Destination: Central America
Interview with Rick Steves: ‘Travel as a Political Act’
by Jim Benning | 05.13.09 | 2:33 PM ET
Jim Benning asks the Europe travel guru about his new book -- and where Americans can go for a politically eye-opening experience
Video: Alison Stein Wellner: The Heat Seeker
by World Hum | 05.11.09 | 11:16 AM ET
Alison Stein Wellner traveled around the world to eat the hottest food she could handle, a quest she chronicled for World Hum
Can Eco-Travelers Save the World’s Rainforests?
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.08.09 | 2:19 PM ET
I’ve been thinking about this question since I saw a public awareness video released on YouTube by Prince Charles’s Rainforests Project. His Royal Highness rightly points out that climate change is the “greatest threat facing mankind” and that deforestation worsens global warming. (Burning trees releases their stored CO2.) At home, we can buy coffee tables and cabinetry made from sustainable wood. But what can we do when we travel?
Eight Great Family Travel Stories
by World Hum | 05.01.09 | 11:33 AM ET
To mark World Hum's eighth anniversary, we've collected eight favorite travel stories from our archives that explore the family vacation in all its forms
Guatemala City, Guatemala
by World Hum | 04.23.09 | 10:55 AM ET
Performers take part in an exhibition game of Maya Ball during an intercultural event in Guatemala City.
Given the Dire Economy, Should I Travel Overseas This Year?
by Rolf Potts | 04.20.09 | 10:12 AM ET
Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel and the world
Street Kids in Enzo’s World
by JD Roberto | 04.13.09 | 9:51 AM ET
On a trip to Granada, Nicaragua, JD Roberto confronts hungry children and considers how to explain them to his son
The Critics: ‘Fast & Furious’
by Eva Holland | 04.09.09 | 10:29 AM ET
Publicity still via IGN When I listed Fast & Furious as one of my travel movies to watch for in 2009, I have to admit that my tongue might have been straying towards my cheek. I certainly never expected that the movie—the fourth installment in a fading franchise—would smash box office records and enjoy the biggest April weekend opening ever. But with an unexpected $70 million (and counting) in the bank, I suppose the movie qualifies as a phenomenon of sorts. With that in mind, I decided to check it out and see if there were any vicarious travel thrills to be had in between all the lingering shots of hot (auto) bodies.
Should My Black Friend and I Worry About Race While Traveling Overseas?
by Rolf Potts | 03.30.09 | 10:14 AM ET
Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel and the world
Morning Links: The Zion Curtain, Pynchon and Baedeker, and more
by Michael Yessis | 03.12.09 | 10:00 AM ET
- Utah may tear down the “Zion Curtain” and make it easier to get into bars. Will that boost the state’s tourism?
- See Europe ... in New York City.
- Kurt Andersen in Nicaragua: “[T]he country has become one of those Places on the Verge, discovered by cognoscenti but not yet overrun.”
- Yes, Los Angeles has a bike culture. Matthew Segal immerses himself.
- MetaFilter celebrates Baedeker travel guides—“the de facto travel guide for international men of leisure”—and how they served as a research tool for Thomas Pynchon.
- Man sues US Airways for $1 million after it allegedly lost his Xbox and gave him “an unconscionable runaround.”
- Man jumps into Niagara Falls and survives, only the third person ever to do so.
- Welcome, Big World Magazine.
- Finally, another U.S. Senator, another embarrassing airport incident. If only someone had caught Sen. David Vitter’s alleged outburst on video like Cathay Pacific caught the Airport Auntie.
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Bring the Comfy Chair!
by Alexander Basek | 02.13.09 | 2:46 PM ET
Video: How to Filet Conch
by World Hum | 02.04.09 | 8:40 AM ET
It takes a bit of a fight and some handy knifework. Ian Cacho explains how to get to the "white meat."
‘Greenwashing’ Costa Rica
by Joanna Kakissis | 01.23.09 | 11:46 AM ET
Eco tourism is a Costa Rican brand. This lush Central American country has long topped green and sustainable travel lists, marketing many of its accommodations as eco-lodges and eco-resorts. It promotes itself as a tropical paradise with stunning biodiversity and “no artificial ingredients.” While that may be true in the country’s forests and national preserves, the scene at the beach town of Tamarindo is not exactly one for the eco-travel brochures.
Seven Great Time-Lapse Travel Videos
by Jim Benning | 01.13.09 | 9:09 AM ET
Jim Benning sifts through YouTube's accelerated videos to find the seven best
Morning Links: Science Pubs, Staged Plane Crash and More
by Michael Yessis | 01.13.09 | 8:13 AM ET
- Money guy Marcus Schrenker apparently staged a plane crash to fake his death. Wow. Gawker calls him “one of the most memorable villains to emerge in the financial crisis.”
- Bill Donahue in Panama: It has “the dark allure of a Graham Greene novel.”
- Tourism officials in Australia have put out a call for the best job in the world.
- Foreign Policy hosted a virtual roundtable on Samuel Huntington’s legacy.
- Tokyo’s Tsukiji market has reopened to tourists.
- Maclean’s examines “changes that have taken place in the travel landscape as a result of 2008’s tumultuous economy.”
- Sake consumption may be falling in Japan, but it’s on the rise in the U.S.
- In these Portland, Oregon “science pubs,” drink in a little physics or volcanology lecture with your brew. Even better: “There are no tests.”
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