Clik here to view.
Montevideo’s Old City and an Old Friend
Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, is lovely. Walking in Ciudad Vieja feels familiar with hints of Havana and the French Quarter wafting out from its windows festooned in wrought iron. But getting to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Home on the Estancia Where the Gauchos Play
Our guide Luis warned us about Cerillo on the way to Estancia Santa Susana, a farm with Argentinian cowboys called gauchos just outside Buenos Aires. He said Cerillo was a naughty gaucho who loves...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Tango Show
Actually, funny probably isn’t the right word, freak might be better. Our trip was rudely interrupted the other night by a freak flash flood that created a fast-moving surge of water down the street in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Malbec and Marvelous Mendoza
When we land in Mendoza all memory of flash flooding and a leaky hotel is erased instantly with one glance at the Andes Mountain range. The mystical mountains greet us outside the Mendoza airport and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Our First Tango and Last Days in Argentina
It’s the morning after our tango class and show at Tango Porteño in Buenos Aires. Gia dubs Alan and I Mr. and Ms. Tango, sharing how well we danced together with Luis, who is at our hotel to escort us...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My Top 6 Photos to Celebrate International Women’s Day
There are some pretty sad statistics out there about the disparities between the lives of boys and girls; women and men. The World Bank reports that, in developing countries, an estimated 3.9 million...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Photo Flashback: The Pope is From Argentina. I Went to Argentina!
Exactly one month after traveling to Argentina with STG Tours, the Vatican selected its first Argentinian pontiff, Pope Francis I. How perfectly relevant. Seems like a great reason to reminisce on a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sobering Memories of Cuba
Live Free Cuba? An opinion piece about racism in Cuba in Sunday’s New York Times brought back memories of my visit there in 2003. I traveled with Global Exchange for its Salsa and Afro-Cuban Dance...
View ArticleClik here to view.
5 Places on My Travel Bucket List… For Now
So, the Traveling Brown Girls Blog Carnival has presented an interesting challenge: List 5 places that I’ve never been (and why I want to go). First, you may be asking, “What is the Traveling Brown...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Finding the Holiday Spirit in Gramado, Brazil
You’d probably think of a million tinsel-draped, twinkling-light places before you thought of Brazil as an over-the-top Christmas-is-here destination. Lapland, Finland always tops lists with its frosty...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ringing in the New Year in Cozy Digs and a Cool ‘Hood in New Zealand
Tanya loves our AirBnB home away from home. I’m standing outside of our rented garden apartment with our luggage while she screams, “Oh my God! It’s so cute! It’s so cute!” immovable inside the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wine Tasting and Good Company on New Zealand’s Waiheke Island
By the end of our Waiheke Island Wine Tour, Tanya and I are tightly hugging our fellow tour-goers and our guide, Wayne. It could be that we are really tipsy or we just really like them. Maybe it’s a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Oh, the People You Meet in Auckland, New Zealand
Awhitia Mihaere is a true force of nature. We don’t find this out right away. It reveals itself slowly, like the plot in a good mystery, and with each story she tells or life experience she shares. We...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Maori for a Night: Haka, Hongi and Hangi in Tamaki Village
Our driver, Wallace, is explaining to us that our bus is our canoe, or waka in Maori. The name of our waka is Kiwi. This is important to remember, he says, because if we don’t and we miss our canoe we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Driving on the “Wrong” Side of the Road, Glowworms and Hobbits in New Zealand
I drove on the wrong side of the road and descended into a dark watery cave in an inner tube to see some shiny sh*t. It was fun! First, let me explain the shiny poo part. Going tubing, or blackwater...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Taking on New Zealand’s Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The other passengers on the HotBus to Tongariro Crossing ask us if we want to play a game. Tanya and I say, “Sure.” It’s a two-hour ride from Rotorua toward Taupo and it seems like a good way to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
At Home on a New Zealand Sheep Farm
When we arrive at Pete’s Farm in Rangiora, New Zealand, just outside Christchurch, Gaye is the first to greet us. There’s a twinkle in her eye and she shakes our hands warmly. Pete is not far behind...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My Top 14 Travel Moments in 2014
While I rang in 2014 in New Zealand, an incredible trip well documented on the blog, I spent the rest of the year exploring beautiful places right here in the good old US of A. And, in a year that...
View Article
