“I tried to buy a ticket too, but they’ve run out of seats,” says the only other Gringo on the bus. There has to be 200 of us packed into this former American school bus. And without a ticket, this means we’ll be standing for the two-hour haul over the mountains to Matagalpa. This is our first time on an “express” bus, opposed to the “ordinario” or “chicken” buses which do not require an advance purchase or have seat numbers.
Where my coffee comes from Read More »
It’s been one week since we were robbed at knife-point in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Since then I’ve had a multitude of emotions and feelings: anger, frustration, forgiveness, vengefulness, regret. As a traveler or tourist you expect to get your pocket picked on a crowded bus, you expect to get your purse jacked in
Getting Robbed in San Juan del Sur at Knife-point Read More »
Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua We got a fresh start on December 1 out of San Juan del Sur, juiced up at Margarita’s restaurant and hopped on the chicken bus, like in the movies, right as it pulled out of town. We slumped into a sticky plastic seat and low and behold, our Japanese surfing friend
Blog of a Modern Nomad The border crossing at Peñas Blancas is the typical chaos: money changes with huge wads of cordobas, dollars, and colones, a mother and son beggar team, long lines of tired Nicaraguan laborers, and a nun asking for offerings. Before and after the 200-meter Noman’s Land one tractor trailer after another
Where School Buses Go When they Die Read More »
We have been lucky in many ways so far in Central America, the first being that my Costa Rican friend, Jorge, picked us up from the airport. I guess because I was raised in a small town, I noticed quickly how houses had fences around the properties securing them from the street and people
I am often in search of places that are “thoroughly and uncompromisingly foreign” but with our shrinking and globalized world, these places are increasingly uncommon.
Finding Twain's Tangier in Aleppo, Syria Read More »
In this world there are mountain people and there are beach people. This one is for the mountain people and for the mountain people who don’t know they’re mountain people. There aren’t a lot of chances to live in an honest-to-God Himalayan village these days. Here’s one: Village Environment Community Gangkharka (VEC), a small NGO with a long name.
Volunteer in a Himalayan Village in Nepal Read More »
The signature product of Moldova is their wine. The larger wineries have imported modern production techniques and are producing excellent wine at very inexpensive prices. Still, any Moldovan worth their salt has a large store of homemade wine from the massive barrel or two in their basement.
Homemade Wine and Salted Pig's Fat Read More »
Like Saul, I greatly anticipated my arrival to Damascus, an ancient city even in his day. I, however, was not coming to persecute Christians, but to retrace his important life-changing events that would prove to be the most important in Christianity after the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
On the Road to Damascus Read More »
European correspondent Gilbert Carlson takes us through his hometown–Paris–so you can dodge the tourists, save money, and experience the City of Light as Parisians do.
The Parisian’s Paris Read More »
Independent travel tips and inspiration delivered straight to your inbox.
One e-mail per month - No spam. We promise.
