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.

Ephesus

Ephesus - wow! This is an impressive city, built from 2000 B.C. to the Grecian period about 1000 B.C., to the Roman period about 100 B.C. to 200 A.D., and then destroyed by two massive earthquakes between 500 and 800 A.D.

It paid to be a leader back then - a "senate" of 140 men ruled a city of 350,000. The leaders lived large - probably not so bad for the stone carvers and other artisans, but brutal for the slaves and commoners.

People

The people of Turkey have been really friendly. Here are faces from today's trip.