About twelve years ago I stood on top of a volcano while visiting Vestmannaeyjar (the Westman Islands) in Iceland and admired the view. The volcano last erupted in 1973 and eventually became the justification for one of the...
Read MoreI was setting up my tent behind the park office in Amboseli NP and didn’t notice a local teenager approaching. His earlobes hung down to his shoulders weighed down by special little copper-colored weights, the rest of the...
Read MoreI ground my teeth but kept on going. Gently securing the camera on my back, and making sure more dirt doesn’t get in, I plowed through the swamp and cursed under my breath when sharp serrated grass blades cut me deep...
Read MoreEthiopia’s people walk the dusty streets of Axum like characters from sun-bleached pages of a biblical picture book. I catch them in mid-stride, fetching water, going to church and carrying wood. The town is big, but...
Read MoreHis eyes are in the shade of massive brows. A ridged muzzle, small angular nostrils, and a round jaw with the top lip curling back suddenly to expose sharp fangs set in wide pink gums. If I didn’t know better I’d be...
Read MoreIt there was one church that won my heart in Ethiopia, it was the Debre Birhan Sellassie of Gondor. Stepping into it was like stepping into a children’s biblical storybook. Angels adorn the roof and pillars of this truly...
Read MoreSometimes, it seems like Ethiopia is all lakes, birds, and monasteries. Dirty swimming water and organized religion I can do without, but after seeing a silvery-cheeked hornbill I doubt that I could keep living my life and not...
Read More“You! YouyouYOUyouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!” There is a reason every travel report from Ethiopia comes back with the same general complaint. The call of the youcalls (a nickname coined by Russian hitchhikers late in the last...
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