Hello. I have been in La Fortuna for 8 days. It sits just a couple of miles directly east of and under the Volcano Arenal, which was active as recently as 10 years ago. The volcano presents an almost perfect cone, visible about half the time and covered by clouds the rest. La Fortuna is … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Hello. I last reported on Tirimbina Rainforest on the Sarapiqui River. From there I moved just a few miles to La Selva’s Lodge on the Puerto Viejo River which controls a large swath of primary rainforest adjacent to the Braulio Carrillo National Park. This mostly is Caribbean lowland rainforest with a huge number of animal … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Hello all. After 2 ½ years without foreign travel, it finally seems like heaven to be on the road again. I flew to Costa Rica March 28. After 7 days in the top floor suite of the El Presidente Hotel in downtown San Jose, spending much of my time planning the specifics of my visit … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Covid has halted all trips in the last year except for several short hops around the Southwest. I am on my way, finally, on an international trip to Costa Rica for 3 months of wild park visits. Before going I will post a few pictures of birds, petroglyph sites and the famous White Sands “footprint” … Click to View Photos & Read More →
I last reported on leaving Yellowstone from Cody, and was headed to Dubois, WY to be near several river headwaters – more on the headwaters later. Before heading to Dubois, I spent a day traveling the famous Bear Tooth Highway, one of the most switch-backed highways through one of the highest passes in the Continental … Click to View Photos & Read More →
I last posted from Billings, MT. I drove up the Yellowstone River to Livingston, the original RR line junction which opened up Yellowstone over 100 years ago. From there I continued following the Yellowstone River south to Gardiner, MT, which sits at the Northern entrance to the Park. Spending 8 days in Gardiner, I spent … Click to View Photos & Read More →
I last reported on visiting the Red Desert of Southern Wyoming around Rock Springs. On my departure I made a second pass through the high ridge surrounding the Great Basin, where I enjoyed watching a couple of Pronghorn males sparring. From there I continued north to Thermopolis, which I have visited multiple times for its … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Hello. After just over a year and half of forced home stay due first to cataract surgery and then to Covid, I received my second dose of the Moderna vaccine 5 weeks ago, and decided to just start driving in a northerly direction for a few months (Tucson already had hit its first 100 degree … Click to View Photos & Read More →
I have spent the last two weeks, and will spend the next, in San Miguel for its 41st Annual Chamber Music Festival. For the final 3 weekends I have and will enjoy the Griphon Trio from Canada and the Symphonie Atlantique from the Netherlands. I have been staying in a small apartment on the 4th … Click to View Photos & Read More →
I last wrote from Bordeaux, France, from where I traveled by bus to Pamplona in the ancient Kingdom of Navarra on the edge of Basque Country. This is the famous setting for Hemmingway’s book “The Sun Also Rises.” He wrote most of the book at the Café (Casino) Iruna (Iruna is the Basque name for … Click to View Photos & Read More →
I last reported from Cordoba, from where I traveled north back through Madrid and on to Bilbao, capital of Basque Country. This is an autonomous community of the Basque people in northern Spain which extends into southern France. The region is mountainous with a high level of rainfall, and is spectacularly verdant and lush with … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Because my first 4 days in Salamanca were wet and cold, I extended the stay in my favorite town to enjoy the forecasted greatly improved weather – this had me moving to a new apartment down by the river. My last 3 days were sunny and warm, and permitted some good photo opportunities, as well … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Upon arrival in Madrid from Rome I spent the night, and then traveled by train to the ancient and conservative Catholic town of Avila in Castile y Leon. Avila started with Roman defenses, but now is famed for its 11th century medieval walls and towers which still completely encircle the Old City. Its 11th to … Click to View Photos & Read More →
I last reported on Florence, to which I will again return in this segment. From Florence I took, on April 9, the regional train to Lucca, an ancient walled Tuscany town west of Florence, and famous for its complete set of 16th Century walls built to defend against the threat from the Florence Kingdom which … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Italy, during two time periods lasting a couple of centuries each, originated much of what we consider Western Civilization; the first was the height of the Roman Empire (roughly 0 to 200 AD), borrowing heavily on the preceding Greek and Macedonian traditions, and the second was the emergence of the Italian Renaissance (roughly 1350 to … Click to View Photos & Read More →