Sound like fun? Join us for experiences like these…
. . . Hordes of tourists flow through the exit gates of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as we enter the ancient city of Ephesus just before closing time. The World Heritage site is practically empty! Without the crowds, our small group can almost hear the footsteps of Marc Antony walking hand-in-hand with Cleopatra. We follow two handsome Roman “centurions” along Curates Street, through Hercules Gate and into the ancient Odeon theater. We’re startled to see ten tuxedoed musicians seated in the orchestra pit. As the shadows lengthen on this balmy summer evening, the chamber orchestra begins to play “A Little Night Music” from Mozart’s famous composition … just for us.
. . . By comparison, our tiny excursion boat is dwarfed by a massive Chinese cargo ship, with hundreds of containers stacked like colorful Lego building blocks on its deck. Our naturalist guide points out one of the world’s largest floating cranes that’s used to dredge the canal. Called the “Titan,” it was built during Hitler’s tenure in Germany, and later claimed by the victorious Americans as wartime “booty.” What a way to experience the Panama Canal – truly a wonder of the man-made world. But now we’re off to see the wildlife of this pristine rain forest: caimans, crocodiles, sloths, turtles, iguanas, birds, and monkeys. Especially monkeys. At the aptly-named “Monkey Island,” the captain turns off the motor and we drift in silence, waiting expectantly. When the resident Howler and Capuchin monkeys finally show up, we’re delighted at their graceful acrobatics as they lunge from branch to branch. Suddenly the monkeys start screeching. Everyone lunges to the starboard side of the boat to see what our guide is pointing at. “It’s a crocodile!” a woman squeals, “and there’s a baby on its head!” Sure enough, a tiny croc sits between its mama’s bulging yellow eyes. Cameras click away furiously before someone spots the invisible fishing line that stretches from the back of our boat to the life-like polystyrene decoy. The laughter is contagious – although the monkeys are not amused. “Crocky” is reeled into the boat where her lifelike features are admired by all, including our guide who has been thoroughly duped by the replica. But everyone could now rightly claim that they’d spotted a crocodile in the Panamanian rainforest!
. . . We’re super stoked to have landed at the “adventure capital of the world”: Queenstown, New Zealand, and are looking forward to getting settled in at the Millbrook Resort. But we make an unscheduled stop and are asked to get off the bus. Dutifully, we climb down and wait expectantly for an explanation. “I have a surprise for you!” he announces. We scramble down a short hill and are excited to see a candy-apple red Shotover jetboat waiting at the riverside. WOW! This is gonna be fun! We don our life vests and meet our charming Kiwi driver, Dylan. And then we’re off – racing through the narrow canyons and holding on tight when Dylan does the occasional 360-degree spin. He stops at a wide section of river – giving us an opportunity to catch our breath and take in the jaw-dropping scenery all around us. We hear Dylan gasp and turn around to see a creature ascending from the depths! It’s a scuba diver – holding up a bottle of Cloudy Bay Brut, from one of New Zealand’s finest wineries. We pop the cork and celebrate this extraordinary experience. We were right – this is gonna be fun!
WOW, WOW, and WOW!
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