Weekly Ephemera #113

• This week it felt good to slide into the comfort of a familiar routine.  The events of this summer had shattered my routine and the world feels like it is finally returning to 'normal'.
• I walked three times this week.  This is like the first time I've done three long hikes in a week since March.  Each walk was longer than the last.  It felt really good pushing the distance up though I may have over done it as my legs are still stiff and achy as I post this.  I walked 27.9 miles (44.9 km) this week with the last walk being over eleven miles.  Since our return from the Wife's Camino in June 2023 I have only walked double digit miles four times.  This is so unlike me.  I expect not to walk this coming week as we are leaving the country (more about this later this week).
• On Friday tickets for the Wrexham soccer game we were hoping to attend went on sale.  The Wife got up at 3:45AM to try to buy tickets.  She had joined the Wrexham Fan Club to get early access to ticket sales.  She finds out that her membership only entitles her to one ticket per game so, over the next two hours, she buys a membership for me, links the two accounts (this consisted of trying to call the office in Wales and eventually required an email to the ticket office who responded incredibly fast), and purchased two tickets for the game.  During those two hours the Wife was watching the number of available tickets shrink.  It was very nerve wracking for the Wife ... I slept through the whole thing.  Thanks to the Wife - It's going to be fun!
• I got my COVID and Flu vaccinations this weekend.  I know, the COVID shot was like closing the barn door after the horse got out but I got it anyway.  Both of my arms are sore though the COVID arm is more sore than the flu arm.
• We finally caught up on all the episodes of "Alone" and "Alone: Australia".  The Wife switched to college football and I returned to "One Piece".  I'd watched up to around episode three hundred back in February.  I've reached episode four hundred.  Only seven hundred-ish episodes to go.  It's a fun show and is nice background noise.
• While surfing the socials I came across a link to a short story by Andy Weir (the author of "The Martian").  It is very interesting, thought provoking, and worth the read.  It's only a couple pages long and you can check it out here.  You can also watch a reading with animation on YouTube.

2022 Fall Travels, Part One - Israel - Tel Aviv, The Sea Of Galilee, And The West Bank

Wow … where to start.  Our travels this fall took us to four countries spread over two continents over forty-four non-stop days of adventure and awe.  We saw and did so much.  I guess I have to start for the beginning.

Our first destination was the nation of Israel.  Our flight there didn't go exactly as planned.  Our original itinerary had us leaving Omaha at 11:00 AM and, after stops in Chicago and Frankfurt, we would arrive in Tel Aviv.  We discovered after arriving at the airport that one of the airlines was going on strike and we had be rerouted.  So instead of arriving three hours before our flight (as they ask you to) we ended up arriving six hours before our flight.  Despite this unfortunate delay our flight arrived in Tel Aviv less than an hour later than originally scheduled.  This would be our only travel issue and I count ourselves amongst the lucky ones.

A view of Tel Aviv and the beach.

We arrived in Tel Aviv over a day before our actual tour started.  This gave us a day to wander the area around our historic Drisco hotel (Mark Twain stayed there during his travels).  The Wife went to mass at a 'workers" church.  We shopped around the Jaffa Flea Market and went to the beach where I got in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time.  This extra day also gave us time to adjust to the eight hour time change.  We met our travel mates - a mother daughter pair - and shared a welcoming dinner the night before the start of a very full tour.

The view of the Mediterranean Sea through the aqueduct arch near Caesarea.

Our guide met us the next morning.  Since we all had walked around Jaffa the day before our guide decided to skip the Tel Aviv part of out tour and we left the city heading up the coast to the city of Caesarea.  This Roman city by the sea was built by King Herod.

We left the city and stopped at a local winery where we learned how wine was made and some of us had a tasting.  Staying on the wine theme we moved farther along to our next stop, Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle (turning water to wine at the Wedding Church).

Inside the Basilica of the Annunciation.

The last stop of the first day was the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth where the angel Gabriel told Mary she would be the mother of Jesus Christ.  We also visited a Greek Orthodox church nearby where they believe was Mary's home in Nazareth.  Like most places in Israel, there is not agreement as to where things actually occurred and many of the places are best approximations and there are often multiple places claiming to be the real one.

After having lunch in Nazareth we moved on to out resort on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  I will get this out of the way right away - The rooms were incredible and the buffets were truly out of this world in both size and variety but the lobby service was crap.  Fortunately this was the only unexpected bad lodging issue during the entire forty four days.

Our second day in Israel we visited a museum to see a remarkable will preserved wooden fishing boat once used on the Sea of Galilee.  From here we boarded a boat to essentially do circles in the Sea of Galilee.  While the views from the boat were very nice, this boat ride felt a bid meaningless. I guess I can say I was on a boat on the Sea of Galilee now.  This would be the first of  five boat rides on this trip - fortunately the other four would be more meaningful and enjoyable.

Mount of Beatitudes Church.

After our boat trip we went to the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.  The views for here were nice too.

We drove northward to Caesarea Philippi near one of the springs that feed into the Jordan River and saw the city dedicated to the Greek god Pan.  From here we ascended the Golan Heights where we could see Syria.

We head back towards the Sea of Galilee stopping at Tabgha, location of the multiplication of loaves and fishes. As we admired the mosaics a couple Coptic Christian priests came and prayed.

Our last stop was Capernaum where Jesus spent most of his time and chose his first disciples.  We saw the remains of a second century synagogue here.

Not far from Capernaum one of those special things happened.  Special things are unexpected things, often not on the original itinerary, that stick with you. There was a Greek Orthodox church that was not open to non-Greek Orthodox tours.  Out tour mates were Greek Orthodox and asked if we could at least drive by for pictures.  As we approached the church a bus pulled up and out came a Greek Orthodox tour, led by a priest, from Ukraine.  Out tour mate talked with the priest and he invited us to join his tour.  The group of mostly Ukrainian women entered the church and, led by the priest started to sing.  It was amazing.

The Ukrainian congregation singing.

(Videoed by the Wife)

On our third tour day we drove south through the West Bank.  The West Bank is divided into three zones - an Israeli only, a Palestinian only, and the roads which are open to everyone.  Along the drive we visited Yardenit (a popular Jordan River baptismal site), Beit She'an (an ancient city with five thousand years of history), Beit Alpha (a Byzantine synagogue with interesting zodiac based mosaic floors), and Jericho.  This was a very hot day and some of the visits were limited by how much heat we could take.

During this drive we discovered our guide was a bit biased.  Turned out he didn't have a kind thing to say about the Palestinians.  His favorite way to describe them was dirty.  A bit disappointing as Jews were often described as dirty by anti-semites.  You would think there would be a bit more empathy there.

Camels ... in Egypt I would learn to hate them.

We ended our third day with a view of old Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and a stroll through the Garden of Gethsemane.  At the garden church the Wife was the solitary mass attendant.

Old Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.

The next day we would be exploring Old Jerusalem.

Photos can be found in my 2022-09 Israel Google Photos album.

"I Still Do"

Years ago, on a flight from Los Angeles to New York for work, I had this song stuck in my head the entire way.  There are worse things to have stuck in your head.

"I Still Do"

by The Cranberries

Last summer I bought a ticket to see the Cranberries (Their official site had been taken down) at the Stir Cove in Council Bluffs, IA.  I was looking forward to seeing them live.  Unfortunately the concert was cancelled a month or so before the show.  They said Dolores O'Riordan, the lead singer of the Cranberries, was suffering from back issues.

Today it was announce that O'Riordan passed away suddenly during a recording session.  She was forty-six.  She was taken from her children and her fans too soon.

Rest in peace, Dolores O'Riordan.

Mental Overload

I went for a walk today.  When I walk I often think about my Caminos or the Appalachian Trail but today my thoughts often strayed to the state of the world.

I have confessed that I am a news junky many times in the past and I have even tried to reduce the amount of news I have consumed but the past two years have changed things.  You can no longer ignore the news.  The past two years have emphasized just how important it is to follow what is happening around us.

The state of our union ... and my mental state while reading the news.

I am very likely consuming more news per day than anytime in my past.  Tell-All books, FBI investigations, Incoherent Tweets, #MeToo, #TimesUp, Brexit, F-ing UFOs - mental overload.  This has not been a good thing for my mental health as my anxiety levels have been elevated for awhile now.  However, I cannot turn away from the slow motion (and often not so slow motion) train wreck our country is going through.

Hopefully things will turn around.  I only want one thing.  One very simple thing.  I want a return to an Ordinary World.

"Ordinary World"

Duran Duran

P.S.  Happy Birthday, G_v.

Congratulations To Teams Roth And Schuster!

While I'm not a sports fan I have to admit that Omaha has been very good at bringing sporting events to the city.  Omaha has been the home of the College Baseball World Series for decades.  The city has hosted the Olympic Swimming Trials for the past three Olympic cycles and, last week, it hosted the Olympic Team Curling Trials for the first time.

We have been interested in curling since at least the 2010 Winter Olympics.  A year later the Wife and I participated in an ameteur curling competition.  We participated four times over the next few years but we never really got any better at curling and I lost interest in participating in 2015.

In August we attended a few of the Curling Night in America sessions which were fun.  But the main event was the Olympic Curling Trials last week.  We had tickets for seventeen sessions.  After going to three sessions I realized my limit per session was around two hours.  After my third session I decided to skip the next few days.  We ended up using only six of those tickets.  We did spread around the fun by giving some of our unused tickets to friends.  I still like to watch curling, especially now that I understand the game strategy better, but I think me not being a sports fan all my life has limited how much sport I can watch at any one time.  

The best of three finals finished on Saturday with Team Schuster beating Team McCormick (Men's teams) and Team Roth beating Team Sinclair (Women's teams).  The fact that they both needed to go all three games of the best of three finals tells you that the teams were well matched.  The Wife and I didn't even go to the final games but we did watch the Men's team on TV.  (Hey NBCSN!!!  Why didn't you show the Women's final live like you did the Men's?)

Team Roth sweeping in a rock.

Omaha came through with record attendance for an Olympic Curling Trials.  Omaha always seems to deliver the crowds.  Hope this means we can go see some curling again in four years ... at least the amount I can tolerate.

Kids left messages for the curlers.

It will be nice watching the teams compete in next February's Olympic Games.  It always helps when you've seen the competitors in action.

The Fourth Caminoversary Of My Second Camino

Four years ago G_v and I ended our second Camino on the rocks of Cabo Fisterra.  The sunset was not the most spectacular I've ever seen and the wind was cold but that moment, as the setting sun marked the end of our Camino, will always be precious to me.

G_v's Mom walked part of the Camino last month.  She left a little of G_v in Fisterra.  This would have made her very happy and this makes me happy too.


Photos taken by Bruce H. (Music is "Walk on the Ocean" by Toad the Wet Sprocket)

Tonight Is The Harvest Moon

Enjoy.

"Harvest Moon"
Neil Young

Sadly it's raining here in Omaha so I will not be able to enjoy it.  I hope you all have better luck than I.

Christmas Snow Laser Light Show

A bonus post.  It is really cool when the snow falls through the laser light projectors.  You get a glittering green and red light show!

Laser Light Snow Show

I made a video of the snow falling through the laser projectors too but it is not as impressive as the real thing.

South American Adventure - Part Seven - The Galapagos Islands

Day 18 - Another flight and another ship.

We didn't know it at the time but we were on our way to the most physically demanding part of our South American adventure.  I'm glad we did it while we were younger (ish).

We flew from Quito to Guayaquil and then on to Baltra Island.  Baltra island consists of mainly the airport and not much else.  We were greeted by our nature guides and we boarded our bus and headed out.  First stop was a ferry ride to Santa Cruz Island.

Santa Cruz island is the only island not fully in the national park and most of the Galapagos' inhabitants live on this island.  Our first stop was a restaurant out in the countryside which offered up a nice buffet spread.  After lunch we wandered the garden grounds surrounding the restaurant.

Our first Giant Tortoise of the Galapagos Islands.

Our next (and last destination on Santa Cruz) was a farm that borders the national park land.  The farmer no longer farms and instead gets income from offering his farm for the observation of tortoises.   The tortoises wander in and out of the park/farm.  We walked the grounds with our guides and observed our first giant tortoises.  Along with the tortoises were birds and plants.

A curious bird.

The life on the islands is very dependant on what animals and plants can make the ocean voyage to the islands.  For example, there is only one pollinator on the island, a type of carpenter bee.  The bee lays eggs in old wood so a larva probably floated across the ocean and populated the island.  Since the carpenter bee prefers yellow or white flowers, all the native island plants have yellow or white flowers.  The relative isolation of the islands resulted in a unique ecosystem.

After ogling the tortoises we took our bus to the largest town on Santa Cruz, Puerto Ayora.  There we got in inflatable dinghies and went out to our waiting ship, La Pinta.  La Pinta would be our home for the next four nights.

Heading out to La Pinta.

The rest of the evening was taken up with a safety drill, dinner, and a naturalist talk about the islands and our itinerary for the next day.

Day 19 - Bobbing around Santa Cruz island.

Before I boarded La Pinta I was worried about getting motion sick.  This ship was fairly large but it was less than half the size of the ships I used to ride for work and we were in open ocean.  My worries turned out to be unwarranted as I soon got my sea legs and the motion of the ship did not bother me at all.

A rather annoyed looking sea lion - we interrupted his nap.

After breakfast we got in the dinghies and went out for a dinghy tour around a small island off of Santa Cruz island.  As we approached an outcropping of rocks covered in red crabs and a sleeping sea lion the waves picked up and, before we knew it, our boat was stuck.  We all got off the boat in a rapid and orderly way onto another small outcropping of volcanic rock.  Once the people were out of the boat they were able to free it from the rocks and move to the protected side of the outcrop to pick us all back up.  Our first unplanned wet landing.

We had a choice for the next activity.  We could either snorkel off a dinghy or we could take a glass bottom boat ride.  Not having ever snorkeled in the ocean (or even a large lake) I decided to take it slow and do the glass bottom boat with the Wife.  It turned out that the views under the boat were pretty murky which affected both the boat ride and the off-dinghy snorkelers.

A mess of iguanas (yes, that is what a group of iguanas is called ... a mess).

The glass bottom boat riders did get an awesome experience though.  We saw iguanas sunning themselves, herons, and pelicans.  As we were trying to find some clear water we passed some blue footed boobies.   As we watched, the boobies started fishing.  They fish by flying up in the air then diving full speed into the water.  Underwater they turn around and open their mouths as they come back up to the surface ... hopefully with a fish in its mouth.  Before you knew it we were surrounded by diving boobies.  They would jump out of the water just to dive back in over and over.  It was exhilarating.  Here is a video of the fishing boobies.

My first time snorkeling in the ocean ... off of one of the Galapagos Islands!

After lunch we went out again, this time to snorkel off the beach.  We squeezed into our shorty wetsuits and snorkeled off the sand beach along the rocky coast.  The sun came out and the water wasn't as murky as the morning and I saw a lot of fish including pencil urchins and puffer fish.  The strong current - at one point I was kicking full speed and not making any progress - gave the Wife and I pause so we stayed close to the beach.  A heron and an oyster hunter bird showed up on the beach and showed no fear.  It was amazing.

Back on La Pinta we started heading to our next day's destination.  Along the way was passed by a collapsed volcano caldera.  Along the water inside the flooded caldera you could see flamingos.

Flamingos at a distance.

Day 20 - Bartolomé and Santiago Islands.

The next morning we headed to Bartolomé island.  We had a dry landing and followed a board walk up to the top of the caldera.  Along the way we say native cacti and pioneer species trying their best to establish themselves on the barren volcanic soil.  The views along the way were amazing, naturally.  The number of amazing views this trip were uncountable.

A bit overexposed but I love this picture.  We snorkeled around pinnacle rock

(the sharp spike-like rock middle-right).

The trip up was around three hundred steps which isn't that much but we were pretty sweaty and tired when we got back to La Pinta.  But we had no time to rest as we put our wetsuits on and headed back to a beach on Bartolomé island near pinnacle rock.


The sun came out and the waters were clear and there were a lot more fish here than the day before.  A large fish caught my eye.  I turned around to get a better look and saw that it was a white tipped shark.  I followed it for a while.  I turned back to head back for the beach and, on the way back, a sea lion buzzed me underwater.  I tried to follow it but it was too fast.  It finally came up on the beach and sunned itself not far from the sunning humans.

One of many schools of fish near Bartolomé island.

We returned to the ship and had some time to recuperate as we ate lunch and rested during the early afternoon.  The afternoon excursion (The Wife stayed on La Pinta) was a walk on Santiago island's 'fresh' lava flows.  The flows were about three hundred years old.  The patterns in the lava were mesmerizing and varied in many ways.

Folds in the lava flow on Santiago island.

At this point the screen of my small camera failed.  The camera would still take pictures and movies but I couldn't see what I was taking.  Fortunately I had my large camera too.

Day 21 - Genovesa Island and Darwin Bay.

A baby nazca boobie.

Our last island was Genovesa island.  Part of the caldera wall had collapsed and the inside of the large caldera was filled with water deep enough for La Pinta and other large ships. Our morning excursion started on a beach where we did a short nature walk looking at the Frigate birds, the seagulls, and the Nazca and red footed boobies.  After the nature walk we snorkeled off the beach.  There was a lot of current here and the water was a bit murky but I did see a couple stingrays and another white tipped shark.  (I managed to take video of a stingray without the screen working.)

A red footed boobie.

In the afternoon we boated over to a small landing, passing penguins and fur seals along the way, hiked up to the rim of the volcano and walked among the nesting birds.  It was amazing that there was so little fear from the birds.  As long as you stayed five or six feet away they really didn't care.  Even birds with eggs or very small chicks didn't seem to care about us.

A Galapagos short-eared owl.

Our goal for this hike was the short-eared owl.  Near the end of our hike we found one.  It posed for us and looked at all the people while everyone, including myself, snapped pictures.  It jumped at a dove a few times seemingly annoyed by its presence.

A male frigate bird, with red pouch inflated and wings spread, doing his best to attract the ladies.

We walked back to the pick up site.  The sun was beginning to go down as we boated back to La Pinta for our last night aboard.

Day 22 - Goodbye Galapagos Islands and the return to the main land.

We got off La Pinta on Baltra Island and bussed to the airport.  We said our goodbyes as the people we'd met on board were scattering to the four corners of the planet ... or so it seemed.

Our flight took us to Guayaquil, Ecuador where we spent the night.  During the afternoon we took a car to the artisanal market and bought our last magnets, souvenirs, and last minute gifts.

Our South American adventure was almost over.  Tomorrow we would go to sleep in our own bed.

Pictures of the Galapagos islands' wildlife can be found in my 2016-06 Galapagos islands Google Photos album.

South American Adventure - Part Five - Rapa Nui Aka Easter Island

Day 13 - A half day on Easter Island.

Today started in a panic when I couldn't find my passport.  After unpacking my bag and checking the safe several times I finally found it ... in the safe.  It had stood up on end and hid behind the safe door frame.  Gave me a little scare and woke me up.

We were picked up by our driver and guide and taken to the airport.  The flight was about five hours to Easter Island.  I was expecting a smaller plane with few amenities.  What we got was a state of the art plane with in seat entertainment and electro-optic window shades (touch a button and the windows darken).  What makes this possible, strangely enough, is NASA.  NASA picked Easter Island as an emergency landing site for the space shuttle.  After negotiating with Chile (who controls Easter Island) NASA built a long runway for the airport that would accommodate the space shuttle (and larger modern airliners) as well as the main north-south highway on the island.

Some of our first Moai at the quarry.

We were picked up at the airport (I missed the guide's sign because, frankly, it was too big and I was looking for a small hand held sign) and taken to our "eco lodge".  We checked in, got a tour of the facilities, settled into our very nice room, and were told to meet in the central guide area for our first outing.

Our first outing was to the Quarry.  The quarry is a volcano with a large amount of tuff which is what the Moai (the large statues of Easter Island) were made of.  We walked along a path that took us past many moai, all unfinished.  The rule was a moai had to survive the journey from the quarry to the platforms built along the sea shore.  If the moai was dropped along the way, it would stay there and the people would go back to the quarry to make another one.

Moai everywhere along the quarry path.

The moai are fascinating.  Another set of expectations met I think.  Along the walk we got our first view of the fifteen - fifteen restored moai (we would visit the fifteen the next day).  When the first western explorers arrived to Easter Island all the moai had already been knocked over for a very long time (knocked over by rival tribes).  Only a few moai have been restored.  As a matter of fact, the native people have requested that no more restoration be performed because these statues are grave markers and are sacred to the Rapa Nui people.

We walked back to the start of the path and took a second path that took our small group into the crater of the volcano.  The inside is a flooded lake which is the venue of some Rapa Nui games.

The flooded quarry volcano caldera.

Before I continue, is it Easter Island or Rapa Nui?  The first name the island ever had was given to it by the european explores i.e. Easter Island.  Rapa Nui is the tahitian name that came afterward.  The inhabitants who were there when the Europeans arrived had no name since, to them, the island was the entire universe and who names their entire universe?  The natives prefer Rapa Nui and from this point on I will use Rapa Nui.

We returned to the lodge before dinner.  We met with the lodge guides and planned out our outings for the next day.  There are four basic outing that cover most of what the island has to offer.  Being here only a day and a half means we would only have time for three (the quarry and two others).  We picked out two that covered the most history of the island and its inhabitants.

While I was waiting for dinner in the common area uploading Snuggle Bear pictures the Wife decided to go outside to see the stars.  While we were there the skies were mostly cloudy but, on occasion, you could see the milky way and stars.  While outside walking along the uneven lava rock path, the Wife made the mistake of looking up while walking.  This resulted in her tripping and landing pretty hard on the volcanic rock.  She ended up with a very sore shoulder, bruises on her chin and legs, a scrape on an arm, and a deep scratch on her glasses.  I think she also got a concussion since she was dizzy and nauseous later and skipped dinner.  Fortunately she felt better the next morning and recovered quickly after a night of soreness.

Day 14 - A full day exploring Rapa Nui.

Walking along the cliffs of Rapa Nui.

The morning outing was a hike to the top of Rano Kau along the path known as the Birdman Trail.  The trail starts near a platform with fallen Moai and follows a trail along the coastal cliffs to the top rim of the Rano Kau volcano.  At the top of the volcano the Rapa Nui held the birdman competition to see which of the twelve (or so) tribes would lead the other for the coming year.  A champion would swim to a nearby island (sometimes referred to as the birdman islands) retrieve a bird egg and return to the top of the volcano.  The first to bring an intact egg to his chief won resulting in the chief ruling the other tribes for the next year.  This arrangement came about after years of warfare and hardship when all the moai were toppled.

The hike was about 4.3  miles (6.9 km) and climbed about 900 ft (274 m).  At the top you could see that the large crater was flooded and looked like a green swamp.  We stopped to take pictures before walking around the rim to a van.  The Wife did not hike with us but met us at the van.  The van took us to Orongo, the village where the chiefs waited during the birdman contests.

From there we drove to a rocky shore where we were pleasantly surprised to find chairs, umbrellas, and a picnic lunch waiting for us.  We sat on the rock watching the waves crashing on shore (a video of the waves can be seen here).  It was a bit chilly - it was winter here - but I enjoyed the lunch.

After lunch we drove up to see the fifteen, also known as Ahu Tongariki, to see the magnificent sight of fifteen restored moai.  The overcast sky provided a rather ominous backdrop for the moai.

The fifteen moai.  The second from the right has a top knot made of a reddish volcanic stone.

Next we drove up the north coast stopping at several platforms, all with fallen moai, including Ahu Te Pito Kura, home of Paro, the largest moai that actually made it to the platform.  There is a larger one at the quarry but it was never finished.  Near the end of the moai period the tribes seemed to be playing a game of one upmanship.  At other stops we observed pictograms.

Our last stop of our day was Anakena, the only beach on the island.  There is only one beach on the island - a second beach recently suffered a rock slide and is rapidly disappearing into the sea - the rest being cliffs and volcanic rock.  A couple of us went swimming.  The Pacific Ocean was a bit chilly but since I swam in the Rio Negro, I also had to swim off of Rapa Nui.

We returned to our lodge and planned the next half day's activity.  We would be visiting the only town on the island, Hanga Roa.  We had dinner and went out to see the stars (this time the Wife and I went together) and were fortunate to have a brief glimpse of a clear star filled sky.  It didn't last long before clouds blew in.

Day 15 - Our last half day on Rapa Nui and the start of more bad luck on the mainland.

The only known remaining moai eye.

We took a van into town and visited the small (tiny) local museum.  The only interesting thing there is one of the original moai eyes (or a copy of one).  All the eyes were long gone by the time the Europeans arrived.

Next we went to a artisan market for magnets and souvenirs followed by the local catholic church.  The church needed some work but the hand carved wooden statues inside were interesting.

We returned to our lodge, had a "box lunch" which meant a sandwich ... there was no box, picked up our bags and went to the airport.

We arrived back in Santiago, Chile in the late evening.  The Wife had developed a runny nose and was starting to feel bad by the time we got to the hotel - the hotel was literally across the street from the airport terminal.  After checking in I went back to the terminal and found a pharmacy still open and bought some medicine to dry up the Wife's nose.

After returning to the room I discovered that I had not gotten away scot free.  Soon after I got the medicine to the Wife and I had settled in the room I discovered I'd caught the Poopy Nui (or the Rapa Poopies ... not sure what to call it).  Needless to say I didn't sleep well that night as I spent the night walking between the bed and the bathroom.  I started taking antibiotics but, an oversight on my part, I didn't have any imodium.

Tomorrow was another early morning and onward to Ecuador ... and hopefully on the road to healing.

Pictures of Rapa Nui and the Moai can be found in my 2016-06 Easter Island Google Photos album.

South American Adventure - Part Four - Santiago De Chile

Day 12 - A free day for the half way point.

It was the half way point of our travels and we were in Santiago, Chile.  It was time to do some laundry.  We were going to find a laundromat near the hotel and do it on the cheap but the nearest one was a distance away.  Turns out Chile is one of the cheapest places we've ever been to and the laundry rates at the hotel were reasonable (not cheap but not extravagant either).

We dropped our bag of laundry, ate breakfast on the top floor of the hotel, then headed out in search of interesting sights and an ATM machine.  I hadn't brought any chilean money on this trip.  I usually get all the different currencies before I leave on a trip but this time I really wasn't sure how much I would need so I only got some Brazilian Reals and US dollars.  With map in pocket we headed out to where the desk clerk said we would find an ATM.

Crossing a river and seeing our landmark, the Telefónica Chile building shaped like a cell phone.

Our hotel was located in the Lastarria neighborhood, an up and coming place in Santiago.  It was centrally located from many interesting places to visit.  A short walk took us across a river where you could get a great view of the Andes mountains behind the building that looked like a cell phone (that is how everyone described it and it did look like a cell phone).  I expected to find a bank on the other side of the bridge but I didn't see anything remotely like an ATM so I stuck my head into a small gallery and ask the elderly man if there was a bank nearby.  There wasn't but he did give me directions to an ATM.  With chilean peso in pocket we were ready to start seeing the sights (and buying magnets).

Our first stop was one of the houses owned by nobel laureate Pablo Neruda.  Yes ... the Wife managed squeeze in literature and poetry on this trip.  We toured the house listening to the recorded tour.  It was interesting.   His life was entwined in the history of Chile.

A view from Cerro San Cristobal.

On the left is the Gran Torre Santiago, the tallest building in south america.

Next we headed to Cerro San Cristobal.  We boarded a funicular and rode up the hill (cerro).  The car we rode in was the same one used by Pope John Paull II.  At the top we continued up the hill and admired the incredible sights of the snow capped andes mountains and the city of Santiago.  Along the path were seven crosses decorated by seven different artists.  At the top of the hill is a large statue of Mary.  At her base there is a small area where people have left cards, pictures, and mementos.  The Wife left one of her Dad's prayer cards.  We walked around the large statue and toured the painted interior.  We bought some magnets and souvenirs before heading down to some shops at the top of the funicular.  We bought more travel memories before having a lunch of chips and empanadas.

The Virgin Mary on Cerro San Cristobal.

We went back down the funicular (watch the thrilling five minute video here) and started the long walk to the plaza de armas.  Along the way we passed more cool street art and through a bustling street market.  By the time we reached the plaza de armas we were both getting tired.  We visited the cathedral, observed the changing of the guard and the horse police.  The Wife noticed a statue of a pilgrim Santiago (he is the patron saint of the city).

The Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral on the plaza de armas.

Being tired we started heading back to the hotel.  I was keeping my eyes open for ice cream as we walked..  Our guide had mentioned some great ice cream places but we never found those (never really tried to since they were out of our way).  I passed in front of what I thought was a cafe when a waiter came out with two bowls of ice cream with a waffle cone sticking out of each bowl.  ICE CREAM.  We sat down and the Wife ordered two scoops of white chocolate and I ordered a scoop of milk chocolate and a scoop of dark chocolate.  Yum.  I repeat ... yum.

By the time we got back to our hotel, we'd walked about 8.5 miles - a lot more than I expected.  I napped a little and we went to a corner store to buy water and some sandwiches - neither of us wanted a big sit down dinner.  We both went to bed in clean pajamas.   Yum again.

Tomorrow we would be getting up early ... again ... and going back to the airport.  Next stop, Easter Island.

Pictures of the Santiago de Chile can be found in my 2016-06 Santiago de Chile, Chile Google Photos album.

South American Adventure - Part Two - The Amazon, Rio Negro, And Manaus

Day 4 - With a start like this it can only get better.

Our flight arrived in Manaus, Brazil at 11:20pm.  We collected out luggage and went in search of our ride.  We left the baggage claim and scanned all the signs for our name or our travel company's name.  After twenty minutes or so it was kind of obvious that no one was going to pick us up.  We caught a cab to our hotel.

Note:  The reason they didn't pick us up was due to an airline flight schedule change that had not been forwarded to the local tour company.

Our hotel was the Tropical Hotel.  Once it was a magnificent 600+ room hotel.  The glory of this hotel has obviously faded with the years.  Our room was about as far as you could get from the front lobby.  I would almost consider the walk to the room a hike.

In the room we found a kingsize bed with queen size sheets.  One (1) towel.  Two televisions with zero (0) remotes (they could not be turned on without the remote).  One phone that did not work.  You could make calls out if you unplugged then plugged in the phone.

I called the front desk and asked to make a collect call to our travel company's emergency number (it was called directly ... not collect).  I explained to the nice lady that we hadn't been picked up and we didn't know if/when we would be picked up later in the day (it was well after midnight).  We called the front desk and asked for towels and we went to bed.  We never got towels.

The next morning I checked my email and found out that a guide would be picking us up for a free tour not on our original itinerary - an addition made as an apology.  We would also get our airport  transit fee reimbursed.

Our tour guide showed up at our door (the phone didn't work ... he tried to call us three times).  We grabbed our stuff and got in the van with our guide and driver.  Our morning tour would take us to a museum and a few other places not on the city tour in our original itinerary.  The tour ended at a very nice barbecue restaurant payed for by the tour company.  Our guide was happy about this since he could not afford the restaurant himself.  It was all you could eat BBQ but, not knowing we were going to be doing this, the Wife and I had filled up during breakfast and we really didn't get our free money's worth.  Too bad as it was good BBQ.

We returned to our hotel and relaxed in the lobby.  Our river guides would return to take us to our boat later in the afternoon.  While we waited we started meeting other people who would be sharing our cruise aboard the M/Y Tucano.  In total we would be fourteen guests (a fifteenth guest would have been with us in Iguazu and the Amazon but had had a car accident and canceled her trip).

Our two river guides showed up and led us across the street and along a short path that took us to the bank of the Rio Negro.  The M/Y Tucano was anchored out a ways.  We boarded our 'canoes', long green canoe shaped launches that held eight to ten passengers, and headed out to the boat that would be our home the next four nights.

The M/Y Tucano - our home on the Rio Negro.

On board the Tucano we all met on the top observation deck, introduced ourselves, and received a briefing about the boat and how our tours would go.  We were then assigned cabins on the second deck and participated in an emergency drill.  Alarms sounded, we put on life vests, and mustered on the observation deck.  In our cabin was a bottle of wine and another letter of apology for not picking us up.  I think we received something like three or four letters of apology.

Soon after the drill we had our first evening excursion.  We boarded our canoes and we cruised along the shore line listening for birds and frogs.  The sun was down and it was dark.  You could see some stars, including the Southern Cross, even though it was partly cloudy.  Our guide shined a strong light scanning back and forth for the telltale reflections from the eyes of critters.  It was difficult to get pictures but I did manage to get a few.  On this first night we saw frogs, moths, and the prize, a caiman.  The caiman stood still as we took pictures but eventually got spooked, did a flip, and sped away making all of us jump.

The eyes and snout of a caiman.

We had dinner once we'd returned from our evening outing, showered, and went to bed early.  We would be getting up at 5:30am to go out for our first morning excursion.  As we slept the Tucano would move up river over 60 miles (100 Km), farther than most other tours.  We would not see another boat for three days.

Day 5 - A busy morning on the Rio Negro.

A knock on our door woke us up this morning.  We threw on clothes and got back in our canoes for our first morning excursion.  One thing about the Rio Negro that surprised me was how smooth the water was.  Early in the morning the river was like a mirror.  You couldn't tell where the water ended and the sky started.

Passing a small village along the river.  Amazingly smooth water and crystal clear reflections.

The excursion took us between the islands of the Central Amazon Conservation Complex.  We watched for birds and other animals as we puttered along the swampy banks and past a small village.  We mostly saw birds and insects.  To see larger land animals you had to trek for days in the jungle.

We returned to the Tucano for breakfast before we headed out for our next activity of the morning - our first jungle walk.  We got in the canoes again and disembarked on one of the islands.  We split in two groups and walked a rough path through the jungle looking for animals and plants.  Again, we saw mostly birds, spiders, and ants.

The jungle walk was only an hour and a half or so long but by the time we got back to the canoes we all had sweat through to our underwear.  The one saving grace was, and this was a huge surprise, there were no bugs.  No mosquitos.  No gnats.  The only flying insects we saw were bees, wasps, and what I would call a sweat bee.  None of these were a nuisance,

We returned to the Tucano and headed straight for the showers and clean clothes before we had lunch.  The lunch was followed by a nap in our cabin.

During the afternoon most of the guests went fishing for piranha.  I didn't go.  I'm not fond of fish - both for eating or fishing.  I kind of regret it now though.  The Wife did catch three using a bamboo pole and beef cubes as bait.  The guide would take the fish off the hook and reach up and let the piranha cut a twig with its teeth.  The Wife had a camera with her but didn't get a picture of the piranha (or Snuggle Bear).  I wish I'd gone.  The piranha were cooked and served for dinner the next day.

The sun going down before another night excursion in our canoes.

After dinner we had our second night excursion.  This excursion featured a tarantula, an amazon tree boa, and a three toed sloth high up in the trees.

Tomorrow would be another early morning.

Day 6 - More of the Rio Negro and then some.

Our early morning excursion took us along manioc farmers, parrots eating fruit, bats, and a pink dolphin or two.  I still can't get over how tranquil these morning canoe rides were.  During some of the excursions we went through the flooded jungle - areas that are impassable by boat during the dry season.  While we didn't see too many animals it was still fascinating.  Here is a video of one of our morning and one of our evening excursions.

Flying parrots showing their colors against the morning clouds.

After breakfast on the Tucano we went back out for our second jungle walk.  This one was shorter and we all thanked the amazon for that.  We still got pretty sweaty.  We saw more ants (leaf cutter ants and bullet ants among others).  The highlight of this walk was a bird eating spider, a type of large tarantula.  Our guide spread some sweat on the end of a stick and poked it in a hole.  Soon afterward a ball of fur came out of the hole.  The Wife asked if it jumped and was told no but ... if they don't jump how do they catch birds?

Back at the Tucano we showered, ate lunch, and took an afternoon nap.  Unfortunately during our nap we were boarded by the Brazilian military looking for contraband and weapons.  We missed all the excitement.

In the late afternoon we visited a manioc farm.  Manioc, also known as cassava or yuca, is an amazonian staple.  It is processed into a flour like substance that is added to all food like a condiment.  Locals start eating it as very young children and would never go without it if they can help it.  I was not that impressed.  The process to make manioc flour is complex.  Manioc is high in cyanide and will kill you if not processed properly.

Day 7 - Our last full day on the Rio Negro.

We were allowed to sleep in this morning, the crew waking us up at 6:00am instead of 5:30am.  Our morning excursion was highlighted with spider monkeys and howler monkeys along with the usual birds.

After breakfast we all were dreading another jungle walk but we were surprised to find out that our next activity was a swim in the river.  We took canoes to a rare sand beach along the river.  The water was a strange mix of cold and warm.  The temperature dropped and then rose as you moved a few feet in any direction.  The water color was an amber-orangish color.  It didn't smell and it didn't stain anything but it was like swimming in tea.  The swim was exactly what I needed.  It was relaxing and, for me, a rather unique experience since I rarely swim while on vacation.

The Manaus Bridge.

We came back onboard and had lunch.  The Tucano raised anchor and headed back down river.  Our afternoon was relaxing with no set activities.  We were boarded by the Brazilian military again.  This time I was awake to see it.  The soldiers were so serious until they were done.  Then they would smile and wave as we parted ways.

The black of the Rio Negro struggles with the brown of the

Solimões River to form the Amazon River.

The Tucano passed by Manaus, under the bridge that crosses the Rio Negro, and ended up where the Rio Negro joins the Solimões River to form the Amazon River.  The waters of the Solimões River are brown and the Rio Negro's water is black.  The line where they merge stays well defined for many miles due to different water temperatures and densities.  It was strange seeing the wavy line going between the rivers.  We saw grey dolphin swimming nearby.

The Tucano then turned back around and returned to the Manaus portion of the river.  A guitar player came aboard and we enjoyed a happy hour with portuguese music and city lights.  Our last supper was bittersweet.  All fourteen of us had become very close during those four days on the Rio Negro.

I have to say that the four days we spent on board the M/Y Tucano were some of the most relaxing I had on this adventure and possibly all other adventures I've had.  The days were busy but the river was so calm and peaceful.  I love it.

Our last night on the Rio Negro cruising by the lights of Manaus.

Day 8 - Manaus and a flight to Rio.

We got up early this morning and took the canoes back to the shore, ending up saying our goodbyes in the lobby of the Tropical hotel.  We joined two other guests for a three hour tour of Manaus.  We visited grand homes and building built during the rubber boom and a market near the river's edge.  The highlight of the tour was a visit to the Manaus Opera house.  Part of the streets around the opera house was paved with rubber bricks to soften the noise.  Most of the building we saw were imported from Europe.  The market building, for example, was built in Liverpool.

Inside the Amazon Opera House.

All in all, Manaus is a bit underwhelming.  It is a frontier city and it reminded me of Fairbanks, Alaska ... which also underwhelmed me.  A working class city.

The rest of the day was spent waiting in the lobby (and checking out the sad and depressing hotel zoo), eating at a surprisingly good hotel buffet, traveling to airports, waiting in airports, and flying in airplanes.  We arrived in Rio de Janeiro near midnight.  Out guide Camila and driver Cosme turned out to be a hoot.  Camila was such a chuckler.  She was always laughing at something.  It was hard not to smile around her.

On the way to the hotel Camila kept pulling things out of her bag for us.  Brazil nuts, coffee, samples of Brazilian soda (I kind of liked Guaraná Antarctica).  She would continue to pull things out of her bag for us the next few days.  It became another opportunity to smile.

Pictures of the Rio Negro and Manaus can be found in my 2016-06 Amazon River, Manaus, Brazil Google Photos album.