Here is a photo of the full moon over Gediminas castle in Vilnius. This is the beginning of my sixth month of sabbatical.

It is now the beginning of spring in Lithuania. On Thursday there was a snowstorm, with freezing temperatures, and today, Sunday, it is warm and sunny.

The streets of the old town at night are picturesque and probably hide a lot of ghosts of the city’s long history.

The days are longer and people are emerging from the hibernation. This is best seen by watching the masses of people at the annual Kaziuko Mugė, which is a huge street fair. People are selling their handicrafts from all over the country. The items that I have seen many times are delicious breads, honey, ceramics, verbos made of dried flowers, wooden bowls and spoons, baskets, handmade soaps, sausages, dried fish, knitted items, and the food stalls selling traditional Lithuanian cuisine. There are few factory made items, and little from outside of the country (with a noticeable exception of Latvian cheeses). The streets of the old town of Vilnius are absolutely jam-packed with walking halted to a stand still. I live on Didžioji, one of the main streets, and it has been hard to exit onto the street these last three days. People have come to participate from the whole country, from the villages and the other cities. It is a mass of Lithuanian humanity and culture with exhibitions of folk music and dances, plus street musicians and performers, all celebrating St. Casimir, and basically the near end of winter. Here are a bunch of photos from the weekend’s event.

I am completely impressed by the lack of alcohol, and the happy family atmosphere. I have been to many street-fairs in San Francisco, and I am sorry to say that there the events end up with trash everywhere dominated by beer and drinking, that leads to the inevitable violence. Despite the reputation of Lithuania being a heavy drinking nation, I haven’t seen any signs of drunkenness or violence. It is remarkably organized and wholesome. I am enjoying the refreshing artistic spirit, with no signs of hi-tech or hipsters. I of course have bought some things, a nice sweater, my favorite black bread, a wooden cutting board, and a very nice ceramic mug.

I found a new vegan store in Vilnius, Veggo. They sell imported vegan cheeses and fake meats. I hope that eventually they will make their own stuff. But basically, it is clear that there are some alternative types living here who value animal-free foods. However, the vast majority of Lithuanians love their sausages, bacons and smoked fishes.

I feel a little uncomfortable taking photos of the Lithuanian fashions, but it is certainly different than Stockholm or San Francisco. Here women still have somewhat different haircuts and hair colors, and it is rare to see a hipster beard on a man. It is only a one hour flight to Vilnius from Stockholm or Copenhagen, but still far more Swedes have been to Thailand or the USA than Lithuania. I know for a fact that any tourist would enjoy the show of people here during the Kaziuko mugė.

I recently read an article that named Lithuania the 3^rd most miserable country, after number 1- Syria, and number 2- Chad. Both Syria and Chad are war-torn, and there are plenty of other war-torn countries that are certainly more miserable than Lithuania. Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Somalia and South Sudan certainly come to mind. Anyway, based on my experience, Lithuania is certainly not a miserable country. There are definitely hardships, and the weather is pretty chilly and grey, but overall there is a hugely active cultural scene, with many artists. People are in restaurants and bars, and long-standing traditions are always visible. Everyone is so proud of the Lithuanian language and there is optimism about the new currency, the Euro. People are certainly concerned about the developments in Russia. But it is hard to find a person that really believes that Vilnius will be invaded any time soon. After all, Lithuania is part of NATO. Russia won’t invade.

But there are hardships. The pension is a maximum of 300 Euros/month. This is barely enough to pay the rent plus the heat. Older people have to grow their own food, or rely on their relatives in order to survive. The big supermarkets and shopping centers have everything that is available in Western Europe, but the average working people don’t have the money to buy these things. The infrastructure could be improved. After many years of quick renovations and developments, it looks like things have slowed down somewhat. Many of the roads and buildings need work. The bureaucracy is complex, and things move slowly.

Also, I notice that “customer service” is not an established tradition in Lithuania.  In the Soviet times, the stores didn’t have much, and people behind the counters sat idly.  I wonder if that has carried over into modern times.  As an example, I went to Nordea bank to deposit some money, and although no other customers were there, I had to wait 10 minutes before someone would help me.  The people working there were just looking at their computers.  Then I asked if I could change my 100 Euro bill to smaller bills, but I found that it was not possible in this bank and they couldn’t help me.

I tried to vote today, but I was not properly registered, so although I am a Lithuanian and eligible, because of the bureaucracy and complex internet forms, I did not help choose the next mayor of Vilnius. I did see the process. It seems easier to vote in Sweden, but more complex in the USA, especially California with all the propositions.

There are many concerts, performances and museum exhibitions. Today I saw an exhibition of the artist Jonas Rimša. He was born here, but lived many years in South America and Tahiti. Here are some of his works.

The spring has come early, and there is no more chance of snow or skiing. I am back into the routine of working at the Nature Research Centre, and seeing friends, with the Academic sauna every Friday.

I saw the film “Palo Alto” last night. I must say that I rarely see films, so I am certainly not a film critic. I grew up in Palo Alto, and went to high school there. I figured I would see the film and see Hollywood’s interpretation of my hometown. What a disappointment. The film is basically about confused teenagers partying, drinking, smoking, and having sex. I have no idea why it was called Palo Alto, because there was absolutely no reference to the city. All I know is that James Franco grew up in Palo Alto. He wrote the book and is in the film. The scene when the boys cut down the tree is real though. I remember that some kids cut down a beautiful oak tree at Gunn High school while I was a student there.   This movie version of life in Palo Alto is far from reality. My perception is that the teenagers there are all under a lot of pressure to get into good colleges, and their parents are ambitious people who want the absolute best for their children. If you are from Palo Alto, there is no need to see this film.

Yesterday I visited Millesgården, one of my favorite spots in Stockholm. It is an outdoor museum and former home of Carl Milles. The sculptures have a sense of lightness to them, as if they are about to fly away. There was an opening of an exhibit by a contemporary artist, Cajsa von Zeipel, who draws inspiration from Carl Milles, but dresses her figures in high heels and gothic clothes.

Sometimes I wish that I would drink coffee. There are so many trendy cafes now in Stockholm. Some have art galleries. One is a café that is also a bike shop. In the city, the cafes are full of people, with good haircuts and nice clothes, enjoying the company of their friends. And this is still winter: when the spring comes, it will be what a Swede might call a cafehuggsexa, a café free-for-all.

No problem. It is easier than ever to be vegan in Stockholm. There are so many new restaurants, and shops catering to vegans. Wherever I travel, people ask me, isn’t it hard to be a vegan. I always find the same answer. No, it isn’t hard, it is actually fun and interesting to find the vegan restaurants and stores and talk to the local vegans. I have been traveling a lot through the world since adopting a vegan diet more than a decade ago. Now it seems that there are millions of people that have recognized that we don’t have to eat and use animal products.

Tuesday was Fettisdagen (Fat Tuesday) here in Stockholm. That is the day when people eat semlor. It is a longstanding tradition, and one of the Swedish kings died from eating too many of them. A semla is a cardamom-flavored bun filled with marzipan and a lot of whipped cream. Luckily I found a place that makes vegan semlor. It is a new vegan café, Femtopia, across the street from the vegan foodstore, Goodstore on Hornsgatan on Södermalm. Here is a photo of the vegan semlor.

Goodstore has all kinds of great vegan stuff. I like the oat milk by Oatly which is a swedish invention.

I have been on a search for the best falafel in town. I have tried several places over the years, but I have decided that my favorite is Falafelbaren, near Mariatorget. They are more expensive than the rest, but the falafel are crunchier on the outside and soft inside. Also, it is a meat-free establishment. The quality seems better than the other places, although still not as good as what I have had in Paris (or Israel or Jordan of course).

I am still not super impressed with Chinese vegan food here. Lao Wai is an established vegan chinese restaurant on Luntmakargatan. It is fine, and the lunch special is affordable at 100 SEK, but really nothing compared to the vegan Chinese places in San Francisco or elsewhere. I would even prefer Loving Hut.  Martins Gröna is a nice vegetarian-vegan lunch spot on Regeringsgatan. I have also eaten at Hermitage in Gamla Stan several times. Both are perfectly good. Anyway, there are many options, and Happy Cow lists them all.

Here are some other photos of Stockholm. One is the lake Trekanten, where the snow has been cleared for people to go ice-skating. The weather has become warmer the days will soon be long.

There are a lot of wonderful things about life in Stockholm. Most amazing to me is the public transit. You can get almost anywhere in Sweden with public transportation. Buses, trains and boats are all efficient and somehow there is a lot of logic to the timing. It is also great to see the university every day, and know that it is free for the students. The library is world class and the students don’t end up having to pay back loans the rest of their lives. Now there is a lot of diversity, with people here from all over the world. The nature is beautiful, and well protected. I can go on and on about the advantages of not worrying about health care, or about having a place to live when you get old.  I love how parents get time for their children, and in the parks, there are sleds for the kids to use, for free.

But there are some things that could be better. First, I am surprised how difficult it is to recycle here. In San Francisco, we just put all the glass, plastic, paper and other recyclables in the blue container, and it gets picked up, and sorted. Then I am pretty sure it goes to China. Here we have to take the recycling to the public depositories. They are often in parks or else dispersed in neighborhoods. But it is always a walk. That extra effort makes it harder to recycle. There is not compost either. If I were the mayor of Stockholm, I would introduce compost and recycling.

You can’t take bicycles on buses or subways here. This is really different than San Francisco, where bikes can easily go on buses and BART. Copenhagen has bikes on trains. I am sure that at some point, it will become more bike friendly here.

Over the last few years, the homeless population has increased rapidly. There are people from Romania begging at every subway station. They aren’t only in Stockholm, but everywhere throughout the country. This is a new phenomenon and Swedes are discussing it a lot. They don’t know whether they should give money to the freezing Romanians. I heard that the Romanians come here on cheap buses, after hearing that they will get a lot of money from the generous Swedes, but now there are simply too many. They also heard that after three months, they get a free bus ride home.

Everyone knows that the weather is pretty bad here, but I heard that Boston is worse, especially this year. But it is slippery out on the sidewalks, and you often see women with broken arms. My mom slipped on the ice a couple years ago and broke her wrist.

I retired my hiking boots. Somehow the cold here has made them crack, and the soles fell off. They have been with me since 1997, when I finished graduate school, and started on new adventures. They have been to 5 continents, from the jungles of Africa and Peru, to the highlands of Alaska, and the crowded cities of India. I bought some new ones, and expect they will have similar journeys.

I usually try to take a photo of the full moon every month, but yesterday it was too overcast to see it in Stockholm. No wonder they call it the “snow moon”. Maybe I will have better luck next month. Here is a photo of the statue of Carl von Linné. He is the Swede who implemented the binomial latin nomenclature system for species. We are Homo sapiens because of him.   I am including a few photos of Stockholm at night, where the full moon was supposed to be.

I think that a lot of musicians have gone through what I am experiencing now. I first learned the Schubert’s last piano sonata D. 960 when I was about 20 years old. At that time, I didn’t care for it much, and thought it was long and repetitive. Now, at this more advanced age, it makes so much more sense, and I find the depths and subtleties of the work very beautiful. Another reason I didn’t like the piece was because it is in B-flat major. When I was young, I didn’t like B-flat major. It was my least favorite key, which was a problem for me because so many bassoon pieces are in that key. Now I understand that as we age, something about the hairs in our ears changes, and our perception of keys changes. Basically our ears begin to run sharp. Here is a link to the absolute pitch study conducted at UCSF. So now, B-flat major sounds more like B major to me. I never had a problem with B major. I wonder if anyone else has experienced something like this. I am also enjoying playing Schumann’s Faschingsschwank aus Wien, another piece in B-flat major. I didn’t like this piece when I was young either. I fear that in this modern technological age, young people will be reluctant to learn to play piano and other instruments. There are so many distractions now, but learning music is like learning a second language, and I think it makes learning languages easier. I know that playing music in front of audiences made it much easier for me to be a public speaker because it is much much harder to perform a piece by memory on stage than to give a lecture.

I am impressed with the library system in Stockholm. I have been working, writing and reading, at the Stockholm University Frescati library among the very quiet and serious students. Outside the window I see the university fields covered with snow. The facilities are excellent, with free high-speed wireless, and good clean lighting. I am thinking to get some cross-country skis to add to my collection of things that I use for a little while and then forget about (like my roller blades and long distance ice skates).

It is still rather dark in Stockholm. The days are longer, but there is a constant cover of overcast. The Christmas lights are down, and now everyone is back to work.   The Swedes and Lithuanians tell me that they might as well work hard, since there is no reason to go outside.

I have been thinking about what life was like here in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. There was not much electricity, and houses were heated by wood or coal. My parents’ place has large tile furnaces in each room. It must have been really cold. Our lives are so completely different now. We have electronic entertainment. They had books, but needed candles or oil lamps to read in the evenings. There were horses on the streets, and the smells would have been pretty strong. Now there are no smells. Whenever I travel to India or other warm crowded places, I am overwhelmed by the smells. Look at all the vegetables and foods that the Swedes have access to now, because of international trade.

The Nordic artists of the last century were rather dark and melancholy. Here is a photo of the painting “Despair” (Förtvivlan) by Edvard Munch that is at the Thielska Gallery here in Stockholm. It is very reminiscent of “The Scream”, from the same time period. Here are also some from the artist Ernst Josephson, who suffered from mental illness. This painting is of the Islamic prophet whose name starts with an M (who is not supposed to represented visually). There is also Jesus and the current King of Sweden painted in 1899, long before he was born.

The city is expanding by about 15,000 people a year, so new buildings are popping up. There are new train lines and always improvements to public transportation. The restaurant taxes have been lowered, so now there are more ethnic restaurants and people eating in them. It is expensive here, but with global climate change, Stockholm will be a very desirable place to live in the future.

It is hard to leave San Francisco when it is warm and sunny; going back to the winter and cold of Stockholm. Here are some photos of beautiful Rodeo Beach in Marin County, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, on a warm January day.

I have been a lot of places this last year, and in each place, people have complained of the same thing; traffic.   Vilnius is overcrowded with cars. Bogota and Belo Horizonte. Rio, Delhi and Istanbul, Cape Town, Cartagena, Lima, Stockholm and San Francisco. It is bad in Geneva, one of the richest cities in the world. I can only imagine Moscow or Manila. People are trying to get around, but there are just too many vehicles. Think about how much steel and vinyl, rubber and petroleum it takes and then multiply that by billions. If I were to rule the world, I would ban the automobiles and have people take bikes, buses and subways. I would also ban meat consumption and I would encourage a one-child policy worldwide. There would be no borders or nations. There is a book that I read a long time ago, Ecotopia, by Ernest Callenbach. My society would be somewhat like that, but perhaps more extreme, because right now, the biological world is losing.

Besides the automobiles, San Francisco is an exceptional place. The neighborhoods each have a distinct flavor. The Mission has changed the most in the last 10 years, and I could have predicted that it would be the most desirable neighborhood for young people working in high tech – the hipsters. I had dinner at Gracias Madre tonight, with its delicious organic hand made corn tortillas and vegan cashew cream on cauliflower. This food is not easy to find anywhere else besides San Francisco.  For vegans, I think it is the best in the world.   Be sure to visit Just for You in Dogpatch, excellent vegan squash risotto, and if you were there on Friday, you would have heard some lovely chamber music for oboe, viola, cello and bassoon (with this blogger on the bassoon).

Is the opposite of homeless homefull? Right now, I am officially living in 3 different places in 3 different countries. I am certainly not homeless. I have telephone numbers, bank accounts, transit passes and things to do in Vilnius, Stockholm and San Francisco.

It is great to be in San Francisco, even though it is only a short visit. There are already flowers blooming on the back deck. The sun is providing me with some vitamin D, and the city seems cleaner and greener after the December rains. The reconstruction on Castro Street is complete, and the wider sidewalks make it more pleasant to walk around the neighborhood.  I still think it would have been better to simply make it a pedestrian zone, with no cars.

This week one of my Master’s students, Allison Nelson, delivered her thesis talk about her research on the migratory connectivity of Hermit thrushes. You can see a video about her work and read about it here. The best part of being a professor is seeing students develop into scientists with successful important research projects. The worst part about being a professor is writing grants and raising money for the research; something that I am doing this week.

The Berkeley Symphony had an interesting program with some difficult music last week. After that concert, I don’t think I can play bassoon for a week. First up was Thomas Ades’ “Asyla”, with a lot of rhythmic complexity. Then came Tchaikovsky’s 6^th symphony, the “Pathetique”, which is notoriously difficult for the bassoons. Here is the review, and I agree completely that the orchestra is sounding better than ever under Joana Carneiro’s baton.

Rainbow grocery continues to astound me with its selection of all things vegetarian. The vegan cheese world is taking off, and I got some nice ones yesterday. Also rhubarb strawberry pie, and chocolate peanut butter coconut milk ice cream. I lose weight when I am not in San Francisco. There are all kinds of new restaurants and they seem full all the time. I like watching all the bicyclists with their different colored bicycle tires in the Mission. Pretty soon the birds will return and it will be spring.

In Sweden after the New Year, people greet each other with God fortsättning, which means “good continuation”. I am wishing all of my friends and readers, a great continuation of the New Year 2015.

Here are some photos of the first full moon of 2015 over Stockholm. The first is over Globen, the largest globe structure in the world, which also serves as the sun in the Sweden Solar System model. Then I have a photo of the moon over the Wenner-Gren Center, where I lived when I first moved to Sweden in 1992, now nearly 23 years ago.

2014 ended with me learning that my proposal to the National Science Foundation was not funded.   The process of getting government funding these days is difficult to say the least. You submit a pre-proposal in January. Then you find out if it passed the first stage in May. The deadline for the full proposal is in August. Final results come out at the end of December. It seems through the entire process only about 5% are funded, meaning that 95% don’t make it. But this year I was close. The project is terribly important, studying the effects of deforestation on malaria transmission. I am sure that I will find some way to do the work, but for the short term, it means that I will be spending more of my sabbatical in Europe, instead of Cameroon.

It was a long holiday for Swedes. Most are starting back to work today, January 7^th. The stores are full of shoppers looking for deals at the after-Christmas sales. The economy seems to be doing fine here. But people also take time to go ice-skating or to performances. If you have skates, there are several outdoor rinks open for free to the public. I saw a very modern performance of Othello, in modern Swedish. I like how theater takes risks here. It was a stark stage, in simple contemporary costumes, and in the end, when everyone dies, there was blood all over the place.

After my experience at the Bogota airport where I ran out of breath running between airplane gates, I decided to start running. I bought some good shoes and the outfit. Stockholm is the perfect place for runners, because of the many huge flat parks. The Lill-Jansskogen is a large forest park right across the street in the center of the city.

Next week, a short trip to San Francisco!

Merry Christmas! God Jul! Linksmų Kalėdų! Feliz Navidad! Frohe Weihnachten!

In a few minutes the traditional Christmas Eve in Sweden will begin with Kalle Anka; Donald Duck with Mickey Mouse and his friends on television. Nearly 40% of all Swedes will be watching the program that is nearly exactly the same every year. It has been a tradition since 1959.

There is still no snow in Stockholm, but it is cold. The lights are up in all the houses and apartment buildings and the Sehgal family has a huge Christmas tree with the same ornaments and lights that my parents have been using for decades. On the table are 12 dishes for the traditional Lithuanian Kūčios. We have a mix of Lithuanian, American and Swedish traditions in this household.

Stockholm doesn’t seem to be experiencing an economic slump; shoppers are rushing around on Christmas Eve buying last minute presents. The stores are crowded, and the signs are already going up for the after-Christmas sales. Sweden has a social democrat government but it doesn’t exclude consumerism.

It has been a tremendous fall with a lot of travels. Merry Christmas in the 5 languages I have been trying to speak these weeks.  I will continue this sabbatical blog in 2015. Wishing everyone Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year!

Culture shock occurs when you leave the incredible rainforest and within one day find yourself in the Christmas market in Frankfurt. I left Tambopata in the early morning, and took a boat for 5 hours to return to Puerto Maldonado. Then flew to Cusco, Lima and Bogota. I had a 5-minute connection in Bogota, and actually made it. Lufthansa had changed the timing of the flight to Frankfurt, so now it leaves nearly one hour earlier. I ran from the Avianca flight from Lima to the gate for Frankfurt. They asked “are you Señor Sanchez?” and I said yes, and quickly showed my passport. They gave me Señor Sanchez’ boarding pass, and closed the door behind me. Only after take-off did I tell them that I was in fact not Mr. Sanchez. They made some calls from the cockpit, and everything turned out fine. Of course my duffel bag didn’t make it, but it will arrive in Stockholm sometime soon. Call me if you want some tips on how to deal with airlines.

I arrived in Frankfurt and felt somehow very comfortable. Clearly South America is not my home culture. I loved every minute of my time there, with the warmth of the people and the sun. But when I arrived in Europe, everything seemed familiar and easy. I visited the Christmas market and then had a South Indian thali at the Saravanaa Bhavan restaurant near the train station. This multiculture is my culture.

Now I am in Vilnius. There are Christmas lights everywhere. I slept until noon and am getting organized. I will participate in a thesis defense on Friday, and then fly to Stockholm to celebrate the holidays with my family. Frequent Flyer.

It is rare to see such a pristine forest. There are so many birds.   I was watching the macaws and parrots eating the clay when suddenly they all flew off. We soon spotted an ornate hawk eagle in the tree: this is the macaws main predator. The macaws presumably eat the clay because it is rich in sodium.   I saw beautiful manakins in a lek, and several mixed flocks of birds. There are toucans and red-necked woodpeckers; beautiful tanagers and plenty of antwrens. The researchers here study the development of the scarlet macaws. This involves climbing 30-meter high trees and taking the chicks out of nests and measuring them. The baby macaws look like plucked chickens, but with cute macaw faces.

The sounds at night are incredible and at dawn the howler monkeys begin their roaring. In the dark, there are always some lighting flashes in the distance, and wonderful spiders and butterflies. Of course there are fungi everywhere and the biting insects. I didn’t get attacked by bullet ants, but there were plenty of sandflies to keep me itching for a few days.

A high point was swimming with a group of students in the fast flowing Tambopata river, with a rainbow overhead. Four nights at the field station was not enough, and I promised myself to return sometime, and begin some research projects there in earnest. Here are some photos from the rainforest. Unfortunately, I do not have the right type of camera equipment to get good photos of birds, but I did see plenty. The rainforests of South America have a chance. I cannot say that I feel the same way about the rainforests of Africa, where the deforestation and poverty is so rampant. Take a deep breath and think about the rainforests.

When the rain is about to start, the howler monkeys and toucans start making their wild calls. The orangutan colored howler monkeys roar like lions, much louder than their size would suggest. Then you hear the rain start to approach from a distance over the vast forest. You know when it will start to pour like a shower; it is no surprise.

I am deep inside the jungle in Peru at the Tambopata Research Center. I flew in from Bogota, spent the night in Lima, and then took a 3-hour boat ride along the Tambopata river. Spent one night at at the Refugio Amazonas lodge, and the next day took another boat for 4 hours to get here. This is primary untouched protected forest, which is rare in today’s world. I remember why I chose this profession. It is incredible.

This place is famous for its macaws. Blue and yellow, scarlet, and red and green macaws. They are in the trees and along the cliffs, eating the clay to get salt and minerals. There are monkeys, capybaras, and of course many unusual bird species. I am here to hopefully develop a long-term research program.

The field station is incredible. I have never seen anything like this before; more like a first class lodge.  A lovely dining room, and each private bedroom has a open wall to the rainforest. Excellent food and company. The researchers here focus on the macaw biology, but other scientists come through to study this remote rainforest. I have a private guide showing me all the birds and wildlife. I am giving a research talk tonight.

The internet connection is poor, through a distant satellite, so I will post more photos later. I wish everyone in the world could experience this, to understand why rainforest conservation is so important.

Bogotá is huge, and from the airplane looks like it goes on forever. The buildings are not the tall skyscrapers of São Paulo, or other Brazilian cities, but instead just sprawl over the landscape, in a valley surrounded by green mountains. The avenues are wide, and easy to understand with a convenient north south numbering system. The TransMilenio bus system is a model for transportation. It is a mix between a subway and a bus system, and people play music and sing on the buses. But it can be confusing with different tickets for different lines. I am staying at a hotel near the National University of Colombia. In the evening, there are fireworks outside my window.

The Gold museum is unique. I thought all the gold had been stolen from this country, but the museum is full of ancient gold artifacts. You walk into bank vaults that showcase the gold masks and pieces that the ancient warriors wore. I like the gold animals; frogs, birds, fish and crocodiles.

I am not sure I am in love with the art of Fernando Botero, but the museum is interesting. The people in his art are simply voluminous. Even the still lifes look fat.

Today my hosts took me to Chingaza National Park. The park is about 2 hours from Bogota on steep gravel roads. I have never seen this type of landscape called the Páramo. The plants look as if they should be in a desert, but it is very wet and foggy. We did a hike around the Laguna Seco in the cold rain, looking for birds at an altitude of more than 3600 meters (11,800 ft). It is an incredible landscape and a big change from the humid heat of Cartagena.

On Tuesday I fly to Peru.

Here is the full moon over a church in the old city of Cartagena. It means I have only been gone from San Francisco for two months. It seems longer, because I have been to so many places, and met so many fantastic people. The best is that everywhere I have gone, I have very dear close friends.  The conference closed with a salsa band in the central square, under a warm moonlit night.

The Zoology conference is huge, and Cartagena is overrun with biologists. It is ongoing, but of course I have found time to explore the area. Cartagena is surrounded by beautiful nature. The mangroves are just outside the city, and yesterday we did a canoe ride to see the birds. There are mangrove tunnels, with the names “tunnel of happiness” and “tunnel of love”. Young boys were practicing their fishing with small nets, and the older men used large nets.

Then today was a boat trip to the Rosario islands, with snorkeling and a chance to swim in the warm Caribbean Sea. Cartagena must be the inspiration for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. There is a long history of pirates plundering the city, and there are old fortresses and walls to repel any attacks. An abundance of colorful fish, and great times with scientists and students studying avian malaria.

I read that Cartagena is one of the top 50 cities to visit worldwide. I agree. I arrived yesterday for the 4^th Colombian Conference for Zoology. There are about 3000 people here all participating in research in Colombian wildlife. Colombia has the highest diversity worldwide of birds, plus an incredible diversity of plants, mammals and insects. It is also number one in orchid diversity. The conference opened with speeches, but then there were some traditional dance performances. I have seen a lot of Mexican dances, and the costumes seemed rather similar, but the dances were much more wiggly, as if they had been inspired by Tahiitian hula, with hip action.

The old city is full of life, with people selling fruits and hand-woven bags. Bougainvilleas pop out of the balconies of the colorful old buildings. I had some delicious vegan paella for lunch, and enjoyed the company of my Colombian hosts. I am a millionaire in Colombia, because the exchange rate is more than 2000 pesos to one US dollar. The weather is warm and humid and my shirt gets wet from sweat in just a few minutes. Then in the afternoon, a visit to the San Felipe fortress, with its massive walls and maze of tunnels. I bought some fruits which I had never tasted before, and a huge fresh avocado. The hotel Monterrey where I am staying must be the best hotel in the city, because of its location, and beautiful view from the rooftop balcony. The Christmas lights are up, and people are enjoying themselves, because Colombians say they are the happiest people in the world.

Two days is not enough time in Rio de Janeiro! Two days was like going into an amazing vegan restaurant where I would want to try everything, but can only choose one dish. I did find a great vegan place: Rio Vegano. I ate there twice, because it was close to where I was staying. Delicious salads and lentil burgers and also pastels de forno, which are like empanadas stuffed with various things, tofu, eggplant, hearts of palm… Chocolate cake of course, and the owners are delightful.  I promised them I would write in my blog.

I took the train up to see the huge statue of Christ the Redeemer, but it was very foggy. It cleared after a while.  I saw some very authentic samba at Rio Scenarium, at the suggestion of my friends in Belo Horizonte. Today was sunny and time for the beach at Ipanema. Then the cable car ride to the Sugar Loaf mountain. Everything was quite incredible, but mostly it was the friendly people. I don’t speak any Portuguese but they were always helping me. Today I wanted to get to the cable car ride, and I asked which bus to take, but instead people at the bus stop put me in a cab with a wonderful lady who said she was going that way anyway, and paid for the taxi. On the way back, I got lost on the bus, but the bus driver made a special stop for me near a different metro station then the one I was supposed to go to. It will be a great place for the Olympics. Here are some photos of my time in Rio.

Tomorrow I fly to Cartagena, Colombia.

Rio de Janeiro. Finally, my first visit to the Cidade Maravilhosa. So far, it is a little rainy and overcast, so no one was at Ipanema beach. People are going about their daily business. There are so many shops and little corner stores and people drinking from big coconuts. The beaches are huge with volleyball nets and soccer goalposts, but nobody playing. Just not the right weather. I can visualize what it is like on a hot sunny day.

I arrived by airplane from Belo Horizonte. I would recommend taking a bus from BH instead of the plane. It would probably be easier and faster. The taxi line at the airport in Rio was ridiculous. But I got to my little Airbnb apartment near Ipanema and then started walking.

I walked all around Ipanema and Leblon. Then I went to the Vegetariano Social Club. My Thanksgiving dinner was a vegan buffet with tofu stroganoff, stewed beans and nice salads followed by chocolate tofu cake and ice cream. Definitely Brazilian flavors and a nice quiet atmosphere.

They have Black Friday in Brazil, but of course no Thanksgiving. So nobody quite understands what Black Friday is. Capitalism from the USA is affecting the whole world, and people will go to the sales tomorrow. Maybe I will go shopping tomorrow and be a good consumer!