Born Wild. Still Wild.

13/12/2023

Ride for the week… vroom vroom!

05/11/2023

Panama’s ‘Separation Day’ (from Colombia) celebrations. November 3.

https://www.officeholidays.com/amp/holidays/panama/separation-day

21/10/2023

I judge a city by the taste of its Ramen 🍜 This city is fabulous! 😋
City

20/10/2023

Taking off in an aircraft is as exhilarating as it is fun! Get takeoff clearance from Air Traffic Control, taxi the aircraft towards the active runway, check that no other aircraft is about to land, set full takeoff power, re-check instruments, and off you go. This is probably the most fun and exciting thing I have done so far 🛫

17/10/2023

The view from 3500 ft. Peaceful and calm 😌

13/10/2023

Panama Canal from above. The massive container ship looks so tiny!

11/10/2023

Celebrating a major milestone today with ceviche, fish filet, and ‘margarota’ (margarita with an inverted beer) 🍺

09/10/2023

Great evening for a Mojito!

02/09/2023

Yummilicious Izakaya restaurant with a modern cafe vibe and hip staff. 100/100 recommended!

02/09/2023

Today’s culinary adventure - traditional Japanese soba noodle shop. We were looking for a local eatery that served both veg and non-veg food. After asking around 4-5 different places, the owner here indicated he has vegetarian food as well. We used google translate to convey what we want. And we were rewarded with some delicious noodle dishes!

29/08/2023

The Statue of Liberty in the Odaiba area in Tokyo is a replica of the Statue of Liberty in Paris, France. The French Statue of Liberty was placed in Odaiba from April 1998 to January 1999 as a symbol of the Japan-France friendship. The statue was so popular that people wanted to have their own as her return date approached. The present statue is a replica created in 1999 with official permission from the city of Paris and was unveiled on December 22, 2000. In the backdrop is the Rainbow Bridge across Tokyo Bay.

30/04/2023

Hummingbirds are amazing creatures. It was mesmerizing to see them flap their wings so fast that the wings were almost invisible. Hummingbirds really like it in Ecuador… the country has about 40% of the world’s hummingbird species.

29/04/2023

Mitad Del Mundo or Middle of the World City is located on the equatorial line (the actual equator is few blocks away). This monument and the surrounding exhibits make for a very interesting visit. If in Ecuador, do not miss Mitad Del Mundo!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciudad_Mitad_del_Mundo

26/04/2023

Virgin of El Panecillo is a monument in Quito, Ecuador located on the top of the hill of El Panecillo, a loaf-shaped hill in the heart of the city and serves as a backdrop to the historic center of Quito. It is a large replica of the sculpture known as Virgin of Quito.

With a total height of 135 feet (41 meters) including the base, it is the highest statue in Ecuador and one of the highest in South America (taller than the Christ the Redeemer statue in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro). It is also the tallest aluminium statue in the world.

25/04/2023

The Historic Center of Quito is a sprawling district featuring Spanish colonial and neoclassical buildings. The narrow streets have a lot of character and history to explore. Amazing how huge buses can navigate these streets.

23/04/2023

‘Basílica del Voto Nacional‘ is a Roman Catholic church located in the historic center of Quito, Ecuador. It is the largest neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas. The basilica remains technically "unfinished”. Local legend says that when the Basílica is completed, the end of the world will come.

20/04/2023

Foch Plaza is where a lot of the action in Quito is. During daytime it’s a tourist spot, at night it turns into a nightlife hub complete with Karaoke bars. Great place to hang out, night it day.

19/04/2023

Grilled Brujo Fish. Some blog mentioned this can serve 3 people. Well….. The Brujo fish, or Scorpion fish, is a local delicacy in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island (Galapagos). This restaurant served it with a lentil-like gravy that elevated the whole experience. Although, after finishing it off, I was not in any position to continue exploring that day. Just wanted to nap and let the calories accumulate.

15/04/2023

Sometimes I wonder, what would we do without water 🤷‍♂️❤️

12/04/2023

Galapagos is filled with different kinds of rays. We got lucky and came across a group right at the pier on Santa Cruz island. These looked like Golden Rays, that get the name from their golden colored tops.

11/04/2023

Galapagos tortoises take ~150 years to grow into the ‘giant’ tortoise name given to them. I saw the tortoise breeding facilities on Santa Cruz island as well as Isabella island. Both facilities give baby tortoises a fighting chance at life, and release them into the wild when they have gained the skills (and hard shell) to survive on their own. Most of the threats to these tortoises come from non-indigenous species such as goats, dogs, and ants that were introduced to the archipelago by human settlers.

10/04/2023

Sea Lions 🦭 are almost everywhere on the Galapagos islands. Day or night, they love chilling on the benches!

06/04/2023

I don’t understand spanish, so I have been using google translate to get by in Ecuador. But when the translated instruction reads ‘consume before cooking’, I dunno how to follow. Like… do our friends in Ecuador eat raw fish and then sit on the stove? Or just that their bellies are hot enough to cook? 🤔🤷‍♂️

04/04/2023

Taxidermied ‘Lonesome George’ (1910 - June 24 2012) is now on display at the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center near the Charles Darwin Foundation on Galápagos Islands. He was the last known individual of the ‘Pinta Island tortoise’ subspecies. Attempts to mate George with females of different tortoise subspecies (to preserve his genotype) resulted in eggs that were not viable.

On June 24 2012, George had been found dead by Fausto Llerena (who had cared for him for 40 years). The body was frozen and shipped to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City where it was taxidermied by George Dante. In 2017, it was flown back to the Galápagos Islands where it is currently on display.

03/04/2023

How many airport lounges can claim that they have roaming around? Found this big guy (and 3 others) at the small but very very unique airport lounge on .

The mustard yellowish iguana, also known as the Galapagos Land iguana, rules over six islands of the archipelago. It is a harmless reptile with a love of sunlight and a dashing yellow and brown attire.

02/04/2023

Galapagos is home to around half the world’s population of blue-footed bo***es, easily recognizable by their distinctive bright blue feet. They mostly nest on islands in the tropical eastern Pacific ocean. They can dive into the ocean, at speeds of 60mph and swim underwater to depths of 82 ft below the surface.

Why are they called ‘bo***es’? The name comes from bobo, a Spanish slang term for stupid- a reference to how easily the birds could be captured by 18th century Spanish sailors.

Fun fact - a group of bo***es is also called ‘congress’. Kinda explains the Spanish slang 🙃

01/04/2023

Came across a group of sea lions splashing around in the pristine waters off of Isabella island. Mostly babies or teenagers having fun!

31/03/2023

Tortuga Bay is a perfectly preserved site with white sands and transparent waters where sea lions, marine iguanas, flamingos and hammerhead sharks swim across its beaches’ shores. Came across this baby hammerhead shark scuttling in the shallow waters of the bay.

30/03/2023

One Iguana please - on the rocks.

Marine Iguanas are found only on the Galápagos Islands. This marine reptile has the ability to forage in the sea for algae, which makes up almost all of its diet. Marine iguanas can reach an age of up to 60 years, but average is 12 years or less. They can dive as deep as 30 m (98 ft), and can spend up to one hour underwater.

19/04/2022

From the interwebz 😂

19/12/2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODBOZyk7hOE&list=PLEpWD29UHZQSCCTCSLZ0tpsCtef4vWcX_&index=16

Garden of the Gods in Colorado is a very special place for the native American people. The exquisite red rocks are to be seen to be believed. After exploring Indianapolis, I headed to Denver to explore Garden of the Gods and more. Join me in this journey! Click the link to watch the latest video.

After Indianapolis the 'Circle City', my next stop on the Amtrak Rail Pass trip was Denver. I boarded a bus from Indy to Galesburg in Illinois, and then took...

19/12/2021

Doha’s Hamad International Airport was voted as the world’s best airport in Skytrax’s 2021 rankings. As Qatar gears up to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the country has invested heavily in its national airline and its capital airport.

11/12/2021

Malvan is a town in the southernmost district of Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, India. In addition to being know for the Sindhudurg fort, Malvan is also famous for its food. Seafood cooked in authentic Malvani style is to die for! Got to taste some in the suburbs of Mumbai/Thane. Until I can actually visit Malvan some day, this will do 🙂