I was in Mexico last December, just before the 21st of the month. The date would come and go without catastrophe, of course, but the fringe theories had brought Maya culture to the forefront of the media and I took the opportunity to learn a bit about the ancient and ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Stories
Riviera Maya: An Accidental Honeymoon
I was in Mexico last December, just before the 21st of the month. The date would come and go without catastrophe, of course, but the fringe theories had brought Maya culture to the forefront of the media and I took the opportunity to learn a bit about the ancient and ...Your Kickstarter Vacation. My Money. No.
When we ran out of money, we were on a beach in Corfu. My boyfriend trawled the construction sites until he found a job hauling cement. I checked in at restaurants and hotels, but failed to turn anything up. I gave up after about a week; there was no work to be had. I ...Vagabond Tales: Where Is The Roof Of North America?
For some reason, every continent seems to have a roof.
Bolivia is known as "the roof of South America" for its high, empty and multi-colored altiplano that has an average elevation of 12,300 feet.
Mt. Kilimanjaro has been called "the roof of Africa" for its ...April In Paris At The Bagatelle
April in Paris is about spring buds, blossoms, lovers and delicate sunshine – everyone knows that. Just because the temperatures are often in the 30s or 40s Fahrenheit, branches still barren, makes no difference at all. So it was with a light heart and step that I ...Drive Nacho Drive: Bloggers Navigate China By VW Bus And Kickstarter Campaign
We've heard of camping excursions and perhaps the occasional extended road trip in retrofitted buses, but what about an around-the-world adventure? That's exactly what's planned for Brad and Sheena Van Orden, an Arizona couple who has already trekked from the United States ...Festival Of Colors: New York City
It's the weekend of one of New York City's Holi Festival of Colors and spring is just beginning to appear in the cloudless and bright blue sky. This particular event is being held outdoors in an elusive location in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. The address was only released a ...Vagabond Tales: Fear And Loathing In San Felipe
The strip clubs in San Felipe, Mexico, aren't open on Tuesdays.
For most travelers to Baja, this isn't overly concerning. After all, with all of the surfing, fishing, diving and fish taco eating that can easily consumer your entire day, the fact that strip clubs are ...Think Your Job Is Tough? Take A Tour Of The Beckley Coal Mine In West Virginia For A Reality Check
If you want to feel better about your job, take a tour of the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine in Beckley, West Virginia. On a recent tour of the vintage mine we learned about the extreme dangers and hardships miners faced a century ago when hundreds of thousands of people in ...A Traveler In The Foreign Service: Tribute To Slain Diplomat Anne Smedinghoff
The Foreign Service lost one of its own on Saturday when a suicide bomber detonated explosives that killed 25-year-old Foreign Service Officer Anne Smedinghoff and four other Americans, three soldiers and one civilian Department of Defense employee in Afghanistan. ...Trekking Couple Circles Planet Three Times In 424 Days
They started trekking the planet more than a year ago, promising to travel the globe bringing children in classrooms from around the world with them, virtually, as they visited scores of countries and continents. Now their journey is complete and Darren and Sandy Van Soye ...A Journey To Sissonville, West Virginia, Home Of Shain Gandee And MTV's 'Buckwild'
Tourism officials are always looking for promotional hooks, and using connections to popular TV shows has long been a common way to market a destination. In the '80s, television programs like "Miami Vice" and "Magnum P.I." boosted tourism in South Florida and Hawaii, while ...Video Of The Day: New York City In 3 Words
"3 words for NYC" from Cokau on Vimeo.
New York City might be polarizing in that love/hate kind of way, but in the end, the reasons to love the city seem limitless. One could use thousands of words to describe what's to love about NYC, but the more difficult thing to ...
No Bones About The Wonders Of Vézelay
Once upon a time, in the days of gluttonous yore - the 1980s - the celebrated Burgundian hill town of Vézelay, crowned by the Basilica of Mary Magdalene, was known as "a site of gastronomic pilgrimage." Rarely did anyone evoke Magdalene's relics or her UNESCO ...A Personal Lament To The Death Of Guidebooks
It was with a heavy heart that I read the news last week that Frommer's guidebooks will cease to be printed. The guidebooks were purchased by Google last summer, and as of this year, the entire future list of titles will not be released. With the takeover of digital apps, ...Galley Gossip: The Worst, Funniest And Most Common Bad Passengers I've Encountered
From time to time I get asked questions about bad passengers. I thought I'd share a few of them here.
What's the worst passenger behavior you've witnessed?
I've caught passengers taking other people's luggage out of the bin to make room for their own bags. I'm not ...Should Easter Be A Long Weekend In The US?
At the stroke of midnight, fireworks lit up the night sky on the Greek island of Naxos. In a square outside a centuries old church, at least half the island's population gathered to celebrate the occasion. Children ran around and threw firecrackers, senior citizens occupied ...In America's 'McFarthest' Place, Strippers And Coyote Hunting But No McDonald's
If Rebecca Bierman gets an urge for a Big Mac, she has at least four options to satisfy the craving.
"I can go to Pierre or Sturgis, here in South Dakota," says Bierman, a farmer and rancher who lives in Glad Valley, South Dakota. "Or I can go to Dickinson or Bismarck in ...One Day In Nicaragua: Self-Deportation, An Active Volcano, A Dead Boa, A Dip In A Lagoon And An Art Deal Gone Bad
Stepping over a dead boa constrictor with flies buzzing around it wasn't what I had in mind when I hired a guy named Carlos to take us to see Volcán Masaya, a national park in Nicaragua where you can drive right up to the crater of an active volcano. But when we piled ...Vagabond Tales: How Travel Can Literally Make You Younger
The famous Spanish explorer Ponce de León spent parts of his travels on an unfruitful search for the fountain of youth.
Sailing from Puerto Rico to Florida in 1513 on a voyage, which would become the first documented European exploration of the American ...Why We Travel: The Opportunity To Meet Other Addicts
"Where are you from?"
It's the conversation starter you sometimes hear several times per day when you travel. On this occasion, the question was posed by a friendly, bearded waiter from Barcelona at the Amici Ristorante in the small beach town of Santa Teresa, on Costa ...
