In Uganda, gorilla tourism is an economic engine. It benefits not only the mountain gorillas that the tourists track, but also the human communities in and around the forests in which the animals live. It's …
Travel Stories
Uganda's Batwa Trail
No worries in Potsdam
“You’re American? What are you doing here? Usually Americans just visit Berlin.” This was the response I received after a vendor asked me a question in German. Apparently, most American tourists forego 1,000-year-old Potsdam, Berlin's …
Dharma Travel: retreats of the Northeast
New England was founded by spiritualists escaping feudalistic persecution in Europe. Puritans, Lutherans, Jews, Quakers – even Shakers. It's hardly surprising then that personal retreats of every denomination abound, from cliffs overlooking the Atlantic to …
July 22, 2013
Canyonlands: America’s most underrated national park?
After exploring the dizzy heights of the Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce National Parks, we had low expectations for Utah’s lesser-known Canyonlands. One week on the road and landscape fatigue was starting to wear us …
July 18, 2013
Mesmerizing Ometepe
Approaching the island of Ometepe is a bit foreboding. As the ferry moves nearer and nearer, it's too easy to invoke movie images of Jurassic Park or King Kong. The tops of the two volcanoes …
July 18, 2013
Afghanistan: among the connexes
My walk from the barracks to the connex is familiar. Begrudgingly, my boots start on the walk to work. For exactly 100 steps, large gravel rocks are the path. They are everywhere the pavement or …
July 16, 2013
Locke – CA's last Chinese town
The houses slant sideways and the opium dens are gone, but Locke, California, takes visitors back more than 90 years to a unique Chinese farming community. Thanks to the work of a few locals with …
July 16, 2013
Small-town Italy: Conegliano
Rome, Venice and Florence are all amazing experiences, but it’s also nice to just relax in a small Italian village with the locals and experience Italian culture in a different way. Few Americans have heard …
July 15, 2013
Ensenada by bus
Many travelers still want to visit Baja California, but are concerned with safety or even bored with Tijuana day trips. A great alternative is to skip Tijuana and head to Ensenada for a weekend stay. …
July 13, 2013
Los Llanos: wild Colombia
If you look at a map of Colombia in South America, you see a huge region in eastern Colombia comprising sprawling, seasonally flooded plains that have been ignored by tourists due to their location (former …
July 11, 2013
Burkina Faso: remote logic and the almighty dollar
In my long-range travels I have learned two great lessons: 1) the people most removed from the modern world not only think differently than I do but are far more logical, and 2) Western-style capitalism …
July 11, 2013