About Me

Recent Travels

TANZANIA

Back to the bush. The long grasses of the southern Serengeti plains in Tanzania had drawn the wildebeest back to have their babies and now it was time to head out again - all 1.5 million of them - along with hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles. The Great Migration. We were there to watch. We would park behind groups of lions who lazily kept an eye out from under a shady tree (with full bellies) and marveled as they ran past, seemingly forever. All day and all night the herds moved together, following the rains to the fresh grasslands up north. Here they would cross the Mara River into Kenya to graze for a while before turning south again. Though the predators waited and ate their fill, most of the gnus would make the 7-8 month journey unscathed. This is the circle of life in East Africa. What a privilege to witness it!

BORDEAUX

As the pandemic was winding down, I wanted familiarity, calm, and beauty. Though I’m usually more adventurous, I needed to be assured that the world was still there and life somewhere was normal. So what better than to watch the world go slowly by on a riverboat through the French countryside with a glass of wine and some fine dining. Mornings at the markets tasting cheeses and charcuterie. Afternoons at the vineyards for wine tastings. Life’s simple pleasures in a part of the world that hasn’t changed much in a few centuries and still carries on as before.

EASTER ISLAND

Remote and mysterious. About as far away as you can get. Windy, dry, and cool - but a sub-tropical climate with no old forests or coral reefs. Belonging to Chile (who once used it as a sheep farm) but geographically part of Polynesia, it’s 2300 miles from South America and 1300 miles from its nearest island neighbor, Pitcairn and about the size of . . . Brooklyn! And then there are the Moai - the giant statues scattered across the island - carved from volcanic tuff in one quarry and transported and erected . . . how? The largest weighs about 75 metric tons and the native population who made them had no beasts of burden, or slaves. One puzzle after another. Now, a lovely place - uncrowded, friendly, calm and quiet. A little surfing, a Pisco Sour in the evening watching a magical sunset, a beautiful little museum and always, the mystery and the wonder of the place. A great respite if you’re willing to take the couple of days it takes to get there from just about anywhere.

MYANMAR

I wanted to see Burma . . . and The Road to Mandalay that Kipling memorialized. But time moves on and so has Burma, morphing into Myanmar (as it was once known). Despite its turbulent past and present political difficulties, the country has tried to return to its cultural roots from before the Raj - and tried to retain the best of both worlds. It is both ancient and modern. Be sure to take a cruise up the Irrawaddy to bustling Mandalay - a long crawl through a timeless landscape of farms and pagodas. The vast plain of Bagan and its 8000+ temples is a must, as is a visit to Inle Lake with its unique water culture, and the exquisite mountains of the Shan State where the hill tribes still bring their goods to the markets to trade, trying to preserve their culture while monitoring their cellphones. Beautiful, beautiful country. A real WOW!

UGANDA

So different from the rest of East Africa; straddling the Great Rift Valley between vast Lake Victoria and the Mountains of the Moon. It holds the source of the Nile and the old volcanoes that separate it from the endless, wild rainforests of the Congo Basin. Gorgeous landscapes spotted with banana and tea plantations. Chimpanzees and Gorillas and Tree-climbing Lions are what you go to see, but the people are what give marvelous texture to your experience there. To track the mountain gorillas in Bwindi, we were seven women tourists AND four trackers, four guides, and ten porters to help us navigate the dim, dense forest. When we finally found the great Silverback and his family, the Ugandans were as thrilled and excited as we were to be with them. Their dedication to the protection of these magnificent animals (and us) made the trek more meaningful. We were all in this together - to appreciate and wonder at this magnificent little slice of the planet where we could all coexist peacefully and enjoy each others’ company!

ALGERIA

Now the largest country in Africa. The Casbah in Algiers is still a busy city neighborhood and hasn’t changed much in a hundred years. There are vibrant cities like Constantine and Churchell along the Mediterranean. . . . spectacular Roman ruins throughout the north with beautifully preserved mosaics. And tribal cultures like the M’Zabs in the vast Sahara who migrated from Yemen a thousand years ago and still preserve their desert way of life. And WONDERFUL music. . . . and food!

ICELAND

A WOW destination - easy to get to, easy to navigate, good roads, dramatic scenery, friendly people who speak English. Go in the winter to bundle up and capture the Northern Lights, or in summer to tour and hike and bike. Do some whale-watching, find puffins, learn Viking history, and see some of the most interesting and beautiful horses in the world. Keep an eye out for fairies and trolls.