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The big news this month is the Adventures in Travel Expo in New York City, which brings together hundreds of destinations, resorts, outfitters and gear manufacturers from around the globe to showcase the best in adventure travel. Everything needed to plan an exciting vacation can be found at the expos — from climbing the pyramids in Egypt to diving the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, from a golf vacation in Ireland to biking tours in the Rocky Mountains — along with all of the experts who put these trips together.
And GoNOMAD is always there to find out the latest information and to let people know about our site.
On the site this month, we feature an atheist's brush with divinity in Spain, life-sized dinosaurs made of snow, and a festival with roots deep in Portugal's pagan past.
Entrudo in Lazarim: A good time
was had by all. |
GoNOMAD Staff Writer Paul Shoul (the atheist) is filled with awe at the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela which draws thousands of pilgrims from all over the world each year. GoNOMAD regular Ryan MacDonald introduces us to the Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, and first-time contributor Ericka Hamburg captures the
masquerade, poetry and parody of Entrudo (Carnival) in Lazarim, Portugal with a highly engaging story and a stunning photo gallery.
Senior Travel Editor Kent E. St. John finds Nirvana at a rainforest hotel in Byron Bay, Australia,
longtime contributor Habeeb Salloum explores picturesque Mallorca in Spain's Balearic Islands, and Larry Parnass, editor of the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, recounts all the fun he had hiking in the Swiss Alps.
Charlotte Turner takes us camping in England's Yorkshire Dales and even visits the creamery where they make the Wensleydale cheese favored by Wallace in Nick Parks' "Wallace and Gromit" movies. GoNOMAD Associate Editor Stephen Hartshorne takes us through Canada's fabled Northwest Passage in a polar class icebreaker.
So take your pick of the best travel writers in the business and come visit GoNOMAD's booth at the Adventure Travel Expo! |
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New Stories recently published on GoNOMAD...
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Entrudo in Lazarim: Portugal’s Pagan Pageant
Many Carnival societies are seduced by Rio’s rituals, and borrow them back. But in the untouristed, terraced hills of the Alto Douro, customs are more consistent with Portugal’s Celtic origins. The Lenten calendar and harvest cycle are intertwined, and Entrudo brings masquerade, poetry, parody, and the purging of winter. Standing squeezed between a masked sheep and a skeleton, I feel as if I’ve dropped in on an extended family gathering. |
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Japan's Sapporo Snow Festivals
Want to see life-sized dinosaurs or a 30-foot snow sculpture of New York Yankee’s outfielder Hideki Matsui? Then head to Hokkaido, the northernmost of the Japanese Islands, the first week of February. It started in 1950 with some high school students trying to outdo each other by building elaborate snow sculptures in Odori Park, Sapporo’s central park. This caused other people to join in and created a yearly tradition. |
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Santiago de Compostela: A Pilgrimage to Galicia
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela caught me by surprise. I am not a religious person and I had expected just to take a look around, smile, nod, and try to look thoughtful.
But now, standing under vaulting arches of golden filigree, in a cloud of incense and surrounded by the hum of a thousand pilgrims drawn to this place from all over the world, I am moved.
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The Yorkshire Dales: Camping in Wallace and Gromit Country
Long before the area was made famous in Nick Park's "Wallace and Gromit" movies, the Yorkshire Dales have been regarded as one of Britain’s premier tourist attractions.
The English have a tendency to ignore their own back doorstep when it comes to travel and adventure, and it was a desire to rectify this that inspired me to cross my fingers for good British weather and bravely venture north of the M25 [London's orbital motorway]... |
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Byron Bay: Australia's New Age Wonder Beach Town
In Australia, Byron Bay is an beach town icon and conjures up great memories for Aussies who have visited there. Surfers, hippies, new agers and the well-to-do, all return repeatedly and each find their slice of heaven.
Many have stayed and built lives amidst the visual splendor of the location. |
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Switzerland: Hiking in the Land of Sky
I had pushed myself away from a busy newsroom in Massachusetts to take a walk. A long walk broken into pieces by conversations with new friends and plates of good food. I found that week-long trek to be all I hoped for, from one end of Switzerland to the other.
We traveled through the heart of the Alps, pausing in places where a traveler can quiet the thrum of daily life by walking out into the majesty of the mountains. |
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Secrets of the "Untourist" Revealed
Untourists pay the price of an ordinary hotel room but stay in a luxurious spa. They never carry travelers' checks. Never stay in typical tourist resorts. And never suffer mediocre, pricey food. Some even carry second passports. You can use the Untourist's secrets to enjoy a lot more while paying far less. |
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Plan a Great Trip, Save Money... and Help Your Favorite Travel Website
These are the discount travel sites you use all the time. If you access them through GoNOMAD, it helps us, but there's no additional cost to you. So when you plan your next trip, do us a favor: try searching for airfares, hotels and specials at this address. Help us keep providing you with first-rate travel writing by using GoNOMAD when you travel. PASS US ALONG TO YOUR TRAVELING FRIENDS...
Thanks! |
More Recently Posted Travel Articles
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Spain's Balearic Islands: Exploring Mallorca's Most Picturesque Region
“Today we are going to explore the most beautiful region on the island of Mallorca. You will see why this spot has over the years lured world renowned men and women artists, historians, musicians, poets and writers.” Nicole, our guide with a passion for the arts, laid out the agenda for our day’s exploration in a paradise for literary men and women. |
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Sailing the Historic Northwest Passage in a Polar-Class Icebreaker
Since the Age of Discovery began in the sixteenth century, explorers have been braving the frigid weather and powerful sea ice of Canada's northern reaches in search of a Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean.
So great was the attraction of this potential shortcut to the Far East that dozens of mariners from all nations set out in search of it, and still more set out in search of those who never came back. |
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Forrest Gump, Quasimodo and the Weary Wanderer
His name was Padre Dario, an itinerant preacher who has been on the road for 37 years. "I’m in a different country every two weeks," he said. "I am tired of being a pilgrim."
I told him about my time in Santiago, about being an atheist, about my love of the road and of all people I had met in Spain. He looked at me calmly and said, "We all have different ways of getting to the same place." |
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