5 years ago.....

5 years ago this week, we were to board an airplane for a wonderful trip to Cozumel that we had been planning for a few months. 2 days before our departure, following the news and it was not looking good. Hurricane Wilma had Cozumel in its sight and it was a big one...category 5 hurricane. Our trip was not going to happen. Wilma ended up hovering over Cozumel and Cancun for 3 days....huge damage and horrid for the tourism in the area.

We decided that we had our time off and should still do something....road trip! We left on an 11-day adventure that took us down through Oregon, up the coast and through British Columbia.

Jason took me to where he used to rock climb, before we met. We camped for a night in the area and walked some of the trails he had taken. It was autumn and crisp and the colours were wonderful. I even got to see my first pumpkin patch!!!

Where is Lori?

There are more photos to add...have to find them.

When we arrived in Victoria, B.C., we looked into a whale watching tour. It was pricey and we wondered if it would be worth it. We signed up and it ended up being one of those experiences you never forget!

A transient pod of orcas - and a newborn! Newborns have orange colouring, due to jaundice and toxins in their bodies.

I love this!

Such a large whale! Another tour operator happened upon what we were seeing.

Markings, like fingerprints, make them identifiable to guides.

Noisy group!

A pod spouting off.

Scratches on this orca.

So large....swims right beside us and under our zodiak....we could have easily reached and touched it.

Spy hop!

Another spy hop!

Leaving footprints for us!

Athens - In and Out

From Cairo, we flew to Athens, Greece. We landed quite late at night and hailed a taxi driver who drove us to our hotel - Hotel Jason - going no less than 160 km on the highway. A bit fast for an 80 zone. We made it to the hotel and checked in, heading to bed.

We woke the next morning and went to the rooftop terrace for breakfast. Amazing food and drink, but the view was beyond belief. Just over the rooftops of the neighbourhood rose the Acropolis and the Parthenon atop it. What a way to be greeted by Greece!

 We really enjoyed Athens, so many sites and the people were great to watch! I loved that I could just walk and, almost literally, stumble upon ruins of ancient times. Old and new - together as if it were nothing.

I loved the cafes and the Freddicino's -delicious frozen coffee drink. We strolled and explored, seeing so much. Found great fruit stands along the way. We made our way to the sight of sights - the Acropolis. Climbed many marble stairs and summited to find the Parthenon. Larger than I had envisioned and being restored. Amazing to think of the minds and great thinkers that walked these footsteps before me.

The magnificent Acropolis and Parthenon!

One of the many statues in and around temples and ruins.

A pillar in ruin....still beautiful.

 

The detail is amazing - still.

Our rooftop terrace, where breakfast was served every day and you could enjoy a lovely glass of wine as the sun sets on the city.

 Theatre of Dionysus - It was used for festivals in honor of the god Dionysus.

Yet another update....Egypt!

 So, after Amsterdam we flew to Cairo, Egypt, via Bucharest, Romania. We didn't see Romania, just the 5 hour layover in the airport. We did, however, enjoy this leg of our journey as we were in first class the entire way. Quite an experience!

We landed in Cairo and the hostel I had arranged our stay with had a driver meet us at the airport, with our names on a sign....a welcome sight at 2 in the morning in a country that is a bit confusing when you first land.

We got settled at the hostel and met with the owner/operator, who sold us on some arranged trips to see the sights. He arranged to have a private driver and a guide meet us in the morning to take us to Giza, to see the pyramids. What a treat it was to approach the pyramids on camel, from a vast and empty plateau. We were fortunate enough to travel on camel, across the edge of the Sahara, to be greeted by the giant structures as we neared from behind. The masses, from tour buses and the like, drove up to the front. We shared our view with maybe  20 other people and when we reached the front there were hundreds! I am glad our first meeting was more intimate.

Then, the following day, he would get us to the train station to board a sleeper train to Luxor. While in Luxor, we would visit Karnak, Valley of the Kings and Luxor Temple. Wonderful sites!

We would overnight it there and then return to Cairo. This was an overwhelming part of our trip...culture shock and the sights just took my breath away!

Driving down the highway and I glance past J. to watch the farmers in the fields of sugar cane and such, seeing donkeys carting loads - and I see this! This is someone's backyard!

Massive, magical, huge, inspiring - words do not do these wonders justice.

Breathtaking

Yes, that is an elephant on the camel! One of our two regular travel companions...Exshaw de Elephant and Hips, the Hippo.

The entrance to the Great Pyramid - basically, bend in half and scramble down a long ladder-lined tunnel, rest at bottom then scramble up tunnel into the belly of the pyramid! It's stuffy, hot, humid, and the tomb is empty - but you are standing in a pyramid!

20 metres high and 50 metres long, the Great Sphynx is a sight to behold!

So many of these statues from Karnak to Luxor ... huge and still beautiful.

Luxor Temple ....with Sphynx Avenue in front....still being unearth, hundreds of the sphynx statues line the street from Karnak to Luxor Temple. This was the view from our hotel rooftop, with the Nile in the distance.

Our rooftop pool, a welcome treat in 46 Celsius heat!

Cairo was a treat for the eyes - and all of the senses. Overloaded to say the least. I will return, as I have more things to cross of my list in and around Cairo.

Another update....Summer 2010 trip

So, with the dayhome closing and another new chapter beginning, J and I set out, yet again, on a summer adventure! Summer 2010 was to be a big one! We decided on Wednesday that we were actually going to do the trip and we left Friday morning - a 49 day trip planned in a day and a half!

So, after 7 airplanes, 2 sleeper trains, 5 ferries, numerous taxis and cars, countless metros and buses, 1 camel, 13 hotel rooms, 6 countries and 49 days away from home - here are some highlights.

After our almost 9 hour flight, we landed. Customs was easy enough in Amsterdam, receiving my first stamp in my new passport! We were directed to a platform in the Central Terminal, to catch our train to the city. After a short time, chatting with another couple on a near-empty train, we discovered that we were headed in the wrong direction - Eindhoven not being our destination. Grabbing our backpacks, we disembarked at the next stop and caught a train  in the right direction - Amsterdam!

Beautiful canal system...loving the narrow, tall homes.

Loved all the houseboats.

Very interesting shapes and sizes!

An actual bicycle parkade!

Thousands of bikes!

Quaint homes, all in row.

A brick houseboat.

Love this...looks ideal!

Morning mist and sunlight hitting the floating flower shop.

Good morning, Amsterdam!

Life is not a rehearsal....live it fully and completely, with your whole heart and being. No mulligans or redo's or do-overs. I am learning not to dream - but, to LIVE! Making a change, not waiting for one.

Long, overdue update!

So much to update, as it has been far too long since I even visited. I encouraged a friend to blog, and thought it best for me to do the same.

So this will be one of a few updates....

Summer 2009 travels -
J and I packed our backpacks and hopped on a plane to Cancun. This part of the journey is becoming quite familiar. Land in Cancun, bus to Playa del Carmen, ferry to Cozumel and walk to Eliane's. A couple of days in Coz, enjoying our favorite places and then ferry back to Playa del Carmen to board a bus that will take us to Belize. 4.5 hour bus ride, interesting border crossing and we arrive in Corozal! This begins our Belizean adventure!

This is in Corozal, one of our first sights in Belize. Beautiful calm water. Men fishing on the docks, with nets and poles, very early in the morning. From here, we caught a water taxi to Ambergris Caye.

Ambergris Caye is so beautiful and relaxing!

Now, we get to Caye Caulker and it stole my heart! The island has a motto, Go Slow, and people do! This is the life! So friendly and just amazing views. We did a sail trip and swam with rays and nurse sharks...saw a sea turtle diving for sea grass, a giant grouper, ate ceviche that was freshly made for us, and enjoyed a day of snorkeling and swimming. We found a great sports pub on the island, owned by a Canadian expat, and ended up there most evenings, playing trivia and drinking tropical drinks with funny names - Panty Removers! We also donated some money ("Buy a Piece of the Pub") to the local school, to provide sports equipment to the kids. In turn, the pub paints your name on whatever item you "purchased" and you get a certificate of ownership...stating you own property in Belize! Haha..... J and I have our names painted on the table we sat at each time. We spent 8 days here, eventually sailing a 3 day sail trip south, to Placencia.

Our hotel - Rainbow Hotel

Great lobster - this meal cost about $6!

Typical view as we walked along the street - no cars on island, just golf carts and bikes.

Snorkeling!

One of the many rays we swam with!

Beautiful and gentle sea turtle!

I caught dinner for the travelers that night - barracuda! Took about 15 minutes to reel the guy in! The crew of the Ragga Queen were quite impressed!

The island where we camped the first night. Yes, that is the entire island!

We flew from Placencia back to Cancun, as there were reports of trouble crossing the border due to H1N1 flu.

One of the best experiences I have ever had - swimming with Whale Sharks! There were reportedly about 200 in the area, and they are huge! That mouth is about a metre across and they can be 35 ft. long!

The prettiest beaches I have ever been to. Isla Mujeres - sand soft like flour and white as snow. Water as warm as a tub and you can walk out waist deep forever.

More to be updated!

Long time, many changes!

How exciting! So many things have changed and I have so much to update on....anyone still out there?

I have traveled all summer, finished a travel practicum, still working on school and now working in a hotel as a Front Office Supervisor!

Getting my name out there and getting my feet wet in the travel industry.

I will post more later on my summer travels, but for now I will just say that I got to Amsterdam, Egypt, Greece and Italy! 49 days away and tons of memories. I will walk down that lane shortly!

Ta ta!

OMG! Has it really been that long?

I am shocked! I have had no sense of time of late and have let things slide. I have had so much happen in the many months since I have visited and have simply forgotten about this blog. Wow! So, "HELLO" to anyone who drops by and who I have not visited with (virtually) in a long, long time.

So, to catch up with things....

~ I left my job at the school! I was tired. I had been there for 13 years and felt it was time to move on before I let things slide too much and resented any aspect of my job. I left on good terms and have not looked back!

~ I opened and operate a small dayhome. It was an idea in place as I left my prior job. I now am a proud childcare provider to 5 lovely toddlers, all of whom have parents who I used to work with. It is unique in some ways...I do not operate out of my own home (I will come back to that), as the dayhome is out of the home of one of the children. His parents live right close to the school and the children all get dropped off there. I work only days that the school is in operation, leaving me plenty of days off and summers to enjoy with my husband!

~ My husband quit his job as well and is now a full-time university student, studying engineering. We talked long and hard about this, but I want him to do it now and have no regrets when he is 50 or 60....shoulda, coulda, woulda.

~ My house....sold! We listed the house last July and it sold in a day! The sign was not even in the lawn and we showed the house at 2pm and had a offer by 8pm. We took it and gave up possession on Aug. 22. This is where it gets complicated:
- because the house sold so quickly, we had no plan of where to go. Our 'longer-term' plan was to eventually move into my husband's parents home, renovating a suite in their empty basement. Until that was finished (it had not yet begun), we needed a place. I immediately began looking at rentals. Many of our rentals in the city were super inflated but I did find one - a small basement suite for $1100.00/month. When this was mentioned to a friend of mine (a woman for whom I was a nanny to her two young boys, many years ago) she mentioned that she had room for us. Her boys were out of the house and they had a developed basement that we could use. We saved so much money by staying with them.
- we are now living with my in-laws! Our suite only needs a few more things done until it is completely finished!

Phew!
There is so much more, but I will share later! Ta ta!