tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841344114707478952024-02-22T12:00:53.793-08:00claudia and lewLew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-49420721083328962782012-07-13T08:37:00.000-07:002012-07-13T08:37:28.308-07:00Newfoundland, June 2012<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Newfoundland is a land of rugged beauty and a hardy, fun-loving people. It’s 4 1/2 time zones away, nearer to Ireland than California, and didn’t even join Canada until after World War II. But it’s wonderfully North American with charming fishing villages, varied-color row houses (called jellybean rows) in its capital St. John’s, its own unique blue-bottled Quidi Vidi beer, and food to die for: cod tongues and pastries bristling with partridgeberries (we call them lingonberries) and bakeapple berries (like orange-colored raspberries). Moose roam the island and whales encircle it. Cod was king until overfishing forced an economy-crippling moratorium. Now many former fishermen find employ in Alberta’s oil fields or aboard offshore oil rigs. Notwithstanding their many challenges--including forced resettlements--Newfoundlanders (sometimes called “Newfies”) survive in good humor buoyed everywhere by the exuberant strains of arresting celtic folkmusic. What a blast!</span></div>Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-91511558086407828382012-04-23T20:03:00.000-07:002012-04-23T20:03:10.132-07:00Visiting Creole and Cajun Country, April 2012<br />
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Garden District, New Orleans</div>
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Lafayette Cemetery</div>
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Garden District</div>
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Streetcar</div>
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On the way to site of Battle of New Orleans, War of 1812</div>
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Water snake, Honey Island swamp</div>
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Shotgun house, Lower 9th Ward</div>
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Bourbon Street, New Orleans</div>
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Bourbon Street</div>
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Street festival</div>
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Avery Island, New Iberia</div>
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Roseate Spoonbill, Lake Martin rookery</div>
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Louisiana Bald Cypress swamp</div>
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Oak Alley Plantation (view from mansion entrance)</div>
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Oak Alley mansion</div>
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Oak Alley classic view</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">OK, this place is <i>really</i> different: different food, different architecture, different music, different cemeteries, even different people. Actually, its uniqueness stems mainly from the diverse cultures which settled along the warm, storm-plagued southern terminus of the Mississippi River. The Creoles and Cajuns brought to southern Louisiana from the Caribbean, Europe and Nova Scotia an overlay appealing to all senses: their own fragrant and spicy foods, toe-tapping music, eye-catching architecture, and lyric accents. There were the plantations reminiscent of Tara in “Gone With the Wind,” the oddly shaped shotgun houses, the cemeteries with above-ground vaults marked with scores of names, the Katrina-devastated communities undergoing imaginative rebuilding, the beignets (deep fried dough balls), po-boys and crawfish kickers emblematic of the cultures from which they’re drawn, and humid swamps with Spanish moss garlanding Louisiana Bald Cypresses. What fun!</span></div>Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-6817636322354666262012-02-24T14:59:00.000-08:002012-02-24T14:59:58.930-08:00Route of the Maya, February 2012<br />
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Temple of the Great Jaguar, Tikal</div>
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Harnessed up for zip-line</div>
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Scarlet Macaws</div>
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Our minibus</div>
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Copan ruins, Honduras</div>
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Lake Atitlan, Guatemala</div>
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Lamanai ruins, Belize</div>
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Howler monkey</div>
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Typical cemetery, Guatemala</div>
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Restored image, Lamanai</div>
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Cathedral, San Salvador</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our search for the famous Mayan ruins of Tikal and Copan took us to El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize. Our group of 16 weathered rough roads, a humid climate, malarial swamplands, and a risky water supply...but the remarkable Mayan ruins and our zip-lining experience made it all seem worth it. Zip-lining begins by donning a harness and climbing to a point high enough to let gravity do its work. It’s really not done for the scenery; you’re moving too fast and are too intent on applying the brakes. But what an experience! The horseback ride to a Mayan village was memorable as was a visit to a local school and a home dining experience. But when we look back on this trip in the future, we’re sure to remember most the grandeur of the Temple of the Great Jaguar at Tikal and the excitement of zip-lining. </span></span></div>Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-1779836315064857672011-12-22T10:43:00.000-08:002011-12-22T10:43:46.836-08:00Antarctica, December 1-15, 2011<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When we saw restraining straps on our beds in the vessel taking us to Antarctica we realized this trip would be different. This came soon after learning that, for many of our fellow travelers, this was their second, third, even fourth bid at launching this trip (mechanical difficulties or damage occurring during crossings are not uncommon). But we were lucky. Not only did we embark on schedule but our ear patches successfully prevented sea sickness during the notoriously rough two-day crossing of the Drake Passage. Nine landings featured penguins by the thousands, fur seals, an abandoned whaling enterprise and a British research station. Typically, once a scout boat could assure that an avenue to a landing point could be found through icy seas, zodiac boats would ferry us ashore eight at a time. We were briefed to allow penguins to approach us, but not approach them or use their pathways. Our visits were almost surreal. Surrounded by icebergs and a forbidding landscape, we walked the rock and ice-strewn habitat of creatures not seen elsewhere on earth, or we visited the ruins of abandoned human efforts to capitalize on this unique setting. We took many pictures, but share the belief that no camera can faithfully capture the fierce, epic grandeur of an Antarctic summer experience.</span></div>Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-74467400788798256972011-11-09T16:28:00.000-08:002011-11-09T16:36:11.137-08:00Danube Cruise, October 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Our goals for this excursion were to introduce Claudia to Lew’s favorite city Vienna and to find out if river cruising would be OK when health begins to limit us. It worked on both counts. Vienna’s giant Ferris Wheel (the Riesenrad) gave breathtaking views, and the White Chimney Sweep Restaurant rendered the best dining experience of the trip. And you couldn’t ask for a better river cruising experience than our journey from Romania though Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia to Hungary on the not-so-blue Danube. Budapest presented unparalleled beauty, particularly while illuminated at night. In fact, it was our most memorable scene.</span></div>
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<br />Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-1022014940594708912011-09-24T11:34:00.000-07:002011-09-24T11:34:38.878-07:00Excursions along Owens Valley and US 395<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">We paid a brief but exciting visit to California’s Owens Valley in late August and September. Highlights included horseback riding in the High Sierra above 10,000 ft, and excursions to the ghost town of Bodie, Mono Lake, filmdom’s Alabama Hills, Devils Postpile, Rainbow Falls, the Bristlecone Pine Forest, and a gondola ride to the 11,053 ft peak of Mammoth Mountain. Bishop was our base and the weather was perfect. To pick a favorite in this wondrous area is too challenging, but the ancient 4,100-year old forest of Bristlecone Pines would be hard to beat.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The most exciting part of our 13-day tour was the float plane excursion to Katmai National Park to see grizzly bears feeding on migrating salmon. A platform protects viewers at the main waterfall site, but rangers often need to guide visitors away from bears wandering elsewhere. We took the opportunity to tour nearby Valley of 10,000 Smokes, the eerie site of a catastrophic 1912 eruption larger even than the record-setting Krakatoa blast. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Then by a combination of rail, ferry, rental cars, and tour boats (Claudia did all the planning) we visited Valdez (terminus of the Alaska pipeline), the abandoned Kennecott copper mine complex in the Wrangell-St Elias National Park, Cordova, the “Million Dollar” bridge, and a host of awesome glaciers. Wildlife was plentiful--humpback whales (one even breached like you’ve seen on TV), cute and playful sea otters, moose (or whatever its plural is), Stellar sea lions, Dall sheep, bald eagles and more. The blue-white glaciers were exciting to watch as they calved giant blocks of ice, particularly if you approached by small boat. First, if you were lucky, you would see the block break loose, then you’d hear the rifle-shot report, followed by a wave forcing the boat to rock. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Such a visit reminds us once again that the American West (including Alaska) has a beauty riveling anyplace in the world. We recommend it.</span></div>Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-58285612229232381892011-07-24T15:11:00.001-07:002011-12-22T10:43:47.939-08:00The bears of Alaska and more...<span id="goog_1777318661"></span><span id="goog_1777318662"></span>Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-31037406755939675662011-07-24T14:57:00.001-07:002011-12-22T10:43:47.945-08:00The bears of Alaska and more...Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-67706663918385681242011-07-24T14:41:00.001-07:002011-12-22T10:43:47.951-08:00The bears of Alaska and more...<div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">The most exciting part of our 13-day tour was the float plane excursion to Katmai National Park to see grizzly bears feeding on migrating salmon. A platform protects viewers at the main waterfall site, but rangers often need to guide visitors away from bears wandering elsewhere. We took the opportunity to tour nearby Valley of 10,000 Smokes, the eerie site of a catastrophic 1912 eruption larger even than the record-setting Krakatoa blast. <span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Then by a combination of rail, ferry, rental cars, and tour boats (Claudia did all the planning) we visited Valdez (terminus of the Alaska pipeline), the abandoned Kennecott copper mine complex in the Wrangell-St Elias National Park, Cordova, the “Million Dollar” bridge, and a host of awesome glaciers. Wildlife was plentiful--humpback whales (one even breached like you’ve seen on TV), cute and playful sea otters, moose (or whatever its plural is), Stellar sea lions, Dall sheep, bald eagles and more. The blue-white glaciers were exciting to watch as they calved giant blocks of ice, particularly if you approached by small boat. First, if you were lucky, you would see the block break loose, then you’d hear the rifle-shot report, followed by a wave forcing the boat to rock. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Such a visit reminds us once again that the American West (including Alaska) has a beauty riveling anyplace in the world. We recommend it.</span></div>Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-72876092438583987152011-03-07T14:02:00.000-08:002011-03-07T14:02:04.773-08:00On Visiting Shangri-La (Nepal), November 2010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuYswhEs5Gnfwq0F1HuPm6rdu-RVBubxdhR1JwSyKj6kG1OMc2raB6jYFuDNmE3qaa2nDqNIcBhSAa07_UBpZTyIv1x9_TKJB4AflErE9u0ooPSuW7mq4Ci3VQEu840Zsx_gd5rZijw4/s1600/nepal+lew+g112+047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuYswhEs5Gnfwq0F1HuPm6rdu-RVBubxdhR1JwSyKj6kG1OMc2raB6jYFuDNmE3qaa2nDqNIcBhSAa07_UBpZTyIv1x9_TKJB4AflErE9u0ooPSuW7mq4Ci3VQEu840Zsx_gd5rZijw4/s320/nepal+lew+g112+047.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Buddhist temple in Khatmandu</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFSSYaA03W6FHAHjbgLOMhip8BsSoVLhUDiLNF9rKfySw1HoydEo-da7CAC3VWdtddKhmGp2eD09SE5I-tt-OOw8XW09FAc-TZWQtOvkJ3ghlMKkKiIIsGzs0vMhHLRx7isipjkhU91g/s1600/IMG_1433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFSSYaA03W6FHAHjbgLOMhip8BsSoVLhUDiLNF9rKfySw1HoydEo-da7CAC3VWdtddKhmGp2eD09SE5I-tt-OOw8XW09FAc-TZWQtOvkJ3ghlMKkKiIIsGzs0vMhHLRx7isipjkhU91g/s320/IMG_1433.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Searching at Chitwan Royal Park</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-nzk0Vxh6bcKQu726gmncJ505QIXn7CjgWenoqMErAGiQkFcw76GsG9JgyamXrsZ6TWTVB5MS_jB7IjXb3u39xvE4h7CGfr2qWBWkn5x6B7V_94FEahomVH3nwF0yY4Alj7Zr1Y3xFw/s1600/IMG_1454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-nzk0Vxh6bcKQu726gmncJ505QIXn7CjgWenoqMErAGiQkFcw76GsG9JgyamXrsZ6TWTVB5MS_jB7IjXb3u39xvE4h7CGfr2qWBWkn5x6B7V_94FEahomVH3nwF0yY4Alj7Zr1Y3xFw/s320/IMG_1454.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">White Rhinos at Chitwan</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVkmAFdcTkC7QsOo6zwdrAsU0j-GT5c6KXviHue1wdW4OjKO4jSeDvpRv5JmmUf2E3toyDI_bnQiwVc2cOGQWoEb3KFUDwo3INlmtOjHqwUvOb9rl8h0s4i6D6aiXnhq2rg8j6mz_Kos/s1600/nepal+lew+g112+090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVkmAFdcTkC7QsOo6zwdrAsU0j-GT5c6KXviHue1wdW4OjKO4jSeDvpRv5JmmUf2E3toyDI_bnQiwVc2cOGQWoEb3KFUDwo3INlmtOjHqwUvOb9rl8h0s4i6D6aiXnhq2rg8j6mz_Kos/s320/nepal+lew+g112+090.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hindu holy men</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhST_PdOUJYFqQK96IMrNxlhQKXdv9Dn6gG8Fk6tglJciKdv9rqWV_mdXu8QHcID8qF8yb7vnNSEEBAV8YAxYGoDRr3gA2TEeCCF85S59kRPdabMf1tpdT0W5tuqZaM72Mh9p7EXPgCSyE/s1600/IMG_1595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhST_PdOUJYFqQK96IMrNxlhQKXdv9Dn6gG8Fk6tglJciKdv9rqWV_mdXu8QHcID8qF8yb7vnNSEEBAV8YAxYGoDRr3gA2TEeCCF85S59kRPdabMf1tpdT0W5tuqZaM72Mh9p7EXPgCSyE/s320/IMG_1595.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Claudia and Lew in Nepali attire</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8FLvIPnfp56TXExsQL0nLC8W2h9p0hpzDce7PBUgTzTtolBnrXVjaHE0MYKh5IKrrxlwAG-UfRITPHzyK8eO_zdtxM1M37Q5L3M65RqyxWm5GVNpdZQEaL5AnvpgwZdbwnqrBWXAKmo/s1600/IMG_1604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8FLvIPnfp56TXExsQL0nLC8W2h9p0hpzDce7PBUgTzTtolBnrXVjaHE0MYKh5IKrrxlwAG-UfRITPHzyK8eO_zdtxM1M37Q5L3M65RqyxWm5GVNpdZQEaL5AnvpgwZdbwnqrBWXAKmo/s320/IMG_1604.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mount Everest from a small plane</div><!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The highlight of our visit to mystical Nepal was an excursion atop an elephant chasing rhinos at the former Chitwan Royal Park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our group of 11 mounted six elephants and set out across the Rapti River through a chilly morning fogbank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After fanning out through thick elephant grass we spotted fleeing wild boars and hog deer, then circled a clutch of rare white rhinos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back in the days of the British Raj that would have meant a certain kill for a wall-mounted treasure, but our arms were only cameras.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We then sought the elusive Bengal Tiger, however paw prints and claw marks on nearby trees were all we found of these magnificent nocturnal felines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The morning concluded with our elephants bathing and cavorting in the Rapti, fortunately after we had dismounted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This was the final major phase of a 19-day adventure that began in Kathmandu, Nepal’s traffic-chocked, culturally diverse, and exotic admixture of Hindu and Buddhism coexisting in rare harmony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The striking temples and pagodas fetched the expected oohs and aahs, but the culture’s handling of death, though compatible with Asian mores, sorely tested our western sensitivities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We witnessed close-up the sacrifice of a water buffalo in a main Kathmandu plaza and the active funeral biers in a nearby town specializing in Hindu cremation rites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A counterpoint was the heart-warming daily greeting ritual where you say “hello” by clasping hands in a prayer-like gesture, bowing your head, and exchanging the Nepali greeting NAH-MAH-STAY.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The next phase was trekking with Sherpa bearers to a sanctuary lodge in the foothills of the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eye-catching views of the storied Annapurna seen best from a swaying footbridge over the Modi River was the highlight there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lew’s trekking was curtailed by a parasite he contracted, but Claudia did it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we boarded rafts for three days along the Seti River, shooting rapids and exploring remote villages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The trip concluded with a special flight aboard a small airplane for close-up views of Mount Everest, and a farewell dinner clad in Nepali wedding attire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a trip!<o:p></o:p></span></div><!--EndFragment-->Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-23286846719570621762011-03-07T13:34:00.001-08:002011-12-22T10:43:47.959-08:00On Visiting Shangri-La, November 2010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8tteBJgCG9G_kyFCM7KPomE7VOz1WfkuaIQKasD91tZbVVnh-I_aqdHgRhoupfxT3-X4mlzCsYPUHSiwFU7CazZ-CwOiAqRwt_YD43fuBSms9R_6ZI4-TimNRfzqdjlxXBUSm2pEkn0/s1600/IMG_1433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8tteBJgCG9G_kyFCM7KPomE7VOz1WfkuaIQKasD91tZbVVnh-I_aqdHgRhoupfxT3-X4mlzCsYPUHSiwFU7CazZ-CwOiAqRwt_YD43fuBSms9R_6ZI4-TimNRfzqdjlxXBUSm2pEkn0/s320/IMG_1433.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-86171654833482178882011-03-06T14:34:00.000-08:002011-03-06T14:34:35.043-08:00Trouping Trinidad & Tobago<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDN2BS9g-IrJnwHU3dm4tEa_is_-RLqqqHeGksl4vos8xQ-JzOpTPbCvveO16pOS7fAiksRbEGo2g20Lv2PaY0cR0NpuYvShRWq9q8S9pF9sEBzvnY7jPczndrLkZEP3RWg1okyrGYzE/s1600/IMG_1975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDN2BS9g-IrJnwHU3dm4tEa_is_-RLqqqHeGksl4vos8xQ-JzOpTPbCvveO16pOS7fAiksRbEGo2g20Lv2PaY0cR0NpuYvShRWq9q8S9pF9sEBzvnY7jPczndrLkZEP3RWg1okyrGYzE/s320/IMG_1975.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaITAZ91lW9lI8SpM-8-36ndUaSgP2LkYki0Ge4e7y8fqu-jYjLbWHkV-zc-akTVgxEWctbuzO9TpPKUpqlOrHb4NdaDhn6WUeqEKODq8daJNAxC_2ymbAqHUARWUbhT6IF4PUibfN6ds/s1600/IMG_1959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaITAZ91lW9lI8SpM-8-36ndUaSgP2LkYki0Ge4e7y8fqu-jYjLbWHkV-zc-akTVgxEWctbuzO9TpPKUpqlOrHb4NdaDhn6WUeqEKODq8daJNAxC_2ymbAqHUARWUbhT6IF4PUibfN6ds/s320/IMG_1959.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLW4Mp-HTCXb6ZsLzAUXwd1ZfdvzfnaHgbCWNMMd-TCJmdMRLKe-cD3wCTepldkNTVTi_nWgSp9X5qxm87FD-O3-qEJgw52ZB_TF9pTDsxKllZu6LOmje1AjpAGzhGxykGdlRwI93RHBo/s1600/IMG_1877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLW4Mp-HTCXb6ZsLzAUXwd1ZfdvzfnaHgbCWNMMd-TCJmdMRLKe-cD3wCTepldkNTVTi_nWgSp9X5qxm87FD-O3-qEJgw52ZB_TF9pTDsxKllZu6LOmje1AjpAGzhGxykGdlRwI93RHBo/s320/IMG_1877.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Boa constrictor</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">First came the Bananaquits, then the Purple Honeycreepers and WOW! - a Blue-crowned Motmot! Soon, a large, rodent-like Agouti began rummaging for discarded seeds below the bird feeders. This was the scene shortly after dawn from the veranda of our ecolodge in the tropical highlands of the former British West Indies. It was just the beginning to our tour of Trinidad and Tobago, a mini-archipelago nation just off the Venezuelan coast in the waters separating the Caribbean and the Atlantic. And it was typical of the tropics: lots of birds and wildlife, thick and damp jungle, and friendly folks from many nations. After all, it was February during a particularly harsh winter in Europe and America. Most interesting on Trinidad was a boa constrictor we spotted in an overhanging tree, a virtual cloud of dazzlingly beautiful Scarlet Ibises enroute to their roost in the Caroni Swamp, and the shy Oilbird which roosts in caves and behaves more like a bat than a bird. </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Our ensuing stay on the island of Tobago was a distinction without a difference. It was part the same nation with much the same history, but the demographics were distinguishable, the infrastructure was neater, and our lodge was on a sparkling seashore. We visited a breeding colony of the stunning Red-billed Tropicbirds, and viewed the island retreat of Ian Fleming. All in all, this visit, while not as eye popping as our excursions to Nepal or Namibia, was a pleasant romp in a nearby Bali-like hideaway.</span></div>Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-46449117664979123182011-03-06T14:19:00.001-08:002011-12-22T10:43:47.971-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-684134411470747895.post-61551479470286023802011-03-06T13:43:00.000-08:002011-03-06T13:47:59.966-08:00Los Rios Tea House Revisited<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2IBehvQnYtfaUgrnjWlAhC2wVe7eMiKRYQdfXNy0dBnYFf1DgW4fYxzquRVcyb2uJ6xpT5uqpmIvMtDz1mTiae1hYbF2TnneQ4He7VnNFfMpmlAFhUb7EPMks5CtYfNvBeuFUc6ggdQ8/s1600/IMG_2104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2IBehvQnYtfaUgrnjWlAhC2wVe7eMiKRYQdfXNy0dBnYFf1DgW4fYxzquRVcyb2uJ6xpT5uqpmIvMtDz1mTiae1hYbF2TnneQ4He7VnNFfMpmlAFhUb7EPMks5CtYfNvBeuFUc6ggdQ8/s320/IMG_2104.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>A decade later, Grandpa Lew and Claudia enjoyed a reprise with two wonderful granddaughters--Ashley and Wesley, in San Juan Capistrano.Lew and Claudiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18338576898837968762noreply@blogger.com0