Going to the Galapagos on the National Geographic Explorer

Red Footed Booby

Galapagos Islands – Darwin's exploration of rare species of animals found only on these remote islands off the coast of Ecuador – this was a destination high on our “bucket list.” Last year we received a National Geographic advertisement offering free airfare from Miami if we booked a 10 day excursion. After a short minute of discussion, we were “in” for this opportunity. The day finally arrived. We headed down the highway to Miami Airport and boarded our plane for a 4-1/2 hour flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador. This is the largest city in here – close to 3 million people. Customs was a breeze through this modern airport. We were whisked away to the Hilton where we spent a short night since there was a 5:30 a.m. wake up call. We stumbled down to a wonderful breakfast and headed for our next flight, a 1-1/2 hour journey to San Crisobel where we jumped on a 12 passenger zodiac for a quick trip in the harbor to our beautiful ship, the National Geographic Islander. Our cabin is a lovely compact room with a comfy queen size bed, little bathroom with shower and a nice desk for writing emails.

We participated in a mock abandon ship drill and then were briefed on the week's activities. After lunch we rode on a zodiac (called “panga” here) and made a wet landing on a soft sandy beach for our first exploration on national  park land, at a site known as Cerro Brujo, which translates as “Wizard Hill.” We saw sea lions, a marine iguana and shore birds and swam in the turquoise water. The sea lions and other animals have no fear of humans. They laid in the sand close to us! Early to bed for us – tomorrow we have another early wake up call so we can participate in kayaking before breakfast. 

Photos

Galapagos Islands

National Geographic Islander

San Cristobal

Marine Iguana

Little Peter - We are home!

Little Peter can be found all over town

Petermännchen, a Schwerin castle ghost, must have heard we were coming to Europe.  He decided to follow us around and play a few tricks on us, nothing serious of course!

First, little Peter arranged for me to get us lost when riding bicycles through the tulip fields near Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands. Friendly Dutch folks provided good directions as we were completely "off the map."

Then the little guy arranged for the German train drivers to strike just in time for our Amsterdam to Berlin train ride.  No problem, we were rerouted to Cologne to catch a Cologne to Berlin  train.  Oops,  as we approached Cologne, we transferred to a local train headed for Dusseldorf. The Cologne - Berlin train had been cancelled so it seemed.  No problem, we arrived in Berlin in time for spargel soup at a local pub.

Train strike over, we decided to visit Potsdam.  Upon arriving in Potsdam we found that the bus drivers for the bus to take us to Park Sanssouci had staged a sympathy strike, not all the drivers it seems, just the ones for the route we needed. No problem, we took a tram.

Little Peter apparently needed a break, so we didn't hear from him until it was time for our Cologne to Brussels trip.  The train drivers were back on strike. The Cologne train station was relatively empty. But Peter was kind to us - our train ran. 

All on board for our flight home, the pilot announced that Brussels radar had lost power - no arrivals or departures. Hearing nothing from airport officials for an hour, our pilot asked us to deplane.  After two hours of hanging around the boarding area while many inter-European flights were, one by one, cancelled, we reboarded our plane to wait another hour before our plane could leave. We were the first plane out.  No problem - we had a long layover coming up in Newark.  

Throughout the seven hour flight, a mom with a screaming kid sat next to Joanne.  Peter wasn't so kind to her.  I was lucky. The actual flight was uneventful for me.  As I stood up to get off the plane, the kid seated across the aisle from me vomited all over the floor and all over his pants.  There was nothing his poor mother could do as people had crammed into the aisle waiting to move forward. It was all I could do to stay out of the vomit or have him rub his vomit covered pants on me.  I did have extra pants with me so wasn't in any real danger anyway. Little Peter was just having some fun with us.

Just one more trick - Little Peter moved a line of thunderstorms through Newark just in time to delay our plane to Fort Myers by one hour.  

My cousin Constance and her husband Bill made a late night pickup and we were home about midnight without mishap.  

P.S. The Belgian train drivers went on strike the day after we left! Little Peter must be playing tricks on someone else now!

Farewell to Friendship Force of the Belgium Coast

Dancing with the Belgians at our Farewell Luncheon

We received quite a "send off" for our last day here in Oostende.  The day began with a tour of the city complete with views of the North Sea, sand castles and pretty boats.  Next was the almost 5-hour "good bye" luncheon at the Charles Lindberg Restaurant.  The meal had many courses - champagne, wine, 

1st Course - croquettes!

appetizers, croquettes, salads, steaks with choice of many sauces, ice cream sundaes, coffee.   We sang, danced (there was a keyboard player), and thanked our hosts for a great time.

Our wonderful host, Flo

Some observations about Belgium:

-They pay 52% of their wages for taxes with no complaints!  They are socialistic in their views and think that society should take care of the poor. 
• -They have great healthcare and the UK even sends some of its overflow here because of the excellent quality hospitals.
• -Like the rest of Europe  they have an efficient rail system which many use- it is very economical
• -They are not very religious.  Although they are Catholic, not many attend church except on major holydays e.g., Christmas or when their children receive Communion or Confirmation
• -They have many immigrants into the country
• -They have 2 dramatically different cultures - the Flemish in the North and the Wallanoons in the South (French) but they get along with 4 different government organizations - the French of Brussels, the Flemish, the Germans (miniscule) and the Wallanoons.

  

  The beautiful Belgian coast

-While they have monarchs (King Phillip and Queen Matilda), they are not as concerned about them as the UK.  Their government is a complicated democracy.  If you do not vote, a policeman comes to the door and you are fined. At one point they had no government for 22 months, but they just went on functioning.  They try to compromise.

-Their history is one of turmoil with invasions from the French, Germans, the Austrians, the Dutch and Spanish.  They became their own small country in the 1800s.

We enjoyed visiting with our hosts, Roger and Flo, and learning all about this interesting country!

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Visiting Flanders Fields on Memorial Day Weekend

 

Flanders Fields
 

Today is our "free" day and since it is Memorial Day weekend, we asked Flo, our host to take us to see Flanders Fields.  On the way, we stopped by one of Flo's friends who have a nice place in the country with fish ponds and chickens. We had coffee and talked sailing with Mark, one of Roger's sailing partners.    The town of Ypres is about 30 miles from where we are staying, in the seaside town of Oostende.  Flo dropped us off at the Menin Gate, an impressive monument to those victims of WWI.  We had a picnic lunch atop a

Liverpool Scottish Cross

 berm that runs along a canal.  There was a moving exhibit with panels pleading for peace in the world.  We also visited Hooge Crater where Welch miners fighting for the crown dug underground mines to detonate German artillery.  This action created a huge crater in the landscape.  We read signposts about it and viewed old shells and remnants of the war.  Today is a gorgeous sunny day.

Peace Exhibit - very moving!



Menin Gate commemorating lives lost in WWI

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A day in Brussels

The famous Mannekin Pis statue

Off we went with our Belgian Friendship Force Friends to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and also the seat of the EU and headquarters of NATO.  Immediately we noticed that most people here speak French while the area we are staying in speaks Flemish (very much like Dutch).  Our guide pointed out the Grand Palace.  King Phillip and Queen Matilda were out for the day so unfortunately we couldn't meet them !  The Mannekin-Pis (peeing boy statue) had the biggest crowds.  Every day they dress the boy in a different costume and today's fashion statement seemed to be an outfit in the colors of the Belgian flag.

The chocolate shops were everywhere and we enjoyed the free samples  We checked out a few lace shops. These days the lace made by the Belgians is rarer and very expensive.  We were told that lots of lace is imported from poorer countries.  There were comic strips characters painted on some of the buildings.  Belgium has produced some of the world's most popular comic characters, including Tintin and the Smurfs. 

Group picture in Brussels - warmer sunny day!

We had a lovely lunch of traditional Belgium pork sausage on a bed of smashed potatoes containing veggies.  The town was very crowded because its the start of a 3-day weekend, Pentecost.  Even though the country is Catholic, most of the young people attend church only on significant Church holydays or for Baptism or Confirmation.  We found this true of Germany also.  The Belgians are proud to host the EU and that peace has endured for the most part since the end of WWII.  



Chocolate shops everywhere



Lace shop displaying its wares

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Bruges

Bruges' lovely canals

Bruges is known as the "Venice of the North" and when we walked into the town this morning, it did remind me of Venice with its beautiful canals, cafes, Bell Tower and cobbled streets.  Swans were swimming everywhere on one part of the canal while the chocolate shops were doing a booming tourist business.  Our guide hit the top spots - the beautiful Church of Our Lady where we enjoyed viewing Michelangelo's sculpture, Madonna and Child.  The Begijnhof, a women's Benedictine retreat was interesting with its tree houses that were built for reflection.  The group had a wonderful lunch and many of us enjoyed strolling around window shopping and people watching. 

Swans on the waterways

Belgium has 120 different varieties of beer and over 580 brands - more than any other countries.  It's interesting that each beer is served in its own particular glass that has been designed exactly for it.  Since we were in the city of beer connoisseurs, some of us decided to participate in beer tasting at one of the local breweries.  The variety

100's of beers

is endless - there is even coconut beer! 

Michelango masterpiece

Bruges name comes from the Viking word for wharf.  Right from the start, Bruges was a trading center and in the 14th century became the most important cloth market in northern Europe.  It declined in the 16th century because its harbor silted up.  Then, in the 19th century, a new port, Zeebrugge, brought vitality back to the city and today tourism helps it prosper.  It is uniquely well-preserved and fun to wonder around. 

Would you believe chocolate owls

With our host, Roger Longhorn

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Visiting Belgium Coast Friendship Force

Ghent's water front

We left Cologne on the 11 AM train and even though there is a train strike, the German Railway decided to run its "international" destination trains.  So, off we went and arrived in Oostende, a beautiful Belgian port city on the North Sea.  Since it was dinner time, the club had a lovely pot luck for us all at the home of their president, Marie Paule Blonde.  I tried a cherry beer that

President, Marie Paule

tasted more like soda than beer with a little zing - very good.  Beer is their national drink and even the ladies indulge liberally.  Our host, Roger Longhorn, took us to his home and set us up in a nice bedroom with a private bath.  He's an American from Iowa married to Flo, who is a resident of the UK.  They've lived in Europe almost 39 years in different countries (UK, Luxembourg, and of course, Belgium). 

Today we had a wonderful time touring the medieval city of Ghent.  It became wealthy from the textile and grain trades and for a time, was one of the biggest cities in Europe.  During this prosperous time, it erected ornate houses and grand churches. 

Joanne with Renate demonstrating Ghent candy noses

Eventually, its fortunes fell, but today it is a thriving city and is home to Belgium's biggest university.  One of the club's members, Arlette, is a professional tour guide.  She took us on a fantastic walking tour and covered the highlights - The Church of St Nicholas, the Belfy (with a dragon rather than a cross on top!), and a renown altar piece, Van Eychk's Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (circa 1432).  The day finished with a guided boat tour along the city's canals and sampling a Belgian waffle. 

Belgian waffle with ice cream

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