There were 15 of us, strangers to each other, headed up to Isla Bartolomé on a powered catamaran with no idea of what to expect. This excursion was a last minute change to our action-packed itinerary of hiking, biking, snorkeling and kayaking. My wife and I had arrived at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island […]
A return to beautiful St. Lucia as a 75th birthday wish fulfilled
I always loved the idea of cruising, but I was never a fan of those large massive cruise ships that stop by busy harbors all over the world. I was much more interested in private cruises with a smaller group of close friends, where I would be able to relax, enjoy the sites and get […]
Ducking through the door, we enter a small round thatched roof house with a dirt floor – this is Myanmar. It is smoky and dark; the only light is coming from the doorway, and the cook fire in the center of the room. A little woman bundled in layers and a sock hat greets us […]
An Extraordinary Photo and Cultural Tour of Odisha and Chattigarh We found ourselves in eastern India a month ago and I’m not sure why. Over the years we have traveled to some very remote locations and this sounded interesting. The roads in eastern India are fairly good and what you will encounter on them can […]
If you go to Tuscany, you think of hill towns, medieval villages, Florence, Siena, maybe Lucca. All great places to visit. But what is not far away from this part of Italy is the town of Pisa. And you all know what is in Pisa right? THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA, of course. If you […]
The sweetness of a romance, the exhilaration of new marriage. Hard to compete with? Quite the challenge. We met the challenge. We were married in 2001 and spent part of our honeymoon on a self- drive barge on the Canal du Midi in France. It was now 2014 – and we were celebrating our 70th […]
I’ve enjoyed hiking locally for many years, but when introduced to hiking the Alps (French, Italian and Swiss), it was an entirely different experience. I was hooked immediately. Most of the hiking I’ve done was either guided group expeditions or day hiking out of ski towns such as Chamonix or Zermatt. Oh, I almost forgot […]
A melodic wind chime sounded in the warm breeze as I sat eating lunch. The panorama took in palm trees, whitewashed buildings, ponds, and lush gardens. This formed one of my first impressions of Kerala, the southernmost state of India and my home for three weeks. Although I had traveled to more than 60 countries, […]
Several weeks before leaving for Italy, I read an incredible book –The Passion of Artemesia by Susan Vreeland. Set in Florence and Rome during the Renaissance, it placed me in a world of artists and benefactors, inquisitors and lovers. After reading the book, I wanted to experience that locale – not just as an observer, […]