http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Morgan-Mare/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Morgan Mare en-us Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:35:31 +0000 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:35:31 +0000 Glasgow September 11 12 2009Glasgow was our final Scotish destination and how lucky were we that on the Saturaday there was a large music festival thorghout the city. Within the downtown portion of the city a number of the streets are pedesttian only. Towards the centre of the city there was at least one muscial group per block. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Glasgow/blog-454198.html The Isle of Skye September 9 10 11 2009 To visit Scotland is also to visit the Highlands. Early on the 9th we set off with Highland Experience Tours which included an excellent guide who had lived in Montreal Toronto for 5 years before returning to Scotland and a small number of other travelers. First we journed through Rob Roy territory passing Stirling Castle which is one of the m http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Isle-of-Skye/blog-453977.html Edinburgh September 7th 8th 2009Sept 7th We caught an early train to Edinburgh. When we arrived at the Sheraton Grand Edinburgh and went to checkin who should check us in but a young girl from our home town of Whitby Ontario. Our room was not ready so off we went touring first down Princess Street which is a primary shopping area to acquire a kilt for our granddaughter combined with a t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Edinburgh/blog-453960.html St Andrews Scotland Sept 3 2009Sept. 3rd was to be our day of travel to St Andrews a 5 train ride which turned into a 10 ride. First there was problems with the wires ahead of the train next there was flooding near Dunbar and trains going north to Scotland were being turned back after some delay the passengers from earlier trains were transferred to ours and we made it past Dunbar. How http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Saint-Andrews/blog-452966.html London England September 1st 2nd 2009We arrived in London the morning of August 31st and although we had little rest nevertheless we signed up for one of those tours where you can jump on and off at different sights within a 24 hour period. It is a great way to get a quick overview. September 1st we are off first for Buckingham Palace. There are different tours that one can take w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-450296.html Our next stop after Melbourne was Cairns several days on Dunk Island and trips to the Great Barrier Reef. While Adelaide and Melbourne were coping with 6 years of drought and fires the northern portion of Australia was struggling with flooding. The flooding was so extreme that when we travelled to the Great Barrier Reef it was foggy and I didn't bother to get my pictures developed. The Reef w http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/blog-404420.html On February 7th we can claim to have been in the hotest city in the world which was Melbourne. The tempature was 46.4 C or 115F. I don't know what the effect of wind would be but if it is 10C and there is a wind it will feel and the impact will be as if the tempature were colder i.e. 20C Windchill. There must be the same effect with heat for on the day the tempature rose to 46.4C there was http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-394781.html I will have to go back and post some additional pictures since upon review I did not post some of the better shots taken in and around Sydney but we will hold this for a later posting. On Febuary 1st we flew from Sydney to Adelaide. The entire week before Adelaide and South Australia had tempatures of 40C. In the summer time South Australians are accustomed to 40 C for one or two days but http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/South-Australia/Adelaide/blog-390383.html We arrived in Brisbane on January 25 2009 rented a car and set out to drive to Sydney along the Gold Coast. This was my first time driving on the left hand side of the road. It not that difficult if you rememberr that as the driver you should always be closest to the driver coming in the opposite direction. My biggest problem was with the turnsignals and the windshield wipers. At home the t http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-384453.html Our next stop after French Polynesia was the Kingdom of Tonga. From there we we suppose to travel to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands unfortunately the Cook Islands were being hammered by a hurricane so the Captain wisely decided to take a long detour and sail directly to Vavau Tonga. I did discover one thing in the 312 days at sea and that is that Mare has a stronger stomach than I do. If one w http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Caledonia/Noumea/blog-381467.html On the start of our trip from Papeete Tahiti to Brisbane Australia I was unable to download pictures. Hopefully I have fixed the problem and will now be able to share some of the sites we visited. http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/French-Polynesia/Bora-Bora/blog-380594.html FijiAnother day at sea but fortunately the seas had calmed down a bit. Our next stop was Savusavu Fiji. As the ship approaches you pass a number of smaller islands and enter a lager bay. We took a cab ride around part of the island with one stop being where there was boiling water bubbling up from the ground. A woman was there cooking chicken in a pot then back to town and a brief stop in an http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Caledonia/Noumea/blog-368882.html Tonga I am still unable to include pictures in the interim I will plublish some commentary and add the pictures once we return home.The original schedule was one day of sailing to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. The captain informed us that a large storm was battering the Cook Islands and that we would be detouring away from that area and that our next http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Tonga/Vava-u/blog-366459.html Tahiti Tahiti equals relaxation particularly for someone escaping winter in Toronto We arrived early January 5th 2009 and relaxed for the next two days in Papeete before boarding the Paul Gauguin. Todate we have visited Moorea Bora Bora and today we are visiting Taharsquoa. Tomorrow we are at sea all day arriving next at Aitutaki in the Cook Islands. Then it is another two days at sea bef http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/French-Polynesia/Bora-Bora/blog-362236.html Iguassu Falls October 29 30 2006Itrsquos natural to want to compare places or things so that we can place them in perspective. With reference to famous water falls there is our Niagara Falls Victoria Falls in Africa Angel Falls in Argentina and Iguassu Falls in Brazil and Argentina. Iguassu Falls is located right on the border of Argentina Brazil and Paraguay. It is in a national forest http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/blog-242844.html Rio de Janeiro Brazil October 26 to 29 2006Our flight from Cape Town to Rio took about 12 hours with a 1 hour refueling stop at Ascension Island on the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean. Ascension Island is British Military Base that during the Falkland Island conflict with Argentina was the busiest airport in the world. We were the first commercial jet that was allowed to disembark in the pa http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/blog-242837.html Cape Town October 26th to 29th 2006Upon arrival in Cape Town we received a brief tour of the city the highlight of which was a cable ride to the top of Table Mountain. The next day we were off for more sightseeing traveling to Cape Point at the tip of Africa. During the day we saw just about everything ranging from a Jackass Penguin Colony to the Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens. In the evening we had http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Cape-Town/blog-242831.html October 21st 22nd 2006We stayed just outside the gates to Kruger and travelled into the park each day. With regard to Impalas the guide said they were just like McDonalds 'around every corner there is a McDonalds and around every turn in the roard there were Impalas. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/blog-242815.html Kruger National Park South Africa October 21st to 23rd 2006I previously had anothe blog in which I had recorded my 2006 travels. Unfortunately within that blog you were very limited as to the number of pictures that couls be posted. As a result my postings within that blog are being transfered over to TravelBlog so that more pictures can be added and all of our travls will be in one spot.It t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/blog-242803.html Pert Australia Located in the southwest corner of the Australian continent Perth sits elegantly on the banks of the Swan River. As the capital of Western Australia Perth is a large spread out city with approximately 90 of the statersquos population living in or near the city. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the city is the number of parks. They are everywhere and although real estate p http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Perth/blog-242801.html