2010 Trip to Europe final edition

July 5, 2010 to July 8, 2010 and trip home via Massluis Netherland.

On Monday we drove to Bern the Capital of Switzerland. This is a medieval city with a rich history. We arrived and parked in an underground parking the only type of parking you can access. Switzerland is expensive to us but Bern is real expensive. We have been paying parking of 1 to 2 CNF and hour and here was .90 cnf for 15 minutes or 3.90 and hour. As one lady who was also paying her bill said it is worse than New York.

Other than that the city is a great place to visit. When built centuries ago all the buildings had walking areas under the front of the building. This is nice because if it is raining one can walk the whole city without getting wet or in our case the hot sun as tempatures were 30c again. Marilyn loved looking into the shops as we toured the city.

We decided to do two things. Visit Albert Enstein Home Museum and the Federal Legislature. We booked a time for the goverment tour and worked our way back to the Einstein home. This small and really the only museum on Albert Einstein was well done. It was contained in the two story apartment he had from 1902 to 1909 with his first wife and the place he worked on the theory of relativity. The movie and articles on his life were fascinating. We enjoyed this short visit. The federal government building was just as interesting as we learned how the government of Switzerland works. A beautiful old building. In fact is was hard to believe how good shape some of these old building are in. We took a different route home to see more of the beautiful countryside.

On Tuesday we decided to take a 2.5 hour cruise on the paddle steamer S/S La Suisse. This ship is celebrating it's 100 years of service on Lake Geneve or Lake La Mond.
We went from Lausanne over to the french side and stopped at 3 french towns then around the east end of the lake with a stop at Chateau de Chillion and two more stops coming back up the north side to Lausanne. A great trip on a wonderful sunny day.

Today we went to Geneve. The trip was a short 65km drive to the west end of the lake. We got parked in again high cost parking and went off to book a bus tour. Geneve is spread out so the bus tour seemed the right way to get an overview. Its amazing how many world organizations and private companies have their European head offices in this city. The Banks take up all the prime downtown real estate. We must have seen all the world banks represented. Quite amazing. Geneve is very picturest and we enjoyed our stroll around town after the bus. The beauty of a home exchange is that when you have had enough you can go home. A matter of interest, we stopped at Starbucks for one of their drinks and the cost is double to what it is at home. At 3pm that is exactly what we did; headed to our Lausanne home. We had had enough of museums and old stuff.

Tomorrow we clean up the home here and get ready for our departure early Friday morning. Tomorrow night we do have a special resturant dinner planned. That is if I can find the resturant again. It is out in the rolling hills and comes highly recommended for Suisse menu. On Friday it is off to Alan, Jen and Kylie's for 4 nights then home to Vancouver. We will do some sightseeing with the family but it will be our last chance to have time with Kylie and that we will do.

To close off this blog on this years major holiday we want to say how much we enjoyed our 7 day bike trip. We think of it often and are going to try and plan another through Hungry for next year. Switzerland has lived up to it's reputation. It is a country that we have to say has a higher standard of living than Canada. Great transportation systems, lovely housing, wonderful food, outstanding shopping and all the services you could ever ask for. The Suisse have done it right but at a direct cost. We felt that prices on average were 25% higher than Canada. We found it expensive to live. On the other hand the average wage is 90,000 francs and the franc is about the same as the Canadian dollar. I believe they have little unemployment and we never once in our stay saw any street people begging. That says alot.

Thanks to Yves and Isabelle and Kevin Chatelain for exchanging homes with us and for Alan and family and brother Bruce and family for having us stay. Dave and Marilyn.

2010 Trip to Europe part two.

This is a continuation of the 2010 Trip to Europe.
Tuesday June 23, 2010 until Tuesday June 29, 2010

We received a call from Alan about 9 pm letting us know he was at the Lausanne rail station. He had been unable to call before as his cell phone would not work in Switzerland. Dave was just going out the door as we were worried and thought we had better go to the station and wait. All three arrived tired at 9:45. Something to eat and it was off to bed.

On Wednesday we showed them downtown Lausanne. They have a good subway in Lausanne with a north south line and an east west line. We can be at the end of the north south line at the lake in about 20 minutes. Downtown shopping in less time. Alan and Jen seemed to enjoy the walk around town and Kylie did well. We purchased food supplies and baby supplies when we got to our subway stop on the way home. We are about a 5 min walk from the station and stores.

Dave was in Lausanne Switzerland in June 1963 with CanEuro Student Journeys and this is one of the reasons we wanted to return. Today,Thursday and tomorrow are a visit to the past and 47 years later with a granddaughter under tow. I sure would not have said this would happen 47 years hence.

Thursday we are off to the Chateau de Gruyeres (castle) and of course the Gruyere cheese factory. A great castle visit and the cheese factory was fun with good cheese purchases. Later in the day we stopped at the Nestle Cailler Chocolate factory. All the chocolate you could eat at the end of the tour. Some of us were not feeling to well. What a wonderful day.

Friday it was off to Chateau de Chillon a place still vivid in my memory after 47 years. It was Lord Byron and the "Prisoner of Chillon" all over again. I had put my initals under Lord Byron`s signature and now a plastic cover is over that signature and preserved my initals as well. Alan verified. This is a great castle on the shores of Lake Geneve and we spent 5 hours touring. After we went to a small park next to the Chateau and Kylie played in the water. An idealic setting with the castle in the back ground. The drive home was through great vineyards flowing down to the water. A wonderful day.

Saturday we went to the watch making area of Switzerland called La Vallee de Joux (Lake of Jura) which is the watch making area. Unfortunately being Saturday all the factories were closed. These large factories have been in this area for years and a small town grown around them. Many small towns with a factory like Giraid Perregaux. The drive was great through the rolling hills and valleys. A mountain bikers paradise. We came out of the hills through all these small villages at Nyon on Lake Geneve.

Sunday morning we stayed close to home and did washing etc. In the afternoon went down to Ouchy and walked west along the lake looking for some swimming area for Kylie. We found a hugh swimming park but it all cost money. As a side note we are finding just about all items more expensive then Canada and Holland. We kept walking west and found a public beach area. The waves were bigger today so Kylie found she was getting knocked over. Jen went for a short swim to cool off. The rest of us stayed under a tree to keep cool. We have since learned this area has an average tempature in winter of 14 and summer 24. We have been averaging 28/29. We spent the balance of the day walking having ice cream and just enjoying the people watching. Of course the world cup is big here and in the centre of the Ouchy area just after you get off the subway is a big screen (and I mean big) television and viewing area. Each time we have been by this area the crowds are watching a game. We have also caught the spirit and are enjoying watching the games and also Wembelton Tennis.

On Monday we gave Alan and Jen the day off to celebrate their wedding anniversary. We agreed to look after Kylie. Alan and Jen went down to Ouchy and walked the lake, had a wonderful lunch with lake view and spent the afternoon visiting the Olympic Museum. We took Kylie to the Lake Sauvabelin which is not far from the house. Kylie was able to see the animals in the small farm area, go to the big playground and we also climbed the great tower and have a wonderful view of all of Lausanne and the surounding area. We can see the tower from our deck so I took a telephoto of our deck from the tower. Kylie was tired and started to fade so we got her home for lunch and a nap. We too napped. After Kylie's nap it was again off to the playground near us. Alan and Jen returned about 6 pm after having a fun day. We too had a good day with our grandaughter.

Tuesday Alan, Jen and Kylie left about noon on the train and we spent the balance of the day walking along the lake and exploring some other areas of Lausanne by car. It is always lonely and quiet after company leaves.

Wednesday June 30 we decided to drive and stay over night in Zermatt the home of the Matterhorn mountain. The drive took about 2 hours 30 min through some beautiful wine country. We took the motorway which lasted about 2/3 of the trip the last 1/3 was the drive up into the mountains. I would like to make a couple of points here one being we had no idea that Switzerland had such a wine industry. The vineyards we have seen are far more then we have in BC. We have learned that 98% of the wine is consumed in Switzerland and only 2% exported to Germany. The wine itself is a real treat and I can see why it is all consumed at home. The other point I would like to make are on roads. The roads here are great. We could learn a thing or two about building roads like if they come to a mountain they go through the mountain no matter how long and if they come to a valley they just build a bridge no matter how large or long. This goes for most first and secondary roads. Also when they are doing repairs to a motorway for example rather then eliminate all the white lines they just put down the brightest orange lines I have ever seen and you know your are in a construction zone and people slow down. Last point at this time is villages high in the mountains. As we have been driving the various roads we can see towns high in the mountain ranges. The churches stand out but so do the homes perched up high and on our drive today most of those villages are surronded by grapevines other days it was grazing land for cows etc.

Back to Zermatt. You cannot drive a car into Zermatt. You have to stop at a village called Tasch which has a hugh parking garage right next to the rail station. We decided to stay overnight in Tasch in a hotel right across from the train station. Our hotel room was not ready but we were able to check in and park our car in the hotel underground parking. We were on the train to Zermatt by 12 noon. Arrived in Zermatt 15 minutes later and immediately went to the Gornergrat clog railway station. We arrived at the 3100 metre Gornergrat mountian top at 1 pm. The trip to Gornergrat on the Matterhorn Railway, the longest cogwheel railway in Europe, and has been in operation for 111 years. At Gornergrat we were surrounded by 29 "four thousanders" which contains the largest Swiss mountain and the third longest glacier. The panoramic view is spectatular. We stopped and had lunch and right after started up a trail to a higher viewing area but the altitude got to us. We are at 10,500 plus feet and both Marilyn and I found the trek to the higher area a chore. We took our time but lost breath and felt a little dizzy. A big lesson to us is we need to get into walking shape as all around us were Swiss senior citizens with their hiking boots and polls taking these wonderful hikes in their stride. ( A note, most of these people live on the side of a mountain so no wonder they are used to hiking.)Having said that, we still need to get into better shape. It would have been wonderful to take some of these trails but not this time. As for the Matterhorn it was the only mountain in cloud which we understand is quite common but it changed every minute and by the time we went to get the clog rail back down it was clear. A site to behold. The rail trip is not cheap but well worth the experience and something we will never forget. We arrived back in Zermatt at 4pm. Spent a couple of hours exploring Zermatt which is a lovely town and with the Matterhorn as a backdrop very picturesque. As you would expect it is a tourist town and has all that goes with tourists. We got back to the hotel in time for a small rest and had a racelette dinner in the restaurant. The dinner was great and a Swiss treat. Again a wonderful day.

On Thursday, Canada Day, we decided to take our time getting home. We took all the small roads through high villages, lots of grazing land, lots of vineyards all that you would expect of Switzerland. We kept our route coming around the east end of Lake Geneva right past the Chateau de Chillon where we stopped in Montreux for lunch. Every year in Montreux they have a Jazz Festival known through Europe. This years festival was July 2 to 17th. The downtown area was busy with vendors setting up for the festival. We had a lovely see wall walk and lunch by the lake. We continued west past the UNESCO Vineyards of Chillon some of the oldest in Europe. We went past the villages of Vervey, St. Saphorin, Lutry and Pully before arriving home about 4pm. The heat was getting to us so we had a beer and rested.

Friday July 2nd we drove to Neuchatel and Fribourg. At Neuchatel which is on a lake by the same name we lucked out by having a tour guide whose specialty is history in the Chateau de Neuchatel. I know, another castle and we were only going to have a quick look but this lady guide got a hold of us. She knew the castle and church but because the beginnings of Switzerland took place in Neuchatel she was able to provide us with how the country came to being. A very interesting story and gave us the answers we needed to know. By the time we had lunch and left for Fribourg it was mid afternoon and hot 30+c. We got to Fribourg a neat town on a winding river with and upper and lower midieval town sites. We were tired and hot and did not give it justice but enjoyed what we saw. A stop for a beer was in order even for Marilyn who downed it quickly as it was thirst quencing. We arrived home about 5:30. Another great adventurous day.

We have less than a week left so on Saturday we went downtown to the Saturday market where farmers' stalls of vegetables, fruit, cheese, bread and meat were set up on all streets. Lots of stalls to choose from. We also had to go to the Nespresso Boutique to pick up our coffee and replace the pods we have used. As you know Nestle is a big swiss company and this coffee machine called the Nespresso is big over here. Marilyn also got her Swiss Watch, we had a crepe lunch then picked up food supplies and were home by 4pm. Again it was a hot day in fact so hot we could not sit out on the back deck even with awning out.

I am writing this on Sunday where in the afternoon we may go for a walk in the woods. My foot is healing slowly and getting better. Alan had done a wonderful job helping my heal spirs which he confirmed is my problem. He took the Podiatrists licence exams in the Netherlands and passed. He is now looking after peoples feet including mine. He is fixing my problem which will be a slow process and will include a needed orthotic.

Monday we will drive to Bern the capital of Switerland, Tuesday we may go to Geneva, on Wednesday a boat cruise on Lake Geneva with a stop at Evain in France, you know the water company that started all this bottled water thing. On Thursday it is clean up at the house here. We will catch the Subway at 8:30 Friday morning to catch the 9:25 train to the Geneva Airport for our 12:25 flight to Amsterdam then a train to Masslius and a 3 day visit with Alan, Jen and Kylie. We leave on a 7:30pm flight out of Amsterdam on Tuesday.

In case we do not do any more updates it has been a wounderfull 2010 European Holliday with lots of new things tried and places we have seen

2010 Trip to Europe

We left Vancouver on June 4th and will return July 13th.

We find it hard to keep the blog up to date as we are very busy so we will just keep adding the odd bit as we go along.

Tuesday June 23, 2010
We have been in Europe for some time. We arrived at Alan, Jen and Kylie`s home on Saturday June 5th. Spent 4 nights with them. Alan was able to borrow 2 bikes from a bike shop which was great and prepared us for the next phase of our trip. The major bike ride we did attempt with the family ended in a big rain storm. We were to go about 25km to the Hook of Holland but about half way the skies opened up. We were wet wet wet wet so decided to bike back home. Kylie was a real trooper on this bike trip and talked all the way home. We enjoyed our stay and Kylie is turning into a lovely little girl.

Wednesday June 17, 2010
We took the train late in the afternoon to my brother Bruce's home in Molenhook. The train ride was about 2 hours. He and son Michael picked us up at the Mook station. We had two purposes for being at my brothers home. One was to play a rematch of a game of golf with Bruce and his friend Klaus as the last game we had, I beat them on their home course. This time Klaus played a great game and beat us both. A rematch will be scheduled in the future. The second purpose of this stop was to spread some of our parents ashes on a lovely hillside called The Mookaheada. This was a beautiful park that our parents had walked many times. Present were Dave, Marilyn, Bruce, Ann, Michael, Annemarie and Michael's girlfriend Monica. This was a wonderful ceremony on the top of a hill. We had a great time at Bruce's with lots of good food, wine and laughs. We also completed a 30km bike ride through some lovely countryside with Bruce. Thanks Bruce and Ann.

Saturday June 19, 2009
We caught the 9:45 train to Amsterdam Central and walked to our barge hotel at Oosterdock. Arrived on the barge at 2pm. Dropped our bags and went out for some food and drink. Back on the barge for a 3:30 departure. We were off a little late because the www.cycletours.com had forgot to let us know 2 Swiss gals were to meet us at the first stop. We then travelled the main Amsterdam canal towards Utrech and arrived at Vianen. If you want to see our trip itinerary go to the following web site: http://www.cycletours.com/tours/netherlands-belgium_southern-tour-relax_15.php . After a great dinner we went out for a 10km practice bike ride. The next morning Sunday June 20th we went to Gouda. Great day good food good company of 6 Germans, 8 Spainards, 2 Swisse, 2 French, 2 Brits and 4 Candians. The other 2 Candians were from a town about 2 hours south of Montreal in Quebec. On Monday we biked into Rotterdam then took the barge to Delft. On Tuesday we biked to Leiden on Wednesday. We biked on the lake country around Leiden. Thursday it was off Haarlem and finally on Friday into Amsterdam. We travelled well over 200 km arrived each afternoon to have time to spend in the towns but I can tell you that each evening it was early to bed. On Friday night in Amsterdam we went on a canal tour and did not get to bed much before 11:30 pm. We had a wonderful vacation with a great barge crew ( Captain Jan, Cook Chef Ammlyse and Assistant for everything Agnes) who looked after all our needs including superb meals and our great guide Els and 22 new friends from different countries. We will do a bike trip again.

Saturday June 19, 2010
We were up at our usual time on the barge, had breakfast, prepared lunch and left at 9am for Amsterdam Central Station. We got to know Rob and Lynn from England quite well so the we walked with them to the train station. We took the train to the airport and caught a flight to Geneva Switzerland and then a train to Lausanne. I am writing this from Lausanne where we have had 3 relaxing days just taking in the wonderful city of Lausanne. Alan, Jen and Kylie arrive in about 1 hour so will sign off for now.

I will update the Switzerland part of our trip each week or so.

Our trip to England May/June 2009 Part Three

Part Three

Sunday, May 24, 2009

This is an update to my part two May 24th. Jim and Wendy, Bob and Yvonne arrived within minutes of me sending out the part two update. They had stayed in York over night after a drive down from near Aberdeen Scotland. Found the roads great and made good time. I had given them a Google map and directions but used the postal code which put them over on Bunny Lane in the middle of the postal code area. They asked a few people and finally found the house. We then went of to Salutation Pub for lunch and a walk and grocery shopping. The afternoon and dinner was great with lots of laughs.

Monday, May 25, 2009.

Dave and Jim drove Wendy down to the train station so she could go off on the train to visit a friend who used to live in Whitehorse but now lives with her daughter near Worksop which is north of Nottingham. After breakfast the rest of the crew caught a bus to downtown Nottingham. We had a relaxing day with another pub lunch at ‘Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem’ inn and pub. I had mentioned in an earlier day this is the oldest inn and pub in England. I learned more that on the Crusades to Jerusalem by the armies this was a stop over for rest and food, thus the name. We also visited Nottingham Castle just to say as part of our Robin Hood day tomorrow we had visited the castle. We went to the Square again to listen to music. Yvonne and Marilyn went off shopping, Jim and Dave went to the National Ice Centre, while Bob stayed to listen to music and people watch. The National Ice Centre is quite a place. It has two ice surfaces, one for ice hockey and one for general skating. They do have a hockey team; those players in a league with European teams. The big arena seats 50m and is also where big concerts come. A very nice complex with many uses including national figure skating practice. Jim and Dave saw the other three off to the bus stop and they went on to the train station to wait for Wendy who was arriving back at 5:45 pm. The wait was in the pub across the street from the train station and once Wendy arrived we all went home on the bus. The dinner that night was sausages that we had purchased at the farmers market a week ago.

Tuesday May 26, 2009

I call this our Robin Hood day. I had promised Jim back in Indio that we could visit Sherwood Forest together and that is what we are doing today. We figured out a route to bypass Nottingham and what is left of Sherwood Forest is due north. Tom Tom (gps) is our great friend mapping out a route that worked great. We arrived in Sherwood Forest about 11 am. It is family week in England this week and all the schools are off so this walk was scheduled. I had told the team as part of my tour I had arranged for a fellow to take us on a walk through the forest and tell us stories of Robin Hood and his merry men. It turned out to be a great walk with a fellow who acted as one of Robin Hoods men and as we walked through Sherwood Forest he told us stories. He made the trip. Of course one of the stops on the walk was at the Big Oak the place where Robin Hood would to meet people. We learned that the merry men had homes in other parts of the forest, at that time, a very large forest and the Big and Old Oak (over a 1000 years old) was only where Robin Hood would tell people to meet him so no one knew where the homes were. This oak tree had just about every branch supported as oak trees rot from the inside out and this old tree was hollow inside. After we left this part of the Sherwood Forest we stopped in the local town for lunch. It was quite late when we finished lunch so we decided to find just one more point of interest then head home. We never did find the other point of interest but the drive through the country side was great. We arrived home in time for happy hour and ended the day with a deluxe roasted chicken dinner cooked as a joint effort of all present. Dinners usually lasted a long time and finished close to bedtime. Bob called the meals great social occasions. I would agree.

Wednesday May 27, 2009

Today we are driving south east towards, Melton Mowbray home of the famous Melton Mowbray pork pie. Our objective today is to get to Burghley House in Stamford after stops at Oakham and a view of the Rutland water. It started off raining and stopped as we were going through Melton Mowbray, and as we were passing through we saw signs selling the pies and also saw sign of an open air farmers market. We stopped and were disappointed because of the rain not many farmers showed up but Dave did find a pork pie place so he bought a Melton Mowbray Pie to go with the other ones we were having for dinner tonight. Our next stop was Stamford for lunch. Stamford is a very old town and the buildings were Georgian architect and several hundred years old. After lunch we went to Burghley House which is a house built by William Cecil 1st Lord Burghley. The Cecil family still live in and run the trust looking after the house. The interior of the home was magnificent. Some of you will recall the family that owned 100 Mile House and the Gang Ranch were Cecil’s. The present head of the family (not sure if it is Lord, Earl or Viscount) is the 7th. He moved from 100 Mile House to Oregon and his son who will be the 8th still lives in BC. A bit of interesting history and a fluke we visited this particular house. We enjoyed our stay and the grounds had interesting sculptures. The ride home was in sunshine allowing us to enjoy the views and in particular the Rutland water which is a big man made lake and reservoir. The various pies that evening made for great eating and the conversations continues.

Thursday May 28, 2009

This was clean up and pack day for the Pollock’s. We did manage to go to The Plough Inn Pub in Normanton on the Wolds about a 20 minute walk. We sat in the garden and had one of the best pub lunches we had on this trip. After lunch we stopped at the butcher shop and picked up a fresh leg of lamb for dinner. We capped the afternoon off by sitting outside in the sun enjoying happy hour followed by the lamb feast. We felt we had covered every English dinner that people eat in England which consisted of roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, English sausages, meat pies and lamb.

Friday May 29, 2009

The Pollock’s left for London Heathrow with driving instructions off Google.. We learned later they arrived safely in the hotel, gave the car back and were able to go to central London on the tube. Marilyn and I then set out on the drive from hell. I wanted to see the North Sea and everyone said why? I thought if we just drove east to Boston we would be on the sea. Jan the lady next door said we may have to go Skegness in order to see the sea. We did have to go that far and arrived 3 hours later. In what we thought was the smaller town of Grantham rather then take the route that Tom Tom had planned we would go through the centre of town . The traffic was stop and go and it took one hour and all we saw some buildings. The same happened in Boston and it does not have a by pass road. Guess what at Boston we were no where near the sea so onward. We finally saw an Inn and decided to stop for lunch. They did not serve food but said we were only 10 miles from Skegness. On we went and guess what? When we were in New York we thought Coney Island was bad but it come a far second to this place. More amusement parks then I had seen in a long time. It was family week so every family was here and we could not find a parking spot to even try and see the North Sea. Finally at 2:30 we stopped for lunch. Nice pub and the waitress was great. She said just up the coast to the next town and we could park and walk to see the North Sea. She said you have come this far so do it, but she too did not know why we drove so far. We went to the small town and finally found parking for a £1 and I walked up a hill to have a look. Marilyn went off for ice cream. The tide was coming in and the North Sea was a muddy brown. Lots of sand bars right up to a cement wall and the wind was howling.. We got to see the small shacks all along the sea shore that have been in families for years. They are day cabins only and very small and off in the distance many wind turbines. We had seen the North Sea from a gun in placement used during WW11. I now asked Tom Tom to direct us home and to my liking we went through the back roads away from traffic and by all the farmer vegetable fields. A very pleasant trip until we got on the A46 by pass around the city of Lincoln where the traffic picked up with many cars pulling trailers but even at that we were home in just short of 2 hours. We were glad we did not take the Pollock’s on this trip.

I have learned to drive on the left hand side but still find going on the round abouts a little hard but I am sure over time one would get used to them as they do speed up traffic flow.. The changing of gears is fine and I still have to tell myself to gear down. All in all it has been great having the car to get around and Tom Tom has been a big help and a must for driving in England and Europe.

Saturday May 30, 2009

Dave woke up yesterday with a bit of a sore throat but it went away but now it was back with vengeance. We decided to stay home and relax. Marilyn got caught up with the washing. In the afternoon we had lovely tea with the next door neighbour Jan.

Sunday May 31,2009

We decided not to drive today and Dave is still not feeling good so we went to Nottingham on the bus and had leisurely stroll around some of the areas we had not visited. We came home early and Dave had a rest and quiet evening.

Monday June 1, 2009

It is hard to believe we will be leaving on Wednesday morning. We confirmed our London tour trips this morning so we are all set for the three days we have in London. Today we are going to Newstead Abby the Ancestral Home of the Poet Lord Byron. Tomorrow we will clean up the house and do laundry, wash the car and cut the back lawn and hope we leave the place the way we found it. I may not have time to update you until Sunday when I get some time at my Brothers place in Holland.

Trip to England May/June 2009 Part 2

Part two

Tuesday May 19, 2009

Got off to a good start heading to Stow on the Wold in the Cotswolds, the meaning of wold is an open space at the top of a hill. On our route we came upon a farmers market in the village of Morton on the Marsh. We had a great lunch purchased from one of the stalls. The place was crowded with tour buses stopping and the people from the area coming to market. Not many parking places left in the small village. We arrived at Stow on the Wold about 2pm, found a good B&B right in the middle of town. We spent the rest of the day walking this market town looking at the shops and older buildings. The building the B&B is in had just had its 300 birthday a few years back. One of the things that define the Cotswolds besides the rolling hills is the colour of the stone blocks that make the buildings, they are a pale yellow. We also found our first modern food store similar to our Safeway. Dinner this evening was a venture to an Indian restaurant right next to the B&B. One thing we noticed is that because England had close ties to India in the past, the English love curry. We enjoyed our food at this restaurant.

Wednesday May 20, 2009

Breakfast was served at 8:15 and what a great English breakfast it was. The other couple staying at this B&B were from Seattle and travelling with their small son. The couple who ran the B&B were characters and made our stay enjoyable. I believe we lucked out getting into this B&B as they are booked now until November. We set off for Stratford-on Avon with as stop at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. We walked around the downtown of Stratford and of course walked by the birth place of William Shakespeare. We did not stay too long as this is a tourist town with lots of people and all stores etc. are ones we had seen before. Quite frankly we are finding the stores in the tourist areas very pricy. It was then on to Warwick Castle. Visiting this Castle had been recommended to us and when we got there we thought we may have found an amusement park. The Castle was taken over a number years ago by the owners of Madame Tussaud’s as a place to set up historic wax figure displays. It has grown from that beginning to lots of outdoor activities that interest children. Most of these going on are of the medieval castle type of fun. There were many bus loads of children. Once we got in and had a lunch and started to study the guide we found lots that interest us and it was an enjoyable afternoon. Of course the wax figures as part of the displays were very real. The up keep on this castle was the best we had seen. We left Warwick at about 5pm arriving home at 6.45 after stopping to shop for dinner.

Thursday May 21, 2009.

Hard to believe we have been here one week so we decided to stay close to home today and walk around Keyworth. We spent the late morning and in to the afternoon walking the town. Keyworth appears to be a bedroom community of Nottingham. Very lovely homes with small shopping areas spread through out the community. Lots of services for families such as a pool, gym and youth centre. We purchased our meat at the local butcher and other supplies at a local small grocery store. A highlight of the trip was a stop for lunch at the Salutation Inn and of course it has a good pub and an Inn that has been around for centuries. A neighbour across the street said it is the local pub he goes to for a beer. We had a wonderful lunch and I was able to test a new bitter beer. The pricing I got on my lunch meal was what the locals call the wrinkly price because I was over 60 I got a £1 off. Marilyn did not have the meal. We continued our walk around town after lunch. One of the advantages of a home exchange is that you can take time out to enjoy the area. Today the weather has improved. Back home I was looking to cut the back yard grass but it is a little too wet yet hopefully I can do this tomorrow. Marilyn was able to sweep the debris off the front area.

Friday May 22, 2009

Today we decided to do some local visiting. Marilyn wanted to see the Ruddington Framework Knitters’ Museum. It was just a short distance and a great display of these hand knitting machines of the early 1800. We were able to get a feel of how life was those many years ago and it was not fun. We enjoyed a lovely lunch in the village of Ruddington. On our way home we stopped a large grocery store called ADSA Superstore and what a large store it is, in fact, bigger then the Wal-Mart Superstore in La Quinta. It appears this company has a large connection to Wal-Mart as it had similar advertising and the web site has a link to Wal-Mart. We arrived home at a reasonable time because I wanted to cut the back lawn. We have now had two days of no rain and the lawn was drying. I got that done after finally figuring our how to start the Briggs & Stratton powered lawn mower. It has been a few years. After dinner we went for a walk around the residential areas of Keyworth.

Saturday May 23, 2009

Today we went to downtown Nottingham by bus. The bus fair return was £3.90 or about $3.60 Canadian for a one way fare. The trip took 20 mins. The purpose of today’s trip was to see some historic sights, for Marilyn to enjoy the downtown shopping and get a feel for Nottingham life. We did get to see one very large shopping centre and some of the downtown stores. What we did not expect was the concert we got to see in the down town Old Market Square. Nottingham has about 275,000 people and the downtown area must have had everyone of them down here today. When we first went by the market square we saw a large bandstand so inquired what was happening and were given a program for a three day event. This weekend is also a bank holiday. We lucked out today because at 12:30 The Merseybeats ‘I Think of You, Don’t Turn Around, Wishin’& Hopin’ then at 2:10 Dave Berry and The Cruisers ‘The Crying Game, Little Things, Mama’ and at 3:40 The Manfreds with Manfred Mann ‘Do Wah Diddy, Pretty Flamingo, 5-4-3-2-1 and they also had two featured guests Zoot Money and Alan Price. We were at the concert until 5;45 and only left after we could not stand any more. It was quite the afternoon. Marilyn was able to sneak in some shopping at a 40 minute break in the action. This long weekend of a free music and dance festival had events going all over the downtown area. It is called City Pulse and sponsored by the city of Nottingham and the downtown merchants association. Vancouver could learn a thing or two and the merchants were happy with all the people this event drew in to this area. We got home about 6:15 exhausted. Spring lamb has just hit the local butcher shops so we had a great lamb chop BBQ and of course some wine.

Sunday May 24, 2009

Today our friends the Pollock’s arrive after having spent about the same amount of time in Scotland. Jim and Bob Pollock and wives Wendy and Yvonne are friends from our Happy Wanderer park in Indio. We have some grocery shopping to do and Marilyn has planned a British dinner of Roast Beef, potatoes and vegetables around the roast, gravy and Yorkshire pudding. One thing we learned is that in the stores they have Yorkshire putting already made up and all you have to do is heat it in the oven. Should be a fun day as the weather looks great with lots of sunshine and the evening should be great with friends. We will up date you in part three of this blog as I am now going to publish this five days.

Trip to England May/June 2009 Part 1

Part 1

Wednesday May 13th.

Paul Porter drove us to the airport at 3 pm. I had already printed my boarding passes so we went through the check in very fast. We proceeded immediately to the gate at the international departure level. The flight left on time at 5:20 pm and arrived in London Heathrow on time at 10:20 am England time on May 14th which was 2:20 am Vancouver time. The trip was smooth and uneventful. We had the entertainment centre that kept us busy watching movies. Marilyn pointed out that the service from Air Canada was poor compared to the other airlines we had travelled on the past year.

After we got through customs etc. and picked up our bags we were at the dot2dot transport counter at 10:55 am. The gal said the bus would arrive depending on traffic at between 11:20 and 11:50. She said she did not think we would make our 1:15 pm train. This was not a problem as we could catch the 2:15 pm train to Nottingham. The bus arrived at 11.45 am and based on what a friend Reg King has said he thought we could make the 1:15 pm train. The bus driver felt we could make it as he was going to drop us off at London St Pancras station first. After arriving at 12:55 pm all I had to do was go to a self serve ticket vending machine and put in a code I had received when I bought the tickets on line and presto all four tickets were printed. We walked to the area where the Midlands train leaves and it was just arriving so we were a few minutes early.

The London St Pancras station is a beautiful new station. This is where the Euro rail the high speed trains to Brussels and Paris leave. We learned we could when we return to London catch a train to Brussels. then a train to Alan’s home. Maybe we will try that one year.

The train trip was lovely and relaxing watching the beautiful English country side go by quickly. We were both caught napping a couple of times. We arrived in Nottingham station at 3 pm and as all this had gone so quickly we decided to sit down and share a sandwich and water. We then caught a cab to the home we are staying in Keyworth Nottinghamshire. The trip was 20 minutes and cost £15 with tip which is $27.45 Canadian. It took a minute or two to get the front door open as the key kept sticking and they are well locked with 3 bolts into the frame. I have had trouble ever since with the front door all other doors are great. The house we are staying in is a lovely 4 bedroom, 3 washrooms, Kitchen, Dining room and large family room home.
It was cool when we arrived so I started to study the manual Jan and Ed had left us and before long I had the hot water heating system working, the entertainment centre working and the computer up and running. After that I collapsed on the sofa to join Marilyn in a glass of wine that they had left us. Nice touch. It was at this point we both realized we were exhausted and were going to stay in for a snack and try to stay up until 10 pm. We made it to 9:30.

Friday May 15th.

We slept in this morning and we both had good nights sleep. We decided today we would go to the centre of Nottingham and look around. This will also allow me to drive the car and get this fear I have out of my system. This will be the first time I have driven a standard car in 38 years, first diesel and of course on the left hand side of the road. The car is a Citroen G4. It was strange, the standard came back quite fast but the left hand side of the road took some time. I kept being close to the left side of the road which made Marilyn nervous. I guess the biggest hurdle was the round abouts or traffic circles. That was scary. We did make it to the parking lot of the big shopping centre near the centre of town. By this time it was time for out first pub lunch so we walked through the shopping centre and headed to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem Brewhouse which is the oldest Inn and Pub in England. A great place for a good pub lunch and beer but couldn’t face the bitter beer yet so we had Carling cold. We will be going back to that pub if we have any money left. That was our first introduction to the cost of food which was over $36 for a small lunch. What we are finding is if an item cost say £9.95 we would look at that and say similar to Canada except that is actually $18 Can. Wine is cheaper and beer is reasonable. After lunch we toured the downtown which is great. Saw the start of the Robin Hood trail and Nottingham Castle which we will save for when friends arrive next week. In the Main Square there was a farmers market which was great and we stocked up. The trip home was about the same as the trip in a little scary but that coupled with not knowing where we are going, the trip took on a new thrill. We did find Keyworth and the centre of town so were able to complete our shopping and get stamps. We spent the evening at home.

Saturday May 16th

Again had a good night sleep and slept in. Today we are off for a drive through Derbyshire and the Peak District in England. Our main reason for going was to visit Chatsworth House the home of the Duke of Devonshire. A few years ago one of the Dukes put the house in a trust and opened it up to the public to help pay for the cost of operating and upkeep. The Duke and his family live on the first floor, pay rent, and all the other floors are open to view. It is a big house and very interesting to see with wonderful grounds surrounding. Today in part of the grounds was the Chatsworth Horse Trials which are apparently quite up in the horse world. We also toured the gardens which are beautiful. We went in the maze which is something I have always wanted to see and after 30 minutes Marilyn and I never did reach the centre. We left Chatsworth House about 5 pm after having spent 5 hours and continued our trip through the peak district going through the town of Buxton which is the highest town in England. The weather has not been great with rain storms, wind and the odd sunny period but this has not stopped us. The scenery on this circle trip is great. I think we have all seen those pictures of England with the rolling hills and the different fields all seperated with built up stone walls. The drive today had lots of those pictures. Those that know Marilyn’s navigation abilities can guess what happened next. Yes we got lost and arrived home in the rain at about 7:30 pm. It was a great day and the driving was not too bad except the roads are very narrow and I kept going close to the left side of the road.

Sunday May 17th

We started this day with a typical English breakfast of great bacon and eggs all supplies we picked up at the farmers market on Friday. Today we decided to stay close to home after our drive and getting lost yesterday. We both needed a break from the driving. This is one of the great advantages of a home exchange. When you feel you have had enough just stay home and read. Jan and Ed had left a note showing the direction to a local pub so we decided we would go mid afternoon walk and have dinner. It was raining off and on so when we finally got going about 1 pm it appeared ok and after talking to one of the neighbours for a few minutes it started to come down heavily so went back in the house. We ventured out in the car later and The Plough Inn in Mormanton on the Wolds (don’t you love the names) was a great place to have a beer and midday dinner. We should have had a reservation as this is a Sunday British tradition because the place was full but they found us a seat close to the bar where we could see all the action. Families come to the pub on Sundays which is very civilized. In fact there were three little girls playing with their dolls on the floor in front of the fireplace while the parents were at the bar having a beer before they sat down. The Pub had ran out of their main roast meals so we settled on Haddock, the fish of the day, and it was great. I decided to try the bitters and the beers were good. We had a great relaxing day.

Monday May 18th.

Guess what I found ‘Tom Tom’ GPS so Marilyn and I decided to go to Lincoln. What a difference ‘Tom Tom’ made. We knew we could not get lost and it lead us through the traffic circles which made driving easier. I will have to say the traffic circles do work and speed up traffic. On this route we took it was all traffic circles except for one cross road which had lights and a big back up of Cars. I was getting very used to standard by now to this was an enjoyable driving day.

Lincoln is an old historical town, in fact from Roman times I believe. We went to see Lincoln Cathedral and Lincoln Castle. The castle was quite interesting especially when we got involved with a tour guide who made the stories come alive. We got some great pictures from the top of the castle looking over the Trent River valley. We again had lunch in a pub where I tried another small glass of beer. We had soup and shared a ploughman’s lunch. It’s hard but I am still trying to watch my weight. The Cathedral was very big and lots to see but we just had a quick look and decided to walk around the centre of town. We headed home about 4 pm and had a good ride arriving at 5:15. I am getting used to the driving. We again used the BBQ in between the rain storms. That’s all for now. It’s off to Stratford upon Avon tomorrow.

Brazil September/October 2008 Trip

Part 4 below added Sunday, October 5th and includes up to Tuesday September 30th.
Part 3 below added Wednesday October 1st and includes up to Saturday September 27th.
Part 2 below added Wednesday September 24th and includes to the 24th
Part 1
Friday and Saturday , September 19/20, 2008
We left Vancouver on time and endured our 5 hour stopover in Dallas/Fort Worth airport, which is a lovely airport. We left Dallas at 8 pm for the overnight flight to Sao Paulo. Marilyn slept lots and Dave slept a couple of hours. We arrived in Sao Paulo 15 minutes ahead of time to a wonderful welcome from the Ribeiros', Agusto, Maria and Gustavo. We waited for Gustavo's girlfriend Aline, in the airport another hour. She flew in from Campo Grande. We then started our tour of Sao Paulo a city with a greater population of 30 milion. A hugh city from our standards with lots of one way streets. Gustavo did a wonderful job in driving the large Ford dual cab truck through the city with all 6 of us on board. We arrived at the hotel about 11:30and got our room and had a shower. It was then off to lunch, which is the big meal of the day, to a Brazilian BBQ. This is the reasturant where they bring the meat to your table and cut off pieces. A great meal but far too much. After lunch we continued our tour then had a break for a nap back at the hotel. That evening we went out to a large modern shopping centre which had all the brand names and was expensive. All of us could not afford to buy in this place but the shopping centre itself was great with a tall interior. A feature of the centre was that they saved all the big tall trees on the property and then transplanted then back into the main area and built all the stores (four floors) around the trees. After the mall Gu felt it was now time for dinner so we started to look for this pizza place he knew about. It took some time to find and even at 10 pm it had an hour wait which we did not want to do so it was off again on a long drive finally getting an italian resturant very late. Good food but too much. Bed at midnight that nightlooked good.

Sunday, September 21, 2008
We agreed to leave the hotel at aproximately 9 am and got away at 10 am. We stopped at a food market that made Grandville Island look small. What a place with all the meat, cheese, vegetables and fruit you could think of. We had a brunch at a hot sandwhich shop and the hot,similar to Montreal smoked meat sandwiches, tasted good. We then picked up fruit and meat. At the fruit stand because we were from Canada they wanted us to taste all the various fruits many we had never tasted before. Great time was had but the fruit was expensive. We then got back in the truck for the 560 km trip to the Riberio home in Pres. Prudente. Quite the trip with a great toll freeway for the first 300k then the freeway got a little worse but not too bad. The trip reminded us of trips we used to take in Ontario west of Toronto with all the fields for miles. One thing that has happened here is that sugar cane has taken over as the cash crop. They turn the sugar cane into alcohol for use in cars. It is cheaper to buy at the pumps.We stopped at Agusto's mother's home in Assis, she is a wonderful person in her late 80's and after coffee and light snack we were off for the last part of the journey. We arrived at the Riberio home at 7 pm. What a home in a walled comunity, solid brick with open spaces to the outdoors and a pool and great patio area to the back. We counted 6 bathrooms and our room, which was Ana's room Gustavo's sister, is large and very confortable. We ended up having a small pizza before we went to bed at midnight.

Monday, September 22, 2009
We got to sleep in today. All the family went to work in their business which is road and storm sewer run off construction. We were left with one maid and Maria's niece who was here to cook our meals. Before lunch (big meal of the day)we went for a walk in the area. Lovely subdivision with lots of amenities including a great outdoor gym just up the street. The family came home for the meal, another meal that was out of this world. We are going to have to watch ourselves or we will not get the pants on. After lunch we talked to Alan on skype along with friends Leo and Jo and Dereck later on. The skype reception was the best I have ever had. We also went for another walk. Maria came home and took us downtown to look around. Lots of shops and a street that is without cars and lots of shopping.One of our goals was to have a drink make with sugar cane and lemon juce. Literlly the sugar cane is put in a chopper similar to the ones you see eating up lims of trees. Out of just two sticks 2ft long comes the sugar cane juce into a glass with about a tablespoon of lemon juice. It tasted good. We had another treat made with tapicoca fried in a fry pan and once it looked like a white pancake they put on condensed milk and fresh coconut. Quite good. I will say that it does not matter what country you are in life goes on in a similar fashion just different languages and customs but if you stand back and just look it is the same. Back at home we had another lovely meal tasting dishes we have never had. A wonderful food experience but again we will have to watch it. After dinner I am writing this blog so hopefully I can publish it tonight. I will try and do a small update Wednesday evening before we leave for Campo Grande at 2 am on a bus.

Part 2
Tuesday September 23, 2008
I should have mentioned that yesterday I was playing with the two bulldogs Gustavo´s family has and I took a tumble on the hard stone patio. The dogs are great well behaved dogs and I was not paying attention. I scraped my knee and elbow which are fine this morning except I now have sore ribs. You can imagne what Marilyn said? We were up a little earlier this morning and I got a call from Gu to go out on the job site with him. His family company installs sewers. In Brazil lots of this work is going to happen as some sewers empty into rivers. One project we visited today was a 5 km section of sewer pipe coming from a pump station gathering point by a river where the sewer now empties. The pipe is being berried up to a bigger pump station then up a long hill and finally down to a mail distribution point to the sewer treatment plant. Gustavo has a degree in cival engineering. The second project were two holding ponds being built at the treatment plant. A smelley place to visit but interesting. I enjoyed the morning outing except the rough roads on my ribs. Serves me right. I am writing this in the construction company office waiting for Gu to finish some paper work. We went home for the usual large mid day meal and another great one. I decided to have a nap this afternoon getting ready for the big BBQ this evening. Marilyn went shopping with Maria and had a good time. People in these latin countries tend to do things late and so was the BBQ. In fact the last guests did not arrive until after 9 pm. 18 friends and family attended this event and Gu was his usual great host with the real charcoal BBQ going all evening with lots of Brazilian beer. Fun was had by all inclucing the Jenks.

Wednesday September 24, 2008
We got off to a very early start today as we had an opportunity to go for a ride in the company plane a single engine, 6 seater Beechcraft. The company owns the plane mainly to take guest to the Pantanal Park Hotel. They used to use the plane regularly themselves to go to the hotel but with burning 60 litres of fuel an hour at $3.00 can a litre they now drive the car or truck. They also have a modern 60 passenger bus to take guests to the hotel. We got about a 30 minute flight around the city and area. I was able to pick out the job sites I have visited yesturday. The pictures turned out ok but I had forgotten how you bounce around in a small plane and this was early morning. We landed and the plane took off again to go to have a reqular maintaince. check. We spent the balance of the day getting washing done and redoing some of our plans for the next few days. We will still go to the same places but spend only two nights at the hotel and add a day on to Bonito. I mentioned we are going to Campo Grande by bus at 2 am Thursday morning. The reason for 2 am is it is a delux sleeping bus with only a few stops. Gustavo's truck will be parked close to the bus depot when we arrive. So we will try and get some shut eye before we leave but sleep with our pants on.

Part 3
Thursday, September 25, 2008
We got up at 1:30 am, got ready and left for the 2:20 am bus for Compo Grande. The bus was a plesent suprise. The biggest bus I have ever seen. We went upstairs to the upstairs sleeping area with full recliner sleeping seats. The bus had left Sao Paulo earlier in the day so all on board were asleep. We were given a pillow and blanket and settled in. Believe it or not Dave slept 4 hours and Marilyn was off on on a little longer. She found the road rough. Gustavo was a couple of seats behind us and he slept well. We arrived at 8:15 am after loosing an hour time zone. Gu had his friend deliver his truck to the bus depot and then dropped us off at his sister Ana´s home. The maid had fixed us breakfast. Gu left to go to pick up supplies for the hotel. We had a shower and got ready for going out for the big day meal lunch with Ana and Ivan. Had a terrfic lunch. Gustavo picked us up a 2 pm in his truck and did more pick ups for the hotel. Gu had had lunch with his girlfirend Aline. We finally got on the road for the 350 km drive. Gustavo is a good driver but sure burned up the road but slowed down a dusk once we entered the Pantanal and all the animals would be on the prowl near the road. We arrived at the highway 262 and Pargaray River at 7 pm. The 18 foot aluminum boat and driver were waiting for us. We loaded the boat but left some supplies in the truck for a later pick up. So here we are in an 18 ft boat, no lights, it is pitch black, and as we move down the Paraguay River, we see the eyes of alligators watching us, we know lots of pyrana exist in the water, anaconda snakes are on the water and jaguar prowl the shore line. We were a little tense to say the least. Day time would have been different. We arrived at the boat landing area for the hotel at 7:45 without incident. We walked to the hotel entrance and the boat fellow looked after our bags etc. We then had dinner (yes another great feast) sitting in the kitchen. Rachael the black cook did a wonderful job but far too much food. Her husbund looks after the hotel checkin and running the main building. We went off to bed at 9:30, Gu went to the owners suite in building A and we went to our good room in building G.

Friday September 26, 2006 (a day to remember for a life time)
Gustavo woke us up at 6 am. Then a breakfast of fresh fruit, homemade bread with water buffalo butter and cheese along with the usual strong brazilian coffee.It was then off to meet the local kritters. Pantanal Park Hotel and the 1000 acres of land is a preserve within the bigger Pantanal and has been used by the Brazil government as a place to reintroduce animals into the wild. Most of the animals go back to the wild but some have stayed around the hotel. The first to greet me earlier was a blue maccaw and did he greet me. He flew out and landed right in frount of me and what a fright. What I learned later, he has been around for years and hates men. This was demonstrated when the second night Marilyn went to our bedroom a few minutes before me. The macaw saw this and when I came out flew in front of me and positioned itself between me and the door. He then started to peck my runners. It took some getting around him and through the door. Gu carries a grass switch around to hit him off. We then saw all the other birds including a number of parrots one of which landed on Marilyn`s head. It was the wild pig that got to me but more on that later. We went on a trek through the swamp land and it was wounderful. We could hear the monkeys but did not see them on the walk. We followed the Parguay River for some time then went inland. I was taking up the rear and when the guide stopped we all stopped then all of a sudden I felt a large object between my legs. It was that wild pig. He was following me and kept his distance except when we stopped. One time he had been playing in the mud and his whole face was covered and proceeded to go through my legs and rubbed the mud off on my pants. Along the way we saw the herd of 18 water bufflo who are important to the Hotel. The number of birds we heard and saw was unbelievable. The symbol of the Pantanal is the largest bird called the Jabiru Jaburu prononced You Too Too and we saw one with its large nest.We went by a swampy part with alligators fishing but hundreds of egrets also fishing; quite a sight. The trek was about 90 min and we saw lots of the swamp. We next went on a 2 hour boat ride down the Paraguay River. This is a big fast flowing river that starts in the mountains of the Paraguay and ends at the Alantic Ocean south of Argentina. A busy river with lots of barge traffic. We saw many of the same animals mentioned earlier but add to that monkeys and an anaconda,wild boar, Capybala (the largest rodent in the world) and of course all the birds you can imagaine. The anaconda was seen on the beach and I was trying to take a picture. Guess what ..... my battery ran out. So the boatman jumped on to shore with a paddle and picked up the anaconda at put it in a storage area under Marilyn and my seat. Marilyn refused to sit on that seat. This anaconda was a small one and had sharp teeth with venum but could not kill you. We were taking it back to the hotel so that once I had my battery charged I could take a picture. We next stopped at a large railway bridge and climbed the stairs for a great view of the the Pantanal. With no pictures I will have to keep this in my mind. We got back about 12:30 in time for lunch. When we got up to the kitchen a Toco Toucan (the bird with the large yellow beak was in the window. Quite a site. After lunch with a charged battery we got the anaconda picture and then set it free into the water on the swamp but it turned around and came back out towards the hotel so the boatman flung it further out in the water. We now hope it is part of the wildlife around the hotel. We then went fishing about 3 pm and were told this would last until 7;30 pm because the hotel has an agreement with hydro if they do not use power between 5pm and 8:30 pm they will get all their power at a very reduced rate. When guests are present they operate a generator in those hours but the staff had forgot to order diesel fuel so only 1 hour was left. I like fishing so did not mind but Marilyn was a little bored. The misquiotes came out at about 5:30 pm but the repellant we had from Ralaigh worked great. What a fishing afternoon we had with all of us catching lots of fish mostly Pyrana. I even think Marilyn got the hang of it and the beer sure helped. I caught the grandaddy of all the prehistoric fish a very ugly large fish. The boatman gave an alligator call and across the water came a medium sized alligator and boy did I get great pictures of the gator picking up the fish and taking it back out in the river. At 7:30 pm we headed in to eat supper. By 9:30 we were exhausted so went to pack and read. Both of us were asleep by 10:15.

Saturday September 27, 2008
We were up at 6 am packed and in the kitchen for breakfast. We missed the milking or the water bufflo because we were up to late. We said our goodbys to the staff. The boat left the beach area with 5 passangers which included the boat man and helper to pick up the supplies back in the truck. Our pack will come later as we will be back at the drop off point later in the afternoon. After the boat was loaded and headed back to the hotel we got in the truck and headed to Corumba 70 km further west. On route we ran into a cattle drive which is quite common. These cows were the all white Cebo cows you see with the big hump back of the head. These cows were imported from India into Brazil years ago as they can take the heat. They are the main stay of beef ranching particularly in the Pantanal which is the biggest ranch area in Brazil. We had to go through lots of cows and cowboys. In Corumba we had more supplies to pick up mainly feed for the animals. Corumba is on the Parguay River and a great sport fishing town. At the main water area there were floating hotels that take the sports fisherman out on the river and they fish in smaller boats and return to the hotel boat at night. A suprise for us today is that we crossed the border into Bolivia. It is like going into Mexico when we are down in Indio. They had one duty free mall which had all the real name brands including cheap booze. Gu picked up some items for his father and Aline his girlfriend. Marilyn picked up two gold chains and Dave a couple of small wood carvings it was than back to Corumba, Brazil for more supplies and back on the road. We got to the hotel drop off point at about 2:30 pm with the supplies which included 5 liters of fuel for the generator until the tank gets filled. The boat was waiting and loaded. We were on the road to Campo Grande and arrived at 5:30. We had a shower and short rest an then it was out to dinner with Gustavo, Aline, Ana, Ivan. Brazilans go out to dinner very late in the evening. This has happened a number of times since we have been here. It is mainly because of the heat and the cooler evenings. We have been sitting out in just about every restaurant or we are sitting near large open windows. We got home at 1:30 am.
Tomorrow it will be off to Bonito for 3 nights.

Part 4
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Up at 8 am for shower and breakfast. Worked on coping pictures to a cd to free up cards for camera. I then had a nosebleed just before we left for the bus. I can not remember when I had my last nose bleed but the group said it was the very dry climate and air conditioner. I got it stoped and Alaine gave me some ideas on what to pick up at the pharmacy. It happened 4 more time over the next few days all when I bent over too quickly. We said goodbye to Gu and Alaine and Ana and Ivan drove us to the bus depot. 4.5 hour trip to Bonito which went off uneventful. Good trip with a bus change about 2/3 way. Cost of buss was $30 on Sunday and $12 when we return on Wednesday. Good hotel. We went for a swim but felt cold because of the 30+ weather. Spent the balance of the afternoon arranging tours for the next two days and finishing off with a lovely dinner outside at the Hotel.

Monday, September 18, 2008
Up early but had a rocky sleep. About 2 am a bus load of middle school children arrived and made one heck of a racket. In fact knocked on our door twice. We learned later from the teachers they were told they were the only ones on the floor. They were from the American School Overseas in Brizzala for deplomat children. We started the day with a wounderful breakfast with lots of fresh fruit. We were picked up by a driver at 9 am. We went to Rio Suguri about 19 km away. I put on a mask and snorkel and went down the river while Marilyn followed in a boat. The water was so clear you could see everything including lots of fish. The river is fed from underground springs coming up through the ground. We were on the river about 90 minutes. We followed that up with a lovely lunch. It was then off to Parque Das Cachoeiras which is the water fall walk. We drove 36k to get there and walked up beside a river that had 7 waterfalls. You could swim at each pool. Wounderful place with lots of beauty. We met a guide and group from all over the world and the guide spoke english and we got along great with them and had a good time. We got back to the hotel at 6 pm for a shower then off for dinner in town. Great fish dinner and after we were going to meet the other tour group for drinks but Marilyn´s back was bothering her so we went back to the hotel to rest.

Thursday September 30, 2008
Our driver was here at 8 am to pick us up and we were off to Grutas De Sao Miguel, and Gruta Do Lago Azul both caves but entirely different in two areas about 10 km apart. The first cave was quite long and followed a trail. The second cave was a cave with water at the very bottom and very deep. The water was blue thus the Blue Lake Cave. We enjoyed both these caves. Got the driver to drop us off in town so we could have a drink and lunch at a special bar whe heard about then look around town. That was a mistake. The bar did not open until 5 pm and most of the stores were closed. So we walked the 2+ km back to the hotel. It was very warm and it seemed like such a long way. We had a shower, nap and just relaxed until we had a taxie take us back to town to the same Taboa bar. Had great special Brizilian drinks called Chipipinha make from lime and sugar cane alchol. We met up with the tour group from the other day but only stayed a short timr as we had to get up early the next morning and catch the 5.30 am bus.