This is my submission to this week’s Budget Travelers Sandbox Travel Photo Thursday series. Be sure to check out other photo and story entries on their website.

Reggae icon, Bob Marley would have been 67 years old today. It’s interesting to see how many people Bob touched with the message of his music. When I was planning my trip to South Africa, I happened upon a link to an Earth Festival that was being put on by the Knysna Rasta Village. I called the village right away and made arrangements to visit. I looked forward to the tour and to...

I saw Etana in concert a few years ago in Jamaica. About a year or so before I did, I had heard about a young singer who had given up a recording contract in the States to return to Jamaica to devote herself to the music she wanted to sing and to do it her own way. I was impressed and when I heard she was to perform at the...

As I looked for photos for today’s Travel Photo Thursday, I was surprised by all the photos I’ve taken of food. But I shouldn’t have been. I love looking at food, the way it’s presented, the interplay of colors and textures, even the shape of the plate it’s presented on. As I look at these photos, I recall something Solange, my almost-mother-in-law, used to say, “La nourriture doit plaire a l’oeil...