So it appears gorillas really are just hairy humans. Trekking into Bwindi jungles ivy entwined heart, it feels for the first time I am exploring not only the motherland of planet earth, but the epicenter of all ancestry, that grows today as modestly as it ever did when we first swung our way out of the trees. Medires, our guide, machetes a route for us between the recalcitrant branches that block the way. Walking beneath the enclosing canopy, unaware and uninterested in a world beyond it, I sweat my way deeper into the jungle, walking on an air of tension that feels like it is hovering above the mulched earth. My mind projects silhouettes shaped liked Gorillas between every tree. Medires informs me we are in only one of two locations that the global population of 400 mountain gorillas can still be found. Illegal poaching and urban sprawl has massively…

Going down inside a volcano is not usually on the list of holiday outings. Yet here I was, driving with my lovely Azorean host, Jorge, through the lush green forests of Terceira (so named as it is the third largest island in the Azores) towards the Algar de Corvao to do just that. I fully expected it to be a joke at my expense, expected that my host would turn to me at any moment and say “What-you REALLY believed we were going to go inside a volcano?!!!” We would then laugh heartily at my gullibility, slap each other on the back in good humor and go participate in one of Terceira’s more attractive activities such as whale watching on the sapphire blue oceans, visiting the beautiful Monte Brasil or Praia dos Biscoitos, wine tasting in the Museu do Vino or strolling along the Rua de Se. However, the moment…

It would be disingenuous to call the Parque Oceanografico an aquarium. Shielding your eyes from the reflections all you see above ground is the wonderful, wavy white roof of the entrance building, designed by Felix Candela and the Wetlands dome and pools where the penguins and seals entertain the crowds by eating fish thrown by the park staff. This would disguise the fact that visitors are taken on an underwater voyage around the world’s main marine ecosystems, which can last the whole day if the visitor sees the dolphins, seals, and penguins. This voyage takes place mainly underground, which can be a blessing in the late summer when the temperatures hit the high 30s and the blue skies are never ending. The ecosystems range from the Red Sea to the Arctic and from the Tropics to Antarctica. There are many different sections you can reach from the entrance building. A…

        Take deep breaths and whatever you do, don’t panic. Scuba diving instructor Sinan Halacoglu conveyed the imperative message prior to my first plunge into the deep blue. “If you panic you are done,” the veteran diver reiterated, his formidable, uncompromising shark-like gaze penetrating my defenses. Though powerful, direct and of the utmost importance, Halacoglu’s message was of little comfort. That should be easy enough, I thought, still trying to absorb other tidbits necessary for a successful maiden dive.Dressel Divers, set in front of the lavish backdrop of the Iberostar Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica, provided the opportunity for my maiden scuba dive. The area is renowned for its serene, picturesque landscape. A stark contrast, however, subsists. Within a stone’s throw of the elaborate, ornate resorts, locals’ dwell in rows upon rows of decrepit, structurally unsound houses; a juxtaposition Halacoglu has come accustomed to. “No one cares…

Inside my all-inclusive resort on the beautiful Caribbean island of Cuba, I lazed around on the pristine sandy beaches of Varadero for an entire weekend. On the first day, I loved the warm touch of the sun, gently coating my pale skin with its golden rays. On the second day, I napped by the water to the sound of the turquoise waves gently kissing the shore. But on the third day, I woke up feeling trapped in the confinement of the hotel. Despite the sun’s friendly greeting, calling me out to the beach, I could no longer stand the thought of another day of beach volleyball and tanning.Lucky for me, 30 minutes away from the resort was a natural park: Varahicacos Ecological Reserve. Located at the east end of the Varadero peninsula, it is one of the few areas in Varadero that has not been turned into giant resort complexes.…

When traveling to the Galapagos, remember: the animals are not afraid of you.Most visitors come to the Galapagos for the experience of being in pristine wilderness—at far as that is possible these days. While the Galapagos are fiercely protected, with high entrance fees, and strict regulations designed to protect the fragile ecosystem, it has evolved into a mix of tourists, Ecuadorian residents trying to carve out a life better than one afforded on the mainland, and ubiquitous tour cruise boats arcing around the archipelago’s shores. It is hardly pristine.Despite our invasion, what remains intact is the strange intermingling of human and wildlife that is possible on the islands. Since no large predators reached the Galapagos, the native animals evolved to have no fear of large creatures. Stepping onto the shores of San Cristóbal, for example, one is immediately engaged in this drama.  Hundreds of sea lion pods crowding beaches, sea…

The road ahead disappeared in a cloud. Our bus careened along a narrow dirt path that clung to the mountainside. To the right rose a steep slope, covered with trees whose boughs hung heavy with glistening bromeliads. Small rivulets of icy blue water streaked down the mountain, funneling into crude cement drainages that diverted them beneath the road.     I sat on the left side, where even more rising peaks of tropical greenery emerged from each thin gray cloud. Eventually, we too passed through the wisps of a cloud, and I could not believe I was in Costa Rica. My semester abroad had just begun, and on the second day the director of our group of students had packed us into a private bus heading to a highland region called Savegre. While other students socialized between themselves, my eyes never left the condensation-covered windows until the director called our attention…

Somewhere in the middle of a southern Alabama cypress swamp, Wesley Moore leans over a wire-framed railing and motions toward the creek before him. “This is where Michael Phelps learned to swim,” he says to a group of visitors. The group erupts in laughter, which elicits a grin from Moore. His point has been made, for the creek is about as far removed from an Olympic swimming pool as is possible. It is muddy, heavily vegetated, and full of wild alligators. Each day from mid-January through Thanksgiving, Moore, owner of Alligator Alley in Summerdale, Alabama, introduces visitors to the park’s 150 gators of all sizes. It’s a labor of love and a line of work that he always knew he was destined for. “My grandfather got me started in alligators when I was four,” he says. “I always knew I’d be a gator man.” Lucky for the gators. If it…

In the Northeastern region of Uganda lies a large, remote, seldom visited lake: Lake Opeta. The lake was designated a national conservation area in 2006 due to its numerous bird species— including the globally endangered shoebill (balaeniceps rex).

“I don’t see it. Where is it — down there?” I pressed my face to the car window as we passed over the bridge taking us across the border into Canada. It was close to midnight by the time my plane had landed in Buffalo and we’d made the half hour drive north, but the Niagara Falls are lit up at night, and we were eager to get across for the view.

At 762 feet with a panoramic view of gorgeous Waikiki and the Pacific Ocean, it’s amazing to know that where we stood was once a thriving, bubbling lava spout. Diamond Head volcano has been extinct for about 150,000 years and for years has been attracting tourists to Honolulu, Hawaii year-round. Considered a defining feature of the view in Waikiki, the volcanic cone was an attraction we were determined to not only see, but climb.

It wasn’t quite 9:30 in the morning and I was already wringing wet with perspiration. As we trudged up the steep slope of the mountain, the mud made my footing both arduous and precarious. Moreover, my left insole had an industrial-grade bruise from hiking several days across rocks and hardened mud, and I had several blisters on both feet.

“At length, in a lonely dell, we came on a huge wooden gate with a sign upon it like an inn. "The Petrified Forest. Proprietor: C. Evans," ran the legend. Within, on a knoll of sward, was the house of the proprietor, and another smaller house hard by to serve as a museum, where photographs and petrifactions were retailed. It was a pure little isle of touristry among these solitary hills.”

The homeland of the Kasepuhan community of south-west Java was designated Gunung Halimun National Park in 1992 and today struggles to maintain their society amidst illegal logging and other threats to their way of life.

Halfway between Guatemala’s capital and its border with Belize lies the small mountain town of Cobán and the national park, Samuc Champey. Located in the mountainous Alta Verapaz province, Samuc Champey was a holy site for the ancient Kekchi Mayans and means, ‘Sacred Water.’ Praised for its picturesque beauty, the park’s main attraction is a natural limestone bridge of lagoons that sits atop a mighty mountain river tumbling down a sub-tropical valley.

While traveling in Australia you may wonder why all those forecasters are so focused on El Niño (and what is “Southern Oscillation” anyways?). Australia has one of the most distinct climates on the planet, which is due in large part to it’s unique geography. The continent is the driest on earth, and even the temperate regions are prone to drought and brush fires. Australia has a high variability of year-to-year rainfall, which is influenced by Southern Oscillation and El Niño. El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO) causes significant seasonal anomalies all over the globe, but Australia is particularly affected. Australia can experience severe droughts interspersed with extensive wet periods, and possibly increased cyclones, heat waves, and frosts.

Out of Anchorage and through the Matanuska Valley, we’d been rolling along the Glenn Highway past mountains and glaciers, but in a steady rain that had us worried. The junction town of Glennallen was drizzly and dismal, nothing more than a gas station and restaurant. For the fifth time, I turned to check the back seat, making sure I had packed my L.L. Bean seam-sealed Gore-Tex parka, and was comforted by seeing its bright orange sleeve sticking out from under the tent and tarps.

Since so much of human existence depends on water, how have people survived crossing deserts where there is precious little precipitation?

Your best initial guess is that it is a frozen lake covered with snow. Look again and you see that it is too dry to be snow, and the temperature is not as cold as it should be. In fact you are not looking at snow, but salt.

The Fault is a dividing line that separates one part of California that is sliding northward from the other part that is sliding southward. If you have one foot on one side of the fault and the other foot on the other side then your body would begin to twist a little bit as the two tectonic plates of the earth slide by each other.