The Twelve Apostles on Australia’s Great Ocean Road, before sunrise.
The twelve Apostles in the Australian state of Victoria is a collection of eroded limestone sea stacks. There never were twelve, only nine. Due to erosion, only eight remain. The pile of dark rocks in the foreground is what remains of the apostle which collapsed in 2003. Continue reading
Coral Atoll
Cruising into Bora Bora it suddenly became clear what an atoll looks like. Completely surrounding some of the islands is a coral reef sticking up out of the water. To get to the island there needs to be a break in the reef somewhere, but this circular reef serves as good protection to the island and a place where fish gather, an atoll. Continue reading
“Island, I see you in the distance… I tried to book passage, but you have no ports…” Jimmy Buffet
With South America in our rearview mirror, the friendly, beautiful islands of French Polynesia were eagerly anticipated. Contrasts between the two could hardly be greater. The laid back, easy living lifestyle on Fakarava Island was a very welcome change.
Face Rock Beach, Bandon, Oregon
Bandon, Oregon is well known among photographers for the many unique rock shapes and monoliths along its sandy beach. The beach is named for the rock on the far left above. Indian legend says this is Ewauna, the daughter of Chief Siskiyou. Her partially submerged head can be seen with the face looking up to the right. Continue reading
Leaning Tower of Pisa
After seven months of travel in Europe, we head back to the States the same way we came, a Trans-Atlantic cruise. This cruise departed from Civitavecchia, Italy and landed in Ft. Lauderdale. I very much enjoy the days at sea. We can be as busy as we wish or simply relax.
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Old Town section of Dubrovnik
Beautiful turquoise water surrounds the Old Town section of Dubrovnik, Croatia, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Only after a severe rain storm the prior day were the waters stirred up enough to create the turbulence for the turquoise water appearance.
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Norwegian Jade Cruise Boat, we boarded in Houston, Texas
Tenth day at sea, another week until we arrive at our final destination of Barcelona… My advice to anyone else looking to follow in our footsteps or those beginning world travelers is don’t fall for a bargain price on a l-o-n-g cruise.
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Sunset Trails
It may sound extravagant that we choose to take a 16 night cruise to Barcelona vs. flying to start our extended European visit. However, when home free, we must pay to live somewhere and the trans-Atlantic cruise takes care of our room and board for two plus weeks.
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The Road to Hana is a popular must-do attraction for many visitors to the island of Maui. Guidebooks and audio tapes are available with descriptions of places to visit along the way, pinpointed by mile markers. This is quite confusing as the mile markers start over three times along this 12 hour route. Some tourists display the ‘Aloha’ spirit and take their time crossing the 50+ narrow one-way bridges, and navigating the twists and turns. Others are in the rush-rush mode, making the trip to Hana memorable and challenging in numerous ways.
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When traveling, it seems only right to participate in the unique events that are available at that particular location. For me that does not mean a luau and dancing for the tourists, rather a nighttime dive with manta rays seemed like a great experience I had not heard offered elsewhere. The catamaran journey begins about an hour before sunset. Very high waves this evening made for a rough ride. Our captain said you can usually count on at least two people getting sick in these conditions. I hoped it would not be me and he was eventually right.