I am in Mindo to study the cloud forests around me. Each cloud forest is a unique habitat, a home to scores of plant and animal species that are found only in Mindo. Over eons, these forests formed when the Pacific Ocean's warm vapors wafted against the cooling Andes peaks, creating the ideal environment for orchids, bromeliads, and ferns. These mountains are home to Guadua Augustoflora, the South American bamboo that, with greater efficiency than most plants, sucks carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converts it into material used to build local houses.

From my train window I could see where Hitler’s Nazi Army blitzed into the countryside, and later where Stalin’s Red Army returned the favor as his troops marched towards the defeat of Nazi Germany. Countless invaders arrived before the Germans and Russians, including the Tartars, the Teutonic Knights and the Slavic tribe, the Plonians, who stayed and made Poland their home. But today, eating lunch in my luxury train compartment, all I could see and feel was the serenity of the little farms and villages that dotted the terrain. There’s something about physically watching the miles pass from your train window that allows a perspective that is not offered by plane travel. Also, Europe is smaller than the U.S., with its major cities relatively close to one another, making it ideal for passages on the continent’s well-connected train lines.

I was up close and personal with the coral moonscape and the many multi-colored residents who call it home. Trigger fish, trumpets, sergeant major fish, blue parrots, butterfly fish -- "The list is so long it would take me a whole day to tell you," my instructor claimed. At one point, he directed me to the bottom to look underneath a big coral formation where a Puffer Fish was happily hiding. You can't do that when snorkeling!

Without a doubt, most people from North America and Europe visit Mindo because they read that it is one of the world's top sites of biodiversity for bird species. The central role that ecotourism plays in Mindo can be observed in the pueblo's central plaza. In the plaza, you can see the stone statue of a hummingbird. Sitting on one of the benches, you can look around and see the famed cloud forests of Mindo in the mountains around you.

Quito, the proud capital of Ecuador, stands majestically beneath wandering clouds that drape the city with long shadows that shift dramatically as the clouds are blown about by fickle weather patterns. At an incredible 9,350 feet above sea level, the city is the second highest official capital city in the world after La Paz, Bolivia.

I was delighted when my husband and I received Betty’s invitation to join her for a picnic at the Sunset in the Palms Resort in Negril, Jamaica. The setting was lush, the food and wine enticing. Conversation, though, was a tad strained. But then her recent history was a bit dicey. Recently married, rumor has it was a shotgun wedding. Seems Betty …

The Canadian side of Niagara Falls has a 35 mile linear park, called Niagara Park, with seemingly endless attractions stretched along the full length of the Niagara River. I recently spent several days driving to each, sampling fantastic wines and great food while enjoying the rugged beauty of the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. It became one of the shortest …

I find myself in the centre of a massive pit, surrounded by thousands of rigid warriors tall enough to look down on me. Posture perfect despite their years – twenty-two centuries – they stand in defiant battle formation. Overwhelmed, I back up to photograph a wiseacre standing behind a warrior who is missing his head. I accidentally bump against the warrior behind me. Down he goes. Then down go a hundred, like dominos.

As I ambled through the verdant and sometimes wild, untamed off-road "savannahs " of Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, I was glad that Robin Hood was my trailblazing Sherpa. Robin, known outside of the forest as Ezekial Bone, is an actor/interpreter of history, an extraordinary storyteller, and font of information, much of which will supply me with fascinating cocktail-party persiflage for years to come. (How did Robin get his name, where does the expression "caught red-handed" come from, and so on.)

It’s almost impossible not to fall under the spell of this dreamscape where round, domed houses known as trulli rise from gentle hillsides. Alberobello will make you feel like you’ve stepped into the pages of a fairy tale, but this small town in Italy’s southeastern Puglia region is decidedly of this world, fashioned from limestone, surrounded by centuries-old vineyards and olive groves, and home to 11,000 residents.