Cruising on a houseboat on Lake Powell, taking a martial arts class in Brazil, bonding with a horse named Scattergun on a ranch in Arizona, hiking in scenic Afghanistan clad in full body armor, belly dancing on an island in the Aegaen Sea or relaxing in a rustic cabin on Little Corn Island in Nicaragua -- we have something for everyone this month.

Meeting Brigitte Bardot in Buzios, Brazil - photo by Andrea Bailey

Shady Hartshorne wraps up his three-part series, Arizona Rocks, with a story on Lake Powell, our new intern, Isadora Dunne, celebrates Carnaval and takes a capoeira class in Salvador, Brazil, and Mary Brigham takes a course in equestrian driver's ed at the Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson.

Roman Skaskiw writes about hiking in Kunar Province, Afghanistan during his tour with a provincial reconstruction team, Lorena Di Nola learns belly dancing on the Greek island of Hydra and veteran GoNOMAD writer Paul Shoul takes a whirlwind tour of Taiwan.

We're pleased to introduce Karina Zobolotny to our readers with a charming piece about relaxing on Nicaragua's Little Corn Island, and Dominic Degrazier is becoming a GoNOMAD regular with his fourth story, a guide to Montevideo, Uruguay.

Richard Bauman takes a look at the elegant simplicity in evidence at the Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts and Mridula Dwivedi tours the forts and palaces of Jaipur, India.

GoNOMAD founder Lauryn Axelrod takes a horseback riding and kayaking vacation in Argentina, Wendy Hammerle explores the unspoiled natural beauty of northwest Florida, Susan McKee visits Armenia and Andrea Bailey has a family adventure with Brigitte Bardot in Buzios, Brazil.

All in all it's just another month of top-notch travel writing on GoNOMAD.com!

Argentina: Horseback Riding and Kayaking in Patagonia
Ever since I was a child, Patagonia held an allure… a faraway place of gauchos and glaciers, wild, open spaces and mountains that seemed to hang from the clouds. Like Bruce Chatwin’s land of dinosaurs, it beckoned me through its mythologies. But unlike Chatwin, whose journey to the dusty south was filled with quirky settlers and literary allusions, my Patagonia was an outdoor adventure wonderland...

Armenia: Where East Meets West
Standing in Republic Square, I could imagine myself anywhere in Europe. To my right was a sidewalk café filled with smartly dressed men and women sipping coffee and talking on cell phones. In front of me, pedestrians expertly dodged the fast-moving taxis, trucks and cars streaming past. Welcome to Yerevan! This cosmopolitan city melds the expected with the alien...

Montevideo, Uruguay: Relaxed and Sociable
“Tranquila.” In a little more than two weeks here in Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, I have heard this answer at least 50 times. Locals use it to describe their city of 1.7 million inhabitants. And they are correct: this city is relaxed. It is much more sedated and safe than their cousins’ metropolis of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Montevideo is a short boat ride away from Argentina’s capital, and also shares its northern border with Brazil...

Harmony with Horses: Equestrian Driver's Ed
Tom Chambers, a ‘Horse Listener’ is standing outside the pen, coaching me. "Don’t look him in the eye. That tells him that you want him to go away. Okay, he’s getting tired. He’s licking his lips. That’s ‘baby talk’ for a horse. He wants you to take care of him. When you want him to stop running, just say 'Stop!' in your brain." Yeah, right. The horse is a mind-reader? “Stop,” I think, and the horse does. Wow...

Buzios, Brazil: A Family Adventure with Brigitte Bardot
Three centuries after the French first arrived on Brazilian shores they paid another visit to Buzios, this time in the form of actress and screen siren Brigitte Bardot. Hounded by the paparazzi, Brigitte and her boyfriend Bob Zagury escaped to Buzios. A foolproof plan was hatched. A photographer friend would capture their Brazilian holiday and share the photos with the press on the condition that they would not pursue her anymore...

Hancock Shaker Village: Plain and Simple
Hancock Shaker Village encompasses more than one thousand acres. But of primary interest to most visitors are the more than twenty preserved and restored buildings and gardens contained within about five acres adjacent to the visitors’ center. Each building at Hancock has its own special history, but three buildings can give visitors excellent insight into the Shakers and Shaker living....

Arizona Rocks, Part Three: Page and Lake Powell
With all the great places to see in the Southwest, it’s good to have a central point to use a base. Page, Arizona, is smack in the center of what is called The Grand Circle, a vaguely defined area encompassing southern Utah, northern Arizona and parts of New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. It’s called the Grand Circle because it includes the Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Mesa Verde, Arches and many other spectacular sites....

Jaipur, India: Exploring Forts and Palaces in the Pink City
I studied near Jaipur for five years but never managed to explore the place properly. I am quite amazed that in all my previous visits I never managed to see the City Palace built by Sawai Jai Singh in the 1700s. It is quite a fabulous place with museums devoted to armories and royal clothes. In one part of the palace there are two doors with colors resembling that of a peacock, and it is really lavish...

Nicaragua: In Dreams on Little Corn Island
Walking through the mud trails of the jungle and ending up on a remote beach with these quaint, resourceful cabins was like arriving at the Swiss Family Robinson’s tree house. The little huts are artistic yet sturdy, and have been built from local materials. Where the sand ends, a mossy knoll begins, with three cabanas that appear to grow out of the grass like mushrooms...

Touring Scenic Afghanistan: Climbing in Kunar
I don’t imagine too many people would vacation nowadays in Afghanistan, especially not in Kunar Province, but maybe. The most likely (and cheap) way for an American to get there is to be in the Army, or, as in my case, get called back to the Army after three years of civilian life for one more combat tour. Occasionally, I joined the soldiers making the climb to relieve last week’s guards....

Costa Rica Escape -- on Horseback
The horses arrived with Tina, our warm and extremely funny Swedish guide (who grew up in Costa Rica) with her wonderful band of helpers. I also met more of my fellow riders, who came from many countries. I was introduced to my mount, Gemini, as regal and proud as any Hanoverian. Gazing into his eyes, I could almost believe that he knew his ancestors had come to Central America with the Spanish 400 years ago....