Category: Pictures and more

I arrived in Tokyo after almost 24 hours traveling.  From Auckland to Hong Kong it was 11 1/2 hours and then it was another 4+ from HK to Tokyo.  Add layovers, waiting around and getting to/from airports, you get pretty close to 24 hours.  Needless to say, I was beat when I got here at 5:30am.  Luckily, just outside arrivals at Haneda International Airport there is a coffee shop with REALLY GOOD coffee.

Tokyo is an enormous city.  About 845 square miles and a population of 9.2+million.  It’s overwhelming when you first arrive.  All of these people knowing exactly where they are going and you are just standing around looking perplexed.  Fortunately, the appearance of a perplexed tourist sparks kindness in the locals.  Several times now I have been approached by locals offering assistance.  It has ALWAYS been appreciated.

Since hotel check-in time wasn’t until 2pm, I dropped off my luggage and walked around the Shinjuku area of the city; mostly in a fog and trying to stay awake.  I walked to the Hanazono shrine which is not famous but is quite pretty.

The second day I braved the subway/metro.  It’s massive and overwhelming at first.  All the lines have names, colors and most important, a giant LETTER for ID purposes. Each station has both a name and a number, which makes it much easier to figure things out.  Once you get the handle on that, navigating the system becomes much less stressful.

After getting a metro card (essential!) and the map, I ventured off to the Imperial Palace…in the rain.  The palace grounds are open t the public and it was very nice to see.  The gardens are lovely, even when not much is in bloom.

After some time walking around the palace grounds in the rain, I took refuge in the modern art museum.  It’s a very nice facility with a lot if information in English.  I loved that almost all the works were from Japanese artists.  This picture was my favorite.

Next, I visited the Sensoji temple and five story pagoda.  This is tourist central.  The temple is still used and I saw a number of people praying, but today it seems more like a tourist trap than a place of worship.  It is still a must see in Tokyo and the weather was cooperating.

There was something going on at the shrine that I was not able to figure out.  In addition to the above women in kimonos, there were two ADORABLE kids in traditional costumes.

 Near the temple, there is another tourist site.  The famous golden turd.  It’s actually supposed to be a flame and it sits on the office building of one of the breweries.  Whatever you think it looks like, there’s no missing it.

Tokyo is known for its Cat Cafes, but you can see a cat anywhere.  I went to the HEDGEHOG Cafe.  Yup, super cute hedgehogs you can hold.  For about $16 you can spend 30 minutes with two of your own cuties.

Near the Hedgehog Cafe is Shibuyu Station and the statue of the world’s most loyal dog, Hachiko, an Akita.  If you don’t know the story, there was a movie made, staring Richard Gere. The cat has become quite famous, too.

Another day I ventured to the Meiji Shrine, which is in a large 170 acre evergreen park.  Perfect for at day that was about 90 degrees F.  The original shrine was built in the early  20th century (1915 – 1920) but was largely destroyed during WWII.  It was rebuilt in 1958.

While at the Meiji shrine I got to see a beautiful bride getting ready for her wedding.  I don’t know much (actually nothing) about Japanese wedding traditions but I enjoyed being able to see something special.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, Tokyo is overwhelming in its size and population. Like all great cities, I am sure this one takes more than 5 days to get to know.  I probably would have seen more and learned a bit more on a tour, but navigating the city on my own has made me feel closer to it.  I could not have done it, however, if it weren’t for the kindness and warmth of the Japanese people.  They go out of their way to help, even when they don’t speak a word of English.  I will end my Tokyo post with my one Japanese word:    Arigatōgozaimashita or  ありがとうございました

Next stop:  Kanazawa

Okay, I know you are getting sick of mountains.  But today I took a HELICOPTER to the top of the glacier.  I just had to share it with you because it was such a great day!

The views from the helicopter and the top of the glacier were incredible.

It was also fun to play in the snow on the top of the mountain!

So I won’t bore you with any more commentary.  Here are some quick pictures to see what I saw today.  If you are not interested, you wont hurt my feelings.

Have a great day!  And remember, you can comment and send me messages directly from the post or email!

I came back to Santiago for a couple of days before flying on to New Zealand.  Once again, I got lucky.  It rained the day before I got back here and there was more snow in the mountains.  The biggest benefit to a day of rain is that the skies are clear (it washes the air, as they say).

Since it was such a clear and gorgeous afternoon, I went up to the top of the Costanera Center Tower (the building whose twin is in SF).  The actual name of the attraction is Sky Costanera.  It’s pretty overpriced for an elevator ride but the views are incredible.

Even The Penguin was in awe of the view.

The next day I visited the Museum of Memory and Human Rights.   If you are unfamiliar with what happened in Chile (and the US involvement) between 1973, I encourage you to read this:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/14/world/americas/chile-coup-cia-museum.html

You could also watch the movie Missing, starring Jack Lemon and Sissy Spacek.  It’s very good.

Before I talk about the museum, I want to tell you a story.  In 1987 (yes, 31 years ago), I came to Santiago for the first time.  I was traveling solo around South America for the summer and no, my mother was not thrilled.  I arrived in downtown Santiago very late at night.  My bus from Mendoza, Argentina was delayed at the border due to snow.  I had the address of the local Youth Hostel, but my information was out of date.  Pinochet’s government had closed all youth hostels the previous year (which I only learned later).

Luckily, I was in a taxi and my taxi driver was doing everything to help me.  We asked around and were given an address.  It turned out to be a rooming house for female students at an international studies program in Santiago.  They were horrified that I was out on the streets alone that late and insisted I stay with them.  I ended up staying five days and learned quite a bit about what was going on in Chile.

One night, a group of us were drinking tea in the kitchen and the national police (Carabineros) pulled up in front of the building.  I saw terror on the faces around the table.  The Carabineros were looking for someone next door.  We saw them take a young gentleman away.  The women I was with knew him and told me they would never see him again.

It is one thing to read about what went on all over this continent in the 70’s and 80’s.  It was another thing to live it.  I got a small taste that night in Santiago but too many lived with terror on a daily basis.  Since there are still some 1,000 people missing in Chile, many are still living it.  The Museum of Memory and Human Rights’ mission is to ensure that by remembering the past we do not repeat it.  It was heart wrenching to see and learn from many recently declassified documents.

The museum itself is very tasteful and very well curated.  It does not try to sugarcoat any of the atrocities but also does not strive to make the visitor uncomfortable or depressed.

The dictatorship lasted from 1973 to 1990.  It was only in recent years that the CIA has admitted its involvement in the coup and the extent to which it supported the Pinochet regime.

My final day in Santiago was spent just walking around and visiting another museum:  The Museum of Contemporary Art.  It’s located in a lovely building next to the Quinta Normal park.  Much of the collection is too “installation art” for my taste, but there are some wonderful paintings and several good sculptures.

My next stop is New Zealand.  Stay tuned and stay happy!

I am off the boat and back in Quito for a few more hours.  I have a flight at 4:15am tomorrow morning to start what will be the travel day from hell.  I go from Quito to Lima, Lima to Santiago and then Santiago to Calama.  For those of you unfamiliar with South American geography, it would be like flying from New York to Dallas via Chicago and Los Angeles.

The Galapagos were AMAZING.  I am still sorting through the photos for a proper post, but below are some teasers.  I think I took 500 picutres of Sea Lions and even more of the famous blue footed boobie (is that not the best name in the world).  Don’t worry, I won’t post all of them.

I also think I lost some picutres.  I had an issue with an SD card being corrupted.  I have not lost all hope of recovering them.  One that card were pictures of the Galapagos penguin. Something tells me St. Joseph had something to do with the missing picutres.

Anyway, as I said, tomorrow is a LOOONG travel day so I will have time to sort through the remaining pictures and tell you all about my visit to the Galapagos.  Here are some picutres to whet your appetite:

The blue footed boobie

A beautiful beach

Pink Flamingo (Hello to Ashbury Terrace and Upper Terrace)

Sea Lions (they are smaller than the California species)