Enjoy NZ Hey Bob and Mary,
Great to see you are enjoying New Zealand so much. It has been great following your extended travels, and both Fi and I are massively jealous of the stories! Unfortunately for us it is back to the grind stone, and it feels so wrong after our trip.
Well hopefully you enjoy the rest of your tour in NZ, unfortunately Christchurch won't be as pretty as it once was, but I'm sure the people will make up for it.
Cheers
Glen and Fi
I miss NZ! For the first time on your trip I have an idea of what you are seeing, I love NZ and would also happily live there if it weren't so far from home! Enjoy the South Island and all the wineries it has to offer!
Claire
At last! You have so spoiled us with your regular postings that I was starting to think you must have gone native, maybe with those relatives there? It looks absolutely gorgeous! And of course there are all those comments about how easily you could live there - so maybe you will! And the fish and chips alone sound like that would be a great dicision...yum, yum!
Love you both, Margy
Sweet, Sweet the memory you gave me. We took the coach to Napier and then on to Wellington, in the rain - making up time was a rather shattering experience. We liked the Beehive, the Museum and the Botanical Gardens. Picton was our starting point for Christchurch and the train to Greymouth. Your photographs are wonderful.
Your pictures and narrative far surpass mine from a couple of years ago and make me somewhat "homesick," particularly for Vina del Mar! Buen viaje as you leave paises hispanicas.
Interesting that you just happened to photograph the tomb of Julio Argentino Roca, onetime president of Argentina and an uncle of my great grandfather!
adelante! I hope you saw a statue and heard the song of the Virgen de la Carrodilla, patroness of the vineyard. She is surrounded by bunches of grapes, a press, bottles, etc., and thus her song is quite lyrical! I see you experienced torrontes and hope you also tried bonarda, said to be the new malbec. Keep all this good stuff coming: Argentina and Chile being the homeland of my forebears, I love every posting!
Another memorable entry! Your lodge looks scrumptious, much like one I stayed in either in Belize, Costa Rica or Guatemala, quien sabe. Note the name Roca all over Buenos Aires from my forebear, Julio Argentino Roca. It's also, I might add, on all the plumbing fixtures!
Its all so recent! Hi Jim,
Yes we saw the memorial - very humbling. We also 'stumbled' upon the site of the massacre of the families who were looking for their 'disappeareds', just beyond our Posada Santiago. There were small individual named marble columns. So sad.
What color! The skies all look so absolutely blue and clear (except of course onthe rainy or misty days!)
Thanks again for the wonderful descriptions and captions of your entries - it brings us all along with you - from the armchair!
Love to you both,
You are right on about the Nicas; they are among the proudest and most nationalistic (in a good sense) people in Central America, where there is a general need for more patriotism and vision for the future. Great, great people who have suffered more than their share. I hope you tried "vigoron" in Grenada's central square, the Nicaraguan dish of boiled yuca topped with crunchy chicarrones and salsa...makes my mouth water!
Roatan is a jewel, but every time I go back it sadly seems more crowded, with a rather chaotic plotting of hotels wherever space allows. Do you remember the name of the place you stayed?
Brave souls! The way those poorly maintained buses (unloaded by US school districts after their useful lives, by US safety standards, have expired) careen around corners has seen many a predictable disaster, with the driver usually escaping (if still alive) after plunging into some ditch...
I am Dianne Bret Harte's; she shared the link with me. Lived in Guate for 9 years. You obviously planned your trip well. Panza Verde....oh what delicious food, and the Quinta de las Flores is a great spacious place.
Your travels Hola Mary and Bob,
Wow! I am greatly enjoying reading about your spectacular trip. What an interesting and exciting time you are having. Not sure if I'd have the courage for zip wires. The latest lot sounded particularly bowel watering - longer than 1km! Someone is having a laugh. The photographs are wonderful, too. Such beautiful scenery, wildlife and local art works.
Sorry to hear about your card troubles. Crooks put small cameras in the tops of ATMs and film you putting in your PIN, which they then match up with your card details. To protect against that always cover your hand when putting in your PIN so that it can't be seen from above. (I learnt that when I did Jury Service in the summer. Not a total waste of 2 weeks.)
I look forward to reading your next blog from Peru.
Ursula
Have you ever seen such gold gold???? Looked almost unreal to me, and with so much there almost as though the Gold Museum had manufactured their own artifacts!
Hola! Had such a great time with you guys! Wishing you much fun and safety as you continue your trip! Look forward to catching up with you again in Radelaide! XX
Onward and upward - or the reverse? So sorry you had the nuisance of the debit card - so many canny crooks out there. Wasn't CR wonderful? I just know you walked the same bridges we did last year in the cloud forest- did you find the secret note I left you ??? Maybe that rascal monkey took it!
We are off to Tucson next week - and won't like it one bit without you, Mare. Dianne has surgery on Tuesday so we will be visiting her in the hospital - probably can't take her any wine either - and not able to spend an evening with her unfortunately. She is eagerly following your blog.
Love you both, Margy
Your wonderful trip notes make me "homesick" for glorious Costa Rica. And I'm dumbfounded at your adventuresome spirits--one simple zipline did it for me but you undertook the max--whew! Thanks, too, for the warning on the use of debit cards, and feliz viaje!
Bob and Mary set off in Nov2010 for an eight month round-the-world trip taking in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Peru, Argentina, Chile, NZ, Australia, Singapore, Bangkok, Chang Mai, Siem Reap, Vientiane, Hanoi, Saigon, Bangkok (again) and back to London.... full info
Glen Powley
non-member comment
Enjoy NZ
Hey Bob and Mary, Great to see you are enjoying New Zealand so much. It has been great following your extended travels, and both Fi and I are massively jealous of the stories! Unfortunately for us it is back to the grind stone, and it feels so wrong after our trip. Well hopefully you enjoy the rest of your tour in NZ, unfortunately Christchurch won't be as pretty as it once was, but I'm sure the people will make up for it. Cheers Glen and Fi