What some may not realize is that Fiji is not an island, but an archipelago of over 300 islands. We chose the third largest, Taveuni, so that we might dive the Great White Wall.

Of the two places we stayed at, the first was by far the best. Coconut Grove was easy, beautiful, and made us feel at home. The toasted coconut bread in the morning certainly didn’t hurt.

Some nights, guests would join a couple of musicians around the kava bowl, taking turns drinking brown sludge out of a hollowed out coconut. The sludge tasted about how … [Read more]

Photo Friday: Kitty in the Kava Bowl is a post from: The Pocket Explorer

1. Photo Friday: Off into the desert This week begins a new series, Photo Friday! Every...
2. Photo Friday: Mekong Sunset A few hours north of the capital Vientiane, Luang...
3. Photo Friday: Guan Yin and the Solar Eclipse The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century...

My wife and I recently went to Tulum, Mexico for our babymoon vacation. We stayed at a lovely little guesthouse, el Mestizo, at the end of the beach road near the entrance to the Sian Ka’an biosphere. Our 2nd-story cabana overlooked an azure sea, with the sounds of crashing waves a constant comfort. Barefoot, we would walk down the beach for breakfast or lunch.

We swam in 6 cenotes (4 cavern, 1 open, 1 semi-open), saw 2 ruins (Tulum, Ek’ Balam), and snorkeled with sea turtles.

However, the best thing may have been … [Read more]

Photo Friday: Paletas in Tulum is a post from: The Pocket Explorer

1. Photo Friday: The Ostrich and the Zebra This week’s entries come to you from the village...
2. Photo Friday: Mekong Sunset A few hours north of the capital Vientiane, Luang...
3. Photo Friday: What does a $7 beach bungalow look like? In honor of Afar’s “SF Meetup to share travel...

Continuing the thread of family from the last installment, this week brings you a pair of Capuchin monkeys, taken at Manuel Antonio National Park, in Costa Rica. These were the first monkeys we’d seen in real life, and while quite photogenic, they were actually quite territorial and vicious up close, with foul rotten teeth.

However, what stood out most in memory was seeing something so familiar, that of a baby clinging contentedly to its parent .. 15 feet up a tree.

(Related photos of Monkeys in Costa Rica can be found here.)

Photo Friday: Sleepy Baby Monkey… [Read more]

Photo Friday: Sleepy Baby Monkey is a post from: The Pocket Explorer

1. Photo Friday: Off into the desert This week begins a new series, Photo Friday! Every...
2. Photo Friday: What does a $7 beach bungalow look like? In honor of Afar’s “SF Meetup to share travel...
3. Photo Friday: Man in the Mist Here in the Bay Area, the usual pre Burning...

2012 is all about new beginnings and our craziest adventure yet; parenthood.

If you follow my work, you know that I love sunsets. Who doesn’t? But what I find even more special are sunrises. Not being a morning person, I see a lot fewer of the sun emerging out of night than I do of night overtaking the day.

The photo below was taken at 5:30 on a June morning in 2006, on the Atlantic shore of Rockport, Maine, boats gently pitching with light waves.

I had been in Rockport taking an intensive week-long photography course at the Maine … [Read more]

Photo Friday: A New Beginning is a post from: The Pocket Explorer

1. Photo Friday: Off into the desert This week begins a new series, Photo Friday! Every...
2. Photo Friday: Man in the Mist Here in the Bay Area, the usual pre Burning...
3. Photo Friday: Burning Man and the Astronaut This week’s Photo Friday is dedicated to a man...

This week’s entries come to you from the village of Colnbrook, just outside of Heathrow Airport. I find myself in this unlikely place due to a last minute trip to kick off a new job that I started on Monday as a developer advocate for the newly launched Travelport Developer Network. Feeling trapped by the manicured comfort of my hotel, I needed to get out. Knowing that a trip to Central London wasn’t feasible, I settled for exploring the nearby town, stopping in at The Ostrich, which just happens to be England’s 3^rd oldest pub.

As … [Read more]

Photo Friday: The Ostrich and the Zebra is a post from: The Pocket Explorer

1. Photo Friday: Mekong Sunset A few hours north of the capital Vientiane, Luang...
2. Photo Friday: A Lesson in Mayan Numbers Using Canoes Last month I found myself in the Yucatan peninsula...
3. Photo Friday: Guan Yin and the Solar Eclipse The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century...