January 6, 2009 two days of “Bush camping” It seems so strange because it is hot and rainy here in Brazil and it is hard to imagine that this is January and not July. We are camped off the highway on a sandy road in the middle of the forest/bush. We are on a two day journey to the Pantanal, a huge wetlands area reputed to hold more species of wildlife than any other place in Brazil. So we have pulled off the highway, pitched our tents and cooked dinner…and then eaten it and cleaned up in a light rain. Fortunately [View Full Entry]

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Friday, January 9 at Posada Santa Clara in the Pantanal 7:30 a.m. horseback riding through the bush for 2 ½ hours, nice ride---hot and dry. The Pantanal is very dry as the rainy season starts in December, but there hasn’t been any rain yet in this area. The river is 4 meters or so below normal and the bush is really dry. After lunch we went for a motor boat ride on the river, which is so low the guide had to get out of the boat occasionally and pull it along. We saw lots of caiman, some very small, some [View Full Entry]

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Travelblog No trip to Rio de Janeiro would be complete without a visit to the huge granite statue of Jesus on the top of Corcavado (the hunchback). This 98 foot tall, 100 ton statue overlooks Rio, and is of course a major tourist attraction. You can take the 2100 foot climb on foot, or take a bus or taxi or cog railway up most of the way, and then shuttle vans take you within 200 steps, and there is an elevator if you don’t want any climb at all. Guide books don’t recommend hiking up to the statue, as “you WILL [View Full Entry]

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Hi all, haven't had an internet connection since Rio, and i am sorry to say I procrastinated in Rio; so I am doing several entries today. Best Wishes... [View Full Entry]

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New Years Eve in Rio—the biggest New Year’s Celebration on the planet—and it seems to live up to that description. Copacabana Beach looks to be about 4 miles long, in a semi circle flanked by big hotels facing the beach. The beach itself is fronted by a broad paved road, and it is about 300 yards of soft, flour like sand from the road to the water. By 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, the beach was starting to fill up; families with tents, chairs, blankets. People carrying flowers to throw into the ocean, little shrine boats to float (although the [View Full Entry]

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Hello all, I'm sending this out so that you will all know it is coming...If you aren't interested in reading the blog, then please delete your name--I'm sure not trying to burden you with a bunch of email you don't want to get!! Here it is in November 2008, and I'm getting ready for the next trip. Begins in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with New Years Eve celebration on Copacabana Beach. I will again be traveling with my college buddy Dennis Weber, of Yuma AZ. Dennis just retired from teaching chemistry and physics, so now he can travel in the winter [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone, Just a reminder, if you don't already know, that Dennis and I are doing a travel program at the Englewood Public Library on November 7 at 7:00 p.m. The program will be in the Community Room on the 2nd floor of City Hall, and of course it is a free program sponsored by the Friends of The Englewood Public Library. If you need further info you can call me at 303-789-3230. hope to see you there!! Bill [View Full Entry]

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ok, the trip has ended. And I have procrastinated sending this last entry The truck expedition ended when we got to Istanbul. Dennis and I had booked three more nights in Istanbul so we could assemble our luggage, etc. and just enjoy the last few days without a lot of pressure to hurry up and pack , catch the plane, and so forth. This was good for us because we both bought some bulky carpets and stuff to bring back; we had to figure out how to get it all in our luggage!! We traveled rather quickly from Gallipoli to [View Full Entry]

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Apparently the ancient site of Troy is somewhat of an enigma. Thought by many to be a nonexistant city, only a product of Homeric poetry, it was finally re-discovered and excavated by German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the 1870's. subsequent activities have restored part of the walls, etc.; and now there is a giant "replica" of a hollow wooden horse for tourists to climb in and be photographed. Then we are on to Gallipoli, where Britain attempted in 1915, for 270 or so days, to overwhelm the Turkish army which was supported by Germany. This unsuccessful effort involved maybe a [View Full Entry]

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Boat trip  Middle East » Turkey » Selcuk By billclayton July 7th 2007 Bill Clayton Our day trip cruise went around from cove to cove, accompanied by other similar boats. None of the boats were very crowded; and it was a nice hot day; perfect for laying on the deck in the sun. Swimmers could jump off the boat, take the slide down, [View Full Entry]

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