Jaguar Safari in the Pantanal: The Best of Brazil
I decided to take a trip to Brazil based almost entirely on the appeal of the Pantanal. I’m not sure how well-known this site is to the general public, but it is a tremendously popular ecotourism destination. There’s plenty of cool critters and beautiful birds to see in Brazil, but the most people come to the lowlands for one specific target – one of those charismatic big cats everyone loves to see. It’s almost certain that a visit to the Pantanal will include a search for the Jaguar. That Darned Cat I had never seen a big cat before my trip to Brazil. At that point, my only trip to…
An Amazon Ecolodge Experience at Rio Cristalino
Brazil is a great wildlife destination. But it’s also a huge country with an overwhelming number of possible birding destinations – from coastal Atlantic forests and cerrado to cloud forests and the Pantanal. But despite all the options, it’s almost impossible to skip the rain forests of the Amazon River, especially when the itinerary includes a comfortable Amazon ecolodge like Cristalino Jungle Lodge. My trip to Brazil was a packaged tour with Rockjumper Birding Tours. I spent ten days traveling through the Pantanal and the cerrado habitats north of Cuiaba. But they also offered an option to extend the tour, adding a 4-night/5-day excursion to the Amazon. So although my…
Post-Vaccination Vacation Plans: New Developments
I have vacation plans! I’ve plotted so many things for 2021 that have already been cancelled. It’s difficult to share thoughts of travel without the caveat that – what with pandemics being the nasty, unpredictable beasts they are – any plans are more likely to be trashed than not. After a trip to India was postponed to 2022 and a European cruise was cancelled (which was entirely expected), it’s difficult to feel entirely optimistic about 2021 travels. However, I’m going to embrace hope and share my currently scheduled adventures anyway. I’m genuinely excited, and I think these post-vaccination vacation plans have a good shot of happening! Recent History: Florida Just…
Brussels: Great Chocolate and the Grand Place
Ah, Belgium. On an itinerary entirely focused on London and Paris, Brussels was a last-minute addition mostly to add a new country to our travels (and eat chocolate). Is a single day enough to explore Belgium? Nope! But a single day in Brussels was plenty of time for us to realize that Belgium is absolutely worth a return trip. I do mean to experience more of the country, of course. But, let’s be very honest here: I also mean I want to eat Belgian chocolate until I am physically ill and then wake up the next day to do it again, sometimes with a side of frites. Stop judging me.…
Poor, Unfortunate Soles: A Walk in the Left Bank in Paris
One of the great joys of Paris is how utterly, delightfully walkable it is. It’s a huge city, yes, so the fantastic metro is a wonder for increasing access to most of the city. But once you know where you want to go, the absolute best way to explore – if you’re able – is simply to point yourself in the right direction and walk those tootsies off. That’s exactly the approach we took when took a walk through the neighborhoods of Paris’ Left Bank. Walk It Out My travel partner during my last trip to Europe would probably be the first person to accuse me of being entirely too…
Bird of the Week: Puerto Rican Tody
The newest bird of the week is one handsome little tody endemic to a single Caribbean island.
