This month GoNOMAD Editor Max Hartshorne took part in an uprecedented visit to Iran by a delegation of 120 tourism professionals. Special diplomatic passports were issued to the group, and they met with the vice president of Iran, who expressed in the strongest terms his country's opposition to terrorism. This trip marks what may well be a sea change in Iran's attitude toward the West.
Friendly faces in Iran - photo by Max Hartshorne |
We're proud that GoNOMAD is part of this first step in forming the people-to-people contacts that truly change history.
To think that leaders in both countries, just a short time ago, were trying to railroad the people into going to war. Like that would solve anything. It's as if the people on both sides are saying, "Knock it off, boys."
This month we introduce yet another promising travel writer, Jenny Hartshorne, who has sent in a delightful article about a tour of the Amazon jungle and the Sacred Valley of the Inca with her new extended family.
Senior Travel Editor Kent St. John visits Bartlesville, Oklahoma and reports on historic and cultural attractions, and on the scandalous behavior of the area's early oil barons.
And we present the first two installments of a series by Shady Hartshorne entitled Arizona Rocks: The Grand Canyon by Air and Rail and Navajo Nation. Next month we'll post the third installment about Lake Powell.
Laurie Ellis takes us on an "extreme eco-adventure," tubing, rappelling, ziplining, horseback riding, mountain biking and whitewater rafting in Costa Rica.
Veteran GoNOMAD writer Habeeb Salloum takes a highly personal pilgrimage to the town in Saskatchewan where he and his family homesteaded during the Great Depression. It's all grasslands now; only a plaque shows where the town once stood.
Stephanie Green takes us on a heavy metal tour of London, Susan McKee gets smothered in coconut shavings at a spa in Mauritius and Cynthia Roderick and her sisters feast and sing and shop at the "Christmas in Edgartown" festival on Martha's Vineyard.
All in all it's just another month of top-notch travel writing on GoNOMAD.com! |
New stories recently published on GoNOMAD:
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Visiting Iran: Ancient Cities, Natural Wonders, Friendly People
You meet someone's eyes. They look at you, at your nametag. "You are American?" Yes you say. "Great, great, welcome, welcome to Iran!" This steadfast enthusiasm for American people is what makes this country so wonderful, and this has made our trip so far a pleasure. Yes, you see signs saying "Death To America." But whoever wrote them didn't represent these people, who smile so warmly and embrace you with welcome... |
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Once again GoNOMAD will have a booth at the biggest consumer
travel show in the US, the New York Times Travel Show from
February 7-8 in New York's Javits Center. Meet our staff
and view hundreds of exhibitors at this amazing travel show.
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Animal Interactions: Making Responsible Travel Decisions
GoNOMAD has published numerous articles about interacting with wild animals because this is often part of people's travel experience, but there are many important issues that responsible travelers should consider in making decisions about game parks and reserves. Everyone can feel the sadness and suffering of animals in zoos and circuses. But then there are responsible programs that provide resources for conservation... |
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Christmas in Edgartown: Fun for the Family
For the last two years, my sisters and I have met on Martha’s Vineyard to celebrate the winter holidays at the Christmas in Edgartown festival. For three days we feast and laugh and sing. We ooooh and ahhh at the holiday lights and candles displayed at Donaroma’s Nursery, a must stop for everyone. There, we sing carols and listen to the bell ringers and stand around a huge bonfire and feel so lucky to be part of this island celebration.... |
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City of the Beast: A Heavy Metal Tour of London
I've come to London on pilgrimage. As my ancestors walked miles through the desert to reach the holy lands, as my parents followed our family roots through England, Ireland and Yugoslavia, I follow my own gods – Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest - to the city of their worship. I journey to London: a holy land of heavy metal. No metal tour of London would be complete without a jaunt to the Ruskin Arms... |
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Grasslands National Park: A Writer's Pilgrimage
Gouverneur was the village my parents first came to as immigrants in the early 1920s but now only a plaque remains to remind the passer-by that here the town of Governeur once stood. I turned to my colleague, "Three miles south of here was the land on which our family homesteaded. It’s like a dream thinking back to those harsh days! Our ploughing the soil and picking the rocks all came to naught. Look! It’s all pastureland now." |
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Bartlesville, Okalahoma: A Unique American Destination
I was heading into the land of the Sooners, where in a few short years after settlers piled in, millionaires proliferated, some complete with scandalous behavior. In turn I found an area where Americana prevails and polite rules. A wizened truck driver spends a fortune rebuilding a prairie town just because. What I discovered was a spot that all should see if they want to experience a place that maintains its spirit... |
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Exploring Peru With My New Family
Since I’ve been back from my seven-day vacation in Peru, friends ask me, "Hey what have you been up to this summer?" I say "Well, I was in Peru, went to the Amazon Rainforest and stayed in a cool jungle camp with thatched huts and hammocks in front, macaws and parrots flying free, tarantulas in the trees nearby. The jungle was full of boas, anaconda, monkeys and lizards of all sizes..." |
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Costa Rica: Ecotourism and Outdoor Adventure
You can’t visit Costa Rica without learning about sustainability. Roughly the size of West Virginia - or New Hampshire and Vermont combined - this small Central American country boasts close to 4% of the world’s plant and animal species. Depending on whom you talk to, that number may be a little higher or lower. At any rate, that’s a whole lot of plant and animal life in a small place... |
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Arizona Rocks, Part I: The Grand Canyon by Air and Rail
If you’re like most people, the first thing you’ll think of when you think of Arizona is the Grand Canyon. If you’ve never seen the Grand Canyon, you owe it to yourself to plan an Arizona trip to take in the majesty of one of the world’s seven natural wonders. Stretching 277 miles from east to west and 18 miles at its widest point, the Grand Canyon dazzles around five million people each year... |
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More Recently Posted Travel Articles
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Arizona Rocks, Part Two: Navajo Nation
When you visit the natural wonders of Arizona, you will undoubtedly spend a great deal of time in the Navajo Nation. Spreading across 27,000 square miles in three states, it is the largest area of land assigned to a Native American group, and the Navajo (or Dineh, as they call themselves) are the largest American Indian tribe with 180,000 registered residents... |
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The North of England: Where The British Go on Holiday
After tipping a canoe near shore we had very wet feet and pants mid-way through. At one point we had hail pounding down on our waterproof pants and jackets, and it made me love these Britishers who don't ever let weather stop their fun. Johan, our guide, said that some of his guests from the US preferred to sit by a fire for an entire day. "They said it was raining. I said so what?" |
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Delicious Mauritius: Sugar Plums and Coconut Therapy
Visions of sugarplums danced through my head, but the soft yet insistent voice cut through my reverie. “Madame,” she said. “Madame!” It must have been the coconut. After the most delicious massage I’ve ever enjoyed, I awoke covered with curly white aromatic shavings like a giant macaroon. I had fallen asleep as my petite masseuse administered the “paillasson” at the spa in the Oberoi Resort on Mauritius... |
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