It’s an awesome feeling to spot a piece of broken pottery among the weeds, pick it up and realize it was made nearly 1,000 years ago. It’s even more awesome to realize how easy it would be to slip the matchbook-size potsherd in your pocket – and the powerful curse that could haunt you if you … [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 made by Ang-Gnarra Aborigines as long as 35,000 years ago, and were unknown to most of the world until the 1950s. The galleries are now part of the Jowalbinna Bush Camp, and in 2000 … [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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
Ancient Stone Sculptures in Mamallapuram, India
The stone seemed alive with elephants, snakes, gods, goddesses, cats, mice and hundreds more fascinating creatures from … [Read More...]
Pisac, Earth Mother Temple in Peru’s Sacred Valley
I would love to go back to Peru, but on my next trip I wouldn’t necessarily return to Machu Picchu. The places that … [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...]
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...]
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...]
Spirit Stones of Fiji
Why are stones so compelling? From gems and crystals to monoliths and mountains, we’re attracted to stones wherever we … [Read More...]
Durian: the World’s Most Repulsive Fruit Moves Upscale
KUALA LUMPUR - “No Durians Allowed” has long been the rule in hotels, taxis, tour buses and airplanes throughout … [Read More...]