The diversity of cultural groups in Africa is unrivaled by any other continent. In East Africa, Kenya and Tanzania alone can boast close to 200 different tribal groups. The East African sites of Olduvai Gorge …
April 27, 2014
Travel off the Beaten Path
Tanzania: the Stone Age lives
Siem Reap: my gift in the jungle
I've always found travel to be its own reward, but on rare occasions it also gifts some of us with a life-altering experience. While visiting friends in Siem Reap, Cambodia, I hired a tuk-tuk driver …
March 31, 2014
Discovering San Francisco's City Hall
There are the usual San Francisco tourism sites: the Golden Gate, Lombard Street, Chinatown, etc. There are my favorites: the Palace of the Legion of Honor, Museum of Modern Art and de Young Museum. And …
March 11, 2014
Faith at Lima's witches market
Sometimes the power of belief is the most important part of a medical treatment. At the witches' market in Lima, Peru, the curanderos gather in early morning, setting up their stalls and hanging their banners. …
February 24, 2014
Pago Pago, American Samoa
A thick drizzle soaked me one Saturday afternoon in Pago Pago, American Samoa. (Pronounced something like “Pango Pango.) But the drizzle was a welcome relief from the Deluge of Heaven that had just raced across …
February 18, 2014
Hidden Bruges: Bonifacius Bridge
Bruges can easily be called one of Belgium's greatest tourist traps. Loads of expensive restaurants, hundreds of surely overpriced hotels and many, many tourists. Thanks to a great guide, though, I experienced an idyllic moment …
February 9, 2014
A roadside find: American Pickers in Iowa
Driving from the upper Midwest through Illinois, immediately across the state line is the historic town of LeClaire, IA. We quickly pulled off the I-80 exit, but not to visit the quaint old buildings in …
January 28, 2014
Addis Ababa: escape from ordinary
“Ethiopia?!” cried my mother, her eye wide shut. “Why are you going there?” It’s not on everyone’s “to go” list, for a variety of reasons, but for anyone with a devil-may-care attitude to travel, this …
January 23, 2014
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
The landlocked (and usually overlooked) country of Bolivia in South America is home to the largest salt flats in the world, visible by astronauts in space. The Salar de Uyuni is 25 times larger than …
January 20, 2014
Bullfight in Zapote (video)
Even from the bleachers, a safe distance from the corral, the bull looked dangerously close. A sea of young men surrounded the bull, and every time the animal flinched, waves of contestants rippled away in …
January 7, 2014
Wild, traditional Faroe Islands
Most Americans probably don’t know where the Faroe Islands are. They’re a small island chain between Iceland and Scotland, speaking a language derived from Old Norse and Western Norwegian dialects. If anyone's heard of the …
December 31, 2013