The big news at GoNOMAD this month is the rollovers. If you mouse over the thumbnails on the front page, they roll over to the authors' photos with some text about the story.

While we're tweaking the design a bit, we're committed to keeping the site simple and focusing on our main mission: providing the best travel stories and photos on the Web.

Eagle warrior at the Ati Atihan Festival in Kalido, an island in the Philippines - photo by Mike Smith

This month David Rich, the happily homeless wanderer who has now visited more than 135 countries, adds Albania to his list. In this country, only recently freed from a demented dictator, David found extensive historic ruins, unspoiled beaches and "the friendliest, most helpful, and kindest people on the planet."

Mridiula Dwivedi, GoNOMAD's award-winning travel blogger, visits Prashar Lake in Himachal Pradesh, India (elevation 9,000 feet). Mridula reports she had some difficulty getting up there, but she greatly enjoyed the peace and tranquility.

GoNOMAD Editor Max Hartshorne has posted a gallery of photographs from his eventful trip to New Zealand at the now famous GoNOMAD Internet Cafe in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. You can see a sample in our on-line gallery.

First time contributor Mike Smith writes about the Visayas, the middle island group in the Philippines where he finds miles of pristine beaches, a picturesque tribal festival and the world's smallest mammal, the tarsier.

We're also running our first article by Tim Lehnert of Cranston, Rhode Island. Tim writes about the magnificent architecture and unusual history of Benefit Street in Providence. Another GoNOMAD first-timer is Steve Mirsky, who writes about the Exuma Cays, a necklace of 360 exquisite little unspoiled islands in the Bahamas. Nicholas Cage owns one. So does Faith Hill.

Maria Solvyov blogs from Argentina about the workers who have taken over bankrupt factories and businesses and got them running again. Vicky Schippers visits the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the "Little House on the Prairie" books which became a famous television show. Sydney Hutchinson describes the many attractions of Santiago in the Dominican Republic, especially the local merengue music.

Ginger Warder reports on the cuisine, the culture and the scenic beauty of France's Languedoc-Roussillon Region, Cathie Arquilla goes on a five-day women-only ski getaway in Utah, Melissa Vitti writes about ecotourism in the lands of Kenya's Maasai tribe, and Renee Estey gives us the lowdown on America's newest no-frills airline, SkyBus.

Just another month of top-notch travel writing on GoNOMAD.com..