Flying north from San Francisco to Anchorage during the summer, one never encounters darkness. Until, that is, descending below a layer of rain clouds on approach to Anchorage at 11:30 pm. Even then, it's only dusky out. I would get used to this very quickly. After planning this trip since January, and contracting with Tim Stallard of Out in Alaska for his brand-new Katmai National Preserve and Park camping and hiking trip, I was finally arriving. Saturday, July 26 was my free day before connecting with Tim and the one other client, so I took advantage of waking up early, being [View Full Entry]

---

---

Last year at this time, I visited Yosemite for the first time in many, many years. I headed to the valley floor and did the Half-Dome hike, which was beautiful but not at all peaceful. 3 million people visit Yosemite during the summer and I think they were all there that weekend. This time, a friend and I headed to Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, a series of tent cabins on the edge of the Tuolumne River, with a dining tent and fire ring. It was perfect. We hiked to Lembert Dome for a 360 degree view with almost no one else in [View Full Entry]

---

---

Two nieces + the San Francisco Circus Center = Big Fun! If you can't run away to join the circus, at least you can take a circus skills class, at least you can if you live in, or are visiting San Francisco! When my two eldest nieces came to visit, that's exactly what we did. Check it out at http://www.circuscenter.org/index2.html [View Full Entry]

---

---

Thanks to my friend John, who is performing in the Bracebridge Dinner at Yosemite (http://www.bracebridgedinners.com/main.html) I spent Christmas and a few days before and after at Yosemite National Park. Winter is a great time to be there; in fact, a woman at the front desk at the Ahwahnee Hotel told me that they get 3 million of their annual 4 million visitors in the summer, so the rest of the year is a better bet if you're looking for something other than a mass of humanity. Here are a few photos: [View Full Entry]

---

---

Thanks to Gustavo, here's a map of BsAs so you can all see where I went :) [View Full Entry]

---

---

24 hours after leaving Buenos Aires, I walked into my house in SF. What an adventure. Met great people and had great experiences. Ate wonderful, interesting food (though I am looking forward to vegetables again now that I'm home) and am very happy I went. In retrospect, learning Spanish would have been a good idea, but you know what they say about hindsight... I'll start posting photos this weekend and look forward to sharing them! [View Full Entry]

---

---

"If you dislike the food, ignore the custom, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home." James Michner That quote was posted in the Gibralter Pub, which is just around the corner from my B&B in San Telmo. I sought it out after reading that it served curries and, for a country built up by Italians and Spaniards, Argentina's food, though delicious, is not what I would call spicy. There are no pepper grinders or shakers on restaurant tables, for example. At any rate, a pint of Stone IPA beer and a huge serving of Nasi Goreng [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ok, I had another Ultimate Argentina Experience on Saturday afternoon. I flew back from Iguazu and settled into my B&B in San Telmo, a much busier and a little grittier section of the City than my ´hood from last week. (It´s also more historic). I was wandering around looking for something to eat and finding plenty of tourist-oriented places, when I wandered around the the backside of a famous full-block food and antiques market, the San Telmo Mercado. There I first smelled, then heard, then saw a tiny parisilla stand, the grill restaurants that abound here. This was not a fancy [View Full Entry]

---

---

Many years ago, my friend Judith introduced me to the concept of "The Ultimate (insert destination name here) Experience." It's that moment, usually serendipitous, that defines the essence of a trip. Last night, I had my ultimate Argentina experience. I was walking home from dinner around 11pm in this "frontier town" of Puerto Iguazu, which, since the currency crisis a few years ago, has been built entirely upon tourism to the incredible waterfalls on the border of Argentina and Brazil. While many of the tourists are American and European, many more are from Argentina or other Latin America [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hooked up with the same tour group -- and all the same travelers -- from yesterday for the 3 hour drive to Punta Tombo to see the Magellenic penguins. This colony lives at sea most of the year, migrating to Brazilian waters in the austral winter following anchovies and squid (who wouldn't?!?!), then return here to breed. The males arrive first and find nests, which are burrows near the beach, and the females follow (not many have arrived yet) and choose not a mate but a home! Which male resides there is beside the point. Humans walk right next to the [View Full Entry]

---

---