Adventures in India - Part 2 (Delhi)

Dear Family and Friends,

This first picture is of Chuck and I in Tucson, AZ the morning we departed for our trip.  We had spent the previous two weeks with Chuck's siblings and spouses. 

We flew to San Francisco and then on the Vancouver, BC.  We flew Air Canada to Delhi, a trip of fourteen hours.  Luckily we had the lay down seats and we were able to sleep on the way. 

Our tour officially started the morning after we arrived in Delhi.  (Thankful for the reclining seats.)  We did Delhi and New Delhi in one day.  We started off by visiting Jama Masjid, the largest and best-known mosque in India.

In order to enter the gate of the mosque, everyone had to take off their shoes.  The women had to wear these cover up gowns (like large hospital gowns.)  You can see some of the ladies outside the gate getting ready to enter.

Here is a picture of Chuck just inside the gate.

Not a great picture of the mosque but you get the idea. 

From the porch of the mosque looking back toward the gate.

We were not allowed to go inside the building, only to the porch. 

Below are some photos of the buildings in the old part of Delhi. 

This was probably a beautiful building when it was new.

This scene was very common in this part of Delhi.

There are many cars in India, but they are outnumbered about a hundred to one with motos and tuc-tuc style taxies.

The building with the golden dome is the Sikh Temple. 

We stopped for a visit there.  Sikhs are the bearded Indian men who wear the turbans on their heads.

We were able to go inside the temple, but only after we removed our shoes and socks and tied do-rags on our heads.  Here we are getting all our do's and don'ts (instructions) in the photo below.

The covered walkway going to the temple door.  Although we were able to go inside the temple, we were not allowed to take photos.

The most amazing thing about this temple is that they feed thousands of people every day.  All work in preparing the food is voluntary.  Anyone can show up for food no matter who they are or their circumstances.  All are welcome.

Here are some volunteers chopping up turnips.

We were able to go inside the huge kitchen to see the preparation. 

Here are some ladies helping with the (nan) flat bread.

This man is preparing one of the curries.

We also visited Humayuns Tomb.  It was the first of many huge buildings we visited that were built to house a deceased person.  These tombs are surrounded by beautiful gardens.  This tomb is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Entering the gardens.

The gate to the tomb is the white building.

Beautiful walkway.

Here are a couple of wide eyed tourists posing in front of the actual tomb.

We were able to go (barefooted) inside the tomb.  The windows and sunlight made for great photos.

When we were on our way back to the tour bus, I passed this family having their picture taken by a man, so I snapped a quick picture too as we went by.  Sweet kids.

The following morning we left for Jaipur, home of the "Pink City."

I will share about that in my next post.

Love,
Nancy

Adventures in India - Part 1

Dear Family and Friends,

Our month in India was fantastic. We are so glad we decided to go there. The best decision we made was to join the Gate1 tour. If we had tried to do this trip on our own, we would have been overwhelmed.

I am going to use this first post to share an overview of India.  I made over 4,000 pictures so I have been heads down trying to sort and edit them.  I am still working on that, but here are some pictures to give you my overall impression of India.

These are some pictures made throughout our trip.  

This man is scrubbing the mosque steps.

Not all cattle roam freely through the streets, some are working animals.

A man making a delivery.

This man saw me in the window of our tour bus and held his baby so I could get a picture of it.  

Family outing.

Horses and carts in the street.

Namaste.

Busking ... got to earn a living.  Some ways are more creative than others.

I took many, many pictures from the tour bus.  I especially liked this one.  The two smaller boys are clinging together in friendship.

The clothes were so colorful.  Not sure what this occasion was, but am so appreciative that I was able to see them.

A poignant picture of a woman begging and the street cow being fed at a market.

This is just an overview, I have so much to share.  

Love,
Nancy

Clarke, Brenda and the Arizona Desert Museum

Dear Family and Friends,

A highlight of our trip was being able to see Clarke and Brenda again.  Clarke and Brenda live in Green Valley, about a 40 minute drive south of Tucson.  They lived in Cuenca for several years and moved back to the U.S. about 3 or 4 years ago.

Clarke had a blog about Cuenca life while they were in Cuenca and if you read it, you know what a fun loving guy he is.

They invited us for breakfast last week.  We had a wonderful visit and were so happy to see them so healthy and happy.

Picture of Clarke and Chuck

Clarke, Brenda and Chuck

Yesterday, we went to the Arizona Desert Museum with Audrey, Carol and her husband, Frank.

I am so glad this was on our "to do" list.  It is an amazing place. The museum is all about the flora and fauna of the desert. I was amazed by all the life that exists in such an arid place. 

Just look at these pictures:

saguaro cactus

cholla cactus, it looks like a it would be soft but those little needles are very stiff and sharp.

We visited the hummingbird aviary.  Such a wonderful exhibit.  A great chance to photograph these little critters up close.

costa's hummingbird

female black chinned hummingbird

another Costa's hummingbird

Frank, Audrey and Carol enjoying the aviary.

a beautiful agave 

The second aviary we went into housed other birds of the desert.  This is a female cardinal.

and this is a stellar's jay

I thought this guy was a statue at first because he was standing so still. This big horn sheep was enjoying the warm Arizona sunshine.

A new animal for me, this is a coati.

An early blooming cactus.

A walking trail through the cactus garden.

The raptor demonstration was fun to watch.  Here is a raven getting a bit of a treat from the handler.

A great horned owl

Sisters:  Audrey and Carol enjoying the show.

Here is a close up view of a cactus.  

This lady has a burrowing owl.

On the way home, Audrey took us on a drive over Gates Pass. 

An incredible view of the desert floor from Gates Pass.

We have had an incredible time with family and friends in Arizona.

Because of the magic of scheduling when you want your blog posts to publish, as you are reading this post, Chuck and I are en route to India.

I will take lots of pictures, but I am not taking a computer with me so I will have to wait for our return, in March, to share them.

Love,
Nancy