A Tropical Pumpkin Pie Inspired by Tahiti – Mautini Painapo A couple of weeks ago we were at a friend’s house for a birthday part and at the end of a traditional ‘ma’a Tahiti’ – traditional dishes cooked in a Ahimaa, or underground oven. To finish, they had prepared a typical Tahitian dessert called “po’e”…
A few countries have re-opened for visitors and tourists, like French Polynesia, without a quarantine. As a place I have often visited over the past 10 years, I bought a ticket to see for myself how travel itself has changed, and what measures are in place for such a dream destination. I booked flights with…
Late December we arrived in Oaxaca, Mexico, to have some warm days from the winter in Chicago. We drove from Oaxaca to San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca about 1.5 hours on the toll road 135D through the mountains. The town of Coixtlahuaca is not far off the toll road (3.5 km). The locals call this place…
On a recent sailing trip in French Polynesia we anchored by late afternoon to enjoy a swim near the reef and then the marvelous sunset in the big open sky and limitless horizon. This time of year is the auspicious breeding and reproductive time for all kinds of animals and sea life. We had the good…
A woman I met in Toubab Dialaw last year at the start of a magical day with Leticia. I will call her ‘our beautiful friend’, she welcomed us and looked after us throughout the day. An embodiment of the Senegalese notion of ‘teranga’. “If there’s a set of values in Senegal, teranga would be the…
Always Something Beautiful to Discover A little trip over to French Polynesia on the island of Fakarava – a Unesco Bio-sphere Reserve – famous for its shark wall that the divers love to see. But how many of you really know what goes into to create the thatched roofs so famous here in the South Pacific? I created…