Tag: adventure
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A Day in a Bedouin Camp in Wadi Rum
Our taxi pulled over on the side of the road in Wadi Rum next to the only pickup truck in sight. We were surrounded by orange sand stretching in every direction, broken only by scattered desert bushes and towering gray rock formations. It looked nothing like any landscape I had ever seen before. A man…
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Discovering the Ancient City of Petra
Long before I ever traveled to Jordan, I already knew Petra. At least I thought I did. Like millions of people, I had seen photographs of the Treasury and watched Indiana Jones ride towards its towering façade. For years it was simply one of those places I hoped to see someday. What I didn’t know…
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A Camel, a Shepherd, and the Road to Petra
Traveling through Jordan felt as though we had stepped into a landscape that had remained unchanged for thousands of years. That morning, we crossed the border into Jordan and found a taxi waiting for travelers heading to Petra. The drive would take about two hours. I sat with my face pressed against the window, mesmerized…
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The Afternoon I Climbed a Fence in Old Jaffa
I arrived in Israel a few hours before my husband, which gave me the perfect excuse to spend the afternoon wandering through Old Jaffa Port by myself. We hadn’t seen each other for a few days and I wondered if he would recognize me with my new haircut. (As it turned out… he didn’t.) The…
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Exploring Rio’s Historic District
When I think of Rio de Janeiro, I picture Sugarloaf Mountain, the golden beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, and Christ the Redeemer watching over the city. But I realized I knew very little about downtown Rio. So on the last day of our trip, I decided to join a free walking tour and explore its…
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Sugarloaf Mountain: An Afternoon Full of Surprises
We booked our tickets to Sugarloaf Mountain for mid-afternoon, hoping to see Rio from above in daylight and stay long enough to watch the sunset. It turned out to be a great decision. Surprisingly, there were no lines when we arrived, and within minutes we were stepping into the cable car. As the gondola climbed…
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A Walk Around Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas
After spending the morning at Christ the Redeemer and Parque Lage, we decided to walk back toward our hotel along Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. It was nearly a two-hour walk, but we weren’t in a hurry. Our only plan was to enjoy the afternoon, find a beautiful place to watch the sunset, and see what…
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My First Impression of Ipanema Beach
Before arriving in Rio de Janeiro, I assumed the city would have a slower, more laid-back feel to it. I imagined people lingering over coffee at seaside cafés, surfers heading into the waves, friends gathering for a game of volleyball, and families slowly making their way onto the sand. After visiting other coastal destinations, that…
Notes From Everywhere 