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...]
Sacred Canyons of Arizona
The Four Corners area of the USA (where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet) is rich with ancient cliff-dwellings, rock art, dramatic canyon vistas and native spirits. You can experience all these features in one place if you stop at Canyon de Chelly (pronounced d'SHAY) National Monument, … [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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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 … [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...]