Travel adventures & observations – local and global
It seems we’re on an upswing…so I hope everyone is hanging in there and looking forward to July 4th! Restaurants are opening, museums are opening and Spring is here. I’ve been walking alot and lovin’ being outside by the Bay. I have a few pics to share with you.
I hope everyone is surviving out there and breathing a little easier. Four years of insomnia are ready to be put to bed. In light of being lighter here are some cheery photos I’ve taken over the last few months.
Oh, wait…not so cheery…and not so recent. I’ll try to be better.
There, is that better?
Apologies for those 70+ million who did not get their way. But please, just suck it up.
If you remember, there was even a greater percentage who were disappointed in 2016 and we made it through these last four years. So, anything is possible. Try to mend the bridges, welcome your libtards back into your family and let’s all support our new/old President, Joe Biden and our new/young Vice President, Kamala Harris.
We are all part of this wonderful history. 
Wandering around within my self-imposed boundaries, not much has changed. Yes, folks are being pretty good about distancing and wearing masks to protect their neighbors and reduce the spread of the coronavirus but, as always, there are the put-upon with very little consideration for others. Oh well, just a reflection of intelligence and carelessness.
Anyway, enough about that. I am still loving getting outside and walking around taking pictures of scenery and people. Hope you enjoy some of the offerings.
Yes, we’re into month four of hibernation…everyone jonesin’ for personal contact. Even though I’m pretty comfortable on my own it’s very different when being told what to do…even for your own health and others. It reminds me a bit of the isolation when in the Peace Corps. A bit of pacing and wandering around with no real purpose; having limited choices for dining; suffering with my own cooking (or whatever you call it); relying on sparse electronic communication, etc. Waaaah…
Just wanted to get that out of my hair…so enough complaining. I’m living in one of the most beautiful places in the world with the ability to get outside and enjoy nature…which seems to be thriving with we (us?) polluters sequestered. On my recent walks around the Bay spring is in full bloom and here are some pics to entice you.
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay...wasting time. You looking at me?
And, I couldn’t help but add this photo from far far away and a long time ago…Nepal (reminds me to go take a shower today)
This is crazy but it’s been 20 years since I traveled with my sister (Kathleen…see above heading) to Nepal. Looking over the photos from that trip it seems I wasn’t really there. The only proof is one picture that I guess K took of me (not included). So, really, it was Kathleen’s trip and she’s in the foreground of many a photo. It appears as if she had a good time.
I recommend Nepal to anyone who has a chance to go. We were on a National Geographic trip with about 20 people which started in Kathmandu. We hiked through a myriad of small villages, rafted along a river to a Gurkha lodge, flew to Annapurna and visited a school. At the end of the trip we made our way to Tiger Tops where we rode (and bathed) elephants. I guess riding on elephants is a bit frowned on now but it sure was fun.
Enjoy the show.
Come join me on my trip to the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Lake Manyara
How long has it been? What day is it? Who’s that person in the mirror? What crazy thing can I do today?
Well, I decided to get my old…and I do mean old…slides out to see what the heck was happening in day’s (daze) past. Back to the future of 1989 and my first trip to the African continent. Now, my slide projector does not have a USB port or the like, so I set out to convert the slides (slides are kind of like film (film is what used to be used in cameras (cameras are big clunky things that you use to take pictures with))). I unwrapped my slide converter that I had bought about 8 years ago to complete this project. Who knew if it would work to get those slides into a digital format and load it up on my Mac?
Well, here are the results…this first batch is from Egypt (1989) Enjoy.
Hope all of you out there are doing a bit of meditation and relaxation exercises. Besides our physical health there is a need for mental health as well. Perhaps the following slide show of recent photos during social distancing will help.
Well, with everyone holed up in their abodes it seems like a good idea to catch up on my PAST traveling updates. I left off in Zanzibar in February getting ready to board our vessel to the Seychelles. So, here’s a few updates from Zanzibar.
Now headed on to the ship for our two week travels through the Seychelles, including Aldabra Atoll. There were of course welcome and farewell dinners, daily snorkeling or diving, daily cocktails, daily tea, lectures, and lots of time to relax, swim and read.
The ship was lovely…not a lot of complaints from me. I do think people in a double room would be a little worried about space and moving around. But the ship was well laid out and was carrying about 90 of us, which was bearable. There were all ages on the boat and seemingly a bit younger than the normal Zegrahm travelers. I’m probably just saying that because I’m older. Anyway, everyone seemed to be major travelers and non-complainers which was refreshing. Definitely a good group, with minor exceptions…see photo above 😉
The highlight of the trip for me was, besides Zanzibar, the snorkeling at Aldabra Atoll and Astove Atoll. Definitely the best snorkeling I’ve done. The water was unbelievebly clear at Astove Atoll and I do believe I saw every species of fish there ever was. OK…well a lot anyway.
At Aldabra we were dropped off at the inlet to the lagoon and, with the tide, we were swept in effortlessly as the creatures and formations flowed cinematically below. Once slowed down at the lagoon, the zodiacs whisked us back to the beginning for a repeat. So much fun!!
We also visited Assumption Island, Cosmoledo Atoll, the Alphonse Island Group, Poivre Atoll, Desroches, La Digue (my beach favorite), and finally Mahe to head home.
And finally, the end of our trip at Mahe.
As always, I’m happy to get home. It seems it will be a bit of time before I’m (anyone is) on the road again. So, happy virtual travels to all.
Well, it’s my first leg to the Seychelles and I’m already exhausted. Can’t wait for the next 22 hours. From Lisbon to London is 3 hours; then a 4 hour layover; then 7 hours to Doha; then 6 hours to Zanzibar. It wouldn’t be so bad if I had had a decent sleep last night but, as usual my tiny brain wouldn’t stop organizing and reviewing and recalling…so zero sleep. I’m not complaining (well, maybe) as the night before I slept from 3 am to 2:30 pm. Totally knocked out.
I’ve given up worrying about my sleeping patterns. My belief is that I’m on a 48 hour sleep cycle or thereabouts. Waaah. I am excited about this trip. Meeting my buddy Andrew in Zanzibar prior to boarding our ship for a wonderful 2 weeks survey of the Seychelles, Aldabra Atoll, etc. Lots of sun, snorkeling, turtle and bird gazing. Should be very relaxing…like a real vacation.
I keep thinking I’m going to get better at packing. When I arrived last week from San Francisco into Lisbon I shouldn’t have unpacked my Seychelles clothes and stuff. I had a very difficult time repacking and thought I was done when I checked a bottom drawer and saw that I had stored all my shorts and t-shirts there. So, cramming all that into my fully packed suitcase was a bit of a chore. I probably really only need a couple pair of shorts and some long pants and t-shirts…and, of course, snorkel gear. Whatever…
I’m taking EasyJet to London. I’ve taken them before and like them a lot for these short European trips. They are not so strict on the luggage (you do have to pay for hold luggage and have a couple of options in terms of weight and cost) and their restrictions are very well-explained. On the carry-on however, you are restricted to one teeeny plastic bag for your liquids and gels. At this writing you have to pull the bag out of your suitcase and place it on the tray separately. You no longer have to pull your electronics out.
This is my first real trip for 2020. I did return from the East Coast a month ago but I left in 2019…so doesn’t really count. My last year of non-travel didn’t quite work out that way. It was my intention to curb my travel as I had been out of the country for about 9 months in 2018. However, duty calls. I made it until May and then all hell broke loose with a trip to Cincinnati, Lisbon, Seville, Poland, Prague, Lisbon again, Mexico and then Virginia and South Carolina.
Travel suggestion for Lisbon (and EU): download the app FreeNow (it used to be MyTaxi) and add your credit card for auto pay. It’s not actually free and I’m not sure why the name change but they do pick up at the airport in Lisbon at Terminal 1 just in front of the taxi line and across from the metro. It’s similar to Uber but the drivers all have WiFi for payment…so you don’t need to access your cell service. Also, they are able to get into neighborhoods (such as Bairro Alto) that are blocked off from Uber. As with Uber, one can order a taxi for up to 4 days in advance. They are also in Seville and other cities/countries as well. A good substitute for Uber.
Qatar Air to Doha and on to Zanzibar. I was kind of excited taking Qatar but pretty disappointed overall. It’s quite similar to American and United. The food was better but we are pretty packed in here. They have a 3-3-3 structure in coach and there’s a kid behind him that keeps kicking the seat and adjusting the TV screen which is in the seat back. I talked to him several times and whipped my arm around there to grab his legs…he was at it again in 2 minutes. His mother and another kid are behind me as well but she’s oblivious. He is only about seven I guess. And next to me is a fellow who has had 4 whiskies and is taking up not only the armrest but my space as well…as he leans into me, resting. The Entertainment is fine and the food, as I mentioned, was good. We’re almost to Doha and then I have a 2 1/2 hour layover waiting for my next 6 hour flight. Same configuration. At least on the way back I’m going business class. Hopefully that will be a bit different.
Finally made it to Zanzibar. What a cluster- fck at arrivals. First of all there were departures getting mixed in with arrivals and several agents trying to direct traffic. I hadn’t gotten my visa ahead of time but getting it here was the easy part. Since I’m from the rich U.S. I had to pay $100 cash. And of course the credit card machine wasn’t working…as has been mentioned by other travelers. I think you can assume it never works and to bring $50 clean bills to pay. I have no doubt this gets shared by the customs officers. I had also been led to believe that they would take a picture and fingerprints…but no. Once I had paid my visa fee, I had to get into the customs line which was where the big problem was. However, it really took only about 30 minutes, and seemed to be pretty blasé. You could have put anything on the customs form…no one even looks. Luggage came OK but was on a different carousel than indicated.
Zegrahm driver picked me up and another lady (Robin). I delayed her about 30 minutes because I didn’t come all the way out to where the drivers had to meet people. I waited inside thinking they would come to get me…my bad.
Lots of thunder showers today. This is their dry season. Hmmm.
My room wasn’t ready (Park Hyatt) and Andrew doesn’t arrive for four more hours. Having had no sleep for 30 hours, I’m pretty tired and not very good company. It’s an adventure! I was hoping to get a shower in and maybe a nap. Guess I’ll have to reserve it for tonight. I’m sure I’ll be snoring up a storm. The hotel seems lovely [pic] and is right on the water with a small beach and pool.
Sitting here on Zanzibar beach and hanging out at the pool. 
Andrew came in yesterday and sure enough I was a snorer last night. We went to dinner at the Emerald Tea Room up about 5 floors with a lovely view of the city. Meal was fine and a little weird. It’s a set menu with about 6 courses. 
Today we walked down to the center of Stone Town and ate at the Secret Garden for lunch.
Broiled shrimp wrapped in a very thin crispy noodle. Yum. 
Did some minimal shopping, had a drink at the Freddie Mercury cafe…news to me he was born here. Went to the Palace Museum for a little history lesson.
Most of our fellow travelers showed up this evening. The de riguer Welcome dinner…which I don’t remember at all. I guess it was at the hotel…the Park Hyatt. There’s a pick up for a Zanzibar walking/riding tour at 8AM. Yikes. We don’t board the ship (Le Bougainvillea) until 4ish. Everything’s a bit of a blur.
micetrail 