Lake Toba, as seen from Samosir Island (N. Sumatra, Indonesia), is today’s travel photo. The lake, which is nearly the same size as Singapore (100 kilometres long and 30 kilometres wide), is the result of the eruptions of a ‘super volcano’ that occurred about 70,000 years ago. Lake Toba/Samosir Island […]

Today’s photo of an indigenous Ecuadorian woman was taken at a market somewhere near Cuenca. I think I shot it at Gualaceo, but it might have been at Chordeleg. I visited both that particular day. Indigenous Ecuadorian Woman at Market Near Cuenca What Inspired the Shot? I love taking photos […]

Written on June 29, 2014 by CB Driver in Cultures, Latin America I’d read that hormigas culonas, ants with big butts, are a common snack in the Santander region of Colombia. After the wings and legs are removed, they’re roasted or fried.  For some reason, but  I was curious about what […]

Jabbar, master drummer in Hopkins Village, Belize My hands come down on the once-soft animal skin, now stretched tightly over a tree trunk, producing a deep bass tone that momentarily takes me to West Africa. The rhythm is  familiar to one I learned from a Guinean master drummer once—one that […]

It’s mid-morning and the merengue, coming from different corners of the village, reaches the porch where I’m sitting and makes me smile. One is fast and in my face. Another is slow and suave. Almost romantic. And the third one is medium tempo and just right. Across the street–the dirt […]