Upcoming Adventure in Southern Africa

Our next trip is Africa. Specifically we are going to Southern Africa. We will be visiting South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, and possible a half day trip into Zimbabwe.

There are several parts of Africa to which to travel, but we have chosen the southern area for the following reasons.

Safaris - If you want to go on Safari your choices are either East Africa or Southern Africa. East Africa consists of Kenya, Zazania, and Rwanda. East Africa is home to the famous Serengeti. There are plenty of interesting things to see. Southern Africa has the Okanvago Delta in Botswana and Kruger in South Africa. Don't forget Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namimbia. All of these areas boast big game experiences as well. We chose Southern Africa primarially for the Okanvago Delta Experience.

Okavango Delta - We first saw the Okanvango Delta on a TV show. An amazing place where a major river runs into the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and just ends right there. It does not make its way to the ocean. It sits in the desert and dries up during the dry season. The delta area is a vast wilderness area that attracts a lot of wildlife due to water's life giving attributes. But guess what!? We are not going there!! It may be a mistake, but we were talked out of it. We have been convinced that Kruger National Park in South Africa is a better deal.

Kruger National Park - Kruger National Park in South Africa is one of the most popular Safari destinations. Kruger puports to have all the animals that consist of the Big 5. The Big 5 refer to lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard, and rhinoceros. Although clearly we like to tick things off a list, that is not the most important reason for visiting Kruger. We have been told that the wildlife is easier to find and that the experience is more intimate. The lodging is facilities are supposed to good, especially in the Sabi Sands area and much less expensive than the Botswana Okanvango lodges. The Okanvango is supposed to be a more wilderness experience. We have chosen Kruger over Okanvango. Hopefully it is the right choice.

Chobe National Park - Located in Botswana, the Chobe river is just NorthWest of the Okanvango Delta. One of the main attraction here are the elephants. It is easy access from Victoria Falls where we will also visit. There are also guided boats on the river for viewing Hippos. We will spend three nights at a safari lodge.

Other Sights - Our first stop in Africa will be Livingstone, Zambia. We will be taking in the view of Victoria Falls. This is a massive waterfall and one of the "must see" sights in Africa. We will be visiting Cape Town, South Africa and the nearby Winelands for guess what?? Winetasting! Our final stop in Africa will be one of Mozambique's subtropical white sands beach.

Africa June 10 - July 4
Date	Activity	Overnight
Jun. 9	Depart SFO 2:00pm
Jun. 10	Arrive in Amsterdam 9:00am	Amsterdam
Jun. 11	Amsterdam	Amsterdam
Jun. 12	Travel to South Africa	Johannesburg
Jun. 13	Travel to Livingstone	Livingstone, Zambia
Jun. 14	Victoria Falls	Livingstone
Jun. 15	Travel to Chobe, Botswana	Chobe National Park
Jun. 16	Safari	Chobe National Park
Jun. 17	Safari	Chobe National Park
Jun. 18	Travel to Cape Town, South Africa	Cape Town
Jun. 19	Table Mountain	Cape Town
Jun. 20	Township Tour/Robben Island	Cape Town
Jun. 21	Cape Good Hope	Cape Town
Jun. 22	Travel (by Car) to the Winelands	Franschhoek
Jun. 23	Winelands	Franschhoek
Jun. 24	Travel Cape Town to Kruger D:08:10 A:14:45	Kruger National Park
Jun. 25	Road Trip	Kruger National Park
Jun. 26	Great Ocean Road	Kruger National Park
Jun. 27	Travel to Mozambique	Benguerua Island
Jun. 28	Beach	Benguerua Island
Jun. 29	Beach	Benguerua Island
Jun. 30	Beach	Benguerua Island
Jul. 1	Depart Vilanculos 11:00am	Red Eye Flight
Jul. 2	Arrive Amsterdam 10:30am		Amsterdam
Jul. 3	Amsterdam		Amsterdam
Jul. 4	Travel Home, D:09:50 A:11:50

Planning for Australia

So our next stop is Australia. This will be continent No. 5. We have already been to North America, South America, Europe, and Antarctica. I have always been lukewarm about visiting Australia. Just more white people that speak English. So the exotic quotient is low. However, they do drive on the left hand side of the road, so we give them an extra point. Still, this trip should be a lot of fun. After doing some research one gets the impression that Australia is basically one big beach town. Unless you're going to the Outback, every city is on the coast with at least Summer providing plenty of beach weather.

We have put together an itinerary. Here is where we are going and why.

Weather - We will be going in March, and from what I've gathered the weather in the South should be good. I have been told that Queensland, Northern Australia (Darwin), and the Outback are hot during that time of year. It is also the rainy season in the coastal tropical areas. So Alice Springs, the Gold Coast, and Great Barrier Reef should wait for another trip. You may have heard on the news about the severe flooding in Australia. Most of it is occurring in the Brisbane area. Although it is an exceptional event, it is not surprising that is occurring in the Summer. It just confirms that a visit to Northern Australia is best done during their Winter.

Sydney - It is of course Australia's most important city so you have to go there. We are going to enjoy the sites of the city and then head to the beach area of Manly.

Adelaide/Barossa Valley - They make world class wines there, we must go.

Perth - I have a strange attraction to remote corners of the globe. Some call Perth the most remote city in the world. It is on the West coast of Australia. Warm weather and beaches are a bonus.

Melbourne - We will visit the family of some good friends our ours that live in Geelong, very close to Melbourne. We are going to make this part of our visit a road trip. From the airport We will make our way to The Great Ocean Road and then make our way back to Melbourne. After Melbourne the trip is done.

Australia March 1 - March 20
Date	Activity	Overnight
Mar. 1	Depart SEA 1:30pm Layover in LA, depart 8:10pm
Mar. 2	There really is no March 2
Mar. 3	Arrive in Sydney 6:05am	Sydney
Mar. 4	Sydney	Sydney
Mar. 5	Manly	Manly
Mar. 6	Manly	Manly
Mar. 7	Travel to Adelaide D:10:30 A:12:10	Adelaide
Mar. 8	Barossa Valley	Barossa Valley
Mar. 9	Barossa Valley	Barossa Valley
Mar. 10	Travel to Perth D:14:30 A:15:25	Freemantle
Mar. 11	Perth	Freemantle
Mar. 12	Perth	Perth
Mar. 13	Perth	Perth
Mar. 14	Travel to Melbourne D:08:10 A:14:45	Ballarat
Mar. 15	Road Trip	Point Fairy
Mar. 16	Great Ocean Road	Apollo Bay
Mar. 17	Great Ocean Road	Geelong
Mar. 18	Melbourne	Melbourne
Mar. 19	Melbourne	Melbourne
Mar. 20	Depart Melbourne 9:15am Arrive SFO 12:30pm

More details of the trip to come

Saturday, January 16 - Maipo Valley, Chile

The Maipo Valley at Concha y Toro

Our final day on our trip had arrived. Our flight back to the US was to leave at 11:00pm, so we had a complete day ahead of us. We checked out of the hotel and had the hotel stow our luggage. We then met up with our tour guide. Along with the guide we were also provided with a separate driver. This seemed like quite a bargain for a full day personal tour, $125. So Off we went to the Maipo Valley.

our first stop was the winery of Cousino Macul. I believe this winery is within the city limits of Santiago, so it was just a short distance from our hotel. The climate in this part of Chile is very much like California. The Maipo Valley is an inland valley protected from the ocean. It is warm and dry in the summer and therefore is very similar to Napa Valley. It should be no surprise that Cabernet Sauvignon does very well here. We toured some of the facilities and then went down into an underground barrel room where we did our tasting. Yes, Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely my favorite flavor.

Another stressful day of wine tasting

Our next stop was to be lunch. We were going to a place to sample traditional food and see a traditional dance. But on our way to lunch we stopped at a roadside memorial overlooking the Maipo River. This was a memorial to the remembrance of several body guards protecting General Pinotchet who died during an assassination attempt. The assailants all escaped in boats waiting for them on the river. However, they did not get their main target, General Pinotchet the military dictator of Chile. The most striking thing about the memorial is just how unremarkable it was. Basically a set of rectangular concrete blocks representing each of the body guards that died. The concrete was whitewashed and the names of the body guards painted on each concrete block. The memorial did not look well cared for as there were over grown weeds surrounding it. Maybe that tells you something about the current mood towards Pinotchet. I don't know.

Monument to Pinochet's body guards. Wining and Dining

After lunch we headed for the 2nd winery, the well known Concha y Toro. Concha y Toro is a large production winery. We toured the grounds and some of the facilities including the old cellar where folklore has it that the devil was somehow involved in the wine. I am not so sure about the whole thing, but you look through an iron gated door and beyond the wine barrels is the lit image of a devil shined onto the far wall. No, I was not afraid, I'm pretty sure it was staged. The grounds of the winery are like a well kept park. Lawns, ponds, and arbors made the stroll very enjoyable.

Grape Arbor at Concha y Toro

Our guide and driver took us back to our hotel. We had dinner in the bar and waited until it was time for our cab to arrive. We arrived at the airport only to find out that our flight to Dallas had be delayed by a couple of hours. We would miss our connection, but it was no big deal as we were able to get another timely flight from Dallas to SFO. We departed at about 1:00am, and finally arrived at SFO at 2:00pm. We had to take BART home as Tristan was unable to pick us up at the airport. After a long flight, BART isn't all that great. It takes awhile to get to Dublin and the seats don't recline. But we after we walked through the front door of our home we new we had just been on an epic journey. We had been to Antarctica.

Friday, Jan. 15, 2010 - Santiago

Santiago

This morning it was off to the airport to catch our 11:10am flight to Santiago. We got to the airport and checked in. We had to wait for Immigration officials to arrive before we could get into our departure gate. We only had 1 night left on our trip and I have to admit that at this point I was a little tired of speaking Spanish. That was unfortunate because the Immigration Official was tired of speaking English. She got irritated with me when I did not understand her and I was hoping she would just speak some English. She sent me off to fill out some paperwork and then complained bitterly to the other Immigration Official about people not speaking Spanish. Oh well, I filled out the paperwork, handed it to her with my passport and boarding pass. I spoke a little Spanish and then I was pleasantly told I could proceed to the gate.

On the flight I sat next to a guy from LA who had just attempted to summit Mt. Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America at 22,841 feet. He was unable to make it to the summit. He was a very experienced mountaineer and sometimes you just don't get the right weather to make it to the top. As we were flying over the Andes, we saw Mt. Aconcagua immediately to the right side of the plane.

Upon arrival in Santiago we caught a cab to our hotel. Santiago it seems has very good infrastructure. Nice roads and most things seem fairly well maintained. As we were to learn, Chile has the highest per capita income in Latin America, and they know it. They seem to look down on the other Latin American countries, especially Mexico and Argentina. However, Chile only has a population of about 15 million, much less than the major South American countries.

Avenue Just Outside the Hotel This guy selling ice cream really wanted his picture taken. Pedestrian Mall

We stayed at the Hotel Plaza San Francisco, a very well appointed older hotel, that had an international clientele. This was a big hotel, but the excellent service was very personable. We first had lunch at the hotel as our room was not immediately available. When our room was available we refreshed ourselves and then ventured out onto the streets of Santiago.

World Traveler Outside the Hotel Hotel Room

We were staying in the Centro district of the city. It was Friday, later afternoon, so there were huge crowds out on the street. We went to go visit the Plaza de Armas. If you are ever in a Latin American city and want to find the central area of activity, go to the Plaza de Armas. It is the main plaza in the city, usually the main government buildings are on the plaza. To get to the Plaza de Armas, we walked through a pedestrian mall, where many retail shops and eateries are found. It is always interesting to watch the local people in this type of setting. We made it to the Plaza de Armas. It was quite warm and all the benches and seating with shade were taken. We wandered around to take some pictures. It was definitely a lively place with musicians, preachers, and soapbox speakers. There we a number of people playing checkers. We made our way back to the hotel but not before stopping for some ice cream on the pedestrian mall.

Plaza De Armas Checker Games on the Plaza Buildings Lining Plaza De Armas

We needed to figure out what we were going to do the next day as our flight was not until the late evening. The choice was really between going to Valapraiso on the coast (Santiago actually sits in an inland valley) or going out to the wine country. We chose more wine tasting. The trip to the coast was going to be a little long. Wine tasting isn't necessarily all about wine, it is about getting out of the city and spending some time in the rural areas. The wine and the people you meet, make it that much more interesting. So we booked a full day tour of the nearby Maipo Valley through the hotel.

For our evening meal we took the hotel's recommendation and had seafood. We ate at a fairly well-known restaurant called, Azul Profundo. The restaurant was in an area of the city known as Bellavista. Bellavista is known for its nightlife. Our taxi driver let us know the safest streets we should keep to. The restaurant had a nice seaside character to it and we enjoyed the food.

After we finished our dinner, we got ripped off by a taxi driver. Here is how it happened. I asked the waitress to get us a cab. She called for the cab and told us we could wait at our table until it arrived. I decided to go out front and look for the cab. There was a cab waving to us so I thought it was our cab. In hindsight this was my major mistake, as this was probably not our cab, just some cabbie looking for a fare. Anyway we got in the cab and told him to take us to the hotel. He was not very friendly and kept joking around with his friends over the 2-way radio. Anyway when we got to the hotel, he did not park in the front entrance where the doorman would have greeted us, he parked on the side of the road. The fare came to just under 10,000 Pesos. I gave him a 10,000 peso bill, he took it and then showed me that I had only given him a 1,000 peso bill. I gave him another 10,000 peso bill which is equivalent to about $20 US. As soon as we got out of the car, I knew he had pulled a fast one. He had run our fare up to just under 10,000 pesos, the fare should have been about 4,000-5,000. He then knew I would give him a 10,000 peso bill. I gave him the bill and he quickly exchanged it for a 1,000 peso bill and told me I gave him the wrong bill.

Frankly, I had let my guard down. I had become too comfortable, Santiago is supposed to be a safe city with a healthy respect for the law. I had been told that police corruption was not a worry. However, the same could be said for many cities in the US, and you know that there are still people who will take advantage of you. I should have waited for the taxi that had been called by the restaurant. Then someone else knows which taxi you are riding. That keeps the driver honest. The driver also knew we were staying at a nice hotel (he knew we had money), we did not know the language, and we were not familiar with the currency. The vast majority of taxi drivers we have met, are extremely helpful, honest, and friendly. They are generally a great resource. As a traveler it is your responsibility to take proper precautions, I did not do that. I learned my lesson.

Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010 - Mendoza Wine Country

Mendoza Wine Country, Bodega Cantena Zapata

You know, Wine tasting is a great social activity. It's not so much that you are tasting wine, but that you get to spend much of the day exploring the countryside. Mendoza is synonymous with good Malbec wines. And today we were off to the Mendoza countryside at the foot of the Andes Mountains.

I had read an article on the San Francisco Chronicle's website about touring the wine country around Mendoza. In the article the author had hired a guide to show him around. The author also put his email address in the article. So I contacted him, Fernando was his name. For about $75 dollars, we could have a personal guide/driver for the day. It seemed like a great deal so I made arrangements with him.

Fernando had met us in the hotel lobby the day before. We talked about the itinerary he had planned and agreed to the start time. So we left at around 9:00am, it took a good hour to get to the first winery. Interestingly enough there was a rally race in progress and it was coming right through Mendoza and on up through the Andes. The rally is the well-known Dakar Rally. The race for many years, beginning in 1979, began in Paris, went down through the Sahara Dessert in Africa and ended in Dakar, Senegal (Africa). Because of terrorist threats the race was moved to South America in 2009. It goes from Buenos Aires, over the Andes, to Chile. This is primarially an off-road endurance race. We saw many of the cars/trucks/motorcycles (there are many classifications in the race) participating in the rally. It gave us something interesting to talk about.

A rally car

We arrived at the first winery at around 10:30am and the English speaking tour had just started. The first winery was Bodega Cantena Zapata. It is a large winery with an international presence. Several of their wines are readily available in US grocery stores. If you go wine tasting in Argentina, I hope you like their Malbec wines, because that is the main attraction. I think the Argentinean Malbecs are a great food wine. They go well with the charcoal cooked steaks that they serve in Argentina. I would say they are similar to California Zinfandels. They also go well with barbecue hamburgers and Mexican burritos. We did some tasting and bought a few bottles to take home.

Cantena Zapata Barrel Room Tasting at Cantena Zapata

The next winery was Achaval Ferrer, a very small but renown winery. Becky and I were the only ones on the premise at the time so we had a private tour. I bought 3 bottles of wine. I thought they were very good. In fact one of the labels that I bought turned up in Costco recently, so I bought some more. It was so good, a blend, Malbec That label was a mix of Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc.

Vineyards and landscape at Achaval Ferrer

Final stop out in the wine country was lunch at a place called LaGuarda. We ate in an outdoor courtyard. It was a very warm day, I believe it was around 95 degrees. But it was dry and we were very glad to be out in this rural area.

Becky and our waitress at LaGuarda for Lunch The opposite side of the courtyard at LaGuarda

We made our way back to Mendoza and made a final stop at a wine bar to sample some more wines from various wineries of the area. We bought a few more bottles and headed back to the hotel, which was only a block away. We made arrangements to have our bottles shipped to the US. A Mendoza company specializes in shipping wine outside Argentina. They make sure the proper fees and taxes are paid to get the wine through customs. We met with the company representative in the hotel lobby with wine and cash in hand. Away our wine went, hopefully we would see it again. After that we looked for a place to eat dinner. We settled on one of the hotel restaurants. It was a nice quiet dinner and then we headed off to bed. Tomorrow would be Santiago.

Wenesday, Jan. 13, 2010 - Mendoza

Our flight departed from the domestic airport in Buenos Aires at 8:00am. It's a 2 hour flight to Mendoza, our last stop in Argentina. That would allow us to spend practically a full day in Mendoza upon arrival. The following day we would go out on a full day wine tour. We arranged a taxi from the taxi desk at arrivals and went to our hotel.

When we arrived at the hotel it was much too early to check in. We left our luggage at the Bell Desk and then proceeded to lunch. I had become somewhat used to initially speaking Spanish to anyone we came across. So I asked the hostess, "Tiene una mesa para dos personas, por favor?". The hostess seem to get a little excited and told me I spoke very good Spanish. But she said it in English. How good could it have been if you feel compelled to answer in English? To be fair to myself, the hotel catered to an International customer that typically spoke English. It was a Hyatt Hotel, and although the room was very comfortable, interaction with the staff was usually reserved. It's not our preferred way to travel. We like it when the staff gives you a personal and biased opinion of things, it makes your short time in their native city more enjoyable.

Hotel Room

After lunch we went out to explore the town. The city has a large grassy square in which to wander. It was right across from our hotel. There were a number of street vendors on the other side of the square so we wandered over there. After that we took off for the Mercado several blocks down. It was a bustling area in and around the Mercado. In the Mercado they sold fresh meat and vegetables. There were several large eateries as well.

The usual hanging carcasses Cow Parts

We continued to walk around the downtown area. What was striking was the number of storefronts selling cheap goods. There were lots of low end stores selling electronics, kitchen appliances/gadgets, and clothing. It gave me the impression that the town was not as well-off as the areas in Buenos Aires we had visited. It was around 2:00pm and most of the businesses were shutting down for siesta.

We stopped in at an open air bar for a snack and coffee since the town was shutting down. While we were seated, we caught a glimpse of our Canadian friends which we met in Antarctica and flagged them down. They had just come back from Para-gliding. That is where you go up to the mountains and launch yourself off of a mountain slope with an open parachute. They showed us the video later at dinner, it looked like quite an adventure. While on the ship in Antarctica we had made arrangements to have dinner in Mendoza. They had made dinner reservations for that evening so we could all get together.

Open Air Cafe

We went back to the hotel. Given that 6:00pm dinners are not possible in Argentina we still needed to wait awhile until dinner. Frankly we were a little bored. I think we just sat outside in a patio area overlooking the town square. It was a very warm early evening, probably over 90 degrees.

We had dinner at an Italian restaurant, where we were seated outdoors. There were 8 or 9 of us. We had a nice evening meal and then we took an evening walk around the square and said our farewells to the Canadians, aye. We really enjoyed those guys. It reminds me of a song by LCD Sound System, called North American Scum. It is a song about North Americans not being as cool as other peoples of the world, but there is this one line, "but don't blame the Canadians!". You can get it on the iTunes monopoly, it's basically Techno.

Bruchetta Canadian ring-leader Nhung

Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010 - Buenos Aires

For today we did not really have a plan for our final full day in Buenos Aires. We decided we would head out to a bookstore, then walk over to the Recoleta neighborhood. In Recoleta we would have lunch, visit the grave-site of Evita and maybe take in one or two of the museums. Afterward, we would walk back to Palermo, which was where our hotel was located, and maybe do some shopping.

We had a somewhat leisurely morning and we headed to the subway station. This would take us near the bookstore we wanted to visit. We were told by a couple on the Antarctica ship that it was worthwhile and the hotel also recommended it. The bookstore is actually a wonderful old theater. The main book sections are on the main floor and there are other sections on the balcony floors. I bought a couple of Spanish/English language books and we proceeded to our next stop, Recoleta.

Inside the Bookstore

Recoleta is the nicest neighborhood in Buenos Aires. It is inviting and better maintained than the rest of the city. We wanted to get to the cemetery where Evita is buried. The cemetery is a tourist attraction in and of itself because of the history and the elaborate mausoleums. First we stopped for lunch. As an American it becomes clear that fast food could not have started in Argentina or many European countries. By this time you would have thought we would have learned not to stop at a restaurant with table service if we were short on time. But no, we did it anyway and killed a little over an hour.

Street in Recoleta

We made our way to the cemetery, it took us a little bit of time to find as the entrance was not obvious. The mausoleums were indeed elaborate. We did find Evita's grave site but we did not have a guide. On the way to the cemetery we had run into some of the passengers on the Antarctica ship. They had planned their cemetery visit and had just taken a tour with an English speaking guide. This is reason I like to plan our sight-seeing, it makes more efficient use of your time and you get more out of the sight.

Evita's Mausoleum Plaque on Evita's Mausoleum

Because we were running short on time at this point, we decided to head over to the Evita museum and skip some of the other interesting museums nearby. We really did not know what made Evita such an interesting character and given her importance to Argentina (and Madonna) we thought we should find out. After walking a fair distance we found Evita's museum. Eva Duarte had been popular on radio and then she also made several movies. She married Juan Peron who became president. She became very active supporting worker's rights. Through her foundation several schools and hospitals were established for the working class. The Peron's were populists and Eva's stylist manner and dress made her a cult of personality. The people of Argentina called her by a name of affection, Evita. Evita's career was cut short by cancer. Evita's body was not laid to rest in its current location until 1974, she died in 1952. The military had hidden the corpse and forbid public discussion concerning the Peron's. Juan Peron had been in exiled and Evita's corpse was returned to Argentina shortly after Juan Peron returned from exile and became president again.

inside the cemetery Outside wall of the cemetery, high rises in the background

Next we hoofed it to Palermo. Our hotel was in Palermo and we really had not explored much of it. Palermo is supposed to be known for its cutting edge fashion and nightlife. It is interesting and hard to describe. Try to imagine you are in a city's warehouse district and in the midst of the gritty surroundings is a shoe store. The shoe store is nicely lit with creative branding and large picture windows of fashionable displays. It is a small shop and there are several customers inside. You go to open the door to enter but it is locked. The staff has to buzz you in. Weird. In Palermo we also saw vibrant bars on the street corners with lots of outdoor seating completely filled. It seems like there is a lot of work to be done in the area, but where the work has been done it is first rate.

We made our way back to the hotel and then out for dinner. We ate at a Parrilla recommended by the hotel. It was probably about 10:00pm on a Tuesday night and the place was packed. I had a steak tenderloin, cooked over a charcoal barbecue of course. It was delicious. They also had a Malbec label called Rutini. I had had this elsewhere and found it was such a great compliment to the meat that I had another.