by Scott Crawford
In 1540, a new instrument was invented in the Italian town of Cremona. It was called the violin. Over the next 500 years, the violin would prove exceptionally versatile and today is one of the few instruments to be equally at home adorning the shoulders of classically trained musicians in symphony halls or [...]
by Peter Mandel
Ecuador. The Equator. The Galapagos Islands.
There is unusual magic in these words. You can read and read about the blue-footed boobie. About Darwin’s five-week visit here and about the seals that yawn when you go near them and that will not scare.
Blue feet. Animals that are not afraid. [...]
by Tim Leffel
I believe we crossed the equator around three in the morning, though I don’t really know. The waves pounding our boat were just as furious on both sides of the dividing line. Perhaps if every toilet were not splattered with puke, I could have checked to see which direction the water was flowing [...]
by Bill Zarchy
As the Seine meanders aimlessly through Paris, Gustave Eiffel’s work of wonder appears to glide from one bank to the other. Our Batobus commuter boat docks in the shadow of the Tower, and I shepherd my small flock to the shore.
Rebecca, 14, and Danny, 11, have been troupers on this first trip to [...]
by Helen Sowers
Finally I was on my own, backpacking in the Sierra. It hadn’t been easy. When I proposed a solo hike, my husband had been adamantly opposed, citing all sorts of dangers. I persisted. I had always wanted to test my abilities alone. Finally I said, “Well, I won’t [...]
by Nancy O’Connell
An unearthly pitched shriek pierced the night. Our soup spoons stopped in midair. The cry of distress was close, a few yards away. Thousands of miles from America and all that was familiar, we’d just begun our dinner. Now we fell silent. What was happening?
Just beyond our patio wall [...]
by Elizabeth Striebel
What startled me most was his candor. He had a soft way about him, present, but not crowding. Actually, he pulled you towards him, as if to hear him better, or to see him more clearly. But he was honest. Of course, how could I know if he was [...]
by Joshua Berman
The pre-dawn sky is as dark and sparkling as it was when we ducked into the mosquito net, only a few hours ago. The last of the goat hadn’t been eaten until after midnight, and the party broke up soon after that. Now Tay and I are barely awake, awash in candle and [...]
by Michele Bergstrom
Fog. Like delicate tatting, it weaves silver filigree between white birches and gnarled cedar roots, coating with the tiniest of drops the spider webs and orange-and-pink woods orchids along its soft path. It makes no sound but all things are aware it has arrived.
Floating wild and unpredictable in Lake Superior mists [...]
by Matthew Link
When we were out at sea on Bungo Rye, we kids always wanted to jump into the crystal Pacific when it was calm. Dad would haul out the sea anchor: the big round canvas tarp connected by a ring of ropes like a parachute connected to the boat. Its drag would stop the [...]
