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When she announced her plans to move to Argentina, vegetarian Sophie Weber’s friends told her she was crazy. You’ll starve, they told her. Haven’t you heard? Argentina is all beef, all the time.
Sophie, a 21-year-old student from Munich, Germany, wasn’t worried. Having been a vegetarian for all but brief period of carnivorous rebellion, her vegetarian survival skills were finely tuned.
As it turns... [Read more]
Lake Titicaca was known to the Incas as a sacred lake. Over the last few days, I have been able to visit islands on both the Bolivian and Peruvian sides, and walking the stoney paths, looking out to the ruins, marveling over the breathtaking views, it is easy to find the sanctity of the place. This lake inspires a holiness with the land, and even now at a computer in Puno, I continue to feel the affects of the ancient... [Read more]
Eileen had a moment to catch up with Annie Cuevas of Philippines Tourism for the latest promotions.
I have already been there myself and enjoyed some pretty interesting food, jeepney rides and beautiful islands. Check it out.
As with all of our videos Quicktime 7.0 or better is required to see our great videos in all of there luster. However, we have now added a new feature on ITKT’s home page to allow... [Read more]
Friday afternoon in La Paz, I found the restaurant section of an open air market and took a seat at one of the 10 stands serving relatively the same food for about $3. I ordered a plate of chicken and rice from two women standing behind a counter no more than four feet long.
While I ate the delicious food they served me, I enjoyed a nice session of people watching, the women cleaning pots from the lunch rush, children... [Read more]
We the world’s eyes all looking at China over the next month, China has a green plan. This is a long article, but perfect for those interested in the upcoming Olympics and conservation.
devin
Editor ITKT
BEIJING - July 3, 2008 - Successful, measurable steps have been taken to promote the concepts of “Green Olympics” since Beijing’s successful bidding for the Olympic Games in 2001.
The... [Read more]
Okay, so it has been a while. Fortunately we are back and will have a bunch more great video podcasts coming soon.
In this interview, our own Eileen, visits with Luis from Spain to talk about his culture’s relaxed nature and appreciation for the finer things in life. From personal experience, I can agree wholeheartedly.
As with all of our videos Quicktime 7.0 or better is required to see our great videos... [Read more]
July 29, 2008 | Written by
Jesse
Looks like Los Angeles just had a 5.6 earthquake, interesting considering there was ALSO a 2.1 earlier today in New Jersey and a big one in the
Anywhere I went in Cuzco, Peru, I got hustled by little children who sell everything from finger puppets to clothing. It’s common, really, they and their families need the money, but here is the crazy thing - all these children speak better English then most grown-ups in travel agencies around town. I would think an office job would be much better for a ten year old than selling trinkets on the street, but maybe they... [Read more]
If you want your mommy, if you can’t sleep anywhere but in your own bed without your blankie or teddy bear – independent travel is not for you. Entirely understandable why one wouldn’t want to give it all up creature comforts. However, those brave ones that do, gain an exciting and colorful world in exchange – the realm of hostel hopping.
Traveling, hostel hopping is inevitable. New place every day,... [Read more]
Apart from it being Germany’s richest city, the nation’s advertising and fashion capital (where Claudia Schiffer was discovered), and the hub of many Japanese corporations and banks, it’s also a city of eclectic art — ultimates and extremes, a sensational mix of over-the-top, old and new.
Radical architecture dominates the Media Harbour were, instead of warehouses and silos, stand edgy art installations... [Read more]
BEIJING, CHINA – This summer, thousands of Americans are being introduced first-hand to China, while millions more watch on television as the no-longer-sleeping giant hosts the Olympic Games.
Long after the Olympian crowds have left for home, you can add your name to the guest list with an 11-day, 10-night train tour aboard the “Shangri-La Express.” It takes you from Lhasa, Tibet to Beijing, China and is offered... [Read more]
Sitting at the top of a sand dune, with board attached to my feet, wind and sand pelting my face, looking out at the alien terrain reminiscent of Star Wars, is when I finally realized how damn lucky I am. Maybe it was the altitude or maybe it was the exhaustion from trudging up the steep sand, but something finally jostled me and opened my eyes.
Here I am sand-boarding in the San Pedro de Atacama in the Northern... [Read more]
The jungle trip began the same way I planned to start my independent journey to Iquitos. Early Friday morning I, along with the guide and five other participants - Alex [the writer's husband], two British girls, a New-Zealander, and an Australian, piled up into a motorized canoe filled with locals and baggage of all kinds. The trip down to Nuevo Rocafuerte is about 12 hours long, so this was an excellent opportunity for... [Read more]
Luck is often an essential part of a successful trip. If you know were to get some, I’d suggest you pack it in your most accessible backpack pocket – it, plus a bit of experience, and you are guaranteed to have a good time.
Pierre Constant - the adventurer extraordinaire and author of “Marine Life of the Galapagos” wasn’t very lucky, though it worked out just great for me and my husband.... [Read more]
I was once lured to read Isabel Allende’s novel Daughter of Fortune upon recommendation, but never got more than forty pages in. Though I stopped reading, I still remember the magical description of a bustling port city at the turn of the 20th century. Allende’s heroine runs about a city built along hills and terraces that look out onto the sea, and from her description I knew Valparaiso was a city... [Read more]
The towering rock of Monemvasia topped by a fortress, rises from the sea on the south eastern coast of the Peloponnese. Known as “Rosemary of the East“, or “the Gibraltar of Greece,” it has been a fortified settlement since ancient times. It got its name which means “Sole Entrance” from the 6th century AD because the only entry is through a fortified tunnel. In the words of the poet, Yannis Ritso, “This... [Read more]
From Sydney’s biggest event ever staged in the city with the Pope in attendance to new sightseeing tours and quirky festivals; Sydney and the surrounding state of New South Wales offers a wealth of things to do this July.
Events
World Youth Day, 15th – 20th July
This week will see Sydney host the world’s largest youth event, World Youth Day, being held from 15 - 20 July. Pope Benedict... [Read more]
His monkey was of the smallest kind in South America, and that is why I trusted him. In this place, it was as good a reason as any. The place was Coca, Ecuador, a small jungle town that I had big expectations for as a portal to an off-the-beaten-track adventure. This trip along the Rio Napo, which eventually merges with the Amazon, would be my first stab into the jungle. The plan was to make way to the border with Peru... [Read more]
I was in Mendoza, a desert in the west of Argentina that is now wine country, taking tours of vineyards and wineries and tasting the local Malbecs (Argentine wine). I was having a lovely time, but all I could do was stare off into the distance to the jagged Andes that ran to the west.
There they were, the second highest mountain range in the world and so close. And to think just west of the mountains was Chile.... [Read more]
Populations of female endangered sea turtles return to Cabo San Lucas beaches for the first time this year — marking the official kickoff of the 2008 sea turtle season
SAN JOSE DELCABO, MEXICO, July 16, 2008 – Each year in July marks the beginning of sea turtle season along the beaches of Cabo San Lucas when female endangered sea turtles start returning to shore to nest and lay their eggs. The first group... [Read more]
Spotless hiking boots, new backpacks, life couldn’t be more exciting and terrifying at the same time, as we stand in Quito’s airport. Just like new parents read too many baby books, all our knowledge of what a journey of global proportions like this should be, is from numerous paperbacks with pictures of hikers on mountain peeks, shot at an upward angle. I will never forget those first steps out of the airport.... [Read more]
Two and a half years on the road passed by like a freight train without brakes. Many times I was asked who and how came up with the idea to drop everything and exchange a stable home and promising careers for a one way ticket into the world - end destination or return date unknown. Anybody who knows me and my husband probably would not even stop to ponder, but to be completely honest, and as much as I hate to admit it,... [Read more]
The Music of Buenos Aires
The bands of Buenos Aires don’t seem to play in typical venues or in typical numbers. A band in the US may consist of 4-6 members, 6 being on the larger size. But here in BA I have found the bands to be well into the double digits and playing in places I would not suspect.
Thursday night, I was directed by locals to the Uniclub in Abasto. I did not think much of the three tiered... [Read more]
At Ondangua, northern Namibia, I met up with the convoy I was travelling with into Angola. We encountered no border controls and continued on past Ruacana Falls to Xangongo, which was once a prosperous Portuguese town, but now most buildings had no roofs and the town was quiet and overgrown. Many of the crumbling buildings’ white-washed facades were riddled with bullet holes. In some places, the road was not clear and... [Read more]
On my third day in BA, having seen some of the major districts, I thought it time for an off the beaten track adventure (city style that is). In the guide book map a friend found a marker signifying a Che Guevara Museum out at the end of the green line, but further digging into the book did not produce any more information. Just a small museum symbol and a number on a black and white map and nothing more.
Upon... [Read more]
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