doconthego

NOVEMBER 19, 2018 Today we spent the whole day on the polar explorer traveling over the tundra looking for wildlife. The polar explorer is s large vehicle on a fire truck chassis with 6foot diameter wheels. The front wheels are on a fixed axle and the back four wheels are each independently mounted. They were very large inside and comfortably furnished. We each had our own row of seats with a window there was s washroom in the rear. Our guide was Sam who is quite good. Our driver was Ol’ Bill. Everyone was quite congenial and they told some interesting stories. The beginning of the Hudson Bay Company From 1550-1850’s men’s beaver hats came into fashion. These were very expensive but highly sought after. The end result of this was that the European beaver was ... read more

NOVEMBER 17, 2018 Today is our second day in Winnipeg. We arrived yesterday evening after uneventful flights via Minneapolis. It was cold when we got here. A representative from Natural Habitat was at the airport to meet us. We have met s Dutch couple from California, an English couple from Warwick England, a mother and daughter from San Diego, and a couple from Tampa. Everyone seems nice and well traveled. We are staying at the Fort Gary Hotel in Winnipeg. The was built in 1913 by the railroad as a part of their chain of hotels across Canada to stimulate travel. The Banff Hotel and Chateau Frontenac were two other hotels in this string. The Hotel is very nice and has obviously been updated. We had dinner in the hotel dining room. It was very good ... read more

CADILLAC FRANCE SEPTEMBER 29, 2018 Today we are cruising the Garonne river to Cadillac. When we tie up to shore, there is no dock, but instead a long ramp that comes out and meets a ramp from our boat. There is very little on the shore, just a few buildings. We walk about two blocks in from the river and there is a lager wall and the remnants of a city gate. There are many locals and families with children walking in the same direction. When we get through the large gate, we can begin seeing the edges of the garners market spilling out of the town square into the surrounding streets. The vegetables are beautiful, also the meats and cheeses. There are live chickens, ducks, Guinea-Bissau hens,.and of course eggs. There are also clothes, jewelry ... read more

St. Emilion and Libourne September26 & 27 As I write this we are sailing down the Dordogne River from Libourne. It is beautiful and quiet sailing along this muddy channel but I am getting ahead of myself. Yesterday afternoon we reached Libourne. We immediately set out for St emilion which was about minutes up the road. St. Emilion is a very old town predominantly of wine makers and barrel makers..the streets are all cobblestone with no cars or trucks it was originally a walled city but those are long gone. All of the cobblestones came from England as ballast on ships. The ships returned with their holds file with barrels of wine. This area originally belonged to England. There were several beautiful monasteries and churches here but they were all destroyed in either the hundred years ... read more

JULY16 HELLESYLT NORWAY This morning we awoke at 5 a.m. to witness our sailing the Geirangerfjord to the little village of the same name. We were here in 1980 and 1985 so we stayed aboard and cruised to Hellesylt where we arrived at 11 a.m.. the scenery was gorgeous (pardon the pun). The shore excursion started with the in town waterfall the head of the Storfjord. Next we drove through beautiful glacier topped valleys in Norangsdalen where there were many lakes to Leknes where we took a ferry across Hjorungsfjord to the little town of Saeba where there was an ice cream stop. Then we drove through fantastic views and tunnels to the towns of Orsta and Volda and then down the sides of the Voldsfjord and Austerfjord before going through a new 6 year old ... read more