After years of bypassing, I spent a week in Yuma—and discovered it is more than a crossing point, more than a refuge for snow birds, more than the America’s winter vegetable capital.  Yuma is history, even its prison is a window to a dustier, sweatier time.  Yuma is for foodies—whether you seek hot Chilies, Tex-Mex, sushi, or fine steak.  Yuma is an outdoor playground, with golf, a beach, wetland hiking, off road racing, and river sports.  Yuma is an urban success, an easy shopping ramble with l

When it comes to the pre-Columbian past of Peru, most of us automatically and understandably think of the Incas. But there were many other cultures and civilizations in these lands, some of them much older than the Incas. Several of these elder civilizations originate in what is now desert regions up and down the country's coast north and south of its present-day capital, Lima. One example you've heard about is the Nazca people, because of their now famous artifacts, the Nazca Lines. But you

Some hotels and resorts throughout the world make a big deal out of their collections of painting and sculpture. But leave it to the Japanese to go all the way and actually build a hotel around an art museum. The wee island of Naoshima, in Japan's Inland Sea off the Honshu coast between Osaka and Hiroshima, has gotten quite the elegant little rep in recent years for its modern art museums, of all things, thanks to a local textbook publisher called Benesse. That includes the Chichu Art Museum, th

A trip down one of Costa Rica’s rivers, either by raft, canoe, kayak or small boat, is an excellent way to see some of the country’s extraordinary wildlife. The rivers in Costa Rica are as diverse as the terrain through which they flow.

Trees that line most river banks may hold troops of monkeys, lounging iguanas and boas, and birds such as egrets, herons, ibis, ospreys, and colorful kingfishers. Crocodiles and caimans like to sun themselves on muddy banks, or may be cleverly disguised as a floa

by Sheri de Borchgrave

I've faced down grumpy hippos on safari in Botswana's Okavango, dodged camel spit on a trek in Mongolia, and kept my lunch down on a hurtling dogsled driven by ebullient Lapps. But hanging out with headhunters? Less adrenaline rush, maybe. But creep-out factor? Erk...

I was on the world's third-largest island (a bit over the size of Texas) as part of my visit to Malaysia, which shares Borneo with Indonesia and the entire sultanate of Brunei. And it was a far cry from Ku

By Roy Heale

Named in 1865 by the original settlers in honor of a Welsh Baron, the Atlantic coastal town and seaside resort of Puerto Madryn is renowned as the whale watching capital of Argentina. It is also the gateway to the Peninsula Valdes World Natural Heritage sanctuary since 1999 and a major wildlife conservation area. The region encompasses approximately 50 kilometers of beaches and most ocean bays are overlooked by dramatic white limestone cliffs which accentuate the blue Atlantic waters

One fact hit home when visiting Downtown New London's Historic District on the Thames River waterfront just a salty breeze away from Long Island Sound on Connecticut's southeastern shore. New London's entire population is well under 30,000...pretty small compared to other CT coastal cities like Bridgeport and New Haven when exploring urban Connecticut. This town has commuter rail, regular ferry service, and an Amtrak Acela stop all within the District limits.

It all began in this once-upon-a-time

by Tripatini staff

This vegetarian zucchini pancake recipe, delicious whether you're an herbivore or carnivore, comes from the CIA. No, not that CIA; the Culinary Institute of America, which has campuses in New York, California, and Texas.

Founded in 1946, the CIA and its graduates, who staff many of America's best restaurants and include plenty of boldface names, have dramatically raised culinary standards in the United States and beyond. What's more, the CIA maintains five restaurants for

Some people were born to be underwater.  Submerged beneath the waves, their bodies take on skills and movements befitting a marine creature.  For them, nowhere under the ocean surface can be left unexplored in the quest for a little piece of submarine magic.  And for these born divers, the Dominican Republic is a paradise with two especially fascinating places: the wreck of the St. George and the Padre Nuestro [Our Father] Cave.

The St. George was built in Scotland in 1962 and for twenty years

Two must-see destinations on your Costa Rica vacation are the Arenal Volcano and Northern Plains of Costa Rica.

The tall, impressive Arenal Volcano rises 5,437 feet above the verdant rainforest and neighboring Lake Arenal, framing the skyline with its near perfect cone shape. The spectacular live volcano is easily one of the most photographed landscapes in Costa Rica.

Formed nearly 7,000 years ago, after four centuries of inactivity, Arenal Volcano roared into life with the famous 1968 eruption.

Forget the kitschy song and dance show at the Hilton on Waikiki; it barely scratches the surface of the amazing richness and depth of Hawaiian natural and cultural history. Here are three recommended spots to wet your feet in what will hopefully be a lifelong interest in and admiration of this beautiful chain of islands.

Bishop Museum


Polynesia and Hawaii 101 starts here. Good thing there's not a quiz at the end ... there's much to learn.

Begin your exploration here. The Hawaiian Hall consis

Vacation getaways that are both appealing and off-the-grid are an endangered species to begin with. But even in this rarefied company, the San Blas Archipelago, stretching across the lower half of Panama Caribbean coast, is in a class by itself. Eighty-percent uninhabited, these more than 350 islands, reachable by puddle-jumper flights from Panama City, are as pristine a paradise as you'll find anywhere in the world these days, with occasional lodges, inns, and villages of thatched huts.

What m

by Mary Bergin

Scattered throughout Chicago, Illinois is evidence of creative minds at play: more than 700 pieces of public art. Although local artists get the most commissions, some of the biggest names in modern art — Picasso, Chagall, Calder, Miro -- have also made their mark here, turning “The City That Works” into a world-class museum of modern sculpture. Even better, this museum charges no admission and its works earn the appreciation of not just art experts, but everyone from toddlers to

In April 1982, Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, became the ‘Sister City’ of Himeji, an ancient city in Japan, now a port and a major industrial centre, most importantly the home of the headquarters of Nissan Steel.

When Colonel William Light laid out the city of Adelaide in 1836, he said that the city centre should be encircled by parkland, upon which nobody would ever be allowed to build houses.

And, in that parkland, to commemorate the link between the two cities, they laid out a Japan

por Cristóbal Ramírez

Uno siente tal vértigo al llegar a México DF que lo mejor es hacerse a la idea de que esta megalópolis está formada por multitud de pueblecitos de profundas raíces. Y es cierto.Coyoacán, que significa lugar de los coyotes, es uno de ellos. Aquí, en medio de callejuelas adoquinadas y placitas donde sólo se escuchan los pájaros, uno no siente el síndrome de la gran ciudad. Podemos contemplar la famosa fuente que representa a los coyotes y luego pasear por el Jardín del Cente

We live in California and two of our best friends reside in Florida. We wanted to visit them during the holidays, but didn’t want to endure the stress and aggravation of crowded airports and airplanes – so an opportunity to sail from nearby San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale through the Panama Canal was especially appealing.

Our cruise was an anomaly for a Holland America Panama Canal Cruise because the usual port of embarkation for the Canal trip is San Diego. However, it was our good fortune that

Sodium chloride has been a world-shaping mineral indeed, prized back into antiquity and beyond, and over the centuries contributing to the growth of trade and even civilization itself in various parts of the world. And though much of it has come from the ocean and open-air salt ponds, a good deal of salt has been mined from underground as well. On a recent trip to Colombia I had the pleasure of visiting a very cool salt mine (both figuratively and literally), which in turn brought to mind anot

The peaceful and shy manatee has been declared a national marine mammal in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica lawmakers this week passed the bill making the endangered Caribbean mammal a national symbol; the honor had been proposed by two school children from the region of Limón after they learned about manatees in school.

Also known as sea cows, manatees are large herbivorous mammals that live in rivers and oceans in tropical climates. On the World Wildlife Fund’s “Endangered Species List”, there are three