“At one point, those doctors nearly declared me dead.” The man riding next to me was very much alive, and explaining how a bad accident led him to trade in riding Harleys in America for riding horses in Costa Rica. It was just one of many fantastic tales we’d hear throughout the day. As a certified…

After four days of hardcore diving and internet disconnect, what does this girl need? A highland retreat in which to dry out and catch up on work. Boquete was the next natural step on our Panama itinerary, the perfect link between the two coasts we were hitting up. It’s also, strangely, a hotspot for American expats…

The first day that I was in Baños, Ecuador, I went to a zoo. I was restless to get out and do something after being caged in an overnight bus, and it was the first suggestion out of a fellow hosteler’s mouth. I was skeptical — wasn’t it one of those sad little neglected local zoos…

While I could have happily spent six days within the confines of the two stunning lodges we stayed at with Rainforest Expeditions, apparently most people come to the jungle to actually look at wildlife rather than just flip through field guides and spot agoutis and wild boars from the comfort of their hammocks. So weird, right? But…

The poor man’s Galapagos — that’s the enticing sales description I kept hearing for Peru’s Ballestas Islands, right off the coast of Paracas. While many tourists visit the islands on day trips from Lima or Huacachina, we decided to go straight to the source. Paracas is a funny little resort town just four hours south of…

Here’s how a chain reaction works — Alex goes to see Blackfish, a documentary about Orcas in captivity, and can’t stop thinking about it; Alex rents Free Willy, a movie about a little boy who releases an Orca from captivity back into the ocean; Alex remembers that she never posted about the shark release she photographed…