Back in the early 1990s, Mr. Munro and I did an overland trip from England to Kathmandu. The trip proper started once we reached Turkey. It was my first visit to Turkey, the country where the west and east meet, and I loved the food, the beaches, the history, and the...
One of seventeen species of macaws, the Scarlet Macaw is becoming increasingly rare. In Costa Rica, Central America, we visited the Natuwa Macaw Sanctuary where they rescue, breed, and release the Scarlet Macaw. I was very excited at the thought of seeing macaws. When...
Before our visit to Costa Rica, my knowledge of sloths was limited to the Ice Age cartoons. I thought of sloths as adorable and a little clumsy but with a great deal of charm. The Natuwa Macaw Sanctuary is a refuge for other animals as well as the Red Macaw, and this...
This is a continuation of my post about my visit to Hobbiton in Matamata. Part one is here. I was busy taking photos of Hobbit holes and my surroundings and saw something moving. It took me a moment to realize the pheasant was real and it was busy feasting on the...
Whenever we have friends visiting from overseas, we take them to the Waitakere Regional Park. A short drive from the inner city and you're in the middle of nature. The views from the visitor center are gorgeous, and it's an interesting place for kids of all ages! This...
I snapped this underwater shot of a hippo and loads of little fish at the San Diego Zoo earlier this year. He was standing on the bottom of his pool and every few minutes, he'd lift his nose to take a breath of air. We watched him for a long time. While this hippo is...
Although I’ve visited Panama before via land (around thirty years ago) and peered at the canal from the shore, I was looking forward to actually sailing through. A small part of me wondered if I might get bored—I mean, an entire day of canals then lake then more...
Our cuisine in New Zealand is a fusion of European, Asian and Pacific influences with an emphasis on our fresh produce and seafood. We don’t get much in the way of Mexican food in New Zealand, and Mr. Munro and I decided to attend a cooking class when our cruise ship...
When we visited Key West, I noticed the Ernest Hemingway House Museum and suggested to my long-suffering husband that this could be our bit of “culture” for the day. Although I know of Hemingway, I’ve never read his books (I know. Big gasp.) but, other writers...
