'Life is What Happens to You when You are Making Other Plans' (John Lennon)

 We didn't make it to Curitiba, Brazil, unfortunately. Our e-visa's did not arrive in time, 6 days after they were requested (with a note explaining our time constraint), so they wouldn't let us on the flight from Johannesburg to Brazil. They don't allow visas on arrival, thus the cancellation of our flight ticket. Most countries promise e-visa within 3-5 days, and we have become accustomed to that. Rather than hang around Joburg for a few more days waiting for our e-visa to arrive, we decided to abort our trip to Brazil and move on to Aruba earlier than planned. Aruba offers a 1 hour turnaround for their ED card (Embarcation / Disembarcation) and they were true to their word, receiving one in 45 minutes while we were still in the Joburg airport.

Since we arrived in the Aruban capital, Oranjestand, a week earlier than planned, we decided it was an opportune time to slow life down a little. After a long flight and a busy 18 day, 4 country, G Adventures tour to end our 6 weeks in Africa, we deserved some lazy time. Besides, a week from now we will be joined by my bride's brother and wife, with a plan to explore all the island offers, so we didn't want to impinge on that part of our island visit. We rented an apartment for the week, attached to a private home, one block away from the oceanfront and on the edge of the busy tourist city. The daily temperature was close to 30C with lows of 25C, so we subscribed to morning walks and grocery store visits. We found a wonderful place to have dinners (West Deck), 150 metres from our rental unit, right beside the ocean and a perfect spot for sunset views. The city has a free trolley system, with a terminal close to our quiet end of town, so we used that one day to do some city exploring but it mostly took us by shopping malls and ended up at the cruise ship terminal, for whom it as likely designed. We didn't venture back into the city after that, preferring our quiet end. Our end did get a bit more action though when the Caravan Children's parade came through on our 2nd last day. Two hours of colorful costumes, dancing and local music were on display with everyone out to watch, making for a happy celebration.

At the end of our first week we were picked up by Scott and Andree in our rental vehicle, to head a bit further north to the neighbourhood of Noord where we rented a lovely 2 bedroom home, with a backyard pool, for the week. The pool got used every day because our daily trips on this 32 x 10 km tiny island country (110K pop.) never took up a full day. Eagle Beach was a much quieter sunbathing spot one afternoon, over the more busy Palm Beach where we just settled for a lunch one day. Around the island we visited the Butterfly Farm (35 species), Aloe Factory (tour and purchases), Casibari Rock Formations (climb to top), the Bushiribana Gold Mine ruins and the California Lighthouse at the northern tip of the island. We also drove to the south end of the island to the town of San Nicolas for a wander around, enjoying their marvellous wall murals and a visit to the renowned Charlie's Bar (wild guest souvenirs from around the world inside). We followed that with a late lunch break in Saventa, a fishing village, with freshly caught seafood on the menu. A snorkel trip to Tres Trapi beach to observe sea turtles occurred on another day. Once the ladies had traversed the rock steps to enter the water, I had a quick chat with a man leaving the sea, who told me he had only seen one turtle and pointed to a spot more than 100 metres away, at which point I returned to my beach chair to keep an eye on the ladies! There were also plenty of Bridge games played, whenever we had some spare hours, a card game we enjoy but don't get to play often.

  Sadly, our time together came to an end much too quickly and they returned home, while we moved on to our next island stop in nearby Curacao.

The Oranjestad, Aruba harbour, viewed from the south side on a morning walk towards the downtown. We deliberately chose a rental apartment several km's from the cruise ship terminal to avoid the daily passenger traffic in our area.

The West Deck restaurant close to our residence and near the shoreline. We always booked a table near the back end of this picture for great sunset views. Excellent food and prices made this place a common retreat.

The free trolley that went from our quiet end of the city, through the downtown area, and finishing at a terminal near the cruise ship dock. While it doesn't look very full at this point, that is only because there was a 15 minute stop at each end, so many of the cruise ship passengers had gotten off to stretch their legs but returned before the trolley left again.

The annual Carnival festival included a Children's Parade on one of the days we were there. The costumes were colourful and the parents / guardians did a good job of keeping the kids hydrated and fed in the 30C heat.

A picture taken while we were at the Butterfly Farm where overripe fruit was used to feed the tropical butterflies. The Owl Butterfly has an eye shape on it's wings to help fend off predators, making it seem larger then it really is.

The Casibari Rock Formations, where there were plenty of large boulders scattered around. Visitors were able to ascend some of them, this one being the easiest.

San Nicolas, at the southern tip of Aruba was a treat to walk around due to the colourful wall murals that frequented the town. Even the Police Station (not this picture) had a cool mural.

This business - home had a mural that resembled a 3D picture.

This mural was on a wall outside the cult Charlie's Bar. The license plates on the window shutters were a hint on what was to come on the inside.

The inside of Charlie's Bar. People from around the world brought items from home to leave in the bar. For others who hadn't planned ahead, there was a collection of currency bills (left of the guitar) that included $5 and $10 dollar bills from the great white north.

One of our last meals together before we both went our separate ways. It was a good visit together and another one will happen before long in their neck of the woods.

With both of us having afternoon flights on our final day, we drove back to the southern tip to spend a few hours at Baby Beach, which we missed on a previous drive. It was a popular site with a shallow sandy bottom, and supported by Big Mama's Beach Bar which we also supported.

"There is no such thing as bad weather, only inadequate clothing and methods of transportation"

After departing Swakopmund, we drove north-east to Etosha NP where we spent 1.5 days. Along the way, we passed the Spitzkoppe (pointed peak) mountain (1700 metres) which stood out from the flat surrounding plains. Unfortunately, the wildlife in Etosha NP wasn't as plentiful as we had hoped. It could have been due to less wildlife in the park (compared to other NP's we have been to), the wide open spaces (eliminating cover for the predators), or just a bad luck day. We did see lots of springboks and wildebeasts, some zebras and a few giraffe's along with plenty of birds species. The only time we saw elephants was at the end of our full day safari with, with about 15 of them in 2 family groups around a watering hole. A couple of black rhinos were seen at a water hole near our campground late at night and a resting lion was spotted on our way out of the park the next day. In the end we did see 3 of the Big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, hippopotamus) at Etosha NP but they were single sightings rather than multiple ones. Compared to the other African National Parks we have visited (Kenya's Masai Mara, South Africa's Addo Elephant and Kruger x 2), Etosha NP would clearly be #5 in a rating.

Leaving Etosha, we made the 6 hour drive to Windhoek, Namibia's capitol city. Once there we had the opportunity to visit Penduka Village, where a non-profit group housed and trained disadvantaged women. The 34 women developed skills in textiles, beading and pottery and we received a explanation of how they did their work. We purchased one of their finished products to take home, as a way to help support the wonderful initiative. The following day we crossed the Namibia border into Botswana, a second visit for us, 12 years after our first encounter. Botswana is one of the richest per capita African countries, due to it's small population, diamond mining, quality meats (grass fed cows roaming everywhere) and their healthy tourism industry. We finished our 8 hour drive in Ghanzi where we spent the night at the excellent Park Afrique Lodge. Travelling north through the mostly lush Kalahari Desert (grasses and bush with some small trees) we made our way to the town of Maun (6K pop.), the doorstep to the Okavango Delta, our next destination.

We had been fortunate with the weather during Southern Africa's rainy season, experiencing only minimal and short rainfalls during our first month. That ended abruptly when we got to Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta. Light rain started after our morning departure from the hotel in open-sided jeeps. That continued until we transferred to the mokoros (canoes) in twos with a standing poler guiding us through the narrow marsh-like channels that were filled with colourful water lilies. Shortly after we started our 45 minute ride, the light rain turned to heavy rain and we all got drenched, even with raincoats on. Upon arrival we all headed to our assigned tents so that we could shed our wet clothes. Since we were only allowed to take our small backpacks on this overnight adventure that meant temporarily switching into pajamas. A couple of hours later when the rain had stopped we had to put on our damp clothes and shoes again for a bush walk led by our polers. Impalas, African birds and elephant tracks were observed but no big game. A freshly cooked African dinner followed under a rain protected cover but when we finished and the rain had let up, most of us hurried back to our tents where we could switch clothes again. The next morning after breakfast, we headed back to the mainland in our mokoros under cloudy but dry weather. Once again we came across hippos when the channels opened up to large ponds in a particular area, likely the same ones we saw on our way in. Once back in our jeeps, the light rain started again and continued most of the way while back on our bus and headed to Nata, our next town. The next day we drove to Kasane, close to the border with Zimbabwe, and once again the weather pattern was light and heavy rain. As an added bonus there was a long stretch of highway undergoing repair work, moving traffic onto a bumpy, wet sandy alternate, so we all experienced an 'African massage' along the way! In Kasane we passed on the optional Chobe River boat cruise, party because of the rainy weather but also because we experienced a memorable river cruise 12 years ago and didn't want to be disappointed with less wildlife going to the river for water this time.

The next day we had breakfast in Botswana and the rest of our meals in another country, as we crossed the border into Zimbabwe in the morning, on our final drive to Victoria Falls. After dropping off our luggage at our final trip lodge, my bride and I decided it was a good time to check out the falls, since the sky had been clear all day. We made the 2 km walk to the falls and after stopping at the first viewpoint, the skies opened up and we headed for cover under some trees. When the rain let up we continued on for some great views of the falls, courtesy of the start of the rainy season. Shortly after starting our way back the heavy rain started again and we were soaked by the time we got back to the lodge. Fortunately this time we had alternate clothing choices. Our last supper with the group occurred that night, as we tipped our excellent guides and bid farewell to some short-term friends. Overall, we travelled 5,200 km's on our 18 day tour. Perhaps a bit too much driving, but that's what it takes to see all the highlights of Namibia and Botswana, plus Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls, one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World. We always have preferred travelling by bus or train when we have the option, rather than flying, due to the added experience of seeing how the locals live and the environment that surrounds them. In this case we were also able to see wildlife every single day of the trip, an added bonus. We spent an extra night in Victoria Falls to catch an excellent evening show (The Spirit of Africa), relax and let our clothes and shoes dry out. Today we caught a flight to Joburg for an overnight near the airport so that tomorrow we can catch a one day flight to Curitiba, Brazil, our next destination.

Zebras and ostriches together during an evening drive in Etosha National Park. Groupings of different wildlife species was common, providing there weren't any predators in the neighbourhood.

A small confusion of wildebeasts within Etosha NP. One of the perks of being here in January was that we frequently came across babies for all the different species. In this case the baby is the one on the right with the lighter brown colour.

A disingenuous smile from a frequent traveller who doesn't appreciate staying in tents. In this case it was a two night stay in Etosha NP.

The watering hole on the edge of our campground where we would walk over to after dinner. On this particular night, after we had gone back to our tent, two rhinos showed up and had a brief tussle on this side of the water hole, captured by some of our group who had waited for some action.

While driving back to our campground following a full day safari, we came across 2 small herds of elephants, in their own family groups, by a watering hole. This family group sported two babies, one on the right and the other, a 3-5 day old, surrounded by the larger females for protection.

On our jeep drive into the Okavango Delta, we encountered a bloat of hippos. They eat on land during the night and spend their days in the water. They do not swim well, so they tend to hang out in shallow water. I suspect one of them was offering a friendly greeting to our group (or suggesting we get out of his territory).

After transferring from the jeep to a mokoro, our poler (Boy), poled us to our island campground, 45 minutes away. The heavy rain ensured we would all be drenched by the time we reached our destination. Most of the trip was spent going through narrow canals (created by hippos), broken up by this one large pond area. We spotted hippos on the opposite side, but with the non-stop rain we didn't spend very much time taking pictures.

Approaching our Okavango Delta destination, where we were greeted by our female cooks in the background singing a welcome song. Our tents had bedding inside so it was nice to be off the ground in the wet campground.

After finishing our time in the Okavango Delta, we moved on to the Botswana town of  Nata, where we stayed at the Elephant Sands Lodge. True to form an elephant showed up at the water hole that evening. Our cabins (seen in the background) mostly surrounded the water hole, so this picture was taken 5 meters from the bar and not far from our cabin.

This is a Baobob tree, which our driver took us by when we were close to Victoria Falls. This particular tree is over 1200 years old and is 24 metres high. The tree produces a fruit which is found by breaking open a large nutshell.

Victoria Falls, with the Zambezi River depositing it's water from Zambia into Zimbabwe. The volume of water was much higher this time vs. the drier season in October, 2013 when we were here last. The rainy season is just underway so the amount of water will increase over the next few months.

Our group, gathered for our last supper together in Victoria Falls. We were serenaded by a group of African singers, shown in the background.

If You Want to Go Fast, Go Alone. If You Want to Go Far, Go Together (African Proverb)

Once again we enjoyed Stellenbosch, following our first visit 12 years ago. We stayed in a lovely cottage next to the owner's house, and found new things to see this time. Only 2 wineries were on our schedule this time (Kanonkop and Waterford) with a lovely wine and chocolate pairing at the latter. Saving the wine tastings for the end of the day, we spent most of our time visiting the garden farm playground at Babylonstoren (fresh vegetables and fruit, artisan shops, lunch outdoors) and the other day in Stellenbosch, including the Rupert Art Museum (contemporary African art). We also found time to visit a Strawberry Farm.

We then retreated to Cape Town to return our rental car and meet our G Adventures group for the start of a multi-country, 18 day tour. Interestingly, our group of 13 consisted of 10 females and only 3 males.....and 9 of the 13 were Canadians! Shadwell, from Zimbabwe, was our guide and Elwin, from South Africa, was our bus driver and assistant guide. It was a 25 seat bus, so almost everyone had a different window seat every day (2 seats on each side of the aisle). Our first stopover was in Lambert's Bay, on the west coast, where we had a tasting of Western Cape wines (Stellenbosch wines still preferred), followed by dinner. Along the way we made a stop at Bird Island (concrete walkway), where we were greeted by many thousands of gannets, who were there to breed when the seals weren't hunting them down.

The next day, after a long drive, we crossed the border into Namibia, a new country for us. Namibia covers 825 square kilometers with a population of 2,500,000 so is very sparsely populated. We settled into the Norotshama River Resort where we ate and slept beside the wide river. Once in Namibia, the real action began. Our first stop was at Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world at 127 KM's (after the Grand Canyon). We only had time for a 2 km walk along the ridge, so I didn't get the chance to hike down the second place finisher. We then moved on to Keetmanschoop, our home for the night, to escape the 38C heat. At 5 pm, when it had cooled down a little, we drove over to the Quiver Tree Forest (peculiar looking tree that can survive in desert-like conditions). The second stop was at the Giant's Playground (large, black dolerite boulders stacked up) but I don't believe they were as impressive as the boulders near Prescott, Arizona. The next day we made the 500 km drive (lots of gravel roads) to Sesriem, right outside the Namib Desert entry point, where we settled in for 2 nights. The Namib Desert near Sossusvlei is basically a reddish-brown sand sea and super-arid, receiving less than 100 mm per year, and that is where we spent our time the following day. With an early 6 am start, our tour group's first stop was Dune 45, 170 metres high. Most of us only walked about half way up as it was hard work in the soft sand. Then we moved on to Sossusvlei where Big Daddy (325 metres) stood. We walked one km across the Deadvlei white clay soil (hard base) to get closer to the massive dune but we only hiked a fraction of the way up with the temperature rising and on it's way to 38C. A quick visit to the Sesriem slot Canyon followed but our walk at the bottom was limited by some small ponds blocking the way. We then returned to the campground for a leisurely afternoon around the pool.

Our next destination was Swakopmund on the west coast, where we currently are. We have now escaped the dry desert area, and heat (high 30s), where we remarkably spotted quite a bit of wildlife including wild ostriches, oryx, guinea fowl, springbok, mountain zebra, and even a jackal. These animals all survive in the desert on little to no water (getting moisture from the limited plants) and even on the rare occurrences of a flash flood, will not drink fearing their bodies will become accustomed to an increase in water intake. The Tropic of Capricorn line was on our route so we stopped for pictures. We passed by Walvis Bay, a former whaling village, which was the last area turned over to the Namibian gov't by South Africa because they wanted to hold on to it's deep water harbour for cargo boat traffic. However, Nelson Mandela petitioned the S.A. gov't to give Namibia back what was theirs and in 1994 it was rightfully returned. We wandered about the town on a 'relax' day where the tour group could do whatever pleased them. With a German influence, there many old colonial homes, a promenade and an informative museum.

Tomorrow we head NE to Etosha NP where another safari awaits us.

One of the many gannets at Bird Island in Lambert's Bay (NW South Africa).

Tens of thousands of gannets gather each year for breeding season. Last year the count was over 45,000. It was hard to determine who was with who but apparently the birds are able to figure it out.

The Fish River Canyon, where at this time of year, the riverbeds are mostly dried up. They get somewhat replenished every year during the rainy season but that part of the year usually delivers less than 100 mm of rain. Catfish survive through the dry season by burying themselves in the mud.

These are Quiver trees. They grow very slowly in the desert like climate, with a lack of regular moisture. The tree on the left is approximately 450 years old, while the one on the right, around 50. The bushman used to peel the bark on the younger trees to make quivers for their arrows, which how the name came about.

 Large bird's nests created by weavers. We observed the small birds flying in and out of their nests.

Dune 45 at 170 metres in height, our first attempt of the day climbing a large dune in the soft sand.

To get close to the Big Daddy dune (325 metres high), we had to cross the hard white clay surface of Deadvlei. The dead and blackened trees from the scorching heat were victims but made for an interesting contrast along with the reddish-brown dunes.

While on our way to Walvis Bay on the west coast of Namibia we came across an area that was once under the sea but had been moved upwards millions of years ago by shifting plates. The landscape was comprised of thin layers of hardened seafloor sediment.

One of the many old colonial homes in Swakopmund. The town's museum did a good job of describing their past, along with the realistic models of the wildlife within Namibia.

"We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us"

Following delayed flights, and a missed flight for some, our family and partners have finally reunited in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was well worth the elongated travel time to be all together again. We spent 4 nights in a beautiful suburban home. Day trips included a full day guided tour of Soweto (townships, including a home visit with a local and Mandela House) and another day trip visit to the Cradle of Humankind (museum and cave network where human remains were found, dating back to almost 3 million years). Interspersed between the two, we had a relaxing day together at the house, playing games and enjoying each other's company.

 With our bodies readjusted to our new time zone, we flew to Hazyview, a small town outside the gate to Kruger NP. That was the beginning of a 5 day private tour of the wildlife-filled National Park. Our group of 7 experienced a sunset safari and three 5 am sunrise safaris that lasted until the late afternoons on 2 of the days. Our excellent Kurt Safari guide, Sammy, was a treat to be with and he had no trouble finding the Big 5 for us (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and Cape Buffalo) and we saw them all multiple times. Zebra, giraffe, impala, warthog, hyena and more, were common sightings every day. We were even fortunate to come across a large pack (22) of wild dogs which are difficult to find. We spent another day driving along the scenic Panorama Route, with stops at God's Window (views), Lisbon Falls, Blyde River Canyon and Burke's Potholes (water formed basins). All were impressive but it was just a sideshow to the amazing wildlife encounters that we experienced within Kruger NP. A highlight was an early morning discovery of a pride of lions (7) resting on the road, creating a traffic blockade. It was our second visit to the park and it never gets tired because we discover new memories. This time, being a late December visit, we saw many more newborn babies. 

Our group then flew to Cape Town at the southern end of the country for our final stop together. We rented another beautiful suburban home for a week, this time with a pool in the backyard, as we attempted to calm down the pace a little. Day trips with our van rental included visits to the V & A waterfront, Robben Island (Nelson Mandela's prison time), Table Mountain (the young ones hiked up like we did last time), and a drive down to the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape trip included a stop at Boulder Beach (Simon's Town) to walk along the boardwalk to where the African penguins are active in a protected area. That encounter was popular enough to earn a return visit. We were back home each day in good time and everyone took their turn being master chef for dinner, so we ate well. 

Sadly, the time has come for us to part ways again, with the younger ones returning home to restart their work commitments. Being able to spend both Christmas and New Year's together was special and we all have more wonderful memories to add to our cache. Once we saw them off we moved on to the nearby wine region town of Stellenbosch to spend a couple of days before venturing off to a new African country.

The Apartheid Museum in Soweto, Johannesburg. Both entrances are available to everyone today but each displayed the discrepancies between skin colour, with stairs on the right and a ramp on the left. While progress has been made (slowly), it was still sad to see the condition of the township residences that a local walked us through.

Our group, minus our Swiss photographer, ready to enter the Sterkfontein Caves at the Cradle of Humankind. We didn't find any new ancient remains but we did discover some very narrow and shallow passageways, so the hard hats came in handy.

An African termite nest. Our first night safari guide took the second picture, looking down inside the nest.

On our first sunrise safari we came across the wildlife in harmony, a scene that was repeated frequently with all kinds of species, providing the lions were not close at hand.

The Bourke's Luck Potholes, where mother nature had created some remarkable scenes. The Panorama Route drive, between Kruger NP and Joburg, was worth a repeat performance from our 2013 trip.

On another sunrise safari we encountered a pride of lions blocking the roadway. Once we all had some good pictures our guide turned the jeep around to take another road through the national park.

The lion detour led us to a sighting of this rhino, feeding on the grasses.

Later, that same day, we observed a leopard stalking his prey. We waited 5 minutes for some action but only saw the continued stare. Later, on the radio, our guide heard that same leopard had captured a baby impala.

On our final safari day we came across some guinea fowls close to the dirt roadway. There were numerous colourful bird species within the park.

A warthog family, grazing. Warthogs are members of Africa's "Ugly Five", along with the hyena, wildebeest, vulture and marabou stork, all of which we were blessed (?) to observe.

On our drive down to the Cape of Good of Good Hope, during our Cape Town stay, we came back to the parking lot to find a baboon sitting on top of a nearby car. Did he do it for the view?

On our drive back from the Cape we stopped at Boulder Beach in Simon's Town, were there was a protected area for the resident African penguins. I took this picture from the boardwalk, avoiding a long line-up to get a much closer view. Others in our party waited for a quieter time to get up close and even came back early the next day for a second viewing. We got spoiled in Antarctica where the penguins sometimes walked between your legs while you were trying to take their picture.

Every Good Story Has an Ending

For our final time in Corsica we found a lovely villa in a remote area south of Porto Vecchio in the Santa Giulia area, which made it handy to also visit Bonifacio at the southern tip. We picked a spot closer to PV because it was a larger town (12K vs. 4K) since we have found more and more places shutting down as December dawns. In retrospect it might have been better to visit Corsica back in October and the Riviera in November. While it would have been a cooler November switch, the Riviera is busy all year long so more options would have been available to us. In any event we lucked out with a last minute nice, cozy villa and we adjusted with shorter day trips.

Our first visit was to Porto Vecchio which has a hilltop Citadel overlooking the harbour area. While easy to stroll around it was a little quiet up top so we descended to the port and walked along the promenade which was a little busier. The next day we drove to Bonifacio for a visit. Their massive Citadel perched at the top of a limestone cliff had a 100 metre drop into the sea. Monks had carved a stone staircase into the cliff, so a steep 189 step path was an alternative to the 100 metre dive if the fort was attacked from the mainland. While looking for a place to park, our chariot suffered a wheel fender scratch trying to navigate a narrow old town street. The cobblestone, downhill, small step (5 cm drop every 2 metres) with a narrow curve near the bottom did not seem like a reasonable choice. Then, the resulting 15 point turn didn't go according to plan. I blame that on the town planners from the middle ages who had no concept that cars might rule the road someday. We'll soon see who the car rental company thinks is responsible. After that episode we grabbed a spot on the outskirt of the Citadel and made the wiser decision to walk through the old town maze of streets and later settling for a meal back down by the port.

On a very windy day (50-60 km/hr) we decided on a road trip into the mountains to minimize any walkabouts. While we managed to see some wonderful sights (the Col de Bavella spiked rock mountaintop and L'Ospedale reservoir), the torrential wind brought down branches and some trees covering the road surface, and eventually we ran into a road closure due to the damage resulting in a return trip rather than the loop planned. Another day we drove over to nearby Palombaggia Beach, the top rated beach in Corsica. On a quiet day we walked along the white sand beach that stretched for almost 2 km's. It had a massive parking lot for the large summer crowds and a several hot weather beachfront bars to cater to their needs (all closed). Another day we did a coast-to-coast drive, heading inland to the large mountain town of Levie, then on to Sartene (piracy history), and finally to the west coast port town of Propriano where we had a late lunch by the harbourfront. We drove back along the southern coast on a blue sky day with the Italian island of Sardinia clearly visible. We saw Sardinia a second time on a day where we drove out to Cape Pertusato, east of Bonifacio. where we had excellent views of the lighthouse and the white limestone cliffs supporting Bonifacio.

As like many of our adventures we ended our French trip with a visit to Basel to see our Swiss daughter and her partner. Beyond the nice way to finish a long trip with them by our side, they always have interesting outings planned for our stay. This time it was not only to the enjoyable European Christmas markets, where participants wander amongst the multitude of stalls with a refillable cup of hot mulled wine in their hand, but also to an outdoor Illumination show in Zurich. It was accompanied with a fondue dinner beforehand.

Bonifacio harbour with the Citadel above, protecting the old town. It was a very popular tourist town in the summer because of the beautiful beaches along the SE coast and the short ferry to Sardinia.

The Col de Bavella on a rainy, windy day. We could make out more remarkable views along the way but they were not as clear as this one. It was truly a beautiful area with loads of hiking trails that made it very popular in the summer as a way to avoid the heat.

The strong winds left many fallen trees along our drive at the Col de Bavella, eventually ending with a road closure when the road was not passable. It meant for a more cautious drive to ensure there was no oncoming traffic.

The start of our walk along the lovely white sand beach of Palombaggio. Based on the size of the massive parking lots where we entered it was obvious that this popular beach would have been crazy busy in the summer.

The main square (Place de la Liberation) in the mountain town of Sartene which had an interesting backstory. With a long history of piracy and banditry, it became known as a gangsters' paradise. Today it is a friendly town where the locals share wine, food and stories in the main gathering spot.

On our drive back from Propriano on the west coast we took the southern coastal route and found a picturesque spot with the Italian island of Sardinia in the background.

On our walk out towards Cape Pertusato we had an excellent view back to Bonifacio, perched atop the white limestone cliffs. If you look closely at the cliffs under the tower you will see the King of Aragon steps in a tiny diagonal line down to the sea.

While on our Basel walk to the Christmas Market we came across this well decorated building.

The entry point for the outdoor Illumination show in Zurich. They had an animated show for the children first, followed by an Odyssey in Space show which included some hit tunes.

The large Christmas Market in Zurich with the Opera House in the background.