UGANDA 2025: MABAMBA BAY

 July 19, 2025

Our first activity in Uganda was a trip to Mabamba Bay (perhaps more accurately called by some Mabamba Swamp), but first we enjoyed a very nice breakfast in the lodge. We had a beautiful view out the windows. The lodge is located on 40 acres of indigenous forest adjacent to the Mabamba Wetlands, so it is a prime location for birding enthusiasts.

I don't think Bob finished breakfast before he was outside with the other birders and their cameras, and Ella was not far behind him. The were photographing two black and white hornbills.

Here is a closer shot. Bob had put together a camera and lens for Ella to use on this trip from some of his extra equipment, hoping she would join him in his bird photography habit and to give her something to do. She seemed to enjoy it. She is in the blue shirt on the far left, and Bob is two people in from her in blue shirt and dark pants. 

These two photos were taken by Ella:

NEW YORK CITY: ARCHITECTURE BOAT TOUR AND CENTRAL PARK BIRDING

 May 2023

There are two things we did in New York City that we were not familiar with before this trip: an architecture boat tour and a birding tour of Central Park.

1.   MANHATTAN ARCHITECTURE BOAT TOUR

Andrew and Michaela had recently taken a boat tour around Manhattan Island with a focus on the city's architecture. They loved it and encouraged us to take a similar tour while they were at work the day we arrived in NYC. We thought it might be a good way to work through our jet lag after our red-eye flight, so we booked tickets. 

It's been hard for me to envision Manhattan as an island, so this trip really helped me get my geographical bearings. Separation between the island and the mainland isn't very wide at the top, but the Harlem River definitely separates Manhattan from the mainland. 

There were about 50 passengers, each group seated at their own table. At some point during the cruise, we were served a soft drink and a snack, part of the tour price.

We had a guide who I believe was an architect himself who narrated our "cruise" around the island with details about architecture and engineering landmarks from all eras of the city's history. He was well-amplified, very knowledgeable, and had a great delivery.

We started our tour at Chelsea Pier (horizontal arrow about 1/3 the way up from the bottom, west side) and traveled clockwise around Manhattan.

PORTUGAL: AVEIRO, THE (NOT) VENICE OF PORTUGAL

 June 27, 2022

Our last stop on a very full day was the city of Aveiro. Photos of the city that we saw online were beautiful, and we were excited to visit. However, Aveiro turned out to be the biggest dud of our trip.

First of all, we parked in an underground parking garage that at the end of the day we had a very hard time finding. We would learn more than once on this trip (or maybe we DIDN'T learn) that we need to pay more attention to where we leave our car. We rarely had main streets or grid-like streets to help us navigate. Luckily, I took a photo of the above-ground portion of the parking garage, which saved us in the end.

As we made our way from our parking spot on the hill down to the canals that the city is famous for, we passed some interesting sites. The sign on the left let us know that this city is on the pilgrimage trail to Spain's Santiago de Campostela Cathedral, a place we would visit in a few days.

Like every city we visited in Portugal, there were churches with beautiful azulejo tile facades and streets with intricate cobblestone patterns.