Time for Tikal: Stay on Site
As we did at Chichén Itzá in Mexico’s Yucatan, we allowed three nights’ stay right inside the site of Tikal in northern Guatemala. We wanted to be sure to have … Read more
Travel Styles
Howler Monkey, Tikal, Guatemala
A family of howler monkeys, we’re told, usually consists of a male, a few females, and the offspring. The family that lives in the jungle which surrounds our hotel inside … Read more
By River in Belize to Lamanai
Traveling up the New River in Belize to the Mayan ruins at Lamanai includes great views of wildlife.
A Week and More in Cozumel
Cozumel attract all sorts of diving and snorkeling enthusiasts, but we were most taken by the friendly ease we found in restaurants and villages around the island.
10 Basic Tips to Make Your Travel Photos Better
Note: February 16, 2017. This is a slight update to a post I did more than three years ago. I haven’t changed much other than re-editing a couple photos and … Read more
Asador Etxebarri: The Best Meal of My Life
Eating at Asador Etxebarri restaurant and meeting the genius Chef Victor Arguinzoniz. The absolute highlight of our lifetime quest to eat ourselves silly at one of the best restaurants in the world.
What to do in Sintra, Portugal, Other than Eat Pastries
I went to Sintra, too, but I’m not going to be able to improve on Byron’s ode to it’s beauty. Poor, paltry slaves! yet born ‘midst noblest scenes— Why, Nature, … Read more
Bangkok: 8 Things in 8 Days
I don’t know why I picked eight things to tell you about Bangkok. It’s an arbitrary number, I know. But, I’ve heard that eight is generally regarded as a lucky number in Asia. I was in Bangkok for eight days. That might have something to do with it, but I don’t like to read too much into these things.
The Two Most Important Things About Chiang Mai
For those who have never had a Thai massage, you’re in for something different. In contrast to the soothing, along-the-line-of-the-muscle Swedish style prevalent in the US, the Thais believe that they should rub hard across the grain of the muscle. This has the effect of stretching your connective tissues, such as tendons and ligaments, in directions they’ve probably never been in before. Honestly, it hurts. But, after it’s over, you’ll ask yourself why the hell haven’t I been doing this all my life?
A Little Treasure of Madrid, the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales
When Kris and I lived in Madrid thirty-two years ago we worked at a language school that was about eight blocks from our apartment. One of the routes we often took to work took us past a nondescript building with two large oak doors and a small sign beside one of them which identified it as a convent. (Here’s the Google map.)
The same sign offered tours during limited hours, but in all the time we lived here, and in our many subsequent visits to Madrid, we never got around to seeing what was inside the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales. We remedied that this time.
