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OK, so we’re back in the states and just now starting to get readjusted. Almost three weeks in the South Pacific, two of them on the 55′ catamaran Curie, combined with a 6-hour time difference, have altered our reality in a way that forces us to take some time to readjust to our “normal” day-to-day existence. We made new friends, saw incredible sights and ate some great food. We visited six islands, did some powerful sailing, and had a few adventures (including removing a flopping fish from our bed after it jumped through a small porthole). Oh, and I took a couple of photos while we were there, too. I have only just started going through them (simply moving them onto the computer and backing them up took a better part of a day), but I’ve got people, including Patti, telling me to start posting. This is just a quick, random selection of the many great shots…you can expect to see many more over the next few weeks.
Relaxing pre-cruise at the Moorea Pearl Resort, Moorea, 9/27/14
Opunohu Bay on the left, Cook’s Bay on the right, Mt. Rotui in the center, Moorea, 9/26/14
One of many paddlers we saw, Taha’a, 9/29/14
Early morning double rainbow, Huahine, 10/2/14
A Marae in the Mata’ire’a Archeological site on Huahine, 10/2/14
Sunset over Bora Bora as seen from Raiatea, 10/10/14
The full moon rises over Mt. Otemanu, Bora Bora, 10/5/14
Preparing to grill fish, Raiatea, 10/10/14
We're docked, packing, and heading towards Florida via Papeete, Los Angeles and Orlando. I have a ton of photos, but not much bandwidth. Here's a couple to show off before we get home.
After dinner activities
Bora Bora
We haven't even left yet and we want to come back to Moorea. We've toured the island in a 4X4, snorkled in the lagoon (my first time in the Pacific!), lay about the pool, shopped and had a wonderful meal with some friends of friends that are now our friends too. I'm going to cut this short since we're off to see a traditional Polynesian dance followed by a rock concert, both about 150' from our bungalow. Tomorrow it's off to Raiatea to meet up with our shipmates. For now I'll let the photos do the talking.
Dinner at the Moorea Beach Cafe, 9/25/14
Opunohu Bay, Moorea, 9/26/14
Opunohu Bay on the left, Cook's Bay on the right, from the Belvedere Lookout, Moorea, 9/26/14
Moorea, 9/27/14
Interior of Moorea, 9/26/14
So we survived the flights from Orlando to LAX and from LAX to Papeete (overnight) and the lengthy (7 minute) flight from Papeete to Moorea and, as I type this, we're in our “transit” room at the Moorea Pearl Resort waiting on either a) our permanent room to be ready or b) 12:00 to roll around so we can eat! We're exhausted, more than a bit punch drunk, and WAY excited to be at this beautiful location. We'll post more, but this will get us started.
Moorea as we came in...our resort is, I think, in the middle distance, 9/25/14
An over water bungalow at the Pearl, 9/25/14
Poolside at the Pearl, 9/25/14
I know, I know, it’s been too long since I posted. The main purpose of this blog is relating our travel adventures and showing some pretty pictures and we just haven’t been doing much of either this summer. That’s about to change, and in a big way. Tomorrow we depart for almost 3 weeks of journeying about the islands of French Polynesia: Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea, etc. We’ll be spending a few nights at the Pearl Resort on the island of Moorea seeing the sights before heading to Raiatea where we’ll board a 55′ catamaran for two weeks of sailing with family and friends! To say we’re excited is the understatement of at least the decade.
I will be trying to post when able, but internet access (at least access capable of uploading my posts) will be … spotty. This, of course, is an attraction for me, since three weeks with no work email and no cell coverage is seen as a feature rather than a bug. Although I WILL be monitoring, as best I can, the Orioles path to the World Series.
For some obligatory photos, here are some shots I took the other night of a 2 month old lion cub (and a couple of his future roomies). For background, see here. He’s as cute as a button and still able to be around people. That will change, of course, but before it does I hope to get over there with my “real” camera (these are all from my iPhone in low light, so the quality isn’t very good) and get some better shots. After Tahiti, of course!
Mims, FL, 9/14/14
Mims, FL, 9/14/14
Mims, FL, 9/14/14
Mims, FL, 9/14/14
We drove to Baltimore a couple of weeks ago to attend a wedding. Although we had known when we were going for a long time, it wasn’t until a few weeks beforehand that we realized that, with a tiny bit of planning, we could pull into Annapolis at a perfect time to take Patti’s mom to lunch on Mother’s Day. Knowing this, I planned to drive from Central Florida to Roanoke Rapids, N.C., in one shot. It put us just a few easy hours from our destination and there are a lot of hotels and restaurants in the area. Hoping to find a way to burn some energy after a long day in the cab of the truck, I did a bit of googling and found what seemed like a nice walk to stretch our legs.
If you find yourself traveling I-95 in southern Va. or northern N.C., the Roanoke Canal Trail is perfect. We found the River Road access without a hitch (maybe 10 minutes from the I-95 interchange) and headed up the trail, happy to be out of the truck. The weather was hot and humid, and the skies to the west were threatening. There were a few sign pedestals along the way telling us about the flora and fauna and whatever, but then we came across the one pictured below.
Roanoke Rapids Canal Trail, 5/10/14
In 1949, an F-80 on a training run had crashed close to where we were standing. The widow of the pilot had placed “the marble marker here,” but we didn’t see anything like that in the immediate area. A bit of exploring revealed a new-ish trail of pavers heading into the bushes, leading to the marker.
Memorial Marker, Roanoke Rapids Canal Trail, 5/10/14
Roanoke Rapids Canal Trail, 5/10/14
Apparently they had recently cleaned it up and added the pavers (full story here). We’re glad they did, as it’s an interesting little tidbit that would never have hit our radar. We kept on down the trail for a short ways, but there was thunder in the distance by this time and we had to cut it short. Next time we come this way we’ll know this nice little walk is waiting at the end of the day and plan on more exploring.
Roanoke Rapids Canal Trail, 5/10/14
Roanoke Rapids Canal Trail, 5/10/14
Paynes Prairie State Park, FL, 4/26/14
We recently went to Paynes Prairie, a new (to us) state park located in the middle of Florida immediately south of Gainesville, and man, did we have a good time. The campground was the quietest we’ve ever stayed in. It was half full on a Thursday night and you could have heard a pin drop. Friday and Saturday night were only marginally louder which was certainly refreshing.
The park itself is quite large, with over 60 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails. While there we saw turtles, many gators, wild horses and two bald eagles that screamed at the buzzards, chasing them away. We did not see the bison herd that is located there; they were off in the distant parts of the prairie doing their bison thing. As an aside: bison in Florida. Who knew? Turns out they used to be native but were killed off many years ago. The present herd was re-located there a while back and seems to be doing OK. While troubleshooting an electrical problem with the trailer on the first night (which led to me hearing, for the second time in my traveling career, an “expert” say to me: “Huh, I’ve never seen that before,” but I digress) I was outside in the dark when I realized that I was surrounded by thousands and thousands of fireflies. I rushed to get Patti and we both felt like we were kids again, staring into the darkness while the darkness blinked back at us. We normally don’t see them down here. It was surreal and wonderful and a great distraction from the technical gremlins.
We also saw something that falls squarely into the “How Weird Can Florida Get Category.” (BTW, the correct answer to that question is: very.) While biking through the campground I noticed the scene in the below photo. I pause here while you take it in:
Paynes Praire Campground
4/24/14
What we have here is a very large lizard of some kind surrounded by a fence that a toddler could take out, much less a several hundred pound whatever the hell that is. I initially thought that it was a gator, but when I look at it closely, it doesn’t look like one. It’s certainly not something I would want to travel with. Note the ramp so that this thing can get in and out of the RV. Jeez. (If anybody can identify it, please let me know.)
We had a great time here and will be back next year when the weather cools, being careful not to schedule a weekend when the University of Florida Gators, located just a few miles away, are playing football. Then that quiet campground is not so quiet.
Two Bald Eagles, Paynes Prairie State Park, FL 4/25/14
Wild Horses, Paynes Prairie State Park, FL 4/26/14
Sunset, Paynes Prairie State Park, FL 4/25/14
More Weird Florida, Paynes Prairie Campground, 4/27/14
I believe I’ve mentioned before that every year on the 2nd weekend of January I go up into the mountains of Virginia (or Maryland, or Pennsylvania) with three old friends for a weekend of, well, hanging about drinking, eating, playing Pente and an occasional hike. This year the weather was cool but not uncomfortable. It was, however, damp. Very damp. We had a beautiful brisk hike in followed by 2 1/2 days of fog and rain, followed by a gorgeous morning for our hike out. Weather conditions not withstanding we hit all of our milestones with the exception of the recreational hike. Maybe next year. Here are just a few shots from the weekend.
The hike in to Conley Cabin
Near Stanardsville, VA, 1/9/14
The view the first night
Near Stanardsville, VA, 1/9/14
This was the situation for much of the rest of the weekend.
Near Stanardsville, VA, 1/11/14
Playing with helicopters in the fog.
Near Stanardsville, VA, 1/11/14
This was one of the clearer moments
Near Stanardsville, VA, 1/11/14
Our last morning
Near Stanardsville, VA, 1/12/14
Well, we’ve been back from our Italy adventure for a bit over a week now and it’s time to reflect on our travels. We have two subjects to talk about this time: Italy itself and traveling on a formal tour as compared to rolling our own. Let’s start with our thoughts on Italy.
And those are: wow! We had a great time. From the hustle and bustle of Rome to the coast of Cinque Terre, we saw things old and new, appreciated great art and great food, and enjoyed the Italian people and culture in ways that exceeded our expectations. We learned that good food can be incredibly simple, good wine can be incredibly inexpensive and good art can be found everywhere. Everywhere.
Some of our memories include:
- Learning how pesto is made (it’s extremely simple) in a swanky hotel on the Italian Riviera.
- Being stopped on a side-street in Florence for a short lecture on the history of the street and the flooding of the river by an Italian gentleman who didn’t speak a word of English. Actually, we’re not sure just what we were lectured on, but he was certainly passionate about it.
- The best people watching we have ever experienced. Both women and men, no matter the age, were stylish and handsome.
- On a related note, watching women walk the cobblestone streets in extremely high heels was interesting and a bit scary.
- A taxi ride through Rome that was comparable to any Disney ride. An experience in itself.
- Discovering that wherever there is a beautiful view the Italians have placed an establishment to enjoy the spot with a glass of wine. Quite civilized.
- As usual, we were rewarded by unplanned activities. After being caught in the rain we ducked into the nearest site, the Medici Chapel, where we found ourselves in a room with several Michelangelo statues.
- I was attacked by a urinal. But that’s a story for another time.
Bottom line is that we would return in a heartbeat. There’s more to do.
As to the Rick Steves tour that we were on, we couldn’t be happier. Our guide, Cecilia, was a wonderful woman, passionate about her country and eager to show it off. The other travelers were people that we were comfortable to journey with and as filled with the joy of new experiences as we are. Having local guides added a dimension to the places we went that is impossible to achieve otherwise. Comfortable hotels, excellent meals, great company, what else could we ask for? We would not hesitate to go on another tour with Rick Steves.
Here’s just a handful of the many beautiful shots we took. You’ll be seeing more in the weeks ahead.
Pesto!
Sestri Levante, Italy, 9/12/13
Sunset over Florence
Florence, Italy, 9/17/13
Not all art we saw was old.
Rome, Italy, 9/8/13
The Colosseum
Rome, Italy, 9/10/13
Street Busker
Volterra, Italy, 9/11/13
Artisan working alabaster into a bowl
Volterra, Italy, 9/11/13
The Pantheon, The Colosseum and The Vittorio Emanuele II Monument
Rome, Italy, 9/18/13
Street Scene
Riomaggiore, Italy, 9/13/13
Although we have both been under the weather for the past several days, we are still managing to have a fantastic Florentine experience. We have leaned how to make marbleized paper, how to buy leather (an expensive lesson indeed), how to partially communicate when there is no common language and how to eat very, very well. We have seen policemen carrying their dog’s poop, briefly lost (and barely recovered) our backpack and seen Florence from several different high locations (I am writing these words from the very top of our hotel’s private tower). The weather has been iffy, but it is beautiful now, just cool enough for me to wear my new jacket to dinner!
Tomorrow it’s the high-speed train back to Rome, but for now it’s a glass or two of red before dinner.
Ciao.
The World as We See It 