About Marybeth, National Geographic Author, Writer

Curious Explorer. Award-winning author.

Gutsy Traveler: A woman, like travel expert Marybeth Bond, stands among purple flowers, raising her arms and smiling in front of a wooden building in bright sunlight.
Polar bear tracking and snorkeling with beluga whales in the northern Canadian Arctic.

Marybeth knows travel. She has hiked, biked, dived, danced and trekked across all seven continents – from the depths of the Flores Sea near Komodo Island to the summit of Kilimanjaro.

More recently, she tracked polar bears and snorkeled with beluga whales in the Canadian Arctic, then kayaked among icebergs in Antarctica.

Somewhere in between, four years of studying in Paris earned her two degrees – and a taste for good wine and strong cheeses.

Twelve books (three with National Geographic), countless travel articles, and numerous TV and radio appearances have built her devoted fanbase. She won the esteemed Lowell Thomas, Gold Award for the Best Travel Book of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation.

Woman on cliff in front of a monastery in Bhutan
Yesterday’s Video below. A decade or more later. Is Marybeth still GUTSY? Here in Bhutan.
Marybeth in Antarctica with penguins, snowy mountains, and water—just the kind of moment travel expert Marybeth Bond would capture in a travel video.
Kayaking and camping near penguins in Antarctica.

Yesterday….

France, Arles, Provence 

Gutsy Traveler: Two people walk past the Luma Tower, a modern building with a twisting, metallic facade atop a circular glass base, under a clear blue sky—a must-see museum for anyone on vacation.

LUMA Arles is a cultural space imagined by Swiss art collector Maja Hoffmann in collaboration with renowned Canadian architect Frank Gehry. Hoffman adores the charming Provençal town of Arles – where Vincent van Gogh to was inspired to create some of his most famous paintings including Sunflowers, La Maison Jaune and Van Gogh’s Chair – and she wanted to keep its artistic legacy alive by creating studios to provide artists with opportunities to collaborate and create new work. Gehry clad the twisted facade with 11,000 stainless steel bricks to reflect the colour of the sky and mimic van Gogh’s bold impasto brushwork. The building’s base is a two-storey glass rotunda inspired by Arles’ magnificent Roman amphitheatre. Inside the rotunda, two 30-metre-long stainless steel slides – built for adults as well as children – snake around each other, adding a sense of whimsy and playfulness to the space. luma-arles.org

Australia, Tasmania, Hobart

Gutsy Traveler: A modern building with angular architecture sits by a calm river, surrounded by trees and under a partly cloudy sky at sunset—a true treasure hunt for lovers of must-see museums on vacation.

Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania. Photo: Mona/Jesse Hunniford/Image courtesy of the artists and Mona, Tasmania, Australia

The Museum of Old and New Art or MONA was founded by Australian professional gambler, art collector and businessman David Walsh.It is the largest privately funded museum in the southern hemisphere. Dramatically carved into a sandstone cliff above the River Derwent, the museum is designed to defy conventional layouts and be a place of discovery, with three levels of labyrinthine underground galleries that display provocative, playful and unconventional art. The grounds include the Moorilla winery, a brewery and several bars and high-end restaurants, making it the perfect spot to lose yourself for an entire day. mona.net.au

Norway, Jevnaker

Gutsy Traveler: Several piles of blue plastic bags are scattered among tall trees in a forest clearing, creating an unexpected scene reminiscent of a vacation treasure hunt.

Aug 2024 exhibit. Creds, Vegard Kleven. Photo: Courtesy Kistefos Museum

The architectural centrepiece of the museum is The Twist, a huge spiralling gallery made out of twisted strips of wood that acts as both a sculpture and a bridge over the fast-flowing Randselva river. kistefosmuseum.no

Kistefos Museum is located an hour north of Oslo, on a 2,000-acre estate surrounded by forests and waterfalls. The sculpture garden here is astonishing, with 52 sculptures placed in the natural environment. Some are designed to blend in while others are intended to surprise and shock, making a walk in the woods a surreal experience.

The architectural centrepiece of the museum is The Twist, a huge spiralling gallery made out of twisted strips of wood that acts as both a sculpture and a bridge over the fast-flowing Randselva river. kistefosmuseum.no

USA, Potomac, Maryland

Gutsy Traveler: A large outdoor sculpture of an animal head, adorned with colorful flowers and greenery, stands on a pedestal in a grassy field—like a hidden gem for any vacation treasure hunt beneath the blue sky and framed by trees.

Jeff Koons, Split-Rocker, 2000, stainless steel, soil, geotextile fabric, internal irrigation system, and live flowering plants, 37 x 39 x 36 feet. © Jeff Koons Photo courtesy: Glenstone Museum


Glenstone is a privately owned contemporary art museum located outside of Washington, D.C., on nearly 300 acres of meadows and forests boasting streams, trails, paths and outdoor sculptures. The minimalist architecture of the museum contrasted with the outdoor landscapes is designed to offer visitors a calm, contemplative experience. The carefully curated exhibitions and installations are drawn from the museum’s post-World War II art collection, including works by Andy Warhol, Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock.

The newest exhibition space at Glenstone, the Pavilions, extends the meditative feeling of the museum. Flooded with natural light, the 11 cubic galleries, some purpose-built to house single-artist collections from the likes of Cy Twombly and Brice Marden, are connected by glass walkways built around a massive water court dotted with waterlilies. glenstone.org 

My story was originally pulbished on: https://travel.everythingzoomer.com/travel/

, , , , ,

Marybeth Bond