Len Sally

A few days before our departure, I flew to Peoria to visit with family ahead of the trip. On May 28, Jill and I took a Peoria Charter Coach to O'Hare Airport to board our Icelandair flight. Following a plane change in Reykjavik,we were bumped to First Class for the 3 hour flight to Amerstdam. Our hotel was very convenient to the train station, the main canal, and the tour busses; however, it was in the Red Light District! The hotel was very nice, but the neighborhood was a "happenin'" place. My introduction to Amsterdam was in the form of "Offbeat Amsterdam Red Light District Tour." This was pretty amazing! The streets were very busy with customers/gawkers/tourists, and the area had the smell of the coffee shops. They aren't selling coffee, but marijuana of all types. ... read more

It stormed all night, so I was very happy to wake up and realize that the sun was peeking through. This was our catamaran cruise day, and I certainly didn't want it to get rained out. We caught our van to the dock in Quepos, and boarded a large and apparently new catamaran. This boat had lots of extras...2 criss-crossing slides into the water, 2 hot tubs, and 2 stretched nets to lie on over the water. They served fresh fruit, crackers, and an open bar as we sailed out of the port and into the Pacific Ocean. We were hoping to see dolphins, but they must have had other plans for the day because they never did show up. After an hour or so, we dropped anchor in a sheltered cove and jumped in! The ... read more

What a great day! The rain that we experienced the first few days stopped yesterday afternoon, and has not returned. Even though we are on a mountain, in a cloud forest, we had quite a bit of sun today. Still, there are water droplets in the air all of the time, and clouds move through regularly. Today was zip line day, and we were excited! I've done it before, but this was the best ever! There was a lot of uphill climbing between several of the lines, and I was the only one in the group over 40. I often had to stop to breathe, but the young guides were so helpful and supportive! Marshall was able to sprint up the slippery, steep walkways through the jungle. We had 16 different lines of all types. The ... read more

It rained all night, and when we woke this morning, it was still coming down. (We're in a rain forest). Apparently, nothing stops the locals from earning some tourist dollars, so we went horseback riding in the rain! Marshall had never been on a horse before, and it had been decades since I had ridden one, but we were ready to go! There were three honeymoon couples plus the two of us. I didn't feel old, did I? The caballeros matched us to the right horse, and we were off. Marshall got a really pretty gray one, and I got the biggest one (I wonder why?); it looked like an Arabian horse that we had when I was a kid. For the next hour, we rode through fields, across streams, and through the rain forest. Occasionally, ... read more

Marshall and I had an uneventful flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. We were pleased with our hotel where we have a ninth floor room that has floor to ceiling windows overlooking this city of 2 million people. We went for a walk in hopes of finding some great local cuisine. Instead, we found Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, KFC, and a strip club. Back at the hotel restaurant, we had a lovely meal while watching the soccer coverage. Since Costa Rica is still in the competition, there are Costa Rican flags flying from cars and businesses; the excitement is running high! We had a "group meeting" of the 41 people on this tour and received our instructions for tomorrow. I prefer to orchestrate my trips and travel independently instead of riding a bus around ... read more