128 articles tagged with off the beaten path
When most travelers think of Puerto Rico, their minds immediately drift to San Juan's colorful colonial architecture, the posh boutiques of Condado, or the pristine beaches stretching along the coastline. But just 20 miles south of the capital lies Caguas—a...
There's something poetic about second acts—both in theater and in life. At 58, trading my corporate marketing desk in Charlotte for a theater intern's notepad in Bakersfield wasn't enough of a plot twist. I needed to see how drama unfolds...
The first time I stepped out of the subway in New York City, I felt that familiar rush of urban possibility that I've chased across continents. As someone who's spent years documenting the world's most intriguing urban spaces, from Sheffield's...
Like finding an unexpected cove after sailing past popular harbors, Tartu appeared on my radar during a Baltic exploration last summer. Estonia's second-largest city sits just 186 kilometers southeast of Tallinn, yet remains delightfully overlooked by the cruise ship crowds....
When I told my fellow preservation students I was spending two weeks in Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela, their reactions ranged from concerned to outright alarmed. *You're going where? During winter break? Are you insane?* Fair questions, I suppose. Venezuela doesn't exactly...
The first time I heard about Abéché, it wasn't from a glossy travel magazine or a viral Instagram post. It was from an elderly Chadian man I met at a craft beer festival in Portland who noticed my interest in...
Standing at the edge of the mighty Congo River last fall, watching the sunset paint Kinshasa's skyline across the water, I couldn't help but think: *Wie schön ist diese Welt* — how beautiful this world is. As someone who's navigated...
The first light of dawn breaks over Auki's harbor as fishing boats drift out into the Solomon Sea, their silhouettes like musical notes against the gradient sky. This isn't the polished, Instagram-filtered Pacific you see in travel brochures. Auki, the...
When I mentioned to friends that my winter adventure plans included Mbuji-Mayi in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I received more puzzled looks than I could count. 'Why not somewhere more... conventional?' they asked. But conventional has never been my...
The first time I laid eyes on Guilin's limestone karsts jutting dramatically from the misty Li River, I understood why this landscape has inspired Chinese artists for centuries. But what truly surprised me was how much more this region offers...
The taxi driver raised an eyebrow when I told him my destination. 'Fernando de la Mora? Not Asunción?' It wasn't the first time I'd received this reaction. While most travelers to Paraguay gravitate toward the capital city or the famous...
When my tech career had me staring at screens for 12 hours a day, I promised myself that my travels would always involve genuine human connection. That's exactly what I found in Lambaré, Paraguay—a place most travelers zoom past on...
Standing before the Temple of Bel—or rather, what remains of it—I'm struck by the profound silence that blankets Palmyra's ancient stones. The golden hour light casts long shadows across columns that have witnessed over two millennia of human history, trade,...
When most people think of Mauritius, they picture pristine beaches and luxury resorts that cost more than my entire retail buyer's monthly budget. But after spending a week in Vacoas—a bustling inland town that most tourists bypass—I discovered the beating...
The air carries a peculiar blend of salt, fish, and diesel as I stand at the edge of Nouadhibou's bustling port. This is Mauritania's second-largest city—a place where the Sahara meets the Atlantic in a collision of cultures, commerce, and...
