South America - Dog-Eared Passport

August 8, 2023

My 10 favorite trips: From Nepal to French Polynesia

Being a former sportswriter, I’m into top 10 lists. Top 10 restaurants. Top 10 wines. Top 10 travel tales from hell. With my annual trip to Skopelos, Greece, approaching, I thought I’d do my top 10 trips of my life. I’ve traveled for 45 years and been to 110 countries. This lists stretches from Ecuador to French Polynesia.

August 13, 2018

Colombia has a lot to offer for travelers

The beaches of Cartagena are some of Colombia's many highlights.

(I’ve never been to Colombia but this guest blog by Gabe Campbell makes me want to go there.) There aren’t too many countries around the world that have been stigmatized as much as Colombia. Closely associated with a violent cocaine trade for decades – an association no doubt made worse by Hollywood – it was […]

August 7, 2018

Going solo: Traveling alone doesn’t have to be lonely or scary if you take these tips

Me alone in Vang Vieng, Laos, where the majestic karsts kept me company.

“When you travel alone it’s never crowded.” I left off the source of that great quote because it didn’t come from Mark Twain or Paul Theroux or any other great travel writer. It came from a guy I had a beer with at my guesthouse in Jamaica way back in 1982. I can’t remember his […]

August 16, 2015

Reeling Rio de Janeiro still dancing to a samba beat

Me at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, a lake in the middle of Rio featuring some of the most expensive real estate and a 4.5-mile bike path.

I love Rio.

I love its pulse. I love its vibrancy. I love its toughness. I love its softness. I love its skyline, its beaches, its weather. I even love its food. This is my third time in Rio and it’s like no other city. Besides having the most beautiful urban beach in the world, Rio de Janeiro seems to be always in rhythm. Music is everywhere. I don’t like music much, yet I can feel the locals, called, not ironically, Cariocas, constantly swaying to a distant beat. Rio is Havana with a democracy. Samba. Bossa Nova. Cariocas seem too mellowed out from constant sun, gentle waves and music to worry about pollution, corruption and crime. Every lyric of “The Girl from Ipanema” still runs through my brain on a 24-hour loop. No song outside The Beach Boys’ in Southern California better represents an area than “The Girl from Ipanema” represents Rio de Janeiro. A beautiful girl in a string bikini walking to the beach without a care in the world. To me, Rio is still that beautiful girl.
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