We took the high speed train from Barcelona to Madrid, then Madrid to Santa Ana where we had to get on a bus to Granada due to maintenance on the tracks. For those of you who have not been on a high speed train, here is a movie I took of the countryside between Madrid […]
Travelling
Barca
Cruise Update The cruise ended in Barcelona. For us. Which is a good thing. Not that we didn’t enjoy it, we had a fine time. The night after they left the ship ran into some serious seas. A “rogue” wave hit the port bow deck three (where our cabin was), and knocked out the windows […]
Lost at Sea. and Other Stuff
Lost at Sea So we had already spent the day in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, had dinner, and gone to the show. Somewhere after that, my beloved camera disappeared. Fortunately, I try to upload pictures every day or two, so you won’t be seeing any shots of the Canaries. You also won’t see some […]
Rio
Did you know that Rio de Janiero is a misnomer? The Portuguese explorer who first came here thought that it was the mouth of a river, or “Rio,” and that the month was January, or “Janiero.” A few days earlier would have been Deciembre. In fact it is not the mouth of a river, rather […]
Sao Paulo
If you’re reading this the cruise has started (in fact, we’ve crossed). We barely slept on the way from Bogota to Sao Paulo. We found the shuttle, but an accident closed the highway and we were delayed several hours waiting, primarily with Germans. My German came back a bit, and they were quite pleased that […]
Bogota
Coffee with New Friends Maria and Diego From the day we landed in Colombia, and even a bit before, we heard pretty negative things about Bogota. When we passed through on the way to Villa de Leyva, we stayed at a pretty basic place near the bus terminal. It was raining, and frankly, a little […]
Disproportionate Medellin
We decided to fly from Cartagena to Medellin to avoid the 14 hour bus ride and take a 1 hour flight instead. Viva Columbia is a budget airline, and the price was almost equivalent. Until you begin to add in the cost for baggage, etc. It was still pretty close, and a whole lot more […]
Secret Paradise Lost
Paraiso Secreto! Secret Paradise! Everything we would want to relax and get away. Look at this pool: Here is what it looked like: Alas, our dreams weren’t quite met. We set out from Cartagena, following the instructions to the letter. The boat stopped at Playa Blanca and let some people off. Then it […]
Cartagena
We loved Cartagena! Once we got to it. Didn’t really like overnighting in the Bogota airport. Cartagena is a modern port city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. At its core is the walled Old Town, with 16th-century plazas, cobblestone streets and colorful colonial buildings. The climate is tropical – hot and humid. It is also is a […]
Lake Titicaca Blues (the Color, not Sadness)
Lake Titicaca is the second largest lake in South America (3,232 mi²) and the highest navigable lake in the world (12,507 feet). It is 118 miles long and bordered by Peru and Bolivia. It is also known for its colors. Between the sky and the lake, we saw some of the most blues we’ve seen. Interestingly, […]