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PANAMA | Fri, 21 Feb 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [2583]
OF PANAMA’S ROUGHLY ONE THOUSAND BIRDS, seven are found only in Panama. With our previous birding birding trips in nearby Columbia we had already seen all but 90 of the species. No, problem, though. This trip was not jus about birds—it was ... Read more >
PANAMA | Mon, 17 Feb 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [2507]
SUNDAY WAS AN EASY DAY, as if Oscar wanted to test our mettle. Breakfast at 6:15 followed by three hours of birding on Sendero el Balsal. This isn’t primary rain forest—much of it is a teak plantation—so we all piled into the back of ... Read more >
PANAMA | Tue, 18 Feb 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [2447]
ANOTHER EARLY START TODAY, first a van to Yaviza and followed by another panga ride on the Chucunaque River to El Real and onward by truck to the Embera village of Pijibasal where our Crested Eagle trek would begin.
Our Guide ... Read more >
COSTA RICA | Wed, 5 Mar 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [2444]
OUR SPIRITS NEEDED A JOLT OF COSTA RICAN Pura Vita before returning to the sturm und drang of the USA and a condo in the beach town of Jaco was just the ticket. This is our fourth visit to Costa Rica, we’ve already covered most of the country ... Read more >
PERU | Wed, 22 Jan 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [378]
WITH APOLOGIES TO RED SKELTON, we flew in to Lima yesterday and, boy, are our arms tired! The flight was only three hours long but after getting up 2:30 in the morning for the only direct flight from Salta, it’s not just our arms but our entire ... Read more >
USA | Fri, 11 Apr 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [276]
NO TRIP TO THE HOUSTON AREA would be complete without a visit to Sabine Woods Audubon Sanctuary—at least for birders like us. Yes, we know we’re here too soon for the Spring migration but we’re hoping to see a few of those famous Early ... Read more >
PANAMA | Sat, 15 Feb 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [265]
BIRDING IN DARIÉN HAS BEEN ON OUR RADAR for years. Until recently the logistics and cost were daunting, the rivers were frequented by drug smugglers and illegal immigrants and decent lodging was non-existent.
... Read more >
NEW ZEALAND | Thu, 13 Mar 2025 | By nomad_kiwis | Views [242]
It seems like only months ago we ended our Mediterranean cruise but it has been well over a year!
At the end of 2023 I joined with other Ulysses members to ride the length of New Zealand raising funds to help those who continue to suffer from the ... Read more >
PERU | Fri, 24 Jan 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [224]
THE ROAD FROM HUACHO TO HUARAZ took five hours, had hundreds of hairpin turns and climbed 13,000 feet into the Andean Cordillera Blanca before descending to the sprawl that is Huaraz. Our suite at Villa Valencia was another gem, the equal of many of ... Read more >
PERU | Mon, 27 Jan 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [219]
BASED UPON THE CARVINGS AT EL BRUJO, the Moche weren’t the friendliest people—pretty much what you would expect from people ruled by Warrior-Priests who worshipped a god known as Decapitator at a site called El Brujo (sorcerer) by the Spanish ... Read more >
ECUADOR | Sat, 8 Feb 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [217]
THERE ARE TWO WAYS THAT ANIMALS originally arrived in the Galapagos—a sea voyage or via the friendly skies. Blown offshore by winds, birds—just like seeds—eventually reached the islands. Animals that are strong swimmers like sea ... Read more >
USA | Mon, 10 Mar 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [216]
IT’S BEEN TWO AND A HALF YEARS since Hurricane Ian crashed through Fort Myers and just a single lane on the only bridge connecting Pine Island to the mainland is open. On-going construction regularly stops traffic dead. Businesses along Pine Island ... Read more >
USA | Sun, 6 Apr 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [203]
AFTER TWO WEEKS OF SLOTH ON FLORIDA’S Turquoise Coast we’re back on our Grand Tour. This leg took us through Alabama and Mississippi to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. After our 8-hour journey from Pine Island to Destin, the two-hour ... Read more >
ARGENTINA | Fri, 3 Jan 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [202]
A DAY MAY STILL HAVE TWENTY-FOUR hours but the years seem to be passing more quickly. It seems like like only yesterday that we were getting haircuts in Bali and it really was yesterday we both got haircuts here in Cordoba. Argentina, that is, not Cordoba ... Read more >
AUSTRALIA | Fri, 3 Jan 2025 | By besoka | Views [198]
More notes only, though this one loaded with less swearing at least.
Day 0 = Sun 29 Dec
Train to Stockholm
Got to Stockholm Centralen
Tiny old slow lifts that took 2 people at a time
Long distance train station that doesn't ... Read more >
ECUADOR | Mon, 10 Feb 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [193]
DARWIN’S FINCHES ARE THE BEST-KNOWN of the one hundred or so resident bird species in the Galapagos. They may have inspired his theory of evolution but the seventeen species are actually in the tanager family—they are not even closely related ... Read more >
PERU | Thu, 30 Jan 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [192]
WE DECIDED TO BYPASS CERRO SECHIN and Chankillo on our way north and save them for our return to Lima. Photos of Cerro Sechin depicted intricate carvings on real rock, not mudstone, and we figured we would see much more at the site. Not.
... Read more >
ARGENTINA | Mon, 6 Jan 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [191]
WE GAVE SALTA SHORT SHRIFT on our 2013 visit. Our MacBook had died and we were anxious to get to Iguasu Falls and meet with friends from the States who were bringing a replacement. We will be in the area for the next couple of weeks and hope to remedy ... Read more >
ECUADOR | Fri, 7 Feb 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [189]
THE JURY IS STILL OUT as to whether “ galapágo ” is an old Spanish word for “saddle” or for “tortoise” which the saddles resembled. Either way, the Galapagos would be nothing without the giant tortoises that ... Read more >
ARGENTINA | Mon, 30 Dec 2024 | By graynomadsusa | Views [185]
AFTER A NON-EVENTFUL CHRISTMAS IN BA we moved on to Cordoba, the second largest city in Argentina. Although it’s only 450 miles from Buenos Aires we decided fly—we’re no longer bus-riding backpackers if there are other options. And ... Read more >
PERU | Sun, 26 Jan 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [185]
AFTER THREE CONSECUTIVE DAYS of 5+ hour driving we deserved a little R&R and Wyndham’s Costa del Sol in Trujillo was just the ticket with a quiet location, nice rooms, secure parking, a wonderful restaurant—even a wandering pair of llamas.... Read more >
AUSTRALIA | Tue, 14 Jan 2025 | By besoka | Views [178]
Helsinki II - Heavenfloati
Day 1 = Sun 12 Jan
Train
Possible snowplough at 3:30am
Woken up in Tampere
Packed up and off at Helsinki
2 Cabs to accom
Accom
2 level penthouse in Docklands-ish part of town
Emma succeeds ... Read more >
ECUADOR | Thu, 6 Feb 2025 | By graynomadsusa | Views [174]
DURING A “WHILE WE’RE HERE” MOMENT we booked a trip to the Galapagos. We had visited the archipelago fifteen years ago, five days exploring the older eastern and southern islands. This time we’re on an 8-day trip on a luxury yacht ... Read more >
AUSTRALIA | Mon, 23 Dec 2024 | By besoka | Views [170]
OK, I'm doing a bit of catching up now on this blog, so hopefully it'll turn into tight stream-of-conciousness rather than the bloat-by-bloat I churn out when I have too much time. [Update: Nope, sorry it's still kinda waffly.]
First leg - Brisbane ... Read more >
SPAIN | Wed, 8 Jan 2025 | By jmeh | Views [170]
Como suele suceder, el avión salió tarde el 7 de enero. Tuve que entregar la maleta por pasarme por un kilo. el vuelo iba lleno, especialmente de españoles regresando a casa. Por consiguiente, llegamos par de hora tarde al otro dí... Read more >
Tags: calle de las huertas, catalonia atocha, madrid