Guatemala

Smoke spewing volcano 🌋 that one can climb, tree blanketed mountains, pastel buildings, cobbled streets and quintessential garden courtyards with fountains give picture postcard views on every corner we turn.

The town Is made for walking with stone arches In bold colors, baroque architecture, churches from Spain and vibrant markets bursting with colorful woven garments like ponchos, hats & table cloth and handicrafts.

It’s the birthplace of chocolate 🍫 and there are several museums that teach how the Mayans made ‘the food of the gods’. Adjoining chocolate cafes serve decadent treats and chocolate liqueur.

The coffee ☕️ is divine too and apart from sampling the local shops, we visited a local plantation to learn about coffee making.

Antigua is one of our favorite Central American cities.

Colorful Markets

United States

Pillowcase or jack-o’-lantern bucket?

It’s Halloween time in Beacon Hill in Boston. After much consideration, I decide that I am too old to collect candy from my generous neighbors.

So I pick up my camera instead and wander through Boston’s most historic neighborhood to celebrate its annual Halloween tradition.
🎃 
Since the 1970s, this is one day when the charming tree-lined streets of Beacon Hill get packed ..
 
.. with costumed pets and people, infants dressed as pumpkins to the elderly dressed in traditional witching gear.

Watch out for the brooms. 

I run into a friend dressed up as Jamie Lannister from the Game of Thrones, complete with chopped arm hanging around his neck.

There’s a dog dressed up as a skunk.

A house on Pinckney Street is showing black-and-white Dracula movies.

Beacon Hill has the perfect Halloween atmosphere with the wrought iron, cobblestones, narrow alleys and seriously all-out decoration.
👻
So, trick or treat?

‘Lake Como surrounded by volcanoes’ is how Aldous Huxley described Lake Atitlan. 

The lake is surrounded by 11 ethnic towns and villages and we rented kayaks to explore the villages. We passed several fisherman in their cayucos and saw some birds but peacefulness was the prevailing sentiment.

We met an 82 year old woman weaver and her daughter in San Juan village who use only natural dyes for weaving their huipiles. While we caught only one word in four, we enjoyed a vigorous conversation on which animal and plant dyes they use to create color.

San Pedro village had very happening cafes and bars. Guatemalan coffee is as good as the best we have had with its high elevation and warm humid climate creating a well balanced coffee.

The Tzumen ‘Ya’ Museum was interesting to learn about the culture and lake formation.

Village Hop on Kayaks

Iceland

This being a ‘chill trip’, we did not want to hike 10 hours on a glacier. Instead we trek on the Vatnajokull glacier looking for ice caves with wind on our face and ice under our feet.

Earlier, we woke up at 7 and drive in cold and windy January to Skaftafell National Park to meet Einar, our guide. 

This cave... like others ... started forming In August but you are never sure it will be stable to explore till later. In September, the loose ceiling collapsed  and this brilliant cave was formed.

These fragile and transitory structure require constant maintenance from falling rock and melting icicles. Einer enters the cave and spots a few boulders on the roof. He removes them to prevent harm to the cave and us. 

As we move around, the cave looks different as our viewing angle and the sunlight outside changes.

We are in complete awe ... and hungry. Luckily a steaming meal of lamb and potatoes is close by.

Ice Caving

Botswana

“But in the Kalahari, it's always Tuesday, or Thursday if you like. Or Sunday. No clocks or calendars tell you to do this or that.” - The Gods Must be Crazy

Walking with the Zu/’hoasi Bushmen of the Makgadikgadi Plains in the Central Kalahari, quintessential hunter-gatherers, I learned several things that I hope never to have to use - how to pronounce first names that are laden with clicks, collect plants for medicinal recipes, dig for scorpions, and make a fire with twigs and leaves.

Makgadikgadi means 'dry, dry', but the bush men and women know how to live in harmony with the land. Family and cultural ties are strong.

Thanks to Jack’s Camp for organizing this visit, they have longstanding connections with the local people.

Walking with Zu/’hoasi

Finland

At Riisitunturi National Park, ancient trees enveloped in layers of sticky snow (called ‘tykky’ in Finnish) assume fantastical shapes of monsters, ghosts, birds and families of snow people. On days like this, when sunrise and sunset happen within a two-hour window, backgrounds are brushed in pinks and yellows, and foregrounds etched with tracks of reindeer, dogs and humans. 

Snow is something more than frozen water to the Sami people. It’s a way of expressing the basis of their existence.

Best time to visit? Late December to March. Getting there from Rovaniemi takes more than 2 hours each way, but the trails are easy - we did a 4 km.

Shape of snow

I have traveled to Moab, Utah on more than one occasion and every time it has been an absolute blast! This small, more local town is home to some amazing things that you can’t find anywhere else. 

There is a place there that I travel to every time called Mill Creek Canyon. It is a short hike to a watering hole that supplies the river you will have to cross more than once. Once you reach the watering hole, you will find an amazing view and usually many friendly people depending on what time you go. 

Now, it can get pretty hot in Utah so don’t forget the water and the sunblock, as well as a swimming suit!

The main attraction there is the cliff jumping! You can climb up the small waterfall and there will be a small ledge where you can jump from into the freezing water below. Let me tell you, it’s an absolute blast that you will never forget! 

I highly recommend this location to all people, even if you’re just passing through

Hope to see you in Moab!

Living it up in Moab

Chile

The street art in Bellavista and neighboring Recoleta is, in a word, impressive. Some by established painters, others by anonymous artists working in the night.

Colorful, intricate, thought-provoking, and a clever mix of hip hop and political slant.

“I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.” ~Pablo Neruda

If you go, check out the art in the streets of Dardignac, Bombero Nuñez, Pio Nono and Purisima.

Street Art and Poetry

Colombia

The Coffee Triangle - which includes the pueblo towns of Salento and Filandia - has its own culture, diversity, food and of course, coffee. 
[☕️]
I was told that I would find the best cup of coffee in the world in Colombia’s Zona Cafetera. I found some of the tastiest beans in little vintage cafes with vintage coffee machines. The coffee plantations nearby offered tasting sessions too. Part of the fun Is to climb on the back of a colorful Jeep to get to the plantations.

On the Coffee Road, in the colorful town of Salento, the biggest attraction - besides the coffee and the arepas - is its traditional architecture of one- and two-story buildings, with walls painted white, and doors and window frames in the brightest of candy colors.

Coffee Culture

Bhutan

I am completely fascinated by Buddhist prayer wheels. Our guide tells us that we should walk clockwise, turning the wheel and chanting, “Om Mani Padme Hum”. “Will that give me extra strength to climb up to the Tiger’s Nest monastery tomorrow?”, I ask him. “Absolutely”, he says earnestly. Well, at least one of us has faith, I think to myself.

Paro Taktsang - or Tiger’s Nest monastery - hangs off a cliff at a dizzying 10,240 feet over the Paro Valley. It’s a 5 hour climb, punctuated with lunch. Not too tough, as it turns out. I must be fitter than I think. But the guide reminds me - “See, I told you so”. 

The hike (including getting to the trailhead) takes about 6-7 hours, depending on how much time you spend at the monastery. 4 miles round trip on a wide dirt trail. At the halfway point is a cafeteria - and for most people, getting to this point is the toughest part of the hike. Beyond this, both the scenery and the difficulty of the climb are in your favor.

Hope, Faith and Happiness

Faroe Islands

None of my map apps seem to work. After years of relying on a mechanical voice to navigate me in strange lands, I am back to poring over paper and asking for directions. I actually like driving here! 

Except when negotiating a one-lane tunnel. Then I am terrified! Unless I have right of way, I have to duck in - at just the right moment - into one of the spaces marked M, and stay there till the dark tunnel ahead is clear of oncoming headlights. This game needs nerves of steel! There are two such tunnels to get to Gásadalur, the waterfall that tumbles recklessly into the ocean.

The best photos require descending down the cliff to the beach below. There is a helpful set of concrete steps, and a big signboard in Faroese that can only be a warning, since it has a lot of exclamation marks. 

I hold on for dear life to the wobbly rusted handrail and descend half way before I realize that the rail isn’t connected to the cliff wall! The view, however, is just perfect.

Tumbling Recklessly

What does the southern end of the world look like? After five and a half l-o-n-g hours from Punta Arenas, out of the blue appears Hotel Explora Salto Chico - and it’s breathtaking. With a stunning, modern countenance, views-to-die-for of Torres del Paine (the Towers) and Cuernos del Paine (the Horns), and the sound of the Salto Chico waterfall as we linger over amazing food and excellent Chilean wine. 
🦙
The Explora guides ensure they get us out of bed. My favorite experience - a day-long hike to Grey glacier. And when we get really close, our guides hop into a little boat to fetch thousand-year-old ice from the glacier for little drinks of Pisco Sour! 

Patagonia’s Parc Nacional Torres del Paine has picture postcard views everywhere. If you are a keen hiker, try the Circuit or the W. I stick to day hikes as a rule - if you are like me, try Grey Glacier, French Valley Glacier or Base of the Paine Towers.

Going to Extremes

Greenland

Disko Bay is the Iceberg Factory for 10% of Greenland's icebergs. Sadly, production has increased in recent years, with Spring melts as early as April.

Nothing prepares you for the disorientation - and wonderment - of the brilliance of a midnight Sun. Especially when surrounded by massive icebergs that reflect and mirror the sky and the sea.

I don't remember seeing this yesterday, I tell the boat captain, is this a new work of art? He laughs, and tells me that everyday is  a bit different. 

The midnight boat trip in end-July - as the sun sets just for a few minutes - is the best time to see the sky’s amazing colors reflected on the icebergs.

Iceberg Factory

Japan

Late evening photo session at the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Its 10,000 torii gates cast criss-crossing shadows into the night. 

⛩ ⛩ ⛩ ⛩ ⛩ 

This Shinto shrine has a very mystical quality, especially when it’s pitch dark, with no people around. Perfect for long 20-second exposures to capture the light and the shadows. Or “light painting” with a flashlight. 

That’s me brandishing a lightsaber and painting with it  Now imagine this as a Star Wars location for a fight scene. 

In between sets of Torii Gates, there are family shrines which are even more special, complete with miniature Torii, candlesticks and kitsune. 

🦊

Snow is falling, it’s ethereal, and the shrine’s spirits are no doubt watching.

10,000 Gates

United Kingdom

Our plan: To walk through the magnificent Quiraing and climb to the base of the Needle, a 120 ft jagged pinnacle, for views of the Outer Hebrides.  

Weather forecast? Fair, says Harry, the winds will blow away the clouds and midges.

Highlights from the photo-hike: ☀️Awe-inspiring view of Loch Cleat (above). 💦 Scrambling over the steep cliffs on springy heather. 🐾 Checking out the structures that have been named — The Needle, The Prison, The Table — and naming those that haven’t. ⚡️Noting the exact moment when the weather turns on us. ❄️ Getting shrouded in mist and fog, and unwittingly playing hide-and-seek at the top of the ridge (this is, after all, where locals hid their sheep from raiding Vikings). 💨 Howling winds over 50 mph trying to gust us off the slopes. 💧Rain coming down in full force. ☁️ Feeling my spine tingle as clouds swirl around me in this unreal landscape.

Cinematic Drama

Italy

Driving from Salerno on Autostrada A3 and picking up SS163 at Vietri sul Mareon, we catch our first sweeping views of Amalfi Coast with its cliff-edged promontory. “The road with 1,001 turns” is a vertigo-inducing experience. 

🚗

We keep asking - Is the ocean supposed to be this blue? New skill: we can now pick out the color Amalfi Blue in a set of paints.

There are lemons everywhere, and the locals claim their lemons are ‘as large as watermelons’. When life gives you giant lemons, you make Limoncello. 

🍋 

Amalfi town is perfectly positioned right on the water - food, beach and gelato - all at convenient walking distance to each other. We hop over to quieter towns (Ravello) and more stylish ones that levitate over the ocean (Positano), but Amalfi has the perfect sense of place. 

⛱

The Sirens in Homer’s Odyssey lured sailors to their doom on a rocky island that lies just off the Amalfi Coast. Watching the sun set over the town of Maiori … we embrace la dolce far niente.

Amalfi Town Hopping

Kenya

[🦓]
Each year, over 2 million wildebeest, zebras and antelope migrate from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara in Kenya in search of water and fresh grazing . Experiencing this during July-October is an absolute spectacle. 
[🦛]
The Mara Triangle is particularly great for watching river crossings in August and September - perilous for the animals as the river is packed with wily Nile crocodiles. 
[🐊]
We stay with this herd of zebras for 3 days - waiting for them to decide to cross. It’s a matter of life and death for them - so they are understandably cautious  The zebra get to the banks more than 20 times, giving up at the very last minute, often spooked by a territorial hippo or a sneaky crocodile. 
[⚠️]
Finally, a brave zebra leaps forward into the water. And a second one follows fast. Suddenly it’s mayhem with hundreds of zebras and wildebeest splashing into the river. 
[⛺️]
There are several great lodges in the Mara Triangle - we stayed at the Angama Mara.

Zebra Crossing

Staying at the Inn at Death Valley, we thought we would be able to get up just before sunrise and make a dash over to Zabriskie Point. In hind sight, we should have woken up a good 60 minutes earlier, since the viewpoint was packed with people as we got there. 


The stunning views of the badlands slowly fill up with yellow, orange, purple and brown colors - and every hue in between - as the sun comes up, totally makes up for the early rise. Once the sun has finished painting the badlands, it reaches out to color in the Panamint Range across the valley with gorgeous pinks and purples. If you want to avoid the crowds, do the 2.5 mile Badlands Loop hike. Right after the walk, you can drive the short 3 mile Twenty Mule Team Canyon loop drive before returning to Stovepipe Wells for breakfast. 

We had been told that the Death Valley National Park is all about extremes - and the Zabriskie Point is a visual representation of that.

Painting with Light

Norway

I N G R E D I E N T S 
One persistent cloud
Assorted resident ghosts
Longest fjord you can find
Pinch of recklessness

D I R E C T I O N S
1. Drive to Flåm. Navigate hairpin bends and tunnels alongside World Heritage fjords. If you plan well, you can even include the 24.5 km Lærdal Tunnel in your route – an engineering phenomenon, with psychedelic lighting.

2. When you encounter an astonishingly long cloud, you know you have arrived. “Flåm” means "little place between steep mountains”. Perfect for cycling and hiking.

3. Stay at the historic Fretheim Hotel – architecturally delightful, white wooden building located at the head of a mighty fjord. The historic rooms are described as places ‘where the atmosphere from the 1800s still lingers’.

4. Try to get up before 10 AM for an exhilarating RIB boat ride across to World Heritage Nærøyfjord.

5. Take the 2-hour round trip Flåm Railway to Myrdal. Climb 900m and see stunning views that only a hairpin tunnel that twists 180° can provide.

Viking Mashup

Morocco

The Moroccan fig liquor is beginning to sneak up on me. Or perhaps it’s the jet lag. The soulful music of the live folk vocalist is not helping either. 

We’re waiting for dinner, in the courtyard of a restored Riad. It’s a good thing I haven’t eaten much during the flight because very soon, it’s clear that they expect me to have the appetite of a small army. 

The food is absolutely delicious, and here’s what I learn:
“Salad” is a selection of 5-10 amazing dips served with khobz - flatbread. 
Pigeon pastille is a must-have any time you see it on a menu!
Tagine of lamb with fluffy couscous - when cooked to perfection as it is here - is irresistible. 

This is followed by an elaborate dessert course, mint tea prepared with precision and ceremony, gnawa singers and a belly dancer who insists on audience participation. 

This story celebrates a series of unforgettable meals in Marrakesh - some in fine restaurants and others on the street.

Of Pigeon Pastille

Namibia

It’s a new day in Sossusvlei. And I am rising towards the sky, timed perfectly with the rising sun, in a wicker basket attached to a hot air balloon. It’s my first balloon ride!

The sand dunes of the Namib desert are taking their time turning orange in the glow of dawn. Our pilot tells us that in Namibia, the only time one can fly a balloon is the sunrise hour. She can’t steer the balloon but she can control the altitude, and depending on the wind channels at each altitude, choose her preferred “course”. 

It’s more peaceful than I imagined. The sound of quiet is unnerving, but no one in the gondola wants to break the peace. In fact, the only sound to be heard is the feverish clicking of cameras. I could get used to seeing the world from this perspective.

Thanks to Namib Sky Balloon Safaris.

Safari from the sky

New Zealand

Nestled on the shores of Lake Wakatipo, Queenstown has a well-earned reputation as an adventure capital and I succumbed to the thrill!

I always wanted to do bungy jumping so when we decided to visit New Zealand, it was a foregone conclusion in my mind that I would bungy jump. Plus AJ Hackett invented the modern version of the sport.

‘The Ledge” is right above Queenstown. It takes a gondola ride to get there. There’s a restaurant at the top from where you can watch people bungy jump  - which is a bit nerve-racking if you see someone getting second thoughts about the jump. Getting mentally prepared is the biggest barrier. 

My last thought before I flung myself off the ledge was - “This is crazy!” And then I was flying. The 154 feet jump jump took 3-4 seconds, and it was over all too soon. 

I got a certificate from AJ Hackett that says I have successfully overcome all reason and instinct. And for the following week, I thought I was invincible.

Leap of Faith

The stuff that dreams are made of! Photographers’ dreams, and travelers’ dreams. Surreal and in shades of orange. “Vlei” is Afrikaans for a depression filled with water - well, it was once - but as the name suggests, this vlei has been dry for a very long time. 

Dead Vlei, Namibia. A kaleidoscope of yellow and orange sands (the latter washed down the Orange River from the Kalahari Desert) and the white of the stunning vleis!

50 shades of sand

Svalbard & Jan Mayen

On a rainy day, at 78°N, M/S Polar Girl sets out from Longyearbyen to Pyramiden. Even in dreary weather, there is joy in watching the puffins swimming alongside the boat.

Then we step on to the most surreal of ghost towns, Pyramiden, a Russian mining settlement with the northern-most statue of Lenin. 

The decision to abandon in the 90s was sudden. People were given just hours to leave. Signs of a hasty departure are everywhere. Dried up plants. Rusted playground swings. Utensils and stoves left in disarray. Hand-drawn artwork taped on the walls. 

The guide points out the men’s and women’s dorm buildings, euphemistically called London and Paris. Everything is trapped in a 1970s time-warp. A blast from the Soviet past. 

Trust Arktikugol (Arctic Coal), a Russian state owned coal mining company, continues to run this, now as a tourist destination. Perfect for filming a James Bond movie.

Back on the boat, we have views of the glacier and freshly barbequed burgers to cheer us up.

Mining the Past

Tanzania

On a cool morning drive in Ngorongoro Crater, we meet a pride of eleven hungry lions —  lean and menacing. We stay with them for five hours through several hunting attempts . 

🦁

One of the lionesses spots a herd of zebras. She masterfully rounds them up and sends them in the direction of her waiting pride. At the last minute though, the zebras, finding new energy or a brilliant leader, take a united front and flee. The zebras will live another day. 

Well, hello there! - say the lions to a group of wild buffaloes .. and quickly dissolve into the grass. The buffaloes can smell the lions. They start backing up and eventually escape. 

Next, the younger lions eye an ostrich In the distance. But it fluffs up its feathers with a disdainful air, and runs away.

- P  A  T  I  E  N  C  E  -

Mobile food is awfully hard to get your paws on. The lions decide to lie in the grass and wait it out. Someone will come by. It’s just a matter of time.

A Matter of Life

Antelope Canyon may be the most famous of Utah’s slot canyons,  but if you want to avoid the large crowds, go to Buckskin Gulch - harder to reach but possibly, more enjoyable.

Wire Pass, a gorge carved through the Cockscomb by Coyote Wash, is the most popular entry route into Buckskin Gulch. It takes 1.7 miles to get to the slot canyon from the trailhead. Wire Pass is short, less than half a mile, but its slot canyon is even more confined than Buckskin, and makes for spectacular photos.

Buckskin Gulch twists its way for another 13 surreal miles, but we turn back after a couple of miles to head back to the trailhead. We’ve stopped every few feet to capture various angles of the rock and light - and literally run out of time. You could certainly do a wonderful all-day hike here.

Through the Wire

Ecuador

In the Chocó Cloud Forest, in the Mashpi Reserve, in the midst of all the fog and mist, in a place so covered with trees that little sunlight comes through, is a fantastical cable ropeway. 200 feet above the forest bed, it feels more a part of the invisible skies than the earth below. 

One has to “pedal” to get from one end to the other after a short hike from the Mashpi Lodge. It’a an eco-activity atfter all. 

A memorable experience!

Sky biking

Philippines

Narrows hike in Zion is a fun and challenging hike that people of all ages can try out.  Just take the free shuttle bus from the Zion visitor center to the final stop (Temple of Sinawava) and hike the riverside trail until it ends.  Great views of Zion Canyon from within!

Narrowly Trailblazing

Belize

Belize has hundreds of caves across the country. Located in Maya mountain, Barton Creek Cave extends 2 miles through stalactites and stalagmites and various other limestone formations with a river running through its length.

Mayans used the cave for religious ceremonies with more than 28 human remains found buried in the cave with food offerings, cooking pots, tools and hearths. Mayans believed the caves connected the living world and the underworld. 

Canoeing through the darkness guided by our headlamp and guide, we spotted skulls and pottery cemented Into the limestone. A solemn but exciting experience!

Spelunking in Belize

I’m seduced by the untouched beauty and drama of the Faroe Islands. Driving into Tórshavn, I witness a rare Faroese sight.

The ocean is bright red. The beach is packed with onlookers. It’s a grindadráp, a pilot whale hunt. Heavily regulated, it’s being carried out with process perfected over millennia. A local couple points out their son to me, he is on one of the boats — “unless we send a boat, we won’t get our share of the whale meat.”

When a school of pilot whales is sighted, boats gather around and slowly drive them towards the chosen bay or beach, for it’s illegal to kill the whales in the open sea. This time, there are about two hundred of them. Every bit of them will be consumed or used — and none can be sold.

I’m shocked, outraged, fascinated, caught up in the excitement and terribly conflicted. As a traveler, I respect — and seek to understand — culture and tradition. And the Faroese are holding on to this one — as it symbolizes for them their relationship with the sea.

Experiences Matter.

Experiences
Matter.