Hi Everybody! Our trip has turned out wonderful! We have been to three parks (Kreuger Nat'l Park, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve Zululand, and St. Lucia Estuary) to see the African animals. I uploaded as many photos as I could today. I had trouble with a few so may try again later. If you happen to be a person who enjoys watching birds, you should consider coming to South Africa and Swaziland. I have seen so many beautiful birds. Yesterday, we saw a number of different kinds of heron. I also saw a couple of African fish eagles and white backed vultures. We passed one tree with about 50 nest hanging from it. They were made by the weaver bird and were hanging at the end of branches. They place them there so snakes can't get them. I ... read more

Hi Everybody! I am just going to do pictures for Egypt. I am glad that we came and had an opportunity to view the Pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Cairo Archaeological Museum. I would not necessarily encourage others to visit here. I would put Machi Pichu and Anghor Wat ahead of the Pyramids. I enjoyed Peru and Cambodia more than Egypt. The majority of the people in Egypt are Muslim. The women are not required to wear the head covering but choose to do so. Egypt is a very dirty country. Occasionally, we would see a pretty landscape attractive area - such as the port at Alexandria and the hotel in Cairo where we had lunch. The country's cities are overcrowded and terribly polluted. Many buildings are black in color from the soot. One interesting tidbit ... read more

Hi Everybody! A few belated notes about Chernobyl. The tour-bus ride from Kiev was about 1.5 hrs; about 28 people, mostly Brits were on the bus. The Brits were in Ukraine for World Cup Soccer (England lost). The tour began at Hotel Rus--a fitting start. The Chernobyl disaster occurred Apr 23, 1986, when a safety test went wrong. Radiation from fallout was at least 100 times that of Nagasaki and Hiroshama combined. 40% of Ukraine forest was contaminated; 6% remains contaminated today. Ukraine estimated 25,000 to 100,000 fatailities (I bet they understated by 50%). Initial winds were to the North, so Belarus got biggest initial fallout chunk. Winds then shifted to the West, producing a classic cigar-shaped fallout pattern. RADIAC meters carried by our guide consistently showed at least 15 micro-roentgen per hr--a small, but measurable ... read more

Hi Everybody! I started this blog in Kiev and am finishing it in Warsaw. Before I finish telling you about Kiev, I want to tell you what happened to us on the train. We left Kiev on Monday morning at 9:30 and rode the train until 1 AM. For many miles, we just enjoyed the scenery which consisted of beautiful orange and yellow folliage and farmland. On the farms, we could see piles of pumpkins and cabbages. We saw one of two men and women working on individual plots using hand tools. We often saw a horse pulling a plow. At the border, we remained on the train while the wheels were changed out to a different size. This took a good while - easily over an hour. Shortly after this, the Polish border guards came ... read more

Hi Everybody! Yesterday, we took a bus from Odessa, Ukraine to Chisinau, the capital of the poorest country in Europe. Moldova is in SE Europe between Romania and Ukraine. It is a scenic country full of green rolling hills and river valleys. The earth is so dark that it looks black. Moldova is known for its wonderful wine. This weekend, there is a wine festival in Chisinau. We passed many vineyards on the side of the highway. They are also known for their excellent cognac and beer. In 2007, the Bere Chisinau was awarded the number 1 Gold Metal at the Nuremberg beer competition. Beer is very cheap here - around $1 US. Children are given wine at a very young age. Until they are young adults, it is mixed with water. We saw many community ... read more