Sitting at an outdoor café three blocks from the Rome Termini one morning 24 years ago waiting for my friend Julie to arrive, I had no appreciation of the folly of our planning. In the days before cell phones, all…
Traveling to Remember
Category: Adventuring
Tripping on Chocolate
Indulging in Chocolate Tourism Attempting to crack open cacao beans one afternoon at Cyrila’s Chocolate near Punta Gorda, Belize, I couldn’t help but wonder what led people, thousands of years ago, to begin torturing beans in a way that would…
Without Plans in Chi-Town
After more than enough days sitting in a beige conference room somewhere in the city, I decided that a weekend of a great void would be more than alluring. All I knew was that we’d stay over in Chicago; we…
Chichen Itza, Top to Bottom
Even as my lawyerly side contemplated liability, I relished climbing the monuments at the Mayan city of Chichen Itza on my first visit there 24 years ago. I remember hearing stories of high-heeled women falling to their deaths on the…
When One Place Leads to Another
Ever since getting on a plane and flying to Rome 20 years ago with a backpack full of traveler’s checks (do those still exist?), I’ve never much worried about not having a place to stay when I arrived at my…
Even Non-Birders Can Enjoy Galapagos
I didn’t head to Ecuador to be at one with the birds. I’ve never been especially drawn to the things. I didn’t appreciate the claws on the parrots at Parrot Jungle. My grandmother’s caged parakeets—still singing despite their incarceration—annoyed me.…
Survived the Apocalypse? Head to Disney
The Brawny Sherpa and I were more than grateful to head out of town after weathering Hurricane Sandy incredibly well—lost power for a few days, had only very minor damage to the purple bungalow, and temporarily hosted some of our…
Have a Limited Travel Budget? Try an Amazon Jungle Walk
Everything I needed to know about traveling, I could have learned from Ed Stafford’s Walking the Amazon: 860 Days. One Step at a Time. He’s the first man to have walked the Amazon, a little journey that took him just…
Tony Horwitz, A Voyage Long and Strange, Columbus Day, Pocahontas, Etc.
Encountering Christopher Columbus in her travels, the Bashful Adventurer picks up a copy of A Voyage Long and Strange to learn more about the New World.
Getting Out of the House and Staying Put
I travel because I want to try out different lives. Could I remember the names of all the trees and remedies to become a shaman? Would throwing my slop into the streets of medieval Rouen be too much for me?…