slow travel

Popayán to San Agustín: Driving into Colombia’s Soul

backpacking
Drive from Popayan to San Agustin, Colombia

When we walk into the Popayan bus station, I predict that I have another memorable overland trip ahead of me. The bus station only has half of its concrete floor. The other half is dirt. Although we see no one repairing the floor, we quickly learn that someone has recently been working on it. My […]

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An Ode to Exploring Markets in Other Places

eats and drinks
A market vendor poses with one of his peppers at the Tlacolula market in Oaxaca state, Mexico

You step inside the market, the condensed and uncensored microcosm of the town, city, or neighborhood you’re visiting. Your awareness of your foreigner status is heightened. Vendors call out to potential customers and each other. There’s a stand selling undergarments next to a fruit stand next to a handicraft stand. Families squeeze past you as […]

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7 Songs for an Epic and Introspective Journey

slow travel

Certain songs have a way of pulling you into your travels. They draw you closer to the heart of your journey with tempos that evoke the rolling of wheels and landscapes drifting by. Their melodies and harmonies are ethereal and the voices are brimming with passion. Their lyrics tell tales of relentless wanderers, roads to […]

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Wanderful Words No. 28: The Grandeur of Traveling Slowly

slow travel

Nose pressed against the window, you watch the world go by. Maybe you’re in a train or a bus or a boat. On one side of you, you might have a seatmate who wedges a strange sack of goods where your leg room should be. Or a heavy sleeper whose wobbly head insists on using […]

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My Happy Days in Neukölln

Germany
Neukolln, Berlin

I love the travel moments when I move from tourist to explorer; when I start getting to the heart of what a location is rather than what’s been laid out to see. In some places, that moment comes not long after I step off the plane, but other cities take more time or effort. I’d […]

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Photo Essay: Discovering Berlin’s Green Urban Refuges

captured on memory card
Fountain at Volkspark Friedrichshain in Berlin

I love the kind of urban energy that you only find in cities, but I also love when cities offer ample opportunities to escape that. With its many sizable public green spaces, in Berlin you can always find a spot to take a break from city life within the city limits. When the weather permitted, […]

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Beyond Guidebooks and Reputations: How to Get to the Modern Heart of a Well-Known City

d.i.y. travel

When I travel, I want more than to see a place, I want to experience a place. I want to plunge into the local psyche and see what makes it like nowhere else in the world. I’m often amazed how with globalization looming over the world, places can be so different when you get to […]

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Follow Your Own Travel Bliss

general travel

A couple weeks ago, a Facebook friend posed a question about whether she should do a multiple day hike to get to Machu Picchu or take the train to save time. Before I expanded the list of comments, I already knew what to expect based on my own experience with making that decision. My thoughts […]

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