Nature-lover Bindu Gopal Rao shares her transformative journey from expecting too much from a wildlife safari to finding joy in the unexpected. Her heartwarming story serves as a reminder that the true beauty of the wild lies in embracing its unpredictability.

Join Richard Collins on a journey through the Pyrenees as he reflects on encounters with elusive wildlife and contemplates the paradox of experiencing versus documenting moments. Delve into the tension between fully immersing oneself in an experience or capturing it from a removed vantage point.

David Devine recounts an unexpected cave-dwelling adventure in Maymand, Iran, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Despite the challenges of cramped caves, basic amenities, and a cold night's sleep, Devine embraces the unique experience, immersing himself in the cave community's history, hospitality, and charm. From the homemade bread to sharing stories with the locals, his stay in Maymand leaves a lasting impression.

During a guided backpacking trip, Kit Fruscione grows tired of doing camping chores and decides to use candy as leverage to get the work done for her. The sweets work, and Kit becomes known as the "Candy Czar," wielding her newfound power over the other hikers for the remainder of the trip.

At age sixty-four, Ellen Schecter signed up for a Tour du Mont Blanc hike despite her fear of heights. Pushing through nerves, she managed to trek along the steep and narrow trails, climb a ladder secured to the side of a mountain and cross a long swinging bridge high above a canyon. But it all came to a shuddering halt when she found herself petrified on all fours atop the rocky terrain. The mantra she had been repeating—“Feel the fear and do it anyway”—was no longer working.

A visit to Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, a cultural and natural UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, takes Carolyn Handler Miller deep into the Maya jungle where she discovers a vibrant ancient culture living intimately with their environment.

Richard Collins traveled to the Brecon Beacons, a mountain range in South Wales not far from where he grew up. Despite spending his childhood there, he’d never felt Welsh until he left Wales. But living in different countries had inspired a retroactive yearning to connect with his heritage. So he returned, determined to chase that dragon. It didn’t go easy.

Making plans in Fez for a last-minute Sahara excursion during Ramadan proved to be a bit of a gamble for retired American Michael Papas. As he handed over a stack of cash, he wondered if he was being foolish or if trusting a stranger in a foreign land would pay off.

Sweat was oozing out of his pores when Philipp Meier arrived at Koh Chang, an island in southern Thailand. The peace and quiet, however, promised to be the perfect antidote after the tourist hustle and bustle of nearby Koh Phayam.

A hike into the Amphitheatre at South Africa’s Royal Natal National Park to see the world’s second highest waterfall seemed like a good idea—until it didn’t. With heavy mist obscuring any possibility of a view and a water-slicked, cliff-hugging ladder providing the only way in or out, Richard Kitzinger suddenly found himself face-to-face with his greatest fears.

A trekking adventure in West Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya, a place where some people still hunt their food with bows and arrows, challenges preconceptions and produces unexpected insights for intrepid traveler Barbara Brown Allen.

During a walking holiday in Peru, writer and hiker Nancy King found that her most powerful and memorable moments occurred in quiet solitary interactions far away from the tourist throngs at Machu Picchu.

Was it destiny when Pamela Blair, a psychologist on holiday in Tunisia, met a heartbroken camel herder seeking advice from a stranger?

After emerging from a sweltering jungle trek in Costa Rica, Dina Lyuber saw herself in the mirror for the first time in three days. Her face was sunburnt and sweat-stained. She felt achy, exhausted, and surprisingly exhilarated.

Against all logic and advice, Maureen Magee was committed to her plan to travel the world alone. It hadn’t been easy to quit her job and sell her house. But, the hard part was behind her Or, so she thought...

When an elderly woman's stumble turns disastrous on a small-ship cruise in the Galapagos Islands, Sally Moir, a nurse on vacation, suddenly finds the traveler's life in her hands. Fortunately, all ends well, but Sally is left to wonder about the line between adventure and recklessness. 

Melanie Kitzan booked a trip to Iceland for New Year's Eve with a man she had just met, but when he bailed at the last minute, she decided to go alone. Darkness and loneliness threatened to ruin the adventure until a chance encounter with an old scientist and tales of Icelandic elves changed everything. 

Past and present collide in unexpected ways when 80-year-old Gary White embarks on an arctic adventure to celebrate his wife's birthday and is forced to face his perception of the arctic as a dangerous and primitive place, a deeply embedded fear, he realizes later, formed as a ten-year-old boy. 

A winter adventure to view the Aurora Borealis in Finland revealed uncomfortable emotions for author Elyn Aviva when nature’s most spectacular light show wasn’t quite what she’d expected.

On their first day in Marrakech, Jennifer Shanahan and her daughter learned a crucial lesson: To navigate the Medina, a labyrinth of streets and shops, you will need a map (not a phone) to find your way. But, more importantly, you must never use this map in public.

When twin sisters set off on a hiking adventure in the Grand Canyon, a shared fear of heights threatened to ruin the trip. Learn how the sisters made the powerful choice to hike beyond their fears in a decision inspired by the gentlest flutter of a butterfly's wings. 

Cindy Carlson dreaded her 50th birthday and feared the heartbreaking agony of aging that she'd witnessed in her parents. Then, a kayak adventure in Hawaii revealed a surprising paradox about fear, and a new perspective emerged. 

It's not always easy to age. But here's the thing. It happens to everyone. In this story, discover how writer Carolyn Handler Miller faces the physical and emotional challenges of aging during a hike at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument in northern New Mexico.

A visit to Arches National Park inspires this reflective essay on the powers that shape, pare, trim, and mold this unique region of the American Southwest and the relationship to how time molds our eroding bodies and identies. 

by Dan Dworkin

To travel solo for days in a kayak is to be not on or in but of the water. It loves you, rocks you like your mother did, speaks to you with many voices, supports your meandering, bathes you, feeds you, tells you when to travel and when to stay still on the island of the moment. On every trip there is a time of storm, of being wind-bound when the judicious kayaker stays put, writes, rests, wanders, constructs stone sculptures and listens for the still, small voice.

by Mary L. Peachin
 

The "red alert" broadcast email warned anglers, "it's going to be brutal, dress warmly, don't wear runners." Vancouver's weather forecast called for 100% chance of heavy rainfall and high wind. That would translate to a 100 millimeters of drenching rain. The deluge accompanied by 90 kilometer winds would produce horizontal precipitation.

Vancouver Chinook Classic Derby, an annual catch and release salmon tournament shouted out the forecast proclaiming a finality, "The show must go on."

by Angela Smith Kirkman

“Meet us at El Embrujo in 30 minutes,” the voice on the other end of the line says in Spanish.

“Gloria?”

“Yes, I’m here with Marlith. We’re sending a taxi to pick you guys up. It’s your last night in Peru—our last chance to boogie down.” [My translation.]

“Thanks for the invite, Gloria, but I’m sorry, we just can’t do it.” I say, glancing toward my husband, Jason, who’s busy making sure all of our passports are in order.

I still haven’t quite figured out how to dance to Peruvian pop music, but I’m giving it my best shot.

by Maureen Magee

Mageru pulls over to the side of the road, parks and idles the Land Cruiser. We are still a few hours away from arriving back in Addis Ababa. He looks over to me, pats the steering wheel and says “I am a little tired. You can drive.”

This does not strike me as a generosity I should accept. Although I am confident in Canada, Ethiopian driving doesn’t exactly rev my engines.  “Oh…I don’t think so, honey.  The driving here is very different from my experience back home.”

by Chris Pady
 

While visiting the town of Derge (rhymes with reggae) in eastern Tibet, my partner, Michele, and I learn of Palpung, the area’s largest and most important Kagyupa (White) sect monastery, locally known as the “Little Potala Palace”. 

Yet despite Palpung’s reputation, we have no luck hiring a guide through any of the town’s hotel staff, shopkeepers, or restaurant owners. Finally, we bump into an English-speaking monk who promises to arrange everything for us. “Meet here at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning”, he instructs, pointing to a designated spot. Nothing about the arrangement spells certainty, yet we’ve got nothing to lose. 

by Harriet Mills

I had been in Australia for just over two weeks so I was firmly in the relaxed, travel state of mind when my Dad asked me if I wanted to do a skydive over Airlie Beach, the Whitsunday's, and the Great Barrier Reef. It sounded enticing so my straight answer was a prompt yes. This occurred on our first day of five in Airlie Beach and as time progressed my nerves began to rattle me. My sister had always been the daring one, but now I had placed myself in the position where I had to befriend my adventurous side.