jpalbny

Ron, not much smoke from that hot rock! Did you ask for a cold rock so that you didn't overcook the filet?

I've almost been there. In fact from a technical point of view, maybe I have? We've stood at the corner of Argentina and Brazil, where we could see Paraguay, waving to us from the opposite shore. We've been on a boat ride along the Paraná River, and we definitely crossed the midpoint, but we didn't touch the opposite shore. So we were in Paraguayan waters. And the most objective evidence? Naturally, I picked up a cell phone signal and got the message, 'Welcome to Paraguay! Your T-mobile plan gives you..." So, have I been there? I didn't put a star on my map. But, awfully close! Great journalism. Hook the audience with a stunner in the first line, and they can't stop reading until the question is resolved!

Now that you mention it... Is this a new move by RCL to cut down on food costs?

Wow! Thanks @Reef Knot, for sharing. We'll be on board in less than 8 weeks, hopefully the waves aren't as bad.

I just emailed them, after I'd made the reservation. It was hertz@hertz.is I think. Double check on their Iceland website.

I hear you...

Beautiful horses! Beaux chevaux! Wunderschöne Pferde! Thanks for sharing.

Looking forward to following along! Did you grab any extra anticuchos de anaconda for the trip? Sounds like a nice lunch special for the grill.

Devizes is known for its large horses too? I'd only heard of large ears! "There once was a man from Devizes, Whose ears were of two different sizes! The one which was small, Was of no use at all, But the other won several prizes!"

He's probably out food shopping!

Fletcher, taking one for the team!

Much more risk of cloudy skies. It would be spectacular in that location but I don't trust the weather! That eclipse reaches the Med too I believe. Maybe better luck there? Egypt should have a much better chance of clear skies, and the duration of totality is supposed to be over 6 minutes (!) for the 2027 eclipse. Thus my desire to see that one.

I have not done this itinerary but I'm on a similar Ponant voyage at about the same time. We'll be in Tromso on October 17th and I'm expecting the lights to be there to greet us! I expect cloudiness to be more of an impediment, than the lack of the Aurora, per se. For clothing - prepare to dress warmer than you think you need to. For our Ponant voyage (Reyjavik to Tromso) I'm bringing warm clothing and also our Silversea Parkas (both layers). We did a trip to Northern Finland in November 2022, and while the lower-intensity Aurora looked like a gray film, the brighter ones were definitely colorful and we could see the greens with our own eyes. It was spectacular! But it's true that the less bright the Aurora, the more gray it appears.

A few phone pics of today's eclipse. Here in Albany we got to about 97% totality. It was.dark enough to .ake the outdoor lighting come on, and it got noticeably colder during the maximum. Samsung Galaxy S22, about 20x zoom, eclipse glasses over the lens. Anyone up to visit Egypt in 2027? It should be spectacular!

Yes. The airport isn't that far - between 5 and 10 miles? There is at least one bus that runs from the airport to the city center. Looking at my trip report from April 2016, we took the 200E bus and connected to the metro line, then it was a short walk to our hotel (Four Seasons Gresham Palace). Depending on where you decide to stay, one bus vs the other may work better. We used public transport all over Budapest for four days. It got us everywhere we needed to go. If you buy the "Budapest Card" online you can pick up your card at the airport, and that will serve as your public transportation ticket. So you can just get on the bus from there without buying any more tickets. If you want some ideas for what you can do in Budapest, this is my trip report: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2254214-uniworld-river-beatrice-41016-budapest-to-passau/