I last reported from Salamanca, where I spent 6 days eating and drinking too much. I traveled by train on Wednesday north through Valladolid, and then on to Santander on the northern Atlantic coast. From there I took a local bus the short distance south into the mountains to the tiny hamlet of Puente Viesgo. … Click to View Photos & Read More →
I last reported from Merida, one of the great ancient Roman cities of Spain with the best preserved structures. From Merida last Sunday I traveled north to Caceres in Extremadura, the region which was home to most of the best known Conquistadores of the New World. Caceres preserves what is known as the Monumental City, … Click to View Photos & Read More →
I last reported from Ubeda. From there I traveled 9 kilometers, just over the hill, to its smaller sister town, Baeza; together the two towns share UNESCO World Heritage Site status for their remarkable Italian Renaissance style edifices which dominate the ancient town cores. As I previously noted, the town nobles through the first half … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Leaving Tucson early Sunday morning April 30, I arrived in Madrid early Monday morning May 1 – total travel time about 19 hours but with a 9 hour time change. Jet-lag always hits me much harder when traveling east, and I really just recovered by Friday. This trip I tried a different hotel in Madrid, … Click to View Photos & Read More →
I last reported from Manizales in the Andean Central Cordillera (range). From Manizales I traveled February 5th by private car down through the Cauca River Valley, which runs between the Central and Western Cordilleras, and up to Jardin which lies in a central plateau on the Western Cordillera. Jardin is a small town with brightly … Click to View Photos & Read More →
I last reported after just arriving in Cartagena on the Caribbean coast. Cartagena, the Spanish version of the name for ancient Carthage, is listed as a World Heritage Site for its 500 year old walled port city from which Spain shipped much of its plundered New World gold and silver. The old walls still completely … Click to View Photos & Read More →
I flew from Bogota to Barranquilla, the third largest city in Colombia, on December 27; my earlier flight from Leticia, in Amazonia, to Bogota was held on the tarmac for 40 minutes as we waited before liftoff for a rainstorm to subside. My flight from Bogota also was delayed on the tarmac for an hour, … Click to View Photos & Read More →
December 10 I flew from Bogota to Leticia, the capital of the Amazona Department. Leticia is situated on the northeast bank of the Amazon River at the point where 3 countries meet, Colombia, Brazil and Peru. From my hotel I simply can walk a few blocks southeast and pass into Tabatinga, Brazil – no immigration … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Hello everyone. I am delighted once more to be on the road, anticipating this trip will cover many parts of Colombia for wildlife and bird photography. I left Tucson Monday morning Dec 5, and arrived in Bogota shortly after midnight on Tuesday. Multiple sources recommend never hiring a taxi off the street or hailing an … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Hello all. I am just nearing the end of a month stay in the central highlands of Mexico. I last wrote reporting on Yellowstone, while still on the road in the US in my small RV trailer – that trip ended in June after a long detour to Kansas City to visit my brother, who … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Hello everyone. I last wrote from Bozeman, MT. preparing to enter Yellowstone. In Bozeman I spent one afternoon at the famous Museum of the Rockies. I arrived while they had two special exhibitions of great interest to me (and the general public); both were specials by the National Geographic Society. The first was a display … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Hello everyone. I last wrote just after arriving in Klamath Falls, OR, and was then starting my birding around the lake. I remained for 6 days, and spent each morning visiting Putnam Point, at the south end of Klamath Lake where it flows into the Klamath River. This probably is the best spot in the … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Hello all. I last wrote from Lassen Volcanic Nat. Park. Starting at Lassen in north-central California, the Cascade Range is a string of volcanoes running north through central Oregon and Washington (and on through Canada and into Alaska, though with different names). From Lassen I drove the short distance to Lava Beds Nat. Monument, where … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Hello. The Pacific coast by Ft Bragg and for several miles north comprises MacKerricher State Park, a wonderful string of small secluded beaches hidden in coves of rocky, bluff shoreline, with thunderous surf and breakers roiling over hundreds of sharp black rocky extrusions. Pacific harbor seals, cormorants and other seabirds sit on the rocks. On … Click to View Photos & Read More →
Hello all. Five days, in and around Yosemite National Park, provided unique and transient beauty. Fires had scorched sections of the forests on the northwestern entrance side, but wildflowers were everywhere along the roads climbing and descending the mountain passes. Yosemite Valley presented 7 major waterfalls, all engorged by the heavy winter snowmelt and recent … Click to View Photos & Read More →