culture
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Setting Sail The transition onto the Silversea ship (Silver Whisper) could not have gone better. The cruise line has this down to a well-oiled machine – from transferring bags directly to your onboard suite, to registering you via passport, to distributing your ship access card. We’d booked a deluxe veranda (that was the only option… Read more
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The flight back from Iguazu to Buenos Aires was short and uneventful, and we were glad to have another afternoon and almost full day to explore Buenos Aires. The one thing we had been able to do before heading to Iguazu was a visit to El Ateneo Grand Splendid – an incredible bookstore and cafe… Read more
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Combining a brief land tour and a few days post-cruise, this entire trip will be nearly a month long, but we’re packing a lot of sightseeing into it. In the past. we’ve explored a few countries in South America – Colombia and Ecuador along with the Galapagos islands off of Ecuador. This will be our… Read more
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We had wonderful weather with incredible views of the snowcapped mountains beyond the valley that we wound our way through as we headed to Paro. Paro is where Bhutan’s only international airport is, and the district has many sacred sites worth visiting. Our first stop was Ta Dzong, originally built as watchtower, it now houses… Read more
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I thought that some personal observations might be in order now that we’d had a bit of time in Bhutan… This is a very beautiful, picturesque and well-maintained country. The streets and highways are well-maintained and clean (juxtapose Kathmandu), and the strict control over tourism volume definitely has allowed the government to establish clear guidelines… Read more
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Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan, clearly reflects all key aspects of fairly uniform daily life through literature, religious practices and customs, national dress code, monastic practices, music, dance, and media. Buddhism is the state religion of Bhutan and the vast majority of the country’s population practices Buddhism. The state religion has long been supported financially by the government… Read more
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We bid farewell to Kathmandu and to two of our travel mates – Tara and Claudia – who were heading home. We had quite an adventure getting to the airport and getting to our departure gate. First, our van was delayed as the first driver bailed out because he didn’t want to attempt driving up… Read more
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Andrew and I have had the pleasure of exploring many places in Mexico and always enjoy the people, the varied landscape, the diverse cuisine, and the rich history of this neighboring country. We are always shocked at the reaction of so many intelligent people who are afraid to travel in Mexico because the media focuses… Read more
Living La Vida Loca 