second time around

Here I am passing through Oz and at the end of the second leg of the trip, or should I say the third leg. I have seen North America and it was spectacular. The Rockies and the Canyon lands are truly incredible and worthy of the bucket list for sure. Carlsbad is still a place that touched my heart and soul. It was nice seeing the friends and relatives and to share with them a bit of time and perspective for the journey.

Ecuador, the Galapagos and Peru were amazing each in their own way. The Nature and animals of the Galapagos are something to see. I am still astounded that the animals don’t run and allow you to get right up next to them. Even the birds don’t fly away. How many times anywhere else can you stand five feet from hawks and they just stare back at you? The Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu were stupefying for a different reason, the cultural aspect. To see what the Incas did in a short 700 years using stone tools is mind-bending. To shape huge granite blocks (not sandstone) and fit them together that tightly without mortar and to survive the earthquakes all at 9000-11000 feet elevation is unbelievable. I guess the coca leaves work after all.

The South Pacific was all that I hoped it would be. The locals were welcoming and friendly, the weather perfect, the lagoons and islands postcard picturesque and the diving was exhilarating and some kind of an experience. The Cook Islands were the best for seeing a less touristy side of life and a wonderful people. French Polynesia was just possibly the most beautiful lagoons and water in the world, and I got to swim with sharks and dolphins. While Fiji expanded my outlook on diving and taught me to at least think if not say, “Bula!” to everyone I pass.

Now I am off to northern Asia; China, Tibet and Japan. I expect it will be a change of pace and some great new experiences for me. 


Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 at 6:23 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.