Have you ever glommed on to a piece of information and carried it with you, even if you can’t remember its origins or vouch for its accuracy?
That was me with the city of Valparaiso and hot dogs (or completos, as they are called in Chile).
Red Rocks and Wine Tasting: Cafayate, Argentina
Red rocks and desert. Doesn’t sound like the right conditions for a wine region, does it?
The name Cafayate, another of Argentina’s winemaking regions, doesn’t quite have the same ring as Mendoza. But there’s something about the sandy soil — good for irrigation control and filtering – that finds expression in the local grapes, including the local white wine varietal of choice, Torrontes.
Facing Fears, Wiping Out, and Getting Up Again
Early last week, I was about to write about fears and the process of facing up to them. I would talk about traveling to places that once frightened me, meeting and interacting with large groups of new people, and jumping out of airplanes. Then, I would channel all those fears known and met through a more recent apprehension I'd tackled: riding a motorbike.
I would ride off into the sunset and deliver a life lesson about what a great feeling it is to overcome fears, to do something that scares you.
And then I crashed.
Udaipur, India: A Photo, A Girl, A Lesson
Sometimes a story behind a photo really stays with you. While sifting through our images from Udaipur (a terrific town in the Indian state of Rajasthan), I came across this photo of a girl we'd met in the market there. In some ways, it looks like so many of our other photos of children and people in India – colorful, human, evocative. But to me, this image carried a story — and a lesson.
The Yin and Yang of Koh Pha Ngan (Or, Yes Virginia, There Really Are People Who Suck)
For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
We often share stories of ordinary people who humble us by showing resilience and kindness in the face of challenges. In doing so, we highlight the positive — so much so that you might be thinking: “Do these guys only run into good people on their travels? Is the world really like that? Are all people around the world really that good?”
Not always. Sometimes you meet people who grind you to the edge.
And then, you must find your way back.
Discovering Family in Argentina
Q: What’s the proper way to greet family you’ve never met before?
A: In Argentina: with kisses, warmth — and a heck of a lot of steak.
Earlier this year, with a visit to relatives in Argentina only days away, I received my first email in Spanish from my grandmother. This may not sound noteworthy, but the fact that she wrote it in her mother tongue transformed it for me from a simple letter into a welcome to a part of my family I hadn’t known before: the Argentine side.
Our Low Tech Travel Gear of the Year
These days, gadgets and flashy digital toys steal the limelight. And I'd be lying to you if I said we didn’t enjoy ours. But sometimes it’s the low-tech items that literally save the day.
From the dollar store to the health food store, we go old school for a moment and highlight some simple, non-gadgety stuff in our backpacks that we’ve come to know, rely on, and in some cases — love.
In Bangkok, My Feet Are Fish Food
During our most recent visit to Bangkok, tanks full of flesh-eating fish hungry for dead skin were all the rage.
Sound like fun? We thought so.
Watch the video below to find out.
Maremma: Hidden Tuscany [Audio Slideshow]
We'd like to think of ourselves as rather savvy when it comes to Italy, having married in Tuscany and having visited a dozen times throughout the last decade. But when a friend recommended we visit the Maremma region during our 10th anniversary trip to Tuscany this past autumn, we were intrigued. Maremma? Seen it on maps, never really paid it much mind.
Names like Pitigliano, Sorano and Manciano don’t usually roll off the tip of one’s tongue when talking Tuscan hill towns. Same goes for wines and cuisine from Maremma.
But that's what motivated us to visit – unknown, hidden, maybe even a little bit wild.
Check out the audio slideshow below to find out what we found:
Four Years on the Road: It All Began with a Frozen Pork Butt
I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone this before, but this journey of ours actually began with a frozen pork butt.