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For years I’ve been on trips with travel writers who include “Active SATW” in their email signatures. This stands for the Society of American Travel Writers, a very old association of travel writers that likes to think of itself as the be all and end all in travel writing. Being […]
We took off with a run, my pilot behind me and me with a seat strapped to my arse, ran, ran ran until the cliff gave way to nothing…and then we floated, twirled and gently sunk down to land on the beach just below. Altazor de Volar takes you there.
We’re sitting in an airport cafe in Santiago with a long layover in front of us. Sony went to the bathroom and ran into Catalina, a journalist from Bogota Colombia who spoke not a word of English. Sony is the same about Spanish, and so it was a bit awkward. […]
Waking up underneath a thick comforter was heaven….at last a long and luxurious night’s sleep, one of the things that you take for granted but crave after a succession of tough nights. I’m feeling great up here on the 15th floor of the Terrado Hotel, anticipating a morning of tandem […]
The pantomimed characiture of a man holding his eyes open proved to be an omen. Our bus driver was showing me what would happen tonight as I lay in a bunk bed with two snoring roommates after chewing on three coca leaves earlier in the evening. It was a sleepless, […]
“What time is it?” Sony asked with a yawn, as we sat finishing dinner last night beneath a thatched partial roof at the El Tercer Ojito, or “The Third Eye,” in Iquique. Twelve-thirty, I answered, and to that Cristina Burchard, proprietor, told us that here, parties begin about now. She […]
This plane ride ranked up there with my all time amazing flights. Being able to swoop down and see all of this beautiful countryside from the air in this small 22 seater with huge windows was amazing.
At the big closing party, I ran into an earnest young man named Jimmy Langman who lives in Puerto Varas and makes his living as a writer. He’s got a dream, and he won’t let go of it. I am guilty of pouring lots of cold water on his idea, […]
My head is exploding with fascinating stories and data about so many places in South America. There is nothing I like better than to visit with people and in a short span, have them share with you what they love about the places they live. My last appointment was with […]
I’m exhausted from a day of chatting, listening, learning, agreeing, and schmoozing…all with a head cold caught from days in a van where people were sneezing. I felt so bad that I had shaken hands with people that later I switched to a Michelle-Barack fist bump, or an elbow touch, […]
On the bus over to Travel Mart, I met a woman from the Falkland Islands. She told me that she has lived there for more than 20 years, and despite spending time in the UK, she wouldn´t trade living down there for anything. I asked her about the legacy of […]
At the big cocktail party opening for Travel Mart Latin America here in Frutillar, Chile, I met a man named Jose Koechlin Von Stein. We recognized him from when we saw him last night at the Cliffs Preserve, they were the only guests besides our large contingent of grumpy journalists. […]