The silky sands and the clear warm waters of Zihuatanejo bay stretch out before me. To my right, a large outcropping of volcanic rock with a Mexican flag flying from the highest point, defines one boundary of the nearly 2km. beach of La Ropa, arguably one of Mexico’s premier beaches. Paddle boarders cross the calm…
Category: retired
RELEASING TURTLES
A baby turtle has a hard life. Only one in one thousand make it to become an adult turtle. Put yourself in their flippers for a moment. First, they must struggle through about 18 inches of sand to get out of the nest. Then, they immediately become prey to a host of predators before they…
VIGNETTES OF VIETNAM PART 2 SAIGON, THE DELTA & PHU QUOC
As our bus to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)was approaching the city, this was the view from the window. It could be any modern western city. Once we actually arrived, I quickly learned that this was only part of the story. Saigon is the most modern and westernized of the cities of Vietnam, but that…
THE “ALMOST” PUERTO RICAN
I was four and a half years old when my family moved from St. Louis, Missouri, to Puerto Rico. One of my earliest memories is the frustration of not being able to play with the kids in the neighborhood because I couldn’t understand them. Within six months, I was fine. I was out there explaining…
TRAVELING THE CANALS OF BANGKOK
With a population of over 8 million and occupying over 600 square miles, the capital city of Thailand, Bangkok is also one of the most visited cities in the world. Due to the traffic congestion and air pollution, it can also be an unpleasant place to travel over the city streets. When we visited there…
VIGNETTES OF VIETNAM
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this is a very long blog. This weeks offering is mostly photos with some brief commentary where necessary. All of the pictures were taken between early October and December 2018. After an exhausting twenty-two-hour travel time , our first meal in Vietnam had to be pho….
THE TEMPLE OF THE TURTLE
It’s midnight. Just two days after the full moon. Visibility should be good. I’m at Campamento Tortuguero Ayotlcalli. Ayotlcalli is a Nahuatal word which translates to temple of the turtle. A Honda four-wheeler pulls up next to me with my guide for the night, Felipe Campos Crispin. We are setting off in search of turtle…
THE CHINCHORRERAS GIFT
I was a senior in high school in January 1961 when John F. Kennedy gave his inaugural speech that included the phrase, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Those words resonated with me. That same year, and in the same spirit, Kennedy established the…
THE KINGDOM OF A MILLION ELEPHANTS
Lane Xang, or the Kingdom of a Million Elephants, is today known as The Democratic Republic of Laos. During the six weeks we spent there in early 2019, I discovered a country that was not as touristy as others we visited. At the same time, Laos had a particular European sophistication leftover from its days…
ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO
As I lay in my hammock watching the sunset paint the sky behind the green hills that surround the fishing village of Zihuatanejo, I realize just how lucky I am to be living here in this tropical gem. The movie “The Shawshank Redemption” was what made this small village on Mexico’s Pacific coast known. The…