About Marybeth, National Geographic Author, Writer

Curious Explorer. Award-winning author.

Gutsy Traveler: A woman, like travel expert Marybeth Bond, stands among purple flowers, raising her arms and smiling in front of a wooden building in bright sunlight.
Polar bear tracking and snorkeling with beluga whales in the northern Canadian Arctic.

Marybeth knows travel. She has hiked, biked, dived, danced and trekked across all seven continents – from the depths of the Flores Sea near Komodo Island to the summit of Kilimanjaro.

More recently, she tracked polar bears and snorkeled with beluga whales in the Canadian Arctic, then kayaked among icebergs in Antarctica.

Somewhere in between, four years of studying in Paris earned her two degrees – and a taste for good wine and strong cheeses.

Twelve books (three with National Geographic), countless travel articles, and numerous TV and radio appearances have built her devoted fanbase. She won the esteemed Lowell Thomas, Gold Award for the Best Travel Book of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation.

Woman on cliff in front of a monastery in Bhutan
Yesterday’s Video below. A decade or more later. Is Marybeth still GUTSY? Here in Bhutan.
Marybeth in Antarctica with penguins, snowy mountains, and water—just the kind of moment travel expert Marybeth Bond would capture in a travel video.
Kayaking and camping near penguins in Antarctica.

Yesterday….

Normandy is like a beret perched askew on a Frenchman’s head, the 360-mile Normand coast curls along the north and northwest of France. After visiting Rouen, I headed for the coast to soak in the beaches and soft-green landscapes bathed in shifting light.

The Cliffs of Etretat as painted by Monet

Claude Monet’s Etretat

“I count on doing a large canvas of the cliffs of Etretat, although it is certainly bold of me to do that after Courbet who did it admirably, but I will try to do it differently …” Claude Monet, January 1883

For several years Monet visited the seaside resort of Etretat to paint the white cliffs, beach and fishing boats.

You can stand in the exact location along the beach where Monet painted the rock arch and needle sculptures jutting into the sea. He painted in all light and weather conditions.

After an exhilarating, windy walk along the green hillsides above the precipitous cliffs for views of vast sky, sea, and beach.

The Impressionist’s Honfleur 

The port of Honfleur attracted many English, Romantic and Impressionist painters, including Turner, Boudin, Corot, Courbet, Pissaro, Braque, Seurat, and Bonnard, who were captivated by the light of the bay, the old streets, the lighthouse and Sainte-Catherine church.

Monet visited Honfleur many times and painted numerous canvasses here including the bell-tower, Le clocher Sainte Catherine. Take time to absorb the fine workmanship of the interior as well as the exterior of the half-timbered Sainte Catherine, the oldest wooden church in France.

In the center of the old town a long dock with colorful yachts punctuates the picturesque harbor built in the 17th century. Across the water half-timbered and slate-fronthomes and a parade of open-air cafes and restaurants vie for your attention.

Unlike Le Havre, which was almost entirely bombed during World War II, Honfleur escaped the destruction and the streets and locations painted by the 19th-century artists have been well preserved.

Food, wine, cheese and Calvados

Gastronomically sophisticated travelers love Normandy for its fresh produce, seafood, butter and cream-based cuisine, cider, Camembert and Calvados – aged and elegant Apple Brandy

Helpful Websites:

https://www.normandy-tourism.org
https://www.seine-maritime-tourisme.com
https://www.calvados-tourisme.com
https://www.manchetourisme.com

www.rouenvalleedeseine.com

Outstanding Restaurants Rouen: www.lacouronne.com.fr/and www.le-sixiemesens.fr Etretat : www.allchateaux.com/hotelledonjon.html In the Pays D’Auge: www.auberge-des-deux-tonneaux.abcsalles.com

 

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Marybeth Bond