- History, Independent travel, New Orleans, North America, Photography, Travel Blog, USA, Wildlife, World food
New Orleans Is Unique, Y’All
Unique is an adjective regularly used to describe New Orleans, with guide books and websites consistently referring to the city as “unique in the whole of the USA”, a description based largely on the amalgam of cultures which have clashed, fused and evolved into the persona which The Big Easy enjoys today. To us, it feels like this fusion and integration has created a single style: a Nawliner is one particular type of person, regardless of historical cultural background. No barriers, no segregation, joyous inclusivity. You are more from this city than from any one particular background. A big guy is playing Barry White and Bill Withers on his keyboard…
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Iguazu Wildlife
Our week or so on the Brazil-Argentina border may not have been our most spectacular ever in terms of spotting wildlife, but it had its moments – moments dominated by butterflies. Here’s some nature shots to wind up that part of this trip….
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Animal Encounters Of Various Kinds
The poor dog looks so forlorn that I fear he might be dying. He lies in a shallow pit on the beach, which he’s presumably dug himself, wilting in the sun but too exhausted to seek shade, his eyes heavy with sadness. “He looks like he’s on his last legs”, I say, not sure if I should pet him or not. “I think he’s just desperate for a drink”, responds Michaela, who knows a lot more about dogs than I do. I put her theory to the test, grab a discarded coconut shell and fill it from our water bottle. The pooch is unbelievably grateful, laps his way through the…
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Michaela’s Favourite Photographs: #7 Fishing Grounds
Puerto Escondido, Mexico 2018. There has to be at least one wildlife shot in a collection such as this. Each of the seven beaches of Puerto Escondido has a character all of its own, ranging from gentle family friendly waters to the giant rollers of the Mexican Pipeline surfing beaches. The pelicans, perhaps counter intuitively, gather on the town beach closest to civilisation – but then, this is also where the fishermen are, fish must be at their most plentiful right here. This shot combining the majesty of a big bird with the power of the waves perfectly captures part of the essence of the town beach.
- Central America, Independent travel, Outdoor Activities, Panama, Photography, Travel Blog, Walking, Wildlife
The Joy Of The Jungle: Gamboa Delivers
The chunky little bus that takes us on the night safari is called The Night Chiva. Absolutely no prizes then for guessing which Bee Gees song is in our heads as we peer into the darkness hoping to see something incredible. Apart from a pair of jewels which we are assured is the eyes of a caiman staring back at us, and some algae moving because the turtles are stirring below, we see nothing but darkness and the guide’s flashlight. So humming 80s disco music while eating dinner is tonight’s high. But who cares if the brief (and free with room reservation) night trip doesn’t deliver: pretty much everything else…
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Quepos And Manuel Antonio
A few random and unconnected facts. One: At the last official survey, there are 932 species of bird in Costa Rica – that’s more than the whole of the USA and Canada put together, pretty impressive for such a small country! Two: Since we began travelling together in 2011, we’ve kept a record of every place outside GB where we’ve stayed at least one night; Quepos is number 144 and the first one ever that starts in the letter “Q”. Three: This place puts the “rain” in “rainforest”. Wow, when it rains here, it really means business, we can honestly say that in all our travels we have never seen…
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Birds & Paradise: Our First 24 Hours in Quepos
“Ahhh I see”, he says as we explain our travel philosophies, “so you’re just a couple of retired travel bums like me”. Oh, we like that. So much so that had we thought of it ourselves, we may well have been the “retired travel bums” instead of the “hungry travellers”! Like our good friends Terrie and Charles, this guy (sorry bud, we didn’t catch your name) is from Oregon, but spends a lot of time in Costa Rica and he gushes heaps of useful advice as we sip yet another cup of fabulous local coffee. Sometimes you just meet the right people. As we hang around in the busy and…
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Nesting Season Is Here Again
Along the stretch of coast between our home in Herne Bay and Birchington to the east, lies a sand/mud cliff rising almost vertically at the back of the beach. At this time of year, as reliable as clockwork, something happens here which makes this walk a little bit special. The colony of sand martins arrive here at the completion of their intercontinental migration, returning to their customary nesting holes in the sandy cliff. Nesting season from start to finish sees much activity, and from the nesting function itself through to so the frenzy of feeding feed the hatchlings. That time is here, and Michaela caught some of the action on…
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The Camel Trail: Bicycles, Birds And Beeching
One of the things we find difficult in Cornwall is turning our backs on the magnificent coastline and heading inland, but because our two breaks here will give us a total of 24 Cornwall days in April and May, we feel we can justify one walk away from the sea along the Camel Trail. The Camel Trail is a walking/cycling route following the river upstream from Padstow to Wadebridge, then on through Bodmin to its final point at Wenfordbridge, though today we only walk the 12-mile round trip to Wadebridge and back, by far the trail’s most popular section. The route is more of a favourite with cyclists than with…
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Plitvice Reflections
By the time we reach our last night in Mukinje, we are 8 days into our tour of Croatia: over those 8 days we have walked, according to Fitbit, a total of 73.19 miles, an average of 9.15 miles per day. Michaela captured some impressive wildlife shots along the way:-
