New Connections Journeys to Cuba to Begin in September 2013
Why go:
Although only 90 miles separate the United States from Cuba, for decades it has remained off-limits for most Americans. Travel provider, Abercrombie & Kent is bridging the gap with Cuba: People to People, a 10-day program filled with meaningful interactions and people-to-people connections which reveal the spirit of this fascinating, culturally-rich island.
What to expect:
Limited to just 24 guests in a program that enables Americans to discover Cuba through a combination of authentic personal encounters designed to transform their understanding of the people of this enigmatic country, Abercrombie & Kent USA has been granted a license by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control to offer people-to-people educational exchange programs to Cuba.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Are you looking for a meaningful travel experience that offers the opportunity to make a real difference in the world? Volunteer trips can create lasting impact and greatly enrich the lives of those involved.
To be absolutely honest though, I’m not an across-the-board supporter of voluntourism. In my most cynical moments, I imagine the heartache of orphans repeatedly left behind by well meaning visitors, jobs performed by vacationers that might have been a day’s wages for a local in need, or disreputable organizations profiting from the misfortune of others.
But I’ve also experienced firsthand the immense joy of human connection and witnessed the magic that occurs when people of different nationalities come together in support of one another.
To help you find a volunteer travel trip that gives back, here are three volunteer experiences by adventure travel providers that I trust and respect.
1.) Haiti Volunteer Experience with Elevate Destinations
Photo courtesy Elevate Destinations
This July, Elevate is partnering with the Edem Foundation – a non-profit supporting the education of children in Haiti and the development of economic activities in Haiti by working with local communities – to provide a Children and Youth Leadership Workshop. Activities and lessons are informed by the skills of the volunteers and can be anything from kids’ yoga to poetry reading and writing.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Bridget Besaw is one of those enviable women who are blessed with immense talent, a contagious passion, and the entrepreneurial acumen to transform that into a livelihood that sustains her and the planet she cares so deeply for. Now she’s putting those abilities to good use by pioneering a relatively young genre of photography that brings visual storytelling to environmental organizations and mentoring a new generation of image-makers in the art and profession of creating high-impact conservation media.
© Bridget Besaw
Her abilities were never more evident than when I traveled to the remote wilds of southern Chile last year to learn and record the story of Patagonia conservation as a participant in one of her Leica Akademie photography workshops.
As an avid adventurer and outdoor photographer, I joined the workshop for the sheer visual promise of the Patagonia landscape, people and culture, but returned with far more than memorable images. The experience not only expanded my knowledge and how I perceive the world, but also how I perceive myself and my abilities.
I managed to catch up with her recently and asked her to share a bit about her work and upcoming photography workshops.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
I asked Wildland Adventures’ South America Program Director, Kirsten Gardner, what she carries in her travel bag, and why. Learn her list of must haves.
“I travel frequently, both for work and pleasure, and my jaunts are usually of an active nature (think camping, hiking, mountain biking, etc), says Gardner.” “Whether I’m preparing for a trek in the Cascades or the Andes, these five items are in my suitcase.”
Hard at work, Kirsten Gardner
If candle lit nights, questionable drinking water, remote paths, or lengthy transits on public transportation are in your travel plans, read on for Kirsten’s top five trekking essentials.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
Is an African safari on your bucket list? Do you dream of photographing the extraordinary wildlife, seeing the vast plains of the Serengeti, and staying in luxurious camps, with all the comforts, in of some of the planet’s most amazing wilderness?
Get ready, because Mountain Travel Sobek (MTS), pioneers in adventure travel, just launched an Ultimate Tanzania Sweepstakes in celebration of their 40th anniversary.
Prize pack includes:
- -12-day Ultimate Tanzania Safari.
- -Roundtrip airfare from Exito Travel.
- -Gear pack with safari clothes and goodies from Magellan’s.
Sweepstakes ends July 18th, 2013. No purchase necessary to win.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
If you’re like the half a billion Apple addicts on this planet, myself included, your iPhone is the one item you rarely leave home without.
And with a built-in camera offering impressive image quality and the explosion of creative photo apps that enable you to create and share instantaneously, iPhone photography is not just fun and fast, it’s also evolved into a respected art form of its own—iPhoneography.
Discover a few of my favorite photo apps at National Geographic Traveler. Or, take your iPhone on the road and learn how to shoot, process and share artistic images on this dreamy iPhone photography workshop in southern Italy.
Polignano a Mare, Puglia, Italy
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".