All posts by Wooly and Raeski

Wooly was born with the travel bug. Raeski caught it somewhere in her life. And when they met they had no idea what craziness would ensue.
France, Travel

Stuck in a flood

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When a river goes starts to flood, what happens to all the cruise boats on the river? A lot of rain fell in northern France in areas that drain into the Rhone and its tributaries. When the cruise started the flow rate of the river was 2,000 cubic meters per second. After all the rain fell it went up to 4,000cms. Unfortunately when the flow rate exceeds 3,000cms navigation on the river is halted and the locks are closed. And the boats? They stay in whatever city or town they stopped at and we’re left with a painfully slow internet connection that makes it impossible to update a blog. No wifi cafe in Viviere.

In our case the town was Viviere; a town without much. 25% of its buildings are inhabited, the rest crumbling and empty. A great town for a ghost tour but not much else. In a town of minimal population and street lights the upside is that the Milky Way stands out and the stars are bright. This was an unexpected treat. For three nights the river kept us here. That and watching trees floating by in the river was the only entertainment that was found outside of the boat.

However our tours continued as scheduled. AMA Waterways was very proficient at re-arranging the tours and having buses pick us up and take us to our destinations. While the drive to the locations may have been a bit longer we did get to see more of the French countryside. We still got to taste wine and see the sights. And each night we had fantastic meals.

After the third night of being stuck in Viviere, the river was opened to navigation and we were able to move on. Of course that was after the tree that was lodged on the bow of the boat was removed. The boat sailed all night and when we woke up we were in Lyon with one last day of touring before our next part of our trip begins.

France, Travel

It’s a good thing we’re walking a lot

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So far we have yet to mention any of our dining out experiences. So far it has been positive in both Spain and France. Yes, for those of you who know, we haven’t been blessed with any hot dog pizzas. 🙂

Our first dinner in Arle was especially good. On the recommendation of our hotel manager we went to a place called “Le 16”. This is one of those “must eat there” places. We arrived there in the “geezer” hour at 8pm. This turned out to be a good thing because by 8:30 all the tables were filled.

Like most restaurants here, it is fairly small and could possibly seat 30. You definitely are cozy and close to your neighbor so be kind. Another delightful thing we discovered was that when a cell phone rings people excuse themselves and go outside to talk. Yes, the French in Southern France are very polite.

But back to dinner. Raeski started with salad and I had mushroom soup. I thought I got the better dish but I’m not a huge salad guy. For the main course Raeski had white fish in white sauce and I had rabbit. Both were delicious and beautifully presented. For dessert Raeski had profiteroles drowning in dark chocolate sauce and I had a thick chocolate ganache with cream sauce and a raspberry and orange sauce on the side. All dishes were something to write home about and even better than grandma’s cooking.

And yes, it’s a good thing we’re getting our 10,000 steps in. (More likely 20,000) But in all that walking we thoroughly explore the places we want to see. And if we miss something we have a reason to come back. And yes, we have reasons to return to both Barcelona and Arle. Time to board the ship now for the next part of our trip.  – au revoir

France, Travel

120 of them

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L’Amphitheatre

It’s not the largest in the world, but it is among the best preserved. It was built in 90AD in response to the growing popularity of the gladiator fights across the Roman empire. The ampitheatre towered over the town of Arles.

It remains one of the best preserved amphitheatres of Roman origin. Today blood still spills on its grounds with modern day bullfighting. Sadly bleachers have been erected inside which spoil the antiquity of the place. Scaffolding is everywhere as the French are restoring the monument.

And the 120? There are 120 arches in the amphitheatre. Most are in remarkable condition considering their age. It is definitely a site one must see when visiting Arles.

Spain, Travel

Stairmasters

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To see the best ya gotta climb a few

To get the best shot you often have to climb a few stairs, rocks, mountains or whatever. Many of you already know that the herd thins out when you have to climb one or two hundred stairs.

Today we had the top of the Tibidabo all to ourselves. To get there we rode the Azul bus to the transfer to the 196 line. Next up (literally) was the funicular. When you get off there is a platform that overlooks Barcelona. Most people go there. We climbed another 40 stairs that took us to Temple de Sagrat and got better views. Next was the elevator taking us to the next level.

There we stepped out into a strong chilly wind and fewer people. A small staircase took us up even higher. By now we are at least one hundred feet above the herd and there were only a few of us left braving the cold and the wind. Finally another very narrow staircase of over one hundred stairs led us to the top level. There we only met two couples the entire time we were up there freezing our tushies off.

The payoff? Unobstructed views of the entire city of Barcelona and surrounding areas. At lower levels the ever abundant cranes obstruct your view. Up here none exist.

The point of all this is if you truly want to see the best an area has to offer you must be in reasonable shape and be willing to break away from the herd. Some of the greatest photos ever taken were often only a hundred meters away from the typical tourist spots. The famous Picchu Machu photo that adorns so many travel brochures was only meters away from a typical tourist photo ‘overlook’.

If you are in a rut, next time you’re out think outside the box and do something different. Who knows, you may even stumble onto a great shot.

Spain, Travel

Casa Batllo

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A simple home designed by Gaudi.

With no lines we were drawn into Casa Batllo this morning. Gaudi’s masterpiece is truly a magical modernist architectural treat. The colors, forms and flow make you feel like you’re in a Jules Verne underwater adventure.

The individual elements and the central light atrium were exquisitely executed from top to bottom. We were entranced for over 1 1/2 hours shooting angles and details unlike any seen elsewhere. I even bought 2 circular postcards jost for their uniqueness.

Then it was off to see other sites. Wooly will fill in more details when we get back and he downloads his pictures off his camera. – Raeski

Travel

Where’s Customs???

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Hey everyone, we’re here! After a long flight and routing that took us first to Frankfurt and then to Barcelona we finally arrived with very little sleep and things to do. The nice thing about this route is we got to fly over the Alps and the clouds weren’t covering them. We will definitely be back to explore those mountains and valleys sometime in the future.

Even though we were only changing planes in Frankfurt the Germans stamped our passport. Oddly enough, when we got to Barcelona we claimed our bags and went out the “nothing to declare” customs line.  Guess what, no customs at all! Not even a stamp on the passport! Nada! Nobody even looked at us!

The Renaissance Hotel is right in the middle of things and very nice. Even though we wanted to sleep we went out and had tapas across the street from Gaudi’s Casa Batllo. Next was a show at the Palau de la Musica Catalana. Now we are exhausted, sleep deprived and ready to hit the sack.

Maybe mañana I’ll find out what the deal was with customs. Too tired now to care about it.

Chile, Travel

Chile’s Flamingos

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Tres Flamingos

Smoking volcanos tower on the horizon as you stand on the vast salar.  Shallow pools of water teem with brine shrimp. Flamingos flock to these lagoons to feast on them. As you watch you quickly become parched courtesy of the thin, dry and windy air.

You are standing on the vast salt flats (salar in Spanish) of Salar de Atacama, the largest salar in Chile. In this desolation life carves out a precarious niche that is being threatened by global warming. As the earth heats, the rivers send less water to the vast salt flats where rain doesn’t fall and evaporation takes its toll.

As the habitat shrinks, so does the population of these large and beautiful birds. Nearby mines disturb and pollute the environment with chemicals that are highly toxic to flamingos. As roads are improved tourism and poachers take an additional toll.

Conservationists are trying to protect these birds. The Andean Flamingo was declared an endangered species in 2010. Many of the places flamingos reside in the summer and winter have been made national parks. However many of their breeding grounds remain unprotected.

Enjoy the photos of these Andean Flamingos and please tread lightly when you are a guest in their habitat.

Flamingos filter feed by scooping up the brine shrimp.

Flamingos aren’t the most graceful birds taking off.

We have lift-off!

Graceful in flight.

Flying in formation.

And not so graceful landings. But who cares? They’re beautiful birds and we should treasure them.

Travel

What’s in the Bag?

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Why is my backpack so heavy and why do I carry so much stuff? Or maybe a better question is why I was silly enough to choose photography as a hobby? Do any of you ask the same questions or is it just me?

So just what is in the bag? First there’s the point and shoot and DSLR cameras complete with chargers and spare batteries. Because of Mr. Murphy and his unpleasant law, I always carry a spare camera. Then Raeski usually sneaks in this compact digital movie camera.

I pack three lenses; a 20mm, 28 – 105 zoom and a 100 – 300 zoom with UV, circular polarizers, enhancing and 812 filters for each lens. There’s more but when I’m flying to a destination I try to cut down the weight and these are the ones I use the most.

But wait! There’s more! Am I sounding like an infomercial? There’s a remote flash for the DSLR, tripod and head, remote cable, lots of memory cards, cleaning supplies, a power cord converter for foreign electrical outlets and DSLR to laptop cable. But you’re delusional if you think cost the same as a Ronco slice and dice.

Last but not least, there is the laptop and AC adapter I have to take because my job pretty much demands it. That’s the real anchor I’d love to lose. Getting all this through airport security is no joy either. Once we get to the hotel room some of this will come out of the bag and stay in the room.

Now it’s your turn. What’s in your bag?

Travel

Busy-Bodies

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Before a trip are you as busy as these ants?

As fairly seasoned travelers I figured the list of what we do before we go out of the country may be useful to others. I welcome any comments from others who may want to add to the list.

Here’s local stuff we do for the homestead. By now our family and friends are probably sick of hearing about our plans so there is no need to let them know we’re leaving. They’re probably glad to see us go.

– Stop the mail.
– Stop the newspaper.
– Leave a key with a trusted neighbor.
– Notify police of the dates we’ll be gone.
– Notify the alarm company.
– Put household plants in the backyard where they will be watered by the sprinklers.
– Take out the trash. (If you’ve ever forgotten this you’ll understand why)
– Clean the house so it will be less inviting to bugs.
– Turning off the heater is a safe thing to do in Phoenix, so we do it. If you live where it freezes you know this is a bad idea.
– Eat, donate or give to our neighbors anything that will spoil in the refrigerator.

Here’s stuff we do before going out the door that could be important on our trip.

– Get credit cards activated for our destination.
– Get local currency.
– Store electronic copies of our passports in the cloud.
– Make a paper copy of our passports to take with us.
– Keep a printout of our itinerary in a folder that goes in carry-on.
– Make sure my emergency info is up-to-date.
– Check the cameras. (See “Those Darn Spots”)
– Download some of those cool apps that are pertinent for our trip to our iPhones. There is no need for a sim card because everyone is following us on our blog and you don’t need one to connect to the web.

This part is for men only but I know you ladies won’t skip over this. Admit it ladies, that’s just the way you are. Years ago I gave up my wallet. Instead I use one of those credit card holders and in it I have two credit cards, my license and emergency info. That’s it. I leave my debit card at home. You certainly don’t need any of those club membership cards. Then it goes in the front pants pocket. If I know I’m going to a pickpocket area (do your research ahead of time) I put a credit card in one sock and my license in the other. Okay ladies, you can start reading again. See, I caught you.

What we pack is a different subject and one that’s requiring a bit more planning than usual due to weather changes we will experience as we go north. Cheers, Wooly

Travel

Those Darn Spots!

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Those darn spots!

I really hate those spots. They always appear at the most inconvenient of times. Never mind what it takes to get rid of them. With hopes of no spots, I tested my camera to make sure everything was is good order before our trip. Lenses and filters cleaned? Check. Batteries charged? Check Camera works? Ah man, those darn spots are showing up again!

I switched lenses and they still showed up. Diagnosis? The autofocus motor has spewed oil on the sensor. So I make my what is turning out to be an annual trip to the camera repair store for cleaning. According to the technician, this is a common occurrence with two major brands of cameras. If you have a Canon you’re safe.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love my camera. It takes stunning pictures and it would probably take more with a different person pushing the buttons. But I digress… I just don’t like having to go into Photoshop to remove spots. It makes me grumpy. Just ask Raeski.

So tomorrow I pick up my camera and the wallet will be a little lighter. And unlike the little guy in the photo, my spots will be gone. Cheers, Wooly