Though I don,t take many people pictures, here are a few local scenes from both CHile and Argntina.... read more

We just spent 5 day sin Torres del Paine national park in Chile, a wonder of glaciers, lakes and high peaks to rival anything in the US. Steve hiked a W shaped loop wth trips up to several glaciers and the bottom of the 3 towers of Paine. Cindy, after exhausting herself on the first day of the loop, bowed reluctantly to her aging body and opted for a series of less strenuous dayhikes. ... read more

Buenos Aires reminded me of New York in some ways. But everyone is white, if you count those with mixed indigenous blood, that took getting used to. We got a tour from a friend of Steve´s who has lived there over 15 years, though he was raised in Calcutta. He also had an eye for architecture, and loves to walk. I was surprised at how European Buenos Aires is. I could definitely come back!... read more

the great and mighty Ephesus! Capital city of Asia during the Roman period, sometime home to St Paul and St John, rumored burial place of St Mary. But the most awesome part of staying in Selcuk (so close to the ruins and at various times in history the location of the city) is the millenia of history unfolding before us. The great greek temple of Artemis, one of the original 7 wonders of the world (correction from Pergamon entry) is now a pond, a sunken field, and one lonely column, but I could imagine it as grander than the Parthenon. The temple was located on top of an earlier (we are talking maybe 1000 BC) temple to the then mother goddess Cybele. Flash to the Roman Ephesus city ruins, built (of course) on top of the ... read more

The night bus from Cappadocia to Fethye took 14 hours but Turkey's bus system is impressive, comfortable, clean and on time. Greyhound could make a study tour. They even serve tea and snacks, have fold down tables and movies on Mercedes ·Benz made buses. Southern Turkey as you near the coast is mountainous, major passes and mountains with snow, deep valleys with orchards, vegetales, grennhouse tomatoes, a very rich area resource wise. Fethye must be a mad house starting in April, with a harbor full of cruise sailboats and working fishing boats, b ut in winter it is refreshing. We climbed to a nearby abandoned Greek village, one of many that were deserted during the exchange of Greek and Turkish folk earlier in the 20th century. WQe then hiked over a ridge and down to the ... read more