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When I encountered my first giant sequoia in Mariposa Grove, my head did not tilt back far enough to see the top. Walking around the trunk practically required a GPS. Leaving noise and civilization behind to walk among these ancient trees brought us to the famous "Grizzly Giant," the grove’s elder statesman, which rivals the Statue of Liberty in height and sports a branch extending outward that is larger than the trunks of most trees.

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The quiet village of Monkey River in southern Belize is habitat to a plethora of flora and fauna, and as a result the nature tour conducted around herehas been rated one of the top in the country. Exotic tropical birds, butterflies, crocodiles, iguanas, and especially howler monkeys are just some of the wildlife that visitors will spot on this tour.

The tour will stop at various locations to give visitors an opportunity to explore the jungle on foot, keeping an eye out for snakes and spiders

The Arenal Volcano tops most travelers’ lists of places to visit in Costa Rica. And with good reason. The area is appropriately called Costa Rica’s “adventure capital” since you can do just about every adventure activity here, from zip lining to waterfall rappelling, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, nature hikes, bird watching and swimming in waterfalls.

Then there is the Arenal Volcano itself, strikingly grand as its hulking cone-shape rises above the rainforest, producing countless steamy

by Felice Hardy


Even if you’ve been not just to Buenos Aires but also the pampas, Mendoza, Córdoba, Patagonia, and Iguazú Falls, that still leaves much more wonderful stuff to explore in Argentina. I recently took the sunny city of Salta in the far north of the country as the stepping-off point for a 900-kilometre (560-mile) round trip, with only the first 90 minutes’ drive outside the city on paved road. It’s an area that is so little known that in some parts they see almost no visitors all y

Right in the center of Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia, 394 kilometers from Salvador, the Chapada (plateau) Diamantina spreads across an area of 38,000 sq. km, including the 152,000 hectares forming this national park, established in 1985. In the Serra do Sincorá (a mountain range) and its surroundings, including the municipalities of Lencóis, Palmeiras, Andaraí and Mucugê, you can find a great number of paths, caves, waterfalls, natural swimming holes and incredible gorges, that’s why the

Our cruise only stopped for a short time in Miami, and we believed the best excursion to take was the airboat ride through the Everglades.

It wasn’t the only tour on offer. Miami was always a big draw for the rich and famous. There was a city tour which promised you peeps into the houses once owned by Paul Newman, Boris Becker and Oprah Winfrey … even a visit to the honeymoon cottage of Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher.

I was initially attracted to the walking tour of the Art Deco district … it

Would you love to see a monkey in the wild? Or maybe a sloth right next to you in a tree? What about getting close to wild dolphins, or a humpback whale? OK - how about a bus-size whale shark?

When travelers come to Costa Rica – the eco-capital of Latin America with nearly six percent of the world’s biodiversity – they often want to see certain animals. Maybe it is a favorite animal they have been dreaming their whole life to see in person. Or they recently read up on the cool wildlife in Costa R

It’s not always easy to be eco-friendly or sustainable when running a business, especially in a country like Costa Rica, which sets the bar high for ecotourism.

Costa Rica essentially pioneered the flourishing ecotourism trend nearly two decades ago. Since then, with the many stringent demands of its Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) program, it takes a great deal of commitment, hard work and dedication to authentically be a sustainable eco-friendly business.

Veragua Rainforest Eco-Adv

The thrill of seeing a wild animal in its natural habitat, even if only for a moment, is unparalleled. Some animals are very nice and often stick around for a while – like monkeys. Others are so fast – wild cats, for example – that many times you’re not sure if you saw it or not.

The Costa Rica rain forest is full of wonders and wildlife – you just need to know how to look. Costa Rica is home to more than 5 percent of the world’s biodiversity: 208 species of mammals, 870 kinds of birds, 1,250

In Costa Rica there are as many wildlife tours as probably there are kinds of animals in the small Central American country. All of them are very worthwhile, but nearly nothing beats the thrill of whale watching!

There must be something about being in close proximity to a giant intelligent being that is fascinating, especially when we are in such a vulnerable position in a (by comparison) tiny little boat observing these gentle giants on their “turf” … or, rather, patch of ocean.

A real-life

The truth is that most people arriving at  Bergamo airport ignore the city and prefer to go to Milan right off the bat. (very often it's cheaper to fly in here on airlines including Ryanair, United, and Lufthansa, then pay 10 euros for a 50-kilometre (30-mile) bus ride than flying directly to Milan). But whether you're flying in, or find yourself passing through the Lombardy region - the wonderful city of Bergamo is well worth a day or two of your precious holiday time.

image source: https://flic

I have been whale-watching a few times (always a joy) and visited Anacapa Island, but our recent Channel Islands Outfitter trip to Santa Cruz Island was one of the highlights of my travels. Kayaking in February may not have been the ideal month to choose, but we were well-prepared thanks to the helpful information on Channel Islands Outfitter’s website, including to dress warmly for the hour-long boat ride to Santa Cruz and to wear a bathing suit and rash guard under their supplied (and warm) we

Located in the prefecture of Serres, not far from Thessaloniki, Lake Kerkini truly captivates visitors, despite the fact that it is an artificial reservoir, as today it's become a very important wetland of Greece, giving shelter to many seldom seen aquatic bird species. We had the chance to make the tour of the lake, one of the country's premier birding sites, one day last summer, when the water shone blue and the birds were refreshing themselves in the water continuously. There and on the oliv

            Eder Omar Campos González, 


Today is World Turtle Day again, and for me that brings to mind how, in a world chock full of amazing natural phenomena, few if any that I have witnessed have moved me more than the bond that giant marine turtles have with the beaches where they were born. Every year, female sea turtles make their way hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles back to lay their eggs on these same beaches, and that time of year has arrived up and down Central America – varyin

Panama is well-known for its famous Panama Canal, the modern Panama City, and its idyllic islands. Now, thanks to a newly created wildlife refuge, Panama is one of the best destinations for bird lovers in the Americas.

Recently on World Wetlands Day – February 2 – Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela officially created the Panama Bay Wetland Wildlife Refuge. The huge five-million-acre expanse of estuaries, mangroves, swamp forests, freshwater pools and intertidal mudflats of the Panama Bay is

Central America’s largest country was, not so many years ago, a staple of world headlines pretty much weekly for war and geopolitical intrigue. Yet despite its very flawed ruling régime Nicaragua today is peaceful, stable, and welcomes tourists of all stripes from around the world, with a growing tourism industry and infrastructure – reminiscent of, say, Costa Rica a generation ago, yet already offering a wide range of options from basic backpacker level to five-star luxury.

Capital Managua u

Sustainability and being good to the planet mean everything to Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, even down to their incredible Costa Rican natural bath products by Raw Botanicals.

If you have stayed at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge in Costa Rica, you’ll remember the delicious smells of their banana hair conditioner, ylang-ylang shampoo, and papaya tangerine body wash. If a vacation to the Costa Rica eco-lodge is in your future, you can look forward to their Costa Rican natural bath products!

The st

One of the most magnificent birds in Costa Rica is the Great Green Macaw.

This time of year, from October through December, Great Green Macaws (Ara ambiguus) return to the Maquenque National Wildlife Refuge in northern Costa Rica from the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve in Nicaragua. Following their main food source of mountain almond tree fruits that are now in season, the Macaws return to this vital habitat of rainforest and wetlands in Costa Rica.

The Maquenque National Wildlife Refuge preserve

The incredibly biodiverse area of Tortuguero should definitely be on your “bucket list” of places to see in Costa Rica.

Called the “Little Amazon” of Costa Rica, Tortuguero on the northern Caribbean Coast is an untamed stretch of wild jungle and desolate beaches. You have swamp, lagoons, canals, marshy islands, dense rainforest, black sand beaches, and an amazing abundance of animal and plant life. This is the Western Hemisphere’s most important nesting site for the endangered Green sea turtle,

One of the top places to go in Costa Rica, in the Central Valley, is the spectacular Else Kientzler Botanical Garden in Sarchi, Costa Rica.

The flourishing Costa Rica botanical garden showcases more than 2,000 species of exotic tropical plants from around the globe in its 11 gardens on seven hectares (17.3 acres). The popular Costa Rica tourist attraction is located in Costa Rica’s Central Valley in the artisan town of Sarchi, just north of the main town center.

Visitors can stroll two kilomet