Marty’s photo of the day #3571: While working on my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, Deb and I spend a delightful day hiking La Garganta Divina in northeastern Spain. Much of the hike was an old, narrow mule track that hugged the side of the gorge—often high above the river.
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Tag: Cool Creatures
How’s the war?
Marty’s photo of the day #3564: This excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, tells the story: Our adventure began on Friday, April 11, 2003, when we landed at Kuching Airport. Our guide, Bayang, picked us up with the Borneo Adventure van. He was a muscular, round-faced man in […]
Wolves in the night
Marty’s photo of the day #3552: I took this photo from my favorite campsite ever. Deb and I were in the Yukon Territory, traveling for the Canada chapter of my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents. After we snuggled into our tent with our dogs, a wolf started howling next to […]
Evolution in progress?
Marty’s photo of the day #3548: This excerpt from the Australia chapter in my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, explains the shot: Earlier in this chapter, I promised to introduce you to a bizarre creature that would eliminate all reasonable doubts of evolution. I found such a creature—in fact, oodles […]
Yukon Territory in the fall
Marty’s photo of the day #3546: This is the Yukon Territory in the fall. One of Deb’s and my favorite trips for my first book, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents,” was when we traveled all the way to the top of Canada in September 2002. Now that we have a real, competent […]
La Villa de Castrotorafe
Marty’s photo of the day #3530: For today’s post, we go all the way back to my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, for this short excerpt: Our goal for the day was to reach the town of Cangas de Onis near the Atlantic Ocean’s Bay of Biscay. Although we had […]
Take note
Marty’s photo of the day #3491: I’ve always loved this photo of my wife, Deb. At the time I took it, we were at the Hotel Schwarzsee, high in the Swiss Alps, near the base of the Matterhorn. The only way to get to the tiny hotel was by gondola (cable car), and each night […]
The Alaska Highway
Marty’s photo of the day #3473: This is Alaska Highway, somewhere in British Columbia. Here’s what I wrote about the highway in my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents: An hour or so later we reached the town of Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and the official start of the Alaska Highway. […]
The big Spanish door
Marty’s photo of the day #3472: This is the last of my Catholic Church photos from Spain until next Christmas. Today’s is of a huge door at the entrance to one of those churches. While I believe that much of the labor to build these magnificent churches came via slaves, this door is actually signed, […]
Imagine the good churches could do if . . .
Marty’s photo of the day #3470: Since Christmas is here, it’s time to dig into my church photos from Spain. Here’s what I wrote in my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents: Madrid is a grand old city with gigantic churches, enormous palaces, and magnificent sculptures. The churches in particular were […]
Signed Marty Essen Books!
Avoid the Black Friday Crowds. Signed books make special gifts! For a limited time, I’m offering free U.S. shipping on all signed books and will also include a free signed copy of Endangered Edens with every purchase of two or more books. All books are Amazon #1 best-sellers in their respective categories. Here are the […]
Dreaming of Canada
Marty’s photo of the day #3440: Deb and I keep talking about repeating our trip to the top of Canada. We couldn’t do it during the last several years, because our dogs were too old to come along. Now that we have our young Lab-mix, Nellie, the temptation to go again is even greater. She […]
The end of navigable water
Marty’s photo of the day #3437: For those who have read my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, or have seen my college show, Around the World in 90 Minutes, this is the navigable end of the Batang AI River in Borneo. Here, Deb and I would get out of our […]
Lost in Spain
Marty’s photo of the day #3423: When Americans visit Spain, the vast majority stick to the touristy areas. When Deb and I went to Spain as part of the travels for my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, we made it a point to go to out-of-the-way places, where tourists don’t […]
A painful Amazon welcome
Marty’s photo of the day #3381: I had wanted to visit the Amazon Rainforest ever since I was a kid. So when Deb and I traveled there for an adventure to be included in my first book, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents,” I was excited to head out on my first Amazon […]
The most dangerous animal in Africa
Marty’s photo of the day #3251: This is a Cape buffalo, photographed in Zimbabwe. From my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents: Brian carried a high-powered rifle as a defense against animal attacks. He paused to warn us about animals that could force him to use it: “Contrary to what you […]
The story of the wandering albatrosses
Marty’s photo of the day #3249: From my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents: Even though we were hundreds of miles away from any significant landmass, our Drake Passage voyage was never boring. I spent much of my time outside on the bow enjoying the crisp Antarctic air and photographing the […]
There’s no quarantining here . . . or there!
Marty’s photo of the day #3197: If you’ve read my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, you know the story of Deb’s and my near-death adventure backpacking with the Iban tribe on the island of Borneo. Later we spent a day at an Iban longhouse to rest and recover. The COVID-19 […]
An anniversary in the rainforest
Marty’s photo of the day #3191: Being self-employed often means seldom taking a vacation. Before Deb and I traveled to all seven continents in four years, we had gone ten years without taking a vacation, other than occasional long-weekend backpacking trips. Even then, our seven continents of adventures were technically work, because I turned them […]
To the top of Canada
Marty’s photo of the day #3176: When Deb and I reminisce about our travels on all seven continents, for my book Cool Creatures, Hot Planet, we inevitably talk about which ones we want to do again. One that I’m reasonably sure we will repeat is our trip to the top of Canada. It was so […]