I am not an avid birdwatcher, but I really enjoy watching birds in the tropics, as there are so many different species. In particular, one of my favorite birds are the Kingfishers. These medium sized birds typically live along a stream, a slow moving river or a pond.

In tropical America, the number of Kingfishers species living along the same riverbank can sometimes be three or four. Even though their habitats overlap somewhat, each species of Kingfishers are very distinct, have different habits and occupy their own specific niche.

On my most recent trip to South America (Bolivia and Brazil), I went to two locales where Kingfishers are readily observed – Rio Beni and Madidi National Park of Bolivia’s Amazon Basin, and the Pantanal, a very large expanse of marshlands located in western Brazil.

Funny thing - along Rio Beni, I saw only one Kingfisher – I believe it was a Amazon Kingfisher - however while I was staying in the Pantanal, the Kingfishers - in particular the Ringed Kingfisher - was by far the most commonly seen bird along the river. I guess you could say they were so common that they were a dime a dozen. They are very vocal birds, and when disturbed they will often take flight across the river.

I would have liked the tour guide to just park the motorboat somewhere not far from the river bank and just sit there quietly for an hour or so, where I could watch the Kingfishers go fishing. They are so fun to watch.

Truly one of the most memorable highlights of my trip happened while staying in the Pantanal. My tour guide took me out on a late night boat ride along the Rio Miranda. Shining his high beam searchlight across the riverbank, apparently he spotted some creature in the trees. As he quietly parked the boat near the riverbank, he pointed with his flash flight - on low beam of course - into the tree canopy. Lo and behold, I saw a Amazon Kingfisher sleeping on a tree branch about 8 feet from the ground level.

The creature was truly startled from his slumber by the two human intruders, and he made a quick beeline into the nearby bushes. The memory is absolutely priceless!

I traveled to Brazil thinking that I would be able to understand enough Portuguese to get by - after all the language on the surface is very similar to Spanish, in terms of the vocabulary and the grammar.

This was a rather naïve assumption on my part – I should have paid more attention to some of the many Brazilian songs in my I-tunes library and I would have realized that the pronunciation of Portuguese is quite different than Spanish!

I received my baptism in Portuguese shortly after arriving at Passo Do Lontra Lodge in Brazil’s vast Pantanal region. Call it Portuguese 101! I was in manager’s office at the lodge when I tried to make some conversation with him. I had learned a couple of basic phrases from a tour guide prior to walking into his office. So I asked him in Portuguese - Como Su Nome? (What is your name?) which is very similar to Spanish - Como se llama or Como es su nombre?

He replied - Mi nome is Hosheh (that’s what it sounded like) and I asked him in English (someone translated for me), What kind of name is Hosheh? That is a very unusual name, how do you spell it? To which he replied, R O G E R. OH, you’re name is Roger, I said.

Lesson One: The R in Portuguese is pronounced more like a guttural H. Can you believe that the correct pronunciation of RIO (short for Rio de Janeiro) is Hio!

Lesson Two: D in Portuguese is pronounced more like a G. For example – Buen Dia (Good day) is pronounced Bon Gia!

Portuguese has many other nuances – but bottom line the sound of the language is completely different than Spanish although many of the words are similar. EG. Daughter – in Spanish it is hija, in Portuguese it is filha, Son is hijo in Spanish while in Portuguese it is filho.

To the naked ear, Portuguese sounds very romantic - sort of a frenchified version of Spanish!

Funny thing - I met a young couple from Colombia who were fully bilingual in Spanish and English, and even they had a difficult time understanding Portuguese. However if you have 100% facility with Spanish, you’ll probably comprehend at least 60% of Portuguese after awhile – after all the Brazilians I met understood at least 60% of my Spanish!

Bon Gia from Hio!

I really didn’t know what to expect when I traveled to Bolivia’s capital city of La Paz, which at 11,900 feet above sea level makes it one of the highest cities in the world. I was somewhat concerned about the high altitude, however two years earlier I visited Cusco in Peru - another high altitude city at 10,900 ft above sea level – and I managed fairly well. I must admit that I felt a little dizzy and short winded my first day or so, but I seemed to adjust fairly well – thanks in part to drinking several cups of coca tea every day.

It was only when I had to hike uphill to my hotel in Isla del Sol at nearby Lake Titicaca did I really begin to feel the altitude – I guess you could say that I was really sucking for air. Of course, the altitude there was a good 1000-1600 feet higher than La Paz. The summit at Isla del Sol is 13,450 feet (4100 meters) .

The topography of La Paz is very extreme – the city lies in a deep canyon surrounded by the high mountains of the altiplano, and the altitude of the greater metropolitan area ranges from 13,300 feet (4060 meters) at El Alto to 10,200 feet (3100 meters) in Zona Sur, the relatively affluent suburbs. In most cities around the world, the wealthier people live in the hills. Not so with La Paz – the people with monies live in the lower elevations of the city in the suburbs of Zona Sur while the poorer people live in shanties scattered on the slope of the mountain or in high elevation El Alto.

During the winter season (and at nights) it can get fairly chilly and uncomfortable in La Paz especially if there is a stiff breeze. When you consider that the climate is considerably warmer in the lower elevations of La Paz, it is understandable that the wealthier people have chosen to live in Zona Sur.

The difference between central La Paz and Zona Sur is a difference of night and day. Besides the more agreeable climate, Zona Sur is considerably more modern with wide tree lined streets, fancy boutiques, chic restaurants and trendy clubs. In comparison, central La Paz is somewhat worn and frayed around the edges with narrow congested streets and many older buildings as well as remnants of Bolivia’s Spanish colonial past.

Have you ever had a dog as your tour guide? Well it happened to me on two separate occasions. The first time was in Thailand, when Som - she of Malee’s Nature Lodge’s fame - volunteered to take two German tourists and myself for a hike through the forest.

The 2nd occurrence happened while I was visiting Bolivia this past May. I was in the small mountain resort of Samaipata when I decided to join two young European blokes on a hike to the mirador (lookout point) overlooking the village of Samaipata. The distance from town to the mirador was about 3 miles, with an elevation gain of about 1000 feet.

Along the way, a friendly yellow and rather large dog decided to accompany us. I nicknamed him Senor Perro, which in Spanish means Mr. Dog. Senor Perro bounded gleefully ahead of us and took the lead, wagging his tail like a metronome. He seemed to be very familiar with the rather rocky trail up the mountainside. Occasionally he would look back over his shoulder to make sure we were following him.

Senor Perro and the two Euros hiked fairly swiftly up the jagged trail, while I lagged behind because of a bad “right wheel” (leg). Well, I finally made it to the top of the mountain where I was greeted by Senor Perro and the two young men. Resting there for awhile, we admired the spectacular panoramic views of the valley and nearby Samaipata.

About a ½ hour later, Senor Perro indicated it was time to return as he started getting restless. So we proceeded to follow the large yellow dog back to civilization. Upon reaching the roadside, we bade him farewell as he trotted to his master’s house.

To be honest with you, I would not have been able to make this somewhat arduous hike if it wasn’t for the company of Senor Perro and the two young Euro tourists.

Like most large Latin American cities, Bolivia’s capital city of La Paz has horrific traffic jams in the downtown area. In order to referee traffic at some of the busiest intersections, the city deploys Zebras to act as Traffic controllers. As far as I know, this is the only city in the world that uses Zebras in this fashion. No, these are not real Zebras – but some guys (or gals) dressed up in a Zebra suit.

They are actually quite entertaining to watch as they go about their routine – prancing across the intersection, making some comical gestures while they interact with drivers. They are downright zany! These Zebra suited people seem to have a real good time while they perform their job.

I understand that the CITY started the “Cebra Voluntaria” (Voluntary Zebra) in 2001 and it has been a resounding success. Many young people who are reformed druggies have been recruited to work as Zebras.

BRAVO! What a novel way of utilizing human resources.

As a traveler, I meet many different people – of many different nationalities and ages (young and old) during the course of my travels. I have met people from all over the world – from Sudan to Korea to Kazakhstan. Of course, despite our diverse backgrounds, the common denominator is that we are all travelers.

As travelers, we share our experiences of travel on the road – the highs and the lows - and sometimes we lose all our inhibitions and go completely wild. While I was staying in Bolivia’s Amazon Basin far away from civilization, I met a small group of young travelers at San Miguel de Bala Lodge – a young couple from England and from Switzerland/Spain as well as a young lady from Korea.

As sort of tribute to yours truly, the two young blokes – Henri (from England) and Eunico (from Andalusia) went off the deep end and created an outrageous new dance style called “Do the Papa Mono”. The Papa Mono dance promises to be the biggest thing to hit the dance floors since the Lambada. Check it out and pretty soon, I guarantee that you will soon be going ape too. PURA VIDA

P.S. I would like to apologize to all our loyal subscribers for our disappearance during the last 3 months. However as you can see, we have returned bigger (and better) than ever!

I am a confirmed vegetarian (90% vegan) and health nut. I occasionally eat dark chocolate (70% or more cacao), eat egg whites and once every two months, I have a veggie cheese pizza; that puts me in the category of being a quasi vegan.

As I travel overseas a lot, I usually do some research to scope out some dedicated vegetarian/vegan or vegetarian friendly restaurants in the area. Most of the time, I am usually have some modicum of success by searching online or asking the concierge or somebody at the hotel front desk. Some destinations are definitely not very vegetarian friendly as I found out on my recent trip to Brazil and Bolivia in South America (Brazil is not the most veggie friendly place) – but I usually am able to find at least a couple of suitable places.

When I was in La Paz, Bolivia’s capital city I came across a wonderful Vegetarian restaurant & Art gallery called Namaste. A family owned business, Namaste is relatively new, having opened up only 2 ½ years ago. The menu features a variety of vegetarians entrees and like many restaurants in la Paz, Namaste’s specialty is a set lunch or “plato del dia” (plate of the day). The lunch fare is very cheap, serving sizes are ample and the food is very tasty.

I had the opportunity to have dinner there one night – the food was outstanding (muy sabroso) and very affordable. I had quinoa soup as well as two other plates. The bill amounted to about $6.00USD or so including hot tea.

Scattered around the restaurant, there are some very beautiful and eclectic paintings on display as well as alfresco murals and other artwork. Gonz, the very affable co-owner of Namaste, is an accomplished sculpturer and painter in his own right in addition to being a restaurateur.

I had an opportunity to sit down and interview Gonz about the history of Namaste and how he morphed into Vegetarian Restaurateur after working for many years in mid-level mangement in Corperate America. See video below….

About two months have elapsed since I returned from my 49 day Odyssey to South America. Instead of going crazy and visiting many countries, I limited my trip to only two – BOLIVIA, April 28-May 17(19 nights)and BRAZIL, May 17 – June 15(29 nights). I really prefer an in-depth visit to most countries in order to gain some familiarity with the people, culture and physical geography.

For this trip, I believed I planned it just about right, as I was able to take in the highlights of each country without going overboard.

In Bolivia, I visited four different areas - La Paz, Bolivia’s Capital city and Lake Titicaca - which are part of the vast high elevation plain know as the Altiplano - as well as The Amazon Basin including Rurrenabaque and Madidi National Park, and Samaipata, a small mountain resort in Southern Bolivia.

In Brazil, I limited myself to six different places – The Pantanal, the world largest continuous marshland, Foz Do Iguacu – site of the majestic Iguassu Falls; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil’s world famous city and a must see on any first time visitor’s trip to Brazil; the magical Ouro Preto, a small colonial city located in central Brazil; Salvador, the colorful capital of the State of Bahia in Northeastern Brazil, and last (but certainly not least), l visited Barra Grande, a small and quiet beach resort in the state of Bahia.

If you were to ask me, what were my most memorable moments on this trip – that would be a very difficult question to answer, as there were so many; however, if I had to choose the three most memorable moments, they would be as follows:

•   On my last night in Pantanal, I went on a night tour of Rio Miranda. The guide took me to a place on the riverbank. Looking up into the tree, he shined his highbeam flashlight into the canopy. Lo and behold, sleeping on one of the branches was a Ringed Kingfisher. Needless to say, the bright light woke up this beautiful creature and he flew off!
•   I had read all about Iguassu Falls, yet I was totally unprepared for the majesty and power of Igassu. Truly an astonishing manifestation of nature, one really has to experience the falls first hand in order to appreciate this natural wonder.
•   Upon arriving at the small resort town of Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca, I learned that my stay coincided with the Fiesta de la Cruz, a very colorful festival celebrated throughout Bolivia, but especially popular in Copacabana. Many of the locals were clad in very gaudy outfits – there were parades throughout the town, dancing, drinking and much festivity. All I can say is Wow!