Wanderlust is an incurable disease!

Day 11. June 19, 2025.

It was a fair morning weather wise driving from Joe Batt’s to the ferry terminal to catch the 10 AM ferry.

We had planned on stopping to sightsee along the way to Rocky Harbour but there were not many options. One thing I don’t like about Newfoundland is the lack of, or non existence of rest stops. 4 1/2 hour drive and not one bathroom or picnic table. It is assumed you will stop at a gas station I suppose, but those are few and far between as well. The drive is pretty much just forest, mostly small coniferous cedar, fir and pine with a few deciduous thrown in as well.

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As you can probably tell I was not that thrilled with the drive, but that’s just me and it was a means to an end, get to the west coast.
I did see a building at the side of the road near Lewisport that said ‘Lobster, fresh or cooked’. It looked like a processing place so I pulled in and Doug picked up a cooked lobster which he was happy about . The prices were marked on their heads and we picked one that was $18.

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At the town of Springdale we pulled off and drove around and by chance saw a lake with a small parking lot and a boardwalk around a wetland.
There was no where to sit, but we didn’t mind standing to have our sandwich and salad after all that driving and then a short walk around the lake was great to stretch our legs. It was hot, around 29C. Wonderful break.

We arrived at RockyHarbor around 5 PM and checked into Banbury Cottages. The smallest one was reserved and it had a full kitchen and separate bedroom. I assume it had a nice view of the water but the weather had changed and it was socked in with fog and raining heavily.
Dinner was enjoyed in the cabin, Doug said the lobster was great which was accompanied with a salad.

Day 12.
Hmmmm. Very rainy and foggy again. I had booked a boat tour months ago with Bon Tours on the western brook pond tour so we headed off at 10 AM, not sure if it would still be a go or not.
It was miserable out. We had planned on walking the one hour hike down to the boat but when I saw the golf cart that would take people down for $10. return I decided that I really did not want to start this trip off soaking wet. A good decision.
So that meant we were fairly early, 11 AM for our 12:30 tour. We met a lovely couple from Montreal and found a small table for four and the time went by very quickly.

The waiting room was packed. Normally most would be outside on the veranda, but not today.
At 12:30 the captain came in and said we will wait 15 more minutes to see if it improves. Expecting a miracle I guess.
The trip was called and we could rebook for tomorrow if we wanted to, or get a refund. Tomorrow did not look any more promising so we decided to wait until the morning to make our decision.
This is what it is SUPPOSED to look like. I never took any photos because you couldn’t see anything.

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Doug asked if I wanted to walk back. “ no, not really but you go ahead”. It was really coming down now. There were three golf carts going non stop taking people back up to the parking lot, I just waited inside until most were gone and caught the last cart. It was the same driver who brought us down, a very funny and friendly guy. I realized Doug had the tickets! I sat up front with the driver and asked if we could pick up the ticket from Doug when we saw him on the trail
A quarter of the way back, there he is, and said I bet he is regretting his decision now. The driver pulled up beside him and said some funny remark and Doug jumped at the chance to hitch a ride with us. He was drenched.
A trip to stock up our groceries proved to be a challenge. There only a couple of small convenience type stores both here and Noris Point. If you want to do self catering buy groceries before you get here in a bigger town. The produce is not great and limited options with most other things.

It took a while to dry off and warm up at home before leaving again at 6:30PM to go to the show ‘Anchors Aweigh’.
It was advised to go early and have dinner in the pub to get a good seat and glad I popped in this afternoon to talk to the ladies in there to get a seat as it was packed and most seats were already reserved. I would suggest going in as soon as you get to town to reserve something.
Another couple from Chicago were sitting with us and we had some great conversation, and politics never came up which was good.
Doug had a lobster roll and I had a Caesar salad.

The show ran from 8 to 10PM with a 10 minute intermission. It was fantastic. The five men ranged in age from 30 something to around 70. Very talented musicians who involved the audience most of the night and they had so much humour. We laughed sang and were greatly entertained the entire time. The staff also have a wonderful time and participated as well. The show is on Monday Wednesday and Friday and I suggest you book as soon as you know your dates.

Got drenched walking back to the car.

Day 13

The day did not look promising. At around 11 we drove to Noris Point to poke around. We really liked the look of Noris a point, it had a nice feeling about it. A cafe called the Old Store Cafe has some great menu items so we grabbed a few things for lunch tomorrow, granola for breakfast and a salad for dinner.
Back to Rocky harbour and on to the Lighthouse. The rain and stopped but it was incredibly windy. I had to resort to my earmuffs, gloves and down vest again. The woman at the lighthouse was very friendly and we talked about life as a lighthouse worker and the earlier days. A small walk down a couple of trails and then off to Berry Head Pond trail. This is a short loop around the lake (pond) some of which is on boardwalk.

The timing was great as the skies opened up again right when we got to the car.

Lunch time. Java Jacks was wonderful, with a few vegetarian and even vegan options. I had a beet and goat cheese salad and Doug had the seafood chowder and we split some soda bread. “Would you like dessert?” Twist my arm
A huge piece of date square was split between us and was delicious.

Still wind and rain. A visit to a couple of craft stores was a great way to spend some time. I ended up buying a gorgeous glass salmon piece that will grace my wall at home and remind me of Newfoundland. The ‘Glass Station’ is on the Main Street where many local artists are featured and is one of the nicest artist stores I have been in. I could have spent a lot more money. Good thing I only have carry on.

I bought a smaller one of these, about a foot in length

I did not really enjoy my time here much I am afraid. Weather played a big part in that. It is a destination that is primarily for hiking and the gorgeous views but the high wind and sideways rain did not encourage me to hike. Too bad because I am sure it is beautiful.

Day 14. A glorious blue sky this morning. We do have an amazing view. Who knew?
This was going to be the only good weather day for awhile so we were on the road by 8 AM heading north on the Viking trail.
A stop for a leg stretch on a boardwalk at white Rocks trail near Flowers Cove. It was nice to get out of the car but can’t say it was an exciting walk. They did have a picnic table but it was 8 degrees and howling wind so had our lunch in the car

I have to say that this road had many pullouts and picnic tables. No bathrooms though.
We took the coastal road and it was very scenic and a beautiful drive
L’Anse aux Meadows was reached at 3PM and it was clear and sunny, although cold and windy but no rain so we were happy.

We went to the government site first, walked around the museum, watched a 15 minute documentary that was really good. It told of the interactions of the norsemen and the First Nations as well which was interesting. All the federal entrance fees and parking costs are waived for the summer which is nice.
Talking to the girl at the desk she suggested we go to Norstead as well to see the big ship. It is an attraction about a 10 minute drive from there. At the government site there is a re-enacted village of the norsemen with people acting the parts but they were closing shortly. The guided tours were over, they happen at 10 and 2.
We decided to head to Norstead instead. The cost was $14.50 each.
Well worth the money. We really enjoyed this. Buildings reconstructed as they would have been before the year 1000. They also had people there telling stories and about the history of the area.
There is also replica full size boat. We spent well over an hour here.

We drove around the area before heading back to St Anthony and checked into Crows Nest Inn. $150 a night. For dinner we went to Jungle Jim’s and we both had a stir fry. Not a lot of restaurant choices here. There are two grocery stores though Foodland And Coleman’s. We went to Coleman’s and it was great. Vegan choices too.

Day 15
Rain until noon and then it cleared up which was great. A visit to the Grenfell interpretation centre to learn about the amazing doctor who lived here. Highly recommend a visit. Lunch at the Lighthouse Cafe where Doug had some cod tacos that he said were great. I had French fries. Not much choice for a vegetarian.

Grenfell house was next, where he lived and we learned more about him.
A drive to the south, Goose Cove East. A lovely area with a nice walk and views

Day 16
We woke to see a gorgeous morning but it is time to head south again. At one point on the drive the fog got so thick we could barely see the hood of the car, but it only lasted an hour and back to clear views of the coastal area
Port au Choix was chosen as our half way point to stop for a great 3 K hike on the Dorset trail, starting at the old Port and going to Phillips garden and just beyond and then return. A very easy walk, we were hoping to see caribou who frequent there but other than droppings no luck
Lunch was at the Lightkeepers Cafe. The lobster was sold out but Doug enjoyed seafood tacos which were good. I had a pecan apple salad.

Another two and a half hours driving to Cormack where we are staying for our last two nights at Lush’s cottages for $150 a night. A small cabin with kitchenette but close to the airport and not far from Woody Point.

Day 17, June 25 is our last day in Newfoundland. Beautiful sunny day with temps going up to 17C or more. Off to Tablelands for a hike. It says it’s flat but be aware it is a ‘gentle’ climb on a gravel and rock trail. This took just over an hour. It was non stop hikers, a very popular spot and the parking lot was full. There is an outhouse here in the corner of the parking lot, a bit hard to spot.

A drive into Trout River which had great scenery on the way. The town itself was very cute, a boardwalk running along the beach. We had lunch at Seaside resterant and enjoyed the views and food.

Woody Point is close by and another cute town with great views

Time to pack up and get ready for our 6:15AM flight home tomorrow. We really enjoyed Newfoundland and the people here. Thanks to everyone on Tripadvisor for all your help with this trip.

About us: Husband and wife in our 70’s from B.C. Canada
Newfoundland is the only province we have not been to, until now
Our itinerary:
2 nights St. John’s
3 nights Elliston
3 nights Twillingate
3 nights Fogo Island
3 Nights Rocky Harbour
2 nights St. Anthony
2 nights Deer Lake ( Woody Point).

June 8, 2025
We arrived into St.Johns airport from Toronto at around 8 PM. A cab down town was a set rate of $35 and only a 15 minute drive to the Murray Premise hotel. A lovely heritage building with high ceilings, beams and large rooms. $214 CDN per night.
We are now 4 1/2 hours ahead of home ( Vancouver Island) but thankfully able to fall asleep at midnight.

Day 1. After enjoying our included continental breakfast we arranged for a cab to drive us to the top of Signal Hill where we walked around to enjoy to views over St. John’s. We are so lucky that the day is clear and quite warm but very windy at the top.

We walked down the steep road and tried to find the Battery, (an area of colourful houses on the shoreline) but must have taken a wrong turn somewhere.

A cab was called and we were off to Quidi Vidi, a small fishing village turned tourist attraction. Lunch at the Quidi Vidi pub was great for Doug, he enjoyed two pieces of cod with chips and an Iceberg beer.

We walked around for a short time then called a cab to go back to our hotel for a rest. It seemed that a cab cost $14-$16 no matter where in town you went.
That evening we just went across the street to Jack Astors for dinner and we each had a fantastic Buddha salad. It was a fun pub / restaurant atmosphere with great staff and food.

Day 2. A cab was called after breakfast to take us to Enterprise car rental on Kenmount street rather than go back to the airport. I booked this months ago. I actually booked everything months ago which is what I was advised to do on tripadvisor and glad I did as prices went up and availability went way down. The staff here were exceptional, greeted us as we arrived, showed us all about the car and had us on our way in our little Nissan Kick in no time. As a spouse I could also drive for no extra charge. We will be dropping it off in Deer Lake in 16 days. Total cost including drop fee was $1450.

Heading north we explored side roads and little towns along the way, one of which was Dildo (had to do it). The weather was once again dry and sunny which was a blessing.

Took some photos, walked around the harbour then headed north again stopping in Catalina for a big grocery shop.
We finally arrived in Ellison and after exploring the town for a few minutes checked into our delightful BnB, Bird Island and bubbles. We are on the main floor, a queen studio with small kitchen and views to the ocean across the road. Very comfortable and $200 CDN per night

Day3.

We are staying very close to the Puffin viewing site so that is where we headed after breakfast. Our neighbours were checking out of the BNB but said that there were only a couple of puffins there yesterday. The sky was overcast but it was dry and very windy and chilly. I was glad to have brought ear muffs and a windbreaker with me, as well as my hiking stick.
After parking the car in the car park we walked across to the path through the grass to the ocean. There is a place to leave a donation and a fellow there to answer questions at the top of the trail. It’s not a long walk, but if you have mobility challenges like I do, it took longer than the 10 or 15 minutes everyone else did it in. There are some loose stones and uneven rocks to climb up. I found that keeping to the left was easier. It is a very long drop down to the rocks and ocean below, and slippery grass so keep away from the edge as there are no guard rails.
However we were rewarded with more than 100 puffins on the rocks. Doug saw one that was siting only 6 feet away. We hung out there for at least an hour watching them, talking to other travellers and enjoying the rugged coastline views.

Now for the icebergs! I have been following the iceberg finder site and heard there was quite a big one in Bonavista at Mockbegger so that is where we headed. There were a few people there and we saw about five large pieces of what was mostly intact as one big berg yesterday according to folks we met there. We stayed for over an hour and watched them break into more pieces and get smaller in that short time. They were quite close to shore due the the wind and bobbing and rocking back and forth. We were very happy to have seen this today as no telling what will be left of it tomorrow.

Newfoundland does not offer many public bathrooms unless you are on the trans Canada highway. The smaller highways and parks don’t have anything but we found a visitor centre in Bonavista that does have one in case you are in need as I was. Also gas stations. There is also not a bank in Bonavista or many of the small towns and the ATMs were empty here today so bring some cash with you.

We also are finding that for June many restaurants are only open weekends or reduced days until July. Today we packed a lunch though, and probably will most days. We found a lovely spot near the Bonavista lighthouse to enjoy our meal.

Now we are off to Keels, where part of the movie Maudie was filmed ( a famous folk artist who was actually from Nova Scotia). The rains came at the same time we started our journey and by the time we got there it was pretty nasty but still enjoyed the scenery. The general store used in the movie was open, however the tea house was closed till July which was disappointing. The owner spoke to us for quite some time telling us about the filming process etc., a lovely friendly man.

It was getting very cold windy and wet so we worked our way back to our BnB knowing that tomorrow is promising clearer skies . We decided to cook dinner here tonight instead of going out and braving the elements.

Day 4
A return to see the iceberg again this morning. It was even smaller but so close to shore and because today was glorious sunny and warm there was a lot of blue in the water and bottom of the berg so it was beautiful

Not far from Bonavista is Spillers Cove where we went for a walk up a hill on what looks like a narrow goat trail. The vegetation is very close to the ground and bog like. Reminds us of the plants at Paradise Meadows and also the bog park in Tofino back home on Vancouver Island. Beautiful views of the craggy cliffs and outcroppings. T shirt weather today, what a bonus.

Met another couple from Merville, a town as small as ours on Vancouver island which was fun.
Not far was Dungeon provincial park. Just a little walk around but once again gorgeous views of the ocean and cliffs and two arches formed into the rocks.

Tickle Cove Sea Arch was next, about an hours drive down a terrible road. The smaller the road the bigger the potholes it seems. No need for speed bumps in these small towns.

This one was a challenge for me, I have some mobility issues right now but with the use of my cane and taking my time I did it. There were a few stairs but the challenge were the rocks to climb on and around. Most people would not find this much of an issue. We were planning to come here yesterday and glad we decided to head back because of the terrible weather. It would not have been much fun in the rain.
But today was spectacular. There is an arch carved into the rock from erosion from the ocean. The rocks are very red in color. We found a bench and ate our lunch and enjoyed the amazing view, feeling like we were at the end of the earth and all by ourselves.

But then we saw another couple come over the hill and we started talking and found that they were staying at the same BNB as us, an hour and a half away which was ironic. Then two more couples came, and we found out that they were also staying at the same BNB. How wild is that? There are only three units and we were all here. We talked for about 45 minutes or so about our travels and giving and getting advice about places not to miss.

A detour to Trinity on the way back but we were tired and two tour busses were there so we just drove around rather than explore on foot. A beautiful little heritage town with all the colourful homes

I notice that on the outskirts of towns many of the houses are white, but in the towns they are painted the beautiful bright colors of blue, yellow, red, green and orange. All are in great repair and the yards and exteriors all look great too. Many are vinal siding. A lot of pride in their homes.
Doug went next door to the Puffin Cafe and got a seafood platter to go. He said it was delicious and very fresh, cod, cod tongues, scallops, shrimp, mashed potatoes and carrots all for $25

Day 5. June13.
Moving day. We left around 10AM and headed north on the trans Canada until we hit Gambo
From the there we took route 320 and then on to 320-36 along the coast which was much more scenic, but did take a bit longer.
The area of New-Wes-Valley had lots of little towns close together.
Lunch was had at Salt and Sail restaurant in Brookfield nearby. A lovely and charming place on a small harbour and the food was awesome.

Then on to 330, 331, 340 until we reached Twillingate. We enjoyed passing through some very cute little towns along the way

Icebergs!!! Huge one. And it is right in front of our Airbnb , Whispering Wind Cottages in Bayview. It was one big one last night but broke in two and now there is a huge one, maybe 150 feet tall, a medium one which is still big and a number of small ones.

What a gift, and so close to shore.

Our cabin is lovely, right on the water, one bedroom with kitchen for just under $200 per night.

It is so much colder today, around 7 or 8, but still dry so can’t complain.

Day 6
Iceberg on the move! The one in front of our cabin has moved even closer overnight. It’s crazy how they can change and move so much. A lazy morning watching it and just enjoying being here

Time to explore. We drove to Toogood Arm , Herring Neck and Pikes Arm . Pikes Arm has a set of stairs up to a view point that Doug did, but I stayed below and wandered around. The view from there was amazing he said

The stairs to the top. My back and leg could not do this unfortunately

There were some beautiful coastal areas that were picture perfect, and another gorgeous day as well

Our next stop was the Beothuk interpretation centre in Boyd’s Cove. A small museum that tells the story of the original peoples here who became extinct in 1829 due to many factors. An interesting stop.

Doug really wanted to enjoy a lobster dinner which we found back in Twillingate at Pier 39. An upscale restaurant but you need not dress up for it. The doors opened at 4 and we were the first customers. Lovely staff and the food was great. Doug had his lobster dinner, caught that day, and lobster bisque and dessert for $49. I had a red pepper soup for $11. ( I don’t eat meat or fish of any kind, haven’t for many years)
My soup was great but I was still hungry and made a salad when I got home. Doug was very happy though, he said it was amazing

Checked in on the bigger iceberg on the way home to find it has broken in half and even closer to shore.

The one in front of our cabin has move again, to the other end of the little island. A group of kayakers paddled out to the little island and hung out there, very close to the iceberg, to watch the sun go down

Day 7. A different looking iceberg yet again this morning, and it has moved again too. Another spectacular morning. How lucky are we?

I think it turned around or maybe some broke off. It looks quite different. What a sight to wake up to though. I had no idea when I booked this place that it is a common iceberg viewing area.


I am sure you are all tired of all the iceberg photos by now but we find them fascinating.

We had a lazy morning till noon just watching the boats travelling around what we consider our iceberg.
Eventually we headed out but had to stop and look at the bigger one again and it had changed again. A drone shot I saw shows it is actually still connected as one but the sunshine made it glow even bluer. Spectacular .

First stop was the lighthouse, Long Point which offered great views from the top of a cliff. There are lots of walking trails but they are longer and lots of places for us to get vertigo and fall to our death so decided against it.

A small museum is in the lighthouse ($5 admission). For an additional $5 you can take an escorted tour to the top of the lighthouse up 52 stairs and some of them ladder like. Doug went up and said the views were amazing.

A drive through Crow head and then a few hours poking around the shops and craft shops in Twillingate. It is Sunday today and everything is open both shops and restaurants. Summer tourist season is in full swing here now.

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Lunch was at the Stage Head pub on the Main Street. We sat outside where Doug really enjoyed a lobster roll and I had a veggie burger .

Then the Durrell museum is very small on top of the hill but admission was once again only $5 and they had some interesting artifacts from earlier days.

One more look at the big iceberg and then back to the cabin to relax. We had a great time in Twillingate.

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Day 8. June 16.

Ok enough of the icebergs already!!! Time to move on. It took an hour to drive to the Fogo Ferry in Farewell harbour and we were advised to arrive between one and one and a half hours prior to wait in line.
We caught the 11:30 ferry which took an hour. The next one is not until 3:15 so you want to be sure to get on. And the fare for two seniors and a car was only $22 return! Nice ferry and a gorgeous day sitting outside on the deck

The check in time for our BNB was not until 5 PM so we explored for a while. We found a place by the water to have the lunch we brought with us and stopped at the information centre. The woman there was great and helped me download the Fogo island app with all the restaurants and shop info.

Word of advice: get a paper map!! You can order one from the visitors bureau before you leave home or pick one up at the car rental or any information centre. One of the few places left where you can still get paper maps and for good reason.
Cell service is few and far between. You can load in your destination but as soon as you stop the car or add a destination you lose everything and then you are flying blind. With the map you get a good idea, there are not that many roads.

We drove around the south of the island and it was gorgeous. It seems every house has an ocean view. The towns we saw were Little Seldom, Seldom,Deep Bay and Island Harbour

Doug found a trail called the Courting trail at DeepBay that he walked for a short bit.

Our BNB is in Joe Batt’s Arm but on the way we stopped for a top up of our groceries and then at Mona’s Quilt and Jam Shop for some Partridge Jam, (a local berry) and some pickled beets, both of which are delicious. Doug bought some Labrador tea and some Sweet Gale tea.

Our home for the next three nights is the Orange House by the Inn, a beautifully decorated one bedroom house that is so cute. $220 per night.

We have a view of the harbour as well.

Day 9
Al’s walking tour was booked months ago and we arrived in Tilting at 9:30AM to find him waiting for us. We were the only ones today which was good because I didn’t have to worry too much about holding everyone up. Al was born in Tilting 76 years ago and his family has been here for generations, coming originally from Ireland. We walked through the town and then on the Oliver’s Cove Trail along the ocean for 5 KM. It was again a narrow goat trail in many spots, a few small hills and rocks but overall a pretty easy walk. Along the way he shared many stories and told us of the history of this town and Fogo Island. We really enjoyed it a lot, it was educational and entertaining. At the end we went to his shed and he played music for us on his guitar and then invited Doug to play a song
He charges $30 each but we gave him $75 in total.

Feeling a bit peckish from the walk and it was lunch time so we stopped at the only restaurant in town, The Rock Bridge Cafe which is attached to a quilt and craft shop. A lovely young woman served us some delicious potato leek soup and scones which hit the spot for a while.

I have been following an artist I love on Facebook for quite a few years and when we decided to come to Newfoundland I knew we had to include Fogo Island so that I could visit his studio. Adam Young has very colourful and whimsical paintings of Newfoundland and I knew I had to have one.
I purchased one called Twillingate that had the iceberg and many other elements in it that will remind me of our visit. He is shipping it to me and hopefully will arrive soon after I get home.

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On to the town of Fogo now. We drove around for a while exploring and then stopped by Punch Buggy, a take out place and I got a chickpea salad on focaccia and Doug got chicken salad on focaccia. There are very few restaurants here and half are only open a couple of days a week right now.

The owner of our BNB is letting us use his laundry tonight which is very nice of him . The rain and clouds have come in, but we have been so lucky it was bound to happen
We will see what tomorrow brings.

Day 10.

Our last day on Fogo island was spent poking round the area. A visit to Brett House Museum just down the road, a home from the 1800s where we learned the history of the residents who lived there.
Lunch was at The Store house, again not far from us. I had a veggie burger and Doug had a moose burger and seafood chowder which all of them were very good

A visit to Growlers home made ice cream for dessert. The chocolate was amazing and there was a strawberry rhubarb sherbet that was not to be missed

To work it all off we did a short walk on a path beside our BNB that went up to the Fogo Inn over the hill. I was glad for the big lunch as the wind was very strong and felt like we would get blown off the cliff at times.

The Fogo Inn was built in 2013 and is very exclusive. The all inclusive prices start at $3500 per person per night. They, and many other places on the island, participate in a Canadian charity and an initiative where the profits go back to the community. The Store house restaurant also participates as does Growlers. There is no tipping in these places. Sounds like a great idea for the small community. The Inn attracts many of the rich and famous and has put Fogo on the map as well as employ many of the locals.

Tomorrow morning we take the ferry back to the mainland and head to the west coast of Newfoundland for some new adventures.

The train from Fes to Marrakech took 61/2 long hours. We booked first class and it was a cabin with six seats, other passengers came and went as we stopped at various stations, but it was always full. The scenery was interesting as we rolled though large and small cities, areas of agriculture and also some desert. No one talked to each other the entire journey
I had arranged a pick up from our Riad at the station and we drove though the new part of Marrakech which is very modern pristine and affluent looking. Green boulevards lined with palm trees and many parks and flowers. Quite posh looking. The weather is so much warmer here.

Eventually we got to the old town, Medina, where we are staying. What a difference from Fes. All of you senses are assaulted at the same time. The taxi dropped us at the end of the grand square where we had to once again walk as there are no cars allowed. We are met by Mohammed from the Riad who walks with us and our bags through the chaos. Motorcycles, bicycles and many hand carts try to negotiate though the many hoards of people. The square has many vendors, performers, music bands, monkeys dressed in clothing on a leash for photos, snake charmers and acrobats all hoping for you to part with some dirhams. Once again however no one is pushy or assertive.

Riad Irhalne is only about a 10 minute walk and upon arrival we are greeted by Mohammed 2. We are on the ground floor in a very cute, small but charming room. We find the Riad rooms all very dark, so bringing a flashlight is a good idea

Dinner was prearranged and we enjoyed a tagine before retiring to bed.

A walking tour was arranged and it was okay but it is so noisy I had a hard time hearing what he was saying and it was so crowded and busy we felt we were left behind a lot. We did cover a lot of ground though and got the lay of the land in this area.

Marrakech was not a favourite place but still glad we came. Money seems to be an issue, not just here we had a problem in Fes as well. This is a cash society, cards are rarely accepted. But we had to go to five different ATMs to find a bank with money left. Weekends are bad so don’t wait until you are broke to get more cash. There are lots of ATMs around , they just get used a lot so run out. This has happened to us in other countries as well.

We took the 8:30AM CTM bus to Essouira and arrived at 11:30. I bought tickets on line for 80 dirham each way.
Our hotel Riad Borge el Baroud, was not ready for check in yet so we left one of our day packs and went to explore. Once again we left our suitcases in Marrakech for this one night getaway
It is so much quieter here, smaller Medina, less tourists and a calmer vibe. We wandered around the Medina and as this is a fishing town there is fish on every menu. Doug had a large plate of sardines he really enjoyed. I had a vegetable pastry but it was very bland unfortunately.

The evening was spent down by the port watching the fisherman come in with their catch and the beautiful sunset It was very busy with tourists from all over the world enjoying the changing colours of the sky,

Dinner was at Mandela society and I was in heaven. It is a vegan/ vegetarian resterant but they do have a couple of fish dishes. I had a vegan bean burger that was the best I think I have ever had. We came back again the next day for lunch I loved it so much
Wandering around the Medina we saw so many interesting doors.

We took the bus back to Marrakech at 5 PM the next day, but not before buying a lovely old small rug that we are happy with.
The square was very busy and crazy when we arrived at 8 PM. We had a light dinner on the terrace of a restaurant to watch the goings on below.

The last day sometimes create panic to buy stuff before you leave. We fell into that a bit today. I bought Doug a t shirt, I found some water colour powders made from plants that I can’t wait to try and a couple little things.

A visit to the Palais Bahia was interesting and glad we did that. Wandered around the Medina, finding new little streets. But the controlled ( or non controlled) chaos is too much. So many people being dodged by motorcycles, donkeys and carts, bicycles and hand carts. It was just too much for me. The diesel fumes were awful. It was exciting in a way, but give me Fes and the other two towns we went to any day. So many people just love it here though, so don’t take my opinion.

Doug likes to get a hair cut when we travel and found this little hole in the wall. The barber was quite young and very stylish. They agreed upon a price for haircut only, but when I came back he also had his moustache and beard trimmed, eyebrows and his nose and ear hair waxed. The fulll meal deal and three times what they agreed on. The barber never spoke English but Doug looks good
Then he wanted to tackle me, but I politely declined.

Packing up after dinner for our flight to Amsterdam tomorrow morning. Two nights there and then home again. We enjoyed Morocco, the people especially were wonderful and I loved meeting other travellers from all over the world and learning more about this area of North Africa.

Thanks for coming along with us.

Note about leaving Marrakech from the airport
I read to give yourself three hours which we did and got to our gate 15 minutes to spare. Long lines to check in ( could not get boarding pass beforehand) long lines to get through security and then again through passport control. We arrived at the airport at 8:45 for our noon flight. Go early

A continuation from the France blog.
In Lyon I reserved a taxi to the airport through Booking.com and it came in at 52€, much better than the one we took here
We flew on Translavia and arrived in Fes in around 3 hours.

A car was arranged with the hotel to pick us up to make things easy. Fes is huge, over two million people. It took a long time through heavy traffic to get to the old town, Medina, where we are staying. Our driver is telling us all sorts of things about the area, but it’s all in a very fast French, so we can understand about a third of it.
We finally arrive at a little parking area where two young men are waiting for us, one with a wheelbarrow type wagon to which he deposits our luggage. There are no cars inside the Medina, so we now walk on foot down narrow high walled alleyways.
We are greeted like family and sat down in the lobby, brought some mint tea and delicious cookies. A young woman speaks perfect English and she shows us the map of where we are and how to , hopefully, get around the Medina. There are 4,000 little streets. Could be a challenge
A riad is a small hotel that used to be a family home. Families would all live under one roof, so if there were four sons each would marry and move into the family home ( always of the boys) and have children as well. There could be 64 people living in one big house. Ours is lovely and comes in at around $120 CDN a night including breakfast

They made us some dinner and Doug had a couscous tagine with chicken

Day one Fes, October 26
It’s a little chilly this morning. The bed and pillows were so comfortable though and we slept right through the night . In the lobby we were served a huge breakfast of all sorts of things, mostly sweets.

I managed to figure out how to install the ESim for Morocco and the GPS worked thankfully as we had an arranged walking tour at 10 this morning.
There are 14 of us from all over the globe once again and our guide is fantastic. He is a retired university professor of linguistics and has not only a great deal of knowledge but a wonderful sense of humour as well
Our three hour tour took us through the Medina, which was all down hill, quite steep at times and very busy. It is Saturday so busier than usual apparently. Here are lots of photos

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Each area specializes in different wares, sweets, produce, clothing, and leather to name a few. Chouara is the largest tannery in the city and one of the oldest, going back as far as the late 8 th century AD. They use the skins from animals that they eat, so goats, cows, sheep and dromedary ( one hump) camels . The hides are first soaked for three days in water and pidgen poop to break down the leather with men stomping on the hides for up to three hours to soften them. .Pidgen poop contains ammonia which softens the hides. Then they get dyed using all plant based dyes. Yellow is the most expensive because it is made from saffron. Other dyes are henna for orange ,poppy flower for red, indigo ( blue) and mint for green. The final process is to put into limestone vats with water. This process has not changed for centuries
We are given a sprig of mint to put under our nose because the smell is quite pungent.

Our tour is over and we now begin the challenging task of finding our way out of the Medina. All uphill now, and very steep in areas.

Walking up one particularly difficult hill we saw a sign for a restaurant, our saving grace. It was a little hole in the wall, actually called ‘Le Cave’ which turned out to be a great find. We enjoyed some mezzes and I had grilled vegetables and Doug had a beef dish. It was all delicious

Only getting lost a couple short times and exploring more of the market by accident we finally made our way home and just flaked out for a couple hours
Tonight they prepared us a wonderful array of vegan vegetables and couscous. We could not begin to eat it all but it was delicious and so many different flavours.

Day 2 Fes
Last night we spontaneously booked a tour to the middle Atlas Mountains for today. We found our way to the blue gate to the Medina and met up with our driver. Turns out that only one other fellow booked for today so we went in a Skoda SUV instead of a van. Mike was from Auckland and had just finished a triathlon in Malaga Spain and now taking a few days holiday at the end. I figure he was maybe early 60s but hard to know. We got along great and had wonderful conversations and similar world views

Our first stop was 40 minutes out of Fes at a historic Berber house. The people of the local Berber tribe lived in caves and a young fellow showed us around his family’s home from years ago.

We were served tea made from various herbs and he explained about the Berber flag and the weaving and rugs in the home.

It was a miserable day. So cold, I did not pack clothes for this, and it’s raining quite hard. The rains came early it seems. Our next stop was the town of Ifrane, an affluent town in the mountains that looks like it should be Switzerland. There is a business university here that a lot of local and international students go to. It looks like a lovely town, beautiful parks, but we just wanted to go int the resterants where it was warm and dry and have a coffee.

Now on to the Cedar forest. Large cedar trees here but they don’t look like our trees and a lot of them were dead. There were a number of men with decorated horses offering rides around the parking lot for a fee. Children are on a school holiday here so there are many kids everywhere
But the main attraction are the monkeys , known as Barbary macaque or ape. They are not an ape, but because they don’t have a tail they have been called apes. They are on the endangered list and only live in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and also Tunisia. I hate monkeys because they are usually aggressive and quite often mean. But these guys were very well behaved and quite passive. They were so fun to watch.

There were some young babies and this big guy who seemed to be the guy watching everyone, he was about 3 feet high
Ismail our driver took us to this tiny hole in the wall family restaurant for our lunch. It was okay but nothing amazing.

We were then given time to walk around the small town, but there really wasn’t much there and we were freezing and wet
Back to Fes. The sceanery was great when the fog lifted, it looks like the Italian countryside in many ways.
After saying our goodbyes we walked back to our Riad to pack up for our trip tomorrow.

CHEFCHEWAN
Our bus left at 8 AM so we arranged to have breakfast early and then take a cab to the bus station, but a bit of drama ensued. The same driver who picked us up from the airport was there waiting and through a miscommunication with the riad fella thought we were going to the airport. He was really pissed when he found out we were only going to the bus station. He said 250 MAD. It’s 300 to the airport. I said no. It’s only 50. He was so mad he took off. I said okay 100. He drove right past, steam coming out of his ears I think. Now what? Sometimes my hissy fits don’t work out well. We had to be at the bus station in half an hour.

I hoofed it up the the main road and thankfully there was a “petit taxi” there. Small older run down little cars. We only had day packs so good enough for us
“ how much?”

30 dirhams. That’s what it should have cost. Yahoo. Let’s go
I gave him 50 when we got to the bus station and we were both very happy.

The CTM bus is modern and comfortable and cost 100 Dirhams ($14) for the four hour trip. I loved the scenery, olive trees for miles and miles and very rich dark chocolate coloured soil. The terrain was quite hilly and really looked a lot like Italy in places.
There was a bathroom break half way thankfully. We stopped in a town to drop off some passengers and saw this small bus with people crammed inside and all the bags tied on to the roof. A very familiar scene in both Africa.and Asia.

Upon arrival we looked for a little blue cab which took us to the gate at the top of the hill ( or mountain) to walk to our Riad. Once again we are in a Medina so no cars inside. It is very steep cobblestones. Really steep from the starting point, then just got average steep. Lots and lots of stairs with no handrails so again we are thankful for our walking sticks.

The GPS is a bit unreliable because many of the little road don’t have names. It also describes this area as mostly flat!

I had arranged a walking tour at 3 PM but decided to cancel and just explore on our own. We don’t want to be holding up all those 20 year olds.
Dar Yakout is the name of our Riad and it is so beautiful it is a major instagram site for photos. We were able to check in and it is lovely. 612 MAD or $86 CDN a night.

But we are hungry so set off to find this restaurant I really wanted to go to “Cafe Clock”
Our eight minute walk took well over half an hour. GPS was very confused, and every time we asked someone for directions we were sent a different way. Sometimes you wonder if they are just messing with you. But everyone is super friendly and nice and certainly not pushy about selling anything.
Getting lost and seeing all these great little alleyways was wonderful

We finally arrived and went up to the terrace for a delicious lunch. The walk home also had us meandering all over the place but every turn seemed to have a beautiful photo op. Most of the day trippers have gone home so it wasn’t very busy

It seems all the restaurants are at the bottom of the hill. I did not relish the thought of taking all those steep uneven stairs in the dark but our lovely hotel guy suggested take out delivery. He chose Bilmos. I ordered a vegan tagline and falafel. It was massive when it came, 6 different containers and a huge wheel of delicious bread. All for $23. This was the best meal I have had since being in Morocco. I wish we could have eaten all of it but there was just so much. What a great find. And very glad we didn’t go out as it started to rain torrentially shortly after I ordered.

Day 2 Chefchewan. Tuesday October 29
It was so freaking cold in here last night. We had the heat on, what little it provided and about four blankets. Who knew Morocco would be so cold? At night anyhow. But a nice bed and pillows.

We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast up on the terrace. The couple beside us kept to themselves and I figured they were speaking Russian. I met some Russians last night walking around as well. I asked them where they were from and he very guardedly said Moscow Russia. As soon as I said that we had been there their whole demeanour changed and big smiles and very happy to chat. They were probably late 30s and have already travelled to 85 countries! Not Canada yet however. It was great to talk for a bit during breakfast and one of my favourite things about travelling is meeting other tourists.

Our Riad Is at the top of the Medina so we spent a few hours making our way down towards the Kasba at the bottom. There is one main small roadway that the motorcycles and carts take, but a lot of the magic is at the top or bottom of the stairs, off of the little pathways
You can find fresh Orange juice on every block, but one fellow ,Said, set his up as a photo point . A very smart and personable young man and the fresh squeezed juice was delicious. And his cat was delightful

Doug found a small shop that had fresh roasted cashews. It looked like a rock tumbler but the cashews got roasted inside and although he had to wait a half hour it was worth . The shop keepers as I say are all very friendly and helpful but of course gently ask you to come look at their shop. We looked in a carpet shop but there was nothing that fit what we wanted and although disappointed the seller was not aggressive or pushy which was nice.

Another shop was selling fabrics and I noticed some gorgeous blue ( my favourite colour) scarves and table cloths. I ended up buying one for the end of the bed. It looks like silk but made from Agave which I had ever heard of before . It’s called Sabra silk and very durable, dyed with plants and blended with wool and cotton. It is quite expensive, for here, but well worth the 800 MAD (112. CDN ) I paid for it . It is hand woven on a loom in the shop. I think you can buy something similar in Mexico.

We reached the bottom, where the Kasba and most of the restaurants are. We ate at Bilmos again. We had a Harira soup ( very much like minestrone) and shared a vegan couscous. One again it was far too much food and we had to dash to catch a cab for our 3PM bus back to Fes.
Many people come here just as a day trip but I am so glad we had an overnight. Much more relaxing.


We had the front two seats on the ride back. The great thing about having the front seats is that you can see everything. The bad thing about having the front seat is that you can see everything! Our driver was great, careful and all but like many countries outside North American they tend to be much more aggressive, coming up fast behind other vehicles and passing on semi blind corners. I had to close my eyes a few times but we arrived in good order. Another consideration is that you don’t have the seat in front to put your feet under, so for a long journey it can be cramped for your legs .

A petit taxi took us to the Batha post office where I found an ATM and we had dinner at Encanto next door. Fantastic food and great conversation with other travellers at tables around us

Riad Amor is our home again for another two nights but this time we have a room up on the terrace and it includes our own living room. The bed and pillows once again are fantastic.

Fes last day

A welcome lazy morning. We never made it down to breakfast until 10. The couple next to us was a Muslim couple from England and we had wonderful conversations and they were very curious about Canadian views on Muslims. It was great to have open and frank conversations about so many things. I personally find the Muslim people in every country I have been to the nicest, friendliest and kindest people.

What is that??? Sunshine and warmth. I spent some time on the terrace enjoying the warmer weather for a couple of hours and just having some down time. I think that the staff figure everyone is gone and playing music in the lobby quite loudly and singing along at times. Various genres but right now I am listening to some beautiful classical piano music.

Wow stayed in the room till 4 just enjoying the terrace and some down time. Went out for dinner to Culture box near the Blue Gate and it was good, but not the best we have had. Popped into the market to get some fruit for our trip tomorrow .

We are packing up now to take the Marrakesh Express tomorrow. Goodbye Fez and hopefully going to warmer weather.

Our journey started by taking a helicopter (Helijet) from Nanaimo to Vancouver. We were having a lot of rain and high winds for a few days and helicopters can manage weather better than ferries or small planes. Living on the island this is the one drawback, catching a flight from Vancouver and depending on ferries to get there on time. It was a pretty good deal too at $100 each and up to 50 lbs of luggage per passenger. Not that we needed that, we each just had carryon and a daypack .

After taking the sky train from downtown Vancouver we managed to kill a few hours in the YVR airport until our KLM flight left at 5:45 PM.

I was offered to pay a small fee to reserve the middle seat which I did and it turned out to be a great decision as the flight was packed. We had a couple of hours in Amsterdam and then connected to another flight to arrive in Lyon at 7PM.
I had purchased a eSIM at home but could not get it to work, so went to a shop to get a real SIM card and we were all set for data in France
We could have taken a train and a couple of busses to get to our VRBO, but we were so tired and it was getting dark so decided to splurge on a cab. Yikes! It was indeed a splurge 120 €. Or $180 CDN.

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Our host was waiting to show us around our little apartment that will be home for the next four nights.
This building used to be a monestary and now converted to apartments. We are on the Saone river, but just have a view of the courtyard.

Everything we need is here and we are quite happy. At 9 PM we went to bed and fell asleep immediately

Day one in Lyon

I was wide awake at 3:30 AM but lazed around till 9 before heading off to meet up with our pre arranged walking tour. There were 10 of us from various parts of the world and we had a wonderful tour and learned a great deal about the history of this area. Lyon is famous for its murals and graffiti art on buildings. There are also a few little monkeys and art works around on the walls.
Some very old and ornate buildings, narrow walkway and roads in the old town. A few Roman ruins as well. It was a cloudy day but only a bit of drizzle now and then. Around 18 degrees C.

After the tour we found an outdoor cafe for some lunch, poked around for a while looking in shop windows and then did some grocery shopping on the way back to our apartment

Two very tired travellers by the end of the day

Lyon day 2

I stayed up till 11 PM last night only to wake up once again at 3:30! Jet lag. Hate it. I was dragging my butt again today but after breakfast we walked across the pedestrian bridge again to Old Town.

Once again we poked around the shops and people watched. I find cobblestones very hard to walk on and the roads slope to the middle for rain so it made me look like a drunk walking down the streets

Give your child some coloured markers and a white chair and voila you have a masterpiece for $500!

We wanted to go up to the hilltop for the view and to see the Basilica Norte Dame de Fourvière and considered ( for about a half a second) walking up the six hundred stairs, but instead took the funicular.
It was a beautiful sunny and warm day. The view from the top looked over all of Lyon which is huge about 1.8 million. We are just in the small touristy area with the old buildings and history.

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We stopped for a much needed coffee and I enjoyed a pear tart as well. I figure we are doing over 12,000 steps a day and the equivalent of 4 or 5 flights of stairs, so no guilt. It was delicious

Roman ruins are close by, an amphitheater, which we explored a bit.

We limped back to our apartment at around 4 PM and had a nap for two hours and then got ready to go to dinner at a place that was only a 10 minute walk through some narrow alleys

Les Mauvaises Herbes is a vegan resterants that had great reviews. I was on wait list for a reservation but got a message that we could get in when they opened at 7 PM. We joked that where we are from in Qualicum everything is closed by 7 where here things are just getting started.

It was a very cute two story restaurant in an old building and the menu changes daily and on a black board. Thankfully one side was English. The vichyssoise was delicious. My main course was a disappointment unfortunately but the raw chocolate salted caramel dessert made up for it. It was a great find and a bit of a splurge.

Day 3

This is our last full day in Lyon. I am so thankful I got a full 8 hours sleep finally. I feel human again. We decided to walk to the outdoor market which was only a 25 minute walk but up hundreds of stairs and steep roadways. It took us a bit longer than 25 minutes.

Lots of stairs like this everywhere. We got there just before they closed and wished we had come on the first day as there were so many delicious looking food items. We did buy some Albanian dates though

In 15 minutes we were at another painted mural on a building. They are so detailed about the people and lives here

Now we are off to the art gallery. We decided to take the metro because walking down stairs is much tougher than walking up for us. We were there in 10 minutes, stopped for a quick bite at Pret, and then spent a few hours in the museum. It is known as one of the best in France and maybe Europe and it did not disappoint. I love the masters and most of them were represented here, Degas, Renoir, Matisse, Rembrandt to name but a few. They were very well presented as well with great lighting.

There was also a modern impressionist floor as well. Sorry, I just don’t get it.

I did like this one however.

Naturally we stopped at a bakery on our way home to pick up some more amazing bread for our dinner. We shall pack up and be on the way to the airport at noon tomorrow for the second part of our trip
We really enjoyed our three full days here in Lyon. The people were lovely and very kind with us trying to speak French.

Colmar, France

We had to pass through France to get to Frieberg Germany so spent the night in Colmar. It was a great decision. We arrived late so just had dinner and then checked into the Colmar hotel which was lovely, clean modern and comfortable. Such a nice change from where we had been
The next day was spent exploring the city on foot. We did take the hokey little sightsee train to get the lay of the land though.

They sell plastic love locks which are much lighter and probably less stress on the bridge
This is little Venice

A visit to the museum was quite interesting
We loved Colmar. It was quite crowded but the buildings and architecture were fantastic.

Frieberg, Germany
I had arranged a home exchange with points to spend four nights in Rothenberg ob Tauber but while in Scotland found out it got cancelled for some reason. I was so disappointed. Home exchange said they would help me find another place and some people from Germany were at our hotel and said Frieberg would be great. So we arranged that
It was a lovely home but we were not overly impressed with the area. Not for more than a day anyhow. We spend the following day walking around the town. The cathedral was very impressive.

Eguisheim, France

The next day we decided to make the short drive back to the French border towns that were recommended. They did not disappoint and I think this one was my favorite

Riquewihr, France was a few minutes down the road and just as charming. It was the inspiration for the town set in the movie Beauty and the Beast
This is wine country and known as the Alsace wine route. So many vineyards. The countryside is gorgeous and another beautiful sunny day.

After three nights in Frieberg we decided to leave a day early and drive to Rothenberg ob Tauber after all. I found a hotel in the old town for a great price so we left in the morning. The autobahn is crazy! No speed limit. Four lanes. We are on the second right, the far right has hundreds of transport trucks. So many trucks. The left lanes are for passing. All of a sudden from nowhere you would see cars racing past you at insane speeds. Sometimes we saw four cars together, usually black, seeming to be in a race with each other weaving in and out of lanes at high speeds. One incidence of road rage that was a little scary.

Then traffic would stop. For hours we crawled along with all the big trucks. There are lots of pull offs though with picnic tables and washrooms which is nice. Lots and lots of trucks pulled off at these to rest. We chose one to have our picnic lunch and give Doug a break from the stress of driving.
Our 3 1/2 hour trip took over 6 hours. We were glad we were spending the night here. We had the entire next day as well to explore this beautiful town. This was the inspiration for the town in Disney’s Pinocchio. It was lovely the evening we arrived, there was hardly anyone here. But the next day was very busy with tour groups and day trippers from other areas.

This is the famous shot of Rothenberg ob Tauber that everyone wants

Taj Mahal was a wonderful Indian resteraunt we found and enjoyed a great meal. And non alcoholic beer too!

We drove the 2 hours to our next stop, Bamberg Germany, where we checked into our lovely studio apartment with kitchenette. We made a light dinner and relaxed after our busy day.

This morning we decided to drive for an hour to Nurenberg and arranged a walking tour. It was very interesting, but a bit exhausting walking mostly up cobblestone hills and it was quite warm. But our guide Andreas was very informative telling us the history for medieval times up to the present. Of course we also learned about Nurenberg and its roll in the Second World War.

After a bit of lunch we drove to the colosseum ( Kongresshall, also known as the documentation centre) where they held the Nazi rally’s which we learned more about during our tour. The Nazi rally’s started in 1923, but the first major grand scale one was 1929 The place was massive. Hitler would have very long speeches, along with others, but his major events were here from 1933-1938. The largest rally was in 1934 where 700,000 Nazi supporters attended. It was a very an interesting day.

Bamberg.

Decided to take a break from the car and figured out how to take the bus to the old part of Bamberg. With my google maps it was pretty easy. It took around 25 minutes but we got a nice tour of the regular part of Bamberg. We wandered aimlessly for a while. First stop was city hall. Story has it that the Bishop of the time, 1386, did not want the town hall built so the mayor and townspeople made a foundation in the middle of the river and built it there, joined by two bridges.

We had no idea how pretty this town is, the old part anyhow. We wandered about, found a bench by the river to have some sandwiches I made and just had a no agenda kind of day.

The postman in the car free zone.

the painting on the building is fantastic, but someone also did a sculpture of a leg off it which was fun. Third one is blurry but gives you the idea

We really enjoyed our time in France and Germany. The towns and countryside were more picturesque than I imagined

September 16,2023
The train arrived in Munich at 10:30AM and the party was well under way. Octoberfest is in September, not October.

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So many people of all ages dressed in Bavarian clothes, most with beer in hand already and looking to have fun. It was Saturday and the good times were starting early.

Dragging our luggage a few blocks we finally found out rental car, not without a few hiccups, but a couple of hours later we were trying to negotiate through the crowds to get out of Munich. A small automatic Corsa was the car we were given, much smaller than the one in Scotland thankfully.

We headed south, towards Bad Tolz and the scenery was gorgeous. It looked like what you would expect Germany to look like

First stop was food and drink. We lucked out and found this great outdoor patio where Doug was able to get some schnitzel and I had soup and salad, and a pretzel. I had to get into the spirit and wash it down with a zero beer as well

The reason we came to this area was to visit the final resting place of Dougs Uncle Doug, who was in the airforce and shot down in the Second World War over Germany at the age of 21. This is a cemetery for those in the airforce that are from countries in the Commonwealth. It is very well maintained and if you look up the name of the airman you are told which row and number his grave is at it’s very well organized. It was so sad to read the tombstones to see that most of these young men were 19, 20, and 21. Australia, UK, Canada and India were represented here.

It was an emotional moment for Doug, his uncle was very missed by his Dad.

The drive to our guesthouse was down some back roads in a town called Reichersbeuern. It was a very typical Bavarian home, with about four guest rooms.

The next day we drove to Lindau stopping a various small towns on the way.

Our favorite was Fussen where we stopped for a couple of hours and had lunch before exploring the town.

Sunday. A lot of the stores close on Sunday, the same as when Taylor and I were in France and found out the hard way. We arrived in Lindau at 7PM starving. We could not pick up any groceries and the one restaurant in town was full.

The main server took pity on us and found us a seat outside. We ordered food to go, as it was getting dark and buggy out, but during the wait I had a zero beer and Doug had two regular ones. They were local and very good, I tasted them. The lady serving us is had been to Vancouver island last year, even Coombs, so we had a nice chat.

SWITZERLAND

It was just after 10AM when we left and checked out Lindau’s waterfront area before we left
We had to buy a decal to drive in Switzerland. They only have one, good for a year and a half, and costs $60 CDN! But the fine is bigger if you get caught without it. We were also driving through Austria for about 15 minutes on the way and had to buy a decal for that too, but at least it was only $15.

Lucerne was on our way so we stopped for a few hours to break up the trip. Old town is gorgeous with so many ornate buildings and a covered bridge. We loved it. When we arrived we found a parking garage that had a grocery store and restaurant as well as other stores
I had to pee so bad! Switzerland is not part of the EU and still has its own currency, the Swiss Franc. The bathroom cost money, coin, Swiss franc! I didn’t have any. I had to finds an ATM, withdraw some Swiss francs and then buy something to get the change, But I did it, in the Nick of time

We enjoyed a lunch before exploring old town for a couple of hours

Behind schedule as usual. Our apartment is in a small hilltop village of Grandvaux near Lausanne. We arrived in the dark, thunder and sheets of lightning in the hills and black clouds overtop. We were going on one lane twisting roads up a down the mountain with road construction thrown in the mix. We finally arrived at 8:30PM and there is no parking, which we knew but there really wasn’t! Doug pulled off into someone’s private empty spot while I looked for our place. It was pitch dark, tall medieval buildings, no lights, and crazy tiny roads. I am talking to myself, “ well I think this is it but there are no F’ng lights who would I know?”

A woman yelled in French something that made me figure out it was the right place. She said we can pull into the parking spot in front for two minutes to unload, which we did. Another woman yelled at us in French from one of the apartments that we were in private parking and I was assuring her we would be only five minutes
In Switzerland there are three areas where people speak either French, Italian or German. We are in the French part.
The parking lot was not far away but we could only park there till noon and then leave until 7 PM. We found the whole parking, or lack of it, in Switzerland the worst part of our travels. We had hoped to ride the trains between towns but didn’t know what to do with the car. It was complicated.

The apartment was very old, basic, and dark. Things always look worse at night and we were so tired we figured we would just wait till tomorrow to see where we were at.

Parking was an issue the entire four nights we were here, but we survived it. We drove a fair amount exploring. Montreaux and Laussane are close by and on Lake Geneva, very wealthy and prosperous small cities. We spent a little bit of time at each
Freddy mercury spent a lot of time here and this is where he wrote most of the Queen albums . They have a statue of him.

We are on a mountain, everything is on a mountainside and it is very green and lush. This is wine country and the grapes are ready to harvest. Mostly green grapes from what I could see.

I think the highlight was driving to Tasch, up small twisting mountain roads, to then take train to Zermatt, a car free town at the base of the Matterhorn. We walked around the town a bit and had very expensive cappuccinos sitting on a park bench looking at the Alps before taking the cog train up to Gornergrat

We saw the Matterhorn from the train but by the time we got to the top it was in the clouds, so we were lucky to have caught a glimpse. It was a beautiful trip as we climbed slowly to over 10,000 feet. I could feel myself being very winded when we reached the top. We stayed up for a couple hours, ate the lunch I brought from home and just marvelled at the amazing site.

The next day was spent in the small town of Gyereres where the cheese is made. One thing I have notice is that all the cows seem to be free range out in the fields not chained to an industrial barn somewhere which is great.
The Chateau Gruyère was interesting to visit as well

we drove around out little town for a bit seeing the beautiful landscapes with all the grape vineyards

On our last day we stopped in Bern for a few hours. Going in and out of large cities seems to really test us because the GPS says go straight when she means turn, or bear left when she means turn. We spend a lot of time being rerouted.

Bern was a great stop as well. They had some brown bears in an area where you could look down and watch them roaming around. There were three of them, quite large and very healthy looking

Good bye Switzerland. We are now heading to France for the night.

Copenhagen. September 10 -13

We flew to Copenhagen from Edinburgh and after flight delays finally arrived close to midnight. There was a train that was very easy to use which took us to the central station where we had an 18 minute walk to our hostel
We chose Next House hostel, very reasonable for here, $400 Canadian for three nights. The smallest room we have ever stayed at was in St Petersburg, Russia a few years ago. Until now.

I knew it was going to be small. But holy cow. I don’t have a photo because it was too small to get one, but did the job for three nights. New place, very clean and modern, really encouraged socializing especially for single travellers with tables and benches in the entrance, dinner night for singles, walking tours etc. Most of the guests were young people of course but also some families and a few older folk like us.

We had three nights and two full days here. We did a hop on hop off bus tour ( not worth the money) and a canal tour. Our live guide on the boat tour was hysterical and gave us lots of great information.

He also did a tour called ‘politically incorrect tours’ which would have been fun. He showed a bit of that side of him to us on this one. He really had a thing for the Swedes. There has been an ongoing battle for years.

The weather was cool and overcast in the mornings but got super warm and a bit muggy during the day.

We visited the very scenic and crowded Nyhavn which was very picturesque with lots of interesting old buildings with many colours and great signs on the walls .

A pedestrian bridge took us to the Freetown Christiana. Very colorful both in history and the buildings as there is a lot of graffiti on the walls. Walking there we found an area with food trucks and stopped for a very good poke bowl which was super filling.

The national museum of Denmark was very interesting and we spent a few hours there.

We decided not to go to Tivoli gardens as it was expensive and mostly an amusement park which we were not interested in.

The cost in Copenhagen were outrageous. They are not using the Euro but keep their Danish Kroner and I guess our Canadian dollar is very weak against it. Took a lot of the joy out of it for me looking at how much everything cost. The hotel had a good deal for a continental breakfast with a great muesli and toasties for only $15 which we took advantage of.

My $20 piece of bread with Nutella and blackberries

Vienna. September 13-16

We flew to Vienna and upon arrival took the very convenient and easy to use CAT train to the main station in the centre. It was 1PM when we arrived and found Fat Monk cafe and had a fantastic Poke Bowl before continuing on to our apartment which was a 15 minute walk.

We booked the Central Living Stephandsom Apartments for $642 CDN for three nights. It was old and a bit run down but clean, had a kitchenette and huge compared to our last place. Our studio apartment offered good bed, nice pillows and no AC but a fan which was great because it was super hot and muggy. We reached our self check in apartment and flopped out on the bed for a couple of hours with the fan on high speed to try and cool down.

There was a grocery store around the corner, Spar Gourmet, and we picked up some food and had a bite to eat for dinner before heading out

Our location is great! Just a short walk to all the main areas of old town.

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We figured out the subway system which only costs 1.5€ for seniors no matter where you go and on the honour system
I had purchased tickets for a Mozart performance at the Golden Hall which is done in period costumes. The hall was over the top ornate, lots of gold and chandeliers. This was the most expensive of the three I booked, 99€ each but we had great seats and could see the facial expressions and costumes very clearly. There was also male and female opera singers as well. We really enjoyed it

On the way back we stopped for a fantastic vegan chocolate gelato. Yum

We signed up for a free walking tour ( not really free of course because you are expected to give a big tip). It was interesting and we learned quite a bit about Austrian history

I had booked a reservation at Cafe Central at the suggestion of people on trip advisor and glad I did. The line up to get in was very long and up to an hours wait otherwise.
The restaurant has been around since 1876 and was a place many came to spend their days drinking coffee and reading newspapers. Trotsky, Lenin and Stalin were known to frequent here.
Doug ordered a beef stroganoff which he really enjoyed and I had soup and salad to justify the decadent but totally delicious Viennese chocolate pastry which we shared.

The Europeans are such classy dressers, even the ones on vacation look so chic and stylish. You can certainly tell the American and Canadian tourist from the European. We dress for comfort. However I am still surprised when I see younger women in gorgeous stylish dresses trading in the high heels for white running shoes. Very practical and smart.

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On our last day in Vienna I signed up for a tour to see the Schönbrunn Palace, the Baroque style summer palace of the Habsburg from the sixteenth century. Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth were the most well known residents.

We toured the inside of the palace and all the lavish rooms, which held wall to wall tourists and it was so hot and muggy it was stifling. It was very interesting though. Doug did not come with me as he is not interested in this type of thing.

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We spent some time in a small part of the acres of gardens both French and English inspired. This is a smaller version of Versailles as all the nobility were in completion with each other but the Austrians ran out of money.

I took the subway home, had a quick lunch and then Doug and I went to the Albertina Art museum. I did stop on the way for my big splurge of a pair of gorgeous blue Swarovski earrings.
The museum was defiantly not my cup of tea. I am more interested in the masters paintings etc, but can’t win them all.

A quick dinner back in our apartment and we are off to our last concert, the best for last in my opinion. It was in the Karlschurch which in itself was spectacular. I bought tickets for the fourth row so we had a great view of the musicians and their facial expressions. The conductor was the lead violinist and he was incredible. We heard Vivaldi’s four seasons and it was the best classical concert we have heard. The acoustics were amazing. The one hour 15 minute concert was over far too soon and afterwards we made our way back stopping once again for a chocolate vegan ice cream.

Today is the 16th, Saturday, and we made our way to the subway and on to the train station at the ungodly hour of 5:30AM. But we arrived at the right place at the right time which is good.

I am writing this blog while on our four hour train journey from Vienna to Munich Germany. The Austrian countryside is beautiful and we are enjoying our relaxed morning. Going through Salzburg now and the scenery is amazing. Rolling green hills and rugged mountains. Quite a few of our train mates are dressed in traditional Bavarian garb, lederhosen and all. It is Octoberfest in Munich ( it happens in September, not October for some reason)
One family we talked to was just going for the day from Vienna. Everyone is in a party mood.

September 4, 2023

It was a very long travel day for us, but we planned it that way so as not to be stressed with short connections.
We left Coombs at 12:30 PM, flew to Vancouver on the float plane at 1:45 to have a five hour wait at the Vancouver airport. BC ferries has been so unreliable lately and we did not want to take any chances missing our flight
Air Canada left on time at 7:45 PM and it was a full flight. I had booked Doug a window seat and me the aisle leaving the middle seat open which is a gamble but especially today as there were virtually no vacant seats on the plane. Except that one! We were so happy.
I tried to sleep but only got a couple winks here and there
Arrival at Heathrow was on time, customs was a breeze and because we did not check luggage we were through in no time.
We now had to get from terminal 2 to Terminal 5, and thankfully I had done this a few times recently. It is an incredibly long walk, and with carry on luggage and little sleep it seemed longer
We now had another five hours to kill. Grabbed something to eat and then people watched for quite awhile. There are folks from all over the world so it is always an interesting show. What some people wear to travel in is quite outrageous sometimes.
Our flight on British airways to Inverness Scotland was half hour delayed and then we sat on the tarmac another hour. But once again we had the middle seat free which was great. I dozed off quite a bit on the hour and a half flight and we finally arrived on September 5 at 10 PM. Inverness airport is very small and so easy to get in and out
A short walk across the parking lot led us to the Courtyard Marriott hotel, which was our big splurge on this trip and we are so glad we did. We walked there in under 10 minutes.

It was one minute to 10, the kitchen closed at 10 but the staff said they would let us order, as we were starving. Again. Thank you.

Our room was nice, beds and pillows super comfortable and we were asleep in minutes, at around 11PM
I set up a UK SIM card on my phone to be able to use the GPS and look things up, which was great.

Up and wide awake at 5 AM but not too bad for the first night. We watched you tube videos and articles that went over the rules of the road and how to drive on the left before picking up our Enterprise rental car. The van was waiting outside the hotel to take us to the office
The rental staff, like everyone we have met here so far, we very helpful and friendly
Unfortunately however the small car I reserved was not available
“ I’ve upgraded you”
Well thank you but I don’t want a bigger car.
“ sorry this is all we have”
Apparently about 15% of the cars returned need body work and repairs done. So lots of smaller cars were not rentable. Not a good confidence builder for Doug
So we agreed ( what choice did we have?) on the Mazda SUV, about the size of our RAV4. Lovely car, we just wanted something tiny for the small roads. He set us all up and off we went
Doug has driven here before a few times, but not for a number of years. So it’s on the other side, and a stick shift. It took some getting used to but he did a great job.
Our first stop was an hour north in the the town of Tain to do some grocery shopping. We did not want to go into Inverness for this as it is too busy
The car had a built in GPS which was great. Lots of round abouts to navigate but the first part of the journey the road was one or two lanes on each side.
Grocery shopping complete and put into the insulated grocery bag I brought with us, we head north again to Dunrobin Castle
We were glad to have studied the road signs as there were a few unusual ones that came up on the way
A lunch was enjoyed in the tea room prior to visiting some of the stately rooms in the castle. Doug tried the haggis and said it was good. The gardens were very elaborate and we both enjoyed our short one and half hour visit here.

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Now we continued north west on A9 and then onto A838. The highway became a one lane track for quite a few hours. Every 20 yards or so thankfully there is a small pull out so that oncoming traffic can get past or vice versa. The drivers all wave as a courtesy and take turns pulling off the road . It was a pretty nerve wracking drive at some points but Doug did a great job. I was the navigator reminding him which side to drive on and any hazards ahead, etc.

Once we got to the town of Tongue the scenery got better and better. The hills were now small mountains, and we saw lots of sheep grazing on the rolling pastures and lots of purple heather with beautiful stone houses everywhere. It is so picturesque and warm. The weather is incredible, I never expected blue skies and temps of 25C in Scotland! What a bonus.

Dunross was stunning. I wish we could have stopped but it was getting late. GPS said we’d be at the next town in half an hour, but that is based on going 60 miles per hour. We were going 30 most of the time and even that felt fast. Not sure even the locals would go 60.

There are so many caravans ( trailers and camping vans) parked at the side of the road for the night. This is allowed here in Scotland which would be a very economical way to travel as the costs here are so very high for hotels and BNBs.
The jet lag was kicking in and the narrow roads, standard gearshift and driving on the left was really taking a toll.

At 7PM we finally arrived at our AirBNB in Scourimore, and it was none too soon. The little town is gorgeous and we have a fantastic view from our tiny little room
We enjoyed some of the food we bought today and relaxed in our cute little room while planning out tomorrows adventure.

September 7.
It was so hot last night even with the fan on. And this is northern Scotland! After making ourselves some breakfast we headed out to explore some more of the north. Amazing scenery, and the roads got narrower if that was even possible.

There seems to be more sheep than people here. You have to make way for them on the road too.

Narrow one lane roads one person must use a pull out to pass

In Lochinver we walked around the small village and then popped into a shop for some coffee and a vegan haggis which was quite good.
I made some sandwiches for lunch and we found a bench overlooking the water in Coigach a few miles further on, and enjoyed our food alongside the cows and sheep

The landscape is very unique but also reminds us of Norway and Iceland as well.

We had planned a couple more stops but once again our day took twice as long as google maps said it would because they assume we are doing 60 miles an hour, and we averaged 25.

I nodded off in the car so we missed our turn and ended up adding another 40 minutes to the trip which sucked but finally arrived in Strathcarron to check in to our little apartment for the night. There may be all of 50 people in this little town and the woman who owns our apartment lived next door and was lovely. We even have a washing machine which will be put to good use tonight
There is a hotel pub a five minute walk down the road so we decided to have dinner there and met some other travellers including two women from Calgary. Doug had a chicken curry and I had a vegan one and they were both great. The owners were a lovely couple and very friendly.

September 8.

After some oatmeal and fruit in the room we packed up and headed for the Isle of Skye but wanted to find some highland cows on the way. Naturally this took us down some very narrow one lane roads for a few hours. When we arrived we found out the cows have just calved and were all put away until the babies were a bit older. Bad luck for us. We did see a couple from a distance though

To reach the island you can do so by car ferry or a very long but modern bridge. We chose the latter. The weather was once again unusually hot, 30 C , but clear skies so we decided to do a hike up to the Old Man Of Storr. We had packed our walking poles with us and glad of it. It was an hour up very steep gravel pathway and in the heat made it quite gruelling. But the views made it all worth it. We did not do the last bit as it was very steep with lots of loose rock, but wish I had. The views from there were even more spectacular

We started from down here in the parking lot

Arriving back at the parking lot we enjoyed some sandwiches I had made this morning. We were famished so it was very welcomed.

We headed to our BnB, Thistle guest house, which was about ten minutes into the countryside from the town of Portree. The owner came out to welcome us and we had a half hour to freshen up before heading to Portree for dinner reservations that I had made on line a couple of weeks ago.
Dulce and Brose was a lovely resteraunt in town and we enjoyed a delicious dinner.
Afterwards we walked around the town and down to the seafront and took in the views before heading back to our home for the night

September 9.
Out little room included a full breakfast which was nice, seeing as how it cost $300 a night, a bargain here. Costs in Scotland are very expensive but Isle of Skye is crazy.
What a difference a day makes. Very windy and rainy today and the temperature dropped to 16c, more in line with what I thought it would be like. We have been so lucky
After packing up we headed north again to Quiraing, another hiking spot. It warns not to hike during high winds, but we were optimistic the weather would break soon. So we’re many others it seems . The road up was another single lane twisting route but wonderful views.

Should we or shouldn’t we? It’s looking pretty grim. But it will burn off right? We put on our rain coats and grabbed our walking sticks to head off. The wind was very strong and as we travelled down the path it got narrower and narrower and right at the edge of a steep drop. I don’t have photos of the worse part as I was concentrating on not falling off the cliff. If I did not have my walking pole there is no way we would have gone. Some parts the path disappeared and we were scrambling down into rock ravines and up again. Basically it was a goat trail. I was glad it had been dry for the past week as it was not too muddy. But the mist lifted, it stopped raining for a bit and the view made it all worth

The trail is a loop that takes about three hours but we were seeing quite a few people coming back the same way. They told us the wind around the corner was very strong, so we picked a spot up ahead to target as our finish point. We had hiked around a hour and a half at that point and figured we might not want to push our luck.

See the people at the top of the hill.

When we turned around the wind started to howl and the rain was pelting down, towards us. I had a hard time seeing because there was so much water pouring off my face. We were so lucky we started earlier. By the time we reached the car we were drenched and the weather was even worse, visibility was very poor.

Down the hill again to our next stop, Kilt Rocks. It is called this because the lines in the rock resemble the folds of a man’s kilt. The waterfall in front just added to the photo.

Leat Falls was the next stop, but the weather was pretty bad and I was not that impressed so we headed off. Goodbye Isle of Skye. We are now heading to Fort William area for the night. It was about a two hour drive but we stopped at this viewpoint for Eilean Donan castle from the 13th century, first built as a defence measure against the Vikings. We didn’t go in, but stopped to enjoy the view for a bit.

Our home tonight is Corran Bunkhouse, simple rooms but a communal kitchen and lounge which is great. We finished up the rest of our groceries left over as our dinner and hit the hay.

September 10, last day in Scotland
We spent a lot of time this morning packing up our suitcases as we could only carry on 10 kilos and had to check one of the bags. They never even looked at the weight in the end.
The drive towards Edinburgh took us through some beautiful landscapes especially around Glencoe. This area is very popular for hiking and walking in the hills. The parking lots were packed with people in their hiking gear and poles set for a long day of trekking.

At around one o’clock we passed this cute little hotel, bar, resteraunt church combo. A lovely lunch was enjoyed before heading off again.

The day once again got away from us, it always takes a lot longer than what Google maps says it will. We had planned on spending some time in the small town of Culross but we had to do a whirlwind tour instead. This small village is from the 6 th century and used as a set location for many movies and shows, Outlander is one of the more famous ones

The Red Lion Pub, again used in Outlander, has been around for 600 years.

We finally arrived at the airport, dropped off the car and prepared to say goodbye to Scotland. Our flight left at 9PM. We are off now to our next destination.

Our trip to Kenya
We flew Rwandair back to Nairobi and spent the night once again at the Hilton garden inn
In the morning we were picked up by Gamewatchers, a company I used in 2017 and also in 2019.
Driving through Nairobi on the new expressway had us a Wilson Airport in just over half hour or so. The airport has changed since I was last there and the restaurant is bigger now and upstairs where we enjoyed some coffee and muffins for breakfast

The Kenya Air plane was much bigger than the Safari Link I flew last time, it left 20 minutes early and four stops later we were landing in Nabosho, a conservancy near the Massai Mara . A land rover was there to meet us and the drive to Porini Mara Camp was delightful with so many wildebeest and zebras with many many newborns. Pumba ( warthogs) we’re also in abundance with lots of babies as well.

Our camp is very small, only eleven people at present, and we are tent number 5. A single and queen bed is inside, desk, chair and full bathroom, but all environmentally friendly. We have fresh drinking water put into our tent twice a day into decorated wine bottles. There are lights that work, from solar, and if we request a shower a bucket of warm water is put into the water reserve at the top of the tent at a time we specify.

Lunch is served outside at 1PM near the river overlooking a hill with wildebeest, zebra and giraffe wandering by

Our jeep mates are two women in the Canadian military, Rebecca is 38 and in intelligence living in Qatar. Her wife Tish is 48 and also in the military stationed in Croatia, but they are from Comox, an hour from where we live which is so ironic. We became great friends right away.
The other couple, early 50s were both pilots for Qantas airlines. The six of us laughed and had so much fun over the next couple of days. We were all so happy to have such a wonderful like minded group.

We had two game drives a day, 6:15AM until around 11 in the morning, stopping for a outdoor breakfast around 9AM. Eggs, bacon, toast, potatoes, pancakes, coffee etc and fruit and juice. Quite the spread

We saw a lot of animals and as I say this time of year there are tons of babies. Lots of food for the carnivores.

One morning we came upon a lone female lion who was calling for her pride, she was separated. Our driver Stanley and spotter Dalton went looking for the pride and we came upon 17 lions of various ages from 2 to adult resting in the grass. As soon as one got up to move the rest followed and all 17 walked towards our jeep and passed by. It was amazing. The pride is a group of 25 in all.

Lots of lions, but only one shy cheetah in this area. We had a leopard in our camp at night after monkeys, but never saw him.

We spent three nights here and enjoyed it so much, but a great deal had to do with our amazing travel buddies. Food was good and they catered to my vegetarian needs . I am vegan at home but flexible with dairy when I travel.

Stanley and Dalton drove us to our next camp, Porini Lion Camp, with a game drive on the way.
I have been to this camp twice before and some the long time staff recognized me which was great. The kitchen and dining staff, James and Daniel were so engaging and full of fun just as before. They remembered I was a “grass eater” and again catered to my needs
Our driver was Julius who was my driver in Amboseli when I was here in 2019 and the spotter Wilfred was our spotter here at Porini Lion the same year

Our tent was similar but the furnishings and camp is upscale from Porini Mara, and also quite a bit bigger. 10 tents I think. We left out tent flaps up all the time for air flow and did not have as much privacy as the Mara Camp. Both camps had their good points but I do have a great fondness for Lion camp, for one reason I love the cats and there are just so many in this conservancy.

We chose not to do the offered game drive in Massai Mara because I did go last time and did not like it. So many trucks at any sighting. 10 or more. In the conservancy you can only be here if you are in a camp here, and maximum five trucks at a sighting, and you don’t have to stay on the road like you do in the park, you can drive across the field to get a closer look. The rangers were very active at many of the sightings counting trucks and chasing off those who did not belong.

Again same routine, 6:15 AM game drive, bush breakfast, back for lunch at 1, rest until 4 for the evening game drive and sundowner ( drink of choice and snacks) and back for dinner at 8PM

The weather was unseasonably warm ( low 30s) which was only an issue during our down time at camp. It was also very dry, it had not rained in Nairobi and some of the other parks for a year. Amboseli was having some problems with the animals dying and suffering from lack of water and food
Our area still had watering holes and was quite green

Three nights here again. We rode with a man around our age from Germany, an avid safari goer with expensive and enviable cameras and lenses. We had a slow start but we eventually got along quite well and had a few laughs, but not like our group from Porini Mara.

So many cats, and many with babies. Lions cheetah and leopard were a daily sighting.
Two brothers looking for each other by roaring, so we followed and when they found each other it was amazing. They almost hugged and kissed. It was so touching to see how much they loved each other

We saw one lion with a fresh kill of a zebra, a hyena with a wildebeest kill and hyenas circling a young leopard which had us on the edge of our seats but mom was hissing and keeping them at bay

During the night we were serenaded by lions roaring close by and hippos eating grass outside our tent

Three nights were up and after a morning game drive we were taken to a different airstrip and flew back to Wilson on a smaller 15 seater I think.

We arranged a day room with Gamewatchers at the Sheraton four points near the airport which was a great idea. We relaxed, repacked, had lunch and waited for our midnight flight back to London

We used our points to upgrade to business class on British airlines which was another brilliant plan as we were able to lay flat and sleep most of the way.

We had an amazing safari , again, and will cherish my memories photos and videos for years to come .