by staff | Jul 27, 2019 | Around the World series
By making a circular journey, once I stepped away from home, I had already stepped toward it, and I never really stopped looking there. America was my reference point to explore three continents, 12 countries and even more cultures. Now the world is my lasting...
by staff | Jul 27, 2019 | Around the World series
The tourist authorities plug “Amazing Thailand” as a happy land of smiles and beaches; the press likes to paint it as a deadly refuge for sex and drugs. I see Thailand as a fascinating mirror of our motives, desires and defects as travelers. In the tourist...
by staff | Jul 26, 2019 | Travel
“”Mojave Desert!” Bill called out from behind the wheel, somewhere in the center of the night. He and I are the only ones awake on this desert caravan to Death Valley, the Green Tortoise’s newest adventure trip. The fabled green and silver...
by staff | Jul 26, 2019 | Travel
For a dose of the red tape and helter-skelter services that plague post-communist Europe, head for Bulgaria. The average pack-a-day smoker could outrun a Bulgarian train, and maps seem to be drawn by an astigmatic drunk. Travelers risk a $200 fine for failing to fill...
by staff | Jul 26, 2019 | Travel
“You come one? Bravo! Bravissimo!” the old woman said when I checked into the Malyovitza lodge. I had traveled all day on Bulgaria’s winding country roads to reach this small resort town in the Rila mountains. Sofia, Bulgaria’s capitol city, is a...
