Jerry

The first pic is of a demonstration at San Francisco Square - taken from the roof of the Basilica of San Francisco; the other pics were taken within the Basilica; taking pics within the sanctuary was not alliwed, but it was beautiful; La Paz, Bolivia; March 2025

I stopped briefly in Bogota on my way to Bolivia. The first two pics are the Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica; the third is the National College of Saint Bartholomew;; and the last pic is the National Shrine of Our Lady of Carmen - built in the 1920s and 1930s; Bogota, Colombia; March 2025

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Hollywood - a place to be silly and in awe at the same time. Los Angeles; March 2025

Ushuaia, Argentina - the world’s southernmost city - located on the Beagle Channel and surrounded by spectacular mountains, some forested and some barren. The first pic is in the city; the others are of the Beagle Channel from our ship returning from the South Atlantic Ocean and Antarctica.

My final days along the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula - yes, it was cold and I wore a parka, except for photos. Antartica; February 2025

Chinstrap penguins - not as handsome as the gentoo but they seemed to be having more fun! Antarctica; February 2025

The weather suddenly went bad - even the chinstrap penguins and seals looked miserable! Antarctica; February 2025

More along the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula - before the weather went bad. February 2025

We spent part of a day in this sound between Ronge, Danco, and Cuverville Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. I was not usually so scantily clad in Antarctica - only for a few photos! February 2025

Gentoo Penguins / Danco Island: of the 18 species of penguin the Gentoo is the third largest and has the most prominent tail. The first pic was on the ship just before suiting up for a walk among Gentoo on Danco Island - those are Gentoo around my head in the 2nd pic. Antartica; February 2025

Portal Point - my first landing on the continent of Antarctica; February 2025 🧊🧊🧊

Deception Island - a volcanic caldera - part of the South Shetland Islands archipelago off the Antarctic Peninsula. Once anchored we took small boats to a volcanic black sand / gravel beach to explore an abandoned whaling operation including enormous tanks that once held whale oil; February 2025

Puente de la Mujer - a single mast rotating footbridge completed in 2001; designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and similar to another bridge designed by him that I’ve visited in Redding, California. Also known as the Woman’s Bridge; Puerto Madero area of Buenos Aires; January 2025

Obelisk / Obelisco de Buenos Aires - constructed in 1936 (built in less than 6 weeks!) to commemorate the 400 year anniversary of the 1536 founding of Buenos Aires. The pic of me is from January 2007; the others from January 2025

La Boca - a funky, eclectic, tourism conscious neighborhood close to the old port in Buenos Aires, Argentina; January, 2025.

Nuestra Senora de Belen Church in San Telmo, Buenos Aires, Argentina; a Jesuit church dating to 1734; January, 2025

Teatro Colon - one of the best opera and symphony performance spaces in the world; completed in 1908. There are 2487 seats and standing capacity for hundreds. This was my first time visiting as it was being renovated when I was first in Buenos Aires in 2007. Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires; January 2025

Infinity / sunset in Puerto Vallarta; December 2024

Los Arcos: a cluster of seastacks south of Puerto Vallarta; two have tunnels, making them “arches”. Hundreds of birds nest on the seastacks (Blue-footed Boobies, Frigates, Great Blue Heron, etc). The first pic of me is late 2024; the pic on the boat from 2022. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; 2024 and 2022

Playa de los Muertos / Beach of the Dead: so named because the bodies of several sailors washed onto the beach after a shipwreck close to shore in the early 1500s. This beach is adjacent to the Romance District in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; the pier was built in 2013; all pics are from 2024.

Puerto Vallarta from Mirador de la Cruz, a viewpoint reached by climbing 312 steps (not my count). Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; November 2024

Vallarta Botanical Gardens / Our Lady of the Garden Chapel: i like bird watching at these gardens 15 miles south of Puerto Vallarta. These local birds are a yellow-winged cacique; a golden-cheeked woodpecker; and a green jay. December 2024.

Banderas Bay: we hiked to a view point above Puerto Vallarta. The bay teems with wildlife: on my recent visit I saw whales, dolphins, stingrays, and sea turtles. The sun is setting over Cape Corrientes where there are miles and miles of pristine, undeveloped coastline. PV, Mexico; November 2024

Yelapa is the southernmost inhabited place on Banderas Bay. There is no road to Yelapa so we arrived by boat. The waterfall is a 20 minute walk from the beach. Yelapa, Jalisco, Mexico - southwest of Puerto Vallarta; November 2024

Rhythms of the Night: a one hour cruise across Banderas Bay / the Bay of Flags; a shoreline walk amid atmospheric characters; dinner; and a dramatic show with an acrobatic cast, seemingly of thousands, astride a Mayan faux-pyramid. A blast 🚀💥 of a Saturday night in Puerto Vallarta 🇲🇽; November 2024

While in the city of Toluca after our hike on nearby Nevado de Toluca we visited Cosmovitrol arboretum. The plants are interesting but the stained glass murals (from the 1970s-80s) are spectacular. The murals encircle the entire building and run along the ceiling. November 2024

This is the rim of stratovolcano Nevado de Toluca. The hike isn’t long hike but is at high elevation - 14,075 feet / 4290 meter elevation at the spot where we could first see the floor of the crater (there are two lakes in the crater - see my last two posts). Mexico; November 2024

The smaller of the two lakes in the crater of Nevado de Toluca is Lago del Luna (Moon Lake). Nevado de Toluca is a 15,350 foot stratovolcano in central Mexico. We hiked to the crater after driving from the city of Toluca. November 2024

Lago del Sol (Sun Lake) in the crater of Nevado de Toluca (elevation: 15,350 feet), a stratovolcano about 50 miles west of Mexico City. The crater has an elliptical shape with a diameter of 1.5 to 2 kilometers. Lago del Sol (Sun Lake) is the largest of the two lakes in the crater. November 2024