Grist Magazine, a web site devoted to environmental news and commentary, is giving away a trip for 2 to Pero, to see Machu Picchu and more, that is valued at over $6,000! After a friend sent me a link to this, I immediately thought I would do the same for you. All you have to do to enter is signup for any of their six newsletters by May 5, 2006. Each one you sign up for is an entry into the drawing that is to take place on or about May 19, 2006. Need more information? Click here! {more}

According to the U.S. Department of Energy and the Energy Information Administration, the average car in America emits almost 1 lb of CO2 for every mile driven. If you really want to do something for the Earth on this beautiful Earth Day, consider not driving. {more}

Have you ever been at the border between three countries before? No? Well, here's is your chance. This video is of the frontier between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, which was commonly referred to there as the ito (pronounced e-toe). The amazing rio Parana is the big body of water you see. This video is filmed from the Argentinian side at the Puerto de Iguazu. It is somewhat of a touristy spot with tour buses coming and going, a restaurant (which is surprisingly cheap compared to the rest of town so it makes sense to wait and have your lunch or snack here if you can), and plenty of little kiosk-type booths there to sell you local trinkets. {more}

Oh, do I have a great video for you today. I don't mean production-wise but content-wise. While visiting Iguazu I was lucky enough to visit a place called Güira Oga, or la Casa de los Pajaros, or the House of Birds. It is a privately funded organization that takes care of birds and animals that can no longer do so on their own and it is a great place to visit if you are in Iguazu, Argentina. The video contains plenty of footage of parrots, tucans, hawks, a vulture, a few Harry Potter-type owls amongst others and even some monkeys. If you are a bird or animal lover, you are going to love watching this video. And yes, that is a bird saying "loro," which is spanish for parrot. {more}

As promised, here is part 2 of 3 videos I will be posting before I leave for Egypt of a trip I took to Venezuela back in 1997. When I return I'll try to get the rest of the tape posted. In the meantime, this is a great chance to get a first hand look at the islands called Los Testigos off of the coast of Venezuela near the Isla de Margarita. {more}

Another one of the places Marcos took us when we got rained out of our waterfall excursion was a place called the Wanda Mines, or Mina de Wanda locally. We were able to do so much more that day that I ended up very happy that our plans had to change. Just think, I may have left Iguazu without ever seeing these mines, how the rocks they are formed, the indigenous peoples tour, Guira Oga or the port. As you can see in the video, we picked up a local to act as our personal tour guide. Total price for the hour plus she was with us, a whopping 10 peso tip, or a little over $3 US. {more}

I was rummaging through some old stuff today looking for more old stuff to take with my on my up-and-coming trip to Egypt when I came across this video tape of mine full of some great footage of a trip I took to Venezuela back in 1997. Luckily, while there, I did not have to spend too much time on the mainland and was able to spend my time hopping between islands off of their beautiful coast. Isla de Margarita was my first stop, then Los Frailes, and ultimately Los Testigos. {more}

In case you have not noticed, you will rarely see me in front of a camera. I am usually one of the people working behind the scenes to help bring you images of things much more beautiful than me. During a recent excavation of my closet, however, I came across a videotape of a trip I took to Venezuela back in 1997 and was pretty shocked when I saw myself on tape. My, how nine years changes a person! Not only is it rare to see me in front of a camera, but this was also the only time in my life that I ever sported a moustache (although seeing me with a beard is not uncommon), and it would take me years to grow back all that hair. I guess there is nothing like old pictures to get you realizing how much older and wider you have gotten. Ok, I'm going for a jog now. Enjoy. {more}

While doing research for my trip to Egypt I stumbled across a mention of an International Student Identity Card that offered a ton of discounts. Since I am always looking for discounts, I decided to check it out. I came across STA Travel and the MyISIC.com web site. {more}

Isn't it typical? We woke up on the day of our excursion to go Iguazú Falls and the Garganta del Diablo and it was pouring rain. Not just a slight rain either, a pouring cats and dogs type of rain. Fortunately, our tour guide said it would not be a problem if we wanted to reschedule for the next day, so we did. The question now was, what to do all day, especially with all the rain. We decided to head to Paraguay to do some shopping in the Ciudad del Este, a place famous for its cheap electronics. We walked out in front of the hotel and found a couple of taxi drivers sitting at a taxi stop and asked them if they would be willing to take us. Of course they were, however, when one of my friends said he only had a temporary ID because he lost his, our shopping trip was out of the question. Fortunately for us, the taxi driver, who is also a pastor in the town, was kind enough to offer us his personal tour guide services for the entire day for only 120 pesos. That's $40 US! {more}

First of all, I would like to award the hotel a few points for its location. It is walking distance from the bus terminal but not close enough to where you hear the buses from the hotel. It is also not right in the hustle and bustle of downtown Iguazú, yet it is close enough to walk. It has a few restaurants and kioskos nearby where you can pick up some food and drinks at prices better than you would find in town or in your hotel room minibar. Although it is at least a half hour away from the falls, I think it is better to be where it is than do what some hotels attempt which is to be half way between the falls and town. {more}

Getting to Puerto Iguazú can be a little tricky. Depending on how you like to plan your trips, it might be best to consult a travel agent and have them arrange the whole thing for you. It really just depends on how much money you would like to spend, how difficult or easy you find arranging these types of things in Spanish or with foreign operators and ultimately, convenience. A really good friend of mine in Argentina helped me out tremendously in planning the trip. If you can speak Spanish, I recommend giving her a call. Her name is... {more}

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have lunch with a couple of friends at a very interesting place called Tibet Nepal House in Pasadena, California. It offers Himalayan cuisine and is located on a little, out-of-the-way side street in Old Town Pasadena. This is just the kind of area you can walk right past a thousand times and never notice, so I am very happy that my friends told me about it. I guarantee though, once you have been there, you will not easily forget it. {more}

In October of 2005, I had the opportunity to visit the waterfalls at Iguazú (or the Cataratas de Iguazú as they are referred to locally). It was an astonishing trip and the falls were an absolutely amazing, and awe-inspiring sight to be seen. I took off with a couple of friends (from within Argentina) for a four-day, three-night trip to the famous town. None of us had been there before and we had no idea what to expect. For those of you planning to make the trip, or just curious about the falls, I hope this series of articles, videos, and photographs I will be putting together will help you along the way. {more}

I arrived pretty early in the day on November 5th to San Francisco after having just arrived to Los Angeles on November 4th from a 20 hour flight from Argentina. I left Los Angeles for my drive up to San Francisco in the wee morning hours of November 5th in order to arrive around 10 am to the Green Festival. Needless to say, by the end of the day, which I spent walking hours around the festival, I was pretty beat, so I decided to make a run for the nearest scenic area to spend a few minutes relaxing. {more}

My first stop was during the evening of November 5th at a beach lookout of Golden Gate Park. To tell you the truth, I arrived here by accident. I was trying to get to the Golden Gate bridge in time to watch one of those beautiful sunset settings you always hear about (which I unfortunately was not able to witness on this trip), but since I was running out of time, and had made a few wrong turns, I took the first scenic area I could find. And it worked out pretty well it I don't say so myself. Click to watch a video clip. {more}

I finally made it to the Golden Gate Bridge on my last day in San Francisco, Tuesday November 8th. I was lucky enough to get some directions and a cool tip regarding a place to get free parking (more on that below) from the guy at the front desk of the place where I was staying. This clip contains all you need to know about what you are going to see when you visit the Golden Gate National Recreational Area. {more}

As I mentioned earlier, I was lucky enough to get some directions to a great place to park for free if you decide to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Not only is the free part good, but you get to enjoy this very beautiful and scenic walk overlooking the cliffs by the bridge. To get here, just keep going straight (don't pull into the National Recreational Area... or if coming from there, make a right at the exit instead of a left to go back to town) when heading towards the bridge. You are going to go under an underpass and veer left then quickly to the right. Shortly after that little maneuver, you'll see a dirt pullout on the right. That's your spot! Just park and walk towards the cliff. You'll see where you need to walk from there... (hint: it's to the right). {more}

I never realized that Alcatraz was so close! I always got the impression from the movies that it was really far away. I guess if I were on the other side, or stuck swiming in the middle, it would probably seem a lot further! Anyways, this is a nice clip of Alcatraz and the bridge from the good side :) {more}

Unforunately, I didn't make it all the way to the other side, but I did get far enough to accomplish my goal of finding a good place to get a clear shot of the bridge from the other side. If you can handle the wind, this is a neat walk to take. I believe the bridge is a little over 1.5 miles long. {more}

I guess it does look pretty far from here. Now that I am hanging a few hundred feet over water. {more}

Well, this is about as far as I went. I figure I should leave something for my next trip! {more}

This is another place I found by accident. I was trying to get to an area I saw off of the bridge to take a picture and I pulled in here to make a U-Turn. Needless to say, it caught my attention. Unfortunately, it was closed so I could not go inside but it is still memorable enough from the outside. {more}

This is a new view from a residential area which I believe is called Presidio. To get here, just head towards the Holocaust Memorial and pull off on the right once you are going up the hill. This was my favorite place to view the bridge from, unfortunately, it was really overcast and only getting worse. I kept waiting and waiting to try to get a better shot until finally the fog rolled in and block overthing out... typical. {more}

Ever wonder what Historic Old Town Albuquerque is like? I had read in Money Magazine that Albuquerque, New Mexico was one of the few places left in the country to find real-estate at bargain prices, so, I decided to make a run out there and take a look for myself. While there, I took this short clip of the historic part of town. I hope you like it. {more}

On my drive out from Los Angeles to visit Albuquerque, New Mexico, I passed by Meteor Crater and decided to turn in and take a look. For those of you not familiar with it, it is a huge hole in the ground about 40 miles East of Flagstaff, Arizona. While in the museum, I was told that the crater was created from the impact of Meteorite nearly 50,000 years ago. The force, like that of a multi-megaton bomb, left this huge hole that is 4,150 feet in diameter, 550 feet deep and 2.4 miles around. {more}

On the weekend of November 5th and 6th, I drove to San Francisco for the Green Festival. During this time I stopped at a few places to grab a bite to eat. If you are every planning on taking this drive, I recommend you take a moment to read this article. {more}