The Maya medicine woman smeared a handful of green, aromatic mud onto my forehead, binding it with a strip of cloth, as she had done on the soles of my feet and the palms of my hands. I looked like a mummy in mid-wrap. The "mud" was actually a poultice of ground cacao beans and nine medicinal herbs. … [Read More...]
Hunting Tigers in India
The man with the sickle was passing sheaves of long grass to the thatcher on the roof, but the dozen tourists on the nearby watchtower ignored this picturesque operation. Their eyes were trained on the freshwater pond and the adjacent patches of jungle that had been cleared to make the tigers easier … [Read More...]
Shamanic Experience at Machu Picchu
Night was falling as we got into the bus to go up to Machu Picchu. Our group of ten, usually talkative and laughing, … [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...]
People In The Outaouais Are As Colourful As Their Autumn Leaves
I was startled to realize that the woman in the striped dress was a mermaid. Then I chuckled when I noticed her right … [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...]
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...]
Peru Beyond Machu Picchu
Although Machu Picchu is the highlight of most trips to Peru, it is certainly not the only destination. When my wife 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...]
Earth’s Three Most Powerful Places
When people find out I’m a travel writer who focuses on pilgrimages to places of power, they frequently ask me, “What … [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 … [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...]
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...]
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...]