Is there a more exotic-sounding destination than Zanzibar? We hop on the tiny Coastal 12 seater plane and skip from the Northern to Central to Southern Serengeti, on to Arusha and over to Zanzibar. After 5 hours of this, the plane is no longer cute and is just a flying tin Read More
Travel
Tanzania 4: Hunters and Gatherers
The Lamai Lion Pride of 22 lions, including two adult males, lords it over the northern Serengeti on the Kenyan border of the Mara river. We come upon them twice in two days: once having devoured an eland, the largest African antelope, so full they could barely waddle 10 steps Read More
Tanzania 3: Migration
The short rains have not arrived (January/February) and so the usual migratory path of one million wildebeests converging in the southern Serengeti to drop their calves has not appeared. Since this is one of the reasons we’re here, we head up to the central Serengeti to find them. We drive Read More
Tanzania 2: Ngorongoro Crater and Southern Serengeti
Eastern edge of the Ngorongoro Crater, collapsed caldera. Jaw-dropping. Elevation 9,000 feet. We leave Gibbs Farm (reluctantly) and head up, up, up to the Ngorongoro Crater and the rough “outback” road carved into the rim to access the few lodges scattered on the perimeter, offering stunning views of eternal primitive Read More
Tanzania 1: Arusha, Lake Manyara, Gibbs Farm
“Can I hold the baby?” A baboon offers her friend a helping hand so she can eat her stolen snack. We arrive in Arusha, at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania after escaping showstorms in Boston and Amsterdam. It’s dark and steamy and blowing hot wind as 350 Read More
Islands – Vieques (hot), The Azores (warm), Iceland (cold).
ATLANTIC ISLANDS There’s something about the remoteness and separateness of islands that makes them so appealing. Vieques, off the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico is tiny, semi-arid and doesn’t have a single traffic light on its 20 miles of roads. Sao Miguel, largest island in the Azores, 1000 miles Read More
India: Signs and Wonders
“May you be blessed with five sons,” says the tiny, elderly woman sitting on the curb with her hand out, as I give her 10 rupees. Well, I am blessed with two – not sure I could have managed five – but that is a pretty good indication of gender Read More
The Maharajah will see you now…
We arrive at the Heritage property of Rawla Narlai, an old hunting lodge – beautifully restored — and still owned by the royal family of Jodhpur, through the town of Narlai which (on first impression) consists of dirt streets with free-range cows and open waste water ditches. I Read More
Village people: Southern Rajasthan
Driving from Udaipur north and west on tiny roads through the Aravalli hills is captivating. Each village brings fresh surprises and not always pleasant. This is real, hard, grinding life that hasn’t changed in forever. The caste system has not disappeared (or the many many categories of sub-castes) and if Read More
DeviGarh: Fort of the Goddess
We arrive at Devi Garh after a death defying drive in the dark from Udaipur airport in which the driver negotiates (drive left) speeding mopeds loaded with families heading against traffic, meandering cows, people carrying huge loads on their heads, top-heavy painted trucks, madly honking motorists, and zigzag speed bumps. Read More