The giraffe's enormous tongue gently plucked a green leaf from my outstretched hand. "Prehensile," our guide called it. "And about 18-inches long, so it can wrap around branches and strip off leaves." This giraffe, however, didn't have to work so hard. She merely waited for truckloads of … [Read More...]
Kenya: The Witch Doctor Is In
The witch doctor sat with human skulls at his feet. My guide said they were the bones of his father and grandfather who had also been witch doctors, and he receives messages from their spirits to help him diagnose his patients' ailments. I was on my first African safari, and meeting a medicine … [Read More...]
What is a Pilgrimage?
A pilgrimage, for me, is what differentiates a tourist from a traveler. While a tourist is happy simply to get away, … [Read More...]
Blessed by a Sacred Elephant
The Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple in Madurai is one of the largest in South India I had to stretch my neck to look up … [Read More...]
Green Luxury in a Belize Rainforest
Was an enormous lion howling outside my thatched cottage? It sounded more like a T-Rex. I might have been worried if I … [Read More...]
Aboriginal Magic in the Land of the Quinkans
The oldest rock paintings on Earth are in the Cape York peninsula of Australia's tropical north Queensland. They were … [Read More...]
Cave Art, Architecture And Ghosts Near The Grand Canyon
We bounced along a deeply-rutted dirt road from the Indian cave with its 3,000 year old petroglyphs and pictographs. We … [Read More...]
Kosrae, Pacific Island of Mystery
"The Mysterious Paradise Island" said the sign above the airport terminal door. I had just landed on Kosrae, one of the … [Read More...]
Climbing a Mayan Pyramid in Belize
Belize is so rich in ancient Maya archaeological sites it has been suggested that the entire country should be listed as … [Read More...]
Barkerville Celebrates its Chinese Heritage
The glow from hundreds of candle-lit paper lanterns provided the only light as we paraded up the dirt street into … [Read More...]
A Wealth Of Attractions Surround The Historic La Posada Hotel In Winslow, Arizona
With more than a dozen prime tourist destinations nearby, it's no wonder that every Santa Fe passenger train on the … [Read More...]
Holy Wells and Healing Water
To the modern, rational mind, the idea of miraculous cures from holy wells sounds, at best, illogical. But with so many … [Read More...]
Virginia City Nevada Was Once the Richest Place in the World
It was a disappointingly ordinary looking bedroom, considering its rich history. Some of the most famous men in the … [Read More...]
Malaysia’s Batu Caves – Rapture in a Hindu Temple
Some of the best advice I’ve ever been given about how to benefit from visiting sacred places came from Dr. Jean Shinoda … [Read More...]