CRESTED BUTTE & PAGOSA SPRINGS

The route we chose to take from Glenwood Springs to Crested Butte took us primarily on a dirt road over a mountain pass.  The views were well worth it.  Colorado is gorgeous this time of year. 

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Driving over Kebler Pass

Crested Butte is a real old west town set against the magnificent backdrop of Mt. Crested Butte.  We stayed at the Elevation Hotel at the foot of it.  It's a beautiful hotel with a fantastic gym and spa -- another winner from Skyauction!   The weather was a little cooler here and we enjoyed leisurely mornings, time for the gym and the indoor pool, whirlpool, sauna and steam.  The town is small and easily walkable from one end to the other.  

Crested Butte

The highlight of our time here was doing the Zip Line Course.   We were well and safely outfitted for the 5 various zip line crossings and walking the rope bridges.   After the first time of stepping off into thin air (literally at this elevation) it got easier.  It was great fun and definitely thrilling.   

 
          The zip line & ropes course at Crested Butte

With Alan in Pagosa Springs

For the final segment of our trip, it was on to visit our friend Alan in Pagosa Springs.  He was a fellow world cruiser and we often wonder where we would be right now if it weren't for the friends we met on the Voyager who encouraged us to visit them this summer in Colorado.    Thanks Julia, Frank and Alan! 


HEALTH TIP:  We picked up and have been reading THE CHINA STUDY.  It is the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted.  Forget all the conflicting reports on health, diet and nutrition.  I think this book has the facts backed by extensive research.   

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, COLORADO

Geri's Website

Biking along the Colorado River

Whitewater rafting on the Colorado River

In preparing for our month in Colorado, I came across a town called Glenwood Springs.  Sounded like there was lots to do there, so I booked a week.  Shortly thereafter, Glenwood Springs was named the most fun town in America by a Rand McNally/USA      Today survey.  And they're right!  

We rode bikes along the beautiful Colorado    River one day and went white wafer rafting on it the next.  Then we rode segways up Red  mountain.  We visited the Adventure Park and rode the alpine slide which is actually a very high speed roller coaster.  Perhaps nothing took more courage than boarding a   giant swing that sent us soaring out 1,300 feet over the valley.  One minute we were looking at sky and the next straight down at earth.  



After all the activity, we were happy to take a leisurely drive to Aspen the day before we headed off to our next adventure in Crested Butte. 

Riding segways up Red Mountain

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:  You can tell a lot about a person by their belongings.  (from the book BLINK by Malcolm Gladwell)

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA - FORT COLLINS, COLORADO

Queen Mary 2 docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Geri's website

Keystone, Colorado

    We are officially homeless now!   We sold our condo in Boca Raton just prior to the World Cruise, but the deal was contingent upon being able to rent it back for 2 months.  So, after disembarking from the Regent Voyager in Southampton, we flew back to Florida.  Even though we sold the apartment fully furnished, there was still so much 'stuff' to sort, give away, throw away, pack away and move into storage.  Fortunately, right in the middle, we had a brief reprieve.  I was asked to lecture on the Queen Mary 2, a round trip

cruise from New York City over the July 4  holiday. Then it was back to work.  In addition to packing and moving, I was developing a couple of new lectures and laying out our schedule for the next 5 months.

Keystone, Colorado

     On August 7, we said our final goodbye to the Yacht & Racquet Club of Boca Raton and, feeling free as birds, we flew off to Colorado for a month.  First stop: Keystone, Colorado.  What an idyllic place to relax and unwind.  The scenery is gorgeous, the weather was magnificent.   We took the chairlift to the top of the mountain and hiked the loop trail.  A little more strenuous than walking the beautiful trails that run along the     Snake River. 

At Frank & Julia's mountain home

     On Aug. 12, we drove up to Fort Collins to   spend a week with dear friends.  We met Frank & Julia during the World Cruise.  They were on the first 2 segments and we hit it off from Day 1.  They could not have made us feel more at home, and a gorgeous home it is.  Lots of laughs and good conversation while Julia spoiled us with her fabulous cooking.  We also visited their beautiful mountain home. 
TRAVEL TIP: I love and have had great success with www.skyauction.com.  It's like ebay but you bid on hotels, flights, etc. Aside from the bid price, hotels charge a daily tax & service charge, usually $39 or $49.  Skyauction charges a one time $20 processing fee.  Be sure to: 1) read the small print for dates of availability or any extra charges i.e. valet, resort fees. 2) cross check expedia/orbitz or the hotel's site for specials and promos. 3) read traveler's reviews on tripadvisor or expedia. 

     





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ROME - SOUTHAMPTON 5/24 - 6/7/11

It is so good to be back In Europe.  After seeing so much of the world on this trip – from the very poor in Cambodia to the very rich in Dubai, I can say that there is nothing like the history and charm of Europe.  In Italy, France, Spain, we visited medieval towns, modern cities and harborside villages.   

Spending 2 days in Bordeaux, France was a real treat.  The weather was perfect.  We were docked along the Garonne River and could follow a marvelous bike/skate/walk way for miles along the river’s edge.  The historic part of town is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and was in easy walking distance.  The surrounding wine country dotted with chateaux is idyllic.  The Bordeaux area has 287,000 acres of vineyards, produces 960 million bottles of wine a year and brings in 14.5 billion Euros a year.  Not far from the city of Bordeaux is the 13^th century city of St. Emilion.  Cobblestone streets are lined with wine stores and French cheeses.  In the center is a gigantic underground church carved out of limestone.  

Well, this brings us to the end of our 145 day world cruise.  It has been exciting, educational and fun.  But we are ready to get on with the next chapter of our lives.  As many of you know, we sold our condo in Boca Raton and closed on it the day before we left on this trip.  We sold it furnished and fortunately, can rent it back for 2 months upon our return.   Then it is off to Colorado for a month to visit friends, a quick trip back to Boca to change suitcases and fly to New York to board the new Queen Elizabeth.  I will be lecturing onboard as it sails up the New England coast to Canada and across the Atlantic to Southampton.  So check back now and then to follow our upcoming adventures as nomads. 

JORDAN – ROME 5/14 – 5/24/11

Ron at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem

Ruins below old city & mural of the way Jerusalem was

The Red Sea has become a popular vacation area and we got to enjoy 2 beautiful days of sun and sand at a beautiful beach resort in Safaga, Egypt while some of our ship mates went off to visit Luxor and Cairo.  Fortunately, we did an extensive tour 3 week of Egypt several years ago so did not feel the need to make the long trip from the port.  Tourism is down 70 – 90% in Egypt.  Sharm El Sheik, our next stop in Egypt was like a ghost town.  Miles of beautiful beaches lined with hotels and outdoor restaurants were virtually empty. 

Then it was on to Israel and 3 days of 11 hour tours.  Tiring but well worth it.  We saw many of the highlights.  In Jerusalem, we visited the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane.  Entering the Old City through narrow walkways, we went first to the Holy Sepulcher perched on Golgotha and believed to be the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection.  Afterwards, we visited the Wailing Wall.  In the afternoon, we drove to Bethlehem to see the Church of the Nativity built over a grotto where it is believed Jesus was born. 

Believed to be spot Jesus was born in Bethlehem

The Dead Sea

The next day we drove to Masada where we saw the ruins of an amazing fortress and palace built atop a mountain under the direction of King Herod.  We were able to take a cable car to the top but slaves had to carry large cisterns of water up the winding mountain path.  Here Herod enjoyed a palace built on 3 levels where he could look out over the Dead Sea.  The surrounding city had baths and homes for thousands of citizens as well as store houses with stocks that could last for years.    

After lunch at a hotel, we were able to go swimming in the Dead Sea.  What an incredible feeling to be so buoyant.  On our drive back to the ship, we passed Qumran where a Bedouin shepherd boy found the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947, the oldest known Biblical manuscripts in the world. 

On the third day in Israel our ship moved from Ashdod to Haifa and from there we were able to visit many of the sites where Jesus lived and traveled: Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee, Cana, the River Jordan and Nazareth.  The final port on this segment was Sorrento, Italy.  Italy never fails to enchant. 

Qumran: where Dead Sea scrolls were found (the little holes)

DUBAI – JORDAN 5/3 – 5/13/11

6 star Burj Al Arab in Dubai

Barefoot at Grand Mosque Oman

The Treasury at Petra, Jordan

Our first visit to Dubai and all I can say is: Wow!  This former Bedouin fishing village discovered oil in 1961, and the financial windfall that followed quickly transformed it into an ultra modern city.  The city is now home to over 2 million people but only 17% are natives.  Indians and Philippinos make up the bulk of the residents from other countries who come to Dubai to work as cheap labor for the 500 hotels, restaurants, residences etc.  Recognizing that the oil would eventually run dry – and it did – the government turned its attention to creating a worldwide financial/commercial hub and glamorous tourist destination. The construction of Palm Islands – manmade branches of land reaching into the sea and filled with high rise condos  -- has slowed down with the global financial state of recent years.  But on the drawing board if not already started are Airport City, a huge sports complex, the world’s biggest Disney World and much more.

Obelisk Tomb at Petra

We cruised the Arabian Gulf from Dubai to Muscat, the capital of Oman and then Salalah.  Oman has made great progress from a feudal state to an economically sound, modern country under the guidance of the Sultan who has been on the throne for 40 years.  Here Sunnis and Shites live peaceably together and worship in the same mosque.  Like Dubai, Oman will eventually run out of oil and is pursuing development as a tourist mecca.

Fossilized animal bones within Petra canyon walls

We were ready for some leisurely sea days but these were particularly active ones.  Twice a year Regent sponsors PTV (Public television) at Sea.  We had the pleasure of hearing political commentator Charlie Cook, journalist Jackie Lyden and Washington Post’s top photo journalist.  But the highlight for us was actor Michael York’s presentations and the great pleasure of having dinner with Michael and his wife Pat, a world renowned photographer.   We look forward to seeing them again the next time we are in Los Angeles. 

One of the main reasons we decided to take this world cruise was the stop in Jordan and opportunity to see Petra, considered the eighth wonder of the world.  Around 600 BC, Arabs settled here and carved a massive city out of rock and limestone.  A one mile walk through  a magnificent canyon with 240 foot high cliffs opens upon the Treasury, a massive building that was actually a mausoleum.  An open Roman style theater seats over 3,000 people.  Petra flourished as a center for spice trade and was once the home of as many as 30,000 people. 

BANGKOK - DUBAI 4/10 - 5/3/11

This beautiful python weighed close to 20 pounds

Not all of Southeast Asia is as described in my last blog.  Indeed, Singapore is just the opposite: Exceedingly clean, well run and economically successful. With a population of 5 million people, Singapore is highly controlled democracy and one of the busiest cargo ports in the world. Our Round Island Tour showed us parts of the island we had not seen before. 

Tiny fish nibble at our feet to clean away dead skin 

Another Asian success story is Malaysia.  Our first ever visit to Kuala Lumpur was a happy surprise.  It is not quite as clean and pristine as Singapore but it too is thriving economically and is actually much more reasonable to live in.  The country has about 28 million people, a mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian people.  Like Singapore, it was invaded and occupied by the Japanese during WW II.   It was fun to be driven around the city of Penang in trishaws.  We had tea at the Eastern Orient Hotel -- designed by the same architect who did Raffles in Singapore.

The beautiful Eastern Oriental Hotel in Penang, Malaysia

Sri Lanka is finally at peace after years of civil warfare.  (Although we heard some fighting broke out after we left.)   It is crowded and poor like most of Asia, but thanks to a government led initiative, the sidewalks and streets are very clean.

Life on Kerala backwaters Cochin, India

India is quite a different story.  What a country of contrasts!  Some of the richest people in the world are Indians.  Yet 900 million of the 1.2 billion population live on $2 or less a day.  Everything about India is colorful and chaotic.  Two of the most fascinating things about India we discovered in Mumbai.  The Dobi Ghat laundry employs 10,000 people.  They pick up your laundry, wash, iron and deliver it back to you.  No item has ever been stolen and it is rare that items are sent to the wrong home.  Then there are the lunch trains.  This defies the imagination…

Dhobi Ghat Laundry Mumbai, India

First of all, imagine over 5,000 people crowding into trains meant to hold about 1,500 people.  These workers may travel up to 3 hours each way to work in Mumbai.  There is not a spare inch on the train to carry lunch buckets.  So laborers pick up their lunches from home in the morning and put them on a later train.  Other laborers pick them up at the train station in Mumbai and deliver them to the work place.  Then the lunch buckets are picked up from the work place around 2pm, put on a train for the journey back, picked up at the station and delivered to the home from whence they came.  The lunch buckets may be handled by up to 15 people in a single day.  How many times has the wrong bucket been delivered?  Once in millions and millions of deliveries.  One can’t help but think these illiterate workers at the Dhobi Ghat and who deliver the lunch buckets could run India better than it is presently being run. 

Our wonderful cabin steward

Nonetheless, India’s economy is growing at the rate of 8.8%.  It has come a long way in recent years, but still has a long way to go.  One reason China surpasses India in virtually every area is that India is a democracy and cannot be as easily governed and controlled as China.  But the place is fascinating and the people are wonderful.  I feel very fortunate that we were able to spend 5 weeks here in 2007 to see and experience so much of Incredible India. 
 

Our first stop in the United Arab Emirates on the Arabian Peninsula was Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman.  It is a dry and barren land but very clean.  We did a Desert Safari.  4 wheel SUVs drove us out to the desert, up, down, over and around the beautiful dunes.  It’s quite a thrill.  The weather now is extremely hot and will continue to be as we make our way into the next segment.