John M. Edwards, a future inductee into The Napoleon Society, storms Martinique in search of his own Josephine. A huge fan of Napoleon Bonaparte, the hero of post-Revolutionary France, I left the U.K. Crown Colony of Montserrat in the days before their volcano blew up for the fatal shores of Martinique via a scary Island Air prop plane. Landing with a jarring whump, my galpal and I, along with the burdensome baggage of my Sistah Sah, then … [Read more...]
Puerto Rico: The Real Fountain of Youth?
When Christopher Columbus made landfall in Puerto Rico during his second trans-Atlantic voyage, in 1493, a young Spanish nobleman, Ponce de León, some scholars believe, was on board. Rumors of hefty quantities of gold brought Ponce de Leon back, in 1508, where he found an islet with an excellent harbor he named Puerto Rico, or Rich Port. This would become the name of the island, while the town was renamed San Juan. He didn’t find gold, but was … [Read more...]
Parahawking in Pokhara
We flew from San Francisco to Kathmandu and spent a couple of days there to acclimate before we flew to Pokhara to experience a life changing experience, parahawking. Pokhara is a destination for paragliders and there are many companies that offer a paragliding experience. Scott Mason, a British national offers a unique experience, paragliding with a trained bird of prey. Scott, an avid paraglider, started Blue Sky Paragliding in part … [Read more...]
How to Make the Best of Night Buses
It was about 3 in the morning and I pulled out of the hazy half-sleep I’d goaded myself into, there was a small commotion over the aisle where my friends were sitting –hurried whispers, rearranging and by the time my brain caught up with what was going on my friend was sitting in the aisle, half asleep himself, soaking wet. I tried to steady myself to figure out what happened, but any way I shifted threw my balance. We had the last row of … [Read more...]
An Indian Wedding at Kuala Lumpur’s Batu Caves
When wandering through temples anywhere in Asia, it’s not unusual to stumble across some sort of celebration, ceremony or ritual as it carries on. Used to tourists, those participating carelessly overlook those slinking around, hugging the walls and doorways. But there was something different about the atmosphere and its undeniable activity swirling through the Hindu temple – one of the oldest in Malaysia – at the base of Kuala Lumpur’s famous … [Read more...]
Cuisine Minceur: Eat, Pay, More
John M. Edwards explores the popular Foodie movement of “Cuisine Minceur” (small food), invented in Les Landes, France, wherein gullible gourmands counting calories get much less food for much more money. . . . I feel sorry for the people who use the term “FOODIE.” It is a term less about the ends justifying the means and more about just being mean. Whenever I hear the euphemism, I flinch involuntarily, as when your PC (“pretend … [Read more...]
Even the Natives Don’t go Native
We were in Paradise! There were six of us holed up in a luxury three-bedroom condominium resting at the top of a hill. From our lofty perch we overlooked the most beautiful turquoise water of the southern Caribbean Sea that surrounded the Island of Tobago with a fine-grained sandy beach that stretched in both directions as far as any of us cared to look. We sat on cushy cloth-covered deck chairs at our swimming pool, sipping our second or … [Read more...]
A relaxing day in Fiji
After the stresses of non stop travel the past month I was ready for some serious R&R. Seashell Momi is a Diver's and Surfer's hangout about 45 minutes south of the capital Nadi. Arriving in the dark after passing through beautiful green hills as far as the eye could see, I simply crashed. It was 8pm. I awoke the next morning, 14 hours later at 10am - still tired but certainly more refreshed. Apparently there are only 5 people staying here out of … [Read more...]
Napa River Inn Getaway
As San Francisco Bay Area locals living just south of the city, we have many opportunities for great day trips and getaways. One of the well-known areas within our reach for short visits is the Napa Valley wine region. Recently, we took a ride on the Napa Valley Wine Train and had a tour of Long Meadow Ranch during a two night stay at the Napa River Inn. I'd previously heard very positive reviews of the hotel and can now understand why it gets … [Read more...]
Praying for Rain on Patmos
John M. Edwards plans to tour the cave where St. John wrote the Bible’s “Book of Revelations” on an idyllic Greek island called Patmos. . . . On the little-known island of “Arki” near Patmos, Greece, four travelers stared at the boat docking under a cliff-shrouded curl of surf and sand resembling a sneer. “Smugglers!” my new friend Leo, an Argentine of Italian descent and owner of a “finca” in Welsh Patagonia, exclaimed. All of us … [Read more...]
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