While visiting Ecuador, if you lack the time and/or money for a multi-day tour into the Amazon with a stay at a jungle lodge, you can still get a taste of the rainforest just five …
January 19, 2010
Travel Stories
Rainforest in Ecuador: Misahuallí and Jatun Sacha
Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
I can hear the wailing guitar riffs as we drift lazily on the water: "Well, take me back down where cool water flows, yeah, Let me remember the things I love, Stopping at the log …
January 19, 2010
Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens
The jewel of San Marino, California, Huntington Library is not your typical lending and borrowing library. Its collection contains over five million books, volumes, manuscripts, photographs and other works mostly related to American and British …
January 15, 2010
Time-traveling in Caribbean Guatemala
Caribbean Guatemala with Mayan ruins? You bet. Situated between Belize and Honduras, the short Caribbean coast of Guatemala displays a panoply of history and beauty. Starting from our cruise ship stop at Santo Tomas de …
January 14, 2010
The Balkans by Bus
"Just fly," my friends told me. "Or rent a car. The bus will take forever." The Balkan bus system is a confounding web of coaches and stations. Unlike in the U.S., there’s no equivalent to …
January 12, 2010
Christmas in Ecuador: The Casa de la Niñez Project
I had for months anticipated the opportunity to spend two weeks in Ecuador over the Christmas holidays. It is a country of incredible biodiversity and natural beauty. During my first week there, I volunteered at …
January 11, 2010
Purification on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico
If you thought life in the Caribbean was laid back, Vieques, an island municipality to the east of the Puerto Rican mainland, takes it to the extreme. Most of the island looks and feels like …
January 8, 2010
Finding Honesty (and Irony) on Wall Street
Not much is currently popular about Wall Street, but pre- recessions and depressions, America’s financial institutions reveled in a period of immense prosperity. From politics to architecture, Greek and Roman civilizations heavily influenced much of …
Undiscovered Piran, Slovenia
Majestic blue waters of the Adriatic Sea splash into the unassuming, picturesque coastal town of Piran, Slovenia. This aged European town on Slovenia’s small stretch of coastline has its own seaside, Mediterranean-like character – quiet …
January 6, 2010
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
As winter’s chilly arms embrace us, my thoughts drift back to sun-drenched days on Grand Cayman’s pristine beaches. Relaxing with a strawberry daiquiri in one hand and an engaging novel in the other, my days …
The National Gandhi Museum in Delhi, India
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” This is one of my all-time favorite quotes. It comes courtesy of the simple spiritual man in the loincloth who brought the British Empire to …