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Jackie and Bill’s Travel Adventures

This is the post excerpt.

This blog is a new endeavour for us and came about because many people asked us the details of our trips and because others have helped us on our adventures. It seemed like a way to pay forward. Nothing that we include in the blog takes the place of asking for advice from as many sources as you can but we hope that it might help others to appreciate the countries that we visit either vicariously or to encourage them to go on their own adventures.

Travelling on our own has its benefits, such as the flexibility of going and staying when and where we like; it also has its drawbacks, such as anxiety around whether we have booked a nice hotel or not. We really don’t know if it is less or more expensive than tours, although we do take short tours along the way. Generally, we like this DIY model.

We would be delighted with any feedback on how we might improve our site and/or if we have made errors (which is highly likely).

Jackie and Bill

Denver and the Grand Canyon

Because Mairin Glenn and I agreed to be present at the American Education Research Conference (AERA) in Denver on April 23-27, she and Red and Bill and I decided to share accommodation. After our presentations were over, Bill and I took an excursion to the Grand Canyon, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World (along with Aurora Borealis, Victoria Falls, Mount Everest, Paricutin, -cinder volcano in Mexico, Great Barrier Reef, Harbour of Rio de la Janeiro). It was a busy week!

Wednesday, April 23

After the AC Flight from Toronto to Denver leaving at 8:00 and arriving at noon, we took the train into Denver Downtown and a taxi to the Sonda apartment, 1600 Barker St. Red and Mairin were already there. We were tired from the early pick up at 4:30 am but kept moving. We checked out the convention centre.

We walked around and visited the museum.

We had dinner at our condo building using the barbecue facilities.

Thursday, April 24

Mairin and I attended some sessions and I chaired the symposium for Tara Ratnam.

We returned to the apartment using the Lyft taxi system for dinner.

Friday, April 25

Mairin and I attended some sessions in the morning, Mairin had her session and we had our paper session at 1:25. We attended a few more in the afternoon and returned to the apartment for dinner.

Saturday, April 26

We attended a session of the Teacher as Researcher where Michelle Vaughan’s student, Erica Cheva, presented her research.

We took an afternoon tour of the Rockies.

‎⁨Idaho Springs⁩, ⁨Eastern Rockies Corridor⁩

Then we went to Echo Lake.

We walked around Denver downtown. For dinner we went to Corinne’s and all had a good meal except Mairin whose pasta was less than wonderful

Sunday, April 27

We took the Lyft to Union Station but when the train was delayed, we took another Lyft to the airport. Our American Airlines flight at 8:20 was delayed because of high traffic in Phoenix and then we had to refuel so we were anxious about missing our connection to Flagstaff and then our tour the next day. It was tight but we made it because of an 2 and a half hour layover in Phoenix that became 30 minutes. We arrived early afternoon at our Americana Motor Hotel, a very inexpensive accommodation with a space theme. We walked to the Fat Olive for dinner in a cold and fierce wind where we had a delightful mostly-vegetables thin-crust pizza. We were asleep by 8:30 pm!

Monday, April 28

It was 0 degrees when we were picked up at 7:45 by Keaton, the guide, of Canyon Dave’s Tours; on the way we picked up a couple and their adult son in Flagstaff and another couple in Williams on the way to the Grand Canyon. Keaton shared his geological and historical knowledge of the area and of the Grand Canyon non-stop on the hour and a half trip. The first glimpse was awesome.

What you see from Yavapai Point Museum, and outlined here, is only a fraction of the larger Grand Canyon.

It is long. The canyon, from Lees Ferry to Grand Wash Cliffs, is 277 river miles (446 km) long. Floating the length of the river through the canyon takes 14 to 21 days in an oared raft, or 7 to 10 days in a motorized raft.

It is wide.
The canyon varies in width from less than a mile to over 18 miles (1.5 to 29 km) but averages 10 miles (16 km) wide. No roads cross the canyon between Navajo Bridge (Lees Ferry) and Hoover Dam for 340 miles (547 km).

It is deep. At its deepest, the Colorado River flows 6,093 feet (1,857 m) below the North Rim. Overall, Grand Canyon averages 1 mile (1.6 km) deep. Hikers take a full day to walk the 10 miles (16 km) from the South Rim to the river and another day or two to walk the 14 miles (22.5 km) from the river to the North Rim.

First view of Colorado River, 5 Miles below

The Yavapai Point Museum presents one of the grandest views on Earth. But this is not just any view of Grand Canyon. Some of the most eminent scientific minds gathered in the national park to select the best representative view of Grand Canyon geology. They chose this site and conceived of this building to showcase one of the world’s greatest wonders.

On a clear day you can easily see Mount Trumbull just above the western horizon, 62 miles (99 km) away.
Most days, haze makes spotting this distant landmark difficult. Sadly, most of this haze is human-caused. It can be a plume from a local forest fire, but usually haze is pollution from urban and industrial areas hundreds of miles to the south and west, and even from Asia.

As the Colorado River cut down, the canyon rims retreated. Groundwater and springs hasten the erosion. They percolate through the rock, slowly washing away the softer rock, undermining or sapping the cliffs. Undercut, the cliffs collapse, littering the slopes below with fractured rock.
As the cliffs retreat, episodic floods flash down their slopes. Torrents of water sweep loose gravel, rocks, and boulders down the normally dry tributaries, scouring the bedrock and deepening the channels. Eventually, the tributary canyons join one another, leaving rock islands called temples.
The undermining of rock layers continues, creating taller and smaller temples, as the hard caprock falls away. Over time, the hard rock—limestones and sandstones—is whittled away, leaving only the soft rock—mudstones and shales. Unprotected, these soft rocks erode quickly to expose a lower layer of hard rock. The process continues, and the canyon grows wider and wider.

The Colorado River races 1,400 miles from its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to its end at the Gulf of California. Twenty percent of its course (277 miles) winds through Grand Canyon.

The landforms are not unique to Grand Canyon; they are trademarks of eroded arid lands. The landscape looks like vast ruins, thoughtlessly sculpted. Let a pattern exists to the apparent chaos, and geology helps us decipher it.

Kaibab Limestone caps Shiva Temple. This layer has already eroded from Isis and Cheops.
Coconino Sandstone tops Isis Temple with a spire. This rock layer also forms cliffs in Shiva, but is long gone from Cheops.

Redwall Limestone protects Cheops Pyramid’s crown. All three temples have this rock layer. One after another, each will wear a Redwall Limestone cap with the passage of time

KOLB BROTHERS Gallery

THE KOLB BROTHERS EMBODIED the rugged individualism and frontier spirit of pioneers in Arizona Territory. For admirers of early Arizona life and those who share the Kolbs’love of the Grand Canyon, the Kolb Collection provides a wealth of materials in all media; it represents a 74-year-span of Northern Arizona history, from pre-statehood to the latter part of the 20th century.
Housed at Northern Arizona University’s Cline Library Special Collections and Archives in Flagstaff, Arizona. The collection serves as a valuable source for Grand Canyon history, as well as a fascinating window to the history of photographic technology in the 20th century. More than 10,000 images from the Kolb Collection and the “Grand Canyon Film Show” are now accessible online via the Colorado Plateau Archives at Cline Library Special Collections and Archives
http://archive.library.nau.edu/index.php.

THE KOLB BROTHERS began exploring their new home immediately upon arrival. Hauling bulky camera equipment and heavy glass plates, they found their way to remote side canyons to photograph parts of the Grand Canyon that few people, if any, had seen.
Though they were largely unacquainted with boating, they could not resist the Colorado River’s powerful draw. Within a few years they had acquired enough experience to establish their reputation as capable river guides. By
1917 Ellsworth had also run and photographed the Colorado’s major tributaries-the Green, Grand, and Gunnison Rivers.

September 1930 found the brothers in a successful, but harrowing, trip to explore the cave from which Cheyava Falls emanated. Using found timbers as supports, they rigged a rope and pulley to reach the opening. Ellsworth was caught dangling from the rope when a hail storm moved through. Emery took refuge in the cave.

Mule train posing for Kolb Brothers photo

One of the beautiful paintings in the gallery

Three Sets of Rock
Grand Canyon exposes a beautiful, almost bewildering, panorama of rock. But its many rock layers are easily grouped into three sets, with the youngest on top and the oldest on the bottom.
Paleozoic Rocks-Sedimentary rocks a retain their original horizontal layering
Supergroup Rocks-Tilted remnants of. sedimentary and igneous rocks, sporadically exposed beneath the Paleozoic layers.
Basement Rocks
Contorted folds of metamorphic rocks and igneous intrusions in the depths of the canyon reflect their tortured past.

The Colorado River, like liquid sandpaper, uses the sediments it carries to carve its canyons. Driven by weather and climate, the Colorado deepens its course. The river gathers rain and snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains. Swollen by springtime runoff and summer storms, the Colorado’s muddy waters churn. Silt, sand, and cobbles grind against each other and against bedrock channels. Its water carries the abrasive load downstream, ultimately surrendering it to the Gulf of California. Empowered by time over 5 million years worth-the river does what gravity demands

In 1890 prospector Pete Berry staked the Last Chance copper claim on Horseshoe Mesa. The Last Chance Mine began a 17-year flurry of activity at Grandview Point.
For a while the Last Chance Mine thrived. The ore was rich; it claimed a World’s Fair prize in Chicago in 1893 for being over 70% pure copper. But the high cost of packing ore to the rim, then shipping it to be refined, doomed the operation. Berry and his partners sold the mine in 1901.
The new owners continued mining, but ceased when copper prices plunged in 1907.

The Last Chance Mine on Horseshoe Mesa, 1/2 mile below the canyon rim, 1890s. Mules and burros packed everything in and packed out tons of ore.
Miners earned $4.00 per day plus meals.
Inspectors sample ore in 1907 for a company report.
The results were good, but copper prices crashed that year, dooming the mine.
Entrance to the “new tunnel,”
The narrow gauge rails brought ore from the mine and carried waste rock to the dump. The large timbers were packed in from the rim.
Canyon Copper Company dining room, 1906.
The crew poses for the company report. The crew averaged just five men between 1902 and 1907, but the camp could accommodate twenty-five.

Mining on Horseshoe Mesa, though short-lived, had a lasting impact.
Grandview became Grand Canyon’s most popular tourist area for about 10 years when Grand Canyon tourism was in its infancy. The Grandview Trail, built by Last Chance miners to reach their mines, now serves thousands of hikers each year.

‎⁨South Rim⁩, ⁨Marble Canyon⁩, ⁨Arizona⁩

Artist Thomas Moran was a storehouse of pictures. In 1873, geologist John Wesley Powell invited Moran to accompany his geologic survey of the Grand Canyon region. For Moran, the canyon was “by far the most awfully grand and impressive scene.” As a premier painter of American landscapes, Moran helped inspire Western tourism and pushed Congress toward the establishment of Western national parks. In an era of black and white photographs and etchings, Moran’s vibrantly-coloured paintings brought Grand Canyon to life.

Grand Canyon’s seemingly endless formations evoke shapes that only our imaginations can bring to life. Early mapmakers saw castles and temples in the rocks. Taking a playful look at Grand Canyon-like imagining the shape of a duck in the rock that stands before you. Decade after decade, visitors come to this spot to look for the “Duck on a Rock.” Nothing in Grand Canyon is static. One day, the duck-like shape will take a different form as the power of erosion slowly sculpts it: in 50 or 100 years, the duck will be transformed.

Tuesday, April 29 Denver

We walked around the street art in downtown Denver.

We had a great time together with Mairin and Red.

Zurich, Spain, Egypt 2025

River Boat photographer’s photo of us in traditional Egyptian garb

In addition to our usual trek to Spain, we stopped on the way in Zurich and added a Craig Travel tour of Egypt. In order to avoid the tensions around air connections, we started last year staying for a few days in the connecting city since there are no direct flights to Alicante. Last year, we spent 5 days in Paris, France on the way over and 2 on the way back. This year, we stayed in Zurich for 3 days on the way over and 2 on the way back. We flew Air Canada from Toronto to Zurich on September 11-12 arriving at 10:00 in the morning, took the train into the city and walked to our Airbnb about 20 minutes away from central station.

Zurich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. As of December 2024, the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. Zurich is a hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Both Zurich Airport and Zurich’s main railway station are the largest and busiest in the country. Iconic landmarks in Zurich include the Grossmünster, a Romanesque-style Protestant church, the Bahnhofstrasse, one of the world’s most exclusive shopping avenues, and Lake Zurich. As the largest city in Switzerland and a key hub since Roman times, Zurich has a rich history spanning over 2,000 years. It’s home to several historic sites like the Old Town (Altstadt), Lindenhof square, and Grossmünster. The Swiss National Museum in Zurich is the most visited cultural history museum in Switzerland. It presents the country’s history from prehistoric times to the present day. The city has a reputation for high living standards and cleanliness.

Evidence of early, sparse settlements in the area dates back more than 6,400 years, indicating human presence prior to the establishment of the town. Permanently settled for over 2,000 years, Zurich was eventually founded by the Romans, who called it Turicum. During the Middle Ages, Zurich gained the independent and privileged status of imperial immediacy and, in 1519, became a primary centre of the Protestant Reformation in Europe.

The official language of Zurich is German, but the main spoken language is Zurich German, the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

As one of Switzerland’s primary financial centres, Zurich is home to many financial institutions and banking companies. It is know for famous (and expensive) watches, chocolate, cheese, fondu. It is an expensive city because of a high average wage. Monaco has the highest millionaire density with a significant portion of its population being millionaires. Other cities with very high millionaire densities include Zurich, Singapore and Dublin, although their densities are lower than Monaco’s. New York City has the largest absolute number of millionaires, but a lower density compared to these smaller, highly concentrated areas.

Friday, September 12, 2025

Fortunately we were able to get into our Airbnb early and had no difficulties. The building is not that lovely and the apartment was small but had a great view and great location.

View from our apartment with great view across the river Limmat

We had a nap and headed out to explore the area. You will notice that there are no highrises in the old town as there is a limit of building height of 30 metres.

The Grossmünster (“great minster”; also called Salt and Pepper shakers) is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zurich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche, and St. Peterskirche). Its congregation forms part of the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zurich. The core of the present building, near the banks of the Limmat, was constructed on the site of a Carolingian church, which was, according to legend, originally commissioned by Charlemagne. Construction of the present structure commenced around 1100 and it was inaugurated around 1220.

The Grossmünster was a monastery church, vying for precedence with the Fraumünster, across the Limmat, throughout the Middle Ages. According to legend, the Grossmünster was founded by Charlemagne, whose horse fell to its knees over the tombs of Felix, Regula, and Exuperantius, Zurich’s patron saints. The legend helps support a claim of seniority over the Fraumünster, which was founded by Louis the German, Charlemagne’s grandson. Archaeological evidence confirms the presence of a Roman burial ground at the site.

We walked the streets of the old town, stopped to have a few wings and a drink and had dinner at a restaurant in the space behind our building: soup and bruchetta. Needless to say, we were exhausted and went to bed early.

Saturday, September 13

We met our tour group at the Museum and walked to the ETH University (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). ETH Zurich is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and architecture. Our guide, Patricia, said that Albert Einstein taught here.

From this location, we had a stunning view of the old city.

Shelters

A shelter is a subterranean construction in the basement of a building. Shelters (also known colloquially as ‘air raid shelters’) serve to protect the population from armed conflicts, but may also offer protection from natural or human-made disasters. The majority of the population lives in buildings that include shelters of their own. If there is no shelter in an inhabited building, public shelters for the general population will be available in the vicinity. As a rule, in Switzerland there is ‘a shelter for every inhabitant’: Approximately nine million shelter places are available in about 370’000 private and public shelters to a coverage rate of more than 100 percent.

Shelters are constructed and equipped in a spartan manner to minimise costs, space requirements, and maintenance efforts. Owners must stock their shelters with the supplies needed for an extended stay. In case of a looming armed conflict in Switzerland or a neighbouring country, the population will be instructed to prepare to move into the shelters. Shelters must be in a state allowing them to be made operational and ready for use within five days.
A shelter may be used for everyday purposes, for example as a storage room, basement, workshop, playroom, or archive. Some have been used for university dorms.

We continued our tour with our guide, Patricia, reminding us that there were no toilets in the Middle Ages and the balconies were used as toilets so you needed to be careful walking down the street as seen in her photo.

The water in Zurich is good and clean: however, many, including Patricia, buy bottled water. There are many fountains where you can fill up your bottle with municipal water.

Because the locals were illiterate, many shopkeepers and tradesmen used paintings on buildings.

We visited Lindenhof, directly across the river from our airbnb, a lovely shaded park of Linden trees and location of a Roman military sight, called Turicum. Little remains except the wall with turret.

Evidence of Roman battalion located here

Cafes line the downtown with little traffic

The day in downtown Zurich is punctuated by the chiming of clocks every quarter hour. And for 10-15 minutes several times on Sunday.

Zurich is the proud owner of the largest church clock in Europe
Situated right in the heart of the old town, a medieval church tower with Europe’s largest church clock is part of the St. Peter’s Church. The outer diameter of clock is 8.64 meters, the minute hand has 5.73 meters, and the hour hand 5.07 meters.

The tower was primarily used for fire police duties, and 1340 AD the first fire guard was set in duty. In the pre- and early Romanesque era, St. Peter had no church tower; the first three-storey tower was built in early 13th century. In 1450 the tower was increased to 64 metres (210 ft) (as of today) and a pitched (helmet) roof was attached.

Towards the end of the 13th century a mechanical church clock was installed ,then electric in 1873 and in 1996 it was replaced by a central computer system. The clock tower of St. Peter was for centuries Zürich’s ‘official local time’, and all public city clocks had to conform to it.

Boat Tour of Lake Zurich

Part of the 6 hour tour was a boat ride on part of Lake Zurich. Lake Zurich is a large, glacial alpine lake extending southeast of the city. It’s a popular spot for boating, swimming, and picnicking, with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.

This shows the river cruise and Limmatquai is where we were positioned.

After several stops, we got off at Thalwil station, past this lovely house and walked up a very steep hill to the cable car.

That evening we went for dinner at the Zeughauskeller, a restaurant recommended by Shannon’s friend, Claire. It was very busy and we sat with two young women from Taipei, Taiwan.

Enjoyable conversation with visitors from Taiwan

We enjoyed the Zurich-style ragout of veal and mushroom (Zurcher geschnetzeltes) with Rösti. Rösti is a traditional Swiss national dish of shredded and pan-fried potatoes, originally a breakfast food in the Canton of Bern that evolved into a versatile side dish or a main meal across Switzerland. It is a fried, crispy, golden-brown potato pancake.

Sunday, September 14

We had only enough coffee pods for one cup so Bill went below for two more coffees. They cost Can $18.90! Our plan was to walk the streets and visit places on the tour that interested us. As we walked the streets, we came on a small band playing near Fraumunster Church as part of a small group celebration.

Small band playing in the courtyard by the church

We walked the streets of the old town, window-shopping all the expensive shops: the many watch, clothing and jewellery shops which were closed on Sunday. The Bahnhofstrasse is one of the world’s most luxurious shopping streets, home to high-end boutiques, department stores, and watch shops.

We entered the Fraumünster Abbey for a small fee, and found a lovely but fairly basic church to start (but we knew about the Chagall windows).

Then we found this three-part niche with lovely legend:

In 1272, in front of the three-part niche in the south wall of the transept, the bones of the daughters of King Louis the German, the two first abbesses Hildegard and Berta, were buried.

A fresco was painted above them around 1300, depicting the founding legend of the Fraumünster Abbey in the year 853. According to legend, the devout princesses Hildegard and Bertha followed a deer sent by God, carrying burning candles on its antlers. It led the sisters from their father’s castle to the place where Fraumünster was later to be built.

Then we came to the Marc Chagall’s windows. Marc Chagall (born in 1887 in Vitebsk, Belarus – died in 1985 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France) finished the multi-level, five-part cycle of windows for the choir of the Fraumünster in Zürich in 1970.

The rose window in the transept is added 8 years after the five windows. It depicts the Creation according to Genesis 1 and Genesis 6 to 9, while the center houses Noah’s Ark, symbolizing the salvation of creation. The windows are created in collaboration with the stained-glass manufacturer Charles Marq in Reims, France. Marc Chagall at 90 created another masterpiece, as a symbol of everlasting life and death,

Window of Jacob; Window of Christ; Window of Zion

1 Window of the prophets
Elijah is being carried away in a fiery horse chariot to the sky, away from Elisha. The angel Cherub hovers in the middle. Above, Jeremiah is sitting immersed in thought in a blue gown.
In the round arch, the Creation is depicted.

2 Jacob window
Jacob hovers with eyes open and his hands folded on his lap. He dreams of the ladder leading to heaven, which makes up the upper part of the window. Jacob’s tussle with the angel is shown in between.

3Window of Christ
The life of Christ from birth to resurrection:
Joseph, the family tree of Jesse, the Lamb of God, Mary, Elisabeth, the life and parables of Jesus Christ and his crucifixion, among other aspects.

4 Window of Zion
An angel announces the beginning of the end of times. Below, the new Jerusalem descends from heaven. King David singing psalms and Bathsheba are shown at the bottom.

5 Window of the Commandments
Moses observes the disobedience and suffering of humanity. The middle part depicts absolute peace. Beneath, Isaiah is held by an angel.
He prepares to spread his message of peace to the world.

“He must have an angel in his head,” Pablo Picasso said of his fellow artist. The windows were inaugurated in the presence of the 83 -year-old in 1970.

One of the many fountains around the old town where you can get fresh, clean water

We walked down to Lake Zurich along the waterfront where families were enjoying the sunny day.

We had an early flight so we arranged for a taxi to take us to the airport at 5:00 am. Our Swissair flight was uneventful and we arrived at the condo around noon, bought some groceries and had a siesta.

Spain 2023

We did the usual things: beach, pool, sea, Rioja, Merluza, Mercadona. Plus, we enjoyed the company of local neighbours and sailing friends, Jo and Bruce.

We visited Cartagena (we never tire of experiencing the amazing Roman amphitheatre), Guadalest and Alicante with Jo and Bruce.

We had our first time at The Flame Restaurant in Nueva Plaza with our neighbours from Bristol, Andy and Jackie and Jo and Bruce. The food was very good.

Clockwise: Jackie, Jo, Jackie, Bill, Bruce, Andy

The sunsets are hard to beat.

Guadalest is a challenging hike with its elevation but well worth it. We had a great Menu del Dia at Restaurante Nuevo Alcazar near Alicante on the way home.

Shannon came for 11 days and her friends, Tara and Jess stayed for 3 days after we left for Egypt.

Two of Shannon’s photos of our special place.

EGYPT

Egypt October 15-28 (29): Craig Travel Tour plus one day in Alexandria

Egypt’s legendary civilization has left an indelible mark on the world, with its ancient wonders defying the sands of time. From the iconic Pyramids of Giza to the enigmatic Sphinx and the hidden tombs in the Valley of the Kings, each site revealed the ingenuity, beliefs, and complexity of this ancient world: all completely new to us.

History of Ancient Egypt.

Ancient Egypt was a civilization that flourished along the Nile River for over 3,000 years, from about 3150 BC to 30 BC. Its history is typically divided into three main periods—the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms—separated by intermediate periods of instability. The civilization was ruled by pharaohs and is renowned for its monumental architecture like the pyramids, advanced culture, and complex religious beliefs centred on the afterlife.

Key periods

Old Kingdom (c. 2685–2180 BC): Known as the “Age of the Pyramids,” this era saw the construction of monumental structures like the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Middle Kingdom (c. 2040–1670 BC): This period was marked by the unification of Egypt, an expanded army, and a booming economy.
New Kingdom (c. 1570–1080 BC): Considered a golden age, this was a time of great power, prosperity, and expansion, featuring famous pharaohs such as Tutankhamun and Ramses II.

Important aspects of Ancient Egypt

The Nile River: The civilization’s lifeblood, the Nile provided water, fertile soil from annual floods, and a crucial transportation route.
Pharaohs: The rulers of Egypt, who were considered divine intermediaries between the gods and people.
Religion and the Afterlife: A pantheon of gods was worshipped, and a strong belief in an afterlife led to practices like mummification and the burial of the dead with treasures in elaborate tombs.
Hieroglyphics: Ancient Egyptians developed a complex writing system using hieroglyphs, which were used to record history, religion, and daily life on papyrus and stone.

Journey Leader

Award-winning photographer Jon Gurr led this tour. Over the past 40 years, Jon photographed scenery in over 80 countries and on all seven continents. His images have appeared in newspapers, magazines, and calendars in both the US and Canada. In addition to running a successful photography studio for nearly two decades, Jon served as a Professor of Photography at Humber College and as Principal of the Master School of Photography.

OCT 15, Wednesday CAIRO

Upon arriving in Cairo from Alicante via Madrid this evening, we took a taxi to our hotel downtown Cairo: Cairo Marriott Hotel and Casino. It was late so we went straight to bed after informing Jon of our arrival. In the morning we took a few photos of the hotel, originally a palace, now owned by the government but run by Marriott Hotels and responsible for its maintenance. It was expanded to accommodate the dignitaries attending the reopening in 1889 of the Suez Canal. Our Nile-view room was listed as $US 1300!!!

Stunning Old Palace and new tower of the Marriott

OCT 16, Thursday CAIRO

Our day started with visiting one of the oldest Synagogues in Egypt, Ben ‘Ezra Synagogue. Built in 12th century, and rebuilt during the late 19th century.
The synagogue’s plan, that of a typical Basilica, consists of three sections–three porticos with the central one being the largest. It contains two levels, the lower used by the men while the upper level is allocated to the women.

We explored two Coptic (Christian) Churches: Abu Serga Church, and the El Mouallaga (Hanging) Church.

Tradition holds that Abu Serga or Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church was built on the spot where the Holy Family (Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus) rested at the end of their journey into Egypt.

The church is dedicated to Sergius and Bacchus, who were soldier-saints martyred during the 4th century in Syria by the Roman Emperor Maximian.

St Sergio’s and Bacchus, martyrs from the 3rd Century

The inscription reads: the holy family drank from this well

Then we visited the Hanging Church. The Hanging Church is also referred to as the Suspended Church or Al-Moallaqa. It is called the Hanging Church because it was built on the southern gate of the Roman Fortress. Logs of palm trees and layers of stones were constructed above the ruins of the Roman fortress to be used as a fundament.

In Islamic Cairo, we visited Saladin’s 12th-century Citadel. Sprawling over a limestone spur on the city’s eastern edge, the Citadel, started by Saladin in 1176 as a fortification against the Crusaders, was home to Egypt’s rulers for 700 years. Following the overthrow of Saladin’s dynasty, the Mamluks enlarged the complex, adding sumptuous palaces and harems. Under the Ottomans (1517–1798) the fortress expanded westward and a new main gate was added.

Mohammed Ali, known as the “father of modern Egypt”, who rose to power after the French drastically remodelled the Citadel, crowned the complex with the Ottoman-style mosque (1830-48), which intentionally resembles Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and dominates Cairo’s eastern skyline. Ali was a prolific builder responsible for many public works – and one of Egypt’s greatest sultans who saw his country grow as a political power. To get rid of his enemies, Muhammad Ali (an Albanian mercenary) invited the unruly Mamluk leaders to a banquet at the Citadel and had them all shot down.

The interior is impressive. It is also known as The Alabaster Mosque as its interior and exterior walls are amazingly coated with alabaster. The inner courtyard is simple but magical as you step into a royal palace.

Massive space with marble columns all around

Octagonal Turkish baroque ablution fountain for rinsing before prayers

Inside the mosque, the high-relief carvings and gilding in a neo-Baroque style in the ceiling create an stunning and magical atmosphere. The domed ceiling with a central dome surrounded by four small semicircular domes also has 136 stained glass windows.The interior of the mosque is lavish with intricate alabaster walls, low-hanging lanterns, red carpets – and plenty of gold.

Five-domed ceiling with 136 stained glass windows

In the evening, we had a river cruise with loud and lively entertainment.

Whirling Dervish: after dinner entertainment

OCT 17, Friday CAIRO / MEMPHIS / SAKKARA

Sakkara, this UNESCO World Heritage site located 30 km south of Cairo, was the first capital of Egypt, founded by King Meni (Menes) who united Upper and Lower Egypt and served as the burial ground for the ancient city of Memphis, now in ruins.

Memphis was also the birthplace of Egypt as we know it today. The city’s strategic placement at the head of the Nile delta moved over time to follow the river’s changing course. Eventually, the head of the delta moved further north, leading to the creation of Egypt’s new Islamic capital of Fustat, ancestor of modern Cairo.

Just like modern Cairo, Memphis was once a cosmopolitan city with temples, settlements and palaces, some of which still remain. We owe many of these monuments to King Ramesses Il, a prolific builder.

RAMESSES THE GREAT
c. 1279 – 1213 BC (19th Dynasty)
Limestone (photo by Jon Gurr)

Ramesses Il is regarded as one of the greatest and most powerful pharaohs in Egyptian history. During his remarkable reign of around 66 years, he accomplished many things. Alongside having 90 children, he fought in multiple wars and even achieved one of the earliest peace treaties in world history.
He built extensively throughout Egypt, building cities, temples and monuments such as his administrative capital of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta, the Abu Simbel temples in Nubia, and the Ptah Temple in Memphis.

There are many symbols of royalty that adorn Ramesses lI: his Nemes (head dress), the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, his false beard and his kilt.
The female cobra on his head is there to protect the Pharaoh.

The Statue of King Ramses II, one of the master pieces of sculpture in ancient Egypt, carved from only one block of good limestone, has gone through several stages since it was discovered 1821 AD, then modified in 1887 AD, and its first building was built in 1902 and then the current building 1958.

Next stop: Djoser’s Step Pyramid Complex

A tour is only as good as the guide and we really got lucky. Here is Hassan explaining to the group about the Stepped Pyramid:

Built by Djoser, the first king of the Third Dynasty (around
2700 BC), The Step Pyramid is the first pyramid and the first large stone building in history. It was not built all at once, but in stages.

The Burial Chamber lies at the bottom of a shaft in the center of the pyramid at a depth of 28 m. There are several levels underneath the pyramid at depths up to 40 m.

The Step Pyramid is considered to be a giant stairway, which King Djoser would climb after being resurrected to join the sun god Ra in the sky.

The tomb of Idut, probably the daughter of King Teti, the first king of the Sixth Dynasty, has walls decorated with beautiful inscriptions showing different scenes of everyday life, of hunting, fishing, farming and tax payments. There is also a rare scene representing the birth of a hippo ( in middle of carving).

We had dinner at a traditional Egyption restaurant, Abou El Sid.

OCT 18, Saturday CAIRO / LUXOR

Early this morning, a brief flight takes us to Luxor, the site of ancient Thebes, the pharaohs’ capital from the 16th to 11th centuries B.C. We explore Egypt’s most impressive ancient site, Karnak Temple. We then embark on our Nile river cruise.

Karnak Temple dates from around 2055 BC to around 100 AD: a Cult temple dedicated to Amun, Mut and Khonsu and the largest religious building ever constructed., built over 2,000 years, covering about 200 acres (1.5 km by 0.8 km), and was a place of pilgrimage for nearly 2,000 years.

The Hypostyle hall, at 54,000 square feet (16,459 meters) and featuring 134 columns, is still the largest room of any religious building in the world. Besides the main sanctuary, there are several smaller temples and a vast sacred lake – 423 feet by 252 feet (129 by 77 meters).

The Egyptians believed that towards the end of the annual agricultural cycle the gods and the earth became exhausted and required a fresh input of energy from the chaotic energy of the cosmos.

To accomplish this magical regeneration, the Opet festival was held yearly at Karnak and Luxor. It lasted for twenty-seven days and was also a celebration of the link between pharaoh and the god Amun, the Egyptian god of the sun and air. The procession began at Karnak and ended at Luxor Temple, one and a half miles (2.4 kilometres) to the south.

At Luxor, Pharaoh and his priests entered the temple and ceremonies were performed to regenerate Amun, recreate the cosmos and transfer Amun’s power to Pharaoh. When he finally emerged from the temple sanctuary, the vast crowds cheered him and celebrated the guaranteed fertility of the earth and the expectation of abundant harvests.

The massive columns of Karnak with the messages carved into them were just amazing. They were recovered from the sand but the sand also provided a means to raise them and a base for the carvers to stand on to carve from the top down.

Amazingly, some of the carvings retained their colour.

There are so many images in the carvings that I couldn’t retain them all. One was the bee.

In ancient Egypt, the bee was a powerful symbol of royalty, the divine, and Lower Egypt. It was believed to be formed from the tears of the sun god Ra, and the bee hieroglyph was used in the title of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, which paired it with the reed, the symbol for Upper Egypt.

A cartouche is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic nameplate. It symbolizes protection from evil spirits. The ankh (on the right) is a very significant symbol in ancient Egypt. Its hieroglyphs, translated to English as “the key of life,” literally mean eternal life and have long been associated with rituals performed by priests or royalty meant for everlasting existence on Earth.

Karnak Obelisk: Symbol of Kingship and Success

The Obelisk is a powerful and famous ancient Egyptian Symbol that represents creations, rebirth, unity, kingship, power, and achievement. The obelisk stands as an example of the concept of duality and balance. It is the most popular construction monument ever created that symbolizes Ra the sun god plus it was seen as the petrified ray of the Sundisk Aten.

River Cruise: We had never been on a river cruise and the veterans of many cruises in the group felt that it was not as impressive as others that they had been on. We had no basis for comparison so were quite satisfied.

After checking into the Concerto II River Boat, we had lunch and headed for Luxor Temple. Luxor Temple was a major religious center in Thebes, which was once the capital of Ancient Egypt. Amenhotep III, Ramses II, Tutankhamun, and other pharaohs added new buildings to the complex over hundreds of years, contributing to its sprawling scale. Luxor Temple was known as “the place of the First Occasion,” where the god Amon was reborn during the pharaoh’s annual coronation reenactment (described above).

Before entering the temple, we viewed this Avenue of the Sphinxes that runs 2 kilometres between the temples and was under sand until 1949.

At Luxor Temple, we are greeted by two huge sculptures of Rameses II, always portrayed as young and perfect.

The Sema symbol on the side of Rameses II sculpture symbolizes the union of Upper and Lower Egypt and his domain over both.

Today, remains of this vast complex include the colossal Great Colonnade Hall, which is almost 61 meters (200 feet) long and features 28 columns measuring six meters (21 feet).

Together with other ancient sites in Thebes, Luxor Temple is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its outstanding universal value.

Unfortunately, the heat got to me that day and I believe I suffered heat stroke: I was sick to my stomach and had diarrhea all night.

OCT 19, Sunday WEST BANK / NILE CRUISE / EDFU

So, I missed the hot air balloon ride that most of our group experienced and loved.

Balloons over the burial sites (photo by Jon Gurr)

Mortuary Temple of Rameses II at Luxor (photo by Jon Gurr)

Temple of Hatshepsut (Hassam called her “hot chicken soup”)

Queen Hatshepsut (1473-1458 BC) built her funerary temple on the west bank of the Nile River. This temple differs from other funerary temples in terms of design, as Hatshepsut built it in the form of large terraces, three terraces, each one above the other. It is characterized by columns that blend with the mountainside behind the temple and is partially carved into the rock.
The most important room of the temple is dedicated to the Holy of Holies, the god Amun-Ra, and is carved into the rock. The temple of Hatshepsut is extensively decorated with different reliefs depicting significant aspects of the queen’s life.

Valley of the Kings: Since Howard Carter opened King Tut’s tomb, the burial rites of ancient Thebes have fascinated the world. Several tombs, including the newly opened and beautifully decorated Tomb of King Seti I, were available for entering but we only visited the Seti I tomb. It is remarkable because of the quality of painted relief decoration.

After a very long descent into the tomb of Seti I, we found stunning, colourful carvings on the walls and ceiling. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay long as it was very hot.

It goes without saying that all over Egypt, the excavations continue.

On the way back to the boat, we stopped at an alabaster factory. Bill was seconded to grind out a bowl.

Bill grinding our an alabaster bowl (photo by Jon Gurr)

As the boat moves up the Nile (it flows from south to the delta in the north), we see towns along the narrow strip of land that is irrigated.

OCT 20, Monday EDFU / ASWAN

Another early morning shuffle through 3 rafted-together River boats as we take a horse-drawn carriage ride to the 2,000-year-old Ptolemaic Temple of Horus.

Edfu Temple
Edfu Temple, the second largest temple in Egypt after Karnak, is one of the most striking and complete of ancient Egyptian temples and is dedicated to the worship of the god Horus. Situated on the western bank of the Nile, its construction began during the reign of Ptolemy Ill in 237 BC, but was completed in the reign of Ptolemy XII in 57 BC, 180 years later.
The temple remained buried under layers of debris from various settlements for millennia, which is why its architectural and decorative elements have survived so well. In 1860 the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette uncovered and restored parts of the temple.
The temple is fronted by two massive pylons that bear scenes of Ptolemy XII conquering his enemies and worshipping deities.

Two large granite statues of the falcon-god Horus stand before the pylons.

Once through the pylons you enter into a large Peristyle court lined with columns decorated with floral capitals.

Edfu temple: columns with floral capitals

Pharoah giving necklace to Horus (photo by Jon Gurr)

The sanctuary.

Funerary boat in Sanctuary (photo by Jon Gurr)

We returned to the boat by buggy carriage, passing people on the streets buying their bread and pita amidst the sand and dirt.

We went to the top deck to read and enjoy the countryside passing by the boat. The houses are not finished because once finished, they incur taxes. Also the wires on the top floor are intended for the next floor for the next generation of the family.

After lunch, we had a nap and then we enjoyed a cooking class, making lentil soup, couscous, falafel and chicken shwarma- all very good.

Jon shared some of his extensive knowledge of photography in an hour-long class with amazing examples.

This photo shows how close the river boats are tied (rafted) to each other.

There was a Gallabiyah (a loose-fitting, traditional garment from Egypt. Today, it is the national clothing in Egypt. It comes in rich colour varieties) party where we had the option to dress-up in traditional garb. We decided to participate and bought the $US 10 costumes.

OCT 21, Tuesday ASWAN / ABU SIMBEL

Bill flew with the group to Abu Simbel (I was still struggling with nausea and the thought of two flights, 40 degree temperatures and lots of dust was too much) to see the massive temples built by Ramesses II, one of Egypt’s greatest pharaohs.

Rameses II 20 metre high status (photo by Jon Gurr)

These rock-cut temples were relocated to avoid submersion due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam. They marked the southern boundary of the Egyptian Empire at the height of the New Kingdom’s power, showcasing the strength of Egypt’s rulers.

After the group returned to Aswan, we passed the British Dam and then visited the High Dam.

The High or Aswan Dam is one of the world’s largest embankment dams, which was built between 1960 and 1970 across the Nile in Aswan. It has resulted in protection from floods and droughts, an increase in agricultural production and employment, electricity production, and improved navigation that also benefits tourism. Like many other dams, it also had pernicious downstream effects. In this case, a rising water table damaged urban sewer systems, ancient monuments, and agricultural fields. A lack of rich sediment in the water drove high artificial fertilizer use and wiped out fish populations.

Late in the afternoon, we had a ride in a felucca to Elephantine Island.

Of course, Bill had to spend time on the tiller

OCT 22, Wednesday ASWAN, PHILAE TEMPLE

Today, we boarded a river taxi to reach Philae Temple dedicated to Imhotep. Imhotep was a high official during the 3rd Dynasty, who served King Djoser (c. 2686-2667 BC) and is credited with building Djoser’s step pyramid in Saqqara. By the Ptolemaic Period, Imhotep was worshipped as a god. The Greeks admired his reputation as a physician, leading them to identify him with Asclepius, who was their god of medicine. It is believed that Ptolemy V (204-180 BC) may have dedicated this temple to Imhotep as thanks for the birth of his son, the future Ptolemy VI.

West Colonnade, Philae Temple (photo by Jon Gurr)

The Philae Temple was built by the last dynasty of ancient Egypt, the Ptolemaic. Built during the reign of Ptolemy II (Egypt’s Greco-Roman Period), the Temple of Isis at Philae is dedicated to Isis, Osiris, and Horus. The temple walls contain scenes from Egyptian mythology of Isis bringing Osiris back to life, giving birth to Horus, and mummifying Osiris after his death. The temple is one of the last places where ancient Egyptian religion survived after Christianity swept the shores in 550AD.

Horus being shaped by Ram God and given key of life

Note the images are partly chiselled out when later religions, like Christianity, took over.

We visited Aswan’s quarry, home to the famous Unfinished Obelisk, a 41-metre-long slab of granite.

We finished off the afternoon with a visit to the market. The sellers were relentless in their promotion of goods, to the point of rudeness. We bought some spices from a very nice merchant: Cardamon, Cumin, Vanilla, Oregano, Cinnamon and hibiscus tea.

We were amazed at the number of River Boats on the Nile – over 350.

Riverboats on the Nile (photo by Jon Gurr)

OCT 23, Thursday ASWAN / EDFU

We had a later start which was welcome. We took a boat to the Nubian village on Elephantine Island. We walked around the village with the chief as tour guide visiting an elementary school and the museum. There is electricity and running water on the island but life is basic and laidback.

The chief, King Jamaica, led our tour, pointing out the fresh cold water freely available.

King Jamaica: fresh cold water in terracotta vessel

An elder gave us a lecture on the traditional Nubian way of life based on 3 elements: the Date Palm, the woman and the Nile. The Date Palm is the source of everything from building materials to alcohol. The Woman is the head and backbone of the family and keeps their way of life together. The Nile is the source of water, transportation and renewal of the land.

We visited a Nubian school.

Classroom with visitors (photo by Jon Gurr)

We visited two classrooms and learned a few Egyptian characters. The children were eager to talk to me and writing a note in their notebooks was a big hit.

Chatting with a student (photo by Jon Gurr)

There were small numbers in the classrooms with a balance of girls and boys: education is highly valued by the families with a high percentage graduating high school but not so many going to university.

I purchased a hand made cotton and silk scarf in this Nubian shop.

We had lunch on the river and visited Kitchener Island and its botanical Gardens.

Our boat started our way back down the river to Luxor. We had a nap- Bill suffering from a cold.

OCT 24, Friday EDFU / LUXOR

We often came back to our room to find some creative way of using the towels and pillows: a turtle?.

We got moving early to experience going through the locks and found out we were 3 hours from the lock but on the move.

We went under a bridge that had about 6 feet above the boat and required the staff to lay down the umbrellas and remove and restore the canopies on the upper deck.

The crew took down the canvas portico to go under the bridge

We had the day to pack and at leisure. We purchased the photos of us in costume, now reduced in price by half- $30 to 15 (1000 EP to 500). I washed my black top for wearing on the flight back home to Spain. Otherwise, the hand luggage packing seemed to work fine except that there was never a requirement of 7 kg on the internal flights and we could have had 10 kg each.
Also, we needed to bring more of our meds like antacids that might have helped my stomach to settle.

We entered the lock at noon, going down to a lower level, and it took over an hour with only two boats in the lock at a time. All the while the sellers pitched their wares.

Jon gave another photography class, reinforcing some of the earlier concepts.

The air was often so polluted from the diesel fumes from the boats that we often had to go inside.

We spent the day cruising the Nile.

Watching life on the Nile from the River Boat.

Along the Nile near Luxor (photo by Jon Gurr)

At 6:00, we returned to Karnak for a sound and light show. The narration was not very clear or impressive but the lights were.

We were offered a buggy ride back and were the only ones that took it. We had a lovely tour of Luxor, passing local markets and watched the city come alive in the coolness of the evening.

OCT 25, Saturday LUXOR / CAIRO

We had an early start leaving the boat at 6 for our flight to Cairo and experienced airport security with men and women in separate lines- guess what line was faster! We were upgraded to Business Class but sat in different rows. First stop in Cairo was the Egyptian Museum (the old one replaced now by the Great Egyptian Museum which opened Nov 1, 2025) before checking into the hotel. GEM was needed because the old museum was limited by old technology, including no A/C.

Original Egyptian Museum being replaced by GEM

The Narmer Palette

This is one of the earliest representations of an Egyptian ruler. King Narmer is shown in the symbolic act of unifying the Two Lands of Upper and Lower Egypt. His name is written in hieroglyphs on both sides of the palette. The king wears a red crown and processes towards two rows of decapitated bodies. The middle is framed by two mythical beasts controlled by men.
At the bottom, Narmer is shown as a wild bull breaking into a walled enclosure and trampling a figure. From the later Predynastic period, the king was portrayed as a bull or a lion to symbolise his power.
The palette was probably a ritual object made to be offered or used in temple ceremonies. Temple of Horus

3000 BC carving: King Narmer strikes enemy

On this side, Narmer wears the white crown of Upper Egypt, and on the other he wears the red crown of Lower Egypt. Together they symbolise the unification of the Two Lands. Narmer strikes an enemy from the Delta, identified by the papyrus land sign above a human head. The sign is topped by the falcon-god Horus, associated with the king.

Towards Discovering Hieroglyphics
On September 27th, 1822, the French Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion made an official announcement that he had successfully decoded the ancient Egyptian language after ten years of tireless work. His breakthrough was confirmed in 1866 with the discovery of the “Decree of Canopus,” a lengthy bilingual inscription that validated Champollion’s entire system of decipherment.

The Canopus Decree is part of a series of bilingual inscriptions inscribed in three scripts -hieroglyphs, demotic and Greek.
The most famous is the Rosetta Stone, which provided the key to deciphering hieroglyphs in 1822. This Canopus Decree records a great assembly of priests held at Canopus on 7 March 238 BC in honour of Pharaoh Ptolemy Ill Evergetes, his wife Queen Berenice I, and their daughter Princess Berenice. It discusses topics such as military campaigns, famine relief, Egyptian religion, and governmental organisation in Ptolemaic Egypt.

Statue of King Khafre

King Khafre, builder of second Giza pyramid

Discovered in a pit under his valley temple at Giza, this statue of King Khafre is one of the most iconic sculptures of ancient Egypt. Khafre was the builder of the second pyramid at Giza. The king, seated on the throne, wears the nemes with the cobra on his forehead – a symbol of royalty and protection. The falcon god Horus behind his head spreads his wings to protect him and legitimate his royal status.

The symbol on the throne represents the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt – the lotus flower and the papyrus plant tied together. The statue is made of diorite quarried in Tushki, near Abu Simbel. The use of this stone clearly shows that the power of Khafre stretched all the way to the south of the country.
4th Dynasty (King Khafre), about 2520-2494 BC, Giza (valley temple of Khafre)

ANIMALS IN ANCIENT EGYPT

Animals were crucial to the daily welfare of the ancient Egyptians. They provided the Egyptians with food, companionship, clothing, the raw material to make tools and furniture, and inspiration for both religion and art.

Mummies: Just to review about mummies. The Egyptians sought to preserve their dead through mummification so that the soul could inhabit the body eternally.

Mummification techniques changed over time, but ideal mummification involved removing the internal organs (lungs, liver, intestines, and stomach), and often the brain, to prevent decomposition of the body. Over a period of 70 days, the body was desiccated with natron (a mixture of salt and baking soda found in the Wadi Natrun), anointed with oils, herbs, and resins, and wrapped in bandages, interspersed with amulets.

By studying mummies, we learn about the ancient Egyptians’ diet, diseases, funerary beliefs, economy, and scientific and medical knowledge.

The New Kingdom royal mummies are amongst the finest mummies ever made. Although most of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings were robbed, many of their mummies survived because priests moved them to a tomb hidden high in the nearby cliffs of Deir el-Bahari in the 10th century BC. Thieves discovered the tomb in the late 19th century AD and started selling objects from it. In 1881, the Antiquities Service found the thieves, rescued the mummies, their coffins, and funerary objects, and brought them to Cairo, where they were displayed and studied.

Hassam took us to an excellent example of a tomb with mummies: Treasures of Yuya & Thuya. We were able to see them and photograph them unlike in the Museum of Antiquities.

Treasures of Yuya & Thuya.

The bodies of Yuya and Thuya were found in their coffins. Their bodies were in very good condition and were very well preserved due to the high quality of mummification.

On the 17th of December, 1904, the seasonal excavations in the Valley of the Kings began. They were carried out by the Egyptian Department of Antiquities and sponsored by the American lawyer Theodore Davis. The work moved northward where two tombs had previously been discovered.

The tomb had, however, been robbed through a hole in the corner of the wall, and the contents of the tomb, especially the coffins, had been disturbed to a great extent. The robbers seem to have ransacked the tomb shortly after it had been sealed, and subsequently to have covered up the hole through which they had entered.
Yuya was a high-ranking soldier: he commanded the regiment of royal war chariots. He also held important positions at court as ‘Master of the Horse’, and his title of ‘father-of-the-god’ may have referred specifically to his role as the king’s father-in-law.
His wife Thuya was a ‘lover’ of the gods Amun and Min, and she used the title of ‘Royal Mother of the Great Wife of Pharaoh’.

The objects from the tomb included objects used in daily life, such as the chariot of Yuya and Thuya, and wonderful furniture including beds, chairs, and gilded wooden boxes inlaid with faience, ivory and ebony.

Pharoah Psusennes

The exceptional funerary goods from the royal tombs of Tanis are comparable only to the treasures of Tutankhamun, found eighteen years earlier at Thebes.
In 1940, the sepulchre of Pharoah Psusennes I revealed spectacular treasures, many still intact. 350 years separate Psusennes I and Tutankhamun, the famous young ruler of the New Kingdom (18th Dynasty). Psusennes reigned from 1039 to 991 BC at the beginning of the Third Intermediate Period founding the 21st Dynasty’s new capital at Tanis.
Despite its modest dimensions, Psusennes I’s tomb held an extraordinary collection of valuable objects. Only items able to withstand the humidity of the Delta have survived, including stone and silver sarcophagi, the golden mummy mask and sheath, precious jewellery and tableware, weapons and shabtis (small mummy figurines.

We had a great view from our Cairo Marriott Hotel room.

Main entrance to Cairo Marriott and Casino

Sat night we had a delicious dinner in a Marriott private room – lovely old Moroccan- themed decor: vegetable soup, lightly sauced spaghetti, chicken and vegetables in a rich gravy, fruit sorbet for dessert with a reasonably good bottle of Egyptian red wine ($45).

OCT 26, Sunday CAIRO / GIZA

We arrived at the Pyramids of Giza and were fortunate that the bus was allowed to enter the grounds (thanks to Hassan’s negotiation skills and money in palms). We learned some background from Hassan and from the displays in the new information centre.

The ancient Egyptians believed that the sky was the home of the gods, who traveled through it in boats similar to how the Egyptians themselves moved through the Nile. At the center of this celestial plane was the sun god Ra, who was thought to have been born every morning at sunrise, traveled across the sky in his Solar Boat throughout the day, and died every night at sunset.

Within the Old Kingdom, the king was considered an embodiment of the god Ra, sent down to earth to rule over the people of Egypt. Upon the king’s death, it was believed that his soul needed to rise to the sky and reunite with Ra, then reach the horizon to enter the afterlife. To make this journey, the king would need a unique form of transportation: the Solar Boat.

Standing on the steps of The Great Pyramid (photo by Jon Gurr)

Pyramid of Khufu First Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid or Cheops, its Greek name

The Great Pyramid of Giza, tomb of King Khufu. A marvel of ancient Egyptian technology. Its 2 million limestone blocks stood as the tallest structure in the world for 3,800 years, reaching an original height of 146.5 m. It tells a story of delicate teamwork, detailed project and resource management, and a commitment to create an eternal resting place fit for a god.

Khufu set a tone of grandeur and luxury as the first king of the 4h Dynasty to build his tomb on the Giza Plateau. This tone would be replicated by his son Khafre and grandson Menkaure who built the other two pyramids.

We passed the second largest pyramid and walked around and climbed the steps of the big pyramid aware of the size of the stones that had to be lifted to build the pyramid. We felt the stones that are smooth and warm.

It was likely covered in gold originally. Not long after it was built, it was looted by Egyptians. There was a tunnel inside the pyramid but it was long, low and hot so we didn’t go down it.

The Queen’s Pyramids located at the southern side of the Pyramid of Menkaure
Mortuary temple.

The Giza Plateau served as an extensive burial ground for the royal family and high officials who were buried near their beloved king. The Eastern and Western cemeteries consisted of large networks of rectangular superstructure tombs called Mastabas, named after the Arabic word for bench, which were intended for this purpose.
King Khufu and King Menkaure chose to honour the women of their royal family by each building three subsidiary pyramids for their queens. On the other hand, King Khafre decided to create a cemetery of rock-cut tombs for his family members.
Khufu’s three Queen’s Pyramids are located to the east of his Great Pyramid and were likely intended to be exactly 1/5th of the size of Khufu’s. In reality, these pyramids were built on sloping ground and did not have the same precision as the pyramids of the kings. Two of these pyramids are said to belong to Queen Meritites, wife and sister of Khufu, and Queen Henutsen, secondary wife and half-sister of Khufu. The third is thought to belong to Khufu’s daughter.

We then visited the Sphinx, the enigmatic Sphinx – this massive lion-bodied, human-headed sculpture. The smashing of the face was performed by locals who feared the influence of the Sphinx.

This area had been flooded by Nile and the land has been reengineered to prevent the flood again.

I took the opportunity to take in the breathtaking views of the Pyramids while on the back of a camel (approx. $15 USD).

Near the end of the day, we visited a papyrus shop.

On the way back to the Marriott, Bill told an “Omar” joke:

We went to Le Pacha, an Italian Restaurant on the water for dinner.

OCT 27, Monday CAIRO

In 1979 the city was officially registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site thanks to its historical and architectural significance that is represented to this day in its urban fabric which preserves monuments, markets, and old streets.

Hassan led us through the early morning streets of Cairo, pointing out significant buildings – Al-Muizz li-Din Allah Street is considered the largest open-air museum of Islamic monuments in the world.

We arrived at the Khan El Khalili Bazaar where we walked around and Hassan had coffee and smoked a Shisha, a flavoured (apple, strawberry) tobacco.

Selling brass crescents at the market-could use one in my garden!

Next stop the new Museum of Civilization.

Hassan guided us through the Museum of Civilization. We walked through the ages in this beautiful 4-year old, modern museum.

Purification with water
Upon his arrival from the other world, the sun god purifies himself in eastern horizon before his shining in Heaven, where the four-gods “Horus”, the Lord of the North, “Seth”, the Lord of the South, “Dewen-anwy”, the Lord of the East, and
“Thoth”, the Lord of the West, pour the water of life and power over him from the four corners of the universe.
This rare statue depicts king Amenhotep Il, assimilated with the sun god in his shining in the moment of his purification on the horizon New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty (1550 – 1295 BC) / Valley of the Kings – Thebes / Alabaster

The Wooden statues from ancient Egypt are rare due to the perishable nature of the material. Most depict men, identifiable by variations in wigs and clothing that reflect their roles and status. This statue shows a young man with calm facial features, short hair, and a knee-length kilt. His left leg steps forward-a traditional pose symbolizing vitality and movement in ancient Egyptian art.

Wooden Statue of a Man, 6* Dynasty (c. 2323-2150 B.C.)

inner coffin of Sennedjem (1295 – 1186 BC)

The inner coffin of Sennedjem is made in anthropoid form, where his mummy was placed inside. The inner cover depicts Sennedjem in in his worldly clothes as he wears a long kilt of white linen. The coffin is decorated with funerary scenes of the protective goddesses from the Book of the Dead, while Sennedjem receiving provisions from the Tree Goddess. His tomb was discovered in 1886 by French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero. And it was fully intact with a collection of funerary furniture, figurines and splendid paintings.
New Kingdom, 19*h Dynasty (1295 – 1186 BC) / Thebes / Wood

This collection from the tomb of Sennedjem, an artisan who decorated the royal tombs of the pharaohs, features a splendid coffin and funerary masks along with brilliantly painted furniture.

The objects were discovered in Sennedjem’s tomb in Deir-el-Medina, near modern-day Luxor, a village that was home to the ancient Egyptian craftsmen who decorated the royal tombs in the nearby Valley of the Kings. Sennedjem designed his own tomb and was buried there during the reign of King Ramses II.

The funerary furniture includes a painted chair that Sennedjem actually used in his lifetime.

The sarcophagi were paraded through the streets of Cairo on their way to the museum. No photographs were allowed: we saw the sarcophagi and mummies of all the major pharaohs. It was a bit disturbing to examine the 4000/3500 year old mummies- dark and wizened to their bones, some still with hair, wrapped but hands, feet and neck and heads exposed: they’re were not reborn and are still very much dead.

Lunch at Citadel View Restaurant

We had lunch at The Citadel View Restaurant in the gardens built by Agi Khan out of a garbage dump including Ayyubid City Walls, built by Salah El Din between 1176 and 1183 AD. In Al Azhar Park, located in old Cairo, with its lush gardens and panoramic city views, a wedding was underway while we were there.

The lunch was served on small brass portable bbq grill like an hibachi. The chicken, beef and vegetables were delicious.

We needed $ EGD 13000 (US$ 277) plus money for tips for the tour to Alexandria the next day so I had to take out 4 lots of 4000 EGP to get it.
The day was capped off with a Farewell Dinner. We said our goodbyes to Hassan, Jon and the group.

This evening, we will have a special farewell dinner at our hotel. Jon thanked Hassan for being a great guide and all of us for our excellent behaviour as a group. I thanked both ot them on behalf of the group.

Modern Cairo and Egypt

Hassam provided a plethora of information. He, himself, was involved in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, also widely known as the January 25 Revolution (or the “Day of Anger”/”Friday of Rage”). It was a series of mass protests that led to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled for nearly 30 years. This event was part of the broader regional movement known as the Arab Spring. He said that the country has still not recovered from the revolution and its causes.

However, things appear to be booming with cranes and construction everywhere. In Cairo, there are 10 square kilometres in the centre of the city of cemetery ghetto filled with poverty, drugs, and unhealthy living; currently, there is a massive, often-contested plan to move tombs and bodies to another location and rebuild the area.

Driving in Cairo is absolutely crazy: there are lines on the road but no one observes them. Our bus drivers were amazing!

A vast assortment of wares are available right on the sidewalks.

There is garbage evident on the streets as well as rubble, dirt and dust.

OCT 28, Tuesday Trip to Alexandria

Our plan was to visit the new Great Egyptian Museum but it was closed for the official opening on November 1. So, we asked Hassam to recommend a tour of Alexandria and he contacted his cousin, Karim,

Alexander the Great founded the city in 332 bce after the start of his Persian campaign; it was to be the capital of his new Egyptian dominion and a naval base that would control the Mediterranean.

After Alexander left Egypt his viceroy, Cleomenes, continued the creation of Alexandria. With the breakup of the empire upon Alexander’s death in 323 bce, control of the city passed to his viceroy, Ptolemy I Soter, who founded the dynasty that took his name

It was at Alexandria that Cleopatra, the last of the Ptolemies, courted Julius Caesar and claimed to have borne him a son. Her attempts at restoring the fortunes of the Ptolemaic dynasty, however, were thwarted by Caesar’s assassination and her unsuccessful support of Mark Antony against Caesar’s great-nephew Octavian. In 30 bce Octavian (later the emperor Augustus) formally brought Alexandria and Egypt under Roman rule. The city held the key to the Egyptian granary on which Rome increasingly came to rely.

There is massive building going on since corruption of Mubarak government and uprising. We travelled my taxi on new road to Alexandria with 5 car lanes one way and a separate one for trucks. There was evidence of agriculture under irrigation as it rains in the north filling wells and new towns all along highway.

Alexandria is a Mediterranean port city in Egypt. During the Hellenistic period, it was home to a lighthouse ranking among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as well as a storied library. Today the library is reincarnated in the disc-shaped, ultramodern Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Honking: the cacophony of honking horns is part of driving: some of it is aggressive but also saying, “I’m here or have a pleasant day”. There are many narrow streets crammed with cars, buses, carts and horses, TikTok’s, and black and yellow taxis.

Our first stop was the Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa. First discovered in 1900, these subterranean structures were carved out of bedrock and used when Egypt was part of the Rom Empire, with construction and use thought to have begun at the end of the 1st century AD; and then added to and enlarged up until the 4th century AD. They may never have been used mysteriously; though they found some horse bones but had no idea why or when; all carved out of bedrock.

The Roman Theatre

A unique group of 22 lecture halls from the 5th through 7th centuries AD stretches along a monumental, colonnaded portico traversing the site from north to south. The auditoria that have been excavated so far are all of different size, yet they share a similar orientation and layout. Stone benches are the most important interior furnishing. They are present in all of the halls, lining the walls in two or three rows. Tiered seats could hold from 20 to 30 students, sitting on alternate steps.

The complex is unparalleled anywhere in the Mediterranean world. Taking into consideration the scale of our complex and its location in the urban space, one can assume that these auditoria best reflected the role of Alexandria as a leading centre of learning and education in late Antiquity.

The large Late Roman bath of the late 4th century – early 7th century AD is a major architectural feature in the area. The central part of the building, which was built of red brick, contained a series of heated rooms typical of bathing establishments of the period.

VILLA OF THE BIRDS
Most of the villa’s mosaics were laid during the reign of Hadrian (AD 117-138) when Alexandria enjoyed period of prosperity. The villa was destroyed by fire in the late third century. Later about the AD 450-550, houses, storerooms and workshops were built over the ruins.
Among the Roman houses in Alexandria, the Villa of the Birds is the best example of a wealthy urban villa. In the second century, the bird panels and and the dining room’s opus sectile mosaics were laid. Opus sectile was a favorite carpet style in Alexandrian homes.

Citadel of Qaitbay.

Resembling an imposing castle fortress, this citadel was built in the 1480s by Sultan Qaitbey on the site of the Pharos Lighthouse, to protect the city from the crusaders who used to attack the city by sea. The fortifications are extensive in order to protect the limestone structure.

We had a very good lunch with a view of the harbour.

BIBLIOTHECA -ALEXANDRINA

Located near the site of the ancient library of Alexandria, this modern version, built in 2002, is an eleven-story, cylindrical-shaped building that houses more than eight million books. Its architecture – a giant sun disk – presides over the waterfront Corniche, while inside, a huge reading room can hold eight million volumes.

Thoughts about Egypt

The dust, dirt and heat was more overwhelming than expected.
The ancient sites were stunning.
There seem to be huge gaps between the very rich and very poor.
There is an excitement and energy about the country that is infectious – it is an up-and-comer.
There is much building going on: new roads, cranes, new high-rise buildings, new museums.
The market sellers were obnoxious.
Without our fabulous guides, Hassam and Jon, it would have been much less enjoyable.

Spain

After we returned from Egypt, the warm weather continued into November and we were at the beach and swimming in the sea into the middle of the month. With some visits from our egrets.

And the beautiful sunsets.

We had dinner with Vic and Pat, Val’s brother and sister-in-law, at Trokadero in Pilar -excellent We reminisced about past times together and with Val.

The last week was cooler and a blessing because we were busy cleaning, packing and wrapping. The windows and doors will be replaced during the winter and the dust will fly. Fortunately, we will miss it!

Cleaned, wrapped and stored for reformas

On our return to Canada, we stopped in Zurich. We arrived after 11:00 pm and took a very expensive taxi to the airbnb. Monday was a cold and wet day and the museum was closed so we read in the apartment, had a nice lunch and met Paola who had signed on for our AC flight back to Toronto . We visited the Christmas Market in the train station and went for dinner.

Mexico 2025

When we were debating where our winter 2025 trip would be, we concluded that we had not been to Central America at all and it seemed the right time. We had always had some concerns about safety especially when the media made much of a Canadian killed or hurt while in Mexico and the violent activities of the drug cartels. Our British Columbia friends, Laurie and Fred, whom we had met both in Turks and Caicos and in Thailand, recommended Mexico as they visited there 2-3 times a year. They gave us their favourite locations and I selected accommodations, flights and airport transportation. I also referenced Lonely Planet’s latest version of “Mexico” and several internet locations.

While we still harboured some concerns based on various divergent opinions from family and friends, we loved Mexico and Mexicans. We made some concessions to safety concerns such as I left my good jewellery at home, tried to stay alert to our surroundings and didn’t go out at night alone in unfamiliar locations – good strategies wherever you travel.

Itinerary Summary

Jan 28 Toronto to Cancun; Cancun to Akumal

January 28 to February 8 (11 nights): Beachfront Condo View Half Moon Bay 72FQLQ, Akumal

Feb 8 Cancun to Puerto Vallarta AeroMexico

Departing At: 08:59 Terminal: TERMINAL 4 Arriving At: 10:35 Terminal: TERMINAL 2

Departing At: 13:45 Terminal: TERMINAL 2 Arriving At: 15:34 Terminal: Not Available

February 8 to 15 (7 nights): Puerto Vallarta: Luxury 1BR Condo – Rooftop Pool – Bay View

Feb 15 to Mar 1 (14 nights) Bucerias: New 1 BR Condo with Amazing Rooftop Pool – Jacuzzi

March 1 Bucerias to Puerto Vallarta flight to Cancun AeroMexico

Mar 1-3 Isla Mujeres: Condo in Isla Mujeres

Mar 3-5 Cancun: Luxury Design Apartment Suite Tierra with Pool March 5 Cancun to Toronto

Full Itinerary

Our flight, Toronto to Cancún – AC 930Jan 28, 2025, 8:40 AM–1:00 PM, departed an hour late because it was a full plane and the need for de-icing but arrived almost on time. Our luggage was the last to arrive so that was an irritant. Then we struggled to find the taxi driver in the crowd of them outside the terminal. Namaste Transportation was the service and Joel was the driver. It was an hour and a half to Akumal and we stopped to get a few groceries. Arriving at dusk (5:30), a man met us with the keys and helped us carry up the luggage to the third floor; we stored the groceries, looked around the condo, saw the view from the balcony and walked down to the beach.

We had dinner at the on-site restaurant, La Lunita. Bill had Pad Thai and I had Hogfish-mine was very good; his: OK.

January 28 to February 8 (11 nights): Vrbo: Beachfront Condo, Direct Ocean View, Half Moon Bay 72FQLQ- Akumal, Quintana Roo, MX

From host, Cherri. Address: Hacienda de la Tortuga, Carretera Cancun Tulum kilometro, 105 Bahía de la media Luna camino a Yalku, Akumal Tulum C.P. 77776 MEXICO Q. ROO .

The condo is right on the beach overlooking Half Moon Bay, 900 sq ft, there is a full master bedroom, bathroom, living room dining area, fully equipped kitchen and balcony with a hammock and outdoor furniture overlooking the sea. A few extras also Included in your stay are daily maid service, purified water delivered free of charge to your condo daily, beach towels, free parking, free WIFI (but no TV service except DVDs and limited snorkelling equipment).
It’s a beautiful white sand beach in a lovely coral cove with fantastic snorkeling. Note that we found it extremely difficult to get into and out of the water because of the waves and rocky bottom.
The large balcony was a favorite spot with its amazing ocean view.

Wednesday, January 29

Wednesday was what Bill calls a “low-production day” as we were both tired. It was windy most every day.

We walked to The Buena Vida Beach Bar, a short walk south on the beach. The view is awesome; the food, pretty good.

After a warm walk back in the midday sun, we had a dip in the pool.

Thursday, January 31

We are picked up by Miguel, owner of Namaste Transportation, at 6:30 am for our trip to Chichen Itza, the best restored Mayan ruins in the Yucatan Peninsula. It was a 2 and a half-hour trip on mostly poor narrow roads except for a short time on a toll road.

The Maya and Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza is one of the main archaeological sites on the Yucatan Peninsula, in Mexico. It was and is still a sacred city and Mayan pilgrimage center founded by the Itza, the so-called water sorcerers, in the 5th century AD. The name Chichen means “mouth of the well” and Itza refers to those who founded it, the Itzaes “witches of the water”, around the year 435.

In Mayan society, the Halach Uinic or ruler of divine and hereditary character, lived in the palaces, along with priests and nobles who performed administrative tasks. Within the elite there were treasurers, scribes, architects and warriors, trades faithfully embodied in the murals, bas-reliefs and ceramics of the place.

For their part, farmers, weavers and artisans lived in surrounding villages and came to the city to go to the market and attend the religious celebrations that populated their precise calendars. The Mayans used two: one solar and the other ritual. The solar calendar, more exact than any other, was divided into 18 months of 20 days, plus 5 dark days, which were called uayeb (no name). The ritual calendar, or Tzolkin, was 260 days, 20 months of 13 days and was used for divination. The conjugation of the two calendars resulted in a period of 52 years, whose western equivalent could be the century.

Religion presided over the daily life of the Mayans, and their bulging pantheon of gods was related to the forces of nature. In fact, one of the most important activities of Chichén Itzá was its role as a sacred city and pilgrimage center, a function that it retained beyond its survival. The Sacred Cenote (well) has witnessed this: it was a place of offerings of gold, jade, shell or wood, as well as human sacrifices.

The evidence of a long-forgotten civilization was everywhere: Beneath a Spanish convent. Underneath a street. Most of it was covered in vines and vegetation, reclaimed by the jungle. But as a pair of British-American explorers combed through the Yucatan Peninsula in the 1830s and 1840s, they soon became convinced the mysterious sites were major archaeological treasures.

The ruins in question were the remnants of the Maya, a towering Mesoamerican civilization that had once covered much of Central America, from northern Belize through Guatemala and southern Mexico. Much more is now known about the group responsible for some of the greatest feats of its kind: Maya people cultivated the region’s first crops and domesticated its wildlife, built its first cities, and either created or refined almost every aspect of modern civilization.

During the Classic period (200-900 A.D.), the Maya civilization reached its peak. So did its architecture: the Maya refined its pyramid-like temples and grand buildings that appear to be palaces, though it’s unclear if they were actually used as elite residences or if they served some other function.

Our visit: We arrived shortly after opening around 8:30 and were met by our guide, Jesus. He spent considerable time explaining the mathematical genius of the Mayans in the construction of their temple structures and of the system of the calendar and seasons based on the sun. Upon entering, the Pyramid of Kukulean (aka El Castillo) rises in front of you. Build on a former temple around 800 CE, the 30 m-high structure has a plumed serpent sculpted along the stairways and Toltec warriors in the doorway carvings at the top of the temple. While we did not see it, the pyramid is lit at night and shows the serpent moving along the stairs as it did at equinoxes for the Maya.

Jesus also explained how the rulers were able to create illusions that controlled the behaviours of the farmers. One example he gave was about the bird that only sang in the spring and fall: the rulers figured out that if you clapped your hands on the ground near the temple that the sound reverberated to sound like the bird so they could make the sound any time they wished and encourage the farmer to work at planting and harvesting all the time.

Following the conquest of the Yucatán a new style blending the Maya and Toltec traditions developed, symbolizing the phenomenon of acculturation. Chichen-Itza is a clear illustration of this fusion. Specific examples are, in the group of buildings such as El Castillo (also known as the Temple of Kukulkan).

Surrounding El Castillo are terraces where the major monumental complexes were built: on the north-west are the Great Ball Court, Tzompantli or the Skull Wall, the temple known as the Jaguar Temple and the House of Eagles; on the north-east are the Temple of the Warriors, the Group of the Thousand Columns, the Market and the Great Ball Court; on the south-west is the Tomb of the High Priest.

After the 13th century no major monuments seem to have been constructed at Chichen-Itza and the city rapidly declined after around 1440 A.D. The ruins were not excavated until 1841 A.D.

The town of Chichen-Itza was established during the Classic period close to two natural cavities (cenotes or chenes), which gave the town its name “At the edge of the well of the Itzaes”. The cenotes facilitated tapping the underground waters of the area. The dates for this settlement vary according to subsequent local accounts: one manuscript gives 415-35 A.D., while others mention 455 A.D.

The second settlement of Chichen-Itza, and the most important for historians, corresponded to the migration of Toltec warriors from the Mexican plateau towards the south during the 10th century. According to the most common version, the King of Tula, Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, or Kukulkan as the Maya translated the name, reportedly took the city between 967 A.D. and 987 A.D.

Following the conquest of Yucatán a new style blending the Maya and Toltec traditions developed, symbolizing the phenomenon of acculturation. Chichen-Itza is a clear illustration of this fusion. Surrounding El Castillo are terraces where the major monumental complexes were built: on the north-west are the Great Ball Court, Tzompantli or the Skull Wall, the temple known as the Jaguar Temple, and the House of Eagles; on the north-east are the Temple of the Warriors, the Group of the Thousand Columns, the Market and the Great Ball Court; on the south-west is the Tomb of the High Priest.

The Mayan city of Chichen Itza was built out of limestone blocks chiseled out of nearby quarries. The blocks were so finely cut that they fit together without mortar. The sheer weight of the limestone stabilizes the structures, some of which are nearly 1,000 years old.

This UNESCO World Heritage Site (2007) has elements of both the Mayan and Toltec architectural styles. One of the most noted structures is El Castillo, the stepped pyramid of Kukulkan. The pyramid is covered with carvings, including the outlines of twin snakes along the staircase, leading to carved serpent heads at the bottom. The structure is actually a massive Maya calendar formed in stone. Each of El Castillo’s nine levels is divided in two by a staircase, making 19 separate terraces that commemorate the 18 20-day months of the Maya Vague Year. The four staircases have 91 steps each; add the top platform and the total is 365,. the number of days in the year. On each facade are 52 flat panels, reminders of the 52 years in the Maya calendar.

Evidence exists that some of the carved walls were painted in bold colours, but today the intricate carvings of battle scenes and various deities are mostly bare stone.

The Plaza de Mil Columnas features a forest of pillars stretching south and east.

The Platform of Venus has huge ornate and well-preserved plumed serpent heads extending on either side of the staircases. It’s thought that from the top of the platform, the planet Venus would be tracked, an important aspect of the Mayan calendar.

The carvings on the Platform of the Eagles and Jaguars depict those animals gruesomely grabbing human hearts in their claws. It’s thought that this platform was part of a temple dedicated to the military legions responsible for capturing sacrificial victims.

The Platform of Skulls is covered with carved skulls and was used to display the heads of sacrificial victims.

Gran Juego de Pelota is the largest and most impressive ball court in Mexico. Temples flank each end, while the ball courts towering parallel walls are lined with stone reliefs, including scenes of decapitating players.

The game was to get the ball through the stone circle on the side via the racket and body part of the player, except hands. The problem was that it was difficult to do and rarely happened: Bill equated it to cricket where games go on for days and nobody scores.

Jesus shows close-up of carvings showing soldier above with no head

For lunch, Miguel took us to Hosteria Del Marques, a lovely restaurant in Valladolid on the way home.

Regional speciality: Pork cooked in underground cooking pot

Miguel relayed some of his history of first bartending and then getting into the taxi business on his own. He lives alone now and his son lives in Whistler, Canada: organic farmer and a chef on weekends. We stopped on the way back for groceries after a long but enjoyable day.

Sunday, February 1

With plans to snorkel we inventoried equipment in the condo and found one full set of fins, snorkel, mask and PFD so we walked to the snorkelling centre just north of us but found that there were only fish to be seen in the laggon so we walked to the entry to Akumal North, found a rental store (no fins for rental) and bought groceries and wine at the General Store. On the way back we stopped at the Tsuuk Akumal Parque Natural, talked with a man selling guided snorkelling tours and arranged for a tour Monday morning at 10 am for 800 Mx dollars each ($56) each which included all equipment and guide for an hour.

Monday, February 3

We arrived at the park, were given our gear, stored our towels etc, had a shower and were taken by boat out past the roped off swimming area and made our way back in with our guide, Armando, who sent us the above photo. He pointed out a large group of large blue fish, a large sting ray, several large turtles and a baby that fed, swam, surfaced unconcerned with our presence. We were to stay 2 metres away from them and not touch them. It was awesome.

hawksbill sea turtle swimming among a school of fish — A Hawksbill Turtle swimming in Cozumel. Photo © Brian Lasenby/iStock.

All eight of the world’s sea turtle species are endangered, thanks to a combination of antiquated fishing practices, habitat destruction, and a taste for turtle products. Four turtle species—hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, green, and loggerhead—nest on the shores of the Yucatán Peninsula.

Akumal (Mayan for “Place of the Turtles”), has a bay well known for the green turtles who feed on the seagrass. We watched several of them: their beautifully patterned orange, brown, and gold shells were clear. The reptiles moved slowly along the seagrass, occasionally rising gently to the surface to fill their lungs before sinking back to the bottom.

We also saw stingrays. A group of stingrays is called a fever. Stingrays normally travel in groups to hunt but are also known to travel individually and in pairs. Stingrays belong to the superorder Batoidea, which also includes sawfish, skates and electric rays. While it is very different in nature, the closest relative of the batoid is the shark.

One of the most distinctive features of the stingray is its often scary-looking barbed, whip-like tail. Despite their menacing appearance, however, stingrays are docile creatures that only sting to defend themselves. As one we watched was frightened, it covered itself in sand.

Tuesday, February 2-7

We repeated many of the activities: walking to town (about 1.5 km), buying wine and groceries at the small General Store, lunch at Buena Vista, reading on the balcony, swimming in the pool.

Our beach was good for a walk and sitting watching the waves; we tried the sea for snorkelling but found it rough and stony to enter and harder to get out.

On the roads, there is proficient use of traffic bumps of considerable size, even on the highways.

Friday, February 7

We walked down to the Akumal Beach (admission $US 7) and walked the beach. The snorkelling tours were in full force.

Akumal Beach is a long beautiful beach with white sand and continuous resorts on it.

We saw a fisherman carving up a large fish that some women who chartered the boat caught as the pelicans waited for scraps.

For our last dinner in Akumal, we had our meal at La Lunita: we both had fish tacos with a margarita and they were very good.

February 8 Flight to Puerto Vallarta via Mexico City

Miguel Of Namaste Transportation picked us up at 6:00 am for our 9:00 flight. We arrived at 7:15, checked in AeroMexico very efficiently, took off at 9, had a 4 hour layover in Mexico City, arrived at 3:45 (one hour time change) and were picked up around 4:30 amidst the bedlam of Puerto Vallarta airport. We stopped on the way for groceries, signed forms that we wouldn’t have wild parties and met the concierge who took us via two elevators to our condo – stunning!

February 8 to 15 (7 nights): Puerto Vallarta: Luxury 1BR Condo – Rooftop Pool – Bay View

The Apartment is truly lovely and the building has a concierge and security 24-7. It takes two elevators to get from outside to the condo.

Monday, February 10. 2025

We took a taxi to the Marina for 8:30 meeting with Oskar Frey, Oceanologist, where he gave us background on Humpback Whales based on his research over 30 years. We headed out at 9:00 and it was a slow start but over the next 4 and a half hours, we saw large whales and one year olds who had survived the trip north and back with their mothers. They put on quite a show. Oskar timed the dives so that he could predict when the whales would surface and watched the “footprint” that the whale left as it moved through the water. When he could tell that they were going deep, he would get the boat to another area based on whales surfacing and creating blows or spouts of water.

The secret to the whale’s capability for holding its breath lies in its specially developed breathing system that allows it to absorb up to 90 percent of the oxygen breathed in. By contrast, humans only absorb around 15 percent.

Whales breathe in through blowholes on the tops of their heads. Because the whale only breathes at the surface, it has evolved with the ability to choose when to breathe and cannot breathe underwater.

Ocean Friendly Whale Tours https://oceanfriendly.com/

Humpback Whale source: https://www.acsonline.org/humpback-whale

The humpback whale is one of the rorquals, a family that also includes the blue whale, fin whale, Bryde’s whale, sei whale, and minke whale. Rorquals have two characteristics in common: dorsal fins on their backs, and ventral pleats running from the tip of the lower jaw back to the belly area. The shape and colour pattern on the humpback whale’s dorsal fin and flukes (tail) are as individual in each animal as are fingerprints in humans. The discovery of this interesting fact changed the course of cetacean research forever, and the new form of research known as “photo-identification,” in which individuals are identified, catalogued, and monitored, has led to valuable information about such things as humpback whale population sizes, migration, sexual maturity, and behaviour patterns.

Humpback Whale Surface Characteristics

Color
The body is black on the dorsal (upper) side, and mottled black and white on the ventral (under) side. This colour pattern extends to the flukes. When the humpback whale “sounds” (goes into a long or deep dive) it usually throws its flukes upward, exposing the black and white patterned underside. This pattern is distinctive to each whale. The flippers range from all white to all black dorsally, but are usually white ventrally.

Fins and Fluke
About 2/3 of the way back on the body is an irregularly shaped dorsal (top) fin. Its flippers are very long, between 1/4 and 1/3 the length of its body, and have large knobs on the leading edge. The flukes (tail), which can be 18 feet (5.5 m) wide, is serrated and pointed at the tips.

Length and Weight
Adult males measure 40-48 feet (12.2-14.6 m), adult females measure 45-50 feet (13.7-15.2 m). They weigh 25 to 40 tons (22,680-36,287 kg).

Feeding
Humpback whales feed on krill, small shrimp-like crustaceans, and various kinds of small fish. Each whale eats up to 1 and 1/2 tons (1,361 kg) of food a day. . During feeding, large volumes of water and food can be taken into the mouth because the pleated grooves in the throat expand. As the mouth closes water is expelled through the baleen plates, which trap the food on the inside near the tongue to be swallowed.

Mating and Breeding
Humpback whales reach sexual maturity at 6-10 years of age or when males reach the length of 35 feet (11.6 m) and females reach 40 feet (12 m). Each female typically bears a calf every 2-3 years and the gestation period is 12 months. A humpback whale calf is between 10-15 feet (3-4.5 m) long at birth, and weighs up to 1 ton (907 kg). It nurses frequently on the mother’s rich milk, which has a 45% to 60% fat content. The calf is weaned to solid food when it is about a year old. Oskar informed us that of the 72 babies born last year, 46 returned; that is 60 % and a big improvement over the years when it was 36%.

We watched a mother and two juveniles as they watched us and the juveniles practised some of their manoeuvres.

Distribution and Migration
Found in all the world’s oceans, most populations of humpback whales follow a regular migration route, summering in temperate and polar waters for feeding, and wintering in tropical waters for mating and calving. For the ones we saw, Bahia de Banderas is their mating and calfing area and they go as far as Alaska for summer.

Natural History
They can throw themselves completely out of the water (breaching), and swim on their backs with both flippers in the air.

They also engage in “tail lobbing” (raising their huge flukes out of the water and then slapping it on the surface) and “flipper slapping” (using their flippers to slap the water). These behaviors are important in communication between humpbacks.

Perhaps the most interesting behaviour of humpback whales is their “singing.” Scientists have discovered that humpback whales sing long, complex “songs”. Whales in the North American Atlantic population sing the same song, and all the whales in the North American Pacific population sing the same song. However, the songs of each of these populations and of those in other areas of the world are uniquely different. A typical song lasts from 10-20 minutes, is repeated continuously for hours at a time, and changes gradually from year to year. Singing whales are males, and the songs may be a part of mating behavior.

During the tour, a microphone was lowered into the water and we could hear the high-pitched singing sounds. It was very emotional to feel so close to the underwater community communicating in their language.

As we were returning to port, the boat was surrounded by a school of dolphins leaping in the air; the last three in succession included a new born.

It was a fabulous new experience for us with Oskar and his crew on Ocean’s Friendly Tours. The energy created by these mammoth mammals suddenly emerging from the water, flying through the air and crashing on the water was exhilarating. We were very engaged by Oskar’s passion and knowledge about Humpback Whales and their ways. The experience was a incredible gift to see a good person committed to improving our world for over 30 years: we feel enriched.

When we returned, we walked down to the waterfront, called Dean on his Birthday and had a Margarita at the Margarita PV Grill.

Advertised as World’s Best Margarita -it’s big!

Tuesday, February 11

The Jungle Trails of the Jardin Botanico de Vallarta

We had the same driver, Alonso, who drove us to the Botanical Gardens, 30 km south of Puerto Vallarta on a twisty, hilly, tope (bump)-ridden narrow road. We arrived at 11:00, walked through the trails until noon and then had lunch over-looking the site.

We walked the jungle trails of the gardens, steps up and down until we were tired. We started in the Hacienda de Oro restaurant, climbed down and back the steep steps to the river, Rio Los Horcones, followed the Jaguar trail, through the Vanilla Plantation and finished in the Cactus House.

We met a peacock quietly strolling who later converted to a wildly shaking dancer.

We had lunch in the Hacienda de Oro restaurant.

View from the Hacienda de Oro restaurant

We shopped in the store (blue ceramic dish for salt, cover for tortillas, carved hummingbird feeder) and arrived home around 2:00 pm, just in time for a swim at the massive roof-top pool.

When we arrived back in the condo, we could see whales in the bay.

There were often fireworks at night.

Wednesday, February 12

We walked down to the Cathedral and Central Square of Old Town about 20 minutes to the north. The Night of the Iguana movie put Puerto Vallarta on the map so we weren’t surprised to see this sculpture of Liz and Richard.

Towering over the skyline of downtown, flanked by kitschy souvenir stores, and fronted by a charming, colourful plaza, the pink-hued Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe – Parroquia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe is a highlight of the Centro Puerto Vallarta. The church was laboriously constructed over several decades. The neo-Baroque church is best known for its emblematic and intricate bell tower and is the city’s most important attraction. The interior is lovely but small and modest – the exterior is the real photogenic gem.

Parroquia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe altar

Parroquia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe interior

Parroquia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe exterior

Parroquia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe: internet photo with crown of angels

The original crown of angels, fashioned on the crown of the Empress of Mexico, was destroyed during a hurricane and locals picked up pieces thinking that they were sacred and their key to heaven. This is the rebuilt one.

After lunch, we walked to the Art District and visited Galeria Colectika and enjoyed the Huichol beadwork and yarnwork pieces.

Thursday, February 13

We headed for an early morning swim before our Get the Guide Puerto Vallarta Food Tour.

Our balcony is our favourite spot. Several days a week we watch the cruise ships come into the harbour. They manage to scare away the whales and dolphins.

Get Your Guide Puerto Vallarta 3-Hour Food Tour of Authentic Local Cuisine was excellent. It was actually closer to 4 hours and we covered much of Old Town with Maho. He is a teacher, food guide and singer – a hard-working guy. He made the tour interesting and educational with his stories, background to dishes and his love for the city. The food locations were all local, family-owned and run: success stories! Yes, the food was delicious but he made the tour. We started with Chilaquiles, only available in the morning, and ended with tequila and mole, pronounced, MOH-lay. Provecho, Maho!

We met in a beautiful park very Gaudiesque in nature. Maho said that it had been pretty ugly until the local artists took it on as a project.

Tacos “El Cunado” (the brother-in-law) place right next to the beach on the main street has been in the family for 40 years. The way you know that the food is very good is that there are many Mexicans eating there and many salsas.

Pork taco with guacamole salsa and lots of lime

A little bit of history: this was one of the original houses and is still owned by the family: small windows because they were taxed; high walls because the heat rises and red and white because the architect liked the design.

We stopped at a juice stand and sampled 4 different homemade juices and juice combinations from Passion Flower to lime, peppermint and cucumber from Claudia’s stand, Agua de Cebaba, inherited from her mother.

Maho said that Mexicans prefer taco stands to restaurants and that they are mostly good but there are exceptions. Carnita’s is one of the best: family-owned and managed; the cashier is separate from the cook and the ingredients are fresh.

Family business was a common theme. This man started with a taco stand and worked it into a restaurant, buys only fresh fish and still works there every day.

We had mahimahi ceviche on a flat tostado – excellent.

We stopped as well at a candy store where fresh, homemade candy to made as well as tequila. Bill bought candied almonds.

Next stop was Gaby’s, another family-owned and run operation through generations beginning with the mother opening up her house to serve a specialty- mole. First of all, mole is pronounced MOH-lay. Common pronunciation error: saying the last syllable as if it rhymes with bee, or not pronouncing the last syllable at all. The word mole comes from the Aztec Indians’ word molli, which simply means “sauce”.

Mole with two sauces and chicken stuffing in corn tortilla

Moles come in various flavors and ingredients, with chili peppers as the common ingredient. The classic mole version is the variety called mole poblano, which is a dark red or brown sauce served over meat. The dish has become a culinary symbol of Mexico’s mixed indigenous and European heritage, both for the types of ingredients it contains and because of the legends surrounding its origin. It is more a technique than a dish.

A proper mole can easily consist of up to 30, even 50 different ingredients and can take several hours – sometimes even days – to make. Ingredients vary but is typically a mixture of chilies, tomatoes, fruits, spices, a starch (bread or tortillas), chocolate, and nuts.

The meal finished with flan – delicious.

Our last stop was the Chocolate Factory where we tasted Mexican chocolate made with cinnamon – a common drink during the day. It was 4:00 and time for a Margarita!

Friday, February 14

Happy Valentine’s Day. We swam in the morning, saw some whales at a distance, and walked the beach.

Our favourite things about Puerto Vallarta:

This condo, SoHo, with its 180 degree view of the bay and despite the traffic noise, is awesome.
Ocean Friendly Whale Watching Tour
PV Food Tour
MargaritaPV Grill
Puerto Vallarta is a busy, noisy, high-energy place.

Map of Puerto Vallarta and Bucerias

Saturday, February 15

Alonso picked us up at 11:30 and we drove us to Bucerias, about 50 minutes. Although the cleaner was still cleaning our condo, we were able to leave our bags, take a peak at the beach and go for lunch at Pancakes and Waffles. We each had a loaded plate of Chilaquiles with chicken which was enough for lunch the following day as well.

We then hired a taxi to take us to the large supermarket La Comer where we did a big shop and returned by taxi (Mex$ 100.00 Can$ 7.00 each way). By the time we returned, the cleaner was gone. We were still full from lunch so we had a tortilla with pork for dinner.

The condo in the Maralma building was just built last year and is two blocks from the beach. There is a security guard and electronic access when he is not there and electronic access to the condo. Owners of one of the condos (Susan and Andrew from BC) said that this was their first winter in their condo. Ours (owned by Canadians) is so new, there is nothing on the walls except a TV. We can see the sea and mountains from the balcony but not much of them.

The view from our balcony:sea and mountains

Sunday, February 16

Andrew told us about the Sunday market so we set out before it got too hot for the market – much like Spanish markets, you can buy anything there from underwear to engine parts to food and there were many cafes serving tacos.

Where the tourists live, there are many low and high rise building with pools and gardens and security. And then there are the accommodations of many locals:

After lunch we went to the stunning rooftop pool.

We heard from condo owners that the sunset was awesome and it was.

Monday, February 17

We found a flyer for the new building:

I began the day with my morning meeting with my research colleagues: Jack, Michelle, Mairin and Parbati. Then we went for a walk south on town streets toward the town centre and stopped at a tourist centre and learned about local tours. We walked back, had lunch and then walked south along the beach.

The wind seems to come up in the afternoon here. We stopped at a beach bar, El Chivero, and had a Margarita – OK but not as good as Margarita PV Grill.

Tuesday, February 18

We started out on our walk to the south intending to book a tour to San Sebastian Del Oeste for the next day.

Foyer of the building with security guard

We booked the San Sebastian tour with Roger for the next day; he advised us to save our money for a tour of Sayulito and take the bus on the highway for 42 pesos and spend the money on Tequila. We then walked back and ran into the Chalk Walk Art Event which we had heard about from a woman in Margarita Grill PV in Puerto Vallarta. The artists were just getting started on Tuesday and then were finished on Thursday. See the progression:

Beginning the chalk work: Monarca Galeria

For dinner we went to Delices Mexicana, two blocks up the street that had been recommended by Andrew and Susan. I had beef, rice and vegetables and Bill had Pollo Mole – mine was good and Bill’s OK.

We went to the rooftop to enjoy the sunset.

Wednesday, February 19

Our driver, Carlos, and our guide, Gustav, took us to San Sebastian Del Oeste. On the way, Gustav told amusing jokes and provided the history of Mexico (I have refreshed the information through Google searches). It seems to be a history of a major war every 100 years: 1810, 1910, Gustav says we’re late for 2010.

The history of Mexico spans more than three millennia, beginning with the early settlement over 13,000 years ago. Central and southern Mexico, known as Mesoamerica, saw the rise of complex civilizations that developed glyphic writing systems to record political histories and conquests. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century established New Spain, bringing Spanish rule, Christianity, and European influences.

It’s September 16, 1810, and calls for independence are stirring across Dolores, a small town in the center of Mexico. It’s the start of an 11-year-long fight with Spain, a fight for Mexican independence. In the early 1500s, Spanish soldiers and explorers invaded Mexico and eventually established rule after defeating the Aztec Empire. Many members of the area’s Indigenous populations were captured and forced into slavery, which ultimately lasted for over 300 years. During this time, the territory under Spanish control was known as the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

After living under Spanish subjugation for centuries, Indigenous groups living throughout the territory had been growing increasingly dissatisfied with their political and social circumstances. It was the early 1800s, and Hidalgo was serving as a priest in the village of Dolores. After performing Mass in the early hours of September 16, 1810, Hidalgo was informed by a conspirator that Spanish authorities were aware various groups had been discussing independence — and those authorities were planning a crackdown. Hidalgo was prepared to take action.

A few hours after midnight, Hidalgo began ringing the bells of the Dolores church. Parishioners and workers gathered, lured by the peals ringing out across the small town. As the crowd grew, Hidalgo delivered what would come to be known as the “Grito de Dolores” (“Cry of Dolores”). While the exact words of the speech have been lost to time, the “Grito de Dolores” ultimately served as a call to action for the townspeople to take up arms and begin fighting for their independence from Spanish rule. And they did — Hidalgo’s speech marked the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence, a decade-long series of struggles that continued gaining momentum until Indigenous fighters eventually overthrew the Spanish government in 1821.

One of the most common misconceptions that come along with Mexican Independence Day is that people assume Cinco de Mayo is the holiday that commemorates Mexican independence. However, it’s important to note the difference between the two — they have entirely different meanings despite the fact that they both mark Mexican victories against European colonialism.

Cinco de Mayo took place on May 5, 1862, and commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla. This conflict took place during the Franco-Mexican War, during which France attempted to invade the country and establish a sphere of influence that pushed the Mexican government to adopt political policies favouring France.

Cinco de Mayo represented a struggle against imperialism as regional differences kept Mexico divided. The Battle of Puebla was one of many steps in unifying Mexico’s identity as a country. At the time the French army was considered one of the best in the world, and the victory clearly displayed Mexico’s resilience, strength, and pride.

Although it lasted only a day, the Battle of Puebla represents an important victory for Mexico in the face of a foreign power. But it took place 50 years after Mexican Independence Day and differs greatly from September 16. Mexican Independence Day is a vital celebration of self-determination and an enduring reminder to fight for freedom — and it remains an important event that shaped Mexico into the country it is today.

The country faced numerous challenges in the 19th century, including regional conflicts, caudillo power struggles, the Mexican–American War, and foreign interventions like the French invasion. Efforts at modernization during La Reforma included promoting civil liberties and the separation of church and state, but the country was still beset by internal strife and external threats, including the Second Mexican Empire.

The late 19th-century Porfiriato era brought economic growth but also authoritarianism and social inequality, which eventually fuelled the Mexican Revolution in 1910. Throughout the 20th century, Mexico implemented land reforms, nationalized key industries, and expanded social welfare, but these achievements were marred by corruption, violence, and economic crises.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Mexico shifted towards privatization and trade liberalization, culminating in the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. The 21st century has seen economic disparities, drug-related violence, and corruption. Recent governments have aimed to combat corruption, reduce inequality, and address the violence that has plagued the country for decades with mixed success. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Mexico

The trip: We were up early to get to the pick up point for the trip to San Sebastian del Oeste at 8:30.

It took a while to pick up all the passengers from the high rises in Vallarta Riviera just south of Bucerias and then headed inland through small villages and countryside up and down narrow roads. In the towns, the roads are cobblestone so driving over them shakes the whole van. Gustav says this is a free Mexican massage.

The road meandered through coastal plains and then started its climb into the Sierra Madre mountains. The hills graduated from low brush to pine forests and the air had a gentle coolness you don’t get at the beach. We passed by pastures of livestock, valleys with lush vegetation, fields of nopal cactus and tall stalks of corn.It is only recently that tourists arrived in San Sebastian because the road was only a track and there was no bridge over the canyon.

Heading high into the Sierra Madre Mountains

Located in the Sierra Madre mountains inland an hour and a half, San Sebastian is considered an Esmeralda village because of the greenness of its mountains. It felt like the Mexico of the 200 years ago with its cobblestone streets, its church built like a fortress.

We visited a family-owned Tequila distillery.

We were guided through the traditional making of Tequila by a young male member of the original distillery family. Tequila production in Jalisco dates back to the pre-Hispanic era when indigenous peoples fermented the sap of the agave plant to create a beverage known as pulque. When the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, they introduced distillation techniques, which transformed the fermented agave into what we now recognize as tequila. Jalisco, with its abundant agave fields (high altitude) and favorable climate (little rain), quickly became the heart of tequila production.

representation of the fruit that is processed

After the agave piñas are harvested, they are cooked to turn their starches into sugars that can be fermented. Traditionally, the piñas are slow-cooked in large ovens or autoclaves for several hours.

Once cooked, the agave is crushed to extract the juice, which is then placed in large vats for fermentation. This fermentation process is essential because it turns the sugars into alcohol, creating the distinct flavours that tequila is known for.
Distillation is a critical step in tequila production. The fermented agave juice is typically distilled twice to increase the alcohol content and refine the flavor. The first distillation separates the alcohol from water and other impurities. The second distillation further purifies the liquid, resulting in a clear, potent spirit. The skill of the distiller is vital in creating the smooth, balanced flavour that defines quality tequila. For tequilas like Reposado, Añejo, and Extra Añejo, the distilled tequila is aged in oak barrels for several months to several years.

Only Blue agave is used to make tequila. Green agave is used for Mezcla.

We tasted several tequila sauces for use on desserts and then three types of tequila made by the family, each smoother than the last. The middle one was best for margaritas so we bought it.

Our next stop was lunch at La Comedor de La Lupita in San Sebastian. We had tortilla with queso (cheese) with tomato spicy sauce and a long-cooked chopped up beef mixture to add to it, chicken mole, refried beans, rice and hibiscus juice.

We stopped at an family-owned Opal Outlet, Jewelry Alvilez, located near the mine. The opal is in this rock.

I bought an large opal with an irregular shape that the Alvilez company set in a silver frame as a pendant that they delivered to our condo.

Gustav had informed us that in its heyday, 20,000 people, mostly miners, had lived in San Sebastian. When the mine was closed during the last revolution, the inhabitants dropped to under a 1000 but it is now growing since the bridge was built and has 6000 inhabitants.

We climbed up the cobblestone street to the building at the top, a tower with bullet holes visible and opening for guns from inside: part of the fortifications to protect the town during the wars.

San Sebastián was founded as a mining town in 1605, during the early Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain period. Gold, silver and lead were mined in the area. More than 25 mines and a number of foundries were established by 1785.

The town had a population of 20,000 when, at the end of 1888, the miners went on strike. They were led by Felipe Preciado and Francisco Ochoa. Escorted by a cavalry picket led by a second lieutenant, the governor sent a delegate to intervene in talks to reach an agreement with the company manager. All the strikers’ demands were met, but the owner company, based in New York, disapproved of everything done by its representative and ordered an immediate strike at its mining farms. The prosperity of the town declined after the revolution of 1910.

Gustav told us we had an hour to walk through the town on our own. This seemed kind of off hand as there was nothing to see but souvenir places. This was the reason for the trip.

These days the plaza is surrounded by white-washed colonial-style buildings with tile roofs, with modern conversions turning them into hotels, cafes, and gift shops.

The Church of Saint Sebastian, whose original construction was in 1608, was designed in the Colonial Spanish Baroque style but has been rebuilt because of an earthquake. It has notable architectural details, including Corinthian columns and ceiling vault frescos.

We stopped at a family coffee plantation and organic coffee factory. On the walls were photos of some of the revolutionary heroes. Pancho Villa , Commander of the Division of the North, and Emiliano Zapata, Commander of the Liberation Army of the South, joined forces in the Army of the Convention, which fought the Constitutionalist Army of Venustiano Carranza. The Mexican Revolution was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called “the defining event of modern Mexican history”. It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its replacement by a revolutionary army, and the transformation of Mexican culture and government.

We walked back through the Chalk Walk Street Art and I bought a hand-painted hat, a unique wearable art-piece made by Kenia Mireles of Labiosdeojo.

Some more chalk art.

We decided to check out the Jacuzzi on the floor of our building.

We went up to the barbeque and enjoyed the sunset and conversation with building residents.

Saturday, February 22

On our way for our beach walk a low tide, we had a visitor in front of our building.

When we reached the beach, some Canadians from Winnipeg took our photo.

Lunch at Karen’s: Camarones Tacos- excellent

We stopped in a store on the way back. It’s interesting that the Mexicans have a different view of death and dying. Gustav told us that their view is that we are all going to die and that we should enjoy every day because there is no alternative. So we see skulls on everything and in every store.

Sunday, February 23

We walked the beach south toward the large Royal Decameron all-inclusive resort at low tide which makes the walking much easier with the flatter harder sand. We met some shore birds.

Monday, February 24.

Trip to Sayulito and San Pancho: We walked up the hill to the highway and took the local buses there and back: a new experience. The road is mainly hilly and twisty and the buses were very busy both ways and very cheap. We headed out with 6 of us, all Canadians: Rob and Mel from Edmonton, Jim and Patricia from Barrie, ON.

Sayulita

It’s hard to believe that until recently, this town on the Riviera Nayarit was home to a few people dedicated to coconut extraction at the Hacienda de Jaltempa. All the inhabitants of the community and the neighbouring ranches worked on the Jaltemba farm, where the oil was extracted from the coconut oil. In 1965, the La Varas-Puerto Vallarta highway was built.

A few years later, a government project for tourism expansion and development was launched; in Sayulita, the streets were paved, a kiosk, a public plaza, a market, sidewalks and other public works were built.

On another side of history, locals say that Sayulita was formed over 5,000 years ago by the wave gods, who specifically created Sayulita to be a place where the waves were perfect. One of the gods who according to legend created Sayulita was the wave god Oz.

Now, Sayulita has become a very popular destination for surf lovers (the surf is much higher in Sayulita and San Pancho than in Bucerias), and is home to Mexicans and foreigners whose warm and fun personality is combined with the natural landscapes, the colourful houses, and the lively streets, which together create pleasant experiences by the sea . We just happened to be there on a fiesta day: Flag Day.

Military with machine guns patrolling the streets

We just followed the music and found this 15 member band playing Mexican music continuously.

We were very entertained by the cowboy outfits and dancing horses until I saw that the cowboys were using their stirrup to jab the horses into dancing.

We continued walking toward the beach, admired the long white-sand beach, left Mel and Rob to continue walking on the beach and returned to the fiesta activities. We went to a second floor restaurant, Chocolate Banana, had breakfast and watched the activities.

View of the band from Chocolate Banana restaurant

Frida Kahlo’s face is featured in many souvenirs and here in wall murals. Renowned female Latina artist Frida Kahlo used a painting style that combined her Mexican culture, symbolism, surrealism and influences from her personal life. Utilizing this combination of motifs resulted in Frida Kahlo becoming one of the most studied artists of modern times.

Frida Kahlo’s adoration for her Mexican culture was displayed by using vivid colours and the colours of the Mexican flag. Symbolism, which is prevalent in Mexican art, is also seen in her paintings where she depicted animals that symbolized the tone of her pieces.

Many critics identified surrealism —an art form combining dreams and reality — in Kahlo’s work, but she disagreed. After experiencing a tragic car accident, miscarriages and a tumultuous marriage, she felt that she was simply displaying her reality and personal life experiences.

The complexity of her painting style continues to remain a popular subject of study for many art scholars.

We took the local bus to San Pancho- 30 pesos each, $Can 2.50.

Located just 5-km north of Sayulita, San Francisco Mexico is considered the “cultural capital” of the state of Riviera Nayarit, thanks to the numerous initiatives carried out here to promote Mexican culture and education.. The first inhabitants in the area of San Pancho Mexico, where the Southern Sierra Madre begins, were indigenous tribes pertaining to the Tatuan de Nayares group.

In 1524 Don Francisco Cortés de Buenaventura named the area Azapan. The Spanish eventually christened the town San Francisco de Azapan and made it a part of the Jaltemba Hacienda, which produced coconut oil.

In 1936, the Sayulita common lands, which San Pancho belongs to, were formed. This establishment, in a way, created the community spirit that characterizes this destination. It is precisely the social advocacy of its inhabitants, plus their work in conjunction with educational projects, environmental issues, and the promotion of the arts that has spurred the positive growth and development of San Francisco Mexico.

Jim, Bill and Patricia on bridge in San Pancho

We met up with Mel and Rob who were already having lunch at the beach. We had a drink and then headed back to Bucerias. Rob told us later that we left just in time as shortly afterward a man had been pulled from the water and after lengthy resuscitation, had died. We had remarked at lunch about how big and strong the waves were and had seen “egg-beaters” where swimmers were being twisted around in the water. Rob was still upset when he recounted the event the next day. This apparently was the second recent drowning there.

Wednesday, February 26

We stopped at Oye Henry’s for a drink and met (again) Karen and Irene and their husbands, Glenn and Butch. When we arrived there were no tables available but Bill saw two couples at a table for 6 and asked if we could join them. Irene looked at me and said, I know you! We had met the two ladies on the San Sebastian trip. They are childhood friends from Kenora but Karen and Glenn have lived for 25 years in Minnesota (we think) but they still get together. We had great conversations about what’s happening in the US and our concerns.

The sand is white and black with gold lights in it and when the tide goes out, it leaves these designs behind.

Thursday, February 27

We had our usual one hour beach walk, swim in the pool, walked through the market to get Bill a t-shirt. these t-shirts are seen frequently:

We made a reservation at Si Senor restaurant.

We had dinner at Si Senor for dinner. We had good dinners: Bill had shrimp tacos and I had coconut shrimp but the A table on the beach was the best part.

We arranged for a taxi to come at 3:50 am with Roger at the tour centre and reconfirmed it. We had dinner on the rooftop: steak, potatoes, vegetables and Rioja.

Mar 1-3 Isla Mujeres Condo in Isla Mujeres

Saturday, March 1

The taxi was there on time. Our flight was very efficient, on time and luggage arrived quickly in Cancun. We did not have a taxi arranged to get to the ferry and that was a hassle as we did get gouged. We arrived at the ferry terminal and walked immediately on the ferry. In 20 minutes we were in the hubbub of downtown Isla Mujeres.

We walked the 300 metres to the address on the Google maps (Av Juárez 39, Aeropuerto, 77400 Isla Mujeres, Q.R) but couldn’t find the Casitas Arcoiris so we texted and Angela walked out the door in front of us.

The building is a long narrow one from the street to the sea with about 6 small units; ours was the “azul” one on the water. It was small, pretty basic with few amenities. And we found cucarachas two days in a row. Breakfast was good and cheap: Mex$ 300 for both of us.

After we were settled, we walked along the paseo which was right in front of our place and ran along the water and stopped at the Tiny Gecko and admired the turquoise water.

We continued downtown to find we were in the first day of 5-day Carnaval Isla Mujeres 2025. The main street was filled with all ages dance troupes in vibrant costumes performing non-stop and with booming music accompanying them. The dancing was energetic; the costumes Mardi Gras-like; the choreography could have used some work. The activity continued for 5 days.

We walked along the beach but not far as it was very narrow dominated by boat tours coming and going on the docks and bars and restaurants on the beach.

When we stopped, a musical group sang Mexican songs.

Sunday, March 2

We wanted to do a circumnavigation of the island so we rented a golf cart in the morning (they informed us that there wouldn’t be one available in the afternoon with Carnaval on).

The island was discovered by the expedition of Francisco Hernández de Córdoba in 1517. In pre-Hispanic times, the island was consecrated to Ixchel , the Mayan goddess of the Moon , love and fertility, who received offerings in the form of women that believers deposited on its beaches. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived and observed the figures, they named it Isla Mujeres . Archaeologists know that Isla Mujeres was a sanctuary dedicated to Ixchel, the Mayan goddess of fertility, and that Mayan women had to make a pilgrimage to the island as part of their transition from girl to woman.

The island is part of one of the eleven municipalities of the State of Quintana Roo, the municipality of Isla Mujeres is located thirteen kilometres from the city of Cancun, the main tourist centre of the region. It was founded under the name of Dolores.

We headed up the north side of the island heading south bumping over the many topas with the jerking motion of the golf cart and eventually we arrived at South Point. Punta Sur is located in the southern part of the island, at the highest point, reaching 20 meters above sea level. It is a natural formation adjacent to the Garrafon reef.

We arrived back after our 2 hour trek and 8 km bumpy roads. We went to Bartolemue’s for lunch. Beautiful view seeing boats coming and going.

Carnaval started up again in the afternoon with a continuous parade with music and dancers and then buggies, scooters, jeeps (and booming music) making the circles through town.

And a strong armed military presence.

Military with rifles in the parade and on the corners

We walked back to the room, read next to the water and waves and then had dinner in town: worst ever at Brisa Mexicana on the market street one over from main street: cold sea bream floating in oil, rice and vegetables and shrimp tacos.

Monday, March 3

After a very good and inexpensive breakfast by Angela, we read for an hour by the sea, walked the paseo and back through town, and then walked to the ferry terminal and boarded the 12:00 pm ferry.

Angela had helped us with a taxi from Uriel (Red Taxi) who only charged us Mex$ 850 for getting us to 46 A Nube from the terminal and then to the airport on Wednesday. He was there promptly, took us to the apartment and helped us to get the access code from the airbnb and through the two locks -very, very helpful!

Luxury Design Apartment Suite Tierra with Pool Entire home/apt hosted by Dan

We walked down to the waterfront where the Carnaval festivities had been going on, walked back to the La Fiesta mall and had 2 for 1 hamburgers at DonCarbon. We walked through the mall to Chedraui store and bought the makings for dinner and then were too full to eat it. We had a swim in our little pool and an early night.

March 4, 2025

After struggling with where to go to see the highlights of Cancun, we decided on a walk to the Ki Huic market, City hall and Park, about 2 km.

We then headed toward the Puerto-it was a long hot, boring walk. The Marina Puerto turned out to be a mall on the inner waterway.

However, we found a lovely spot for lunch, Gran Puerto, and had a really good fresh Sea Bream lunch with fresh vegetables and rice. The appetizers included a small soup and their toasted fried tortilla chips with a selection of three salsas: one hot; one medium and one pico de gallo. The boat that the appetizer was in was called, Jacky. Coincidence?

When we were leaving we decided to engage the taxi for a tour of the Hotel district along the 5 km sand spit. It was a long continuous line of hotels of all famous names on both sides with the Lagoon on the inside and the Caribbean on the outside and numerous restaurants and shops. We stopped a Delfines Beach for a photo.

The arrangement was for an hour but the driver dragged it out so that it was an hour and a half and tried unsuccessfully to charge us for 2 hours. We had a dip in the pool, read and had dinner at home.

March 5, 2025

Cancún to Toronto – AC 931 3:00 PM–6:55 PM

Thoughts on Mexico

Before leaving we had concerns about safety and cleanliness. We found none: we felt safe, had no digestive issues and were treated well.
The weather was absolutely perfect: 27-30 every day, mostly sunny.
We enjoyed the food: had many very good tacos. Bill liked the hot sauces more than I did.
The tours we took were excellent: Whale-watching, Food Tour, San Sebastian.
We like Bucerias the most: It’s a city and could be considered part of the greater Puerto Vallarta area but it had a small city feel, with a large Canadian presence. The beach was spectacular – wide and long, especially at low tide.
Those cobble-stone streets and broken uneven sidewalks can be a challenge for walking and really shake up the cars.
Our accommodations on VRBO and Airbnb, for the most part, were first-rate.
We still have more places on our bucket list but we may very well return.

When you travel

A new silence

Goes with you

And if you listen,

You will hear

What your heart would

Love to say.

A journey can become a sacred thing

Make sure, before you go,

To bless your going forth,

To free your heart of ballast

So that the compass of your soul

Might direct you towards

The territories of spirit

Where you will discover

More of your hidden life;

And the urgeniceis

Tha deserve to claim you.

JOHN O’DONOHUE

Excerpt from the blessing, “For the Traveler” found in his books: To Bless the Space Between Us (US)/Benedictus (Europe)

Paris, Copenhagen, Sweden, Spain 2024

France, Denmark, Sweden (Malmo, Gothenburg, Stockholm) and Spain 2024

Go Way Travel organized our tour to Copenhagen, Malmo, Gothenburg and Stockholm. Our guides in Paris. Copenhagen and Sweden as well as Rick Steves’ book, France and Scandinavia, and various internet sources provided information for this blog.

Stortorget: Colourful, medieval (1400) buildings in Stockholm

September 10-11 Toronto to Paris

Paris (the other Paris) had been on our list for many years. We decided to make Paris our stopover for 4 days on the way over and 2 nights, one day on the way back. We flew Air Canada from Toronto to Paris on September 10-11 and stayed in a very well-designed and well-equipped Airbnb, a block from The Louvre. We took a taxi from the airport because we were tired. The apartment was on an alley inside green doors.

Fortunately, we were able to get into the apartment even though it was before check-in time.

We walked around the neighbourhood. No one would believe that on our street there was a store devoted only to hair brushes.

We headed out on the Hop-on Hop-off bus tour. First, we passed the Louvre. We’re coming back to it for a guided tour on our way home on November 21.

The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel is a triumphal arch in Paris, located in the Place du Carrousel. It is an example of Neoclassical architecture in the Corinthian order. It was built between 1806 and 1808 to commemorate Napoleon’s military victories in the Wars of the Third and Fourth Coalitions. The Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, at the far end of the Champs-Élysées, is about twice the size; designed in the same year but not completed until 1836.

We got off at Notre Dame Cathedral and could only view the reconstruction from the outside; reopening is planned for December 2025. We had lunch in a near-by café.

We circled the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l’Étoile—the étoile or “star” of the juncture formed by its twelve radiating avenues. It was commissioned in 1806, after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon at the peak of his fortunes and it would not be completed until the reign of Louis Philippe I, between 1833 and 1836. The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

What a mad place with 12 roads coming in.

We then headed for Montmartre and Basilique du Sacré-Coeur. Sacré-Cœur Basilica is located at the summit of the butte of Montmartre. From its dome two hundred meters above the Seine, the basilica overlooks the entire city of Paris and its suburbs. The basilica’s Neo-Byzantine-Romanesque plan was under construction from 1875 under five different architects and completed in 1914; the basilica was formally consecrated in 1919 after World War I. It stands on a foundation of 83 pillars sunk 130 feet deep, necessary becauswe the ground beneath was honeycombed with gypsum mines. The exterieo is also laced with gypsum, which whitens with age. It is the second most popular tourist destination in the capital after the Eiffel Tower.

It was very busy at Basilique du Sacré-Coeur with a long line up but it was a nice sunny day so we waited and the line moved quickly.

The basilica’s exterior, with its onion domes and bleacehd bobne pallor, looks ancient, but it was built only a cenntury ago by Parisians humiliated by German invaders. Otto von Bismark’s Prussioan army laid siege to Paris for more than four months in 1870. Things got so bad for residents that urban hunting for dinner (to cook up dogs, cats and finally, rats) became accepted behaviour. Convinced that they were being punished for the country’s liberal sins, France’s Catholics raised money to build this church.

September 12 Paris Bill’s Birthday

By Metro, we arrived at the meeting point for our guided Eiffel Tower Tour.

At the meeting point for the tour of the Eiffel Tower

Our guide met us at the appointed time and place and warned us that we might not get to the top level as it sometimes is closed without warning.

The Eiffel Tower is famous because it was the tallest structure in the world at the time of its construction in 1889. It has since become a Paris icon and a symbol of romance. More people pay to see the Eiffel Tower each year than any other attraction in the world.

Though named after Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower was actually designed by an assistant. Eiffel himself was not initially a fan of the structure’s design. He had been tasked, however, with designing the tallest structure in the world. The biggest challenge he faced in doing so was wind. The higher a structure stood, the more likely it was to be toppled by wind. Once Eiffel’s assistant demonstrated that the structure would be sound, even in winds at a height of 1,000 feet, Eiffel embraced the project. Parisians hated it. The tower debuted in 1889 as part of the Universal Exposition. It was initially supposed to be demolished after 20 years, but it had gained such notoriety by the end of the initial 20-year period that officials decided to keep it. It was used as a radio tower during WWI and in WWII was sealed off to prevent the Nazis from taking it over. More than 7 million people visit the Eiffel tower annually.

During the tour it was very windy and even rained but we carried on.

The guide said that Bill was one of her favourites and the group sang Happy Birthday to him.

As we were leaving the tower, it actually hailed. Thanks goodness for our umbrella.

For dinner, we found a really neat Japanese fish market complete with the sounds of a fish market; we ordered a fish noodle bowl and glass of saki. We thought we’d go back Friday night but there was a line-up to get in.

September 13 Paris

We took the Metro to the appointed pick-up location and went by bus to Versailles. Our guide met us there and took us on a very good tour despite the noise and crowds. I can only imagine what it must be like in the summer.

Since 1979, the Palace of Versailles, located about 18 kilometres west of Paris, France, has been listed as a World Heritage and is one of the greatest achievements in French 17th century art. Louis XIII’s old hunting pavilion was transformed and extended through several expansions in phases from 1661 to 1715 by his son, Louis XIV, when he installed the Court and government there in 1682. Louis XIV succeeded in attracting the nobility to Versailles to pursue prestige and royal patronage within a strict court etiquette, thus eroding their traditional provincial power bases. Over 6000 courtiers lived there in order to be close to the king.

The nobles would wait for the King to rise and watch him get dressed to ensure notice and proximity to get their requests fulfilled.

It was a favourite residence for both kings, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles, making the palace the de facto capital of France. A succession of kings continued to embellish the Palace up until the French Revolution. This state of affairs was continued by Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI, who primarily made interior alterations to the palace, but in 1789 the royal family and French court returned to Paris. For the rest of the French Revolution, the Palace of Versailles was largely abandoned and emptied of its contents, and the population of the surrounding city plummeted. Today the Palace contains 2,300 rooms spread over 63,154 m.

Everywhere you looked the attention to detail with gold and sculptures were designed to impress the nobles and visitors.

Gild, marble and sculptures cover the building

In 1783, the palace was the site of the signing of the last two of the three treaties of the Peace of Paris (1783), which ended the American Revolutionary War. On 3 September, British and American delegates, led by Benjamin Franklin, signed the Treaty of Paris at the Hôtel d’York (now 56 Rue Jacob) in Paris, granting the United States independence. On 4 September, Spain and France signed separate treaties with Britain at the Palace of Versailles, formally ending the war.

The King and Queen learned of the Storming of the Bastille in Paris on 14 July 1789, while they were at the palace, and remained isolated there as the Revolution in Paris spread. The growing anger in Paris led to the Women’s March on Versailles on 5 October 1789. A crowd of several thousand men and women, protesting the high price and scarcity of bread, marched from the markets of Paris to Versailles. They took weapons from the city armoury, besieged the palace, and compelled the King and royal family and the members of the National Constituent Assembly to return with them to Paris the following day.

As soon as the royal family departed, the palace was closed. In 1792, the National Convention, the new revolutionary government, ordered the transfer of all the paintings and sculptures from the palace to the Louvre. In 1793, the Convention declared the abolition of the monarchy and ordered all of the royal property in the palace to be sold at auction.

The King’s Apartments

This prestigious series of seven rooms were parade apartment, used for hosting the sovereign’s official acts. For this reason, it was covered with lavish Italian-style decoration, much admired by the king at the time, composed of marble panelling and painted ceilings. During the day, the State Apartment was open to all who wished to see the king and the royal family passing through on their way to the chapel. During the reign of Louis XIV, evening gatherings were held here several times a week.

Diana Room

Emperor Augustus Statue alludes to King as Roman Emperor

Hercules Room. Started by Louis IV but finished by Louis V who brought the huge painting by Veronese, The Meal in the House of Simon: Paolo Caliari (1528-1588), known as Veronese, was a Venetian Renaissance painter. It had been stored since its arrival in France as a gift from the Republic of Venice to Louis XIV in 1664.

Work on the Hercules Room was completed in 1736, when François Lemoyne finished the ceiling painting depicting The Apotheosis of Hercules. This vast, impressive, allegorical work, depicting no fewer than 142 persons, can be considered on a par with masterpieces by Italian fresco painters. It was created, however, using the marouflage technique, i.e. the scenes were painted on canvas and then stuck onto the ceiling.

Le Repas chez Simon, 1570 Paolo Veronese

The Hall of Mirrors, the most famous room in the Palace. Following on from the victory over the three united powers: the Dutch War (1672-1678) in which France fought against Germany, Spain and the Dutch Republic, until the peace treaty of Nijmegen., depicted in the War Room, the whole length of the Hall of Mirrors (73m) pays tribute to the political, economic and artistic success of France.

Political successes are illustrated through the 30 painted compositions on the vaulted ceiling by Le Brun, which depict the glorious history of Louis XIV during the first 18 years of his reign. Military and diplomatic victories and reforms with a view to reorganising the kingdom are illustrated through allegories from Antiquity. Economic prosperity is revealed in the number and size of the 357 mirrors bedecking the 17 arches opposite the windows, demonstrating that the new French manufacture could rival the Venetian monopoly on mirror manufacturing.

Queen’s Apartment

Idealized portrait of Marie Antoinette as perfect mother

Secret door that Marie Antoinette is said to have used to escape

We had lunch in the café.

The gardens of Versailles, as they have existed since the reign of Louis XIV are marked by rigid order, discipline, and open space, with axial paths, flowerbeds, hedges, and ponds and lakes as motifs. They became the epitome of the French formal garden style, and have been very influential and widely imitated or reproduced.

Water features of all kinds are an important part of French gardens, even more so than plant designs and groves. At Versailles, they include waterfalls in some of the groves, spurts of water in the fountains, and the calm surface of the water reflecting the sky and sun in the Water Parterre or the Grand Canal.

Latona’s Fountain from above available from:

https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/gardens/fountains#latonas-fountain

Latona’s fountain was inspired by The Metamorphoses by Ovide. It illustrates the story of Latona, the mother of Apollo and Diana, protecting her children from the insults of the peasants of Lycia and pleading with Jupiter to avenge her. The god obliges by turning the inhabitants of Lycia into frogs and lizards.

Commenced in 1685 the Colonnade has circular peristyle with a diameter of forty metres is supported by thirty-two pilasters that act as buttresses for the arcades supporting thirty-two Ionic columns. The pilasters are made of white marble, while the columns alternate between deep blue, purple and white marble. This discreet colour scheme helps to offset the whiteness of the Carrara marble in the arcades and the vases on the cornice. The sculpted decor of the spandrels represents cherubs playing music or engaged in rustic games. Under twenty-eight of the thirty-two arcades, whose keystones are adorned with masks of marine or rustic divinities, leaping fountains tumbled into a channel surrounding the peristyle. In the centre: The Abduction of Proserpine by Pluto.

Louis XIV added the spectacular and famous work in gilded head of Apollo riding his chariot. This piece, is based on the legend of Apollo, the Sun god and the King’s icon. It features the god bursting forth from the water in anticipation of his daily flight above the earth.

The water from the marshy bog of the area was marshalled into a series of lakes and ponds around Versailles, but these reservoirs were not sufficient for the palace, city, or gardens- all these gardens needed large amounts of water. Great lengths were taken to supply Versailles with water, such as the damming of the river Bièvre to create an inflow in the 1660s, the construction of an enormous pumping station at the river Seine in 1681, and an attempt to divert water from the river Eure with a canal in the later 1680s-very unpopular with the locals. Our guide said that it took 60% of the available water in Paris and surrounding countryside.

The palace still serves political functions. Heads of state are regaled in the Hall of Mirrors; the bicameral French Parliament—consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly —meet in joint session in Versailles to revise or otherwise amend the French Constitution, a tradition that came into effect with the promulgation of the 1875 Constitution.

Hall of Mirrors still used for receptions

Main wing of Versailles from garden view

In 2009, President Nicolas Sarkozy addressed the Great Recession before a congress in Versailles, the first time that this had been done since 1848, when Louis Napoleon Bonaparte gave an address before the French Second Republic. Following the November 2015 Paris attacks, President François Hollande gave a speech before a rare joint session of parliament at the Palace of Versailles. This was the third time since 1848 that a French president addressed a joint session of the French Parliament at Versailles. The president of the National Assembly has an official apartment at the Palace of Versailles. In 2023 a state visit by Charles III to France included a state banquet at the Palace.

We returned to Paris by bus.

We loved Paris but the cool, wet weather will not be missed.

September 15 Paris to Alicante to Torre de la Horadada

It took all day despite leaving at 6 am to get from Paris to Alicante because no direct flights were available and we had a layover in Barcelona for 4 hours.

Great to be in Spain. At the condo. Shannon will say, ” Oh, Mom. Those are the same photos that you’ve taken for 35 years! It’s true but I still like them and like taking them. She does, too!

Yup, it’s still there: View of the Med from solarium

In the sun: 30 degrees. At the beach. In the sea.

Torre de la Horadada

The name of the town has its origin in two factors: the first, the 16th century watchtower; and the second, the site where the tower is found: the point of Horadada (el horadada) which comes from the Spanish word for “bore through” as it is situated on rocks made up of small caves developed by the water boring the rock.

From 1905 until the present day it has been property of the counts of Roche, who transformed it into their summer residence. During the 19th century the tower was used to make signals with an optical telegraph. In December 1995 it was registered as a property of cultural significance within Spain’s Historical Heritage as a monument.

Torre Vigia is classified as “Asset of Cultural Interest” according to the sign in front of the tower:

The coastal watchtowers are a series of military constructions built in the 16th century (although there are traces of the existence of similar constructions from ancient times and the Middle Ages) along Spain’s Mediterranean coast to defend the territory from berber pirate’s attacks, who disembarked on the coast and plundered and destroyed towns and rural settlements.

King Charles I of Spain was the one who conceived a defensive system based on buliding these towers along the Mediterranean coast. However, most ot the towers were built during his son Philip II’s reign.

In 1568, King Philip II requested his advisor Vespasiano Gonaga to survey and design fortifications in the Kingdom of Valencia. Juan Bautista Antonelli designed this watchtower with round floor, thick walls and slope elevation (thicker walls on the base progressively becoming thinner towards the upper part). Construction of the tower started in 1591 with two floors assigned to accommodate the guards or for storeroom for ammunitions or provisions, a stone or wooden staircase between the floors and giving access to the terrace where there were sentry boxes for the coast’s surveillance. The access door was raised above ground level and a ladder had to be deployed by the guards after recognition of the person before access to the building was granted.

Back to our routines, including the 5 km walk down to the paseo, past the cafes, the Marina, the Torre, the beach and back.

Back to dinner with friends.

Jackie, Andy, Ellie, Freddie, us at Copacabana

Day trips to Cartagena

Walk the main street of Cartagena.

Have lunch

Home to an amazing sunset

We were so fortunate to have time with Pat and Vic Slobodian who own a house in the Torre and who live in Ontario but always several hours away. It was Valentina who first brought me to Spain with my family in 1989 to rent a condo for three weeks in July. New units like the one we rented were for sale and we bought one. So we manage two dinners together, the first while son, Stephen, was here.

Us, Pat, Vic, Stephen at Vista Mar restaurant

October 20 to Nov 1 Denmark and Sweden.

GoWay Travel organized our 12 day trip around my CARN Conference in Malmo.

October 20 Copenhagen, Denmark

After a three-hour flight, we arrived in Copenhagen, got our luggage and boarded the train with our three-day pass without incident. We walked about 10 minutes from Central Station to our Scandic Palace Hotel. We were right on the square in front of the City Hall with the Metro station and a block from Tivoli Gardens.

This photo in our room captures the hotel in its heyday where Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were entertained.

Because our meeting point for our boat tour and walking food tour were not clear, we took the metro (a challenge with our knowledge of Danish) to Nyhavn (Called New Harbour but has been there 300 years) to find the Canal Boat pick-up point. This was a challenge, too, as we walked both sides of the canal inlet until we finally found it. No one we asked had any idea where it was!

But we tracked it down!

The sun was going down and the cafes and restaurants had their propane heaters and blankets ready for customers. The Danish seem to drink and eat outside no matter the weather.

We then took the metro and walked to the location of our walking food tour which was a large food court in two buildings.

We had been given no meeting point so we tried to figure out the most logical spot. We returned to City Hall Square and had a hamburg at Hard Rock Cafe.

Trumpeters in front of City Hall clock Tower

October 21, Copenhagen

We arrived early for the canal boat tour and started the tour sitting outside on the boat but once we turned to facing the wind, went inside.

Beside the captain of the boat, a man was employed to ensure that no one stood up while we were going under the bridges- I guess it has happened!

After the canal boat tour, we scurried over to the Food Buildings for 11:30. We walked the Food Courts up and down looking for the Walking Food Tour. No luck despite asking many people.

Finally we called the tour company and were connected with Peter, the guide, and the other member of the group, Ally Hefner, a U S Broadcasting student studying a Business credit in Dublin. We started with open-faced sandwiches which are very popular and particularly good in this restaurant in the Food Court.

Then we walked through the Botanical Gardens. It’s fall here, too.

We had open-faced sandwiches for lunch and on our walk passed “Agpalilik”, one of the largest meteors in the world – 20 tonnes. Discovered in 1963 in Greenland it fell about 58 million years ago. It is sitting in the sleigh that was used to pull it free from the rocks. and is still sitting in the same steel sleigh. It’s only 16 tonnes now because scientists have cut off a chunk to study its interior.

We visited a licorice-making factory and store. We tasted a piece of the licorice that they were making and it was very strong. I bought the Queen’s favourite: raspberry licorice. Peter told us that cars cost 180% because of duties to be paid. It also explains the plethora of bicycles.

Folding in the ingredients into the licorice

Next stop was the best hot dog place in Copenhagen; good but not sure about the best!

For the Swedish break, Fika, we had superb cinnamon buns from Emmery’s and then had a beer at a pub with 100 different beers from around the country and outside. That was a very enjoyable tour but we’re tired!

We went to Tivoli Gardens as soon as it became dark to enjoy the lighted Hallowe’en fantasy world and had ramen bowls at Wagamama’s.

October 22, Copenhagen

We took the Hop-on hop-off bus on a truncated run because it was late in the year and some stops were under construction. The first was the famous Little Mermaid from Hans Christian Andersons’ tale. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story follows the journey of a young mermaid princess who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a human soul. According to the bus recording, she has lost and had replaced her head and arms several times and been bombed.

Our planned stop was Rosenborg Castle.

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Castle was built by one of the most famous Danish kings, Christian IV, in the 17th century. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV’s many architectural projects. It was built in the Dutch Renaissance style, typical of Danish buildings during this period, and has been expanded several times, finally evolving into its present condition by the year 1624. Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699.[1]

Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree that institutionalized the supremacy of the king in Denmark-Norway. Christian fortified the absolutist system against the aristocracy by accelerating his father’s practice of allowing both Holstein nobles and Danish and Norwegian commoners into state service.

Christian V was a casanova and left a key under the tongue of the lion.

The beautiful castle features 400 years of royal treasures, and the Crown Jewels and Royal Regalia. Among the main attractions of Rosenborg are the coronation chair of the absolutist kings and the throne of the queens with the three silver lions standing in front.

The interiors are well-preserved and invite you to take a journey in time, stepping into the shoes of the royalty that once lived here. You can see the king’s private writing cabinet, his bathroom, and view wax figures of former royal inhabitants.

Thrones of Queens with silver life-sized lions

Among the main attractions is the Knights’ Hall with the coronation thrones, decorated with narwhal tusks, with three life-size silver lions standing guard.

Tapestries on the walls commemorate battles between Denmark and Sweden

The delicate and glittering crowns of the Danish kings and queens are kept in special vaults at Rosenborg Castle, embellished with table-cut stones, enamel, and gold. The crown jewels primarily consist of four garnitures: a diamond set, a ruby set, a pearl set, and an emerald set – the emeralds being among the world’s finest.

We finished our afternoon at the National Museum. The first rooms gave a history from the origin of life, through the early civilizations in Denmark and items found in them.

The Gundestrup Cauldron was probably made between 150 BC and the birth of Christ. The figures are boldly embossed and decorated carefully punched patterns. The sophisticated technique flourished in the centuries before the birth of Christ among the Thracians, who lived in the area that is no Bulgaria and Romania. In style, too, the cauldron looks like Thracian silver work. However, several of the objects depicted are Celtic – the helmets and the Celtic war trumpet. It is most likely that the cauldron was made where Celtic and Thracian peoples lived close together, probably in southwestern Romania or northwestern Bulgaria. It is not known how it reached Denmark.

Chariot of the Sun was found in September 1902, when the bog Trundholm Mose in western Zealand was ploughed up for the first time. It was made in the Early Bronze Age, c. 1400 BC. The elegant spiral ornamentation on the golden sun disc reveals its Scandinavian origin. The Sun Chariot illustrates the idea that the sun was drawn on its eternal journey by the divine horse. The chariot is not itself part of the religious belief. The sun image and the horse were placed on wheels to illustrate the motion of the sun.

We crossed the City Hall square on our way back to the hotel.

We walked to Nyhavn at the end of the day, had a drink on the boat on the dock and came back for dinner a small restaurant near the hotel- both of us had good meals.

October 23, Malmo, Sweden.

After breakfast we walked to the Central Train Station, got directions to Track 7 and took the train 15 minutes early (they run every 15 minutes), crossed over to Sweden on the bridge and arrived at Malmo at 11:25. We had visions of fabulous views from the bridge but the train actually runs under the bridge.

View from train over water from Denmark to Sweden

Using Google Maps, we walked to the Elite Esplanade Hotel. We checked our bags and headed out to see Malmo (too early to check in).

We walked around the city, through the square near our hotel with the cafes busy with diners. All the cafes have glass enclosures, heaters and blankets.

We toured St Peter’s a Brick Gothic church. Built in the 14th century as the main church of the city, it has been described as “the main Gothic monument within church architecture in Scania”.

The church was a spiritual centre during the Reformation, and was one of only a few churches in what was at the time medieval Denmark that suffered damage due to iconoclasm as a consequence of the Reformation. St. Peter’s Church contains late medieval murals of recognized high quality, as well as a number of unusual furnishings.

The altarpiece, made in 1611, is one of the largest in the Nordic countries.

Note: We had heard from our new Swedish neighbours, who just moved into Ruth and Mick Steele’s old apartment directly across from us, that there were crime problems in Sweden, especially in Malmo. This came as a complete surprise to us! Sweden? Really? When we googled Malmo, we read several disturbing articles on the drug gangs, shootings and violence, including bombs being set off.

Peter, our Copenhagen Walking Food Tour guide, confirmed this; in fact, he said that Denmark had closed the border to Swedes because of the violence- something that had never happened before. He attributed the problems to the large numbers of immigrants from war-torn countries for whom there was no preparation or support and their involvement in the drug trade to make a living.

Peter maintained that Denmark had managed the immigrant wave better because they had admitted only as many as they could support without endangering the Danish way of life.

October 24, Malmo, Sweden

We had a great breakfast (and stashed a meat-filled bun for lunch) in the very dark restaurant attached to the hotel, practised using the videocamera on the phone so that Bill could record our sessions and I went through my slides for Friday’s symposium session.

We visited Malmo Castle, built between 1526 and 1539, which is the oldest preserved Renaissance castle in the Nordic Region. The tour was disappointing because the interior had been stripped of everything including ceilings and floors.

We met Mairin Glenn at the Registration desk of CARN 2024 at Malmo University; Bill met with Red in order to scout out the metropolis of Malmo- you can walk anywhere in 20 minutes! We saw Femke, Carina and many others from other CARN conferences.

Red and Bill walked about 10 km around Malmo. Mairin and I attended a very good lecture by Jane Springall where she used the metaphor of Gardening to Participatory Action Research. Then we practised using the technology for our session on Friday in the actual room where we will present. We managed to get PowerPoint, Zoom, YouTube and the upload to the Projection system working but some of the transitions were awkward.

October 25, Malmo

The big day of the symposium session arrived with our session at 9:00 and everything worked: the technology, the timing, the members of the group’s contributions (Jack, Parbati, Mairin and Michelle on video). We were so fortunate that the other two presentations did not turn up so we had the whole hour to ourselves. The questions extended our influence and were fielded by all of us.

Mairin and I working feverishly to get technology working

In the breaks, Mairin and I met Michelle’s students and reconnected with many old friends. It was a full day of sessions. I attended Femke and Carina’s session on helping managers involve the community in creating policy on urban planning.

Held in an historical building, Mairin, Red, Bill and I enjoyed the conference banquet of shrimp appetizer, roast duck, wine and cheesecake dessert. The service was very slow but we had lots of time to chat.

Saturday, October 26, Malmo

After a cool very foggy walk to the conference and passing very few people on the streets, I attended both Ray’s (Michelle’s student) workshop and Lorena’s (she invited me to attend) in the morning and arranged for tech help for my workshop. Ray did an awesome job, very impressive.

I went to the conference room for my session at 11:00 and worked with the student tech group to get started. We made some progress and when the tech guy arrived, I hoped that he would get Zoom working and despite a limited start, he did not. Also, our back up for Parbati was a YouTube video which I suspect was blocked by firewall. I soldiered on without the technology and I think did fine.

We walked the streets again and saw this group of musicians.

And stopped at a cafe for a drink.

Despite cool temps, the protected cafes are warm

We went with Mairin and Red back to Bullen (means Bank) for more good Swedish food. We had an awesome evening together.

Sunday, October 27 Gothenberg

After another hearty breakfast, we got the train at noon from Malmo to Gothenburg. I have no idea the cause but I was sick for over an hour, emptying my system. Then I felt fine. We walked from the Central Train Station to the Elite Plaza Hotel following Google Maps in the cold and wind. While only a 20 minute walk, pulling suitcases on cobblestoned streets is wearing. We were lucky, however, because it rained during the trip there but was over when we arrived.

We walked the “Avenue”, had a drink and for dinner we went an Asian restaurant called “Chou” just around the corner from the Elite Park Avenue Hotel. We had Chop Suey, Bill’s with fried rice and mine with fried noodles: Both were very good.

Monday, October 29 Gothenburg.

We met Ulrica Flach, our guide, in the lobby and had a great walking tour for 3 hours around the city. We heard about the history and we covered a lot of the city centre!

UlricaFlach and Bill outside the Feskekörka – Fish Church

After walking down the “Avenue”, the main street lined by high-end shops, we passed the Opera House and crossed the King’s bridge.

Gothenburg is located on the west coast, in southwestern Sweden, about halfway between the capital cities of Copenhagen (Denmark) and Oslo (Norway). The location at the mouth of the Göta älv, which feeds into the Kattegat, an arm of the North Sea, has helped the city grow in significance as a trading city. The archipelago of Gothenburg consists of rough, barren rocks and cliffs, which also is typical for the coast of Bohuslän. Due to the Gulf Stream, the city has a mild climate and moderately heavy precipitation. It is the second-largest city in Sweden after its capital Stockholm with a population of approximately 600,000 in the city proper and about 1.1 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area.

There are many canals that provided transportation for goods although many of them have been filled in to provide more land.

Before wooden buildings were banned in the city, this church burned down several times. Not much is left of the 17th Century wooden buildings. One time, a visitation for a rich man was underway and the church caught fire from a neighbouring building. This was before cremations were in vogue.

Gothenburg was founded in 1621 by Gustav II Adolf. The story told is that King Gustav Adolfs pointed to the ground on a hill and a bird told him that this will be Gothenberg. The reality is that the location was chosen for strategic reasons: defense of the south west and business: marine commerce access to the west avoiding Danish taxes. Dutch planners were involved as they had experience with canals and the soggy land left from building canals.

Sweden’s King Gustav II Adolf, founder of Gothenberg

Gothenburg was built during the 1600s by the Dutch, as they were considered the best at building on marshland. This has given Gothenburg’s city centre its famous channels that are distinctly dutch-inspired. The original city was built inside a large zigzag-shaped city wall that came to characterise Gothenburg for centuries to come. Not much is preserved today from this fortification, but a remnant of the bastion remains close to Feskekörkan, the fish church. The moat along with other defensive structures made the 17th century Gothenburg one of Northern Europe’s most fortified cities

The former artillery Kronhuset from 1654 is now used as a cultural centre for ceremonies and arts events.

One of the few surviving 17th century buildings in Gothenburg: the former artillery Kronhuset from 1654.

Because of the fires, a building ordinance was added in 1803 which declared that only stone houses could be built inside the moat. Some of Gothenburg’s most characteristic neighborhoods were built in the 19th century.

A large percentage of the Swedish population (1.3 million) emigrated to the US 1880 to 1910 and this ship took them from this harbour to England and then the US. With population growth and crop failures, land in the US was a magnet but other factors such as religious persecution from the Swedish Lutheran Church as well as social conservatism and snobbery influenced by the Swedish monarchy were in play.

Model of ship that took many Swedes to the US

Historically, Gothenburg was home base from the 18th century of the Swedish East India Company. From its founding until the late 1970s, the city was a world leader in shipbuilding. A shipyard crisis was hard times for Gothenburg in the second half of the 1900s. From being one of the largest employers in town the shipbuilding industries gradually liquidated in Gothenburg. But the city has been praised for having succeeded in developing the areas where the shipbuilding industries were once located.

Skansen Kronan is one of the two towers built to defend Gothenburg from Danish invasion in the 17th century. The formidable looking stone building was built in the 1680s with later fortifications and artillery positions added later. It has commanding views across the city and beyond. We climbed up the the remnants of internal walls built for increased protection nearest Denmark, to view the city.

Skansen Kronan: remnants of internal fortification walls

Fiskekyrkan or Feskekörkais Gothenburg’s indoor fish market by the moat, a unique building dating from the 1870s is one of Gothenburg’s most famous landmarks and attractions. The name means ‘Fish Church’, relating to its resemblance to a gothic church with pointed arches and fluted interiors. It sits right by the water, and is the place where fishermen would bring their catch to sell fresh. It had been under reconstruction for 3-4 years and had just been re-opened.

We walked to Haga, a shopping area for pedestrians with small shops with local merchandise. The wooden painted houses date mostly from the 19th century, when the area was one of the most impoverished in the city. We could see the lookout with the crown on top more closely. From this look out, guards would watch for the Danish coming across to attack and run down calling to the locals to burn down their houses. But it never happened!

When the builders ran into trouble trying to keep the buildings low-rise and still meet housing needs for a growing population, they managed to get the municipality to agree to raising the basement above ground -note the brick first floor.

Fika: Essential break in the Swede’s day with a cinnamon roll and coffee

Landmarks like Poseidon and the Gothenburg Museum of Art were completed at the 300-year anniversary in 1923.

After a lunch break and after the rain stopped at 2:00, we walked back to Haga. We walked the area, bought a pillow and some gloves and walked back.

For dinner we went to Levantine, a highly-recommended French restaurant. While the ambiance of the restaurant is nothing special, we both had Bouillabaisse and it was delicious!

Tuesday, October 29 Stockholm

On a cool damp morning, we took a taxi as it was raining to the train station and took the train at 11:25 to Stockholm for almost 3 hours.

We both still have colds but Dr Liz’s natural remedies are keeping them low key and not slowing us down.

We arrived in Stockholm 30 minutes late because of a mysterious stop, mysterious because the announcement was in Swedish! The Scandic Continental is directly across from Central Station but we took an exit a block away.

Greater Stockholm’s 2 million residents ( one in five Swedes) live on 14 islands woven together by 54 bridges. Stockholm is committed to limiting its environmental footprint. Development is strictly monitored; cars must pay a toll to enter the city; cars are expensive because of duties to be paid.

By the time we checked in, it was 4:00 so we went for a walk over to Old Town, Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s historic old town; charming, photogenic, full of antique shops, street lanterns, row on row of shops and restaurants. Until the 1600s, all of Stockholm fit in Gamla Stan. It’s a very busy place full of tourists even at the end of October, around the Royal Palace.

We found a Thai restaurant a block away from the hotel and had Pad Thai.

Wednesday, October 31 Stockholm

We had a wonderful breakfast and met Anna who is a physiotherapist, now tour guide. We asked to be to the Royal Palace in time for the changing of the guard.

There are many sculptures in Stockholm and this is one to recognize and encourage outdoor activity.

We headed out across one of the 54 bridges to one of the islands.

King Gustav III is gazing at the palace which was built in the 1700s on the site of the first castle. Gustav transformed Stockholm from a small Scandinavian port into a sophisticated European capital, modelled on French culture. Gustav loved the arts and founded the Royal Theatre and Royal Opera House where ironically, he was shot by a discontented nobleman.

Bridge overlooking Slussen, named for the locks between the salt water of the Baltic Sea and the fresh water of Lake Malaren. Farther down there is massive construction of the waterfront. Stockholm exists because this is where Lake Malaren meets the sea. Traders would sail their goods from far inland to this point, where they’d meet merchants who would ship the goods south to Europe. In the 13th century, the new kingdom of Sweden needed revenue and began levying duty taxes on all the iron, copper and furs shipped through here.

The separation between the freshwater Lake Malaren (right)and the Baltic Sea(left) .

King Gustav III who created the modern Stockholm

Another Gustav who promoted building and the arts

Storkyrkan: ‘The Great Church’ is the oldest church in Stockholm. Storkyrkan lies in the centre of Stockholm in Gamla Stan, between Stockholm Palace and Stortorget, the old main square of Stockholm. It was consecrated to Saint Nicholas in 1306 but construction of the church probably started in the 13th century.

Stortorget: The most iconic, most photographed place in Stockholm: colourful old buildings topped with gables line this square – Stockholm’s oldest. In 1400, this was the heart of medieval Stockholm (population 6,000). At the town well, many lanes intersected making it a centre for trading.

Of note is the metal in the walls of the buildings used for anchors for lifting and building and reinforcement to prevent bowing. Anna showed us the different forms:

Different shapes of metal reinforcements

The beautiful old stock exchange is the home of the Novel Prize Museum.

The square long held the town’s pillory. The site of the Stockholm Bloodbath of 1520, the square has a notorious history. During a Danish power grab, many of Stockholm’s movers and shakers who had challenged Danish rule – Swedish aristocracy, leading merchants and priests – were rounded up, brought here and beheaded. Rivers of blood were said to have flowed through the streets. One victim’s son escaped, went into hiding, and resurrected to lead a Swedish revolt against the Danish rulers. Three years later, the Swedes elected that rebel, Gustav Vasa, as their first king. He went on to usher in a great period in the country’s history – the Swedish Renaissance.

After a few blocks, we found a rune stone. Anna said that the old Nordic script says, “Torsten and Frogun erected this stone in memory of their son.” She said that sometimes runes were erected as a will to say that this farm shall be inherited by my son.

In the shop window, we saw the carved horses. Anna says that they came from northern Sweden where the lumberjacks used to carve the horses to pass the time as gifts for children. Some were painted. At a world’s fair, a large painted horse was a hit and became a symbol of Sweden.

Looking up, we could see the brick steeple of the German Church, the first German Lutheran church.

Many German merchants worked here and Sweden became a Lutheran country even before the northern part of Germany. Sweden and Germany have been closely linked except during the world wars when they took a non-partisan stance although Sweden did help the Nazis get access to Norway.

Then we walked through part of Gamla Stan, the Old Town.

We arrived the “Knight’s Isle “, Riddarhomen is the quiet and stately far side of Gamla Stan. The knights referred to were the nobles who built their palaces on this little island.

The statue of Birger Jarl considered the man who founded Stockholm marks the main square.

Established in the 13th century as a Franciscan church has been the burial place for nearly every Swedish royal since the early 1600s-a Swedish Westminster Abbey.

17th Century private palace of old noble family

We then arrived at the waterfront in an area called Slussen, named for the locks between the salt water of the Baltic Sea and the fresh water of Lake Malaren. The locks are being rebuilt because of the need of maintenance of the differential between levels of the two bodies of water, about 2 feet, so that the Sea is not at a higher level. This is the waterway where traders would sail their goods from inland to ship goods to Europe. The reconstruction is massive with wide walkways and stairs for family picnics along the water.

We walked along the waterfront looking across the Baltic at a cultural neighbourhood where many museums, including the Vasa Museum, and the Grona Lund amusement park and at the cruise ships docked on the Baltic side. Then we walked through Foho, an area of cafes, parks and boutiques, on our way to view the Changing of the Guard at the palace. We said goodbye to Anna and arrived in time for the event.

We hurried to get to the 12:15 changing of the guard at the Royal Palace. While the royals live at Drottningholm, this is the official royal residence. The palace, designed in Italian Baroque style, was completed in 1754 after a fire wiped out the previous palace.

The Swedish royal family since 1818 has consisted of members of the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden. Today those who are recognized by the government are entitled to royal titles and styles (manner of address), and perform official engagements and ceremonial duties of state.

Anna informed us that the heir to the current King Carl XVI Gustaf is Crown Princess Victoria. Originally she was not supposed to be the heir apparent to the Swedish throne: traditional laws of male primogeniture made it so her younger brother, Prince Carl, surpassed her in the line of succession after his birth in 1979. However, a constitutional change took place later that year that allowed Victoria to eventually inherit the Swedish Crown.

After the barking and goose-stepping formalities, the band showed off with a concert.

Trumpeter and Drummer play several military calls to duty

We walked back to the hotel and had dinner at Luzette, a French Restaurant directly across from our hotel in Central Station, and had a very good dinner.

Thursday, October 31, Stockholm

We took the street car to Vasa Museum and arrived shortly after 10:00 as Anna recommended. Anna had informed us that it is a school holiday so as the day progresses, the museum will get very busy as more children and families arrive. We joined the free tour for the first 30 minutes as the guide shared some of the details of the ship, its demise and recovery.

History

The Lion of the North, Gustav II Adolf, is building Sweden into one of the most feared powers in Europe. As part of the military expansion he initiated in a war with Poland-Lithuania (1621–1629) in January 1625, the Swedish king signs a contract with the Dutch master shipwright Henrik Hybertsson to build four new ships. One of them, Vasa, is to be the most powerful warship in the Baltic, if not the world. It is the beginning of one of the most spectacular fiascos in Swedish history.

The captain supervising the construction of Vasa, Söfring Hansson, calls Vice Admiral Klas Fleming down to the ship, moored at the royal palace, because he is worried. He has thirty men run back and forth across the deck and the ship rolls alarmingly. The Admiral has the demonstration stopped, afraid the ship will sink at the quay. Under pressure from the king to get the ship to sea, he orders Söfring to sail anyway. Months later, Vasa sets off on its first and last voyage.

1627. The machine of war is launched. The king´s newest and most powerful ship, Vasa, is launched in the spring and hundreds of craftsmen work through the summer to finish the hull and rigging. When completed, it is 69 metres long and more than 50 metres tall from the keel to the top of the main mast. The ship weighs over 1200 tonnes once outfitted with ten sails, 64 cannons, 120 tonnes of ballast and hundreds of sculptures. Richly decorated as a symbol of the king’s ambitions for Sweden and himself, upon completion she was one of the most powerfully armed vessels in the world. However, Vasa was dangerously unstable, with too much weight in the upper structure of the hull. A giant of a ship of its time is born.

10 August 1628: Vasa sails 1,300 metres and no farther. Still within sight of the shipyard where it was built, Vasa heels to port under a gust and water gushes in through the open gun-ports which are still open having just delivered a cannon salute. The crew cannot get the gun-ports closed so the water rushes in. Within minutes, the ship is lying on the sea bed 32 metres below. Thousands of Stockholm´s inhabitants witness the tragic scene, together with several foreign ambassadors; 30 crew are killed but the rest of the dignitaries on the boat were rescued. The King was away fighting a war.

Autumn 1628. A fearful Royal Council writes to tell the king of the disaster and an inquest is launched: the ship´s officers claim innocence; the builders are adamant that they built the ship according to the design the king approved; the experts believe the ship had too little belly, not enough hull to carry the heavy upper works; the designer, Henrik Hybertsson, had no blueprint for a ship this size and the king added another deck of cannons causing poor proportions. Master Henrik, dead more than a year, cannot defend himself and no one is to be punished.

August 1959. Vasa moves for the first time in 331 years. The Neptune Company insists on a tried-and-tested method, used since the Middle Ages to raise sunken ships. Divers have spent more than two years digging tunnels and passing cables under the ship up to floating pontoons. On 20 August 1959, the pumps start in the pontoons and Vasa frees itself from the mud. The ship is lifted and moved under the water surface in 18 stages, and in September Vasa lies at a depth of 17 metres by the island of Kastellholmen. Divers will spend another year and a half preparing the ship for the final lift.

By Friday 16 February 1962, the ship is ready to be displayed to the general public at the newly-constructed Wasa Shipyard, where visitors can see Vasa while a team of conservators, carpenters and other technicians work to preserve the ship. The museum opens with a salute from two of Vasa’s cannon. Public interest is enormous and success is immediate – in 1962, 439,300 buy a ticket to see the ship and its unique finds. To give the sense of the height of the masts, the masts are visible through the room of the museum.

April 1962. Operation Preserve Vasa. Reconstructing and preserving a mighty warship from the 17th century is an enormous challenge. When waterlogged wood dries out, and the moisture in it evaporates, it shrinks and cracks. In order to prevent Vasa from being destroyed, conservation of the ship begins using polyethylene glycol, PEG, to replace the water for 17 years (1979). Loose objects are placed in large baths, while the hull of the ship is sprayed around the clock with the help of 500 nozzles and an elaborate pumping and filtering system.

It’s interesting that our friend, Diane Morgan, was there while they were still washing her with PEG.

The preservation continues every year. We could see new pneumatic braces for the cradle being constructed and old iron screws being replaced with stainless steel. The guide told us that the funding is a constant restriction on how much and how quickly maintenance and preservation efforts can proceed. They hope to keep her intact for a 1000 years.

A 1/10 th Model of the VASA

The ship is so massive: it’s difficult to see the whole. This model was very helpful.

Sculpture of Lion, symbol of Kings and Sweden

The Vasa is massive. It is amazing to see it so close and not in behind glass.

We could see the cradle below and people working on the maintenance and preservation. Because it’s wood that can shrink, it is regularly measured.

While it is sitting on the bottom of the harbour, salvage groups retrieve what they can find in the mud. Of all the cannons on the ship, only three remained at the time of its recovery; the others salvaged.

One of the recovered cannons weighing a ton each

Because this ship was a showcase for King Gustav, it is full of beautiful sculptures.

Taken from the very informative film, this shows the sculptures and vivid colours of the stern.

Our next stop was Skansen, the world’s oldest open-air museum founded in 1891 by a local public educator. Skansen features historical environments and buildings from all over the country to find out what it was like to live in Sweden in the old days.

We managed to visit a few of the buildings but it began to rain and we made a run for the street car and got back to hotel only a little damp.

Our last stop was the City Hall (Stadhuset). According to Rick Steve’s, the Stadhuset is an impressive mix of 8 million red bricks and 19 million chips of gilt mosaic. While churches dominate cities in southern Europe, in Scandinavian capitals, City Halls seem to be the most impressive buildings. Built in 1923, it is the location for City Council, hobby legistlators with day jobs, meet in the evening once a week.

We joined a free tour of the City Hall. Very impressive.

Roof-top sculpture with 3 swedish crowns

The first room, Italian,piazza-inspired, where the Nobel Prize dinner and reception is held is the Blue Room, so-called because it was first intended to be painted blue but the architect later changed his mind and liked the brick walls.

The City Hall chamber is very impressive.

The Council Chamber has a gorgeously painted wood-beamed ceiling that resembles a Viking boat.

Next came the Gallery of the Prince lined with frescoes painted by Prince Eugene of Sweden.

And last we arrived at the glittering, gilded, Neo-Byzantine style Golden Hall where the Nobel Prize winners have their dance.

In this over-the-top space, a glimmering mosaic the Queen of Lake Malaren oversees the proceedings, as East (Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia and the elephant, on the right) and West (Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty and skyscrapers) meet in Stockholm. The locals were not impressed when they first saw it.

We went to the Fish Restaurant a block from the Scandic Hotel and had a very good meal. It was a 4:20 pickup in the morning, November 1, so we watched CNN and the American election updates and had an early night. The taxi driver who came from Bulgaria 11 years ago (too much corruption there) and who took us to the airport had a brand new Chinese electric car that he was very proud of. He said (with hand shaped as gun: Bang Bang) that there are gun shots every day in Stockholm.

Thoughts on Copenhagen, Denmark and Sweden

Both countries seemed prosperous with no evidence, where we were, of poverty.
There was a great deal of construction and reconstruction of old sites.
We were shocked at the drug-related crime in Sweden. Malmo is reported to be the crime capital of Europe.
The food was not unique with the possible exception of Bullen’s Swedish meatballs. Anna said that the Swedes love Thai food and Thailand.
The public transportation was very efficient and accessible.
We found prices at restaurants to be more expensive than at home and in Spain.
We were advised that Stockholm is not very friendly but we didn’t find that to be the case.
Stockholm has become Bill’s favourite city.

Back in Spain, November 1 Day of the Dead and National Day of Mourning

After an uneventful flight from Stockholm to Alicante, we got a new rental car from RecordGo for a much better price than Europcar that we have used for several years and been satisfied with their service and price. November 1 is La Dia Sante or La Dia del Muerte (Day of the Dead) – it is the day that families take flowers to the Tantorium/Crematorium of the family graves.

In addition, this last week, a terrible ‘Gota Fria’ blew through and caused unbelievable damage and over 200 deaths in the Valencia area. A year’s worth of rain fell in 8 hours. The photos of piles of cars, trucks, debris, mud, trees, household furniture were shocking. The national army was called in to save people and clear roads. We had checked with Christian and he informed us that there had been wind and rain in our area but no damage. Three days of National Mourning started on Thursday.

Some stores were closed but Dialprix near us was open to get some groceries as the fridge was pretty empty. After lunch a short siesta was in order and then our daily 5 km walk to the paseo and back.

In a storm in Pilar and Torre de la Horadada, the water runs down the streets and empties into the sea, especially the ramblas which are wider thoroughfares. As the water enters the sea, there are frequently wash-outs.

Despite it being November, we spent many days of our last 3 weeks on the beach with our daily walks to the paseo and back. The temperatures were daily in the low to mid 20s and 16-18 at night, warmer than last year. Bill swam in the sea on the 5th and the pool on the 5-8th.

The flowers continue to bloom although many have been trimmed for the winter.

Lovely rainbow over the Mediterranean Sea:
November 3, 2024

The Monday before leaving, we had menu del dia at San Marino Restaurant in Campoverde with Ruth and Mick Steele who now live 3-4 blocks from us in a house but used to live in the unit diagonally across from us.

We had a last beach day on Nov 19 but the 20 th was warm, 25 degrees, but quite windy so we sat and read on the balcony and solarium and had our usual walk.

Thursday, November 21 Alicante to Paris, France.

After over a week of cleaning, clearing out, painting, storing away, we left for home, via Paris, France (the other Paris). We got to the airport in good time and then found that there had been a highly-unusual November snow storm in Paris what had delayed our flight for about 2 hours.

We had a tour of the Louvre planned the next morning so we just hoped that it wouldn’t be cancelled! We arrived 2 and a quarter hours late, our bags came immediatly and with no traffic the taxi got us to the airbnb by 11:00 pm. The host, Christophe, waited for us, although a back up of leaving the key in a key box had been arranged. The apartment is small with lofts where we can’t stand up but we managed fine because the location is a few blocks from the Louvre.

November 22 Paris-Tour of Louvre

We had arranged for a guided 3 hour tour with the Tour Guys. They contacted us with reminders, meeting location and details about the Louvre (no backpacks, bags etc.) We were there promptly at 9:35 for the 9:45 tour with one of the staff there to meet us but it was cold, windy and wet.

After waiting in this chilling weather, we finally got into the museum at 10:15 (we both thought that the wait might have been shorter with everything having been pre-arranged). The pyramid was built in according to the then president Mitterand’s wishes to celebrate …

For a little over two hours, Monica walked through the rooms of the Louvre, filling us with information and interesting and sometimes humorous facts through our earphones about the history of the building and its paintings, sculptures and tapestries. It was fast-paced, balanced and well-organized and we felt that we had seen a lot more than we would have on our own.

History of the Louvre

In 1546 Francis I, who was a great art collector, had this old castle razed and began to build on its site another royal residence, the Louvre, which was added to by almost every subsequent French monarch. Under Francis I, only a small portion of the present Louvre was completed. In the 17th century, major additions were made to the building complex by Louis XIII and XIV and both acquired great works of art.

The Louvre ceased to be a royal residence when Louis XIV moved his court to Versailles in 1682. The idea of using the Louvre as a public museum originated in the 18th century. The comte d’Angiviller helped build and plan the Grande Galerie and continued to acquire major works of art. In 1793 the revolutionary government opened to the public the Musée Central des Arts in the Grande Galerie. Under Napoleon the Cour Carrée and a wing on the north along therue de Rivoli were begun. In the 19th century two major wings, their galleries and pavilions extending west, were completed, and Napoleon III was responsible for the exhibition that opened them. The completed Louvre was a vast complex of buildings forming two main quadrilaterals and enclosing two large courtyards.

We started in the lower lever walking around the area that was the moat which according to Monica had to be cleaned up as it had been used as a dump by the townspeople and had bee recently been excavated.

Fortress getting stronger and including gargoyles

The transition from Fortress to Royal residence:

In the history of the Louvre, it did start as a fortress that each successive king/emperor increased in size and decoration.

After this video version, I had an clearer version of what was planned by each successive king/emperor. We then moved to the Egyptian wing. This huge statue took a special barge and several months to move.

Then we moved to the Greek Antiquities, mostly copies with a few originals. Zeus is original but the head and eagle are modern.

Zeus, God of the skies and master of Olympus

Ares, god of war, is recognisable by his helmet and ankle ring, which may refer to his amorous liaison with Aphrodite. This is the most complete statue from a series of ancient copies of a work that is now lost. All the male bodies look similar because the sculptors used the same models so the individual was recognisable by the hair, helmet and what he was holding.

Circa 360 BC, Praxiteles, the Athenian sculpture, created the first female nude of Greek sculpture. The inhabitants of Knidos, in Asia Minor, acquired his naked Aphrodite, the goddess of love, for the temple of the goddess, thus bringing fame to their city.

Uncovered in April 1820 on on the Greek Island of Milos, this original Greek sculpture, Aphrodite or Venus, goddess of Love, whose sculptor unknown is dated around 120 BC. She created a sensation when she was discovered because she is a rare Greek original and most “Greek” statues are actually later Roman copies. She, like Golden Age Greeks, epitomizes stability, beauty and balance.

In this next massive hall, dances were held.

The three nude women, symbols of beauty, the arts and fertility, stand side-by-side in a lateral composition that is striking in its frontality.

The Three Graces, goddesses of vegetation and beauty, companions of Apollo.

This statue of Diana, the first significant antiquity to enter the French royal collection, is striking for the dynamic position of the body. The statue moved with the French royal court: in Fontainebleau from 1556, it came to the Louvre’s Hall of Antiquities in 1602, then went to Versailles in 1996 before returning to the Louvre a century later.

Later Greek art is Hellenistic, adding motion and drama. The Winged Victory Of Samothrace at the top of the stairs on the landing is mcuh larger than she appears as you climb the stairs. This statue of a woman with wings, poised on the prow of a ship, once stood on a hilltop to commenmorate a naval victory. this is the Venus de Milo gone Hellenistic.

Laurent Rondé, jeweller to the king, supplied this crown for the coronation of Louis XV in Reims in 1722. It was designed by his son Claude and crafted by the young goldsmith Augustin Duflos. The fleur-de-lis at the front of the crown once featured the ‘Regent’ diamond while the other fleurs-de-lis on the band were set with eight ‘Mazarin’ diamonds, and the ‘Sancy’ diamond sat at the top. These gemstones were later replaced with replicas.

This necklace and earrings are part of the set of emerald jewellery – which also included a diadem and comb – presented by Emperor Napoleon I to Marie Louise, archduchess of Austria and a member of the House of Habsburg, on the occasion of their wedding in 1810. When Marie Louise died in 1847, as it was not mounted with any of the French Crown Jewels, the set was handed down to the branch of the House of Habsburg ruling in Tuscany.

Emerald and diamond necklace of Marie Louise, archduchess of Austria

The Italian collection is in the Grand Gallery. In painting, the Renaissance meant realism, and for the Italians, realism was spelled “3-D”. Painters were inspired by realism and balanced beauty of Greek sculpture. Painting a 3-D world on an 2-D surface is tough and after the millenium of Dark Ages, artists were rusty.

Because the church had the money and living in a religious age, they painted mostly alter pieces full of saints, angels Madonnas-and- bambinos and crucifixes floating in an ethereal gold-leaf sky.

Sitting in the stunning Salon Carré of the Louvre is the brilliance of Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata by Giotto. This is not only a work of transcendent beauty, it also has a fascinating role in the history of art. It appears as Italy is about to exit from its Gothic period — dominated by the Greek Orthodox “Byzantine” style — and give birth to a new wave of European masters who would change civilization forever.

It is the artist Giotto who leads this revolution that will eventually lead to Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and so many others.

The altarpiece presents us with an image of Saint Francis kneeling in a quasi-natural landscape — very realistic for the time. Rather than being seen straight on, as would have been customary, Giotto has him in a real pose.

Above him flies Jesus Christ as a seraphim, a form of angel described in the Old Testament as having three sets of wings. Saint Francis is being given the stigmata, which are the wounds that Christ received at his crucifixion. Rather than looking on at his saviour in a passive way, Giotto imbues Francis with a rich emotional life that you can see in his face. That expression, when compared to any artwork by his contemporaries, is shockingly humanistic.

Notice that Christ is smaller than Saint Francis. This was a radical new direction at the time. Giotto was using one of the effects of perspective to depict Christ as being far away, rather than formulaically painting him larger due to his greater importance.

Other details that fill out the work give us more information about its characters and the scene. Saint Francis was a mendicant monk, meaning he was impoverished and lived off of alms. This made him highly controversial before his canonization. So below the main image is a series of three panels that tell the story of his gradual acceptance by the church. This flows almost like a comic book, and that’s all by design. In that age, literacy was extremely rare, so the best way to tell stories was visually.

The visual feature that overwhelms all the others — that enormous ocean of gold that the image emerges from is entirely a stylized choice. What this gold does is command our attention, creating an undeniable force on the viewer who stands there in awe of what they see. In that way, Giotto allows us to have a similar experience as Saint Francis.

This one was interesting because the baby was very large in size. Monica, our guide, said that few painters had any experience painting babies so they were often disproportionate. The painting by Filippo LIPPI, Florence, vers 1406 – Spolète (Ombrie), 1469. Painted on wood, 1437.

The Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels and Saints Frediano and Augustine, known as The Barbadori

The Louvre has the greatest collection of Leonardos in the world – five of them.

Léonard de ViNCI, 1519 painting of Saint Jean baptiste. Oil on panel. This Saint John the Baptist, with his pagan, androgynous beauty, is holding a cross symbolising the Passion of Christ, but his panther skin is an attribute of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. This combination represents a new approach to traditional Tuscan images of the patron saint of Florence.

This painting is the masterpiece of Leonardo’s final years and the culmination of his soft, dark, monochrome, transparent style.

Léonard de VINCI Amboise (France). The Virgin of the Rocks. Oil on panel transferred to canvas, about 1483-1490

The rocks of this grotto with its luxuriant vegetation give the scene a mysterious atmosphere. The infant Saint John, kneeling on the left in an attitude of prayer, is blessed by Jesus, who is held by an angel under the protection of the Virgin Mary. This image of Mary is interesting because the patron who requested it did not like the figure of the girl on the right pointing and what that might suggest.

Leonard de VINCI 1452. Portrait of a Woman of the Court of Milan. Oil on panel about 1480-1497.

Leonardo da Vinci painted this woman, traditionally identified as Lucrezia Crise, in local dress with her looking at someone to her left and with that same smile of the Mona Lisa. Monica said that women were not painted with full smiles as they might suggest bad thoughts or thinking.

This massive painting opposite Mona is Paolo Veronese’s The Marriage at Cana, showing the Renaissance love of beautiful things gone wild. Venetian artists like Veronese painted the good life of rich, happy-go-lucky Venetian merchants.

And of course Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. When I first saw it many years ago, it was in another room and behind a glass frame. While it is behind a cordoned off area, this was a much better view.

Leonardo was already an old man when Francois I invited him to France. Determined to pack light, he took only a few paintings with him. One of them was a portrait of a Lisa del Gioncondo, the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant. When Leonardo arrived, Francois, immediately fell in love with the painting, making it the centrepiece of the small collection of Italian masterpieces that would, in three centuries, become the Louvre museum. He called it La Gioconda (La Jaconde in French) – both her last name and a play on the word for ‘happy woman”. We know it as a contraction of the Italian for “my lady Lisa” – Mona Lisa. Our guide informed us that it was not a popular painting when it was first displayed.

The overall mood is one of balance and serenity, but there’s also an element of mystery. Mona’s smile and long-distance beauty are subtle and elusive, tempting but just out of reach. It is 30 x 20 inches.

Now for something Neoclassical. Neoclassicism, once the rage in France (1780-1850), usually features Greek subjects, patriotic sentiment, and a clean, simple style. After Napolen quickly conquered most of Europe, he insisted on being made emperor (not merely king) of the “New Rome”. He staged an elaborate ceremony in Paris.

Jacques Louis DAVID. The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon and the Coronation of the Empress Joséphine in Notre-Dame Cathedral on 2 December 1804. Oil on canvas, 1806-1807. Salon of 1808. David’s painting shows the ceremony at which Napoleon crowned himself and his wife Emperor and Empress of the French in the presence of his family, the Pope and the dignitaries of the Empire.

The realistic depictions of the faces and costumes of the 191 figures in the scene distract attention from the artist’s skilful reconstruction of the event. The setting is Notre-Dame Cathedral, with Greek colums and Roman arches thrown in for effect.

We had seen this Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine in Versailles; this is the original but both are by the same painter. The event is interesting because while the Pope was invited and conducted the ceremony, Napoleon put the crown on his head and on Josephine’s. Also, the women in white in the centre is Napoleon’s mother who did not actually attend.

The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon and the Coronation of the Empress Joséphine

the Romantic collection, in an adjacent room, Salle Mollien, has works Theodore Gericault and Eugene Delacroix. Romaniticiswith emphasis on motion and emotion, is the flip side of cool, balanced Neoclassicism, though both flourished in the 1800’s.

Jean Auguste Dominique INGRES La Grande Odalisque Huile sur toile, 1814. Salon de 1819.

This life-size nude is an imaginary depiction of an Ottoman sultan’s slave. Her serene pose and velvety skin recall Venetian Renaissance paintings of Venus. Breaking away from anatomical realism, Ingres paid great attention to purity of line. Interesting because of the elongated form of the woman’s body, the position of her legs and the movement up the curtains and because the painter had little knowledge of harems.

Napoléon on the Battlefield of Eylau is an oil painting of 1808 by French Romantic painterAntoine-Jean Gros. It depicts a moment from the aftermath of the bloody Battle of Eylau (7–8 February 1807) in which Napoleon surveys the battlefield where his army secured a costly victory against the Russians. Although Napoleon on the Battlefield of Eylau, it is by far Gros’s most realistic work depicting Napoleon and breaks from the subtlety of Neoclassicism.

Close up of *Napoleon on the Battle Field of Eylau*

The Raft of Medusa: Theodore Gericault began to work on this huge painting without having been commissioned. The resulting composition was a history painting, but based on a recent event rather than a ‘prestigious’ historical subject. The figures in the scene are not mythological heroes or brave warriors, but victims of a shipwreck, forced to resort to cannibalism to survive. The painter chose the bleakest moment, when they saw the ship that would eventually rescue them sailing away in the distance.
This painting, first exhibited in 1819, was more than just a depiction of a tragedy. After the fall of the First Empire in 1815, the Bourbon kings had returned to power and the shipwreck discredited the newly restored monarchy: the captain of the Medusa had obtained his position on the strength of his connections with power rather than his competence; in fact, he had not sailed at all in the past twenty years! Unable to prevent the ship from running aground, he left part of his crew to drift on a makeshift raft.

Delacroix’s Liberty, commemorating the stirrings of democracy in France, is a fitting tribute to the Louvre, the first museum ever opened to the common person. The motto of France is Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite-liberty, equality and brotherhood for all. Delacroix is best known today for this painting. It was inspired by the ‘Three Glorious Days’ of the July 1830 Revolution when the people of Paris rose up against King Charles X.
The Parisians are depicted breaking through a barricade. The female figure at the top of the composition – part classical goddess, part woman of the people – urges the crowd forward and waves the tricolour flag. She is presented as a symbol of Liberty. Delacroix deliberately used the colours blue, white and red in combination several times in his painting: the French flag, a symbol of the 1789 Revolution then of the Empire, was banned when the Monarchy returned to power between 1815 and 1830. This famous allegorical/historical painting, often referenced in art and advertising, stands as a symbol of liberty and freedom fights.

Michelangelo, like his fellow Renaissance artists, learned from the Greeks in this creation of The Two Slaves (1513-1515). The two large twisting males nudes look like they just woke up from a long nap. The perfect anatomy, twisting poses and idealized faces appear as if they could have been done 2000 years earlier. They are very different: the one on the left, the Rebellious slave, fighting against his bondage, shows the agony of that process looking tense and worried and the one on the right looks like he doesn’t have a care in the world is said to show the ecstasy of the result. Michelangelo said that his purpose was to carve away the marble to reveal the figures God had put inside.

Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss is a sculpture by Italian artist Antonio Canova is regarded as a masterpiece of neoclassical sculpture, but shows the mythological lovers at a moment of great emotion, characteristic of the emerging movement of Romanticism. It represents the god Cupid in the height of love and tenderness, immediately after awakening the lifeless Psyche with a kiss.

Having been recently awakened, Psyche reaches up towards her lover, Cupid as he gently holds her by supporting her head and breast. Antonio Canova’s fine technique in carving marble contrasts their realistic smooth skin with the surrounding elements. Fine curls and lines make up the hair and light feathery details create realistic wings upon the landing Cupid.

In Apuleius, Psyche had been warned by Venus against opening the jar she was given to collect a scrap of beauty from Prosperina for Venus: “But I give you one especially strong warning. Do not open or peep into the [jar] you carry, and repress all curiosity as to the “Imprisoned Treasure of Divine Beauty”.” But she gave way to curiosity just as she had returned from her voyage into the Underworld, peering into the jar to take some of the Divine Beauty for herself. However, Proserpina had not filled it with the Beauty, but rather with the “Sleep of the Innermost Darkness, which freed from its cell rushed upon her and penetrated her whole body with a heavy cloud of unconsciousness and unfolded her where she lay.” It is the moment in which Psyche is “a corpse asleep” revived by Cupid that Canova chose to depict. “Delicately purging her of the Sleep, which he put back in its original lair the [jar], he roused Psyche with a charming prick of his Arrow.”

Various details such as the jar behind Psyche allude to the story by Apuleius as Psyche had just opened it and had gone to sleep thus the jar remains lying beside her. Additionally, the arrow which Cupid struck Psyche with to awaken her is also found near the jar and Cupid wears a quiver next to his waist.

**Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss**: see the jar of beauty

Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss seemed an appropriate last piece of art for our visit to the Louvre.

We had Quiche Lorraine for lunch at Le Mollien, the small restaurant in the Louvre.

It was cold, not a great day for walking about with our not having winter clothing. Then we walked to the Christmas Market in the Tuilleries Gardens, made a dinner reservation and walked home. We had a very good dinner at Bistro Richeleux.

Our 12:05 flight home on Air Canada was uneventful and we landed at 2:00 pm with a short delay for a malfunctioning bridge but very efficient security and luggage retrieval and arrived home by Paris Airport Services at 4:15 pm.

Bahamas 2023

With an invitation from Liz and Ray Pierce to join them on their Bayfield 36 in Ocean Reef Resort and Yacht Club in Freeport, Grand Bahama, we flew from Toronto to Nassau on West Jet and then took a short flight on Western Air (changed from Bahamas Air at the last minute) to Freeport and then taxi to Arctic Bear in the resort.

Fishfinder: inverted V’s are large fish; above red area are smaller fish

We headed out for a sail knowing that we would find some waves and wind. It was rolly and therefore we abandoned any plans to go further north and stay overnight. Even with new lures, no fish were caught.

Arriving back just before noon, we decided on a walk and lunch at the 2-Dollar Bar.

We decided to try again to catch a fish but with calm water and wind, no sailing occurred-still great to be out on the Atlantic Ocean.

Australia 2024

For almost a year we planned our 6-week trip to Australia with the assistance of GoWay Travel, half with small group tours and half on our own driving down the Gold Coast in a rental car.

A Bit of History courtesy of Britannica and various sources

Australia, the smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth, is located between the Pacific and Indian oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia’s capital is Canberra, located in the southeast between the larger and more important economic and cultural centres of Sydney and Melbourne.

Australia is the “last of lands” only in the sense that it was the last continent, apart from Antarctica, to be explored by Europeans. At least 60,000 years before European explorers sailed into the South Pacific, the first Aboriginal explorers had arrived from Asia, and by 20,000 years ago they had spread throughout the mainland and its chief island outlier, Tasmania. When Captain Arthur Phillip of the British Royal Navy landed with the First Fleet at Botany Bay in 1788, there may have been between 250,000 and 500,000 Aboriginals, though some estimates are much higher. Largely nomadic hunters and gatherers, the Aboriginals had already transformed the primeval landscape, principally by the use of fire, and, contrary to common European perceptions, they had established robust, semipermanent settlements in well-favoured localities.

Most early settlers were convicts transported for petty crimes and assigned as labourers or servants to “free settlers” (willing immigrants). This transportation of convicts process lasted until 1865. Once emancipated, convicts tended to integrate into colonial society. Martial law was declared to suppress convict rebellions and uprisings, and lasted for two years following the 1808 Rum Rebellion, the only successful armed takeover of government in Australia. Over the next two decades, social and economic reforms, together with the establishment of a Legislative Council and Supreme Court saw New South Wales transition from a penal colony to a civil society.

The indigenous population declined for 150 years following European settlement, mainly due to infectious disease. British colonial authorities did not sign any treaties with Aboriginal Groups. As settlement expanded, thousands of Indigenous people died in frontier wars while others were dispossessed of their traditional lands.

Historically part of the British Empire and now a member of the Commonwealth, Australia is a relatively prosperous independent country. Australians are in many respects fortunate in that they do not share their continent—which is only a little smaller than the United States—with any other country. Extremely remote from their traditional allies and trading partners—it is some 12,000 miles (19,000 km) from Australia to Great Britain via the Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal and about 7,000 miles (11,000 km) across the Pacific Ocean to the west coast of the United States—Australians have become more interested in the proximity of huge potential markets in Asia and in the highly competitive industrialized economies of China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Australia, the continent and the country, may have been quite isolated at the beginning of the 20th century, but it entered the 21st century a culturally diverse land brimming with confidence, an attitude encouraged by the worldwide fascination with the land “Down Under” and demonstrated when Sydney hosted the 2000 Olympic Games.

Thursday 25th January, 2024

We left Toronto on Air Canada two and a half hours late but the plane we took to Vancouver was to be the one going on to Sydney so no worries about making connections. A friend at yoga gave us some sleeping pills (Triazolam) and we both slept 5 and 3 hours each on the Vancouver to Sydney leg, arriving feeling quite good.

Day to Day Itinerary

Saturday 27th January, 2024 – Arrive Sydney

Sydney

As Australia’s second largest city, Sydney embraces its harbour, taking the sea and natural waterways to its heart. The grand style of the Sydney Opera House has made the city the landmark of the South Pacific. Sydney, with some 5+ million people is the oldest, and liveliest city in Australia but Melbourne is now the biggest. Sydney’s facilities for sightseeing and holiday activities are unequalled by any other Australian city. It is a paradise for surfers, swimmers, yachtsmen, fishermen, and golfers. Full of history and great nightlife, the choice of things to do in Sydney is endless.

Accommodation:

Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Sydney: 4 nights

A beautiful hotel with a stunning 1800’s sandstone facade, the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Sydney is an intimate, boutique-style property. Once home to the Fairfax newspaper empire and the prestigious Bank of New South Wales, this accommodation offers a location near Sydney Opera House and major shopping precincts.

After we settled in our room, we walked down to Darling Harbour, walked the docks, had a drink at a cafe and had dinner at the Radisson.

Sunday 28th January, 2024 – Sydney Harbour Luxury Sailing

Sailboat Duration: 5.50 hour(s) Operated By: Harbour Days Sailing Experience

Heading out of the harbour with great view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Former Consulate now owned by Russell Crowe

Bill’s turn at the helm- 15-20 knots of wind

Lovely lunch of sushi, shrimp cocktail, fresh rolls, wine and beer

All in all a fabulous sailing day on Sydney Harbour with Captain David, two American couples and David’s stories about Sydney.

Monday 29th January, 2024 – (A183) Blue Mountains Deluxe Experience

The Blue Mountains National Park is one of seven national parks that make up the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. This wonderland of sandstone outcrops, deep ravines and hazy blue eucalypt forests boasts luxury retreats and stunning views. The blue haze comes from the eucalyptus leaves and gum.

Our first stop of the day is at Calmsley Hill a working farm also home to Kangaroos, Emus, Wombats and Koalas.

Koalas (not bears) sleep 18+ hours a day and poop all the time in little bullets that smell like eucalyptus.

From Calmsley Hill we continue to ascend the Blue Mountains via the highway. We visited one of the ranges of stunning outlooks of the Jamison Valley seeing beautiful vistas.

Continuing on we arrive at Eaglehawk Lookout, a remote lookout for views of the famous 3 Sisters. While the Blue Mountains features so much more than this natural attraction you can’t help but admire the unquestionable beauty of this amazing rock formation. The character of the Three Sisters changes throughout the day and throughout the seasons as the sunlight brings out magnificent colours.

The legends behind this famous rock formation involve this being a meeting place for aboriginal tribes as well as locations for battles. We then visited the Boar’s Head Lookout.

We made our way around the mountain towards the village of Blackheath and our lunch venue, the Hydro Majestic where we enjoyed a very good 2-course lunch.

The afternoon was spent visiting a selection of lookouts. Seeing the view from Govetts Leap we recognized why it’s one of the most famous lookouts in Australia.

The magnificent waterfall drops a whopping 180m to the base of the cliff. If you’re not mesmerized by the dancing waves of water spray, you’ll be transfixed by the sweeping views down the valley to the Grose Wilderness.

We then stopped briefly to enjoy a glass of sparkling wine or orange juice at the delightful Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens our last stop.

We enjoyed the sweeping views across to Sydney and the burned trunks of the trees, although much of the vegetation has returned. The 2019-2020 bush fires destroyed up to 19 million hectares. After traveling down the Bells Line, we arrive back at the hotel at 5:00pm. The unfortunate part of this tour is that the man who sat behind us on the bus coughed all day and by Tuesday, Bill had the cold/flu/upset stomach.

Tuesday 30th January, 2024 – (A115) Panoramic Sydney Sights

The Panoramic Sydney half day city sights tour started at 8:30. On tour we visited the historic Rocks area and heard about the early convict history: 80 years of bringing convicts with 7 to 14 year sentences to Australia. We enjoyed magnificent views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

View of Opera House from Margaret MacQuarie’s stone seat

Margaret’s view as she watched the ships returning to England

We travelled through elegant Paddington with its terrace houses before arriving at the Pacific Ocean. We saw the superb coast cliff walk around Tamarama and Bronte. Travel and went on to famous Bondi Beach and the beachfront promenade. Despite the cool, cloudy day, we saw many surfers.

We saw Australia’s first lighthouse which began operating November 30, 1818.and Sydney’s best panoramic view at Dover Heights.

We went as far as the lookout at the entrance to Sydney Harbour – where we sailed on Monday on the sailboat.

After the morning tour we walked the Rocks area and had lunch at The Rocks Cafe. We then walked to The Sydney Opera House for our 2:00 tour of the opera house. The story of the building is one of fabulous creativity as well as sadness. The design came out of a competition and was won by a Danish architect. On 9 April 1956, Danish architect Jørn Utzon AC celebrated his 38th birthday and set to work in his modest office in Hellenbaek, north of Copenhagen, on his designs for the competition. He sent his 12 drawings to Sydney just before the competition closed in December. In contrast to many current designs, Utzon’s design was more sculptural and embraced expressionism. Among the competition entries, it was singular in making full use of Bennelong Point’s harbour-side setting, which would allow the building to be viewed from every angle.

Unfortunately, disagreement caused the local leaders to fire the architect and hired others to take over. The architect returned to Denmark and never saw it finished but it was awarded a World Heritage site and celebrated the work of the architect.

The roof is covered by these off-white tiles

After a light dinner in the opera cafe, that evening we attended a cabaret, Gadsby, that was a combination of song, lively dance, high wire acts and strip-tease. The show was full of energy, activity and fun!

Wednesday 31st January, 2024 – Depart Sydney

At 10:00 we were picked up to go to the airport, both of us feeling under the weather, mine just starting. We arrived at 1:35 and were taken to the Intercontinental.

Arrive Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is a beautiful city with a combination of old and new but with many very new buildings. It is known for wonderful restaurants but we both had a flu while we were there and missed those opportunities. According to our city tour guide, this is a crazed sports city, evident in the boisterous crowds at an Aussie Rules Football match as well as the plethora of sports centres in the downtown of Melbourne.

Accommodation:

Intercontinental Melbourne the Rialto is a world class hotel located on the legendary Collins Street in the heart of the central business district, just steps away from the vibrant Southbank, the Yarra River and the ever changing Docklands. The architecture is interesting in that it has two hotel towers where they had maintained the original designs of the original buildings and made a restaurant and bar in the middle out of the former laneway. All rooms face the interior with the light from the street and roof windows.

We walked down to the river Yarra and had a drink and light meal at a cafe on the river. We continued to suffer from the cold/flu so we slept a lot.

Thursday 1st February, 2024 – (M1) Morning Melbourne City Tour

In our welcome to Melbourne, a city of contrasts, world famous sporting arenas and historic gardens, we enjoyed a half-day tour. We visited Federation Square, the MCG and our world-famous sports precinct, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Albert Park Lake (Formula 1) and over to St Kilda Beach. We strolled the Botanical Gardens but the conservatory was closed for changes in plants in the gardens and visited St Patrick’s Cathedral.

We stopped at Federation Square, viewed the graffiti street and heard about the buildings in the area.

Downtown Melbourne -gold on building from the gold fields

We visited world famous Albert Park, home of the Formula One, Australian Grand Prix and drove on some of the route as well as the inner-city sports precinct, home to the famous MCG and Melbourne Park where the Australian Tennis Open takes place – we saw some of it when we were in Sydney and we watched the final in which the Italian, Sinner, won.

We drove past many famous sites such as the Melbourne Princess Theatre with its resident ghost.The story goes that on the opening night production of Faust at the Princess Theatre on the third of March 1888, Federici was playing the role of Mephistopheles. The play finishes with Mephistopheles and Faust descending into hell through a trapdoor in the stage. As Federici went through the trapdoor the audience is reported to have noticed that he was slumped over slightly. He had actually suffered a heart attack and died at that exact moment.

The rest of the cast had no idea and went back out onstage for the curtain call to take their bows as usual. It wasn’t until after they had left the stage that they learned that Fred had passed on. The spooky thing was that everyone at the performance, including the cast, swore he had actually been there onstage for the curtain call, taking his bows with the rest of the cast.

Originally located in Yorkshire, England, and built in 1755 by the parents of Captain James Cook, Cooks’ Cottage was brought to Melbourne by Sir Russell Grimwade in 1934.

Navigator and explorer Captain James Cook never lived in the cottage – he’d been away from home for almost 10 years when his father built it – but this connection to the Cook family was enough to prompt Grimwade to transport the cottage to the other side of the world. Astonishingly, each brick was individually numbered, packed into barrels and then shipped to Australia, along with cuttings of the original ivy coverings.

The final stop was at the Bathing Boxes. These boxes are owned by families that wish to leave their beach chairs, children’s toys and other paraphernalia there for easy access on their beach days. These boxes can be purchased for Au $300,000. These are the most popular photos taken in Melbourne.

Friday 2nd February, 2024 – Phillip Island Penguin and Moonlit Sanctuary Small Group Tour

We drove south-east from Melbourne to reach Moonlit Sanctuary Conservation Park where we met endangered species, kangaroos, wallabies and koalas plus an array of colourful birds and reptiles. That’s as far as we got as we were both feeling ill: we called an Uber and returned to Melbourne. So sad to miss the penguins!

Saturday 3rd February, 2024 – Land Arrangements

Name: Spirit of Melbourne dinner cruise 7.30pm

I was unable to eat anything! Bill went for the four course menu and enjoyed the lights of Melbourne while cruising down the Yarra River by night.

Sunday 4th February, 2024 – Land Arrangements

Name: 3 day Melbourne to Adelaide

We were picked up at the hotel in a small coach with just Pierre and us – what a gift! We travelled through the vast volcanic plains on route to Geelong where we had time to stroll along the beautifully transformed waterfront. Our first stop along the coast was at Bells Beach, a famous surfing beach and a great place to enjoy morning tea.

Our journey then began travelling the very scenic, cliff-hugging section of the Great Ocean Road. While winding our way along we stopped to view the Arch and hear about the intriguing story of this incredible memorial road, built by returning veterans. Lorne is the largest of the seaside resorts and is a perfect place for a lunch break. We stopped briefly here where Pierre and Bill had lunch and I rested as I was still suffering from upset stomach.

After lunch we cruise along the spectacular road, stopping at many scenic spots including Kennett River where we can see koalas and many colourful native birds in the wild. Travelling through Apollo Bay we go into the Great Otway National Park. We took a 1 km walk guided by Pierre through a cool temperate rainforest gully to see the world’s tallest flowering plants, prehistoric trees and ferns and unique features such as Yabbie Chimneys.

Ancient Wonders: Pierre points out that we are surrounded by ancient plants. Their relatives once grew over 100 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed this area. Australia was then part of the supercontinent Gondwana, before it slowly split into the continents we know today.

trees support a variety of species including vines

This Myrtle Beech tree is over 200 years old and made up of 2-3 trees which have grown together. It is so unusual that it is listed on the Register of Significant Trees with the National Trust of Australia.

We visit Apollo Bay before checking into Beacon Point Ocean View Villas. Our private self contained villa is set high on a hill overlooking the Southern Ocean. This amazing setting is a great place to relax and unwind for a couple of hours.

At night we dine at the award winning restaurant Chris’s at Beacon Point. This is regarded as the best restaurant in the region and has a fantastic menu that utilises great local produce. The next morning it was foggy and windy and the view was much different.

breakfast in lovely restaurant with Pierre

Our second day starts with breakfast at the restaurant and then the map of the day’s journey.

Our journey starts with us travelling through the Otway ranges and onto the Shipwreck Coast. Our first stop is at Castle Cove overlooking the Aire river valley. Pierre introduced us to the strong Aboriginal heritage of the region with many tribes living prosperously around the coastline for thousands of years. In the same area millions of years ago when Australia was part of the great southern land, Gondwana, dinosaurs were roaming the land.

The 12 Apostles are Icons of Australia’s natural beauty. We arrive as the stacks are lit with the morning sun making them perfect for photos and relatively crowd free. This is a bonus for taking a 2 day trip as the stacks are silhouettes in the afternoon and overcrowded.

We then visit Loch Ard Gorge, the site of the most famous 19th century Australian shipwreck.

Pierre told the entire story from the calm voyage, the tragic wreck, the courageous survivors and their ultimate fate.

After lunch we travel to a lesser known but highly impressive area of the Great Ocean Road west of Port Campbell. This section takes in London Bridge, Bay of Islands, Bay of Martyrs, and Boat Bay. Along Bay of Islands, the limestone that once extended through the area of the bay was weakened by water seeping through ‘sinkholes’- water-filled swampy depressions in the surface clay.

Our journey then continues through Warrnambool and onto Tower Hill Game Reserve where we saw koalas in the trees.

We then check into our luxurious overnight accommodation at The Barn in Mount Gambier and indulge in the fine food of the region in their award- winning restaurant.

We’re off again!

Our journey then continues through picturesque Port Fairy towards Mount Gambier, home of the Blue crater lake and numerous sinkholes. Blue Lake was formed as a result of volcanoes.

Explosive eruptions deposited layers of ash and rocks to form the present crater.After the eruptions ceased, the groundwater level was restored, forming the Blue Lake.

We then continue our journey through another prominent South Australian wine region of Padthaway as we head north through to Keith. We visited an early settlement home.

We stopped here for lunch before joining the highway, travelling through grain and stock land towards Adelaide.

Artist with help of local children give boost to small communities

This is a vast drought affected area of Australia and is an incredible contrast to the lush forests and coastal pastures we have been travelling in. On our approach to city we visit the very popular tourist village of Hahndorf and Mount Lofty summit for impressive, birds-eye views of Adelaide and surrounds.

We arrive in the city at around 6pm.

Tuesday 6th February, 2024 – Arrive Adelaide

Adelaide city centre, surrounded by parklands, is a blend of historic buildings, wide streets, parklands, cafes and restaurants; it’s easy to get around with rolling hills to the east and beaches to the west.

Adelaide is also proud to be Australia’s wine capital, with numerous regions on its doorstep, voted Australia’s most ‘liveable’ city.

Stamford Plaza Adelaide Hotel is situated in the heart of the city on Adelaide’s key cultural boulevard, North Terrace. The excellent location means that we were just a short stroll to the Rundle Mall shopping area. We were here one night and then off to Kangaroo Island and back for 2 nights.

Wednesday 7th February, 2024 – Ultimate Kangaroo Island 2 Day Tour – AM Departure from Adelaide – Penneshaw

Depart Adelaide

After an early pick up (6:00), we board the SeaLink ferry for the 45-minute crossing to Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island. Here we boarded a SeaLink coach, and our very knowledgeable guide, Dani, took us on a tour of South Australia’s premier nature-based tourism destination.

We visited Sea Lions first.

We visited Seal Bay Conservation Park where we were taken on a guided beach walk with an experienced guide and amongst a colony of rare Australian sea lions.

We spent the afternoon in the Flinders Chase National Park, which was devastated in the worst fire to ever hit the island in January 2020. We saw that the regeneration of the native bush occurred so quickly after the event.

We viewed the rugged coastline from walks around Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch. Admirals Arch boardwalk takes you down a rugged cliff face to reveal the spectacular rock archway, a natural nursery and safe haven for playful Longnosed Fur Seals.

Island of Rock from weathering along fractures

Picturesque honeycomb weathering of granite boulders

After a long trek down the face of the cliff, we found the famous arch.

The last visit of the day is to the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park to feed some kangaroos and get up close to the Kangaroo Island Koalas while listening to the Keeper talk about the cuddly mammals.

Then we saw penguins in a pond.

About Little Penguins:

Some penguins pair and mate for life but 25% will find new partners each year.

There are 17 species of penguins; Little Penguins are the smallest.

Penguins cannot fly; instead their wings are modified into flippers for swimming.

They have a salt gland above their eye which removes the salt from the seawater, providing them with fresh water.

On average, they can swim between 2-4 km/hr but have been recorded swimming up to 7 km/hr.

They have a third eyelid which protects their eyes both underwater and on land by acting as goggles to help them see and to wipe sand and dirt from their eyes.

Little Penguins will stay in the same colony their whole lives which is why they can’t be relocated. They will look for landmarks and will return with within 50m of where they were born.

penguins can’t fly; wings are modified for swimming

Next, we visited koalas, all rescued from the fire. Thousands died; many rescued and most released back into the wild. the ones in the centre were so damaged that they could not be released into the wild. The first pen was the females. We were allowed to touch them on their backs only.

We arrived at the hotel around 7:00 pm, very tired but having had a good day.

Kangaroo Island Seafront Hotel

We stayed in one of the 12 Villas in the garden and had a good dinner in The Kiosk.

Thursday 8th February, 2024 – Kangaroo Island Sightseeing

Heading off on day 2 of our tour where we saw a “Free Flight” display of raptors and tasted some local Kangaroo Island produce. Our first official stop was the fascinating Birds of Prey Presentation at Raptor Domain.

Raptors are birds of prey and skillful hunters.

Next, we travelled to Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Distillery for lunch followed by an introductory talk about the history of the oil distillery and took a guided tour.

This one year old Joey was rescued by the family of the oil business when his mother was struck and killed by a car. She was still in the mother’s pouch. Star will be fed and cared for until she is 18 months and then released into the property.

Our next stop is Clifford’s Honey Farm, where we enjoyed an informative guided tour of the honey room to learn about the extraction process, taste a honey soft drink, and sample the Drunken Drone Brewery’s Honey Wheat Ale. In the farm gate shop, we saw a working beehive and spotted the Queen bee.

There are different varieties of pure Kangaroo Island Ligurian honey and beauty products to purchase as well as their famous honey ice-cream.

We continued to Pennington Bay, a spectacular beach on the south coast of Kangaroo Island for a photo opportunity before arriving at our final stop False Cape Wines Cellar Door.

This new cellar door is made from recycled wood, jetty timbers and limestone sourced on the property. Here we took part in a structured wine tasting while enjoying the peaceful views of the surrounding vineyards.

Our tour ended at the Penneshaw Hotel where we had time to have dinner before returning to the Penneshaw Ferry Terminal for our ferry and coach transfer back to Adelaide.

We arrived back at the Stamford at 11:00 totally exhausted but with a morning to sleep in and an afternoon tour of Adelaide.

Thursday 8th February, 2024 – Arrive Adelaide

Stamford Plaza Adelaide for 2 nights

Friday 9th February, 2024 – (AS13) Adelaide Hills and Hahndorf

We departed our hotel for an afternoon tour of the Adelaide Hills and drove along North Terrace -Adelaide’s cultural precinct – on the way to Mount Lofty Summit, Adelaide’s highest peak.

We wound our way through the Adelaide Hills villages of Crafers, Stirling, Aldgate and Bridgewater before arriving at Hahndorf, Australia’s oldest German settlement. We spent the afternoon exploring the main street of Hahndorf where we checked out the local arts and crafts before enjoying afternoon tea and a traditional German beer tasting at the Hahndorf Inn.

We had a light dinner on Runkles Street in Adelaide and went to bed early because of a 6:00 am flight to Sydney and then Ayer’s Rock. We met a Quantas Airline attendant, Sharon, in the elevator of the hotel and, as she promised, met her on the flight and she gave us a treat.

Arrive Ayers Rock

Ayers Rock/Uluru rises 348 metres from the desert and has a girth of 9.4 kilometres. These statistics alone assure its star role as the world’s most famous monolith, yet it is estimated that at least two-thirds of the Rock lies beneath the surface.

A comfortable 4 star hotel at Ayers Rock Resort, Desert Gardens Hotel, is set amongst magnificent ghost gums and flowering native shrubs – we paid extra for a deluxe room with Rock views.

We relaxed in the comfort of our private balcony and unwound near the pool.

Saturday 10th February, 2024

We arrived by coach from the airport in Ayer’s Rock early afternoon. We walked around the facilities and then took the shuttle into the small town and had a bowl of soup.

In the evening, we attended the Wintjiri Wiru Sunset Dinner.

Our Wintjiri Wiru experience began deep in the desert. After a short journey from Ayers Rock Resort, we took a gentle evening stroll through the desert along an elevated walkway until we reached the open-air theatre, set upon a dune top. We were greeted with several delicious cocktails, infused with native ingredients while taking in the incredible views and watched in awe as the sun slowly set over Uluru and Kata Tjuta. As the show was about to begin, we enjoyed a gourmet dinner hamper with wine. With the heart of Australia as the backdrop, a story passed on for thousands of generations, was shared with us. Unfortunately, we had eaten so many canapes that we could not eat all the dinner.

We witnessed the ancient Mala story re-told with ground-breaking technology. Choreographed drones, lasers, and projections lit up the night sky in a modern, artistic expression of an ancient, Anangu story. We listened to a traditional Inma soundtrack and narration in the local Pitjantjatjara language, and were immersed in a living story. The thousands of drones created images for the Mala story with the story first in the woman’s original tongue and then the man in English. It was the story of a Kingfisher woman warning the people of a demon coming to destroy them. They did not listen and the devil dog killed the men and later most of the tribe. The moral: listen to the advice.

Sunday 11th February, 2024 – (SUH) SEIT Uluru Highlights

We set off very early in a small van (it was late because of mechanical problems and caused some stress) to see the sunrise on Uluru and hear some stories about the local tribes and the meaning of Uluru.

As you travel towards Uluru its vast shape rises from the sand dunes as the early dawn light highlights its presence in this country. Our guide took us to a special location with uninterrupted views to watch the sun rise over this amazing monolith.

We enjoyed a picnic breakfast as we watched the sun on the massive rock and before our guide escorted us on a short walk to Mutitjulu Waterhole at Uluru where we learned the creation stories of Liru (poisonous snake) and Kuniya (Python).

Beautiful waterfall and pool inside Uluru

This is the family cave. For many generations, Anangu families camped here: the men would hunt for meat and the women and children would collect bush food to be shared. At night around the campfire, generations of the people told stories, teaching the children about this place and painting on the rock.

cave drawing of plant useful for medicines

We drove around the base of Uluru before returning to the resort.

Images in sides of Uluru had meaning for locals

All in all an amazing morning. The waterfall and pond in Uluru was a complete surprise and very mystical as was the cave and its drawings. For the rest of the day, we visited the art gallery and spent some time at the pool.

Dianne Robinson was born in Alice Springs in 1980, and her mother’s country was at Indsulkana, while her father’s was Coobunya. She grew up in Indulkana and attended primary school. She went to Inglefarm Boarding School in Adelaide and returned after graduation. Dianne worked at the Community Aged Care for a couple of years and then began work as an artist.

Rene Kulitja is a prominent artist well-known for her sculptured woven work as well as paintings. She represented Australia in the 2015 Venice Biennale. Painting: Yananyl Dreaming.

Two things to note from the gardens at the resort: one is the very white tree trunks, evidence of the tree having burned and the bark having fallen off; and two, the eucalyptus tree that looks like the kind we get in the florist with the blue leaves.

A Night at Field of Light

As the sun sets on the horizon to the music of a didgeridoo, we enjoyed canapes and sparkling wine. As darkness fell and the coloured lights of the 50,000 glass spheres came to life, we joined our table of fellow travellers for a three-course menu infused with bush tucker flavours. As the night ignited with countless stars, we listened to a local star talker decode the southern night sky.

After dinner, we enjoyed a sweet treat and port while viewing the illuminated installation in the darkness. The walk back through the field of lights was a bit of a challenge given how dark it was. End of a full and interesting day at Uluru. We say goodbye to Ayer’s Rock and are off in the morning for the state of Queensland in the north east. Glad to see the last of the aggressive flies!

Monday 12th February, 2024 – Depart for Cairns, Australia

The Qantas flight was on time and uneventful. The limousine driver was there to take us to the Pacific Hotel.

Cairns

Cairns, pronounced Cannes, is the heart of the Tropical North and is gateway to some of the best scenery in Australia. Founded in 1876 as the port for inland gold fields, Cairns has matured from a flighty frontier town to a friendly international gateway and has become the most welcoming of all Queensland cities. The city is a blend of colonial architecture, ranging from grand public and commercial buildings to wooden houses built in the distinctive north Queensland style. Cairns is the focal point for the magnificent Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and is surrounded by World Heritage listed rainforests. We really enjoyed Cairns.

Accommodation:

The Pacific Hotel Cairns boasts a magnificent location (downtown and opposite the Casino). We had a spacious room with a balcony and lovely view of the mountains.

After we settled in, we walked around the waterfront and stopped to have a drink.

Tuesday 13th February, 2024 – Kuranda Classic Tour with Train SkyrailRainforest Cableway and Rainforestation

We got the bus at the Reef Hotel Casino at 8:00 am and arrived back at 5:30.

The Classic Kuranda Experience included a walk though the shops of Kuranda and then we were transferred to Rainforestation Nature Park, where we had Australian BBQ lunch, a guided tour of the rainforest on board an amphibious Army Duck, and the Pamagirri Aboriginal Dance performance, followed by the Dreamtime Walk. We learned how to throw a boomerang, saw a spear-throwing demonstrations, and learned about aboriginal culture.

A guided tour of the Koala and Wildlife Park commenced at the Cultural Centre and our coach then transferred us to Kuranda Skyrail Terminal for the 7.5 kilometre Skyrail Rainforest Cableway journey down the mountain.

We walked through the boardwalk in the rainforest at the first stop of the skyrail.

We then walked to the Barron Gorge.

Millions of years in the making: Where majestic mountains once stood 100 millions years ago, this place was part of a mountain range that would rival the Andes of today. While these mountains have since eroded away, the remaining metamorphic outcrops are still visible and form the escarpment of the gorge. The Barron Gorge was formed by the forces of erosion over millions of years as the Barron River flowed through the rainforest, eroding the various rock layers as it went.

Barron Gorge National Park. Water without rain? Rainforests take 30% to 40% of their requirements directly from the clouds – even when it isn’t raining!
This is known as Cloud Stripping and the details were discovered right there at Red Peak. Misty clouds often cling to the forest canopy at around 600 metres above sea level, settling on leaves and stems and trickling down tree trunks.
Cloud Stripping is a vital source of water for the rainforest, especially during the dry season (April to October).

Then we boarded an amphibian “army duck” vehicle that drove through the rainforest and water with the guide identifying significant trees and plants.

Cassovara – local birds- keep your distance

After we returned, we walked downtown and had a light dinner at a restaurant along the waterfront with this beautiful umbrella palm in front.

Wednesday 14th February, 2024 – (GIGBRA) Green Island and Great Barrier Reef Adventure ex Wharf

We travel by fast catamaran to Green Island this morning where we had 2 hours free time. Green Island is a beautiful 6000 year old coral cay. The island was very busy: we started strolling through cool rainforest but the mosquitos were out and we didn’t want to chance the stingers while swimming or snorkeling on the surrounding coral reef.

The 2 hours on Green Island were a non-event because we had all the activities during the 3 hours at Outer Barrier Reef platform, with snorkelling equipment, use of lycra suits, hot and cold buffet lunch, eco reef talk, semisubmersible coral viewing and underwater observatory. We started the Rainforest walk but were getting bitten and the water was inaccessible because of dangerous jellyfish on the shore. We had an interesting chat with a man, Nathan, from Toronto who made some interesting assessments of China’s role in the world: China doesn’t need an R & D budget; it just steals the data from other countries like Canada – Huwaie as an example.

The experience on the Outer Barrier Reef platform was fabulous because we hired Bekkie, a marine biologist, to take us out snorkelling on the reef. We saw so many different fish (including 5 young sharks), beautiful corals, huge clams and a young turtle. Bekkie’s guidance and the experience was awesome! These following photos are internet ones.

The Great Barrier Reef formed from a long and slow process involving the accumulation of organic materials, such as stone, plants and animals and shells of dead corals. The Great Barrier Reef started forming approximately 20 million years ago. Dead shells from coral, along with remains from algae, anemones, fish, worms, crustaceans, snails, turtles and snakes accumulated and gave shape to the Great Barrier Reef as well.

After our snorkelling tour with Bekkie and lunch, we went on the small touring boat with the glass windows below.

Thursday 15th February, 2024 – Mossman Gorge and Daintree Eco Experience ex Cairns

This excursion was intended to include Cape Tribulation but because of the heavy rains in December, the roads and railway were washed out.

The area received over 3 metres over 2 days in December 2023 as Cyclone Jasper moved through the Cairns area. Then another cyclone came through as we were there but remained more to the northwest. The devastation was evident as we went through the area.

Our day began by visiting Wildlife Habitat. We saw the endangered Cassowary, a myriad of iconic Australian birds and animals.

Black-necked storks

These birds have been able to provide the scientific and zoological community with a much greater knowledge of the species. They usually lay 3-4 eggs in a clutch. Each egg is laid at intervals of 1.5 to2 days. Incubation of the eggs takes 35 days. Both the male and the female incubate the eggs and share responsibility with raising the chicks. The chicks leave after 80—100 days. When the parents exhibit their breeding display, they hiss before they clap their bills and raise their wings.

These are rescued koalas and quite friendly.

If you think Koalas don’t seem to do too much, you would be right. They sleep around 18-20 hours a day and spend up to 3 hours a day eating. Their eucalypt leaf diet isn’t very nutritious; therefore does not provide a lot of their minimum daily energy requirements. Koalas can consume up to a kilogram of eucalyptus leaf a day. Koalas are only found in Australia and its closest relative is the Wombat. Their conservation status in the wild is listed as vulnerable with the biggest threats being loss of habitat, domestic predators and vehicular traffic.

The word cockatoo derives from a 17th century Malay word – “kakak yua” – meaning”older sibling”. Australia is home to 14 of these noisy parrots. Unlike parrots, cockatoos carry a crest on top of their heads. Their overall plumage is less colourful than parrots, being mainly white, black and grey with colourful highlights in the crest, and tail. Cockatoos are zygodactyl with 2 toes facing forward and 2 back. Vocal, highly intelligent and social, cockatoos generally travel, roost and forage in large flocks.

Life span: up to 60+ years
Diet: seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, blossoms, farmers’ crops
Habitats: rainforests, eucalyptus groves, scrub lands and savannahs
Breeding: Mate for life. Pairs leave the flock to find a suitable nest spot ina tree hollow high above ground level. 1-6 eggs both parents incubate.

Eclectus Parrot: these birds are so different in colouring that Eclectus parrots were thought to be 2 separate species.
Habitat: rainforests and nearby savannah woodlands
Diet: Seeds, nuts, buds, fruits, nectar
Breeding: 2 eggs laid on decayed wood chips in a high tree trunk hollow.

Cassowary:
• Evolved millions of years ago
• Lives in the Wet Tropics of Australia
• Third largest bird in the world
• Keystone species; plays a vital role in rainforest biodiversity
• Endangered
• Losing its home
Woman’s world: The Female
• Is larger than the male and more brightly coloured than male
• only associates with males during breeding season – June to October
• can produce with a number of different males during breeding season
• will lay on average 4 eggs with each male and then leave the male to incubate thenm for 47-56 days
the father then looks after the chicks for 8-18 months, defending them and teaching to forage.

Next stop was the Mossman Gorge and Rainforest.

The Wet Tropics World Heritage Area extends from Townsville to Cooktown covering an area of 894,420 hectares and is located in the Daintree National Park, Mossman Gorge.

This is a UNESCO World Heritage site in recognition of its age (oldest rainforest), natural beauty, example of earth’s evolutionary history, habitat for rare and endangered species and unique plants and animals.

Upon arrival, we were welcomed with a Smoke Ceremony by one of the aboriginals.

Smoke ceremony: welcome with birch bark fire

He explained that the markings that the natives wear tell others what nation they are from as they travel through the forest. He applied the stripes and dots for his tribe made from clay and leaves and water. They came off easily with a soap made from wintergreen leaves and water.

Mossman Gorge is a very accessible and scenic section of the Daintree National Park. Here the Mossman River tumbles its way over huge granite boulders that line the gorge.

Finding enough light to flourish and grow is a constant challenge for rainforest plants. Climbing vines and epiphytes solve this problem by catching a ride to the sunlit canopy on other plants. The warm, wet and protected conditions in tropical lowland rainforests encourage an array of these rainforest hitchhikers.

Epiphytes grow on other plants but do not harm their hosts. The nestled leaves of basket ferns and funnel-like leaves of bird’s nest ferns trap rain and leaf litter, providing the plants with essential moisture and nutrients. Climbing plants lack a trunk for support. They use hooks, sticky pads, tendrils and coils to hoist themselves upwards on stronger plants.

This is known as the sugar capital with the Mossman Mill busy through the sugar cane season from June until November with the trains rattling back and forth along the highways and through the town.

Then we had a cruise on the Daintree River. The Daintree River, winding through the oldest living rainforest in the world, is one of the longest rivers on the Australian east coast at 140 k. It harbours 35 mangrove fish species and its lush swamp forest attracts rare bird life, frogs and insect species. It is the habitat of the Estuarine (saltwater) crocodile with a populations of 70 adult crocs, some up to 6 metres in length.

We spotted crocodiles, birds and other wildlife in the wild as we journeyed through the mangroves. The mangroves are essential to the Great Barrier Reef as the fish come here to spawn.

Friday 16th February, 2024 – CAIRNS DOWNTOWN To AIRLIE BEACH D’TOWN

We picked up our rental car at the Hertz office just around the corner from the hotel. We used Waze on Bill’s phone with the Australian SIM card for the whole trip south.

Arrive Mission Beach

Mission Beach is one of the yet to be discovered jewels of North Queensland, a tropical playground, located just 90 minutes south of Cairns. Mission Beach is made up of four beach villages linked by 14 kilometers of wide golden beach, a perfect base to relax and explore the unspoilt environment.

Accommodation:

Castaways Resort and Spa Mission Beach Corner Pacific Parade and Seaview Street, Mission Beach Castaways Mission Beach accommodation is an ultimate beachfront escape in the tropics. It is positioned absolute beachfront with direct access to the 14 km long beautiful, white sandy beach.

We arrived before our room was ready so we walked through the shopping district and along the beach. We were told that when the red flag is posted, it is not a good time to swim in the sea even in the area protected with the screens from the jellyfish.

We walked through the town and shopping centre and then the beach. We had seen the beautiful Ulysses butterfly on many occasions but they wouldn’t stop for a photo!

We were surprised to learn from our bus driver in Cairns that there is no swimming in the sea here from December til April because of life-threatening jelly fish. Some places have screens that allow you to swim within them but he said that they cannot be trusted to keep them out. Certain box jellyfish stings can kill a person within minutes. Other box jellyfish stings can lead to death in 4 to 48 hours after a sting due to “Irukandji syndrome,” a delayed reaction to the sting. It is important to carefully monitor box jellyfish sting victims for hours after a sting.The Box jelly fish causes death within 3-5 minutes.

protective screens to keep out jelly fish but not to be trusted

Around 4:00 we swam in the pool but shortly the storm caused by the cyclone in the Northern Territories, just west of us, came rolling in and we made a run for it as the rain came down in buckets. It poured rain for the rest of the day and the following day. We had a delicious Barramundi dinner at Plenty Restaurant and had an early night.

Saturday 17th February, 2024 – Depart Mission Beach to Townsville

Along the route south there are multiple signs about roads being flooded. We didn’t find many flooded but this was one that had potential.

Most common crops were sugarcane and bananas. Sugarcane is grown and the raw sugar extracted but shipped and refined elsewhere.

Townsville, the capital of North Queensland is the third largest city in the state. The city is the perfect stepping off point for tropical islands, the Great Barrier Reef and sits on the shores of Cleveland Bay where Captain Cook sailed in the Endeavour on June 5th and 6th, 1770.

Accommodation:

Mercure Townsville is a massive resort style hotel located close to the city set lakeside in 11 acres of lush tropical gardens; the hotel rooms have views across the lake or pool or through the gardens. On the Saturday when we arrived, it was full of noisy families with children. I had to work with the hotel to get a room with a view! It was pouring rain most of the day so we read and had a drink in the gazebo and read to the screaming of many children in the pool. The rain quit around dinner time and we had a good dinner in the restaurant.

Sunday 18th February, 2024 – Depart Townsville to Hamilton Island

Perfectly situated on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef, amongst Queensland’s 74 Whitsunday Islands, Hamilton Island offers an experience like no other: glorious weather, azure waters, brilliant beaches, awe-inspiring coral reefs, fascinating flora and fauna, and fine food and wines. We had some confusing information for the transfer to Hamilton Island but managed to check in on the mainland, park our car and transfer via ferry.

Accommodation:

Whitsunday Apartments Hamilton Island is apartment-style living in a truly tropical holiday destination in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. Adjacent to Catseye Beach on the resort side of Hamilton Island, the Whitsunday Apartments are the perfect base from which to explore Hamilton Island, the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef. We had a large, well-equipped apartment and spectacular view from the balcony where we spent much of our time when at home.

A sulphur-crested cockatoo came to visit often

Monday 19th February, 2024 – Whitsunday Islands and Whitehaven Beach ex Hamilton Island – Morning Cruise

We took the fast catamaran to the Whitsunday Islands National Park on this half day cruise. The waters of Solway Passage led us to the world famous Whitehaven Beach, a definite ‘must see’ in the Whitsundays. It was a rough ride with some 2 metre waves and the boat crashing through them.

The crystal clear aqua waters and pristine white silica sand stretch for over seven kilometres along Whitsunday Island, the largest of the 74 islands in the Whitsundays. It is Mother Nature at her best – the most photographed beach in Australia and named “Queensland’s Most Beautiful Beach”.

We walked the beach and watched the activities of swimming and paddle-boarding but were unwilling to risk being bitten by the stingers. There were showers off and on all day.

In the afternoon after lunch, we took the free shuttle to the town and bought groceries at the IGA. Having eaten at restaurants for a month and now with a full kitchen, we enjoyed eating at home for a change.

Tuesday 22nd February, 2024

We had a full day free. We took the free bus shuttle that toured the island and then went for a swim and read until lunch. It was pouring rain as we left on the shuttle but by the time we arrived in town, the sun was out. After another trip to the IGA, we walked the beach in front of the apartment and had another swim.

The rain clouds and showers and daily tides in and out were entertaining.

Wednesday 23nd February, 2024

Another free day. As we were having coffee on the deck, a dark cloud came over and it poured rain for 10 minutes and it was over.

We watched the small rented catamarans and discussed renting one but decided again to not risk the stingers. We went for a swim before lunch; took the shuttle into town and walked to the Yacht Club with a very distinctive design.

Thursday 22nd February, 2024 – Great Barrier Reef Adventure ex Hamilton Island

It was a long 2 hour trip out to Hardy Reef but it was great once we got there. We experienced the wonders of the world’s most celebrated underwater playground; on the outer edge of Hardy Reef, we came face to face with thousands of different species of marine life and stunning corals.

The Pod where we docked and got equipment

We again hired a guide who took us snorkelling along the edge of the coral reef where we saw many different fish and coral. A boat took us to the docking station where we entered the water and with the guide showing us various fish and corals, we went with the current back to the boat and pod. We were the first group so it was a rush to get the wetsuits and pfd’s on and get our goggles and fins and arrive for the transfer. It was unfortunate that one of our group of 4, a non-swimmer who said that she didn’t like to be anywhere where she couldn’t touch bottom, had a panic attack after we started out and our guide had to go back with her so our group was very large.

Docking station for the the snorkelling back to the pod

Hardy Reef is as high as it will grow but will expand in width

Each time we learn a little more about the GBR and its complexity:

The GBR started to from eighteen million years ago as the Australian continent was drifting north from cooler temperate waters into the tropics. Through the ages, the warming and cooling of the earth together with changes in the size and shape of sea basins, have caused numerous sea level changes, at times to as much as 100 metres below our present sea level.
During the last ice age the area that is now the Great Barrier Reef, was an area of grassy plains and limestone hills. It stayed like that for thousands of years until the earth started to warm and sea levels rose again. Sea levels have fluctuated greatly over the last 20,000 years with water levels above and below our present level.
As sea levels rose, corals that survived in the deeper water off the continental shelf reproduced and started to recolonize the edge of Australia’s continental shelf.
The bulk of the reef structure as it is today was laid down around 6000 to 9000 years ago but the final shape as it looks from the air today only appeared less than 3000 years ago when sea levels finally stabilised by the last couple of metres, defining reef and coastal margins as they look today.

We got changed, had a very good lunch.

We went out in the glass-bottomed boat and saw much more than we did in Cairns.

There was a problem with one of the engines so we arrived back 15 minutes late.

Altogether a very good day. We feel more experienced at snorkelling, more knowledgeable about the GBR but it was a long way to get there.

Friday 23rd February, 2024 – Depart Hamilton Island

We transferred from Hamilton Island Marina to Port of Airlie by ferry at 8:50am and arrived at 9:50am . We took a taxi to the rental office and were off on our 500 km drive to Rockhampton.

AIRLIE BEACH D’TOWN To SYDNEY AIRPORT

Arriving later in the day, we didn’t see muck of Rockhampton located 650 km north of Brisbane but a walk along the river and dinner. We had heard from a woman in Cairns that the place to go in Rockhampton was the Criterion Hotel. So that’s where we went for dinner.

The Edge Apartment Hotel

The Edge Apartment Hotel is Rockhampton’s an executive apartment hotel, RBO-type.

Saturday 24th February, 2024 – Depart Rockhampton to Fraser Island

Separated from the mainland by a narrow channel, Fraser Island is the largest sand island on Earth and an ecological masterpiece. Native wildlife abounds including dingoes about which we were warned.

Accommodation:

This World Heritage-listed national park, which sits within the Great Sandy Biosphere and adjoins the Great Sandy Marine Park, offers a unique blend of action and adventure versus relaxation and total immersion in nature.

We ran into a glitch in the itinerary. The following was the only information that we had:

Notes: Pickup: 01:00 PM – River Heads to Kingfisher Bay Resort Drop Off: 10:30 AM – Kingfisher Bay Resort to River Heads

We assumed that the pick up was a 1:00 pm car-carrying ferry at River Heads and we’d check in on Fraser island. Not so. We found an office for the Kingfisher Resort after we arrived at the ferry location but no one in an office. Some people on the landing said that there may be an office up the hill. Sure enough, we found a Kingfisher Resort office where we were to check in and park our car for $45. We then drove into the nearest town and found a “bottle shop” for some Gin. We arrived back, ate a cheese and ham sandwich in the cafe and were transported with our bags to the ferry terminal.

Kingfisher Resort docks – nothing much to see

Sure enough we got to Fraser Island by 10:30 and were transported to the resort with our check-in information ready and went to our room.

We spent the afternoon at the pool.

On Sunday morning at 8:00 we received a call from the front desk: we were booked on the full day tour and could we be ready in 5 minutes? This was the first we heard about this and no we couldn’t. Apparently, we were not informed about this tour! Several calls and emails followed with the agent promising reimbursement – still not really satisfied with the response and missing the sand dunes!

Sunday 25th February, 2024 – Fraser Island

We decided to join the walking tour in the morning in the Wallum with a guide.

Banksia robur, commonly known as swamp banksia, grows in sand or peaty sand in coastal areas from Cooktown in north Queensland to the Illawarra region on the New South Wales south coast. It is often found in areas which are seasonally inundated. It grows as a multistemmed shrub to 3 m tall, with large, leathery tough green leaves: its new growth is colourful, in shades of red, maroon or brown with a dense felt-like covering of brown hairs.

View of our flat from the pathway to the sea

Monday 26th February, 2024 – Depart Fraser Island to Caloundra

Accommodation:

BreakFree Grand Pacific Caloundra

BreakFree Grand Pacific Caloundra has modern and stylish 1, 2 and 3 Bedroom Apartments, which are fully self-contained with all the mod cons you’ll need. Just a stone’s throw from the resort there are shops, restaurant, cafes and bars overlooking Pumicestone Passage.

After we arrived and before checkin at 2:00, we walked the promenade along the waterfront.

Returning from our walk, we passed The Tides restaurant and I had just read a very good review of it so we made a reservation.

We checked into a rent by owner apartment that was fully equipped.

All amenities including washer and full kitchen

In the afternoon, we read on the balcony and had a swim in the very large pool. Then we had a great dinner at The Tides with Australian wine and watched the sunset.

Tuesday 27th February, 2024 – Depart Caloundra to Brisbane

Brisbane is Australia’s largest city in the sub-tropics, enjoying an enviable climate of hot, brilliant summers and clear, mild winters that make it the ideal destination for visitors all year round.

Holiday Inn Express Brisbane Central offers a convenient stay just a few blocks from the Riverfront. Going from a full apartment to a room was a bit of a shock but only one night here. At noon, we checked in and walked down to the river and got the free ferry to the Cultural Center.

The Brisbane River and Moreton Bay have continually shaped south-east Queensland’s history. From the time of the First Australians, for the Turrbal and Jagarra people, the river, known as Maiwar, has been a meeting place, a highway and a source of food. A critical conduit for early settlement and subsequent industry and development, the winding river and bay of islands have inspired artists for generations.

When the explorer John Oxley visited Moreton Bay in December 1823, he named the Brisbane River in honour of the then Governor of New South Wales. Later in 1825, Brisbane became a settlement to house Sydney’s most intractable convicts.

We walked to the Museum of Modern Art and then to the Queensland Art Gallery.

The Long Drink: Finalist photo by Alyce van Norden: memories of Africa

van Norden wrote: Giraffes are notoriously cautious when it comes to having a drink. I waited for what seemed like an age to be able to snap this reflective photo of a beautiful giraffe in one of its most vulnerable moments.

In The Art Gallery of Queensland, we saw this oil painting of Barron Falls.

Barron Falls 1906 by Winifred Rumney (1870-1946) We were there!

In the evening, we walked to a restaurant on the Riverfront.

Brisbane, the third largest city, is a lovely setting with lots of building going on. Having free public transportation on land and water is an attractive feature. There was lots of activity on the riverfront on a Tuesday evening when we had dinner at a waterfront pub there.

Wednesday 28th February, 2024 – Depart Brisbane to Surfers Paradise

Surfers Paradise is the jewel of Queensland’s Gold Coast and one of the most popular holiday destinations in Australia. Surfers Paradise is where you’ll find the perfect fusion of city and beach lifestyles set amidst a spectacular skyline and brilliant stretch of coast.

Accommodation:

The Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise is in an idyllic setting, two blocks from the beach.

Balcony view from 26th floor of Crowne Plaza

One of our frequent activities on both days was swimming and reading at the pool.

We walked the beach for an hour on both days.

Warning of risky swimming conditions: undertow and rips

We came back and swam in the pool.

We had a good dinner at Changmai, a Thai restaurant, that was just a few blocks away.

Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd March, 2024 – Depart Surfers Paradise to Byron Bay

Cape Byron is Australia’s most easterly point, located on the north coast of New South Wales. With its numerous beaches and relaxed lifestyle, Byron Bay is a popular tourist destination, especially for the 20 year-olds. We were surprised when the clocks moved an hour ahead as we crossed from Queensland into New South Wales.

Accommodation:

Byron Bay Hotel and Apartments

Byron Bay Hotel and Apartments is one of the facilities located in the heart of town. It is 150 meters to the Main Beach and a short drive to the most popular surfing beaches.

We had to work with the desk staff to get a room that didn’t feel closed in/claustrophobic but they found one that was large with a kitchen (a handicapped room, actually) with a small outside space and table. We walked through the town commercial area and to the beach and had a beverage, came back, went to the grocery story for the makings of dinner and had a swim in a small, very busy pool.

Saturday was a close repeat of Friday in Byron Bay with the addition of a trip to the lighthouse. We walked the beach in the morning, had a swim in the pool and made a sandwich for lunch.

In the afternoon we drove up to the Byron Bay Lighthouse, walked around the town, had a refreshment, had another swim in the pool and ate dinner in our small outdoor space. We actually saw a girl who was stung by a jelly fish.

Sunday 3rd March, 2024 – Depart Byron Bay for Port Macquarie

With 383 km to Port Macquarie, we left early and arrived at noon.

Port Macquarie is a much quieter tourist destination than the ones we have visited on the New South Wales coast.

Accommodation:

The Sails Resort is Port Macquarie’s stunning waterfront resort. The lobby and rooms are spacious and full of light.

Large room with sitting area and balcony

We walked the waterfront and back, looking for a good place for dinner. We decided on The Beach House because of the view of the water and a musician playing there. We returned to the resort for a swim before dinner.

Waterfront: Looked like a storm but did not happen

Monday 4th March, 2024 – Depart Port Macquarie to Sydney

Another 385 km drive day; arriving in Sydney traffic around noon was challenging.

Accommodation:

The Sydney Boulevard Hotel Suite overlooks Sydney Harbour and the city skyline – at some distance.

After packing to leave in the morning, we hired an Uber to the waterfront, took the ferry to Manly beach, had a drink, came back and had dinner at a Thai restaurant one block away: last views of the Harbour, Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

It was a challenge to find the airport Hertz depot to return the car but a phone call made it work. The flights were both on time and seamless. Our pick up, Paris Transportation Services, took us home from Pearson. Postscript: we had jet lag for over a week!

Thoughts on Australia

Australians are very friendly and helpful.
Australians seem to be prospering with a laid-back philosophy. When you ask about tips, they say no because they are well-paid.
It still retains many of the British ways and traditions.
The letter “r” is missing so harbour is haba.
You don’t pass someone on the highway, you overtake them.
There is a great competition between cities, especially between Sydney and Melbourne. Melbourne now has a larger population: over 5.5 million.
If you need a service person, plumber or electrician, the time may be dependent on the surf.
It seems to be very much a beach-influenced culture, very laid back.
McDonald’s is pronounced “Macca’s’.
There are commonalities in our histories, including recent nationhood: Canada in 1867; Australia in 1901.

“Travel does that,” Lena used to say. “It clips the fetters of routine.” from Requiem by Frances Itani, p. 35.

Spain and UK 2023

Up and down the steep, cobblestone streets of Toledo (SJF)

Bill and I spent the fall of 2023 at our condo in Torre de la Horadada and visited Manchester, UK, and area. The primary reason for the UK trip was presenting at the Collaborative Action Research Network (CARN) Conference in Manchester and then a week of touring the area: Manchester, Liverpool and the Lake District. Daughter, Shannon, visited from October 11 to 22nd and for three days we visited Toledo. The photos are mostly mine but I have recognized Shannon’s as SJF.

Spain 2023 September 13-November 22.

On September 13, we arrived in Alicante after an uneventful flight and good connection in Lisbon with Air Portugal. We picked up our car from Europcar, bought groceries at Mercadona and arrived at our special place mid-afternoon. It actually rained a little on the trip which is very unusual. The next day was cloudy and windy but after that mostly hot and sunny. I know that it’s the same photos that I have taken for over 30 years but I still like to take them.

Our favourite beach, El Conde, under the Torre (SJF)

Mick helped Bill to frame Sue’s painting

Susan Cunningham painted a silk painting for our living room.

menu del dia with Ruth, Mick and Debbie at San Marino Restaurant in Campo Verde

October 15-17: Toledo

We travelled to Toledo for three days as Shannon had not been there and it had been some time since we were there. On the way, we stopped to see the windmills at Consuegra.

On top of the Cerro Calderico mountain in the quaint historic town of Consuegra, 12 white tower windmills crown the hill, surrounded by the sprawling plains of Castilla-La Mancha and backdropped by a striking medieval castle. These iconic towers are believed to be the windmills described by Miguel de Cervantes in his famous 17th-century novel Don Quixote.

Each of the Consuegra windmills has a unique name taken from the novel, in which Don Quixote de la Mancha mistakes the towers for giants and picks a fight with them in a particularly memorable scene that coined the term “tilting at windmills.”

We had lunch at the restaurant right next to the windmills and Don was there!

We arrived in Toledo, parked the car inside the walls and walked to the airbnb we had rented right next to the cathedral. It was new, clean and a good sized space. The view was spectacular.

Amazing view of the cathedral from our apartment

We headed out soon after we got settled in the apartment for the train that runs around the city. It was later in the day, 6:30, and getting dark so we got to see the city lit up.

View of the Alcazar from across the river

Cathedral from the other banks of the river

Shannon and I with view Toledo in the background

We visited the very beautiful main cathedral – massive and hard to capture the size of it.

It is massive inside with a very spacious main hall and many smaller chapels all around.

One of the amazing ceiling window sculptures

Actual view from the window of our apartment

We walked up and down the streets of Toledo visiting the cathedrals, synagogues and other sites and often getting lost. We were limited by the fact that many museums were closed on Mondays.

View of the cathedral through the narrow streets

We then went to the El Greco museum. This may have been the most inspirational for us- just learning about a new-to-us painter. “My sublime work,” El Greco himself called this painting, in a court proceeding. Yet humbly and obediently he had but painted here a story commissioned by the parish priest of Santo Tome.

The burial of the Count of Orgaz, 1586 by El Greco

A long inscription below the huge picture tells us this story: Two-and-a-half centuries earlier, at the passing away of the pious Lord of Orgaz, Don Gonzales Ruiz, the dead knight was honored at this Church of Santo Tome, amidst assembled nobles and clerics, by the descent from open heaven of St. Stephen and St. Augustine, who themselves lifted the body and put it in its sepulcher.

The artist was asked to paint this miracle, and he painted it as he saw it: as the witnessing of a miracle. A little boy in the left hand corner (Greco’s son, perhaps) introduces himself and us to the event.

The faces are so silent, the hands so telling. Below, the rhythms are quiet, undulant; above, a swirling vortex. The nearness of so much happening. Everything here belongs to the psychological world of witnessing.

Is it the juxtaposition of two worlds that is painted here heaven and earth; pictorial richness and privation; warmth of tonality and coolness of color contrasts; solitary figures and consolidated forms? Is it conciliation or conflict? And is the radiant beauty, melancholy, and kindness of all these men’s faces a deep memory of ancient Greece? Or is it Greco’s rejection of all violence in life above all the violence of death, the execution and destruction of beautiful faces and beautiful bodies too often seen by him there, in Toledo, when victims of the Inquisition were executed ?

In one of the reviews of El Greco’s work, it is suggested that he criticized Michaelangelo’s work and therefore was less popular and got fewer opportunities to paint for the nobility.

We visited El Greco’s house/gallery where a noble had bought what he thought was El Greco’s house but was not. In any case, it is a lovely setting for many of his paintings and because it was a Monday in October we were there alone to enjoy the works.

Our favourite church was ‎⁨the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes (originally, Isabelle and Ferdinand intended their bodies to be buried here), maybe because it was smaller and more intimate but still grand.⁩

‎⁨Main altar of the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes⁩, ⁨Toledo⁩,

The royalty had this lovely private view

We then visited the synagogue of Santa Maria La Blanca, Siglio XIII, very reminiscent of the Mesquite in Cordoba. It’s interesting to note that for hundreds of years Jews, Christians and Muslims lived together in harmony in Toledo. Unfortunately, with the Reformation, this came to an end.

Because it was closed on Monday, we planned to see the Alcazar on the morning of the 18th before we left but when we arrived we found that it was under renovation so we only saw the outside.

Then we drove the four and a half hours back.

Another beautiful sunset:

We had a very good meal at Restaurante Casa Araez in Pilar de la Horadada, one of the best in the area before Shannon left.

Manchester

We stayed at The Midland, a massive old hotel, as did Michelle. It was assocaited with the Midlands Railway.

There is also the story of the Midland being the location of the creations of the Rolls-Royce Comany.

4th May 1904: meeting between Charles Stewart Rolls and Frederic Henry Royce which led to the formation of the Rolls Royce Limited

This is a very beautiful hotel and the staircases were exquisite:

We went to Manchester so that I could meet up with my research colleagues and to present a symposium with Jack, Michelle, Mairin, and Tara (on Zoom) at the CARN Conference. It was great to see the group in person as we have for years only been together virtually because of COVID. On the Thursday night, we all went to dinner at an Indian restaurant.

Mairin, Marie, Jack, Red, Bill, me, Michelle (clockwise)

On the Sunday after the conference, we had a full day to tour Manchester on the hop on hop off bus. We visited the recovered dock area: the media centre was created from the original cotton and textile warehouses. Most of the BBC shows and studios are filmed in this area.

The famous artist, L. S. Lowry, is featured in this building that is architecturally reminiscent of the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

His work featured the manufacturing scenes that reflected Manchester of the 18-1900’s. Jack said that when he was growing up in Morecambe north of there, the air in Manchester was so smoggy that you had to wear a scarf over your face in order to breathe.

People said that the people in the paintings looked like stick figures and he said that he painted them as he saw them.

Then we got back on the hop on hop off and visited the Manchester Cathedral.

We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant and travelled by train to Liverpool on Monday, October 30.

Liverpool

Marcus picked us up and gave us an overview of his city. The history of the symbol for Liverpool was that it was intended to be a Cormoran with wings extended but because the artist only knew eagles, he gave it an eagles’ head and thus, it is called a mystical bird.

We stayed the two days at the Hilton right across from Albert Dock. It was already decorated with Christmas Trees.

We walked up the hill to the Massive Anglican Cathedral. We were very fortunate to recruit the services of a volunteer, Brian Mcdougall, whose wife Denise was a priest at the cathedral. He was a fountain of information.

This is the largest cathedral in the UK and fifth largest in Europe.

The massive leaded windows and indeed the whole church was built with donations. One of the windows paid for by the owners of the Cunard Shipping Line. The stories about the cathedral are great. One is that the choirmaster, Donald Woan, told Paul McCartney that his voice wasn’t good enough to make the choir.

Another of the stories that Brian told us was of the architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed the telephone box and the Swansee Power station and whose granddaughter was the first to be baptised in the church.

Liverpool Day 2 October 31.

We had a full Beatles’ day on October 31: the Beatles story exhibit at Albert Dock in the morning and the Magical Mystery Tour in the afternoon capped off by a visit to The Cavern.

The Beatles Story, Albert Dock

This exhibit/experience was a number of displays of the major events in the lives of the Beatles. It was meaningful for us because we lived the musical phenomenon in our teenage years.

This Beatles experience was extremely well done: it followed the history of the music phenomenon that affected us both in the 60’s.

We both watched the Ed Sullivan shows. Interesting point that was shared was that Brian Epstein set up these performances so that there was much hype by the time they landed to great attention. Also, while performers were being paid $25,000 a show, Epstein offered 3 shows for $11,000 as he was focused on exposure.

There were rooms set up to focus on each of the Beatles as well as their early beginnings and the various albums and movies.

Magical Mystery Tour

Our two-hour tour of the homes and haunts of the Beatles band members was led by a musician at The Cavern, Charles. He was full of information and humorous stories about the Fab Four, his favourite being George Harrison.

“Behind the shelter in the middle of the roundabout”

George Harrison’s house : 2 Up 2 Down-6 people lived here

Strawberry Fields was an orphan’s home, girls only, where John climbed a tree and listened to the girls’ band and ultimately got into trouble for hanging out there. It was derelict but re-built by local philanthropists. The original red gates are in the museum on the property along with John’s first piano.

Re-created red gates of Strawberry Fields

John Lennon lost his father at 5 and then his aunt, Mimi, took him from his mother Julia on the threat of calling social services because of her living with a partner and unmarried. This house was in a middle class neighbourhood so he lived in some comfort for many years but felt like an orphan. When he was 17, he left to live with his mother where he was happier but she unfortunately died soon after when hit by a car.

Paul McCartney’s house with his mother and father and brother, Mike

Paul McCartney had a fairly middle class upbringing with mother a nurse and father a musician and teacher. His father encouraged him and John to write and play music. Over 100 songs were written in this house.

Although The Cavern was closed because of an intended pipeline planned for the area, the pipeline was not built and the place lay empty for some time. When plans were underway to re-open it, it had to be moved a short distance and the ground floor dug deeper to provide more stability for the building.

This musician who played and sang very well was in fact Charlie’s (the guide on the tour) father! There was memorabilia on all the walls of all the musicians who had played there.

Goodbye to Liverpool: we enjoyed your energy!

Windermere

Marcus dropped us off and we took the train to Oxenholme with transfer at Wignan (a little late here). We were picked up in Oxenhome and driven to the Beech Hill Hotel. Our room wasn’t ready and it was raining so we waited in the bar/lounge.

Our room was a disappointment. The carpet was stained; the windows were partly covered so you had to stand to see out; there were two steps to the bedroom and one up to the bathroom; the bed was small, soft and lumpy and the pillows flat. We complained but to no avail.

However, the dinner of appetizers of veal carpaccio and risotto and main of lamb and vegetables was very good. Unfortunately, it was pretty heavy and we did not sleep well.

It was not clear in the itinerary when we would be picked up for the tour and for the transfer to the train on Friday so I contacted customer service at GoWay Travel when my own agent was on holiday. Customer service responded to my email and sorted the tour pick-up and transfer out but could not solve the room issue.

Thursday, November 2: Ten Lake Small Group Tour

Tony arrived at 9:05 in the Mountain Goat 16 seat van and then picked up Wau at a nearby Hotel and there were just the three of us. Tony said that the season is over for this tour but they decided to run it. The weather was rainy and cool all day but we managed to stay mostly dry.

The tropical storm, Cieren, arrived on Thursday and while it was much worse in the south of England, it was invasive. Despite the rainy, windy, cool weather, we enjoyed one of England’s most picturesque regions on a full-day tour of the Lake District and visited mysterious Castlerigg Stone Circle and Lakeland villages. Unfortunately, the photos are not very clear because of the foggy, cloudy, wet conditions.

Itinerary

Travel over the famous Kirkstone and Honister passes whilst enjoying some spectacular mountain scenery. From beautiful valleys to waterfalls and traditional Lakeland villages, enjoy plenty of stops for admiring the views and taking photographs.
Eat lunch at the market town of Keswick, where you can try a typical pub lunch, or seek out a charming restaurant. Get the chance to stretch your legs at either the magnificent lake of Derwent water or Ullswater, where you can see the tranquility of the Lake.

Lake District Photo stop, Sightseeing, Scenic drive, Scenic views on the way
Ullswater Break time, Photo stop, Visit
Surprise View Break time, Photo stop, Visit
KeswickBreak time, Photo stop, Visit
Castlerigg Stone Circle Photo stop, Visit, Sightseeing, Scenic drive, Scenic views on the way
Buttermere Photo stop, Sightseeing, Scenic drive, Scenic views on the way
Honister Pass Break time
Grasmere Break time, Photo stop, Visit, Free time
Rydal WaterPhoto stop.

Lake Windermere is the longest of the lakes at 7 miles but not the deepest. Our driver from Oxenholme Train Station said that she sails on the lake.

This is Beatrix Potter’s stomping ground. After she had written her wonderful children’s books on Peter Rabbit and family, she suffered a loss of eyesight and decided to turn her hand to sheep farming. She, in fact, created a new breed and bought 6-8 farms and gave them to the National Trust.

This is definitely sheep country. The breeds here are bred to be hardy to stay outside all year round. Their wool is, therefore. stiff and course and used only for carpets. They are in the fields and all over the hillsides.

Castlerigg Stone Circle was built around 4500 years ago by prehistoric farming communities who settled on the fertile regions around the mountainous heart of the Lake District. This site was carefully chosen to impress and draw upon the natural drama provided by the surrounding fells.

A place for ceremony and exchange: Stone circles served an important function with prehistoric communities, providing a setting for ritual or ceremonial activities, social exchanges and the movement of goods. It’s possible that negotiations took place here about the seasonal movement of animals into the upland pastures or the right to quarry stone for the manufacture of axes and other tools.

The mystery of the Sanctuary: The rectangular stone setting within the circle, known as the ‘Sanctuary’, is likely to be a later addition. It may have been constructed to focus attention upon one part of the circle in order to add significance to the rituals taking place within. This might reflect the increasing hierarchy that developed in prehistoric society towards the end of the monument’s use.

It was amazing that we were there alone. Now it was pouring rain and very muddy in early November but it was great to be there without crowds.

The muted colours of the country roads is stunning

Before we get to Ashness Bridge a little further up the hill is Surprise View, a magnificent panorama overlooking Keswick and Derwentwater.

South from Keswick, the B5289 winds along close to the shore of Derwentwater, offering magnificent views across the lake to Catbells and Maiden Moor. A minor road branching off to the left leads to Watendlath over and past one of the most photographed bridges in the Lake District- Ashness Bridge. Its image is often seen to be adorning biscuit tins and tea towels. This fine small packhorse bridge, striding over a fast running beck, is a perfect foreground for the amazing views.

View over the valley from Ashness Bridge

All over the countryside the hills are lined with dry stone walls; some date back to the Vikings and are a thousand years old. The farmers were told to build fences to define their property and the fields were full of stones so they fit the stones together dry (without mortar) for fences. Then the county could charge them property taxes.

Honister Green Slate is over 450 years old and sourced from inside a Lake District mountain at England’s last, working slate mine. This family-run business produces high quality green slate revered for its durability, texture, density, longevity and colour. An environmentally-friendly product, the craftsmen use traditional skills to create a range of slate products: workshops, fire hearths, headstones, house signs, flooring and roofs. This slate is on the roof of Buckingham Palace.

The story goes that a Count took Kaiser Wilhelm to this viewpoint and told the Kaiser that he owned all this land – which was a lie.

We stopped for lunch in Keswick and being that it was pouring rain, we went to a very nice pub, the Royal Oak, where I put my feet under the radiator to get them warm. I visited the ‘water closets’ there. We visited the Market for a bit and then headed back to the van.

Automobile Association (AA) Office with telephone originally staffed with personnel

Dove Cottage

We only saw Dove Cottage from a distance because the road was blocked. It was in this little cottage, at times ‘crammed edge full’ with people, in the heart of the remote Lake District, that William Wordsworth wrote some of the greatest poetry in the English language and Dorothy kept her famous ‘Grasmere Journal’, now on display in the Museum.

William came across his first Grasmere home by chance as he and his brother John walked along this lane with his fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in late 1799. He and his sister Dorothy moved in just a few weeks later. It was to be Wordsworth’s home for the next eight years. In 1802 William married Mary Hutchinson and three of their five children were born here.

The Dove Cottage garden, a place of refuge, meditation and inspiration was where they planted flowers and vegetables, watched birds and butterflies and, most importantly, read, talked and wrote poetry.

On Friday, the weather had cleared and the photos of Windermere Lake were spectacular.

We were picked up, taken to the train station in Oxenholme and arrived in Manchester shortly after noon. Our room at The Midland was not ready so we headed out for the Manchester Art Gallery. We enjoyed some of the pre-Raphealite paintings and then saw one of Lowry’s paintings.

Piccadilly Gardens 1954; Laurence Stephen Lowry

Because of the rain, we took a taxi to the airport just before noon; the check-in at Ryan Air and the security process was very smooth. This was very unlike our experience on the way over when we almost missed our flight because of the security hold-ups. We arrived in Alicante at 6:30, picked up the car we had arranged for when we took Shannon to the airport, stopped for a few groceries at Mercadona and arrived home around 8:30. Tired but happy to be back.

The rain and cloud is over: 21-27 degrees and sunny going forward! The remaining two and a half weeks were spent on maintenance (painting the railings, varnishing wooden doors and windows (especially the sea side) ensuring enough money in the bank to pay the monthly/annual bills, replacing the bottom strip of the awning and finally packing up for the winter to come home.

Africa 2023

There were two parts to our trip: two 4-day safaris in Kenya and Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) and South Africa.

After nearly a year of planning, the three of us, Bill, Jackie and Judy with the knowledge and skills of Safari Partners and advice from friends, started our adventure in Africa on February 4, 2023. There were preparation issues that we dealt with such Yellow Fever and Typhoid injections at the Travel Clinic that cost $375 each (most of which was refunded from our benefit package) and malaria pills. One of the challenges of getting there was the 15 kg limitation for one piece of (soft-sided) luggage for the internal flights. Another was the requirement for the safaris of earth colour clothes, such as browns, greens and tans.

Day 1: Fairmont The Norfolk, Nairobi (Sun, February 5)

Zimbabwe

A nation of spectacular natural beauty, friendly people and rich culture, Zimbabwe’s status as one of Africa’s leading safari destinations was dampened for years by its political instability. But now that the country is transcending its strife and returning to a state of equilibrium, it is once again emerging as a vacation highlight of the continent. Victoria Falls – known to locals as ‘The Smoke That Thunders’ – is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and the sheer power of this massive body of water plunging into the Zambezi Gorge is awe-inspiring and unforgettable. Lake Kariba, with its game-rich shores and islands, is an idyllic safari spot featuring mind-blowing sunsets; Hwange National Park is known for its huge herds of elephants; and a kayak trip down the Zambezi through the Mana Pools National Park will appeal to the intrepid traveller, providing close encounters with crocodiles, hippos and a host of other wildlife.

The ongoing social and political unrest in Zimbabwe has deterred most potential travellers from visiting Zimbabwe and experiencing some of the most breathtaking scenery and first-class game viewing safaris in Africa. Although visitors to the country are urged to exercise caution at all times and to remain aware of recent developments, the main tourist areas, and national parks in particular, have been largely unaffected by the political situation, being far from the cities where much of the instability has taken place.

Nairobi

Situated along the Nairobi River in beautiful Kenya, the capital of Nairobi is East Africa’s most cosmopolitan city. It serves as an excellent starting point for African safari trips around Kenya. Nairobi is Africa’s 4th largest city and is a vibrant and exciting place to be. There are some fascinating attractions: its cafe culture, unbridled nightlife, the National Museum, the Karen Blixen Museum and most notably, we visited the elephant orphanage operated by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for a once in a lifetime experience. However, it is not visitor-friendly as we were advised against walking around on our own.

Day Itinerary

On arrival we were met by Boni and transferred to the The Norfolk Hotel.

Overnight: Fairmont The Norfolk

Situated in the heart of Kenya, the Fairmont Norfolk Hotel offers a sophisticated retreat that is within easy reach of world-renowned wildlife centres, golf courses, and museums. The luxurious rooms and suites are tastefully furnished and the hotel features four dining establishments offering a variety of cuisines, as well as an all-day dining restaurant. Guests can enjoy leisurely walks through the tropical gardens, have a splash in the swimming pool, work out at the fitness centre, or enjoy relaxing massages and treatments at the spa.

Day 2: Fairmont The Norfolk, Nairobi (Mon, February 6)

Day Itinerary

With a free day, we had a full breakfast, spent a few hours at the pool, had a nap to recover from the long flights and enjoyed dinner in the Norfolk Fairmont, a classy hotel with beautiful gardens.

Day 3: Fairmont The Norfolk, Nairobi (Tues, February 7)

Day Itinerary

We enjoyed a city tour which included stops at the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, Giraffe Centre, Karen Blixen Museum and Kazuri Beads. After the massive breakfast at the hotel, we didn’t stop for lunch. We were back in time to go to the pool.

Elephant Rescue Centre

We got covered in red dust as the young elephants blew dirt over their backs in order to cool down. The centre provides care and refuge for baby elephants there abandoned often because their mothers died of malnutrition or poachers. Each baby is named and profiled.

Once they are old and strong enough, they are returned to the wild.

Then we were driven to a rescue centre for giraffes.

Giraffe Centre

This centre focuses on rescuing giraffes that are in trouble. We were given food to feed the two giraffes that came to visit.

We were disappointed in this site as it felt like a zoo.

Karen Blixen Museum

The story of this Dutch woman who made strong and respectful relationships with the native peoples was one of courage and strength. The author of “Out of Africa” is highly regarded to this day.

Then we returned to our hotel for a swim and dinner.

One day at the Fairmont, we wanted to go for a walk. The staff there warned us not to walk on our own but Judy wanted some suntan lotion so we walked to a drug store in the city. It was an intimidating experience but we made it without incident.

We moved on to our safaris.

Day 4-8: Elephant Bedroom Camp, Samburu National Reserve (Wed, February 8 to Sun, February 12)

Samburu National Reserve

Set on the banks of the Ewaso Ng’iro River and neighbouring the Buffalo Springs National Park, Samburu National Reserve is characterised by a spectacular landscape of rugged hills, undulating plains and riverine forests. The park is home to abundant wildlife including a variety of rare species such as the reticulated giraffe, the long-necked gerenuk, Somali ostrich, Grey’s Zebra, and Beisa Oryx. Visitors can also enjoy spotting over 900 elephants, a variety of predators, and over 450 bird species. The ancient culture of the Samburu people is still alive here, and it is possible to see two unique customs firsthand. In the first, watch as herds of cattle respond to each man’s individual voice as they call. In the second, see the tribesmen perform incredible dances that go back hundreds of years.

Day Itinerary

After breakfast we transferred to Wilson airport for our flight to the Samburu National Reserve. In the drive through the city, we saw the poor living conditions of the locals in “the Flats”.

shacks of locals relegated to the Townships

Rugged and remote, this wildlife reserve provides some the best and most colourful game viewing in the country. Elephant Bedroom Camp offers luxury in a setting of breathtaking beauty. It is set along the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River and shaded by doum palms and other trees that make up this green belt of riverine forest. The surrounding Samburu National Reserve is an area of spectacular scenery; its dry plains bisected by the meandering river (now dry with no rain for 2 years) with the backdrop of Africa’s dramatic mountains, including Mt Kenya.

The spacious tents have rustic and colourful African touches, offering all the comforts; including a private plunge pool on the deck, hot and cold running water, and electricity . The lounge and dining area is decorated with vibrant safari style, its soft intimate lighting assuring that this is the ultimate place to relax in between exciting game drives. Elephant, Monkeys, Impalas are amongst the camp’s many regular wild visitors, while Samburu National Reserve has a good number of lions and leopards and offers the opportunity to see many species endemic to northern Kenya. Samburu’s hot dry climate is also perfect for al-fresco breakfasts and three course lunches. Four course candlelit dinners were enjoyed in the cozy dining area under the magnificent African sky.

Wednesday Feb 8 Game Drive

We enjoyed morning and afternoon game drives in open sided 4×4 safari vehicles; on our first one at 4:00 pm, we saw all of ‘the big five’! Julius was a fabulous guide; he said, Well that takes off the pressure!”

No rain but springs in the river bed provide watering holes

I took this leopard photo with Judy’s camera:

February 9 Game Drive In Elephant Camp in Samburu

Momma Lion beside me in the 4 x 4 – one of my favourites

Samburu Village Visit

We visited a local Samburu Village to gain some insight into the Samburu culture and witness a little of Samburu life. This village was normally itinerant but because of the lack of water, they had made a permanent site and their children were able to go to school. A church community in the US bought them a tank which costs them $250 to fill. The women in the village did most of the work and, according to the elder, the men made all the decisions. Young men were away herding cattle in locations that had water.

Elder uses this horn to call the men to the meeting

The families would normally have domestic animals such as goats but because of the lack of water, they were unable to keep them. They used the springs in the dry river beds for other uses but for drinking water. they had a tank that they had to pay to fill. They said that this had solved many diseases for them such as dysentery and cholera.

We get back in time to quickly change and go to dinner. The food was wonderful! I have not included all of the different animals we saw since we saw so many.

February 10 Game Drive Samburu

Momma and two of her three 3-year-old cubs

Our guard was redirecting him to the river

Having lunch and watching the birds and animals

Then we went back to our cabin, and Obama is back: walked right next to Judy’s porch (you can see her taking a photo in the background). The guard could be heard talking to him, saying, ” Now you know you’re not supposed to be on private property.”

On the afternoon drive, this elephant was rubbing his trunk on the limb

6:33 pm: End of another day of looking at game

February 11 Game Drive in Samburu

Another 6:30 start, out into the dust and search for beautiful animals.

Monkey who came into our tent and stole a banana!

The dikdiks are the smallest antelopes and are always in pairs.

It’s a long way down for the giraffe to get water so she carefully splays her legs.

Giraffe splaying legs to get to the waterhole

This powerful family of mom and 3 cubs was impressive and scary as they looked down on us in the river bed.

February 12 on our way to Masai Mara

This morning we were transferred to the airstrip for our flight to the Masai Mara National Reserve offering wonderful scenery and plenty of game.

6:57 am: Water buck at Elephant Bedroom camp

We’re sad to be leaving Elephant Bedroom Camp and Samburu but won’t miss the red dust in everything. I developed a cough that persisted for the rest of the trip.

Day 8-12: Entim Camp, Masai Mara National Reserve (Sun, February 12 to Thu, February 16)

Masai Mara National Reserve

One of Kenya’s undisputed natural highlights is the Masai Mara National Reserve, which sprawls across more than 1500 square kilometres of the country’s southwest. The park protects a phenomenal array of game, including elephant, lion, leopard and buffalo, as well as crocodile and hippopotamus in the Mara River. The birdlife is no less impressive, with over 450 resident bird species.

Day Itinerary

It is perhaps the only region left in Kenya where the visitor may see animals in the same super-abundance as existed a century ago. The Entim Mara Camp offers 12 luxury tents close to the Mara River. Entim was designed with a purpose in mind: to be in the best possible location to view the wildebeest migration in the Maasai Mara game reserve. After lunch we enjoyed our first game drive in the Mara. Returning to the camp, we enjoyed some relaxation on our private veranda, sundowners and dinner in the central dining area.

Arriving at Entim Camp

Entim meaning “forest” in Maasai is discreetly tucked on the edge of the riverine woodlands. From the shaded seclusion of this attractively-designed camp, guests can relax in luxury and admire unforgettable views over the Mara River and across expansive plains, with the distant backdrops of undulating escarpments and volcanically-sculpted hills. The camp was eco-friendly and small, with only 12, tastefully but differently furnished, well-equipped tents. The decor aimed to enhance the surrounding environment.

All 12 guest tents overlook the Mara River and are well-placed, en-suite with flush toilets and hot showers. There is a cozy lounge area with a small library, separate bar, and dining area, which is open-fronted allowing guests the experience of eating meals while watching and hearing the hippos at a distance in the river.

On our way from the airport, we had a game drive seeing many animals, including some new ones.

Monday, February 13, 2023 Game Drive Masai Mara

We are up and going by 6:00 am and it is cooler here so we dress in several layers of clothing and I take a blanket, as well.

Large pride with two males, 7 females and 7 cubs after a kill

February 14 Game Drive Masai Mara

Hyenas and vultures take their turn after the lions

February 15 Game Drive Masai Mara

Off in the 4×4 at 6:00 am and it’s cold!

The mud and vertical roads were challenging!

Just as we were finishing up our sundowner, Duncan stopped, grabbed his binoculars and said, “I see a Rhino! “We dumped the snacks in the 4 x 4 and tore off racecar driver style to see the rhino. I asked him how he had seen it and Duncan said, “Masai eyes!” We had been looking for days.

February 16 Game Drive

We had one last game drive before leaving for the airport.

King of the jungle surveying the savannah: 6:45 am

These photos of the Leopard and Cheeta were taken by Duncan by using his binoculars with my iPhone.

This photo contains a good story. The day before, we saw this leopard and her cub in a tree 2 kilometers away surrounded by 4 adult male lions having their afternoon nap. She had been chased up the tree and they wanted to kill the cub who was competition. In addition, the Mom had just killed an impala which was on the ground nearby for their dinner. We watched for a while but nothing was happening. I asked Duncan what the outcome might be. He said the lions might get the cub but more than likely she would wait them out, they would get bored and she and the cub would move away.

The photo above is the next day. Mom had taken her cub and carried the dead impala 2 kilometers away; the lions were long gone; she was up the tree watching and the cub was running up and down the tree.

Flat tire on plane; Duncan was supervising

Day 12: Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport, Nairobi (Thu, February 16)

Nairobi

Day Itinerary

This morning we were escorted to the airstrip for our flight back to Nairobi Wilson. On arrival we were met and transferred to the Four Points airport for our overnight rest.

Overnight: Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport

Conveniently located within the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Complex, The Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport hotel is an ideal stopover for travellers but we had not experienced so much security as we had at this hotel: gates, dogs, credentials check.

Day 13: Palm River Hotel, Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) (Fri, February 17)

Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)

Victoria Falls is one of the world’s most impressive waterfalls. It is set on the magnificent Zambezi River which creates the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. These spectacular falls can be easily visited and viewed from the Zimbabwean side. Considered to be the world’s widest waterfalls, Victoria Falls measures an impressive 1708 metres in width.

Day Itinerary

We transfer for our flight to Victoria Falls. We were met on arrival at Victoria Falls and transferred to the Palm River Hotel for two nights. A lovely new addition at the Falls which was opened in the last year. The hotel’s location could not be more idyllic, situated as it is along the banks of the iconic Zambezi River, among towering indigenous trees and only 4 kilometres from Africa’s Natural World Wonder, Victoria Falls – so close, in fact, that on a clear, quiet day you can hear the thunder and see the spray of the mighty waterfall from your room.

Overnight: Palm River Hotel

The Palm River Hotel offers 73 luxurious rooms situated along the banks of the iconic Zambezi River.

Ra-Ikane Sunset Cruise

We got on the Zambezi Sunset Cruise at the hotel. The ever-popular sunset cruise offers a unique way to explore the channels of the river and to get an up-close view of the pristine wilderness and African game along its banks. We enjoyed an array of canapés, a full bar and a charming crew who imparted a bit of interesting Victoria Falls history.

Day 14: Palm River Hotel, Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) (Sat, February 18) Day Itinerary

The Victoria Falls reaches Its Zenith in May each year but because of the rain it was almost full. It’s a truly awe-inspiring experience – the sight, the sound, the smell; the humbling feeling that here indeed is one of Nature’s Supreme Masterpieces. We were accompanied through the Rainforest by a qualified Guide who gave a brief history of the Falls as well as detailing the flora, fauna, bird & wildlife and other points of interest.

Wild Horizons Tour of the Falls Zimbabwe

The Falls were at or close to full capacity when we were there. Consequently, the mist which fell like rain made viewing very challenging- we got drenched!

Bungee jumping from the bridge to Zambia

This tour was conducted in the morning accompanied through the Rainforest by Ernest.

Victoria Falls is twice the height of Niagara but Niagara has over twice the volume.

This was a lovely hotel but the fact that it rained all day and we couldn’t take the helicopter ride over the Fall was a disappointment.

We visited an art gallery in Victoria Falls , Tami Walker, Fine Art Photography, and I loved the photo of the elephants in Happy Hour:

Tami Walker: Happy Hour at the Waterhole

That evening we went for dinner at the Cassia Restaurant at Ilala Lodge -very elegant.

Day 15: Blackheath Lodge, Cape Town (Sun, February 19)

Cape Town

Set at the confluence of the Indian and Atlantic oceans and backed by the famous Table Mountain, the bustling city of Cape Town presents an alluring combination of drawcards. Incredible powdery white beaches, highly acclaimed wine routes, and astonishingly beautiful mountain trails surround a cosmopolitan hub. This diverse metropolis is filled with superb shops and restaurants, extraordinary heritage monuments, a multitude of entertainment venues, and a spectacular, chic waterfront harbour. Highlights include the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art and Table Mountain’s jaw-dropping views.

Day Itinerary

We had some excitement the morning of our flight to Cape Town, when the driver didn’t turn up for 6:30 am. The staff at Palm River were wonderful: they tracked down the owner of the transportation company and found us a driver. We had to go over the border to Zambia; we had to wait for a van from Zambia to take us to Livingston airport and walk across the border – that waiting and worrying was a challenge we didn’t need.

We were transferred to the airport for our flight to Cape Town and met on arrival and transferred to the lovely Blackheath Lodge Boutique Hotel for four nights.

Overnight: Blackheath Lodge

Blackheath Lodge Boutique Hotel is situated in Sea Point on Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard, right under the iconic Signal Hill – close to the happening city centre of Cape Town, as well as the popular V&A Waterfront and Green Point Stadium. Blackheath Lodge has a rich history dating back to the 1880s.

Its Victorian design, spacious interiors, high ceilings and wooden floors are combined with eclectic touches of African style and charm.

Deluxe King or Twin Room

Bar in Blackheath where we had our 5:00 Gin cocktails

After we checked in, we took an Uber to the Albert and Victoria waterfront, walked around and had dinner at Den Anker restaurant on the harbour.

Downtown with Table Mountain in the background

Day 16: Blackheath Lodge, Cape Town (Mon, February 20)

Our Table Mountain/city tour was scheduled from February 20th but because the weather was forecast to be cloudy, it was rescheduled for Wednesday, a sunny day with clear skies. So we had two days on our own and decided to start with the District Six museum.

District Six was named the sixth municipal district of Cape Town in 1867. A mixed suburb of freed slaves, merchants, artisans, labourers and immigrants, it was a vibrant close-knit community. It became an island of tolerance and freedom in the growing sea of apartheid oppressions and injustice. This was undesirable to the apartheid government, so in 1966, they declared it a whites-only area. Over the next 15 years the heart of the city was removed as one house after another was raised to the ground. The inhabitants were relocated to new townships on the Cape Flats. By the end of the 1970’s the Group Areas Act had authorized the relocation of nearly 150,000 Capetonians with black people by far the most affected.

Pass Laws: Integral to apartheid’s political repressions and economic exploitation were race laws and mechanisms governing people’s movements and places of residence. on such mechanism was forced removals, as a result of which millions of lack (including so-called coloured) people were physically uprooted from their homes. The system of ‘influx control’ was started as early as 1760 by the Dutch colonial government and applied to slaves in the Cape and systemized in 1952 and 1955 with pass or reference books that every African over 16 had to carry. The reference book contained an identity card with all personal information: pension payment, housing and schooling as well as the ability to move around the streets, all became dependent on possessing a reference book with the correct stamp.

After some anti-pass resistance, after July 1986, all South Africans had to carry a new similar identity card with fingerprints. The processes of social engineering resulted in people being concentrated in artificially created African homelands and dormitory blacks (and coloured) townships on the periphery of the cities and this continues to today.

We then went to the Slave Lodge. The individual stories of the slaves was upsetting.

Slavery is no longer legal yet it exists in different forms. Today the definition of slavery has been expanded to deal with various human rights violations including: debt bondage, serfdom, human trafficking, sexual exploitation and the worst forms of child labour. Worldwide an estimated 12.3 million are trapped in various forms of forced labour and 126 million children are caught up in the worst forms of child labour.

Then we took an Uber to the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art, stopped on the way for a drink and Bill played with the top-shaped chairs.

We kept taking photos of Table Mountain because of all the stories of people that went to Cape Town and it was cloudy and they missed the view.

We returned to the hotel, dressed for dinner had gin cocktails and went for dinner.

Dinner at The Nines overlooking the harbour

Day 17: Blackheath Lodge, Cape Town (Tuesday, February 21)

Day Itinerary

Another free day to explore Cape Town and visit the V&A Waterfront area with its many cafes, shops and restaurants. We were pleased when the hotel hung the Canadian flag.

Bill unfolding our flag at Blackheath Lodge

We took an Uber to the Company Gardens.

Cecil John Rhodes: Your hinterland is here

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art

For dinner we went to The Fledgling Kitchen and had an interesting tapas meal.

Day 18: Blackheath Lodge, Cape Town (Wednesday, February 21)

Day Itinerary

Ebby collected us after breakfast at approximately 08.30am for our Private Half Day City Tour which focused on the different cultures of the City, starting with visiting Table Mountain to view the city and coastline, followed with a visit to Bo Kaap & Museum, Castle of Good Hope, museums, local markets, art galleries, and cafes.

Table Mountain

We started early with our visit to Table Mountain on a beautiful clear day-it is frequently cloudy and visitors miss the view from one of the new Seven Wonders of Nature.

After Table Mountain, Ebby took us to “the best coffee shop in the world” and warned us not to ask for sugar or we would be tossed out! I, of course, asked and the waiter brought us a whole plate.

Then we visited Bo Kaap, a mostly Jewish community originally, was full of very colourful homes and arts/cultural buildings but is gradually losing the mid- Eastern influence.

Bo Kaap with Table Mountain in the background

Next on our Cape Town city tour, was the Castle of Good Hope, built by the British as a fortress against the Dutch but never experienced a battle, except with the locals. It is constructed as a pentagon. It was used as a jail for prison for criminals and now is a home for the military.

Because of a cycling event and the release of the budget by the government, many of the city centre streets were cordoned off so this is the only photo I got of government buildings.

After the tour, we were dropped off in the shopping district and when we were looking for internet access to get an Uber back to the hotel, we went into Caroline Gibello’s art store. We were very impressed with her photos of wild animals and I found one of a giraffe called ‘Aspiration’ that she discounted because the edges of the print were not perfect- how lucky was that! The print of the leopard behind her is called ‘Totem’.

Caroline Gibello, Wildlife and Fine Art Photographer

We arrived back in time to catch some rays on our private deck.

For dinner we went to another interesting restaurant, the Pot Luck, with a gorgeous sunset.

Day 18: One Marine Drive Boutique Hotel, Hermanus (Thursday, February 23)

Hermanus

Situated just 140 kilometres from Cape Town and built between the beautiful shores of Walker Bay, Hermanus has grown from a small seaside resort town to become arguably the best-known place for whale watching in the world. This town is also famed for its natural scenic beauty, featuring long stretches of pristine beaches. An excellent variety of restaurants, cafes and bars are also on offer. Today, Hermanus is more than just a popular holiday destination and offers visitors all kinds of activities, both energetic and relaxing. Visitors can hike through the nearby Fernkloof Nature Reserve, and sample an array of top-quality wine along the famous Hermanus Wine Route.

Day Itinerary

After breakfast at 9:00 Ebby picked us up at our hotel and took us on a spectacular journey around the Cape Peninsula taking in all the highlights and breathtaking beauty of this world-renowned region. It is a most spectacular drive, rivalling A1 along the California coastline.

Chapman’s Peak Drive is a stunning vista: one of the best in the world

Chapman’s Peak Coastal road with supporting pillars

We travelled through Camps Bay, Hout Bay, the scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive, beautiful viewpoints on the way to Cape Point, where the mighty Atlantic and False Bay meet in harmony (the Indian Ocean meets with False Bay some 400 km up the coast) and onto Simon’s Town, the charming fishing village of Kalk Bay and historic suburbs of St James and Muizenberg. We stopped for a great lunch in Simon’s Town and at the Cape of Good Hope for photos. We were disappointed that the funicular was not working at Cape Point because of power shedding!

From here we travelled along the east, less developed coast of the peninsula and along the picturesque coastal Clarence Drive into Hermanus.

Overnight: One Marine Drive Boutique Hotel

Located in Hermanus, One Marine Drive Boutique Hotel overlooks Walker Bay with beautiful views and is within walking distance to restaurants and shops.

Sea View Room

We walked to the town centre and along the waterfront path with this gorgeous view and the waves hammering on the rocks.

Day 19: One Marine Drive Boutique Hotel, Hermanus (Thu, February 23)

Day Itinerary

At 6:00 am, we drove to New Harbour for our Walker Bay Cruise to experience a close encounter with the Big five sea creatures from aboard a boat. Hermanus hosts the bulk of the Southern Right Whales that migrate to South Africa but that happens in July/August.

Walker Bay Adventures

Our boat tour from Gansbaai to Cape Point and back

Walker Bay Adventures Whale Watching operates from the New Harbour in Hermanus. Hermanus is regarded as the whale watching capital of South Africa, and Walker Bay Adventures offers tourists the opportunity to see these gentle giants in their natural environment. In addition, we were to see the big five sea mammals: whales, dolphins, seals, penguins and sharks. We saw 4 of the 5: no dolphins. We saw a large groups of penguins on two occasions but they were too quick to get photos.

A whale specialist guide, Sandra, was on board to accompany us on this tour and provided lots of information and followed up with a blog with more data. More details of our trip can be found at www.dyerislandcruises.co.za
https://wordpress.com/post/jackieandbillstraveladventures.com/5312

After a safety review and suiting up with life jackets and waterproof rubber coats, we climbed aboard our boat.

We could see a large number of small jellyfish with very long tentacles at the side of the boat.

We watched a shark boat with people in a wire tank as the boat operators attracted the bronze whaler sharks near the boat with bait on a line.

Shark taking bait with people in the cage

Then we headed to Cape Point (now from the east) where hundreds of cape fur seals live, fish and mate. The males only hang out here during mating season.

Finally, we saw a Bryce’s whale, 15.5 metres in length, on two occasions but only his back was visible as he dived. It was pretty exciting because it is rare to see them and out of season for whale-watchIng.

After the trip, we had hot soup and fresh scones.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a Penguin Rescue Centre where we could see the African Penguin, an endangered species, up close.

We has lunch at La Pedosa overlooking the water and followed that with a 2.2 km hike in Fernkloof Nature Reserve. It was a narrow rocky trail and very steep for the first half.

Fernkloof Nature Reserve

Stretching for 18 square kilometres across the mountains overlooking the popular holiday destination of Hermanus, Fernkloof Nature Reserve is a natural wonderland of indigenous fynbos and coastal vegetation, evergreen woodlands and scenic hiking trails. It is an invaluable conservation area, with more floral species growing in a relatively small area than in any other corner of the planet, and also provides a sanctuary for a menagerie of wildlife.

Day 20: One Marine Drive Boutique Hotel, Hermanus (Fri, February 24)

Day Itinerary

After coffee on the porch and breakfast in the front garden, we walked downtown and looked in the stores but found nothing interesting. We spent the afternoon at the pool.

We walked to dinner at Lemonicious with a great view of the harbour.

Day 21: River Manor Boutique Hotel & Spa, Stellenbosch (Sat, February 25)

Stellenbosch

Just 45 minutes from Cape Town, Stellenbosch is an enticing Western Cape destination with an exciting culinary scene, photogenic historic buildings, and a youthful atmosphere. The beautiful university town is surrounded by mountains, vineyards, and nature reserves (Jonkershoek and Simonsberg), making it a charming base for wine tours, day trips and outdoor adventure. The town centre is characterised by both a “holiday feeling” – art galleries, award-winning restaurants and alluring boutiques fringe leafy cobbled streets – and a sense of aliveness as students bustle between faculties. Architecture enthusiasts enjoy the numerous Cape Dutch and Victorian buildings.

Day Itinerary

After breakfast and check-out at 9:00, we went for a tour through magnificent scenery via the Hermanus Valley, that links the coast and the Franschhoek mainland wine region. On route, we visited a penguin sanctuary, a olive oil estate, botanical garden, and then passed through beautiful scenery visiting a winery for a lovely lunch and beautiful views. The area is rich with history of the Dutch and British.

Harold Porter Botanical Gardens

Amidst all the beautiful holiday homes, live the locals in shacks

Cape Nature at Stony Point Reserve

It was great to see so many African penguins in their natural habitat.

Olive oil tasting at Morgenster Winery

This was a new experience and very enjoyable. we tasted the various oils and the balsamic vinegar produced on the farm with olives and biscuits.

Vergelegen Winery and Estate

Ebby took us on a tour of the Vergelegen Estate, with its gardens with the oldest oak tree in South Africa and five magnificent camphor trees. In 1700, the acquisition and extravagant development of the Vergelegen Estate by Governor Willem Adriaan Van der Stel gave rise to the first political conflict between the settlers and the Dutch East India Company authorities in the Cape. In 1706, the settlers revolt led to the downfall of the Governor and his cabal. The documentation about the slaves on the estate suggests that “the conditions must have been better than elsewhere as Willem was accused of harbouring slaves that had escaped from neighbouring farms.”

Ebby, our guide and driver, in front of Old Camphor tree

Blue cranes are the national bird of South Africa.

We had lunch in the Stables Restaurant with the view of the gardens and Hottentots Holland mountain range.

Overnight: River Manor Boutique Hotel & Spa

River Manor is a boutique hotel located in the very heart of historic Stellenbosch. The unbeatable location is within easy walking distance from everything that the historic oak-lined town has to offer.

Housed in two adjacent manor houses and set in a landscaped garden on the banks of the Eerste River, luxuriously- appointed rooms are spacious and contemporary with a classic undertone.

Classic Room

We spent a great day walking the streets of Stellenbosh and the relaxing at the pool. I bought a carved giraffe and Judy bought some lovely clothes and a purse. For dinner, we shared a lamb shank dinner at Stellenbosh Kitchen. We finally learned to split a meal!

Day 22: River Manor Boutique Hotel & Spa, Stellenbosch (Sun, February 26)

Day Itinerary

A free day to explore the lovely town of Stellenbosch. The picturesque town has a lot of history and an array of wonderful little art shops, cafes and wonderful restaurants.

Typical old mercantile full of items from the past

Day 23: River Manor Boutique Hotel & Spa, Stellenbosch (Mon, February 27)

Day Itinerary

A free day to explore the lovely town of Stellenbosch. In all of South Africa, problems with systems that don’t work because of mismanagement and corruption pervade. This establishment is fortunate to have a generator but many do not. In our hotels, the electricity was off for 4-6 hours a day, often without notice.

Big infrastructure issues in South Africa

Day 24: End of Itinerary (Tue, February 28)

Day Itinerary

To the airport in time for departure: Cape Town to Frankfurt to Toronto. With an 8 hour layover, they were very long days.

Last Thoughts

The experience of the game drives, being up close and personal with beautiful wild creatures was nothing less than life-altering. They are just stunning. We had no idea of the depth of the impact.
We find it very difficult to choose favourite animals but we were impressed with the power of the lions and the huge size of some of the prides. All of the cats were stunning from lions to cheetas to leopards. The giraffes always made us smile whether adult or baby and their graceful movement is like a ballet. There is a warmth about the massive elephants that make you forget that they are wild animals.
The life in the villages in Kenya was so much about a struggle for survival with limited resources, in particular water, it was heart-breaking.
While we were told the the Kenyan army had cleaned up the border with Somalia, there was extensive security everywhere, especially in Nairobi.
Despite its natural beauty and resources, South Africa is a country to worry about. Nelson Mandela’s dream seems to be in tatters. He called for all African brothers to come to South Africa but no systems were put in place to support the migrants. The promise of equality and brotherly love has not come to fruition.
The infrastucture is in ruins: there is no consistent electricity: in fact, it goes off many hours every day unless you have a generator; the trains don’t work because the bus company ‘mafia’ blew them up and made them unsafe; the government has bowed to their pressure and bribery. The political system is corrupt.
While the city streets lined with trees where the affluent live are beautiful, the kilometer after kilometer of one story shacks in the “Townships” or “Flats” is testimony to the adage that 3% of the population own 90% of the land and money.
Talk of minimum wage is undermined by immigrants who offer to work for less for their employers and there is no one to enforce a wage law. Social services appear to be non-existent.
This trip was planned entirely by Safari Partners. All of the hotels, tours and flights were excellent. We had only one mess-up when the driver did not come when we were flying from Victoria Falls to Cape Town but it was resolved. While we often plan our own trips, this was one that we are glad we let someone else plan.
All of the guides were excellent: Julius, Duncan, Boni, Ebby.

Spain 2022

We arrived in Spain on September 10 from Toronto to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to Alicante. Our rental car was ready and available for us and at a much improved rate from the last two years. Christian had everything ready at the condo and had supervised the new solarium floor and storage space over the winter. It was also the first time we had seen the new white leather sofa in the living room that we had ordered before we left in 2021 but had not been delivered until January.

We planned a trip to Ireland (see Ireland 2022: jackieandbillstraveladventures.com/2022/11/05/ireland-2022/) to see the country and for my presentations at the CARN Conference at the end of October. Shannon and Jon stayed with us for two weeks at the end of September and during that time visited Granada for 4 days.

Celebrating Bill’s BD at Las Brisas with Ruth and Mick

We had a very good dinner, both fish and meat at Las Brisas in Torre de la Horadada to celebrate Bill’s birthday on the 12th.

One of the first things I do when we arrive is buy flowers for the balcony and always a Passion Flower!

We tour the various beaches in walking distance. We started with the one to the north of us, frequented by many Scandinavians.

Because the condo faces west, we benefit from some awesome sunsets. This will be one of many!

We are consistently walking our 5 or so kilometres to the end of the paseo and back. We never tire of it!

The Torre that is the symbol of our town, Torre de la Horadada, Torre Vigia, a 16th Century Watchtower. The coastal watchtowers are a series of military constructions built in the 16th Century along Spain’s Mediterranean coast to protect the territory from berber pirates’ attacks who disembarked on the coast and plundered and destroyed towns and rural areas.

King Charles I was the one who conceived a defensive system based on building these towers along the Mediterranean coast but his son Philip II built most of them. A Spanish Count and Countess and family own the tower and living quarters and we have seen people at events there. There have been discussions about opening it to the public but nothing has happened so far.

The view of the Torre Vigia from the Paseo at dawn was captured by Shannon’s friend, Jon Adediji and his expertise and camera. I have recognized his photos with his initials JA.

Our closest beach is Rocamar.

Shannon’s favourite beach is Jesuitas.

Guadalest Trip: September 25

Shannon and Jon were with us from September 25 to October 5. One of our excursions was a trip to the Fonts de l’Algar in Sarria, Spain, north of Benidorm and then to Guadalest. Shannon found this very interesting article on Spain: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/03/t-magazine/spain-islamic-history.html?

Castell de Sant Josep: After the disappearance of the caliphate at the beginning of the 11th century, the Muslim Hipania faces a fragmentation into samll indepentdent kingdoms. Remains of fortified palaces or citadels (for Arabian “al qasaba”, fortified ditadels), belonging to the monarchs of the small Muslim kingdoms. These defensive systems were built due to continuous friction between the neighbours. The building of the Castle of Saint Joseph was started in the 11th century but during the 13th century, the Christian kingdoms started to conquer the Muslim territory.

Jon Edediji (JE) took some very professional photos that I have included with his permission.

View of the Med from the top of the castle (JA)

We walked the streets of Gaudalest, visited the Casa Tipica and climbed to the top of the castle.

The view of the lake and mountains was beautiful and worth the climb.

Back home we had another great sunset!

San Miguel de Salinas Market: September 28.

We went to San Miguel market on Wednesday, September 28th. You can buy anything there from fresh vegetables and fruit to bras and underwear. There is a local market almost every day of the week. Pilar market is on Fridays on Calle Mayor. San Pedro market is held on Mondays.

Walking through San Miguel de Salinas market (JA)

A popular stall at the market is the olive-seller (JA)

A tradition that our friend Rolf started was a visit to The Nut House after the market. So that’s what we did!

Jon and Shannon’s Trip to Granada

Shannon and Jon took at 4 day trip to Granada and while we didn’t go, the photos Jon took brought back some lovely memories.

The buildings are awesome and so are the gardens and summer residences.

Panoramic Photos of Alhambra by Jon

Eating Out With Friends

We enjoyed a very good meal at Fontana Restaurant, one of several in the Pueblo Latino Centro Comercial, a block from the condo.

Dinner at Fontana Restaurant de Pueblo Latino with Ruth and Mick

Jon’s Early Morning Photos

Alicante: Oct 6

Thursday, October 6th, we went to Alicante for the day where Shannon and Jon were staying overnight for their flight to Amsterdam the next day. We enjoyed walking around Alicante and looking at the boats in the marina.

Shannon and Jon at Alicante beachside restaurant

Paella Penas

All of October is Fiesta Time with many events from contests to parades to decorating the church with flowers. One of the events, the main one (October11) is the celebration of Nuestra Senora del Pilar, that we have attended in the past is the paella competition (like chili cook-offs). They cook the paellas as teams (penas), have them judged and then eat them as a team with their families. There is free paella and beer for everyone provided by the city of Pilar.

Back from Ireland to lovely weather: Oct 31

When we returned from our two weeks in Ireland (see Ireland, 2022 blog: jackieandbillstraveladventures.com/2022/11/05/ireland-2022/), we thought that the weather would be too cool for beach days and swimming. We were wrong, the summer weather continued.

Hard to choose the most beautiful sunset

Last 2022 Week in Paradise

We have completed major renovations in the condo in the last two years: 2020-21- taking out the shelves and fireplace that we didn’t use and re-plastered and painted, new floors throughout, completely new bathroom and upgraded outlets and internet, all new furniture in the salon; 2021-22-new floor in the solarium and finishing of solarium storage room. So that last few weeks, Bill painted the storage room and organized it. The last week is also a busy time for painting, varnishing, preparation for renters for the following year.

We continued our walks: here are last photos of 2022.

On November 17, it was sunny, no wind and 27 degrees so a beach day! It’s the latest that we have swum in the Mediterranean!

One of our favourite restaurants is VistaMar and we had our last Menu del Dia (Menu of the day for 11.30 Euros for three courses, wine or beer) there on Friday, November 18, (the day before we headed home) with our friends, Ruth and Mick.

Ireland 2022

With the CARN conference in Dublin and Jackie having three sessions accepted for presentation, we saw this as an opportunity to visit a country that we had visited for 4 days several years earlier but had not seen much of the area. With limited time, we decided that a coach tour would be a good way of seeing Ireland and then we would have 5 days to go on our own in a rental car. Paddywagon Tours seemed to fit the bill of seeing much of the country, going in a counter-clockwise direction starting in Dublin.

We had been to Dublin in 2007 with brother, Steve, and sister-in-law, Deirdre, for the wedding of De’s sister. We managed to see a few things in the 4 days that we were there including, The Book of Kells, a tour of the Guinness Brewery and a tour of New Grange outside of Dublin the morning of the wedding. We wanted to see the country outside of Dublin.

Sunday, October 16: Alicante to Dublin

We arrived in Dublin on Ryanair, took the Dublin Express bus from the airport downtown, walked to our hotel, Beresford, which we chose because it was around the block from the pickup point for the Paddywagon Tour. We dropped our bags and walked to the River Liffey, crossed over to Temple Bar and had lunch at the Quay Restaurant. We walked back checking out the location of the pickup spot which was not marked at the office of the tour company.

Monday, October 17: Dublin to Belfast

We were at the bus for 8:15 and headed off for Belfast. The driver, Vincent, was one of the highlights of the tour as he was what Bill called, ‘a pistol’. His colourful language and sense that he owned the road from all the ‘gobshites’, included a running dialogue of what was wrong with everyone on the road. This was our first experience with a coach tour and we were a little hesitant but on balance it was awesome. During the 6 days, people came and went (one woman and her daughter left after their first day not liking the accommodations) and came from various places: New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, UK. We made a point of getting to know as many as we could.

Our first stop was St Buite Monastery. It was a very blustery cold day so we didn’t spend too much time there. A repeated line was,”This is a stunning place when the sun is shining…”.

Once we arrived in Belfast, the first order of business was the Black Cab tour of ‘The Troubles’. We toured the various areas of Belfast where the violence had occurred and the taxi drivers shared their experiences and the situation as it was then and now. The first stop was the Protestant area with the image of William of Orange:

One of many posters of the legacy of the violence.

Bill signing the wall with wish for peace

The gates between Protestant and Catholic neighbourhoods that are still closed at night.

In the afternoon, we toured the Titanic Museum.

The museum was designed to immerse you in the building of the Titanic as if you were on site.

Experience of being on the building site of the Titanic

Excellent simulation of working on Titanic

We stayed at a Crown Plaza on the outskirts of Belfast the first night: lovely hotel and good dinner in the restaurant.

Tuesday, October 18th: Belfast to Derry

Dark Hedges from Game of Thrones (Balleymoney, NI)

A few more kilometers up the coast, we stopped at Portaneevey where the famed rope bridge is.

After a few hours of driving, we came to the famous Giant’s Causeway where we walked along the shore for a few kilometers and were grateful for a sunny day, much improved on the day before when the wind blew incessantly. We remarked that the Atlantic might have been too wild for the walk. Northern Ireland’s coastline is stunning. Standing on the hills that arc this place, you look down on thousands of basalt columns tumbling into the Atlantic. It’s an epic sight with 40,000 or so of these hexagonal-shaped stepping stones which date back to a volcanic age 60 million years ago.

Along the coastline are many deserted castles.

Next stop was Derry, not according to Vincent, the driver, Londonderry, although that’s what the signs said. The walls built around the city were built by the British troops to protect the people in the city from attack. Needless to say, there was much violence in Derry despite the walls.

High, Thick Walls around Derry -Londonderry

That night we stayed in Derry at the Holiday Inn.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022: Derry to Galway

Next morning we were off to Letterkenney where someone on the bus wanted some souvenir from this town that featured in a Canadian sitcom. Or, Vincent needed a smoke!

It was a significant deluge because it had been and continued to be raining. A very pastoral setting, as well.

We arrived in Galway late afternoon on a cloudy rainy day although our walk downtown was fairly dry. We had a plate of mussels between us at as large hotel and chatted with an American from Boston visiting his brother. We walked down to the waterfront and through the Quay Street area with shops and bars. The complete sole came off one of Bill’s running shoes so we managed to get him new shoes just as the store was closing.

The Spanish Arch is 0ne of Galway’s most recognizable landmarks and testimony to its importance as a medieval seaport.

Breakfast Room at Airbnb Asgard Guesthouse

Thursday, October, 20, 2022: Galway to Dingle

Because of all the rain interspersed with moments of sunshine, we did see rainbows:

‎⁨Wishing Well. Black Head-Poulsallagh, ⁨Gleninagh⁩, ⁨Ireland⁩

‎⁨Black Head-Poulsallagh⁩, ⁨Lurraga⁩, ⁨Ireland⁩

After lunch, we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher on another blustery, cool day. I had to go back to add another layer. The extraordinary Cliffs of Moher, undoubtedly Ireland’s top visitor attraction, tower high over West Clare’s wild Atlantic coastline. Standing 214 metres above the raging ocean at their highest point, the cliffs stretch for 8 jagged kilometres along the Clare coastline. And from them, you can see astonishing vistas. To the north and west are the Aran Islands, Galway Bay, the Twelve Bens Mountains, and the Maam Turk Mountain Range. And to the south there is beautiful impressive Loop Head with the Kerry coast lurking in the mist beyond it. And atop the iconic Cliffs of Moher sits O’Brien’s Tower, yet another of Ireland’s most photographed landmarks, and it holds steadfast against the winds and the relentless Atlantic onslaught to guard the coast from Spanish galleons and warring tribes.

We walked to the top of the hill with a view of the cliffs in all their glory.

Tower at the top.

In lieu of driving all around the bay, we took a short ferry from Killimer to Talbert.

Friday, October 21,2022: Dingle to Killarney

We started into the Dingle Peninsula and arrived at Inch Beach under cloud and as we started to walk the beach and watch the surfers, the sun came out.

Ireland is called the Emerald Isle for good reason: it rains so everything is green and there is much farmland with sheep and cattle and grain crops in the north and east. The west and south tends to be more rocky.

Farmland as far as the fog will let you see!

Hard to imagine living in these buildings but that was life in the Early Christian Period using what was available.

Continuing our tour of Dingle Peninsula, we stopped at the cliffs across from Blaskett Island that was inhabited until the 1950’s. the only connection was via the peer and walkway up the cliffs, available only when the Atlantic was calm and cut off for months at a time.

Finding a sunny day for wedding photos is not easy

Most of Tour group, Vincent on the right

Angie and Richie from Nashville, Tennessee

That night we stayed in Inspiration Lodge, very nice but no light in the bathroom!

‎⁨Quite a claim: Anascaul⁩, ⁨Co. Kerry⁩, ⁨Ireland⁩

Saturday, October 22, 2022: ‎⁨Anascaul⁩, ⁨Co. Kerry⁩, ⁨Ireland⁩ to Dublin

In Killarney, we had a choice of taking a buggy ride through Killarney National Park or visiting Ross Castle and we chose the latter. Ross Castle, built for the O’Donoghue Chieftains during the first half of the 15th Century, has a typical tower house layout. It was battlemented in the Irish fashion and was surrounded by a bawn wall with flanking towers at each corner, two of which remain.

Next stop is Blarney Castle. the third structure to have been erected on this site. In the 10th century there was a wooden hunting lodge here. Around 1210 this was replaced by a stone structure which was subsequently demolished for the foundations of a third castle by Dermot MacCarthy in 1446. For over 200 years, pilgrims have come to kiss the Blarney Stone and gain the gift of eloquence.

The Stone from Scotland was split and sent to Cormac MacCarthy by Robert Bruce for supporting him in his defeat of the British in 1314. Here is Bill kissing the Blarney Stone.

Blarney Castle sits on an 8 metre cliff of rock which formed the quarry for building the castle.

From the top of the Castle you can take in the wonderful views of over 60 acres of sprawling parkland, avenues, arboretums and waterways.

From the Rock of Cashel, it was a long run into Dublin where Vincent let us off on the taxi stand on the south side of the river in the rain. We took the taxi to Harcourt Suites which the driver could find in the dark as it turned out there was no office for the room, only an office serving several accommodations. The room was very Victorian and dark. We had a hard time finding a place for dinner as the pubs were full of partying young people on Saturday night.

Sunday, October 23, 2022: Dublin to Salthills

By this time, both of us were feeling sick, with coughs and headaches. There was no way we could visit Mairin and Red Glenn. We found our rental car not far from the hotel and headed for the west coast deciding on the way to go to a place that Mairin Glenn had recommended. Salthills Hotel had a room on the waterfront. We arrived in time to go for a walk and have dinner in the hotel.

Monday, October 24, 2022: Salthills

In the morning, we walked the waterfront promenade.

We then drove to Spidall, a nearby town where Mairin said they had a very good Craft Village which we visited. We also stopped at a pharmacy to buy some relief for our coughs. When we walked to the waterfront, the tide was out.

Spiddal waterfront with rain in the offing

We had dinner in the hotel and met a couple from Australia. They suggested a stop in Cong on our travels so the next day we stopped there.

Tuesday, October 25: Salthills to Westport

We had just arrived when Bill realized that he had left our KLM bag full of our stuff on the floor of the hotel garage. Fortunately, we were less than an hour away and the bag was where he left it! Hallowe’en is a big event here for adults. Many houses and yards are decorated and the last week of October, many adults are dressed up. Here is a house in Cong.

The Monastery of Cong, founded in the early 7th century, was destroyed by fire in the early 12th century. Turlough O’Connor, the High-King of Ireland, re founded the abbey around 1135, and his son, Rory, constructed new buildings. In 1203, the Norman Knight William de Burgo attacked the town and the monastery had to be rebuilt. Little remains but two fine windows.

The 1951 movie, The Quiet Man, was filmed in Cong starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.

We drove north and arrived at Knockranny House Hotel in Westport, County Mayo. Mairin recommended the hotel as a favourite of hers and we could immediately see why. A truly beautiful facility and grounds.

We could see Mt (Croagh) Patrick as we came nearer. Apparently St Patrick spent 40 days of Lent in 441 praying that the Irish people would convert to Christianity. St Patrick is the patron saint responsible for banishing snakes from Ireland! Droves of people climb Croagh Patrick every year as a pilgrimage.

Knockranny House Hotel is the nicest (and most expensive) place we stayed in Ireland.

Our bathroom was bigger than most of the rooms we stayed in!

The meals and gardens were excellent as was the view from our bedroom.

We walked around the grounds but it was very windy and cold.

Typical skies: clouds, rain, sun peaking

Wednesday, October 26, 2022: Westport to Athlone

On order to break up the trip back to Dublin, we stopped half way in Athlone, County Westmeath. We stayed at the 4-star Radisson Blu which offers unobstructed views of Ireland’s longest river.

We walked along the River Shannon through the heart of the charming town with Athlone Castle in the background. The history of the area dates back to the Bronze Age.

With the distinct honour for holding the title of the “Oldest Pub in Ireland”, the pub traces its history back to 900 AD when it acted as an Inn. Historical artifacts and building materials found on site cemented Sean’s Bar in the Guinness Book of Record.

Thursday, October 26, 2022: Athlone to Dublin

We drove to Dublin, returned the rental car and walked to Jury’s Inn, Parnell. With the high cost of hotels in Dublin, this is a basic hotel: small room but clean.

Friday, October 27, 2022: CARN Conference

I presented my individual paper session which can be found at

CARN Conference 2022 Dublin Ireland Individual Paper Session

https://youtu.be/HPZuqE_ve5

Saturday, October 28, 2022: CARN Conference

I had two presentations on Saturday. The first was the symposium with Jack Whitehead and Michelle Vaughan in person (the first time we had seen each other in real time for 3 years) and Tara Ratnam and Parbati Dhungana virtually:

Click to access CARN2022sympproppres151022.pdf

It was a busy two days but we all felt that it was productive in sharing our knowledge and making a contribution to the Living Educational Theory social movement and to the flourishing of humanity in a small way.

Saturday night, Michelle and Brian and Bill and I joined the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl. First stop was The Duke Pub where the actors began with a scene from Waiting For Godot. Then we walked around the Temple Bar area with them enacting various scenes and poetry.

O’Neill’s Pub: Michelle sharing her philosophy!

Sunday, October 29, 2022: Dublin

We spent our last day walking around Dublin. Jury’s Inn was just off O’Connoll Street which is the main street that took us down to the river. This is the famous Spire or as Vincent called it ‘the Stiffy on the Liffy’.

Following the bombing of Nelson’s Pillar by former IRA members in 1966, and subsequent controlled demolition six days later of what was left, the site remained vacant for years as no decision could be reached on a suitable replacement. Eventually, the Anna Livia monument was installed on the site to celebrate the 1988 Dublin Millennium Celebrations.

In 1998, as part of a planned multi-million euro re-development of O’Connell Street (as well as a memorial to the upcoming millenium and the aspirations of Ireland in the midst of its Celtic Tiger economic boom), a competition was launched to find a replacement for Nelson’s Pillar. O’Connell Street had been in decline for a number of years due to the proliferation of fast-food restaurants, the opening of bargain shops using cheap plastic shop fronts, and proliferation of derelict sites along both sides of the road. The re-development plan, which was aimed for completion by 2004, hoped to move the street “away from the image of fast-food restaurants, to a family place to go”.

At dusk, the base of the monument is lit and the top 10 m (33 ft) is illuminated through 11,884 holes through which light-emitting diodes shine. Some opposition initially greeted the monument. Supporters compare it to other initially unpopular urban structures such as the Eiffel Tower, while detractors complain that the Spire has little architectural or cultural connection to the city.

We toured the EPIC Museum which was a beautiful facility built on an old building along the river. Rooms were dedicated to the stories of those who emigrated from Ireland because of the potato famine, the ‘troubles’ or in lieu of jail to Australia. Others demonstrated the Irish influence in the development of other countries like USA.

Our last event was a tour of the Jameson Distillery. This is the original site of the distillery but now is just a showcase for the history and tasting as the distillery is in Cork.

We were advised to hold the whiskey in our mouths for up to 10 seconds to really appreciate it: the older the whiskey, the longer to hold.