Babylonstoren, a three-hundred-year-old farm, first established to grow fruit and vegetables for the Dutch Spice Traders, was purchased in 2007 from a Dutch family that had owned it for over 160 years by a South African billionaire, by the name of Koos Bekker. He and his wife invested hundreds of millions to make it a modern, self sufficient farm and tourist attraction. What brings people here from Cape Town and all over…
We just returned from a South African adventure that was over a year in the making. On a trip to Machu Pichu, we met a couple who raved about a recent trip there. While the long flight had always been a discouragement, we discovered tickets for business class on Turkish Air that were a third of the price of our usual US carrier. We talked to some friends who had flown it…
Our son and his girlfriend chartered a catamaran in Tortola and invited us along. The bedroom was a bit cozy and the toilets, which cannot accept toilet paper, reminded us we were ‘roughing it’. But a boat in the Caribbean? How rough a week is that? We started our visit in White Bay on Jost Van Dyke Island at the Soggy Dollar bar, which sells colorful t-shirts and serves a famous rum…
Growing up near Niagara Falls, New York, I have always taken for granted that water sometimes creates a waterfall. It might even be massive, as the one on the Niagara river. But Karen and I heard tales of a waterfall that is over a mile across and higher than the one I know so well. It just happens to be near the confluence of the Iguazu and Parana rivers, where Brazil, Argentina…
While on a trip to Lake Como, we decided to take a tour up the lake from our base in the city of Como. We talked with a guide we had used for a quick city tour. She recommended a fast boat up to Villa de Balbianello, a state preserve of Italy which has been a location for various films, and a short visit to Bellagio. She got our attention by telling…