How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
Author: Franklin Foer
Who knew you could learn so much about globalization, economics and politics from soccer? Great read.
Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Author: Julia Cameron
One possible path to re-discovering the creativity you never knew you had.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, New Edition
Author: Jared Diamond
An admirable crack at explaining why the world is the way it is by way of an anthropological macro-history. This book probably comes up the most in conversation as we travel.
The Cathedral Within: Transforming Your Life by Giving Something Back
Author: Bill Shore
Inspiring profiles of social entrepreneurs and projects we all can learn from and hopefully replicate to give back to community.
Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
Author: John Carlin
Although the storyline is built around the South African rugby team and the 1995 World Cup, this book is more about Nelson Mandela and how he was able to unite a divided country. Inspiring.
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown
Author: Paul Theroux
The author re-visits Africa and re-assesses the place he once knew... and judges it once and for all. Well written, poignant observations of the thumbprints left by career politicians, aid workers, and everyday people.
Outliers: The Story of Success
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
A look at the internal and external factors of how extraordinary people got to be, well, extraordinary. One of those books that challenges assumptions and makes you think differently.
Shantaram: A Novel
Author: Gregory David Roberts
Administering first aid in a Bombay slum, selling fake passports and running guns to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Technically a novel, but closely linked to the Author's own experiences. Fantastic read.
Deep blue sky, pure white salt. The salt flats (Salinas Grandes) in northwestern Argentina.
And those pentagonal designs you see on the ground? All natural. Mother nature’s design eye. Open the panorama below to see this surreal landscape for yourself. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, Panorama by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
9 Comments | 18 December 2011
Have you ever wondered what you would find on a visit to Argentina? We thought you might, so we share a slideshow of favorite photos we took while crossing the country four months overland — from Iguazu Falls in the north to Ushuaia on the very southern tip, and back north again to the windswept Calchaquíe Valleys.
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, South America, Travel by: Audrey Scott
16 Comments | 10 February 2011
Maybe you’d like to visit wine country in Argentina. You’ve heard about Mendoza, but you wonder: How to I go about wine tasting and touring wineries there? The options are many, but if you’d like to have a meaningful, enlightening wine tasting experience and an awesome time, here are a few tips on how to do so without blowing a ton of cash.
Filed Under: Argentina, South America, Wine by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
21 Comments | 26 January 2011
Red rocks and desert. Doesn’t sound like the right conditions for a wine region, does it?
The name Cafayate, another of Argentina’s winemaking regions, doesn’t quite have the same ring as Mendoza. But there’s something about the sandy soil — good for irrigation control and filtering – that finds expression in the local grapes, including the local white wine varietal of choice, Torrontes. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, South America, Wine by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
18 Comments | 14 January 2011
Q: What’s the proper way to greet family you’ve never met before?
A: In Argentina: with kisses, warmth — and a heck of a lot of steak.
Earlier this year, with a visit to relatives in Argentina only days away, I received my first email in Spanish from my grandmother. This may not sound noteworthy, but the fact that she wrote it in her mother tongue transformed it for me from a simple letter into a welcome to a part of my family I hadn’t known before: the Argentine side.
Author’s note: Our visit to Argentina was months ago, so why am I writing about this now? With the holidays coming, I began to reflect on tradition, family and what it means to be “far away.” Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, Perspectives by: Audrey Scott
20 Comments | 17 December 2010
Patagonia: the home of otherworldly landscapes, uplifted granite, glaciers, unrelenting wind, and the toughened skin of a Pinot noir grape. At the region’s northern reaches, where fabled mountains yield to desert flatlands, there are wineries.
We couchsurfed and hitchhiked our way to find them, and when we did, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we had them virtually all to ourselves.
Adventurers, read on. For those of you interested in the details of do-it-yourself wine touring in this area, read Patagonia Wine Tasting, a How To. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, South America, Travel, Wine by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
11 Comments | 16 September 2010
When we poked around Buenos Aires earlier this year, our food quests were focused not only on understanding Argentine cuisine but also seeking out various ethnic cuisines that we hadn’t encountered much while traveling the Andes and Paraguay. A couple of times a week, we’d head out with a restaurant recommendation, a gigantic map of the city, and scribbled notes as to our bus route.
We often got lost. We always ate. And we discovered something.
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, Food, South America by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
53 Comments | 30 August 2010
Some places are best suited to road trips. They speak: move at your own pace, get lost, stop off in small towns, have the flexibility to enjoy whatever experiences might come your way.
The area around Salta and Jujuy in northwest Argentina is one such chunk of perfect road trip territory. Listen and watch the audio slideshow below to find out why. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, Audio Clips, South America, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
16 Comments | 25 August 2010
When I think about my first contact with the concept of Argentine cuisine, I recall a discussion twelve years ago with an unassuming foodie friend in San Francisco.
“I bet the food in Argentina is great!” I offered with blind optimism as visions of gauchos stepping to a tango beat danced in my head. Argentina seemed so damn far away; therefore the food must be exotic and varied.
My food-wise friend brushed off my enthusiasm without skipping a beat, “Yeah, if the only thing you like is steak and wine.”
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, Food, South America by: Daniel Noll
70 Comments | 18 August 2010
In a future incarnation, we will run world tours that seek to deliver extraordinary travel experiences through encounters with ordinary people. And when we do, a road trip in Northwest Argentina will be one of our first stops in South America.
After stumbling upon a dazzling gaucho festival on the first day of a week-long road trip, we figured our travel karma would have run out. Instead, our journey across the valleys outside of Salta featured interactions with engaging people open to odd encounters.
Here’s a taste. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Argentina, South America, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
14 Comments | 11 August 2010
