I once accidentally told an elderly Peruvian gentlemen that his llama, despite being unusually short, was astonishingly sexy – an error that prompted quite a bit of confusion and resulted in my rather immediate departure. That was before I took Spanish lessons. I’d intended to mention the animal’s [...]
You’re one hour into the journey and the group in the back is screaming and giggling and tossing back shots of cobra whiskey and trying not to hurl. You look out the window and see that you’re at the cliff’s edge, a monstrous drop that if taken would [...]
For many travelers, it all starts with a road trip. It probably started in high school, piling into whatever beat-up piece of crap you and your friends managed to buy, pooling funds from your various customer service jobs. Those first experiences inspired the traveler in you and now you’re exploring [...]
1. The Complete Soundtrack to Into the Wild The best remedy for a broken heart is to get a change of scenery. Eddie Vedder’s soul-straining voice cracking over austere lyrics is just the anthem for when you’re freshly love lost and headed for the train station. “Have no fear, [...]
One of the great joys of traveling is exploring the foods of a foreign place. What does a bowl of pasta taste like in Italy? How much better are tacos in Mexico? But just as important as the food is the drinks that you wash it down with. Experience the [...]
Nothing says spiritual purity like wrapping barbed wire around your body and then jogging in procession through five miles of firecrackers and smoke bombs. Indeed. After all, that’s what the holidays are all about. A time for expressing thanks, giving in to selfless devotion, throwing goats off of bell towers, [...]
The fact that theft is a concern for travelers and backpackers is an unfortunate reality, but one that deserves your consideration. In some travel situations, carrying a wallet just means that your cash/credit cards/passport are readily accessible. In these situations, carry your most important documents in secret pouches or an [...]
After an all-night bus ride from Heidelberg and a day of trying desperately to keep our eyes open while touring the museums and parks of Hamburg, my friend and I stumbled over the threshold of our hostel. The floors were sticky as we trudged up the stairs to our room [...]
Your wallet is the most important piece of travel gear and the one thing you definitely do not want to lose. Your RFID blocking passport case can be replaced, but the cash in your wallet? That’s harder to track down. Unless of course you have travel insurance. In light of [...]
I don’t know why, but sometimes I feel like I was born with the responsibility of leading groups of teenagers through foreign countries. While I love the spirit and budding intellect of the 13-18 sect, they do seem to be permanently set on the ‘self destruct’ mode. Certain adolescent boys enjoy [...]