Shark diving has always appealed to me, partly because they’re such charismatic creatures and because of their size, grace, evolutionary success, ability to instill fear in humans, and role as custodians of the deep. They are a physical manifestation of the beauty and the perils of the waters that cover two-thirds of our planet. What else would have millions of Americans of both sides of the political aisle glued to TV screens every July. I am referring to Discovery’s shark week. Puerto Rico is not renowned for its shark diving, but there is a site on the southern part of the island (off a small town called Guanica) with a healthy population of Caribbean Reef Sharks. But this isn’t a story about reef sharks; it is a story of Murphy’s Law, that is, what can go wrong, will go wrong. And what the dive community and PADI can learn from Atul Gawande’s Checklist Manifesto. But before I get into that, I have to tell you a story of my recent Puerto Rican dive trip and how quickly things can go from bad to worse. Diving Off The Port of Guanica We set off for Guanica after a late night at […]
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“In Patagonia, the isolation makes it easy to exaggerate the person you are: the drinker drinks; the devout prays; the lonely grows lonelier, sometimes fatally.” Bruce Chatwin, mystagogue of punchy travel writing, had a life-long interest in this remote end-of-the-world peninsular landmass. His fascination started as a young public school pom. Chatwin’s grandmother had a curiosities cabinet containing a leathery chunk of “brontosaurus hide”, allegedly from Argentina. Though an apocryphal story, this artifact aroused a firey fascination with the remote South American peninsula, climaxing in Charwin’s seminal work, In Patagonia. The experience of hiking Patagonia El Chalten, a frontier town tethered to the edge of Los Glaciares National Park, is the best access point for trekking in Argentine Patagonia. While the A-frame houses cling to the earth like their similarly-shaped geological parents, the Andes range; modern conveniences, like wifi, international cellular service, and a diverse array of eateries, dilute some of the heaviness that makes the drinker want to drink and the restless wish to wander. It is the type of environment where one feels inclined to keep on moving. Incidentally, I haven’t tacked on more mileage in one month than my time in Patagonia. Part of that was the […]
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Ted Cruz’s latest trip to the Yucatan provoked a bit of nostalgia in me. It was not for good governance or common sense (nostalgia, of course, suggests a longing for something past), but for a Yucatan, I had the good fortune to encounter on very different terms than the two prevailing Cancun vacation categories. The sedate beach holiday (al la Ted Cruz absconding during an unprecedented ecological catastrophe) being one and the Jose Cuervo-fueled “Senor Frogs” spring-break bender that many Americans have experienced as a sort of heady coming-of-age difficult-to-recall foamy romp. Yucatan has much more to offer than just a beach Unfortunately, the many treasures contained in this ecological and cultural wonder are often relegated by the “beach vacation” or “spring break” itinerary (partly as a result of its proximity to the continental US and its relatively low cost). I was in the Yucatan for about three weeks several years back. It was my first time visiting our southern neighbor, and it left an impression far removed from the plasticity of the MTV Spring Break showcase that was all the rage in the 90s. There were essential pop-culture landmarks during this didn’t-age-so-gracefully-over-time musical showcase (e.g., Notorious […]
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In 2017, Thomas Freedman hosted a National Geographic mini-series entitled Out of Africa. Not to be confused with the captivating Robert Redford and Meryl Streep starring romantic epic directed by Sydney Pollack. In the opening sequence, Freedman travels to a trading post in Agadez, Niger, where millions of Africans coalesce for the risky and costly journey to the European continent. Citing swelling migration numbers to the European continent, Freedman poses the question, “How much of this massive human migration is being pushed by climate change?” As you watch Freedman’s series, the interviews tell an increasingly familiar tale: the desertification of communities bordering the Sahara. Desertification is a natural phenomenon, but one that is being supercharged by climate change. That desertification makes previously arable land completely unfarmable, hence, the climate refugee issue. Cala Marioulu The above image is of the picturesque Gulf of Orosei. Cala Marioulu (the featured beachscape), while remote and seemingly insulated from the world’s woes, is part of Sardinia, a central transit point for many African climate migrants. It also happens to be the location of one of my favorite Monty Python sketches: the Olympic final of the men’s hide-and-seek. Incidentally, it was harder for them […]
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This is the village of Dozza, a small but remarkable town in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Dozza hosts a biannual art festival, called the Muro Dipinto, inviting muralists from the far reaches of the world to adorn the stucco walls of this medieval enclave. Murals are almost necessarily public-facing, and as a result, often take on more spiritual and/or political themes. Murals and frescos have long been a source of Italian national pride, historical tradition, and technological innovation. In the 14th century, a technology developed in Italy called Fresco Secco would result in artists being able to capture a level of realism previously unattainable using traditional fresco methods. Immersive Artistic Expression Fresco secco provided several advantages over the prevailing method of the day, which required the muralist to commit pigment to plaster while the plaster was still drying. This meant that muralists had to paint within a very confined and hurried window, and revisions would not be possible once the plaster set. In many ways, The Last Supper represented the culmination of the fresco secco method. And while it is easy to get lost in the obscurity of technological shop talk, it is important to understand […]
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This is my friend Donatella and her beautiful and absorbingly congenial daughter Analisa. Donatella helps manage the wine cooperative in Dorgali that is responsible for the production and distribution of one of their increasingly popular wine exports: Cannoneau. The Cannoneau grape, which you might also know as Grenache, has become trendy in recent years, due to its noted association with long life. In short, the preponderance of grey hairs in this area of Sardinia has been attributed—dubiously, I’d say—to the high level of polyphenols in Cannoneau. And as health trends go in the US, as soon as something is coined a superfood or associated with longevity, it becomes a fad item that becomes, in some ways, a stand-in for all of the other important variables that make it a “health” food. The seniority of Sardinians is obviously more than just a matter of drinking large volumes of Cannoneau, though it apparently has not done any discernible harm. Interestingly, in a recent Lancet study (and in the American medical community more broadly), researchers claim that NO amount of alcohol is safe for consumption. Sardinians drink two glasses of wine per day on average, and while Sardinians alcohol consumption is well above the […]
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“I crashed into a South American mountain and lived — without ever leaving my couch” - the title of a wonderful review by Stav Dimitropoulos at Experience mag for our Patagonia VR app. Thanks Experience Mag for the coverage - we’re glad to hear you enjoyed it!
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