airheadfan

If you are planning a walking tour of Victoria, do not overlook Government House, the home of the Queen's representative - the grounds are open from sunrise to sunset with no charge. The grounds are maintained by volunteers and the gardens are wonderful. There is also a very nice tea room in one of the refurbished buildings on the lower grounds.

It is a great opportunity to see how the top of the other half lives.

You could walk along Dallas Road to Beacon Hill Park, spend some time there, walk through a residential area to Government House, then go to Craigdarroch Castle (built by a coal baron) and then walk to downtown Victoria. From downtown keep the water on your right and you will find a pleasant waterfront walk back to Ogden Point where you docked.

This could easily use up all of your time in port.

Now if you want to be a little adventurous and travel like the Turkish people, catch the dolmus to Selcuk and then take a cab to upper Ephesus and walk down. Once finished you will either find cabs at the lower entrance and maybe the dolmus - if not you can walk to the highway and flag it down. I searched "dolmus Kusadasi to Ephesus" and found a TripAdvisor thread titled "Ephesus by dolmus from Kusadasi" that gives very explicit instructions on how to find the dolmus stand.

If you are not familiar with the dolmus, it is a mini-bus that runs a particular route. Very cheap and reliable and safe.

I have travelled in this area on four different trips and have always used the dolmus unless I was in a real hurry and used a cab.

If you have time a visit to Sirince gives a quiet break from the hustle of Ephesus. Selcuk has a wonderful small museum that is also worth a visit, and personally I like the town - home of the Basilica of St. John.

Realize that there is far too much for you to see in one short visit, so hit a few high points and leave the rest for your next trip. Most people vow to come back - I did and now planning my seventh trip for next year.

What you do may be very weather dependent. We were there for four days last September and had sun, fog, rain, wind - in various combinations. So, have a plan-B if the weather is poor.

If you go to Signal Hill, you will notice the Johnson Geo Center on your left just before you arrive at the parking area. We stopped on our way down, and were shocked at the admission price for the four of us, but we reluctantly paid and found one of the best things we visited. If you have any interest in geology, the Titanic, off shore oil industry etc do not miss the opportunity. It is a case of sensory overload, as there is so much to absorb.

The Rooms houses a museum and art gallery as well as an archive - they have an excellent restaurant with a great view over St. John's, if the weather cooperates.

Being underwhelmed by the food at IC and overwhelmed at the prices, you might want to do what we did - it is a short walk to a grocery store on the road back to Papeete. You can find some excellent French wines, cheeses, foi gras and baguettes - have a picnic in your room.

Go out the road and turn left and about 10 or 15 minutes you will see the grocery store on your right. There is a larger one if you go to the right but I preferred the smaller one.

Otherwise, I do not think there is much close to the hotel.

If you search you should be able to find a recent thread discussing binoculars that included a link to a very good comparison site.

The answers to your question will likely be prefaced with "It all depends..........). I have three pairs, and each has a different function. One is a very small but god quality folding pair. Over 30 years ago I spent an awful lot on a pair of Nikon 9x26 - still a beautiful pair with great optics and they will fit in a large pocket but are not weather proof. Last year I bought the Vortex Viper 10x40 waterproof - much larger but great visibility. My routine when purchasing a pair is to first ignore the price and test a number of different models. Once I find the ones best for my eyes, I then look at the price - I chose Nikon over the equivalent Leica model because I could not discern a quality difference in spite of a huge price difference. I used the same routine with the Vortex - I purchased a cheaper model because with my eyes I could not tell the difference between the Vipers and the model that cost twice as much.

You have to decide whether you want a large pair that gives you the best low light visibility, or a more pocketable pair that you will have with you more often. Do you want waterproof? If so that narrows your choices but there is still a great selection. I bought the Vortex model as I was going on a road trip to Newfoundland plus I live on the Wet Coast - so far I really like that feature as I do not have to keep the binoculars protected when it pours.

When you are looking around, try out a pair of image stabilized binoculars - Canon makes some and I am sure there are other brands - they are absolutely awesome but bulky.

Have fun shopping - there are so many great choices.

I'm very interested in the Embera Village tour and have a couple of questions. First, I read that sometimes the tour is to a "staged" village rather than to an actual village and I would hate to wind up at Disney of Embera. :rolleyes: Were you a HAL excursion and if so, what month and was it the real deal? Also, I don't do heat/humidity well (once it gets in the upper 80's and above, I melt) so that said, am I fooling myself that I could do ok on this tour? Did you eat the provided village lunch? Thanks!

I do not believe it was staged, but you have to realize that these people make part of their living from entertaining tourists so there is some elements of theater in what they present. My understanding is that these people fled from Nicaragua and settled in the park in Panama. The village seems genuine - it did not strike me as phony but of course they have lots of contact with the outside world and like everyone incorporate those aspects they find desirable - so you get an older man, with no shoes and wearing only a loin cloth driving a genuine dugout canoe with a very modern outboard - modern technology beats paddles any day.

We ate the lunch provided with no ill effects - and my wife is a very picky European eater with a propensity to get sick on anything not well prepared or lacking sanitation.

This was a HAL excursion as there is no other way off the ship - well organized and on time - you get dropped off in Colon to rejoin the ship so you get all the delights of the market on the dock. I have no experience with the other tours, which may be very good but in hindsight we both agreed this was a very good excursion. To add some perspective, we rarely take the ship tours and do things on our own.

We went in very early January and it was warm but not uncomfortable, and I come from a place where 70 F is a fine summer day. Take a cheap poncho or a light jacket as the canoe kicks up quite a bit of spray, particularly if you are near the front - If I remember correctly HAL or the tour operator was handing them out at the bus, but don't count on my recollection - we took our own.

We thoroughly enjoyed the trip to the Embera village, if that is still offered. A nice bus ride through the country side of Panama, a terrific ride in a huge dugout canoe and a very nice time at the village. As an ex-anthropologist, I did not find it too touristy and it is organized in a supportive rather than exploitative way.

We did an Oscar Brown tour in Puerto Limon and it was excellent. He provided a private suv for the two of us, and on the canal we had a private boat instead of 20 or so packed into the same size craft. Very accommodating, and avoided the usual aunt or cousin who owns a craft store etc.

The private operators are not allowed into the dock area, so you have to walk out of the dock area and across the street. We simply asked where to find Oscar Brown and got immediate directions - no problems and an excellent tour.

The Intercontinental offers a day room for people in your situation. Not sure of the cost, but it is popular.

There is a way to get the weight off your neck - look back a few posts and there is a discussion of camera straps. I bought the Canon 5d and even with a relatively small telephoto it is heavy. I am not small but I do have a problem with my neck and I thought I had made a huge mistake in buying such a heavy camera. After some online research I bought a Black Rapid strap and that moved the weight to my shoulder - it is very comfortable and allows me to carry binoculars with a neck strap. For me this is a great set up.

I cannot comment on your camera alternatives, but I can tell you I am thrilled with the 5d. In hindsight I think I might have looked at one with wireless built in, as it is an extra and expensive add on for the 5d.

As previously suggested, try out a bunch of them and find one that fits you best. I have huge hands and the 5d just fits best and I can carry it comfortably and securely without any strap attached. or you, it might feel like a big awkward brick.

We were on an Oceania cruise last January and the only problem we encountered with bugs was when we visited an archaeological site in the forest in Moorea. Even there it wasn't all that bad - I used a little deep woods off I brought from home and that worked just fine. My bug sensitive wife used nothing at all and didn't complain (much).

You can find good repellents in small pump aresol bottles that go through security with no problems.

Overall, we had few bug problems on our trip from Valparaiso to Papeete, including a tour of the island of Tahati. I hope you experience the same.

I presume they have not changed the itinerary, but we stopped at "Robinson Crusoe" (really one of the Juan Fernandez Islands owned by Chile), Pitcairn and Easter Island before going to the islands in French Polynesia. Pitcairn is the home of the mutineers from the Bounty.

Landing in Pitcairn is tricky and apparently few ships manage to tender there. I watched the swells break at the dock through my binoculars and knew before it was announced that we were not getting off that day. However, the locals manage to launch their boats and come out to the ship and set up a market selling locally made goods, and the sought after Pitcairn stamps. In our case, the captain sailed around the island while one of the locals gave a running commentary about the history of the place.

Not much on Robinson Crusoe - the less fit walked to the hotel to get a bottle of the local beer. We chose to walk up the hill to see the lookout, which is a bit strenuous but you get a fantastic view of the ship. You can stop at the first lookout or continue to the very top - it is a great alternative to lounging on the ship. Look for the rare Firecrown Hummingbird - I was fortunate to get a photo of one as we walked through the village - it is so rare that a few people accused me of taking a picture of a postcard, but I actually saw it sitting on a power line.

Easter Island is the highlight - make sure you get a tour that not only takes you around the beach area and all of the huge statues, but takes you to the top of the volcano and a visit of the house remains.

Enjoy this wonderful itinerary.

Not sure if this will help you, but here goes. We had a PH1 on the port side leaving last December on the Marina on the same itinerary. The PH1 cabins have the overhang, so the amount of sun you get will depend on which deck you are on - the overhang tends to shade the veranda.

I do not recollect getting enough sun to ever be a problem - lots of outside spaces, frequent deck activities, and there were always lounge chairs available. On hot days finding shade was more important than finding the sun. We tended to use the veranda in the mornings and before dinner and spent the rest of the time in the rest of the ship.

Of course, once you get to French Polynesia you will find it is the rainy season and then sun becomes scarce, except when it comes out is is intense. Really appreciated the overhang then as it (mostly) stayed dry.

For this trip I do not think port or starboard matters - it is a wonderful itinerary and you get wonderful times ashore in between lots of relaxing sea days. Odds are you will not get off at Pitcairn due to the intense swells, but not a great disappointment. Hopefully no problems tendering at Easter Island which is worth the whole trip. Make sure you have a good camera and consider taking an underwater camera for Bora Bora.

Like many we arrived at the Santiago airport, and chose to spend time there pre-cruise before transferring to Valparaiso. We spend three days (Christmas) in Santiago and thoroughly enjoyed our time - lots to see, and a huge bustling cosmopolitan city. Then on to Valparaiso and one day there before departing. Chile was new for us and we had no expectations - we went with open minds. If we had to do it over again, we would have spent more time in Valparaiso. Valparaiso is a port city, a little rough but colorful and tremendously interesting. We were simply overwhelmed by the street art, but we did have the benefit of a walking tour guide who took us places we would never have found on our own. We did not get to Vina del Mar, but missing another resort city was just fine for us.

If you want a feel for the topography of Valparaiso, search for "Valparaiso bike race" or "Valparaiso Cerro Abajo" on the video web site to get an idea - tough walking up hill but an amazing ride from the top to the bottom.

We spent three days in Santiago and one in Valparaiso prior to boarding our cruise last December. Santiago is huge, modern and historic. We used public transport and walking to explore on our own and really enjoyed our time there.

For us, Santiago was a perfect place to recover from a long flight, and a gentle introduction to Chile.

In Valparaiso we booked a walking tour through Ruta. We choose the half day tour beginning in the morning, and with no extra cost it extended into the afternoon. The guide met us at the cruise ship terminal and from there we took public transport and walked - far superior to the bus tours as you get into areas that are not accessible to vehicles. The guide spoke excellent English and he customized the tour to our preferences. We were absolutely not interested in shopping and there was no pressure to visit shops which was perfect.

In hindsight, I wish we had spent more time in Valparaiso than in Santiago. Santiago has some beautiful historic buildings, a huge market area and the view from the hill with the statue on top (I forget the name) is really worth a visit. However, we preferred the color, energy, variety and quirkiness of Valparaiso. For us, Valparaiso is far more interesting but then we prefer the odd and the offbeat.

No matter which city you choose, you will enjoy your stay - you cannot make a bad choice.

I second the Black Rapid company. Lots of models to suit most everyone, and even an Elle series designed specifically for women. I have the Sport and carry a Canon 5d with a telephoto which is heavy - works very well for me as I have neck problems. The Sport is a bit lighter than some other models, but has a strap to go under your arm which adds to the stability. Works well for general walking around, and is very handy if you go hiking. They also design them for left handed people.