2022 Early December - Chile, Antarctica

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Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas

Our flight arrives in Punta Arenas at 800 AM.  We were able to doze a bit during the flight, but no real sleep.  It is cool, 50’s, and windy as we arrive, coat time.  There is no traffic on our 20-minute taxi ride to the hotel.  Punta Arenas has a population of 127,000, very small in comparison to the multi millions we’ve experienced in the big cities.  We arrive at the hotel at 830, the room is not ready.  We sit for a while searching the internet for a nearby restaurant.  We find a coffee shop/restaurant three blocks away. 
We pass the time, coffee for Nicida, hot chocolate for me, breakfast for both.  Returning to our hotel, we find our room is ready.  We settle in, relaxing a bit, before heading out for groceries.  It is convenient being in a small town, almost everything we need is within a three-block radius of the hotel.  After shopping we stroll down to the water, the Straits of Magellan.  The wind is still blowing, the deep blue water is covered with marching whitecaps.  Tomorrow, we learn about our Antarctic Expedition.

2022 Late November - Brazil

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Foz do Iguazú , Brazil

Iguazú Falls

Our trip starts with a 330 alarm.  It’s a 2-hour flight to Foz do Iguazú, the city on the Brazilian side of the Iguazú falls.  The Iguazú River in this area forms the border between Brazil and Argentina.  We are touring both sides of the falls, adding another country to our trip.

Sitting in the window seat I study the passing terrain.  Once away from Sao Paulo the land opens into forests and rolling ranch land.  Approaching Foz do Iguazú the land flattens out.  It is so green, and flat, I feel I am looking down on an huge empty pool table. 

We are staying in a home/hotel with two independent rooms.  It is in a quiet residential neighborhood, within walking distance of restaurants and shops.

2022 – Early/Mid May – Exploring Greece – The Peloponnese: Olympia, Monemvasia, Nafplio, Epidaurus, Corinth

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On the road

Temple of Zeus

Passing over the Patras Bridge we enter the Peloponnese, a separate peninsula of land in the south of Greece.  The land quickly flattens out with many ranches, orchards and farms.  We see the Ionian Sea off to the west before turning east climbing back into the mountains approaching Olympia.

2022 – Early May – Exploring Greece – Thessaloniki, Nafpaktos

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Thessaloniki's White Tower

Driving from Litochoro to Thessaloniki the toll road becomes crowded.  It is the second largest city in Greece at just over 800,000.  Our hotel is within a mile of the waterfront.  The streets are crowded with moving and parked cars, with luck we find a place to park on our second tour around the hotel.  I have to use my parallel parking skills to park on the left side of the street, backing uphill into a tight spot.  We celebrate our success, no dents or scratches on our car or any of the ones we squeezed in between.  We pull our carry-ons behind us, check in and learn that by moving the no parking signs belonging to the hotel we can park just outside the hotel door.  One more trip to the car, a long drive around the block and we are set.

2022 - Late April/Early May - Exploring Greece - Delphi, Kalabaka, Litochoro

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Meteora/Kalabaka

It’s been a while since I posted any trips.  We have been busy doing things around the house, taking little trips around the area, and planning, scheduling and putting the pieces together for a five-week trip to Greece.  This trip was originally scheduled for Sept/Oct of 2021 but with Covid getting worse, hot weather conditions and wildfires going through Greece we postponed it to April/May, just before the Greek tourist season starts.