San Sabastian

The village has been kept as authentic as possible. San Sebastian is situated between P.V. and Talpa and is a popular tourist destination.
Walking through the village
...through the streets
...viewing beautiful court yards
..planing for our next visit in December 2009.

Talpa, Mexico

One begins to realize the areas you love the most and Mexico always feels like our second home.
The spiked tree is often decorated at this time to symbolize "Christ". It is a very "religious culture.
Breakfast is served in Uncle Juan's court yard surrounded by coyote, oranges and tropical plants.
We climbed the steeple stairs of the church to view the top of the dome during mass. There are waiting lines for the different masses during the holidays.
Pinatas adorn the homes, street and entrances in celebration of all Fiestas.

Road trip to Talpa

3 hours over the mountain from P.V. is the beautiful town of Talpa.
Crossing the newly built bridge was an awesome experience as three years ago we traveled this same road over construction.
The trail was extremely narrow and we had to drive through the river.
Another shot of the "Old Road". It then took us over 5 hours to get to Talpa and decided that we would not return to PV on the same route. Return took us 8 hours!

The road trip with Jesus and Ricardo. The temperature was much cooler than P.V.

EASTERN & EUROPE TRIP 2009

Many have asked what is in store for 2009, this is our hope and plan for the coming year.
Some are booked and some tentative (like Israel). We will keep you posted as we progress.

EASTERN & EUROPE TRIP 2009


1.) Jan 17th Sat – Jan 23rd Newcoast, Boracay Philippines

2.) Jan 23rd - Jan 30th Koror Palau Micronesia

3.) Jan 31st - Wed Feb 4th Kolkatta India (Calcutta)

4.) Feb 4th Wed - Feb 9th Mon Mission India Hydrahad

5.) Feb 9th - 21th Dehli & Punjab:

6.) Feb 21st - Feb 28th Benaulim Salcette, Goa , India

7.) Feb 28th - Mar 6 th Bombay, Banglore, Kerla, Otty ?

8.) March 6th - March 13, 2009 Shark Bay Sharm El Sheik

9.) Mar 13th Fri - Mar 29th Sat, Egypt ?

10.) Mar 29th - Apr 26th Turkey ?

11.) Apr 26th - May Sat - 23rd Greece ?

12.) May 23th Sat -May 30th Rome.

13.) May 30rd Sat, - June 06, Trapani, Palermo Sicily.

14.) June 6th Sat - June 13th, Matera Itlay.

15.) June 13th Sat - June 20th Venice Italy.

16.) June 20th Sat - July 4th Austria?

17.) July 4th - July 24th Scotland

18.) July 24th- 30th Montreal

19.) July 31st HOME!

Christmas in Mexico

Two weeks with the kids has been a blast.
Goldie & Ralph snorkelling.
Great fun had by all.
Jude & Abby playing on the beach with 27C or 85F average temps and sunny all the time.
The lagoon at our resort.
The ocean at our resort.

The sunsets were magnificant most days.

Home sweet Home

All the family arrives in Puerto Valarta our 2nd home, for Dec 26th to celebrate.
Goldie (6) & Abigail's (4) Birthday's
Lots of dancing, singing and great food at Roberto's restaurant.
The Pinata was a hit !!
When it broke so did the kids with a frenezy of activity.
What a great feast poured out!
It was so much fun with the Grandkids what a great time for us, not having seen them for 5 months. Only 2 were missing Leah and Lauren but we will catch up with them in the future.

Macau

A 45 minute fast ferry took us to the country of Macau which has a Portuguese and Chinese influence.
Some of the street look very European with cobble stone roadways and balconies of every description.
Some of the streets were real tourist traps but fun to walk around. Lots of vendors to choose special gifts or try many new foods.
Combining the old and the new.

A few blocks away were the hotels and casino , very much like Las Vegas and the most modern architecture.

The Vanetian Hotel and casino has been opened for about a year and designed as a section of Vienna, complete with canals and boats. The ceiling looks like the sky in daylight to emotionally encourage people to gamble all day and night.