On one of our final days on Espiritu Santo, we booked a snorkeling plus turtle and dugong spotting tour. What’s a dugong, you ask? We’d never heard of them either! A relative of the manatee, dugongs are large-ish marine mammals that live in the coastal waters of the Indo-West Pacific. They are shy and gentle … More Carpe Diem
Our final stop: Vanuatu. A cluster of 80+ islands in the South Pacific, Vanuatu is a tropical destination that transports you beyond the reach of modern civilization; a place of idyllic deserted beaches and thatched-roof villages, where tribal chiefs gather their council under the shade of a banyan tree and ancient customs are still very … More Curious Clown Fish & Kava
The morning post-election, we woke to a deluge of news coverage from home. We caved briefly to the torrent of commentary before making an effort to shut it off and focus on the present moment… we were in New Zealand, and we had a ferry to catch. The rain continued to follow us from the North Island … More NZ: South Island quakes and misty isles
Completing the final few blog posts while distracted by the comforts of home and attempting to transition back to “real life” has been slow-going. We find ourselves lingering over photos and journal entries, reminiscing and daydreaming instead of making progress on posts… …so, without further delay… We left Ubud on November 3rd, trading the sticky … More New Zealand: North Island adventure & election blues
After several weeks of sparsely populated wide-open spaces, our arrival in Seminyak was a bit of a jolt. Busy roads with a jumble of motorbikes, taxis and pedestrians; a hectic main drag with wall-to-wall designer boutiques, surf shops, galleries, and restaurants; beaches littered with soggy remains of temple offerings and lined with hip bars, their … More Beautiful Bali
While impossible to put into words everything that we saw and experienced with Earthwatch, we couldn’t end without acknowledging a few additional favorite memories and tributes: Pilansberg National Park One of the unexpected perks of the Earthwatch project was the opportunity for multiple game drives in Pilansburg National Park. While stalking rhinos for the vigilance … More Earthwatch: Footnotes
We are both avid readers of National Geographic, we linger over the photographs and read nearly every word of each issue; we even follow some of our favorite photographers on Instagram. We have long admired the scientists whose research in the field leads to fascinating discoveries, and we envy them their exciting profession and unconventional … More Earthwatch: In the field
When we first began planning our itinerary for this big adventure, we knew we wanted to dedicate some time towards a volunteer opportunity or philanthropic venture. It was, in fact, the first part of our trip that we booked, and it became an anchor to build the rest of our travels around. Our intent was … More Earthwatch: The mission
On the afternoon of October 5th we climbed in a van bound for the Hoedspruit Airport, then on to Cape Town. Still giddy, feeling like kids and recapping all the sights and experiences from the safari; we vowed to return for another safari in the future. Our home for the next five days would be … More Red wine pairs well with large fish
Some our favorite animal encounters in Ngala… African Wild Dogs We were absolutely charmed by the painted dogs. We were lucky to have multiple, up-close and leisurely sightings with the pack throughout our stay – all the more special given how severely threatened these animals are (only 6,600 remaining in the world). Highly social animals, … More Ngala: part 2
A Forever of Nows 