Text and photos by Mary L. Peachin
September/ October 2010 Vol. 14. No. 11
Hey, grizzly! Grabbing his bear spray, fly fishing guide Logan Wilkins shouted, “Patricia, start walking slowly down the beach…now!” Resting against a fallen tree trunk at the beach’s edge, river riffles muffled Logan’s words. Pat’s view of the grizzly standing on the log peering at us from its sanctuary in the rainforest was blocked by the immense tree. Oblivious to any danger, Pat instinctively responded by crouching slowly up the beach toward the river. The bear reacted to Logan’s command by retreating into the forest. Read More »
Las Rutas de El Salvador
July/August , 2010 Vol. 14, No. 10
Text by Mary L. Peachin with photos by Mary L. Peachin and David Lovitt
“Turismo Somos Todos Y Es Tarea de Todos, El Salvador tourism is for everyone and a challenge for all.”
El Salvador Nahuizalco man with iguana on head
El Salvador, known as the “Country of Eternal Smiles”, is Central America’s smallest, most densely populated republic. Today’s happy faces no longer portray the brutal and terrifying 12-year civil war. Following the long and bloody revolution, which ended in 1992, peace has brought tourism to El Salvador. The country has become a destination where locals now warmly welcome visitors. Travel between El Salvador’s states, known as departments, is considered a short distance or as locals say, “Only forty minutes away.”
While many tourists carry surfboards or fishing rods, the introduction of culturally interesting day trips or “rutas”, which feature handicrafts, volcanoes, Maya archaeology, a colonial city, and a guerrilla outpost museum, are attracting a new genre of tourism. Read More »
Text and photos by Mary L. Peachin
June, 2010 Vol. 14, No. 9
Brussels
Brugge canal buildings
Spring ripened strawberries sweeten the air. Window shoppers strolling through 1847-built Galeries St. Hubert savor chocolate-dipped berries. Others lick ice cream cones, thick whipped cream-covered waffles, candy or cookies from one of many Belgium’s famous chocolate or sweet shops. Yes, Belgians do have a sweet tooth.
Galeries St. Hubert’s, a neoclassical shopping mall, built by King Léopold I, high vaulted glass ceiling illuminates halls edged by marble columns, statutes, and ornate ironwork. The Mall, adjacent to Galerie du Roi, Galerie de la Reine, and Galerie des Princes, beckons fashion, lace, and book store shoppers.
Read More »
Text and photos by Mary L. Peachin
May, 2010, Vol. 14, No. 8
Pesca Maya, guide Aaron
As our panga motored toward Boca Paila Lagoon, the sun was rising over Ascension Bay. Speeding past a school of bottled nose dolphin, we slowed to observe a pair protectively corralling their young calf. Overhead, a flock of Roseate spoonbills displayed their pink curvy, spatulated bills. Eagle nests were scattered among limbs of the mangroves.
Ascencion Bay offers hundreds of square miles of crystal clear flats surrounded by sandy mangroves. While we were targeting fast action bones, my daughter Suzie and I kept our eyes peeled for a tarpon roll, the wavy fin of a permit, or nervous water stirred by a snook.
Bonefish, sometimes referred to as a “grey ghost”, are a coastal species found in intertidal flats, mangrove areas, and river mouths. Noted for their distinctive characteristic of having an inferior mouth with a conical nose and slender round body, they are built for speed in order to flee shark and barracuda predators. Their initial run on a hookup pumps anglers’ adrenaline. Read More »
Hey, grizzly! Grabbing his bear spray, fly fishing guide Logan Wilkins shouted, “Patricia, start walking slowly down the beach…now!” Resting against a fallen tree trunk at the beach’s edge, river riffles muffled Logan’s words. Pat’s view of the grizzly standing on the log peering at us from its sanctuary in the rainforest was blocked by the immense tree. Oblivious to any danger, Pat instinctively responded by crouching slowly up the beach toward the river. The bear reacted to Logan’s command by retreating into the forest. Read More 
