Sugarloaf and Tijuca Forest

Everyone has heard of Sugarloaf, the rock that sits at the mouth of Rio's harbor. Today we took a cable car to the top (the cable car will be 100 years old later in 2012). Then we went to part of Rio's inner city park system (covering 20 square miles at the top of the mountains - in between which is the city). The Tijuca Forest has beautifully maintained trails, steeply winding roads, and lots of streams and waterfalls.

Rio and Christ the Redeemer statue

Well, it is actually larger than what it seems in pictures. The views are breathtaking - all over the place, because Rio is an enormous city (10 million people) built around one of the world's largest bays and ports. The mountains come right to the sea, which is not unique, but the beautiful beaches that transition the slopes to the sea are unique, at least to us. Pictures from yesterday include: Christ the Redeemer, boats in the bay, the beach just outside our window.

In the evening we went to a place called Vinicius Bar, down in Ipanema. Lots of locals watching a football (not Super, soccer) match. It turns out this was the hangout of the two guys who collaborated on The Girl from Ipanema, back in 1965. Unfortunatly, PopPop is still looking for a modern Girl from Ipanema, but hasn't seen one yet.

A day late

We could not "get connected" yesterday, after we arrived in Rio, so hopefully, we can get to two blogs today. Yesterday, we saw the Brazilian side of Iguassu, and then went to a spectacular bird park. Pics are from these two sites.

Iguasssu Falls

Big, very big, and going under one of the falls in a boat was a blast! The falls are in the middle of a national park (both Brazil's and Argentina's) so there is just the falls - and it is really worth seeing ... but you do get soaked.

There are perhaps three relly huge falls and perhaps nearly a mile of close to 100 falls in total. The whole area is spectacular.

Australia must be doing well - we met folk from Adelaide and Perth (Sydney yesterday).

Iguassu Falls

We're here! We met two super families today - one from Rio coming back from sking in Snowmass, Co., and the other from Sydney, Australia. The hotel was just renovated by Orient Express. The pics are from out front, one of the hotel, and the next 180 degrees facing the falls.

Tour of the Argentinian falls tomorrow.

A final test

We are off today; it is February, 1, 2012, and almost 60 degrees outside. Our final test is taking pics of the home front, loading them into the mini, and seeing if I can attach them to the blog. So far, so good. The pics are a sleeping garden, the live mini's, and part of the stream as it winds toward Crum Creek at the back of the yard.

Oh, and it is 97 degrees in Iguassu. Yeah!

Brazil

Tomorrow we leave for Brazil: Rio, Iguassu Falls, and Fernando de Noronah, a group of islands off the coast of Brazil, and a World Heritage coral reef site. It is 60+ egrees outside, a far cry from the two 25" snowstorms we misssed two years ago as we headed to Antarctica. We are expecting 85 - 95 degrees in Brazil. It is summer there, and the islands are near the Equator.

Hopefully, we'll get some good pics for the blog.

DeDe and PopPop

Mini laptop

This is an experiment. After 45 years working without a laptop I've broken down and have a little Sony Vaio laptop. Now I want to see if I can post a blog prior to a trip to Brazil in February. The pics are of the new laptop, and recent shots of Madison and Nicholas.

Well, 1/2 success. The text seems to work, but so far, I haven't been able to post a picture. I'll try again.

I think it worked this time.

Father's Day Post

Given the season, we thought a ditty from Father Goose would be appropriate:

Master Boron

Master Boron, quite the moron,
How does your garden grow... *
"With little beans, and lots of greens,
With tomatoes and potatoes,
All in a row."

* For some reason, my "Question mark" key is on the fritz.

Garden in May

We have been back about a week, and it has taken that long to plant tomatoes, peppers, beans, celery, and cucumbers from our local CSA, Rushton Farm. In addition, the weeds from two weeks of rain and no attention were rampant. Things are now back in order, and looking good (it seems the addition of calcium, sulfur, alfalfa meal, and boron are working). So far we've harvested lettuce, spinich, scallions, and celery. Love these summer salads!

Abandoned city

About 1915 to 1920, both the Turks and Greeks had a bloodbath of ethnic cleansing including mass murder, mass rape, evacuation of whole villiages, and deportations. On our last day, we visited an abandoned Greek city from that period. Spooky ...

The old and the new

Today we saw more old ruins at Xanthos, Letoon, and Patara; one of the world's top 10beaches, and a stunning display of agriculture (literally miles of hooped greenhouses - the most intensive farming we have ever seen). Then we returned for a special treat: a Turkish bath. This was a good day, but we are ready to be back home.

P.S.: this blog is being finished in PA, because of "technical difficulties" in Fethiye and Istanbul

People's faces

We have had a great experience with the Turkish people. Here are some of the faces from today in Fethiye.

Malaria and marsh grass

Yesterday we travelled from Bodrum to Fithiye, stopping off at a 6th century B.C. Caunian ruin near Dalyan. The city changed from Caunian to Greek to Roman over the years and was abandoned several times due to malaria, finally in 800 A.D. The reed delta near the city was where the memorable "leech" scenes of the movie the African Queen were filmed. We looked for giant loggerhead turtles that can live to 400 years, but they did not cooperation.

P.S.: this blog is a day late due to computer "technical difficulties."

Bodrum - beauty by the sea

Today we were in Bodrum, a seaside town of all white houses overlooking a perfect harbor with a small penninsula towered by a 6th century castle. Our hotel outdoor dining room has a perfect view, our balcony also has a perfect view (except for the concertina wire at the top of the fence below us - oh well, nothing is perfect). We sailed a gullet today for a quiet day of relaxation.