Raul
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Photo of the Week: León, Nicaragua
More Details: Photo of the Week: León, NicaraguaI visited the town of León, Nicaragua a couple of times for half days during my visits to Nicaragua in the mid-2000s. Its main plaza is typical of the Spanish colonial layout seen all throughout parts of the Caribbean, and Central and South America. León adds a nice touch with a statue in the plaza……
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Got History? Amman Does!
More Details: Got History? Amman Does!Coming to Amman for the first time, I was curious as to what the city would feel like. Surely, there would be some good restaurants (all cities have them!) and some nationally important buildings or monuments worth visiting (and photographing!). I have been to Cairo, close to Amman in many ways beyond distance, and Istanbul…
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Honey Badger Anyone?
More Details: Honey Badger Anyone?If you are a regular visitor of this blog, you know I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro this past February. It was a fantastic experience that I am glad I was dared to do. Before we embarked on that hike, we spent a few days in the town of Moshi visiting and working with a local orphanage,…
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Experiencing a Wadi Rum Bedouin Camp
More Details: Experiencing a Wadi Rum Bedouin CampI wrote earlier about exploring the Wadi Rum in Jordan and how much fun it was to ride around in the back of a pickup truck and admire the magnificence of the landscape of this unique spot in the Middle East, at a crossroads between Asia and Africa. What made that day even better was…
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Photo of the Week – Beijing on a Sunny Day?
More Details: Photo of the Week – Beijing on a Sunny Day?Beijing is well, and fairly, known for its pollution problem. This photo from 2002 probably is from a “good” day. I imagine the situation has gotten worse over the years. However, what really makes me wonder in this picture is the ratio of cars to bicycles. I wonder if there is that much space for…
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Jordan’s Wadi Rum: Not Just for Lawrence of Arabia
More Details: Jordan’s Wadi Rum: Not Just for Lawrence of ArabiaWell, I assume I did follow some of his/his camel’s footsteps in the Wadi Rum in my recent trip to Jordan. My visit to the Wadi Rum was an amazing experience as I had never had been in such a landscape before. In an earlier post, I shared how I found color everywhere I went…
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Photo of the Week – Sunset over the Serengeti
More Details: Photo of the Week – Sunset over the SerengetiRight after my hike of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, I went on safari to Lake Manyara, the Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Crater. One of the best views during the safari was seeing the sunset… Magnificent!
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Photo Essay – Colors of Jordan
More Details: Photo Essay – Colors of JordanBefore my trip to Jordan, I had this mental image that Jordan was mostly a desert. I knew Jordan faced the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea and I recalled from my quick visit to Petra (on a day trip from Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt), that Petra would have some reddish color to it. But it’s…
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Of Kids, Water, a Fence, and Chicks – the Kili Centre Orphanage
More Details: Of Kids, Water, a Fence, and Chicks – the Kili Centre OrphanageGoing to Tanzania was not just about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro though that consumed most of my energy pre-trip (and, heck DURING the trip!). I had done a hike in the Transylvanian Alps in Romania last summer with Trekking for Kids (TFK) and I was so impressed, not only with the excellent logistics planning for the…
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One of the Lesser Known Smithsonian Museums: The Renwick Gallery
More Details: One of the Lesser Known Smithsonian Museums: The Renwick GalleryI have spent two years visiting Washington, D.C. for work on a weekly or every-other-week basis. I love this city, with its energy, its intrigues, its famous residents, and its power. I also love it, of course, for the many sights to be seen. I worked near the White House and was close to a…
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Descending from Kilimanjaro’s Summit | Kilimanjaro Day 6 and 7
More Details: Descending from Kilimanjaro’s Summit | Kilimanjaro Day 6 and 7Descending from Kilimanjaro’s summit, Uhuru Peak – the roof of Africa, began around 20-30 minutes after we had arrived at the summit. Such is the story of ascending Kilimanjaro for many. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could picnic up there or, at least, at Stella Point and soak in the achievement taking it all…
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Top 6 Reasons Why It Is Hard to Break Up with Washington, D.C.
More Details: Top 6 Reasons Why It Is Hard to Break Up with Washington, D.C.Oh, time for some sentimentalism around here… After 2 years of working in Washington, D.C. I wrap up this client engagement with mixed feelings. There is more excellent work to be done. Yet, I want to be home. But it’s also hard to leave DC because I just really like this city. Why, you may…