Africa and Gorillas

Yes, we are going back to Africa...thanks to Great Adventure People GAP! www.gadventures.com/ We have booked our tour and will be travelling through three countries (Uganda, Kenya, Tanznia) and doing some fantastic stuff. We will be trying out a new trip journal and logging the trip as well and will keep everyone up-to-date.

Gorillas at Christmas 2011

Yes, we have booked our Gorillas adventure with GAP for December 2011. We are so excited that we will be with the gorillas for Christmas. We do need to 'get in shape' for the trek through the mountains and the altitude so it is a good thing that it is more than a few months down the road. More as the plan unfolds.
WOW! what an exceptional experience... The hike almost killed me but (was it worth it?)...at the time I said I would never do it again... After we arrived back at the ranger station after a 7/12 hour 'hike' up and down steep mountains I took off my (new) hiking boots and gave them to my guide/porter and went back to camp barefoot...But, now I say yes it was worth the pain ... and I will never do it again!
Here are some pictures we took of the family of gorillas we visited in Nkoringo (round) hill.

The silverback

                                                 Silverback sleeping

Where are the gorillas?

Where is my mom?

Peek-a-boo baby

Just hanging around

Lazy days

Juvenile

Who me?

Just hanging around

Babies playing

I see you!

                                                           Going places

The end of the climb!!

Cruisin'

Our most recent trip was a cruise to Mexico. It is not usual for us to 'travel in the lap of luxury' so this was a great change and well worth it! We traveled with Holland America Line and for the most part the ship, crew, and other passangers were great.
There were a number of highlights for us one of which was the 'formal' dinner night. This was Fun! I really looked forward to getting all dressed up and eating a great meal with wonderful company. The food was fabulous and the enterainment teriffic.
The shore excursions were also good as we got a chance to 'do our own thing' and as usual true to form we walked the towns for the whole day...checked out a great aquarium, museum, and loads of local arts and crafts.
We also visited our grand-daughter who is doing volunteer work at an amputee clinic in Mexico. She showed us around her small town, had a wonderful lunch, and bought some wonderful local hand-crafted jewerly.
Check out the pictures

Africa...maybe?

Well, we found a great deal on a one month tour for Africa! We were overjoyed. But, it seems the deal was not as great as we supposed. The trip was advertised as a 'special rate' with a great discount for 29 days...WOW!. It turned out that not only did the company not have any seats available, but they charged our credit card the full amount of the trip, took almost two weeks to tell us there was no availability even though their website still showed available spaces (long after we paid a 50% premium to get air tickets for the dates), had no gorilla permits... wanted to charge the regular price for the next available dates and...wanted to charge us a cancellation fee...and after two weeks of back-and-forth have still not credited our credit card with the refund. The company...Intrepid. Be very careful of unbelievable deals!

Where in the world

This blog is dedicated to all those who travel either by themselves, with others, or from the comfort of their armchairs. It is intended to inspire, excite, educate, and promote knowledge. It can be a lifeline to the world around us and an outlet for the adventurer. I hope it will chronicle many a cultural exchange, fulfill lifetime dreams, and allow everyone who reads it to benefit in some small way. Its purpose is to bring a smile to every face and a warmth to each heart and to confirm the humanity of us all!

Greece and the Islands

We have been to Greece a number of times and it remains an all time favorite of ours. We will be returning soon as we are completely out of stock of Britto's Ouzo (can only be purchased at the Placka - at least that is what I am told!) Past pictures and future plans coming soon.

Leaving for Greece on Tuesday September 18, 2012... I am so excited...

The Galapagos - and Quito

The Galapagos...can you get a much more exciting trip than this for anyone who loves birds and wildlife? I think not! We are planning a month long adventure tour to see some of the world's finest sanctuaries, the Amazon and the lovely city of Quito, Ecuador. Not to loose sight of the Inca Trail and Machu Pichu (supposedly fantastic views - but I have to check this out for myself!) which we will also include in our plans. Updates will be available as we progress toward fulfillment.

Breaking news....
The Galapagos, Quito, Amazon and Machu Pichu is in the planning stages.
As usual our travel agent 'extraordinaire' Lisa Derby of PTM http://www.ptm.cc/ourexperts/detail/Lisa_Derby is assisting every step of the way. We are really excited to be planning our first South America trip!!