A brief history of Dry Tortugas National Park Dry Tortugas National Park helps the reputation of poor misunderstood Ponce de Leon. His name is firmly linked to the erroneous myth, apparently started by a Spanish court chronicler wanting to make him seem foolish, that he was in search of a "Fountain of Youth". He gets mocked for failing to find what he never sought and fails … [Read more...]
Our 2016 travel plans – where and why (so far)
Our 2016 travel plans We have excitedly been pulling our 2016 travel plans together over the last couple months. Admittedly Blonde already went to Panama and Iceland this year but those were trips with friends not "official" blog business. When planning this year's travel we mainly selected places we have never been before. To the extent that we have any other common theme … [Read more...]
Enjoying Reykjavik in the winter
Enjoying Reykjavik in the winter - seriously? Yes, even a Florida-living blonde enjoyed Reykjavik in the winter. Misgivings about Iceland being brutally cold and dark in winter proved to be unfounded. Over the course of a 4 day visit 3 days featured bright blue skies and one was snowy but not impressively (or depressingly) so . The temperatures were in the mid 30s … [Read more...]
Capturing Amazing Photos of the Northern Lights
Prepare, before you leave home, to photograph the Northern Lights When Blonde received a call, in early July, to go see the Northern Lights in Iceland in February she immediately agreed and fantasized about how she would take amazing photos of the Northern Lights. She would become an admired and sought-after photographer, silencing any naysayers who may have criticized her … [Read more...]
Gateway to adventure in Patagonia: El Calafate, Argentina
Why visit El Calafate? El Calafate provided me with an epiphany; I'm a mountain person! After a lifetime of putting myself in the "water person" category I was stunned by the joy of experiencing Patagonia's mountains. Clear, bright skies, raptors swooping overhead, glaciers and clean air converted me. El Calafate provided several of the experiences which changed me in terms … [Read more...]
5 Things to do in Panama City, Panama
See the views of Panama City from Ancon Hill This could be a good thing to do on your first day in Panama City if you are tired and want to do something easy and scenic. Ancon Hill is the highest point in the city at 654 feet and is easily reached by taxi. You can also hike up from the base but that looked unnecessarily strenuous to Blonde and Ginger (stand-in for Brunette on … [Read more...]
Hacienda San Angel – A romantic hideaway in Puerto Vallarta
History of Hacienda San Angel When Blonde and Brunette recently visited Puerto Vallarta we decided to take Richard Burton up on his Valentine's Day gift and stay at Hacienda San Angel. We are not romantic sisters (or romantic in general) but Richard Burton apparently was as he gave this lovely building to his wife Susan Somebody-or-Other in 1977. Legend has it that Burton … [Read more...]
Top Travel Bloggers’ Favorite Places from 2015
Top Travel Bloggers' Favorite Places from 2015 After we wrote our annual year in review place and enjoyed reliving some of our favorite trips we wondered what some of our blogger friends had enjoyed the most in 2015. So, using our in-depth investigative techniques we sent them emails and asked them! Without further ado (we were too lazy to edit) here are their interesting … [Read more...]
6 things to do in Buenos Aires
Things to do in Buenos Aires There are so many things to do in Buenos Aires that Blonde and Alternate Brunette spent our first afternoon there frantically taking a cab to a restaurant that closed in our faces, eating somewhere mediocre where the electricity went out, going to a shoe store where Blonde started to buy ill-fitting boots and discovered her wallet was missing, went … [Read more...]
What to expect if you go trekking at Glacier Perito Moreno in Patagonia
How do you arrange to go trekking at Glacier Perito Moreno? There are two very basic things you need to do if you want to go trekking at Perito Moreno. They are; get yourself to El Calafate, Chile and do it between October and April. That's springtime in Patagonia and the temperatures typically range from the low 40s Fahrenheit up to the mid 60s. As Blonde and Alternate … [Read more...]