Eagle Hatches on Santa Cruz

by Erik Olsen on

Man, it seems like Santa Cruz Island
is in the news all the time these days. It’s not like I have a Google alert sending me info about the island, I just
keep finding stories about it. Remember, Santa Cruz is one of several islands that make up the Channel Islands off the
coast of California, about 20 miles from Ventura, and I’ve posted about them several times before
because, well, they’re a great place to go and hang out on a lazy California weekend, and b) the paddling around Santa
Cruz itself is superb. The sea caves there offer one of the best paddling experiences around.

But there is
also some great wildlife there. First, there are feral pigs. Not as many as there used to be
because they just recently hunted many of them down to thin the population, but you know a few hearty souls are still
lurking in the bushes. There are seals and porpoises. And, as of recently, there are eaglets. Yes, according to this story, a pair of bald eagles
hatched a chick on Santa Cruz on Wednesday for the first time in more than 50 years. Biologists say that the last known
successful nesting of a bald eagle on the Channel Islands was in 1949 on Anacapa Island. As most people know  this
is a big deal because the widespread use of DDT almost wiped the birds off the California coast in the 60s. So this is
good news and very cool.  

Papua New Guinea

by Erik Olsen on

It’s one of the
most exotic places on earth. Some day there are still head-hunting tribes there, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this
was true. I mean, collecting heads, that’s fun. But to be honest, I’ve always wanted to travel to Papua New Guinea and I keep my eyes open for any
stories about the place that seem intriguing. And so we have this nice little piece on PNG from the Independent.

Turns out, says Jessica Morris,
that travel companies are beginning to organize tours to PNG, and she explains why this makes sense and why PNG is
really the new frontier for adventure travel. She heads there and finds "banks thick with mangroves" where
villages are built on stilts to built to withstand floodwaters (a not uncommon mode of architecture in this part of the
world). She encounters fisherfolk in their canoes catching dinner and where home-dried tobacco leaves are used as a sort
of primitive Off to deter mosquitoes. Does this sound like fun to you? Well, at the very least it’s adventuresome. Maybe
give the idea a try if you’re up for something on the exotic side.

Photo of the Day (4/11/2006)

by Erik Olsen on


I am ALWAYS amazed by the work of Buck Forester,
who graciously posts his work at our Gadling Flickr page. I’d link to him all the time if I could, but then I think
he’d get offended that we abuse him and leave. So we try to be sparing. But as you can see by this photo of the Mount Whitney Trail in
California, this photos are rich in color, texture and scale, and also just capture a place or moment that, well, thank
goodness it was captured. As someone who LOVES the Sierras, this picture really took my breath away.

Guava Magazine: The Girl's Guide to Travel

by Adrienne Wilson on

Boys look away now. This travel installment is
for the ladies only, but if you choose to stay then don’t say I didn’t try to warn you. Then again you may learn a few
things or two about your female counterpart and travel companion so stick around.

Guava Magazine is what I’m getting to and while I’m not sure how long this
periodical has been in circulation – It’s the full on girl’s guide to travel. Women, think about the times you woke up
the day before or morning of your big camping/hiking trip to discover the Fairy Godmother of PMS decided to bless you
with her presence. You’ve got cramps so bad they’d put even the toughest boot camp drill sergeant to shame, but you’re
still ready to spend a day in mother nature’s kinder environments. Carpe diem, right? Well, Guava does a fine job of highlighting three hikes in the Maryland area and
lists them by mood which isperfect for those that tends to have swings. How sweet. But let’s not linger on things we
already dread, they’ve got several other articles worth reading.

Check out their 5 reasons for going on your big road trip alone
(worry about getting a flat later) and just because the ticket to Paris didn’t cost you a small fortune doesn’t mean
shopping should. Look into their best-thrift Paris guide. For the most part I’d say Guava has something for every
woman.

Photo Essay: "Down de Islands," Trinidad

by Karen Walrond on


Just off the northerwesternmost corner of the island of Trinidad are a collection of 5 tiny islands, known as
the Bocas Islands.  They’re comprised of Gaspar Grande (also known as Gasparee), Chacachacare, Monos, Huevos and
Gasparillo, and are generally populated by lavish vacation homes of wealthy Trinidadians.  Several of these homes
are available for short-term rentals; however, it is more common just to hire a boat for the afternoon and go sailing
among the islands, taking in the scenery and the sunshine.

These photographs were taken on several sailing
trips I’ve taken within the last 3 months or so with my family — starting with sunrise off of Monos Island. 

Enjoy.