Kids Along the Road Between Ft. Dauphin and Berenty

 

Baobab Tree Unique to Madagascar

 

Baby Lemurs Learning to Greet the Sun

 

Here Comes the Sun!! - Berenty Reserve Madagascar

Every morning, the ringtailed lemurs greet the rising sun with almost worshipful poses. 

People Who Helped Me Fall in Love With Egypt

Upper Left (with blue umbrella), Hanan, tour guide extaordinairre who teaches at the university of Cairo and has actually worked on many of the archological digs in Eqypt. Upper right - "Daddy" Bill who managed the entire trip with humor, compassion, and incredible honesty. Lower left Mohamed , my guide for the one day tour who introduced me to the wonders of the Sphinx, Pyramids and sheesha ( flavored tobacco in a hooka). Lower right, Mohamed and our driver Heesham. Heesham persuaded the inhabitants of one of the tombs in the City of the Dead to allow me to enter their place and take pictures. All of these folks are from Gate 1 Travel which I highly recommend.

A Docked Fellucca - Along the Nile in Egypt

The fellucas are the masted sailing boats that cover the Nile (almost as many as tourist cruise ships). The mast is always at an angle. I was told this is because the Nile is so shallow. Any sailors who can explain why the canted mast? 

Egyptian Night on the Ship

 

Landing at Luxor, the Ancient Capital

 

The Walk Through 5,000 Years of History

 

Views Along the Nile

 

The Queen of Sheba; Our Boat for the Trip Up the Nile River

 

A Policeman at the Pyramids overlooks the City of Cairo

 

Doorways in the City of the Dead, Cairo, Egypt

 

City of the Dead - Cairo, Egypt

This is a rare look inside one of the tombs occupied by the poor in the City of the Dead. Upper right corner shows the grave beside the raised brick section in the back open area. The little girl, upper right sleeps on this bed close to the grave. The enclosed area lower right was tiny but immaculate and brightly colored. 

The City of the Dead in the middle of Cairo Egypt

The poor took over this ancient cemetary decades ago. The government tried to make them move but finally gave in. Now the cemetary has water and power for those who live there. 

Me again!

 

My Camel, my camelherder, and I beside the Pyramids

 

Pyramids & Sphinx - Cairo, Egypt

 

Cuteness is Universal

 

Views of the Town; Foot of Machu Picchu Peru

 

Machu Picchu, Peru

 

No, I will not step back!! Machu Picchu, Peru

 

Machu Picchu Lawnmower (with attitude)

 

Peru's Machu Picchu

 

More Pictures to Follow and Apologies to Tibet

My Blog Picture Mover, Picasa (they move the pictures from your disc of photos to your Blog), has recently gone through an upgrade and is working on fine tuning the process. That is why you probably see a small box where a picture of the Taj Mahal should be below. Hopefully things will be straightened out by the end of this week. I will let everyone know through email once things are resolved........
Secondly, please forgive me for giving anyone the impression that I didn't love my trip to Tibet. I probably overdramatized my altitude sickness, but even a drama Queen can admit the stupidity of not taking her medicine. Tibet has always been one of the most beautiful and mysterious countries to me. I am still awestruck with the idea that I walked through places where the Dalai Lama lived and taught. And fair warning to everyone I met there, I will be back! With the short time that I was there and mobile, I had the time to see only parts of Lhasa, the Capital city. (and yes, there are many Lhasa Apso dogs there)... I am already saving my frequent flyer miles for the trip back and I still have all the medicine I didn't take on my first trip - so Loptsong and Postak - you have been warned!.......Happy Trails, Marion

Taj Mahal at sunrise, Agra, India