On a trip along the Oregon coast, one of the items near the top of our to-do list was whale watching. After a lot of research, we picked Marine Discovery tours because they are the official tour company of the Oregon Coast Aquarium, also located in Newport.Our whale watching trip, on the MS Discovery, was off to a great start when, just as we are leaving the harbor, two bald eagles were spotted...

This camera is great for the person who wants a simple point and shoot yet, at times, might want some options to do something special.     It has an eye viewfinder which is I find very helpful in bright sunlight when you it's difficult to see LCD display.     The image stability is a wonderful feature that has been added since this...

GAP Adventures is an adventure tour company based in Toronto Canada. They specialize in small group trips to Latin America. Their trips are very low priced, with a local payment required in the arriving city. They keep their prices low by using locally owned 2 star hotels, by not including most meals or tours, and by having a tour leader rather than a tour guide. On the trip, all accommodations...

Taking the TransAlpine express from Christchurch, we pulled into Greymouth rail station exactly on time and went to pick up the car we had reserved through National Car Rental. We were in for a few surprises. On what we thought was the good side, my reservation for an intermediate car was upgraded to a full sized car. How nice we thought. WRONG! If we had any idea, at that time, of the roads we...

I have the worldwide edition of this book so was intrigued when I saw the USA/Canada edition (1000 Places To See Before You Die in the USA and Canada ). I definitely needed to buy it and check it out.Like the international book, this book, too, has a little bit of everything. The 'must sees' are not going to appeal to everyone. That is made clear in the introduction in both books. ...

Aquas Caliente (hot water in Spanish) is the overnight stopping point for trips to Machu Picchu.   For those that do not want to hike the Inca Trail or the Lares Trek, the only way to reach Aquas Caliente is by train.    There are several train options from the backbacker train to the luxurious Hiram Bingham.   They all travel the same route though the Sacred ...

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, just north of the border with Panama. It is considered a surfer haven with loads of big, rolling waves. It is a small town, well off the beaten tourist route. I stayed at El Escape Caribena. It is about a 15 minute walk from town. The accommodations were lovely, with beautiful grounds. It was well kept and clean, with a hammock ...

Two nights of a recent trip to Costa Rica were spent at Rara Avis, an isolated rainforest lodge located in jungle bordering the Braulio Carrillo National ParkA visit to Rara Avis starts at the base camp where you pack, in your backpack, enough clothes for your two night stay and leaving the bulk of your luggage until you return. You then pick out a pair of rubber boots to wear during your stay,...

Manual Antonio National Park is located on the western coastline of Costa Rica.   It runs along the seashore, with beautiful coves, and is a tropical rain forest. It opens at 7 AM and closes at 4 PM. The park has excellent beaches, beautiful foliage and a lot of wildlife.The park is small and can be managed in a one day visit.   However, two full days would be bett...

Lisbon, Portugal is a wonderful city. It is very easy to navigate on foot. For the few times we needed, the taxis were plentiful and cheap. We did all of our touring self-guided, with information I had brought from home.Lisbon is built in a valley, with many of the older sections rising up along the adjoining hillsides. We started our day by taking a taxi to the top of the Alfama district and w...

We have arrived at Adelaide via cruise ship. Adelaide is a very tourist friendly city, with easy public transportation. In the port terminal are a group of volunteers to greet the passengers and to give directions, brochures, and maps. The train station to city center is right outside the port area. We exit the terminal, cross a parking lot and board the train, riding into Adelaide on a rush ho...

The yellow-eyed penquins are endangered and, several years ago, a local farmer discovered a colony on his land. He and his family took it upon themselves to open up the colony to viewing by the public, as a way to raise money to help preserve it. One of the major problems these birds have is finding appropriate nesting places. Most of the land along the beaches had been deforested. As part of t...

Wai-o-tapu, is about 30 minutes south of Rotorua, the major thermal area of New Zealand, with volcanoes, hot springs, bubbling mud pools, and active geysers. (And the smell of sulfur everywhere.) Wai-o-tapu has some of the most unusual and beautiful formations in the area. We get there around 3 PM. Last entry is at 3:30. While my husband loved Wai-o-tapu, I found it creepy. It was really q...

Whakarewarewa is located in Rotorua and is the site of the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute and Thermal Area. We arrived early as they have two performances per day of the Maori war dances and we wanted to get tickets for the earlier one. Even though we were there shortly after opening, there already were several empty buses in the parking lot and more buses pulling in. Good thing we arrived ear...

We finally made it to Yellowstone National Park. And we were in for a big surprise. In spite of all the reading I had done about this park, we didn't learn until we arrived that most of the park was a caldera, a collapsed volcano. The park is full of geysers (of which, Old Faithful is the most famous), hot springs, bubbling mud pots and thermal terraces. As we drove through the western part...

What a significant feat of sculpture! Viewing the carvings of the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln should take your breath away. Instead it was a burden to see and enjoy.Mt. Rushmore is a national memorial and we had expected our National Park Pass to allow us free entry as it had at all the other national sites we visited. We arrive and fin...

Looking for a scenic route through central Oregon, we found ourselves on route 26. As we drove west, we stumbled across John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. This national monument area is divided into three sections: Sheep Rock, Clarno and Painted Hills. We stopped at the visitors' center where they had a very nice display of the on-going paleontology, including a window opening into a l...

If you want to see a lot of sea lion pups, September is a great time to visit the Galapagos Islands.We lucked out with our September timing which was purely accidental. It was the only time we could work in the trip schedule and airline seats using frequent flyer miles. For those who want to go in the Spring the water is warmer. You can swim and snorkel without a wet suit. The skies are cl...