Bird of the Week: Blue-Footed Booby
Who doesn't love a blue-footed booby? This bird of the week dances like everyone is watching.
2021 Vaccinated Vacation Adventures
It turns out that 2021 was, indeed, better than 2020 in many ways. Granted, the endless working from home and refrigerator access probably hasn’t helped the fit of my wardrobe. Bummer. But in terms of travel, the outlook has become markedly more positive. For those of us lucky to have it, access to the vaccine has definitely opened up more vacation options! The year started with the certainty of… well, uncertainty. But a willingness to be adaptable led to a couple opportunities I wouldn’t have predicted in January. — Sadly, I’ve written exactly zero blog posts in recent months, which means I’ve written nothing about the international trips I was…
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…
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…
Intentional Travel: Adding Value to the Bucket List
My first reaction to pandemic lockdowns was to obsessively plan future trips. After months of planning several new adventures, it became apparent that there is just too much to do on this Earth and, most likely, not enough time to do it all. I might need to prioritize, to focus on intentional travel, if I want to ensure that I get to the destinations that are most important to me. Sure, 2020 might have been a torturous bout of travel deprivation for the travel obsessed, but it also turned out to be a time for revelation. Mainly, this: there is no better time to kick my old “bucket list” to…
