With mixed feelings, Rob Verger recently signed on for a tour of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. He looks back on the experience—and the photos he was allowed to take.
Great cheese abounds in the land of Gaul, but dig in and you risk committing any number of faux pas. Terry Ward explains how to partake of the nation’s famed fromage with savoir faire.
The former AP correspondent traveled up the Congo River. Frank Bures asks the author of “All Things Must Fight to Live” about following in the wake of Joseph Conrad.
Some bureaucrats joke that they would never claim expertise about countries they had not at least flown over. In an excerpt from his new book, Parag Khanna argues that real global understanding can only come from serious travel.
Lonely Planet author Robert Reid reviews Thomas Kohnstamm’s “Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?” and weighs in on the controversy surrounding it
TRAVEL BLOG
1.14.08
Big Waves Roll Through Mavericks
Saturday was a good time to be in northern California. Pro surfers from around the globe and thousands of spectators converged on the legendary surf spot near Half Moon Bay for the sixth edition of the Mavericks big-wave contest. The wave breaks a good distance offshore, and spectators who didn’t want to peer through binoculars had an interesting option.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “Party boats sold standing room for $275 a head so surf fans could bob in the sea alongside the break—by far the closest vantage point.” For those who prefer to bob vicariously—and cheaply—YouTube has plenty of Mavericks footage from recent years. Here’s but one video:
