winifredcreamer

Santa Elena Peninsula, Ecuador

We chose a peculiar area for this trip, based on our archaeology backgrounds. We wanted to visit the sites we’d heard of for so long. Neither of us looked at the region on GoogleEarth, for example, where it appears as a gray patch on the otherwise bright green surface of Ecuador. At this time ofContinue reading “Santa Elena Peninsula, Ecuador”

The Spondylus Route to archaeology, Ecuador

Romantically named, the Ruta del Spondylus highway borders the the ocean in places, then dips inland around high hills, making its way from northern Peru to northern Ecuador. It is named after the spondylus shell, brilliant orange or deep purple species that were used to make beads and jewelry by the ancient people of bothContinue reading “The Spondylus Route to archaeology, Ecuador”

Visiting the Macaw Clay Licks

We opted for a tour after finding it complicated to arrange an independent trip, choosing Birding Ecotours, a US based company that runs birding tours all over the world. An important starting point is to realize there are several clay licks. Make sure you know where you are going and what you may see. It’s alsoContinue reading “Visiting the Macaw Clay Licks”

When a Wish Comes True

It was almost dawn, 5 am when we left the dock for an hour’s ride up the Tambopata River. Boatmen know their way around snags and shallow spots even in the dark. Our boat was long and narrow, the eight of us sitting on benches that faced each other, all of us leaning out toContinue reading “When a Wish Comes True”

About Aruba

We don’t consider ourselves to be on vacation, but we had a wonderful two weeks of vacation in Aruba–it’s too hot to call it anything else. Here’s my advice based on our visit. Airbnb We rented a house in Savaneta that was quirky but worked well for us. I didn’t think a pool was veryContinue reading “About Aruba”

Tea Time Birding Society Meets in Aruba

High noon birding doesn’t work well when it’s over 90 and extremely humid, so the High Noon Birding Society moved its adventures to tea time, waiting until after 4 pm when the sun began to dip toward the water. Despite being a desert covered with cactus, Aruba has a lot of birds. One of theContinue reading “Tea Time Birding Society Meets in Aruba”

Snorkeling in Aruba

Our Airbnb house had snorkeling equipment and I found enough to fit, though Jonathan found that his knees don’t much like snorkeling any more. We went snorkeling at Rodgers Beach, in sight of the former refinery, and saw many small fish. We found even better underwater terrain right by our house at Savaneta beach. TheContinue reading “Snorkeling in Aruba”

Beyond the beach in Aruba

When we arrived, I thought we might spend two weeks making our way from beach to beach around the island of Aruba. We have been happily distracted along the way. My sister Paula and her guy Wayne are with us and wanted to see the California Lighthouse at the north end of Aruba. The lighthouseContinue reading “Beyond the beach in Aruba”

Aruba’s Beaches

Aruba is justifiably known for its white sand beaches and turquoise water. Directly across the road from our house is Savaneta beach. Sections of white sand beach are punctuated by small stands of mangrove. Snorkeling takes you into clouds of minnows and the occasional foursome of little squid. From here we skipped over the hugeContinue reading “Aruba’s Beaches”

Aruba, The A in A, B, C Islands

I’d never heard of the A, B, C islands and like people of a certain age, when I looked at the map I saw that west to east, the islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire are not in ABC order…. People who visit these Caribbean islands have their favorites. Some prefer Aruba for the wellContinue reading “Aruba, The A in A, B, C Islands”