What was it like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro on the Marangu Route? How did it feel to climb to the highest peak in Africa feel? How challenging was summit night? Would you recommend the Marangu Route? Read on for answers to all this and more in this Mount Kilimanjaro Marangu Route Day by Day guide.
G Adventures
Jaws Corner for Local Coffee in Stone Town, Zanzibar
If Zanzibar were to have its own non-alcoholic version of Cheers – the place where everyone knows your name – it would be Jaws Corner in Stone Town.
Climbing Kilimanjaro: Life Lessons from the Top of Africa
A few ideas on how climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to the top of Africa can teach you something about life.
For some, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is another check box on a “to do” list. For me it turned out to be a journey — in its own way, an epic exercise in achievement.
Tanzania: My 7th Continent, A Mountain to Climb
This is a story of an old legal pad, a mountain in Africa, and a distant dream of shooting an honest game of golf under 90.
Tucked deep inside a cardboard box in Prague, Czech Republic, there’s a half-torn crumpled piece of yellow legal pad paper that reads somewhere in the middle, scribbled in blue ballpoint: “Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.”
How to Spend a Week in Bali: Volcanoes, Diving, Temples, Cooking
For a relatively small island, Bali can pack in a lot of activities in just a week: volcano-climbing at dawn, scuba diving in coral reefs, cooking traditional Balinese cuisine, visiting Balinese Hindu temples, taking in a traditional Kecak performance, hanging with monkeys, enjoying a few Balinese massages, relaxing at the beach, and much more. If you only have one week to travel in Bali, here are our suggestions for putting together an itinerary filled with a bit of adventure, outdoor activities, culture, food, and relaxation.
Travel Snobbery and a Tour to Bali
Apparently, it’s easy to be a travel snob.
Independent travelers can look down on tour groups as not being “hard core” or “authentic” enough. Luxury travelers can look down on backpackers as cheapskates one notch above street riffraff. Holiday-makers looking to relax with a cocktail on the beach are not “real” travelers while those who are trying to live on $5 a day are “escapists.”
I could go on and on with the stereotypes and slurs that I’ve heard fly in all directions, but that’s not the point. One thing travel can teach you – if you allow it to – is that the world is made up of people whose goals and preferences differ. And those differences — they also apply to travel.
Becoming Wanderers in Residence with G Adventures
Over the weekend, we alluded to the fact that we had been selected as inaugural members of the G Adventures Wanderers in Residence program. We were introduced on stage, we called it out on Facebook and Twitter, people congratulated us.
Then the phones started ringing. The back channels lit up. So did the front channels. Everyone was asking: “Sounds cool. Now what does this mean again?”
Travel: A Means or an End?
We are excited to announce that we have been selected by G Adventures for their Wanderers in Residence program. In preparation for the official announcement today, we answered a few questions about our journey, including the age-old travel writing and travel blogging query, “Why do you travel?“
In doing so, we ticked off a list, gazed at our navels and stumbled onto a stickier query: Is travel merely an instrument to achieve a set of objectives or is travel an aim in itself?
Antarctica, Part 4: An Audio Slideshow
Antarctica, uninhabitable in the truest sense of the word. No human can survive it naturally. So what is it that draws us in, makes us want to visit, explore, push the boundaries, and place it on the bucket list?
We've spent hours sharing highlights of our Antarctica experience with family, friends and fellow travelers. The result: we get excited, they get excited. And rightfully so — Antarctica is a special place and our experience there was truly memorable in so many dimensions.
Inspired by all of these conversations ourselves, we decided to dabble in a different medium, the audio slideshow, to relate our Antarctica experience in a different way.
Antarctica, Part 3: Penguins, The Key to Happiness and World Peace?
“I believe penguins are the answer to world peace.” — Heidi Krajewsky, resident ornithologist (bird gal) aboard the MS Expedition to Antarctica
Our challenge to you: read this, enjoy the photos, check out the video — and maintain a straight face.