07T21:19:00.001-07:00

The rail link from Cusco to Machu Picchu was swept away by floods back in January. Only the link from Piscacucho to Machu Picchu has been restored (the rest won’t be done until June) Because of this, we had to get up at O’dark hundred & hop on a 16-person bus to take us on the long drive from Cusco to Piscacucho. Ok, so we didn’t exactly tell you the truth. Not only was the railway destroyed by the flood but some of the roads were, too. This meant that our little bus got to do some off roading at times. The closer we got to the train station the less the roads actually looked like roads. It sort of felt like being on the Star Tours attraction at one of the Disney parks & sitting in the back row (where you get tossed around much more). Yeah, we ended up with butt bruises & sore necks after that little ride. It was a bit sobering to see parts of the former railroad tracks sticking out in the air with nothing around it (we’d have taken a picture of it for you but we were having too much fun being tossed around the back of the Peruvian bus).

Once we made it to the train station @ Piscacucho we boarded the train & headed to Machu Picchu. This was an extremely slow trip as there construction crews were still repairing the tracks (but was much more logical than having to wait for a flock of sheep to cross the tracks enroute to Belgium or having to deal with crazed football fans on the train while enroute to Scotland – some folks should say “No” to body paint BTW).

The Rail link from Cusco to Machu Picchu was swept away by floods back in January. Only the link from Piscacucho to Machu Picchu has been restored (the rest won’t be done until June) Because of this, we had to get up at O’dark hundred & hop on a 16-person bus to take us on the long drive from Cusco to xyz. Ok, so we didn’t exactly tell you the truth. Not only was the railway destroyed by the flood but some of the roads were, too. This meant that our little bus got to do some off roading at times. The closer we got to the train station the less the roads actually looked like roads. It sort of felt like being on the Star Tours attraction at one of the Disney parks & sitting in the back row (where you get tossed around much more). Yeah, we ended up with butt bruises & sore necks after that little ride. It was a bit sobering to see parts of the former railroad tracks sticking out in the air with nothing around it (we’d have taken a picture of it for you but we were having too much fun being tossed around the back of the Peruvian bus).

Once we made it to the train station @

Piscacucho

we boarded the train & headed to Machu Picchu. This was an extremely slow trip as there construction crews were still repairing the tracks (but was much more logical than having to wait for a flock of sheep to cross the tracks enroute to Belgium or having to deal with crazed football fans on the train while enroute to Scotland – some folks should say “No” to body paint BTW).

We can only bring 11 lbs of luggage on the train???

2010-04-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

On the train from Piscacucho to Machu Picchu, each passenger was allowed to bring 1 carry on piece of luggage that weighed less than 11 lbs. That’s not much more than a small backpack per person…for a 2-day trip that involved a lot of hiking the Inca Trail in hot, sweaty conditions.

For size comparison, the backpack can be about 2.5 chickens high by 2 chickens and a beak wide.

Stop laughing.

Cusco: A missed opportunity…

2010-04-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

During our “bumming around” in Cusco, we stumbled into a small square close to the main one. Here, a young girl holding a small lamb stopped Lori and asked if we wanted a photo with her and her “baby cheep.” We completely missed out on the chicken and “baby cheep” photo. Forgive us, we were too cheap to pay her for the photo opportunity (the chicken is despondent and hasn’t spoken to us since).

Cusco: An educational factoid

2010-04-07T19:30:00.001-07:00

School here is held 5 days a week. However, the kids go to school in 3 different shifts. The last shift ends around 7:30pm.

Our guide for the city tour says that more than 90% of the children attend school, but it is difficult to know for sure about all the kids who live up in the shanties up on the hillside.

Santiago to Lima and on to Cusco, Peru

2010-04-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

First off, can we say that Cusco is much bigger of a city than we expected. I don’t know what we expected, but it wasn’t what we saw when we were landing. Unofficially, we were told there were about 400,000 people living in Cusco! And yet even with its size, the city manages to have a smaller village feel.

Cusco is also “the oldest city” in the Americas. People can’t seem to agree on how old it is, but is certainly is the oldest. A large part of our hotel was built back in the 1600’s. It is actually a very cool little hotel and has a great location. We completely lucked out here.

Also, did we mention that Cusco has an elevation of about 11,000 feet? This small fact pretty much occupied our first afternoon/evening here. There are a couple of ways to deal with the altitude changes. Many people get sick. For us, we opted for getting meds from our doctor before we left.

Thanks Doc, they worked like a charm.

For the first night here it was a little difficult to breathe – it felt like a large weight was on our chest. On top of that, our hands and feet were continually going numb. When we got up and moved around we became dizzy. Apparently, this is common.

The next morning things were much better. We still had some dizzyness but everything else seemed ok. However, we knew whenever our high altitude meds were wearing off because our hands and feet would start getting “pins and needles.” By the afternoon, we were feeling pretty good and ended up bumming around the city on our own followed by an organized city highlights tour. The tour included going up another 1000+ feet to see some Inca temples. Yep. We just got used to 11K and we went to 12K. Don’t think we didn’t notice!

On our way up the hillsides of Cusco enroute to Saqsayhuaman, our guide told us that the homes on the hills are the least desirable. In our part of the world, homes with fantastic views (of the city, hills or water) command a premium. No so here. All the homes on the hills have a pretty cool view; and while they have electricity, water, cable and internet most do not have roads, driveways. Access to most of these homes is via long, steep stairways. Climbing all those steps under normal conditions would be quite a workout but try doing so in a high altitude setting. Better yet, while carrying your groceries (including a nice and plump roasting Guinea Pig).

Click on the llama below to view pictures from our Cusco experience.

Cusco, Peru

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In search of an Internet connection...

2010-04-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

Here´s the deal - Both Cusco & Machu Picchu have horrible Internet connections (we´re talking worse than dial-up). Bear with us until we get to someplace that has a decent connection.

Until then, here´s a little quiz about the culinary habits of the folks in both Cusco & Machu Picchu.

Ready?

What is a small, fuzzy, fairly common household pet in the US?

Think of one that starts with the letter G.

Gerbil? No.

Goldfish? Umm, if your goldfish is fuzzy you have a problem.

Are any of you thinking Guinea Pig?

Are any of you also thinking, "I wonder what Guinea Pig tastes like?"

Think no longer. Come down to either Cusco or Machu Picchu & order Cui Al Horno (that´s Guinea Pig). Yeah...these are eaten on special occasions.

No, we don´t know if it tastes like chicken...

...yet.

Forgive the lack of humor in this post...

2010-04-04T18:25:00.003-07:00

...we’re a little sleep deprived at this point.

The long flights down to Santiago were pretty uneventful with one exception. When our plane left Dallas/Fort Worth it lost a generator & then had to dump fuel & circle back to the airport to land. When we did land back in Dallas we were greeted on the tarmac by a fantastic flashing light show from the local fire & emergency departments. Dallas is such a welcoming place! We were then put onto another plane around 12:30am which was about 3 hours later than expected. Inconvenient? Yes. Big deal? No – everyone was ok in the end. However, it was amazing how many other passengers were upset & filing complaints. Our favorite complaint? There was one older couple who kept asking if they were going to be changing the catering to a breakfast because it was too late for dinner. Seriously!

Santiago Update

Temps have been the mid-high 80’s yet it is cold here for the locals & they are wearing their woolies. That makes us stand out as tourists even more.
This is towards the end of Semana Santa (Holy Week) so many of the locals have been on holiday and/or have been involved in the various celebrations throughout the past week.
Yes, we’ve seen a fair enough amount of earthquake damage here. Parts of the airport looked like a bomb had gone off inside & out & some of the poorer neighborhoods (where the buildings were not up to code) had been totally flattened (very sad). Most of our hotel survived. Overall though, we’ve been amazed at how much of the city is still operational. We’ll head back there at the end of this next week.
Due to the earthquake Chile delayed ending their daylight savings time until today (Easter Sunday). Their seasonal schedule is opposite from ours. Fall recently began here. Of course, because of this time change & the regular time zone change, we’ve given up trying to figure out what time it is here!
Next, we leave Santiago for 5 nights & head for the Cusco & Machu Picchu areas of Peru. Think there’s another time change involved. High altitude sickness opportunity, here we come!

South America Here We Come Again - Itinerary & Map

2010-04-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

Itinerary & Map

Part One

Santiago, Chile (if conditions allow)

April 1st Update
(yellow dots = aftershocks that week & blue dots = aftershocks on 4/1)

Cusco, Peru
Machu Picchu (if conditions allow)
Pisac/Urubamba Valley, Peru

Part Two (map below is only for Part Two)

Santiago, Chile
Valparaiso, Chile (if conditions allow)
Coquimbo, Chile
Iquique, Chile
Arica, Chile
Lima & Callao, Peru
Trujillo & Salaverry, Peru
Cross The Equator
Through the Panama Canal
Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Miami, Florida

Things are Looking Up - At Least the Plane Can Land

2010-03-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

Santiago Update - The countdown to Santiago, Chile is on & things are looking up. The shaking down there continues (ugh). However, we just learned that the airport is 80% functioning. Most flights are actually arriving & departing. Word is that the international terminal is a currently a tent set up on the tarmac. We're OK with that! We also learned that our hotel is now operational.

Machu Picchu Update - The January flooding in the Cusco area of Peru washed out the rail link to Machu Picchu. While most of the rail service won't be restored for months it looks like the link from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu will be restored by the end of March. Without that rail link the only way to get to Machu Picchu was by hiking (in high altitude, no less).

We're so very happy, happy, happy that some things are improving down there!!!

Vegas Just Changed our Odds...There's Still a Whole Lot of Shaking Going On

2010-03-11T09:52:00.000-08:00

Uh, the excitement continues...

Presidential Inauguration Day in Santiago + 3 Strong Earthquakes (6.9, 6.7 & 6.0 magnitude) Darn Close to There = J&L May Now be Heading into the “Area of Severe Shaking” (see map on previous post).

Maybe it's a sign...The odds are 3:1

2010-02-27T08:29:00.000-08:00

So, we've had some interesting travel experiences over the years that have involved natural occurrences such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, volcano eruptions as well as storms of both the electrical & tropical kind. We have also had some unnatural events such as the G8 Conference in Russia, a World Cup final celebration (riot) in London and the infamous sheep incident on the train to Belgium. So basically, it's not a vacation without a natural disaster occurring, right?

Back in January, in and around the Machu Picchu area of Peru experienced major flooding.
Today, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Central Chile area.

We are going to both these places! In Chile we are only going to the "Very Strong Shaking" areas instead of the "Area of Severe Shaking" (see map below). That's confidence-inducing info, right???

Click on the map to enlarge it.

Usually these kinds of things happen WHEN WE ARE THERE. So, we are closely watching the betting lines in Las Vegas and have seen one that has us a little worried:

Odds 3:1 that a freighter carrying granulated lime Jell-O will collide with a freighter carrying several tons of sponges while transiting the Panama Canal causing the majority of the water in the waterway to be absorbed or turned into a wiggly, lime treat that goes with everything because "... there is always room for Jell-O.

3 to 1 odds? Given our track record, I would take that bet.

Seriously, our thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been impacted by the recent catastrophic events in both Chile and Peru.

2009 - Electric Passport Vacation

2009-12-18T10:41:00.000-08:00

Yes, we traveled in 2009. We were fortunate to spend time in Bermuda, California, Florida, Maryland, Mexico, Nevada (Vegas to see Donny & Marie of course), Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC & of course, the cultural capital of Snohomish County (Hwy 99 in Lynnwood) during '09. We just took a break from blogging. Everyone needs a break, right?

Double-click on the pic below to view a few random '09 travel pics with The Chicken from our East Coast USA & Bermuda trip. Just to explain, whenever someone on my work team travels they have to bring Mr. Chicken along & take pics of various landmarks with him in it. It's sort of a Flat Stanley thing. Enjoy!

Stay tuned - We're heading back to South America for about a month in 2010. There will be too many opportunities to NOT blog about that trip!

There's Always a Weather Issue...

2008-07-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, when we travel we tend to run into some sort of weather-related issue.

At Heathrow we were waiting to board our plane. The Business Class folks were asked to board but then there was a long wait & no one else was called. Then, the Business Class passengers all walked off of the plane.

We were only told that there was some sort of mechanical issue with the plane & that our flight would be delayed.

A few hours later (did we mention that Heathrow does not seem to have air conditioning) we were able to board the plane. The pilot made an announcement to explain the reason for the delay saying that the plane had been hit by lightning as it came into Heathrow during the previous flight.

Go figure!

Stavanger

2008-07-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Petroleum Captial of Norway!

Stavanger was the most "modern" of the cities we visited due to the discovery of oil in the 1960's. It is not old enough of a city to have burned down several times, but the locals are hoping this will be their year. Otherwise, the city was quite Ballard-like with the exception of older people who cannot see over a steering wheel driving real slowly. Oh... wait... All those people were on our ship.

Anyway, Stavanger also used to be the "Sardine Capital of the World." Yes, we truly do only visit the best places...

Oh, and it was designated as the "European Capital of Culture" for 2008. We knew we were in a special place when we saw the 7-Eleven right next to the McDonald's in the center of town where the fake Gucci sunglasses were being sold.

Ah... and this high honor is shared with Liverpool.

Bergen

2008-07-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

Bergen is the town you think of when you imagine a picturesque Norwegian village.

After a short excursion up a funicular to an amazing view point, we bummed around town and walked through the open air market.

A quick note about the weather... Bergen is known and celebrated for its constant rainfall (Seattle could be an honorary, sister city). We have really lucked out with how nice it has been. Thanks to whoever arranged that for us.

Hellesylt & Geiranger

2008-07-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

We dare you to try to pronounce either town names correctly!

Both towns are tiny & are located deep inside a Fjord. When we arrived in Hellesylt the captain gave an announcement saying that the town folks were always worried about the cliff faces falling off into the fjord causing a tsunami which would then destroy the town. Right after that he said, "So, if you want to go ashore & into town..."

Both towns had huge waterfalls literally flowing through the center of them.

Geiranger was one of our favorite ports during this cruise.

Bikers Beware!

2008-07-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

In Trondheim, the pigeons have gotten very nasty indeed. They swoop down on unsuspecting bicyclists and force them down to the ground. They then descend in a feeding frenzy like nothing you have ever seen. Beware!

Trondhiem, Norway

2008-07-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

Trondhiem, like every other city we have visited in Norway has burned down to the ground several times. Eventually, it gets rebuilt with largely non-flammable materials like stone and marble. However, some areas that managed to escape the more recent fires are still made of timber (for now).

Trondhiem, unlike every other city we have visited, was closed. It was a Sunday and pretty much nothing was open. Thank heaven for 7-11 (yes, they are here) and a few small souvenir shops attached to Nidaros Cathedral. Otherwise, we would have been walking around a very empty town.

Honningsvag, North Cape & Gjesvaer

2008-07-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

Honningsvag was the furthest north our cruise ship went. Actually, we were able to go to the most northern point in Europe (North Cape).

Well, it doesn't get dark here. It's cold. Not much grows here except for free range reindeer & cod. They catch, fillet and dry the cod here. It dries to a consistency of hard stone (has to be soaked to become edible again) and call it Klippfisk. They dedicate museum after museum to the Klippfisk industry. We're not kidding...

Actually, one of the largest colonies of puffins nests here. We were fortunate enough to visit them & about a million other birds.

Did we mention that cod is a big thing here?

Making New Friends

2008-07-06T07:46:00.000-07:00

Okay… The Chicken made a friend. We were walking around in London on the day before the cruise started and stumbled across a gift shop for The Queen’s Museum. Inside, The Chicken met Bendy. The Chicken learned that some of Her Majesties guards are “beefeaters” and they immediately became close, personal friends.

Crossing the Arctic Circle & Svartisen Glacier

2008-07-03T04:41:00.000-07:00

Around 5am this morning we crossed the Arctic Circle. It's difficult to tell when it is night & day because it is light almost all of the time. Sunrise is around 3am & sunset is around Midnight.

Once North of the Arctic Circle we cruised through some fjords & visited the Svartisen Glacier (2nd largest in Norway). This glacier is not as spectacular as the ones in Alaska or Chile, but was still awesome to see.

Kristiansund, Norway

2008-07-03T04:15:00.000-07:00

Kristiansund, Norway was our next stop. The weather was fantastic (low 70's). It's difficult to believe that we are getting close to the Arctic Circle!

The town is quite small & was bombed heavily during WWII. (we think that most of the towns we will visit will be this way, too). The Germans occupied this area during the war. There are still some remains of bunkers, lookout towers, etc. from that time.

Cod fishing is big here.

We spent most of the day touring the countryside. Much of the vegetation is similar to what we have in Washington, especially the weeds.

Alesund, Norway - City of Herring & Cod

2008-07-03T04:04:00.000-07:00

Alesund was our first stop in Norway. This town burned down in the early 1900's so much of it is relatively new (ok, new for Europe). Fishing for herring & cod is huge here.

Southampton & EuroCup 2008 Fever

2008-07-03T03:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, Southampton is not exactly in the running for the "most scenic" town in the UK but it's where we boarded our ship from.

Besides a couple of families with small children in tow, we are much younger than most of the passengers. Visualize lots of gray hair, walkers, canes & wheelchairs. We're thinking that this is the European version of our Alaska cruises which tend to cater to an older crowd.

Once we were onboard the EuroCup final game (soccer) was on in every public room on the ship. Everyone gathered around & watched Spain win. Afterwards, there was one Spanish TV channel that either played game highlights, team interviews or fan celebrations for the next 36 hours or so (straight). Over 1 million people came to Madrid to see the team arrive & congratulate them. The Chicken watched it all!

Day Trip to Scotland

2008-06-30T10:44:00.000-07:00

We took a train from London's Kings Cross station into Edinburgh, Scotland. We truly lucked out in terms of weather. It was partly sunny most of the time spent there. We really couldn't ask for much more than that.

The train trip back to London was a bit long, but well worth the time. However, a train filled with Scots on a Friday evening can be a bit rowdy; particularly when they come on board with a cooler full of beer (and left with an empty one).

Belgium: Brussels & Bruges

2008-06-30T05:14:00.000-07:00

Chicken Around London

2008-06-30T02:27:00.000-07:00

The Chicken enjoyed his time tooling around London (& stalking the Royal Family).

FYI: We're a bit behind in our postings as the first few days have been quite busy.

European Trip Itinerary

2008-06-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Below is the basic itinerary for our upcoming trip to Europe:

England

London (Royal Garden Hotel)

Belgium

Brussels
Bruges

Ireland

Dublin

Scotland

Edinburgh

England

Southampton
Board NCL Jade cruise ship

Cruise through Norway (see map)

Barbados & St. Lucia

2008-04-05T05:46:00.000-07:00

These things sum up what we did in both Barbados & St. Lucia: Snorkel with fish & turtles and hang on the beach.

Samana, Tortola & Antigua

2008-04-01T19:14:00.001-07:00

Okay…. We have been bad. We have been enjoying our cruise and have not gotten to posting much on the blog up until now. Bad cruisers! Bad!

Well, today we are going to remedy that to some extent.

The weather has been really pretty amazing (no, not snowing like it was in Seattle when we left). It has been in the high seventies or low eighties since we landed in Miami. We had a very short rain shower today, but it was the kind that actually felt good since it had been so warm. Sorry, if we seem to be rubbing it in, but when you can sit by the pool and lounge in the sun for most of the afternoon, it’s a good vacation.

The town of Samana (we were there on Sunday) is a fairly undeveloped port; and for an undeveloped port, things were very hectic. The traffic was insane – it seems that dodging motorcycles and taxis as you walk across the street could be an Olympic-class event. We walked through town in the morning and ended up spending the afternoon up on the deck by the pool.

In Tortola we had an excursion that took us on a short scenic trip across the island and ended up on a beach where we rented a couple of chairs to lounge in for the early afternoon. The beach was one of the more renowned (in other words “crowded”) beaches, but was very beautiful. After making it back to the ship, we somehow ended up back by the pool for a few more hours of lounging.

Antigua was very a very busy port. There were 4 large ships docked by 8:00 AM. This stop was a very “traditional” stop where the port opened up to a large shopping district that had many small jewelry or t-shirt shops that all sold the same thing for roughly the same price. It becomes impossible to remember which shop you found that cool little magnet in because by the third one you have visited, they all have blended together into one. The really distinguishing factor of Antigua was that it was sunny and warm – oh wait… Anyway, we decided to close out the day by doing something a bit different from the past couple of days. We went up to the pool deck and lounged out in the sun for a couple of hours.

Anyway, tonight after dinner we walked down to the casino where we played some penny slots. Lori was at a game called “It’s a Blast” where the theme seems to be something about sheep and explosives. Anyway, on $20 Lori ended up playing somewhere closed to two full hours! I am sure that she will be blowing up sheep in her sleep, but we had fun anyway.

Tomorrow’s port is Barbados and we have a snorkeling trip planned to go swim with some green turtles after doing a bit of cruising around town. Tomorrow is supposed to be somewhere around 81 degrees.

Oh… and down in the casino there is a betting line that is posted that has it a 2-to-1 favorite that we will ended up some place lounging in the sun. My advice is to not bet against.

Miami

2008-03-28T23:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of our time in Miami. More details to come shortly.

We're on the NCL Jewel. Here are pics: http://www.shipparade.com/cruise%20reviews/norwegian_jewel/Norwegian_Jewel_2.htm

This is the largest & newest NCL ship we've ever been on.

Southern Caribbean Here We Come!

2008-03-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

If you put a penguin video on YouTube...

2008-01-25T19:53:00.000-08:00

We recently posted one our "Penguin Happy Dance" video on YouTube so we could include it in this blog. Apparently, this coincided with some sort of Penguin Appreciation Day (no kidding).

A few other blogs have since helped celebrate this "special day" by embedding our little video which is actually pretty cool.

Summer Travel 2008: London & Norway

2008-01-10T19:36:00.000-08:00

Penguin Happy Dance

2008-01-07T16:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a brief video clip of a very happy Gentoo Penguin we filmed while we were in the Falkland Islands. Note: The video is a bit blurry due to the use of the Zoom. The high winds did not help much, either.