It’s my turn to give back. In a month’s time, I will be leaving for Uganda to help a local organization bring fresh water facilities to a rural community that has none, and I hope you follow Far-flung Travels throughout the journey. While on vacation last fall, I spent my last few days in WestRead more
The winners of the 2011 Society of American Travel Writers‘ Central States Writing and Photography Contest have been announced and yours truly won five awards, including “Photographer of the Year.” According to organizer Kelly Earnest, the contest had “a record 399 entries, including 147 writing submissions and 252 photography submissions.” The judges were Dr. ThomasRead more
A couple days before I sat up watching the news waiting for President Obama to announce that Osama bin Laden was dead, a friend forwarded me a story with this headline: “Bomb blast hits popular cafe in Morocco, kills 15.” It was in that cafe a few years ago that she and I sat togetherRead more
Out from behind the lens, photographer Laura Watilo Blake finds herself on the cover of New Mexico Magazine’s March 2011 cover.Read more
How in the world do you explain a New Year’s Eve event in which a big fish is dropped from a crane at the stroke of midnight? I suppose quirky comes to mind first. While millions of eyeballs are tuned in to watch a sparkly ball of light descend on a pole in New York’sRead more
You don’t have to travel far to see some amazing sites. But this amazing site in Cleveland has traveled the world over in just a few days. The Cleveland Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse made world news after waves from Lake Erie, propelled by high winds, turned it into an ice structure. After a local photographerRead more
My photo of a Tuareg man in Timbuktu, Mali, has been chosen as a finalist in a Travel & Leisure magazine photo contest and I would appreciate your vote by December 31. The magazine leaves it up to the world at large to vote on the finalists. Unfortunately, that means the photos with the mostRead more
The highlight of my trip to Mali was a multi-day trek along the Bandiagara Escarpment, otherwise known as Dogon country. The Dogon, an ethnic group living in this region, are best known for their mythology, their mask dances, wooden sculpture and their architecture. WATCH THIS VIDEO ON YOUTUBE.COM: Dogon DaysRead more
The sun is setting on my final day in West Africa as I sit in my open-air office on the deck of La Brazzerade (the beachfront hotel I’ve called home for two nights). It was a relaxing day, absent of the normal get-up-and-go that usually plagues my adventurous soul. Knowing I wouldn’t get any sleepRead more
On our last day in The Gambia, I thought it might be a great idea to rent bicycles. The advantages were two-fold. First, we’d get to see a lot more of the Atlantic Coast. Second, we’d be able to outrun the hordes of touts trying to devise ways to relieve us of our hard-earned dalasis.Read more