Clouds + Sky Tell a Story in the Amazon

Traveling along the Amazon River in Peru is a transformative experience. The haiku below reveals what I felt while cruising for a week on La Estrella Amazonica and in one of their two 18-person skiffs used to navigate the narrow tributaries.

Strong coffee in hand

Early morning sky wakes up

Clouds compete above. 

Puffy marshmallows

Hover above green tangles

Monkeys grasp the air.

Sun streaks dark blankets

Coating an azure canvas

The sky cries again.

Scarlet fires blaze

A final sign of daylight

Night creatures beckon.

One last chardonnay

A perch above the wildness

Thin wisps covered in night shrouds. 

continue reading "Clouds + Sky Tell a Story in the Amazon"

Curious Plants + Animals While Cruising Along the Amazon

Since I'm a biologist by training and a supreme tree hugger, my idea of an ideal cruise may be a little different from most. Sure, I look for creative cuisine; comfy cabins; fine wines; a friendly and experienced staff; and small ports where I'll meet villagers in their homes or schools.  But an eco component is key, where I'll have close encounters with an abundance of creatures, plant and animal alike, in their natural habitats. My recent journey up the Amazon River (along the Ucayali and Maranon rivers in Peru) with International Expeditions fulfilled that desire with an abundance of encounters.

But this wasn't simply about gaping at the flora and fauna. Luckily, aboard their brand new, gem of a riverboat, La Estrella Amazonica, I was able to interact daily with native-Peruvian Johnny, who is the embodiment of a Renaissance guide. He's a unique combination of naturalist, teacher, comedian, entertainer, musician, and cultural interpreter for all things in the Amazon. With all that in mind, we learned not just how to identify each plant, bird, fish, reptile, amphibian and mammal, but also its adaptations, properties and the impact on the villagers. Given that Johnny's generosity with his time and knowledge and empathy to the needs of others is so palpable, and his knowledge and love of the Amazon so strong, we all came away falling in love with the inhabitants of the Amazon River Basin and understanding why it's vital to protect it at all costs.

This is just a small sampling of my close encounters:

The Amazon is not chock full of these carnivorous fish. Rather, we pulled up in our skiff along a section that's shaded and coated with a lot of floating debris and vegetation. This is where we pulled in and baited each line with a chunk of raw beef. Churn up the water a bit with the tip of the rod, drop the line three inches down and wait. Except you don't have to wait that long. Within a few seconds, I felt a tug, set the hook and pulled it by yanking the rod up. The biggest we caught that morning was 10 inches.

The crew expertly held the fish behind the gills and carefully pulled off the hook. That night we feasted on grilled piranha. The sweet, white meat is found just under the dorsal fin. Yum.

The armored or walking catfish has elongated pectoral fins allowing them to walk up and along the muddy shore. There, the male catfish digs holes with its sucker-like mouth so that the female can deposit her eggs. It's given the name armored because its body is covered by a bony layer. This is another good tasting fish.

We didn't catch this fish but, rather, pulled up to a fisherman in a dug-out canoe. He was gracious enough to allow us to touch and photograph his catch. (He had a boat full of fish that he was bringing home to his family in a nearby village.)

Related to a tarantula, this is a bird-eating spider which first kills a lizard and takes over its burrow. Then the spider sits in wait at the entrance until a small bird prances by. They use venom to paralyze the victim.

This small anaconda didn't stray far from a creek, the environment it much prefers.  A mere five inches long, this juvenile -- it's just two years old -- could reach 36 inches in length. Anacondas tackle their prey not with venom but by constricting them under water. They're so aggressive that they can consume a caimon, a large reptile in the same family as the alligator, or a capybara, a large rodent that can weigh up to 145 pounds.

These giant water lilies can only be found in still, shallow water. Here, we walked along a plank beside a small pond. Notice how the edge of each plant curves up to prevent water from entering the surface, where organisms would end up decomposing it. Interestingly, the under surface of each leaf is covered by long spines to prevent fish from eating it. Those lovely pink blossoms produce a noxious odor that attracts beetles that are part of the pollination process.

How sturdy are these giant leaves?  They can hold the weight of a three-month-old baby. Who knew?

continue reading "Curious Plants + Animals While Cruising Along the Amazon"

Gear Review: Pick-Pocket Proof Pants For Women

I must admit that I was plenty skeptical about the new women's Pick-Pocket Proof Pants (manufactured by Clothing Arts) that I anticipated reviewing. It's not that I was worried the pants wouldn't thwart thieves. I'm sure they would. After all, my friend tried the men's version last year and he had difficulty getting into the pockets himself. (There's definitely a learning curve.) But he loved the pants and wears them constantly. You can read my review here.

But I'm all about form and function. So, great that thieves won't be able to nab my passport, money, credit cards and cell phone. But aesthetics can't be sacrificed. And the idea of a pants with a multitude of pockets, including the cargo kind, just didn't seem to fit in with a pleasing aesthetic. Would my butt look droopy, my thighs bulgy and my hips like I'm carrying an extra 10 pounds? I'm pretty petite (5'2" and 104 pounds) so anything that detracted from my slim appearance would be a no go, even if it was pick-pocket proof.

Was I pleasantly surprised! These pants look great and perform well. The pockets -- there are six of them: two rear, two side and two cargo -- are all low profile.. The cargo pockets don't hang in a floppy way. Two of these pockets contain double security features: a zipper and a button flap. I defy a thief to get past that. The two side pockets are zippered and contain an inner pocket, perfect for my cell phone. Like with the men's pants, it does take awhile to get accustomed to all the buttons and zippers. But that's the trade off if you want to keep other hands out of your pockets.

The pants are lightweight and soft as cotton, but constructed of a nylon that's wicks away moisture, doesn't wrinkle, and dries quickly. Oftentimes, I have found that pants never fit me perfectly around the waist, often requiring a belt. No belt is needed with these, thanks to additional buttons to cinch in the waist, making for a perfect fit.

I was surprised to find that the pants convert to capris, my favorite pants style. So that's how I intend on wearing them on most of my trips to warm climes.

The fit is relaxed, without a hint of bagginess, and the comfort factor is high, including when I'm curled up for an hour on my commuter bus. The pants arrived four days ago and I've been wearing them every day since. In a few days, I'm heading out of the country on assignment to a tropical country and my Pick-Pocket Proof Pants are coming along with me, whether I expect pickpockets or not. And now you can get a 20% discount on these or the men's pants if you purchase my travel first-aid kit organizer.

continue reading "Gear Review: Pick-Pocket Proof Pants For Women"

A Very Hidden Gem In Maine

It's so easy to bypass a simple roadside stand when you're driving country roads. Even at those low speeds, you miss the subtle markers in scenery that brims with items demanding your attention. If I were walking or taking in Maine's pristine scenery from the seat of my bicycle, I would not have almost missed it the first time. But the word "PIES" displayed in bright pink chalk on a small blackboard beside a single lane road somehow stuck with me.

My friend and I were in southern Maine for several days, not far from the New Hampshire border, when, one morning we had a craving for homemade pies. Where else to find 'em than Maine? Except we couldn't find any. Then I remembered the pink "PIES" sign on some road we passed the other day. My friend was skeptical. Did it really say "pies?" And, then I wondered if the pie would even be worth trying. With thoughts of blueberry, apple, apricot and rhubarb pies twirling in our heads, we set off to look for this sign. And, curiously, after leaving our accommodation in Biddeford Pool, I spotted the sign as we zoomed by. I cried out "Pies." But we were already long past it. Was it worth making that U-turn? Yes!

Beside the sign was a small driveway and a parking lot adjacent to a self-serve farm stand that was carefully decorated and stocked with homemade everything. Freshly baked pies were each stacked atop doilies and placed in a glass case. That day it was apple and blueberry. Shelves held jellies and jams, including several with habanero peppers. Lobster meat was stored in a cooler as was pesto sauce in little tupperware-type containers. There were chocolate chip cookies, just-cut flowers and so much more.

Everything was done with great care. (Even a laughing Buddha was positioned near the entry.) Colorful post-its lined one wall, each to be used under different circumstances, including when the pies would be out of the oven. I found out that this is the owner's first year managing her farm stand. Given the quality of your goods -- we ate the entire pie in almost one sitting -- and her thoughtfulness, I'm confident her venture will be a success.

continue reading "A Very Hidden Gem In Maine"

Plenty of Culture on a Budget in Lisbon

For the budget minded, Lisbon is king. Here you can watch your pennies and do it in style, starting with staying at one of many design-focused hostels. And this week, starting today, you can gain entry to a score of venues that are usually either reserved for VIPs or are otherwise unavailable to the general public. Today starts Lisbon Week, an cultural open doors event, that allows you to enjoy history tours of rooms that are normally off limits. A biologist will lead you along the city's newest section of a peaceful greenway. And an art tour will highlight paintings, video installations and sculptures in unusual venues. You'll even be able to step into several embassies that will showcase their relationship with Portugal.

Find out about the art, architecture, history, green, music, gastronomy and other offerings during Lisbon Week in this article I just wrote for the Huffington Post.

continue reading "Plenty of Culture on a Budget in Lisbon"

Lisbon's Urban Wilderness

If you had to pick an activity that would top your list of things to do in Lisbon, how high up would visiting a forest be? Would it even be on the list? Well, it should be. Lisbon is sprinkled with green spaces, including an expansive wilderness that's connected to downtown via a new pedestrian path. And, during Lisbon Week, a festival that starts on September 21st, you can take a free tour of this green way with a biologist. You can also sign up for history, art and architecture and other tours that will weave through some of the city's most unexpected venues.

I recently wrote about the Monsanto Green Corridor for National Geographic Traveler - Intelligent Travel.

continue reading "Lisbon's Urban Wilderness"

Adventures in Costa Rica

Most visitors only see the dense foliage of Braulio Carrillo National Park from the window of a tour bus that zips by. Instead, I chose to hire a private guide and explore on foot. This is the closest national park to San Jose, Costa Rica's capital. But Braulio Carrillo has few maintained trails and those that are navigable are steep, often muddy, and require a guide who'll lead you to refreshing streams and tumbling waterfalls and, most importantly, keep you at a distance from one of the most venomous snakes in the world, the fer-de-lance. (Luckily, I didn't see the latter.) But this tropical expanse is also a birdwatchers paradise, considering over 500 bird species can be found here, including the magnificent quetzal that I did spot. 

You certainly can't hike down the active Poas Volcano crater filled with teal-hued waters. But on the periphery trails wind through an otherworldly landscape of miniature bonsai-type trees and sizzling steam vents. In this crater-hugging cloud forest, one path wanders through a forest of twisted dwarf trees and leads to Laguna Botos, a lake formed from an extinct volcano where you may even see the fiery-throated hummingbird.

Puffy white masses meet the trees and the world becomes enveloped in mist. Welcome to the world of Costa Rica's cloud forests, include the most notable: the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Trails snake through a wilderness dominated by bromeliads, orchids and other epiphytes, 200 types of ferns and hundreds of butterfly species. Birdwatchers who get up very early can spy the resplendent quetzal, a bird that's noted for its iridescent green and ruby red coloration. Dozens of hummingbird species are also a major draw.

A visit to Manuel Antonio National Park offers a cross-training adventure, where you could choose a different activity every day for a week. Among the options:

 

• horseback ride through the rainforest-coated interior.

• white water raft on the Sevengre River with its Class II and III rapids

• scuba dive where you're likely to spot giant manta rays and white tip reef sharks.

• ocean kayak along the coastline rimmed with white sand beaches or through the nearby mangrove forests around Damas Island where sloths, howler monkeys and anteaters can be seen

continue reading "Adventures in Costa Rica"

Brooklyn's Collection of Wooden Houses

Wooden houses and present-day New York City don't sound like a natural fit. By 1900, you couldn't build wooden houses in Brooklyn that had just become part of Manhattan where wooden houses were outlawed because of their propensity to catch fire. No wonder, considering, with no electricity at that time, families were roaming around their houses with lighted candles.

So imagine my surprise when, on a walking tour with the Wooden House Project, I learned that 50% of the houses in Brooklyn are made of wood.  The Project's founder, Elizabeth Finkelstein and Chelcey Berryhill, one of the contributors to the Project that delights in everything about wooden houses, led our small group through the streets of Brooklyn's South Slope one recent sweltering day, pointing out these reminders of the past that are often concealed by none other than vinyl siding.

Many of us had the erroneous notion that these wooden dwellings were once old farm houses. In fact, they were Brooklyn's early row houses in this neighborhood where most everyone worked in the Ansonia Clock Factory, the major employer dating from 1879, and the stimulus for the neighborhood's development.

Webster Place – it's a row of 1867 houses with simple porches. This block is what most of the streets once looked like.

The gingerbread detailing, with spindles and portico columns are not original, but they are of that time.

Dating from 1863 , this house is located in the Historic District. From this house, the original owners would have views of the Ansonia, which was set on rocky land with immense embankments.

The mansard roof on this dormered house was popular in the 1860s. It was popular in the 1860s then fell out of favor only to return again in the 20th century.

Aside from these treasures, we also learned that a lovely yellow house on 11th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues was moved to this spot between 1886 and 1898. On 12th street between 6th and 7th Avenues, a carpenter owned the early cottage row house, circa late 1850s, that's snuggled between two brick brownstones. Since there were few architects at that time, houses like this one were built using pattern books illustrating what was  trendy. 

 

But for all the love we hold for wooden houses, they wouldn't still be around today, at least not in the good condition they are in, if it weren't for the aluminum or vinyl siding we find on many, like the row of six houses, all clad in different siding on 15th street between 6th and 7th Avenues. This is an inexpensive way to protect the wooden facade. And protection is what they need because once these houses are all gone, that's it. Because they're outlawed, you'll never find another wood house in New York City. Enjoy 'em while they last.

continue reading "Brooklyn's Collection of Wooden Houses"

An Eco-Centered Resort in Nicaragua

A few people leisurely swam in the infinity pool, looking out to the serene bay where a fishing boat was anchored. Others sat in lounge chairs, sipping watermelon coolers. No one seemed to give a care in the world to the sloth lounging in the mangrove tree nearby, something he did every afternoon. Or the tiny lizard taking in the rays atop the pool's stone steps.

Ah, life is good at Morgan's Rock, an all-inclusive eco-resort where, of course, the guests catered to but, more interestingly, the native creatures and natural environment are given their due respect.

 I recently wrote about Morgan's Rock for National Geographic Traveler - Intelligent Travel.

continue reading "An Eco-Centered Resort in Nicaragua"