Erika Bisbocci
Erika is an avid traveler and explorer of over ninety countries on six different continents. Since 2011, she has spent time studying Arabic in the Middle East, teaching English in Namibia and working as a flight attendant for a major US airline. When not traveling overseas, she loves exploring her own backyard in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
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Playa Rincon in the Samana Peninsula
From Santo Domingo, we hopped on a large coach bus and headed across the Dominican Republic to the very tip of the Samana Peninsula–an area that is home to some of the Dominican Republic’s best beaches. The Samana Peninsula is heavily reliant on tourism from January through mid-March, when the giant humpback whales migrate through the Samana Bay in search of warm waters. Unfortunately, we arrived in Samana at the tail end of the whale-watching season and the chances that we would actually see whales were dwindling. So, instead of stopping in the town of Samana…
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Welcome to the Dominican Republic
On the 13th, I left Puerto Rico for the Dominican Republic and, with that, left behind any semblance of American Culture. In the Dominican Republic, I quickly realized that, though two territories may be close in proximity, they can be drastically different. Our flight from San Juan to Santo Domingo lasted only one hour, but landing on Dominican territory reinforced the fact that I was no longer in my home country. Our introduction to the Dominican Republic was hectic and a bit terrifying–nothing like the rest of our stay in…
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Bioluminescent Bay in Fajardo
The Laguna Grande in Puerto Rico is famous for being one of the only bioluminescent bays in the world. A bioluminescent bay is a body of water that contains millions of dinoflagellates that glow when they are agitated. There are only five known places worldwide where the same type of dinoflagellates live, and three of them are in Puerto Rico. The other two are in Jamaica and the Bahamas. Of the five similar bays, only three remain intact. Due to pollution, industrialization and the destruction of their natural habitat, dinoflagellates…
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Culebra: Flamenco Beach and Playa Tamarindo
Beloved the world over for its powdery white sand beaches and low-key pace of life, the island a paradise retreat and one of the Caribbean’s best kept secrets. Its most notable beach—Playa Flamenco—is often regarded as one of the best in the world. And still, it remains largely unadulterated by development and mass tourism. In a region where unfettered development and over-tourism run ripe, Culebra is a rare and shining exception. There are no big hotels, no golf courses, no rowdy cruise ship ports, and no generic fast food chains.…
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Thoughts on Palestine
While Jerusalem was awe-inspiring and beautiful, Palestine hit me like a slap in the face. I had originally hoped to visit the West Bank in order to become exposed to the two faces of Israel and gain a deeper understanding of the conflict that has torn apart the Middle East. Yet, I came back from my day trip with more unanswered questions than before and a nauseating sense of responsibility for the one-sided policies of the American government. We began our journey in Bethlehem by driving along the wall that separates…
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The Holy Land
As the birthplace of Christianity, Promised Land of Judaism and important religious center of Islam, Israel is a country teeming with passionate religiosity and an eclectic mix of people. Its capital city, Jerusalem, is no doubt one of the most fascinating and overwhelming cities I have been to in my life. It is a place where one can see Hasidic Jews walking by the birthplace of the Virgin Mary as the Muslim call to prayer wails in the background. Yet, while Jerusalem is a cosmopolitan city with vast historical significance…
