Ecuador will be divided into three: Quito, the Amazon rain forest, and the Galapagos. Every new destination gets better and better. Participating in an organized tour can have its challenges. Thankfully this trip has gone very smoothly. Today, however, our included breakfast wasn't provided due to an early flight. The hotels will usually open the…

I'm not doing a good job of keeping up with the blog, interrupting the account of a trip of a lifetime with the extenuating circumstances of life, mostly happy right now with a little worry thrown into the mix. Christmastime is here, an event worthy of life interruption. I painted a Christmas tree that represents…

They were weeks apart, but I'll cover both here. Thanks to all who contacted us re our 40th. We don't eat out often, but given the special occasion, we did. Going back in time a little bit: Argentina. On the fourth day of the South America tour, we flew to Iguazu, home to the famous…

We interrupt the trip coverage to bring you the following announcement:   40 years ago today, we eloped.    December 6, 1982 The Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden I read half of all marriages will end by 40 years, due to reasons of divorce or death (Harry Benson, Marriage Foundation, Dec 2019). Probably don’t need the…

The first days of the trip were a blur. It took three flights to get to Rio de Janeiro (which translates to River of January after its discovery in 1502). We flew from Vancouver to São Paulo to Rio.  Not the most direct route, but makes more sense than our originally scheduled flights that had us…

I always asked my kids the same two questions after they returned travelling: What was the best part and what was the worst?   This was an epic 29 day tour of four countries in South America: Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador (including the Galapagos) and Peru. Our travel mates were nine other Canadians and one Brit.   …

Those who know me are aware of my passion for geocaching, the world wide gps guided treasure hunt. I’m not a fanatic, although C, AKA the anti-cacher, might dispute that. In 16 years I’ve logged over 750 finds.    Geocaching takes you to well known sites or introduces you places you otherwise might not have…

With a tinge of guilt I admit that I am thoroughly enjoying this climate change induced Fall. The monsoons, aka atmospheric rivers, usually hit us between the second and fourth week of September. But this year it's been steady sunshine and warm temperatures since July. I consider it a form of pure luxury, the ability…

One of the best parts of camping is the food. We do well within the limitations of the Micro Minnie Winnie, our little mouse house on wheels. One of our standards is pizza on a cast iron griddle cooked on the grill. This year, combined with Elina's family, I did six in one meal, using…

The end of the camping season was signalled as we descended from summer in the mountains to autumn on the coast. It seems the colours of fall now includes the all too familiar orange smoky conditions from forest fires with resulting air quality alerts. The fires we passed last year were tame compared to this…