Adventure Travel Blogging

This adventurous couple just returned from a 17-day customized Manu Wildlife Safari Overland Adventure. After visiting Cusco, The Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, several areas of the Amazon, the Colca Canyon and Arequipa, see what wisdom they have to share! “The trip was amazing; it enabled us to see many aspects of Peru--from Machu Picchu that we had heard so much about to the huge variety of animals (especially birds!) We really enjoyed the overall impression of Peru--so many aspects! We loved all the ruins and terraces that illustrated how vast the Inca influence was and surprisingly how much was pre-Inca. Fascinating to see how much remains the same. Two of our favorite experiences were:1) The Amazonia Lodge en route to Manu National Park- there were so many great birds!2) In Arequipa, we saw "juanita", the ice maiden: definitely worth it—fascinating!   Our guides were good! Vignor was very knowledgeable on all...

For many years now I’ve been a lover of sticky rice, but on a recent trip to Cambodia I experienced a new take on this delicious dessert. In the streets of a very small and remote town, a man hovered over a large fire meticulously rotating stuffed banana leaves. Our guide handed the man some coins and two very charred pouches were handed over, still steaming hot from the fire. Inside I found a perfectly crisp, golden brown lump of sticky rice. I was amazed and inspired by the taste and texture of this treat and decided I needed to find a way to make it at home. The ingredients and supplies needed for this sticky rice are as follows: 1 C Thai Glutinous Rice 1 C Canned Coconut Milk 1/3 C Organic Sugar 1 Bag Frozen Banana Leaves Toothpicks Aluminum Foil You will also need either a rice steamer or...

Two of our alumni travelers just returned from a customized Manu Wildlife Safari adventure in Peru and share their thoughts on several aspects of the trip below: "FAVORITE EXPERIENCES: The one day KM 104 hike up to Machu Picchu via the Sun Gate was the perfect way to enter the site for the first time. Hardly any one else on the trail, plenty of interesting info from our guide as we hiked. Great experience as one finally gets to the top and suddenly looks down on Machu Picchu. The macaw clay lick was also exceptional...a very unique wildlife experience. ON GUIDES: Both our guides William in Manu and Reuben in the Sacred Valley were excellent...Reuben in particular. I really enjoyed the fact that they shared information about their own lives and experiences with us. Both shared their experiences with the Shining Path, for instance. Lots of jokes and laughterON ACCOMMODATIONS: The...

When the Kaplan family traveled to Tanzania on our Serengeti Family Safari in June they knew that they were in for some great wildlife. What was unexpected was the people that they met and the cultures that they experienced along the way. "The entire trip was fabulous. The highlight was actually the cultural encounters that we had. I expected the animal part of the safari but our visit with the Bushman was beyond anything I could imagine and my kids loved playing soccer, volleyball, and frisbee with the locals. Our guide Dominic was unbelievable. He was incredibly knowledgeable but was also a truly amazing person. He kept everyone engaged and let things be spontaneous, making time to add to our itinerary where beneficial. We LOVED him! My favorite experience was hunting with the Bushman and learning about their culture. We also had a great interaction with some women in the Datoga...

Banteay Chhmar is a group of villages in northwestern Cambodia, just 20 km from the Thailand border. Currently among the top-listed sites for nomination to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, Banteay Chhmar (The Citadel of the Cats) is one of the great architectural masterpieces of Southeast Asia and the Khmer Kingdom’s epic Angkorian Period. The vision of Global Heritage Fund’s Banteay Chhmar Conservation Training Project is "to save the last great Angkorian Temple in Cambodia that remains unstudied, unconserved and unprotected and in doing so hand back the conservation of their heritage to the Cambodian people." Community involvement in the conservation project is integral to its success and ‘’Visit Banteay Chmar" is a community-based tourism organization that is helping to make this happen. This CBT offers local, English-speaking guides who lead detailed temple tours, boat trips and community tours. Other services enable visitors to explore the local area, including a silk center....