Turkmenistan: The Gates of Hell

Turkmenistan: The Gates of Hell

Surely there is nothing that can make a person feel more independent, more truly in charge of their own life, than the opportunity to drive around one of the most closed and unknown countries in the world. Separation from civilisation won’t always and doesn’t necessarily make a person feel free, but this is my story … Continued

Peru: Shamanic Awakening

Peru: Shamanic Awakening “Oh, winds of the South… breathe upon us…blow upon us…touch our hearts now. . .” The voice is soft. Musical. As feminine as its source. With outstretched arms, she turns first to the sky and then to me, her brown hair sailing in the jungle breeze. I am sitting deep in the … Continued

Poland: The Magic of Discovering Legacy

The Magic of Discovering Legacy By Esther K. Meyers My trip grew from a seed planted in the earliest of my days. It gradually took shape inside me and finally demanded to bloom into reality. My parents’ stories about this place populated my youthful dreams. Six decades before I was to walk it, I imagined … Continued

India: Time stops at Kasauli

There are so many hill stations in India to contemplate upon that one is spoilt for choice while deciding to visit one of them- more so when one is in the beautiful city of Chandigarh from where the hilly places are not too far away. This time we decided to explore the sweet little town … Continued

Mexico: Gringa Finds Freedom in Guanajuato

The burning sensation in my thighs and glutes fades as I take in the scene before me. The thin, dry mountain air feels light and exhilarating. The wide open space makes me want to spin around and sing like Julie Andrews. Hiking these hills is one of the special perks of living here. This high … Continued

WSGT News: 31 Countries in our Contest & Our Book Launch

From Thirty-one Countries: We Said Go Travel Sent Tuesday, July 16, 2013View as plaintext We Said Go Travel Newsletter 30:  July 16, 2013 We Said: Independence Travel Writing Contest,  an International Success!   188 writers from Thirty-one countries participated  in our Independence Travel Writing Contest: Writers from 31 countries:  Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, … Continued

Spain: Where my Soul Dwells Happiest

The scent of warm pine filling the air; dusty ground littered with browned needles that I scraped with sandal-clad toes as I rose and fell on the yellow painted metal see-saw; parents sat near-by with a jug of sangria as lizards skittered amongst the chairs. They say that smell is one of the stronger senses … Continued

Shackles Released in Sudan

On the day I left Philadelphia, I was consumed with stress and grief. So many things had happened to me and the children over the past three years. My mind could no longer comprehend and my heart was unwilling to be patient any longer. In fact, it no longer had the ability to withstand the … Continued

Italy: Finding Freedom In Footprints

Finding Freedom In My Grandparents’ Footprints In the summer of 1912 a young couple, Sabato and Palma, boarded a mule cart in their southern Italian town of Vallo della Lucania for the day-long journey to Salerno. From there a train took them to Naples, where they boarded a ship for a two-week ocean voyage that … Continued

Becoming the Mask: New Orleans, Myth and Masquerade

It’s early June and I am sitting pretty in my economy class seat, trying to hold back a grin. As my United Airlines flight descends towards New Orleans, I see the familiar brown, flat surface of Lake Ponchartrain. This is the same lake whose waters swallowed so many of the city’s neighbourhoods in 2005 during … Continued

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