Naples today, Valetta Malta tomorrow

Valetta Malta
A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Hello,

Naples today,

Valletta Malta tomorrow.

We have nine ports in 12 days, so there is lots to see.

Wyona

Ryanair -- Photos of Rio

Walking by a man selling nuts in Rio I could not resist. The peanuts are covered in crusty sweet coating and little pieces of coconut are covered in the same. So delicious.

 On returning to Rio we searched out the nut man and took a healthy supply back to the room for the trip. Here the nuts are mixed with a few other treasures. The cheesecake lollipops were a delight on the ship. We tried to eat some everyday.

Here the olympic stadium for the Olympics looks great but the rest of Rio is still under a lot of construction. How they can be ready in time, I don't know.

Our stop in Salvador Bahia had a huge elevator (279ft), dividing the lower town from the upper town.
Here is a street scene from the upper town. You see the old and the new.

Ryanair -Beware before you book

 We left amazing Barcelona to take a Ryanair Flight to Rome. Ryanairs moto is ‘point to point’, no frills cheapest fare. We paid $150.00 Canadian for 2 flights oneway. Good Deal!  Went online to checkin, one can do this 30 days before but you pay extra if you do that. So I went on again 7 days before to checkin online. We were travelling in low season so prices were less. 1 bag of 20 kilos= 30 euros, 1 bag of 15 kilos= 20 euros, to pick seat=4 euros, priority seating so you have a place for hand luggage=6 euros. I ended up paying more for luggage and seating than our seats originally cost but I did it for Greg’s peace of mind and mine but not so much mine. I just sucked it up and paid with my credit card online. Could not print out the boarding passes but I saw them.

Greg reading in our cruise room.

Greg studying the map in Rome in our hotel room.

And lunch in Rome consists of cheese, drink bread and homemade salad. 

Got to the line to drop off bags and because I did not print out the boarding passes, it was going to cost 15 euros each ($25Can) to have boarding passes printed out. I just kept refusing and finally when the third person came to tell me I had to do that, I stepped out of line, opened my ipad and started checking in again to find where I saw the boarding passes. (I had to sign in on Barcelona Airport wifi and needed to pay money so checked the free box and then somehow read I would get a free iphone in the mail. Knew something was wrong. What had I joined?) After half an hour or more, I got online and I found the boarding passes again. Showed them to the guy and he said OK. Hah!  I kept that 50 dollars in my pocket.

Then we had to show the boarding passes when checking in with security. I had kept my ipad open to the passes. However, one pass got read and then my ipad said I had to refresh it. So I stepped out of line again and searched again until I found the passes again. Got through security. Then I had to guard my ipad so I could get on the plane. I managed. Put the ipad in my bag. Then had to show the boarding passes again to get on the plane. Found the passes again.

Somewhere during all of this I read where one could download the Ryanair air app. But as Marcia knows, I could not find the app store. What a nightmare. Greg and I were so happy when we finally did get on the flight. Next time, I will think twice before I book Ryanair, the airline for cattle!

Stazione Termani
Rome

We are here in Rome at Rome Accommodation ... a hotel?

It is the size of a room in London.

We stayed here before and Greg liked it.

The only good about it is it is close to Termini Train Station.

We went for gelato tonight at the place Moiya found.

We bought a baguette and hunk of cheese before and chunked it on the way to gellato.

We were up early this morning.

Flying Ryanair is a nightmare. Will write about it later. Too tired now.

Hard not to want one of each!

We are safe and here until Apr. 27 early morning.

 Love,

Wyona

Sugar Loaf Mountain - answers to questions

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From Wyona:

To answer Ivan's question,"How many fit inside"? This is a photo from inside. Greg thinks more than 30 people can go in one car.

And to answer Jamie's question, "How big is the landing"? This is a green walk on the middle landing. This is only the first level of the landing. There is a drinking/restaurant on each level, green trees, flowers, walkways. More room than it looks like.

And to Trent who believes that helicopters can fly past his bedroom window when he is dressing and see him, here is a helicopter just by the top of Sugar Loaf

And after a hot, hot day going up to Sugar Loaf, we sat down for a salad, the first green thing in five days. 

Rio's favelas...neighborhoods going up mountains

In Rio, the rich people lived in the valleys. The poor people really owned no land so they built their homes going up the mountains. These neighbourhoods are called 'favelas' which used to mean slum. However, they are built well and are now part of the culture. Greg walked up the mountainside and took these photos. There are cement stairs all the way up to the top.

Here Greg is looking down at where he came from.

They decorate, paint and have art all over their walls and fences.

This is a picture taken from the highway. You can see the favela going up the mountain. It has taken me over 3 hours to load these photos. The ship was rocking around last night and all day today. Just hang on as you weave across the hall. 

Dinner is waiting. 

Wyona

Rhapsody of the Seas

From Wyona:

... the outside of the Rhapsody of the Seas ...

After my marathon the first day, I had to limit my walking on the cobblestones.

Greg did the historical sites of the city on his own.

From São Paulo we took a 2.5 hour transfer to the port where we get on the Rhapsody of the Seas, Royal Caribbean which will take us to Barcelona.

... the inside of the ship ...

Yesterday the email was down at the hotel so it was the wrong day for blogging.

On the ship there will be some kind of Internet package ... so hang on.

Wyona

Rio to Sao Paulo to Rio

... iconic image of Sao Paulo ...

From Wyona:

We were up at 4:30 a.m. today to catch the plane to Sao Paulo.

We are on the ship now leaving Sao Paulo and going back to Rio for the day tomorrow.

Greg is tired and already snoring.

Wyona

Sugar Loaf Mountain

We found our way to Urca and then took a two cable car rides up to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain. The view is spectacular and we had a beautiful clear day.

This view is looking out of the cable car ride 2 to the landing of the first cable car ride. On the top left side of the photo you can see the Copacabana beach. 

Here comes the cable car. There are no seats, just standing room.

Look across the bay looking towards the tallest monolith in the distance. This is Corcovado Moutain which is one of the new seven wonders of the world 

Corcovado Mountain

I started and almost finished a post on Sugar Loaf Mountain but something happened.

I lost it so now I will do CORCOVADO Mountain, one of the new seven wonders of the world.

We passed a number of favelas on the way to our destination.

Favela is a word for slum but this has changed in the last thirty years.  98% of homes are now made of brick, concrete and reinforced steel and 99% have concrete or roof tile roofs. These homes crawl up mountains and fill the valleys. They go on forever and ever.

 I had to take a picture of Greg's back when we exited the bus.

We took a train up the mountain. The view from the top of Corcovado. .

Corcovado is 710 meters above sea level. Sugar Loaf Mountain is 400 meters above sea level.

And at the top is a very tall statue of Jesus Christ. I am standing on the steps. Can you find Waldo?

The climb is quite steep and travels through the rainforest. The rain forest is very different from the rainforest in Malaysia.

Standing next to the rainforest in Malaysia one can hardly here the person standing next to them because of the moises of the birds, monkeys, insects and whatever. The rainforest that we went through in Brazil was very quiet. When Greg and I were at the top, I told Greg to listen carefully and he could here the sounds of the jungle. He listened and then told me it was the sound of the escalator below us speaking. What a disappointment. I thought I had such a keen ear.

The Beautiful Trees

From Wyona:

Greg and I have been travelling back and forth along the boulevard a number of times a day to Urca, Sugar Loaf Mt., Cococabana, Ipanema, and Corovado to Christ Redeemer (one of the new seven wonders of the world).

I spied some orange tree trunks along the way one day. It took us a few times before we could locate the same grove so we were ready to jump off the bus and examine them.

I tried to identify the trees on online. The best I could come up with is a manzanita but this tree is not indigenous to Brazil.

Help me Glen.

The vegetation here is fabulous. I never get tired of looking at the trees.

If I were a bird or insect I would not want to tackle and of these trees or the flowering bush.

Such beautiful flowers stemming from prickles.

And last is the trees that jumped out in the forest to scare little children.

Wyona

Rio and Copacabana

We left our hotel today in Rio to go to a market and just ride the bus to Copacabana. Just a little Art here. It is everywhere in S America. It is beautiful.


It is hard for Greg to pass a church without going in or taking a picture.

I much prefer to sit with the congregation. This was just a little church courtyard with pews, preacher and congregation. The statues were adorable. I could not keep my hands off the lady with the pearls sitting next to me.

After the market we hopped a local bus to Copacabana. We took the same trip yesterday on a different bus. Just get on the bus and take a chance. Just imagine Barry Manilow singing along the way.

The beaches on the way to Copacabana are beautiful. Many of the men do not wear shirts at all. Funny how Greg noticed that right away but I missed it. The sidewalks are inlaid with tiny flat cobblestones that are not easy for me to walk on.

Here is a view from the bus of Sugarloaf Mt. and Corcovado Mountain. There is a cogwheel cable car up Corcovado Mt. (the short mt.) and then a cable car from the top of Corcovado Mt. to Sugarloaf Mt. Rio is spectacular for the lush mountains and monoliths of granite jutting from the sea. We are on our way up to Sugarloaf tomorrow morning. It is hot here.

Life of Travel

Wyona and Greg started traveling the world 38 years ago.  After retirement they continue to travel and this is where they will document their tourism experiences.  Enjoy!

We began in Alberta. 

We continue to enjoy our home town.

Visiting the Costwolds, UK before retirement.