We’ve just spent our first week in Peru; in the clifftop waterfront neighbourhood of Miraflores, Lima to be exact. Miraflores is where most tourists tend to gravitate to, even the backpackers. Although the descriptors “upscale”, “luxury shopping” and “highrise hotels” are not normally our drivers, we decided to play it safe and go with the … More Coming Up For Air in Lima
Panama City was an accidental destination. We had planned to go to Peru directly from Costa Rica, but Stephen discovered a flight option with Copa Airlines that was too good to pass on – up to a five-day layover in Panama City at no extra charge. Exploring the country of Panama would have to wait … More The Many Faces of Panama City
Our month in Costa Rica is almost over. We’ve gone from the wilds of Osa Peninsula to the much-touristed Manuel Antonio Park to sublime cloud forests and are now in the steamy heat of the Caribbean. While we have found each area carries its own attractions and identities, I think it is fair to say … More Cahuita: Costa Rica Caribbean-style
I was desperate to see a sloth; a sentiment not shared by Stephen at all. He just didn’t get the attraction, and was unfazed by the fact that as of yesterday, this was as close to a sloth sighting as we had come. Okay, so perhaps that black shape more closely resembles a Sasquatch baby … More I Couldn’t Leave Costa Rica Without Seeing a Sloth
The cloud forests, to be exact. Only 1% of all forests on the planet are classified as “cloud forest” and Monteverde, Costa Rica is the largest one. Categorized by the presence of consistent fine mist and low-hanging cloud over the forest canopy, a cloud forest creates an incredible eco-system that supports a tremendous number of … More Our Heads in the Clouds
I’m not really a monkey fan – they kind of freak me out. When we were travelling in Southeast Asia and in India, the monkeys there were used to being fed by humans and were quite bold and aggressive. I have vivid memories of fearfully facing down small troops of monkeys, loping toward me in … More Monkeying Around in Manuel Antonio National Park
Actually the beauty of Drake Bay, on the wild Osa Peninsula, is far from elusive. It is wild, dangerous, dramatic, difficult to access and still largely undeveloped. Jungle creeps right down to largely uninhabited black beaches and rocky outcroppings, thundering waves crash to shore – this area in the southern part of Costa Rica, is … More The Elusive Beauty of Drake Bay
La Pura Vida, or Pure Life, is the clarion call of Costa Rica – the enticement to let worries slip by, shrug off minor annoyances and slide into a slower, kinder, simpler approach to life. A typical response to “How Are You?” would be “Pura Vida.” When we expressed consternation that most stores in San … More Seeking La Pura Vida in Costa Rica
You wouldn’t call Tirana a beautiful city, but it has a beating heart and is vibrant and highly walkable. It was battered and bruised and neglected for years and while some of the architecture shows Ottoman influences, a great deal more leans to Soviet-era buildings. Between 1944 and 1991, vast tracts of massive featureless apartment … More Tirana: Haunted by the past, but running toward the future.
Comparing Berat and Paris is certainly off-base, but our beautiful little boutique hotel was indeed situated on the Left Bank of the this old fortified city, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008. This is the Hotel Koroni, open just 10 days after a lengthy renovation. The young owners bought the building three years ago, … More Berat: Living on Albania’s Left Bank
Leaving Ourselves Behind 