Monday 31 December 2012

The middle of the Earth

Today has been a fun day as we took a taxi to the equator (both the right and the wrong one).  It was so interesting...did you know that the Inca's had already determined the correct location of the equator and had built a number of temples along it???  One wonders how the Europeans got it so wrong in the end and even erected a monument and a church along the "equator" line, to stand forever as a testament to their error in calculations...
 
An aboriginal museum, located on the true equator, was a hands on experience with a guide explaining the customs of some of the aboriginals in the Amazon Basin indigenous to Ecuador.  She took us to the equator line and we performed a number of "experiments" to prove that we were indeed at the equator...this included balancing an egg on a nail (we saw this performed, but could not do it ourselves)...we saw the water test performed, where the water flowed counter-clockwise in the north and clockwise in the south...and we also found that certain things could not be done on the equator (like holding ones arms up against the pressure of someone pulling them down)...it was fascinating indeed.
The egg, balancing on a nail...only possible apparently at the equator itself
The red line is the true equator
 
We followed this up with a visit to the famous and foreboding monument....which is some 200 meters away from the actual equator...it was not half as interesting...but it was much grander...we visited the church on the site which has the markings of the "equator" running through it...all in all it was fun.
 

The Monument of the Equator, 200 meters away from the Equator itself!

 
Perhaps equally remarkable was our first stop...which was an outlook over an old volcano Caldera which is now farmed by the aboriginals.  The view was spectacular...
 
 
As to wildlife...we saw some birds, including a humming bird sitting in its nest, two llamas were engaged in the usual springtime activity, and guinea pigs were in captivity and also available as a meal...
 
Llamas celebrating spring
 
 
 
 
To all who may be reading this blog...hope that tonight's new years celebrations are fun and that you have a wonderful and prosperous new year.
 
 

Saturday 29 December 2012

High in Quito

We have arrived in Quito Ecuador...it is a huge city between mountains...surrounded by volcanoes.   It is very high in altitude...about 2800 metres so acclimatizing has been challenging for me while Paul has had only slight symptoms.  We decided for some unfathomable reason to take a cable car up another 1400 metres to take in the view...
After a stop at the statue of the Virgin Mary I had to take my spinning head back to the hotel for a rest...
Looking forward to a walk around the old Town tomorrow.
The city of Quito is huge, stretching down the length of a high valley
The Virgin Mary overlooks the city with a serpent she has conquered at her feet
The clouds were beautiful, some filling a mountain top to the right

Friday 28 December 2012

The new adventure begins

After planning for six months, our trip to South America has fianlly started.  Here we are at the airport at 0700 waiting at the gate for a 1000 flight.  This after difficulties at check in (our tickets were not registered or something)...and a long security check...next stop...Miami...

Monday 19 November 2012

relief

The verdict is in...the foot is not broken as we had feared...it is a case of platar facietis....so there is hope for our upcoming trip to south America...how releved am I...although it is still   very sore...am hoping that it will improve with time and pysio

in the meatime we re home again and continuing to plan our trip which is coming on quickly...we have a mere 5 weeks left to complete the final details

Thursday 15 November 2012

Six days at sea

We left Horta headed to the West with high hopes that we would leave the rainy weather behind us and move into sunny and calm seas...not to be unfortanately...we were hounded by rain, seas and swell...many passengers found it too difficult to stay upright without drugs...

This was not a problem for us old sailors, so we took full advantage of the ship.  We participatated in many games of Trivia...winning sometimes with team mates that we met on board...a couple from Switzerland and a couple from USA...together we made an awesome team for travel trivia which included much about geography...

The ship was the MS Prinsendam...a 25 year old ship with much charm.  We discovered half way across the Atlantic that the ship was headed for dry dock at the end of our voyage.  The crew started to appear and to prepare the vessel...this included taking down awnings over seating areas (not great for rainy conditions); starting electrical work...putting outside chairs away...not altogether convenient for us passengers, especially those with no balcony (this included us) as we struggled to find places to sit and relax inside...
Nevertheless..we found time and places to kick back and get lost in books and puzzles...the time seemed to slip away.



Eating on the ship became somewhat of an olympic event as going to the dining room became a major event every day...three times (at least) each day...by the end of six days we were all groaning under the gained weight...

We had an excellent lecturer (from Canada) who gave us an opportunity to get better acquainted with the stars...which were excellent when we had a break in the cloud cover...one night in particular when the heavens opened above us and we could see nothing but stars on a moonless night.  The lecturer pointed out constellations which we had learned about earlier in the cruise and the moment was magical indeed.

We saw several shows on board which also filled much time...

I would be lying though if I didn't admit that I was looking forward to seeing land again...and when we did it was lovely indeed...in the far distance Grand Bahamas!!! together with a great sunset...at the end of the first rainless day we had had!


This morning (November 15) we arrived in Fort Lauderdale and said goodbye to Mom and Dad and then went ashore to stay the day on the beach.  We met up with Sascha and Danielle (Trivia team mates) in the disembarkation line and they spent a few hours on the beach with us...using our room to house their belongings until they could make their way to the airport in Miami...It was great for us to have the company of such a young and energetic couple on our last vacation day!!!


Tomorrow it will be back to Ottawa from the beautiful and sunny shores of Fort Lauderdale where we have enjoyed the heat.  We discovered during our trivia pursuits that there is a name for the skin which is lost after a sunburn...bylpe...so now we know what to call it once we experience it...and we are sure to as we have been exposed to enough sun in one day to be thoroughly roasted!!!

Thursday 8 November 2012

November 8

So...since my last post we have been exploring Portugal...we had a stupendous experience in Lisbon...we took the train to Sinatra...where we visited a castle at the top of a mountain....it was an adventure in the truest sense as we had to take a bus....followed by a tram and then a walk through the rooms and apartments of an incredible old castle that inspires thoughts of mystic experiences...we took the train back into Lisbon and spent the evening wandering through Alfama.   We had a great meal in a small restaurant where the owners fortunately spoke French!!!



This has been followed by two days at sea and we ate now in Horton...where we have visited a volcano caldera and an area created through a volcanic explosion...fun fun fun....


Will be spending the next six days at sea and will be out of touch for that entire time....hope to survive the isolation :-)


Sunday 4 November 2012

november 4

It has been quiet on board the ship.  We have been forced to slow down...which has its advantages indeed... but makes for a strange new rhythm to life...we are of course experiencing the food phenomenon which is common to cruise ships....not easy to resist!!! I can only imagine what the scales will say when we return.

We are currently in Cadiz Spain...which is our last stop before Portugal.  Last night we sailed past Gibraltar... at night and in the rain...made it hard to see...but not impossible...even with these conditions it looked fantastically exotic and I could imagine all sorts of weird and wonderful things in Casablanca, just to the south of us!!!

Cadiz is another quaint town with...you guessed it...a cathedral...



We decided to go into town with Mom and Dad...so due yo our combined mobility issues we took the hop on hop off bus.  We ended up in the botanical gatdens...lovely and a good distraction from religion!!!


We will be sailing again in a couple of hours and  are looking forward to Lisbon where we will be trying to take the train to Sintra to visit a castle of some repute...


Saturday 3 November 2012

November 3

Our adventure has continued apace since my last post.  We have had considerable difficulty finding a way to get to a computer to add to the blog...this is something I had not anticipated as we both have smart phones and I thought that their ability to get onto the internet through wifi would be enough...but not so...they either do not ¨see¨ the available wifi or they are too small to make posting possible for these old eyes to see...in any case...here is what has been happening.

After our experience at St. Peter´s we felt that we would have to return when it was NOT Sunday and when the Pope was not there to get in our way...so we decided to go back...what a great experience...there were many parts that we had not seen including Bernini´s last sculpture

and of course the Pieta...which was breathtaking...


 In keeping with Paul´s desire to stay out of basements...we spent only a little time in the crypts (the most striking part-the crypt of St. Peter himself) and found our way to the top.  As my leg was inconveniently in a cast, the guards led us to an elevator and let us in for free...what a great bonus...although I would rather be able to walk up....

We got up to the dome of the church and it was spectacular....really there are no words to describe it...


We could see for many miles and the city stretched out before us on a beautiful sunny day...

This though, was not high enough...so we made the climb to the cupola.  This you can see behind us in the picture above below the golden globe...

It was difficult to climb...with 1,000 of our best friends pressing behind...especially with my gimpness slowing everyone down...but eventually we made it...



The view was even more spectacular from this higher vantage...with the snow covered mountains off in the distance...and the square below...



We had already seen the Sistine Chapel on the free Sunday before, so we did not take time to go there again...


We decided instead to visit the bizzare church where the museum of the purgatory is located.  This includes a small collection of items which supposedly have signals from the dead who are trapped in purgatory awaiting masses and prayers from the living.  Subtle reminders like burnt books, handprints on cloth and actual apartitions which are described by the living...bizzare indeed.  No one made any special suplications whilst we were there, so they will have to stay in Purgatory a bit longer I guess.

In the last few nights that we were in Rome we searched out small restaurants in Trastevere and saw more beautiful churches and (gasp) statues and fountains.


In truth...it got to the point where we had to go to a cafe to escape the beauty of all the things to see in the city.

Before we knew it...it was time to arivedercci Roma and the B & B we had been staying in....




We made our way to the train station where we were pretty well confused by most everything...fortunately there were ¨wanderers¨about who wanted to do nothing but help us...for a fee of course.  The rain was pelting down and we were happy to give a couple of euros to find the right train...once there and figuring out where to sit (not where we had booked of course) we were off...an uneventful trip got us to the coast where the train left us on a soaking wet platform in a torential downpour.  We were soaked within minutes...and no taxi´s were to be found...after 10 panic filled minutes (where Paul tried to ask passers by to drive us to the ship) a taxi arrived and ignored all the others who wanted to use his service to take us...at a premium of course to the ship.

We arrived...more wet than dry...after wading through 6 inch deep water to get to the terminal...and got to the ship where Mom and Dad were waiting for us...my Dad was quite worried thinking that we were too late...

Ah...so...the next leg of our journey started damply, both physically and in spirit...

We arrived two very rough sea-days later in Alcaliente Spain...a quaint, small village nestled into hills.  It was hot and sunny and we wandered through streets which were really stairways straight up...I was reminded of many movies we have seen over the years.  We enjoyed the sunshine at a small cafe on the steps and drank in the local colour (mostly blues and whites to my delight)...the woman who owned the cafe came to our table unbidden at one point and dropped a bowl of soup on the table...on the house (we think)...a delightful lentel concoction...great fun and lovely to be away from the ship for a few hours.

The ship is older and small...not as many amenities as we are used to...but as old as the ship is...the other guests are even older.  There are as many walkers, canes and scooters as there were statues in Rome.  Makes me feel very young indeed.

Today we are in Malaga...and found an internet station where we could catch up on e-mails and add to the blog...tomorrow it is off to Cadiz, and we will be passing ( not to running into) the Rock of Gibraltar at some time in the night...so are hoping to see it as it is lit up apparently...

Then we will be in Lisbon, where we plan to go to Sintra to see a castle there...

Unfortnately the bridge instruction and duplicate games on board suck the big one...so we will be looking for other things to pass our time for the seven days we are at sea...

Will post another update at the earliest opportunity.


Sunday 28 October 2012

October 28,

The last two days have been full of adventure indeed...allowing me to live up to my new title.  We started yesterday with a visit to the colleseum where we took a tour which was well worth the money as it allowed us to skip an incredible line to get in.  We spent a full two hours there looking at the ruins and also at the exhibit that was on display.  What a neat experience...to visit artifacts in the colleseum in what was essentially an outdoor environment.  I saw a remarkable statue of Trajan...one of my favorite emperors...


After two hours in the colleseum, it was off to the Palentine Hill for a complementary completion of the tour on the Palentine Hill.  The tour guide painted a picture of life as it was and brought the place to life for us...


After this tour we were free to roam about...and we ended up in the forum where we saw many remarkable things, including the remains of the temple of Jupiter and the temple of the vestal virigins...


Then we were off again to find the Trevi Fountain...on a Saturday night...when the rest of Rome seemed to also be out and about.  It was so busy and the cast on my foot made it impossible to get to the fountain (sorry to all those who asked me to throw a coin for them)...we wandered a bit more and found a place for a meal.  Then we jumped on a bus hoping to find the Pantheon...after completing a full circuit, a friendly tourist helped us out and we finally made it to the square, but the Pantheon was closed...so we had an ice cream and jumped on the bus headed back....but it stopped service part way through the trip and we ended up stranded in a part of town unknown to us...so we flagged down a cab (thank goodness) and made it back to the B & B by midnight...exhausted we fell into bed...


October 29

Our plan was to go to St. Peters Bassillica and the Vatican Museum today...it being the only free Sunday of the month (by free I mean no admission charge)...after an early rise we grabbed a taxi (the bus experience of the previous day had already made me leary of public transportation) and arrived to find that not surprisingly, many others knew of this free day and the lineups were huge....oh my poor foot...
However, we found that we could get into the Basillica fairly easily if we attended mass...and so we did...and it was beautiful...the choir was magnificent, the music magical and the surroundings...indescribable...by the time the mass was finished...the lines were shorter and we made it into the museums just before they closed....


How beautiful are the artifacts in the museum...from sculputer to frescos to marble floors...words can not really do them justice.  We were headed for the Sistine Chaple, with about 3,000 of our closest friends...and knowing that the place closed at around 2:00 we could not spend time looking at all the artifcats along the way...but when we got to the chapel it was all worth it...what a spectical!  The paintings are all beautiful and have been expertly restored...we were both awe struck by the whole experience...


Then it was off to have a very late lunch, all in the vicinity of Piazza Navona...the home of incredible fountains...

In any case...I have not been able to upload any pictures...so will add these once I find a way to do so..

The adventure continues....



Friday 26 October 2012

October 26....Well here we are in beautiful Roma. We had very long trip getting here almost 12 hours. The good news is we survived!

The plan ounfolded perfectly.  We took a bus to apply for that close to the bed and breakfast Paul had chosen. And found our way to a very good point bed and breakfast in an old building complete with an old fashioned cage elevator. We took a nap to help recover and then went out for a stroll. We discovered a castle within moments of the B&B and explored it.  Paul experimented with an Italian water fountain.


We have taken advantage of the incredible cafes and are enjoying incredible coffee and carb filled pastries.

I am eternally grateful for the "love notes" scarf I was given when I retired...so far today it has been a pillow, a blanket, a rain coat and a decoration...

The only down side has been my foot which continues to cause trouble...and mow with a cast is slowing me down (although I confess that I am getting some advantages from the sympathy factor-like getting through customs quickly today)

Thursday 25 October 2012


Well...here I am, over 50 (some would say well over 50) years of age and trying to master the art of blogging...not just on the computer but also by using my smart phone. This is proving to be a challenge for me...but here goes.

It is October 25th, 2012 and I am off to Rome. I am going in true adventurer style as I have a foot which is out of commission, so I am in a cast. This makes for some complications...but am hoping that it will speed me through the security and boarding lines for the plane.

I am travelling with Paul, my husband and we are looking forward to five days in Rome followed by 2 weeks on a trans-Atlantic cruise with my parents. We are meeting them on October 31st on the ship just outside of Rome on the Italian Coast.

This is not our first trip this year, but it is the most "exotic" so far. Paul retired almost 3 years ago and I retired 5 months ago today...so we are experimenting with travel options which will help define the next phase of our life together...

Am hoping that the foot does not slow me down too much...but if it does am planning for long rests in quaint bistro's under ancient statues....we shall certainly see...