Adventure Travel
A Jaws-Dropping Encounter in Gansbaai
Ten minutes into the boat ride toward Dyer Island, across the schizophrenic waters off Gansbaai where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans collide, I realized the most menacing creature encountered while shark cage diving isn’t below the water, it’s above it. Dozens of seagulls fluttered and squawked as their droppings smacked down like a hailstorm. You’re […]
Walk in the Footsteps of the Gods On Sri Lanka’s Holy Mountain
The stone steps grew steeper and narrower, climbing ever higher. As the hours passed, it seemed they would never end, fatigue and strain tearing at my muscles. Keeping up a steady pace and not stopping was the key. High up on the peak many were struggling, some literally using the railings to try and pull […]
Paddling With Ghosts in Tennessee
My arms burned each time I plunged a paddle blade beneath the surface of the river, pulling myself toward whatever I might find ahead. This five-hour kayak journey down Tennessee’s Wolf River traverses a cypress swamp crossed by channels and tributaries that lure paddlers down their path, only to disappear into the landscape, earning this […]
A Winter in the Pit: Washing Dishes in the Alaskan Arctic
On a weekend holiday to Fairbanks, I stepped into Big Ray’s shop, where walls and racks were festooned with down jackets, wool hats, gloves, boots and face masks of every style and function imaginable. I have read that one measure of the dominance of winter is the number of words available to describe snow in […]
Kentucky Fried Camel in Egypt: My Return to a Country I Never Left
“You don’t scream as the camel stands up,” Amina told me with a smile. “It must be your Egyptian blood.” I patted my camel’s neck as he turned towards the pyramids. They stood, three majestic pieces of history, glistening out over the horizon. The sand blew into my eyes as my father barked at me […]
The Narrows
A dark shape glided by beneath me, a manta ray, its great wings undulating. It moved with such grace, at such a leisurely pace, I had half a mind to slow down and linger. Meanwhile, on the surface, I thrashed away in the throes of competition — a 55-year-old man somewhere between Nevis and St. […]
Sailing the Greek Islands (Yoga, Hiking and Wine Included)
As our boat sailed out of the ancient Greek island harbor of Kos, our group of 10, mostly strangers, sat in a circle around a long, wooden table, studying a map spread out before us depicting the Dodecanese, the group of islands clustered together in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Our tour guide for the trip, […]
Lone Pilgrim On The Kumano Kodo
On my second day in Kumano Kodo, I came across an unsettling sight nestled into the mountain ridge: a moss-choked shrine to Jizo, the guardian of travelers. This spot in Kumano Kodo marked the place where, in 1854, locals had come across the corpse of a lone pilgrim. The mossy Jizo reminded me just how […]
Borders, Bandits, And Baby Wipes: A Big Adventure In A Tiny Car
Inspired and challenged by his quests of “getting there,” Bassam Tarazi and two friends signed on for the infamous Mongol Rally, a nearly 10,000-mile road trip from London to Mongolia, through terrain that would make a mountain goat’s knees buckle, in a vehicle that was little more than a go-kart. Borders, Bandits, and Baby Wipes […]
Into The Great, Wide Open: The Ultimate Alaskan Fishing Trip
Through the windshield, I watched the de Havilland’s front propellor spin furiously as our small 8-person prop plane hurtled forward through the Alaskan sky. It was a bright, clear morning, and below us I could make out the outlines of a few of the small islands that make up the Alexander Archipelago. Looming in front […]
