Hi Everybody! We got up very early at our hotel in Tikal. Because the electricity hadn´t been turned on, we dressed in the dark. I did have a little flashlight with me which helped. I could hear people chatting and later realized they were early morning bird watchers. We caught the only transportation from the park to Santa Elena. It was a 15 passenger van. It ended up holding 30 people by the time we got to the town. Santa Elena is a small town that is located next to Flores, a town on an island. We will be flying back [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everybody! When we arrived in Belize City, the shuttle was not there to meet us. Since it was a Sunday, there were few options. We finally hired a taxi to take us to San Ignacio. He drove very fast but seemed to be careful. We had reservations there at a small guest house, the Casa Blanca, We had read that this guest house was awarded the best small hotel in Belize. We were very glad that we had paid extra for AC. The town was small with narrow streets and wooden buildings. It looked like an Old West town. The [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everybody! Our first stop in Australia was in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city. The city was having the worst heat wave in 100 years with temperatures around 108 degrees. It was like being in a dry sauna. No amount of liquids would quench your thirst. I can't imagine how the tennis players are holding up in the Australian Open. We decided to get out of town and see some of the countryside. We took a two hour train ride NW to Bendigo, a city of 100,000 people. More gold (9 billion dollars worth) was found in Bendigo between 1850-1900 than [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everybody! New Zealand is a very friendly, safe place to visit. The land is GREEN and beautiful! After visiting the Christchurch Cathedral, we went across town to the International Antarctica Center. This center supports the Antarctic scientific programs. It is run by several countries and Christchurch is considered the gateway to Antarctica. We visited the Antarctica Attraction which simulates the weather and conditions there. We had to put on heavy parkas before entering. We experienced the 4 seasons while we were in one part. This included very low temperatures and light snow. [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everybody! Yesterday, we visited our last town on the North Island - Wellington, NZ's capital city. Its nickname is "Windy Wellington" and it is a well deserved name. We took a shuttle to town and started with the Cable Car. That gave us wonderful views of the city. From there, we walked to the Wellington Botanical Gardens, 64 acres of native plants and a wide selection of gardens. My favorite was the rose garden that contained 100 varities of roses. Our walk continued downhill through the Bolton Memorial Park which contained a very old cemetary. Next, we went to the [View Full Entry]

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These are a few photos of New Zealand. [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everybody! In my last blog, I meant to mention how clean NZ is. Auckland reminded us of Singapore. The people are very ecology minded. They recycle and respect their environment. We did not see a scrap of paper or trash on any of the buses or streets. The weather is very pleasant. It reminds me of our spring weather. Even though the temperatures are mostly in the 70's, it feels warmer with the sun's rays being so direct. There is almost always a breeze from the ocean. On Monday, we spent the day at Mount Maunganui, a small town that [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everybody! We are currently in Auckland, New Zealand on the North Island. The city is located in a spectacular location between two harbors and is surrounded by 50 extinct volcanoes. We got here on Friday and immediately started exploring the city. We are staying in the center of town and can walk to many of the attractions. The city has several different types of bus lines that are easy to use. We walked to the Victoria Park Market and found lots of interesting shops/stalls. We caught a city-link bus to the Auckland Museum. My sister-in-law, Joyce, had told me how [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everybody! We have really enjoyed our time in Lima. Since it is summer here, everyday has been beautiful. It never rains in Lima so the weather is very predictable. They tell us that in the winter a mist blows in from the Pacific making the skies gray, and the weather damp and cold. We are staying at Home Peru, a hostel that is in a colonial mansion. It has been in the same family for many generations. Some of the ceilings are about 20 feet high. There are some massive pieces of Spanish and French furniture. The fun part of [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everybody! Our bad luck didn´t end with Walt´s wallet being stolen. To put it mildly, this trip just hasn´t gone well. The cruise ship kept our passports during the two weeks that we were on the boat. They did not get Walt´s passport or immigration papers stamped. This caused us a real hassle when we tried to leave Chile. We are partly to blame for our problems because we didn´t spend enough time planning the trip. The South American guidebook that we were using stated that U.S. citizens didn´t have to have a Visa for Paraguay or Bolivia. When we [View Full Entry]

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