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  • 2024: Departure – Sacramento to Lima

    2024: Departure – Sacramento to Lima

    My time off started on Tuesday, and we spent the day leisurely packing and running errands, including a last-minute trip to REI to get binoculars and a walking stick. Those were suggestions on the National Geographic packing list. In various times on previous trips, we’d wished we had them so seemed like the time to do it.

    We made our way to the airport around 4pm to begin what would be a 22-hour trip in 4 legs: Sacramento to San Francisco, then to Los Angeles, Panama City, and finally Lima, Peru.

    In San Francisco, we had dinner at the Giants Clubhouse, an option on the Priority Pass we’ve used several times. Priority Pass is a travel membership we get with our Chase Sapphire card which gets you access to lounges or, in the absence of one, $28 per person at a participating restaurant.

    Ash had a grilled chicken salad, I had a chicken and sausage gumbo, both were pretty good.

    In LAX, our business class tickets got us into the Star Alliance lounge, the network which includes United and Copa Airlines, the two we used on this trip. They had a wonderful outdoor seating area which we enjoyed until it got too cold. We didn’t sit at this bar, but I liked the view of LAX in the background. Each area had fire like this in the table.

    That wall in the background is actually a waterfall.

    The 2 legs to get us to LAX were on United, and both in coach. The next 2 were Copa. The first would be an over 6-hour flight starting at 2am so we were thrilled with the lie flat seating option we had here. Look how happy Ash is. He booked these seats over a year ago using miles, so they cost us nothing.

    I am typically not able to sleep well on planes and this was trip was no exception. Ash was clear with the flight attendant not to wake him if he was still asleep for breakfast, served about 2 hours before landing, so he missed out on this, but it was pretty good: a simple omelet with potatoes, ham, and salsa. The orange in the fruit is mango, not cantaloupe, and the bread was like a rye. I enjoyed his very much.

    Next stop: about a 2 hour layover in Panama City. Here we had access to the Copa lounge and found a quiet corner to sit in that also gave us a perfect view of our gate there on the left. The breakfast was classic continental – pastries, bagels, cereals. Ash had a bit but I skipped since I’d gotten to eat on the plane.

    I don’t know why I get a kick out of snapping a shot of where we are on the map but I do, and this seemed like a good time to do it. In case you forgot your 6th great geography, Panama is the last country in North America before South America begins. Below that you see Ecuador and Peru which is where we will spend all of our time after this.

    Ash took this shot of us sitting in our corner of the lounge.

    Our last leg left around Noon, and was about 3.5 hours. Lunch was a salad and a spicy chicken and orzo dish. Other than having too many olives for my taste, the flavor in this dish was great.

    Ash took this photo of the terrain from the plane as we approached Peru – dry and mountainous.

    We got through immigration without any problems – although we were disappointed they don’t stamp your passport! – and our bags were already on the carousel when we got there. The rental car counter was just outside of baggage, and a short walk to where the car was from there. Photo above is Ash going over the car – a Kia – with the worker to document nicks and stuff. Ash’s Spanish is pretty good and that has helped quite a bit already.

    For the first 2 nights we are staying at the AC Marriott in Miraflores, one of the main touristy areas in Lima, which is right on the water. Ash’s Platinum membership which he acquired during his IBM days in the 90s continue to serve us, which resulted in a free upgrade to an ocean view. That’s the Pacific out that window.

    And his status helps when he tells them we are celebrating an anniversary, which we are, resulting in a little cheese and meat platter, along with a bottle of wine which of course we won’t drink. More on the anniversary bit later in the trip.

    The view from our room to the right. See those pointy ledges in the bottom right? That top one that’s more of a tan color is where we stood to take an upcoming shot. I didn’t notice it until I was putting the blog together.

    The view to the left. If you look closely in the center about 1/3 of the way down, you’ll see a cross at the edge of that land mass.

    We dropped our bags and made our way out to walk around a bit and find dinner. We made it just in time to catch the sunset. This was taken at 5:48pm.

    This was taken from the same spot as the sunset photo by just turning around. This is the shot I was telling you about above, with our hotel in the background top center. I managed to catch Ash taking a selfie which I just happened to be in.

    This is that selfie!

    To our left is a pretty big shopping area with several restaurants. We looked at 3 different menus before making a decision.

    We ended up at Mangos, which on TripAdvisor was #1 Nearby and #99 out of 2498 in Lima. It also had a lovely outdoor seating area. That’s Ash waving to you in the center.

    And a great view of the water’s edge at night. Notice that cross again in the background, all lit up. The temperature was about 62 degrees, a nice breeze, it was a lovely evening with a great view.

    They started us with a very local dish called canchita. Imagine a roasted popcorn flavor with the texture more like corn nuts. We are both crazy about anything corn and this was a big hit with us, I look forward to more of this on this trip.

    Ash had parmesan scallops, which were baked with the cheese melted on them and a little crusty along the edge of the shell. I had one and it was delicious.

    I had a ceviche, which Peru is famous for, and it was definitely the best I’ve ever had. Several kinds of fish, mostly raw but some fried, in a spicy citrus broth with raw red onion and a bit of sweet potato. And some corn. Every bite was terrific. I think that green in the sauce may have been wasabi.

    Ash had a salmon salad which he really liked.

    I got a grilled tuna dish which had a bed of fresh artichoke puree at the bottom along with some grilled artichoke, radishes, crunchy fried onions. The tuna was some of the best I’ve ever had. I practically licked the plate.

    So food-wise we are definitely off to a good start. Today, Thursday, May 23, will be our first full day in Lima. We don’t have much planned and don’t meet up with our tour until tomorrow evening. We wanted a couple of days here to just disconnect and relax and roam a bit without much of an agenda before we join someone else’s schedule. The weather today is supposed to be partly cloudy with a temperature range of 58-70. Should be a lovely day to be out and about

  • 2024: Machu Picchu and Galapagos, Pre-Departure

    2024: Machu Picchu and Galapagos, Pre-Departure

    It seems like it’s been forever since I’ve blogged about traveling. Puerta Vallarta in February didn’t really count for so many reasons, so it’s really been since Niagra Falls and Toronto last September. The next 6 weeks or so will make up for it as we’ll be traveling for 4 weeks total between 5/21 and 7/6.

    First up: South America, a new continent for me. That’s a new continent 2 years in a row if you’re counting, which I am. Last year we went to Africa, about half on our own and half on a National Geographic safari. We were so impressed with that experience we decided to do more with them, and that’s what we’re doing next. This trip will be Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands.

    On April 4th we had a box delivered from the tour company National Geographic is partnering with, Lindblad Expeditions. That’s the box in the photo above and a little pouch inside. Inside the pouch were luggage tags and name tags for our trip, shown below.

    Before this moment I honestly hadn’t thought much about this trip, but this triggered some excitement. It encouraged Ash and I to finally look at the itinerary they’d sent us via an internet portal, and get some details on how it’s all going to go, where we will be staying, etc. Given our experience with them last time, we weren’t worried at all about lodging, and this trip may exceed what we had last year on safari. Did you know there were 5-star hotels in the Andes mountains? I certainly didn’t. So, we’ll get to experience all that together.

    On Tuesday evening we fly out of Sacramento with stops in Los Angeles and Panama City before we get to Lima, Peru. We will have a day or two there on our own before we meet up with the tour. From there we will go to Cusco in the mountains and eventually make our way to Machu Picchu, shown below.

    This whole area is rich in history about the Inca civilization and I’m excited to learn all about that. (PS: I lifted the photo above and the ones that follow from the travel guide they provided us.)

    After a few days in the mountains, we head to Ecuador to board the National Geographic Islander II – the ship we will be on for several days as we explore the Galapagos.

    This ship was originally built with 80 suites but they redid it to only have 48. That’s usually not the direction these things go in. We will be in suite 301 there are the bottom right.

     

    3 photos in one: a huge iguana in the top half, a dolphin bottom left, sea lion bottom right, both interacting with people.

    I have zero expectations about this but looking forward to it all just the same. I’m generally not an “in the water” person so we’ll see how much I do on that front. I hear they have the best snorkeling in the world – something I’ve never done – so it seems like I should at least give it a try, right? Come along and we’ll see how all that plays out.

    We look forward to you joining us!

    Steve & Ash

  • 2024 PVR: Friends, Fun, Food, and a little bit of Liz

    2024 PVR: Friends, Fun, Food, and a little bit of Liz

    It’s Saturday morning, February 17. We got home last night after an easy travel day. We really enjoyed this trip and as of Thursday night were wishing it was longer. By the time we got to bed last night, we were super happy to be home. Like always.

    If you read the last entry, you may recall that Ash was in Mexico City in the early part of the week. In my wanderings on Tuesday, I’d come across this shop that had runners and tablecloths, which we’d talked about getting while we are here. I sent Ash this photo saying “we can come back here when you return.” His response: we’ll be very busy, get them now. So I did: 2 each.

    Super Salud has been in TripAdvisor’s top 10 places to eat since I first came here in 2018, promoting healthy food at a reasonable price. Mostly due to bad planning, I’d never made it here before, always trying to go when it was closed. We walked by what was it’s old location earlier in the week, looking empty, but Jon said it wasn’t closed, it had just moved. In my wanderings on Tuesday, I found it and came back for lunch after my massage.

    And it was true: a lot of delicious, healthy food for cheap. I wanted to try the namesake – Super Salud – but also got a bowl of chicken, lots of fresh, hot veggies, and quinoa. All really good.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I made my way down to the Malecon and sat and vegged with the waves for a little bit Tuesday afternoon. This was the weather we had all week. Never above 75 and actually rained some here and there.

    For dinner I went to what might be my favorite place to eat so far: Sonorita. Had only been here one other time in 2022 but remembered it fondly, and with good reason. It was about 6:45pm and I was afraid I would not be able to get in, yet they sat me right away, but at the bar which was fine.

    In addition to the normal array of sauces, you also get fresh chopped onions and cilantro.

    The waitress tried to warn me that I was ordering a lot of food and she was right. Oh well, I had my mouth set on certain flavors. Above – pastor as intended, with pineapple.

    On the left, a volcanes – very crispy smallish tortilla with meat and cheese, in this case chorizo, which I love here because it’s not greasy like it is at home. And a hueras – flour tortilla with meat and cheese; in this case prime rib with the bone even. Yikes. She was right. It was a lot of food – I had no idea that huera would be that big. But I ate every bit of it. The flavors were amazing. I’ll be back.

    As I left there wasn’t a seat open in the place, not even at the bar, and there was a line to the end of the block. Good timing.

    The next day I decided to walk the island in the river Cuale, but realized after texting with a friend that I’d never walked the very beginning of it, which starts at the Malecon.

    And discovered this bust of Elizabeth Taylor. Jon, Ash and I had been discussing earlier in the week why PV was so popular with the gays. Legend says it all started with Liz, when she came down here with Richard Burton while he was filming Night of the Iguana. News of their affair here was international – they even bought houses across the street from each other and installed a bridge, which I’ve written about in prior blogs. So, the story goes that her entourage of gays came with her and it built from there.

    Well, here’s a little bit of proof of that. The translation here is: British-American film, theater and television actress who promoted tourism development in Puerto Vallarta.

    After all that meat the night before I decided I needed something lighter. I searched Yelp for the best salads and was directed to Barra Light, over in the Ampas area. 

    A cozy little place with indoor and outdoor seating but it was a little muggy so I sat inside.

    I got their tuna chef’s salad and it might have been the best salad I’ve had in my life. The tuna was fresh and amazing, and the combination of veggies including beets, artichoke hearts, spinach and avocados was a great blend of flavor and texture. Just what I needed.

    I asked Jon where I could get flowers and he directed me here, so I picked some up to surprise Ash for Valentine’s Day.

    A water pitcher was the best I could do for a vase but he was surprised and enjoyed them when he got in from Mexico City about 1:30pm on Wednesday.

    He hadn’t really eaten so we went across the street to Freddy’s Tucan for a snack of nachos.

    Ash sitting amongst the crowd on the boat.

    About 4:30 we made our way over to the marina to attend Rhythms of the Night – a “dinner and a show” thing that’s hugely popular. I had done it in 2020 and thought it would be a fun thing for us to do on Valetine’s Day. It starts with about a 45 minute boat ride across Banderas Bay.

    Once you get off the boat, there are all kinds of folks in costume to greet you as you make your way to dinner: see the woman with the spear above by the waterfall; mermaid on the rocks below.

     

    We were at the dining area the farthest away which was OK by us, because it had the best view from what I could tell.

    We encountered this flute-playing butterfly on our way to the show.

    It’s an outdoor theater. The show is essentially their version of Cirque de Soliel – lots of acrobatic type things. Pretty entertaining.

    I always enjoy the fire stuff the most, with a fun little video below.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    It was a late night for us, getting home around midnight. Thursday morning, we went to a meeting then met up with our friend Steven, who’s also here visiting from San Diego. We went to Johnny’s Diner for breakfast, a place I’d passed a million times over the years, just a couple of blocks up Basillio Badilla from where our condo was. That’s Steven and Ash there seated at the end. It was pretty good, and we would go back.

    Steven asked if I had any massage recommendations, and I’d just discovered the day before that Blue Massage has another location oh about 20 feet away from where we are sitting in that photo. So afterwards we made appointments for 2pm and Ash played bridge that afternoon, which he’d learned about by running into one of his SF bridge buddies earlier in the week. It felt like we were running into people we knew all week long.

    I wasn’t even planning on getting a massage that day, but it turned out to be the best one of the week (out of 6!).

    For dinner, we met Jon and Christopher again, along with Christopher’s sister, Melissa, and her husband, Richard. I’d done things with that group before in 2019 and 2020 – Melissa and Richard are often here for a month around February and had just arrived on Tuesday. We had a great time visiting at Archie’s Wok, another place I’d walked past a bunch but never checked out. It was actually very good. We’d tried to go on Saturday evening for Chinese New Year but it was packed and learned they didn’t take reservations. So we met at 5:30pm, were seated easily, and amazed at the gaggle of folks waiting to get in when we left 2 hours later. We had a great time as all the smiles in the photo might indicate.

    Friday we met up with Steven again at Freddy’s again – so easy and pretty good, and also hard to get a table but we did.

    Steven had a yogurt parfait, Ash had a spicy chicken dish, I had tropical oatmeal with bananas, pineapple, and coconut.

    Photo of Ash walking about of the condo living room with luggage in tow.

    We said goodbye to Steven and had just enough time to pack up and head to the airport for our 2:10pm flight.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    And finally: I enjoyed the many ways Starbuck’s baristas heard my name: Stif on the left, Skit on the right. Clearly, I need to enunciate more effectively.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    That’s it for this trip. I’m glad I recorded it for the restaurant names if nothing else. That always comes in handy later.

    What’s next for us? In May/June we will be doing another National Geographic tour, this time Machu Picchu and the Galapagos. That will be a new continent for me. Then shortly after in June/July we will do a week in NYC to see shows and attend the Gay & Sober Men’s Conference, then a week in DC after that. Jon Scott will join us for most of that trip and we are super happy about that.

    Until next time…

     

     

     

     

  • 2024 PVR: To blog or not to blog?

    2024 PVR: To blog or not to blog?

    For the record, we got here on Saturday, February 10, 2024, and will leave on Friday, February 16. This is my 6th trip to Puerto Vallarta since my first visit here in 2018; the 2nd time that Ash is here, too. Our plan for the week was “as little as possible” – visiting friends, eating good food and, at least for me, getting massages.

    Selfie on the plane.

    We had a 6am flight out of Sacramento, with a connection in LAX.

    A beautiful sunrise as we left Sacramento.

     

    We stopped in an American Airlines lounge for a teeny bit of breakfast.

    We landed in Puerto Vallarta about 2:20pm local time. The lines at immigration (where they check our passports) were very busy as usual, but moved quickly. After this you get your luggage and then go through customs. We exited the airport around an hour after we landed which is pretty typical.

    I’ve had all this ambivalence about blogging this trip. Mostly I didn’t want to: y’all can’t possibly care about a 6th trip, can you? Especially when it’s really just going to be about food and massages. Plus, the break would be nice – daily entries require some work for sure. I’d told Ash that I wasn’t going to blog this time. His response: No, you should do it. People enjoy it. I enjoy it. Me: but you always complain about the blog being my mistress! If I do it, you can’t complain about it. Ash: Oh, I’ll still complain about it but I think you should do it.

    As we went through our first 24 hours here the push and pull in my head was Real. Fascinating to watch if you’re me. Some of the pull was the number of times just in the prior 48 hours I’ve reference prior blogs looking for a restaurant whose name I couldn’t remember. (Which we do All The Time, for us and others looking for travel tips.) In the end I decided: it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Instead of 5-6 entries which would be normal for a trip like this, how about just a couple? Moderation is not my strong suit. We’ll see how it goes.

    We are staying at the same place we stayed last year. It’s a super location, great space, and we booked it for this week before we’d even left last year.

    We hadn’t eaten much by the time we dropped our bags off so went right out for dinner again. I’d had some ideas about where to go but Ash asked “what’s the #1 restaurant according to TripAdvisor?” It was a few blocks away so we did that.

    Tuna Azul is the spot. They sat us at a great table in the corner of the balcony. If you’ve been to PVR before, you’ll recognize the landmark in the distance, centered, as Los Muertos Beach Pier, and have a pretty good idea where this is. I’d never noticed it before – entrance off a side street and upstairs.

    We started with a dish that was fresh diced tuna on a bed of guacamole. Ash had the seafood soup. Later we split crab enchiladas. In general we were not impressed. It was OK, but #1? As we left we learned why: the waiter handed us a business card with a QR code to TripAdvisor, encouraging a 5-star review and mention his name. Instead, the next morning we both wrote 3-star reviews and pulled their covers. I’d wondered why I’d never heard of it on the 5 prior trips.

    We were exhausted after, neither of us having slept well for several nights, and were in bed by 8pm (which, sadly, is 6pm Pacific back home). But, I slept 10 hours and Ash slept 11 so we caught up a little. I relished a morning where I could be lazy and not feel the pressure of the blog. It’s good to have this different approach, which will certainly make sense when we do our 2 year trip after I retire (4 years, 1 month and counting…)

    We went to Starbucks after a bit of a walk and just hung out. Ash met Jon for a 10:30am and I went for my first massage at that time, a wonderful 4-hand at Blue Massage. I’ve been there many times and somehow never knew that was an option. Marco and Jonathan were amazing, every move in sync.

    We met up around Noon and went to Coco’s for lunch.

    A lovely seating area in a garden environment.

    Jon had a breakfast burrito; Ash and I split salad and shrimp enchiladas.

    I stole this off Ash’s Facebook post earlier today: us in front of the cathedral. I don’t remember when he took it, sometime on Sunday but I don’t remember exactly when we were down there.

    After lunch Ash took a nap and I went up to the roof to enjoy the beautiful weather and listen to audiobooks. There’s a lovely view of Banderas Bay from up there.

    We went out to meet Jon and our other friend Christoper at Jon’s place, and then we all walked the few blocks to Cafe des Artistes. This will be my 3rd time here with Jon, it’s always a treat.

    And this visit was no exception. They even sat us at the same table we sat at least year! This is a beautiful setting in a rooftop garden, it’s quite lovely.

    And the food was incredible as always. Ash and Jon had charbroiled shrimp above; Christopher lamb shanks (not pictured).

    I had short rib and a beef steak, both great, but the star of the plate were those very thin strips of potatoes baked in bacon fat. Lordy.

    I had a pink ballerina for dessert because I just had to see what it looked like. And was not disappointed. The skirt and legs are edible – like shortbread legs and waffle skirt – and the dress is very frozen pink chocolate around a scoop of cheesecake ice cream.

    Jon and Christopher shared a “flower pot” which was 3 layers of chocolate mousse: dark, milk, white.

    We said goodbye to Jon at the restaurant as he lives in that neighborhood – and uphill. We went downhill to the Malecon and walked that towards our condo. Ash was really enjoying how full of life it was in the evening, something he’d missed out on last year; we were so sick most of the time we were here we didn’t do much.

    We walked by this group of statues that are begging for interaction and Ash wanted to get a photo of me sitting on one. I did that for a bit and decided to stand up to show how tall it was – it’s a good 3 feet off the ground (my legs were dangling when sitting).

    We were home and in bed at a reasonable hour, around 9pm.

    Ash asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to break up the week with a couple of days in Mexico City. “It’s an easy flight” he says. My response: “You go right ahead.” Mexico City is definitely on my list – I’ve never heard a bad thing about it – but I don’t want to go just for 2 days, at least a week. Maybe two. And all that back and forth during this trip messes with the same objective I’ve always had for PVR which is, as I said earlier: as little as possible. So yes, he left for Mexico City this morning, coming back Wednesday afternoon in time for the evening event we have planned for Valentine’s Day.

    And that’s just fine with me. It’s fun having him here and yet I get a little taste of traveling by myself, which I also love.

    I relaxed after he left for the airport and did some walking, then to an 11am massage, at Blue Massage again, which I had booked at least a week ago. It was Jonathan again, one of the guys from the 4-hand the day before, and excellent again. After, I met Jon for lunch at La Palapa, a popular spot on the beach. That’s him at the left corner there.

    We chose not to join these good folks actually on the beach, although it was an option. Too much sand!

    Jon had shrimp tacos, above….

    …and I had a shrimp dish over something risotto-like next to a bed of grilled vegetables, especially peppers. And crab enchiladas again, although these were better than the other evening.

    We split a guava cheesecake for dessert. I love guava and it’s not something you see at home much (if at all).

    Requisite selfie. We had a lovely visit and enjoyed the quality time. We go back 22 years or so and always have stuff to talk about.

    A friend who comes here often suggested right before I left that I could get 2 massages a day while here. What I probably didn’t admit in the moment was that’s not exactly new – have done that more than once on prior trips although probably didn’t disclose it because it seemed too indulgent. But what the hell. After lunch I made my way to another 4-hand massage, this one at a place I hadn’t tried yet – Elite Spa. Facilities-wise nicer than Blue Massage but not as nice as Acqua Spa, where I will be on Tuesday. The massage was decent, and I would do it again. (In fact I booked something for Wednesday morning while I was there…)

    I came back to the condo and worked on the blog some, headed out about 6:30 for dinner.

    In some of our earlier wanderings we’d come across Mariscos El Guero, and I made a point to remember where it was because I’d been wanting to come back here. I remembered it was on Constitución at something but couldn’t remember which intersection (Madero). I’ve been here twice but never had a full meal – both times it was the meeting place and first taste of a food tour. So figured it was worth a full stop. And clearly others thought so, too. There was a crowd in front when I got here so I didn’t take a photo. But it moved quickly. This was the crowd when I left!

    I got hibiscus tea to drink, and an octopus tostada to start.

    The point of this photo is not really the plate of food – it’s all the stuff behind hit. Mexican restaurants here are really all about the stuff – in this case 4 different kinds of commercial hot sauce, fresh limes, shredded vegetables, fresh pico de gallo, and 2 homemade hot sauces – one orange, one green. I stayed away from the commercial stuff but tried everything else on my two tacos – one grilled shrimp, the other smoked marlin. The quesadilla I left alone as God intended: why mess with a cheese filled flour tortilla grilled in butter until the cheese melts? Simple perfection.

    I thought I was done. A lovely gentlemen, not my waiter, who had been clearing plates said “would you like flan?” I wasn’t planning on dessert – not here anyway – but decided that was a sign. And glad I did.

    I walked around a bit after but mostly came back to the condo to relax and work on this. And now that it’s done I may as well post. I’ll do at least one more post later in the trip

     

  • Day 5, Sep 14 – Toronto, Part 2, and Final Thoughts

    Day 5, Sep 14 – Toronto, Part 2, and Final Thoughts

    It’s our last day in Toronto and even though it’s been less than a week, we were pretty ready to move on when we got up. I posted yesterday’s blog, we visited a bit with Joel and Tim and said our goodbyes as they got on with their day. I worked a little but had mostly done what I absolutely needed to so we were free to get on with our day as well.

    We packed up some then took Zeus out for a walk and decided to get some more coffee. There were about 10 coffee shops – no joke – within a few blocks of their house so we definitely had choices. We landed on this one which claimed to have a nice ambiance and it did: part coffee shop, part art gallery.

    Ash got coffee, I had a latte, and we shared a coconut biscotti that was great.

    We went back to the house to finish packing up and left around 10:30am.

    Our final stop was a neighborhood called Kensington Market – named for a bunch of cool shops on Kensington Ave (although this is Spadina Ave in the photo!) – that Joel recommended. It’s just outside of downtown and not far from where we had dinner last night, but a completely different vibe.

    There were several ethnicities represented in the restaurants we came across, including Chinese, Thai, Korean, Greek, Malaysian, Jamaican, and a generic Middle Eastern one.

    And cool views of downtown as we meandered.

    We walked around quite a bit window shopping, but decided on this place for lunch, featuring chicken & waffles.

    Of course, we had to try the chicken and waffles – as well as cauliflower bites. Both were great and satisfying.

    On our way back to our car we came across this crutch around a street sign. Clearly someone had to take it apart and put it back together to get it there – although upon close inspection we saw little latches that would have made that easier than it sounds. So, the question is: why? For you to ponder.

    We had decided earlier in the week that we would stay our final night at a hotel near the airport so it will be easier to catch our 7am flight. We checked into our hotel – Courtyard Marriott – dropped off our stuff, took the car back, and got a ride back to the hotel. I ended up working a few more hours with various things that came up. We had dinner at the regular Marriott next door because the food was better, and now we are done as it approaches 8pm.

    So, I finish, as always, with some final thoughts on this trip.

    1. Loved the unstructured time. This was one of the most relaxing trips I’ve had, ever. We did very little but don’t feel that we missed out on anything. We saw what and who we came to see and that was enough.
    2. Niagara Falls was spectacular, and I highly recommend you get to it at some point if you’ve never been. That said, we both agree we have no reason to go back. The town itself was kind of a joke – like a bad version of Reno – so outside of the activities related to the beautiful Falls, there isn’t much to do there.
    3. Toronto was fantastic and we would definitely go back. We love big cities with great downtowns and lots of unique neighborhoods and this fit that bill. And, it was incredibly clean, and we only saw a couple of homeless people the entire time.
    4. I wasn’t crazy about working some every day on this trip, but neither was it horrible. I wouldn’t want to do it every time, but it was necessary this time around and I don’t have any resentment about it. Ash is always trying to convince me to do it more so I can travel more but it doesn’t really work that way, at least for me.
    5. I really enjoyed meeting Ash’s friends, Joel and Tim, and appreciated their hospitality. We’ve invited them to our neck of the woods and hope the come!

    And with that, we are done until the next time. We have some great trips planned already for the next couple of years:

    • February 2024 – Puerta Vallarta
    • May/June 2024 – Machu Picchu and The Galapagos
    • June/July 2024 – New York City for Gay & Sober Men’s Conference, then Washington DC
    • May/June 2025 – Bhutan
    • August 2025 – returning to the Okavango Delta for another safari

    Sound like fun? Join us!

  • Day 4, Sep 13 – Toronto, and an amazing meal

    Day 4, Sep 13 – Toronto, and an amazing meal

    Zeus got me up around 3am and I mostly stayed up. We are staying with friends, Joel & Tim, who have lived in this house over 20 years, and in various parts of Canada for most of their lives. The rest of the household got up about 6am. We had breakfast together then Tim left for work. I worked until about 9am, then Ash and I discussed what we would do with our day with suggestions from Joel.

    We left after 10am and made our way downtown.

    We said several times on our way to the house from the airport on Saturday that Toronto seems to have “many downtowns” – meaning we’ve seen lots of clusters of tall buildings that made us wonder if they were downtown. Eventually we learned to look for the CN Tower and that solved that. But one of the things we’ve appreciated about Toronto in general is interesting architecture. And above is just one example.

    We made our way to the ferry terminal to catch a ride to Toronto Islands – a series of small islands in Lake Ontario about a 7-minute ride away that are managed mostly as a park system, although about 650 people do live there and we came across one school.

    And one of the reasons given, maybe strangely, to go to the islands by some of the travel articles we read, is the unparalleled views you get of the skyline. So you’ll likely get a few of these :) Notice that the 2 towers on the far right of the above photo….

    …are the same towers on the far left of this one.

    The islands weren’t crowded on a Wednesday in questionable weather, so we enjoyed the wide, open spaces. Especially Zeus.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Zeus chasing geese.

    Looking back at downtown.

    There’s a beach along most of the far side of the islands facing the lake. Here’s “another downtown” for you. I believe this is New Toronto, which is about 12 kilometers south of  The Downtown.

    A beautiful fishing pond. I was afraid Zeus was going to jump in but he didn’t seem to interested.

    A pretty glimpse of beach and lake through a clearing in the trees as we made our way across the islands.

    We stopped at a Greek grill for lunch around 12:30pm. Chicken gyros and fries. Hit the spot.

    We walked to the far edge of the island from there, about another 30 minutes. There are 3 ferry docks – one on each end and one in the middle – so we’d started on one end and worked our way to the other. The ferry was getting ready to leave when they saw us approaching and thankfully held it for us.

    We got home after 2:30, rested some then showered and left again just after 4pm to meet Joel for coffee and meet some of his friends. We went to Second Cup. a place we’d walked by the day before when we were at the gay village. We left there around 5:15 to meet Tim for dinner.

    And here’s the four of us – that’s Joel to my left and then Tim – at Enoteca Sociale. This is their favorite restaurant in the city. This counter that we’re sitting at requires a reservation and we were lucky enough to get one midweek even though we didn’t make it until Saturday night. At all of the other tables you order from a menu like normal. This is the chef’s table, where you get what he wants to serve you.

    We started with olives, sourdough bread, and probably the best focaccia we’ve ever had. That’s a very good olive oil in the tiny pitcher to use as a dipping sauce. It was a perfect start.

     

    First course was baby zucchini stuffed with ricotta then tempura fried. Wow.

    Scallop crudo (raw) with oranges, chives, on streaks of a kind of hollandaise, olive oil and salt. Another wow.

    A linguine type pasta piled high, with a pecorino cheese sauce and shaved truffles.

    This was probably everyone’s favorite bite of the night: lemon ricotta ravioli in a mushroom sauce and shaved parmesan. Tremendous fresh flavor in every bite.

    Crispy roast chicken, pickled zucchini, with celery root paste and a spicy relish. They provided a knife but you didn’t really need one, it was super tender.

    A simple salad, mostly a palate cleanser at this point.

    This was our view for the entire evening. We watched them make a good portion of our entire meal. We talked to this guy quite a bit but somehow never got his name. There were only 4 people working a busy kitchen and we were impressed how clean, and organized they were.

    The heart of the kitchen to our right, with head chef Nico running the show. He served everything to us and explained what was in it.

    This is the dessert that was planned and was served to Joel and Tim. I had a bit of it but don’t remember what it was now lo these 10 hours later!

    We had seen them finish off tiramisu earlier and Ash wanted to try it so that’s what we got. Served in a big coffee cup with almond cookies.

    By far the best meal of the trip. Joel and Tim said this might’ve been the best meal they’ve ever had here, and this was their 3rd time here just this year. We were quite satisfied with it.

    Today is our last day in Toronto. We have an early flight out tomorrow so will head towards the airport this evening, turn the car in, and stay in a nearby hotel. Beyond that, we don’t have much of a plan. Will see what the weather is doing once the sun comes up and go from there.

  • Day 3, Sep 12 – Niagara Falls to Toronto

    Day 3, Sep 12 – Niagara Falls to Toronto

    I was up pretty early, Ash slept in a little with his shoulder still hurting. I took Zeus out for a bit then went down to the lounge when it opened at 6am, got the blog up and did some work until about 9:45am. Ash had come down at some point, we ate breakfast there and chatted a bit, then he took Zeus out for a longer walk while I finished.

    We had a nice 2 days in Niagara and there was lots to do that we didn’t, for no other reason than we didn’t feel like it. Lots of people recommended the Maid in the Mist which is the boat ride you can take down there, but we just weren’t interested in getting that wet and dealing with all those people. There was also an observation tower, but we knew we’d be doing one in Toronto and figured we would like that better. And a few other things; but we don’t feel like we missed anything. For us it was about getting away to a beautiful place and having a relaxing time. Mission accomplished on that front.

    We checked out about 11am and made our way back to Toronto.

    We love big cities and are excited to explore this. That’s the tower we will go up at some point. Yesterday it was overcast most of the day and a bit rainy in parts so we didn’t have much planned. And Toronto is a big city – largest in Canada at about 3million.

    On every “top 10 things to do in Toronto” list is the St. Lawrence Market. We decided to go there for lunch and to pick up a few things to take to our hosts for dinner.

    There are lots of eateries, and little shops for meats, cheese, baked goods etc. Buster’s Sea Cove had the longest line of any so we decided it must be good and we’d take a chance.

    We shared a lobster roll, baked sweet potato, chicken and shrimp gumbo, and a spicy seafood orzo. That orzo dish could have fed 4, we had no idea it would be that much food. It was all very good.

    They seemed to have more meat places than anything.

    Zeus had a good time, too.

    We got some cheese and desserts for dinner that night, dropped them in the car, and went for a walk.

    There was a faux beachy area where dogs weren’t allowed…

    …and then a long promenade along Lake Ontario where we mostly let Zeus out off leash. He attracts lots of attention wherever he goes. Notice the woman filming him. It’s a little bizarre actually, but people love this dog.

    We walked to the end, sat around a bit and enjoyed a lovely breeze (as shown below) and then it started raining so we left.

    We were on our way back to our hosts house when the weather cleared so we turned back and went over the to Gay Village area. We walked up and down Church Street, stopped for some coffee, and left around 5:30pm. For not doing much the day sure went fast. We had dinner and a nice visit with our friends at their house and were in bed before 9pm, which was nice.

    The weather should be great today and we are looking forward to exploring the city.

     

  • Day 2, Sep 11 – Niagara Falls, Part 2

    Day 2, Sep 11 – Niagara Falls, Part 2

    We both had a good night’s sleep, getting up around 6am, just in time to go down to the lounge for coffee.

    I set up my laptop at a high table towards the back to write the blog and do some work. This was my view – you can see a teeny bit of the Falls in the center – until I was done around 10am. Ash got something eat and took Zeus out for a walk.

    We made our way back to Niagra-on-the-Lake and had lunch at the Prince of Wales hotel. We were seated in a lovely atrium and there were beautiful oil paintings all around.

    Ash had a grain and salad bowl. I wasn’t that hungry and had a roasted garlic and tomato soup and sweet potato fries.

    We walked around town a bit before and after but decided it was time for nap despite not having done much. Ash had also twisted his back somehow and wasn’t feeling great. So we went back to our room and rested, then left for a long walk before dinner around 4:30pm.

    Across the street from the hotel is the Oakes Garden Theater, established 1937. That’s a stage in the center with the American Falls behind it. Not a bad view to catch some entertainment. We entered from the street and made our way through it….

    …leaving through the gardens on the other side.

    This town loves its flowers as well, and the gardens all over are beautiful. Even those just in the street dividers.

    We walked through this park a bit and let Zeus off his leash to see what he would do with the geese. The first few he chased flew into a lily pond and without hesitation he went in after them. They left the pond, then he went back in just to swim. All of that happened way to quickly to get it on camera but it was pretty funny.

    Along the way was Tesla Plaza, a tribute to Nikola and his work with electricity. He was responsible for the initial design of power plants “that harnessed the force of Niagara Falls and forever changed the way we live.”

    This complex behind Ash is Table Rock Centre, a collection of activities, restaurants and shops by Horsehoe Falls.

    I took this from a 2nd story window from the Centre.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    It’s impressive anyway but great to be this close.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    This clip zooms in a bit. I love the color of the water as it goes over the cliff.

    This whole area was wet wet wet from the mist. I took the photo hoping to capture how wet my glasses were; decided to include the one below for good measure.

     

    And just as we started to walk away, a rainbow appeared, allowing me to get these amazing shots. Above is using the panoramic setting which allowed me to get the entire thing. Below is just the portion by Horseshoe Falls.

     

    We left Zeus to pout in the room for making him suffer the horrible hair dryer. Between the geese and the mist from the falls he was still pretty wet but he hates the hair dryer. It was a two-person event.

    We had dinner at the hotel restaurant on the 13th floor. Tired of this view yet?

    For starters we had arancini in a bed of traditional pesto and some garlic bread.

    We shared these two dishes: a very nice shrimp carbonara above, and an arctic char below. I’d never had char before so wasn’t expecting salmon but that’s essentially what it was. Both were great. Ash liked this restaurant a lot better than the one we went to last night.

     

     

    Dessert was a fudge brownie with pistachio ice cream.

    I will work a few hours this morning and then we will head back to Toronto.

     

     

     

     

  • Day 1, Sep 10 – Niagara-on-the-lake and Niagara Falls

    Day 1, Sep 10 – Niagara-on-the-lake and Niagara Falls

    I don’t recall anymore how we decided this was a good time for us to travel, or how exactly we landed on Toronto and Niagara Falls. I think it had something to do with Ash going to India for a month later in September and we wanted to get something in before that. At any rate, I’d never been to NF before and neither of us had been to Toronto before so that’s good enough reason as any. What I’d forgotten is that August/September/October is my busy time at work, so I won’t be disconnecting as completely as I typically do. But I’m good with that.

    We had a 6am flight Saturday morning, September 9, to Dallas. We booked the window and aisle seats and lucked out that no one was in the middle, so Zeus had a nice comfortable spot on the floor between us.

    We were in Ashland, Oregon, the weekend before, and had several near misses with COVID, so decided we’d be masked on these flights.

    Originally, we had just 45 minutes between flights, but our connection was delayed, which we appreciated, so we had over an hour to hang out in the lounge and get something to eat. They had a surprisingly good minestrone and a chicken & green bean dish that was also very good. We were glad we got the stop and the free food.

    We got into Toronto about 5pm and, with a long wait for luggage and rental, and wildly congested traffic we thought for a Saturday night, didn’t get to our friends’ house until about 8pm. They had a lovely light meal for us, and we got a nice chance to eat and visit before everyone went to bed.

    Me sitting with Zeus at the start of the main drag with quaint buildings and gardens behind us

    We will stay with them again Tuesday and Wednesday nights but made our way out early to head to Niagara Falls, which is just under 2 hours away. At the recommendation of several, we stopped at Niagara-on-the-Lake on the way and are glad we did. We both agreed this is one of the most beautiful, charming little towns we’ve ever come across. The gardens that line the main street are extraordinary and these photos will not do it justice. But I’m going to try!

    sign over the building says "Prince of Wales Hotel, established 1864"

    A friend we talked to that morning who used to live in Buffalo recommends this place for brunch so maybe we will come back today or tomorrow. It’s just about 20 minutes from Niagara Falls.

    Just me trying to capture the quaintness of this town, population about 20,000.

    Still 2 weeks for Fall to hit the calendar but this maple is already starting to change.

    More cuteness above and below, taking this restaurant from two different angles.

     

    Last one, I promise.

    The “lake” in the name is Lake Ontario. Just beyond those trees the Niagara River empties into it.

    As we made our way to Niagara Falls there was a park near the Queenston bridge where we walked around a bit and let Zeus run around without a leash. The color of the Niagara River here is a beautiful blue-green. Notice the two flags in the middle – one Canadian, one USA – showing the boundary which runs through the middle of the river.

    A boy and his dog.

    There are power plants fueled by the Niagara on both sides.

    We are staying at Fallsview Sheraton on the Canada side of Niagara Falls.

    And this is the view from our 18th floor window, validating the name of the hotel.

    Ash has a lifetime Platinum status with Marriott back from his IBM travel in the 90s, so we still benefit with things like lounge access. You can still see the Falls a bit from here even though it’s just the 2nd floor.

    Doorway says "To USA"

    We essentially dropped our bags and went to explore. The bridge over to the USA side is just to the left of our hotel. They checked passports coming and going. The bridge is below.

     

    A shot of the river and falls from the bridge. The Niagara River is only 36 miles – technically it’s a strait that connects Lake Erie to Lake Ontario – and runs north. Which for some reason my mind struggles with, which only indicates my own bias. Rivers run from highest to lowest point and it’s as simple as that. The Nile in Egypt also runs north, which makes total sense. The Falls on the left are called the American Falls because that portion of the river is all on the east side of the border. You can barely see it from here, but the smaller falls on the left is Bridal Veil. And the falls in front of us are Horseshoe for obvious reasons.

    Looking back, that’s the Sheraton where we are staying. The tower to the right of it is a casino.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    We made our way over to the American Falls.

     

    What astounded me was how fast the water was moving. And the color of the water is gorgeous.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    In this clip I try to capture how fast the water is moving. This is up the river a bit and then following it to where it falls at about 75k gallons per second.

     

    I grabbed a screen shot of the map as we were on a pedestrian bridge going over to Goat Island. I added arrows which show the flow of the water. The falls are on each side of Goat Island – the American and Bridal Veil falls that straight-ish line towards the top, and Horseshoe Falls connecting the island to Canada. From a pure view perspective, Canada got the best deal in this game.

    There’s a big New York State Park that manages this whole area on the USA side. Here we are making our way to Horsehoe Falls.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    While this video doesn’t capture it, there’s almost 10x as much water flowing here at this falls, at 675k gallons per second.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Zeus encounters Scully the tortoise, his first one.

    The American Falls from the other side.

    We were pretty tired after this and went back to the room to shower and rest a bit before dinner.

    We made our way out again around 6:20pm to walk to dinner about 1/2 a mile away. Ash continues his “put your finger on the tip” series below, this time using my head.

     

    That single wall of water on the far right is the Bridal Veil.

    The colors change as the sun starts to set – American above, Horseshoe below.

     

    We made our way to Queen Victoria Place, a restaurant established in 1904.

    It’s known for its views of the Falls, and didn’t disappoint on that front – above and below.

     

    We got the 3-course fixed menu, starting with a peach and apricot gazpacho for Ash, and a grilled Romaine salad for me. They called it a Ceasar but only the Romaine and the parmesan made it so. Also prosciutto and fried capers. I liked it but Ash didn’t care for either too much. The gazpacho was too sweet for a starter – reminded me of the “juice” we used to drink out of peach cans when I was a kid, not knowing then it was really syrup.

    Ash had salmon, I had short ribs. Mine was really good and a good portion. Ash liked the taste of his, but the piece salmon was small.

    Chocolate cheesecake and creme brulee for dessert.

    At night, they put on a light show.

    And at 10pm there were fireworks, too, which we could see pretty well from our hotel window. And we were in bed shortly after that.

    We don’t have a single thing planned for the day, other than I need to work some, so we will see what we come up with.

     

  • Day 16, Jun 7 – Simon’s Town, Penguins!, and my Final Thoughts on this marvelous trip

    Day 16, Jun 7 – Simon’s Town, Penguins!, and my Final Thoughts on this marvelous trip

    I woke up at 4am feeling completely over whatever the weirdness was from the day before, even got a decent 7 hours of sleep. I started on the blog, Ash was up about 5:30. We went down for breakfast around 6:45 and lingered there for a couple of hours, just reading things and playing games on our phones. It had been a while since we’d just done nothing, and today was going to be a lot of that. The only plans we had was to check out of the Marriott in downtown Cape Town and check in to our Airbnb in Simon’s Town about an hour south.

    The weather today was much different than the prior day – as forecasted – and we’d intentionally left it pretty open. We wanted to be able to chill some before the 36-hour trek home. We finally checked out about 11:30am and got on the road. One of the benefits of the weather: the beautiful rainbows we saw along the way, above and below.

    We made it to Simon’s Town about 12:30 as planned. It’s a little town, population about 7000, nestled against hills on the east coast of the cape on False Bay, just north of where we were yesterday.

    Sign says: Table Mountain National Park; Welcome to Boulders - home of the African Penguin

    One of the reasons to come to Simon’s Town: it is home to a colony of South African penguins. There are only about 20,000 of them in the world, and about 3500 of them are in this colony.

    Sign in the parking lot: triangle shaped, white against a red border and in black: image of a penguin with

    When was the last time you had to search for penguins under your car?

    There were two wooden walkways that led to the beach in different directions, and penguin nests were on either side of it. One section of it went up and down quite a bit; it’s a hilly area.

    This is breeding season and we saw some of them sitting on eggs. And it’s not always the mother – the parents take turns. Penguins mate for life and always return to the same spot for breeding.

    Here’s an example of a good downward part of the path.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    A few penguins coming out of the bay.

    Selfie or it didn’t happen! See the landing with all the people on it across the beach? That’s where we went next.

    Sign: Penguins will bit. Please do not touch, feed or disturb the penguins. 500 rand fine.

    A reminder that they are not tame and living, at least somewhat, in their natural habitat. Somebody jumped the walkway into the penguin area and one of the birds got so freaked out it jumped onto the walkway and worked its way into a corner of it. The staff was trying to use gloved hands and a net to get it back on the beach but it wasn’t having any of it. We figured us staring at the scene wasn’t helping – there were lots of others to do that! – so we moved on.

    We could see them a little better from this side. Above and below.

    Babies somewhere in the middle there.

    On our way back to the car, we bought a wooden mask (which Ash collects) from this guy, We’d looked at his stuff on the way in and told him we’d catch him on the way back.

    The penguins are about a quarter mile from our Airbnb, and maybe 1/2 a mile from the town. We drove into town, parked and walked until we found something interesting for lunch. Or the first thing we came across in this case, a little spot called Due South.

    Above and below: I took a photo of the place with Ash; he took a photo of me.

    Ash ordered a chicken roulade dish with rice. I had springbok carpaccio – yes, again! Not as complex a dish as at the Four Seasons but it was fresh and tasty. I also had a beet salad with calamari which was excellent, and Ash had some of that as well.

    We shared a piece of carrot cake at the end.

    We walked some of the town after and bought some things from an artisan leather shop.

    We went to our Airbnb after, which Ash booked for the view. It didn’t disappoint. In fact, it’s much more comfortable than I imagined from the photos.

    It’s just one room but super charming and well equipped.

    If the weather was better, we could sit on the balcony!

    Nice bathroom!

    It’s called Penguins View. We visited with Heather, the owner, a bit. She lives here and there’s 4 units for rent – 3 studios and a 2 bedroom. The name is apt – that sliver of beach far left center is where we were in the above photos. And she says they are all along this area in front of us. Maybe if the weather is better in the morning we can see some of them.

    It stopped raining for a few moments, and I was able to catch some nice views and fun clouds, above and below. In the above photo you can see the penguins on the beach on the left if you look carefully :)

    It’s about 6pm and we’re about to go find dinner. Yes, I’m actually writing this on the day it happened! We’ve been warned that there probably won’t be any electricity from 4am – 8am (that load-shedding thing I mentioned many posts ago now) so I figured I’d get as much of it done as I could since we were just hanging out this afternoon.

    And we’re back. We went to Saveur, #2 on TripAdvisor, in the same area of town we were in for lunch. (Tomorrow we will go to #1, The Lighthouse Cafe, for breakfast, same area.)

    It was in a building on the wharf which housed several restaurants and other shops. This replica of a ship – two of them, actually – built here in 1931 or so was in the common area. These 2 ships were in use for 30 years before being decommissioned.

    It wasn’t crowded – easily because of the nasty weather – had a nice feel, and the service was excellent. That chalkboard has the specials on it.

    We started with baked camembert, one of our favorite cheeses but we rarely see it on a menu.

    We both ordered mains off the specials board. Ash got yellow fin tuna, cooked perfectly. He enjoyed every bite of this dish.

    I had an ostrich burger, something I’ve never seen on a menu. I’ll tell ya – those fries and onion rings were some of the best I’ve had anywhere. The burger had an onion jam on it – that dark sauce coming out of the top bun – and while good, that flavor over-powered everything else. Less than halfway through I tore it apart and ate the tomatoes, cheese, and most of the burger by themselves, left everything else. Ostrich tastes pretty much like beef.

    We split dessert, a sticky toffee pudding with a warm toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream. It was terrific.

    We talked about what we would do tomorrow, which isn’t much. We will hang out here enjoying the view maybe until out checkout time which is Noon. We should get to the airport no later than 5:30 which gives us 4-5 hours to kill. We’ll figure it out as we go along, but I’d decided as we were talking that I would finish the blog tonight. For all intents and purposes, the trip is done.

    Our dinner conversation sort of confirmed this when Ash asked me what my 3 favorite things were. And they were about the same as his:

    1. The conversation we had that first Friday at our handfasting dinner.
    2. Everything about Victoria Falls – the falls themselves, not the town – including of course the helicopter ride, my first.
    3. I asked, “can I just say ‘the safari’? And if I had to pick just one thing from the safari, it was the Painted Dogs experience.
    4. Ash had another which was how much I enjoyed Cape Town. Early in our relationship, as I was learning how much he has traveled, I asked him where he would live if he could live anywhere in the world, and his answer was Cape Town. I was looking forward to experiencing it and agree it’s a pretty wonderful place.

    Which is a good way to segue to my final Final thoughts for this trip. I did some already for just Johannesburg and the safari so this will round all that out, including some things I missed. In no particular order:

    1. OK, so I’ll start with: Cape Town really was fabulous. Like our Johannesburg experience, everyone is so happy here, and friendly to you. People actually look you in the eye and say “hello” to you on the street. When you walk into a restaurant or store, you’re greeted with enthusiasm. It’s hard to explain. The closest I’ve experience this before was in Costa Rica, and some in Puerta Vallarta, but this is on a level above those. Add that the natural beauty is astounding, the weather very similar to San Francisco – pretty mild year-round – and no one blinks at you being an inter-racial gay couple. That doesn’t happen everywhere we go (well, most places actually but only because we choose that on purpose) but the difference is palpable when you experience the acceptance.
    2. OMG it is cold in Africa! No one ever talks about that, somehow in my head it’s hot everywhere all the time. Granted, it’s late fall here and I knew that, but I really didn’t expect it to be as cold as it is. That on safari you are moving in an open vehicle with no windows or doors at 5:30am when it’s 50 degrees certainly doesn’t help. Had I known that specific detail – and that laundry was available at all of the lodges we stayed at – I would have packed Very Differently than I did. I felt like I was cold in Joburg and in the Cape region all the time. I brought one long-sleeved shirt and a light windbreaker. Now I know.
    3. The level of respect the people have for animals is inspiring. I’ll leave it at that.
    4. Toothpicks are right on the table along with salt and pepper, 90% of the time. As someone always in search of a toothpick, I really appreciate that.
    5. The cost of living here is much lower than back home. Sure, so is Mexico and Costa Rica, but the level of infrastructure and overall quality of life here seems much higher than those places. Simple example: Ash asked me how much I thought dinner tonight cost. I said, well it would be about $75 at home. It was $30 here. We looked at a lot of real estate flyers (which we always do when we travel) but here it’s actually affordable AND are places that would work for us. When I retire (and we don’t know when that is yet), we’ve talked about traveling for 2 years straight. And start here for 2-3 months.
    6. Someone made a comment on the blog that this seems like a life-changing experience. And I have to agree. I’m not sure if I can articulate how exactly, but this trip certainly had me thinking about a lot of different things I’ve never thought about before. At a minimum, we’ve talked a lot about lifestyle changes we can make so that we can do even more of this level of travel. Time will tell how all of that plays out.

    One last photo: I meant to include this in my “thoughts” on the safari but forgot. Every place we stayed in Zimbabwe and Botswana was stocked with 3-4 cans of this nature:

    1. Doom – insect killer, in case there are creepy crawlies in your room
    2. Air freshener – however you want to use that
    3. Peacefull Sleep – insect repellent, to keep the bugs off you. In the safari lodges this was also sprayed on your mosquito netting and sometimes on the top of your bedspreads
    4. And, not pictured because I didn’t think to take the photo until Maun, but in Victoria Falls and all 3 lodges of the Okavango Delta, where the animals run wild, there was also a foghorn. You know. In case you come back to your room and there’s a baboon on your bed. Or an elephant comes through your window. It could happen :)

    And finally, I think many of you felt something different on this trip, too. I LOVED hearing from all of you – both on Facebook and directly on the blog – and it felt like you got more from it than you were expecting as well. A couple of you even shared how you were sharing it with family members which I was thrilled to hear. As I enter my 11th year of travel blogging, what was true from that first moment in Mainz, Germany, in March of 2013 is even more true now: knowing I’m going to write about it changes how I both experience and recall my day in significantly meaningful ways. I would do it if no one ever read it. That so many of you get something out of it makes it all that much sweeter. So, thanks for the feedback, but most of all thanks for coming along.

    Next up is Toronto in September – something new for both me and Ash. We will see you then if not before.