We’d seen this event on our itinerary prior to the trip and not thought much about it, but now it was being billed as a much bigger deal that several higher-ups would be attending, the U.S. Consulate for Vladivostok among them.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We woke early, after what felt like the best night’s sleep I’d had in years.  Evenings in Vlad are on the cool side, perfect for sleeping.  After a rather strange breakfast of buttery succotash pasta, a fried chicken leg, and fried egg, we headed over to the botanical garden to have a look around and tag along on a series of tours lined up in honor of “Environmental Education Week”. 

Greetings from Vladivostok, Russia!

Now that I have been back a couple of days, this is the phrase that keeps coming back to describe our trip. We were happy to be there, happy to be experiencing everything together, and amazed at how much we did in such a short time.

This morning Dan and a few brave hobbits started early for the long journey to Mordor. The rest of us slept in and had a lovely three hour hike through Andean steppe vegetation.

We are in Patagonia. STOP. Weather is great. STOP. Yurts are fabulous! STOP. We will not be returning. STOP. So sorry. STOP. Have a nice life. STOP

Auracaria! Embothrium! Drimys! Oh my! We have had exciting few days in the Lake District, seeing old friends from our gardens and being captivated by new ones. We arrived in the area and nearly immediately went into the Andes to see Auracaria auracana in the wild.

Wow! No wait, that is not good enough. WOW! No, still not enough. WOWWOWWOWWOW!!!! We saw some amazing gardens designed by Juan Grimm, a Chilean architect who has designed over 300 fabulous gardens.

We’re off to Chile for gardens, forests, wine, and adventure! Dan Hinkley and I are taking a group of 12 free spirits to this beautiful South American country for two weeks of adventure and camaraderie.