Peru: The Amazon, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, and Lima

Machu Picchu

What's at the top of your bucket list?  If you are among the people who voted for the New 7 Wonders of the World, there is a 1 in 7 chance you would say Machu Picchu.  It was certainly near the top of mine, and enough of a motivating factor for me to plan a week long trip to Peru.  Approximately a year ago, I rallied up my friend Kristen, and we decided to make this trip happen.  We spent several months researching different tour options and taking into consideration cost, time, and the places we could visit.  We narrowed down our “must see” list to included Machu Picchu and the Amazon.  We were still up on the air about whether or not we should hike the Inca trail or take the train.  Based on our time constraints, we decided to opt out of the Inca trail and book the “Peruvian Poncho” tour through On the Go.  While exchanging emails with the tour company, I found out this tour was actually run by Tucan and was the same thing as their Amazons and Incas tour.  I still decided to book with On the Go because I had used them in the past when I went to Egypt and received an extra discount.  My travel consultant, Charlie Bridger, was helpful with giving us suggestions on how much money to convert and what we needed to bring. 

Day 1 – Arrival Day in Lima

Since the tour did not include airfare, I was on my own with booking my flight to Lima.  I ended up

Bungalows at the Eco Amazonia Lodge

flying American Airlines from Boston to Miami and TACA from Miami to Lima.  It was the same coming back.  I had no problems with my flight, but I did have to exit the Miami airport and go back through security to fly out of another terminal.  There was 3 hours between flights and I found that to be sufficient.  The flight from Miami to Lima was about 5.5 hours.  I slept most of the way coming back, but I was wide awake going down.  It must have been the excitement!  When I arrived, I went through customs and waited for my friend at baggage claim.  Her flight came in about 45 minutes after mine.  Since we had booked an airport transfer with the tour company, our driver was waiting outside baggage claim with a Tucan sign and we were promptly on our way to the Kamana Hotel in the center of Lima. By the time we got to the hotel, it was after 11 PM.  The concierge directed us to the Tucan board to get some information on the next day and we fell asleep soon thereafter.

Day 2 – Amazon

First meal in the dining hall

Since we arrived so late the night before, Kristen and I missed the pre-departure group meeting and walking tour of Lima with our Tucan guide, David.  The next morning we were up by 6 and ready to be transported.  Early mornings were a regular occurrence all week.  We were quickly informed that morning of having to transfer all of the things we needed for the next 3 days in the jungle to our “day packs” because we were putting our main bags in storage.  I was never told that a “day pack” needed to be big enough for multiple days and I had packed the smallest day pack imaginable, so you can imagine my surprise!  Fortunately, I also had a carry on tote from the plane that was slightly larger.  After catching a flight from Lima to Puerto Maldonado (via Cusco), our group of about 18 people was herded onto an Eco Amazonia Lodge bus and taken to the office to repack and store our main bags.  After 10 minutes, we were transported again via bus to the dock to jump on the motorized canoe.  The canoe ride lasted 1.5 hours down the river, and the weather was beautiful even though the water was a dirty brown color!  We passed several lodges along the river before getting to the Eco Amazonia Lodge.   The lodge was impressive for being out in the middle of nowhere.  There was a nice dining hall, a bar, pool, hammock lounge, and many individual bungalows for the visitors. The only 2 cons were the lack of hot water and the fact that we only had electricity for about 4 hours a day.  A cold shower is not very fun, especially when you try to take one in the dark.  Since we arrived around 2:30 to the lodge, we had a late lunch of chicken and rice wrapped in a banana leaf.  Chicken and rice is a staple in Peru, and I’d say we ate it (or something very similar) at least 10 more times during our trip.  By the time I got home, I was craving a salad!  After lunch, we had time to relax and enjoy the pool.  It was freezing (or as described by the staff, refreshing!) and I did not last very long in there before going back to my bungalow. 

The canoe we took around the lagoon searching for anacondas.

That evening, we had a delicious buffet dinner before regrouping for our night canoe excursion on the river to search for caiman.  We swiftly moved along with our guide carrying a giant flashlight.  We were lucky enough to spot multiple caiman by the glow of their eyes.  They are much smaller than the average crocodile, but I still wouldn’t want to cuddle with one.  Even more amusing than the caiman were the stars!  Maybe I should have known this, but the constellations in the southern hemisphere are different than those in the northern hemisphere.  The Southern Cross was shining brilliantly in the sky!  Before bed, we hit the bar for a traditional pisco sour and some socializing with the group.

Day 3 - Amazon

Our second day in the Amazon was very busy because we had to squeeze in a trip to Monkey Island that was intended for the day before.  After an early morning breakfast buffet, our group split into two for our journey into the jungle.  The group I was in started off with a long hike through the wilderness.  Our local guide, David (not the Tucan guide also named David), led us along a path from the lodge.  As we walked into the first clearing, I decided it was a good time to try out my Off fan.  I switched it on, only to be dismayed by the louder than expected noise that was now coming from it rotating around.  David immediately stopped talking and looked directly at me, saying “What is that noise?”  Uhh… I tried to explain to him that it was the fan that was clipped to my belt loops, but I’m not sure he ever really understood what it was meant for.  After a good laugh from the group, I noticed more people walking beside me trying to mooch off of my insect repelling technology.  It may have been loud, but it definitely worked.  I did not get any mosquito bites while in the jungle!  It may have also been because I started dousing myself in 100% deet mosquito spray.   That is not something I would recommend for everyday use, but I figured two days can’t be that bad. 

Tarantula being poked with a stick!

Along our walk, we came across monkeys, fire ants, a termite nest, and many other creepy crawlies.  At one point, David noticed a tarantula hole and decided it would be a good idea to try and coax it out by poking it with a stick.  Sure enough, the tarantula crawled out of the hole for a quick photo op!   Further along our walk, our path was intercepted by a family of peccaries, or wild pigs.  There were really aggressive and we had to stay back.  Earlier in our walk, David told us that if we got attacked by a peccary we would have to climb a tree to get away.  You can bet I was scooping out trees while we waited for them to pass.  By the time our walk was coming to an end, we were all very hot and sweaty, but the last stop of the walking part of our morning was to the lagoon to search for anacondas.  You may be wondering what type of incredibly safe boat we took to protect us from these large snakes.  The answer is… a rickety old canoe that almost tipped over several times!  As David paddled us around the lagoon, vultures soared overhead.  Taking that as a good sign, we continued for about 15 minutes, but could not find any animals.

The second part of our morning tour was to paddle a canoe down a small river.  After walking for hours and literally dripping with sweat (Kristen’s hair never dried that day), we all piled into a canoe and attempted to row with 30+ lb. wooden oars.  I can honestly say I was not a very effective contributor to the team that day.  My oar was so heavy, but after switching with Kristen, I found hers was even heavier, so I made her switch back.  Good thing she is such a good friend!  We saw a few other birds, including a fly catcher, but nothing really crazy. I did manage to pluck some aguaje fruit from an overhanging tree.  They are supposed to be very healthy and delicious, but it takes two days to soak them in water so they are soft enough to peel and eat.  During our morning hike, David continuously cracked open various nuts in search of the elusive “white worm” also known as a Sago worm.  As we made our way back to the lodge, we finally found some.   As he was handing them out for us to hold and inspect, the popped one into his mouth and spent the next 10 minutes trying to convince us of the wonderful health properties of this worm.  We all looked at each other trying to decide how much we believed him and who would be the first to eat the live worm.  The first victim was a guy from Germany.  He ate it right away and said it tasted like coconut.  After him a few other people gave it a shot, including me.  Yes, I ate a live worm and it wiggled in my mouth.  Just kidding, it did not wiggle, but it tasted like goo, not like a coconut.  It wasn’t crunchy either. 

Sago Worm

Was it delicious?  No, but it wasn’t horrible either.  I probably wouldn’t want to eat a bowl of them though.

We made our way back to the lodge for lunch, and then had a quick turnaround to Monkey Island.  The island is owned by the Eco Amazonia lodge as a place to put monkeys they rescue, including capuchins, spider monkeys, and tamarinds.  We only saw capuchins during our visit because they are bullies and gang up on the other monkeys when they try to come out for bananas.  I think I was least impressed by monkey island because I’ve been to other countries where they have “monkey parks” and excursions like this.  We only stayed there for an hour before jumping in a canoe to go fishing for piranhas. 

Off the main river was an inlet where piranhas like to hang out.  Mind you, we are still in a little canoe that could easily tip over if someone were to stand up too quickly.  We did not even have life jackets on at this point.  When we reach our destination, David hands everyone a stick with a piece of rope tied to it and some kind of meat fastened to the end.  Most of our sticks had make shift sinkers made from some nails, a washer, and various other rusted tools.  After about 10 minutes, someone catches a piranha!  We all oooh and ahh because it is actually a pretty little fish.  It gets thrown back in and we continue to fish.  Shortly after, the next person catches one!  She flings her fish into the boat where it falls off the hook and starts flapping around. Mind you, this fish has very sharp teeth and could easily bite someone’s ankle, so we all kind of back away and huddle on one side of the boat.  As David tries to reach over to grab the fish, it bites a hole through his pointer finger and he starts bleeding profusely.  Our other guide catches it by the tail with pliers and throws it out.  Since David is now bleeding all over the place, he thinks it’s a good idea to wash off his finger in the piranha infested water.  They decide it is time to go, so our boat driver starts to pull away.  As he is pushing us away from the shore, he gets bit by a piranha too! Now we have two guides with blood spurting from their fingers.  Oddly (or not so much) enough, none of the guides have first aid kits on the boat.  Lucky for them, we all have extensive kids in our bags and are equipped with a doctor in our group tour. 

Brown capuchin monkeys

At some point that afternoon we return to our bungalow and Kristen announces that she has to pee.  She rushes into the bathroom and comes right back out screaming!  Much to her surprise, there is a frog hopping around in our shower.  In any normal situation, one of us would probably grab the frog and haul it outside, but we are in the jungle!  There are poisonous frogs in the jungle!  Neither of us wants to seem like a sissy, so we decide not to go find someone to help.  Kristen grabs a plastic zip lock bag and tries to convince the frog to jump in the bag.  By some miracle, he jumps right in and she is able to take him outside to freedom.  How the little guy made it into our completely screened in lodge is still a mystery. 

Day 4 – Cusco

The next morning, we packed up and made our way down the river back to Puerto Maldonado to catch our flight to Cusco.  After a short flight, we threw our bags atop a van and headed to Cusco Plaza I, our hotel for the night.  We finally had our main bags back for a day and were able to repack, do some laundry, and drink some coca tea.  Cusco has an elevation of 3,400 meters, or 11,200 ft.  That kind of altitude can cause altitude sickness with an array of symptoms.  Kristen felt a little dizzy the first day, and I had a weird sensation of both of my hands and lower arms going numb as my heart had to pump harder to circulate blood throughout my body. Fortunately, both of our symptoms passed by the end of the day, and didn’t prevent us from enjoying ourselves.  For lunch, our Tucan guide, David, took us out to have a tradition Peruvian meal, cuy!   Cuy can be prepared in a variety of ways including fried, grilled, fileted, etc.  The important part is, well, that you are eating a guinea pig.  Kristen and I shared one and got a side of beans and corn.  I am proud of her because she ate the majority of it!  It was not bad! It tasted like fried dark meat chicken.  Since I don’t like dark meat, nor do I like fried chicken, I only had a little bit of it and mostly ate potatoes and corn. 

Cuy, a traditional Peruvian dish!

After lunch, we had a walking tour of the city.  It was very quaint and clean!  There were a lot of new shops and restaurants mixed in with old buildings and fabulous architecture.  I even found a Starbucks! I got a lot of souvenirs and Kristen got to hold a baby llama, for a price of course.  At one point, the lady who owned the llama actually ran away to chase after someone who tried to take a picture without paying and Kristen was not sure if she may have just purchased the llama she was holding in her arms.  Luckily, she came back a few minutes later.  In comparison to some of our crazy other days, this day was low key to help us adjust to the altitude.  We gathered for a group dinner at a local restaurant where I had Aji de Gallina, a Peruvian chicken curry dish and a Cusquena beer.  It was delicious!  I tried to order a glass of wine, but apparently Peru does not have any good wine.  I was advised against ordering it multiple times and encouraged to have beer or pisco.

Our Tucan Tour group in Cusco

 Day 5 – Sacred Valley

Early the next morning, we repacked again into our day packs for the next two days and held our main bags in storage at the hotel.  At this point, I was really starting to get annoyed because my day pack barely closed and was getting heavy!  We hopped onto another bus and started our drive into the Sacred Valley of the Incas.  Sadly, we could not visit Pisac because the bridge that led to that site collapsed.  Our first stop was at Chinchero, a small Andean Indian village.  While we explored the ruins, a celebration was occurring in the nearby church in honor of Corpus Christi!  There was a small parade and traditional dancers and music.

Me at Ollantaytambo

Before our next Inca site, we stopped for a buffet lunch at Incalicious.  While the name made me laugh, the food was delicious and not expensive.  My only frustration was that most of these organized food stops require cash and it’s sometimes hard to plan for that in between money exchange sites.  I really wish Tucan would have included any type of meal where you don’t have to choice of where to eat in the overall price.  I am not complaining about anywhere we went as a group, but it would have been nice to not have to worry about those things.

By the time we reached Ollantaytambo, we were ready to walk off our lunch.  The town is located at the foot of some spectacular Inca ruins which protected the strategic entrance to the lower Urubamba Valley.   We spent a lot of time walking around and learning about how the people who built the town diverted the river to transport massive amounts of granite from far away.  After getting back into the bus to be taken to our homestay, our driver informed us that there was no way he was going to fit the bus through the narrow roads and we would all have to get out and walk.  It was only half a mile away, so it was not a problem, but by the time we got there I really wished I would have had a backpack and not my shoulder tote.  My shoulders were killing me! 
 

Beautiful textiles at the markets!

The “house” that we all stayed in was called Casa de Doris.  It was more of an Inn than a house and Kristen and I shared a room with an en suite bathroom.  While we had the privilege of electricity, our windows would not shut and the doors didn’t lock.  Keep in mind we are approaching winter in the mountains, and we were freezing at night!  At least we had a hot shower in the morning.  Some rooms had to share a bathroom, and some of the bathrooms had no running water at all!  Since we were leaving earlier than the majority of our group the next morning, we passed on the use of our deluxe bathroom to some of the other group members to enjoy before their trek on the Inca trail.

Dinner that night was the last time we were all together because most of the people in our group were going on to hike the Inca trail over the next 4 days.  Kristen and I, along with another couple from Australia, planned to take the easy way out and catch a train.  The host family provided us with dinner and breakfast the next day from organic ingredients fresh out of their garden and we said goodbye and good luck to the hikers!

Day 6 – Machu Picchu

Another early morning had us on a PeruRail vista dome train to Machu Picchu town.  After a short two hour ride, and a snack of banana chips, we arrived at our destination.  From the town, we caught a bus to take us to the ruins.  The bus ride lasted about 25 minutes and was along a very scary and curvy road.  Several times I held my breath thinking we were going to go off the side of the cliff.  Poor Kristen, who has a fear of heights, was nearly hyperventilating on our ride back down later that day.

Inca ruins

Our guide spent the next several hours walking around with us and giving us lots of history and information about Machu Picchu.  The trekkers coming in off the Inca trail have a slightly different view from the sun gate than those arriving by bus.  The ruins were incredibly well preserved, though it was very crowded by all the tourists walking around.  You can easily spend many hours walking through the old houses and temples.  The only problem was that it was so hot and I felt like I was roasting under my long pants and t-shirt.  We made our way back to town via the crazy bus for some lunch.  Since our guide had left us back by the ruins to explore of our own, we were on our own.  We quickly found a place to eat and with Kristen’s encouragement, I did something crazy and did not order chicken and rice for lunch!  I decided to get a chicken enchilada instead – not Peruvian, I know.  Sadly, my craving for cheese was not fulfilled because Peruvian enchiladas have NO CHEESE.  It was still very good, but my Mediterranean palette was sad.  Post lunch was spent perusing the markets and picking up additional souvenirs.

Our guide told us to meet at the train station at 4 to get on a return train to Cusco.  When we received our documentation the previous day, our return train ticket was not supposed to be until 9:30 PM.   That would put us in Cusco around 1:30 AM.  Since that was ridiculously late, they informed us that the office was going to change our ticket.  That morning, we were told it was done and we would be on the earlier train.

When we arrived at the train station, our guide told us that the office did not actually change our

Baby llama at Machu Picchu

ticket and we had to wait at the station for the next 2.5 hours to try and get on a train if someone did not show up.   Of course, everyone did, and we sat there waiting for a very long time.  By 6:45 PM, we were quite angry and decided to leave to grab dinner and just get on the 9:30 train. Because we were to upset, the company agreed to pay for our dinner and they took us to some lesser known restaurant where we all ordered pizzas, but had to pay for the drinks on our own.  Guess what?  The pizza had real cheese on it and was actually very good!  My pina colada was weird though… it was not cold and tasted like almost frothy yogurt.  I should have stuck with beer.  By the time 9:30 rolled around, we all got on the train and I slept all the way home.

Day 7 – Back to Lima

Another early flight left us with about 4 hours of sleep and on a plane back to Lima.  The upside of that was that we had almost all day to walk around Lima and look at the sites we missed on the first day.  We walked along Jiron de la Union, the pedestrian road, from Plaza de Armas to Plaza San Martin.  We also went in the Monastery of San Francisco to see the catacombs and paintings.  After a late, but delicious, lunch of lamb and rice (not chicken and rice!) at Embarcadero 41, we made our way back to the hotel to pack up and relax.  That night we grabbed a light dinner the bar next to the hotel and a few parting drinks with our new friends.

Me and Kristen on the Peru Rail train.

Day 8 – Home

You can guess it; we were up again around 5 AM to catch our airport transfer for our flights back home.  Fortunately our flights were both on time and we had no trouble getting back home.  Coming back is always a drag, and I’m already thinking about where I want to visit next!  Decisions, decisions…

I posted the full album of pictures on Facebook.  If you’re interested in more details from this trip, leave a message or email me!

May Updates

I'm officially counting down to my trip to Peru!  2 weeks away and it is finally starting to set in.  I ordered a new travel backpack online and some quick drying clothing from the Eddie Bauer site.  All I need now is some mosquito repellent and granola bars to keep me from starving in the middle of the Amazon.  I mentioned in a post a while back that I will be traveling with Tucan Travel (booked through On the Go) on the Amazon and Incas tour from Saturday - Saturday through Lima, Cuzco, and part of the Amazon.  A quick look of the itinerary includes

• Day 1  - Arrive Lima
• Day 2,3 - Amazon Jungle
• Day 4,5,6 - Cuzco
• Day 7,8 - Lima

In other news, I am still trying to plan out the remainder of my summer trips including an extended weekend over Independence Day and several trips this fall. I will be sure to update my calendar when anything becomes confirmed!

Happy Travels,
Tina

April Updates

Hello Everyone!

I am a little over a month away from my May trip to Peru.  I am getting very excited and trying to plan what to pack and what I will need to wear in each location.  I have completed my rounds of the pre-exposure rabies vaccine and have all of my meds ready to fight a range of possible problems from altitude sickness to malaria.  Hopefully I won't need them, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Last week, I made a last minute decision to fly back to PA and visit with some family.  I thought April was going to be a  travel free month, but as it turns out, I end up flying even when I don't plan to!

I still don't have any concrete plans for the remainder of the year.  I am in the process of planning a trip to Nashville (and possibly other parts of TN) later this fall and looking into options for a big trip during the second half of the year.  I am also still considering a cruise out of Boston among other weekend trips.  Stay tuned for what I decide!

I will also continue to post recap articles from trips I have taken prior to starting up this blog.

Stay safe and happy travels!
Tina

2011 Recap: San Diego Zoo and Safari Park



Koalas love Eucalyptus leaves :)

Since I have no travel plans for this April, I have decided to resurrect some of my old journal entries from trips I took in 2011.  Though these are a few years old, they are still pretty accurate as far as resources/tours/etc. and I hope they prove useful to anyone planning a trip to these destinations.  My first flash back entry is from Columbus Day weekend (Oct 7-9) in 2011 when I visited San Diego for the first time.

In case you haven't picked this up from my previous posts, there are two main ways to describe my travel style.  The first is that it is carefully planned, even moments of spontaneity are planned into my itineraries.  The second is that I am a bit of a nerd; I make sure to make the most out of every trip including many learning moments.  So how nerdy can a trip to San Diego be?  I started planning for this October trip in July and let me start off by saying that I was highly disappointed to find out that a girl scout troop had completely booked the Roar and Snore Safari at Safari Park, so I would not be sleeping in the zoo itself. 

Since I was flying in on the 7th, I had two full days in San Diego to explore.  Looking back, this was not nearly enough time to become aquainted with the city, but it was enough time to know that I would definitely go back.  I have to be honest as to why I wanted to go to San Diego... I really wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park.  I always heard so much about it and needed to see it for myself.  Many hours of research led me to the decision to visit both places, but enhance my experience at the Safari Park with a Deluxe Photo Caravan Safari.  I took a chance and purchased two guest passes to the zoo and 2 passes to safari park on Ebay for $35 each pair, or $70 for two people to attend both parks.  Regular adult admission is $44 pp to each park and would have cost $176 for the weekend in admission alone.  The Deluxe Photo Caravan Safari was $150 pp with a prepaid admission ticket (eBay pass), but it was a 3.5 hour tour with both giraffe and rhino feeding opportunities!


Me and a Panda

My traveling companion and I decided to take advantage of our SPG points and stay at the nearby Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina.  We also rented a car for the weekend because both the zoo and animal park are far away from downtown San Diego and would be very expensive in a taxi.  Because of certain Yelp reviews I was scared out of my mind to stay at the hotel, though they have increased considerably since I went.  If your plans keep you within the city, don't bother renting a car. There is a very good shuttle service from the airport, and you are a short cab ride away from most attractions. If you decide you want to drive, be prepared to pay for parking. I used the valet service @ $28/day and was very happy with it.

Check-in was smooth and there is a genuine Starbucks in the lobby (not a fake we brew Starbucks coffee thing). I stayed in the Marina tower on the 9th floor SPG level. My room was really nice and very nautical. I have no complaints at all. If you decide you can go without new sheets every day, they actually give you back $5 to spend at Starbucks (hooray!). I was overlooking the marina and a bit of the bay and had a lovely balcony to sit out on. I could hear a bit of noise from the pool, even though it wasn't in sight, but it was not bad. With the doors shut, I couldn't hear anything! I tried the breakfast buffet one morning and was satisfied with the selection.

Seals in La Jolla

My first full day was dedicated to the zoo.  My first thought when entering was that there was no way one person could see everything there in one day.  Not only is it huge, but walking all day in the sun is exhausting.  I didn't have any behind the scenes events planned for that day, but I did make sure to walk around a lot and see as much as I could.  Two of my favorite exhibits were the koalas and the pandas.  I especially love red pandas, they are so cute! Every exhibit is well thought out and has lots of good look out points.  Unfortunately, the only downside to the day was the awful food!  Not only was it overpriced (as expected), it was really bad.  Overall, this is an incredible zoo and much larger than I could have ever expected.  I think it would be best to visit on a cool day as you will be doing a lot of walking.

Gorilla mom and baby

We left the park late in the afternoon and got ready for dinner. After walking around a bit downtown, we arrived at University Club Atop Symphony Towers.  (My old Yelp review is helping me here...) I checked in to the University Club for dinner as a visitor from out of town and a member of a club corps affiliate. I had a reservation for 2 people at 8 PM and actually called earlier that day to see if the reservation could be moved to 7. I was told there was no availability, but decided to come in a little early anyways and grab a drink before dinner. When we arrived, we were told they actually had a table available and we were seated in the dining room. Sadly, we were not seated near a window and sulked in silence for about 10 minutes before deciding to say something to the incredibly nice Maitre'D, Darwin. Considering we were from out of town and only in San Diego for the weekend, we really wanted an opportunity to view the skyline from a window seat. He quickly arranged for us to move to a better seat.

The service was impeccable. Our server was always around when we needed him and all of our delicious food came out quickly. I especially enjoyed listening to the very talented pianist during my meal. I'm not sure what the ideal crowd is for this place, but it seems that the lounge and bar are suited for young professionals where as the formal dining room might attract a more "sophisticated" crowd. Either way, I absolutely love being treated to an excellent meal every now and again and don't mind dining with an older crowd if it means delicious food.



Giraffe Feeding

The next morning, prior to going to Safari Park, I took a drive to La Jolla to see the seals in the water.  I also did a quick walk around a nearby park to take in the views.  I arrived at the Safari Park about a half and hour before my scheduled 1pm safari tour.  Since the tour lasted for 3.5 hours, that did not leave me a lot of time to explore the park on my own.  Fortunately, I saw a lot on the safari and didn't feel like I missed out on much.  I did make it a point to visit the gorilla exhibit because they had a new baby on display!  In fact, this entire park was full of baby animals and they were sooo cute!  Safari Park is actually a breeding facility for many animals that get shipped off to other zoos all over the world. Breeding animals in captivity may not be your cup of tea, but in comparison to stealing them from the wild, this seems much more humane to me.

So to skip to the real reason why I came to Safari Park... The Deluxe Photo Caravan Safari.  We were given a rendez-vous point to meet the rest of our party and get ready for our tour.  After a moment of "Omg, I'm lost", I found it okay.  Our guide gave us some background information and warnings.  From there, we were corralled into an open air safari truck and taken into 3 out of the 5 exhibits. 2 were African exhibits, and the last one was Asian plains. Our guide, Shani, was so knowledgeable and very entertaining! She gave us lots of interesting tid bits of information and answered all of our questions. 

After only 10 minutes into my 3.5 hour tour, I immediately knew it was worth the price.  We actually got to feed two different types of giraffes and a rhino! Every single person had at least 1 turn to feed, and then we went back for group photos/feedings and just kept taking turns until all the food was gone. I'm pretty sure I fed at least 5 different giraffes, since some of the members in our party were afraid.  The experience was so memorable and I have some great pictures ! I absolutely recommend this experience to anyone who loves animals!  It's not quite roar and snore, but it was awesome!

Feeding a Rhino an Apple

That night was pretty low key as I prepared for my night flight back to Boston.  These quick weekend trips are so much fun and I can't wait to go back!

*Quick Note - Stay tuned for more recap posts from 2011 including an extensive review from my 10 days in Egypt!

Happy Travels!

Iceland - The Land of Fire and Ice

View of Reykjavik

Over the last couple of years, I've come across few places that really took my breath away. These are places that I'm still not entirely sure I visited, and often look back at my pictures wondering if they are Photoshopped.  I am happy to add to that list the glaciers in Iceland.  Massive chunks of ice bigger than you can imagine, but not as sturdy as you might hope, especially when you are walking across one.  But, before I get into that, I will start from the beginning of course, and build up the suspense.

A couple of months ago, I stumbled upon a Living Social coupon for a 4 day trip to Iceland.  Since it included flights and looked like an incredible deal, I booked it.  That morning, I was chatting online with my friend and told her about it.  Within moments, she wrote back saying that she and her boyfriend wanted to go too.  The next day, all four of us were confirmed and heading to Iceland!  I like to consider myself a online coupon connoisseur; however, I never booked an entire trip with a coupon like that! I had my doubts on how it would go, but we received all of our travel information on time and had plenty of time to plan our free day activities with a small tour company called GoEcco.  We were set to go!  (this is my plug for Living Social because they were incredibly efficient and reliable the entire trip)

Glacier Lagoon

Fast forward to last week... My friends arrived in Boston a few days early to enjoy the sites and by Wednesday night we were all packed and sitting in the Boston Logan airport for our red-eye to Reykjavik.  I'm pretty sure we must have said "We're going to Iceland!" about 20 times before getting on that IcelandAir flight.  We had a minor hiccup with checking in, but was able to resolve it pretty quickly and had an entire row to ourselves for stretching out and sleeping over the next 5 hours.

Day 1  - Exploring Reykjavik

Shopping in Reykjavik

Upon arrival, we all cleared customs without a problem and found our tour group waiting in the baggage area.  In total, there was around 25 people on our tour, but our tour guide, Snorri, was very personable and made it seem like a smaller group.  We piled all of our belongings into the bus and hopped aboard.  The drive from the Keflavik airport to Reykjavik was through some pretty desolate areas.  My first impression of Iceland was not promising... we passed an abandoned military base that had been converted into student housing, and a whole field of lava rocks.  Fortunately, once we got closer to the city, everything changed and I was starting to see the charming fishing village I was hoping for.  Our hotel, the CenterHotel Plaza, was ideally located right in the middle of all the action!  We were within walking distance of bars, shops, the music hall, and the harbor.  I don't think we could have found a better location.  Since our hotel was coordinated with the tour, check in was easy and we went straight to our rooms.  At this point, I abruptly remembered where I was.  The room was small, but clean.  There were two twin beds and a tiny little bathroom.  I was easily able to get the beds "converted" to a full size bed with the help of housekeeping, but it was not very immaculate. I have been spending too much time in nice American hotels, so that was an adjustment.  We quickly ate at the hotel included breakfast buffet and had a few hours to rest before our walking tour of the city.  The buffet was average, but they did have some delicious granola bars that I sneaked into my pocket each day for a snack later on.

Sun Voyager Sculpture

Two hours and a short nap later, I hopped in the shower so that I could feel refreshed for the rest of the day.  This was my very first experience with the authentic Reykjavik smell - a weird combination of farts and rotten eggs.  All of the hot water is geothermal water straight from the earth and it has quite a distinct smell of sulphur.  Even after 4 days there, I still was not used to it, but it made for a funny fart joke whenever someone would wash their hands or shower.  After a proper sulphur shower, I bundled myself up and was ready to explore.  Fortunately, the weather the entire trip was actually milder than Boston.  We averaged 40-45 degrees Fahrenheit the entire time.  Coming from the low 30's at home, I had no problem being outside for extended periods of time.  Over the next 1.5 hours, I learned a bit about the history of Iceland and got my barrings on where things were so that I could come back later and check them out.  I highly recommend taking a walking tour of wherever you are visiting on your first day (either with a company, or on your own with a map).  It makes it much easier to navigate around later.  Since Reykjavik is fairly small, we had no problem finding our way. 

Lobster Soup at Saegreifinn

Lunch on Thursday was at Saegreifinn, or the The Sea Baron restaurant.  As advised by our guide, we ventured to the trendy harbor area past a few art galleries and cafes to get our first taste of Iceland.  As displayed on their sign out front, the restaurant is well known for their lobster soup.  We all got a bowl of soup as well as a few seafood kebabs/skewers to try.  One of the more exciting varieties was whale!  We were served a big basket of delicious bread with our soup while our kebabs were being grilled.  There were massive chunks of lobster meat in the soup, but the broth was lacking the wow factor for me.  It was definitely very good, but I think some spices or maybe even a little bit of a thickening agent would have helped it from being so brothy.  The lobster chunks were yummy!  Soon thereafter, our kebabs were brought out.  The whale was cooked to what looked to me like medium or maybe medium rare.  In my opinion, they tasted a lot like steak though the guys in our group were convinced we were eating liver.  I only had a little bite because I don't like when my food bleeds all over my plate.  Overall, I think our first real dining experience was a success!  The next few hours we explored the city shops and landmarks including Solfar, the Sea Voyager (viking ship) Sculpture, along the harbor, Harpa Concert Hall, and the lovely Hallgrímskirkja church sitting at the top of a hill with an incredible view of Reykjavik. We did not make it to Perlan, which is pretty far away, or the Settlement Exhibition, though I did see it from outside.

The Harbor

Around 6pm we met our group in the lobby of the hotel for happy hour and a welcome drink.  There was an interesting range of ages, from early twenties to retirement years.  I guess visiting Iceland intrigues many people!  That night, we had dinner reservations at Grillmarkadurinn, or the Grill Market.  I made these reservations weeks in advance because it is a popular restaurant and that fills up quickly.  We all decided to seize the day and try the tasting menu.  8 courses for an equivalent of $70 USD is not a bad deal!  Plus, tips are not expected in Iceland, so there are no additional charges, except alcohol of course. In theory, 8 courses seems manageable as long as they are small.  These courses were not small, and I'm pretty sure we ate at least 3 loaves of broad before the apps even came out.  They have a delicious fresh bread served with butter and Icelandic lava salt.  Wow!!  You can bet that I bought some of that salt to bring home with me! Course after course came with new tastes and textures.  There was a good mix between meat and seafood including the most delicious salmon I have ever had.  

Separation of North American and Eurasian Plates

We also had another whale dish, this time pan seared and incredibly tender.  I definitely liked it better at that restaurant over the first one.  By the time the 6th course came out, I could not eat anymore.  I left it to the men to finish the plates, until dessert.... Think of the most interesting platter of chocolate dishes, sorbets and ice creams and that was what we had.  I think I actually licked the spoon that came in the dish of caramel sauce.  I highly recommend this restaurant and making reservations online in advance!  I am salivating just thinking about it!  By the time we left the restaurant, it was well after 10 pm.  Three hours of eating put us all over the edge and we barely made it back to our beds before collapsing into a deep sleep.

Day 2 - Golden Circle Tour

Famous Hot Dogs of Iceland

The next day, we had some free time in the morning to sleep in, eat breakfast, and prepare for our day tour of the Golden Circle.  The Golden Circle is a popular tourist route in South Iceland covering about 300 km looping from Reykjavík into central Iceland and back.  The three primary stops on the route are the national park Þingvellir, the waterfall Gullfoss (meaning "golden falls"), and the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur. (Thank you Wikipedia).

Before getting back on the bus, I detoured for a quick lunch at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur for the best hot dog in town.  I am not typically a fan of hot dogs, but since this place was both advertised for on the IcelandAir flight and pointed out by our guide the day before, I decided to try it.  After eating this famous frank, I can still say that I am not a fan of hot dogs.  I heard that hot dogs are the Icelandic national food.  That makes me very sad for them, because this is not something I would proudly claim.  The dog costs about $2 USD and comes with an untoasted bun, ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion and a mayonnaise-based sauce with sweet relish.  My biggest problem is that it is just a boiled hot dog.  It is not plump, juicy, or grilled.  You can put the most wonderful condiments on a burger patty from McDonalds, but it will still be a greasy mess.
 

Me by one of the streams caused by moving plates

Our first stop on the tour of the day was at the national park Þingvellir.  The interesting fact about this location is that you can actually see the cracks or faults caused by the continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates!  Every year, they get a little further apart. This movement causes all sorts of grumbling in the earth awakening volcanoes, geysers, trolls, elves, and who knows what else.

The next stop was the geothermally active valley of Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur.  Geysir was the first geyser known to modern Europeans!  This is where the English word geyser came from.  Geysir has not erupted for a while, but the more reliable Strokkur erupts every 10 minutes or so.  There are also plenty of other "inactive" geysers in the area that are just pools are hot water waiting for the next earthquake to wake it up.  There are signs everywhere warning tourists not to touch the water because it is incredibly hot, but I did it anyways because I am a rebel.  It's true, it is hot.

Geyser explosion!

The last stop on our Golden Circle tour was the Gulfoss waterfall.  This is a more of a double waterfall as it has two big drops. The coolest thing about waterfalls in Iceland is that the water freezes as it falls so the side that collects all the mist ends up looking like a frozen mass.  This is an excellent photo opportunity, but I was not nearly as impressed as I was by the geysers.  Growing up in PA, I made several trips to Niagara Falls and found that to be more impressive.  

Gulfoss Waterfall

Though our tour of the Golden Circle was over, we were not done for the day.  On the way back to Reykjavik, we stopped at Laugarvatn village for the Fontana Steam Baths for some geothermal bathing.  After switching into my swimsuit, I made a mad dash out the door into the first sauna I saw.  The nice thing about this bath house is that there are a set of saunas and pools all ranging in different temperatures, so if one is too hot or too cold for you, you can just move to the next one.  I found the first pool to be way too cold, but the second one to be perfect.  (Three bears moment, anyone?) The hot tub that held the hottest water actually made my legs go numb, so I spent most of my time floating around in the one that was better for me.  I was a little disappointed in the size of the baths, and if you end up going to the blue lagoon first, I'd suggest skipping Fontana.  If you do Fontana before Blue Lagoon, you should be okay. Also, the towell here is not included in the price, so make sure you bring your own or borrow one from the hotel and don't spend an additional $4 on a scratchy towel.

Little Geysir

After a few hours of bathing, we went for dinner at the nearby Lindin restaurant.  Based on the reviews online, this was supposed to be a very good restaurant to come to when you are in the area.  Based on my own experience, that was not the case.  I'm not sure if it was because we were a group or if maybe the owner had a bad day, but several of us actually got yelled at for being too loud and ordering too many drinks at once (we all only ever ordered 1 drink at a time).  He complained that his ears were sensitive to noise, which is weird to have a restaurant where you want people to come and talk and buy your food.  A light dinner was included in our tour, which consisted of a bread basket and all you can eat lamb soup.  The soup was good, but not very filling... I guess that is why it was a light dinner.  For dessert, I ordered the chocolate moose with raspberry sauce and white chocolate foam.  That too left a lot to be desired.  Overall, dinner was okay, but nothing in comparison to the Grill Market the night before!

We all napped on the bus ride back since it was too cloudy for the northern lights and were ready for a night out on the town! After a quick change, we walked along the main road in search for some nightlife.  The first stop was definitely a local bar because as we walked in, no one paid any attention to us.  In fact, there all appeared somewhere out of it and quite possibly on drugs.  We did not stay there very long before deciding to move on... The next stop was The Lebowski Bar on Laugarvegur .  I was told by a friend to come here, so I knew this was more promising than the first place.  Though I am not a fan of the movie, I do really enjoy white russians and ordered myself one within moments of entering the bowling themed bar.  In fact, they had an entire drink menu of variations on the White Russian, too bad there were all nearly $15.  

Skogafoss

The last stop of the night was The English Pub.  I think this was appropriately named for the decor.  I had my token cider of the evening while we all sang along to old music and swayed in our seats.  When it came time for round two, one of the guys I was with decided to try his luck on the beer wheel.  Basically, there is this giant roulette looking wheel on the wall that you can spin for 2000isk and try your luck for the grand prize of 10 beers.  There are also quite a few spots where you don't win any beer, so it is a gamble.  Despite the women's protests not to do it, he proceeded without us... and of course, he won the 10 beers.  10 beers is a lot of beer for 4 people to drink, so we were sufficiently buzzed when they were all gone. You can bet that late night eating led us directly back to the hot dog stand where I watched everyone devour multiple hot dogs around 3 AM.  (That may seem late to you, but we were not adjusted yet to the time difference, so it was still like 11PM to us). 

Day 3 - Private Tour to Jökulsárlón 

Moss Covered Lava Field

Saturday was a free day from our group tour, so we arranged for a private tour for the four of us along the southern coast of Iceland and to the Glacier Lagoon with GoEcco. Not too many companies do this tour in one day because it is a long drive, so we had limited options.  We pretty much stuck to their Glacier Lagoon Winter Day Tour itinerary, but opted out of the swim and added a short glacier walk.   The picked us up from the hotel around 9 AM in an old family van that left us all skeptical right away.  Not only was it old, but it smelled of smoke.  Our tour guide also decided to bring his girlfriend along for the day, which was odd, but worked out well because she was very nice and helped me work my camera later that evening.  Some background information on our guide... Meet Jonas, the company owner and an artist waiting for his big break.  In the meantime, he runs this little tour company and accepts deposits via paypal, but prefers the remaining amount only in cash.  Sounds a little sketchy, but he did get us to all of our destinations.

Hello puffin!

On our way to the east, we drove past Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that erupted in 2010 causing massive air travel delays.  The sky is all cleared up now, but there are still remnants of ash on the ground. It has been over 300 years since someone died in a volcano eruption in Iceland, but that doesn't mean they are not scary!  The photos looked pretty terrifying.  Our guides did not have much to add other than when it erupted he took his van up to collect ash on some canvas so he could paint how he was feeling.  We did find a sign that we could read to get some information on what it was like.

The first official stop was Skogafoss, a waterfall off of Ring Road in southern Iceland.  This is a pretty classic waterfall and drops about 60m.  Again, it was very cool seeing this waterfall in action in the winter.  All of the snow and frozen water was piled up on one side from where the wind would blow the mist.  Also, there was a path and a small staircase (only 400 steps or so) leading to the very top so that you could look at the waterfall from the top down. 

Further along the way, we drove through the largest lava field in the world. It was very weird to look at as it went on for what seemed like miles in every direction.  On top of the lava rocks, a thick moss has been growing for years making it seem very "the hills have eyes" creepy.

Black sand desert

Several miles later and well into the highlands in Iceland, the moss covered lava fields completely transformed into the incredible black sand Desert of Skeidarasandur.  The highlands are situated above 400–500 meters and are mostly an uninhabitable volcanic desert.  At this point, I was convinced we had traveled through at least 3 countries because the landscape changes so drastically from one stop to the next.  The weather also changed at each stop from sun to rain to wind to hail... Our guide said there is a saying about Iceland that if you don't like the weather, you should wait 10 minutes.  I definitely experienced that first hand.

I apparently didn't take good notes because I know that at some point we also went to a nearby beach where the waves were scary big and the wind was blowing like crazy, so I refused to bring my camera.  Out in the water there were these large basalt columns sticking up like black water sculptures.  At this point, I started to get more annoyed with our tour guides as they were not telling us anything.  They would drop us off from site to site without much background information and then walk away from us. I should have bought myself a book on Iceland; lesson learned.

Glacier

In my opinion, our next two stops were the coolest. We passed by two large glaciers, Oraefajokull and Vatnajokull.  We were able to take a small road up to an access path to one of the glaciers and explore it on foot.  With a pool in hand and an eye on the ground, we gingerly walked out onto the glacier while looking out for cracks.  From the top of the ice, you can hear the water running beneath it.  Our guide actually thought it would be funny to through a large boulder through one of the cracks so that we could hear how long it took to splash in the running water below.  It was not as funny as he thought and we all immediately walked away from that area.  We also got a chance to explore an glacial cave!  While we were in the cave, we were told that two guides had died while on glacial excursions in the past, and both times were while they were in ice caves... yeah, so I did not stay very long in there. 

Before leaving the site, our party stood at the edge of the glacial basking in it's wonder when we all heard a big roar and cracking noise from something breaking off somewhere... We did not stay around to figure out exactly what it was. This is one of the stops where I was very glad we had a guide.  I don't think any of us would have had the courage to walk out on the glacier alone, and if we had it most likely would have been one of us falling through that crack and not the boulder.

Glacial cave

Finally, after almost 9 hours in and out of the car, we reached Jökulsárlón and the Glacial Lagoon!  This was the whole reason we took the tour!  The scenery was pretty incredible with large chunks of ice floating in the lagoon.  You could actually see them swaying in the wind.  Weirdly enough, there was no railing or anything preventing you from jumping into the lagoon along with the ice chunks.  Most of the other attractions had some type of safety measure in place.  Also in the lagoon were seals!  I did not see any because I must be way too slow, but my friend did!  On the other side of the lagoon, where it opens to the black sand beach, even more pieces of ice rest along the shores where you can touch them, sit on them, and explore them even further.  All of the ice chunks had a wonderful shade of teal blue.  According to the internet, the blue shading happens when the ice which has compressed all the gas inside so much that the apparent color is blue from light scattering, much like a blue sky.  Nonetheless, it makes for incredible pictures!

On the long ride home, we were able to stop at Seljalandsfoss.  Typically, the highlight of this stop is that you can actually hike behind the waterfall.  Unfortunately, we didn't get there until well after dark and only stayed for a moment and a quick picture.  I would have liked to come here in the day and would probably make that adjustment to any future itinerary

Glacier pieces on the sand

Around 10:30 PM and a little ways away from Reykjavik, our tour guide pulled the van over to the side of the road.  Off in the distance, the Northern Lights were starting to form!  I did not expect this to happen because it had been a cloudy day and it was also a full moon.  Typically a full moon causes too much light in the sky and you can't see the lights.  It was only a minor formation at first and so we jumped back into the car to continue along.  Only a few minutes later, well pulled off again because they started to form even better and brighter than before.  Over a 20 minute period they morphed into a dancing streaks of light taking up the entire sky.  We even got to see them change color into reds and light purple for a few minutes.  The entire time I was convinced aliens were landing and we were about to get abducted!  I can't even explain how bizarre that experience was!  Think beam me up scotty, but literally across the whole night sky! It really was a great way to end our last full day in Iceland.

Aurora Borealis lighting up the night sky!

Day 4 - The Blue Lagoon and Airport

The Blue Lagoon

The best way for me to end a trip is to find a few minutes to relax and take it all in.  There was no better way to do this than with a visit to The Blue Lagoon.  This is a geothermal spa near the airport with incredible rejuvenating milky waters.  Unfortunately, all of the spa appointments were booked in advance, so if you want to get a massage, plan for it by sending them an email and confirming your appointment before you get there.  I had a good soak before having to go back to the airport.  You can bet I bought some spa products to bring home with me!

Overall, we had a wonderful trip!  The weather was perfect and we really saw a lot.  The Living Social part of the tour was well organized and punctual.  The GoEcco part left a lot to be desired from the guides, but we did get the see everything we wanted to see and I wouldn't trade that for anything!  If you're interested in any in depth reviews, you cannot look at my Yelp page because Iceland does not have Yelp!  They do have TripAdvisor, so I may have to setup an account there. 

Updates

Hello everyone!

Recently there have been some changes to my blog.  I added a new "Calendar" tab where I will list out any upcoming trips so you can watch out for related blog posts.  I also updated my bucket list and will continue to update my travel map as time goes on.

I am most importantly trying to solicit guest bloggers!  Do you know anyone who would like to share their travel experiences, but doesn't want the hassle of creating and maintaining their own blog?  Think study abroad opportunities, or even one time getaways!  I would love to get another guest blogger series started.  If you do know of this person, please have them leave a comment on my blog with their information or have them reach out to me directly.

Happy travels!
Tina

Let's Rodeo San Antonio!

The Alamo

There are times when I time a trip perfectly, and there are times when things just do not want to cooperate.  The weekend before my flight down to San Antonio, Boston was hit with a giant Nor' Easter and we were covered in 2 feet of snow.  Fortunately I was not trying to travel during the storm, because I would have never made it.  I sure was itching to get some sunshine, and a weekend in sunny Texas was just what I needed! 

This trip was partially for tourism reasons and partially to visit family.  Being my first visit to Texas, there were a few things I had to do like buy a cowboy hat and boots, and there were things I planned for while being in San Antonio specifically, like visiting the Alamo, the River Walk, and Rodeo!  I flew into San Antonio airport, with a brief layover in Dallas, late Friday night.  My mom and Ricky picked us up from the airport and it was only a short ride to the Sheraton Gunter hotel.  I will admit that I sometimes don't pick the best places to stay, and the reviews online had me a bit worried, but the hotel was very nice!  The lobby was large and looked very well preserved.  They had lots of cool antiques like an old switchboard and mail shoots near the elevators.  We had no problems checking in. Our room was big!  There was plenty of space for a big bed, couch, desk, dresser, and room to walk around.  The bathroom was also very spacious and clean.  Since it was already late, we just went down to the hotel bar, McLeod's, for a nightcap before turning in. The cocktail list was appealing, and I had a skinny margarita to celebrate being so close to Mexico.

Riverwalk during the day

The next morning, we woke up pretty early to start our day at the Starbucks across the street.  Yum, coffee!  Walking towards The Alamo, we made a quick detour and walked along the river walk.  It was very quiet at 8:30am and was nice for taking pictures.  When I went back later that night it was incredibly busy, and I would not have had the chance to appreciate it's charm.  The Alamo opened to the public at 9am.  At first, it was not too busy, but within 1/2 hour it picked up.  Entrance is free, but I think we could have paid to rent an audio tour.  We just walked around and read the signs posted everywhere.  Overall, it was pretty small but a nice activity to fill an hour or two.  There are only a few rooms you can walk around in, and you are not allowed to take any pictures of the relics.  There is a nice, big, gift shop with lots of neat souvenirs!  I bought a Christmas ornament for my tree.

After the Alamo, we walked around in search of a breakfast place.  The concierge at the hotel pointed us in the opposite direction of the tourist sites where we found a Mexican cafe, Oasis Cafe.  The food was just okay, but it was cheap and enough to sustain us for the next few hours as we drove off to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.  We lucked out and got a parking spot very close, so by around 11am we were through the front gate.  My initial thought was that the grounds were much larger than I expected!  There were several large buildings setup with pigs, horses, and cows (well, I saw two cows).  There were even more venders selling clothings, accesories, furniture, and even tractors, though I guess that should have been expected.  I didn't get a chance to see any of the animal auctions, but I sure got my fill of pigs.  By around 12:30, we made our way into the arena for the rodeo and concert.

Rodeo Events!

Watching the rodeo was a lot of fun!  They had different events including roping events, mutton bustin', barrel racing, and of course, bull riding!  Those poor rodeo clowns.  The one we saw go thrown by an angry bull while he was hiding in his barrel.  At first, I felt a little sad for the animals, especially the calves being roped, but my mom pointed out that they are trained for that and are actually pretty calm as they wait for them to come untie the ropes.  The rodeo events lasted about 2 hours, and then there was a 30 minute break before the Lady Antebellum concert.  The concert was great!  The opened with some songs that I did not recognize, but then all the goods ones came out.  The stage was one of those small spinning circles, and it was a little small for the venue, but the sound was good and that's what really matters!  We spent another hour or so trying out some of the food trucks before making a quick detour for me to pickup my boots and hat at Cavender's before dinner.

After a quick refresher back at the hotel, we headed out to the River Walk to find dinner.  I don't want to use the saying, "it was like night and day" to describe this, because we really did visit the River Walk during both night and day, but it was drastically different.  It was so busy, that we had to walk down the path single file and I was still scared someone was going to get pushed into the water!  This is obviously the area people go out to at night to drink and go to bars.  Every restaurant we went to had a wait of 1.5 hours, so we continued to walk until we found a place that did not.  That should have been a sign, when we were seated right away at Ostra, but we ignored it because we were hungry.  The menu looked appetising and the places were pretty high considering what we just walked past (hard rock cafe, mexican place, etc).  Our service was horrible!  We waited over an hour for our food, and while it was good, it wasn't worth the wait.  We probably would have been served faster if we went to one of the other restaurants with an hour wait!  Since we didn't finish our meal until well after 10pm, that was it for the night.

Close up of a Longhorn

The next morning we drove out to my mom's house for some family time.  That afternoon, we visited a ranch that had longhorns so that I could see them in person.  They were surprisingly docile.... I guess they are just cows with big horns.  I can definitely see how someone could get hurt if they get in the way, those horns are pointy!  They also had no problem coming right up to the truck to get some treats.  Fortunately for me, their big horns limited just how far they could stick their mouth in through the window!

The next day we had breakfast at a nearby Mexican restaurant and made our way to the airport.  It was another short weekend, but a lot of fun!  Hopefully my next trip down there, I'll get to explore Austin!