The River Nile, the longest in the world, begins in the huge hollow (roughly 80 by 70 kilometers) of shallow Lake Tana in Ethiopia. Lake Tana, Ethiopia Fed by several rivers and rimmed by rushes,…
During our visit to Eritrea, we have had the opportunity to witness much of its people’s daily joys and difficulties, customs and attitudes. Here are some visual and verbal impressions. As Eritreans struggle to emerge…
In southern Eritrea, toward the still disputed border with Ethiopia, lies the domain of the ancient Axumite empire, which dominated the whole region roughly during the first millennium AD. This eventually became first Abyssinia and…
The regional market town of Keren Keren panorama Evening settled into Keren, the principal city of central Eritrea, after the golden sunset flared behind its encircling mountains. Our viewpoint, from atop a swaying metal staircase…
The highland capital of Asmara is both the center of the country and its largest city - as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site due to how well preserved is the Italian colonial heritage…
Beyond walking and boating around Amsterdam, we dived into several museums, including the Rijksmuseum and the splendid van Gogh collection. And for something completely different, a stellar performance by Hugh Jackman at the city’s Ziggo…
Amsterdam by foot, as many of you know, displays a charming cityscape of brick buildings in various hues of red and various harmonious styles dating back to the 17th century. The central city was endlessly…
We flew through Paris on the way to Iceland, partly to enjoy the city again and partly to catch a rare retrospective of the 19th century artist Eugene Delacroix. So we spent several pleasurable hours…
We traveled the last leg of our trip by ship out of Punta Arenas through the Beagle Channel and the Straits of Magellan (the original passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans). Our days on…
Punta Arenas is the very end of the line for driving through Patagonian Chile, though one can drive across adjacent land into Tierra del Fuego, the land of fire. It's long been a commercial port…