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When our boat sailed into Patmos, we used the harbour at Grykos, rather than the main harbour at Skala. We shared the jetty with the Old Fisherman. The crew of our boat said that he was almost always there, patiently sitting in his little red boat, mending his nets. When he was out fishing, you know he’ll be back, when you see his three friends waiting for him.

Two cats and a seagull would sit on the nets waiting for him, for he always had a fish for them, no matter how meagre his catch. It’s a s

El sol siempre brilla sobre Guayaquil. La ciudad más poblada de Ecuador, capital económica del país, no se parece en nada a Quito, ciudad que ostenta el poder político. Aquí en Guayaquilhay más relax, la gente vive en la calle, hay otra manera de entender la vida. Y sí, entre las dos existe una gran rivalidad. La llamada Perla del Pacífico es una enorme urbe diseñada en cuadrícula junto al río Guayas, que le imprime personalidad y riqueza. Basta ver la cantidad de barcos de mercancías y turistas

If you've flown on any of American Airlines' 737s in the past year or two, you've seen bolted-in seat trays in rows 16 and 17 that prevent the middle seat from being occupied. The result: Seats A (window), C and D (aisle), and F offer extra elbow room and places for drinks and stashing small carry-ons. Me, I'm on a run, having recently taken four straight flights where I sat in the much-coveted Row 16.

Nice, but don't you find this somewhat strange?
After all, American Airlines' largesse would

Simply put, travelling abroad is one of the most enriching endeavours any person could undertake. The adventures savoured and experiences gained in exploring different areas of the world will definitely end up as irreplaceable and unforgettable memories. That said, there’s no denying that the simple and straightforward act of setting out and experiencing the world is fraught with numerous risks and unforeseen pitfalls. From misplaced luggage and stolen items to shady local drivers and sketchy ma

In summer I decided to do some trekking with my friend. But I did not want to go to the place with lots of people there. We sought much, read many blogs and forums to find a proper place. Some places were too far, some were reserves with special restrictions, some too populous and etc. At last we made up our mind to ask for help to a travel company. We made up our mind to use the service of Progress Tour again. Nina (the operator) said that Kakhisi lake would be the best option for us. To tell t

Recently I had the chance to get an all-too-brief taste of Norway’s second city before boarding a weeklong Hurtigruten cruise up the coast, and OMG what a right little gem I found Bergen to be. Well, if you can call a city of 266,000 “little” – but honestly, how the locals describe it really does feel totally true: essentially,you could think of it as the world’s biggest small town (for me, the German term gemütlich comes to mind).

Surrounded by forest-clad hills on Norway’s southwestern coa

With the beach facing west, the winds coming from behind pushed us away from shore until the beach was a distant white line. I was surprised that my sailing instructor had let us float that far out, so I said something about the first-ever sailing lesson at a Caribbean resort to terminate in Mexico. “Sailing lesson?” he said. “I thought you just wanted someone from the water sports desk to add weight to the boat. I don't know how to sail.”

Bummer. But it did reinforce my theory that you always l

Story and photos by Mary Gallagher

Next time you see one of those special airfare sales to LAX or are there on business seriously think about visiting lovely Redondo Beach for a few days. Just a 7-10 minute cab ride from the airport opens a whole world of relaxation and fun and a number of beach side hotels. Best of all you won’t even need a car.

Redondo Beach with its population of fewer than 70,000, its Redondo Beach Pier, International Boardwalk, and soft Redondo sand, is a wonderful place

Iguazú Falls are located in Iguazú National Park, in the extreme north east of Argentina and bordering Brazil. Surrounding the beautiful waterfalls at Iguazú are tales of ambition and power, fruits of the imaginations of travelers who have ventured within them. Before the falls can be seen, their murmur can already be heard, with the violent battering of the waters growing louder and louder as you approach.

The falls lie on the border of Argentina and Brazil, just a few miles from the Triple Fron

I recently got back from a family vacation to a place we’d never been before: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. When I say a family vacation, I don’t just mean my husband, son and I. Oh, no. Every so often my extended family swarms together to go to some exotic place for a celebration. The last one that included my father was in 2005, to Italy, for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Last year, after my dad’s passing, we all went on an odyssey to memorialize his life from East Texas to Tucson, bir

A television programme dealing with the some of the thousand-odd islands around the British Isles caught my attention. Brief visits were made to many of my favourite islands, including one to my very favourite, the little-known but fascinating Piel.

Piel lies off the Cumbrian coast, at the mouth of the Walney Channel, near Barrow in Furness. It isn’t a large island. It’s only 19 acres in area, and barely 500 yards across at its widest. But it has a king.

He doesn’t gain his title by inheritance, t

The slow-moving sloths of Costa Rica are streaking into the limelight with their own weeklong online special program. Starting June 20, 2014, Animal Planet and Animalist will stream daily footage from the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica.

Cute and cuddly sloths of the Caribbean Costa Rica have been in the spotlight since last year’s program “Meet the Sloths” aired on Animal Planet. The two-hour special program will run again on June 21 at 8:00 a.m. EST. The story follows a year in the lives of five

Having started my career in the travel industry right after I returned from a yearlong backpacking excursion, I learned at a young age how to live with locals and experience familiarity wherever I traveled.

And now, over the past few years there has been a shift in travel values. More than ever, travelers are seeking out original experiences to get immersed into a culture by living like and with the local people. Traveling to a new destination is exhilarating , staying with someone who knows the

San Telmo, en Buenos Aires, es una fiesta. Casi toda la capital argentina es vibrante, charlatana y colorida pero en San Telmo uno encuentra la felicidad de las pequeñas cosas. Por ejemplo, al tomarse un café, un auténtico ritual para los porteños, que se tragan la bebida sorbo a sorbito a medida que van escupiendo sus temores, dudas y alegrías como en una sesión de psicoanálisis gratuita. La afirmación es más verdadera en lugares de este distrito como el Café del Árbol (frente a la Plaza Dorreg

The southern spice trail of India offers aromatic plants and scents – temples, history, fragrant curries, plenty of cows and the odd elephant. Bev Malzard explores. ‘India is a land of contrasts.’ These are the words I read when I first heard about India in primary school.

I missed the hippie trail through India in the late 70s and somehow it missed my ‘trip list’ for the next 30 years. It’s a long time since the 70s and I am no longer young and fearless – I don’t have the time to meander on

Apologies to my friends and colleagues in the cruise industry or who are cruise fans, but I’m just not that into cruising –  I’d much rather spend my time and money actually experiencing destinations rather than spending most of my trip on a ship (no matter how tricked out), with just occasional, usually frustratingly fleeting tastes of ports of call. There are, however, some cases where a cruise is clearly the best way to experience the most in the most efficient amount of time (unless you hav

Interesting little towns located very near big vacation destinations like San Francisco often go missing from the holiday planner’s radar. In the case of Pacifica, California, that would be most unfortunate.

Just 15-minutes south of San Francisco on famous California Hwy 1, Pacifica is a great place to enjoy a change of pace from the hustle and bustle of a City vacation. It’s a place to stretch out and watch the waves, and experience the community life of a small Bohemian style California coastal