As anyone anticipating the return to a lover or mistress, enough months had finally fallen off the calendar and by the latter part of December, Donald and I required only one hand on which to count the days to our departure. We were heading back, ready to add another year to our nine year long […]
Short stop in Hong Kong Read More »
This trip’s more than half over already, and the real meat of it is still yet to come, the Melanesian and Polynesian islands in a radius from Fiji. The hardest part- Papua New Guinea- is long gone by now, and I seem to have survived it with little or no trauma. I spent a couple
Solomon Islands – Tanggio! Disfela Bilong Amerika Likim Tumas Read More »
I first become aware of New Zealand back when I lived in Oregon, a state even in the early 80’s known as the ‘last bastion of the terminally hip.’ I guess that’s me. Hi. But if the ‘hipness’ passed around wholesale back then like fresh bud seemed a bit smug and self-righteous, the Oregon kind
New Zealand – Could This Be Love? Read More »
Well, I already had a couple days in Brisbane BEFORE my side-trip to PNG, so that gave me a little bit of an idea of what to expect in Australia, some good and some bad. I originally landed at Gold Coast, not Brisbane proper, and the cheapie airport there wasn’t much better than LCCT at
Christmas in Australia – Retail, Mon Amour … Read More »
When the Andean Mountain range enters Columbia from Ecuador, it branches into three ranges and crosses Columbia on a diagonal from south west to south east. These ranges, called Cordilleras, are labeled Occidental (west), Central, and Oriental (east). The coffee growing area, Zona Cafetera, which Donald and I visited is located in the central part
Visiting Zona Cafetera, the coffee growing region of Colombia Read More »
Papua New Guinea is one of the most exotic places in the world, full of tribes and languages and the artifacts of ancient culture, many of which only came to the light of the rest of the world less than one hundred years ago. Unfortunately, unlike many other exotic countries- such as Ethiopia or Kampuchea
Papua New Guinea: Fear Eats the Soul, Faith Restores It Read More »
BACKGROUND The word “coffee” is derived from a Turkish word, which could have been borrowed from an Arabic word, as coffee was first cultivated in the Arabian Peninsula, or it could have evolved from an Ethiopian word, because coffee was first discovered there. Around 850 AD, as per the legend, a goat herder in Ethiopia
Colombia: A trip to the coffee country Read More »
Sat Nav 1 Chelsea 0 Once upon a time, Earl Spencer’s daughter had tickets to go and watch the London Derby, Chelsea v Arsenal. Her taxi arrived and her driver typed ‘Stamford Bridge’ into his sat nav and off they went. The journey was taking a little longer than expected, and after much deliberation they
The Best Sat Nav Mishaps Read More »
BACKGROUND Ta Mok, Khmer for “respected grandfather” was born in Takeo, southeastern Cambodia. Scholars are not exactly sure of his birth date but it was between 1924 and 1926 and there is no agreement as to his real name. He earned “his bones” for ruthlessness as leader of the South West District and rose to
Anlong Veng: The search for Ta Mok, Khmer Rouge Brother #5 Read More »
Enjoy a boat trip on the canals of Tortuguero. Visit Selva Bananito, a secluded rain forest lodge. Day hike up the Bananito riverbed. Jolin a naturalist on walks at the La Selva Biological Station. Go birdwatching at Rancho Naturalista, Turrialba. Day 01 Arrival-San Jose Arrival. A representative will meet you at the airport and provide
