SNAP THAT

It has already been quite some time since I took a safari in Kenya. It was rather pricey but I thought it was important to go on safari at least once and in particular on my first visit to the country. Am I ever glad I did. I went to the famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve (sometimes spelled Masai Mara) , one of the most popular destinations in Kenya.  I was fortunate to be there during the annual wildebeest migration, an awesome spectacle in which there are over a million wildebeest crossing the Savannah. Perhaps I will share those photos in another post once I lay hands on my older photo files. In the few photos I'm sharing today you can see the beautiful elephants, including a baby elephant, a lone giraffe and several zebras.  I have so many more photos of the beautiful wildlife in Kenya some of which I've shared on this blog over the years. In addition to the fantastic wildlife, some of which is sadly in danger of extinction, there is a wonderful variety of lodges to

An out of town friend from Calgary, Alberta was here and she took me out to Aphrodite's Organic Pie shop for a treat.  She had just finished lunch and I hadn't had any lunch so I was game. Outside waiting for our pies because inside was jam packed. There was a very boisterous crowd inside making it difficult to hear one another at times. I grabbed a seat indoors as soon as I could as it was threatening to rain. My friend, Raenelle wanted to take me to the sister restaurant of the same name, across the street. But there was a notice on the door stating that the restaurant was keeping limited hours due to lack of staff.  The notice referenced the high cost of living in Vancouver making it difficult to retain staff. I peeked in through windows and it looks like a lovely restaurant and an equally lovely patio outside. I had strawberry-rhubarb pie a la mode. My friend had cherry pie with whipped cream.  The pie was okay but the crust was very oily. I prefer

This photo is of the Vancouver Lookout located on Hastings Street and Seymour in downtown Vancouver. It is the place I went to with my friend a few weeks ago after our Harbour Cruise but I didn't take any photos from the top . Vancouver's Mayor, Gregor Robertson, proclaimed the week of June 22, 2018 as Swahili Community Day.  The inaugural celebration of this event took place on Friday evening at the Jambo Grill, an African Indian Restaurant on Kingsway Street in Vancouver.   It was a fabulous and fun celebration with music and live entertainment provided by the terrific Kurai blessing Mubaiwa , cultural ambassador from Zimbabwe (now living in Vancouver). Raffle tickets were sold for various prizes such as food gift certificates from Kenya Food and Spices and meals from Jambo Grill. Topping it off was the big prize for a return trip to Africa through the generosity of Kenyan Airways. Sadly I was not t

Hello friends, A few weeks ago I posted part one of the Vancouver Harbour Cruise which my friend invited me to join her on. If you missed it you can find it here . Today's post is the conclusion of the Harbour Tour Cruise.   The cruise is just one hour long and so it's easy to fit into a busy touring schedule. The departure point is conveniently located between the downtown Vancouver core and Stanley Park just past the Westin Hotel. Vancouver Yacht Club located a few steps from the Harbour Cruise office. The old fashioned boat named the Constitution is the boat that takes us on our journey. I rode this boat many years ago when I took my youngest sibling on a journey up to Indian Arm. I was surprised to see the boat is still in operation. That's how long ago I took the last tour! My friend poses before we board the boat. I was looking for a map of the cruising route but couldn't find one so I am sharing a map here that give