Travel – Page 6 – Destination NOW

Nairobi, Kenya

Okay, I’ll admit it. I came perilously close to becoming an “ugly American”. When I saw that the itinerary included a morning spent in the Kibera Slum, I seriously considered sitting out the visit. Why would I want to spend time in an area inhabited by 1.5 million people, jammed into a space smaller than New York’s Central Park?

Fortunately, the wonderful travelers on the Friends of Overseas Adventure Facebook page set me straight, and I’m so glad they did.

The area certainly has its share of the usual social problems. Blackie, our escort and Kibera guide, told us that when the police refused to safeguard the inhabitants, some members of the community administered “street justice”, which proved to be quite effective in reducing crime and violence.

The community has created their own schools and has organized programs to help their children make the right choices.

What we experienced during our visit was truly inspiring. Although the slum residents had few material possessions, no running water and lived in tiny shacks, they had a real sense of community, tremendous support for one another, and amazing resilience.

The friendly and curious children LOVED getting their picture taken-especially when I showed them their photos.

During our visit we were welcomed into two homes. In the first, three people (mom, dad and teenaged daughter) shared ONE tiny room. The daughter was sitting on the bed, because there was no place else to sit, playing a game on her cell phone. I continue to be amazed by the impact Steve Jobs’ “invention” has had on our planet. This device, which didn’t even exist 30 years ago has become essential to us all.

The second visit was to the home of Blackie, a three room hut that he shared with his wife, youngest son and grandson.

Kalpana and Ahit, two members of our group viewing the photo of our host’s grandson.

The grandson was so pleased with the photo that I took of him that he showed everyone, exclaiming “ that’s me”!

One of the many reasons I continue to travel with OAT is because of experiences like these. I never would have done them on my own, either because I didn’t know they existed, or my prejudgement was so very wrong.

Kobe Tough, our afternoon destination, exists because of the devastating impact climate change has had on the Maasai. Any American who doesn’t “believe” in climate change should come to Africa and speak to the people to whom it is a daily reality.

Successive years of drought killed the cattle the Maasai women depended on as their sole source of income, so they needed to find an alternate way to earn money.

They now make beautiful ceramic beads, which are hand painted and made into jewelry. I felt good buying bracelets, earrings and rings from their on-site store, knowing that the money will help these women support their families. The header for this post is a photo of some of their beautiful jewelry in their on site store. But you don’t need to go to Nairobi to own one of these unique pieces — you can buy direct from their website.

https://kobetough.com

If you visit Kobe Tough, you will meet the bead makers, who then entertain you with a wonderful rendition of “Jambo Bwana” ( hello, sir). And when they invite you to dance, I hope you’ll join them!

Another highlight of our stay in Nairobi was our visit to its national museum. I could have spent the entire day there! Did you know there are 1,500 different bird species in Kenya? I sure didn’t. You can see 900 of them displayed in the museum.

Who knew that hippos were related to dolphins and whales?

I wasn’t able to get a good shot of the remains of Turkana boy, which isn’t surprising, given that he’s 1.6 million years old. His skeleton was discovered in 1984, on the shores of Lake Turkana, giving us valuable insight into the evolution of Homo sapiens.

There is so much more to say about Nairobi, but this post is already getting long, so I’ll end with one final thought from the museum.

Next stop will be Maasai Mara National Reserve.

Rwandan Mountain Gorillas

Our 5 days in Rwanda have been absolutely glorious. Believe me, I KNOW how extremely fortunate I am to be able to have these amazing experiences and I am so very, very grateful.

We were able to see first hand the difference one person can make when we visited the Ellen DeGeneres Center, which honors the work of Dian Fossey.

Prior to Dian’s arrival in 1966, the mountain gorillas were close to extinction. Thanks to her tireless work and advocacy, which continued until her murder in 1985, these magnificent creatures have been protected.

Sigourney Weaver’s generous donation made it possible for us to view Dian Fossey’s cabin—sorta like Julia Child’s kitchen in the Smithsonian.

The center has fantastic hands on exhibits, a 360 degree theater, and virtual reality.

I’m VERY glad that I had the virtual reality experience AFTER the REAL gorilla trek because the virtual reality trip had a silverback coming right up into my face, and let me tell ya, it was SCARY.

For the ACTUAL trek, I thought I was prepared. I had spent many hours at the YMCA, because I expected to be walking uphill, at a high altitude, for several hours. The weather could have been hot and humid … or cold and damp. It was actually all of the above, and then some.

What I was NOT prepared for were the vines that grabbed my shoes and wouldn’t let go without a fight. This was not a photo of MY foot, but it gives you the idea of what walking along the “trail” was like. (Yes, that was the trail).

Okay so I’ll confess that more than once during our 2 hour trek, I had a “ what the hell was I thinking” moment. It also occurred to me that after we found the gorillas and spent our hour with them, we would have to walk DOWN the exact same way we had come.

Our porters did much more than carry our packs. They also held our hands during particularly treacherous stretches, for which I was especially grateful. There are no hand rails in the jungle, folks! Or bathrooms either.

Would I recommend gorilla trekking? HELL YES! I realize how incredibly fortunate I was to be able to spend an hour watching these majestic creatures in their natural habitat.

We spent the full hour with the “Lucky” Family, so named because their group included twin boys.

There are currently 24 “habituated” families living in Volcanoes National Park. Although there are several more families living on the mountain, the remainder are not used to human contact. It takes about 5 years of gradual exposure before tourists can spend time with them.

Was the experience worth it? You be the judge. How many people get to watch a silverback twerk?

Eventually we met most of the family: here’s one of the moms and her baby,

the twins, doing what brothers tend to do,

If you’d like to see them in action, just hop on over to YouTube.

https://youtu.be/fS1dMFJPgWU

And the adventurous toddler, exploring on her own.

If you think this trek would be too arduous for you, fear not. Rwandans have a solution that a member of our group used. Take a look at this alternative mode of transportation.

Not surprisingly, you pay extra to be carried like royalty, but for a once in a lifetime experience like this, I think it would be well worth the extra money.

My family would not be shocked to learn that I got lost while on the trail. Fortunately, one of my new best friends heard me calling out, and helped me find my way back to the group.

I *know*. I get lost a whole lot. But come on. Take a look at this trail.

As we were preparing to leave at the end of our hour, the family was also (as the Billy Joel song went) “movin out” .

So what else was memorable?

Seeing women work as porters, trackers, and protectors. Just in case we encountered an angry buffalo or rogue elephant, this beautiful young woman was prepared to guard us,

the gorgeous scenery on our way to the mountain,

returning to our fantastic hotel,

and best of all, being able to share the experience with a wonderful group of people, my new friends.

Next stop, Kenya, where our group will gain an additional member.

Rwanda

I had been dreading the long flight to Rwanda, especially because it departed from Newark after midnight. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad. Thanks to zolpidem, I was able to sleep on the plane, despite a whole lotta shakin’ going on.

I would have given myself the “seasoned traveler” award for anticipating that my luggage would be left behind in Istanbul. Upon landing in Kigali, I checked my AirTag and learned my luggage was 2,975 miles from me. So, I wasted no time watching other people’s bags pop out of the chute. Nope. I immediately took myself to the lost luggage desk to complete the necessary paperwork.

My backpack contained one change of clothes, my Jammie’s, chargers and toiletries, plus my credit card, cash and camera. Everything I needed for a couple of days.

Did you notice I said I WOULD have given myself the award? That’s because it got snatched away when I made the rookie mistake of putting a tube of toothpaste (big enough to last the entire trip) in my backpack. The toothpaste, plus my seasoned traveler award, got tossed in a trash bin at Newark Airport.

That AirTag was worth every penny I paid for it. I was able to watch my luggage travel to Lebanon, then Ethiopia, till it eventually showed up in Kigali a day later. Although airport staff had my phone number, email and hotel info, no one ever contacted me. Thanks to my AirTag, I didn’t waste time on the phone making international calls, trying to find someone who could give me information about my bag.

As they say in OAT world, this was a learning and discovery experience. I learned that the airline would not deliver my bag to the hotel. Instead, I had to drag my sorry ass to the airport, and then discover how very tight Rwandan security is. We had to get out of our vehicle, which was thoroughly inspected by people plus a sniffing dog, then once I got to the terminal, I had to go thru security AGAIN and visit 3 different places before my bag and I were joyously reunited. Fortunately, Fred( my hero and our driver) guided me thru the entire process.

The best thing about travel is it gives you perspective. After visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial, delayed luggage becomes a teeny, tiny, minor irritant.

30 years ago, over the course of 100 days, more than a million Rwandans were murdered. The victims were mostly Tutsi, but Hutus who refused to go along with the killing were also massacred.

Believing that churches were safe havens, many Tutsi sought shelter in the Nyamata Catholic Church. Shamefully, the Catholic priest did nothing to stop the slaughter. The perpetrators threw grenades inside the packed church, then attempted to finish off anyone still alive, with machetes and guns.

Nayamata Churcb is now a UNESCO site and burial place for thousands of victims. Particularly heartbreaking are the coffins for infants and children.

Luckily the attempt to slaughter everyone inside the church was not successful. The stories of those who survived are displayed outside the church to bear witness to what had happened. Here’s a short sample:

As terrible as the massacre was, Rwanda’s story is one of hope for the future.

We visited one of the “reconciliation villages” where perpetrators and survivors now live side by side in harmony. Naturally, it took a considerable amount of time for everyone to heal and to learn to trust one another. The perpetrators had to confess to what they had done, serve their time in prison and ask the survivors for forgiveness.

At the village, both a survivor and a perpetrator told their stories. We learned that those who committed the atrocities had been fed a steady stream of propaganda and misinformation. Agitators whipped up hatred for people who had previously been friends and neighbors.

Janet, one of the survivors with her daughter. Janet was our hostess for lunch at the village.

We have so much to learn from Rwandans, who exhort us to practice ubumuntu.

Perhaps Africans have a huge capacity for forgiveness? I recall Nelson Mandela didn’t seek revenge against his white captors, but urged the nation toward reconciliation.

America is now going thru a very divisive time. Maybe we can learn to speak to each other, listen carefully and exhibit “greatness of heart”.

RWANDA, KENYA & TANZANIA

I have wanted to see gorillas in their natural habitat for decades, ever since I saw the movie about Dian Fosse’s life. If I’m lucky, my dream will soon be coming true.

In a few weeks, I’ll be leaving for five days in Rwanda. This is the pre-trip OAT offers before their main trip to Kenya and Tanzania. The maximum amount of time that any group is allowed to spend with the gorillas is one hour. But that’s not guaranteed. If the gorillas become agitated, they could retreat into the bush before the hour elapses.

According to the documentation that I received from OAT, there are eight of us on the pre-trip. A ninth traveler will be joining us in Nairobi at the start of the main trip, so it’s a nice small group, composed of two couples and four women traveling solo. At least that’s what I’m guessing, from last names and geographic areas.

I have to tell you, getting to and from that part of Africa is not easy. My flight from Newark to Kigali leaves after midnight, stops for about an hour in Istanbul, and doesn’t arrive in Kigali until 1 AM the following day.

Okay, confession time. I screwed up. Originally I booked a one night early arrival into Kigali. When I got my flight information and saw I was landing the next day, I canceled the early arrival. It took me a while to realize that I HAD to book that early arrival, otherwise I’d be sitting in the lobby from around 1 AM until a room for that day was available. Not fun. By the time I figured this out, it was less than 90 days before departure, so I called OAT to rebook that room. That’s when I learned that OAT doesn’t allow changes within the 90 days before departure. Internet to the rescue. I booked directly with the hotel. They are going to keep me in the SAME room that I would get with OAT (which happens to be an upgraded room, at no additional cost), AND they are meeting me at the airport and transporting me to the hotel at no additional charge. I love it when my stupidity actually turns into a good thing.

For the return trip, I will be flying out of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, leaving at 2:30 AM, and arriving in Istanbul around noon. Because I’m hoping to sleep on the plane for BOTH flights, I decided to fly business class with Turkish Air. The OAT flight department was able to find me a reasonably priced flight as long as I stayed two nights in Istanbul. Such a deal!

While in Africa, we will be flying in small planes, so OAT supplied us with duffles, specially constructed to ensure that everyone’s luggage can fit onto the plane. When Mike and I went on OAT’s Ultimate Africa trip in 2014, we received similar duffels, which I decorated with sharpies, including–much to his surprise– Mike’s. After the trip, I gifted my duffel to my sister, Sandy, so new project!

The decorations made it easy to spot our bags, which was very helpful, because other OAT trips were leaving from the same hotel. Not only were we able to differentiate our bags from others in the trip, we were also able to make sure OUR bags were on the RIGHT trip!

Yes, I know it looks like the bag was decorated by a not very talented six year old. But you have to admit, no one else will have a duffle that even REMOTELY looks anything like this.

OAT’s documentation included confirmation of the hotels and lodges, so I checked them out on line. I couldn’t believe that almost all accommodations have swimming pools, so I added a bathing suit to my packing list.

I am beyond excited about this trip! I hope you’ll travel vicariously with me. The next post will be from Africa. The map at the top of this post shows where we will be visiting.

Sitka and Ketchikan

Although I took this photo in Ketchikan, it really is applicable to ALL of the cities along Alaska’s south coast: Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan. If it’s simply cloudy, and not raining heavily, well, that qualifies as a great day.

In Sitka the probability of rain was quite high so we were glad we had opted for a whale watch. Marine life doesn’t care whether it’s raining or not, so we figured we’d get some good viewing.

When I booked, I had NO idea that we were going on a VERY small boat. I THOUGHT it would be like the one in Seward. Nope.

Our vessel could only hold 6 passengers. Okay, maybe that meant we could get closer to the wildlife. Nope again.

I’ll be honest, the marine life viewing was disappointing. These next photos are about as good as it got.

We DID see some sea lions hanging out on a buoy, but the viewing was MUCH better in Seward.

For our last excursion, we chose the sea plane to Misty Fjords National Monument. Well you know what they say about the best laid plans…like women, they sometimes go astray. And THESE women, PLUS their plans did exactly that.

Shortly after I took the photo of her by the “liquid sunshine” sign, Jean tripped, managed to land on her nose, and proceeded to bleed profusely. Fortunately, it happened right next to the ship, so Viking’s excellent staff immediately sprang into action. She was whisked down to the medical center where they quickly staunched the bleeding. Their rapid treatment probably prevented Jean from returning home with a huge black eye.

That meant that I would be “float planing” solo. At least THIS time, I knew what I was getting into. Sorta.

I knew the plane was going to hold no more than 6 passengers, and that it would briefly land somewhere. I just didn’t realize that “somewhere” was on the water, and that we wouldn’t be getting out on land at all!

The waiver I signed before boarding specifically absolved the company of any liability should I fall in. I had thought that applied to getting into and out of the plane at the dock! I didn’t realize there would be OTHER opportunities to fall into the water…without a life jacket…with no life preserver or a potential rescuer any where in sight.

As you can see, there wasn’t much of a margin for error!

But hey, our young female pilot walked what looked like a tightrope to get from one side of the plane to the other. The line is so thin, it’s barely visible in the photo, thus, the red arrows. Those thin boards in yellow and black were the ladder into the plane.

Spoiler alert, I managed to complete the flight without mishap, but you probably already figured that out…otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this blog, right?

The scenery was beautiful, but I have to be honest. It wasn’t as much fun without my buddy by my side.

I’m pleased to say that Jean’s spending the day resting paid off, so we were able to party hearty for the celebratory “next to last night” on the ship.

The last day is spent sailing thru the inside passage to Vancouver, then back to reality.

I’m so glad I was able to make so many wonderful memories with my bestie.

Icy Strait Point and Juneau

Once again, we are sharing the port with only one other mid sized ship, Silverseas. We each had our own dock, so Icy Strait Point was very peaceful and uncrowded.

My day started early, on the deck with Richard, the naturalist. Although we spotted some porpoises, they only briefly popped out of the water, disappearing before I could capture their image.

Viking offers one free excursion in every port. For THIS port, we got a ticket to the red gondola, which allowed us to go to the top of a mountain and enjoy a panoramic view.

Earlier that day, Jean and I chose what was described in the cruise literature as a “ demanding” hike through the Tongass National Forest. Demanding, like beauty, is definitely in the eye (or feet) of the beholder. It was less than a mile, and although there were a few slight inclines, the hike was mainly flat. But Tess, our guide, made it really special. Not only did she know about wildlife and vegetation, she also took great photos.

Thanks to Tess, we can now look at bear droppings and immediately determine the gender of the bear.

The first pile was deposited by a female, because the ladies STOP to relieve themselves. The males, on the other hand, don’t waste any time. They are “full speed ahead” so their “torpedoes” are scattered all along the trail.

Bet you didn’t know this post was going to be so educational.

But wait…there’s more!

We saw this plant EVERYWHERE.

It looks a lot like Queen Anne’s lace, but it’s not. If you touch it, a substance on the plant reacts with sunlight to produce a somewhat nasty rash. Tess pulled up her sleeve to show us how she came by that knowledge.

At the end of our hike, we were left off by the Hoonah Cannery, near the green “free” gondola, which provides one way to get from one dock to the other.

Or, you can opt to walk along the beautiful nature trail, which was a little longer than our “demanding “ hike.

My reward for taking the road less traveled? I got to watch this eagle hang out on a branch WAY high up in a tree. Yeah, I know. The zoom wasn’t great, so I had to crop the photo a lot, but you get the idea. That bad boy was swiveling his head and looking every bit as regal as the one on our dollar bill.

Eagles are plentiful in Juneau. One guide estimated there are about 30,000 eagles in Juneau alone, which makes them as common as a sea gull. Still, seeing this guy on the nature walk was really special to me.

Did you know that Southern Alaska gets a LOT of rain? We sure didn’t. Brett, our guide in Juneau, told us the area averages only about 30 sunny days per YEAR!

I’m so glad we took full advantage of the great weather in the other ports. Another difference when we got to Juneau— we also are no longer one of only two ships visiting the area. Take a look at Juneau’s harbor. The enormous cruise ships — Princess, Norwegian, Crystal, Holland America all docked at the port. We were moored in the bay and took a tender in to the port.

We lucked out with the morning weather for our “hike” with Brett in the Eagle Crest ski resort. This “hike” was only about a fourth of a mile long, but at least we got to see lots of wild flowers.

Jean and I were concerned about being late for our helicopter ride to the Herbert Glacier, so we got off the bus and walked the mile into town, arriving with enough time to grab lunch in a waterfront restaurant.

Although it rained during our ride and while we were in the glacier, it still was a pretty spectacular experience. I got to sit up front with Tom, the pilot.

The colors were brilliant.

We were cautioned to only walk on the ice, not the snowy patches, because you didn’t know what the snow was covering. It could be a 20 foot hole!

I’m signing off with two last now and then photos— taken 50 years apart.

The LAST time we spent more than a week together was in my first apartment in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. (I stuck this shot in especially for Tom, Jean’s husband, who didn’t know us way back then.)

Those are the only photos I have from the pre-cell phone, film era.

Valdez and Skagway

Sometimes I’m delighted when the weather report is wrong, and that was clearly the case when we visited Valdez. The probability of rain was pegged at an unambiguous 100%. Luckily, the only thing that was 100% was the inaccuracy of that report!

Jean and I decided to forgo the recommended visits to the museums and convention center, opting instead to walk to a viewing platform in what turned out to be a rather futile attempt to see some wildlife.

Because both of us are “map challenged”, we checked with a local guide to make sure we were heading in the right direction. His tone of voice when he told us the viewing platform was a MILE AND A HALF away clearly expressed his doubt in our ability to go the distance. (What the hell? TWICE in two days?! Are we looking particularly decrepit??)

We learned from the lovely ladies at the cute little visitors’ center that we were a few weeks ahead of the bears, but we thoroughly enjoyed the 3 mile walk (round trip) under the cloudy, but rain free skies.

Sadly, when most people hear of Valdez, the Exxon Oil Spill immediately comes to mind, so let me give you an alternative image for this lovely area.

The balance of the day was spent enjoying Viking’s incredible spa. All guests can take advantage of the sauna, steam room, snow cave, whirlpool, cold plunge pool and hot tub at no additional charge. I decided to “detoxify” the way the Scandinavians do, so dutifully sat in the sauna, spent about 20 seconds in the snow cave, followed by the steam room, before experiencing the whirlpool. I’m not sure I was “ detoxified” or even what that is supposed to feel like, but I DID very much enjoy the experience.

On Sunday, we spent the morning on one of Viking’s included Skagway tours—a very beautiful bus ride to White Pass Summit.

Although Valdez had a bear deficit, we spotted one on our Skagway excursion . He was outside the range of my iPhone and by the time I got my camera zoomed out, all I got was a butt shot. That’s okay. The image of him sauntering through the rocks was permanently imprinted on our brains. It was truly thrilling.

I did much better photographing Skagway’s more stationary subjects. It’s hard to believe that beautiful flowers bloom between rocks in this cold climate.

Our bus driver//guide saved us from horrible selfies.

We weren’t all that impressed with the town of Skagway.

The lure of craft beer, tee shirts, and gold mining memorabilia wasn’t strong enough to keep us from the ship’s outside hot tub. Hard to believe that there are over 900 guests on this cruise. We had the hot tub completely to ourselves.

Here’s to long term friendships. We’ve been doing the pool scene for more than a half a century, and I have the photo to prove it!

Anchorage and Seward

Jean’s and my Alaskan adventure is off to a fantastic start. Our direct flight from Newark to Anchorage was exactly what we hoped it would be—uneventful. Best part: the seat between us was unoccupied, which, for an 8 hour flight is a real bonus.

We spent the night at the Historic Anchorage Hotel, chosen because of its proximity to the train station. When I asked the 30-something woman at the front desk for directions to the train station, she said “it’s either a short cab ride or an ARDUOUS walk to the train station and you need to be there an hour before your 6:45AM departure.” Well, the last thing Jean and I wanted at 5:45 AM was anything that could even remotely be described as arduous. That morning, when I spotted the taxi outside our hotel, I told the 60-something driver we wanted to go to the train station. She pointed to a building in the distance and said, “ There it is”. Talk about an “ah ha moment”! The young clerk looked at us and saw two feeble old ladies incapable of walking very far. The taxi driver, who was closer to our age, saw two competent, healthy women perfectly capable of handling our luggage the .4 mile (I googled it) between hotel and station. And we did. So there, young desk clerk!

And what a train ride it was. Absolutely spectacular! We opted for the gold dome service, which was $129 more expensive than the adventure class, but it was SO worth it.

Not only do you get an almost 360 degree view, you also get a fantastic sit down breakfast, with a choice of four entrees, and access to a viewing platform that allows you to take “glass-free” photos.

Who knew? Those innocent looking mud flats are actually quite dangerous. The volcanic soil acts like quicksand, then turns into a concrete- like substance, trapping the unwary.

We saw our first glacier on our train ride.

Yet another welcome surprise—the train and Viking coordinated delivery of our luggage, so we were able to walk from the train to the ship unimpeded.

Check in was a breeze. Viking allowed us to print a boarding pass before we left home, so we were aboard the ship in a matter of minutes.

We quickly made an early dinner reservation at the Chef’s Table, one of Viking’s two specialty restaurants, for our first night on board.

Maybe we shouldn’t have had that glass of Prosecco before dinner…

It is a 5 course, fixed menu with every entree paired with a complimentary wine. Obey, our waiter from Zimbabwe, described each course and explained that the accompanying wine heightens the dining experience.

I won’t bore you with too many food photos, but I HAD to show one example of how beautifully the courses are presented.

We had an early morning departure for Wednesday’s Kenai (pronounced KEEN-eye) Fiords cruise so we were in bed by 8 PM.

Most of Wednesday was overcast and chilly, but we didn’t mind because we were dressed appropriately.

We saw humpbacks and orcas,

sea lions, puffins, otters and bald eagles.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough to capture the whales breaching, but I got a lot of good tail shots.

Not everyone was as fascinated by the wildlife. While I was outside, trying to get the perfect shot, Jean photographed this woman taking what our Dutch table mates described as a “very expensive nap”. But she wasn’t the only entertaining Homo sapiens on the cruise.

We all loved watching this young man groovin to music only he could hear. What was he listening to, we all wanted to know. Beyoncé ( Jean asked…)

All in all, it was a tremendous first day.

We had heard about the Seward Mountain Marathon, so expected to see crowds of people after we got off the ship at 2 PM, but nope. We walked from the dock to the cruise terminal without seeing many people at all.

Thursday in Valdez, will be a “self guided” tour, so Jean and I decided to stay up late, to enjoy the fantastic music (and dance) on the deck, by the pool.

Alaska Bound

My lifelong friend, Jean and I will be experiencing our 49th state —also known as “Seward’s big icebox“ — for the first time, via a cruise on Viking’s Orion.

We are flying to Anchorage a day early, taking Alaska Railroad’s Coastal Classic train to Seward.

Because of the 4 hour time difference, I expect our 6:45 AM departure will feel like 10:45 AM to us. After what has been billed as an exceptionally beautiful train ride, we will arrive in Seward at 11:20 AM, and will be able to board the ship. Our cabin won’t be ready until 2, but in the meantime we will be able to have lunch and familiarize ourselves with the ship.

Helpful hint for future cruisers: don’t wait too long to book your excursions. I booked in March for a July cruise, and I wasn’t able to get the bear viewing tour I wanted. I had made the mistake of waiting till Viking opened their bookings.

Many of the Viking offerings had already been filled by the time I was allowed to book, although I still had my choice of times for the included (free) offerings. Bookings are staggered, with the most expensive cabins booking first. Not a problem. I simply booked directly with port vendors.

Although we will arrive in Seward early enough to take the Kenai Fjord cruise, I decided it would be better to board the ship and save the cruise for our second day in port. In my younger days, I would have tried to cram everything in.

I liked the fact that Alaska Shore Excursions knew the times Viking would depart from each port. That prevented us from living my nightmare—returning from an excursion just in time to watch the ship slowly disappear on the horizon.

Although Alaska Shore Excursions had offerings for Juneau, by March all the ones I wanted were filled. Fortunately, Juneau Adventure Tours had availability for one of their helicopter tours to a glacier.

I hope you’ll join Jean and me on this adventure.

Lyon

Mike and I visited Lyon and Paris in 1976. Although I vividly remember Paris: visiting the Louvre, Napoleon’s Tomb, Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, I have absolutely NO memory of Lyon. There was never anything that kindled even a little spark of recognition.

Our hotel is a short block from the Rhône River, and within walking distance to the old city. People in Lyon use EVERY mode of transportation—bikes, unicycles, scooters, so you aren’t just dodging cars, buses and motorcycles when you cross the street.

It is difficult to get lost in Lyon, even for me. From the river banks, it is easy to find three important landmarks. The black domes are atop the Hotel Dieu. Now a luxury hotel, from the late 1400’s until 2010, that large building was a hospital. The white building to the right (in the distance) is the cathedral and barely visible, on the far right, behind the dome is a fake Eiffel Tower.

Now why would there be a second Eiffel Tower? Well, back in the day, tourists would visit the outskirts of Lyon, but never bothered to visit the city proper. So, knowing how poorly educated people are about geography, the town fathers rightfully guessed that people were aware that there was an Eiffel Tower in France, but had no idea in which city it was located. Voila! The tourists did indeed come into the city center to view the “imposter” tower. And a tourist trap was born. Clearly that was well before the advent of Ms Google.

The “tourist trap” needed a better photo, so here it is.

We took the funicular up to the cathedral. I know, yet ANOTHER church. But this one had some rather interesting features.

Check out the number of columns in this cathedral—and how ornately decorated they are, with different statues standing on the top. At the base of each pillar are birds, all slightly different. Some of them are looking straight at you, others have their beaks lifted at varying angles. Admit it—have you EVER seen birds on a church column? On the INSIDE of a church, that is. I sure hadn’t. Perhaps they symbolize the Holy Ghost?

Before we descended, we had to check out the incredible view. More later about the three white towers in the distance .

During our time in Lyon, we had two scheduled activities. The first, a food tour, brought us through the old city, and consisted of tasting stops at a chocolate shop, a bouchon and a pastry store. The food wasn’t wonderful ( fish soufflé at the bouchon, overly sweet pie at the pastry stop) but the guide was.

Our local guide explained that the hospital (now Hotel Dieu) was located at what was once the border to France. At that time, our hotel would have been in Germany! Why was a hospital located there? So that the medical team could examine all travelers before they were allowed to enter France.

The second tour which focused on the Resistance, took us to a different part of Lyon. This tour consisted of walking up and down narrow cobblestone streets to view plaques affixed to various buildings.

We also went thru passages the resistance workers took to evade the Gestapo. Now the buildings are covered with graffiti and the passageways are entrances to apartments and function as storage areas for trash cans. The walk was uninspiring, however once again, the guide was great. Although I was listening intently to her description of the mind sets of the French during World War II, I found myself more interested in the abundant street art than the plaques.

Take a look.

I initially thought someone stuffed a funky gorilla into a hole in this building, so of course I had to examine more closely. This very talented artist somehow achieved a three dimensional effect on a flat building wall. Wow.

When the guide asked if there were any questions, did I ask about Marshall Petain or the Vichy French? Hell no, I wanted to know what kind of business had paintings of “come thither” women in the windows.

The answer: a strip club. And now more street art.

Ms Google translated the artist’s intent, which was written in French below the artwork. Here’s the “ readers digest” version. The hearts, facing each other, have different motifs. Despite differences, the two hearts can find understanding and coexist.

Believe it or not, the above is a message to Macron. The words “straight into the wall” doesn’t mean anything to me, but apparently the French get it.

Lyon is a very walkable city so I did some solitary exploring. Remember those white towers visible from the Cathedral ? Lyon had hoped to be selected to host the Summer Olympics, so a swimming complex was built. I’m not sure what the function of the towers was because they seemed too high ( to me ) to be diving platforms. But then, I’ve never seen Olympic diving platforms other than on TV, so maybe they were.

Unfortunately, Lyon wasn’t chosen, but at least the residents ended up with a great place to cool off during the hot summer months.

In front of the towers is a skate park, where I watched a young man perform amazing feats on his bicycle.

The river banks were a favorite gathering spot for people AND swans.

Next stop, Paris, via the high speed train.

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