Travel photos

Bevagna, Italy – Medieval feast at Le Gaite

Bevagna is a small town in Umbria. It’s a charming and picturesque walled town, that was an important place in ancient Roman days, situated along the Via Flaminia. It’s also home to a festival called Mercato Delle Gaite. For a few days each spring, the town is time-warped back to the middle ages.

If you visit during this time, you’ll find quite a different place than normal! The townspeople are all dressed in medieval garb, and the locals are very much into the spirit of the event. As you wander through the streets, you’ll find all sorts of unusual activities underway…

Awesome Argentine Armadillo

Peninsula Valdez in Argentina is a sweeping, open space, where the dusty brown desert stretches right to the sparkling sea. Where else do you see armadillos and elephant seals all on the same walk? Not to mention guanacos and sea lions, killer whales and rheas!

I’d always heard that armadillos were shy, and that we were unlikely to see one. However, this little guy (or girl, for all I can tell!) was so intent on lapping up the drops of water that had spilled on the ground here, that his thirst overcame any fear of people, and we were able to get an excellent close-up view…

Napa Valley – Rock spiral on the trail

I was out hiking by myself on a trail up in the hills above Calistoga (north end of Napa Valley), when the trail took an unexpected detour. One minute I was striding down a fairly typical trail, the next, I was going around and around and around in circles! … Read article…

Sedona – Hedgehogs in bloom

One nice thing about visiting the desert in the spring is the flowers that add splashes of color to the landscape. It’s amazing how even the forbidding cacti, covered in treacherous thorns, have these beautiful blooms. It almost doesn’t seem to go together.

These little hedgehogs are just a few inches tall, and the blossoms are nearly as big as the plants themselves.

As for the name? Looking at these adorable baby hedgehogs …

Costa Rica – Caiman eyes at Tortuguero

Caimans are smaller relatives of crocodiles, and often they’re hard to spot. They can be sitting perfectly still in the water, almost submerged except for their eyes. Look back under the trees, or hidden among the floating vegetation… Read article…

Belize: Cave where the kids used to play

We were up in the mountains of the Pine Ridge area of Belize. After driving for miles along a very bumpy dirt road, we reached an abandoned little town. The small houses were still standing, but clearly uninhabited for quite a long time… Read article…

Anegada – The drowned island

Anegada is the most remote of the British Virgin Islands. You reach it after a nice long sail, then thank your stars that you’ve got a competent and experienced captain steering you through the reefs to a safe anchorage. And then you go ashore to investigate & celebrate! It can be tricky to get to Anegada, at least safely! … Read article…

Tumacacori – Ruins and dancing

Last weekend, I was down in southern Arizona, at a little place called Tumacacori. The main claim to fame here is that it was the site of a Spanish mission, founded by Jesuit missionaries back in 1691.

When the Spanish first arrived, the area was populated by the O’Odham people. The name Tumacacori is a Spanish phonetic spelling of the original O’Odham name, but nobody’s sure what that original name meant.

Over the centuries, this place has seen the O’Odham and the Jesuits, the Franciscans and the Apaches, the Spanish, the Mexicans, and the Americans. The southwest has such amazing history!

So there we were.. power lounging at White Bay

Just got some updates from Yacht Promenade in the British Virgin Islands, and it looks like the Adventurous Wenches aboard right now are having a fine time. They broke out the power lounger at White Bay, one of the loveliest spots in the BVI. OK, “loveliest spots in the BVI” is kind of a hard call to make… Read article…

Tybee turtles and terrapins

Now this is a road sign you don’t see every day! How many places can claim to have a turtle crossing? Tybee Island is just a short distance from Savannah, Georgia, and it’s known as “Savannah’s beach”. There’s a long sandy beach, a picturesque lighthouse, and… turtles!