Category: Countries

Cruising to Chile: Live Blog #4 (Cruising to Ecuador)

As we cruise from Florida toward Chile aboard the beautiful, new Silver Muse, you might well observe that we seem to have gotten ourselves from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific without further detail. Well, we navigated through the Panama Canal. However, that was such a singular experience, that we’ll wait until we get home to tell you a story. That said, we spent the day in Ecuador.

We arrived in Manta, an industrial fishing port on Ecuador’s coast to be greeted by a cadre of modern-looking coaches at the ready to take passengers to various expeditions. We traveled inland and then back along the coast to visit an archaeological site in a place called Aqua Blanca, White Water. A remote commune of pure indigenous people, the village is home to a small dig evidently led by a Canadian archeologist. Sadly, he was nowhere to be found…we would have loved to have had his commentary. But our guide did his best.

We then hiked 3 km through the well-worn, back woods trails of this village stopping (a few too many times it has to be said) to observe this or that bird.

One of the striking things about this part of Ecuador is the changing vistas: one minute you’re driving through a dry forest, then the next the greenery tells you that you’ve arrived in the cloud forest. But the best vistas of all are the long views of endless beaches, most of which have far too dangerous tides and surf to venture into. But the one beach we did visit was clearly one where you could enjoy the water. Well, the fact that we had to sit in the sand to eat our lunch was a story for another day!

Now it’s on to Peru…

Cruising to Chile: Live Blog #3 (Costa Rica)

Neither of us can remember exactly how many years ago we spent a wonderful two-week holiday touring Costa Rica, but today, courtesy of our cruise ship, we spent the day in the Puerto Limon area on the Caribbean coast.

That original trip saw us spend most of our time on the Pacific coast, central valley including San Jose the capital and the area around the Arenal volcano. The two sides seem very different to us.

We spent this morning on a ship-organized excursion called the “Eco-river cruise.” We took a bus through the truly unprepossessing port town of Limon to a canal/river through a mangrove stand to see if we could spot some flora and fauna. We saw a few birds, the rear end of a sloth and some monkeys high up in the trees, but there were no crocodiles in sight. We saw so many the last time we were here. Evidently they are indeed much more common on the west coast.

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Overall, it was a bit dull, but it’s always nice to visit a port. We were struck by the fact that if this experience were to be the only introduction that many of these passengers would get to an otherwise wonderful country, they might pass on the chance to return.

The weather is as usual very hot and humid. According to the report this morning, the humidity currently stands at 97% and we have a feel-like temperature of 38 C. Then it rained.

Our recommendations: fly into San Jose and head directly to the Pacific coast to Manuel Antonio Park. The Costa Rica you’ll find there is the Costa Rica you’ll long to return to! Panama Canal transit tomorrow. Cannot wait! (PS having a lot of trouble uploading photos on the satellite feed…more with stories when we get home!)

Cruising to Chile: Live Blog #1 (Key West)

Ernest Hemingway loved the place… the conch republic as they call it. Of course today we’re in Key West. And it’s only month post hurricane Irma. The local residents have done a heroic job of clean-up. There’s some evidence of damage, but the hurricane has clearly not dampened the laid-back ambiance that is so characteristic of Key West.

We took ourselves on a walking tour to the southernmost point in the US then down Duval Street for a bit of hat shopping.

Buying a new sun hat at “Hot Hats” on Duval Street with proprietor, Terry Lipsky.

The rain started in earnest, pounding down to the point of mini flooding. It’s not hard to imagine what it must have been like in a hurricane.

We’re truly enjoying the Silver Muse…she’s a beautiful ship and our suite is lovely. Tomorrow we’ll be at sea and on our way to Costa Rica.

From the biggest to the smallest: San Diego’s best attractions for discerning travelers

IMG_4476Sometimes a travel experience involves a tried and true tourist attraction; other times you find those off-the-beaten path places that no one else seems to find. Either way, they can have their charms.

Last month we visited San Diego for the first time in over a quarter of a century. When people think of tourist attractions in San Diego, the first thing that usually comes to mind is their zoo, and so we made our way from our hotel on the edge of the Gaslight District to the San Diego Zoo only to find ourselves in a morass of people. Having visited the Taronga Zoo in Sydney Australia within the last couple of years, we found the San Diego experience to be lacking in appeal, so we had to find other attractions. Enter the USS Midway.

For many Americans, visiting this floating museum, an actual post-World War II aircraft carrier, likely evokes feelings of patriotism and awe of the US military machine. For us non-Americans, it was an experience of quite a different kind.

There is no doubt about it: there is something awe-inspiring about the sheer size of a vessel of this kind. The hangar deck, the flight deck, not to mention the miles and miles of corridors. We marveled at how a young sailor or air man could possibly have found his way around the carrier on first deployment.

The carrier itself was commissioned a week after the end of World War II and had the distinction of being the largest ship in the world until 1955. During her 47-year career in the US naval fleet, she participated in many important actions including the Vietnam war and Operation Desert Storm. Walking around the ship and exploring its labyrinth of corridors, you get a real sense of history. The curators of this “museum” have done a spectacular job of evoking the life and times of this massive ship.

We arrived early – about 15 minutes before it opened at 10 am – and found ourselves in an already forming line. Once the gates opened, however, we moved quickly and spent the next two hours exploring. It is not a place for anyone with mobility issues – and for the love of God leave the strollers at home! There are many steep stairways and the corridors move from one water-tight space to the next requiring you to step up and over the barriers where the doors shut. Leave the very little ones at home if you want to really experience this museum.

So, we found that massive tourist attraction – then marveled at the opposite end of the size spectrum at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. Fascinated by all things miniature (we’ll tell you about the Arizona Art Museum’s offering next week), Patty had discovered that this museum occupied a floor of one of the buildings at Balboa Park.

It is the largest indoor model railroad exhibit in North America and its 27,000 square feet are pure pleasure. Just as we marveled at the sheer massiveness of the Midway, we were equally awestruck by the workmanship of the miniature worlds created by the model railroad artisans.

This is a place that you can take younger children who will be mesmerized by the miniature worlds and the trains making their way through various landscapes.

It was lovely and quiet there that day and we were delighted to have experienced it.

The Midway has to be seen to be believed, so if you have a moment, click through our video and then make plans to get there on your next trip to San Diego.