After a four hour wait at Jakarta airport, we finally got away around 6.30pm. It was only an hours flight with Thai International (prepaid price $54), with the cabin service excellent and a great meal of lobster and wine. We arrived in Singapore at 8pm (they were 30 minutes ahead), having crossed the equator 10 minutes earlier. The harbour was fantastic at night, with all the vessels awaiting bert Read on...
Today was earmarked to take the ferry across to Grimsey Island. It has stopped raining but the wind is still pretty wild. Its a real nuisance to have to delay the trip as there is no ferry tomorrow but we have been on enough dive boats to know that if the bay is rough, the open sea is going to be horrendous. Apparently the ferry always leaves whatever the weather. Its three hours there and three h Read on...
A leisurely start to the day. We walk up to the local cafe to get breakfast - they are offering bacon and eggs, lovely. The bacon has a very strong flavour. We think it might be the speciality bacon cured up here because of the mountain climate.
Now to the electronic dashboard. I manage to find my way into settings and hey presto, I can change the language to English - Ian is much happier and as Read on...
Having been here once before, I can tell you that Portugal is a very underrated place to visit. The weather is great, the food is both hearty and interesting, the wines are inventive, and the people are friendly. Portugal is pricier than a super cheap getaway to the Southern United States, to the rest of Europe, its very economical, which is one reason why so many Americans are retiring here. With Read on...
TOUR 2 – Great Iberian Tour – MON, 13 JUN 2022 – Day 14: Visit the Alhambra (if you bought the trip with the entrance included). Night transfer. We will have a full day in GRANADA. For those who booked the trip with the entrance included, in the afternoon we will visit with a local guide the immense Alhambra Palace and its beautiful Generalife gardens, built in Arab times. In the evening we Read on...
Our time in Sicily to an end..and frankly, we were ready. Our last stop in Palermo rekindled our warmth for the province, but still, we found ourselves eager to move on. With many years of international travel, we had faced many hurdles, but between being eager to depart Sicily and the challenges we faced, it made for some frustration. When you travel, things will occasionally go awry, but this tr Read on...
We hoped the late spring of 2022 would be the time to begin to travel abroad once again. The pandemic had shut off foreign travel for all of 2020 and 2021. Iceland was a place we wanted to visit, especially since we had visited Greenland in 2019. Iceland dropped its Covid test requirement at the end of February. We booked the 8 day Iceland Adventure tour with Globus.
Icelandair flight 644 depart Read on...
We flew to Varna from Sofia. Picking up a local guide and motorcoach, the group set off for sightseeing along the Black Sea coastline. In the Cold War era, Varna had the nickname in the West of the Red Riviera. The city, on the Black Sea, was the site of many beach resorts visited by Eastern European vacationers who could not then travel to the West. A brief tour of Varna was included.
Our visit Read on...
Following our air trip over the Bungle Bungles, it was time to hike into this unusual formation of rocks for a couple of kilometres; initially to Cathedral Gorge which is a natural amphitheatre. It is a huge cavern with incredible acoustics. A couple of concerts have in fact been performed here. The variation in colouring and texturing of the walls in the gorge is stunning. Our final stop was a hi Read on...
Fresh off a trip to Machu Picchu, my and I decide to go out and explore Cusco. We were here briefly before we spent the day in Machu Picchu, but we really didnt get to take in the city and surrounding area. Now is our time. We make our way to Sacsayhuamn, a beautiful old site that looks like an archeological dig, and we walk around. We walk up and down these rock walls and just explore to the best Read on...