Living in the World

Hi

Well, after getting thoroughly lost, we finally arrived at our hotel in Virginia Beach.  We were beginning to wonder if VB actually had a beach, but indeed it does.  It's typical Atlantic - miles long and straight but this town is old and the beachfront is well developed.  It has a wide beachfront walkfront and the morning I was out, full of walkers, joggers, and even a group of yummy mommies - young women, probably 15 in total jogging as a group with their baby carraiges out front. 

A few interesting differences - first we noticed all the aircraft overhead and it turns out this is the cornerstone of US Naval Aviation.  There is an outdoor museum along the beachfront which details the Naval Air Station Oceana and its role in training, starting in 1938 on to today's activities.    Every other few blocks there was a break in the blocks with interesting sculptures - one of neptune, for example, and also seashells, fish, and other displays every few blocks.  It makes for an interesting walk.

Another unusual aspect is ladybugs. I noticed one on my shoe, and then three more on my clothes.  Then I started to look and there are hundreds flying around, squashed on the ground, and all over the place. I've never experienced this before.  Of course , and  ladybugs  are used for natural pest control as they eat bugs, but it certainly is different to go for an oceanfront stroll and come back with ladybugs on my clothing. 

Off to buy a pedestrial/driving GPS.  No more getting lost.

Mahara

Hi

Well, it's been months since I've blogged.  We were in Buenos Aires for three months and just moved to Chile last week.

We were pleasantly surprised, as we'd read all sorts of other blogs about petty crime and watching your back.  We found a pretty good hotel through Trip Advisor, although the room was small and so they offered us a one-bed across the street for $80 US a night.  Nice to have a kitchen and livingroom.

Yesterday we went up to the Chilean equivilent of Whister. This popular ski resort is about an hour's drive from Chile. What's a bit scary are the 60 hairpin curves up and down, each one marked so after a while we started to count them. curva # 24, curva #25, etc.  It's late summer here so there is no snow and the place was mostly deserted. Only one restaurant was open, charging high prices, but the food was good.  There's also a lake- the return trip is over an hour's walk and we didn't have the time. You can either eat or walk, but not both. 

The view is spectacular.  It sorts of reminds me of the Grand Canyon, striated levels of earth, although the colours weren't vivid. We saw an Andean Condor, a huge bird whose wingspan can be three metres, and surprisingly, wild horses. This ski mountain has four ski stations and we went to the top, Valle Nevada, which is about 3,000 metres.  I didn't notice the thin air but Ken did.  Apparently about 300,000 people live up there in the snow season.  We met a couple of women who own a resort there who were contemplating opening year round.

We are off today for a six hour bus ride across the Andes to Mendoza Argentia.  Apparently this bus ride on the top of the world is not to be missed.  We'll just stay overnight and return tomorrow.

Mahara