A day tour of Rio - part 2 : Sugarloaf mountain

The previous post on this series is here..

After lunch we were picked up and the smaller group went to Sugarloaf mountain as part of the afternoon Viator all day Rio trip.

There is a stop in between from the ground level at another mountain called Urca hill with a visitor center in it. This place had some amazing shops with art work and some nice places to eat.

The views from the cable cars were amazing. We met a total of 9 desis on this entire trip, an all time low for our international travels to date! 

It was two different cable car rides, one to the hill and from hill to mountain.

Given the dark clouds, our guide took us straight to the top and said we could always spend time in the first stop on the way back. Urca hill is full of jack fruit trees!!!! San just went nuts seeing them!

Luckily the clouds disappeared and we got to spend a good 45 minutes there, eat ice cream and take more photos. 

We got spectacular views of Rio from both the vista points and the cable car ride was great! Apparently we went on the third generation cable car. The first two cars used were on display at Urca hill

 Vaugely remember the Yellow Santa being there on Urca hill in one of the Panetone bread stores.. Some pictures are already missing from my phone! Yet another reason to blog right after a trip! Summer Christmas in the southern hemisphere is interesting.. Almost 100 degree heat on Christmas eve is a different experience.

Then we were back down to a monument where we waited for our van and were dropped off near our hotel.

San and the kids decided to try a place called Que Quieres en route to our Airbnb..

They were very happy with the food. I steered clear off it for fear of allergies and made and ate grilled cheese sandwiches and thachchi mummum in the Airbnb and we called it a night!

A video of the afternoon tour..

We still had two days, two more beaches to see and nothing else to do.. but we decided to have those last two days as relaxing days. We had done a lot with this all day tour, thanks to Viator!

Santorini bus tour in parts - Pyrgos monastery, a kitten and Kamari beach

The previous post on this series is here..

After our lunch, ocean fun and ice cream at Perissa, we were back in the bus climbing to the top of the hill on this side of Santorini to go to the Monastery.. a few hundred years old, this place had reclusive monks who did not want to contact outside world for some time. They even buried their dead inside is what our guide told us.

 They did open up and have a store near the outside chapel eventually. The whole place was interesting and quiet. Then it got pretty windy and we were told not to have high hopes for later in the evening, given rain clouds were rolling in. 

We saw everyone go kiss the same objects and pictures.. couldn't have been good during COVID times! The small chapel was really beautiful. 

While we were being told that, a kitten walked out of nowhere and decided to sit on my lap. I love animals. They seem to love me too.. however god has played a cruel trick. I am almost allergic to all cats. Initially the family panicked. They did not want me sick before the last stop. A few people tried to lure it away, but no! The kitten just sat on my lap for a good 10 minutes. Finally the little one grabbed it and placed it on the floor and we had to leave. Apparently six kittens were just born a few weeks back in the Monastery. This was one of those six. Did have watery eyes for a few minutes later in the night, but didn't get sick as everyone expected. 

We got amazing views of the Perissa beach from the Monastery.

The little one was still mesmerized by the cat...

Then we drove down to Kamari beach area. Guess this tour has a tie up with some wine makers in Santorini. So we stopped at a rest area near the black beach, and were offered three wines or Cherry juice. Skipped it and ate the crackers. For some strange reason we were hungry. We walked to the beach across the street and took pictures. This beach was full of pebbles but there were no people on this side as far as the eye could see! There were pistachio trees here other than olive trees in this area.. that was a change!

Caught the little one in one of her moments..

We did get to see a real donkey on the way to this place..Apparently there was a time when every house had a donkey to haul things up and down the hillsides of this island !!

A video clip of this leg of the bus tour! 

After this short break, we were off to to go up and around all the way to Oia.. the last stop and grand finale for the tour!

Banff Day3 - Sulfur Mountain and Sanson Peak

We went to Banff July 8-12! Hit a lot of spots, hiked 38 miles in 60 hours and the series of blog posts that were still pending never made it.. thanks to covid recovery, Half dome prep and hike, a sick kid at home, not to mention other major events that don't merit a mention here for weird reasons!

Finally getting to finishing that blog series (as I have to clean out photos on my iPhone) over the long weekend. The last post in this series is here..

We had already had a long day hiking in Lake Louise, Lake Moraine, Paradise creek, Johnston Canyon, Inkpots and now we were told that if we got lucky, we could go to the top of the highest local mountain in Banff downtown area called Sulfur mountain.. that too on a gondola. Then if there is enough time at the top, go hike to Sanson peak on that mountain range. 

San is my lucky charm. She has good parking karma! We managed to find parking at the gondola, get tickets right in time and were up and away! Once up there, we saw a bunch of folks walking to Sanson peak. That is a mile plus walk one way on a nice boardwalk that is set up. It has a lot of steps though. San was hesitant about us making it to the top of the peak and back, in time for our return Gondola. We had an hour and 20 mins at the top total and when we realized this hike was staring at us, 10 mins had gone by. 

We did make it to the top and back with 5 minutes to spare. San was super proud of me (let this blog remember that even if I don't, as such moments are rare) for making it after all that hiking. 

If you are in Banff, don't miss this. It is a literal copy of the gondola in Interlaken, Switzerland. In fact the gondola is made by the same company! The scenic beauty of Banff as you go up a fast gondola is amazing!

 

Did I already tell you about San's photo skills improving on this trip?

It was a long way down and up to Sanson peak.. after all that previous hiking in the day! It was also a hot afternoon..

They had a few restaurants in the four story building at the top (very similar to Interlaken) but they were very crowded and expensive. We didn't have the time to even get a chai there with the lines. In Switzerland, they do some crowd control, here they don't. 

The views along this walk were just amazing! 

All said and done, we had a great experience on Sulfur mountain. After this it was a quiet ride back to our hotel area, to the desi place for one last dinner. The Indian resturant did not disappoint. I asked for the paneer again and gobbled it up. If I visit Banff again, the number one reason might as well be the Paneer butter masala at the Indian curry house! 

guess it is lunch time as I am typing the blog... Back to Banff..this photo was taken in the middle of the road as we crossed. They block the main road so restaurants can seat folks outside for the evening. Great place to walk. Lots of flowers, decorations! Should visit this Christmas time if we go again!

A video of the Sulfur mountain experience.. 

Don't miss it!

The next morning, we made a few stops before getting back to Calgary airport. Every stop was interesting..

More to come..