This week’s guest is Mary Jo Manzaranes from TBEX.
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This Week in Travel – Episode 131
Help Eliminate Pretentious Travel Douchebag Syndrome
OMG, things are SOOOO much better in Paris!
They get back from a semester of study abroad or their 2-week vacation in Europe and all they can talk about is where they’ve just been.
Talking about it isn’t so bad, but they somehow manage to drop the fact that they’ve just been abroad into every single conversation.
..and it isn’t just the fact that they constantly mention it, but they also have to repeatedly mention how great it was.
You: This is a good hamburger.
Them: I guess. It isn’t as good as the hamburgers they have in Paris. Those are the best in the world!
You: *Roll your eyes*
They suffer from PTDS (Pretentious Travel Douchebag Syndrome). They just got back and they feel the need tell everyone they meet how much better things are “over there” and somehow bring every conversation around to talking about their recent trip.
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Monday Travel Update – Pura Vida Edition
Hello from the Liberia, Costa Rica!
I’ve been in Costa Rica for almost two weeks now. I haven’t been zip lining, scuba diving or rafting. So far I’ve just been relaxing and working. In fact, I haven’t even taken my SLR out once since I’ve been here. That should change tomorrow as I’m heading up to Liberia to visit Rincon National Park for my 191st World Heritage Site. After that I’ll be going south to visit the Amistad nature reserve which borders Panama. Those are my primary goals while I’m here. If I have time left I’ll head back to the coast for a few days before my flight on the 31st.
This sort of no-schedule, no plans sort of travel is something I haven’t done in a few years. Lately everything has been very planned and scheduled so I haven’t had the opportunity to just wing it. I’m glad I did this. It is a good change a pace and a throwback to how I started traveling.
The buses here are a lot like what I’ve experienced in the Philippines. Once you get to the right bus it is no problem. The confusing thing is that buses for different cities depart from different parts of town. There isn’t necessarily a central bus depot for every city, even for smaller cities. There is little to no signage to tell you where to go either. You have to ask someone local who just knows where the right buses are.
I’ll be here another 10 days before heading to the complete opposite of Costa Rica…..Northern Canada! (I don’t think shorts and sandals are going to cut it up there)
Gutsy Women – A Traveler’s Life Lessons
No matter how long I travel or how many places I visit, there are certain questions that I will never be able to answer. One of them is what you need to know to travel as a women. I’ve talked to many female travelers over the last several years and without question they have to deal with things I never have to consider. Thankfully, I also know many inspiring women who have spent years traveling around the world. One of them is my friend Marybeth Bond. She is an accomplished author who has been traveling her whole life and has dedicated herself to inspiring and helping women to travel.
I’m asked Marybeth to share some of the lessons she’s learned from her lifetime of travel. Here’s Marybeth….
Ask yourself: what’s a Gutsy Woman? To me, gutsy means courageous and women today are bold, brave and empowered. In terms of travel, our habits have changed too. After all, women make 80 percent of all travel decisions, and we’re on the go. We are getting off the beaten track and trekking the globe, on our own, alone and with other women. Our issues on the road are often different than a man’s experience.
Over the past thirty years I have hiked, cycled, combed, dived and kayaked my way through more than ninety countries. I traveled alone around the world for two years at the age of twenty-nine, wandered the globe with daughters and girlfriends.
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Registration for the 2013 Travel Photography Tour is Now Open!
Registration for the 2013 Italy Travel Photography Tour is now open!
Last year the tour was the fastest selling North American tour for G Adventures and we expect this year’s tour to sell out even faster.
We’ve put a lot of effort into making this year’s tour even better.
The tour is going to consist of 2-weeks in Italy, from May 11-24, visiting many of the biggest attractions in the country: Venice, Florence, Cinque Terra, Sienna, Rome, Vatican City, Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.
In addition to taking amazing photos and visiting some of the greatest places in Europe, we will be scheduling time throughout the trip for hands on workshops dealing with photography topics such as better understanding your camera settings and editing photos in Lightroom. We will also have morning strategy sessions so you have a better idea of what and where to shoot when you are out photographing each day. I have already photographed most of the destinations we will be visiting so I can provide some first hand advice on where to go to get some great shots.
…AND you will have an opportunity to have your photography featured on my blog as well as the G Adventure blog and our respective Facebook pages, a combined audience of over 500,000 people!
We had a wait list for last year’s tour and there is a good chance we will again. If you are interested in going you might want to reserve a spot as soon as possible. You can hold your spot for 48 hours without paying.
Total cost of the tour is $3,499 which includes 13-nights accommodation, transportation between locations in Italy, 13 breakfasts, photography instruction and guided tours in Italy.
RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY
One of the many sights you’ll see this year in Italy
The 12 Most Difficult To Visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites
East Rennell is one of the more difficult to visit World Heritage Sites
Having visited 190 at the time of writing, I often am asked if I plan on visiting all of them.
The answer is “no” and I’m not even sure it is possible. As of 2013 there are 962 UNESCO World Heritage sites and about 1-2 dozen are added every year. It would be difficult to keep up with the new entries on the list, let alone making a dent in the 900+ already listed.
The most I know of that any one person has visited is Bill Altaffer who has been traveling for over 60 years and claims to have visited visited 808. Iain Jackson of Scottland has visited 691 world heritage sites. He has been visiting them since the 1980′s and claims that his unvisited list is now larger than it was in the 80′s just because they keep making so many.
Even extreme travelers like Jorge Sanches and Charles Velay haven’t been to more than 350 apice.
Many World Heritage Sites are easy to visit (Statue of Liberty, Paris, Rome, Westminster Abbey). However, some are extremely difficult to visit and require a determined effort to get there. There are several sites I’ve attempted to reach but failed (I’m looking at you Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn in Oman).
It would probably take a lifetime of travel and millions of dollars to seriously attempt to visit every single one on Earth.
Even if you had the time and money, however, you’d still probably fail in your quest because some UNESCO sites are almost impossible to reach.
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Photo Essay : The Art of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia
As amazing as the landscape and wildlife of Haida Gwaii are, the artwork created by the talented Haida artists is just as impressive. For decades the Haida art was surpressed by the Canadian government. In the 1960′s however, the government loosened controls on Haida culture and the result of the Haida Renaissance. Artists such has Bill Reid became world renowned and his work can be seen today at the Vancouver Airport and on the Canadian $20 bill.
Today Haida artists have continued their work promoting Haida culture around the world. While in Haida Gwaii I had the pleasure of meeting Haida artist Christian White, who’s work is featured in this photo essay. As one of the top Haida artists in the world, his work can command into the 6-figures.
I found Haida artwork to be come of the most beautiful and compelling creations I’ve seen in North America. During my travels I seldom buy artwork, but I would seriously consider adding a Haida piece to my home (if I had one).
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The Food Travelers Handbook
I am not a foodie.
I wish I was a foodie in the same way that I wish I could play piano or speak Italian, but I am not.
I believe I could exist quite happily like Robocop on nothing more than a rudimentary baby food like paste to keep my organic systems functioning, provided that the paste was nacho cheese or ranch flavored.
That is why you don’t see many posts about food on my blog. I eat lots of local foods, but I don’t get into the how and why of the ingredients and production.
Thankfully I have my own personal foodie: Jodi Ettenberg. I’ve met Jodi on three different continents. She’s true, unabashed food lover and I have personally let Jodi handle my food decisions many times.
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2013 Travel Plans
One of the many sites we’ll be visiting on my Italy Photography Tour
That being said, my travel plans for at least the first half of the year are starting to shape up. Here is the rough outline of what I’m planning for 2013:
OnTravel Interview – Las Vegas
Most of you might not be aware that I am a regular guest on a radio program. I am the global traveling correspondent for OnTravel, the daily travel show on AFR. I call in every two weeks or so and chat with the hosts, Paul Lasley and Elizabeth Harryman, from wherever I might be in the world. This episode I called in from Las Vegas and talked about the conference I am attending, travel technology, how I found my hotel and my upcoming trip to Costa Rica.
