Gold! Gold! Gold! the headline goaded. A listless nation heeded, trading its financial doldrums for its well-worn frontier spirit. From all corners of North America, ordinary people turned toward the cold, dark, remote land that held the stuff of their dreams. Flatlanders mostly, they were in for a surprise when they reached the snowy granitic […]
Alaska in winter
February 24, 2008 by
Los Angeles Times – Alaska in winter Winter fun warms up visitors A spirited bachelor auction — combined with sublime scenery — helps December travelers chill out during a sojourn to the 49th state. By Camille Cusumano, Special to The Times Anchorage – Last December I stood on the deck of a lodge in Talkeetna, […]
Tango is Yoga
February 1, 2008 by
Appeared in the December 2006 issue of dancenotes Yoga’s secret ingredient for partner dancers By Camille Cusumano If you’ve ever felt that dancing tango requires the stamina of a martial artist, then you’re ready for Carmen Iglesias. A yoga teacher and tango dancer, Carmen has developed a program that supports the special demands of Argentine […]
Ruby Mountains
January 24, 2008 by
He told me his name was Johnny and he’d lived his whole life here, except for “the two years I gave to Uncle Sam.” I didn’t ask which two years. It was the lifetime in a place like Lamoille that brought my imagination to the brink.
Protected: A Family Reunion in Sicily
September 18, 2007 by
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Savoring Patagonia
September 13, 2007 by
Dark peaks, many still cloaked in snow, rag the horizon. Besides the druid-like towers, a formation called the Cuernos del Paine rises above Lago Pehoé, one of many lakes we passed, whose waters seem to come in three shades—emerald, aquamarine, and sapphire. When the relentless wind blows, it’s a sight to see hundreds of frothy white caps stand up and dance on their rippling waters. wild hares browsing, and horses running loose from a nearby estancia. Milky Way achingly close. The sky is so dense with stars,
Heirloom Tomatoes in California
September 13, 2007 by
A love apple a day keeps the doctor away One tomato supplies 35 calories and almost half of your daily vitamin C requirement. Tomatoes are a source of vitamin A and the minerals iron and potassium. In 1995, Harvard researchers found a tomato-rich diet to be associated with decreased risk of prostate cancer-due, they believe, […]
In the Jungle, the Mayan Jungle
September 13, 2007 by
Belize’s unspoiled Caribbean shores teem with brilliant sea life. With its 180-mile-long barrier reef and 200-isle archipelago, the Central American country was bound to be a haven for pleasure-seekers.
Snorkeling in warm waters and baking on white-sand beaches sounds wonderful for two days. It wouldn’t raise my pulse for eight. Beyond its seacoast, lagoons, and mangrove swamp lies Belize’s broadleaf rainforest. Twisting paths are overgrown with vines, lianas, and strangler figs. Black orchids and bromeliads proliferate amid mahogany trees and cohune palms. Thousand-foot falls and smoky rivers score the jungled face of mountains. The air waxes with the primordial calls of birds, insects, and howler monkeys, and throughout the forest, dark caves and Mayan ruins wait to be explored.
Sister Act
July 24, 2007 by
Sister Act appeared in Islands Magazine, 2001. I have connected deeply with my Sicilian roots through many visits to the old country over the past 24 years and it remains one of my abiding spiritual quests. For one trip to the island, I considered the novelty of sleeping in monasteries and convents—Italy’s monastic bed-and-board tradition […]
Kent Island, Washington Post
June 28, 2007 by
Washington Post – Kent Island (101 column) – original here. When the Going Gets Tough, Get Off Route 50 Spend some traffic-free time on Kent Island, Md. including Terrapin Beach. (Photos Courtesy Queen Annes County Office Of Tourism) Sunday, July 9, 2006 Next time you’re sweating it out in Chesapeake Bay Bridge traffic between the […]
Around the world on a dance floor
January 19, 2006 by
I plan a trip to Paris, a city I love. It’s not the Louvre or the Left Bank, though, that draws me back this time, but a dance. I shoot off an e-mail to tango teacher Jean-Sébastien Rampazzi and hold my breath until he replies: “Yes, I can see you for a private lesson at la Casa del Tango.”