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Joshua Stevens's Posts
Joshua has posted 26 reports and 1102 photos.

Existing reports and photos: (Mouseover any camera icon for sample images. Click on any camera icon for all images)
 

Alabama Visit: -

Alberta Visit: -


Amazonas, Brazil Visit: 2006-10
2007-04-25 - Flew into Manaus from Miami and then headed up the Rio Negro about 2 to 3 hours by boat to the Ariau Jungle Lodge. Hung out there for a few days in our tree top lodge where I fished for piranha (and caught one which I later ate), swam with pink river dolphins and vistied the "Meeting of the Waters" on my way back to Manaus. The "Meeting of the Waters" is where the Amazon and Rio Negro meet, but strangely the rivers do not immediately blend due to their different temperatures and chemical compositions . . .it was a very unusual sight to behold (see my photo in Amazonas, Brazil link). Manuas can be reached by plane from just about every other major city in Brazil, can be reached from Miami on TAM Airlines (about a 4 hour flight) and can be reached from Panama City on Copa Airlines. It's probably the best starting point for any expedition in Brazil's Amazonas State.

Andalusia Visit: -

Arizona Visit: -

Arkansas Visit: -

Austria Visit: -


Azores Visit: 2005-10
2008-06-16 - We hopped on over to Sao Miguel from Lisbon for a few days in October 2005, which proved to not be enough time to thoroughly enjoy these mid-Atlantic jewels. The island of Sao Miguel was like a fairytale (rolling hills of green farmlands, roads lined with thousands of blue hydrangeas, perfectly manicured public gardens, amazingly blue and green volcanic lakes, and bubbling geysers). Plus, the Azores make some of the best cheese I've ever tasted often accompanied with this spicy red chili sauce. Our brief trip to Sao Miguel has inspired us to one day go back and visit the other 8 islands that make up the Azores. The good news for us North Americans is that there are regular flights from Boston these days, so a trip all the way to Portugal is no longer necessary.



Bahia Visit: -

Baja California Visit: -

Barbados Visit: -

Bavaria Visit: -

Belize Visit: -

British Columbia Visit: -


British Virgin Islands Visit: 2005-1
2009-04-17 - My wife and I vistited the BVI during a two week trip through the Caribbean. We stayed in Tortola for 3 nights and using that as our base traveled to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands and to Virgin Gorda. In my opinion, Virgin Gorda is the most beautiful island in the BVI, but I haven't been to Anageda or Jost Van Dyke, so my opinion might change one day after visiting those two islands. While on Virgin Gorda, we explored the world-famous Baths; large rock out-croppings on Virgin Gorda's south shore that look somewhat similar to the granite rocks you see on some Seychelles' beaches. We also rented our own little schooner to explore Virgin Gorda's gorgeous, multi-colored North Sound. The North Sound is dotted with picture-perfect islands and coral reefs. Two islands that we stopped on were Saba Rock (not to be confused with Saba in the Netherlands Antilles) to grab a bite to eat and Eustatia Island (also not to be confused with St. Eustatius in the Netherlands Antilles) to swim in it's warm off-shore waters. Our time in paradise was unfortunately dampered by me losing my wedding ring while hopping in and out of our schooner in the North Sound and then several days later when I left our camera on our LIAT flight down to Grenada. While I was able to replace my wedding ring, I lost forever my pictures of the British Virgin Islands. . . I guess I'll have to go back one day to take some more pictures!


California Visit: 2009-10
2009-10-09 - I have lived in California most my life. I was born and raised about 20 miles East of Los Angeles in a medium size town called West Covina. I went to college and lived in beautiful Santa Barbara for 4 years. I went to law school and lived in the greatest city on earth, San Francisco, for 3 years. I began practicing law back in Southern California where I lived for 4 years one block from the ocean in Santa Monica. When my wife and I longed to be back in the Bay Area close to our beloved redwood forests, we moved to the Oakland Hills in July 2007. We bought a great house in the Oakland Hills that we have enjoyed fixing up and from where we can admire the Golden Gate Bridge from one of our balconies. The Bay Area is a place where you will never run out of spectacular day trips and weekend trips, whether it be to Sonoma and Napa Wine Country, Lake Tahoe, Yoesmite National Park, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Lassen Volcanic National Park and the Southern Cascades, the Santa Cruz and Monterrey area, Big Sur, the Mendocino and Sonoma Coasts, Poinit Reyes National Seashore, Tomales Bay, the Marin Headlands, Ferndale, the majestic and lonely Lost Coast or my personal favorite way up near the Oregon Border - Redwood National Park. I could not imagine living anywhere else. Way out here on the edge of the North American continent, life is good!

Carriacou and Petite Martinique Visit: -

Castile-La Mancha Visit: -

Catalonia Visit: -

Chihuahua Visit: -

Coahuila Visit: -

Colima Visit: -

Colorado Visit: -

Czech Republic Visit: -


Delaware Visit: 2002-12
2008-06-16 - Other than Iowa, Delaware is the one U.S. state out of the 45 I've visited that I spent the least amount of time in. I passed through Delaware on a road trip from Nashville, Tennessee (back when I was living there) to New York City. I drove through Wilmington to be exact, got out of my car for two minutes and shouted to the sky, I'M IN DELAWARE!!! I then got back in my car and drove to Philadelphia.


Denmark Visit: 1999-7
2009-10-24 - I was in Copenhagen for a few days in July 1999 on my summer backpacking trip through Europe. We arrived by train from Amsterdam after being booted off in the middle of the night in Hamburg along with two dozen other people who, like us, did not know they needed a reservation for the Hamburg - Copenhagen segment. Strangely, many of those uninformed individuals were the same folks who were in the same Amsterdam "Coffehouse" as we were before boarding the train. Anyway, we did manage to catch another train from Hamburg later that next morning. My most vivid memory of Denmark is that Danish women are gorgeous!!!



District of Columbia Visit: -

Dominican Republic Visit: -

Ecuador (Mainland) Visit: -


Egypt (non-Sinai) Visit: 1999-9
2008-06-16 - I entered Egypt's Sinai Peninsula from Eilat, Israel in September 1999 and made my way down the coast to the village of Dahab to do some world-class snorkeling in the Red Sea. Once in Dahab, I walked several hundred yards through a shallow crystal clear lagoon to reach a sand bar where I was told by locals I could find some amazing snorkeling. They were right!!! On the other side of the sand bar lay a beach with turquoise waters and no one on it except for a camel that was enjoying the view about a hundred feet away from me. The coral and tropical fish were outstanding. Another added bonus was that I could see across the sea to Saudia Arabia. Too bad it wasn't a swimable distance or I would have tried to get there. . . Saudia Arabia will just have to wait for another journey.



England Visit: -


Fernando de Noronha Visit: 2006-10
2008-06-16 - My wife and I visitied Fernando de Noronha in October 2006 during a trip through Brazil. We flew in from Natal and then back out to Recife on our way down to Iguazu Falls. Fernando de Noronha was pure paradise. I had some of the best swims of my life there . . .those kinds of swims where your body feels like it is in perfect harmony with the ocean, sky and beach. Baio dos Porcos, Praia do Sancho and Praia do Leao are some of the most beautiful beaches you will find anywhere in the world. You can rent a buggy to visit most parts of the main island on your own which I would highly recommend. Also, you'll want to check out the Dog Bar when the sun goes down to enjoy some caphirinhas and watch all those sexy Brazillians dance the forro!



Fiji Islands Visit: -

Flemish Region Visit: -

Florida Visit: -


Galapagos Islands Visit: 2006-2
2009-10-17 - Most everyone knows just how incredible the Galapagos are so I won't ramble too much. I just wanted to say that I had the time of my life during a week long cruise through the archipelago in February 2006. We had clear, sunny weather during our entire trip, although the hot equatorial sun was sometimes over-bearing. Espanola and Floreana were by far and away the most beautiful islands we visited. Our snorkeling adventures included seals, Galapagos penguins and marine iguanas that swam right up to our snorkel masks. Above the water, the blue-footed boobies, frigate birds, land iguanas, and giant tortoises were equally impressive. I hope to one day return to the Galapagos to visit the island of Genovesa to see red-footed boobies.



Georgia, State Visit: -

Golan Heights Visit: -

Grenada Visit: -


Grenadines Parish Visit: 2005-1
2008-06-16 - In January 2005, we sailed from Grenada up to St. Vincent and then back down to Grenada. On the way, we visited Grenadines belonging to both Grenada (Carricaou) and to St. Vincent (Bequia, Mayreu and the Tobago Cays). By far and away, the Tobago Cays were the highlight of our trip and from what I've read, quite possibly the most beautiful spot in all of the Caribbean. We got to the Tobago Cays from Mayreu on a local fisherman's beat-up old boat and on the way over, we were sure that we would capsize as the fisherman took ten foot swells head on. Thankfully, capsizing was not in the cards and as our boat finally entered the calm waters surrounding the cays, my wife and I became awestruck by all of the gorgeous colors that surround these little islands. After doing some snorkeling, we relaxed and sun-bathed on one of the cays before heading back over to Mayreu.

Guatemala Visit: -


Haiti Visit: 2007-4
2007-04-25 - When visiting the Dominican Republic recently, I decided to cross the border over to Haiti. Since my wife is not as crazy of a country-collector as myself, she decided to stay behind in the DR; Sosua to be exact on the North Coast. I traveled by bus from Sosua via Santiago and Monte Cristi to the Dominican town of Dajabon right on the Haitian border. The bus ride took me about 4-5 hours one way. I got to the border at about noon and after paying some departure taxes was let across the border. I think I may have been the only person crossing the border that day who wasn't either Dominican or Haitian. Suffice to say, I was a curious sight to people on both sides of the border who weren't use to seeing that many foreigners. Once I crossed the border, I walked around the Haitian town of Oanaminthe for a couple of hours. There wasn't much to see . . . Haiti is a lot poorer than its neighboring country. After asking a local where I could get a Haitian beer, the friendly man eagerly guided me to where I thought I could sit down, escape the blazing Caribbean sun and relax a bit with a cold beverage. Next thing I knew, however, I had been led to a brothel. Who knows, maybe "beer" is the code word for something else in Haiti. I politely declined the services being offered to me, but was still able to have that cold Haitian beer (the brothel had a cooler full of them). I then made my way back to the border at which point I was told by Haitian customs officials that the border had for no apparent reason been closed for the rest of the day. Having no way of contacting my wife to let her know I was stranded in Haiti for the night, I calmly began to worry. Next thing I knew, a nice Haitian guy offers to put me on his shoulders and walk me across the not so beautiful river that divides Haiti and the DR. I posted a picture of the river on Haiti's link on the Master List. You can see the friendly Haitian guy who helped me across in the lower part of the picture wearing an orange shirt. The picture also shows that I wasn't the only person who crossed the border in an "unofficial" way that afternoon. Just because I know here at Most Traveled People, we don't promote the illegal entry into countries, it is worth noting that even though I re-entered the DR in a somewhat suspicious manner, I immediately made my way to the DR customs office to clear customs after I was dropped off on the Dominican side of the river bank. Even though the border had been locked up for the past hour or so, the Dominican customs office didn't even ask me how I was all of sudden back in their country. . .oh well. While my adventures in Haiti were limited to just a short period of time, it was definitely one of the more adventurous few hours of my traveling career.



Hawaiian Islands (including NW Islands) Visit: -

Hungary Visit: -

Idaho Visit: -

Ile-de-France Visit: -

Illinois Visit: -

Indiana Visit: -

Iowa Visit: -


Ireland, Republic of Visit: 2003-11
2008-06-20 - I traveled to Ireland in November 2003 to visit my sister who was living in Cork at the time. I had just started my new job as a first-year attorney, so I unfortunately couldn't take much time off. Believe it or not, I flew all the way from Los Angeles to Dublin and then back to Los Angeles in 6 days. . . clearly not enough time to take in all that Ireland had to offer. However, the time I did spend on the Emerald Isle I remeber fondly. The Irish are some of the most friendliest, jovial people on earth! During my brief trip, I took in the sights of Dublin, Cork and Blarney. While Guiness drinking was certainly a daily and nightly habit during my entire stay, I made the drastic mistake of hitting the Guiness extremely hard at a pub in Dublin's Temple Bar District the night before my morning flight back to the States. Suffce to say, my flight back over the Atlantic was a nauseating, hellish experience!

Israel (other) Visit: -

Italy (mainland) Visit: -


Jalisco Visit: 2003-3
2009-04-24 - During Spring Break of my last year in law school, my friends and I decided to fly down to Puerto Vallarta. Rather than party with the rest of the Spring Breakers, we left Puerto Vallarta after about 2 days and began to drive down the Pacific coast on Highway 200. We made it all the way down to the state of Michoacan and visited parts of Jalisco and Colima on the way. In Jalisco, we visited a stunnning stretch of coast called the Costa Careyes, which is about 1-2 hours south of Puerto Vallarta. Costa Careyes is a very quiet and tranquil place with colorful villas dotting its hills that overlook many beautiful ocean coves. We stopped at a very fancy exclusive resort for an octopus ceviche lunch and an ocean swim, both of which were amazing! After that we continued to drive south with no end destination in mind. As the sun began to set, we made the decision to stop somewhere for the night having been warned by the locals of the risk of being held up by banditos if we drove during the night. First though, our rental car's tire blew out, so we had to pull over and put on the spare. Not knowing how reliable our spare tire was, we decided we would just stay in the next town we rolled into. That town was San Patricio (also known as Melanque) and unbeknownst to us, it was March 17th . . .St. Patrick's Day, so wouldn't you know it, the town named after St. Patrick was throwing a huge fiesta that night! That night we partied with the locals in the town's bull ring, which included watching a bull fight, dancing to the tunes of the famous Banda Limon, watching the fireworks and eating some delicious tacos. It was a very fun evening and because San Patricio is so far off the beaten path, we were practically the only foreigners there.

Jordan Visit: -

Kansas Visit: -

Kentucky Visit: -


Lesser Sunda Islands Visit: 2013-7
2014-08-06 - I visited Bali and the Gili Islands off Lombok with my family in the summer of 2013. Especially loved the terraced rice fields outside of Ubud and the crystal clear waters of the Gili Islands. Also loved feasting on lots of sates with peanut sauces, nasi goreng, and babi guling!

Liechtenstein Visit: -

Louisiana Visit: -

Lucerne Visit: -

Madrid Autonomous Community Visit: -

Maine Visit: -

Maryland Visit: -

Massachusetts Visit: -

Michigan Visit: -


Michoacan Visit: 2003-3
2008-06-16 - I rented a car with a few friends in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco in March 2003 in order to discover some of the "Real Mexico" that I knew would be awaiting me as soon as I got out of the touristy resort town of Puerto Vallarta. We drove several hundred miles south along Mexico's beautiful Highway 200 through the entire states of Jalisco and Colima and into the northern parts of Michoacan. Highway 200 is particularly beautiful in Michoacan as it hugs the Pacific Ocean most of the way. We overnighted in a tiny, rural fishing village called Maruata (population probably less than 100 people) that is ideally sandwiched bewteen a few picture-perfect coves. Maruata is a popular spot for hippies who come to just chill out for a while and enjoy the solitude and fresh ceviche. We rented a rustic cabana right on the beach, were lulled to sleep by the sounds of farm animals that wandered throughout the village and were treated to some of the best eggs, beans and tortillas I have ever had for breakfast the following morning.



Minnesota Visit: -

Misiones Province Visit: -

Mississippi Visit: -

Missouri Visit: -

Monaco Visit: -

Montana Visit: -


Nayarit Visit: 2003-3
2009-04-17 - I visited the southern extremes of the state of Nayarit during my stay in Puerto Vallarta. Even though Puerto Vallarta and the majority of its large bay are in the state of Jalisco, the northern part of Puerto Vallarta's bay is in the state of Nayarit. One day, we drove up from Puerto Vallarta into Nayarit, Punta del Mita to be exact to do some snorkeling at some off-shore islets. The snorkeling was wonderful as were the many birds that live on the islets.

Nebraska Visit: -

Netherlands Visit: -

Nevada Visit: -

New Brunswick Visit: -

New Hampshire Visit: -

New Jersey Visit: -

New Mexico Visit: -

New South Wales Visit: -

New York Visit: -

North Carolina Visit: -

North Dakota Visit: -

North Island Visit: -

North Rhine-Westphalia Visit: -


Northern Territory Visit: 2000-1
2009-04-17 - I visited the Northern Territory at the turn of the millenium. In fact, I partied all night in Alice Springs with a bunch of cross-dressers (don't ask) to welcome in 2000. I explored the Northern Territory fairly thoroughly, but still would like to go back one day to go on a few more walkabouts. The Northern Territory is of course home to the expansive Australian Outback, one of Earth's great natural sanctuaries. Highlights of my trip included watching Ayers Rock change colors before my very eyes both at sunrise and at sunset, hiking through the geologic wonders of the Olgas, Kings Canyon and Devil's Marbles, watching the sunrise over the Outback from a hot-air balloon and then getting completely obliterated at 7:00 in the morning off the champagne and chicken breakfast that came with the hot-air balloon ride, soaking in Mataranka's thermal pools below thousands of bats, swimming beneath waterfalls and being scared out of a bathroom stall by a frilled-neck lizard in Litchfield National Park, the scenic flight and boat rides through crocodile-infested Kakadu National Park, eating live silk worms, kangaroo tail and other Aboriginal specialities on a Bushtucker tour, finding an eight foot long cobra at my feet while stepping out of a pub in the middle of nowhere, and soaking in all of my NT experiences over a few VBs in Darwin. In all, the Northern Territory is an amazing place! It's the quintessential Australia that everyone has images of in their minds!

Norway (mainland) Visit: -

Obwalden Visit: -

Ohio Visit: -

Oklahoma Visit: -

Ontario Visit: -

Oregon Visit: -

Paraguay Visit: -

Parana State Visit: -

Pennsylvania Visit: -

Pernambuco Visit: -


Point Roberts Visit: 2008-5
2008-08-13 - There's not much going on in Point Roberts. It's just a sleepy little community separated from the rest of Washington State by a pretty bay. We drove around Point Roberts for about 30 minutes on our way from Vancouver to the Victoria ferry terminal. My wife snapped a picture of me in front of the post office in case Point Roberts ever becomes an official entity.

Poland Visit: -


Portugal Visit: 2005-10
2009-11-02 - First of all, I like traveling to any place where they speak Portugese, which in my opinion is the most beautiful language in the world. My wife and I visited Portugal and the Azores in October 2005 and had a blast! Lisbon is one of the great capitals of Europe. The views from Lisbon's many hills are breathtaking although I must say I was a little put off by all of the graffitti. We also visited the quaint village of Sintra, the amazing walled Renaissance town of Evora and the stunning Algarve coast in Southern Portugal. Highlights included the delicious food and drink I had throughout Portugal including the interestingly paired, but incredibly tasty pork and clams, sardinhas asados, arroz con mariscos, vinho verde and of course Portugal's most famous wine . . . Port! We also had an amazing time hiking up a mountain to Sintra's Palace and Moorish Castle and wandering the cobblestoned streets of Evora. Finally, we relaxed on the sun-drenched beaches and coves of the Algarve . . . which to me evoked images of both the brilliant red-rock Bryce Canyon and the azure waters of the Mediterranean. We explored the beautiful Algarve from our base in Lagos and while there, made it out to Cabo Sao Vicente (the most southwestern point of Europe). One day I plan to return to Portugal and head north from Lisbon to Obidos, Coimbra and the famous Duoro Valley.

Provence-Alpes-Cote d\'Azur Visit: -

Puerto Rico Visit: -


Queensland Visit: 1999-12
2009-10-27 - In December 1999, I did one of Australia's classic overland trips up its Eastern Coast from Sydney to Cairns. Although I didn't have time to see everything I would have liked to and plan to return one day to explore some more, highlights of my trip included the following: skydiving and learning how to surf on the Gold Coast; off-roading through and swimming in crystal-clear lakes on breathtaking Fraser Island; spotting some wild koalas in Noosa National Park; standing on the Tropic of Capricorn; sailing through the azure waters of the Whitsunday Islands; whitewater rafting the Tully River; circumnavigating Magnetic Island by jet-ski; riding through the canopies of Northern Queensland's tropical rainforests on Kuranda's skyrail; and of course scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef. All in all, a great trip, but I have much more to explore in Queensland as the Cape York Peninsula, Torres Strait Islands and many of Queensland's other off-shore islands beckon.


Quintana Roo Visit: 2007-12
2009-10-21 - I flew into Cancun in December 2007 to attend my good friend's wedding that was held on a stunning stretch of coast about 10 miles south of Tulum. I landed in Cancun in the evening time and immediately left the next morning by myself in a rental car to visit the famous Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and an incredible limestone cavern called Cenote Dzinup in the state of Yucatan. From the state of Yucatan, I cut back over to Tulum in Quintana Roo by traveling southeast by car through thick rainforest. Once back over the border in Quintana Roo, I visited the less famous, but equally as impressive Mayan ruins of Coba. From Coba, I continued my drive back to the Caribbean coast to the site of my friend's wedding. I rented an incredible beach bungalow on a quiet, secluded stretch of beach where I hung out with some of my law school friends for a few days eating delicious fresh ceviche, drinking an exorbitant amount of cerveza and of course, swimming in the Caribbean's warm, translucent waters. From there, I headed back up the coast visiting the ruins of Tulum and a number of stunning, deserted beaches on the way. My next stop was Playa del Carmen which I did not like at all. . .way too touristy! I had booked a room for 2 nights though in Playa del Carmen so I had to figure out what to do with myself . . . I decided to take a ferry over to Cozumel one of those days. I expected Cozumel to be a lot more beautiful than it was. . .it is after all on the itinerary of just about every major cruise line in the Western Caribbean. Cozumel is a flat, dry and featureless island although I understand the off-shore diving is superb. I did enjoy circumnavigating Cozumel, however, by scooter, which I managed to nearly kill myself on at one point during the day. The story goes like this . . .I was returning to my scooter from scoping out a beach to see if it was a good place to go for a snorkel. Having determined that it wasn't a good place to snorkel, I got back on my scooter that I had parked on the side of the road facing oncoming traffic. I had never rode a scooter by myself before until that day so I was still just getting the hang of it. I put on my helmet and gave it what I thought was just a little bit of gas so that I could make a u-turn and go the other way. Instead, I accidently gave it a lot of gas and then frantically tried to hit the breaks as I was going into oncoming traffic. In my frantic state, however, I just kept hitting the gas, so I'm now flying down Cozumel's highway going the wrong way with cars coming at me. I still had enough wherewithal to swerve off the road to avoid a collision, so now I've swerved off the road, but I'm still hitting the gas instead of the brakes as I fly through a field of grass (probably 1 meter high) that's cutting up my legs. I then swerve back onto the road, do a sharp 180 spin that causes the front shield of my scooter to crack on the pavement before I come to a complete stop. I was shaken up to say the very least convinced that I had almost killed myself. Amazingly, the scooter rental place said nothing about the cracked shield when I returned it later that night as I was expecting to have to shell out more money for the damage. The next day I traveled up the coast back to Cancun and took the ferry over to tranquil Isla Muejeres. While on Isla Mujeres, I met an ex-pat the locals call Captain Ron. He owns a bar in Playa and was on vacation up in Isla Mujeres with his black labrador retriever. Captain Ron, myself and the black lab hung out under a beach palapa all day long drinking cerveza after cerveza. . .I don't remember the ferry ride back to Cancun!

Rhineland-Palatinate Visit: -

Rhode Island Visit: -


Rio de Janeiro State Visit: 2006-10
2009-10-06 - I'm so excited that Rio was awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics. An Olympic Games on the South American continent was long overdue! I had the pleasure of visiting the geographically blessed and drop dead gorgeous city of Rio de Janeiro in October 2006. While there, I was treated to an absolutely spectacular sunset from the top of Sugar Loaf. My wife and I stayed at a great hotel overlooking Ipanema where we could explore all of Ipanema and Leblon's amazing restaurants, including some churascharias. Riding the trolley and eating feijoada (Brazil's national dish) in Rio's Santa Teresa district was also a highlight! Watching a professional futbol match in Maracana (place where Pele played his last game) is a must when visiting futbol-crazy Brazil. And then of course there's great swimming and people watching at Ipanema and Copacabana beaches. I hope to one day return to visit other parts of Rio de Janeiro state, such as Paraty, Ilha Grande, Buzios and Cabo Frio.

Rio Grande do Norte Visit: -

San Marino Visit: -

Saskatchewan Visit: -

Saxony-Anhalt Visit: -


Sinai Peninsula Visit: 1999-9
2008-12-19 - I entered Egypt's Sinai Peninsula from Eilat, Israel in September 1999 and made my way down the coast to the village of Dahab to do some world-class snorkeling in the Red Sea. Once in Dahab, I walked several hundred yards through a shallow crystal clear lagoon to reach a sand bar where I was told by locals I could find some amazing snorkeling. They were right!!! On the other side of the sand bar lay a beach with turquoise waters and no one on it except for a camel that was enjoying the view about a hundred feet away from me. The coral and tropical fish were outstanding. Another added bonus was that I could see across the sea to Saudia Arabia. Too bad it wasn't a swimable distance or I would have tried to get there. . . Saudia Arabia will just have to wait for another journey.

Slovakia Visit: -

Slovenia Visit: -


Society Islands Visit: 2004-6
2009-04-24 - The Society Islands are 1 of 5 island groups that make up French Polynesia and home to its capital, Papetee on the island of Tahiti. As a child, I dreamed of visiting Bora Bora, which I would regularly hear dubbed on tv programs as the "Most Beautiful Island in the World." My wife and I, therefore, decided to honeymoon in French Polynesia in May/June 2004. We started in Bora Bora, then hopped over to Moorea before ending our romantic island adventures on Rangiroa in the Tuamotus. Although Bora Bora is a very popular tourist destination these days, it is still drop-dead gorgeous. Because it was our honeyomoon, we decided to splurge and stay in an overwater bungalow at the Pearl Resort. All I can say is "WOW!" It doesn't get any better than having your own sun deck hanging off your hotel room with a ladder down into a crystal clear lagoon. You could even feed the tropical fish that swam beneath your bungalow by removing the glass off of your coffee table. Days were spent snorkeling in Bora Bora's warm translucent waters, paddling by canoe to one of Bora Bora's many motus, feeding ferocious sharks, or just taking in the scenery from the deck of our bungalow. Nights were spent feasting on fresh seafood, including poisson cru (raw tuna in coconut milk and lime juice), and lying underneath the Tahitian moon again from the deck of our bungalow. We even had a breakfast of fresh tropical fruits and croissants canoed right up to our bungalow one morning! After Bora Bora, it was on to Moorea. Although Moorea does not have nearly as beautiful of a lagoon as Bora Bora, it does have towering jungle-covered peaks. We circumnavigated the entire island of Moorea by car one day and nearly biked around half of the island another day. Shark feeding was especially spectacular on Moorea. To make our connection from Moorea to Rangiroa, we had to fly back to Tahiti. One thing that I always like to tell people about my 8 minute flight from Moorea to Tahiti is that we landed at our destination before we were even scheduled to take off! It's true and pretty weird when you say it like that, but because all the passengers had checked in about 30 minutes before our scheduled take-off, they decided to board us and take off early, thus allowing us to arrive before our scheduled departure!

Sonora Visit: -

South Australia Visit: -

South Carolina Visit: -

South Dakota Visit: -

South Island Visit: -

St. Vincent Visit: -

Sweden Visit: -

Tamaulipas Visit: -


Tasmania Visit: 1999-12
2008-06-16 - Tasmania is one of those far off places that when you get there, you're mesmerized by the fact that you are there. Aside from its exotic name, location near the bottom of the globe, and its most famous residents (the Tasmanian Devil), Tasmania is definitely worth checking out for some of the most pristine nature on earth! Highlights of my trip back in December 1999 included hiking in Cradle Mountain National Park on a rare sunny day, quad racing over the dunes of Tasmania's wild West Coast, feeding an apple to a wild wallabee, biking down Mt. Washington with majestic views of Hobart the entire way down, and admiring Wineglass Bay at Freycinet National Park.



Tennessee Visit: -

Texas Visit: -

Thuringia Visit: -


Tuamotu Islands Visit: 2004-6
2008-06-16 - My wife and I honeymooned in French Polynesia in May and June of 2004. After enjoying the islands of Bora Bora and Moorea in the Society Islands, we flew over to Rangiroa in the Tuamotus for a few days. Rangiroa was spectacular! We stayed at the Kia Ora which was expensive, but worth the splurge for a honeymoon. If you visit Rangiroa, the two things that you must do is visit the Blue Lagoon and shoot the pass via a drift snorkel. The Blue Lagoon is a smaller lagoon enclosed within Rangiroa's larger lagoon. I often refer to my trip to the Blue Lagoon as the best day of my life. The weather could not have been more beautiful. Our two Polynesian guides could not have been nicer and the scenery could not have been more impressive. The Blue Lagoon is the epitome of paradise!!! Its shallow waters were swarming with small black-tipped sharks that I fed fish guts to. You could swim from one little motu (island) to the next through crystal clear waters. Our guides prepared us (and the only other couple who accompanied us on our trip) a scruptious beach BBQ which included some of the best fish and potato salad I have ever tasted. On our trip back to the Kia Ora across Rangiroa's huge lagoon, we spotted a manta ray and a tiger shark. We also went for a snorkel at a little island smack dab in the middle of Rangiroa's lagoon where we were treated to some sea turtles. The next day, we shot the pass (we drift snorkeled through one of the two passes that connect Rangiroa's lagoon to the ocean). The current is so strong that you don't even need to swim. . .you are just carried by the current into the lagoon. It was by far the best snorkel of my life. Visibility was probably at 200 feet plus. The bottom of the pass had somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 large grey sharks (that was the approximate count made by our guide). Towards the end of our snorkel, we passed over a plateau where the ocean floor came within 10 meters of us. Never in my life had I witnessed so many colors all in one place. There were thousands upon thousands of fish of all diffferent sizes and shades. My wife and I were blown away by what we were looking at! Rangiroa was one of the highlights of all my travels and I hope that one day, I'll have the chance to visit it again and also visit some of its Tuamotu neighbors including Fakarava and Manihi.



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