Travel is a lifestyle, not a vacation.
It’s not easy to get a good understanding of the Guanache people who first settled the Canary Islands. They are believed to have been blonde-headed, blue-eyed Berbers from Africa. They lived in caves and made pottery using clay from the abundant volcanic material on the island. That’s all we could really figure out from the…
Excluding the national park at the top of the Teide volcano, the island of Tenerife has two distinct sides. The south is known for its sandy beaches and sunny skies, while the north is higher and cooler with crashing waves under plunging cliffs. The south is touristy (full of visitors flying in from London, Madrid…
What do you get when you cross a parrot with homing pigeon? A bird that will ask direction if it gets lost. Jose Ledesma tells me that joke while dining at a local Canarian restaurant owned by a friend of his. Ledesma raises racing pigeons. In fact, one of his birds, Bayo Casablanca, holds the…
The amount of ground we've covered so far is astounding, but now that we are in the Canary Islands, it's time to slow down and enjoy things on island time. The Canary Islands are located off the coast of Morocco, but belong to Spain. The flight from Madrid cost under $200, and it's worth every…
Gibraltar is the only place in all of Europe where you can find primates in the wild. Known as the Barbary Apes (a misnomer: they are macaques), the endangered animals nearly went extinct in the early 20th century. Today, nearly 300 primates live on the rock, and most of them gather around tourist sites hoping…
Planes, trains, buses, ferries, grand taxis and subways. It's been a whirlwind of public transportation on two continents. Yes, the schedule has been quite ambitious for the first few days of this trip. However, a visit to southern Spain afforded us short jaunts to Gibraltar, which is owned by England, the Spanish enclave of Ceuta…
Excuse me, pardon me. Do you speak French. Or maybe German. Or Spanish. You English? Please let me show you special exhibition. Today only. I take you there. No problem. The touts in Tetouan, Morocco, are relentless, especially since we seem to be the only tourists in this town. They say the want to practice…
In a move that has the bullfighting industry seeing red, a matador has agreed to advertising a beverage on his cape. According to industry experts, this is the first time such a promotion has appeared in the ring. Some say the cape is sacred part of the “ritual of bullfighting,” while others say sponsorship has…
You won’t see these suitcases coming around the baggage carousel any time soon: 1. This meat bag was part of a print advertisement campaign launched by VLCC, a beauty and fitness company in India. 2.French designer and artist PinkWolf has created luggage that makes a bold statement in the security line. If the gun suitcase…
Travel is full of unexpected surprises (good or bad); that’s one thing I like about it. But sometimes, things can go a little too far. In this case, it’s far more enjoyable to read about travel mishaps than experience them first-hand. “Monkey pushes woman off cliff” read the headline on Wednesday’s “Weird News” feed. Naturally,…