Tag Archives: hiking

For Love of the Land: Aloha Aina at Waihe’e Wetlands Refuge on Maui

the sand dunes and wetlands

A look at Hawaiian aloha aina culture.

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Toucans, Flycatchers and Woodpeckers – A Birder’s Paradise in Honduras

A keel-billed toucan

On our last day at Pico Bonito, we awoke before dawn, determined to carry out our mission: to search for the famous toucan. The Pico Bonito National Park is home to a myriad of wildlife, ranging from the world famous toucan bird to the Central American aguti, the elusive jaguar and ocelot (a type of [...]

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Life on the Water: Honduras’ Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge

A crocodile in the Salado River

A thick leathery body floated over the glassy green water surface as we glided by the edge of the swamp in our motorized wooden boat. Our local guide Elmer signaled for the boatman to move closer. Once we were within an arm’s length from the body, we found a pair of big marble eyes staring back at us. An enormous [...]

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Introducing Our New Travel Companion: KEEN CNX Shoes (And a Giveaway!)

Nellie in Clearwater CNX

Because of the active nature of our travels, we’re always out and about wherever we go – whether in the water scrambling on rocky river beds or out on land climbing steep slopes. We realized we needed hybrid outdoor footwear that can withstand such rugged conditions and protect our feet at the same time. While we’ve always traveled with our sturdy hiking [...]

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Aloha from Maui, Hawai’i!

Maui

This spring/summer, we have been eagerly chasing the sun – from the Caribbean island of St Kitts to cruising in Fiji, bird watching in Honduras, liming in the Grenadines, and now getting active on Maui. This is the last stop of our island-themed trip before we head back to Spain, so we’re determined to make the most out of it! It’s our first time here in Hawaii (which [...]

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Waterfalls and Lush Jungles: Fiji’s Garden Island, Taveuni

Driving on the roads of Taveuni

By Day Four of our heritage cruise voyage, our luck with the weather gods had run out. That morning, we awoke to pouring tropical rains and a sky covered with thick dark grey clouds. The island of Taveuni appeared outside our window, its silhouette shrouded in a blur of trickling rain. Rugged and green, Taveuni is known [...]

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In Search of the Toucan – Pico Bonito, Honduras

an iguana

Outside our thatched bungalow, we hear the jungle slowly awaking with the chirping of birds, shrill cries of cicadas and loud croaking sounds of frogs. Together, they form a synchronized jungle orchestra, their natural symphony echoing throughout the forest that surrounds us. Daylight has yet to arrive and the animals are already wide awake. We slip over the [...]

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Camping in the Red Center – Part I: Uluru and its Aboriginal Roots

sunrise at Uluru

Dawn had yet to arrive, but the sounds of the desert had awoken me. I opened my eyes to the sounds of birds chirping and dingoes howling in the distance. A sky full of stars sprawled before me, the Milky Way running its course overhead. I listened to the desert orchestra and smiled to myself, [...]

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Out And About: Hiking and Biking on the Caribbean Island of Nevis

Nevis from the sea

Dry pastureland sprawl across the slopes of the hill while prickly plants and cotton trees fill both sides of the trail. On our left lies the dramatic coastline of the Atlantic Ocean, as its dark blue waters lap onto the empty shores of the island. To the right, Mount Nevis looms overhead, reaching over a [...]

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The Other Caribbean: Rainforest Trekking on St. Kitts

Aside from the tranquil beaches and flavorful Caribbean food, one of the biggest draw of St. Kitts is its rainforest. Protected since 1902, the Central Reserve Rain Forest covers almost 25% of the island extending from the foothills of the mountains that rise up from the interior of the island, all the way to the coastline. They’re lush, [...]

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Photoblog: Secrets of St Kitts

Nellie posing with St. Kitts at her feet

Swaying coconut trees, sparkling blue water, powdery sand and the sounds of reggae music in the distance: St Kitts is everything we’d imagined – and more. Having spent almost a week exploring, we’re thrilled to find that St Kitts isn’t just any Caribbean island. It’s the Caribbean without sun-burnt tourists, all-inclusive resorts, and Señor Frogs. [...]

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Walking the Jesus Trail in #Israel – Part I

Hiking the Jesus Trail - near Kibbutz Lavi

A gravel path stretches before us, extending into the rolling hills and beyond into the dramatic Arbel Cliffs in the far distance. Green meadows sprinkled with red poppies and yellow daisies flank both sides of the path. Once and in a while, we’d stumble upon a herd of grazing cows or roaming horses. In the [...]

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Sunrise Over the Masada Desert Fortress

View of the surrounding mountains

It was 3am when we awoke. Darkness engulfed us as we left Jerusalem behind us and wounded down the valley towards the ancient desert fortress of Masada. Poised at the edge of the Judean Desert, Masada looms above the sands, overlooking the Dead Sea and the Moab Mountains in Jordan. At just 1,300 feet high, it’s perfect for a morning hike – providing [...]

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Hiking Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain

Australia’s Tasmania island has long been known for its large and relatively unspoiled natural environment. Almost 37% of it lies in reserves, national parks and World Heritage Sites. And of these national parks, the most well known is perhaps the World Heritage area of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair. Spreading all the way from the Great Western Tiers in the north [...]

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Australia’s Red Centre in Photos

Uluru

ot, dry and harsh, Australia’s Red Centre is extremely inhospitable, and at the same time, intriguing. But as we found out over the past week in Central Australia, it is far from empty and lifeless. Dotted with patches of spinifex and eucalyptus trees, the desert is home to massive sandstone mountains as well as unique [...]

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