There comes a point in nearly all of our trips where Mr. M & I run into a bit of trouble. Something that makes us pause and think hmmm… how do we get out of this one? Day #11,054: Today was that day. After adventure-squared in the Amazon, Mr. M & I had plans to […]
Getting Old in the Big Easy
**This post comes in response to a request for ideas on what to do in New Orleans! I kindly ask that someone request “Fiji” so that I can go do some Very Serious Research.** When I realized that I was fast approaching the ripe old age of 30, I also realized that the Universe was handing […]
Viva Brasil, Amazon Part 4: Sunrise to Sunset
Day #11,053: Our alarm went off at the ungodly hour of 5am. The jungle was still dark, and the first birds were just beginning to shriek when BAM! Something big hit our roof. Mr. M & I looked at each other, eyes wide and still foggy with sleep. Whatever it was scrambled around up there, […]
Viva Brasil, The Amazon: Of Courage (…and Stupidity)
If there’s one thing that scares me more than losing a toe to a piranha, it’s the threat of regret. After a day spent eating grubs and swinging on jungle vines and visiting with pink river dolphins, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling of wanting to swim in the Rio Negro. So as the sun set over the tea-colored Amazon, in I went.
Viva Brasil, Amazon Part Two: A Taste of the Jungle
Day # 11,051: Our second day in the Amazon, and breakfast proved to be much more entertaining than I had imagined: the lodge does a great job of serving up local Amazonian cuisine, and breakfast was one of the highlights. Fried plantains, tapioca pancakes made from the ubiquitous local manioc plant (points for style, but […]
Viva Brasil, Amazon Part 1: Welcome to the Jungle
Day #11,050: The Amazon is one of those places I’ve had a high school crush on for quite some time. The sort of desperate infatuation that one assumes can only exist from afar, never to be realized. Or so you think. Somehow on this morning I woke up- next to my real high school crush, […]
Ain’t No Party Like A Boston Tea Party
My younger sister S is one of my Absolute Most Favorite People of All Time Anywhere. We used to share a room growing up, and when we’d inevitably fight over you-stole-my-this or stop-looking-at-my-that, our mother would come into our room, hands on her hips, and say: “Girls. You are SO lucky to have your best […]
Viva (visa?) Brasil!
Whew. I can finally exhale a huge sigh of relief, uncross fingers & toes, and boldly announce: I’m off to Brazil! The reason for all this superstitious witchcraft? Despite having looked forward to this trip for the past month, I didn’t realize we needed a visa until last Sunday- less than two weeks before we […]
The Fine Art of Spelunking
Day #10,294: The alarm went off an hour before the wet winter’s sun rose in Punakaiki, New Zealand. I wanted to visit the Pancake Rocks at sunrise, when high tide meant the famous Punakaiki Blowhole would be at its blow-iest. Armed with a giant umbrella and two paper cups of surprisingly delish hotel room coffee […]
The Heart of Cape Town
Day #9,473: One of the things that struck me most about Africa- this being my very first international trip- was the lack of warnings. No ‘Stay Back From Cliff!’ or ‘Slippery, No Running!’ or ‘May Cause Cancer!’ South Africa requires you to be adult about things; it expects you’ll make sane choices and leaves you […]