Chiva Tour in Baños Sounds Like Something Naughty

Time is passing so fast; it is more of a daze as opposed to days flying by. It seems like we just left Cuenca and already we have traveled and traveled around this glorious country.  Our

first full day in Baños, we signed up for a Chiva Tour. A chiva is a colorful rainbow vehicle that looks like a cross between an old-fashioned train and a flatbed truck. The fee was $6 per person including an English and Spanish speaking guide. WRONG! He, the guia, spoke only Spanish. Apparently, since there were only three English speakers, so he did not bother. 

The only time he spoke English was to try to get us to pony up

more money for the cable car ride where the group waited 20 minutes for those who wanted to risk life and limb to go back and forth over the canyon. An open-air cable car with low barriers all around was not my idea of a

good time. At the next stop, there was an attempt at getting us to zip line. Again, another 45 minutes flashed by while waiting for the others to put on their gear, before they went speeding off over the canyon. When the last one took off, we took off by Chiva to pick them up on the other side. All were accounted for, no tragedies.

The final layover was for those who wanted to pay yet another $1 to go for a hike down to the waterfalls. It was forty-five minutes free time or doing nothing time for those who did not want to climb down the hill and back up again. Those over 50 years old, who did it, said it was overexerting and some turned back half way. Even some of the younger people returned huffing and puffing claiming it was not worth the energy. You can guess which category we include ourselves. 

I was entertained by this dog. I could say "I chewed his ear off

with platitudes", but in fact, I found him adorable.

Just for the ride in the open air on the Chiva, it was okay. If you expect to get a tour, chances are you may not, unless you are in the majority language group. One needs to be prepared to shell

out more money along the way for other "opportunities”.  Alternatively, you can rent a bike or go-cart and do it on your own. The go-cart probably requires a driver’s license, which neither of us has, so we are out of luck. 

For dinner, Ron chose to go to the Swiss Bistro, after reading about on TripAdvisor. I left with mixed feelings. To be fair, the restaurant itself is great. Outside, the restaurant decoration is spots of black and white cow-like patterns. I guess Swiss cows are too monochrome to make the walls exciting. Inside, there are multiple levels to find tables. We chose the outside balcony on the upstairs level, though there was plenty of room upstairs inside. As it was getting chilly out, a staff member immediately lit the heaters. It started raining hard and the woman staff person asked if we wanted to move indoors; we were the only people outside. 

We stayed to listen to the rain and enjoy the flora. The atmosphere is outstanding, if quirky for Ecuador. There are Swiss flags, Swiss candleholders, and a good deal of cow paraphernalia adding to the atmosphere. Actually, you are never sure if this is a restaurant or a dairy farm. 

The woman server was attentive without being overbearing. We felt cared for, but not dominated. She performed with excellence so must have been well trained or she has an intuitive nature for this type of work.

When we opened the menu, we were a bit taken aback by the prices. Having been in Ecuador for over 2 months, the prices were sticker shock. Based on our previous experiences with similar restaurants in Cuenca and even Guayaquil, they were high. We had to restrict what we ordered as we only walked out with $35 and no credit card. As helpful as the menu may try to be with multiple languages, I found it confusing looking for the English under each item. They different languages did not seem to follow a pattern under each menu item. That said, I used prices to guide my choices so we did not have to leave one of us hostage while the other did a hotel run for more money.

With this in mind, I ordered the Swiss Rosti; though I was not entirely clear what it was. I went for the farmer option. What arrived was a small cast iron skillet filled with bland white food. The dish consisted of what seemed to be hash brown potatoes, with sliced ham bits (I thought the menu said sausage) Gruyere cheese layered on top and finished off with a fried egg. As much as I love cheese of any variety or country of origin, there was nothing here to bring out any significant flavoring overall. Mild flavor added to mild flavor does not create anything piquant.

Ron ordered Capun - what we read was this is a traditional dish of Swisse. He too received a similar cast metal frying pan with three balls of chard filled with spätzle, Parmesan cheese and covered with a cream sauce. This was the large portion. Was the small portion one ball?

Diminishing our anticipation of a delightful dinner by our lackluster choices, we enjoyed the ambiance instead. Again, this is partially our fault for not carrying enough cash, but it does not resolve the issue of spice and flavor.

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Into the Clouds

What made my heart sing was the cable car ride we took to the peak of the Untersberg Mountain. This is one of the largest in the area and extends into Germany, creating a natural border. The cable car travels at 7 miles per hour from the base station at 456 meters above sea level to the top station at 1,776 meters, making an altitude difference of 1,320 meters. The ride on a two cable system lasts for 9 minutes, but the viewing is spectacular from the cable car and once you arrive at the peak. There was some religious ceremony going on at the next to highest peak, with the highest there was a huge cross. Neither attraction prompted me to venture beyond the hiking that I did do over loose rocks, steep inclines and no guard rails along the way. If Julie Andrews or Jesus were appearing at the top peak, it would not have motivated me further.

Spending over an hour here, we were first in line for the cable car down, which was luck as we shared it with many of the people involved in the celebratory mass. This was clearly evident in their soldier costumes that spanned many centuries. We never did find out what it was. Normally, the cable car ride would be 21 Euros per person. You are stuck with a round trip, as you cannot get down without the cable car unless you are a mountain goat.

The bus that leaves the cable car also stops at Hellbrunn Palace with their 'world famous' trick fountain. Shortly after ascending to the throne in 1612, Salzburg's Prince Archbishop Markus Sittikus von Hohenems didn't waste any time spending the monies collected from the serfs and tradesmen under him. This palace served as a country residence, a place to entertain guests, but not to accommodate them. The prince loved Italian art and culture, so had this elegant entertainment center fashioned on that style. Admission 9.50 Euros.

Hellbrunn Mountain has many water outlets in it, thus making the main theme for Hellbrunn Palace one of water. It is famous for its "trick fountains". Having heard too much about them beforehand, they were disappointing in reality. Perhaps this was because they are only available by tour which is bilingual. The German narration goes on and on, people laugh, and there is more narration still. The English version when translated is a couple of sentences long with no instilled humor. The main attraction was the Wasserspiele, an impressively oversized Baroque village where hundreds of human figures completed a days routine around the village all powered by water.

We toured the gardens or so we thought. They were rather extensive, but what we did not realize is that it does go on for acres more behind a line of trees with a pathway in the center. Rather than walk more miles around flowers, we put our energy into touring the interior. Lavish! Expensive! It may have been more impressive if you were not a minimum wage earner that had high taxes to support the lifestyle of the rich and famous. 

As tempting as the zoo was, being just one bus stop back to town and free with the card, the number of people jockeying for room on the bus dissuaded us from that idea, besides it was late in the afternoon anyway. There would not have been much time to taunt the animals. We decided that tourist watching in the Dom square would be just as much fun. Ron had forgotten his camera yesterday, so we did a rerun of the cemetery for his photo ops. Everyone was still resting in peace or pieces as the case may be. 

Having performed our great feat of using our feet, by 6pm we needed a hotel break for an hour. Although we have utilized the buses fairly well, we have still racked up the miles walking up and down the river and around town. From our hotel to the center of Old Town is about 1 1/2 miles by river route. The exercise is exhilarating. Before we put our feet up, we went to the corner restaurant to check it out as a dinner possibility. As quaint as could be, we decided this was a contender for our dinner money. Just to be certain, we spent the time it took to drink a beer to get a feel of the atmosphere.

After a respite, we walked back to the Old Town to see what happens on a Saturday night. Not much of anything happens, actually; most of the stores close up by noon or 1 pm just like much of Europe. There were a few stores still open, those that prey on tourists and pray those tourists will spend some cash. Even a number of the restaurants were closed, so that solidified the decision to eat at the local place, Steirische Weinstuben. Rather than the traditional veal, I had pork Wienerschnitzel. It was the best I have ever had. The lady who runs the restaurant along with her aunt was lovely, bouncy, and full of energy. They came to say good-bye, thanked us for coming and wished us a pleasant stay.

One thing that impressed me about the Salzburg people is everyone seemed to speak English. Normally, this would not surprise me in a touristy setting like restaurants or shops, but we asked strangers on the street for directions or for assistance in reading the bus schedule. Their English was flawless. Kudos to you!

Our Salzburg Card tally now is at 30.50 Euros in our favor.

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News Around Town Part 2

I am not certain who is funding this, but there is a plan afloat to build a cable car line stretching from the Pest side's Vigadó tér in District V crossing over the Danube to Buda Castle district on the other side. This was announced on June 7th at the first Budapest Tourism Conference that was held in Parliament. Of course, as all things construction, all of the necessary permissions need to be gathered, in triplicate and then rubber stamped with 7 different stamps to be followed by a declaration from some higher power before anything can start.


The cost of this joy ride, called Várkabin (Castle Cabin) will run €22.6-€30 million of private funds. Someone has deep, deep pockets. If all goes well and the schedule is maintained, the glassed-in cabins will commence the trans-Danube shuffle in one and a half-to two years. Estimated cost will be €5-€6 per person. Hmmm... a glass cabin in the heat of the summer. I wonder if there will be air conditioning or if they will rename it Sauna Cabin during the hot months. This will take a bite out of the funicular business for sure.


Depending on this ever (excuse the pun) getting off of the ground, it will later be extended to the Citadel on top of Gellért Hill. 

Related articles

• Bathed in history in Budapest (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• The Cave Church in Budapest (neatorama.com)
• Shoes on the Danube (thetravelbunny.wordpress.com)

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Sunday, Getting High

Queenstown is a place that knows how to capitalize on capitalization. Today is Sunday, yet by 9am all of the restaurants were open followed by the stores by 10am. Without any supplies for breakfast we went looking for an eatery. Vudu Café had received good reviews in both Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor prompting us to seek it out. There are two locations here. OH MY HEAVENS! For pancakes they charged NZ$26, while an omelet with bacon had the sticker shocking price of $32. The place was half full too. Go figure. I should have done a quick visual to see how many were eating and who only had drinks; that is the real key. Wandering around, most of the eateries had similar prices. Location, location, location.

We finally found a lovely restaurant on the second floor of the mini-mall. Windows on two sides provided a lovely view of the downtown while we were eating our “breaky croissant”. Yes, breakfast is ‘breaky’. Our croissant was halved with the bottom topped with hash browns, scrambled eggs, and then hollandaise sauce. The top was plain waiting for butter and jam. Each of us had one of these with a café latte and a long American coffee for the grand total of NZ$32. It was a sumptuous breaky with a lovely view, in calm surroundings, making it the perfect choice.

On the other side of the waterfront, there is a peninsula jutting out into the lake. We were told there is a garden there, so that was on the agenda for exploration. With the entire waterfront being exquisitely beautiful, it stood to reason that the gardens would be as well. Named the Queenstown Garden, clever name I thought, the initial area is a huge pond filled with water lilies bordered on either side by gardens of earthbound flowers. Further into the gardens are bowling greens, similar to the Italian game bocce and beyond are tennis courts, On the other side is an ice skating rink overlooking the other side of the waterfront. Ron and I decided to explore different areas and arranged to meet at a particular bench.

When I arrived early, I was taking in the view of the boats on the lake, people parasailing, and the others who were strolling on different paths. To my left, I saw this chain link basket type thing on a pole. I had no idea what it was, but it certainly would not hold trash. Just as I turned my head to the right, something yellow and pancake flat whizzed past my face; shortly it was followed by a similar item, only blue in color. I had not realized it, but I was in spectator seating for Frisbee Golf. I had heard of it, but never witnessed it.

We have probably explored the town up one side and down the other by now, but being Sunday, it has a different mystique about it. Up one street and down another, we looked in all of the windows, but never dared step foot into a store for fear there would be something screaming our name. We are especially prone to this tactic when merchandise begs us to pay the fees to help them escape indentured servant status and adopt it as our own. One store grabbed me and dragged me inside. It was a bookstore with a “BIG NEW YEARS SALE”. That always throws me off my guard allowing for the seduction to take place like the Sirens who lured the sailors in Greek mythology. Once in the store, I found a half a dozen new books I would like by authors I have read in the past, Sue Gruen, Janet Evanovitch, Jed Redfield, Patricia Cornwell, and others. Each book is giving me its own pitch on why I should cart it out of there. “You know you have always loved everything Patricia has written so far, and I am even better than the others. I would love for you to flip my pages and run your fingers over my text. Shove that bookmark deep into me when you need to put me down and I will keep it tightly in place for when you return and pull it out again.” Then another book is pulling at me “Janet’s other books all made you laugh out loud or at least chuckle, but with me she went into an entirely different direction. Would you like to explore the places I can take you? You will never think of Janet the same again.” They almost had me convinced. Each of them had a lovely front cover, but we all know about judging books by their cover. What you need to make a final judgment is to turn them over to check out the other side. Whoa Momma! Flip these babies over and what shock do you discover? A price tag of NZ$40 that is what you find there. Sorry Pat, Jan and all of the rest. I am afraid you will just have to sit here awhile longer. Someday we will all be together, but the time is not right for now.

As we walked, we came across this tiny Episcopalian church and wanted to peak in, but the service was going to start in only a few minutes. The woman priest ran into us as we were trying to catch a peek; she invited us in to services. I went once this trip filling my annual quota. She suggested we look anyway, but we said we would return later.

I did not need a crystal ball to tell me there is another bus trip in my immediate future. I am feeling too well rested for it to last. We found a bakery open, so we bought breakfast items, came back to the hostel and packed our things. For 2 nights, we will be in Millford Sound and then returning here for one night. Rather than schlep our things, we are storing them in their storage container, taking only backpacks for our 2 nights away. Electronics and toiletries are all we need. After that was taken care of, we shot up to the room for a quick nap, but upstairs or next door, someone was practicing break dancing by breaking someone’s’ bones tossing them against the wall.        

Barry and Jim, the couple we met in Christchurch strongly recommended taking the cable car to the top on the mountain and have a cheese platter once there. What they forgot to share was that it was a mile high climb to get to the ticket office. There is never a taxi around when you need it. I thought I was being smart diverting our route away from the one hundred stairs leading to the next street  by using an alternative street with a slow incline. However, one we zigged in one direction, we had to zag back again and up and up and up some more on inclined streets that are not fat people friendly who have O2 ratings in the same range as Sarah Palin’s popularity amongst Democrats. This almost made me decide to either bungee jump or parachute down the mountain. If the glacier hike and this trek to the admission office don’t kill me I must be leading a charmed life after all.

The cable car ascends 732 meters up. Once there, the view is phenomenal. We went to the place Jim and Barry suggested, but the place was filled. All along a glass wall, they have couches with coffee tables between them for eating, drinking, and viewing the panoramic sights. Fantastic, but we really wanted the cheese platter too. Besides the cable car ride, there are a couple of places to do bungee jumping, so we watched those brave souls or damn fool depending. There is what they call a luge with 2 tracks, but unlike the Olympic luge, these are like little go-carts that you drive down steep tracks. There are two observation decks so we spent a goodly amount of time watching people do things that we would never consider.

Giving it one last shot, we returned to the bar area where we were hoping to have a cheese platter. It was emptied out.  We were able to have a beer, salute Jim and Barry for the suggestion and ordered the cheese platter that they suggested. Expecting to be paying a premium for food and drink the cheese platter was only NZ$15 and the beers were 7.00 each. Another shock came when the platter was delivered. There was 5 really good sized chunks of different cheeses, more than 6 different crackers and 5 of each type, two large pieces of dried apricots, dates, cashews, raisins and fresh grapes. This turned into our dinner. Jim if you should read this, thanks for the idea. It was a perfect afternoon.  

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Skyrail in the Rainforest and Kuranda Railroad - Cairns

Another day, another tour. Today we set out for the Rainforest Skyrail Cableway and Kuranda Railway. Once again, Andrew drove us to the resort to catch our shuttle, but then ran back home to transport all of the others to the airport. We will be the only guests for the rest of our stay.

The shuttle arrived promptly with a family of five on it and within twenty minutes had us at the boarding station for the Rainforest Skyrail. We had tickets for 10:15, but arrived at 9:50 and thought we had to wait it out. However, there was no one waiting in line, so they let us on early. We had a whole gondola to ourselves. The Skyrail Cableway is 7.5 km (4.66 miles). It glides just above the rainforest canopy; each tower was put in by helicopter so as not to disturb the environment. Swiss engineers were called in to design the system, which was completed in 1995 after one year of construction. Tower six is the tallest at 40.5 meters or 133 feet. There are 114 gondolas.

After boarding it took about fifteen minutes to reach the Red Peak station, the highest point on the cableway at 545 meters or 1,788 feet high, where you get out and explore the rainforest at this point along boardwalks. Umbrellas are provided for those who did not think to bring one. A guide met us and offered us a free walking tour as he pointed out a number of trees and facts about them and this area of the rainforest in general. He was quite impressive with his knowledge. After he completed his tour, we were free to roam the area before boarding another gondola to the next section.

In another fifteen minutes of hovering over this incredible site of millions of trees and plants, we arrived at the Barron Falls Station where again we were able to walk around a boardwalk to see and read about various plants and trees. At this station is the Rainforest Interpretation Center where there are a number of displays on the rainforest and its inhabitants both animal and vegetative. We learned that Australia's rainforests are the oldest continually surviving rainforests one earth, dating back 120 million years. This rainforest occupies 900,000 hectares. Australia's rainforests have 2,800 plant species, of which 380 are considered threatened. Seven hundred of them are not found anywhere else in the world.

Also calling the rainforest home is the Southern Carrowary, the largest flightless bird of Australia, two types of tree kangaroos, the primitive Musky Rat kangaroo, the largest butterfly of the continent, the Cairns Birdwing. There are three lookouts that provide a great view of Barron Gorge and Falls. We spent a good deal of time wandering here, before boarding another gondola for the balance of the journey.

At the end, we disembarked in the village of Kuranda. Very touristy, it is souvenir shops and restaurants galore. We had train tickets for the railroad going back down at 3:30, the last train of the day. There are only two of them and the earlier one is at 2:00. We went to the butterfly sanctuary to spend some time. We hesitated at the $16.00 entry fee per person, but once in, realized it was well worth the money. There are over 2,000 butterflies of various species at any given time. After ten minutes in we were offered a free guided tour. Our guide explained the details of half a dozen different breeds of butterflies, their life stages, their sex life, colorations, and so on. The amount of information was incredible, but the beauty of the Ulysses butterfly with its vibrant blue wings outshone anything she had to say. Two of them landed on her chest. She was wearing a white t-shirt with a Ulysses butterfly on it. There is also a large green species that I cannot recall the name of that was an incredible emerald green. At the end of the tour in the butterfly area, she took us into the museum to show us butterflies of the world. Mother nature is quite the artist. Some had wings that when opened looked like snake heads to thwart their enemies.

We really ran through the village concerned about missing the train, but actually arrived with almost three quarters of an hour to spare. With assigned seats on the railway, we boarded. The seating is cushioned bench type seating with four seats across from four seats across. We were on the end with the aisle, not providing the best views. No air conditioning made it hot and steamy, so everyone opened every window in the car, but as the female conductor came through, she closed them all again. The ride is twenty-one miles long, but takes one hour and forty-five minutes to complete. It is considered one of the most scenic rail journeys in the world and would be if we had seats that did not look out on rock sidings. We passed through Barron Gorge National Park passing gorges and waterfalls on the way. It rises to a height of 1,076 feet and makes its way through fifteen tunnels before concluding the trip. It was built by hand in the late 1880s taking five years to complete through the work of 1, 500 men working on the construction. The steam engine was retired two years ago along with some of the romance of the trip.

We took it all the way to Cairns where we thought we would have dinner and avoid another take-out menu dinner. The rain was coming in sheets here too, so we tried staying under awnings as much as possible. As we walked, we noticed the sky was littered with the bats we saw hanging from the trees on our last time here. At dusk they were flying the friendly skies looking for their meals. At times, sections of the sky were black with bats.

Not being able to decide where to eat, we wandered into one of the street markets. In the back was a food court, so Ron had fish and chips and I had Chinese. We had fifteen minutes to catch our bus, so we ran for it otherwise the next one would not be for another hour.

After fifteen minutes on the bus, the driver pulled over and told us he was letting all of us out in the rain. We had to board the bus behind him. The back bus took a different route than we were used to and for a few minutes we thought we were in trouble. When Ron asked the driver, he explained he was a local route, not an express, so there would be more stops. Trying to find our stop in the dark is challenging, but each driver has been patient enough to drive slowly when we think it is approaching.

By the evening now, it is pouring rain in buckets, but still that pool is calling out to us and the water is warm. It would be rude to decline such a gracious offer.

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The Communiqués of R to the 2nd Power 7

Ryan: "Last week I had a call from two women wanting to book a room. I got the sense they were partners. Voices can be deceiving; I pictured a couple of young sweet lipstick lesbians. I thought they were coming in at 7:00 am and told them to come directly here, drop off their stuff and then come back after the Germans left and I would have the room ready. By 9:00 they did not arrive and I was concerned, but the Germans left at 8:30 and I had the room made up and ready for the women. At 10:00 they showed up one at a time in the elevator. Both young women are taller than me and very large ladies. They are very sweet and not Americans. All the time we were sitting having tea before they ventured out, all I could think about was the bed. Will the bed survive. I could barely focus on their travel stories; I could only picture the bed collapsing again. Remember that tall heavy guy that killed it the last time? On the bright side, they brought a small jar of peanut butter and a book, but I don't know what the book is yet. They have not unpacked. I may need Balasz to help me dig out the bed from storage in the basement." Ron: "omigod... or balazs can carry two sturdy singles over from the hostel. excuse my giggles- i know the anxious feeling. i'm thinking we have to spring for heavier springs soon. the rigged bed is fine for some, but getting saggy because the rigging i did involved supports that aren't exact. but your story still makes me snort. i'll ask marge to add you to her prayer list today. we're off to mass soon. they are still having their private time in the 5th wheel, parked in the driveway. here's a funny one- i don't know what happened their first day here- i think it was fine, but last night, lawrence was joshing marge and david said, with a grin, 'now, lawrence, i don't want you talking about my wife- that's my job' or some such. got a laugh from the crowd. they and dot and el were are dressed up for the high school reunion (65, no 60th!!!). marge came home and said it was 'boring'. we don't have david's take yet on it. george leaving today. we will go to mass in the grass (in the rain?) tomorrow, visit graves, then marge and dave heading for rochester clinic to visit grandson. we will go to craig's gathering in cedar rapids for the day. postville raid all over the newspapers here. i'm interested in national/international coverage. largest raid in history Ryan: "You can snort and giggle while I feel like I have been transported into a fairy tale. Jack and the Bean Stalk or even Gulliver's Travels land of the giants. Martha sent some very touching notes about your visit. Her initial "The handing off of Ron" had me laughing. Pictured you as a hot potato. Remember that game? No word from Alec today. Monika was here by 11:00 and left at 3:30. I am socialized out. When you return, I am leaving for a Buddhist contemplative retreat. When she finally left, I did up the small room for the guest who comes tomorrow. I was going to go to the WAMP fair, but was too lazy after that. I thought a nap was in order, but watched the last 1 hour and 21 minutes of Grey's Anatomy. Soppy! I have a love/hate relationship with it. It did not come close to DH. Did you get Kate Corby's note about getting a university position? Sent her a congrats note and said you were in the States. It seems there was an even larger immigration raid in CA. Iowa is now old news and lost the record. Been reading about my gal Hillary and the faux pas with Kennedy. The media loves to hate her. Too bad about Ted. "

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Table Mountain

We were determined to get to Table Mountain this year. Last year, each day the weather was good to get up there, we had a day tour booked. The days we were free, the wind or cloud cover was too bad and they were not allowing anyone up. Today was the day and we decided we would use the Red Hop On – Hop Off tour bus for transport. For 100 Rand, you get a full day ticket and they take you directly to the cable car station.

Romaney informed us that her parents called this morning. They were on their way home and even though it will be a 10-hour drive, they are expecting us to have a dinner feast with them. She gave us a ride to the first stop of the tour bus. This truck was sitting there and I thought it was funny. We caught the first bus of the morning and listened to the tour until we reached the cable station.

It was not that busy, so the line moved quickly and we were riding the cable car soon after we arrived. As the cable car ascends and descends, it rotates 360 degrees giving a full view to everyone in the car.

As soon as you exit the car, there is a sign that if you hear an alert horn, return immediately to the cable station as weather conditions are making it dangerous to be on the mountain. With that in mind, we did not wander far, but my leg problems were another concern. Nevertheless, the views from around the cable station on the top were magnificent.

We spent an hour up there and then went back down for the tour bus once again and went to the Victoria and Albert Waterfront for some browsing before heading home again.

That evening, Patricia and Don had returned. Patricia made a lovely feast and we shared it with them, Romaney, her boyfriend, Brent, and their son Gayelen. It was good to be back.

When I told Don of my problem with the computer, he suggested I try his power pack as he also had a Toshiba. I did and it worked. Relief!!

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