South Africa - Part 3.

On to Part Three of the Awesome African Adventure.
One could spend a full two weeks in Cape town and surrounding areas and still not get a glimpse of all of its wonderful nooks and crannies. There are plenty.


Loved meeting a few of the locals. Like this gorgeous little girl named Anita...

and this gentlemen, Katsu, who is originally from the Congo and is fluent in eight dialects!


We continued our exploration of this beautiful country with a drive down the Capetonian coastline. I found it reminiscent of the famed Route One from the Californian Coast, but slightly more rugged and less transited. My kind of beauty.






We ate incredibly fresh and inexpensive (when compared to US prices) seafood the well- known Mariner's Wharf in Hout's Bay , and went Salsa Dancing to work it off. Salsa music is Global, the Capetonians loved it:)



After a memorable week in Capetown it was time to explore the picturesque and mangificent Wine Country region of South Africa. Quite frankly, the idea of an area in Africa dedicated to harvesting the Beverage of the Gods, had me in a complete state of giddiness. We headed to an extremely quaint town called Franschhoek.

A little history on this village and the surrounding area of Wine Country:

"The valley was originally settled in 1688 by French Huguenot refugees, many of whom were given land by the Dutch government in a valley called Olifantshoek ("Elephants' corner"), so named because of the vast herds of elephants that roamed the area.

The name of the area soon changed to Franschhoek, with many of the settlers naming their new farms after the areas in France from which they came. La Motte, La Cotte, Cabrière, Provence, Chamonix, Dieu Donné and La Dauphine were among some of the first established farms — most of which still retain their original farm houses today. These farms have grown into renowned wineries.


The Huguenot Monument. This heritage is preserved today with the Huguenot Monument standing at the top of the village. The museum nearby chronicles the history of the first settlers, with each of the original Huguenot farms having its own fascinating story to tell.

The Cape Dutch architecture in much of the village is unspoilt, with restrictions having been placed on the extent of renovations and new construction in order to preserve the spirit of the original settlers to the area".
(stolen by Wikipedia, respectively.)

I have been to the Provençal area of France and I can guarantee you that Wine Country in Africa is hard to distinguish from it's European counterpart. The similarities are mind-boggling: from the spoken language, to the cusiine, to the rolling green hills dotted with quaint vineyards and pastoral animals, this area is Tre Magnifique at its best. We stayed at the most incredibly quaint Cottage built upon the Clermont Vineyards. The Auberge Clermont Guest House - Perfectly Provencal and so perfectly romantic.






We Wined and Dined at one of the top 50 restaurants in the world, and lived happily ever after...








More pictures from our wonderful adventure...

(please click on the picture for a full-view, as blogger is cutting off some of the dimensions.)

Except the fairytale is not over yet, no, there is one more significant part to the story - the part where we get to travel deep into the African Bush and have up close and personal encounters with magnificent predators and beasts you never knew existed. After seeing this we can and indeed did live happily ever after... ;)


The fourth and final part - Safari at Kruger's National park - is coming soon!



Stay Tuned.

South Africa - Part 2

After an unforgettable couple of days in Zambia, we embark on our next adventure - the tre chic and very European city of Cape Town, and its surrounding coastal towns. What a phenomenal treat! Cape Town is like no other city we had visited before, more like a combination of various cities fused into one. Think Rio, Barcelona, San Francisco, London and Denver morphed into a unique, culturally diversified with a tumultuous, but very interesting history - that in a nutshell is Cape Town.


We arrived to our place of stay to find a Cape colonial Victorian from the 1940's turned Boutique Spa Hotel, and were instantly smitten. Welgelegen Guest House, which in Afrikaans literally means "well situated"; was centrally located, incredibly comfortable and catered to any and every individual need. The manager - Fiona - made sure to personally introduce herself and offer her services every single morning. From the mini bar stocked full with fine wines, cheeses, chocolates and champagne, to the complimentary laundry service and fantastic breakfast spread every morning (this is not your typical continental breakfast) we couldn't be more pleased! Highly, highly recommended and well worth the price!

We were told weather in Cape Town is quite unpredictable due to ocean currents from two opposing body of waters that envelop the area, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, respectively. However, on our first full day there we awoke to gorgeous sunny rays and warm winds - the perfect time to visit the famed Table Mountain. Our hotel was located within 10 minute driving distance from the beautiful flat-topped summit from which views of the cape are unparalleled.


The climbing of this precipice is not for the faint-hearted or out of shape. It is an intense, 3 hour, uphill crawl, I mean climb :) And my goodness was it worth all the blood, sweat and tears!






We explored the Water Front, ate incredible sea-food and drank great mojitos, took romantic strolls through the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, drove down the Cape to explore False Bay, Cape Point and Boulder's beach where beautiful black and white birds made for perfect company...















Here are more of our favorite captures from this amazing City and surrounding areas:










































































































Next up, Part 3, More of The Cape and Wine Country...

South Africa - Part 1

Africa, such a simple word for such a complex continent and culture.

To me, Africa had always been a place of mesmerizing mystery. A land of raw, rugged, untouched beauty. A place that epitomizes the exotic to a level I had yet to experience. The reality is almost impossible to express in words. If only I could translate through sentences the experience of glimpsing into the origins of creation: a place where sunsets live and die; animal species of every immaginable color, pattern, shape and size run wild; hundreds of constellations and their galaxies create black velvet masterpieces every single night; and landscapes that take your breath away with their unparalleled beauty. If only these sentences could allow you to breathe, taste, touch and see Africa for what it truly is...evidence to a masterful creator!


Part One - Zambia, Africa

After almost 15 hours of being suspended on the South African Airways 340-600 Airbus at 40,000 feet above sea-level, I looked out of my window onto the vast expansion of endless gray blue skies in time to see the onslaught of a serene salmon-hued sunrise. At first it was slight, almost undetectable, only allowing a thin sliver of the red orange lining to highlight the sky like a pretty ribbon trim on a billowy skirt. Then it slowly began creeping its way upward, overshadowing the darkness and illuminating the horizon. Thick, swooping yellow and coral brush strokes on a landscape; a fitting intro to the powerful, burning dome at its center, the sun had made its grand entrance. With the veil of dusk finally uncovered, I allowed my anxious eyes to gaze down and see rolling hills, mountainous slopes and glance at what looked like the first signs of civilization. We had arrived!

It was at this point that I excitedly turned to my jet-lagged, sleep-deprived husband to my right and almost shouted: “I can see Africa below! Oh my, we are finally here!" And as we began our decent into Johannesburg International Airport, our Awesome African Adventure began!

After landing in JNB, we were picked up by our transport that had thankfully all been arranged prior. We decided that with Africa, an unknown and unexplored continent, we would enlist the aid of a qualified Travel Agent, (who was recommended to us by another nestie, thank you once again!), we were so thankful we did. Rikke, from go2africa.com, exceeded our expectations making this trip even more incredible by facilitating and eliminating all the little inconveniences usually associated with traveling, but I digress.


Let me keep it real, if you've never been on a 15 + hour trans-Atlantic flight before, be prepared to need at least a day of recovery.
Albeit our flight was thankfully uneventful, smooth, the flight attendants incredibly professional and pleasant, the food quite decent (by airplane standards) - it is almost impossible to get a good night's rest on ain airplane. Kev attributes this to the uncomfortable design of the seats in Coach, and I must reluctantly agree. We had leg-room, but if you wanted to crouch into that comfy fetal position to nod off with, and you actually have a bootie like both my hubby and I have been blessed with, ::insert grin here:: you’re going to be quite akwardly seated if you try to sleep. Consequently, we were in dire need of some zzz's. The first couple of hours upon arrival to JNB almost seem like a blur.


All I remember is that we were escorted to a safari-esque type lodge with a nice, comfy bed and hot shower and after a self-served (open bar, as in your the bar tender, serve at your own risk:) beverage to sleep for at least 6 hours straight. When we arrived it was early AM, when we awoke, the sun was setting. After room service and our first glance at African TV we turned in again for an early night, the next morning we were to return to the airport for our flight to Livingstone, Zambia.

Thankfully, the next day we awoke fully bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and after a delicious, hot breakfast we embarked on our 2 hour flight from South Africa to the neighboring country of Zambia, and a city aptly named Livingstone.


Zambia at first glance reminded me of other developing countries we have visited in the past . Of course, after closer observation we began to see just how different this wild, beautiful country really was to any of the former travel destinations. Different in a good way.

We arrived at the Zambezi Sun, a fabulous resort complex located ideally close to the Victoria Falls National Park. This resort wasn't your run-of-the-mill all inclusive. After all, do you know of many places where you’re warned not to feed the wild animals and zebras and giraffes roam freely outside your window. I don't. The "watch out for Crocodiles" sign really had me giddy - Not!


The beautifully decorated hotel was perfect for lounging and relaxing by the pool while being serenaded by interesting percussion instruments played by a local band. The food was spectacular and different. We tried everything from Kudu, a type of antelope, to crocodile skewers, Andrew Zimmern eat your heart out! We also learned the local villagers are much, much more adventurous eaters than we will ever be. Hippo, Elephant and Baboon are all part of their monthly dining options. They don't let anything go to waste. Unfortunately, many of these animals get caught up in strong currents on the Zambezi river, only to end up at the bottom of the powerful waterfalls. The rangers take the tusks and leave the meat for anyone willing and wanting to take a piece home. Nothing goes to waste.

However, the true highlight of Zambia were the magnificent excursions!!!

From catching our first glance of the majestic, earth-shatteringly beautiful Victoria Falls, and jumping into Devil's Pool (yes people, we really did do this, click to see this youtube video) - to our first glimpse of a wild African elephant off the banks of the Zambezi river on a safari cruise - Zambia had our heart going pitter-patter. We couldn’t get enough of this amazing land. We wanted more, needed more....and more we got!

Here are a few of our favorite shots from this incredible place:





















































































( We ate crocodile skewers, quite tasty, and no, it did not taste like chicken:)














Stay tuned for Part Two - Cape Town, South Africa coming soon...

South Africa, Zambia Coming Soon.

MIA

Sorry, I have been on quite the hiatus from the NEST and from this blog. Life has been hectic, mostly in a good way.

I have plenty of updates to share...Stay Tuned!

Quebec, Canada

Decided to forego my usually long-winded, anecdote-heavy, detailed play-by-play review that I provide along most of my travel pictures in exchange for a new method: How about we let the pictures tell the story?

Decided against chronology and order too. What a rebel I am! ha! Instead I am going to provide you the basics of our amazingly wonderful little road-trip to Montreal and Quebec City in a few, succint sentences with my suggestions on why these cities are worth a visit:

• Go to Montreal, it is an amazing, multi-cultured city with a delicious fusion of old and new architecture, cuisine and people.
  



• Go to Quebec City, with just a few hours driving North from New York you'll think you have crossed into a quaint European village near Provence, France and forget your in Canada.



• Go to such places with good friends, like ours, it will make the whole experience that much more memorable.



• It's the perfect holiday for a holiday weekend like Presiden'ts Day, or for an extended stay.

Here are a few pictures of our adventures, taken with my new Nikon D60 that I am still learning to use....




















































































Hope you enjoy. Please let me know if you have any questions! Till our next adventure...

Travel Itch - Nicaragua 2008.

The husband and I became afflicted with travel itch as soon as we realized it had been almost six months since our last Amazing Race Adventure through the Andes of Ecuador and Peru!


Caution: Travel Itch bouts are known to cause expensive, often contagious symptoms identified below:

• obsessive internet searches on travel destinations, packages and airfare deals



• booking of said hotels and airfare tickets, usually with a no return policy



• taking multiple vacation days off work



• dealing with inconvenient packing, airport security processes and uncomfortable plane rides just to get to said destination



• the inability to want to leave said destinations as vacation life can become quite addictive



• the desire to do it all again as soon as your plane lands home! (you wanderlusters know exactly what I'm talking about:)

Disclaimer: There really is no ointment for the itch - aside from giving in to your travel fantasies that is;)

Our travel itch was further fueled by the recent anniversary of our 3rd blessed year of marriage, and we became giddy with anticipation once we finalized our trip to the romantic destination of Nicaragua ! We rather enjoy our travel itch bouts, especially since they occur often. HA!

So let me tell you a little about our 6 day (including travel to and from) escapade to the Land of the Nicas. I will preface this account by mentioning that what I found most appealing about this country was its raw beauty. Its untouched, virgin landscapes. Its awe-inspiring volcanoes and that impressive Lake Nicaragua, which is the life source for so many beings, especially the natives themselves.


After a rather exhaustive red-eye flight departing JFK to Panama City and then a one-hour connect flight from Panama to Managua on COPA [which btw, we got for a steal at only $300 r/t], we were more than happy to arrive at our luxuriously stunning hotel - The Pelican Resort in San Juan del Sur.


This place went above and beyond my expectations, the husband really outdid himself when he booked it. [Yes folks, my hubby has become the only travel fiend, he's left me in the dust... but I digress] I had seen it on the website and read the favorable reviews but it took stepping into our hacienda style casita and looking out from the deck on that impressive view to be convinced. I was also surprised at the layout, the hotel was built around a naturally existing rainforest slope with a majestic panorama of the Pacific ocean...



The rooms were spectacular and if I could, I would transport that Turkish-bath inspired shower dome and double sink vanity with me on the plane! We also loved the three infinity pools, even if it took a 20+ minute walk uphill on stairs to get to them. All the stairs surrounding the resort were more than enough exercise to supplement the place not having a gym; it’s the price you pay for a view like the one we had. Albeit the Husband is thinking of writing them to suggest they install an escalator for the next time we visit. He said hiking Machu Picchu was more than enough stair climbing to last us a lifetime. HA!

After literally lounging by the pool for hours on end (it's quite the laborious task I tell ya;), we decided it was time to explore more of this rustic and tropical wonderland.

Therefore, one random morning we rose early in the AM and took an air-conditioned taxi (it was all about the comfort for the hubby on this trip, - he said he had had more than his fill of "roughing it" in our last trip:) to the port of San Jorge from where we took a one-hour ferry to the famed and exotic - Isla de Ometepe.


Aside from our humble abode at the Pelican, Ometepe was by far my favorite spot out of all the places we visited in Nica. With it's two iconic and prominent volcanoes- Concepcion and Maderas, also known as Volcan de Fuego y Volcan de Agua - and it's never-ending green pastures, effervescent rivers and quiet, good-natured people it was impossible not to get smitten. Picture Gilligan's island but instead of six stranded soles, there are 40,000 inhabitants. Instead of a little island off the coast of some random part of the ocean, this one is smack in the middle of the impressive Lake Nicaragua. Instead of lounging about all day trying to figure out how to get off the island, those that come to Ometepe wish to never leave. Tourism here, as in most of the country, is still in its infancy and things are almost twenty years "behind the time." The cushy commodities of our modern society are virtually non-existent and any type of advanced technology (as in broadband and high-speed) are still considered a luxury, but this is precisely why I found it so intriguing. So organic. So fertile. So green. So pure. So inviting...

Which is the perfect descriptive for this incredible naturally formed blue lagoon made from the subterranean volcanic waters of Maderas called Ojo de Agua. Inviting...

The island was also dotted by the most colorful and genuinely textural flora and fauna:



Not to mention some interesting artifacts and mischievous locals who have the ritual of diving off the ferry before it departs for the mainland...


We are definitely contemplating a return to this idyllic little isle, very soon we hope. (Did I mention that in addition to all the beauty it offers - this island, and the country of Nicaragua as a whole for that matter - is incredibly affordable to the American tourist? Imagine that, a place where our dollar still has some value!;)

We also made sure to visit the colonial and colorful town of Granada where we took a tour by boat around the private little islands that can be purchased to build your dream home on. We had interesting encounters with those of a "hairier" nature, and topped off the afternoon with a visit to the Masaya Artisan Market for some Nicaraguan artifacts of our own...

Overall we fell in-love with the country, and in-like with the culture. The Nicas are extremely polite and friendly enough, albeit definitely not as gregarious or as fun-loving (read: sociable) as other Latin cultures we've encountered, but after living in the D.R some years, perhaps I am biased:)

Enough of my long-windedness, let's get to what you really came here for - the pictures!

Disclaimer: There are quite a few to scroll through and you may need to click on a few to get the full picture as blogger cuts off the dimensions.



























>


















































































































Till the next time the proverbial travel itch creeps up and bites us... ;)

Vaya Pues (as they say in Nica)