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Adventure Travel
Global Exchange Reality Tours - Socially Conscious Travel
The idea that travel can be educational, fun, and positively influence international affairs motivated
the first Global Exchange Reality Tours in 1989. Their tours provide individuals the opportunity to
understand issues beyond what is communicated by the mass media and gain a new vantage point from which
to view and affect US foreign policy. Travelers are linked with activists and organizations from around
the globe who are working toward positive change. They also hope to prompt participants to examine related
issues in their own communities.
Today Global Exchange Reality Tours organizes trips to over 30 countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia
and the Middle East. Participants learn about women’s struggles in Afghanistan, the impact of oil
exploration on Ecuador’s indigenous communities, fair trade in Tanzania, the struggle for peace and
justice in Palestine & Israel, and more. Global Exchange Reality Tours also provide opportunities for
Americans to travel as "citizen ambassadors" to countries like Syria, Iran, Libya, and Cuba, breaking
down the stereotypes and misinformation that can lead toward hatred and war.
All Global Exchange Reality Tours are coordinated by locals working in the host communities we visit. Their
tours are directed by qualified trip facilitators and typically include two meals per day, double room
accommodations, translation of all programs, reading and preparatory materials, all transportation within
the country, program and entrance fees.
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Worth the Ride: Train'Shares Offers Luxury Train Travel
[2 Jul 2009 at 4:21pm]
Train'Shares Inc is offering guests the same luxury travel and private rail cars that used to be reserved for only the wealthiest of Americans. The trains will begin running in 2010.
Barry Jones from Time Shares Inc. explains that this is to “ensure that full occupancy occurs, keeping in mind that the relatively long average lead time between when a Journey passenger makes a reservation and the departure date, is over eight months.?
The trips aren?t cheap, but they are a serious throwback to the grand old days of railroad travel. You'll feel like a robber baron in your own private car!
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Siem Reap, Cambodia: The Children in the Temples
[2 Jul 2009 at 4:19pm]
Chres Village School and Orphanage had clean rooms, kind staff, and a patient, diligent director named Phat Fiphon. The orphanage was started by his father and relies mostly on donations, volunteers, and sponsors.
When we arrived, approximately 40 children lived at the orphanage with more coming from other homes to attend the free classes offered in English, Chinese, Khmer, science, and geography.
When the orphanage tour ended, Nicole and I offered to teach English classes, which Phat (or “Fi?) enthusiastically accepted. Nicole taught the older kids, who ranged from eighteen to early twenties. I led a class of about forty adolescents, approximately nine to eighteen years old.
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Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India: In Quest of the Tiger
[2 Jul 2009 at 4:18pm]
Soon we were moving in the Mukki region of the Kanha National Park. The first thing we spotted were colorful jungle fowls but they are very shy creatures and I could never get a good picture of them.
The jungle is famous for its Sal and Bamboo trees. Alger showed me around with such enthusiasm that I am thinking of dragging my family to a national park in the future.
I saw Gaurs (resembles a bison), cheetals (a type of deer), peacocks and even wild boars but there was no sign of the elusive tiger.
At one particular road Alger and the park ranger got quite excited as they saw the pug marks of a tiger and they tried to track it.
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Forgotten Graves and Minoan Zombies: The Phourni Cemetery in Crete
[2 Jul 2009 at 4:17pm]
Archaeologically-minded visitors to Crete flock to the famous palaces of Knossos, Phaistos and Kato Zakro, and why shouldn't they?
Ancient palaces, mysterious bull-riding rites and bright frescoes fascinate even the most historically uninspired traveler.
But Phourni ? arguably the most important archaeological site on Crete ? lies ignored at the summit of a hill overlooking the Archanes township.
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Transnistria: The Country That Doesn't Exist
[2 Jul 2009 at 4:10pm]
The mini-bus, packed with passengers, slowed and then stopped. Ahead, barely visible through the dirty windshield and the February mist, was something that shouldn't have been there: a border crossing.
There shouldn?t have been a border crossing because there shouldn?t have been a border.
As far as mapmakers and world governments were concerned, we were still in Moldova, an Eastern European country wedged between Romania and Ukraine.
The guys up there, though, the guys with the guns, they didn't agree.
Back in America, when I let people know I was going to Transnistria, the collective response was: “where??
And the reason they had never heard of it was because Transnistria, despite having its own constitution, army and currency, isn?t recognized by any other sovereign nation and technically doesn?t exist.
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Tehuacalco, Mexico: Where Yope Giants Once Walked
[25 Jun 2009 at 12:50pm]
About an hour after leaving Acapulco, Mexico?s number one resort, our van was parked in front of the Museum of the Tehuacalco Archaeological Zone - only recently opened to visitors.
Located a short distance from the state of Guerrero?s capital city of Chilpancingo, Tehuacalco peaked between 650 and 1100 A.D. as the ceremonial center of the Yope and their surrounding region. It existed for more than two more centuries albeit in a declining cycle.
Long lost to the South Sierra Madre Mountains of southern Mexico this pre-Columbian archaeological zone is the most recent addition to the cultural attractions offered to visitors in Acapulco.
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A Family Fun Blast-off in Huntsville, Alabama
[25 Jun 2009 at 12:49pm]
What is lying just down the road from where you live? What unexplored places are just a few gallons of gas away but you?ve never set foot in them?
For me the main one has been Huntsville, Alabama, a nearby enigma on my personal map. It?s my daughter?s spring break, though, and I?ve got the itch to explore. The three of us pack up the car with only vague ideas of what we?ll be doing there, but we have four days to figure it out.
Huntsville?s marquee draw is the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. It took a lot of coordinated NASA brainpower to land a spacecraft on the moon and the blast-off part of the process was developed in this city.
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Kapama Lodge, South Africa: Predators and Prey
[25 Jun 2009 at 12:48pm]
Some days blend into one another, but the five days we spent on safari in South Africa remain vivid and indelible. When we came to Africa, we lived at the Kapama Lodge, within the private game preserve that borders Kruger National Park.
The wake-up call came every morning at 5:00 AM, and we arose in the dark. By 5:30, we were being served coffee on the veranda, looking across the lagoon at first light on the horizon.
As we climbed into the large, open four-wheel drive Toyota Land Cruiser for our morning safari, the sun was just coming up.
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Turkmenistan: Tinhorn Tyranny
[25 Jun 2009 at 12:47pm]
I suggest money not be wasted going to Turkmenistan, though the country is an admitted hoot. With the mandatory guide any visit is expensive, requiring private transportation over the boring desert, and nothing of interest to see; it?s easier and less expensive, for most, to simply visit Las Vegas.
But for those who must visit every last weird country on earth, such as myself, Lufthansa and Turkmenistan Air fly to Ashgabat from Europe and the Middle East, expensively...
Turkmenistan also has a reputation for ptomaine and unsanitary food preparation. But enjoy.
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Biking from Tibet to Nepal: The Longest Descent in the World
[18 Jun 2009 at 2:48pm]
The Tibetan plateau averages more than 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) above sea level. It boasts the highest peaks in the world. The culture is fascinating. Ever since I first learned about Tibet as a child, I wanted to go there.
So, when Jon and I found ourselves cycling through China, it was only the next step to enter Tibet. We took the new Quinhai-Tibet railway, which had opened only a few months before, in the summer of 2007.
This railway was both a blessing and a curse: it allowed us easy access into Tibet, but with increased Western tourism, Chinese immigration and trading, many fear it will bring fast change to a dwindling Tibetan culture.
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Brazil's Emerald Coast: The State of Rio de Janeiro
[18 Jun 2009 at 2:48pm]
Paraty Bay, one of the most beautiful places on the Brazilian coastline,is often referred to as part of the "Green" coast, but "Emerald" Coast best describes the sparkling translucence of the bay reflecting the lush verdant jungle on the shore.
Islands, one for every day of the year, dot the warm waters. The beaches on them are all public. Getting to them is easy, too.
Boats are available for hire on the wharf at Paraty. The different boat styles and colors offer a great opportunity for photographs in the morning light.
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New Haven: Center of Culture and Cuisine in Connecticut
[18 Jun 2009 at 1:25pm]
When we think of New Haven, the first thing that comes to our mind is Yale University. Rightfully called “the most beautiful urban campus in America,? the architectural style of its courtyards, arches and towers range from New England Colonial to High Victorian Gothic, from Moorish Revival to Contemporary.
Walking by the majestic buildings I felt close to its glorious past and its present-day quest for knowledge. Guiding generations of bright young minds, the buildings of this Ivy League university stand tall and proud.
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Tanzania: Adventures of a Volunteer in Bomang'ombe
[18 Jun 2009 at 1:24pm]
We had entered into the simple lives of the villagers in Bomang?ombe, and the hearts of children hopeful about their bright future. Within the few months of teaching in Bomani Primary School, I bonded closely with Naomi, a fellow teacher and a real friend whom I could confide in and be myself.
Her husband Deo showed us many sides of Tanzania, even a thing or two about drinking beer in Tanzania (he sure could drink!). We shared travel tales with them, while they told us about their childhood and families.
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In Search of Ancient Goddesses and Pirate Queens
[18 Jun 2009 at 1:23pm]
One innovative tour company is combining the small-group, women-only format with theme-based tours that explore the history of a destination.
The tours focus on notable women of history, who have often been neglected by historians until recent years.
These tours also provide an opportunity for women to retrace their roots and visit their families' ancestral homelands.
Eurynome Journeys of Camden, Maine, has been a pioneer in the area of women-only travel since 1998, when founder Erja Lipponen started her website www.wanderwoman.com.
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Bonaire, Dutch West Indies: Well Worth Its Salt
[11 Jun 2009 at 3:43pm]
There is something gritty about the isle of Bonaire. I feel it the minute I set foot on the ground. I also taste it. It may be the dry, scrubby terrain. Or maybe it is the thick, salty air. Perhaps, it is a little bit of both.
Each year, tourists flock to Bonaire, fifty miles north of Venezuela, with snorkels and flippers in tow. Part of the Netherlands Antilles, it boasts one of the most environmentally renowned Marine Parks in the world, claiming over 300 species of tropical fish and over 120 different types of coral.
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India: Trekking from McLeod Ganj to Triund and Beyond
[11 Jun 2009 at 3:42pm]
McLeod Ganj near Dharamshala is a popular tourist spot as it is the seat of the Dalai Lama in exile from Tibet. In a restaurant we overheard a tourist asking a waiter how she could get an audience with the Dalai Lama.
We had other ideas. We were there to trek from McLeod Ganj through Indrahar Pass and wanted to exit in another town, Chamba. But the weather had other ideas about our trek.
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A Freighter Cruise Experience
[11 Jun 2009 at 3:41pm]
Freighter voyages are not for the ordinary traveler; they are for people who want to escape from the norms of planned, routine travel and step into the world of unpredictable adventure. Flying is for people who would like to get somewhere quickly. Freighter travel is for people who would like to slow life down a few notches and enjoy the world around them.
In the words of Andrew, “By not flying we got to see a way of life that impacts our own lives so much - to hear about the people who transport all the white goods to our homes, the clothes we wear and the cars we drive, around the world. It's an incredibly nomadic existence and not one that we get to hear about very often, unless you put yourself in that position of sharing part of the journey with the crew.?
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Luang Prabang, Laos: A Slice of Heaven?
[11 Jun 2009 at 3:40pm]
Luang Prabang is a small, ancient city tucked away in northern Laos at the junction of the picturesque Mekong and Nam Khan rivers where nature and community converge in an unassuming way. Longboats run the rivers, rice fields line the banks, mountains paint the distant landscape, and the slow pace of life will envelop even the most harried traveler.
This is the perfect place to while away the hours relaxing on the quay with a good book or simply get lost exploring the town.
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Portovenere, Italy: A Great Place to Vacation with Kids
[4 Jun 2009 at 1:46pm]
“I love Italy!? announced our nine-year old son on our first full day in Portovenere. Although he was the first to say it, we were all charmed by this seaside village on the Ligurian Coast.
It had been rainy off and on all morning, but the weather hadn?t prevented us from exploring the city. My son and husband had already played giant outdoor chess in a choice spot on the waterfront while my daughter and I enjoyed fresh grapefruit juice in a café looking out on the stunning port, and we had all explored the village?s rocky fortress and San Pietro Church.
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The Hummingbird Outside My Window: The Mystery of the Nazca Lines
[4 Jun 2009 at 1:46pm]
The Nazca Lines are a series of large geoglyphs, or giant drawings on the ground, located in the Nazca desert in Peru. These geometric shapes of immense proportions are believed to have been created by an ancient civilization sometime between the 4th and 8th centuries BCE, though some believe they were created more recently.
The lines seem to have been created through the removal of the reddish-brown desert rocks, which revealed the white Earth below. Since the desert is so dry and does not receive much wind, the lines remain uncovered.
Other countries, including the USA, Chile, Bolivia and Egypt, also play host to mysterious geoglyphs, but the Nazca lines are considered the most complex, the most impressive, and the most mysterious.
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Mui Ne, Vietnam: A Photo Essay
[28 May 2009 at 1:34pm]
Vietnam had thrown lots of surprises our way. Three and a half weeks in the country had taught us that it was better to go with the flow than to fight for an itinerary we?d mapped before ever leaving home.
For example, we hadn?t planned to spend any time in Mui Ne, a sleepy fishermen?s village turned tourist resort. However, our month-long tourist visa was about to expire and our flight out of the country was leaving from Saigon. The frenetic pace of the city, though, had worn our nerves. Mui Ne was an easy three-hour bus ride away and it provided the slower pace we were seeking.
We knew exactly where we wanted to stay in Mui Ne: Bamboo Village. As budget travelers, Bamboo Village cost more for one night?s stay than what we were accustomed to paying for an entire week?s worth of lodging. However, we sprung for the big bucks, beachside villa because it was our wedding anniversary.
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Washington's San Juan Islands: A Little Piece of Paradise
[28 May 2009 at 1:24pm]
My main purpose of visiting San Juan Island was to go on a whale watch. It being the beginning of May, it was uncertain whether I would see the resident orcas. Every winter they migrate as far as Monterey, California, but it wasn?t long before the Captain spotted a familiar pod.
Dorsal fins as large as six feet protruded from the still waters. Our naturalists were thrilled to point out two new members of the returning pod. Two 300-pound pink and black babies dove in and out of the water. Orcas are black and pink shortly after birth, but soon after the pink turns to white.
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Macau, China: Contradictions and Tiny Miracles
[28 May 2009 at 1:24pm]
In Macau, the Vegas thing is all there. On steroids. There's a replica of the Roman Coliseum, a volcano like the one at The Mirage, a Disneyesque version of the New Orleans French Quarter, and neon to light the night.
However, I sensed this city might be more than just sum of its casinos, and as I fell asleep listening to waves lap at the shore that first night, I knew I still hadn't seen the real Macau.
Often mistakenly referred to as an island, Macau is a peninsula just 37 miles southwest of Hong Kong and bordering mainland China. It is now one of two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China.
Governed for 442 years by Portugal, it was the oldest European colony in the history of Asia before it was handed over to China in 1999. The Portuguese influence is apparent in the distinctive architecture, food, music and swirling mosaic patterns inlaid in city streets.
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Beaumont, Texas: Wildlife and Nightlife in the Heart of the Oil Patch
[28 May 2009 at 1:05pm]
I'd never set foot in the Republic of Texas until last month, when I discovered Beaumont, about two hours north of Houston. It's a city with big plans afoot.
Their sidewalks are being ripped up and replaced with quaint brick, and black iron streetlights are being added to give the main drag, Calder Avenue, an old time feel. Things are looking up in this city of refineries.
My first evening was spent on a couch, eating passed tapas at the Easy Street, emblematic of the relaxed charm of East Texas.
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Finland's Hidden Treasure: Pori, Where the Finns Go
[28 May 2009 at 1:04pm]
Among most Americans the Finnish town of Pori is virtually unknown, but it is a favorite summer getaway for many Finns, as well as European vacationers from Sweden, Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands.
There are two big reasons: Pori Jazz, which is held every summer in mid July, is the oldest and largest Jazz festival in all Europe. It draws both popular domestic acts and artists of international fame: Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Sting, and more recently, Kanye West.
For sun lovers and nature enthusiasts the nearby Yyteri beach -- which is known to many as the most beautiful beach in all of Scandinavia -- provides the ultimate reason to visit the Pori area.
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Finding Sea Legs in the Galápagos
[28 May 2009 at 1:03pm]
The Galápagos Islands, located about 1000 kilometers from mainland Ecuador, are home to a wide variety of land and sea life.
The islands get their name from the old Spanish word “galápago,? which was a type of saddle. The first Spaniards to find the islands thought that both the shape of the islands and the tortoise shells resembled the saddles.
With 12 main and 12 minor islands, you can spend about two weeks alone exploring each island and swimming in the surrounding areas. The more popular option is to stay on a boat and travel by night, but my friends and I were only in the islands for five days and on the cheap, so we stayed in a hotel on Santa Cruz.
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Putumayo's Italia: Musical Storytelling from Italy
[28 May 2009 at 1:02pm]
Putumayo?s latest CD, Italia, was released in May, 2009. Featuring Italian singer-songwriters, this music at times transports you to hilltop villages, other times to smoky cabaret settings in postwar Italy.
Folk music inspired by Latin rhythm, swing, and Celtic tradition, it is the vocals that take center stage in this musical storytelling.
Gianmaria Testa, singer-songwriter and poet from Piemonte in northern Italy. In Il Viaggio, accompanied by his guitar, he tells the moving story of his plan to follow a raging river from his mountain village to the place where it will meet the sea, leaving behind the bright stars.
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Humanitourism: Saving Dogs and Cats in Greece
[16 May 2009 at 3:25pm]
Want to visit Greece? Interested in fighting animal cruelty? If so, a Colorado-based company called inside/out offers a unique combination of cultural immersion and cause-based alternative travel.
Participants of inside/out?s “humanitourism? trip to Greece will visit the largely un-touristed Zagoria region to provide hands-on help to a project which desperately needs outside assistance.
Located in the country?s mountainous north, and blighted by an overpopulation of dogs and cats, this Greek province has been the site of shockingly inhumane conditions for domestic animals.
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Air Travel with Your Small Dog
[14 May 2009 at 4:41pm]
Whether for business or pleasure, many people dislike leaving their small dogs behind when they travel. Instead of putting your dog in a kennel or one of those upscale doggie hotels popping up around the country, consider taking your small dog (weighing 15 pounds or less) with you the next time you travel by airplane.
On many major airlines, passengers can pay a fee and have their small dog accompany them on the airplane within the passenger cabin, as long as the pet stays within an FAA approved pet carrier, and that carrier remains under the seat in front of the passenger (like a traditional carry-on bag).
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Winslow, Arizona: Standing on the Famous Corner
[14 May 2009 at 4:40pm]
It?s trivia question time. Who made the town of Winslow, Arizona, famous in the 1970s? If you answered The Eagles, you?re partially right. It was actually Jackson Browne who wrote the lyrics for the Eagles? 1972 hit song, “Take it Easy.?
Glen Frye wrote the music and, if he had also written the lyrics, he might have made some other town famous like Flagstaff or Chinle. But he didn?t, and Winslow will be the capital of Take-it-Easy-land forever or until everyone forgets the song whichever comes first.
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Top Travel Apps for the iPhone and iPod touch
[14 May 2009 at 4:39pm]
iPhones and iPods are becoming essential for travelers--for example, TripIt automatically organizes all of your important travel documents (Photo - flickr user Irrezolut)
The iPhone and iPod touch are quickly becoming essential travel tools.
With the incredible growth of downloadable third-party software (apps) on iTunes, the iPhone and iPod touch have suddenly become an electronic Swiss-army knife for road warriars and avid travelers.
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Finnish Lapland: Sweating in the Arctic
[14 May 2009 at 4:38pm]
I am sitting sweating droplets the size of plums in a wood-burning Finnish sauna in Lapland. It?s well over 110 degrees Fahrenheit inside this little hut, though outside, it?s around 10 degrees.
This is not surprising, considering I am 186 miles north of the Arctic Circle. I?d swear at Leena, my Finnish friend who has dragged me into this hot-hole, but Finns consider the sauna a sacred place, and you?re not supposed to use foul language.
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A Three Generation Moms? Getaway on Cape Cod
[5 May 2009 at 4:59pm]
Busy working mothers don?t often get the chance to find relaxation close to home. So when the opportunity struck for this mother, daughter, and three-month-old granddaughter to take a three-day vacation in early April, our options were limited.
Where could two moms go to getaway and relax in the early spring in New England?
We decided to head to the Outer Cape, the last leg of the journey out on the forearm of the Massachusetts peninsula that is Cape Cod. There was some concern about the possibility of cold weather.
New England can be notoriously chilly at any given time of year and April is no exception.
It has been known to snow on many an April day in this region, but was that enough to tamper our adventurous spirits? Definitely not.
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Azerbaijan: Unlike Anywhere Else
[5 May 2009 at 4:59pm]
“We are very close to everything,? my driver from the airport explains, smiling as he swerves around a truck with one hand on a cigarette and the other out the window, “And very close to no one.?
For a moment I am at a loss as to what he means, and can?t decide if it is a language error, or whether he is, indeed, making a fairly abstract point about the contradictions of Azeri life.
Either way, the more time I spend in Azerbaijan, the more convinced I am that his statement actually makes sense. With its semi-desert plains and thickly forested hills, gorgeous coastline and polluted slums, Baku does make you feel like you are within reach of a dozen different places.
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Glaciers, Lattés and Some Really Stupid Salmon: A Family Cruise through Alaska
[5 May 2009 at 4:58pm]
This was the first vacation we?ve had together where our kids (Julianne, age 14 and Justin, age 11), armed with charge privileges for arcade games and unlimited soda, felt comfortable abandoning us for their own pursuits.
This is a godsend if you are looking for a family vacation where the adults can actually spend some quality time alone without worrying about the kids getting bored or into mischief.
Our quality time consisted of playing craps in the Casino Royale and working out on the ellipticals in the Fitness Center while staring out at glaciers and other magnificent snow-capped vistas.
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In the Land of Invisible Women
[5 May 2009 at 4:57pm]
Qanta Ahmed, a young British Muslim doctor, takes a position at the top hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on a whim, hoping for adventure and acceptance in the Middle Eastern Kingdom. What she comes to experience during her two year stay is shockingly different. In the Land of Invisible Women describes Ahmed's encounters with sexism and racism in the Saudi Kingdom, as well as the humor, honesty, loyalty, and love that she eventually finds. She exposes some of the mysteries of the women behind the veil, and explains what it's like to don an abbayah [read: burqa] and become one of the invisible.
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150 Years in the Making: A Journey Through Colorado?s Gold Rush
[5 May 2009 at 4:56pm]
Colorado is distinct proof that variety truly is the spice of life.
Many amazing places can be described as having something for everyone, but Colorado is peerless in its unique atmosphere of well-balanced extremes and endless diversity.
Over the course of the past 150 years Colorado has persisted through dangerous highs and lows; beginning as an undeveloped beauty, growing to a bustling gold rush boom state, shrinking to an economically devastated collection of ghost towns, and finally emerging from the ashes in the past decades to rise and thrive again, the Centennial State has continued to defy norms and expectations.
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Coasteering in Wales: It Only Sounds Dangerous If You?re Listening]
[28 Apr 2009 at 5:18pm]
Imagine climbing and leaping from cliffs into the Atlantic surf, then being buffeted helplessly about by whirlpools and tidal currents. Now imagine doing it safely and laughing yourself breathless.
Invented in Wales, coasteering combines extreme sport and environmental consciousness-raising amidst the cliffs of the achingly beautiful Pembrokeshire coast.
Death-defying alone, it?s perfectly safe with protective equipment and a local guide who reads the ecologically sensitive coast like a big-print hymnbook.
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France's Burgundy Region: Wining, Dining and Biking in Beaune
[27 Apr 2009 at 4:59pm]
In France, and indeed worldwide, Burgundy has some of the best wine available; Romanee-Conti, Pommard and Corton-Charlemagne can bring tears to practiced taste buds.
In the center of Beaune is the Hotel-Dieu (Hospices de Beaune) where a yearly auction of Burgundy wines is offered. This ancient hospital also offers an astounding view into past healing practices, and there are many artistic masterpieces on display.
Nearby is one of the palaces of the Dukes of Burgundy, a dukedom which held power for ages in France. The main palace is in Dijon but the Dukes often were drawn by the vineyards.
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Alabama Attractions: A WWII Battleship and A Movie Classic
[27 Apr 2009 at 4:57pm]
A chill went through my spine as I strode up the gangway to the USS Alabama, anchored just off the coast in the Mobile. It was a cool morning on Mobile Bay, where in the 1960s this 680' long grey piece of historical steel was towed from a West Coast shipyard to the state it was named for.
Walking around on such hallowed steel made me think back about the real heroes, like my father, who served during the Second World War on ships like these.
The legend has it that Alabama schoolchildren sent in their ice cream money in order to raise the million or so to pay for the relocation. On the ship, swing music is piped into the galley and on the deck, reminding me of the era in which this ship served active duty in the Pacific. It was a short stint, just 37 months. She sailed almost around the globe, served her time, and now she's by the side of the bay for tourists to walk around on and gawk at.
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Tallinn, Estonia: The Medieval Capital City in 24 Hours
[27 Apr 2009 at 4:56pm]
Estonia?s capital city is located in the north of the country on the Gulf of Finland, a mere 50 miles south of Helsinki across the water. It is a tradition for Finns to make the trip to Tallinn for its inexpensive prices -- on clothing, food and liquor -- as Finland is notoriously pricey.
Since Estonia?s independence from the U.S.S.R. in 1991, transport between Tallinn and Western Europe has become increasingly easy, and with it?s induction into the European Union in 2004 and a vow to adopt the Euro by 2011, Estonia is looking to attract international tourism.
As I was in Helsinki for a few days, an overnight trip to nearby Tallinn seemed like a no-brainer: a new country, a charming old city, and a hostel price dramatically lower than any I had seen in Helsinki. I decided to do like the Finns do and make a trip across that icy bay.
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Alabama: Charming Small Towns and Downtowns
[24 Apr 2009 at 3:17pm]
On my trip to Alabama I found towns like Fairhope, Foley and Monroeville that are as charming to me as my home village, South Deerfield, Massachusetts... a little burg with everything you need: pharmacy, video store, hardware store, general store and of course, cafe.
And I found downtown Mobile equally charming with its shady lanes and pocket parks, beautiful historic architecture and friendly, upbeat people.
We touched down in our needle-thin regional jet at Mobile's airport, where driver Bill Hyde met me and the group. I sat up front and kept my attention on Bill, peppering him with those questions I like to ask when I first arrive at a new city.
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Uttar Pradesh, India: A Whirlwind Tour of Lucknow
[24 Apr 2009 at 3:13pm]
So twelve of us boarded an air-conditioned bus (temperatures soar in March in India) and met our tour guide. Lucknow is known for its politeness and the guide was an epitome of it. But little did we know what was in store for us later.
He told us a little about the city which was know as Avadh in the times gone by and was ruled by colorful kings and noblemen. Our first stop was the Bara (big) Imambara. Some of us had trains and planes to catch the same day and shopping was also included in the agenda.
There is a beautiful gate next to the Bara Imambara called Roomi Darwaza (door) and the entrance to the Imambara is also grand. It is said to be built around 1783, commissioned by the ruler Asad-Ud-Daulah in the time of severe famine.The objective was to provide employment and relief to the people.
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A Whirlwind Tour of Lucknow
[23 Apr 2009 at 5:46pm]
Lucknow is known for its politeness and the guide was an epitome of it. But little did we know what was in store for us later.
He told us a little about the city which was know as Avadh in the times gone by and was ruled by colorful kings and noblemen. Our first stop was the Bara (big) Imambara. Some of us had trains and planes to catch the same day and shopping was also included in the agenda.
There is a beautiful gate next to the Bara Imambara called Roomi Darwaza (door) and the entrance to the Imambara is also grand. It is said to be built around 1783, commissioned by the ruler Asad-Ud-Daulah in the time of severe famine.The objective was to provide employment and relief to the people.
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Uzbekistan: Police State Jewel
[23 Apr 2009 at 5:45pm]
Uzbekistan, hapless heroic Uzbekistan, bedeviled by one of the world?s most regimented police states, offers Central Asia?s most incredible and truly astounding sites so dazzling that eyes glaze in wonder.
These marvels span the country, World Heritage cities strung seriatim to form three police state jewels.
Tourists are little affected by the antics of the current petty dictator, Islam Karimov, who continues to gain in popularity from a mere 92% plurality in the 2000 election to an awesome 99% in the 2005 election.
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Sardinia?s Mamuthones: An Ancient Carnival
[23 Apr 2009 at 5:42pm]
I was about to share fears and hopes with my ancestors. With the aid (and the patience) of Pino, I journeyed to Sardinia through the oldest Carnival I had ever seen, or experienced, because, let?s face it, you can?t just see a 2000-year-old ritual, you need to experience it.
Being born in Sardinia myself and having lived for twenty years only 60 km away from Mamoiada, I have always known this tradition, but after seeing what it actually does for the spirit of the village, I?ve realized I had never captured the spirit of lonesome figure of the Mamuthones.
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The Phlegraean Fields: A Family Adventure in History and Mythology
[23 Apr 2009 at 5:43pm]
The Sibyl uttered her trance-induced predictions, Charon ferried souls across the swampy Styx, and Romans bathed in hydrothermal spas, all within an eight square mile area west of Naples, Italy, known as the Phlegraean Fields.
For my three girls (ages 3, 7, and 10) the wonders here include exploring active volcanoes, the Sibyl?s cave, the entrance to Hades, and ancient Roman villas.
The Phlegraean Fields encompass a caldera or cauldron-like region of twenty-four volcanoes and craters, many still bubbling with seismic activity. Escaping the bustle of downtown Naples and the crowds of Pompeii, this region has fewer tourists and more eye-popping sites.
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Jasper, Alberta: A Great Girlfriend Getaway
[23 Apr 2009 at 5:41pm]
As our truck followed the curves of the highway through the mountain valleys, I realized how wrong I?d been. A full moon hung low in the sky, casting its silver glow over the snow-capped mountains, wide rocky riverbeds, and smooth ice-bound lakes.
Any talk other than oohs and aahs faded as we stared out our windows at the beautiful night before us.
Because of the hour, there were few other vehicles on the road, and I gripped the steering wheel, alternately glancing at the highway and then at the scenery. The moonlight bathed the park in a surreal, romantic glow, making me appreciate anew the scenery that I?d seen so many times in years of driving this highway.
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Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Plenty of Peace and Quiet
[23 Apr 2009 at 5:36pm]
Drug dealers and kidnappings and attacks, oh my!
In late February, the U.S. Department of State released a travel advisory for travel in Mexico. Though the advisory specifically discussed large cities along the border, the American media?s reporting tactics have targeted the entire nation.
Surely there are dangerous areas in Mexico, but when I visited the west coast city of Puerto Vallarta and its surrounding towns, I felt safer than I?ve felt in many American cities.
A charming city located on the Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta hasn?t gone unnoticed by world travelers. It?s slowly expanded and acclimated to the approximate three million visitors received every year.
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A Travel Guide to More Than 1,000 Scenic and Interesting Places Still Uncrowd...
[23 Apr 2009 at 5:34pm]
For all its popularity as a travel destination, the Golden State still has plenty of wonderful out-of-the-way places to explore.
Below is an excerpt from the book Off the Beaten Path: A Travel Guide to More Than 1,000 Scenic and Interesting Places Still Uncrowded and Inviting by the editors of Reader's Digest. The excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.
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The Andes Trail Expedition: Biking to the End of the World
[23 Apr 2009 at 5:33pm]
If ordinary bicycle tours aren?t enough to satisfy the intrepid traveler in you, it?s time to take a journey through the challenging but spectacular scenery of the Andes Trail in South America.
In 2008, twenty steadfast biking enthusiasts traveled 11,000 kilometers (or 6,875 miles) from Mitad-del-Mundo monument at the equator just outside Quito, Ecuador to Ushuaia, Argentina, known as “the end of the world.?
The expedition was put together by Bike Dreams, a long-distance cycling company based in the Netherlands.
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Ukraine: A Three-Day Adventure in Sunny Kiev
[8 Apr 2009 at 2:12pm]
Even if you have only three days for an adventure to squeeze in between your trips, jobs, deadlines, family problems, dont hesitate -- venture. No matter how unlikely it looks from where you are now, it may be that right thing to do to get your mind off problems and let enough energy into your system to feel the lust for life again.
Mission:
A three-day getaway with a friend to a place which would smoothly combine new and ancient, beautiful and odd, interesting and familiar, busy and relaxing, distant and close, brief, yet having a lasting aftertaste.
To stop it sounding like a riddle from some old Slavic fairytales, lets put it straight. As we had only three days, our ideal destination would be some foreign country which was not very far off; we could cope with several hours by train.
Challenge:
Having just returned from a week trip to Sevastopol, the Crimea peninsula, I had three days left till getting back to work. My initial intention was to waste them away on the sofa, when I received a phone call from my friend in Moscow, suggesting us going somewhere nice to see the summer off.
The weather forecast resolved our doubts between St. Petersburg and Kiev: +18 C (64 F) versus 32C (90 F), the city we already visited many times against a brand new travel experience.
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Spring Skiing in the French Alps: Adrenaline with Dividends
[8 Apr 2009 at 2:11pm]
The credit crunch got you down? Need a break from bailouts? Spring skiing should do the trick. Its the same rush as playing the stock market but much safer. My favorite picks: Val dIsere and Chamonix, two of the best resorts in the world, both that stay open long after the closing bell.
Gains Made at Val dIsere
There are no losers at Val dIsere, only winners. This mountain is built on the backs of a long list of champions like Ortleib, Jean Claude Killy, Oreiller, Goitschel, Bozzetto and more recently, Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn of the United States.
Vonn won the World Championships Super-G with a time of 1 minute, 20.73 seconds in February at the FIS World Alpine Ski Championship this year. With 154 trails, thats 186 miles of skiing. Its surprising the races arent held here every year.
Together with Val dIsere and neighboring Tignes, the mountain is aptly called L'Espace Killy. The height of L'Espace Killy gives the advantage of rarely being short on newly groomed trails, all 1850 meters or 6,069 feet of them.
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Traveling Tunisia: Exotic Souks, Ancient Ruins and Fabulous Food
[8 Mar 2009 at 2:04pm]
Leaning back on the carpet-covered benches on the patio of the Caf Des Deliices in Sidi Bou Said Tunisia, my three friends and I exhaled slowly. It had been a long trip from New York to get here.
The waiter brings a tray of sweet pepper mint tea and strong Turkish coffee: the kind with the grounds on the bottom of small cups that you sip slowly. In between us stands a tall hookah.
Our Tunisian guide Wadya laughs at us as we timidly take small puffs off the apple flavored Tobacco that is heated rather than burned by a small piece of charcoal on top.
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Concord, New Hampshire: A Capital Destination
[31 Mar 2009 at 4:42pm]
“Are you headed up North or are you going down South? asked the waitress at dinner on our first night.
“Actually, were here in Concord for the weekend, I replied.
Her eyes lit up and she told us that she was happy we had come. So were we.
Having grown up in Massachusetts my boyfriend Ty and I had no excuse as to why we had never visited the nearby capital of New Hampshire, and when I was invited to the opening of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center we jumped at the chance.
The city is accessible and exceedingly easy to navigate, which is a huge plus, especially if youre lacking a navigation system in your car as I am. There are also plenty of public buses and trolleys that run through the center of town, and if you are staying right in the city, as we were at the Holiday Inn Concord, the State House and downtown Concord are a short walk away.
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Inside Egypt: The Mummy, the Pyramids and Me
[27 Mar 2009 at 3:59pm]
I found the prospect of visiting Egypt daunting, but not because I feared terrorism. (Dont let the February 09 bomb in downtown Cairo mislead you; Egypts Tourist Police have not permitted a single such incident at the countrys archaeological sites since 1997.)
Nor did I fear the famously searing heat. (Theres a simple solution: Go in winter).
No, what scared me, simply, was claustrophobia.
To see some of Egypts greatest ancient wonders, such as the breathtakingly vivid wall paintings in the pharoahs Valley of the Kings, you first have to get through narrow passageways to crypts cut deep into hillsides. My concern, therefore, was that in order to savor these and other treasures, Id have to shake my fear before I left the Cairo area.
So mine is a tale of bold actions and derring do including one Sphinx, three pyramids, and a critique of the 1932 horror movie, The Mummy.
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Housesitting in Gascony: Feasting and Sightseeing in the Land of D'Artagnan
[25 Mar 2009 at 2:29pm]
Taking a back road into Auch, France, the remote capital of the Gers, in a rented Renault time machine, two hired housesitters pinched themselves.
Auch! As the 15th-century Cathedral de Sainte Marie and the 14th-century Tour dArmagnac rose up into the elegant cobalt sky, our eyes climbed the Escalier Monumentales 232 steps to the swashbuckling statue of the regions most famous cadet: DArtagnan the Fourth Musketeer.
Assuming a bright and breezy tone, we decided that life doesnt get much better than this: a three-month housesitting job in the French countryside. We were deep in the heart of gastronomical Gascony, the stomping ground of ghostly gourmets, a center of the foie gras trade, and the birthplace of Armagnac.
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Micro-Hotels Let You Decide Whats Worth Paying For
[25 Mar 2009 at 2:28pm]
The Pod straddles the ambiguous ground between hostel and hotel, but does so deliberately. Micro-hotels mimic hostels by effectively rationing square footage.
By keeping personal quarters to a minimum and emphasizing shared community spaces, micro-hotels capitalize upon an aspect of the hostels business model that makes such low rates possible.
If youve stayed in enough hostels, you come to recognize the things that are "nice to have," versus the things you "want" and things that you "need."
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Wandering Through Wallonia
[20 Mar 2009 at 4:11pm]
After a bit in Brussels it was time to traverse the French-speaking Wallonia area, packed with more castles and breweries than any man could wish for, one castle per 25 kilometers. It is no wonder that many of Europes battles took place in Wallonia; it was well worth fighting over.
Through history right up to WWII, major decisive battles raged, yet today it is a peaceful, picturesque place. Wallonia is the lungs of Belgium with more than 80 % of Belgiums forests. It also borders France, Luxembourg and Germany while maintaining its own style and traditions.
There was no better place to begin than in the capital of Wallonia, Namur cradled between the Meuse and Sambre rivers. Victuals in the area are superb as there are cheese makers, bakers, farmers and monastery masters at food production.
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Ecotourism in Cancun: Wilder Than We Expected!
[20 Mar 2009 at 4:10pm]
We flew into Cancun, that man-made destination that was born in the early 70s in the vast and lightly populated Yucatan Peninsula. Here you can visit ruins from the glorious Mayan civilizations, and even meet with Mayans who live in the region today. There are also many chances to get some adrenaline going, and view deep dark places that youll never forget!
Though Cancun is best known for its famous Hotel Zone, with more than 145 hotels and a staggering 28,000 rooms, just down the coast we found another place that brings travelers a taste of what Mexicos Riviera Maya used to be its called Puerto Morelos.
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Tajikistan: Following the Ancient Silk Road
[20 Mar 2009 at 4:10pm]
Though it cost a sizeable personal fortune, I persevered, discovering the worlds most scenic 300-mile (500 kilometer) highway, a vast region chocked with sparkling glaciers stretching from Tajikistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan, the safe parts of the latter two oft-time problematical countries.
The Pamirs are entered from the Silk Road through Osh, Kyrgyzstan, south to Sary Tash where the Pamirs slash a curtain of ice across the entire southern horizon, glistening behemoths crowned by hundreds of miles of glaciers.
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Strasbourg, France: A City to Enjoy with the Kids
[20 Mar 2009 at 4:09pm]
Families sightseeing in Europe have different priorities than couples or individuals. The adults still want to visit historic sites, experience a different culture, try new foods and drinks, but kids get impatient with complex itineraries and long waits.
A visit cant just be interesting - it also has to be fun. Strasbourg was a treat for our family of four with two kids, ages 7 and 9. We visited in December to see the famous Christmas markets and discovered an impressive city that makes it easy for young visitors to enjoy its charms.
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Learning About Fine Food and Wine in California's Napa Valley
[11 Mar 2009 at 4:31pm]
California's Napa Valley is famous around the world for its fine wines, and the area is also known as a center for the culinary arts. Visitors to the valley can learn all about the cultivation and preparation of fine food and wine at a local campus of the nation's most prestigious culinary institute.
The Culinary Institute of Americas Greystone campus in St. Helena, California, is shifting the role of the wine country spectator into the role of the creator and entrepreneur of fine foods and wines through a series of short classes offered to non-enrolled guests.
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Sensing the French Alps
[11 Mar 2009 at 4:30pm]
Whenever I travel my internal barometer measures how I rate a place by sensory intake. How does a place look, smell, sound, taste and touch. I call it “spirit of place. Its the essence that adds up and captures the destination.
My trip to the French Alps was a multi-sensory experience. I started in Megeve, a small Alpine village whose name means village surrounded by water. I saw a landscape dotted with farmhouses and chalets, streams and forests. A medieval, pedestrian town center had narrow winding streets, giving the impression of a place little changed over time.
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Kilimanjaro: Climbing Africa's Tallest Mountain
[11 Mar 2009 at 4:29pm]
The hardest part came just before Stella Point -- again the guidebook was right. Theres a steep fifty-or-so meters of loose gravel sliding down beneath you with every step. I inhaled with one step, exhaled with the next. I felt like an engine, knowing nothing but the movements of my legs and lungs.
Suddenly, the ground was firm and flat beneath me. Wed reached Stella Point (5752 m/18,871 ft). I raised my arms in victory. The hard part was over.
From Stella Point, we walked a gentle incline to Uhuru Peak, stumbling and catching our balance like a bunch of drunks.
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The Future of Women's Travel: More Adventure, Less Shopping
[11 Mar 2009 at 4:28pm]
Beyond providing an escape from our everyday routine, travel enables us to understand ourselves and the world around us in a new way. Through bonds made both with locals in places we visit and with travelers sharing the experience, we realize a side of ourselves that we never knew before.
More and more, women are finding that these journeys of discovery are best made with other women. There exists a strong communal feeling among participants in women-only travel, and a sense of freedom that is hard to come by when traveling with the entire family.
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The Lost City of Z - Tracking History in the Amazon
[11 Mar 2009 at 4:27pm]
[David Grann just published a fascinating book about an adventure searching for an ancient mystery in the Amazon. We are pleased to be able to publish this brief excerpt of “The Lost City of Z which is the kind of travel book we love a combination of history and adventure in the worlds deepest, darkest jungles.]
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Caving and Quad Biking in Oudtshoorn, South Africa
[11 Mar 2009 at 4:26pm]
Explorers intrigued by centuries-old cave formations and the opportunity to investigate the world below ground will find activities to suit their subterranean tastes in the town of Oudtshoorn in South Africa.
Nestled in the Little Karoo region of the Western Cape of South Africa and a little more than 260 miles from Cape Town, Oudtshoorn is the ideal base for travelers headed to the world-famous Cango Caves. It also boasts opportunities to explore smaller local caves and discover the area near the Swartberg Mountains via quad bike.
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North Wales: From Snowdonias Peaks to the Seaside Spa
[10 Mar 2009 at 4:26pm]
According to my audacious climbing instructor the scenery was spectacular. But I couldnt look down.
The snow-capped peaks and misty basin of Cwm Idwals hanging valley might have been caked in pink icing and sprinkled with chocolate hail for all I cared. I just wanted my two feet firmly planted on its verdant ground.
Three hundred feet up and with three hundred feet to go, I began to wonder why I - a height-fearing, laptop-worshipping urbanite - had left the luxury of my four-star hotel to come to a rock climbers playground nicknamed Devils Kitchen (so called because of an ominous swirling plume seen to circle above Llyn Idwal Lake).
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Lowell, Massachusetts: History and Culture in the City of Kerouac
[26 Feb 2009 at 3:48pm]
While the 1995 documentary "High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell" was a critically acclaimed victory for HBO, it was a curse upon the fourth largest city in Massachusetts.
Lowell earned an ugly reputation in the early 1990s due to drug and gang issues, but since then a dramatic downtown revival has made the city a center of history and culture, from the historic mills and Jack Kerouac to art and the annual folk festival.
Between roughly 1840 and 1870, Lowells textile mills made the city a veritable hot spot for young immigrants who traveled to America in search of work. The young generation of mostly Irish settlers struggled to make a living in what was then known as the town of East Chelmsford, living on mere pennies a day.
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Competitours: A New Kind of Travel Competition
[26 Feb 2009 at 3:46pm]
If you're one of the 9.3 million people who tune in to The Amazing Race, then chances are the seasoned traveler in you can't help thinking: "I could do that!"
Steve Belkin, president and founder of Competitours travel competitions, agrees. His new company pits teams of two against each other in quirky challenges around Europe, each competing for the grand prize: a worldwide travel spree.
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The Champagne Region's Hidden Treasures
[20 Feb 2009 at 3:29pm]
Could the world turn without an occasional sip of real champagne? I doubt it.
Reims (or Rheims) is synonymous with champagne, or so I have always thought.
It is no doubt where you should start, especially considering that below the streets deep in the chalk soil are caves connected with miles and miles of tunnels. Nestled below are bottles and bottles of champagne, lovingly cared for and meticulously counted.
Troyes likewise was a definite stop when I headed to France's Champagne region. But on this trip to the area, I also wanted to explore some of the hidden gems, lesser-known places with age-old traditions.
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Hiking the Alps Near Torino: Getting to the Top is Worth the Work
[20 Feb 2009 at 3:28pm]
We motored by bus out of the city of Torino, heading for a mountain village deep into the Alps on a September afternoon. The small coach wound around the hairpin turns, and one of our mates kept putting his hands in front of his face, as he was afraid to look out the window. The bus strained as it made its way up the steep paved road, and pebbles flew off to the side down a vast face of rock.
By the side of the winding road, goats with long tapered horns grazed on an impossibly steep rock face. They were not wild mountain goats, but a herd tended by a faraway farmer.
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The Year in Beer: An Interview with the Beer Geeks
[20 Feb 2009 at 3:27pm]
For some beer lovers, attending both Oktoberfest and the Great British Beer Festival in a single year would be an accomplishment. For Chris Nelson and Merideth Canham-Nelson, those festivals were only a fraction of their Year in Beer, an odyssey that had the couple drinking pints in five European countries and seven U.S. cities throughout 2008.
The two first became interested in beer exploration during the 90s when Merideth got a job waitressing at a pub in Oakland, California that had 28 rotating beers on tap. She found it hard to keep them straight and wanted to know beer better.
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Machu Picchu: An Ancient Treaure Threatened by Man and Nature
[20 Feb 2009 at 3:26pm]
The Wow factor of the world's greatest archaeological treasures puts Machu Picchu near the top, along with Petra in Jordan, Ankgor Wat in Cambodia and Bagan in Myanmar, among others.
But when it comes to that most important of factors: location, setting and surroundings, Machu Picchu is either number one or tied with Petra, which is strewn along miles of red-rock canyons frequented by those early capitalists, the Nabatean spice traders.
Machu Picchu nestles between two pointy peaks at a modest 8,000 feet (2400 meters), the best known yet least understood of the great Incan ruins. No one has figured out exactly who lived there or why, or the reason for Machu Picchu's abandonment before the Spanish conquest in the early 1500s.
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Travel Writing Tips from Three Pros
[17 Feb 2009 at 10:40am]
GoNOMAD Editors Max Hartshorne and Kent St. John and Julia Dimon of the TV show Word Travels presented a seminar on travel writing for beginners in February at the NY Times Travel Show. Below are some tips that they offered the 180 attendees at the presentation. You'll also find some great outlets for beginning travel writers.
Julia Dimons Travel Writing Tips:
1) Find a Good Hook: Take a fresh point of view on an old subject or look for unusual new stories. Many of the places you will write about have been written about before, so you need to find something new and original to say that will grab a readers (and an editors attention.)
2) Be a Reporter: Traveling as a writer is different from traveling as a tourist. Take notes, ask questions, get quotes and notice the little details of your trip. How much did it cost, how long has it been open, how many people have visited, etc. Travel writing has been described as part reporting, part dear diary and part providing traveler information.
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Biking with the Europeans: Lower Cost, More Options
[17 Feb 2009 at 10:39am]
Everyone knows that bicycle tours are one of the best ways to experience Europe, but there are many different kinds of bicycle tours, and many different ways to book them.
Many US tour companies will make all the arrangements for your travel, lodging and dining and see that you cover the scenic and cultural highlights of a region -- with a group of your fellow Americans.
But you can generally save money and find greater flexibility by booking a tour with a European company because their volume is so much greater. Europeans average about a month of vacation every year, and consequently they do a lot more traveling, and especially a lot more bicycling.
Because they have so much more volume, European tours companies can charge as much as 70 percent less than tours booked with American tour companies, and they can offer a wider selection of tours and departure dates.
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Sweetheart Sites of Seattle
[10 Feb 2009 at 3:58pm]
Its that time of year again - when chocolate boxes are carved into hearts, roses brim from corner grocers, and cupid comes out of hiding. So, how are you going to celebrate the big day of romance?
What love-struck surprise can you conjure up for your favorite valentine? This year were taking you to the Pacific Northwest jewel of Seattle.
Although Seattles downtown core is a mish mash of past and present, it all works together harmoniously. New-age high rises hover above Gold Rush landmarks, trendy boutiques snuggle between flagship department stores and government headquarters brush up to corporate conglomerates.
There are countless cozy espresso bars where you can escape the drizzly weather, ethnic-varied restaurants to appease the most discerning palate and so much cultural diversity itll make your head spin. This destination thats embraced by the glistening Puget Sound and backed by snow tipped peaks is so picturesque itll tug on any heart strings.
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Surathkal Beach - Long Walks to Say Goodbye to 2008
[6 Feb 2009 at 3:35pm]
I like being around the sea a lot. Sesha likes to be around mountains. It is not that I do not like mountains, but I like sea equally if not more and it had been five years since I went anywhere near a beach.
The best part about Surathkal Beach is that it is empty. It is not like Goa beaches; the sand is for 10 meters or so but minus the crowds it felt like heaven.
Both of us had backpacks and the sun was high in the sky and it was almost noon. Still we took off our shoes, tied them to our backpacks and walked along the sea. There are small rocks which we climbed, got wet and slipped a little from!
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No Translation Necessary: A Taxi Ride in Northern Iran
[6 Jan 2009 at 3:35pm]
The shared taxi driver strapped on his fingerless driving gloves and gripped the small chain steering wheel as he jumped in, not what you want to see when you're about to travel a notoriously dangerous highway.
His needless revving of the tuned Paykan's engine and obvious impatience didn't exactly inspire confidence either. Things had started to look grim.
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A Segway Tour of Paris: Detours You Won't Find in Your Travel Guide
[30 Jan 2009 at 3:34pm]
Sure, youll visit the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc de Triomphe, but to glimpse a more authentic Paris, consider taking a few detours. Unique memories are sometimes made in the most unexpected places, so stash a copy of this article inside your travel guide when you head to Paris.
These are the unexpected spots where my favorite memories and Parisian impressions were made.
At school we called it an overview: a little taste of the things wed study more thoroughly in the future. In Paris, the effective overview is a Segway tour.
Segways are those two-wheeled scooter-like contraptions that you ride standing up. They look a little like an old-fashioned lawnmower with a platform for standing.
The four members of our tour, all new to Segways, were a bit wobbly at first. After about twenty minutes we were riding around as if we dodged Paris traffic every day.
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New York's Shawangunk Ridge: Hiking the Trail to Gertrudes Nose
[29 Jan 2009 at 2:24pm]
Nature works in mysterious ways. Otherwise, how does one explain the striking structure of the massive Shawangunk Ridge which extends from the northernmost point of New Jersey to the Catskill Mountains?
Nature has been at its powerful best while creating the layered silica-cemented Shawangunk conglomerate with bold strokes of pure white quartz pebbles and sandstone.
The vegetation is dense and the lakes around it are crystal clear. The Shawangunks contain mostly private land as well as land owned by the Mohonk Preserve, Minnewaska State Park Preserve and Sam's Point Preserve with more than 100 miles of hiking trails and several areas for rock climbing.
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Useful Travel Gadgets
[22 Jan 2009 at 4:26pm]
While planning your next get away, consider the wide array of travel items that have recently hit the market to help make the trip a little easier.
For a beach vacation in Mexico, clean drinking water can come in the form of a water purification drinking bottle. Toting neck cushions or warm travel socks could be the key to making a long plane or car ride as comfortable as possible.
And for techies who cant live without their iPhones, travel accessories like a portable fuel cell charger or a stylus for easy typing make bringing electronics abroad a snap.
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Family Fun in Goblin Valley, Utah: A Rare Jewel of Nature
[22 Jan 2009 at 4:25pm]
For a unique family travel experience, you can't beat Goblin Valley, Utah. Situated between Utah's more popular (and crowded) national parks, this unusual state park and the nearby Little Wild Horse slot canyon offer fun and adventure for young and old alike.
We visited in October, a great time of year when the air is warm, and the sunny skies are bright blue. We were so enchanted by the area that we stayed for a week.
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Entertainment, Information and Vacation Discounts at the 2009 New York Times ...
[22 Jan 2009 at 4:25pm]
GoNOMAD.com is proud to be a media partner for the sixth annual New York Times Travel Show to be held February 6 to 8, 2009, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. More than 400 exhibitors will be on hand representing more than 100 countries.
You can meet the staff of GoNOMAD.com at booth 1033 and learn about exotic destinations around the world. GoNOMAD.com is an alternative travel content website with more than 200,000 unique visitors per month.
GoNOMAD Editors Max Hartshorne and Kent St. John will conduct a workshop on travel writing, based on a highly successful workshop at last year's show.
Back from a trip and want to share what you saw with the world? Hartshorne and St. John will present an overview of the travel writing market for beginning travel writers and provide tips and tricks that will help get your articles published.
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Seville's Flamenco Museum: Dancing Anger and Ache in the Heart of the City
[20 Jan 2009 at 12:47pm]
It is evening in downtown Seville. With bated breath, a seated audience fills the inner courtyard of the Museum of Flamenco Dance.
The ceiling, at the top of the building's atrium, is echoingly high. The walls are a smooth embrace of stone pillars and brick. And tonight, all of it threatens to crumble beneath the frown on Antonio Granjero's face.
It's a look of anger and incredulity, and it is as essential to tonight's performance as the music and footwork itself.
Granjero has taken the stage as the male dancer in tonight's flamenco show. The performance, entitled "Vaya con Dios," or "Go with God," is the most explosive and energetic dance I have ever seen.
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Sarawak, Malaysia: A Muddy, Memorable Music Festival
[20 Jan 2009 at 12:43pm]
Now in its 11th year (2008), the Rainforest World Music Festival is held every July in a valley one hour west of the city of Kuching, Borneo. The beloved location is inside a sprawling living museum the Sarawak Cultural Village.
The goal is to promote peace and harmony by assembling renowned world musicians from all over the world. The venue splits at the seams with breaking attendance records and people still arrive without tickets, optimistic of finding a way in. Its akin to the Woodstock of Southeast Asia. About 9,000 other music fans joined me on this July evening.
Even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi and First Lady, Datin Sri Jeanne Abdullah are here. These VIPs mean little to me but wild applause ensues as they take their seats under a giant canvas.
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Caution: Funny Signs Ahead
[20 Jan 2009 at 12:42pm]
The folks at RoadTrip America have been collecting pictures of funny and odd road signs for years, and have an impressive online gallery of more than 400 photographs, submitted by RTA members from around the U.S. and Canada.
After twelve years of assembling “highway howlers online, RoadTrip America has released a collection of favorites called Caution: Funny Signs Ahead. The hilarious photos are accompanied by fitting captions, and the book inspires the reader to get out on the open road and find some silly ones themselves.
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Harmony with Horses: Equestrian Driver's Ed
[26 Dec 2008 at 2:26pm]
I am alone in a round pen, intentionally scaring a horse that could kill me.
I wave a wand that has a plastic bag tied to the end of it. This strange, snapping object scares the horse, making him trot nervously around the edges of the pen.
Tom Chambers, a Horse Listener is standing outside the pen, coaching me.
“Keep your eye on his rear flank, he says. “Dont look him in the eye. That tells him that you want him to go away. Okay, hes getting tired. Hes licking his lips, Thats baby talk for a horse. He wants you to take care of him and make the scary bag go away. When you want him to stop running, just say 'Stop!' in your brain."
Yeah, right. The horse is a mind-reader?
“Stop, I think, and the horse does. Wow.
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Tour de France 2009 Kicks off Tomorrow: Course Overview
by heidiswift
[3 Jul 2009 at 12:21pm]
Expect Suspense: Course Overview
This year’s course covers 3445 kilometers, visits a total of six nations (Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland, and Italy) and includes a team time trial for the first time since 2005.
Tour organizers have done their best to put together a course that will leave us on the edge of our seats until the final mountain stage on Saturday, July 25th. Instead of the usual prologue, things kick off with a full length TT (15.5k) that features almost 7 miles of climbing. The challenging first stage should begin to separate the men from the boys right off the bat.
Watch for Cavendish to come out swinging in the first week when the roads are relatively flat and his legs are fresh – Columbia-HTC will be eager to strike with early stage wins so that they can focus on supporting team leader and GC-contender Kim Kirchen as the tour hits the first of the mountain stages,
In Stage 7, the race heads into the Pyrenees mountains of Spain for three days where the race for the overall lead will begin to take shape. After returning to France, racers will enjoy a few more flat stages during week two before heading back into the mountains – the Alps this time - for a Stage 15 mountain-top finish in Verbier, followed by two more days of mountainous terrain.
The Alps will finish what the Pyrenees started. For the first time in history, Tour organizers have left the final, decisive mountaintop finish until Stage 20, the penultimate day ahead of the finish in Paris. The infamous Mt Ventoux claimed British cyclist Tom Simpsons life in 1967 and is considered one of the most legendary climbs in the history of the Tour.
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Tour de France 2009 Preview
by Heidi Swift
[2 Jul 2009 at 1:04pm]
Team Columbia-HTC Prepares to Attack the 2009 Tour de France The roster is stacked, long training miles are banked and the boys of Team Columbia-HTC are headed to Paris. Poised to continue the impressive winning streak that has characterized their 2009 season, they’ll ride into the Tour de France boasting 49 wins (including 6 National Championship titles) already this year – the most of any team in professional cycling. With a new co-sponsor added early this week (HTC, a designer of mobile phones), the pre-Tour excitement has reached a fever pitch. A new co-sponsor means new kits (team uniforms) so keep your eyes out for a fresh look just in time for the big show. They’ll reveal their updated spandex super-hero outfits in Monaco on July 3rd, the day before things kick off on Stage One. Last year, the team managed to pull off a stunning debut Tour de France performance with 5 individual stage wins and 4 days in the yellow jersey as well as a host of other honors. And we’re expecting them to go just as big for 2009. The fastest man in the world? Worried about whether you’ll be able to recognize the team in their new gear? Don’t be. If world-class sprinter and human land-rocket Mark Cavendish has anything to say about it, Team Columbia-HTC should be hard to miss during the opening stages. Cavendish, whom many believe is the fastest man on a bike right now, won a remarkable four stages in last year’s Tour de France – and you can believe he has his sights set on a repeat. Having nabbed two stages of the Giro d’Italia this May (and a host of other major wins), the Englishman from Isle of Man looks primed to light things up when the finish line approaches – but in a field stacked with talented sprinters, he’s going to have his work cut out for him. read more
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Skiing the Dakobed Traverse --'Tools or Toys'
by gordys
[15 Jun 2009 at 3:51pm]
Oh man, this sucks! I haven't thrown a full load on my back in years, and now I'm paying the price in mental anguish that feels totally terminal. I keep shifting my pack, in which I've tossed out all but the lightest essentials, to minimize the slicing into my shoulders. With some 7 miles of bare White River Trail before us it's unavoidable--my skis and boots are strapped onto my five day load for full effect. It's counter intuitive. As a habit I resist carrying ski gear. By design they're meant to be on my feet - not the back, and to do so I might as well throw in a couple of rocks for good measure. Focusing on the end game, I endure the pain knowing that the traveling gain will be justified. In fact, that's the point of our venture into the Dakobed Range. Skis, like a rope - ice axe - foot crampons make traverses possible when otherwise it might not be. They provide lateral and vertical leverage; allowing distance to flow unconstrained along the mountain spine. Marcel Kurz, who pioneered the Chamonix-to-Zermatt Haute Route in 1911, wrote, "In the high mountains the ski ceases to be a plaything. Circumstances make it a tool--the most useful aid to the winter mountaineer--but a simple tool intended to make traveling easier--something which we put on or take off like crampons and which is only a means to an end." read more
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Bend's Pole Pedal Paddle Prepares for Yet Another Appearance
by Serena Bishop
[7 May 2009 at 9:16pm]
The daffodils are starting to show off their color and neglected bikes are making their way out of garages, sheds and basements. Swarms of brightly colored boats navigate to and fro along the Deschutes River; paddlers uncertain of their balance and ability. Skate ski sessions end with down hill bike rides and nervous captains work diligently to fill the empty the slots on their team roosters. Bend is preparing for its signature event, the Pole, Pedal, Paddle. Kicking off the start of summer and giving a final hurrah to ski season, Bend’s Annual Pole Pedal Paddle is an event that draws 2,800 competitors; teams, tandems and individuals skiing; skating, cycling, running, paddling and sprinting from Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort to Bend’s Les Schwab Amphitheater. Preparation for the PPP can vary widely from intense months of endurance training to night before costume selection – and that is what makes it such a great event. Competitive athletes, families, friends, and the reluctant out-of-town uncle all come to get in on the fun. To be mildly prepared is a good thing, especially if undertaking the event alone. Following is a breakdown of what you will need to successfully complete the 6 stages for the Pole Pedal Paddle. 1. The Downhill Ski: To be competitive: Alpine skis with rear entry boots, your skate boots worn inside (for a speedy transition) and a current or former member of the US Alpine Ski Team To have fun: Snowboard or skis and the ability to ski down a Mt. Bachelor blue run To finish: Point your skis, snowboard or sled down hill and hope for the best 2. The Nordic Ski: To be competitive: Skate skis with fresh race wax and a competitive member of XC Oregon To have fun: Skate or Classic skies, at least one season of Nordic skiing under your belt and an intermediate level of mastery of those skinny skis To finish: The ability to make it up Screamer without passing out read more
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Frisco Fresh ? Backcountry Skiing
by gordys
[31 Mar 2009 at 2:39pm]
As I break out of the trees onto the frozen surface of Rainy Lake my spirit soars with the opening view. It feels good to be out. The muted light that display's eye catching shadows, shapes and lines is captivating, and super surreal. I'm encouraged to shift my up hill mode into touring casual. After a couple of storm cycles it's certain that epic powder stashes await throughout the high mountain reaches, but the perfect March temps and longer days have highlighted the buena vistas, and the call to slow the pace is in order. read more
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From Chaco Canyon to Sky City
by peterp
[18 Mar 2009 at 2:04pm]
Even in early spring the New Mexico sun has me shedding layers as I work my way northwest up the sandy wash that defines Chaco Canyon. Here in the backcountry, a palpable sense of mystery and even spirituality permeates this storied landscape. There’s something about Chaco Canyon--and it’s spooky cluster of enormous kivas and great houses so skillfully constructed a millennia ago in a unique masonry style--that makes hiking here unique in the Southwest.. read more
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Video: Art Wolfe Previews Bolivia's Remote Altiplano
[16 Mar 2009 at 11:51am]
As part of his ongoing collaboration with GreatOutdoors.com, photographer Art Wolfe previews another segment from his award-winning PBS series, Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. This time, Art takes us to Bolivia’s remote and rugged Altiplano.
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Art Wolfe Photographs Bolivia?s Remote Altiplano
by GreatOutdoors.com Staff
[16 Mar 2009 at 11:22am]
In this episode of Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe, Art visits one of the earth’s most extreme environments—the high, rugged and remote Altiplano. More lunar than earthly in appearance, Bolivia’s high plain is a land lost in time. The Altiplano’s dazzling dreamscapes include the world’s largest salt flat, an island of golden cactus, scarlet-tinted lakes, twin volcanoes and surreal skies. See Art's video introduction to this program.
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Kick and Glide in the Canadian Rockies
by peterp
[24 Feb 2009 at 11:45am]
It takes less than an hour to ski from historic Num-Ti-Jah Lodge on the north shore down to the south end of Bow Lake, but this is one easy round trip that can prove unforgettable. The snow-covered peaks forming the crest of the Canadian Rockies are lined up like brothers along the west shore of the lake, making a storybook backdrop to the mid-winter scene. The open, table-flat expanse of the frozen lake adds an airy, big-sky feel to the austere beauty of these iconic mountains. And, as our skis carry us quickly across the snowy surface of lake ice, the genuine solitude found here serves as the finishing touch to a winter outing in this spectacular corner of the Rockies. read more
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Coffee with Art Wolfe, Part III
by peterp
[19 Feb 2009 at 11:26am]
World renowned photographer Art Wolfe talks with GreatOutdoors.com editor Peter Potterfield about the challenges, and the rewards, of the world-wide journeys he makes to produce his PBS Television program, Travels to the Edge with Art Wolf. See the beginning of this interview with Art, and see more about Travels to the Edge, including photo galleries, on GreatOutdoors.com.
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Coffee with Art Wolfe, Part I
by peterp
[19 Feb 2009 at 11:24am]
World renowned photographer Art Wolfe talks with GreatOutdoors.com editor Peter Potterfield about the challenges, and the rewards, of the world-wide journeys he makes to produce his PBS Television program, Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. See more of this interview with Art, and see more about Travels to the Edge, including photo galleries, on GreatOutdoors.com.
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Coffee with Art Wolfe, Part II
by peterp
[19 Feb 2009 at 11:14am]
World renowned photographer Art Wolfe talks with GreatOutdoors.com editor Peter Potterfield about the challenges, and the rewards, of the world-wide journeys he makes to produce his PBS Television program, Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. See more of this interview with Art, and see more about Travels to the Edge, including photo galleries, on GreatOutdoors.com.
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Lakpa Rita Becomes First Sherpa to Top of Seven Summits
by GreatOutdoors.com Staff
[17 Feb 2009 at 2:55pm]
Acclaimed mountain guide Lakpa Rita Sherpa confirmed his place in Sherpa and mountaineering history on February 13th when he stood atop Mount Kilimanjaro and became the first Sherpa to climb the Seven Summits—the highest peaks on every continent. Africa’s highest peak was the last of the summits for the 43-year old Sherpa man, who has been climbing since 1984 and first climbed Mount Everest in 1990. He was joined on the five-day journey to the top of the snow-capped 19,340-foot Kilimanjaro by Leavenworth, Washington alpinist Joe Puryear, who has documented the venture at www.climbafrica.blogspot.com. Sherpa Adventure Gear (www.sherpaadventuregear.com), a Renton, Washington manufacturer of apparel for mountain sports, sponsored the climb of Kilimanjaro.
The experienced mountain guide found Kilimanjaro easy compared to other high altitude ascents, but “extremely beautiful and interesting,” Lakpa Rita Sherpa wrote in an e-mail. “The route we climbed was very convoluted with much back and forth and lots of up and down. However the descent was straight down.” He was surprised that “it was very, very crowded on the mountain,” noting he and Puryear passed over 200 people the morning they reached the summit. They arrived at dawn on February 13th after a four-hour climb from their final camp with weather that was very cold but clear. To celebrate at the summit, "we danced and sang a traditional song with our local partners," wrote Lakpa Rita Sherpa.
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Sherpa Poised to be First Atop Seven Summits
by GreatOutdoors.com Staff
[13 Feb 2009 at 10:10am]
Editor's Note, 2/14/2009: Lakpa was successful, climbing to Kilimanjaro's summit on Feb. 14, see details. Lakpa Rita Sherpa left his home in Seattle on February 7th bound for Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro in the hopes of doing what no Sherpa has done before—climb the Seven Summits—the highest peaks on every continent. The 43-year old climber, who has lived near Seattle for almost a decade, hopes to summit the 19,340-foot peak on February 13th. The six-day climb will be the last and perhaps easiest of the Seven Summits for the experienced mountain guide. read more
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Art Wolfe Introduces Travels to the Edge
by peterp
[10 Feb 2009 at 4:22pm]
Noted photographer Art Wolfe offers GreatOutdoors.com users a personal introduction to his PBS program, Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. For more, see Coffee with Art Wolfe, the three part inteview with Art conducted by GreatOutoors.com editor Peter Potterfield.
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Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe
by GreatOutdoors.com Staff
[10 Feb 2009 at 4:06pm]
Art Wolfe, an internationally acclaimed photographer, invites GreatOutdoors.com users to experience the world with him as he travels and photographs the world, from Patagonia to Madagascar, from Alaska to Antarctica, from Ethiopia to India to produce his PBS program, Travels to the Edge. Art has already filmed 26 episodes of Travels to the Edge, and each episode is featured in a corresponding photo gallery on GreatOutdoors.com. The program can be seen on most PBS stations. As Art travels the world to capture images of glaciers, deserts, rainforests and remote mountain peaks, he shares his knowledge about the world around him, and moves his viewers with his curiosity and enthusiasm for places, cultures and creatures great and small. In each episode Art teaches professional photographic techniques in such an intimate manner you'll feel as if you are right there with him. See Art Wolfe's personal introduction of Travels to the Edge for GreatOutdoors.com users, and don't miss Coffee with Art Wolfe, an expansive three part interview with Art conducted by GreatOutdoors.com editor, Peter Potterfield. Photo Galleries from Travels to the Edge episodes:The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
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Mad Dogs and an Englishwoman
by Polly Evans
[1 Feb 2009 at 12:09pm]
I’ve never been good with the cold, so it was with some nervousness that I set off for three months in Canada’s Yukon Territory, where winter temperatures drop to forty below and the sun rises for just a few hours each day. My mission was to learn to drive sled dogs.
“When you’re in a room of ten people, are you among the five who are too hot, or the five who are too cold,” Frank Turner asked me on my first morning. I was staying at his kennels, Muktuk (it’s the Inuit word for whale blubber), just outside Whitehorse. Frank is experienced with chilly weather; he’s competed in the thousand-mile Yukon Quest dogsledding race more than twenty times. I told him that I would be among the five who were cold. I didn’t like to add that, where nine of those people were perspiring, I would be the one reaching for an extra sweater.
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Into the Yukon?s Kluane National Park
by Polly Evans
[1 Feb 2009 at 11:57am]
The three of us stood stripped to our underwear and contemplated the rushing glacial stream. The water came to hip height—if we wanted to stay dry we’d have to undress still further—but wordlessly we agreed to cling to this one last vestige of propriety. And then, backpack waist straps unclipped in case of calamity and using each other’s bodies for support, we inched our way through the numbing torrents. read more
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Art Wolfe Previews the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
by GreatOutdoors.com
[13 Jan 2009 at 11:44am]
As part of his ongoing collaboration with GreatOutdoors.com, photographer Art Wolfe previews another segment from his award-winning PBS series, Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. This time, Art takes us to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
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Art Wolfe Photographs Alaska's Arctic Wildlife Refuge
by GreatOutdoors.com Staff
[13 Jan 2009 at 11:16am]
In this episode of Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe, Art visits the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Sometimes called America’s Serengeti, this is iconic wilderness. Art rafts down the icy Kongakut River to document America’s last pure and untamed wilderness. He chronicles the desolate, yet abundant beauty of the tundra and the rugged landscapes of the Brooks Range. He turns his lens on the delicate birds and animals for which the Refuge is a vital habitat and intersects the great Porcupine caribou herd on its annual migration to the coastal plain. See Art's video introduction to this program.
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Today's Hero: Kassi Figueroa
by 2175forALS.com
[29 Dec 2008 at 6:35am]
Good Morning! Today our Hero is Kassi Figueroa and her mother. We are very grateful to Kassi for sending us herstory and enabling us to learn of her Lou Gehrig's Disease: After a decade of ALS facts in my head and statistics in my very DNA, you'd think I'd be able to dissect the disease in layman's terms in one short sentence. But I can't! Lou Gehrig's Disease is literally the WORST disease I've ever seen, and it's not an easy thing to describe to someone, because the very words give me anxiety. So...for those people who want a clean version, don't ask me. Because, although I wasn't the one lying in that bed for over a year, miserable in my own skin with my mind intact and WHOLE...I DID watch that person do it. She was my mother. My YOUNG, incredibly BRAVE, mother. She was 41 when she was diagnosed with ALS. My mom was always a busy person, but when she started suffering back pain and refused to sit in the car for long periods of time, we knew something was up. My mom had always been the first one to get excited about a road trip!! I made a trip up the Oregon Coast to Seaside and I asked my mom to drive up the coast and meet me. She told me her back could not handle that road trip and that it would start going in to spasms if she sat and the cramps were too bad to enjoy anything anymore. My parents started talking about getting some testing done to see what was going on regarding her muscles. I was 21, fresh out of the Navy and newly pregnant with my first child when my father took my mom up to Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon for some neurological tests. We, or I...assumed it would be MS. That....I was prepared for.
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Four Seasons Resort at Whistler
by GreatOutdoors.com
[17 Dec 2008 at 4:47pm]
As soon as you pull up to the Four Seasons Resort at Whistler you know you are in for an unusual experience. The skis and snowboards are whisked away to the ski concierge facility at the base of the Wizard lift, a five minute walk away, already waiting for your first run before you’ve even entered the stone and timbered lobby of the hotel. Inside, the huge spaces and dramatic artworks remind you that you are in Whistler’s iconic accommodation. But the big surprise is how comfortable it all feels, how easy going, without a trace of the stiffness you might find in an urban setting. read more
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First Ride on the Peak 2 Peak at Whistler
by GreatOutdoors.com
[17 Dec 2008 at 2:42pm]
Car number six leaves the Roundhouse Lodge station on Whistler heading toward Blackcomb Mountain's Rendezvous Lodge at 11:12 a.m. on December 12, 2008, the opening day of the Peak 2 Peak Gondola
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Peak 2 Peak Gondola Opens at Whistler
by GreatOutdoors.com Staff
[14 Dec 2008 at 2:07pm]
Even the near-blizzard conditions couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of those gathered below the mammoth new Peak 2 Peak gondola station at Whistler Mountain’s Roundhouse Lodge on December 12. Red-coated Mounties, speechifying politicians, assorted VIPS and a noisy riot of skiers and boarders crowded around the elaborate stage to watch history unfold. read more
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Today's Hero: Ben Byer
by 2175forALS.com
[1 Dec 2008 at 5:22am]
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Today, we introduce you to Ben Byer, former actor, producer and film-maker from Chicago. After being diagnosed with ALS in 2002, Ben began documenting his life on film. We are grateful to Ben for using his talents in film to communicate his experience and through this medium, offer others the chance to learn from his life. *Be Well! Team 2175 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Ben Byer
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Today's Hero: Minna Mettin-Kekalainen
by 2175forALS.com
[28 Nov 2008 at 5:33am]
Good Morning!Today - Friday, November 28th - we bring you the story of Minna Mettin-Kekalainen. “I like to associate myself with people who don’t believe in limitations,” she said.*Embrace the day-and Be Well,Team 2175 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Paralysis no Limit for SkydiverDate Published, Nov. 24, 2008
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Today's Hero: Patrick O'Brien
by 2175forALS.com
[27 Nov 2008 at 5:31am]
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Happy Thanksgiving! Our Hero today is Patrick O’Brien, whose story was brought to our attention by Michele; she says,
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Today's Hero: Pam
by 2175forALS.com
[26 Nov 2008 at 5:33am]
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Today, we celebrate Pam. Her story was sent to us by Michele - who learned of 2175 for ALS after her mother, the Director of a support group for PALS, handed her our flier. Michele wrote us at the beginning of September, eager to share stories with us – and we are grateful to be able to share them with you. We hope too to bring you Michele’s story in the days to come too. Thank you for sharing Michele, and giving others the chance to hear Pam’s story and learn of her selflessness and resolve! *Be Well, Team 2175 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Since our involvement with the ALS community, we have made some amazing friends which I would love to tell you about. The first here is from a woman named Pam - which my sister realized was one of her student’s Mothers from 9 years ago. One of the best Mothers in her 15 years of teaching. She is the inspiration behind our CarnivalforPals, a joy to be with, and if running could find a cure, you would run for days straight if you met her.
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advanture in jordan
[1 Jul 2009 at 1:13pm]
hiking+ climping into rum valley or wadi rum
diving into aqaba the red sea.
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How ADVENTUROUS are you when you TraveL?
[30 Jun 2009 at 10:26pm]
If we are talking about more than a week of vacation, I must plan it. especially it the word "flight" is involved. if otherwise, I just hit the street. :lol:.
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What was you most amazing tour?
[26 Jun 2009 at 1:58am]
Well, there are many amzing tours. But my most amazing adventure tour was Costa Rica trip. Really that was wonderful trip. I went with my husband there. Hiking, biking, surfing, horse back riding made this trip unique for me. You should go there and enjoy your vacations. :lol:.
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Best Diving Place EVER
[25 Jun 2009 at 3:57am]
Cuba is the largest of the Caribbean islands at 760 miles long.
For me Cuba is a fascinating place for diving...
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Crazy holidays?
[25 Jun 2009 at 1:10am]
I would like to go to Kenya for a jungle safari.
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Where is the best place to visit in the world?
[20 Jun 2009 at 3:52am]
India for sheer daftness sometimes lol!
I think buying a knackered old jeep and crossing Africa would be a laugh. Have to watch which country you visit though....... :lol:.
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Travelling overland from Manchester to Singapore.
[14 Jun 2009 at 5:00am]
Hey, Im just in the midst of planning a trip to New Zealand at the end of the year to; hopefully work in some capacity as a photographer. Originally I was simply going to fly straight their but thought I'd make my way their overland to make it more interesting. Having been looking into this for a few months now, I've come across a few ideas.
If anyone could comment on these with regards to budgets, routes, times to go, places to see, things to do etc, that would be amazing. Any help at all would be cool.
At the moment Im thinking of setting off in late Febuary 2010, travelling through Europe via train. Paris, Cologne, Warsaw and onto Moscow. Following this could be a ride on the Trans Mongolian line of the Trans Siberian express to Irkutsk near Lake Baikel. From here would be another train journey through Mongolia and onto Beijing.
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Adventure Travel in tight budget?
[12 Jun 2009 at 3:55am]
[quote]I am living in the Philippines...[/quote]
Are you really? Only you put "India" as your location, and that is consistent with the IP address that you are posting from.
[url=http://www.aardvarktravel.net/chat/viewtopic.php?t=38221]And there were we thinking you were from New Jersey.[/url] Hmmm....
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North east india Region- Safe for Adventure Travel?
[12 Jun 2009 at 12:01am]
I had visited Arunachal Pradesh about ten years ago. North East is grand for adventure travel. But I want to know can anyone travel in these regions or are there any travel companies? I want to know about the destination, accommodation, climate and mode of transport..
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Fly Fishing Holidays
[10 Jun 2009 at 7:10am]
Alaska is the place to go salmon fishing. When the states wild salmon return from the Pacific to spawn, they flood the rivers and push upstream in underwater swarms..
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Travel Agent that specializes in bicycle touring!!
[10 Jun 2009 at 5:57am]
I am fond of bikes and would like to go on a tour. But many people are discouraging me. They think I am crazy and lack maturity. I want to know is there any travel agent who would support my idea. Any Advice pls.???.
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Around the world trip - how to plan it?
[5 Jun 2009 at 3:40am]
Hey,
Wow it sounds like you want to pack a lot into your travels! The only thing I would say about your destinations is that your flights will be through the roof if you want to go to all of them, round the world tickets are a good idea but you only get a certain number of stops so I would choose to go to only the top 5 or 6 countries, you'll also get more of a chance to explore properly if you limit your list.
The other thing I would recommend is something I've been looking into; volunteering. There are actually loads of companies that offer great travel experiences; i-to-i is one of the ones I've been looking at, they're cool because they work with local projects so you'll be really helping out and they work in some amazing countries, you can just google i-to-i and take a look,
Hope this helped a bit!.
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adventure travel
[4 Jun 2009 at 7:52pm]
To me, adventure travel means many things... sometimes I go off on a whim with every intention of getting lost. I have also been known to pull off the highway on a scenic road just to see where it goes. I especially like to do things or walk paths less taken by others. I often find myself wondering, "When's the last time someone has gone down there?" Or "When's the last time someone took that overgrown path?" then I usually go there..
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who is favorite country
[21 May 2009 at 6:49am]
I like scenery that's why I love Switzerland ! So without a doubt, it is my favourite country..
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Time Travel
[21 May 2009 at 6:41am]
I wish to go back pre 9/11 world. :(.
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