Mike and Augusta in one of the squares, intently listening to our guide, Eduardo.
Our first wildlife shots
On our way to the choir loft of the church of San Francisco. I wish that we had been able to photograph the beautiful interior, because it was so very different from most churches I’d seen. The decoration was geometric, looking very Moorish.
Here she is again, our winged virgin, as seen from the historic center, courtesy of my zoom lens.
The winged virgin, with the serpent firmly in hand, overlooks Quito, from the heights of El Panecillo. The elevation here is almost 10,000 feet.
The view is spectacular, and this photo doesn’t even come close to capturing this magnificent city. The old city is in the foreground, with the skyscrapers of the new city barely visible.
We visited San Feancisco church and convent. We weren’t able to photograph the interiors of any of the churches, but the courtyard was fair game, and was quite lovely.
Here’s a shot of a typical street in the historic center of Quito. Notice the interesting architecture, and how clean everything is!
Because I am sending these via email, there is a file size limit, so day 1 will continue in another installment.
A recent Huffington Post by Doris Gallan described what us oldies but goodies look for in a travel experience: “The chance to learn something new, have genuine experiences with locals, and get value for money”. That’s exactly why we travel with Road Scholar. Our upcoming trip to Ecuador will be our fourth trip with them. And yes, this post is yet another attempt for me to hone my word press blogging skills, before I hit the road.
Our first trip, to Costa Rica in 2007, definitely gave us value for our money. All Road Scholars trips include lectures about the country, supplemented with visits to points of interest that we might have missed had we been traveling on our own. At Cafe Britt, we learned about the history of coffee, its cultivation, harvesting and roasting. The gift shop shipped our purchases home for us, which was greatly appreciated.
At our visit to the Dole plantation, we learned that banana plants are actually herbs. That was only one of a multitude of interesting facts. Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten the rest of them. Hey, it’s been 5 years!
Costa Rica has no military force. Instead, they spend their resources on education and on preserving the beauty of their country. As they say in Costa Rica, “Pura Vida”.
INBio Park’s exhibit pinpointed the locations of Costa Rica’s abundant national parks.
Our trip also had an active component. That’s me, front left seat, with Mike right behind me (although it is hard to tell) white water rafting on the Sarapiqui River.
Our school visit qualified as a “genuine experiences with the locals”. The children were so cute. They performed for us, then practiced speaking English while they gave us a tour of the school.
We visited TWO of Costa Rica’s active volcanoes. Poaz Volcano is just outside of San Jose. That is not a reflection of the sky; it is actual steam rising up from the center of the crater.
Our hotel was close enough to Volcan Arenal to allow us to see it erupting at night. This obviously isn’t a great shot, but you get the idea. Trust me, it was much more impressive in person!
Here’s the afternoon view, from our hotel.
One of the nice things about Road Scholars is you are not visiting sites with hoards of others. Frequently we were all by ourselves, enjoying the view.
We hiked to the top of a neighboring peak, and were rewarded with a wonderful view of Lake Arenal.
This Capuchin monkey’s job was to distract us so that his confederates could get into our backpacks. We were supposed to leave them unattended while we photographed him!
He was one of the main attractions at Manuel Antonio Park. The other attraction was the beautiful beach, with the comfortably, warm water.
Costa Rica is justifiably renown for its diversity of plant and animal life. Take a look at just a smidgen of what we saw during our trip.
I’m still getting the hang of posting from my “i” stuff. Posting from an iPhone is different from an iPad, and both are different from posting from a desktop. So, my 2011 goodbye got published before I was finished with my fond farewell.
Here are more Antarctica shots
Lunch time
Following the penguin trail to the top of the hill
Our ship looked like a toy when viewed from the top of the hill. Maybe it was a little higher than it looked. We slid all the way back to the bottom on our bottoms
My traveling companions, Greg
and Mike
Disembarking at dawn in Ushuaia, Argentina, the end of the earth.
Back home by way of Santiago, Chile
And Lima, Peru
Dinner at La Rosa Nautica, on the Pacific Ocean, before heading to the airport
Only one more day in 2011. For me, 2011 was a wonderful year. Our extended family grew through marriage and the arrival of a baby, our son started his MBA at the University of Virginia, we achieved a level of financial independence that allowed me to join Mike in retirement, and we were able to spend time with people that are important to us.
We started the year traveling to Antarctica with Lindblad and National Geographic. We boarded the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina, after a short cruise on a catamaran through the Beagle Channel.
Here is the Antarctica welcoming committee.
Karen, Diane, Victoria, Kathleen, Jim and I all opted for the additional two day post trip in Venice. What a perfect ending for a perfect trip!
Here are Beth and Victoria living large in the back of our water taxi, as we make our way to the Hotel Giorgione.
Meanwhile, I’m up front, keeping my eyes on the back of our driver, who seems to be making quite a few waves. He could teach the NYC cabbies a thing or two…
The Venetians sure know how to live. The traffic doesn’t stress THIS guy out! I will confess, though, I’m glad he wasn’t driving OUR taxi. Something about steering with his foot just didn’t feel reassuring.
Quick turn down a side canal and we’re almost there. Hope Victoria and Beth duck before we get to that low bridge.
Are you ready for some Venice sights? Here goes:
San Marco as seen from a vaporetto
San Marco seen from the ground
Okay, so I’ve done land and sea. How about air? Well, this is about as close as I could get to an aerial view.
That’s all for today’s post. More Venice shots tomorrow.
Destination NOW 