Travel Theme: Waves

I love this week’s travel challenge by Ailsa: Waves. So many memories come to mind, but here are five favorites. Smooth waves of petrified sand at Antelope Canyon, with its neighbors Owl and Rattlesnake Canyons easily the most breathtaking landscape I’ve explored, ageless and intimate 2. Sinuous streaks of lava on Hawaii’s Big Island — … Continue reading →

Cats of Old San Juan

The multitude of pigeons in Old San Juan encourages the presence of their inevitable counterparts: legions of feral cats. Like pigeons, cats are a common sight along the Old Town’s narrow streets. They look healthy and seem to get regularly fed by fellow city residents. Many are friendly and curious, but most are watchfully uninterested–like cats … Continue reading →

Pigeons of Old San Juan

Pigeon, that at once annoying and endearing vermin, is a common sight wherever you go. In San Juan’s Old Town, though, their presence is particularly hard to tune out: Pigeons are everywhere. There is even an entire park devoted to them, Parque de las Palomas, where they nest in the City Wall, lounge in trees overlooking the … Continue reading →

Travel Theme: Multiples

I loved the whirlwind of color, movement, and imagination stirred up by this week’s travel theme challenge from Ailsa’s Where’s My Backpack: Multiples. There are so many great responses. I’d like to add mine to the chorus. My swarms, rows, and badelynges of multiples are grouped by season and month when I encountered them. 1. Winter  2. … Continue reading →

Discovering Old San Juan: Two Castles and a Cemetery

I was smitten with San Juan. Traveling there for a conference recently, I was looking for a good place to stay when the conference hotel got full. A friend of a friend recommended we stay in the old town, away from large hotel chains. I am so glad I followed her advice: staying at the … Continue reading →

Old San Juan: Ingredients for a Perfect Sunset

If you find yourself in Old San Juan in time for the sunset, head to the San Juan Gate on the western side of town. For over two centuries, the gate has opened onto Paseo del Morro, a trail nestled between the San Juan Bay and the weather-beaten City Wall. Large rocks face the Bay, warm … Continue reading →