WHAT A SURPRISE
In Auckland, New Zealand we took a city bus to Kelly Tarlton’s unusual aquarium.
The whole aquarium is underground housed in old sewage tanks, the same ones that used to collect and dump affluent in the harbor! Kelly was an imaginative thinker. He wanted to buy the storage tanks from the city, but the city would not sell them. Everyone thought Kelly was loco. Finally, after a time and negotiation, the city agreed to lease the tanks to Kelly for $1 a year. Kelly agreed but wanted a thousand year lease for his $1000.
Kelly designed, planned, and supervised all the building. Tons of junk had to be removed, carted off and extensive cleaning done before construction could even begin. The aquarium opened in 1985. We walked through the new Antarctica exhibit admiring the world's largest emperor penguins. They really are big. I just wanted to reach out and hug the adorable animals.
From that exhibit one can walk through the rest of the aquarium or step on a moving walkway. It was like being in a tunnel with fish all around and on top of you, really incredible! it was easy to imagine yourself in the water surrounded by fish and sea creatures--but no snorkel needed and you remained dry!
I had never seen the underside of a ray before. There were several species swimming over head. Big fish, small fish, all colors and shapes, swam up, over, and down. It was the most amazing thing and the first such exhibit I’d seen. Since that visit I have been in other ‘fish tunnels’ and it is always an exciting experience.
At the end of the moving walkway I told my friend, “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go again. I just haven’t seen enough.” Three times around later we reluctantly exited. It’s a wonderful memory.
Kelly died at age 48 just a few weeks after the aquarium opened. He was New Zealand’s Jacques Cousteau and it is said that diving contributed to his premature death.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
A ROMANTIC PICTURESQUE HOTEL
A Dream Fulfilled
I guess everyone dreams of staying in a picturesque romantic hotel sometime during their lifetime. My dream came true in Tahiti. Who would ever guess that we’d be arriving at a hotel at 4:45 AM! We were given a room and encouraged to take a short nap before a scheduled brunch at 10:30 in the Tiare (flower) room, just off the lobby.
At 7AM I was standing at the sliding glass door looking out over my little deck absorbing the incredible beauty outside. Beyond the yard was a walkway inside the seawall. Looking across, what I would learn later was Moon Bay, I could see the outline of Moorea, another of the three major Tahitian islands. The bay was but 100 yards away. About a mile out between the seawall and Moorea I could see the breakwater.
Full coconut palms and all kinds of tropical flowers and flowering bushes and trees awaited my investigation. The people, mostly hotel workers, walking about were speaking French. The little wooden deck outside my room was the perfect place to have coffee. But first on the agenda—after nearly 30 hours of traveling—was a hot shower and fresh clothes.
Thatched roof guest cabanas, perched on pilings over the bay, were only yards away. By brunch time I had walked the incredibly beautiful tropical grounds even stopping to sniff the wonderful aromas of familiar flowers. Unfortunately the stay in Tahiti was brief and by 5:00 PM we were aboard our small ship headed for Bora Bora.
I guess everyone dreams of staying in a picturesque romantic hotel sometime during their lifetime. My dream came true in Tahiti. Who would ever guess that we’d be arriving at a hotel at 4:45 AM! We were given a room and encouraged to take a short nap before a scheduled brunch at 10:30 in the Tiare (flower) room, just off the lobby.
My weary body found the weather hot, steamy, and humid and the fresh fruit drinks served on arrival did little to revive me. I managed to find my room by following the signs to out, over, up, and around. While I waited for my luggage to arrive I did lie down on the bed for an hour. I was sure sleep was elusive, but I opened the drapes just in case I dozed off. I wanted to wake with the daylight. I couldn’t wait to see what was outside.
At 7AM I was standing at the sliding glass door looking out over my little deck absorbing the incredible beauty outside. Beyond the yard was a walkway inside the seawall. Looking across, what I would learn later was Moon Bay, I could see the outline of Moorea, another of the three major Tahitian islands. The bay was but 100 yards away. About a mile out between the seawall and Moorea I could see the breakwater. Full coconut palms and all kinds of tropical flowers and flowering bushes and trees awaited my investigation. The people, mostly hotel workers, walking about were speaking French. The little wooden deck outside my room was the perfect place to have coffee. But first on the agenda—after nearly 30 hours of traveling—was a hot shower and fresh clothes.
Thatched roof guest cabanas, perched on pilings over the bay, were only yards away. By brunch time I had walked the incredibly beautiful tropical grounds even stopping to sniff the wonderful aromas of familiar flowers. Unfortunately the stay in Tahiti was brief and by 5:00 PM we were aboard our small ship headed for Bora Bora.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
A SCARY ARRIVAL
Arrival in Lima, Peru
It seems flights to South America always arrive in the evening. We followed the cautions in all the literature and secured a cab inside the airport. Taxis were readily available outside the fence but supposedly not reliable. Our driver was dressed in a suit and his cab was clear of dings, dents etc.
That fact was some comfort as we played chicken driving through the streets of Lima. It seemed no one paid heed to lights or stop signs. Just honk, step on the gas, brake, and repeat. I prayed for no fender bender, flat tire or any other mishap as we drove through areas where men collected under streetlights drinking and smoking.
I had money spread all over my body, but it was most disconcerting when we left town and hit a totally dark, two lane, paved, deserted road that appeared to follow a body of water. I was one happy camper when the lights of Miraflores,a Lima suberb and the location of our hotel, appeared.
The bars on the pharmacy across the street and the armed guards outside banks, which seemed to be on every corner, were less frightening in daylight. One could not enter the pharmacy. One stood outside and told the girl what you wanted. She brought it to you and you paid through the bars.
The next day after lunch, as my son and I were walking along the street, a young man with a backpack stopped us and asked if we were from Texas. He had good eyesight as he’d picked that up from the camera strap around my neck. He gave us some corking bull story and wanted money for bus fare. My son offered to let him use his calling card to make a phone call to his girl, but he refused that, wanting only money. In all my travels that is the only time I’ve ever been approached on the street for money. We walked on and left him to try to try to scam someone else.
It seems flights to South America always arrive in the evening. We followed the cautions in all the literature and secured a cab inside the airport. Taxis were readily available outside the fence but supposedly not reliable. Our driver was dressed in a suit and his cab was clear of dings, dents etc.
That fact was some comfort as we played chicken driving through the streets of Lima. It seemed no one paid heed to lights or stop signs. Just honk, step on the gas, brake, and repeat. I prayed for no fender bender, flat tire or any other mishap as we drove through areas where men collected under streetlights drinking and smoking.
I had money spread all over my body, but it was most disconcerting when we left town and hit a totally dark, two lane, paved, deserted road that appeared to follow a body of water. I was one happy camper when the lights of Miraflores,a Lima suberb and the location of our hotel, appeared.
The bars on the pharmacy across the street and the armed guards outside banks, which seemed to be on every corner, were less frightening in daylight. One could not enter the pharmacy. One stood outside and told the girl what you wanted. She brought it to you and you paid through the bars.
The next day after lunch, as my son and I were walking along the street, a young man with a backpack stopped us and asked if we were from Texas. He had good eyesight as he’d picked that up from the camera strap around my neck. He gave us some corking bull story and wanted money for bus fare. My son offered to let him use his calling card to make a phone call to his girl, but he refused that, wanting only money. In all my travels that is the only time I’ve ever been approached on the street for money. We walked on and left him to try to try to scam someone else.
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