We had a brief stop in lovely Costa Rica as a port of call on a cruise through the Panama Canal (Miami – Los Angeles). What to do with limited time at Puntarenas? We booked a day trip with Odyssey…

We visited several Pacific Coast ports of call on our second trip to Mexico to include Puerto Chiapas, Huatulco, and the “Mexican Riviera” ports of Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas. We were cruising with the Norwegian Pearl through the…

The culmination of a dream trip come true. Our last few days were spent making our way from the Antarctic Peninsula up towards the South Shetlands for a visit to Livingston Island before the final push through the notoriously difficult…

Kam Air offers a quick 50 minute flight once a week from Kabul to Dushanbe. Since Tajikistan is our northerly neighbor and we had heard great things about the country, we felt it would be foolish for us not to…

Busy day today! Our morning was spent at one of Antarctica’s most popular destinations – Port Lockroy base built on tiny Goudier Island. It seems to be a mandatory stop for all cruise ship visitors and we were not the…

The mere mention of this fabled city conjures up images of romance and faded glory. Havana has beckoned us to visit for as long as we can remember, and we were thrilled when the opportunity finally presented itself. What can…

The Bahamas is an English-speaking country consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets. Since the Grand Bahamas are a mere 100 miles from Ft Lauderdale, FL, it makes for an easy weekend destination and as a result, receives…

The Philippines consists of an archipelago of over 7,000 islands which is home to over 90 million inhabitants. We barely scratched the surface when we took in the sights of Manila (the chaotic capital) and lovely Boracay (voted one of…

Lhasa is the capital of Tibet, and at 3,650 meters, is one of the highest cities in the world. Located at the foot of Mount Gephel, the city is regarded as the holiest center for Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet, and…

Fueled on by descriptions of Mongolia’s Nadaam Festival, we planned a trip to this pristine and remote destination. Mongolia is an outdoorsman’s paradise. Vast tracks of untouched land beckon discovery and hospitable Mongolians welcome you into their gers to force…

The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about 600 kilometres north east of the Antarctic Peninsula. We visited Shingle Cove which is a small sheltered cove in the NW corner of Iceberg Bay, which…

Our Costa Mediterranea cruise approached a foggy Venice. Due to the inclement weather, we were told that there would be a slight delay to our arrival time. We had booked a two night stay at the Guesthouse Alloggi Agli Artisti…

Our Costa cruise allowed us half a day to explore Kotor, Montenegro in early November. While we really wanted to visit nearby Perast’s Our Lady of the Rocks island, with limited time we decided to focus all our efforts on…

Well, we couldn’t stay away from Ethiopia! This incredibly diverse country fascinated us on our first trip here, and we have longed for a repeat visit ever since. Intrigued by other travelers’ ravings about the Danakil Depression (reputedly one of…

Singapore never ceases to amaze, transforming itself each time we come back for a visit. Becky was born and raised here, but hardly recognizes the country that Singapore is today. Quite possibly one of the cleanest, safest, and most culturally…

The Republic of Maldives is a series of atolls in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Popular with honeymooners and SCUBA divers, we fell into the latter category. Our one week liveaboard on the MV Stingray (with 17 dives, all…

Israel is a country that continually wowed us. For such a compact, diminutive region, Israel is extremely diverse. Our visit included the unmissable city of Jerusalem, which contains some of the holiest places in the world for Christians, Muslims and…

We spent two action packed weeks exploring Tanzania, which was one of the highlight countries for us on the East Coast of Africa. Our itinerary took us from the Kasumulu border crossing with Malawi to Mbeya, onward through the Mikumi…

Alas, our time in beautiful South Africa was too short, but we managed to squeeze in a lot of activities in a short amount of time. After entering from Namibia, our first stop was a picturesque vineyard in Trawal wine…

After exploring the Grand Ergs, we drove south towards Adrar, another mud-red city whose unique color reminded us of Timimoun. We drank tea in the massive town square (complete with carpets laid out beneath the starry night), and listened as…

Santiago is a happening city, and we were lucky enough to visit during the colorful Fiesta del Fuego (also called Fiesta de Caribe), which is held annually at the beginning of July (3-9 July). To our surprise, it was hard…

St Kitts and Nevis is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign nation in the Americas, in both area and population. St Kitts has the only UNESCO World Heritage site (Brimstone Fortress) in the…

Beijing is a city of sharp contrasts, with an ancient past coexisting alongside futuristic looking buildings and modern structures. We were very excited to visit this hip, happening city immediately prior to the 2008 Olympics, when the city’s inhabitants were…

Known as the party island in Greece, boasts a glamorous reputation of having great beaches, stylish bars, expensive shopping, and an active nightlife. But through all the fame, Mykonos has managed to retain its Greek identity and the cubist charms…

We have both dreamt of visiting Papua New Guinea for as long as we can remember, and this finally became a reality for us in the fall of 2005. We heard that the best time to visit was during one…