Lesleyanne Ryan. Canadian Armed Forces Veteran. Peacekeeper. Novelist. Photographer. Traveller. Cat Lover.
If you like adventure travel, then a safari should be at the top of your bucket list.
I had done a couple of game drives while on tour in South Africa but I wanted a tour more focused on the game drives. The obvious choice was Kenya and Tanzania and the Eldertreks‘ tour was one of the most comprehensive tours I could find. Continue reading “Kenya and Tanzania with Eldertreks”
20 March to 12 April 2018
The Atacama had always been on my list of places to see, and when I went looking for a tour, I had expected to find one that went north from Santiago or south from La Paz. When I found this tour, I wasn’t sure what northern Argentina had to offer.
A few minutes of Googling answered that question.
What I found was a region full of history, culture and wildlife. A region of mind-blowing scenery that gave us a glimpse into the Earth’s distant past.
A region that sees few foreign tourists and truly is a hidden treasure.
I wrote this tale as we travelled, so it is very detailed. You can start with Day One or navigate to individual pages via the Table of Contents.
My photos are currently being uploaded to my flickr page.
Enjoy.
🙂
Nepal and Bhutan
9 – 25 October 2017
This tour was supposed to be in Tibet, but in mid-September, the Chinese government decided to hold a high level Congress meeting in Lhasa for a week in October. For this reason, the border was scheduled to close starting on 17 October.
Right in the middle of our tour.
So, with less than a month to departure, Eldertreks scrambled to assemble a tour of Bhutan so that we didn’t have to change our flights. They sent an itinerary to everyone on the tour to see who wanted to go.
All eleven agreed. For myself, there wasn’t a second though. Bhutan was high on my list.
When I told people the tour had been changed to Bhutan, the first thing a lot of them said to me was, “where?”
That’s where. 🙂
Despite the short notice, Eldertreks put together a great itinerary and everyone on the tour was open to adjustments as necessary. In fact, this had to be one of the best groups – both the guides and fellow travellers – that I’ve travelled with.
In Nepal, we visited Kathmandu, Patan, Bhaktapur and the Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery in Namo Buddha. (As with all the photos in this tale, click on the photo to see a larger image).
And in Bhutan, we visited Paro, Thimphu, Panakha, Phobjikha Valley and Haa Valley.
Thanks to Bob for the Google Earth images of the tour route.
You can navigate the tale from the Table of Contents.
And all my photos are on my flickr page.
Enjoy!
🙂
Egypt – Land of the Pharaohs
15 February to 12 March 2017
In 1994, I was serving with the United Nations in Bosnia and decided to take my two weeks leave in Egypt. With a few rolls of film and a cheap 35mm camera, I spent time in Cairo, Hurghada and did the Nile cruise. In all, I took 118 pictures.
I’ve always wanted to go back and take 1000.
Or 5,385.
The Eldertreks tour is the most comprehensive tour of Egypt that I was able to find and it includes visits to areas I did not see in 1994 including Alexandria, the western desert, Abu Simbel and the Sinai.
I wrote this tale as I travelled and it is very detailed. You can start with the Travel Days or navigate to individual days via the Table of Contents.
All my photos can be found on my flickr page and I had a little fun replicating some of the photos I took in 1994.
Enjoy!
Eldertreks: Costa Rica – Rainforest Adventure
12-28 December 2016
I had been looking at Costa Rica for some time but most of the tours I had researched were only a week long. I knew Costa Rica had more to offer, so when I saw Eldertreks‘ thirteen day adventure tour for people over fifty, I knew this was the one.
I’ve been on tours that concentrated on cultural, historical or scenic elements. This one was just plain fun. Outside of the beautiful scenery, we went ziplining, river rafting and horseback riding. We also did a couple of short hikes in the rainforest, saw a lot of wildlife, bathed in hot springs, had a lunch with a local family and much more. None of the activities were too strenuous so that anyone in reasonable health could do it all.
I wrote this tale as I travelled so it is very detailed (and might have a few typos that I’m slowly getting around to fixing). You can start with the Travel Days or navigate to individual pages on the Table of Contents.
All the photos from this tour can be found on my flickr page.
Enjoy!
🙂
