With spring upon us, the urge to get out and about is heating up. After a winter inside it’s time for active travelers to get back outside, in touch with nature, and start stretching those muscles again.
What, you may wonder, does active adventure have in common with cultural travels? Well, what better way than walking through the countryside is there to meet local people? How about...
Tour Host Review
Guerba World Travel Ltd. started out over 20 years ago offering overland treks across Africa. These journeys of mythic proportion evoke the magic of explorations long past and are still a staple of the company’s itineraries. Today it also offers a vast number of trips throughout the continent.
Hiking adventures to Africa’s highest peaks include Tanzania’s Mt. Kilimanjaro, Ugand...
Host of the Month
Mountain biking started in the 1970s on the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, CA, just north of San Francisco. Daring bicyclists, looking for something more thrilling than spins along frontage roads and less tedious than rides on heavily trafficked boulevards, began experimenting with hurtling down Mt. Tam’s steep slopes atop clunky old bikes th...
Festival Pick
From the air, it looks like nature has splattered a palette of deep colors onto a brilliant turquoise canvas: random patterns of cerulean, jade, violet. . . . Pretty as it is when viewed from above, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is best experienced from beneath the surface of the Coral Sea.
The “splatters” are thousands of individual coral reefs dotting the lagoon ...
World Heritage Site
Three days previous, in the pink glow of morning, with well-gloved hands, muffed ears, a bright red nose and a silly grin of achievement, I had touched the wooden sign that marks the summit.Now, the mighty ice-covered cone of Mount Kilimanjaro, jutting alone through the clouds took on an entirely different perspective as I gazed down, nose pressed to the Perspex (Plexiglas), cocooned in the cabin ...
Museum Pick
Years ago in winter, a scientist studying a pack of timber wolves on Lake Superior’s Isle Royale crossed his fingers and pitched his tent one dusk in the middle of a meadow that he knew the wolves used nightly to cross from one part of the forest to another.
Although convinced the wolves wouldn’t endanger him, he still was anxious to keep them from approaching too close to his ...
National Park Pick
Bicycling on the “ Enchanted” Island of Gotland
Written By Cecilia Franzel Posted on Sports
Did you ever fantasize about bicycling on a country road in the glow of the setting sun at 10:30 at night?
In Scandinavia, summer days continue into long “timeless” evenings, which are perfect for bicycling, canoeing or hiking.
I invite you to come bicycling on the Swedish island of Gotland! The island is also referred to as “the Pearl of the Baltic Sea,” and is in my mind truly a magical place. It is the ideal place to explore by bicycle and has long been a bicycle paradise for Scandinavians. Gotland is 75 miles long by...
The safest places these days are those destinations where would-be terrorists can’t easily meld into the culture and attack from within. With that thought in mind, a natural destination for American travelers looking for great new experiences would be a journey across the Pacific to Asia.
From the air, it looks like nature has splattered a palette of deep colors onto a brilliant turquoise canvas: random patterns of cerulean, jade, violet. . . . Pretty as it is when viewed from above, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is best experienced from beneath the surface of the Coral Sea.
“Satchel Paige was the best and fastest pitcher I've ever faced." –-Joe DiMaggio, recalling the time he faced Paige as part of his tryout for major league baseball. DiMaggio went 1 for 5 against Paige.
"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second class citizen to a second class immortal." –Paige, after the major leagues...
Mountain biking started in the 1970s on the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, CA, just north of San Francisco. Daring bicyclists, looking for something more thrilling than spins along frontage roads and less tedious than rides on heavily trafficked boulevards, began experimenting with hurtling down Mt. Tam’s steep slopes atop clunky old bikes they’d equipped with fat tires and...
Years ago in winter, a scientist studying a pack of timber wolves on Lake Superior’s Isle Royale crossed his fingers and pitched his tent one dusk in the middle of a meadow that he knew the wolves used nightly to cross from one part of the forest to another.
Although convinced the wolves wouldn’t endanger him, he still was anxious to keep them from approaching too...
Guerba World Travel Ltd. started out over 20 years ago offering overland treks across Africa. These journeys of mythic proportion evoke the magic of explorations long past and are still a staple of the company’s itineraries. Today it also offers a vast number of trips throughout the continent.
Hiking adventures to Africa’s highest peaks include Tanzania’s...
"Let's go on a walking holiday along Victoria's spectacular southern coast!" I was horrified at the idea but my best friend continued to apply pressure in a manner that only she was capable of!
The mere thought of a walking holiday conjured up evil images of a school hiking weekend I had endured over 35 years ago. I can still feel the weight of the pack as it...
A group of 20 Americans sits somewhat nervously in the lobby of the Ambassador Hotel in the small mountain town of Brig, nestled in the Swiss Alps. Fiddling with luggage and glancing at the other participants, the group is meeting each other for the first time at the start of a seven-day tour of Switzerland.
A tour group like any other, you might think? Yes – except this...
We arrived in Sorrento with high expectations, having been told that this is one of the most beautiful stretches of coast in the Mediterranean. W e weren't disappointed. We took the local rail network, the Circumvesuviana, from Naples to Sorrento to start our seven-day walking trip. Our first hotel was a villa with its own private beach just outside the center of town. Perched on a cliff top,...
Stopping in Chuxiong for a late morning snack from a noodle vendor, a crowd of children gathers around the group of Western tourists. They attempt to appear nonchalant, but can’t resist a few surreptitious peeks to watch the lao wei – foreigners – handle a bowl of noodles with chopsticks.
Chef Mom of this family enterprise allows them a few moments of fun...
Three days previous, in the pink glow of morning, with well-gloved hands, muffed ears, a bright red nose and a silly grin of achievement, I had touched the wooden sign that marks the summit.
Now, the mighty ice-covered cone of Mount Kilimanjaro, jutting alone through the clouds took on an entirely different perspective as I gazed down, nose pressed to the Perspex (Plexiglas),...
The wooden drift boat gracefully knifed through the small waves of the morning’s first rapid and headed on down into a shaded pool below. Bob, the guide, began to pull on the oars a bit harder and worked the boat to the left at the bottom of the rapid.
“Okay, Jo Ann,” he said softly, this is where we’ll start. Just stand up, brace yourself, and cast it out...
Have you ever eaten lunch in July sitting next to a snowfield above an alpine lake while curious mountain goats wander within a few feet of you? Or, scrambled up steep switchbacks at 10,000 feet, then balanced your way across a boulder field before standing on a windswept ridge to admire the trees and sparkling lakes far below? Can you imagine walking through a pristine mountain meadow strewn with...
I took a few steps up the slight incline. My heart raced, my breath coming in shallow gasps. I stopped to rest, and tried it again. A few steps forward and I felt dizzy. I looked at the gentle slope leading to the hotel with suspicion. My mind went back to the hills I ran every morning, the wind sprints on the track, the hours sparring in the ring. That training meant nothing at 10,900 feet. I looked...
You won’t find the term "mountain biking" in the dictionary; you have to break it down. Webster defines "mountain" as "a landmass that projects conspicuously above its surroundings and is higher than a hill" and “bicycle" as "a vehicle with two wheels tandem, a steering handle, a saddle seat, and pedals by which it is propelled." The...
With spring upon us, the urge to get out and about is heating up. After a winter inside it’s time for active travelers to get back outside, in touch with nature, and start stretching those muscles again.
What, you may wonder, does active adventure have in common with cultural travels? Well, what better way than walking through the countryside is there to meet...
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Mountain biking started in the 1970s on the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, CA, just north of San Francisco. Daring bicyclists, looking for something more thrilling than spins along frontage roads and less tedious than rides on heavily trafficked boulevards, began experimenting with hurtling down Mt. Tam’s steep slopes atop clunky old bikes th...
Bicycling on the “ Enchanted” Island of Gotland