Leaving New York’s JFK airport on Tuesday May 3rd was the beginning of an adventure we have not done before. A 14 hour flight to Johannesburg South Africa and then a 2 hour flight to Cape Town where we met the rest of our Smart Tour travelers. We are in high hopes of seeing the big 5 animals in Kruger, Hluhluwe Imozozo, and Chobie National Parks while visiting the countries South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Our first days were uneventful unless you consider that on the 2nd day we overslept and missed the bus for Table Mountain and the tour of the Southern Cape. After a hurried breakfast and a cab ride, and circular tram we found our group at the top of 3,100ft Table Mountain with a view of the cape and the city. One ... read more

Our final Costa Rica stop is the OSA Peninsula where we spent a week at the Iguana Lodge on the Golfo Dolce, a tropical fiord. Who knew there were tropical fiords. We always thought they were only in Scandinavian countries. I am sure a fiord, by any other name, does not have accommodations like Iguana Lodge. Lauren and Toby, owners of Iguana, were great hosts and have created a new high water mark for the hospitality industry. They were friendly and professional and complimented by the wonderful staff they employed: Giovanni, Vladimir, Sydner, Maxine, Andre, Marti an a few others. We stayed in one of their casitas, a screened tree house 12 feet off the ground surrounded by the tropical foliage of the Osa. Waking up to the screeching Macaw and howler monkeys with the pounding ... read more

We are on our 2010 adventure, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Currently December 29, 2010 sitting in Terminal 3 Phoenix Sky Harbor airport waiting to board the flight to Miami and then on to Managua, Nicaragua. Six weeks of sun warmth and adventure. Warm waters of the Blue Caribean and waves on the Pacific, zip lining and of course the jungle of the Osa Pennisula in Costa Rica. The final stop the big ditch (Panama Canal). New Years Eve found us in Granada and a French restaurant enjoying the festivities. Fireworks were loud and numerous, no shortage in this country. Volcano’s in Nicaragua are like Starbucks in Seattle, one on every street corner. So we toured Masaya volcano with its smokey caldron and great views of the area. Also a visit to the colorful Masaya native ... read more

GUAYAGUIL (Guaya kill) Guayaquil, Ecuador greeted us with a horrific monsoon and high humidity! The flight from Santiago was four hours. Our hotel, Oro Verde, provided as part of the Galapagos tour, was a 5 star hotel with a spa and fitness center - a very welcome respite for two weary travelers! Guayaquil is the main port and largest city in Ecuador, founded in 1534 on Santa Ana hill. We walked from the hotel, thru part of down town to the waterfront on the Guaya River. This part of Guayaquil is very kept up with parks, statues, plazas and a shopping center at one end. At one of the parks we came upon a huge land iguana just hanging out with the locals. Santa Anna, located at the north end of the waterfront, was calling us ... read more

We’ve left the hot, humid, tropical climate of Brazil for a brisker climate - cool morning and evenings. However, the afternoons could be sweltering. We were in Santiago Chile. The city seemed cleaner and richer than Buenos Aires and had a great metro system. Our hotel was in the Providencia neighborhood close to the Plaza Armas, a huge pedestrian plaza with St Ignatius Church being the cornerstone. We arrived here via the metro on our 1st morning just in time for cappuccinos. So we followed the crowd to a very modern (interior) building. Oh La La, the baristas looked like playboy bunnies without the tails and fishnet nylons! The cappuccinos were good and the people watching even better.! Fortified and ready to explore the city, we boarded a double decker tour bus we could ride for ... read more