I often equate diving to a form of aquatic yoga — relaxing, meditative, weightless. Isla de Coiba destroys that analogy. Diving there is no yoga — it’s a tough mudder. We’re talking low visibility, deep depths, thermoclines with 10°F  temperature drops, and currents so intense you have no choice but to cling to a rock until…

I’ve been back in New York for ten days now, and from Albany to Brooklyn it seems the awful weather is the topic of the hour. I mostly just stay quiet and nod in empathy, since no one wants to hear moaning from someone who’s so recently returned from sunnier settings. But the truth is I…

Ask a backpacker about the beaches in Panama, and it’s likely they’ll start waxing poetic about the Caribbean sands of Bocas del Toro. And for good reason — it’s a unmissable stop on the gringo trail of Central America. But for the hearty few that touch down on the golden sands of the Pacific side of…

Back in January, I addressed some interesting and controversial feedback I received from my reader survey. I loved the discussion that ensued, and hashing out a complicated topic with you guys in the comments. Let’s do it again, shall we? How much drinking and partying is too much drinking and partying, when you travel? Clearly, based…

“Alex! Get over here, now! The toucan has landed!” Anders hissed at me before slinking back to his lookout, binoculars pressed to his face. No, we weren’t rehearsing for our stage debut in the roles of secret service agents (though, I will say that if someone made a Broadway show out of Scandal, I’d be there…