By Bunny McBride . . . before the rain begins I always waken, listening to the world hold its breath. ~Lianne Spidel It was late, and I lay in my bed in a small round hut nestled against the Great Rift Wall in northern Tanzania. The stone abode was part of a rugged camp where […]
by Rosalie Justus Hiking sola in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca, the author worries about same-species predators and other problems. I know right away, the Dutch aren’t going. Marlie’s teeth are all purple from the herbs she’s been chewing. They’re a sharp contrast against her pale skin. She’s one of those naturalists that think if it’s not […]
by Kim Brown Seely How Rwanda Reached Out and Grabbed Me. Charles weighed 400 pounds, stood nearly six feet when fully upright, and was one hundred percent alpha-male. His massive black head was luxuriantly hairy, and our eyes met daringly as he reclined in a bamboo thicket as big as a Barcalounger.  Charles, I’d been […]
by Wendy Inouye When you are tramping around on foot in the middle of the African bush, you are offputtingly far from the protection of the police, your embassy, and even Robert Mugabe. Best, then, not to piss off the wildlife. And if you do, try not to do it twice in one day. Adapted […]
by Carolyn Kraus Into the Texas Scrub Country with Fear and Loathing. We were driving through a cow pasture in a Texas heat wave when we saw the bats, 20 million of them, swooping up from a sinkhole in the ground like a tornado cloud. Turning and rising in widening arcs, they peeled off into […]
By Kate Crawford “Is that my elephant?” I ask as the first mammoth mammal lumbers into camp. “That’s Lawan.” John replies, watching her undulating gait. “She’s our youngest, the village flirt. She can be a bit naughty. She’s known to indulge in little diva tantrums if another elephant gets more camera time.” Shivering in the […]
by Terri Hinte Almost all of the people I met in Rio de Janeiro who lived in houses rather than apartments were dog-owners. They loved their animals, Im sure, but first and foremost these dogs had a very specific job to perform: they were charged with preventing Rios perpetual crime wave from ever lapping at […]
by Anne Merrigan Nothing prepares me for Stella. Our encounter occurs within the vulnerable spot frequented by all travelers. Nothing connected with the elements, yet everything associated with basic necessities. The place raises sheer panic when undiscovered or mispronounced in the native tongue. Some refer to it as “the throne” or in everyday language – […]
by Aimée Dowl Living nine thousand feet up the slopes of an Andean volcano requires that I relinquish attachment to certain things, such as air. And sleep. For some reason, the rarified atmosphere makes for restless nights, and many people tend to dream epically. As a writer, I am grateful that my slumbering imagination runs […]
by Libby Lubin Let me tell you about the grizzly bear I ran into last summer in Alaska. A bear in Alaska, you snicker, what did she expect, chipmunks? True, there are lots of bears in Alaska, but the ones most people see are either silk screened on tee-shirts, mounted in airports, or so far […]
