a pictorial diary of experiences
We returned from the Grenadines on January 1st, so this has to be some sort of record for posting pictures. I guess that is what happens when it is cloudy and rainy in Houston. This was our first time to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. That is actually the name of the country. Located south of St. Lucia and West of Barbados, the country is made of of the main island of St. Vincent and a bunch of...
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Back in November, we headed off on our much anticipated trip to Madagascar. It sounds a little strange even saying that you are going to Madagascar. Most people responded with “wait, that’s a real place?” or “why?” or “how the heck do you even get there?” Madagascar is pretty far away from Houston, even farther if you are trying to use United frequent...
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Technically, we returned on the 1st, but I’ve just now unburied myself and have time for this post. For the holidays this year, we spent 10 days in Costa Rica. We’ve been there before (back in 2004), but it is close, safe, and has great wildlife. Our first stop was the Osa Peninsula, referred to as “possibly the most bio-diverse place on earth.” I would refer to it as...
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Ok, one more post of the Russia material. On my last day I was INSANELY bored. We’d included this extra day as a buffer for meetings, but didn’t end up needing it. My Russian colleagues were able to change to earlier flights, but it would have cost me over $2000 to change my flight (and I would have had to fly “Transaero Airlines” which I’d never heard of) so I was...
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Now that I’ve processed the 500ish images that I shot in St. Petersburg, I can get back to the almost 6000 images from South Africa. I’m through Andy’s lions, my lions, Andy’s leopards, my leopards, and pics from the spotted hyena den. So what’s left? Well this post is dedicated to three creatures that we’d seen on previous trips, but only briefly. Bushbabies...
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Yet another stop on my speed-touristing through St. Petersburg was the Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood. This Russian-style church was completed in 1907 on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881, hence the name, “Spilled Blood.” The interior of the church is stunning, with over 26,000 square feet of mosaics covering nearly every surface. Keep in mind that...
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Another stop on my day of power touristing, was the Russian Orthodox St. Isaacs Cathedral, which took forty years to build and was completed in 1858. To the west, the skies were blue with scenic puffy white clouds, but to the east the skies were a dark, moody grey, so I decided to begin my visit by climbing the colonnade figuring that it would likely rain soon. The climb to the top of St. Isaacs...
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As I mentioned in my last post, I was able to do a little sightseeing in St. Petersburg over the weekend. I could have easily spent the entire weekend exploring the Hermitage – the exhibition area alone is over 156,000 square feet. But I had limited time, and a laundry list of landmarks to visit, so I only saw a fraction of what the Hermitage has to offer. Their collection includes over 3...
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Da, I am in Russia. Every once in a while, the project stars align and the next thing you know I am in St. Petersburg, Russia for a week. Getting here was not easy. There was the month-long process of procuring a business visa. Then there was the 15 hours of travel in steerage (IAH-FRA-LED), only made bearable by a comfy outfit from lululemon and showers at the Lufthansa lounge in Frankfurt....
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I can honestly say that this is the most time that we’ve ever spent with hyenas Not that there’s anything wrong with them – they are usually just on the move, after dark, “headed out for supper” as the rangers say. During our stay at Mashatu we were fortunate enough to find a hyena den, which meant plenty of quality time with these dog-like carnivores. Though...
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