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Notes on our past and future travel - I hope you will enjoy my day-to-day commentary on our travel, with accompanying images. When at home, I may occasionally post philosophical musings or thoughts on travel in general. Stay tuned! Four years ago, late October 2019, we were planning for our next long trip, a transatlantic cruise to Europe which would have happened in mid-April, 2020. Of course, that didn't happen. And of course, since then all of our planned 2020 and 2021 travel has been deferred or cancelled. We did add in a trip to Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. In 2022 we got back into our travel mode, starting with a Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Equinox. We planned a 12-day cruise, but after a few days we added a follow-on 9-day cruise, same cabin... We planned a cruise from NYC to Bermuda in April 2022 but that was canceled by C-19. [We had been infected, we were fully recovered, but the tests still showed positive.] So we switched that reservation to an Alaska 10-day roundtrip from Vancouver on Celebrity Eclipse. In early August 2022 we flew to Iceland for our next adventure! Seven days driving Southern/Western portions of the island, seven days onboard Windstar Star Pride around the island, then 12 days on Celebrity Summit Reykjavik to Boston via Greenland, Nova Scotia... And we had a few days in Reykjavik interspersed into the other legs of the trip. In October, again on Star Pride, we did a 10-day cruise from Montreal to Boston. The weather was not terribly cooperative, but the Fall Colors we did see were quite spectacular! Early December 2022 we cruised the Mexican Riviera for 10 days from Long Beach aboard Celebrity Solstice. And then in January 2023 we were back aboard the Star Pride for 14 days out of San Juan to various islands and smaller Caribbean ports. March 2023 was the fulfillment of a longstanding desire to cruise along the Norwegian coast. We sailed from Hamburg on Hurtigruten MS Otto Sverdrup for what was to be a 14-day cruise. The cruise was shortened due to ship's mechanical issues and we were flown back to Hamburg on day 11, but what we saw was worth the trip! We are recently back from another trip, this time to Italy and the Greek Isles aboard Celebrity Infinity. Next up, in August 2023 we will be back along the SW Alaskan coast, starting this time with a 4-day train ride from Toronto to Vancouver where we will board Celebrity Millennium for 2 weeks. I have a (dormant) WordPress blog site. Uploading photos became quite problematic with that platform. For the last 2 years I have been relying on Facebook as a site to post travel updates and photo links. I am going to try to revisit this site here within my Photos website as a better alternative...
Back on the road soon…
July 25, 2023
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After 60+ years of travel with photography always an element in the trip, I still am looking for the tools and workflow that will allow me to process and share my photos without carrying along a computer and satellite dish…For reasons I may get into over the next few weeks as we prepare for and then embark on our next adventure, I really don’t too much extra burden on this trip. So, we’ll see how this Blog fits into the scheme….
Day 1 – back in Paraguay!
February 27, 2019
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The Gran Hotel is still a fading elegant lady, though maybe in better shape now than then. We’ll be here another four days this time… Click below to view my shared Lightroom album: (5 shots from today) By the way, the tall buildings in the neighborhood did not exist in 1953; I don’t believe there was anyplace in the country with more than six-eight floors… South America – 2019 trip preview
February 12, 2019
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In two weeks we will be headed off on our next long trip: Paraguay, then Iguazu Falls, on to Buenos Aires, then aboard the Celebrity Eclipse around Cape Horn and up the western coasts of South and Central America to San Diego California. I will have my cameras along! And some new tools for handling/editing images along the way. Stay tuned… Ending of our Nov-Dec 2018 Travels: Day 40 – Rainy day in BA
December 11, 2018
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Our last day for now in this complex city. Beautiful buildings, nice people, crumbling sidewalks, dog droppings an ever present hazard. Low prices, good food and beer and wine. Too many people living on the streets. Heavy traffic, horns honking and sirens blaring. This is one of those places where people stand in line at ATM’s or bus stops; no bunching or shoving or cutting-in… We enjoy BA and look forward to our next visit. Rain and thunderstorms limited our activity today. Took a cab to what has been called “the second most beautiful bookstore in the world.” El Ateneo, an old elegant theatre repurposed as a bookstore and cafe. We had an early leisurely lunch, then took advantage of a lull in the rain to walk back towards the hotel. Our arranged ride will be here soon to take us to the airport for our overnight flight home. Sad to have the trip ending, but looking forward to being home!
Day 39 – Buenos Aires
December 11, 2018
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A beautiful sunny day in BA! We walked to the nearest Post Office to mail some things home [helps keep the weight of the suitcases under control] and then walked to Cafe Tortoni, a famous coffee house, 160 years old. Then walked the length of Florida street (pedestrian-only shopping street), then walked back to our hotel in late afternoon. About eight miles altogether. Little shopping, mostly looking… Early evening we took a cab to La Cabana restaurant in the Puerto Maduro district to join some new friends for a great dinner. Then the four of us went on to a “speakeasy”. Too noisy, loud music, crowded. A quick retreat to a quiet neighboring cafe and we finished a good day with more conversation and good wine.
Day 38 – Nearing the end…
December 08, 2018
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… the end of this adventure. Arrived Buenos Aires, at breakfast waiting our turn to disembark. Anticipate a few quiet days in BA and then back home. It has been a good trip, and we have met several new friends. Once we finally got off the ship and to our hotel, we wandered to and through the miles-long Sunday San Telmo street market. Bought a few gifts for people back home…
Day 35 – Santos
December 06, 2018
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We spent a fairly quiet day in this unremarkable industrial port city. Our more ambitious fellow cruisers opted for a long drive to the Sao Paulo, but it seemed that the value of big-city venues were out weighed by the travel time and distance. So instead we took a long shuttle ride to an over-the-top modern shopping center in the Santos downtown. Meg bought shoes. Then a walk to and along the beach, a pause for refreshments, and back to the shuttle for the ride back to the ship. (Notice Santa climbing the side of the apartment building…)
Day 34 – Rio de Janeiro
December 06, 2018
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An early morning sail-in to this beautiful city. After a slow chaotic departure from the ship, my group of eight met our delightful tour guide Leis. Another one of the exceptional tour guides we have booked through Tours By Local. We went to the top of Sugar Loaf, then the Corcovado for a closeup of Christ the Redeemer. Onward for some photo stops of famous beaches, a brief visit to the modern Cathedral, then back aboard. The morning’s chaos and delays led to a delayed departure, giving us great views of the city on the sail away!
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