Some photos from Casablanca - more to come....
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Lanzarote, April 14
This was really a cool day. We hiked around the volcanic land of Lanzarote. This is a small island - 12 x 33 and most of it is covered in volcanic rock. Apparently, the island was very fertile farmland until the mid 1700s when the volcano errputed and covered much of the land in lava. The outter regions of the island are covered in a rocky soil that is really very fertile. They grow grape for wine, amojng other things here.
Our guide Antonio was very knowledgeable of the region and the geography. We drove about 1/2 from Accerife, where we docked, to the Teminfaya National Park. We hiked for 3 hours through varied terrain - course sand, flat rock, and sharp loose shale. We climbed up and down and hiked the flats ended up at the top of a volcanivic creator. It was one of the most amazing desolate landscapes I have ever seen. After the hike Antonio dropped us off in town so we could have a stroll and some lunch before heading back to the ship.He recommended a little restauranton the corner for good tapas and we were not dissappointed! The best calamari we'd ever had in a ddtion to local goast cheese that had been cubed and lightly fried in oil.Yop that offf with a couple of the cold local cervaezas, friendly service, and not another tourist in site and we were happy happy.
We returned to the boat and had some time before dinner, so we changed into our swim suits and found a couple of deck charirs in the sun to chill before dinner.
We dressed and arrived at our table for dinner to fins that our friends had gotten birthday flowers for amd anniversary flowers for David and Margaret. We finished up the evening listening to the music of our favorite duo - a very happy 50th birthday indeed!!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Sunday April 12 - Adventures in Kayaking
Above the beach in Nerja
Sharon takes her kaya to the water's edge.
Smorrebro in Nerja??
The weather had turned a bit - the sun was still out, but the wind was picking up and the water was becoming more choppy. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing in a westerly direction and the intrepid kayakers were paddling back into the wind. A couple the kayaks ended up turning over and could not get righted again. They were in the water for at least 20 minutes and had to get assistnce to get back to shore. 3 or 4 people were approaching serious hypothermia, so they called in the paramedics. One person was in the ambulance for a good hour, but finally released. Everyone was OK. So, we were actually quite happy we did not end up going out!
Sharon takes her kaya to the water's edge.
Smorrebro in Nerja??
Today we arrived in Malaga and boarded a bus to take us to the beach for our kayak trip. We traveled an hour to the beautiful beach town of Nerja and found a little beach dotted with palm trees. It was a blue bird day, mild and sunny.
We got outfitted with life vests and paddles and then carried our kayaks down to the water's edge. After a brief lesson, we climbed into our 2-person kayak and started paddling out to sea. I was in front and as we pulled away from shore, I felt the boat tip and suddenly, we were both in the water. Damn! It was cold! I swam back to shore trying to catch my breath and kept getting knocked down by waves as I tried to walk out. I ended up doing a very undignified crawl on all fours to get out of the water.
Once out of the water, I quickly warmed up in the sun. Back into the boat to try again, but we could not get balanced. Apparently, these boats were not made to carry large Americans and anytime Bruce moved the boat became unbalanced and we tipped over. Back to shore once again, and they bouhgt a bigger kayak. Back into the new boat and iback nto the water, but we were still feeling very unbalalnced. Anytime Bruce moved, we wobbled precarioiusly.
The guide decided it would not be a good idea for us to go out. So, we missed out on the tour, but they felt very bad for us and bought us beer at the beach front cafe. We actually had a very nice time sitting in the sun and watching the water. We had a little stroll down the beach, and returned to our meeting point a couple hours later to find the tour was running late and many people were not back yet.
The weather had turned a bit - the sun was still out, but the wind was picking up and the water was becoming more choppy. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing in a westerly direction and the intrepid kayakers were paddling back into the wind. A couple the kayaks ended up turning over and could not get righted again. They were in the water for at least 20 minutes and had to get assistnce to get back to shore. 3 or 4 people were approaching serious hypothermia, so they called in the paramedics. One person was in the ambulance for a good hour, but finally released. Everyone was OK. So, we were actually quite happy we did not end up going out!
Monday, April 13, 2009
This trip started with another moment of panic (see Provence trip, 2007). I check in online with SAS the day before we were to leave and discover that there was a ticket to Barcelona for me, but no ticket for Bruce. So Wednesday afternoon, less than 24 hours before departure, I freaked out just a little. I called SAS and they searched but could not find a ticket for Bruce. *PANIC*. "Can I still get a ticket on the same flight?", I asked, "You see, we are leaving on this cruise and we have to be there by Friday afternoon!" (As if she cared.) "Yes, you can get a ticket, but it will cost twice as much". "Thank God! Please book it."
So here we are at the airport waiting to board. We have a cheap ticket and a not-so-cheap ticket, but we have tickets! We will be in Barcelona by 4:00 PM today, have a walk around, some tapas, some fine Spanish wine, and a good night's sleep before boarding our cruise ship on Friday. Bon Voyage!
We boarded the plane at noon for a 12:30 take off. We taxied out to the runway, then the pilot announced there was a slight technical problem and we would be going back to the gate. We sat on the plane as they fixed the issue. Damn. There goes my wine buzz. We took off 1 1/2 hours later, I was sober and a little worried about the technical issue.
Three hours later, we landed safely in Barcelona and deplaned to go get our luggage. We proceeded to the baggage area, unaware that there were two baggage areas separated by the length of the airport. We waited by the luggage belt designated for the CPH plane. It was the wrong plane nummber and the wrong airline, but the only reference to CPH we saw. After 1/2 of waiting I asked at the info kiosk and she said "Oh, you must go to terminal B. Out that door and to the right". What she did not tell us is that we would have to go back through security and walk to the other side of the airport! Apparantly the security guys have seen this before, because as we presented our out-dated boarding passes and he saw that we had landed over an hour ago he looked at us and said "Baggage?"
We finally arrived at our hotel around 6:00, checked in and set about looking fo our first tapas. We found a little unassuming place on a side street and had some cheese and sausage and a couple of Spanish brews. We wandered around for the next few hours taking in the sights in the Ramblas. Talk about street performers! I have never seen anything as elaborate as these guys - Big elaborate costumes, some with moving parts! There were street vendors as well and each section of the street seemsed dedicated to a certain specialty. There were Typical tourist stands, then there were several flower shops in a row, then there was the pet shop area. There were brightly colored parrots and cute little finches in cages. There were rabbits and guinea pigs. Then we started seeing ducks and roosters and pigeons in cages. Were these pets or were they dinner? Hmmm...
Around 10:30, we were ready for our real dinner (hey, we are respecting the local customs and eating on Spanish time!) Again, found a small restaurant on a side street where Bruce had a delicious Paella and I had a plate of steamed mussles. We wandered back to the hotel a little in love with Barcelona.
So here we are at the airport waiting to board. We have a cheap ticket and a not-so-cheap ticket, but we have tickets! We will be in Barcelona by 4:00 PM today, have a walk around, some tapas, some fine Spanish wine, and a good night's sleep before boarding our cruise ship on Friday. Bon Voyage!
We boarded the plane at noon for a 12:30 take off. We taxied out to the runway, then the pilot announced there was a slight technical problem and we would be going back to the gate. We sat on the plane as they fixed the issue. Damn. There goes my wine buzz. We took off 1 1/2 hours later, I was sober and a little worried about the technical issue.
Three hours later, we landed safely in Barcelona and deplaned to go get our luggage. We proceeded to the baggage area, unaware that there were two baggage areas separated by the length of the airport. We waited by the luggage belt designated for the CPH plane. It was the wrong plane nummber and the wrong airline, but the only reference to CPH we saw. After 1/2 of waiting I asked at the info kiosk and she said "Oh, you must go to terminal B. Out that door and to the right". What she did not tell us is that we would have to go back through security and walk to the other side of the airport! Apparantly the security guys have seen this before, because as we presented our out-dated boarding passes and he saw that we had landed over an hour ago he looked at us and said "Baggage?"
We finally arrived at our hotel around 6:00, checked in and set about looking fo our first tapas. We found a little unassuming place on a side street and had some cheese and sausage and a couple of Spanish brews. We wandered around for the next few hours taking in the sights in the Ramblas. Talk about street performers! I have never seen anything as elaborate as these guys - Big elaborate costumes, some with moving parts! There were street vendors as well and each section of the street seemsed dedicated to a certain specialty. There were Typical tourist stands, then there were several flower shops in a row, then there was the pet shop area. There were brightly colored parrots and cute little finches in cages. There were rabbits and guinea pigs. Then we started seeing ducks and roosters and pigeons in cages. Were these pets or were they dinner? Hmmm...
Around 10:30, we were ready for our real dinner (hey, we are respecting the local customs and eating on Spanish time!) Again, found a small restaurant on a side street where Bruce had a delicious Paella and I had a plate of steamed mussles. We wandered back to the hotel a little in love with Barcelona.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Flickr
This is a test post from 
, a fancy photo sharing thing.\
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharonandbruce/sets/72157614785452580/
, a fancy photo sharing thing.\http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharonandbruce/sets/72157614785452580/
Monday, January 5, 2009
New Year's Eve in Prague
We normally stay in town for New Year's eve, but since it's our last NYE here, we decided to travel. We wanted to go somewhere different, and decided on Budapest. Until we started looking at plane tickets. There were no direct flights and we had to connect in Prague and it would take a minimum of 8 hours. There were just no flights to get us there in a decent amount of time (a direct flight would take about 2 hours).
So, since all flights connected in Prague, we decided to do Prague. We arrived on Tuesday afternoon, but not without a little drama at the airport. When we tried to check in we were told our reservation had been canceled. After lots of phone calls and back and forth, it was discovered that if you make a change using SkyEurope's online system they cancel your reservation without warning.
The short story is you have to pay for each piece of luggage you check. We realized the night before we would need to check luggage. I tried to add it to our reservation, but it failed. Worse yet, I received to notification that it had failed and, of course, it never occurred to me our reservation would be canceled! Well, we were able to get on the plane after we paid twice as much at the airport to check our bags.
We arrived and checked into out hotel and had a walk around the city. Boy, was it cold! We had scheduled a night-time walking tour, so went back to our rooms to add another layer of clothing before the tour, where we learned about the ghosts of Prague! Lots of intriguing stories, but we wondered how many were made up for tourists...
The next day was New Year's Eve. We did some shopping and sight-seeing, then in the evening we made out way to the river front to board our boat for a jazz ans dinner cruise along the Vltava river. It was a small intimate setting with about a dozen tables, a buffet of cold appys, and a hot entree. The jazz quartet was very good and played at a volume that still allowed you to talk. The view of the city from the river was wonderful.
At midnight was headed up the the top deck to see the fireworks. It was an amazing night.
So, since all flights connected in Prague, we decided to do Prague. We arrived on Tuesday afternoon, but not without a little drama at the airport. When we tried to check in we were told our reservation had been canceled. After lots of phone calls and back and forth, it was discovered that if you make a change using SkyEurope's online system they cancel your reservation without warning.
The short story is you have to pay for each piece of luggage you check. We realized the night before we would need to check luggage. I tried to add it to our reservation, but it failed. Worse yet, I received to notification that it had failed and, of course, it never occurred to me our reservation would be canceled! Well, we were able to get on the plane after we paid twice as much at the airport to check our bags.
We arrived and checked into out hotel and had a walk around the city. Boy, was it cold! We had scheduled a night-time walking tour, so went back to our rooms to add another layer of clothing before the tour, where we learned about the ghosts of Prague! Lots of intriguing stories, but we wondered how many were made up for tourists...
The next day was New Year's Eve. We did some shopping and sight-seeing, then in the evening we made out way to the river front to board our boat for a jazz ans dinner cruise along the Vltava river. It was a small intimate setting with about a dozen tables, a buffet of cold appys, and a hot entree. The jazz quartet was very good and played at a volume that still allowed you to talk. The view of the city from the river was wonderful.
At midnight was headed up the the top deck to see the fireworks. It was an amazing night.
Christmas 2008
Decmber 25
We celebrated Christmas with our Copenhagen family. This time at Nanda & JJ's. JJ made a delicious duck, twice-baked potatoes with goat cheese and chives, and green beans. For dessert, Heidi and Scott brought was pumpkin pie and chocolate cake. We had it easy and brought a ham. We toasted our South African friends, who are now back in South Africa, probably BBQing on the beach as we freeze our a**es off here in CPH.
We celebrated Christmas with our Copenhagen family. This time at Nanda & JJ's. JJ made a delicious duck, twice-baked potatoes with goat cheese and chives, and green beans. For dessert, Heidi and Scott brought was pumpkin pie and chocolate cake. We had it easy and brought a ham. We toasted our South African friends, who are now back in South Africa, probably BBQing on the beach as we freeze our a**es off here in CPH.
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