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Spanish volcano activity intensifies

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 02:32:15 +0000

6,000+ Evacuate Spanish Island of La Palma

A drone view of a home spared from the lava flow after a volcanic eruption on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, taken September 20, 2021 and obtained from social media. Alfonso Escalero / I LOVE THE WORLD/via REUTERS.

Officials on the Spanish Island of La Palma, which is part of the Canary Islands archipelago, ordered more evacuations on Friday in response to intensifying activity from the Cumbre Vieja volcano. More than 6,000 people have evacuated as lava engulfed several communities. About 593 acres, with a 9.8-mile perimeter, have been affected by the flow, and 390 buildings have been destroyed, BBC reports. There are also concerns that when the lava reaches the sea, it could create dangerous plumes of gas that could cause eye, lung, and skin irritations. Meanwhile, the eruptions, which have occurred for six straight days, have created a large ash cloud, which has forced flight cancellations and is now drifting toward the Spanish mainland. [BBC, CNN]

World’s Historical Landmarks

Due to its position on the popular Maya Riviera, the ruins of Tulum have long been a symbol of the Yucatán Peninsula. Photo by Deb Roskamp

With the prospects of travelling again at the tips of our fingers, all of us are eager to visit monuments in a different country so magnificent we just can’t resist sharing on our social accounts. With this in mind, TheKnowledgeAcademy.com sought to find out which of the world’s historical landmarks is the most popular on social media by combining the total social shares across Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest.

Key Findings:

Tulum tops the charts as the most popular historical landmark across social media, earning a whopping 1,584,562,637 hashtags and pins. Located along the picturesque coastline of Mexico, it’s almost impossible not to share Tulum’s idyllic white sand beaches and Mayan ruins while you are there! Winning by a landslide, Tulum also ranks first with the most shares on TikTok (1,576,600,000) compared to the Eiffel Tower which comes in second with (398,895,800).
In second place with more than 400 million social shares is Paris’ iconic Eiffel Tower. Nestled in the beautiful grassy Champ de Mars park, the lattice tower figure has dominated social media feeds for many years. This iconic French landmark also earns the title as the most shared site on both Instagram (8,253,820) and Pinterest (312,675).
Taj Mahal in India takes third place with 352,758,040 shares on social media. The beautiful mausoleum hewn from white marble and its elegant lotus dome draws more than 7 million tourists every year.
In fourth is Machu Picchu in Peru with more than 199 million shares. The ruins of the Incan citadel are set atop Cordillera de Vilcabamba of the Andes Mountains and overlooks the majestic Urubamba River which makes it a must-post on socials.
In fifth place with 146,482,664 shares is the Statue of Liberty Monument in the United States. Holding up the torch of enlightenment on New York’s Liberty Harbour, the green-tinted statue is an unmissable share on socials for visitors from all over the globe.
The Mayan city Teotihuacán places tenth with 38,406,867 shares across social media. Located just outside Mexico City, Teotihuacán is home to ruins of a major central road, the Street of the Dead, as well as the Pyramid of the Sun. The perfect collision of scenic views and culture has made Teotihuacán a popular addition to social feeds.
Mexico dominates the top 10 charts, with three landmarks making the ranks (Tulum, Chichén Itzá, and Teotihuacán).

Teotihuacan is located 25 miles northeast of Mexico City, covering an area of 32 square miles, believed to be founded around 100 B.C. Photograph by Deb Roskamp

EU Set to Add United States to Safe Travel List

European Union governments agreed on Wednesday to add the United States to their list of countries from which they will allow non-essential travel, EU diplomats said. Ambassadors from the EU’s 27 countries approved the addition of the United States and five other countries at a meeting on Wednesday, with the change to take effect in the coming days.

Albania, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Serbia and Taiwan will be added, while Chinese administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau will be included with a requirement for reciprocity removed.

EU countries are recommended gradually to lift travel restrictions for the current eight countries on the list – Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

Individual EU countries can still opt to demand a negative COVID-19 test or a period of quarantine.

Courtesy Aine Givens, ARCAMAX

Travel to many top destinations around the world was severely curtailed or even stalled for much of 2020 as the world grappled with the coronavirus pandemic. A year later, these locations are beginning to welcome the return of visitors.

Countries Most Dependent on Tourism

Courtesy World Trade Council

Macau – Skyline. Wikimedia Commons

Here are the top 30 locations globally that will need an influx of big-spending visitors as soon as it is safe to welcome them. Data is from the World Travel and Tourism Council. It includes direct, indirect and induced impacts of travel and tourism.

Destinations and total travel and tourism contribution to GDP as percentage of total GDP to that economy:

Macau SAR, China 91.3
Aruba 73.6
UK Virgin Islands 57
Maldives 56.6
US Virgin Islands 55.5
Bahamas 43.3
Antigua and Barbuda 42.7
St Lucia 40.7
Grenada 40.5
Seychelles 40.5
Cape Verde 37.2
Belize 37.2
Anguilla 37.1
Dominica 36.9
Vanuatu 34.7
Fiji 34
Montenegro 32.1
Jamaica 31.1
Barbados 30.9
Other Oceania* 28.6
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 28.6
St. Kitts and Nevis 28.2
Cambodia 26.4
Georgia 26.3
Cayman Islands 25.2
Philippines 25.3
Croatia 25
Former Netherlands Antilles 23.5
Iceland 22.8
Albania 21.2

*Other Oceania includes American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Samoa and Tuvalu.

The Most Luxurious All-inclusive Resorts Around the World

COURTESY LINDSAY TIGAR , MAYA KACHROO-LEVINE & ELIZABETH RHODES; T+L Daily Transporter

(Each property has been reviewed and inspected by T+L Daily Transporter editorial team.

Pikaia Lodge, Galapagos Islands

Courtesy of Pikaia Lodge

Off the coast of Ecuador in the Galapagos Islands, travelers will find Pikaia Lodge, a luxury all-inclusive catering to active and adventurous types. Built entirely from recycled materials, the property is 100 percent carbon neutral and sits between two inactive volcano craters on Santa Cruz Island. It features 14 gorgeous suites set on a private giant tortoise reserve. As for activities here, guests can participate in small group, guided marine programs, which explore neighboring islands and notable wildlife sites in Galapagos National Park while on board the lodge’s 105-foot luxury yacht.

Luxury Galapagos adventure | Pikaia Lodge

Hurawalhi Island Resort, Maldives

Courtesy of Hurawalhi

When you imagine the Maldives, a beautiful bungalow oasis in the middle of the Indian Ocean is likely what filters through your mind. A 40-minute seaplane flight from Male Airport, guests at Hurawalhi Island Resort are tucked away from the rest of the world, surrounded by the kind of blue you can’t create, even with an Instagram filter. Here, you can choose from ocean villas or beach villas, each of which include king-sized beds, private terraces, and for those over water, access to the waves. Meals and alcoholic beverages are included within the nightly rate, with the option to upgrade to more fine-dining options (like a visit to the Champagne Pavilion), if your getaway calls for a celebration. Each villa also has access to sunset dolphin cruises, kayaks, snorkeling equipment, yoga classes, and more.

Maldives Luxury All Inclusive Resort – Adults Only Luxury Maldives Resort (hurawalhi.com)

andBeyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge, Botswana

Courtesy of AndBeyond

As one of the top safari destinations on nearly every traveler’s bucket list, Botswana offers an incomparable glimpse into the heart of Africa. This luxury all-inclusive is located on the renowned Okavango Delta in the northern region of the country. When it rains over these massive, grassy plains, animals flock to the area, creating the opportunity to see rhinos, giraffes, lions, and more. To elevate your experience, andBeyond doesn’t disappoint with included safari and river boat tours, as well as meals, drinks, and round-trip airport transfers. andBeyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge | Botswana Luxury Safari

The Singular Patagonia, Puerto Bories, Chile

Courtesy of the Singular Patagonia

After successfully completing any of the strenuous hikes of Patagonia, it’s worth splurging on a luxury resort to recuperate. And if you’d like to go big, book a stay at The Singular Patagonia, which lies deep in southern Chile, overlooking the iconic Fjord of Last Hope. Set on 30 acres, the site was once the Bories cold storage plant in the early 1900s, serving as a focal point for the sheep farming industry. Today, though, it features 57 meticulously designed rooms that’ll have you at ease from the moment you enter. The nightly “Complete Experience” rate includes all food and alcohol, as well as daily excursions such as horseback riding, kayaking, and more local activities. And if you need to soak away the soreness from travel and hiking, every guest has access to the spa facilities for the duration of their stay as well.

www.thesingular.com

Tongabezi Lodge, Simonga, Zambia

Courtesy of the Tongabezi

The border between Zambia and Zimbabwe is home to the legendary Victoria Falls, which is twice as high as Niagara Falls and often considered among the most powerful – and jaw-dropping – natural wonders in the world. Though this beautiful work of Mother Nature is enough of an attraction for many travelers, when you stay at this five-star property in southern Africa, you have many other unique experiences to choose from, too. Think: an early morning game drive to see lions, hyenas, or elephants, a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River, or a guided tour of the falls – these are just a few of the experiences Tongabezi offers. No matter how you’d like to spend your African vacation, when you stay at this property, home to over-the-top houses and cottages, your private valet can arrange it all.

Tongabezi Lodge (greensafaris.com)

El Dorado Maroma, A Spa Resort by Karisma, Riviera Maya, Mexico

Courtesy of Karisma Hotels & Resorts

As overwater bungalows become more and more Instagram famous, oceanside resorts around the world are finding ways to recreate the virality generated in the Maldives. For a much shorter flight, but an equally luxe experience, El Dorado Maroma’s Palafitos – Overwater Bungalows were the first oversea chalets on the Riviera Maya. Far from the party in Cancun, 30 modern and pristine suites are perched over the green waters of Maroma Beach, a private stretch of powder-white sand that’s often considered a hidden gem of Mexico. Each of these suites include glass-bottom floors, outdoor showers, private infinity pools, indoor Jacuzzis, and direct ladder access to the water. With the nightly rate, you’ll also enjoy a gourmet dining experience.

El Dorado Maroma (karismahotels.com)

Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle, Thailand

Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Where Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand meet, golden memories are made, allowing ambitious travelers to cross off three countries simultaneously. For those who want the star-studded experience on the Thailand corner of the triangle, a stay at this beloved Four Seasons property is a must. Depending on what you seek out of your vacation, there are various all-inclusive packages to choose from. Each inclusive option offers guests meals and alcohol, as well as one spa treatment per person, elephant encounters, and round-trip transfers to the nearby airport. Because of its proximity to other Southeast Asian countries, some excursions could include trips to Myanmar or Laos, giving you more time to immerse yourself in the local culture.

Luxury Camping in Thailand | Four Seasons Golden Triangle

Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Credit Sean Fennessy

For certified scuba divers or those who prioritize seclusion during vacation, why not stay away from the mainland on an island all to yourself? Actually, make that an all-inclusive resort on the storied Great Barrier Reef. With 24 beaches and 40 luxury suites, you can enjoy practically endless options for exploring some of the most stunning natural wonders on the planet. Seafood lovers, take note: Nearly all of your meals include creative culinary takes on the catch of the day. Many activities – from snorkeling to stand-up paddle boarding – offer a unique perspective of this tropical oasis, all for no additional fee.

Great Barrier Reef Luxury Accommodation | Lizard Island

Fairmont Mayakoba, Mexico

Credit Fairmont Hotels

Though it’s not an all-inclusive in the traditional sense, the Fairmont Mayakoba offers an all-inclusive package that gives you access to all of the restaurants and most alcoholic beverages at the resort. Unlike many more crowded parts of Mexico, Mayakoba provides a private and serene getaway in the Riviera Maya region. As the largest resort of this eco-luxury destination, Fairmont gives its guests the chance to not only explore the fine-dining options, but also an ecological immersion, too. When you’re not pool-hopping or riding bikes through the winding paths of the property, you can take a boat tour to learn about the local wildlife and brush up on your botany knowledge.

https://www.fairmont.com/mayakoba-riviera-maya

Bluefields Bay Villas, Jamaica

Credit courtesy of Bluefields Bay Villas

Bluefields Bay Villas is home to a collection of six all-inclusive luxury villas with all the bells and whistles built in. On the southern coast of Jamaica, where the vibrant countryside meets the Caribbean Sea, you can choose from two- to six-bedroom homes, all featuring private pools, a butler, maid service, a chef, and access to the beach nearby. You can work with your personal chef to create delectable meals suited to your palette and preferences. Also included: paddle boarding, kayaking, snorkeling, tennis, hiking, and other activities. If you want to make your vacation even fancier, Bluefields Bay can arrange for luxurious add-ons like private helicopter transfers.

Jamaica All-Inclusive Luxury Resort | Villa Rentals | Bluefields Bay (bluefieldsvillas.com)

Twin Farms, Barnard, Vermont

Credit Courtesy of Twin Farms

A luxurious retreat nestled in the Vermont mountains, Twin Farms is an adults-only culinary destination. At Vermont’s only five-star, all-inclusive Relais & Châteaux resort, guests enjoy meals by chefs who create innovative daily menus with the state’s best produce – sourced from the property and top local and regional vendors. Make sure to pamper yourself during your stay, with a facial, massage, or seasonal treatment at The Bridge House Spa. And while you can’t choose incorrectly when selecting your lodging at Twin Farms, we’re partial to their 950-square-foot cottages, which come with a fireplace and stone hot tub.

Inclusive Vermont Resort and Spa | Twin Farms

Kokomo Private Island, Fiji

Credit courtesy of Kokomo

Fiji’s most exclusive resort, Kokomo Private Island, is set on the otherworldly Great Astrolabe Reef. The inclusive offerings range from water-based activities and tennis court access to restaurants serving island-grown and locally-sourced produce. A 45-minute seaplane or helicopter ride from Nadi, Kokomo sits within the Kadavu Island Group. The five-star, 140-acre property is a haven for couples and families, and is a perfect spot for a multi-generational family retreat. Guests can sign on for shark diving, waterfall hikes, manta ray swims, and even coral reef restoration with Kokomo’s on-site marine biologist.

www.kokomoislandfiji.com-

Acupuncture for Organizations

By Dr. Kathleen Allen

As individuals, we all have some healing to do as we emerge from the pandemic. The same is true of organizations.

I’ve been reading Stuck?: Dealing With Organizational Trauma by Phillipe Bailleur, an organizational consultant who works with a living systems mindset. In Bailleur’s words, organizational trauma can’t be fixed, like a car going in for repair. Instead, as leaders, we need to learn how to heal our organization. Because humans and any other living systems organization can only be healed – not fixed.

Our organizations (and the people in them) have been adapting at an accelerated rate for more than 16 months. It doesn’t matter that some of the adaptations we’ve made were already ideas that existed before the pandemic. These preexisting ideas, like remote work environments, were present but still being met with resistance in many cases. The pandemic made that resistance obsolete, and our organizations had to adapt very quickly.

Even though an idea may be “familiar” rapid adaptation still created some form of trauma, mainly because the new routines were not part of our individual and organizational habits. And this new way of working from home rippled across other aspects of our lives, not the least of which was childcare as our kids were also forced to learn at home, and daycares were closed. Adapting to this new remote workstyle impacted many aspects of our lives, from how we showed up at work, to how we interacted with our teams. The fact that many of us had to wear so many different hats at once, particularly parents, created the need for even more sudden adaptations.
The impact of all this adaptation has to be described as trauma that happened to us as individuals and collectively to our organizations. The question now becomes – how do we begin our own healing?

Truncating our Regenerative Capacity

Just like nature, humans have a natural regenerative capacity. But sometimes we don’t nurture this capacity within ourselves. Instead of choosing to listen to our body and respond with an act or space that nourishes us, we outsource our healing to a doctor, a therapist, or perhaps a medication. This practice of seeking solutions elsewhere is sometimes necessary, but the choice doesn’t have to be our first response. My colleague Suzanne Koepplinger is the Executive Director of the Catalyst Initiative. The Catalyst Initiative is helping people understand that primary care is self-care! The Initiative focuses on integrated health and healing practices that are culturally specific and acts as an excellent resource for anyone interested in nurturing their own regenerative, healing capacity.

We need to remember when we don’t take care of ourselves, we cut ourselves off from integrated healing practices like yoga, meditation, acupuncture, Tai Chi, healing circles, and other activities that build our own resilience and strengthen our health. And that slows down our ability to regenerate.

Organizational Acupuncture

On an organizational level, we aren’t particularly good at healing either. Trauma from work experiences (including those caused by the pandemic) is real and occurring in our organizations every day. At a micro level, an action that breaks trust, for example when colleagues or leaders lie to us or when an expected reward is not forthcoming, is a source of trauma. A positional leader who becomes a toxic leader is another example of a trauma that may have far more reaching effects. Suddenly transforming a workplace into a remote or virtual organization causes trauma, even if the adaptation was expected or happening already in some fashion.
What would organizational acupuncture look like to you and your organization?

Johns Hopkins Medicine describes acupuncture as part of the ancient practice of Traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners believe the human body has more than 2,000 acupuncture points connected by pathways or meridians. These pathways create an energy flow called Qi (pronounced “chee”) through the body that is responsible for overall health. Disruption of the energy flow can cause disease. By applying acupuncture to certain points, it is thought to improve the flow of Qi, thereby improving health.

A living organization also has energy flowing through it, and at times experiences a disruption or disturbance of the energy flow. When this occurs, organizational acupuncture becomes the practice of paying attention to disruption and trauma – instead of ignoring them the way we usually do. If as leaders we commit to noticing disturbances or trauma, we can help our organizations, teams, and individuals heal from trauma and regenerate more quickly. As a result, positive energy should return to the workplace much more rapidly.

We don’t usually track energy as a metric for the health of our organizations. Usually, we default to a profit margin or traditional bottom line to determine it’s health. But focusing on profit often means we tolerate behaviors that lead to dysfunction in the organization. Frankly, we don’t pay attention to what we don’t measure. And we need to measure the energy of our organizations if we are truly to lead with a living systems mindset.
I believe that people wake up each morning and decide if they are going to bring positive, negative, or neutral energy to their workplaces. Positive energy and energy flow help improve an individual’s health. The same is true for organizations because at the most basic level, what are they other than a collection of individuals?

Why These Eight Mexico City Neighborhoods Are Worth Planning Your Next Trip Around

by Michael Snyder

There are few places as dynamic, diverse, or downright enormous as the Mexican capital. In a city layered with history, in which change is an essential part of residents’ DNA, where to begin planning a trip? Michael Snyder, a freelance journalist based in Mexico City. gives his breakdown of the key colonias to visit, whether your focus is shopping, food, art, or design.

The Palacio de Bellas Artes, one of the most iconic buildings in the Centro. Photo credit – Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock

A little more than two years ago, I moved to Mexico City more or less sight unseen, taking it on good faith that this urban giant could find space for one more body among the 21 million that already called its metro area home. I came, like many foreigners before me, with vague ideas about its vibrant food and art scenes; its crooked glamour and effortless cool; its rich colonial and modern architectural landscape. I expected to find moments of enervating chaos and sometimes choking smog. But I was rejuvenated by gracious parks and sublime weather, by crisp autumn mornings and springlike afternoons, by spasms of rain and hail and thunder that gave way, just in time, to marigold sunsets blooming across the horizon. Mexico City, it seems, is able to turn a different face to each and every one of its inhabitants.

That’s because, in the past five centuries, Mexico City has become a master of transformation. Flung wide across a seismic, high-altitude plateau, North America’s largest city has survived colonial conquest, years-long floods, a bloody war of independence, a bloodier revolution, and, in 1985, a catastrophic earthquake that killed more than 9,000 and decimated much of the historic central borough of Cuauhtémoc. Thirty-two years later to the day, in 2017, another quake shook the city to its core, bringing down over 40 buildings and damaging many more. Within weeks, the city had bounced back from that, too. Chilangos, as residents are known, continue to deal with shoddy governance, shoddy infrastructure, and fluctuating levels of security. Given the choice, many would just as soon return to the villages they left a generation or three before. But many more – myself included – wouldn’t live anywhere else.

No one trip is enough to unlock the city’s many wonders. For a first-time visitor, sticking to the leafy neighborhoods in and around the Delegación Cuauhtémoc offers an ideal introduction: a walkable, manageable microcosm of the city’s wild, sophisticated whole. From the cockeyed grandeur of the Centro Histórico to the discreet galleries of Santa María la Ribera and the glamorous cafés of Condesa, these are the eight districts every visitor should get to know.

Centro Histórico

Late one Sunday morning, I set out from my home on the far side of the Zócalo, Mexico City’s spectacular central plaza, to the Mercado San Juan. It wasn’t a particularly long walk, but, like most routes through the Centro Histórico, it encompassed many pasts, many presents, and many possible futures. Here you’ll find opulent colonial palaces, crooked Baroque churches, murals by Diego Rivera at the Palacio Nacional and the Secretariat of Public Education headquarters, and the magnificent ruins of the Templo Mayor, the axis of the Aztec Empire’s religious and political universe.

Until the late 1800s, the Centro was Mexico City. Then, from the turn of the century onward, modernity-obsessed elites began abandoning their ancestral homes and moving to the newly created suburbs in the west and south. After the 1985 earthquake, the Centro was all but abandoned. It remained an important place of protest and celebration, but it was not a place you lingered.

Entering the open doorway of the Mercado San Juan, I passed vendors selling rambutans and mangoes, plastic boxes of microgreens, and giant clams from Baja. But I hadn’t come here to shop (for that I go to Mercado la Merced, the bigger, crazier, more beautiful wholesale market on my side of the Centro). Instead, I had come to eat at Don Vergas, an eight-seat market stall that, for the past year, has been turning out some of the best seafood in Mexico City.

From left: Scallop ceviche at Don Vergas, in the Mercado San Juan; a building in the Centro Histórico, where young chefs and gallerists are bringing new energy to Mexico City’s oldest neighborhood. Photo credit – Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock

Chef Luis Valle, who hails from the northwestern coastal state of Sinaloa, had opened shop only an hour earlier, but already a rowdy line had filled the aisle, singing along to the banda music playing through a loudspeaker perched precariously over the tiny kitchen. “How many crab tostadas?” Valle shouted over the music. Hands shot up: 15 orders.

I slipped behind the bar to help squeeze a few limes and hang out with Valle, who makes great company, no matter how busy he is. I asked how many people he would cook for today. “About 400,” he said. I asked how he coped. “I don’t!” he laughed, then turned back to the crowd, shouting: “How many scallops?”

Even a decade ago, you’d have been hard-pressed to find such excitement surrounding a restaurant in this part of town. But in the past year or so, pop-up parties have begun to appear on rooftops, in basements, and at run-down cantinas like the bizarre and beautiful La Faena, decorated with dusty shadow boxes of toreadors’ costumes. Edgy art galleries have appeared in former office buildings. Bósforo, still the top place in town for mezcal almost 10 years after it opened, draws crowds on weekends, while the nameless restaurant next door serves impeccable Oaxacan food by flickering candlelight.

But despite the fact that a new, younger generation is now gravitating to the Centro, it’s still a place that belongs to everyone. Activists stage regular protests in the Zócalo. Residents from around the city come to shop at stores selling everything from spices to light fixtures and giant handmade candles decorated in lacy wax flowers. Government workers stop in at century-old cantinas for an afternoon beer (try La Ópera for gilded old-world opulence, or Salón España for the city’s best tequila list). Even the exorbitantly expensive Mercado San Juan, where Luis Valle slings his seafood, has a raucous weekend party. Nowhere in this immense, stratified city is more democratic or more beautiful.

Roma & Condesa

At the northern edge of Colonia Roma, a trickle of young, stylish people wandered in and out of a heavy glass door that swung open onto Calle Puebla. They followed a bend of stairs past tall white gallery walls and out onto a sunny roof terrace surrounded by treetops. Monserrat Castera, beer in hand, led me from the open patio into a small, glass-walled room at one corner to show me around the latest edition of her pop-up shop, Momo Room – one of a growing number of nomadic retail spaces now at the vanguard of Mexico’s fashion scene.

This iteration, she explained, was inspired by Juan Rulfo, the mid-20th-century writer whose works are widely considered to be among the finest ever written in Mexico. Rulfo set two of his most important books in a fictional town in the small coastal state of Colima. Among objects selected from local designers, Castera had scattered photographs of Colima, burlap sacks of the state’s famous sea salt, and handwoven straw hats. There were also playful sunglasses from French-Mexican collective Stromboli Associates; handmade box bags in wood and leather by Aurelia, a brand run by three sisters from Guadalajara; and embroidered linen kimonos dyed with indigo and cochineal from local label Korimi Kids. None of these designers had a brick-and-mortar shop. After all, in a city obsessed with collaboration, and replete with spectacular spaces ideal for short-term group exhibitions, what would be the point?

When Mexico City was named the World Design Capital for 2018, many ascribed the distinction to an aesthetic that brings Mexico’s disparate creative traditions – from textiles and earthenware to the great Modernist boom of the 1950s – into conversation with one another. Though that sensibility has existed in Mexico for generations, it has become newly fashionable in Roma and Condesa, two of the capital’s most design-forward neighborhoods. You can witness it at stores like quirky clothing boutique Hi-Bye, at the shops lining the uneven sidewalks of the beautiful Calle Colima, and at Ven a Mi – an appointment-only showroom selling unusual crafts from around the country.

From left: A lounge area at Ignacia Guest House, which inhabits a converted town house in the style-centric neighborhood of Roma; the neighborhood of Condesa, near the Parque México. Photo credit – Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock

After the 1985 earthquake, many residents fled Roma, and it was well over a decade before artists and designers began moving back into its gracefully dilapidated Beaux-Arts mansions. Condesa, which was the city’s most cosmopolitan neighborhood during the 1930s and 40s, experienced a shorter decline, having rebounded by the mid 90s. With its pretty Art Deco and Mission-style apartments and even prettier residents, Condesa is today the grande dame of Mexico City colonias – stylish, elegant, but never trying too hard. Condesa and Roma were also among the areas most heavily damaged in the 2017 earthquake, but this time both returned to life with remarkable speed. Were it not for a handful of empty buildings dotting the area, deep cracks running like vines through their white plaster exteriors, you might not know that anything had happened here at all.

And while the dialogue between tradition and innovation found its way into restaurant kitchens at least a decade ago in places like Enrique Olvera’s Pujol, in the swanky Polanco area, Roma and Condesa have taken the lead in translating it into more casual – though no less ambitious – settings. At the year-old restaurant Meroma, wife-and-husband team Mercedes Bernal and Rodney Cusic offer some of the neighborhoods’ most refined cooking, taking inspiration from local ingredients, rather than traditional dishes, to create a subtly eclectic menu. And at El Parnita, a family-run taco joint that got hip as the district did, young diners line up for a lunch of fish tacos and craft beer.

And at the chaotic, nameless open kitchen next door, a young chef named Jesús Salas Tornés creates consistently delicious, interesting dishes that bring the flavors, techniques, and oddball informality of the countryside straight to the heart of the city.

Santa María La Ribera & San Rafael

Not long after I moved to Mexico City, I climbed a flight of terrazzo stairs leading to a buzzing, dimly lit terrace in Santa María la Ribera, an otherwise quiet residential neighborhood northwest of the Centro. Glamorous in its turn-of-the-20th-century heyday, Santa María, the first planned suburb of the Centro, was, by the 1950s, overshadowed by neighborhoods like Roma and Condesa. On that chilly evening, however, it was hard to imagine anywhere more elegant.

In the 17 years since Zonamaco, the city’s mammoth weeklong art fair, launched, Mexico City has become an essential stop for regulars on the international art circuit and young artists looking to create and show work in a dynamic, affordable environment. A few nights before the gathering on the terrace, Art Week had started – an annual event that includes Zonamaco and its daring younger sibling, the Material Art Fair. Around me was a crowd of local gallerists, artists from Mexico and abroad, and assorted global movers and shakers. They’d come to celebrate the recent opening of the Mexico City outpost of Casa Wabi, the Tadao Ando-designed artists’ retreat in Oaxaca, on Mexico’s southern coast. Mezcal flowed freely as fairy lights twinkled along with the neon sign for a cheap hotel across the street.

Between them, Santa María and the adjacent area of San Rafael are home to more than a dozen galleries and art spaces. Some represent internationally recognized artists, but most are like Casa Wabi: alternative, informal spaces for young Mexican artists. On a recent morning, I stopped by the gallery to see an exhibition of earthenware pieces by a Swiss resident at the Oaxaca center, displayed alongside Midcentury Modern furniture sold by the design shop Decada. The small space on the ground floor showed work by a photographer from the northern state of Sonora – endless desert horizons punctuated by fragments of industrial architecture. “Mexico City is a nursery for the rest of the country,” said Carla Sodi, director of the Casa Wabi Foundation, as we sat one morning on a balcony overlooking an ordinary street that was waking to the working day. “Eventually, these artists will go back home and plant those seeds.”

Santa María and San Rafael have always been low-key repositories for Mexican design. Around Santa María’s gracious alameda, or central park, families move up and down the marble stairs of the gorgeously old-fashioned Geology Museum, built in 1910, while old couples dance beneath the flamboyant glass dome of the Moorish Kiosk, erected here in the same year. The Art Nouveau towers of the Museo Universitario del Chopo, an important center for contemporary art, soar over a street that, in the early 1980s, was the locus for the city’s punk and goth scenes. The ruins of Cine Opera, a now-defunct Art Deco cinema, stand like a sentinel at San Rafael’s northern edge. And the abstract minimalism of the Museo Experimental El Eco, built in the 1950s by the celebrated artist and designer Mathias Goeritz, brackets San Rafael’s south.

Yet despite all these monuments, both neighborhoods remain typical middle-class barrios. Santa María’s neighborhood tamale shop, Cintli, is my favorite in all of Mexico City. Beer and tequila abound at the local cantina Salón París, and La Polar in San Rafael serves steaming bowls of birria, a regional beef stew, accompanied by raucous mariachi bands playing late into the night.

From left: Chicken with mashed potatoes and tortillas with octopus at Salón Ríos, in Colonia Cuauhtémoc; the Angel of Independence, on Paseo de la Reforma in Juarez. Photo credit – Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock

Juarez & Colonia Cuauhtémoc

The glass-and-steel towers lining Mexico City’s grand ceremonial avenue, Paseo de la Reforma, burst from the low-slung concrete grid like volcanic peaks, monuments to globalist prosperity erupting from the city’s ancient lake bed. Reforma connects the Centro to the Bosque de Chapultepec, the city’s biggest park, and the trio of art institutions clustered at its northern end – the Museum of Anthropology, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Tamayo Museum for contemporary art.

For much of the last century, the neighborhoods that flank Reforma – Colonia Cuauhtémoc to the north and Juarez to the south – were the center of the city’s international population. Wealthy Mexican families, foreigners, and diplomats were drawn here by embassies and banks and streets named for the great rivers and cities of the world they once called home: Ganges, Danubio, and Rhin; Londres, Hamburgo, and Berlín. From their development in the early 20th century onward, these areas have expressed Mexico’s global ambitions. They still do.

Ryo Kan, a guesthouse that opened in April in Cuauhtémoc, takes its neighborhood’s global spirit to heart, bringing the intimate calm of the traditional Japanese inns it’s named after to the heart of the Mexican capital. While other new boutique hotels in the city revel in Mexico’s mid-century elegance, Ryo Kan is tranquil and subdued, compact and efficient, a meditation in pale oak and terrazzo. “Japan and Mexico have a lot in common – our ceramics, our textiles, our uses of natural materials. We wanted to find those parallels,” says Regina Galvanduque, the lead architect on the Ryo Kan project.

Ryo Kan is the most recent of a number of Japanese-inspired businesses to open along Cuauhtémoc’s subdued, tree-lined streets. In the past six years, the Edo Kobayashi restaurant group, run by Edo López, has created a small empire there, with an izakaya and ramen spot called Rokai, a tiny bar called Le Tachinomi Desu serving sake and natural wines, and a listening bar inspired by Tokyo’s Ginza Music Bar.

Wander a few minutes south into the Zona Rosa, the historic gay neighborhood at the center of Colonia Juarez, and you’ll find it hard not to feel transported. Banners for cheap cafés, Korean lunch joints, and neon-lit gay bars obscure the façades of old houses built in an inexplicable (and inexplicably pleasing) hodgepodge of architectural styles from France, Italy, Britain, and Spain.

In the evenings, crowds spill onto the broad pavement of Plaza Washington from the garage-like edifice of Cicatriz, an all-day café run by a sister-brother team of American expats, Scarlett and Jake Lindeman. Most of their customers – who come for coffee and cocktails, natural wines, and fried-chicken sandwiches – wouldn’t look out of place in New York, Los Angeles, London, or Paris. That’s because many of them hail from just those places: the most recent group of immigrants to call Juarez home.

San Miguel Chapultepec

The long communal table that runs down the center of the restaurant Masala y Maíz had been laid out with bowls of spices – some of them familiar to Mexican palates (cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper), others (coriander seed, ginger, and star anise) less so. Chefs Norma Listman, originally from the nearby town of Texcoco, and Saqib Keval, born in northern California to an Indian family from East Africa, circulated, greeting guests. Seated at the center of the table, the restaurant’s first artist in residence, Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik, began her talk on the origins of Indian chai. The conversation then segued to the spices in front of us and how some made their way into Mexican kitchens.

Chefs Saqib Keval and Norma Listman of Masala y Maíz restaurant, in San Miguel Chapultepec. Photo credit – Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock

Masala y Maíz had opened a few months earlier in the quietly elegant colonia of San Miguel Chapultepec, a triangle of leafy streets that separates Condesa from the Bosque de Chapultepec. Right away, it was a space obsessed with hybridity: an artists’ residency, an ambitious full-service restaurant, and a coffee shop serving house-made doughnuts from a window connecting the kitchen to the street. That evening, it was also a workshop for a handful of curious people, an event that was local in its reach, yet cosmopolitan in its vision.

For Listman and Keval, the menu at Masala y Maíz is a reflection of the mestizaje, or cultural mixing, that has defined Mexican culture since the Spanish conquest. Here, huevos rancheros come with South Indian uttapam flatbreads in place of tortillas. Giant prawns are coated in Ethiopian berbere and served with jicama and rose water. Patra de hoja santa, a riff on an Indian snack of spiced chickpea batter, trades the traditional taro leaf for southern Mexico’s emblematic herb, hoja santa.

San Miguel was not an obvious choice for this kind of restaurant. Peaceful and residential, the area is best known for its access to the Bosque de Chapultepec, never more than a few blocks away; for the pretty cobblestoned lanes that line its southern side; and for the beloved white-tablecloth cantina, El Mirador de Chapultepec, that has been a favorite among city politicians for decades. It’s also notable for its proximity to several essential design institutions, including the influential gallery Kurimanzutto, which turns 20 this year. Casa Luis Barragán, the former home of Mexico’s Pritzker-winning 20th-century architectural master Luis Barragán, lies just beyond the colonia’s western edge, and the renowned Archivo de Diseño y Arquitectura exhibition space sits right next door to Barragán’s house.

San Miguel is a perfect place for peaceful walks past magnificent private homes secreted away behind humble Neocolonial façades, for whiling away hours in quiet corners of the Bosque de Chapultepec, or for sipping hibiscus mead brewed right here in the city, a specialty at Masala y Maíz. It’s also a perfect place to reflect on something Chilangos have known for ages: that Mexico City isn’t just the capital of the Spanish-speaking world, or the biggest city in North America. A city of immigrants and innovation, built and rebuilt with a zealous lust for the new, blasted by tragedy, sustained by passion and pragmatism – Ciudad de México is, and always has been, the great city of the Americas.

Plan a Perfect Stay in Mexico City

For a manageable microcosm of this vast metropolis, stick to these parts of the historic Cuauhtémoc borough. Pick one as your base, and spend your days exploring the others.

Getting Around
Despite its size, Mexico City is relatively easy to navigate, particularly if you stay within the central neighborhoods. Comfortable year-round temperatures make it a great city for walking. The Metro is the most efficient way to cover longer distances, though it’s best avoided at rush hour. Uber is also a good option here.

Centro Histórico

Hotels
The Downtown Mexico (doubles from $230), set in a 17th-century palace, has an elegant rooftop bar and pool.

Eat & Drink
Arrive early to avoid the crowds at Don Vergas (Calle Motolinia 32; entrées $7-$32), which serves some of the city’s best seafood. Since time of reporting, the restaurant has moved from the Mercado San Juan to this new location, also in the Centro Histórico. Dip into a historic cantina like Salón España (25 Avda. República de Argentina), La Ópera (10 Cinco de Mayo), or La Faena (49 Venustiano Carranza) to break up a day of sightseeing. For dinner, stop at the beloved mezcal bar Bósforo (31 Luis Moya), then try the chic, nameless restaurant next door (entrées $8-$12).

Activities
Shop for whimsical fashion at Hi-Bye, and pick up a bottle of mezcal at Sabrá Diós (15 Avda. Veracruz), in Condesa. If you’re interested in local crafts, make an appointment to visit the showroom at Ven a Mi and keep an eye out for retail pop-ups like Momo Room.

Santa María la Ribera & San Rafael

Hotels
The boutique hotel El Patio 77 (doubles from $125) makes for a peaceful base in a central but relatively unexplored area.

Eat & Drink
Find the best tamales in the city at Cintli (174 Calle Sabino), a no-frills storefront in Santa María la Ribera. Salón París (152 Jaime Torres Bodet) is a great traditional cantina, while La Polar (birria $7) makes superb birria (beef stew).

Activities
The magnificent Geology Museum, in Santa María’s main plaza, has a beautifully displayed collection. For contemporary art, don’t miss Casa Wabi (casawabi.org) and the Museo Experimental El Eco, a masterpiece of mid-century Mexican design.

A temporary exhibit by the artist TO at Museo Experimental El Eco, in San Rafael. Photo credit – Lindsay Lauckner Gundlock

Juarez & Colonia Cuauhtémoc

Hotels
The newly opened Ryo Kan (doubles from $150) brings Japanese tranquility to the city’s business district.

Eat & Drink
You’ll find some of Mexico City’s best international restaurants in these neighborhoods, from small plates at natural-wine bar Le Tachinomi Desu (small plates $5-$8) to a remarkable omakase at Sushi Kyo (set menus from $75). Salón Ríos (218 Río Lerma; entrées $8-$30) is a great place for updated Mexican classics, while Cicatriz (entrées $3-$6) is ideal for a salad or an evening cocktail.

Activities
The Anthropology Museum has an extraordinary collection of Mesoamerican artifacts. Next door, Museo Tamayo shows modern, contemporary, and folk art, while the Museo de Arte Moderno focuses, as its name suggests, on modern art.

San Miguel Chapultepec

Eat & Drink
The menu at Masala y Maíz (small plates $5-$9) explores the commonalities among the cuisines of Mexico, India, and East Africa, while El Mirador de Chapultepec (sharing plates $7-$10) is one of the city’s classic cantinas.

Activities
Book well in advance for a tour of Casa Luis Barragán, former home of the Pritzker-winning architect. Nearby, Casa Gilardi, the last house Barragán built before his death, also offers tours by appointment. Next door to the Barragán house is the Archivo de Diseño y Arquitectura, a small exhibition space and reading room devoted to Mexican design with a beautiful garden in back. Twenty years after opening, Kurimanzutto, in the neighborhood’s peaceful heart, is still among the most influential galleries in North America.

Michael Snyder is a freelance journalist based in Mexico City, specializing in food, architecture, travel and culture. He is a regular contributor to T Magazine and has written for a range of publications including the New York Times, the LA Times, The Believer, The Nation, Scientific American, The Caravan, Lucky Peach, Travel + Leisure, Saveur, Food & Wine, Punch, Eater and Roads & Kingdoms, among others.)

Best Time to Use a Plane Lavatory

Lavatory on Tiger Airways. Courtesy David via Wikimedia Commons

Expert: Erika Roth, former flight attendant
Time Limit: Five minutes, 10 max. Twenty minutes will get you a knock on the door
The Best Time to Go: As soon as the seatbelt sign is off, before drink service begins.

The Method: According to Roth, who encountered numerous splashdowns in her eight years on the job, unless you’re on a long-haul flight with multiple lavatory options, your best bet is to hold it, as odor is a problem in the cramped cabin of an airplane. “Close quarters, poor ventilation and a lack of efficient plumbing — to be blunt, the stench can fill a cabin quickly,” she explains.

If you have to go, Roth suggests an old flight-attendant trick: “Ask an attendant for packets of coffee grounds, then hang them up in the lavatory. The grounds will soak up the odor.” Of course, the flight attendants will know exactly what you’re doing in there, but your fellow passengers will be none the wiser.

The post Spanish volcano activity intensifies appeared first on Traveling Archive.

T-Boy Film Critics Winners, Kirk Douglas on His Acting

Ed Boitano — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 00:21:22 +0000

T-Boy Society of Film & Music’s Best Pictures of 2019

Best Picture

Parasite: Bong Joon-ho
The Irishman: Martin Scorsese
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood: Quentin Tarantino
Pain and Glory: Pedro Almodóvar
1917: Sam Mendes
Joker: Todd Phillips‎
Marriage Story: Noah Baumbach
Us: Jordan Peele
Synonyms: Nadav Lapid
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: Marielle Heller

Profiles in Courage

Written by then-Senator John F. Kennedy

Profiles in Courage is a 1956 volume of short biographies describing acts of bravery and integrity by eight United States Senators under enormous pressure from their parties and their constituents. Written by then-Senator John F. Kennedy, who won the Pulitzer Prize for the work. The staff at Traveling Boy suggests that Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney might fit the bill as a Profile in Courage due to his recent vote to convict fellow Republican Donald Trump in the Senate Impeachment trial. He was unable to stand in line with other Republic Senators as a result of his deeply-felt oath of office, the US Constitution and personal relationship with God.

The subjects of Profiles in Courage are John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Thomas Hart Benton, Sam Houston, Edmund G. Ross, Lucius Lamar, George Norris, and Robert A. Taft.

Each chapter from the book is summarized here

Impeachment Trial a ‘Teachable Moment’ for History Teachers

Teachers weaving the trial into lessons about the constitution, democracy

Courtesy Ali Tadayon, Journalism Resident at Edsource

Chloe Erskine, who teaches world history at Oakland’s Dewey Academy, instructs students about the presidential impeachment trial, discussing presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s views on the trial. Photo courtesy of Andrew Reed/EdSource

For the first time in more than two decades, teachers have the opportunity to use the political drama of the impeachment trial to liven their lessons and teach history as it unfolds.

The Oldest Person in the World Turns 117

By Brigit Katz, smithsonianmag.com

Last week, Kane Tanaka celebrated her birthday with a party at a nursing home in Fukuoka, Japan. Dressed in a gold kimono with a cluster of purple flowers tucked behind her ear, she enjoyed a big birthday cake.

“Tasty,” she said after the first bite, as quoted by Reuters. “I want some more.”

Predicting the Future of Travel in 2040

Allianz Partners’ Futurology Report Predicts Airline Passenger Numbers will Double, ‘Faces’ via Facial Pattern Recognition Systems Will Replace Passports and Boarding Passes

Courtesy Allianz Global Assistance

By the year 2040, international travel will be a faster, easier and more ecologically sustainable activity than ever before, according to a report commissioned by Allianz Partners to help prepare for the travel-related needs of their customers in the future. Allianz Partners is a world leader in B2B2C assistance and insurance solutions, delivering global protection and care, and offers dedicated travel insurance services through the Allianz Travel brand.

Cruise Lines Pledge Australian Bushfire Relief Cash

Courtesy Travel Weekly UK

Carnival Corporation and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings have both made donations to help support Australian bushfire disaster recovery efforts.

How to Plan an Antarctica Cruise Aboard These Luxury Ships

Courtesy Departures

Photo courtesy of Pelorus

One of the best ways to experience the white desert is aboard a luxe Antarctica cruise.

English Pronunciation Isn’t Easy But This Quick Primer Can Help You Get it Right

Courtesy Olivia Valdes, ThoughtCo

We all know the embarrassing feeling of discovering we’ve been mispronouncing a word for years. On the other hand, some words are so commonly mispronounced that the “correct” pronunciation sounds downright strange. Don’t feel bad if you’ve been mispronouncing some of these tricky words. A living language like English evolves and thrives precisely because it’s spoken every day.

Random Acts of Canine Kindness

Cedric the Dog takes a well-deserved break after an ill fated attempt to shut down a white supremacist rally in Indiana.

You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog. – Harry S. Truman

MORE Dog Quotations

Mexico City Blues [113th Chorus]

Jack Kerouac – 1922-1969

Got up and dressed up
and went out & got laid
Then died and got buried
in a coffin in the grave,
Man —
Yet everything is perfect,
Because it is empty,
Because it is perfect
with emptiness,
Because it’s not even happening.

Everything
Is Ignorant of its own emptiness —
Anger
Doesn’t like to be reminded of fits —

You start with the Teaching
Inscrutable of the Diamond
And end with it, your goal
is your startingplace,
No race was run, no walk
of prophetic toenails
Across Arabies of hot
meaning — you just
numbly don’t get there.

Send Deb your favorite travel poems

10 Crowd-Free Alternatives to America’s Most Iconic National Parks

For every national park swarmed by visitors, dozens of state and federal preserves, parks, and monuments go relatively untraveled.

Secrets the Cruise Lines Don’t Tell You

Courtesy Erika Silverstein, Cruise Critic

Kenai Fjords National Park. Photo courtesy of Deb Roskamp

Cruise ship life can be a little mysterious. Your choices aren’t always spelled out in black and white. The more you cruise, the more you pick up on the unofficial secrets the cruise lines don’t tell you — which give you more options, let you save money and generally allow you to have a better time onboard.

The “Mentor,” a vessel owned by the notorious Lord Elgin, sank in 1802 while carrying panels and sculptures looted from the Parthenon

Courtesy Jason Daley, smithsonian.com

In September 1802, the H.M.S. Mentor sank off the coast of Avlemonas, Greece, sending 17 crates of antiquities tumbling to the bottom of the Mediterranean. More than 200 years later, the Greek Ministry of Culture reports, marine archaeologists tasked with exploring the wreck have recovered gold jewelry, cooking pots, chess pieces and an array of other artifacts connected with the trove.

Protect Yourself Against Airport Checkpoint Theft

Airport theft is becoming a major problem for travelers, so make sure to get to your destination with all your items intact.

Kirk Douglas (1916 – 2020)

T-Boy Society Film & Music selects Kirk Douglas’ best film appearances followed with comments by Mr. Douglas.

Top 5 — In order of preference

Lust for Life (1956)
“Acting is make-believe. I never believe I’m the character; I want you to believe. But with Lust for Life, I got so involved with van Gogh… it really was frightening, because I felt like the character was overtaking me… It was a very, very interesting experience. I have never felt that way on any other picture.”
Paths of Glory (1957)
“I saw a little picture that Stanley Kubrick had done [the 1956 film The Killing], and I said, ‘Gee, he’s very talented.’ I called him and said, ‘Do you have any other projects?’ He said, ‘Yes, I have a project, but nobody wants to do it.’ And he sent me Paths of Glory. I said, ‘Stanley, this picture won’t make a nickel, but we have to do it.’”
Ace in the Hole (1951)
“I thought that Billy Wilder was such a brilliant director… [That character was a lot to handle, so I asked him if I should tone him down a bit, but he told me to do just the opposite.] ‘Both knees! Give it both knees!’”
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
“You know, it’s tough to make a movie about movies… We’re all too close to it. But The Bad and the Beautiful was very good. And Lana Turner, I think, did her best job; she was very good. I was good, too!”
Spartacus (1960)
“I was intrigued with the character of Spartacus, and I just had to make it. And, at the same time, we were going through a terrible period, the McCarthy era… I’m very proud that Spartacus broke the blacklist [by giving blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo screen credit], because that was very important… It happened at the right time for me. I was young enough to be foolish… It’s nice to make a movie that people enjoy and that does something.”

Honorable Mention

Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

“I love that character and his relationship with his horse. And I always consider that my best movie. It was not a big success. It’s gotten to be more of a cult film right now… Again, Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay. It was the one time we never changed a word; it was perfect, like a hole in one.”

Kirk Douglas Bio

Anna Karina: The French New Wave Icon, Has Died at Age 79

Anna Karina, the Danish-born actress who became a symbol of La Nouvelle Vague in Jean-Luc Godard’s seven 1960s films, died last month in Paris. Her death was confirmed by France’s culture minister, who said the cause was cancer.

Anna Karina in 1968. Photo courtesy of Joost Evers / Anefo, via Wikimedia Commons / CC0 1.0.

Film Comment ’s 10 Best Films of the Decade

In the last decade, filmmakers pushed cinema to new and strange heights, shaping time and images and telling stories in novel ways.

Without further ado, here is Film Comment’s top ten films of the last decade.

Australia’s Fires May Have Implications for Cruise Tourism

Courtesy Maritime Executive

The devastating fires affecting southeastern Australia are having an effect on cruise itineraries as well. The damage has already led to alterations for several voyages and may affect more.

Skeletons Unearthed in Connecticut May Belong to Revolutionary War Soldiers

By Theresa Machemer, smithsonianmag.com

Painting of the Battle of Guilford Court House from Soldiers of the American Revolution by H. Charles McBarron. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Construction workers renovating a home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, last month were surprised to discover human bones under the property’s foundation.

The Trial of Joan of Arc

By Kat Eschner, smithsonianmag.com

Joan of Arc on horseback in an illustration from a 1505 manuscript. Image courtesy of Jean Pichore, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

In January of 1431, the preliminary trial of Joan of Arc began. After leading the French army in battle against England, Joan underwent trial and was accused of witchcraft and heresy and burned at the stake by the English and their allies. It’s been almost 600 years since the trial and execution of Joan of Arc, and her memory hasn’t faded. From novels, plays and movies to scholarly books and endless theories about how she heard the voices that led her to lead an army, her story has been regularly re-explored by generations in France and elsewhere. Here are a few reasons we can’t forget Saint Joan.

Should You Be Skipping Breakfast to Lose Weight?

By Malia Frey

You’ve probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But many smart dieters are skipping breakfast to lose weight. It’s true. For some people, not eating breakfast is actually a better way to slim down. But this trick doesn’t work for everyone.

Paris’s Museum of Art and History of Judaism Appoints Geoffrey Weill Associates for Public Relations

Located in the magnificent 17th-century Hôtel de Saint-Aignan in the Marais neighborhood of Paris, the Museum of Art and History of Judaism (Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme – known as “mahJ”) has appointed Geoffrey Weill Associates to widen its awareness in North America.

How to Block Spyware From Snooping on You

Courtesy Brenna Miles, Lifewire

It’s rather easy to define spyware, which is a type of malware that tracks your internet activity in order to gather sensitive information such as credit card numbers or demographics. Most of the time, spyware works in the background of a device, invisible to the unsuspecting.

Purging Your Stuff Is the New Conspicuous Consumption

Inside the world of minimalism and tidying are the makings of a seismic shift in American consumerism.

Courtesy Leslie Patton

On a recent Saturday afternoon in downtown Chicago, Tara Latta’s 36th-floor apartment with stunning river views is a complete mess. I’m watching the 39-year-old trying to jam the contents of a storage unit into her new one bedroom, and it doesn’t appear to be going well. Her kitchen table is teeming with CVS receipts, unused thank-you notes, catalogs, utility bills and to-do lists. U-Haul boxes are stacked halfway to the ceiling. The counters are overflowing with tea cups, mixing bowls and water bottles. But all is not as it seems. Latta is in the midst of her second of three, five-hour sessions with tidying consultant Kristyn Ivey.

10 Mediterranean — Gifts for the Food Lover in Your Life

More than a mix of rich history, gorgeous beaches, and warm blue waters, the countries along the Mediterranean Sea and their people have a history of living longer and healthier lives and you can too! By simply following a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, even drinking wine with meals, you can prevent diseases and prolong your life.

How to Renew a Passport in 24 Hours

Courtesy Shannon McMahon

By partnering with an existing service called RushMyPassport, FedEx is facilitating a nationwide solution for those who need very fast passport renewal.

The post T-Boy Film Critics Winners, Kirk Douglas on His Acting appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Teachers on Impeachment, Anna Karina Remembered

Ed Boitano — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 08:18:35 +0000

Impeachment Trial a ‘Teachable Moment’ for History Teachers

Teachers weaving the trial into lessons about the constitution, democracy

Courtesy Ali Tadayon, Journalism Resident at Edsource

For the first time in more than two decades, teachers have the opportunity to use the political drama of the impeachment trial to liven their lessons and teach history as it unfolds.

The Oldest Person in the World Turns 117

By Brigit Katz, smithsonianmag.com

“Tasty,” she said after the first bite, as quoted by Reuters. “I want some more.”

Predicting the Future of Travel in 2040

Allianz Partners’ Futurology Report Predicts Airline Passenger Numbers will Double, ‘Faces’ via Facial Pattern Recognition Systems Will Replace Passports and Boarding Passes

Courtesy Allianz Global Assistance

Cruise Lines Pledge Australian Bushfire Relief Cash

Courtesy Travel Weekly UK

Carnival Corporation and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings have both made donations to help support Australian bushfire disaster recovery efforts.

How to Plan an Antarctica Cruise Aboard These Luxury Ships

Courtesy Departures

Photo courtesy of Pelorus

One of the best ways to experience the white desert is aboard a luxe Antarctica cruise.

English Pronunciation Isn’t Easy But This Quick Primer Can Help You Get it Right

Courtesy Olivia Valdes, ThoughtCo

Random Acts of Canine Kindness

Cedric the Dog takes a well-deserved break after an ill fated attempt to shut down a white supremacist rally in Indiana.

You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog. – Harry S. Truman

MORE Dog Quotations

Mexico City Blues [113th Chorus]

Jack Kerouac – 1922-1969

Everything
Is Ignorant of its own emptiness —
Anger
Doesn’t like to be reminded of fits —

Send Deb your favorite travel poems

Purging Your Stuff Is the New Conspicuous Consumption

Inside the world of minimalism and tidying are the makings of a seismic shift in American consumerism.

Courtesy Leslie Patton

Secrets the Cruise Lines Don’t Tell You

Courtesy Erika Silverstein, Cruise Critic

Kenai Fjords National Park. Photo courtesy of Deb Roskamp

The “Mentor,” a vessel owned by the notorious Lord Elgin, sank in 1802 while carrying panels and sculptures looted from the Parthenon

Courtesy Jason Daley, smithsonian.com

Anna Karina: The French New Wave Icon, Has Died at Age 79

Anna Karina in 1968. Photo courtesy of Joost Evers / Anefo, via Wikimedia Commons / CC0 1.0.

Film Comment ’s 10 Best Films of the Decade

In the last decade, filmmakers pushed cinema to new and strange heights, shaping time and images and telling stories in novel ways.

Without further ado, here is Film Comment’s top ten films of the last decade.

Australia’s Fires May Have Implications for Cruise Tourism

Courtesy Maritime Executive

The devastating fires affecting southeastern Australia are having an effect on cruise itineraries as well. The damage has already led to alterations for several voyages and may affect more.

Skeletons Unearthed in Connecticut May Belong to Revolutionary War Soldiers

By Theresa Machemer, smithsonianmag.com

Painting of the Battle of Guilford Court House from Soldiers of the American Revolution by H. Charles McBarron. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Construction workers renovating a home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, last month were surprised to discover human bones under the property’s foundation.

The Trial of Joan of Arc

By Kat Eschner, smithsonianmag.com

Joan of Arc on horseback in an illustration from a 1505 manuscript. Image courtesy of Jean Pichore, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Should You Be Skipping Breakfast to Lose Weight?

By Malia Frey

Paris’s Museum of Art and History of Judaism Appoints Geoffrey Weill Associates for Public Relations

How to Block Spyware From Snooping on You

Courtesy Brenna Miles, Lifewire

10 Crowd-Free Alternatives to America’s Most Iconic National Parks

For every national park swarmed by visitors, dozens of state and federal preserves, parks, and monuments go relatively untraveled.

10 Mediterranean — Gifts for the Food Lover in Your Life

Protect Yourself Against Airport Checkpoint Theft

Airport theft is becoming a major problem for travelers, so make sure to get to your destination with all your items intact.

How to Renew a Passport in 24 Hours

Courtesy Shannon McMahon

By partnering with an existing service called RushMyPassport, FedEx is facilitating a nationwide solution for those who need very fast passport renewal.

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Discovering Australia’s Sunshine Coast: The Coastal Pathway

Tom Weber — Fri, 17 May 2019 23:45:25 +0000

Even with a strong tail wind, flying to Australia aboard a passenger jet seems to take forever, like struggling to read all 1,440 pages of the paperback edition of Tolstoy’s War and Peace in one sitting. But, once you arrive in the land Down Under it’s true bliss.

Symbolized by the golden wattle flower, the kangaroo, the emu and the opal, the so-called island continent, like its indigenous emblems, also has its own colorful lingo, the everyday vernacular of the resident Aussie.

Escaping winter back home to enjoy a brief second summer along Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, I picked up a few colloquialisms of Oz during my 24-day stay. Like, “Have a Captain Cook,” which means to have a look around, a brief inspection, in apparent honor of Captain James Cook, the British explorer/cartographer who discovered and mapped the eastern shores of Australia for the Crown in the late 16th Century, liked what he saw and the rest is history.

One of the places I enjoyed having a “Captain Cook” was during my walks along parts of the Coastal Pathway (CP). Stretching 96km (57.6 mi.), the CP is a shared walkers, joggers and cyclists route, meandering from Pelican Waters in the south to Tewantin up north, that keeps pace alongside the Coral Sea and some of Queensland’s picturesque beaches — like, Noosa, Coolum, Mudjimba, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba and Moffat — through tree-lined parks and around loads of leisure areas.

Based in Maroochydore, on the ninth floor of the Duporth Riverside luxury apartment complex, where the Maroochy River empties into the Coral Sea, I had ready access to the CP. Here are just a few of my recommended “Captain Cook” moments.

Under a bright-blue sky accented by puffy-white clouds, head through Cotton Tree Park, past the Boat Shed — my favourite fish restaurant with great sea views — up to Alexandra Headland, along the busy esplanade fronting super-clean Mooloolaba Beach — including its “Loo with a View” — then down to the port.

Hopping off the CP, pay a short visit inside the Mooloolaba Fish Market, the Sunshine Coast’s largest seafood retailer. Don’t worry about the long queue, Aussies of all stripes will politely wave you up to the ice-filled counters to let you get your camera lens eye-to-eye with some of the creatures of the deep that were brought to the surface just before sunrise.

And, finish this leg of the CP, with all ten of your toes intact, by enjoying a Pipeline Pale Ale brewed right in neighboring Alexandra Headland.

The Sunshine Coast doesn’t lack for world-class beaches, like Coolum, the home base of pro surfer Julian Wilson. The beach’s consistent waves and glassy waters beckon surfers and body boarders alike, not to mention sun worshipers in all shapes and sizes.

A short climb along the CP boardwalk, loaded with camera-ready overlooks, you arrive at Point Arkwright with its magnificent view down to Marcoola and it’s three inviting rock-enclosed sandy coves.

On your walk back, stop in at Coolum’s Stellarossa along lively Elizabeth St. for a plate of lemon pepper calamari and a couple of Little Creatures.

Spend a lazy morning into afternoon exploring Noosa, the Sunshine Coast’s most fashionable resort town. Stroll along Hastings, its impressive high street, where you can shop ‘til you drop, dine al fresco or stop, yet again, for a cold one. End your visit by stretching it out along the scenic and wide Main Beach, from Noosa Head to the breakers.

Whichever sections of the Coastal Pathway you explore, be sure and pack a camera so you can document all those “Captain Cook” moments for family and friends back home.

As the sand inside the proverbial hourglass trickles down to the final few grains, it’s time for me to sadly say “Hooroo” (goodbye) to the land Down Under and all of my new-found mates. Nothing short of spectacular, my 24 days exploring Queensland’s laid-back and super-clean Sunshine Coast — where it’s beautiful one day, perfect the next — was the vacation of a lifetime.

Back soon, I reckon!

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Discovering Australia’s Sunshine Coast: Wet ‘n Wild

Tom Weber — Wed, 08 May 2019 22:47:21 +0000

Trapped inside my cobweb-filled memory, from a mandatory English literature class that I attended when I was a young lad of just 15, are the only lines I can recall from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s late 16th Century poem, Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” Supposedly, Coleridge’s poem was inspired by British Captain James Cook’s voyage of exploration around the South Seas and the Pacific Ocean, which included Queensland, Australia where I recently vacationed.

So, what’s the connection between me and Sammy the Poet? Well, I fled winter back home to enjoy a brief, second summer along the Sunshine Coast, and every morning for 24 straight days I would stand on the balcony of my ninth floor apartment at the Duporth Riverside complex in Maroochydore and gaze down and out at the panorama of the Maroochy River flowing into the Coral Sea and quietly remark to myself, “Water, water everywhere.”

My daily ritual began at around 6:00 a.m. when the “early to bed, early to rise” locals sped past my sleepy eyes aboard kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddle boards, pontoons, sail and motor boats and jet skis. Although delighted, it really pained me to watch as every passing day I would chomp at the bit to join in all that fun-loving water traffic below.

My wish finally came true as I joined the rest of my party of six and slipped into a flotilla of kayaks and a lone Canadian canoe to be expertly guided along the outer banks of the Maroochy by Neil Oldham, a master kayaker and pro guide for Sunshine Coast Sea Kayaking.

Our sunset glide took us around Goats Island, past Pin Cushion Island, along Mudjimba’s North Shore and down Stingray Alley, not to mention a few tricky spots where the low tide left us a bit high and dry. At the midway point we beached our craft and cracked open a few cold ones. A tip of the paddle to Neil for organizing this really cool experience, my first ever since coming ashore in Oz.

Now sea, actually river worthy, I gave it another go and rented a little half-cabin cruiser from Ready 2 Go Boat Hire at the Noosa Marina in Tewantin for a four-hour float up and down the busy Noosa River. Not the best of craft, I pretty much bobbed and weaved my way in and out of heavy traffic all day long, trying desperately to avoid all the wakes created by an armada of larger craft zipping around my “little boat that could.”

All the way down to where the Noosa meets the mouth of the Coral Sea, with a stop midway in the Noosa Sound to grab a cold one and an egg salad sanger (sandwich), I returned back to the dock at Noosa Marina without incident, but with a promise that next time, in the words of Roy Scheider from the movie Jaws, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

If bigger is better, then by golly this time around I’ve finally got it covered: a six-person pontoon boat, complete with an on-board barbie, that I hired from Swan Boat Hire in Maroochydore for my third and final self-drive cruise.

Shoving off from the banks of the Maroochy, our crew of four headed up-river with hardly any traffic at all. Keeping the boat between the red and green buoys, I guided our craft straight and true just like Columbus over the ocean blue. On the return leg, we cracked a right and cracked open another cold one and went quietly up Petrie Creek until the clock struck “head back to GO.”

My self-drive antics on water now over, there’s still one, atop-the-wake activity left on my Down Under to-do list. It involves eating and drinking while someone else steers the boat.

If you book only one cruise while staying along the Sunshine Coast make it a sunset dinner cruise aboard the Noosa Cruiser Restaurant & Bar (NCR&B), rated no. 1 by TripAdvisor.

Waved through the security gate at the Noosa Marina in Tewantin by Ron, the owner/operator of the boat, our party of four makes its way on board and is led to a corner table by Dan, the head waiter. Quick on the draw, he has me twisting the top off the first of several bottles of chilled Aussie Pinot Gris in no time.

As the sun begins its descent, Skipper Greg puts the cruiser in glide and away we go, up the Noosa to the edge of Lake Cooroibah and back, passing by Sir Richard Branson‘s private Makepeace Island along the way, where exclusive and luxurious accommodation awaits 22 privileged castaways. Say “hey” to Sir R for me, will ya?

And, the white tablecloth service aboard the NCR&B? How about Chef Tristan’s appetizer plate of locally fished oysters, king shrimps, lemon pepper calamari and an avocado and mango salad. The main follows, a pan-seared darn of Tasmanian Atlantic salmon. And this floating feast ends with a fruity and creamy dessert. Mmm.

What a fun way to spend sunset aboard the Noosa Cruiser Restaurant & Bar. Me and my mates handled the merriment, Skipper Greg piloted the boat and Uber got us home safely.

Australia boasts 21k+ miles of jaw-dropping coastline and some of it winds its way around the Sunshine Coast. Join me next time when we’ll trek along the Costal Pathway to have a look at some of the OMG beaches and, no doubt, leave a few footprints in the sand before my final hooroo (goodbye) to the land Down Under.

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Discovering Australia’s Sunshine Coast: Brekkie at Guru Life

Tom Weber — Sat, 27 Apr 2019 01:43:59 +0000

Nutritionists say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but Down Under, where it’s known as brekkie, it’s the most beautiful. No longer a big, simple fry up in a cast-iron skillet, today’s Aussie way of breaking the fast borders on being a work of art — a cornucopia of flavors, colors and exotic ingredients suitable for framing and hung on a gallery wall.

And, nowhere along the Sunshine Coast is this creative turn of the taste buds more evident than at Guru Life.

Located along Petrie Creek Road in Rosemont, just a 15-min. drive from Maroochydore and Coral Sea beaches, Guru Life — a funky, jungle-like cafe-restaurant-music venue surrounded by a lily pad-filled duck pond, swaying palm trees and other exotic plant life — is owned and operated by the effervescent, cool as a capsicum, Jonny Bundellu.

It’s a Sunday, late morning to boot, and a long queue is already snaking outside and around the car park, but not to worry. Word out on the asphalt is that I’m an out-of-town foodie/travel blogger discovering and documenting the Sunshine Coast; so, I’m led past the conga line by Jonny himself, decked out in a colorful pair of Nepalese leisure pants, and ushered inside like a VIP to a garden-side table. Sorry mate!

Savoring an expertly prepared flat-white coffee from a secret blend of Colombian, Ethiopian, Indian and Kenyan beans roasted right on the premises — supposedly there’s enlightenment in every cup — we take our time and scan the menu showcasing all sorts of tantalizing brekkie fare prepped and plated by Chef Ben Nielsen and his expert galley crew.

Highly recommended is The Guru Life Special: two poached free-range eggs, woodland mushrooms, oven-roasted tomatoes, spiced potato kofta, falafel, avocado, tomato relish, creamed spinach topped with feta, Turkish toast and, wait for it… a healthy helping of crispy bacon. It’s way more than mortal man can handle, but I’m game.

After I finish off my bountiful “brekkie” — it was satisfyingly delicious — I add insult to injury and order a round of spicy Bloody Marys and chat it up with some of the regulars.

Once the straw sipping hit rock bottom, I gave thanks to Chef Ben, the kitchen and wait staff, and had a man-hug moment with Jonny, the heartbeat of Guru Life. Now all I have to do is waddle back to the car park like those ducks out in pond.

Australia may be the flattest, driest continent on the planet, but no matter where I look around the Sunshine Coast I see water, lots of it. Join me next time when we’ll traverse a few bodies of H2O via canoe, kayak and pontoon, dragging an esky filled with 10 Toes and Little Creatures along with us. Until then, cheerio!

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Discovering Australia’s Sunshine Coast: The Mary Valley Rattler

Tom Weber — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 03:45:18 +0000

I shed my bulky winter coat, donned shades, put on a wide-brimmed Panama fedora, slipped into a pair of flip-flops, lathered up with SPF30+ and then jetted halfway around the globe to the warm climes of Australia for a brief second summer along Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

I kept to a leisurely pace during my sojourn, just like the “early to bed, early to rise” locals, and enjoyed some delectable dining experiences and memorable day trips, like traveling back in time aboard a “rattler.”

What’s a “rattler,” you ask? It’s a perfectly restored steam or diesel-powered locomotive train coupled to a handful of highly-polished period carriages, each with its own unique character and story, that chugs its way along part of the original rail line between Gympie and Amamoor in the magical Mary Valley.

Aptly named the Mary Valley Rattler, this heritage rail experience is fun for all ages. A welcome aboard smile from your carriage host or hostess, a blast of the whistle, the gentle motion of the wheels on the track and you’re away aboard one of these authentic iron horses.

Your 46-kilometer, round-trip adventure pulls out from the elegantly restored Gympie Station, a stylish and elaborate example of timber railway architecture — with the Platform No. 1 Café, a gift shop and museum — and rambles into the Mary Valley, one of the most beautiful parts of Queensland. All you have to do is sit back, relax and watch Mother Nature’s handiwork pass by your open-air window.

At Amamoor, bordered by a state forest where more than 120 species of birds fly about in its riverine rain forests, your heritage engine is turned around on a fully-restored turntable for the return leg back to Gympie. While you wait, stroll down to the end of the tracks, cross over the street and check out the Amamoor General Store. It’s where the locals grocery shop, grab a take-away, get and send mail and fill up their Holdens, Utes and Kombis.

Back on board, your “rattler” makes a short stop at the Dagun Township Station for a wine and cheese tasting session and a pooch around the local market where you’re bound to be asked, “Ow ya goin’?”

This historic rail experience, the Mary Valley Rattler, which runs on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, is a not-for-profit organization operated solely by friendly and always smiling volunteers. Bookings are required, as the brochure notes, to avoid disappointment.

From the ticket office staff to the station master, from the knowledgeable on-board crew to the locomotive engineers, your three-hour ride aboard a Mary Valley Rattler will be a journey back in time that you won’t soon forget.

Along with the indigenous kangaroo and koala, you know you’re in the land Down Under when you meet up with your mates for brekkie (breakfast). Join me next time when we’ll break a couple of eggs and then some during an over-the-top, late-morning feast at one of the Sunshine Coast’s liveliest and tastiest eateries: Guru Life.

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Discovering Australia’s Sunshine Coast: Into The Hinterland

Tom Weber — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 05:30:31 +0000

A big, big place that’s far, far away, Australia, the land aptly known as Down Under, is divided into six states: New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland, where I escaped winter back home to enjoy a short second summer basking in the warmth of this state’s picturesque Sunshine Coast, along with documenting my sojourn with footnotes and photos.

On several occasions, I left my home base in Maroochydore, where the Maroochy River empties into the Coral Sea, and ventured up into the Blackall Range of the Hinterland on arguably the most scenic of the Sunshine Coast drives, where the air is cooler and the grass is greener, to see what I could see. My self-drive adventures provided me with stunning views of lush valleys and magnificent mountain peaks along with stops at two of the Hinterland’s most tourist-friendly towns: Montville and Maleny.

A botanical garden-like postcard, Montville, sitting at 1,300 ft. above sea level, is a lovely artisan enclave with a population of 886 friendly folks all asking “Ow ya goin´” on just about every street corner and shop.

Montville just radiates true village charm with a pleasant array of Alpine chalets, English, Irish and Tudor log and stone cottages, Queenslanders, with their signature wrap-around verandas, and a camera-ready old mill water wheel.

After a leisurely stroll up and down Main Street take a load off at Poets Cafe, a beautifully renovated Queenslander house that backs onto the lush vegetation leading to the valley below, for a coffee, a beer, a glass of wine, one of its signature baguette sandwiches or a full-on dinnies.

High above the sparkling sandy beaches of the Sunshine Coast lies Maleny, a 1950’s-looking, arts-and-crafts town.

After a light repast at Sarah’s Unplugged — try a smoked salmon panino or a bush tucker salad of locally-grown stoned fruit and baby greens, homemade feta cheese and topped with edible flowers, along with a glass or two of wine — have a pooch around all the interesting shops up and down Maple Street, Maleny’s main drag.

Just a few kilometers outside of town is the Mary Carincross Scenic Reserve, with its walking trails that wind through 55 hectares of subtropical rainforest. And, just across Mountain View Road are the landmark Glasshouse Mountains, named by Captain John Cook, the famed British explorer, back in 1770. These 11 distinct peaks, formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago, remain to this day sacred sites of Aboriginal Australians.

Heading back down towards the coast, be sure and make a quick stop at Gerrard’s Lookout to admire some great views of the Mooloolah River Catchment out to Nambour, Mooloolaba, the Mudjimba Islands and Maroochydore.

Care to hop aboard a “rattler” and traverse the Mary Valley with me? I’ll give you a tingle this arvo to let you know the date and time we pull out from Gympie Station. Until then, toodle-oo!

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Discovering Australia’s Sunshine Coast: At The Zoo

Tom Weber — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 23:15:45 +0000

Outlined by 21k+ miles of jaw-dropping coastline and filled in with 3m+ square miles of camera-ready land mass, Australia, the oldest, flattest and driest inhabited continent, is home to the indigenous kangaroo, koala, laughing kookaburra, platypus, wombat, 755 species of reptiles and the late, beloved Steve Irwin, “The Crocodile Hunter.”

During his amazing life, cut short at the age of 44 after being pierced in the heart by a stingray barb while filming an underwater documentary, Irwin thrilled and educated audiences around the globe with his derring-do antics out in the wild in a variety of television wildlife series, including everyone’s favorite, The Crocodile Hunter. Gone, but not forgotten, Steve Irwin’s legacy as a zoologist, conservationist and naturalist lives on at his dream-come-true Australia Zoo.

One of the icons of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, the 1,000 acre Australia Zoo, located in Beerwah, is as wild as life gets and as approachable as Steve himself. With 1,200+ wildlife on display, many just an arm’s length away, and oodles of daily shows, you’ll get a healthy dose of action and adventure — from the Crocoseum, to Bindi’s Island, to the African Savannah — all in one place without having to don a pair of khaki shorts.

Where else can you get up close and personal with some of Oz’s indigenous species, like having a stare-down with a ring-tailed lemur or witnessing a huge croc strike from the water’s edge. Crikey!

Open 364 days a year, the Australia Zoo, where a portion of every dollar spent is placed back into conservation to protect wildlife and wild places, is the perfect place to remember the legacy of Steve Irwin.

As I continue my discovery of the Sunshine Coast, I promise to keep you out of harm’s way when next we meet up in the Blackall Range of the Hinterland for strolls around colorful Maleny and Montville and take in a panoramic view of the landmark Glasshouse Mountains. Until then, cheers mate!

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