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THOMPSON CREEKSIDE TRAVEL |
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Travel logs — tales of adventure and delight |
Do YOU have a favorite spot you’d like to share? Send us an e-mail and we’ll add your adventure to the list! |
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Tuscany Surprise. The GPS gave us an option – the fast route or the scenic route? We were driving between Florence and Sienna in beautiful Tuscany so we opted away from the freeway and took the scenic route. It was a crisp morning - a light snow had fallen in the higher elevations overnight, but the sun was out and the sky a pale blue. Silhouetted against the sky, we noticed an old fortress on a hill and decided to investigate. I envisioned a grassy field inside the old crumbling walls so after making our way up the hill on a gravel path, through dormant vineyards and gnarly olive trees – I was stunned to walk through the gate and find a sleepy little village! Worn cobblestone streets wound through small stone houses with green shudders and flower boxes in front of the windows. A couple of old men were enjoying the sun and a morning chat on a bench in front of the tiny church. Other that that, there wasn’t much activity – it was sleepy and peaceful. Considering the heavy fortressed old wall, it was evident that the place had not always enjoyed such peace, but now the only invaders were a couple of curious travelers. A small Tuscan treasure just waiting to reveal it self.
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Natural Wonder: Galapagos. I got in trouble with the ranger! While visiting the Darwin Station we met Lonesome George – he is very old and unfortunately the last of his kind. No other Galapagos tortoise of his particular sub-species is left for him to mate with. George’s pen consisted of a low fence and I just reached out to scratch his neck – he seemed to like it, stretching his neck even further as if to say: hey – that feels good – a little to the right please! That’s when I heard the stern voice of the ranger behind me admonishing me – do not touch the animals! I have to admit that I knew the rule, but it was almost instinctual for me to reach out to touch old lonesome George. The rules are there for a reason, if the animals get used to and start liking the attention – they with alter their behavior, something the biologists are trying to protect in this fragile eco system. Galapagos Islands– situated off the coast of Ecuador is truly an animal lover’s paradise. Since the animals here do not see man as a predator – they just stay where they are when you approach and regard you with as much curiosity as you regard them. Even the birds do not fly off; they just go about their bird business, which sometimes include very amusing mating dances! The archipelago is home to an incredible variety of bird species, many endemic to these volcanic islands, giant tortoises, sea lions, land and sea iguanas, even penguins. Photographers can leave the zoom lenses at home and animal lovers like me should request that someone tie their hands so they don’t break the rules! |
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Vietnam: Kayaking on Halong bay
I tightened the lifejacket around me and sat down clumsily in the kayak. My guide was already onboard – thank goodness – I needed someone to prevent me from taking a dip before the trip had even started. I am not a kayaker. I am not even that good at swimming, but sometimes you have to step out of your shell and try something few people get to do. And this was such an out of shell experience. I was in Vietnam, in an otherworldly place called Halong Bay. Thousands of small emerald green limestone islands dot a vast bay – to visit, you overnight on a traditional junk where you can simply enjoy the scenery as it floats by, or you can get into a kayak and experience floating through a limestone cave. The latter had proved irresistible to me – kayak experience or not! The guide and I paddled off toward a narrow bay. Soon the din of the junk’s motor faded away and we were enveloped in only the sound of paddles splashing in water and ….silence. We steered toward an opening in the limestone, a low tunnel leading to a lake, we ducked a little and paddled through. A sharp left took us to the edge of the lake and the cave opening. My guide told me to stop paddling and he steered us into the darkness of the dripping cave. Just as I started to wonder how he could maneuver in the dark, light appeared to the right and I was able to enjoy the stalactites and stalagmites, like strange underworld statues. We emerged into the light and the emerald water of yet another lake – this one sitting like a mirror of water in the bottom of a giant bowl of impossible green ferns and orchid like plants. There were birds and butterflies and…… peace! No one spoke – as if words would break the spell in this magic place. |
