lcronkrite

I had been disappointed to hear we wouldn’t be camping at Zion but I needn't have been so. We were at Kotachrome national park, which was attractive with more red rock formations. After breakfast we went to Bryce where we opted for any easier hiking option of the Navajo look combined with the Queens garden Trail. My guide book told us which end to start to have the easier hike out. We hiked down in to the amphitheatre and walked among the rock formations (Hoodoos). We stopped under the shelter of a tree for lunch. Many of the other people on the bus who didn't know about my guide book’s suggestions then passed us going the other way! After hiking back out again we then walked around the rim for a little too. We ate dinner ... read more

After Yosemite we got back in to SF early afternoon where I strolled around a few more photo spots and did some window shopping. The evening was spent with 2 people from my tour strolling around North beach and having a bite to eat. The view of the coast from the resturant was really good, but was beaten by the suset over the Golden Gate Bridge which followed. (That was then followed by a yummy ice cream!) On Thursday I took a Muir Woods and Sonoma trip. First stop was the Muir woods which have a large number of coastal redwoods. These are a relative of the giant sequoias I saw in Yosemite. These are taller than the giants sequoias, but thinner. They were impressive, and very hard to photograph, but I found the width of ... read more

Hello All So for my first day in SF I had intended to go to Sausalito, however I promptly discovered that I could stop their after my wine tour. This left me with a decision what to do with my one full day in SF itself (or so I thought, I actually had 2 days!). Rather than trying the 'all you can cook' pancake breakfast offered by the hostel I went to an american style diner to think about it over a huge american breakfast. I decided that as it was four or five years since my last visit I would go and see all the sites again, getting digital photographs. I hopped on an open top hop on hop off bus and made my way from union square. By the time I reached the Golden ... read more

The final stop on the tour was Antigua. Similar to Granada with the colonial style,but a little larger and little more swamped with tourists. On the first day we went to a womans project wherethey showed us how they make their textiles and otherthings like Tortillas. It was very educational and interesting, and the cost of our tour went towards educating children in the village. In the afternoon we went to Pacaya volcano. I keep forgetting that visiting volcanoes means walking up hill. So after a couple of steep hours upwards we hit the first viewpoint. Now I have seen lava before but this was spectacular. However it did not stop there. Like my bother felt the need to cycle the ´death road´there is a certain attraction to danger. I strongly believe there are not many ... read more

After 2 days of pretty much solid traveling, much of it in heavy rain, and an overnight stop in Comayagua we arrived in Utila. Its not a very attractive island, with only 2 small beaches, so I was very glad I am a diver. The only other good thing was the seafood of which I had plenty. A very nice lobster kebab and I tried Conch for the first time. Anyway as I mostly just went diving the photos say it all. The divemaster was great at photos but i can say that I took all but one of these, and I was not going to get anywhere near as close to the moray as he was prepared to do!... read more