Antarctica – Day 04

Written on October 24, 2022 in Chile

This was our first at sea day, meaning we were sailing and made no stops.  Since this was an uneventful day, we’ll take time to explain this particular cruise. This is not a normal cruise – no entertainment, no 24-hour restaurants (i.e. no snacking), no casinos, no shows, etc.  This is what is called an...

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Antarctica – Day 03

Written on October 23, 2022 in Chile

We bid adieu to Santiago this morning, taking a tour to Valparaiso (an hour or so away, on the coast), which is the embarkation point for our expedition trip.  Our first destination was Vina Del Mar, to see the famous Reloj de Flores, a giant flower clock, which was created in 1962 for the World...

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Antarctica – Day 02

Written on October 22, 2022 in Chile

Buenos dias from Santiago, Chile!  Today we started out on a walking tour of Santiago.  Our hotel was downtown and in close proximity to many sites and we were able to cover a lot of ground after breakfast. The first stop was the Palacio de los Tribunales de Justicia de Santiago, which is the building...

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Antarctica – Day 01

Written on October 21, 2022 in Chile

Heading out for lands unknown (unknown to us!).  Thanks to a global pandemic, this trip was cancelled twice so we are beyond excited to enjoy this highly anticipated vacation!  Tim’s mom, Margaret, is joining us for this expedition. We left KC without issues…. Except that Jay, once again, was assigned to a boarding group 2...

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Uzbekistan – Day 11

Written on May 24, 2022 in Uzbekistan

We are winding down our time left in Uzbekistan.  It is now Day 11 – our first full day in Samarkand.   For those that read yesterday’s blog (Day 10), you might remember one of the last pictures that was of a beautifully arranged fruit tray, and how we said we’d come back to this tray…...

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Uzbekistan – Day 10

Written on May 23, 2022 in Uzbekistan

Okay, today’s blog will again be relatively short on sites, as today was another general travel day.  Today was the long ride to Samarkand. A nearby village on our way out was our first stop.  Here we visited a family-owned ceramic workshop.  This workshop has been a multi-generational business, making all forms of ceramic items...

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Uzbekistan – Day 9

Written on May 22, 2022 in Uzbekistan

Another day in Bukhara, Day 9.  We again walked to the bus, on which we headed for the Bolo-Khauz Mosque, near the ARK Fortress.  While the mosque was not yet open (i.e., we couldn’t go in), it was still quite beautiful. While here, Jay did a quick shout-out to her company, Propio Language Services (LS)...

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Uzbekistan – Day 8

Written on May 21, 2022 in Uzbekistan

Ah, a fresh new day in Bukhara, Day 8.  We were also told that today was the start of their “Silk & Spice Festival”, which is a 3-day long local festival, therefore places might be a little more crowded than we’d been used to. We walked to the bus, on which we headed for the...

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Uzbekistan – Day 7

Written on May 20, 2022 in Uzbekistan

Okay, today’s blog will be fairly short, picture sparse, and yea… boring. Today was the day we embarked on the long bus ride to Bukhara, roughly an all day drive. There were a few high points, such as when we pulled over at a high point where we could see nearby Turkmenistan, but all-in-all, a...

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Uzbekistan – Day 6

Written on May 19, 2022 in Uzbekistan

We didn’t mention our hotel yesterday so we’ll have to describe it today.  The hotel was right outside of the south gate to Itchan-Kala Fortress.  It was more of a complex than a traditional hotel.  There were multiple buildings, each like its own hotel with a manned front desk, etc. and we were in the...

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