February, 2009 Photo Contest

Can you identify this northern, winding road named for the body of water it spans? If you were in this part of the world, you would most likely also be visiting the fishing village of Kristiansund. Last Month's Winner Congratulations Keith Freed of Dallas, TX who correctly identified the traditional mumu - an oven, common in the Pacific, made from hot rocks and then covered in dirt.

Searching for the Spirit Bear in Canada

A rare sub-species of black bear whose coat glows in a ghostly champagne hue, the “Spirit Bear” lives in only one place on earth: a small area of the British Columbia coast. Join Maple Leaf Adventures April 25th, as they travel through the Canadian Inside Passage, touring fjords and wild island archipelagos in search of the Spirit Bear. This remote region is flecked with 10,000 waterfalls, isolated indigenous tribes, and abundant wildlife. The best way to access these islands is by boat. Join captain Kevin Smith aboard the restored ...

Surfing in Madagascar

Peter Cummings is The Surfing Chaperone, and he has been traveling to surf for nearly a decade. Three years ago he went on his first trip to the African Island nation of Madagascar, and has returned every season since. Found in the Mozambique Channel, the South Coast is the ideal location to catch the seasonal lows that come from the Cape of South Africa. ...

Ski and Surf

Indulge in spring by skiing and surfing in the same weekend! We learned of the idea from our friends Erik and Kevin Brown, who took the best the Pacific Northwest had to offer and surfed at Cannon Beach in Oregon on Friday and drove up to Garibaldi Park in British Columbia to cross country ski on Saturday and Sunday. Create your own trails in the acres of BC Parks between Whistler and Squamish; the beachbreak at Oswald ...

Architectural scavenger finds treasures from disappearing Old Beijing

International Herald Tribune - The destruction of this 800-year-old city usually proceeds as follows: the Chinese character for "demolish" mysteriously appears on the front of an old building; the residents wage a fruitless battle to save their homes; and quicker than you can say "Celebrate the New Beijing," a wrecking crew arrives, often accompanied by the police, to pulverize the brick-and-timber structure. Continue reading...

Volunteering in Turkey

Hey, know of any volunteer activities in Istanbul or thereabouts? - Houston, TX Volunteer Abroad has programs available in Turkey. Look at their website: www.volunteerabroad.com/Turkey.cfm.

Cheapflights.com Weekly Travel Round-up

A quiet week because of the festive season, with not many deals and deals announced. However, Southwest Airlines is offering a post-Christmas sale with tickets starting as low as $49 for one-way travel. New services include the first commercial service to come to Somerset, Kentucky, while a couple of airports are making some changes. Continue reading...

Muslim family remains at odds with airlines

AirTran apologizes to Muslim family removed from plane AirTran Airways apologized Friday to members of a Muslim family for kicking them off a plane and refusing to rebook them despite requests from FBI agents who had cleared them of wrongdoing. Continue reading

News from El Tribuno – Newspaper of Salta, Argentina

Read El Tribuno, one of Argentina's local newspapers.

Andean Style Clothing

Of course we did some shopping while we were in Argentina, and although we don’t have partnerships with the exact businesses we met to sell their products here, we were happy to see some of our favorite Andean styles also available through Novica, which supports more than 2000 artists from around the world by marketing their crafts online. Bundle up like they do in the Andes with some of our favorite selections. Click on the photographs below to purchase directly from Novica. Alfredo Falcon's ...

Fito Paez

Fito Paez is a Argentine rock and roll pianist, lyricist and film director.

The Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux

Many people have called this book timeless, and it does definitely feel as relevant and present today as it must have to readers in the 1970s. Theroux's journey begins in Boston and takes him to Patagonia by nearly every form of vehicular conveyance possible, including trains, planes and trucks. Jouncing along on the train today is certainly not as difficult as it sometimes was in Theroux’s day, but reading this book will add dimension and perspective to your experience. We loved Theroux’s descriptions of ...

Santa Evita by Tomas Eloy Martinez

Our October 2008 photo contest was a shot from La Recoleta cemetery in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is here where Eva Peron, better known as Evita, was finally buried. Santa Evita, tells the fascinating story of the life of her corpse. After she died of cancer at the age of 33, her husband, Juan Peron had her body embalmed by a renown Spanish embalmer. He had arranged to have a grand memorial built to commemorate her life, but he was overthrown by ...

WorldNomads in the Qelqanca village of Peru, near Cusco

Source: http://journals.worldnomads.com/positive_footprints/post/23235.aspx

Sarajevo

Like most people living in Sarajevo in the weeks leading up to their vote for independence, Amir Telibechrowich had no reason to the question the explanation given by the Yugoslav People's Army when asked why they were surrounding their city with artillery, "It was for our protection, we were told." But when the referendum passed on April 5th, 1992, and the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina was officially born, the artillery turned towards the city and a three and a half year seige began. Nearly seventeen years later I found myself walking the streets of Sarajevo with Amir, now a journalist, ...

Canoe the Tsirbihina in Madagascar

Canoe down the Tsiribihina River, marvel at the limestone formations in World Heritage-listed Tsingy de Bemaraha, or trek Madagascar's second-highest mountain range with Sudmadatrek. Consisting of three brothers, all qualified tour guides, Sudmadatrek based in Fianarantsoa can arrange all aspects of your Madagascar adventure. At the helm is Tina Andriamiarisoa, an amiable local who is fluent in both English and French, and he will be able to organize tours for your entire stay in either language. Try the "Terre Insolite" 20-day adventure, which includes the activities above, plus tracking lemurs in the forests of Ranomafana, enjoying the beaches at Ifaty, trekking in ...

Horseback Riding and Trekking in Salta

Venture next to Argentina’s Northwestern province of Salta to meet and travel with a wonderful group of like-minded friends and adventure travel tour operators who make up the members of ADOPTA, the local adventure travel trade association. Begin in the provincial capital, a historic city with a mix of Hispanic and Creole roots, lodging at the convenient, simultaneously modern and classically designed Finca Valentina. Visit the light and sophisticated MAAM, the Museum of High Altitude and Archaeology, where you’ll be shocked by the 500 year old Incan children found mummified ...

Trekking and Ziplining in Chubut, Argentina

Try experiencing the famed Patagonia through the eyes of the people in Esquel and Trevalin, two small towns in the province of Chubut, Argentina. Esquel offers all the ease one would expect in a place where most people know each other and traffic is non-existent. On a day trip in Los Alerces National Park with Gustavo and Alejandra of Quehumanque we crossed one of the many glacier-fed lakes in a boat and hiked to shore of the turquoise Escondida Lagoon through thick forests of "alerce" (larch), lenga, coigue, and cypress trees. The alerce are impressive ...

January, 2009 Photo Contest

What is the name of this traditional oven? These master chefs in Papua New Guinea are cooking in a style we’ve seen in Peru, as well!

Milking the Rhino

Jeannie Magill conceived, researched and is co-producing this documentary film, Milking the Rhino...and Other Tales of Community Conservation. This brief clip provides a view of the creation of the Il 'Ngwesi Lodge, owned and operated by Maasai tribes people on the edge of the Mukogodo Hills in northern Kenya. For screening and broadcast dates, read their newsletter.