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2nd week New Zealand

We left the Blue Penguins and drove to Christchurch. A pretty town with the river Avon flowing through it. We hiked for a number of miles along the river enjoying botanical gardens along the way. We then set off for Nelson, not sure how far we would want to drive in one day. A scenic drive mixed with one lane bridges and very narrow roads at times but we did make it to Nelson. We found open lodging, explored downtown a bit and retired early. We were off after breakfast to Marahau where our water taxi embarked along the coast. We arrived early luckily as we weren’t sure where the operator was. We boarded the boat and road-boated to our launch site. A great ride in the taxi. The water was flat with no wind. We arrived at Anchorage Bay to start our hike back. The guide recommended adding on a trip to Cleopatra’s pool which we did. I was amazingly out of breath with our uphill portions and was eventually begging for downhill I don’t know if it is this recent cold I’ve had or just generally out of shape this quick.

The Coastal Trail is beautiful and well marked. We made it down to the beach for lunch. Enjoyed our sandwich and beers and shared a few dropped Pringles with the flightless Weka’s, who were very curious and unafraid.

We made it back to Nelson in the early evening and had a nice dinner at Lombard’s in the central part of town. We visited several wineries in Marlborough the following day. Nautilus was our first. We tried several whites all ok but not great. We drove a short way to Allan Scott winery to have lunch. The Cellar Door consisted of a number of cabinets with wines inside. You received a payment card and selected each wine to taste. Unfortunately no wine info given so just read the labels and looked at the prices. Not the best wine tasting experience but we did see this same type of thing in Bordeaux when we were there a couple years ago. I hope it doesn’t catch on. We had lunch outside at the winery which was pretty good. I had a raw salmon salad and Katie had just some sides of brussel sprouts and fries. Yum. We managed one more winery before our flight to Wellington. That was Cloudy Bay, a big production place with a large Napa like tasting room. Our server was from France as many are and we had a terrific tasting here. It was a little squirrelly dropping off the car as no one was around the small airport in Blenheim. I eventually called the company who had me just leave the cars in the parking lot and drop the keys off in a box in the airport. I haven’t seen any extra charges for the car yet but I am waiting

We flew from Blenheim to Wellington on a 10 seater prop plane. Quick flight but a bit bumpy coming into Wellington. I had no idea Wellington has been objectively identified as the world’s windiest city. After 3 days of walking 7-8 miles miles around town, I would not argue that. We stumbled into a Homegrown music festival downtown, 3 stages of various genres and thousands of parties streaming all about. We walked around the bay and were a little surprised to see swimmers out in the water. I guess if you grow up thinking the water is warm, well OK. We rode the cable car up the hill to a lovely park and walked back to our hotel. We spent the rest of our time seeking homegrown craft beer. Never as hoppy or as dank as US IPA’s but many were good.

we picked up a car and drove north to Napier. A lovely drive in the green rolling hills quilted with sheep, cows, horses, and orchards. Clear cut forests with uniform stands of pines in a grid pattern. Our goal was Hawke’s Bay, known for red wine other than Pinot. We stopped in Hastings to the Decibel Winery cellar door. Holly served us some of their fun wines. The owner/winemaker is a fellow named Daniel Brennan from Philadelphia. He came from Philly some 20 years ago leaving not only his punk rock band but his families very popular Irish Tavern to open a winery in New Zealand. Since then he has grown a reputation for his Pinot, his first love, but his variety of Malbecs. We talked a little with him but Holly was his main number 2 and she was fantastic. The wines were fun though not great. We drove a short ways to Craggy Range Winery to have lunch. This was a well built up cellar door and restaurant much like Napa. Our lunch was fantastic. I had a salad of summer veggies and homemade falafel and we both had their short ribs. Delicious.! Finally, we had heard of an area called Gimblett Gravels, noted for their robust reds. We visited Trinity Hills there and sampled quite a few Syrahs, Blends, and a Cab. Some sell for $150NZ. We thought some were OK. The Merlot tasted nothing like a Merlot and most of the Syrahs were thin lacking in any fruit. Snobs! We’ve tried many craft beers in New Zealand. Some were pretty good but nothing close to the hoppy, dank US iPA’s. Snobs!

Well, we are now waiting our business class flight to Perth, sipping Champagne in the Air New Zealand lounge. Snobs!!

First Week in New Zealand

From the America’s Cup Marina in Auckland

Well, we had an easy day of travel, utilizing the lounge of the partner of Air New Zealand prior to boarding. I was definitely shocked by the seating layout on Air New Zealand. The seats were narrow and a flail to get them lie flat. Probably not worth that much extra money but service was great, food was good and the flight did pass pretty quickly. Nobody took off their clothes running up and down the aisle though we did return to gate for a medical issue with one of the onboard staff.

We arrived in the evening of the next day though the flight was 9 hours. We Ubered to our hotel which turned out well located in Auckland. Katie and I walked around a lot and we were able to cover pretty much all we wanted to see. We jumped on a ferry to Waiheke Island the next day and enjoyed spectacular views of the departing city and the many surrounding islands.

Leavin, on a ferry. Don’t know when I’ll be back again

We hiked to Cable Bay Winery once off the boat and mixed together a custom tasting for us, skipping a number of whites and Pinots. They were very nice. Notably, all the help were from foreign lands. That seemed to be a common theme during our visit both in restaurants and wineries. I think our custom tasting of their best wines came out to maybe $20 each.

Cable Bay Winery with downtown Auckland in the distance

We hiked over to a small beach town for lunch. The island has many accessible white sand beaches and a few surf type towns. Nice vibes for sure. We caught a public bus across the island to Tantalus Winery. Apparently it is one of the more famous in the area. Again our server was foreign, coming from the Bordeaux region of France. He was trained as a sommelier and was now exploring different wine regions. We did some custom changes on their high end menus and again it was 20ish dollars apiece. Wines here were better but nothing that we wanted to buy. Bus back to ferry and ferry back to port. At sunset we treated ourselves to gin and tonics at a rooftop bar called Churchill’s. Great sunset views overlooking the city.

The following day Katie felt she was getting my cold from 3 weeks before, what? We walked about 7-8 miles around town seeing Ponsonby and Parnell neighborhoods as well as several parks including the Auckland Domain which is a terrific park close to downtown. We managed to sample some beers at a beer cooperative along with some fish and chips. We thought we would manage something that night but we both felt exhausted falling asleep pretty early.

Our flight to Queenstown in the am left at 6:40 so we were up very early. Both of us now felt sick, so I think it was our time in business class that got us. Karma, should have flown riff-raff. We Ubered to our hotel to drop our bags off, then walked to downtown. We rode the gondola up above the city and then hiked out on the Ben Lomond track

We hiked about 7 miles this day and barely dragged ourselves to a brewpub in town for a short rib burger and a couple of IPA’s. They let us checkin at our lodging slightly early and we proceeded to collapse for a 2 hour nap. We rallied for a walk into town at sunset discovering one of the best ice cream stores on the planet. I may have been hungry and feverish, but…it was that good. The name is Patagonia Creamery and Chocolatier’s. Fantastic and spoiler alert, we went there the next night too! Our lodging had a hot tub so we spent our final awake hours simmering.

We got up a little early the next day to catch our tour bus to Milford Sound. It was a scenic trip to the sound though I was feverish and slept several hours of it. The boat on the sound was a huge new catamaran which went out to the ocean fast (against the strong wind), then slowly back. We saw multiple waterfalls, seals and several dolphins swimming in front of the boat.

The journey home was unbearable. Both of us sick and a 4 1/2 hour bus ride that seemed to go on forever. We did get dropped off in town and then, more ice cream. In the am, I rode out to the airport to pick up my car. Drove back trying to feel good about being on the wrong side of the road and ignoring the windshield wipers as I kept using them to signal my turns. 2 days later that hasn’t got much better. We drove over to Dunedin on the coast. We managed to catch a personal tour at the Royal Albatross Centre which is at the end of the Otago Peninsula. We saw 5 baby albatross in their modest nests, waiting for their parents to bring them food. After hiking about a bit, here came 4-5 huge Albatross soaring through the sky. They have 8-9 foot wingspans and typically just ride the wind. They don’t like to flap too much. Once the baby is old enough, like 8 months or so they take off from the Otago Peninsula and fly to the coast of Chile! They return after a number of years to breed.

Stayed overnight in Dunedin then drove less than 2 hours to Oamaru where a Blue Pelican Colony was located. We did a lovely hike in the town’s Glen Warren Reserve and stopped along the wat to eat out sandwiches, drink our beer and soak in the views. We checked into our bed and breakfast which was built in the early 1900’s

We managed a hike up to lookout point and then down. Like in Dunedin’s Signal Hill area, there are well defined, marked, and graded mountain bike trails everywhere. Most have banked turns, built in jumps and other added on technical features. All maintained by local volunteers. After Lookout Point we followed the trails down into town only to discover….a brewpub just 2 blocks from our house. That evening we were out to view the Blue Penguins come in from the sea. That night was the first notable rain of our trip! The viewing area was covered so we were all good. Over 100 penguins came in that night in different groups. So funny to watch them climb or hop up the rocks and scurry across any open section. We left Oamaru the next morning and ventured on to Christchurch where I am tonight. We visited the International Antarctic Centre where we rode in a Hagglund, (look it up), watched Blue Penguins get fed, met some Huskies, and generally learned about life in Antartica. We have since checked into our lodging which includes a W/D so we are doing clothes. Til the second week ends. Kia Ora

Out of Queensland, possibly the Misty Mountains

Oahu 2025

Well, we have begun are trip to the down under. A stop on O’ahu for a week has gotten us on the right path. Tans have begun. The liver is cranking up and we are slowly adapting to the time changes.

We stayed in Waikīkī which turned out to probably be a mistake. I thought we would partake in some of the nightlife downtown but that was really never the case. One we never could find good local musicians playing in a club or bar and two we were just too tired to stay up! We traveled to all corners of O’ahu in our car but always paid the price coming back into town with bumper to bumper traffic. We are just not used to this congestion in Hawaii.

We have had great weather during our stay. We found some great beaches on the Kailua side as well as North shore and Yesterday on the west shore at electric beach. Some of the best snorkeling has been off shore from an electric power plant. Quite a few eels and turtles mixed in with a good variety of tropical fish. A group of some 3o spinner dolphins were playing just off the beach on and off for the afternoon. We’ve managed a few minor hikes but not nearly as much as planned. TheBeach just kept calling.

Today we are saying goodbye to Hawaii. Tomorrow we say hello to New Zealand

Silverbank

Snorkeling with Humpbacks

Traveled from San Francisco to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, with Katie, Doug and Lori Richardson, and Thom Macpherson, Stacy Spell. We met Lisa, Stacey’s cousin for the final leg to the DR.

We stayed overnight in Casa Colonial which was a beautiful boutique hotel on the beach. Katie tried out her broken leg in the ocean swimming about without too much pain. A late checkout and then off to the boat, the Turks and Caicos Explorer II. On the way our driver diverted us to what I am sure was a relatives shop as Doug and I wanted to pick up cigars for the trip. To board the boat, you needed a negative Covid test at the docks. We self administered the test and lo and behold all were negative. We may not have followed the guidelines precisely, like putting the swab in your nose and waiting 15 minutes for the results but, don’t want to be turned away at the door. We boarded the boat with Katie limping along with her crutch. We had already been pulled aside by the tour operator as Katie was making the crew nervous with her leg. They weren’t at all sure she could manage on the boat. The tour operator, Tom Conlin, was particularly concerned that she might hurt herself more and the boat would have to return to port early. She ended up signing a letter absolving all of any liability. Fortunately the ship’s captain, JF, was very nice and easy going. We couldn’t leave port as planned as the seas were rough so we spent the first night on the boat trying to sleep with a nearby outdoor nightclub in full swing. The accommodations were nice with a twin size bed, short closet, 4 drawer dresser, and a small bathroom with shower. We left about 6 in the am for an uneventful 8 hour trip to Silverbank.

In the middle of nowhere coral heads appeared with whale spouts seen about. Two tenders were made ready and we were off on our first boat ride. We practiced getting into the water, forming a line, and getting back in the boat. We apparently weren’t that good but passed. We saw a mother and their calf and slowly approached, but they moved away. Tom didn’t want to continue ‘working them’. He tries to ease in to get the mother comfortable with the boat before people get in the water. Not long after, we traveled in amongst a group of 6 Rowdy Boys. The males jockeyed for dominance some lunging on the backs of other whales trying to see who would be top ‘dog/whale’ earning rights to get close to a female. One of the males had their dorsal fin bloodied by the encounter. Apparently one strategy is for the whale to open their mouth as they reach the surface, collect water, then lunge at the other whale, giving them more weight to strike with. Back to the big boat for a Happy Hour of gin and tonics, wine and beer. A beautiful sunset off the boat with a Green Flash as the sun set. First time to see that for me.

Happy Hour

Miguel was our Ecuadorian cook who made excellent meals throughout our trip, making steaks, ribs, roast beef, lasagne, Mahi-Mahi along with many wonderful soups and side dishes. We had talks at night about the whales then generally to bed pretty early, at least for Katie and I. Morning routine was up at 7 for prepared breakfast and coffee and in the boats by 8:30. Our group of 7 plus Marcella a regular visitor to the Silverbank, along with 2 sisters Julie and Sue alternated tenders each day with either Tom or Lorenzo as the driver. 2 crew accompanied us one of which was the scout that was first in the water trying to locate the whales underwater and to position us for viewing and safety. Lorenzo was from the DR and on our first trip with him as driver he was shouting a-lot, both at the guide in the water who was Tom Colin’s son TJ and at some of us! Not a great start. To be fair our second trip with him a couple days later entailed less shouting and much more fun. On our first full day we found some ‘sleepers’ which are typically a male and female resting on the bottom at 20′-30’, ‘sleeping’. They come to the surface for a breath every so often. We hovered over the 2 whales until one, usually the male would slowly rise to the surface. We would gather in a tighter group and the whale would slowly circle us. Deeming us ok, the whale descended to the other whale and they would then both come to the surface for a few breaths. Sometimes they would move farther away before descending again so we would get back in the boat. Sometimes they would descend 20-30 yards away so we would just swim over to them to watch another cycle.

Sleepers

On this week long trip there seemed to be paucity of whales compared to the 3 other trips Doug has been on at the Silverbank. We sometimes would share whales with the other tender, taking turns getting into the water.
For most of our days, we would spend a majority of our morning and afternoon trips on the tender scouting for whales. We would always end up with some wonderful experience, whether that was a mother and calf traveling with an escort male, a mother and calf with an escort and then a challenger. We had long visits with tail slapping calves and adults, breeches, and pectoral slaps. On our last day, a small craft advisory was posted. Getting on the bobbing tender was a challenge as it lifted sometimes 2-3 feet along side the Explorer. Katie always seemed to manage well despite her broken leg. Many of us with 2 good legs made it look difficult. As we left on our morning exploration that day, Tom our boat driver and owner of the company kept saying “this is borderline”. Not a confidence builder.

Boarding the tender with a small craft advisory posted

We drove about in a large circle several miles in radius around the 3 big boats. Before lunch we ran into a group of ‘Rowdy Boys’ and followed them for a while. After lunch the seas were a bit calmer but again several hours looking for whales. This was our last day and we all wanted an in the water encounter with a mother and calf which had been elusive. Just about 4 o’clock we spotted a mother and calf followed closely by an escort. We followed for quite a while and the mother and calf seemed to stay close to our boat. The escort did not want us there, performing big tail slaps near us and rolling to slap his pectoral fins at us. He would bellow as he broke the surface and the mother would sometimes bellow back.

Angry Escort

The escort kept the mother and calf moving so we didn’t get into the water with them. Eventually, Tom called Lorenzo and his tender over to switch places. We motored a ways away and Tom radioed Lorenzo to consider a ‘flyby’. For this, the tender is moved in front of traveling whales, you roll over the side and wait for the passing whales. A short while later, Lorenzo radioed the flyby was a success so we turned around, got our gear on, readied the cameras and dropped into the water in front of the approaching mother and calf. Mom approached then kinda stopped so we were up close with mom and her calf who circled about the mother. The escort appeared underneath us from the haze. He got between us snorkelers and the mother, then started winding up his tail. Gillilan, the scout, and I were about 10 feet from the tail of the escort but he was backing up. The Gillian and I started backing up as well and there were shouts from the tender to get back. The escort came backwards horizontally swiping his tale at us to within 5 feet. I started backpedaling faster! Luckily he did not chase as I’m not that fast and all were able to get back in the tender safely.

Underwater with an angry escort

We enjoyed a boisterous celebration of having survived and the escort spy-hopped us just off the side of the boat, maybe giving us a ‘what do you think about that!’ We headed back to the Explorer for a happy hour toast and another wonderful meal.
Currently we are headed back to the DR, sitting in the sun, reading books, typing blogs, enjoying life. I’ll post this and then eventually when I get photos and videos from other folks I will post those on this site as well.

Salud

The Final Chapter

We set off in the am heading South and West. We made it to Pont du Gard in the morning and walked about the Roman Aqueduct for an hour or so. Hard to imagine designing and building such a thing and to have it last some 2000 years. Just wow. We drove on to Carcassonne which I recall visiting in my college years. Seems a little more touristy then I remember but still a beautifully stunning walled village up on a hill. We toured the village then found a place to have cassoulet a famous dish from the area. The following day we drove some 3 or 4 hours to St Emilion considered the capital of the ‘Right Bank’ Bordeaux wine scene. A beautiful city in its own right with many wine vendors though few wine tasting sites. We tried to taste wine in a couple of vendor shops but they said we had to buy a case of wine before we could taste it. What?? We drove off searching for open vineyards. Stopped at several that were listed as open but no they were not. We had had a good wine with lunch in St Emilion so we sought out that winery. They were able to squeeze us in and we had a lovely tasting of their wine which led to us shipping a case home. I had not booked any lodging for this portion of the trip so we searched online for something. We found a lovely Chateau on the Dordogne River that had open rooms. They met us at the door with wine and then proceeded to upgrade our room. They recommended a restaurant one village over called Cafe Cuisine. We drove over using google maps but really could not find any obvious sign of a restaurant. We eventually looked into something labelled ‘hotel’ and there was the Cafe. Turned out to have excellent food. We drove up the Left Bank the following day, driving through Margaux, Pauillac, St Julien, etc. We had booked a couple of wine tastings so ended up at Chateau Baladine in the morning. We waited for the local wine worker to open up the place then ended up in a crow’s nest kind of place tasting a variety of their wines. Our host was difficult to understand but he sure laughed a lot. He pooh-poohed California wine as pretty much all of the french do, but he also complained about Chateaus just a kilometer down the road getting $6000 for a bottle of their wine. He told us St Petrus which is over on the right bank in Pomerol has a bottle that sells for $27000 a bottle. We didn’t get to try any of those wines. We drove south and remembered a winery our hosts from the previous night had recommended, Chateau Branas in Margaux. We stopped in on what turned out to be a very busy working winery. They had a free host who opened up the tasting room for us and we sat tasting some lovely wines. We shipped some back home as well. Off to our final Chateau which was the most formal of them all, Chateau Kirwan. Apparently I booked the following day not the day we were there but after a short wait they served up their fabulous wines. We always buy at least a bottle of wine at these tastings as they usually do not charge to taste.

We dropped our car off in Bordeaux the next day. Always a challenge driving in a big unknown city. There seemed to be all kinds of construction going on which made google maps and waves unreliable for navigation. We struggled to find the entrance for the rental car return even driving around the train station several times. Eventually found it and a gas station along the way. We purchased a 7 day metro pass for 10 Euro and hopped on a tram to downtown. Bordeaux turns out to be a fairly large, modern town with good public transportation and beautiful old alleys and pedestrian walkways (which means there are lots of bikes, some motorcycles and a few cars). We had a very good vegetarian lunch at ‘Simple’ then an uninspiring visit to the Musee de Vin, not to be confused with the Cite du Vin which is much better. We had dinner at Brasserie Bordelaise, Symbiose, and La Tupina. All were good and would recommend. We walked 7-8 miles a day along with rides on the Trams to help out. Some favs were Cite du Vin, a very modern museum with lots of information on the history and production of wine. There is also a glass of wine at the end presented on the top floor along with access to a wraparound deck for views of the city. We crossed the river on a metro ferry then walked over to Dylan’s. I would call it an artsy community but you could say skateboard park, alternative housing, roller derby school and brewpub. Kind of a mix. We walked about. Had some lunch and beer then walked back to downtown Bordeaux. We also liked Marche de Capuchins which is a food market with many food vendors. We had pinxos there. I should mention a Hall out next to Cite du Vin. Again food market and restaurants and many happy french singing songs and dancing. The french often don’t look at you as you pass on a walk or say Hi, but they sure can have fun at food vendors. I also can not help but mention smoking. Everybody seems to smoke. Probably a higher percentage than in Germany. People will get up in the middle of a meal to go outside to have a smoke. People walk around with vape machines. Not pens but large vats of nicotine oil in a canister the size of a pack of cigarettes. There has got to be a huge difference in lung cancer incidence between France and a West coast city. Why isn’t someone publishing that?

We rode the bullet train to Paris and spent the night in a hotel next to the airport. Not very good sleep that night which is typical for moving day. We were at the airport 3 hours before our flight. Strangely, Katie and I had talked about our 23 generally flawless flights during our 10 week Holiday. We talked of our 23 different lodgings, our uneventful car rentals and train rides. Uneventful until now. We were stopped at checkin. A supervisor needs to talk to us but its not bad. That’s what they said. The supervisor wouldn’t really explain anything just kept saying we can’t fly directly to San Francisco. We have to fly to Chicago first because the CDC has testing sites there. What are they testing for? No answer. Why are they testing? You traveled to Africa right? Yes, some 6 weeks ago! At the gate, the flight personnel let it slip it was something to do with Uganda. Well that was 8 weeks ago. I checked the CDC website and could find no mention of any issues. Well we went to Chicago on a plane with hundreds of other people. None wearing a mask. We arrived at O’hare and the custom’s agent knew who we were! Sent us on to 2 guys in fatigues and plastic gloves! They asked about Uganda. Ah, yes we were there for 3 days 8 weeks ago. Oh we are looking for people who have traveled there within the last 3 weeks. They had an Ebola incident. So we traveled for 8 more weeks on multiple planes including the one to Chicago with nary a mention of this deadly disease. The one where blood comes out of your eyes and ears! Here is a free home Covid test for your troubles. Sorry for the inconvenience. Just a little trickle of smoke out of the ears. On to SFO and home. Sweet Home. And our own bed.

Welcome to the South Of France

A 2 hour train ride south and we arrived in Avignon. We stayed in the middle of the old town at Hotel Boquier which was ok. Great location and quiet at night. Nothing fancy. We explored the winding and narrow city streets that evening with dinner at Le Vintage. A little bit of rain but just drizzly. Explored the Palais de Papas the next morning as well as the Pont Avignon. Many roman ruins around the city which are just striking. Generally walked 7-8 miles a day. Dinner was at Le Coude e Coude which was very good. We traveled by train to Arles the following day where we visited the arena and theater. Learned a lot about gladiator fighting including a live performance at the old Roman Theater. The Saturday market was happening so for blocks there were stalls of food and crafts and thousands of people. Back in Avignon we had dinner at Restaurant Bar a Vin Le 46 where we had great food and discovered Domaine des Bosquets wine from Gigondas. We visited Nimes the following day but got a little cocky with thinking I knew how the train worked. We got off the train at Nimes/Pont Gard which turned out to be 10 or so km out of town. We Ubered into town for the same price as out return ticket from Avignon. Nimes has a fairly intact arena and a good audio tour. We explored up in a park with a wonderful pond including swans and ducks. Again more walking across town to the Maison de Carree (roman Temple where people came to exhalt their emperor). We walked back along the Rhone river to the train station and back to Avignon. We spent 1 more day in Avignon walking about the city, looking in the shops, having a glass of wine on a plaza. We found some old canals with ancient waterwheels still present and a nice cafe overlooking the canals for a tasty gin & tonic. We picked up our rental car, a Kia with an automatic transmission, at the train station. After 20 some round-abouts we were out of the city and out into southern France. Beautiful winding roads through vineyards and lavender fields passing through small old towns frequently on the way. We stopped in Chateauneuf du Pape for wine tasting. We visited a wine museum there and walked about the small city waiting for our appointment at Saint Charles. Turns out, a 40 something former sommelier bought an old stone building very close to the Pope’s summer residence and called it Les Caves St Charles. Down one of the darker corners he set up a private tasting room complete with candles and chanting monks. Katie and I sampled quite a few wines as he described the region, the evolving wine trends there and his own history traveling as a sommelier about Europe and to the West Coast every few years. We ended up buying a mixed case of generally non-traditional CNP wines to ship home. To ship they take off the 20% VAT from the purchase so we figured between that discount and the relatively cheap wines compared to at home, it was better just to ship. We’ve used that logic several times since then, particularly after tasting a number of wines at a Caveau or Domain. We drove on to Vaison la Romaine where our VRBO was located. Again, beautiful roads and scenery all the way. Our city, is on the banks of the Ouveze River. We are just on the slopes of the old medieval city built of course on a hill overlooking the river. We had a hard time finding our place as the address they gave us is actually the house across the street and when we rang there, they knew nothing about a rental. A few moments of angst, some slang english words and finally the owner messaged the actual location of the place. It is new but feels like it fits in well in this old part of town. Beautiful yard and very private. This is our 7th day staying Vaison la Romaine and it has been a fantastic base. We have explored wineries as far north as Cote Rotie (Guigal) and close to home in Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Rasteau, and Cairane. We have toured in the car around Mt Ventoux and down the Gorge of Nesque which is spectacular. We hiked in the Dontelles and in Luberon. We climbed down grottos at St Marcel in the Gorges de Ardeche. We were able to visit the Sunday market in L’Isle sur la Sorgue with booths set up all along the canals there. Beautiful villages along the way included Gordes, Roussillon, and Venasque. All with drop dead gorgeous views along the way. Sometimes, or rather frequently, our driving app, Waze, would send us right through the middle of town with extremely narrow streets and people walking all about. I was often not sure if I was on a pedestrian mall or I was going to wedge the car between two buildings. I have become a pseudo expert at the round-about which I think is an excellent idea for many intersections. I have had my share of tailgaters, sometimes within a couple of feet of my bumper as I am not the fastest driver out there. The Waze app is good in that it will signal a change in speed-limit, which is frequent and often not well posted. No tickets so far that I know of though they have many speed cameras and average speed zones where they mail you a ticket. Today is a bridge holiday, the 31st. Many things are closed and we found out it is because tomorrow is an official holiday, All Saints Day. Therefore the French bridge this with a day around it if possible which is today. Katie and I laugh abit about the French and their mid-day siesta, noon to 2. We had 1 young woman explain that they just work so hard they have to close and take a rest. Most things open at 10 so that for us makes us giggle. You go guys. Oh well, in general despite Katie’s and my French being terrible, most people have been very nice, even apologizing at times for not speaking English. We generally get a laugh when we say au revoir as a greeting or gracias to say thanks. Just trying to represent good ol America. Tomorrow we are heading towards Bordeaux for the last week of our ‘Holiday’

Berlin Mit Family

Well we have visited and left Berlin. We arrived there a week ago Tuesday. We found Zac and Maria’s apartment easily. It is located in a beautiful tree lined neighborhood and Fall is full on here. Leaves are everywhere. The air is nippy. The neighborhood is full of trendy shops and restaurants. Families are strolling the streets everywhere and the bike is a major form of transportation. As it was the middle of the week, Zac and Maria worked during the day while Katie and I toured Berlin via foot and Metro. The first night we had a nice dinner just outside his front door then rode the Metro down to the Bundestag for a tour. We were a little late so we didn’t have a guide but we could walk all over the beehive that it is. Over subsequent days we toured Gundewald Park with its Teufelsberg Tower (an old spy setup for the Americans looking in on the East Germans). The site is now a home for artists with ever changing graffiti and art installations. We walked along Bernauerstrasse where they have a Berlin Wall Memorial. This brought back memories for me as I visited the area and the Wall back in 1982 prior to medical school. On that visit I went into East Germany at Checkpoint Charlie which is now a very touristy area with no resemblance to what it was. The neighborhood Zac and Maria live in was East Germany and at that time very bland and depressed. Now it is a trendy sought after neighborhood to live in. We visited the Wall Memorial which had some footage of the period when the wall opened up. Brought a tear to my eye as I remembered the prison the people lived in and the expression of joy as they crossed the border wall into West Berlin. Very sad that now the right wing party of Germany particularly in East Germany, is gaining strength with the desire to go back to the way it was in East Germany. We had a glorious dinner at a German Tapas restaurant. Wonderful small plates. Maria led us on a night tour of the Festival of Lights, a weeklong celebration of light art. We strolled some local street fairs picking up a variety of cheeses, meats, and olives. These sufficed as dinner one night supplemented with wine and some funny Berlin peppermint liqueur while we played Eucher together. A very fun though late night requiring soft voices and motrin in the morning. We managed lunch or dinners of Doner Kabap, Pig Knuckles, and Cheesecake. missed the Curry Wurst but honestly its a hot dog with curry on it. Katie and I walked probably 6-8 miles a day throughout the city along with Metro and train rides when too tired. We took away a few impressions. Everybody bikes and they are aggressive. You must get out of their way. Katie at 5’10” and me at 6’ were short. Many, many men and women were taller if not much taller. I have never felt so short in my life. Why isn’t basketball just a huge thing here. Germans follow the rules. If the walk sign is red do not cross. I don’t care if there is no car or bike in sight. Don’t cross. Berlin is a very progressive city, very open to different lifestyles, dress, and cultures. However, shop owners are often surley not afraid to laugh at you, wave their arms or roll their eyes if you have some trouble ordering something. Finally, i was impressed with their public transportation. Trains,trams, and metros run frequently and get to most corners of the city. I can’t say they are efficient or timely though. When needed to be on time we found trains were running off schedule and connections couldn’t be made. Luftansa the national airline was never on time. Getting through German security took forever, even when we were in the priority line as we were flying business class. We wondered why the line was so slow but everyone removes almost everything from their bag to get it on the conveyor belt through the xray machine. Oh this partially empty toothpaste tube needs to be in a 1 liter bag. Let’s scan it again. Oh well, the plane did not blow up. After more than 10 or 15 airport transfers on this round the world trip, Germany was the most thorough but very slow. We are now in Paris. There is a strike going on, What! Very nice dinner, conversation, and walks with Erin, Michael, Emma, and Hannah. Tonight a special duck dinner cooked by Erin then on to Avignon in the am by train

Brian, Michael, Erin, Emma, Hannah, Katie

Our Week in South Africa

Arrived in Capetown and took Uber for an $11 ride downtown to our hotel. The hotel was nice but a little unnerving in that both the Uber driver and the hotel clerk warned us not to walk about downtown when it is near dark. We walked a mile or so before dark down to the Waterfront area which is really nice. Many shops and restaurants, some outdoor music, and multiple interconnecting walkways over water to explore. We bought some cloths and then searched for something for dinner. We actually had a little bit of a hard time. Some restaurants were closing or closed at 7pm and some saying they had no room and there is no waitlist as they smiled at us! Curious. We eventually found a place to eat but discovered South African time in that service in restaurants is very slow. We Ubered home for a couple bucks. An Uber ride to the base of Table Mountain led us on a 2 hour hike up. Pretty strenuous, especially after being driven around for 3 weeks and being fed 5 meals a day. Glorious views over Capetown. We took the gondola down ending up at Green Market where we ate and picked up a medium sized piece of luggage for $15. Our plan is to ship or pack some South African wine as we go along. We explored the city a little bit the following day but I got to admit I was on edge the whole time. After leaving the hotel, walking down a major street, some guy lunges out at me and hits me on the shoulder. I scooted away quick as I only saw him in my periphery and I thought he had a black box in his outstretched hand like a Taser. To add some more spice, 5 minutes later we are looking to cross the street and a young man in fatigues, a flac jacket, and carrying an automatic pistol on his chest stops me. Asks me where I’m going. I said across the street. He says don’t do that, those guys over there will rob you. Like right on the other side of the street. I’m thinking, why don’t you go over there with your flac jacket and automatic pistol, but he just says, Hey, I’m not joking. We went another block then crossed. Visited a nice Nelson Mandela exhibit at City Hall but never made it to Robbens Island where he was imprisoned for 20 years. That night we had dinner with Katie’s brother Don and his husband Frank who so happened to be on a South Africa tour! Terrific meal at the waterfront and so good to be understood when we talk. English is English but then there is American. The following day brought some more walking, a visit to a brewpub because you have to, then dinner at Fyn’s a highly rated Japanese style restaurant. We chose the 8 course dinner with some of the courses having 3 or 4 items included in each of them. For just a modest seafood lover like myself, most everything was very, very good. Katie would say Fabulous!

Yes, there probably is an easier way

The following day we rented a car at the airport and headed for wine country. Driving on the left was a work in progress. Luckily with Katie’s firm but meaningful leg squeezes and light traffic out in the countryside, nobody including the car got hurt. We stopped at Reyete vineyard which was quiet with good wines. We were the only people there. They said it was a typical days after Covid but would pick up on the weekend. We bought some wine and drove on to Stellenbosch. The apartment I rented through booking.com was on one street but I was texted a different address on the day of our arrival. Always worrisome but things turned out fine. Nice apartment with parking. It just didn’t have a balcony which we were kinda looking forward to. We drove out to Kanonkop which made the Pinotage we really liked at Fyn’s. We had an appointment but there were plenty of openings. Got carried away purchasing wine as it is so cheap. I mean $10-20 bottles of good wine. We realized we were buying to much to pack so we checked in Stellenbosch about the cost of shipping 6 bottles to California. $500! We are going to drink some of what we have, share some with friends along the way, and carry the remainder home. Keermont is a very small winery almost the the end of a long single lane road. Baboons were on the road along the way and we arrived as the only guests so far that day. Lovely ‘natural’ wines in that they don’t use fertilizers and pesticides and the wine is minimally messed with during the fermentation and bottling. No additives. The winemaker came out and talked to us for quite a while then the local snake catcher who had just got a Puff Adder. No holding that snake as it is pretty venomous. He was going to release him in one of the rodent holes on the property to let him do his work. We heard there was a good lunch at Rust en Vrede vineyards but we really had no idea how lucky we were. On Fridays this restaurant offers steak or salmon with chips. Katie and I each chose the $15 Pepper-Crusted Fillet and Katie swears it is the best beef she has ever had! Top of my list too and the Chips or fries were also fantastic. Mix that with a gorgeous day on an outdoor patio at a winery and it is heaven. We barely had energy to tour the nearby Dylan Studio Sculpture Garden but that was spectacular. Several acres of gardens and ponds with sculptures big and small throughout. Later, we had dinner at a restaurant in town. As I mentioned before, serving a meal in South Africa can take a very long time. Sometimes you think they forgot about you. Katie and I weren’t terribly hungry after our delicious steak lunch but it was 8 when we arrived and were seated. At 9:30 we hadn’t had dinner yet and asked for the check. Oh well, I’ve got plenty to live off of at this point.

In the am we drove out the same single lane road as the day before. Past Keermont to de Trafford Vineyards, a highly regarded old school wine, again we were the only people there and it was a Saturday. We spoke with and were served by Fred the assistant winemaker. He had apprenticed at Alpha-Omega in Napa some years ago. Learned much again. Bought wines again and drove off to our next abode in Franschhoek. Our cottage wasn’t quite ready so we visited a local craft fair. The cottage turned out to be stunning having recently been built by the owners who lived on the property. We visited Anthonij Rupert Wine that afternoon which was a beautiful property surrounded by sawtooth mountains. We ended our wine tour with a glass of wine at Ernie Els Vineyard. Again big views of the valley and he had a chipping tee box with some clubs to entertain you. Dinner was at Babel which is a restaurant at Babylonstoren Gardens. Acres of tended gardens with ample fruit, vegetables and herbs. Wonderful dinner included our first taste ever of Mulberries.

We spent our last full day in Africa driving along the Eastern coast of the Cape, stopping at Boulder Beach to see African Penguins. Probably a hundred or so on the beach and rocks. Some were going in and out of the water there. Others were feeding their young. They have a system for parking in South Africa. Sometimes a fellow in a colored vest will point you at an open spot. Sometimes there is no one around and you pull into the open spot. Either way the people in vests would like a tip. Nothing aggressive though we have heard vest people fighting over an area to work. We drove on to Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point hiking out to the end of the latter. Farthest South I have been for sure. Katie noticed an info sign showing some Ostriches on a beach up North in the park. We drove to it and sure enough, there on the beach were Ostriches. There were also many Antelopes that looked related to Topi or Tsessebe. Stood just yards from them. We stopped in Noordhoek at a very local brewpub. Older longhaired crowd with initially a guy on bagpipes out in the parking lot. He later moved inside and played the guitar and harmonica. We could use him in the Better with Beer band. We found a guest house in Hout Bay not far away and went to look at the room. We were the only guests. Our room had a large balcony with views over the bay. Katie and I had cheese, crackers, olives, and wine watching the sun go down toasting our time in Africa. Today we drove back and forth along Chapman’s Peak Road, a toll road somewhat reminiscent of Big Sur. A walk along the beach at Hout Bay leads us to our seat here in the Premier Lounge at Capetown International Airport. Next stop Johannesburg, then change planes for the long trip to Berlin arriving sometime tomorrow.

Cape Point Atlantic to the right Indian Ocean to the left.

Botswana- The Final Chapter

This morning, no dogs chasing Impala through the camp. We set off for Mokoro canoes. Our drive led us past Giraffes which are commonly seen in the am. There were 50 or so Cape Buffalo in a similar spot as last night. We checked on the newborn Ostriches but could not see any as the male Ostrich was now sitting on the nest. We made it to a shallow marsh on the edge of the Okavango Delta where 3 Mokoro Canoes were waiting. Each canoe held 2 plus a guide who used a long pole to push the canoe through the marsh. We plied the waters between day water lilies and tall marsh grass. The canoes felt very unstable though no one tipped over. We found frogs, well, after they were pointed out to us and really they were only a foot from our faces. Katie and I find many sticks and bushes that look like animals but aren’t. The frogs make this bell like sound at night, a huge chorus, but they are only an inch long. The trip was short and we were back in the Landcruiser by 8. We found a small pride of Lions laying in the shade with their bellies distended and there legs smeared with blood. A morning kill obviously. We watched as 2 young lions took turns cleaning each other. We came across some Elephants that were doing their daily move from the woodland to the water but they had stopped to let the baby elephants lie down and rest. I was fascinated that the females stood surrounding the sleeping baby, each looking out in a different direction. The rest of the way back to camp was hot and dusty, all of us trying to spot Leopards but to no avail. The tracks were there on the ground but we could not find their resting spot. Again we saw the wild dogs resting in the shade. After brunch, we said goodbye to Pavel and Alice as they are off to another camp. Time for a siesta on our veranda. There are Giraffe and Impalas in the distance. Part of our siesta was spent at the lodge pool. G&Ts with Kudu’s visiting the waterhole in the background. We set off on a safari to the East for the first time at this camp. The landscape was mostly dry with an occasional pan. Few large animal sightings though we had fun identifying birds. Judith and I have taken to ticking off a provided animal list as we see them. No Bingo yet but close. Our guide and tracker drove around a pan that they knew was frequented by a young female mother Leopard. He stopped, broke out binoculars which is rare, read prints in the dirt and then gave up driving slowly away while muttering where are you mother. A couple hundred yards on he’s eyeballing some Impalas in the distance. They have begun straining up their necks and directing their heads towards the pan. He spun the vehicle around and approached the pan from around a corner. There was the Leopard at the waters edge. We slowly advanced and positioned the Landcruiser in the path of her suspected departure. A small group of Zebras marched in from the side, right at the Leopard. In fact, as the Leopard passed by they followed and seemed to be taunting her. Apparently Zebras, unless very young, are too much for a Leopard and I guess they knew it. We followed the Leopard to thick brush that forced us to stop. We made a large circle around the bush. Somehow we arrived right at the Leopard’s exit point from the Mapone forest. She moved into the open savannah passing within feet of us. She climbed up an old tree stump for a better view over the grass, clearly hunting. We were back in front of her path when she spotted a family of Kudu in the distance. She slowly sank into the grass and patiently waited as the sun dropped from the sky. We watched for a while but moved back to the pan for a sundowner of cocktails. In the distance a family of Elephants watched us. The guide knew they were thirsty so we stayed pretty quiet and slowly they moved towards the pan. First the largest female, then the second largest, then the young one who positioned themself between the two females to drink, then finally the youngest. The sun set and slowly the Elephants moved away, not before tossing dirt on their back to keep the bugs off. Another great safari. High Fives and Pula (cheers) all around. The skills and knowledge of these guides and trackers is unbelievable. It feels almost scripted but it is not. A night drive back to camp and a dinner set up under the stars.

We decided to go on a last morning safari before our flight out. Josiah, our driver, planned a route towards the airport but included stops at the newborn Ostriches, now 5 in number, and of course Elephants, Giraffes, boy Impalas chasing each other, Kudus, and a variety of birds including a Wattled Crane we had not seen before. We spent a bit of time searching tracks in the dirt as there was a confused pattern of lion and leopard prints on the ground. Our tracker was out of the car some 100 yards from us searching for them. That doesn’t seem wise now, does it. We did find 5 young female and 1 male Lion in the shade of a bush not far away and a male Lion resting in the shade of a tree on a termite hill. We had morning break at the bush airport with a number of other guests that were leaving. EZ flight to Maun then connected to a flight to Capetown. In route now. I should be able to get reasonable internet access at the hotel in Capetown so hope to post some of this soon.

Botswana- Splash Camp

it was brought to my attention that some of the picture pages were not loading properly I think I have fixed that up to Botswana. Check out Pictures of our lives/Around the World. Thanks for checking.

EZ 20 minute flight over quite a bit of burned ground. You could see areas still on fire. At Splash camp we quickly unpacked and then set off on an evening safari with Josiah and Gomms as our driver/guide and tracker. Many herds of Giraffe and even more Elephants. The first Giraffes we saw were eating huge sausages out of a sausage tree. They were struggling with sausages only at the furthest of their reach, their long tongues way out trying to grab them. Some would try swallowing them whole but then end up spitting them out like they were choking on them. The Elephants seemed to be all over the place and we followed some for a short while to a watering hole where they drank and bathed. The landscape was burnt in many areas and even smoldering in some. The main fire went through about 10 days before. Surprisingly there were new shoots of green grass coming up in some of the burned areas. Close by were pristine watering holes with green vegetation everywhere. Many Lechwe, Impalas, Tssesabe, Kudus, and Hippos. A sundowner at a pan provided another stunning sunset. The 1 hour drive back to camp in the dark provided views of a Verreaux Owl and Springhares. Just before camp the guide and tracker heard Wild Dogs, one of the most endangered mammals in Africa. We drove to them only to see if they appeared hungry. They don’t like to interfere with diurnal animals during the night so our stay was very brief and with no direct lights. The guide guaranteed a hunt by the dogs in the morning as they looked hungry. A nice dinner with all the camp guests including people from Britain, Holland, Germany, and The Czech Republic. Katie and I are the only Americans. The morning breakfast was interrupted by an Impala being chased by a Wild Dog! They ran right by us and then back again. The guides noted some unusual howling from the dogs and suspected a large predator had come near. We jumped into the Landcruisers and gave chase. We found 2 packs of Wild Dogs chasing each other. One dog had obvious blood on his back leg and was limping. We found him later all alone and calling for his pack. So sad. However, after a wait, a call from other dogs was heard and the dogged limped back towards camp, eventually reuniting with 3 other adults from his pack and 2 pups. The 6 dogs now waited, listening for what turned out to be 4 others of their pack. We later found them all hunting again. Today seemed to be a day for animal fighting. First the dogs but then we came upon a large troop of Baboons. Large males were chasing various members about, bellowing as they went. Little ones dangled from little branches way up in the tree and a mother carrying her baby on her stomach ran up and down, inside and out of a tree trying to avoid the male. We later saw a large group of mostly male Impalas where several pairs faced off ramming and twisting their horns against each other. At a pan further along there was a large group of White Faced Whistling Ducks sitting quietly in groups of 20-30. Soon fighting erupted with ducks jumping all about. We spotted a male Ostrich in the distance and after getting closer, we found the female laying on a nest. Not easily spotted were 3 newborns just on the side of her and a few minutes later a fourth appeared. They sat for a few minutes but then began ‘walking’ or really careening about. Two steps and fall to the side or backwards. Over the next 20 minutes or so they kept getting better and better but were now some 30 feet from their mother and at great risk from predators like Eagles or Hyenas. The mom got up to go corral them, revealing 9 more eggs in the nest ready to hatch. Finally, we had our coffee break at a pan just off the edge of the recent fire. Two warthogs came down to drink. One large and one medium. After their drink they faced off for about 5 minutes, ramming heads, locking tusks, and violently twisting their heads. When we left the two were sitting together in the shade temporarily at peace. Back to camp slowly with multiple other encounters but no fights. Siesta time for all. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN! (from Katie)

Our afternoon game drive was a ride on a powerboat out to a heron rookery. We drove for about 45 minutes to get to the boat. We saw Elephants bathing and playing in the water, Hippos guarding their pool, and wild dogs sleeping in the shade. The boat held the 6 of us, Pavel and Alice from The Czech Republic, John and Judith from England and Katie and I. We set off through the marsh grasses in narrow channels. At one intersection there was a large Hippo. We waited patiently, then when sure of where he was, sped by. Farther along were 4 more Hippos, opening their mouths as we passed to show us how big they were, just like the Jungle Ride at Disneyland!. Katie and I moved to the upper deck of this 18 foot aluminum powerboat. The views were spectacular. We all had to mind exactly where we were sitting and coordinate any movements with others as the boat was tenuously balanced. Nobody else wanted to go up top so we had our own little world weaving down the channels with occasional Elephants on the banks or in the water and many different birds sitting in trees or flying around us. We reached the end goal which was a Heron Rookery. There were a hundred plus parents in various stages of birth. Some building nests, some incubating eggs and some feeding young hatchlings. There were huge, 3 foot tall Maribu Stork feeding their dinosaur looking babies. Yellow Bill Storks with their furry white hatchlings, and Open Bill Storks which did not have any observable hatchlings yet. Quite a riot of noise when various parents brought fish back to the young ones. We headed back as the sun was setting. Happy Hour of G&T’s for Katie and I up top as our boat motored down the channel. Beautiful, outrageous sunset and we pulled in to where the Landcruiser was parked just as darkness came on. 45 minutes back to camp with headlights and spotlight. Nothing new seen though there were Springhares, Impala, Cape Buffalo, and Elephants along the way. Dinner was great as usual and again great conversation with the other guests at the table. A Honey Badger tiptoed by the dinner table as the evening came to a close. One of the best Birthdays for me!