Viet Nam on My Own
Only one amongst you patient readers, are likely to know (or care about) the trade acronym F.I.T. which obviously is in the title of this piece. My eldest son J. could probably give you a more precise definition of this sub-segment of the travel industry than I, but I’ll give it a shot anyway, because I am one of them, I think. That is to say that I eschew traveling as a part of any group for any reason. I’m happier to have a bad meal at a restaurant of my own choosing in (name any town anywhere in the world) than a good meal with any group large or small not of my own choosing. I’m perfectly happy to be lost in a strange town rather than be following a...Monkey Business in Costa Rica
There are many things to like about Costa Rica, but it’s the monkeys that get most of the attention from the tourists. On several occasions I saw small groups of people gathered beside the road pointing cameras into the rain forrest or at a solitary palm tree. In Costa Rica that means they had spied a group of either White Faced or Howler monkeys, two of the four breeds that populate the country. Howlers are easy to identify because they, well, howl. I mean they really howl. There’s no mistaking it. And the White Faced monkeys are likewise easy to identify because they have, well uh, white faces. If only all naming conventions so…..uncomplicated....How Do You Say It in British?
Having lived in London for several years, I’ve been up close and personal with our cousins, the Brits, and with the perfect clarity provided by time and distance I can now say definitively that perfect enlightenment regarding their character is in knowing that one will never know them. A recent article which prompted this piece and from which I will quote extensively (one can never be to careful with all the literary lynch mobs roaming the streets looking for budding plagiarists) reported on a nascent effort to create the perfect motto for the the United Kingdom, or was it Great Britain, or maybe it was England, or possibly the British Commonwealth. Come to...Uruguay In Three Words
Punte del Este. There’s not much else and what there is looks pretty white bread to me. Everyone knows PdE. It’s Aspen, Martha’s Vineyard, South Beach, and St. Tropez all in one. On weekends during the season, globetrotters of all stripes settle in on their yachts, condo’s, villas, or hotel suites for a weekend or several weeks of luxurious fun in the sun. Wealthy Argintines and Portenos from Rio swarm the place much like the French on the Cote d’Azure in August. Lot’s of bodies glistening with oils and ungents, cold whites from Mendoza and caviar from god knows where. You get the idea. It was logistically out of reach for us this trip, but the reports...Rio, City with a Soul
It’s said that Sao Paulo is the brain of Brazil while Rio is its soul. They’ve even invented a word for it…..Carioca. Which is how people in Rio describe themselves. It loosely translates as the spirit or life style consistent with life in a sun drenched city ringed by miles of beaches and punctuated by the mother of all parties…Carnival. Perhaps, otherwise said, a combination of joie de vivre, fun in the sun, and a forgiving attitude coupled with a healthy dose of a manana philosophy. Much has been said about crime in the city, but I’d say there’s more than a little hyperbole in the nay sayers. Much like Sex in the City. Not that...