Singapore

It was a great flight from Christchurch yesterday. An older plane so the ICT entertainment options were dated but... lots of room which was brilliant. We stayed at the Park Royal on Beach Road which has a lovely pool. Great for tired legs and heat relief today. Just stayed in there until we cooled down. Now at the airport on the way to Barcelona. 

This morning we ventured out after breakfast initially to the Malay area. First stop a pose by the car share recharge point. Definitely a step up from bicycle sharing... lots of bikes locked in random places - not designated return areas??

Later, after a meet and greet with some of our travelling companions M & J set off to go up to the Marina Sands Hotel viewing area. 

Top left of building in the background...

How’s this for a view of the Gardens by the Bay..



And what would it be like to soak in this infinity pool? Only available for guests unfortunately. Hotel foyer as follows... amazing!

Diamond Wedding - Patricia and Donald Robertson - 10 May 2018

It was lovely to be able to celebrate Mum and Dad's 60th Wedding Anniversary today at 85 Grants Road.  And, yes, the cake was real - not polystyrene!

Thank you to everyone for joining us - a fun gathering of family and friends.

Dad proudly sporting his recently acquired (thanks to Nicola) stunt shirt!!

Otago Rail Trail 2018

Our wonderful crew of cyclists (Allan - tour leader, Les, Stuart, Lynette and  Andrea) set off  from Clyde on Easter Saturday on the cycle adventure of Jane's life. After we passed over the Clyde bridge our first task was to ride the river trail to Alexandra. What a great start! 5 more days to go with an uphill grade for the first 3 days and some on the 4th. The downhills with a tailwind were my personal favourite.

Jane looking sporty on the riverside trail.

Lovely overnight stay at Ophir - can thoroughly recommend the Blacks Hotel
- themed rooms were amazing!

We stayed in the policeman's house in 
St Bathans - Jane with her eyes closed overnight because of the ghost stories!! Beautiful venue and probably my favourite. This is where we finally located our treasure on the shores of the lake.

This shed has been returned and restored having been removed
 when the railway was decomissioned

Along the length of the railtrail is a display of art objects
which depict the extent of the solar system in proportion.

The triumphant adventurers at the end of the trail -
6 days of amazing cycling through fabulous Graeme Sydney vistas.

Bolivia

Bolivia has been a treasure in the last days of our travel. Getting out of Peru is a story in itself as the  computers were down and the line wasn't moving anywhere but thanks to our handy guide and the local police we were able to make our connection.

We boarded our catamaran for 2 lovely days on Lake Titicaca in Casablanca. The border crossing into Bolivia was less than 2 minutes.

Having received a blessing from the priest on Sun island we posed for a photo opportunity. Lovely island. Would have been good to spend more time here exploring.

Back to the catamaran for yet more food!

Peaceful sunset from our cabin window. Rainy overnight but clearing in the morning.

One of the villages we visited. Had to take a small boat to this village and then rowed to the next archeological site through the reeds. Fortunately we were just passengers.

Vantage point in La Paz. Could have spent more time here too. Busy but a lovely feel. Average height above sea level: 3800m.

On one of the cable cars. Great way to travel in the city. All part of new infrastructure in the city so very new.

Medicinal herbs etc. in the witch doctor's market.

Moon valley and in the distance  - the flat green area- (squint and you'll see it) the highest golf course in the world.

To Puno

Long bus voyage to Puno today. This church is fully painted inside and intact. The Sistine chapel of Peru. Beautiful. 

One of the view stops. Beautiful textiles here. The alpaca wool was beautiful. If I ever come back I'm bringing a spare suitcase and not to knit Peggy squares. Lol.

Most of the way was like this. Beautiful country. As came closer to the lake there were heaps of service stations in a row. Apparently for money laundering???

The city before our destination shocked us all. We were praying our bus didn't have to stop. Here's an intersection with a s ample of tuktuk.

And at last - Puno. Beautiful from across the lake but not for wandering.

Sacred Valley

We headed out of Cusco through the winding narrow roads of the city with construction sites everywhere. Wharton we have found out is the locals are never finished building because of the costs of materials etc and the situation where they have to pay hefty taxes on completion. Dogs everywhere are contented, friendly and socialised. Apparently most have families and come home for dinner but are free to roam throughout the day. With the busy traffic it's interesting to see them looking both ways and going for the gap...Have only seen 2 that didn't make it in our whole trip.

Textile centre and showing us how they use alpaca.

On the hills above Cusco - more archeological sites. Martin can remember the name of this one. Sounds like Sexy woman.

In the Sacred valley. A really comprehensive agricultural, fortification and religious structure. 27 storeys!

View from the top. Olle... Will look it up. :-)

Our lovely hotel at yuk any was a paradise.

Train trip to the village below Machu Pichu

In the bus heading up the switchbacks . Actually the road was terrific. Paced with concrete set with stones on the corners and sneaky wider bits to pas on. 

Made it and it really is amazing,

As you can see it may have rained unexpectedly. My hair emulating the peak behind but it was a great evperience. Would have been good to have another day here to explore.

Cape gooseberry snack on the train back to Cusco.