u/Dmlandis59

I have a $180 credit on Alaska Airlines which expires before end of October. Can I use it for upgrades or anything else besides a flight.

I have two flights planned before end of October. I don’t know if I can cancel one of the flights and use the credit to buy the flight again using the credit. Is that an option ?

I have a question about taking a bus overnight from La Paz Bolivia to Uyuni. The plane takes 1 hour and would get to Uyuni 1 - 2 hours before tour. Problem is Bolivian Airlines is noted for delay and don’t want to miss tour. Overnight bus leaves at 9 pm previous evening. It’s a sleeper bus and has good reviews. I’m just wondering how confortable and altitude would prevent me from sleeping . Any thoughts??

I love learning languages. Retired now but was a Spanish teacher for years. I also am intermediate in French and studied a bit of Mandarin and Indonesian for travel. I live in S F Bay Area amd lots of filipinos here most are assimilated it seems. Its mainly elders who speak it.

I have had a few lessons through Preply. Pronunciation is easy but grammar is difficult. I learned all the comjugations of kainan today ( to eat) and there is a lot to learn . I also learned that mani means peanuts and its a Spanish word.

Im doing this for fun but wondering the best to practice. Maybe go to a filipino restaurant or market? Spanish is so much easier to speak here but maybe I will find a way to meet others who are learning .

I have booked Uyuni salt flat tour 2 days and 1 night in October. The tour starts at 1030 am. Bolivian Aviation flight arrives 8 am from La Paz But I concerned if there are delayed. Could anyone comment on options

1. Take Bolivian flight arriving day before / hopefully can find things to do in Uyuni for day.

2. fly from La Paz the very same day hoping for mo delays

3). Take overnight bus from La Paz arriving early morning. I’m not sure how comfortable it would be. I am in good health but no longer a spritely 20 something but am in mid 60s,

Gracias de antemano

I’m curious as to crew makeup - doing the Carnu al Radiance trip next week - Long Beach to Cabo. I’m bilingual in Spanish but am also learning Tagalog . I know it’s quite easy to converse in Spanish ( even in Cabo) but I would like to at least practice the little bit of Tagalog I’m learning with staff (only not if it’s not intrusive ).

FYI this is first Carnival cruise. We did Disney cruise years back and although passengers were not diverse it was United Nations for crew. But the recent cruises I did were Celebrity (Alaska) and Princess (Eastern Med) and I could hear at least 20 different languages spoken by crew. Passengers were definitely much more diverse than Disney ( that was 20 plus years back )

Gracias and salamat.

I plan to be in Bolivia in early October
for 6 - 7 days after brief stops in Mexico and El Salvador. My flight arrives at 230
Am on October 9 from Bogota.

I would like time to visit La Paz, Uyuni, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra. From Santa Cruz will fly on to Asunción, Paraguay.

Traveling my own, retired senior in good health. Soy bilingüe. I would be interested in walking but no mountain climbing because of altitude.

What would be an ideal number of days in each locale. Most likely would fly between cities unless there were a a comfortable bus ride between La Paz and Uyuni and Santa Cruz

Also recommendations for boutique accommodations as well in each locale.

Gracias

I know this is a contentious topic but do anyone people like staying in a place only 2 or 3 days solo traveling. I am retired with family and when with wife or friends it’s fine spending 2 or 3 weeks in a location,

But I find when I’m on my own 2 or 3 days is just enough to get a sense of a place, see a few sights, and then move in before I get bored.

I have strange goal of seeing 100 countries at least . Last year I spent 13 days seeing several Cariribbean Islands not a cruise - visiting St. Martin, Antigua, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, and Barbados. Did flights and ferries and believe me it was just the right amount of time to see a place and see iif I could travel for a longer period of time with family. Longer than cruise and enough time to go to beach of do in depth tour one day.

I plan to see Bolivia and Paraguay with a few stops along the way - probably will stop in Mexico City and El Salvador along the way although I plan to spend at least 6 days in Bolivia.

Sometime the feedback I get is that I have to spend 3 to 4 weeks in xyz country. But I’d rather not be solo that long. And perhaps the critics like the hostel and overnight bus travel, I have outgrown that and don’t mind paying more for nicer hotel, flights, and guided day tour where I connect with others.

thoughts?

Buen día. I will be in San Salvador for 2 days in October and seek advice for best things to do in short time there. I would stay longer but this is short visit wedged between Mexico and South America (Bolivia ) if I extend my stay by one day it will raise Avianca airfare by $300.

Anyway I will be staying 48 hours as of now from mid day to mid day . I’m thinking of doing one day tour of San Salvador and Coatepeque volcano (sp). I would also like to see beach ( El Tunco) but there may not be time /I will be in Baja California previously and may do snorkeling there.

Anyway suggestions welcome. I will be staying as of now at hotel in Zona Rosa. Gracias de antemano .

We will be sailing on Carnival Radiance August 20 -25 with stop in Cabo. i think we have about 7 hours in port 10am - 5 pm. I’ve looked at both Carnival website - more expensive tours and another website cabosanlucastours.net. We are a large group around 16 but not everyone will be interested in same things - some may want to only shop, other may want to snorkel or kayak, others nothing.

1. What tours do you recommend based on personal experience? Better to take the carnival shore excursion optoons or other vendors?

2. is it recommended to book everything in advance?

3. Better to pay in pesos or $ in Cabo. I just got back from CDMX and Central Mexico and still have a lot of pesos.

4. Finally how is shopping in Cabo? I imagine very expensive - CDMX, SMA, and Guanajuato all offered plenty of artisan stiff without very elevated prices. Is Ensenada better or cheaper?

Some of us have been to Cabo 3 or 4 x before and may just want to try something new. Others will be there for first time.

gracias de antemano- thanks in advance

Current 90 Day Fiance season is boring - Carie and Sean are train wrecks but worth watching. The others are “meh” . I’ve stopped binge watching show and am following MAFS season 20 have far more like able characters .

We are staying at Centro Historico and went to Sanborns a few blocks away. We went there for an afternoon snack and were pretty impressed. wide variety of full meals, desserts, and drinks. Lots of knickknacks and coffee for sale. Live piano music and servers wearing cute spacesuit like uniforms. clientele seemed to be upper middle class and well heeled locals.

Had anyone been in CDMX or other cities ?

we are taking Carnival Radiance in 3 weeks from Long Beach. How long are port stops in Cabo and Ensenada? And what activities have people done in Cabo given short period of time - would consider kayaking or paddling. Best to book thru Viator? No shopping as we are in San Miguel de Allende and spending plenty of time doing that. gracias

We are staying in Guanajuato and just tried molletes with chorizo for the first time (bolillo bread roll). Is the Enfrijolada (spelling) the same except with tortilllas. I have to try birria here but maybe it’s just a Jalisco specialty. Also are there any specialties associated with Guanajuato?

I have been playing for years ever morning . In the US I get tons of online gaming ads. Here in Mexico it is tons of credit card ads in Spanish.

I’m in. Central Mexico and it seems most of Americans wear shorts while few Mexicans do so at least outside beach. I’ve seen this in Europe as well and it seems like the norm for USA.

We are a group of 18 spread between 6 cabins doing the Radiance Cruise in about a month. We (wife and I$ have done Celebrity (Alaska ) and Princess (Eastern Med) and really enjoyed both.

Carnival’s reviews have gotten me concerned. Not really a drinker or party type person but this is a family trip with passengers from 10 to 70s. And price was certainly lower than other cruise lines,

Any positive or negative feedback particularly for the 5 day Radiance cruise ?

I am curious as whether any non Filipinos in USA speak Tagalog. I am retired in my 60s and live learning languages, I live in SF Bay Area and there are many older Filipinos who mainly speak Tagalog,

I’ve had one remote lesson with a tutor in the Philippines but I really don’t see anyway to practice. I like learning the vocabulary and grammar. It realistically don’t see anyway way of practicing - I don’t plan on living there and no one in my family is Filipino.

Are there any meetups for beginners to practice Tagalog in SF Bay Area . I go to French/Spanish meetups from time to time to chat and drink. Here where I live it’s basically elders who speak Tagalog and younger Fil Ams generally just speak English.

My wife and I will be flying Aeromexico from SFO to MEX in a week. Today I received an email saying about bidding for an upgrade. One was for AM plus (Premium Economy) for $88 which was base got a good bid. The other was for Clase Premier for $257 per person. Is it even worth it? How often are people upgraded? I would consider premium economy.

This is our first time going to a Stern Grove since reservations became required. How is parking now? And is noticeably less busy? It’s later today.