Rickelle is napping, so you're stuck with James today! Sunday in Athens! This morning we rolled out of our hotel for another busy day in the historical areas around the Acropolis. As we exited the Metro in the Thissio district, we were greeted by two aural overtones to the natural hum of the city. The tolling of bells from numerous churches slowly gave way to the steady shurrruping of the cicadas as we traveled from the city streets into the wooded hills. Our first stop was the 6th century BC graveyard known as Karamikos, which has survived relatively intact through the [View Full Entry]

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We had read that to really experience the awe of the Acropolis and the Parthenon you should arrive before 9 am when the hordes of tourists would take over the ruins and the mystery would be lost as just one more tourist attraction. Not one to miss a magical moment, I dragged Jimmy out of our hotel and onto the subway so that we would be able to indulge in the ancient aura before the crowds arrived. The streets were quiet. The sun had just risen over the Acropolis. There were just a few locals out as Athens was slowly waking [View Full Entry]

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Our day has lasted about 36 hours. After lunch in New York City, breakfast in London, and dinner in Athens, Jimmy finally feels like a world traveler. In New York, we locked up our luggage at the airport and spent a few hours roaming around Manhattan. We went to the Titanic exhibition just off of 44th between 7th & 8th Avenues. It was bittersweet. Upon entering the museum, you are given boarding passes representing passengers on the voyage. When you exit, you check your boarding pass against the list of survivors. My passenger lived. Jimmy's died. But what can you expect [View Full Entry]

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We spent the day in San Jose exploring the nooks and side streets of the city. From the ever popular museum of gold to the ecclectic museum of light, we meandered our way through the treasures of Costa Rica. We learned that art museums in Costa Rica have braile descriptions of the paintings. We're still pondering that one. Especially the art canvas entitled "Red" which was literraly a canvas covered in well... Red. We also learned that the 5 cent coin doesn't exist anymore. Colones, the Costa Rican currency, were named after Christopher Columbus. There were more random facts, but we [View Full Entry]

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Our two hour bus ride took us away from the city of San Jose and into Braulio Carrillo National Preserve. Our guide, Victor, shared local lore and random facts about the rain forest to keep us engaged during the scenic drive through Braulio Carrillo. The bus ride had its moments, like driving through the base of the volcano and watching the clouds embrace the mountains like something from a misty hollywood movie scene. But the real adventure began on the river called Sarapiqui. The Sarapiqui river is one of only 4 in the world that flows from south to north. Home [View Full Entry]

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We began our journey into the mountains of Costa Rica in a minivan with 10 other tourists, our guide and our driver. The tight quarters made it inevitable for Ina and I to quickly become friends with the other adventurers. Melissa and Tony helped us prove how small the world is since they hail from exotic Ft. Lauderdale about 20 mins north of where we live. As we meandered up the mountainside towards Irazu National Park, we learned about the first capital of Costa Rica, local traditions, and got a chance to see the real barrios of San Jose complete with [View Full Entry]

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Our morning adventure needed a bit of a jump start, but after a bit of re-arranging we were on our way to the salt mines of Zipaquirá. In the center of the mines they have carved out a cathedral made from the rock and salt. As we walked deeper into the mines, you could smell the sulfur in the air and hear the explosions of excavations on the other side of the mountain. Allen had been fairly convinced that the rumbling was his tummy, but in fact it was carefully timed dynamite releasing the next load of salt from the mountain´s [View Full Entry]

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Bogota is home to the Museum of Gold. Yesterday morning we explored vault rooms filled with pre-Colombian treasures. Statues, body armor, rafts, shaman tools, and more... 4 stories of rooms displaying the craftsmanship of the native people of Colombia. I must admit that there were moments when we all had gold fever. The tiniest objects had perfectly twisted filligrees that gave each piece extraordinary detail. You can take a virtual tour of the museum here (http://www.banrep.gov.co/museo/esp/home.htm) Our next exploration took Jimmy, Ivan, Mauricio, and I into the heart of the city. [View Full Entry]

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Take a journey with us in the Range Rover up the winding mountain paths to the very top. To the place where the clouds wrap around you like a whisper and the valley unfolds below you for as far as you can see, where horses graze in the fields and llamas roam between the boundaries of acres and acres of mountainside farmlands. Every turn took us farther from Bogota and closer to serenity. This evening 21 of Marce´s relatives joined us at Andres Carne de Res. Quite a culture shock from the serene mountain tops of the morning, tonight we found [View Full Entry]

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Hola desde Bogota! We arrived safely into Bogota tonight and into Allen & Marce´s welcome arms. Our tour of the city took us into a celebration of the seasons. The city blocks in Bogota are all decked out for the holidays. Each city square representing winter, spring, summer, and fall. As we neared our hotel, we came across a motorcade of lights! A parade of cars totally decorated with the city´s holiday theme. And that´s just the first hour... We´re staying at the Casa Real Hotel in the heart of Bogota and adventure awaits us for the next five days so... [View Full Entry]

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