travel – Page 4 – Destination NOW

South American Travel Therapy

How will I fill the hole in my heart from losing Mike and Sandy? It was unwitting, but the healing process has been helped by my book club’s selection of “The Collected Regrets of Clover”. The main character (Clover) is a death doula. Although I didn’t relate to her personality, I definitely DID appreciate her discussion of death and what to do to make that inevitable passage more comfortable for a loved one. How I wish I had read it two years ago!

Here are some lines that really resonated for me: “When someone has always been there for you, it’s easy to assume they always will be. And then, one day, they’re not.”
“Some people believe that the spirits of loved ones stay with you even after they die, so you can still chat with them whenever you like.”
Whenever I find myself regretting things that I should have done differently during my 47 years with Mike, the following line brings me comfort. “You know, from what you’ve told me about him, it doesn’t sound like there’d be any issue of him forgiving you. Maybe it’s more a question of you forgiving yourself?”
Like me, Clover discovers traveling can help her assuage her grief. That’s how I’ll be spending a good part of 2025, as you’ve probably guessed from the title of this post. Some of my travel will be to places I’ve already visited with Mike, as is the case with my first trip in 2025, to Columbia and Ecuador.

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m very excited about this trip, which is why I’m blogging about it pre-departure. In January of 2010, Mike, Greg and I took an Oceania cruise through the Panama Canal. Our only stop in Columbia was in Cartagena. As is the case with many cruises, we were only in port for less than a day, which was definitely not enough time to savor this lovely city. But one advantage to traveling by ship is the spectacular view of the city as we pulled into and out of the harbor. Here’s a photo from a vantage point that I don’t expect to replicate on my land trip with OAT.

One of the many reasons I continue to choose Overseas Adventure Travel is the ability to customize my tour by adding pre and/or post trips. Initially, I had considered taking the pretrip to Bolivia, but the flights and connections were pretty dreadful, and I learned from the very helpful Facebook page “Friends of Overseas Adventure Travel” that some people struggled with altitude sickness while in Bolivia. Bogota is fairly high up too, but by arriving a day before the tour starts, I figure I can load up on coca tea. Yes, you can make cocaine from those very same leaves, and no, I’m not bringing any home with me. During our trip to Peru in 2009, we discovered the miraculous properties of coca tea, which helped us adjust to the altitude in Machu Picchu and Cusco. Before departure, OAT’s trip leaders always send us an email chock full of helpful information. Alejo also sent a second email to the five of us that are arriving early with suggested activities, restaurant recommendations and he confirmed that coca tea is available at our hotel.

I love OAT’s small group size. Of the 15 of us on the main trip, 5 are men and 10 are women. Three have matching last names, and although the remainder don’t, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are all traveling solo. Sometimes two friends are traveling together, and if it is a relatively new relationship for a man and a woman, they tend want to go off by themselves. Fortunately, at least so far, I’ve encountered a number of interesting, friendly OAT travelers who have been excellent travel buddies, which makes the trip far more fun. Some that I’ve met (both when Mike and I traveled together and since I’ve traveled solo) continue to be friends. In fact, some will be with me on trips planned for 2026. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Back to 2025.

When I learned that Columbia was one of the countries featured on the 2024 Amazing Race, I streamed those two episodes to get a sneak peek at what I might expect. Like the contestants, we will be traveling to Bogota, Medellin, Guatepé and the coffee growing area. I double checked the OAT itinerary, and sure enough, we will also hit many of the same highlights. For the map enthusiasts (and Mike turned me into one…) here’s where we will be, starting in Bogota.

Luckily, we have three nights in Cartagena, so this will be my chance to get that “savoring’ in that I missed during our brief time in port. The photo atop this post I took when we were in Cartagena 15 years ago. Not what you envision when you think of Columbia, is it?

Our hotels are a nice mix of big city locations and smaller boutiques. Because so many people have warned me about the dangers of traveling in Columbia, I thought I’d share photos of where we will be staying. Our hotel in Bogota appears to be centrally located, in a lovely walkable area.

Hotel de la Opera
Bogota

All of our hotels have pools; the ones in Medellin and Cartagena are on the rooftop, affording guests a panoramic view of the surrounding area.

Novotel Medellin

Our small boutique hotel in the coffee triangle will be a nice change from the two big cities, as you can see from the photo below. We will spend three nights in Pereira. Bosques, by the way, is the Spanish word for forests. I have no idea what Saman means. Probably just the name of the area.

Hotel Bosques del Saman

I don’t know if you can tell from the photo below, but the ocean is visible from Cartagena’s rooftop pool. An additional claim to fame for the Bantu Hotel is that it is just 300 meters from the Hotel Santa Clara. (For those who don’t relate well to the metric system, Ms Google tells us that 300 meters equates to a 4 minute walk ) . Why is that important? Well, in 1621 The Hotel Santa Clara was a convent for the nuns known as the Poor Clares. When Sofitel transformed it into an upscale hotel in the 1990’s, they wisely kept the crypts, wells, confessionals and gardens which should make their “30 minute free legendary tour with the hotel Butlers” really interesting. Is the tour only available to hotel guests? I don’t know, but I can assure you that I WILL find out, and I’ll certainly report back.

Bantu Hotel

As one would expect, the Santa Clara Hotel has world renown restaurants. The 1621 is reputed to have a “creative” tasting menu –(is that a synonym for really, really expensive? )– but I expect I will only be able to afford a drink at the hotel bar. Check out the hotel’s on-line description of this “magical” bar:
The atmosphere becomes more magical when the sun begins coming down and the golden and orange sunlight offers an unrepeatable spectacle for your senses.
This place, surrounded by an enchanting aura, welcomes its visitors with shelves full of old jars. Upon arrival, the outpours of exotic herbs and spices mix in the air, taking you to a time of ancient secrets and forgotten magic. The menu is truly a masterpiece, offering a selection of potions and concoctions carefully prepared. You can find a wide variety of “Elixir” –a mix of ginseng and lavender– as well as the “potion of remedies for the soul”. Each drink is a unique sensorial experience with dazzling presentations and seducing flavors. The bar is located outdoors on the terrace of the hotel’s third floor, offering the best view of the Caribbean Sea. Botika Bar recreates the concept of the old pharmacies, where artisans would experiment and prepare medicines by combining plants and minerals to discover masterful formulas with healing properties.

How could I pass up such a spiritual experience? I sure hope I’ll be able to entice at least ONE of the “friends I haven’t met yet” to join me for a “unique sensorial experience with dazzling presentations”.

After imbibing potions that will heal the soul, I and 6 fellow travelers will be flying to Quito for the 7 day post trip. Although Mike and I had been to Ecuador in January of 2012, we stayed at an ecolodge in the Amazon jungle and then were on a boat traveling from island to island in the Galapagos. The only overlap between the two trips will be our time Quito.

While in Columbia, I will be spending 13 nights in 4 hotels; In Ecuador, it will be 7 nights in 3 hotels, but our time in Quito will be split into a 1 night stay, upon arrival, and a 2 night stay upon departure. Let’s see how THAT shakes out. It will definitely be a test of my packing skills!

To prepare for my visit, I have been taking language lessons through two on line apps. Although Duolingo’s app is helpful, I found that Busuu (recommended by my multi-lingual friend Chris) teaches me words and phrases that I am more apt to use. Here are some examples of actual lessons:
“Dar la vuelta al mundo” means to travel around the world, but a literal translation is something like “to give the return to the world”, which would have completely befuddled me. Duolingo tends to introduce phrases that can easily translate into English like “mi tio estudia la actividad del cerebro de los gatos”, which means “My uncle studies the activity of the brains of the cats”. I’m just guessing that the idioms from Busuu will be used more frequently. But we shall see. One can never predict how many cat brain enthusiasts one might meet!

Busuu has me engaging with native speakers in Spain who are learning English. I correct their work and they correct mine. Of course, some of my teachers are young kids, but hey, that way I’ll learn all the cool words! Should I teach them “yo mama”? Both apps have free and paid versions. Busuu wears you down with lots of advertising on their “free app”, but I kept ignoring the invitations to buy until the price reduced to about $60 for the year.

Time to get back to trip details. The participants on the OAT Facebook page frequently ask questions about whether it is better to purchase air through OAT or to book your own flight. I’ve done both, but this time, I discovered that if I booked directly with Avianca, for a mere $427 more, round trip, I could upgrade to business class AND choose my seat AND get direct flights from and to JFK! I’ll be flying for the first time with Avianca, so I have no idea what business class is like, but I certainly will let you know.

Adios por ahora.

Istanbul

Mike and I spent our three week honeymoon traveling thru Europe, and then stayed within the USA’s borders until our 25th wedding anniversary in 2001. To celebrate that milestone we took our first cruise, which started with two days in Istanbul.

View of Hagia Sophia from the terrace of the Seven Hills restaurant

I had thought that we would return to Turkey to celebrate our 50th, but as the John Lennon song goes “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans”.

Instead, I’ll be visiting Turkey on Mike’s and my anniversary accompanied by Janis, Shirley, Renee and Renee’s husband Mike, all friends I met on prior OAT trips.

On the way home from my Africa trip, I opted to stop in Istanbul for two nights. I’m not seeing many of the usual tourist sights—I either saw them in 2001 or will see them when I visit in May of 2026. Instead, I’ve primarily been on a recognizance mission, checking out restaurants and the hammam, so I can make “free time” recommendations for my travel companions.

The lunch at Matbah was WONDERFUL! I opted for an appetizer (grape leaves and sour cherries) and the yogurt and cucumber salad. The complimentary baba ganoush, warm pita bread and pomegranate juice were an unexpected treat. I can fully understand how this place got its Michelin rating.

Last night I visited Seven Hills restaurant. The terrace has a spectacular view BUT stupid people were feeding the seagulls. Don’t they understand that what goes in eventually must come OUT? I happen to know that the poop doesn’t necessarily land on the head of the person feeding the gulls; sometimes it’s an innocent bystander that’s the target.

There’s a French fry on the end of the fork she’s holding aloft.

I decided to patronize the Seven Hills restaurant on the floor below the terrace, which was MUCH quieter and had an equally compelling view of the Bosporus. The food? Well, it was expensive and average. I wouldn’t go back the next time I’m in Istanbul.

On the morning of my only full day in Istanbul, I encountered an OAT group taking Turkey’s Magical Hideaways (my 2026 trip) in the hotel lobby. I decided to eavesdrop as Sari, the trip leader, held the morning briefing. After he finished, I introduced myself and asked if I could have a copy of the four pages of helpful hints that he’d handed out to the group.

Sari. Maybe he’ll be my trip leader in 2026?

And let me tell you, they came in VERY handy.

For example, I hate to be rude, so I find it impossible to ignore someone who is talking to me. One of the hints said “Do not be polite”, and told us to walk away from offers for help or invitations to shop.

Despite being cautioned, I still engaged in conversations. It seems I can’t help it. This young man tried more than once to get me to visit his shop, calling “Hey, New Jersey” when he encountered me the second time. Yes, I DID tell him where I was from the first time we met. AND I took his picture.

I keep telling the young men (and it’s ALWAYS young guys) “I’m old. I’m not acquiring stuff any more—I’m getting RID of stuff. Go after the young ‘uns. They’re more likely to buy from you”. That seems to work rather well.

So my morning was spent crashing a meeting, hanging out, and wandering aimlessly. For the afternoon, I fruitlessly searched for gifts for the boys in my life. Gifts for girls abound, but boys? I came up empty.

My trip to the Hamam, on the other hand, was a smashing success. Not only was I in a historic building, but I also managed to shed about a pound of dead skin cells and African grit.

I’m usually not a fan of massages, but this experience was incredible. I immediately checked the OAT itinerary, and was glad to see that we are going to have a free afternoon in Istanbul on our 2026 trip. You better believe I’m coming back!

I can’t tell whether the description of the hammam is readable, but just in case it isn’t, here’s the gist.

The “Hagia Sophia bathhouse” as it was called back then, was built in 1556. Over the centuries, it was repurposed, then restored in 1957. So why didn’t I delete the photos of the description after I wrote the summary? Because I found the description absolutely charming—incomprehensible, but charming.

Fortunately, the photo of the available services came through clearly. I bought the one hour of services and it was worth every Euro!

I wasn’t sure whether the “warmest quarter” referred to my body or the section of the building. It was the latter.

The photo atop this blog post shows what’s under the huge dome on the right, in the photo below. The little domes are private areas where you get covered with mud, then rinsed off. After that, you mosey on over to the dome on the left to get enveloped in bubbles (it was fantastic) and massaged.

You start and end up in the room under the big dome on the right

That’s where you sip your tea, while wearing your Hannibal Lecter mask.

The ONLY photo taken of me in the hammam.

I’ll admit to being so puzzled by my hotel’s bathroom configuration that I actually did a video of it for the folks back home.

Https://youtu.be/VtunHUZX-ns?si=0TvliqZ7QqdQ9Axx

The mystery of the basin and round metal bowl was solved during my visit to the hammam, because the private spaces were similarly constructed. One exception— the ones in the hammam didn’t have a showerhead. That was probably a concession to the western guests.

But back to the basin, bowl and bench.

Here’s what you do. You fill the basin with water heated to your desired temperature. You sit on the bench and use the small metal bowl to dump water all over your body. Now, why didn’t I figure that out?

For my last morning in Istanbul, I visited the Topkapi Palace, which was within walking distance of our hotel. It is on 2026 itinerary, but sometimes it’s nice to take your time, wandering unescorted. This was definitely not one of those times. I kept getting lost. (I know, hard to believe…) I was especially sorry that I wasn’t with a guide who would steer me away from the boring and depressing areas and focus solely on what was worth seeing.

On a positive note, I left the “palace“ convinced that I am currently living better — and more comfortably —than yesteryear’s Ottoman Empire sultan. We ALL are.

Check out the throne room, theoretically the best digs in the palace. I’ll take my living room over this one, ANY day!

I DID like the library, but I’ll bet my iPhone has a better selection of reading materials.

What I don’t have is a room housing relics, at least not yet. The Chamber of the Sacred Relics is purported to contain the staff that Moses used to part the Red Sea, a pot that once belonged to Abraham (probably it was Sara’s, but back then, I’ll bet women weren’t allowed to own anything), bones from St John the Baptist’s skull and forearm, and dust from Mohammed’s tomb.

As it got closer to noon, the palace became hot and crowded. It took a while, but eventually I found my way out of the maze, checked out of the hotel, and made my way to the airport, which was a little over an hour’s taxi ride away.

This will be my last blog post for a while. No more international trips till 2025.

Thanks for traveling with me!

Up, up and away…

Sometimes when things don’t go according to plan, you end up with something even better. That was definitely the case for me and my ballooning buddies.

We dutifully arose at 3:45 AM, to be ready for our 4:15 escort. Why would we need an escort to get from our tents to the balloon company van, you ask? Well, because after dark one night, 4 lions wandered into our camp and positioned themselves between two of the tents, staying until daybreak. My family won’t be surprised to learn that I completely slept through their snorting and huffing.

Our 90 minute drive to the balloon launch site turned into a game drive, because while our driver Simon ( pronounced SEE-moan) was zipping along the bumpy roads, he was also on the lookout for critters.

The high point was when Simon spotted this young leopard easin’ on down the road. When he crossed in front of the jeep, a passenger in the front seat quickly snapped this photo. I just as quickly conducted an impromptu class on airdropping, so we could all share this reminder of our encounter.

We were hopeful as we settled into the basket, lying on our backs.

Okay, so maybe my selfie skills need a little work.

After being loaded into the balloon basket, “snug as bugs in a rug” ( as my mother used to say) the pilots decided it was too windy to fly.

We were given a choice of either trying again the next day or getting our money back. Hell, yeah, we’re all gonna try again. So what if we had to get up at 3:45 AM two days in a row? We got to see spectacular sunrises, drive with Simon again and scarf down yet another breakfast at the Miracle Experience camp. What’s not to like?

Besides, we already posed for this photo, so we felt committed.

Rachel, the youngest, Sue and Hannah, and me, the oldest (and biggest—I scrunched a lot) of our group.

On day 2, we already knew the drill. THIS time, I got a photo BEFORE we entered the basket, so the friends back home could see what I was trying to describe. Our new pals from the OAT group traveling a day behind us were in the “mezzanine”, while we scored the balloon’s “orchestra” seats on the bottom level.

This was our last chance for a balloon ride because the following day we were leaving the Serengeti. Fortunately, we all were chillin’, having a “que será, será” attitude. Whatever happened, we were good with the outcome. That’s what made these ladies such great travel companions.

Rosa, our Spanish pilot explained that there are three types of landings: smooth, bumpy, and drag. The first two terms are self explanatory. DRAG is when you bump several times before coming to a stop with the basket on its side, the way we started. Bet you can’t guess which one WE experienced.

What Rosa neglected to mention was that sometimes take off can also be a “drag”. We bounced up and down a couple of times before the balloon righted itself. Rachel, our selfie queen, captured our happy faces during our glorious lift off.

When we got completely upright, our new OAT friends took this one.

So what was it like? Pretty damn magnificent. It is very apparent that our eyes are indeed miraculous. My photos in no way do justice to what we viewed on the “Endless Plain”, which is the English translation of the Maasai word Serengeti.

Two last game drives, then on to my solo trip to Istanbul.

It may LOOK like rocks, but those are all hippos, including the butt pillow.

It took a group effort to bring this Cape buffalo down.

Now what made me think of Thanksgiving dinner? Except WE all gorge ourselves together. Lions take turns. See, one has been patiently waiting her turn, and now it’s time.

It was clearly worth the wait.

I’ll end this post with a shot of Mount Kilimanjaro for Tom, Jean’s husband. It was taken in Kenya, earlier in the trip. I had hoped to get a better shot from the Tanzania side, but my only view was from an airplane, and the propeller was in the way.

Animals of Kenya and Tanzania

Is that not the most fascinating creature you’ve ever seen? Its official name is “secretariat” but Frederick, one of our drivers, calls it “the waiter” because of its black pants and white jacket.

Despite its weight, I decided to bring my Panasonic LUMIX with its zoom lens and not rely solely on my iPhone 14. Good thing.

Fellow traveler Sue’s IPhone 15 Pro had some amazing zoom capabilities, as evidenced by her “unicorn” shot.

Clearly, there’s a big difference between the iPhones.

My Lumix is great for distance shots,

but it also allows me to eliminate distractions, like this jeep jamboree.

After being in Rwanda, where contact with animals was tightly controlled, we were horrified that the jeeps were allowed to get so close to this animal, but the lion didn’t seem to mind.

Although we would have liked to have had the animals to ourselves, as was the case in Rwanda, we also recognized how positive it is for their economy to have so many tourists visiting Kenya and Tanzania.

Sometimes the two legged creatures are every bit as fascinating as the four legged ones. Gotta have that Instagram shot for the friends back home.

I promised you animals in this post, so here goes— a tiny sample of what we have seen so far.

Our first hyena,

mom and baby baboon, (notice the red butt? It functions like a red light hung in a window.)

We’ve seen thousands of zebras. I like this photo because their stripes make it seem like an optical illusion.

This baby antelope was only minutes old. We just missed witnessing the birth.

Although it might not be apparent in the photo, WE could all see the afterbirth dangling from mom. She was cleaning off her newborn so predators couldn’t smell it.

Do you know the differences between a cheetah and a leopard?

The cheetah’s spots are all the same color; a leopard’s spots are rosettes with two colors. The cheetah has a black line from its eye to its mouth, and they are the fastest animals on this planet, but leopards are stronger, bulkier and great climbers. But the biggest difference? So far, we’ve seen a cheetah, but haven’t seen a leopard.

I never get tired of watching the big cats doing their grocery shopping.

Like the cheetah, these lionesses are on the hunt, but for them, it’s a group activity.

We didn’t witness the kill, but we DID see what happens after. Although HE had nothing to do with the meal prep, the dominant male eats first, then the lionesses, then the kiddies, then the oldest and weakest members of the pride.

We watched this young male chase his smaller brother away so he could fill up in peace. After he’s satiated, little brother is welcome to the leftovers.

See that horn sticking up? That identified the victim as a wildebeest. Theses guys were as numerous as the zebras, and we frequently saw them traveling together.

On this trip we have 5 full day game drives, (leaving between 6:30 and 7:30 AM, returning between 3:30 and 5PM), and 10 drives split between morning and afternoon. Believe it or not, I opted to sit out one full day and one afternoon drive, choosing instead to hang out by the pool, watching the black faced monkeys and the beautiful birds.

Here’s the thing. The roads are extremely dusty and incredibly bumpy. Sometimes you’re bumped and jostled for over an hour in search of elusive game. Because of the dust, the windows of the safari vehicle have to stay closed. And the afternoons are hot.

Hot, dusty, bumpy drive or an afternoon sitting by a pool in a beautiful hotel, reading a fascinating book about the Kibera slums (“Find Me Unafraid“ by Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner)? Knowing there would be abundant opportunities to see animals made my decision easy.

These starlings are iridescent.

Tomorrow we leave for four days in the Serengeti, where we will have NO connectivity, so here are a few quick photos before we go “off the grid”.

Crown cranes,

There’s more, but it will have to wait for Arusha, because of the wonky internet.

Maasai Culture

Warning: This might not be a good post to read to children.

Yet another reason I choose to travel with OAT is the opportunity to learn about the culture of the places we visit. I also love that a portion of our payment for the trip goes back to the communities with whom we interact.

Our morning in a Maasai village was VERY educational. So, of course I feel compelled to share what I learned with you.

Did you ever wonder how you get goats to practice birth control? Let this Maasai chief show you. That yellow barrier strapped behind the goat’s forelegs stops his “love potion” from reaching its intended target.

I confess that I was slightly confused. I thought it was a GOOD thing to have lots of goats and sheep. Seleman, our wonderful trip leader, explained that for goats, like humans, timing is everything in life. The Maasai want to make sure baby goats are born when their likelihood of survival is maximized, so when the timing is right, the shield comes off.

Next the Assistant Chief explained (in perfect English) the tribal hierarchy. He described some of the Maasai rituals, the most memorable (to me) being circumcision. It is performed in public, without anesthesia, on a group of 12 to 14 year old boys. If they don’t cry out or even flinch, they are deemed worthy to become warriors. After surviving the ritual, the group goes into the bush for three months. When they return to the tribe they are then considered to be men.

Before climate change decimated their herd of cattle, reducing it from 290 to 10, the Maasai used to drink cow’s blood every morning. They made a shallow incision into the cow’s jugular, collecting at least a liter before they stuffed the cow’s wound with herbs.

If you ever doubt the impact that one amazing woman can have, let me introduce you to Lucy. For the past 13 years, Lucy has visited over 100 villages, providing health education, including speaking out against what WE call FGM ( female genital mutilation). What THEY call “the cut” was deeply imbedded in the culture and traditions. They believed undergoing this public procedure transformed a girl into a woman, and thus enabled her to be married. Like circumcision, removal of the clitorus and labia was done without anesthesia, by a “midwife” and women were expected to endure the pain without crying out. Lucy underwent “the cut” when she was 14. (She admitted to crying and screaming).

Although the government banned FGM in 2003, there was no follow up, so the practice continued. It certainly wasn’t easy, but after years of hard work, Lucy succeeded in eliminating FGM for about 99% of the girls in the villages she visited.

Lucy understood she had to “humble herself” in order to get her message across. To ME, however, Lucy is the embodiment of Katy Perry’s song “Roar”, especially these lines:

“ You held me down, but I got up, already brushing off the dust, I went from zero to my own hero…

I am the champion and you’re gonna hear me ROAR”

After the Maasai village visit, we headed to an elementary school that has been a recipient of funds from OAT’s Grand Circle’s foundation.

There are only 12 teachers for 183 girls and 230 boys. That’s quite a teacher/student ratio! .

While there, we learned how the Foundation‘s money was used. The first purchase was a copy machine, so the teachers wouldn’t have to walk for 45 minutes to the closest copier.

Under construction were bathrooms with flush toilets that will replace the two squat toilets currently being shared by all the students (and that some of us used during our visit).

During our interaction with the children, we told them a little about ourselves, where we were from (notice the map of the USA on the wall) and what our occupations were.

Fellow traveler Kalpana was by far the most inspirational. She told the students that she had attended a school just like theirs when she was growing up in India. Her hard work enabled her to become a doctor. Kalpana encouraged the kids to study, work hard and dream big.

I know, I know. I lured you in with that elephant photo atop this post. We will get to the elephants, cheetahs, lions and monkeys…and that post WILL be suitable to read to the kiddies. I promise, but first I wanted to share these meaningful and inspiring moments.

I’ll end this post with a photo of our group hanging out in a baobab tree.

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!

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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