Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
adventure posts
Video: 2 Weeks In Rwanda
Jan 17th, 2013 at 11:00AM:
"Rwanda, our beautiful and dear country / Adorned of hills, lakes and volcanoes / Motherland, would be always filled of happiness..."
These first three lines of the Rwandan national anthem are epitomized in this video created by Missouri based video production company Mammoth Media. This past summer, they were invited by the Rwandan tourist department to spend two weeks capturing ...
The Anatomy Of A Perfect Hotel (In Tangier)
Jan 11th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
A hotel can make or break your vacation. We've all heard stories about crappy dives ruining someone's trip. Hey, we've written about plenty of them here on Gadling. But every once in a while we come across a hotel that exceeds our expectations.
Hoteliers, take note. This is how to do it right.
While fleeing the Spanish Christmas to Tangier, we took a relative's recommendation and booked a ...St. Andrew's In Tangier: A Church With Muslim Art
Jan 11th, 2013 at 11:00AM:
Being in Morocco, Tangier is a mostly Muslim city. Being a port, it's also a mixed city with a long history of Christian and Jewish influence. That interesting blend comes out in the language, music, art and cooking. You can see Tangier's mix of cultures everywhere.
Even in the churches.
The Church of St. Andrew is an Anglican congregation close to the Place du Grand Socco. The first thing ...The Allure Of Ancient Tangier
Jan 10th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
The whole Mediterranean rim has a rich history. The Minoans, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and many others explored and settled these rocky coasts and islands. Tangier, just outside the Strait of Gibraltar and looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean, was considered the furthest point west by many civilizations. To the north, ancient travelers could see the Iberian Peninsula. South lay the coast of ...Off The Beaten Winter Path In Colorado: Backcountry Dining At The Tennessee Pass Cookhouse
Jan 10th, 2013 at 10:00AM:
"We're going to ski in to this place where you get lunch served in a yurt."
My Colorado friends know what it takes to get me excited about life; combine an outdoor pursuit with eating and I am almost always game. I didn't even need to know the details of where we were going. The fact that I was going to a restaurant in a backcountry setting was good enough.
Near Leadville, Colorado, ...The American Legation In Tangier
Jan 9th, 2013 at 10:00AM: Tangier has some beautiful old buildings. Being inward-looking in the Moorish style, they don't generally seem like much from the outside. Once you enter, though, you'll find soothing tiled courtyards with bubbling fountains; elaborate latticework windows; and bright, open rooms.
The American Legation in Tangier is one of the most accessible of these buildings and has the distinction of being ...Tangier's Art And Cafe Scene
Jan 7th, 2013 at 2:00PM:
Tangier in Morocco is an interesting blend of European, African, and Middle Eastern culture. This has made it a longtime meeting ground and inspiration for artists and writers.
The city is best known in the West as the residence of many of the Beat Generation writers. William S. Burroughs wrote "Naked Lunch" here and Tangier's International Zone inspired his Interzone, a setting that appears ...Escaping Christmas In Tangier
Jan 5th, 2013 at 11:00AM:
The Christmas holiday in Spain is a classic case of too much of a good thing. Stretching from before Christmas to after Epiphany, it's a long haul of eating, drinking, socializing and getting nothing done. I have no problem with that except it goes on for way too long. My Spanish wife agrees, so we decided to escape for five days, a sort of holiday from the holidays.
She wanted to go to ...Biking In Afghanistan: The Power Of Two Wheels To Change Perspective
Jan 4th, 2013 at 1:00PM:
"Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike." John F. Kennedy
Bikes have long been a simple mode of transportation, getting us from point A to point B. But riding a bike doesn't just get you somewhere; the process is fun. There is joy in riding a bicycle.
When I travel I am always on the lookout for bikes and what the local bike culture is. In my hometown of Portland, ...Travel Resolutions: 9 Goals To Help You Travel Better In The New Year
Dec 29th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
You could commit to working out more, or reading more books instead of watching television, or not eating lunch in front of your computer (all of which we should be doing regularly) but we all know that a few weeks after the clock hits 12:01 a.m. on January 1, resolutions tend to go straight out the window.
To keep resolutions, we have to set goals that we really want to achieve, and when ...Islamists Renew Attack On Timbuktu's Heritage
Dec 24th, 2012 at 4:00PM:
The ancient treasures of Timbuktu have come under renewed attack by Islamists, the BBC reports.
The Islamist group Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith) has vowed to destroy all the city's medieval shrines of Muslim saints, which they say are contrary to Islam. The city in northern Mali has been under the control of a coalition of Tuareg and Islamist rebels since April. They declared the ...My Year In Adventure Travel: A Look Back And A Look Forward
Dec 19th, 2012 at 3:00PM:
We're approaching the end of 2012, so it's a good time to assess what we've done and where we're headed. There's a whole year of adventures and opportunities awaiting us in 2013, despite what the New Age crystal clutchers say. The world is not ending and that's a good thing!
I've had some interesting adventure travel this year. My family and I spent a week on the rugged Orkney Islands north ...Visiting Iraq: The Practicalities
Dec 12th, 2012 at 12:00PM:
Will Iraq become the next big adventure travel destination?
Short answer: Not yet.
Long answer:
At the moment most of Iraq is closed to solo travel. The Iraqi government has authorized only a few group tour companies such as Hinterland Travel and Babel Tours. These tours have a set itinerary and offer very little freedom for individual movement. This is not the fault of the tour ...Ten Random Observations About Iraq
Dec 10th, 2012 at 11:00AM:
While traveling in Iraq I noticed some interesting things that didn't fit into any of the articles in my series. Some of these observations may be obvious to those more familiar with the country, but odd first impressions are one of the fun things about travel!
1. The traffic police have these cool kiosks that imitate their uniform. Looks like this guy left his tie at home.
2. Spongebob ...Adventure Meets Cruise Ship On Extreme Shore Excursions
Dec 7th, 2012 at 5:00PM: It's not often that we write about adventure travel and cruises in the same story. It's more like kayaking and Costa Rica, or cruises and buffets. But some extreme shore excursion offerings by a few cruise lines have raised the bar so high, others may not catch up for a good long while.
Forget the stuffy tour bus and all the challenges of moving 50 or 60 people at a time around an iconic ...A Solo Stroll Through Baghdad
Dec 7th, 2012 at 11:30AM:
I am alone in Baghdad. After a farewell dinner and a visit to an Iraqi amusement park my travel companions have left for the airport. Our guards from the Interior Ministry have gone off to other duties and I'm staying unguarded in my hotel. I don't fly out until tomorrow.
I'm not supposed to leave the hotel. Guards are supposed to be with me at all times. While I understand why the government ...Kurdistan: The Other Iraq
Dec 4th, 2012 at 12:30PM:
Families out for an evening stroll, friends sipping coffee at sidewalk cafes, tourists seeing the sights without a police escort – am I still in Iraq?
Sort of.
I'm in Kurdistan, an autonomous region made up of Iraq's three northernmost provinces. The Kurds kicked out Saddam in 1991 after suffering years of bloody persecution, and they've pretty much been doing their own thing ever ...Visiting The Christian Community In Iraq
Dec 3rd, 2012 at 10:00AM:
Before Iraq was conquered by the Arabs in the seventh century, it was one of the oldest centers of Christianity in the world. Even after the Arab conquest, Christians made up a sizable minority of the population – sometimes tolerated, sometimes persecuted, but always surviving.
Now it's facing its biggest threat in centuries.
The Christian Community in Iraq is a lot smaller than it ...Visiting Ur, Ctesiphon, And Babylon In Iraq
Nov 30th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
Iraq is an ancient land. It's seen a lot of civilizations come and go and each one has left behind spectacular monuments and rare treasures. On a recent visit, I had the privilege to experience many of these sites. Last time, I talked about the monuments of the Assyrian Empire. Today, I want to talk about three more of Iraq's ancient wonders.
Perhaps the most famous is Babylon. It was the ...Visiting The Great Assyrian Sites Of Iraq
Nov 27th, 2012 at 12:00PM:
This Iraqi policeman is busy texting at one of the great archaeological sites of his country – Assur, the first capital of the Assyrian Empire.
Assur was founded at least as early as 2400 B.C., but it wasn't until the reign of the Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad (ruled 1809-1776 B.C.) that it became the capital of a true empire. Shamshi-Adad's armies took over the bulk of Mesopotamia, as ...
