Oh the dizzying thoughts of a Mediterranean vacation: maybe a waterside villa in Lake Como, touring Turkey’s Turquoise Coast, or perhaps olive picking in Mykonos? Dizzying indeed—particularly the price. But there’s a stateside Mediterranean that’s no dowdy stepsister, and it’s only a few hour’s drive and many dollars less: Santa Barbara. Wrapped between the mountains and the sea, with picturesque palm trees for its ribbons, Santa Barbara … [Read more...]
Kidnapped In Africa – Part One
For me, Tanzania is a tainted country. If you can believe it, we were kidnapped and robbed within 24 hours of arriving into the country. So... let’s begin the tale. The night before the ‘incident’ took place, one of my best mates and I touched down into Dar es Salaam (the biggest city in Tanzania). As soon as we arrived we did what any proper backpacker would. We rushed from the airport to our hotel, check in as fast as humanly … [Read more...]
Borivali National Park, Mumbai: The Urban Jungle
Sanjay Gandhi National Park or Borivali National Park, as its popularly known, lies in northern suburb of Borivali, Mumbai. It is 104 km2 (40 sq mi) of forest surrounded by the traffic, noise and the chaos of one of the most populated cities in India. It is remarkable that such a large national park exists INSIDE a city! It has a vast population of flora and fauna; some rare butterflies, deer and even 22 leopards! It is a designated UNESCO … [Read more...]
Viking Voluntourism: Tall Tales of Tallinn
Into the Wild Wild East of “Europe Minor” John M. Edwards becomes a “stringer” and steeps himself in suspense-novel intrigue in the Estonian capital, where a post-communist parable of “The Baltic Dream” seems pegged less to illusory pyrite and more to ubiquitous amber... Of course in Estonia everyone is a spy! Ah yes, so true, and that includes the suspicious-looking mustached man over there, with the Coke-bottle specs and tan Burberry … [Read more...]
Greek Isles and Turkey
The Greek Isles and Turkey is a voyage that is best experienced on a sailing ship. I had visited the Greek Islands and Turkey before, but never on a yacht with sails. This was also my first experience on Wind Star, a 148 passenger, four deck vessel with six self-furling, bridge-operated sails. It seemed as if the sea and the ports were custom made for this smaller ship allowing passengers to fully experience the areas just as they were centuries … [Read more...]
West Sweden & Skane: Volvo’s Car plus Vacation – Day 9-10 of 14
DAY 9 Explore Ystad & Ystad Studios Today is minimal driving day spent exploring beautiful Ystad and or enjoying the pampering amenities of the Ystad Satsjobad Hotel. Ystad is only about 10 minutes from the hotel. For a small town (only 17,000 live in the city limits) Ystad packs a pretty powerful punch when it comes to tourism. This picturesque town is a photographers dream, especially during late spring and summer. If the town was … [Read more...]
My Personal Experience of Record Breaking Extreme Heat in Death Valley
Similar to the International notice for the Mavericks Surf Competition in Central California, I sent out our annual 48 hour window of notice to friends, family and acquaintances from around the world on Thursday June 27, 2013 - indicating temperatures were forecast for record highs in Death Valley, California USA. This was a tough sell for a number of reasons - especially because it is always a last minute notice, it is quite early in the season … [Read more...]
Exploring Local Agritourism in Southern Sweden
The region of Skåne is Sweden's "breadbasket", a landscape filled with agriculture, both rolling hills and flatlands and is surrounded by the Baltic Sea on three sides. Entry to this region is easy - Malmö, Sweden's third largest city behind Stockholm and Gothenburg is merely 20-30 minutes by train or car from Copenhagen's International Airport. Driving is straight forward in Sweden - roads are well signed and the rural country roads are … [Read more...]
Pencils In The Land Of Flowers
After hopping off our motorbikes we made our way down the dirt road leading up to the ocean. With the mid-afternoon sun blazing, the smell of yesterday's drying fish was stout. As we passed by the makeshift shops and shacks, we captured the local women's attentiond. They were all seated upon dusty edges raised above the junky, polluted streets (every other one with a newborn plugged into one of her breasts) and quietly began whispering. Stopping … [Read more...]
How to Avoid Getting Bad Bowl Cuts Abroad
An American backpacker braves a bowl cut (almost) from a proverbial Third World barber. . . . The man in front of me, shivering in the swiveling chair, was almost completely bald with two bushy fluffs upon either side of his noggin, resembling a sad circus clown with no friends. Or, Bozo. Or, Krusty. Or, Larry from "The Three Stooges." Then The Man with the Haircut eyed himself with envy, congratulating himself on now almost … [Read more...]
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