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...]
10 Must-See Sacred Spaces in Peru that are Not Machu Picchu
The old saying about the journey being more important than the destination was never more appropriate than when I went on a spiritual tour of Peru. Of course Machu Picchu was the focal point of the program, but there are so many other amazing sacred spaces in Peru where a traveler could have an … [Read More...]
Secret Sacred Sites
Can You Keep A Secret? It’s risky to write about little-known sacred places. I worry about bringing them to the … [Read More...]
Spirits Of Slain Enemies Protect Borneo Headhunter Village
KOTA KINABALU, MALAYSIA - Nine generations after a Kadazan warrior named Monsopiad became a headhunter, the spirits of … [Read More...]
Walking With Ghosts In Vancouver’s Haunted Gastown
I'd walked past the place hundreds of times without knowing that so many people had been killed there. A block south of … [Read More...]
British Columbia First Nations Attractions Entertain and Inspire
I watched in fascination as the two men carved away slivers of wood from the pole. Stylized figures of animals and … [Read More...]
Why I Believe in Fairies
Maybe it’s Shakespeare’s fault, or perhaps the brothers Grimm are to blame, but fairies – like witches – have an image … [Read More...]
Rediscover the Goddess in Brittany
There are more than 30 prehistoric sites and over 3,000 ancient standing stones near the city of Carnac in the northwest … [Read More...]
Transformed by a Maya Medicine Woman in Belize
The Maya medicine woman smeared a handful of green, aromatic mud onto my forehead, binding it with a strip of cloth, as … [Read More...]
Yucatan, Land of the Mayan Rain God
Bats flapped overhead as I made my way deeper into the cave. A rope handrail helped me navigate steep steps. The air got … [Read More...]
Whale Boat Sails From Downtown Vancouver to Victoria
I gasped in amazement as three killer whales surfaced alongside our boat. Holding out my digital camera, I clicked the … [Read More...]
The Holiest Rock on Earth
It is the holiest rock on Earth, and I touched it. Its surroundings have changed over the past 3.000 years, but the rock … [Read More...]
Memories of Route 66 still live in St. Louis
It happened more than 60 years ago, when Bobby and Cynthia Troup were driving to California. Bobby was a composer and … [Read More...]
Stone Circle Magic in Ireland
Stone circles are enchanted places. Across the British Isles are numerous groups of ancient standing stones associated … [Read More...]