Virtuoso Life - July/August 2008 - (Page 88) READERS SPEAK Where You’ve Been A WHALE TO REMEMBER We spent ten days on the island of Moorea in French Polynesia in a glass-floored bungalow over the reef, which dropped off into a deep channel right off our lanai. A large octopus lived right under our bungalow, and we spent hours watching him prowl around through the “window” in the floor. Mornings and afternoons we would snorkel along the precipice for a mile or so in each direction. Every day I swam across the channel to the barrier reef, where there was a large sand plain and coral knobs covered with giant clams in the most incredible hues. Humpback whales passed by just outside the reef, and we could watch them leap from our bungalow. Dolphins and jacks sometimes cruised by in the channel at our doorstep. During a dolphin- and whale-watching excursion, a curious mother humpback and her baby came right up to our little boat; mama rolled over to look at us with one of her giant, intelligent eyes. She rested against the boat, considering us as her baby cavorted around us. In the afternoons we drank piña coladas, played cards, and listened to the rain drum on the thatched roof. We didn’t watch TV, listen to the radio, or even read a paper. It was the most at peace I’ve ever been in my life. A Private Flight down Memory Lane During a trip to Swaziland and South Africa, I jokingly asked the pilot of our sightseeing flight to take us from Kruger National Park to Barberton – where my grandfather (my mom’s father) was born. He said no problem and made the arrangements for the following day. We flew over Kruger National Park and spent the day visiting Barberton. The pilot even bought our lunch. Full FamIlY aFFaIr Three generations of my family made a grand tour of the national parks: Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Glacier, and Banff in Canada. It was a special trip for my father-in-law, who had spent parts of his youth in the Tetons and at Yellowstone. We revisited campsites and the starting position for his ascent of Grand Teton as a youth. our family hiked, rafted, visited geysers, saw elks and wolves, and got along from start to finish! Those Were the Days Ninety-three days driving around Europe in 1963 in a Citroën 2CV. The dollar was king and we were young. Close Galápagos Encounter I brushed wet hair out of my eyes and almost fell over him as I walked from the surf onto the beach. Not four inches from my bright red toenails were two dark eyes, a wet nose, and a puppylike inquisitive face. A fearless Galápagos sea lion pup not more than a week old stared straight up at me. Alas, I had no fish for him, but I did snap a picture. For me, the photo of ten bright red toes and a staring sea lion captured the essence of Galápagos Islands wildlife, unaffected by the fear of humans as predators. 88 V I RT U O S O L I F E
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