For Brayan

In my mother-in-law's version of the tale, Francisco came home the Friday before Mother's Day in 1980 and announced he was leaving: His girlfriend. His son. His mother and his sister. His country. They were the wake he left behind as The Green Girl pulled out of Mariel's harbor. His...

As I stood in front of an empty check-in desk at Rio’s Galeão airport, due to the extended disappearance of the airline representative who had failed to inform me that she would be taking her dinner break sometime between asking me for my passport and handing me my boarding pass, I came...

http://www.anandway.com/articles.aspx?View=An_orinthologist_is_born&link=25

It’s early in a bitterly cold January morning. Darkness is reluctantly making way for light, but this morning, the sun has clearly lost its battle against fog. Trees and buildings have vanished as if by magic.

Trains...

The phylloxera swept across the terraced hills of Otok Brać – Island of Brać – in the early 1900s, invading the soil.  Native to North America, the tiny yellow aphids traveled across the sea to Europe in the late 1800s, feeding on vino roots and spreading their wine death...

     Just the other day I was sitting around with some friends talking about old trips we have taken. During the conversation we started talking about the interesting people we have meet. Even though I have not traveled around the world I have still meet amazing...

We hitched a ride out of Central Havana to the seaside town made famous by Ernest Hemingway to research a couple of articles I’m working on. The driver barreled up a dusty road speckled with potholes, noting, “This is the best road in town,” and dropped us off on a forlorn corner, pointing...

5 – 9 – 08 Elwha River Valley

Just after dawn and cold but baby Layla is warm and happy after her first night of camping. The frogs’ nocturnal chorus mixing in and out of the Elwha River flow.

Will she remember this? Her 8-month birthday was...

At this point i'm feeling pretty good about my decision to fly. True the 8 seater plane is much more costly than the train and a bit more risky, but it gave me an extra two days in the mountains, and the passenger list has opened up an interesting opportunity. Confirmed on the flight are; six...

My 14 year old niece and I don’t have the best relationship. Even since the first time we met, we’ve circled each other with instinctive caution. For me, she’s a malcriada: her mom and grandmother let her get away with everything. She’s a picky eater, so they let her eat cake for dinner. She...

Once upon a time, the villagers were forced to leave their homes.  First the Russians came and took all the able bodied men and put them away in Siberia.  Then the Germans came and moved all the women, children, and elderly to Belarus.  As a little boy and his family were leaving,...