What would we do without The Economist and its great sidebars? This one shows just how much certain countries smoke. According to ERC, a market research company, the heaviest smokers come from Greece, with an average of 3,000 cigarettes per person in 2007. At 20 cigarettes per pack, that makes 150 packs in a year; a lot of puffing.

Despite recent smoking bans in many places, European countries still manage to hold 18 of the top 20 spots. The most surprising statistic? That France smokes less than the U.S. Whatever happened to the stereotypical image of the French, dressed in all black, a serious look on their face and a Gauloises glued to their fingers? It could have something to do with the price of cigarettes; a pack runs about 5 euros in France, equaling just a little under $8.

Click here to see how these results changed from 2006.

The last two weeks of The Travel Channel's Cash and Treasures on Wednesday night haven't included kids at the dig sites, a quality I was impressed by early on. Still, I continue to be hooked into this show. This week, I stuck around for the back to back episodes because host Kristin Gum headed out of the United States for points south in what worked as a double feature. Normally, the first half hour show satisfies me. The episode right after the first usually has a totally different theme.

Episodes: Digging for aquamarines, morganites and more.

What are they? Gems that can be worth beau coups bucks. Aquamarines range from dark green to a light blue, like clear water. Morganites are light pinkish. Gum found an aquamarine worth $3,000 and a morganite worth $1,481, once they were cut and polished.

Location: In the mountains and hills of Southeastern Brazil before the jaunt to Rio de Janeiro for the cutting and polishing. The first episode was shot in Governardor Valadares in the state of Minas Gerais at the Jaco Mine. The second episode was at the Rio Doce Mine near Rio Doce.

Getting to the Jaco Mine involved first taking a train and then a jeep on an unpaved road with 32 switchbacks. The bonus of the effort, besides the gems, was the gorgeous scenery. Gum was given mining tips by the mine's owner and his son. The snaking tunnel of the mines where the walls shimmered turned up nothing, but once Gum sifted through the tailings using a large screen, she found several aquamarines. One of them was large piece that was turned into the $3,000 beauty. The others were the type you'd put in a collection and were not considered valuable.

It could have been the longest cigar ever rolled, but it probably won't be.

Cuba's stogie-rolling king Jose Castelar, 64, teamed up with five assistants, using nearly 93 pounds (42 kilograms) of top-quality tobacco to assemble a 98-foot (30-meter) cigar, AP reports. Castelar set Guinness Records for the world's longest cigars in 2001, 2003 and April 2005, when he completed a stogie measuring 20.41 meters, just shy of 67 feet.

But Castelar, who learned the art of cigar-making from an uncle at age 5, is likely to fall short this time: Guinness says Puerto Rican cigar-maker Patricio Pena crafted a 41.2-meter (135-foot) stogie last year. Competition from cigar rollers in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico is "stiff but friendly," driving Castelar to keep rolling.

Honestly, what makes Cuban cigars "so much better" than Puerto Rican or Dominican cigars? Is it the forbidden fruit factor?

[via contracostatimes.com]

Traveling with food allergies must be hard.

Even in many countries in Europe, menus simply don't list all the ingredients used in meals. My Canadian friend went into an allergic shock in Prague because of his nuts allergy. He figured eating a sandwich would be safe. Of course, they didn't mention the sandwich had pesto in it. And pesto contains pine nuts...

And that's Prague, which is now fairly Westernized. Imagine what it must be like to travel in Asia, where not only do they use peanuts a lot more but it is much harder to read the menus and find people who speak English well enough.

This ABC article talks about traveling with allergies. It is about the challenges of a traveler with serious food allergies, who presents a card to the waiter noting his allergies to peanuts and peas, written in the native tongue. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. Some waiters even say that they have "never heard of such allergies."

I found it really interesting to read, although I don't have any allergies. How do you deal with food allergies when traveling?

23-year old Madrileño Pablo Barbadillo Maestre went to the Amazon in south eastern Peru to research for his thesis on the ethnoecology of big reptiles. He disappeared a few weeks ago and yesterday his body was found covered with bites from insects and animals. They identified him from the passport they found on him.

The cause of his death is still unknown but the guess is that he could have been attacked by tribes in the Amazon; however there is no evidence of violence.

This rings home because 1) he was a young student not afraid to travel alone in the wilderness of the Amazon 2) although he is said to be found in a remote area of the jungle, he had been there previously and was familiar with his surroundings. We can assume he was well prepared for the trip.

It could have been anyone. I wonder what he did wrong? I wonder if he could have avoided it? What protection items should he have taken with him that he didn't have already? What lesson can we learn from this?

In the world of travel, it is impossible to keep up with the Joneses. No matter where you go and what you experience there, "they" have always been someplace more remote, did something more adventurous, and saw something far better than you.

Now, try to keep up with the Indiana Joneses!

On Friday, Expedia launched 10 Indiana Jones adventure vacations. Travelers can take a custom tour to 10 locations that either appeared in--or were inspired by--the Indy movies.

How do some of these sound to you?

• Horseback riding in Petra, Jordan (like in "The Last Crusade")
• Elephant safari in India (like in "Temple of Doom")
• Visiting Incan ruins in Peru (like in the new movie, "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull")

I can tell you right now, they all sound great to me, even though I am not a huge packaged-vacation fan.

According to CCN Money, Expedia is also holding a Summer of Adventure Sweepstakes, offering an opportunity for site visitors to win travel prizes and daily giveaways. The contest will award one grand prize of two Indiana Joneses travel experiences for two; weekly prizes will include a family movie adventure to Southern California complete with Disneyland Resort Park Hopper tickets, a VIP visit to Universal Studios Hollywood, movie tickets to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and more.

We celebrated Earth Day here at Gadling with a contest, an ode, and a ticket out of hell. Not bad.

Also this week:

• Kelsey gave us a surfing lesson.
• Grant reviewed Burton's Sleeper Hoodie v2.0, and I'm seriously intrigued. Grant also had a nice chat with Virgin CEO David Cush -- check it out here.
  
• Matthew listed 5 mistakes that newcomers to Japan make.
• In his series Plane Answers, Kent responded to the question "When did first class become the crew lounge?"
• Jeremy brought us the news that the Inca Trail is booked up through September. If you're headed to Peru make sure you've got alternative plans for trekking to Machu Picchu.
  

That's all! Have a fabulous weekend.

In the initial planning stage, we had a hard time finding recommendations about what kind of car would be the best for this type of trip, so we had to muddle through on our own and hope that whatever we chose would be hardy enough to withstand a year long (maybe more) driving trip.

Choosing a car can be a bit difficult -- you don't want to stick out too much, but you also need a car in good, solid condition that will be able to tolerate the demanding roads and sweltering heat.

Here are some things to consider when choosing a car for a long road trip of this nature:

Make of Car

Mexico seems to have an abundance of Fords, Toyotas, and Volkswagens. But we've also spotted plenty of Isuzu Troopers, Land Rovers and Jeeps. Some of the most popular models are the Ford Bronco and standard Toyota truck, which we were told are some of the easiest cars to fix. Our VW, a 1991 Golf, has done well, but finding parts has proved to be an issue (at least in the Baja) -- something we did not anticipate.

A Ford truck or SUV seems to be the way to go. Whichever car you do choose, try to pick one with a relatively simple engine, this way if you do require a mechanic's help they should be able to get you back on the road as soon as possible.

When writing my blog about the recent violence in Chicago last night, I stumbled upon the Forbes list of the world's most dangerous destinations for 2008.

Here they are:

• Somalia
• Iraq
• Afghanistan
• Haiti
• Pakistan
• Sudan
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Lebanon
• Zimbabwe
• Palestine

Although some of these might not exactly be tourist destinations, it is interesting how that list has changed over the years.

Forbes writes that "in the 1970s, a traveler's worst nightmare might have been a hijacked plane or hostage crisis. Today, the threats are equally perilous but reflect the changing times. Now, a tourist or business traveler might worry more about terrorist attacks on mass transit, getting caught in a spontaneous uprising or a bombing of a nightclub or hotel."

A thrilling ride down the "Camino de la Muerte," or "Death Road," has become a popular adventure destination in Bolivia. I, personally, get nauseous just looking at the photo.

A 56-year old U.S. tourist, Kenneth Mitchell, was killed here in mountain-biking accident after tumbling from his rented bicycle and falling down a 200-foot cliff. Mitchell is the 12th cyclist to die on the road in the last decade.

The highway east from La Paz, the world's highest capital city, winds dramatically down the face of the Andes, dropping 11,800 feet in just 40 miles. According to IHT, the narrow dirt track earned its nickname for the frequency with which Bolivian buses would plunge off its 3,300-foot cliffs, killing hundreds a year until a new paved highway opened 2007.

The cause of the accident is unknown. Mitchell's bike, left behind at the cliff's edge, was in perfect working order. Strange.