A few ideas on how walking up a big pile of volcanic rocks in Africa can teach you something about life.
For some, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro is another check box on a “to do” list. For me it turned out to be a journey — in its own way, an epic exercise in achievement.
Like any journey of significance, themes emerged. Somewhere beyond Kilimanjaro’s snow-patched Uhuru Peak, I learned and relearned some lessons that resonated beyond the mountain-climbing task at hand. Continue Reading »
- Climbing Kilimanjaro: Life Lessons from the Top of Africa
- Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro: Day by Day
- Climb Kilimanjaro: Equipment and Preparation
Filed Under: Africa, Personal Growth, Tanzania, Travel by: Daniel Noll
60 Comments | 15 June 2011
“Wait, isn’t your life one big vacation?”
I realize that we, as travel bloggers, do our bit to perpetuate this myth by posting fun updates and photos on an almost constant basis. While all these experiences are true, there are also unglamorous bits, challenging stuff that goes on behind the scenes.
So here’s a bit of the honest truth: I’m tired. Actually, I’m exhausted. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Indonesia, Personal Growth by: Audrey Scott
34 Comments | 24 April 2011
Early last week, I was about to write about fears and the process of facing up to them. I would talk about traveling to places that once frightened me, meeting and interacting with large groups of new people, and jumping out of airplanes. Then, I would channel all those fears known and met through a more recent apprehension I’d tackled: riding a motorbike.
I would ride off into the sunset and deliver a life lesson about what a great feeling it is to overcome fears, to do something that scares you.
And then I crashed. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Personal Growth by: Daniel Noll
23 Comments | 12 January 2011
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been uploading the remaining photos from our travels through India and Nepal in 2008 (This New Year’s resolution, if you’re wondering: NEVER EVER allow ourselves to get this far behind on photos.)
Experiences, emotions, and even memories of certain smells came back to me as I added labels and descriptions.
Sometimes a story behind a photo really stays with you. While sifting through our images from Udaipur (a terrific town in the Indian state of Rajasthan), I came across this photo of a girl we’d met in the market there. In some ways, it looks like so many of our other photos of children and people in India – colorful, human, evocative. But to me, this image carried a story — and a lesson.
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: India, Personal Growth by: Audrey Scott
26 Comments | 1 January 2011
Nearly all the best things that came to me in life have been unexpected, unplanned by me.
–- Carl Sandburg
“Are you visiting Tuscany for your honeymoon?” Lorenza, our wine tasting hostess at Avignonesi winery, asked over a swirl of 2007 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
“No,” I laughed. “We’re actually here for our 10th anniversary. We were married just down the road in Pienza in 2000.”
Even as the words came out, I thought: Ten years? Really? Continue Reading »
- Panorama of the Week: Pienza, Tuscany — A UNESCO Site Worth Getting Married In
- Eat Your Heart Out, Tuscany!
- Life Lessons from A Tuscan Wedding
- Panorama of the Week: The Makings of a Great Brunello di Montalcino
- From Hilltowns to Harvest: Tuscany in Autumn
- Accommodation Italy: Participating vs. Spectating
- Maremma: Hidden Tuscany (an Audio Slideshow)
Filed Under: Europe, Italy, Personal Growth by: Daniel Noll
33 Comments | 8 October 2010
Andy has been a street performer for over fifteen years. He’s originally from Britain, but he’s called Berlin his home for the last four of those years. We watched his show at a festival in Berlin’s Westend neighborhood this past weekend. In his performance, Andy combined juggling, balance and slapstick – all suffused with his dry British humor. His finale: fire juggling on a tightrope held by members of the crowd.
While I enjoyed the wit, the feats, and the crowd reaction, it was a post-performance chat with Andy that really left an impression. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Personal Growth by: Audrey Scott
15 Comments | 21 September 2010
Say you moved around when you were growing up, or maybe you were raised in one place but moved away and frequently changed locations as an adult. Then you take a trip and someone asks you, “Where are you from?”
How do you answer? Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Personal Growth by: Daniel Noll
70 Comments | 6 September 2010
I am not a linguist, so when people find out that I am conversant in five foreign languages (French, Estonian, Czech, Russian, and Spanish) – most of which I’ve picked up on the fly instead of through formal study – they often ask me how I do it.
I don’t have a “get rich quick” secret for learning how to speak a new language. It can be challenging, humbling, and frustrating. So why do it?
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Personal Growth, Travel by: Audrey Scott
43 Comments | 23 August 2010
Filed Under: Personal Growth, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
55 Comments | 2 August 2010
People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.
– Dagobert D. Runes
Why is it that so many people reserve their curiosity for new and enlightening experiences on the road while they take for granted similar opportunities just because they happen at home?
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Personal Growth by: Daniel Noll
24 Comments | 1 July 2010
