Inspiring Travel Writing from Benjamin Ergas
Born and raised in France, 30-year old Benjamin Ergas was educated in the United States, and is currently working in London. He is passionate about travel, photography, and music. He holds a BA degree in economics from Williams College in Massachusetts, USA. His trips have taken him to Africa (Morocco, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Namibia), the Middle East (Egypt, Israel, UAE), the Americas (Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina), Mexico, Antarctica, the US, Canada, and across northern and continental Europe.
Articles by Benjamin Ergas
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Live from Tel-Aviv
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Benjamin Ergas
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Israel
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Israel and the Palestinian Territories
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Tel Aviv
For me, from London, the MidEast conflict had been reduced to sensational headlines on CNN.com 'breaking news'. So, I decided to come to the frontline and see it for myself. And the trip proved to be one hell of a spring break. 29 March 2002. Amit,...
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Crossing the Sinai
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Benjamin Ergas
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Egypt
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Sinai
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South Sinai
The sun was shining; the air was dry. Our chartered caravan of Bedouin guides and camels was off for a ten-day hike across the Sinaï Peninsula - that disputed stretch of land between Egypt and Israel, between the two fingers of the Red Sea. Our...
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Shooting in Antarctica
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Benjamin Ergas
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France
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Provence
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Penguins exchanging meals of half-digested fish, mummified crab-eater seals, humpback whales leaping out from the frozen sea, leopard killer seals chasing fleeing penguins, giant white albatrosses running along the surface of the sea, laid-back fur...
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Hiking the Costa Rican Tropical Rain Forest
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Benjamin Ergas
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Costa Rica
Less than 1 percent of the light that hits the rainforest canopy reaches the forest floor. Trees and bushes elbow one another to catch a glimpse of light. Epiphytes leash up along tree trunks to reach new heights, grasp for a hint of brightness....
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Alaska: Close Encounter with Bald Eagles
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Benjamin Ergas
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United States
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Alaska
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Chilkat Valley
It is cold and misty. Right eye against the viewfinder of my Nikon D70, index finger on the shutter-release button, I am waiting. My 600mm lens is targeting a bald eagle eating bits of chum salmons on a gravel bar along the Chilkat River. Sooner or...
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Across Israel
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Benjamin Ergas
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Israel
March 24th. Heathrow Airport, London A dozen men gather at the Departure Gate. They have long curly sideburns, beards and knee-length black coats. Some were black hats, others simply knit kippots on their heads. Most are middle-aged. A boy is with...
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Acapulco
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Benjamin Ergas
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Mexico
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Acapulco & Pacific Beaches
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Acapulco
Far away from the commercial clatter, package tours, fast food franchises, theme bars and mariachi bands that one finds behind the 50 skyscrapers rimming the 7-mile Bay of Acapulco, lays the old, original Acapulco, cherished in the 50s and 60s by...
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Living with a Muslim Family
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Benjamin Ergas
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Morocco
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Marrakech Region
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Marrakech
5:30 am in the morning, and I could hear: "Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar Ashhadu an la Ilah ila Allah Ashadu an Mohammedan rasul Allah Haya ala as-sala Kaya ala as-sala." The words came from afar, and made little sense to me. "Assalatu khairum...
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Experiencing Rio's Carnaval
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Benjamin Ergas
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Brazil
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Rio and the Southeast
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Rio de Janeiro
It was around seven in the evening when we gathered at the back of Rio's enormous Sambódromo, on Avenida Presidente Vargas. We numbered in the thousands, all scrambling to locate our precise positions in the parade: which area, which car, which...
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Embracing the Carioca Lifestyle
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Benjamin Ergas
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Brazil
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Rio and the Southeast
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Rio de Janeiro
26 December 2003. “E aí, mermao, beleza?” (So what’s up buddy? Everything cool?). Our car leaves the Baía de Guanabara (an island nearby reminds me of the unsuccessful attempt by French Admiral Villegaignon to establish a Protestant colony there in...