There are no Malagasy monkeys, and the 32 lemur species fill the primate ecological niche. We were fortunate to see many lemur varieties. In the semi-arid dry forest of southern Madagascar, we are walking on a ten-foot wide cattle trail lined with prickly brush and tamarind and eucalyptus trees. We hear the vigorous rustle of […]

The Author in the Jungle The shy terrestrial bird is close. Our guide signals us to fold the umbrellas that protect us from the fat drops of moisture rolling off the rainforest canopy. He hoots again, challenging the bird to defend its territory. We crouch and peer into the lush underbrush watching for any telltale […]

UUSC Ambassadors I never understood what it meant to witness until I went to Guatemala. As a Unitartian, the word is not one we use, though I am aware that it is often used in other religions. In Guatemala, we listened to the stories from survivors of massacres that occurred during the 1980’s. Stories hard […]

Forensic Lab The tiny, mud-flecked shoes sat next to a few bones and pieces of cloth in the forensic laboratory in Guatemala City, waiting for someone to identify the little girl who caught the fatal bullet so many years ago. In 2006, her remains and those of her family and neighbors were dug from one […]

I was lucky. I slept in a bed last Saturday. Nine of my friends in our Cuba AyUUda group slept on the cold floor of the Havana airport. What many people want to know is what were you doing trying to get into Cuba? As for me, I do not live in a box. I […]

Camello A model of Havana shows a large metropolitan area for a city of 2.2 million people planned to grow and able to absorb new inhabitants. The rub is in the transportation system. Again, economics matters. For those who cannot walk or bicycle to their jobs or errands, the cheapest form of mass transit is […]

University of Havana The students in the language school were mostly from European countries, with a sprinkling of Americans. They ranged in age from college students to one of my fellow Global Exchange participants who was taking up Spanish for the first time at age 75. This was my first language immersion experience, and after […]

Cuban Flag Cuba lies so close to our shores and yet has been shunned by the US for most of my life. It was on my list of places to visit one day because of the contradictions that make it so fascinating. Is Castro an idealist or cruel dictator? Is he Communist or populist? Why […]

Historical Buildings After a short flight from Cancun in a vintage Russian plane, my group was driven into Havana past sugar cane fields, which gave way to houses, tiendas (small shops) and the shaded parks of the suburbs. We passed baroque and neo-classical mansions as well as more modern buildings but all were in poor […]

Ambos Mundos Hotel Lobby The Ambos Mundos Hotel was at dead center of Old Havana and close to the cruise ship docks. I generally do not tread tourist paths and would rather have been away from them after the second day. I had an outside room on the fourth floor I so did not hear […]

On international birding tours, we are after birds. Any cultural experiences must fit into our packed birding schedule. In my travels, these exposures to local customs have been fascinating, educational and sometimes frustrating. One dinner in the Okavango Delta was not one of the best. Lilac Breasted Roller Our first dinner at !Xigera Lodge in […]

Our guide had warned us that it might be a few hours wait before we could cross the Zambezi River from Botswana into Zambia. I feared the worst as we passed more than fifty large truck and trailer rigs parked on the side of the road. A few drivers languished near the rigs, but many […]

The Author Bhutan is one of those mysterious countries that has drawn my interest for years. Isolated and self-sufficient, it is located between two giants, India and China. How did it maintain its seemingly peaceful existance against pressures to trade, to modernize and to engage in the global melee that has destroy so many other […]

Our bus slammed to a halt. A flash of color disappeared over the lip of the heavily forested road.  The driver whispered, “Blood Pheasant”. Motor off, he added, “He will return. There is no hunting in this country so they are not afraid.” Giddy with anticipation, eyes riveted on the open space before us, we […]