All Entries in the "Adventure travel" Category
Wanderlust and culture shock in Latin America or anywhere
I was in Ecuador when it happened to me. Many seasoned travelers had warned me about it, but I, with my buoyant wanderlust, had always haughtily considered myself above the adverse effects of foreign travel. No, I was certain. It couldn’t happen to me. But it did. And I still remember the look in my [...]
Cliff Jumping in a blizzard in Interlaken, Switzerland
My first impression of Switzerland was the clean, invigorating Alpine air and incredible mountain scenery. But I was looking for high-adrenoline adventure. After our 8-hour bus ride from Florence with lots of other students, we checked into a spotless student hostel and bundled up for snow fun. The modern network of cog railways and cable [...]
Machu Picchu’s siren call- to stand at the top of the world
It was a feeling that I yearned for. To stand on top of a mountain in the cool silence of dawn. Cliché? Perhaps. But nevertheless, I was certain that there were few moments in life more satisfying than that stillness. And at last, after years of fantasizing, there I sat in an unassuming patch of [...]
Biking 3,000 miles across America. My athletic achievement of a lifetime.
When my daughter asked if I would bike across the US with her, I jumped at the chance. I had no idea what lay ahead. Terror in the night Many nights I woke up at 3 a.m. and my bravado gave way to fear — of trucks running us down, injuries, arguments and the enormity [...]
A Mother/Daughter Adventure to Reconnect
A few summers ago my twenty-year-old daughter and I felt a need to escape the busyness of everyday life and reconnect. We needed to do something to break away from the routine of her visits home — working, buying groceries, cooking, entertaining, and disjointed conversations. We came up with a great idea! TIP: Select a [...]
A Sultan’s Palace in Java and a puppet artist.
Regal school girls practice English with Marybeth Bond, the Gutsy Traveler. School girls, market, artist making shadow puppets. Shopping, handicrafts, etc.
Family Safari – The Great Rift Valley
The noise was wild and untamed — the primeval voice of Africa herself. The full-chested roars of two male lions echoed across the plain, striking terror into their prey and pumping adrenaline into our veins. Nine-year old Annalyse slipped her tiny hand into mine and squeezed it. I squeezed back with a sweaty palm. Naturally [...]
2 TravelGirls in Fiji: A Mother-Daughter Escape
“There are fewer and fewer places left on our planet as beautiful as Fiji” – Jean-Michel Cousteau Reveling in Barefoot Luxury: GRAB YOUR MASK, FINS AND SUNBLOCK AND PLACE YOUR BETS ON WHO SEES THE FIRST MANTA RAY. Over the years, the world’s best reefs have beckoned to me like a siren’s song. When [...]
Switzerland really is this Beautiful. Head for the Mountains.
The Swiss Alps are a hiker’s heaven with hundreds of miles of well marked and maintained trails
