Category Trips

New Zealand/Australia 2024 – Tauranga, Part One

January 2 – 4, 2024 We finished at Winona Forever and called a couple of Ubers (Auckland didn’t have any large enough for all five of us) to get us to the Sky City Bus Terminal on Hobson Street, where we arrived soon after.  This, our first interaction with the bus system, would be mildly […]

New Zealand/Australia 2024 – Auckland, Part Three

December 28, 2023 – January 1, 2024 Our last day in Auckland would be a lazy one, with Joanna and Marty heading off to the Auckland War Memorial Museum while Kim, Bev and I would Uber to the harbor and stroll about there.  The museum is one of New Zealand’s most important museums and war […]

New Zealand/Australia 2024 – Auckland, Part Two

December 28, 2023 – January 1, 2024 Our first full day in New Zealand would turn out to be an exciting one, with a long and exciting e-bike tour in the morning capped off by a nice dinner and then trying to manage to stay awake until midnight.  It was a challenge all around but […]

New Zealand/Australia 2024 – Auckland, Part One

December 28, 2023 – January 1, 2024 The Christmas holiday arrived, and we hosted this year as there would be a very short turnaround between the 25th and our flight to Auckland on the 28th.  I met with my eye surgeon on the 27th who confirmed that the blood was clearing out and all looked […]

New Zealand/Australia 2024

December 28 – February 6 Throughout the second half of 2023 we began to actively plan for our long-delayed journey to New Zealand and Australia.  Between Covid and various health issues, we’d pushed the trip back two years and now with my sister Bev’s pending retirement, we could move forward with filling in the details […]

Peru – Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu, Part Three

July 25-26 In our last post we left Joanna at KM 104 to begin her hike up the Inka Trail to Machu Picchu.  Not fond of writing, she reluctantly, but effectively, related her experience for us as follows: “When the train stopped at KM 104 (Chackabamba) I was a bit anxious as I wasn’t sure […]

Peru – Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu, Part Two

July 25-26 The four of us (Luis, Beppie and Ian) soon arrived at the entrance to the grounds, cleared security and began to wind up our way upward through the terraced landscape until we reached a high ground overlooking the entire complex.  It was steep going and at this altitude not as easy as one […]

Peru – Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu, Part One

July 25-26 This would be a long and exciting day as we finally make our way to Machu Picchu, starting early in the morning to catch our ride, the Inka Trail’s 360 Machu Picchu Train, a dedicated line that runs from Cusco past Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes.  Featuring panoramic windows, free snacks and an […]

Peru – Ollantaytambo, Part One

July 24 Although our driving time today would not be as lengthy as prior days, we would stay very busy visiting several sites, including the first of the day, a local jewelry maker high in the hills above Cusco.  Operated by a local artist, we entered the shop through the ground floor garage and climbed […]

Peru – Cusco, Part Two

July 22-23 We set out from the hotel for a quick walking tour of the neighborhood nearby; indeed, one of the selling points of the overall tour was the central location of the hotels we had been staying in.  In this case our initial destination was the  San Pedro Central Market, the city’s main food […]