Wish You Were Here
Travel is on hold in these strained times, but there’s comfort and delight in sharing our readers’ adventures from just a few months ago.
SOUTH AFRICA: San Jose residents Harry and Mary Ilisko traveled to South Africa in December. “This picture was taken at Table Mountain National Park overlooking Cape Town,” Mary says. “We went on to Johannesburg and enjoyed a game drive in Kruger National Park where we saw four of the ‘Big 5.’ We never imagined Africa could be so diverse and beautiful.”
TRAVEL TIP: If you eventually go, know that “getting to Africa from San Francisco requires two 11-hour flights, which were pretty grueling. If we were to fly there again, we’d have laid over for a night in London or Paris.”
Sunnyvale residents Charlene Loomis and Rob Lofland (behind the camera) visited Bordeaux in March, returning just before the pandemic-driven shutdown. “I think we got the last KLM flight from Europe to SFO,” Rob says. “Bordeaux is a marvelous city. Classic 17th- and 18th-century architecture, a maze of narrow cobblestone streets and cafes.”
TRAVEL TIPS: If you eventually go, know that Bordeaux is also “the center of a major wine-producing region.”
After attending a Filipino martial arts training camp in Cebu, Vallejo resident Mel Orpilla and his students “did the four-hour Kawasan Falls trek, which ended with a 50-foot-high cliff jump at the falls. Beautiful trail through the jungle, over rocks and through the river,” Mel says.
TRAVEL TIPS: “Wear a good pair of waterproof sandals or shoes with good traction. Bring a waterproof case for your phone.”