Paula and I made our first "trip" shopping expedition yesterday. We went to REI looking for comfortable, easy to pack, and wrinkle resistant clothes. I found two pairs of pants and a pair of shorts along with a pair of shoes. The pants are the quick dry synthetics, very light weight and comfortable - Patagonia or NorthFace, I think. Paula found two nice skirts that she can pull over anything and they look nice; one black and one khaki. They had a lot of nice shirts but we will save those for another trip.
Today we have set aside for filling out more forms. We received another packet in the mail from NG (along with a bill) with the form for our visa application.
Paula has one more shot to get and I will finish my typhoid pills tomorrow.
A journal of our travels and experiences.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
IPad
Alan is home from college for a few days and showed me how to get the text box active for iPads. I hope to be able to use he iPad on our trip. If I can figure it out, the iPad will be much more convenient (and more fun). I still need an adapter to upload pictures but that should be a snap.
In other news, I finished my shots (only needed two - poor Paula has already had eight or ten). We finally got the ten passport photos for visas. I think we need to send them to NG later this month.
In other news, I finished my shots (only needed two - poor Paula has already had eight or ten). We finally got the ten passport photos for visas. I think we need to send them to NG later this month.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Catching Up
I've been remiss in my postings - sorry. Las Vegas was great. We saw two shows; Beatles Love and Jersey Boys. Both were great and well worth the ticket price. The weather was warm and sunny; highs in the 70's with 50's at night. We laid by the Bellagio pool two days. My red tummy is proof of the sunny weather. While the weather and shows were great, our gambling skills were pitiful. What the hell, two out of three isn't bad.
Paula and I bought two more tickets. We attended a CASA charity gala and had the winning bid on two first class tickets on Continental Airlines for anywhere they fly in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Hawaii. We are thinking Hawaii but are looking for input. Any thoughts you guys have will be appreciated. The tickets are good for a year so it will probably be next winter before we book another big trip.
Paula had six more shots in preparation for our trip this fall. I need to get moving on mine. I think I only need the typhoid, yellow fever and prescription for malaria pills.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Viva Las Vegas
Well, we have our boarding passes and drink tickets in hand. I'm packed and Paula is snoozing - I guess she is planning on an early morning suitcase slam. We leave for Vegas around noon and will be home Wednesday night. We have tickets for two shows; Jersey Boys and Beatles Love. The rest of the time we plan to lay by the pool, read, and enjoy the casinos.
Wish us luck!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Paper Work and Decisions
Paula and I spent several hours filling in forms for the trip; insurance, health, emergency contacts, etc... We also had to decide on the details of the trip. We have choices or alternate destinations at some of the stops. In Papua New Guinea we have four choices; the Southern Highlands, Sepik River Basin, Tufi Dive Resort, or the Western Highlands. Tough choices, we want to do them all. We decided on the Tufi Dive Resort. It is in the Oro Province, a land of volcanic fjords covered with lush jungles and waterfalls. We'll spend two days snorkeling and exploring the fjords by outrigger canoe. We'll also have time to hike in the rain forest. The toughest decision for us were the four options in the Serengeti, Tanzania. We were able to eliminate two of the choices easily but almost had to flip a coin on the remaining two options. We quickly eliminated the Kempinski Bililia Lodge. The lodge is located within the Serengeti National Park but it is a new, modern facility. Plush and very nice but we wanted more of a safari experience. The next option we eliminated was the mobile tent camp. This sounded good but came in second to the other tent option, the Serengeti Migration Camp. We had it narrowed down to two, the Serengeti Migration camp or the Ngorongoro Crater. The Ngorongoro Crater offers a lodge on the rim of the crater (8,000' elevation). The crater is a World Heritage site and has a permanent population of over 30,000 animals including rhino. The Ngorongoro Crater also offers the opportunity to meet Meave or Louise Leakey. We went back and forth but finally decided on the Serengeti Migration Camp. It is located in a valley on the banks of the Grumeti River with views over the Serengeti hills and the plains of the Maasai Mara. We'll stay in raised tent with bathroom. The tents are furnished with local materials and fabrics. NG referred to it as "an intimate safari experience".
Our next decision is London. The trip ends in London. We originally planned on staying in London for several days to a week but now wonder if we'll be ready for home after 26 days away. Paula pointed out that London is an easy trip which we can take anytime. It may be more fun to plan stand alone trip to England. We still need to book air fair to Washington, DC and home from London so we need to decide soon.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Needles
Arrgh - we need shots. Lots of shots. Paula went to the CDC web site and was able to find all the places in Houston that offers the various vaccinations we need. We lucked out, there is a place nearby in Sugar Land. I need to find my old WHO shot card and see which shots I've had, which need renewing and, which ones I can avoid. Poor Paula, I think she needs them all.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Idea
A friend recommended writing a blog to document our upcoming trip. This will allow friends and family to follow along or not. It also saves us the hassle of inadvertently leaving someone off the email distribution. I'm hopeful that the blog will act as a journal and Paula and I can refer back to it in the years to come (to settle arguments about where we were when...).
My plan is to get the blog set-up and learn how to use it before we leave in October.
Sunday, December 31, 2000
Galapagos Colonisation
I found the following interesting and wanted to share this information.
Oceanic islands, unlike continental islands, start out with no life, in other words sterile, and gain life and organisms by long distance dispersal. Any plant or animal now native to Galapagos must have arrived to the islands by one of several means; by sea or air. Air, of course includes organisms wind blown or carried by birds.
There is a striking unbalance of the flora and fauna of the Galapagos. Only a small selection of the of the groups of plants and animals on the South American continent are present on the island. The islands have a large number of reptiles but no amphibians; many birds but almost no mammals. The same observation can be made with plants; plants such as pines, palms, and plants with large seeds are not found on the islands while ferns, grasses, dandelions and the like are abundant and in numbers greater than would be expected.
The Islands are well located to receive species by both current and wind. The trade winds and currents both act to carry species from the mainland.
Transport by sea is by swimming or rafting. Rafts of vegetation are commonly washed into the sea from the mainland riverbanks. Most rafts, however, become water logged and sink well before reaching the islands. Rafting does offer a reason for the large number of reptiles and lack of amphibians in thenIslands. Reptiles require little water whereas amphibians would quickly dehydrate and die before reaching the Islands. Swimming should be self explanatory.
Transport by air can also be broken into two methods; windblown and transport by birds. The small spores of many plants, such as ferns, lichen, and mosses are easily dispersed by wind. Small insects and spiders are frequently dispersed over many miles by wind. Bats and land birds, considered as weak fliers, were mostly likely blown to the islands. The arrival of seabirds poses no problems since most sea birds are considered excellent long distant travelers. The most important delivery of plants and seeds, however, is believed to be by birds, either as "hitch-bikers" or in the birds gut.
For plants to become established, they must find suitable habitat. The plant types most likely to survive are weeds with a wide tolerance. The Galapagos flora is characterized by weedy species.
In addition to finding a "friendly" environments, plants need to be pollinated to survive. Plants hat require a specific pollinator (insect or animal) can't survive unless the pollinator is successfully transported to the Island. This is one explanation for the lack of plants with large, colorful flowers in the archipelago. An example are orchids. Small seeds that can easily be transported to the islands but they have specialized pollinators. As a result, there are few orchids in the Galapagos Islands. There are very few pollinating insects in the Islands so the more common and abundant plants are wind-pollinated.
Humans have replaced birds as the most common factor in transporting plants and animals to the islands. Humans have introduced 195 weeds and exotic plants (almost 40% of the flora) on the islands in addition to numerous domesticated animals that have gone wild along with insects such as fire ants. The National Park Service has instituted an eradication program to combat this problem.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Oceanic islands, unlike continental islands, start out with no life, in other words sterile, and gain life and organisms by long distance dispersal. Any plant or animal now native to Galapagos must have arrived to the islands by one of several means; by sea or air. Air, of course includes organisms wind blown or carried by birds.
There is a striking unbalance of the flora and fauna of the Galapagos. Only a small selection of the of the groups of plants and animals on the South American continent are present on the island. The islands have a large number of reptiles but no amphibians; many birds but almost no mammals. The same observation can be made with plants; plants such as pines, palms, and plants with large seeds are not found on the islands while ferns, grasses, dandelions and the like are abundant and in numbers greater than would be expected.
The Islands are well located to receive species by both current and wind. The trade winds and currents both act to carry species from the mainland.
Transport by sea is by swimming or rafting. Rafts of vegetation are commonly washed into the sea from the mainland riverbanks. Most rafts, however, become water logged and sink well before reaching the islands. Rafting does offer a reason for the large number of reptiles and lack of amphibians in thenIslands. Reptiles require little water whereas amphibians would quickly dehydrate and die before reaching the Islands. Swimming should be self explanatory.
Transport by air can also be broken into two methods; windblown and transport by birds. The small spores of many plants, such as ferns, lichen, and mosses are easily dispersed by wind. Small insects and spiders are frequently dispersed over many miles by wind. Bats and land birds, considered as weak fliers, were mostly likely blown to the islands. The arrival of seabirds poses no problems since most sea birds are considered excellent long distant travelers. The most important delivery of plants and seeds, however, is believed to be by birds, either as "hitch-bikers" or in the birds gut.
For plants to become established, they must find suitable habitat. The plant types most likely to survive are weeds with a wide tolerance. The Galapagos flora is characterized by weedy species.
In addition to finding a "friendly" environments, plants need to be pollinated to survive. Plants hat require a specific pollinator (insect or animal) can't survive unless the pollinator is successfully transported to the Island. This is one explanation for the lack of plants with large, colorful flowers in the archipelago. An example are orchids. Small seeds that can easily be transported to the islands but they have specialized pollinators. As a result, there are few orchids in the Galapagos Islands. There are very few pollinating insects in the Islands so the more common and abundant plants are wind-pollinated.
Humans have replaced birds as the most common factor in transporting plants and animals to the islands. Humans have introduced 195 weeds and exotic plants (almost 40% of the flora) on the islands in addition to numerous domesticated animals that have gone wild along with insects such as fire ants. The National Park Service has instituted an eradication program to combat this problem.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Galapapgos Islands
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