Featured Member Blog Posts – October 2011 Archive (59)

 "If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting."

- Benjamin Franklin 



Many volunteers do not go abroad with an aim of over spending their hard earned cash, for many it is a chance to give back to society and many a case to those less fortunate than themselves. As much as one would like to enjoy their experience while in a foreign country, a situation may arise where you may need to save and budgeted as such. A number of tips are provided…

Canyoning, also known as canyoneering in some parts of the world, is the adventurous act of traveling through steep and narrow canyons using a variety of techniques that can include walking, scrambling, jumping, abseiling, wading, or swimming and climbing waterfalls through steep canyon walls to deep pools.. Canyoneers usually differentiate between technical and nontechnical canyoneering. Where…

Located off the beaten path in central Tuscany, Italy, one of the most popular tourist spots is San Gimignano.  Known for it towers, its a great day spot to see.  The shopping it rather insignificant. You won't find anything unique rather its on touristy cheesy stuff so save your pennies.  The tower offers a…

Close to our Spanish school in Samara, turtles are making their way to lay their eggs in Ostional, Costa Rica, a phenomenon known in Spanish as "arribada" or a mass emergence from the ocean.  Thousands of "tortugas lora," or olive ridley turtles nest here each year in the refuge that was created in 1984. …

Enchanting paradise

by Heather Cassell

Published: Ocotber 3, 2011

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Shirley Mae's Diner

Shirley Mae's...doesn't that name just conjure up images of fried chicken, ribs, collard greens and macaroni and cheese? It did…

Bolzano is the capital of the province of Alto Adige (South Tyrol or Sudtirol) in Italy. Originally a Roman settlement, after the fall of the Roman Empire, immigrants arrived from Barvaria to the north, and it has been settled by German populations since then. Before World War 1, Bolzano was part of the…

I'm just back from 5 weeks in the South Pacific. Wow!

First half of the time I was volunteer teaching in a small elementary school in the picture-perfect island of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands. Beautiful people, stunning blue lagoon, unspoiled small-town feel to the island of only 2,000+ people.

Next I was in Papeete, Tahiti from which we sailed on the Aranui III for two weeks among the Marquesas Islands. Each island was different, amazingly enough, and each of the 180…

Barcelona and Madrid are two perfect weekend cities, but with slightly different character and charm. Whichever you choose, you can expect cozy dining, exciting nightlife and probably a lot of shopping. One of the absolute advantages of Barcelona is the possibility of combining the advantages of beach life, so it’s no wonder that…

Puerto Viejo can be called the main tourist destination of the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. The town is located in Talamanca Canton in the province of Limon, in the southeastern coast of the country, close to the Panamanian…

THE CZECH COMPOSER WHO INVENTED AMERICAN MUSIC

Antonin Dvořák, whose 170^th anniversary is this year, was not just the greatest of Czech composers. You could…

Something to Declare: Good Lesbian Travel Writing

Edited by Gillian Kendal; University of Wisconsin Press, 230 pages; paperback, $19.95

Reviewed by Heather Cassell…

Mountain biking is a young sports in Nepal. The thrill and excitement involved in the sport is making it popular day by day. Lots of Nepalese have taken seriously to sports. The idea of mountain bike racing was first formed in Marin Country, in California in the early eighties. However, in 1996 it got included in the Olympic Games and later on in 1998 the sport got an early into the Asian Games. The National Sports Council of Nepal officially recognized it as a sport in 1995. The first…

by Judy Antell



Theme parks are a natural fit for Halloween festivities: On a certain level, you might say it's always a Halloween party at theme parks - plus, most of the rides are already designed to scare the living daylights out of you. In October (and sometimes even earlier), some of theme parks have gently scary daytime…

There are only a few weeks left until the squares of all the major cities are filled with market stalls, Christmas trees and hot wine salesmen. For fans of both Christmas and traveling, we’ve rolled up a list of the best Christmas markets in Europe.

Being one of the most celebrated holidays around the world, Christmas magically transforms the city squares into an extravaganza of light and aroma.  Some cities have not just one or two markets, but dozens. We have therefore selected…

It’s difficult to talk about La Alberca without lapsing into cliché. The moment I walked into the cobbled Plaza Mayor, the main market square, surrounded by three- and four-storey, half-timbered houses, I thought of a film…

The most practiced marriage system found in the Nepali society is the magi- bihe (arranged marriage). Magi-bihe i.e. arranged marriage in Nepali Community unlike in other communities is finalized by the girl’s family when the boy’s family puts forward the proposal of marriage.

Generally, a relative acts as the middle man…