Dominica: 1/29/20

Titus is a man of his word, or at least he’s good with time-keeping. He appeared on time with his cousin Eric in the second boat, since we couldn’t (shouldn’t) all go in one boat. One of the things that Dominica is known for is its use as the setting for much of the Pirates of the Caribbean (or at…

Dominica: 1/28/20

Right on time Titus appeared just as we were finishing breakfast. He brought a map and we had also had some time with a guide book, so between his recommendations and the interest expressed by different guests we slowly put together a plan and a price negotiation. The larger group went with my recommendation for the day, which was to…

At Sea: 1/27/20

The plan that was presented to us said that we’d be sailing for about 12 hours to get to the next island. And the effort to get the sails raised and for the ship to get underway began at 6AM. I was still adjusting to the noises of the ship, not so much the rolling; that was an easier thing…

Martinique: 1/26/20

Early morning I was awaken by the noises of the ship and the people and crew getting the ship ready for the day. As is my habit, when roused by anything other than my own intent, I am aggravated and annoyed in addition to being tired. I changed into swim gear and a cover up and headed upstairs with a…

Martinique: 1/25/20

Getting to the Caribbean from California isn’t easy. Or quick. So my travels to Martinique were long and challenged with various delays and cancellations.  LAX-Houston was easy. Gates were close and flights on time. Until we approached Miami, where we were held up by airport control and had to circle in a holding pattern for awhile as Air Force One…

October 15: Home Again

What an amazing adventure. Just shy of 3 weeks and while I felt like I was able to see much of the wonder of Peru, I know from having chatted with people on various tours that there was still much to see and experience. But at some point it’s wonderful to be in one’s own bed and take some time…

October 12: Lake Titicaca

Yet another early start to the day. The tour I organized for a day visiting two islands on Lake Titicaca would only pick up at certain central Puno hotels, so I took a taxi from my more remote (and fancy) place to a downtown hotel to meet the tour van, which then took us to the harbor and our boat.…

October 11: Cusco to Puno

It was my goal in visiting Peru to see as much of the country and the special sights as possible, rather than focus, as many do, just on Machu Picchu. So today I took a long train ride on PeruRail from Cusco to Puno, the entrance to Lake Titicaca. The train left at 7:50AM, and my van pick up was…

October 10: Rainbow Mountain

My wake up time of 1:30AM came awfully early, but given that I’d gone to bed at 8PM I did manage to get a few good hours. The van from Flashpacker Connect, the tour company, arrived right on time at 2:15, and we were off. There was just three of us; a youngish couple from Denver and me, so there…