nature
The Science and Nature of Wanderlust, tourism, landmarks for nature buffs and more.
What Napoleon Would Have Wanted
It was December 2015. It was to be the winter for the trip of a lifetime. My wanderlust began at a young age. With my first visit to South Africa at the fourteen, the spark was ignited and only grew with age. Now in my mid-thirties, I have traveled to 17 countries and over 20 states. To describe this trip, I first need to explain how I arrived there. Having studied French most of my life, studying abroad in Tours, France in high school and in Angers, France in college, you could say that my Francophilia only ripened deeper with age, like a fine Beaujolais. After college, I took it a step further and taught English abroad in French Guiana (in South America). That year, despite many hardships, was one of the best of my life. In Kourou, French Guiana I was known as “l’américaine” (the American woman), recognized pedaling around town on my bike and to many, the first and only American they had met. During that seminal time, I fostered a sense of community around me that I had heretofore not experienced. I made friends with other teaching assistants from around the world, friends from my tango class and friends from the theatre class at the French foreign legion.
By Kate Kastelberg 2 years ago in Wander
Flatlander on the Hill
* Editor's Notes: Anything italicized is part of a series of notes I wrote during the trip that I found recently. Some pictures have been edited to preserve the privacy of everyone who went on the trip. That said they were edited by an unprofessional (me) so don't judge me too harshly for my lack of skills.
By Alexandria Stanwyck2 years ago in Wander
Tell Them I Came Home. Runner-up in Travel Snaps Challenge.
More often than I’d want to confess, I speak to the wind. I picked up the habit as a child, in the Caribbean, where the trade winds constantly sweep across the islands, picking up scents from near and far—each smell, a nugget of information. On the backseat of my mother’s car, over the coastal road, heading to my grandmother’s, an inevitable gust would whisper to my nose and let me know whether or not a fresh batch of sargassum (brown algae) had landed on our shores. In early July, when we set foot on our family’s plot of land, gossips of ripe mangoes would buzz in my nostrils. I have no clear memory of when it started but, one day, I reciprocated and shared a secret with the wind. Today, I speak to my ancestors and send news to them on the flapping wings of birds made of air.
By Lily Séjor2 years ago in Wander
Pushing the Bus In Kenyan Highlands
Africa holds my heart, and I cannot get enough of it. I was planning another trip for 2017, and friends wanted to come. Our third time in East Africa would be their first safari and voyage there. I selected a tour in Kenya that included two rescue places in Nairobi for October of that year.
By Andrea Corwin 2 years ago in Wander
The Beginning . Runner-up in Travel Snaps Challenge.
“I like mountains.” Only thing I said, when introducing myself in that mountaineering course. And now, 5 years later, 3:00 pm, here I am: in the middle of nowhere, nobody by my side, no one else knows where I am, absolutely wet on my feet, my hands are trembling; for I am stuck in this via ferrata, this narrow corridor, to the front a rock wall, on my back the vault. What on Earth was I thinking?
By Laura Rodben2 years ago in Wander
Sagarmatha National Park
Sagarmatha National Park is a breathtakingly beautiful place in the Himalayas of Nepal. This park is home to the world's tallest mountain, Mount Everest, which also offers breathtaking views and a unique adventure for visitors.
By Nepal Trek Adventures & Expedition Pvt. Ltd2 years ago in Wander
Leopard Portrait
I have visited the socialist country of Tanzania three times over the last twelve years. The last trip, in 2023, was the longest and most thrilling. Our tour director was the incredible Maasai tribesman Robert Marks. Born in the Ngorongoro Crater, his mother died in childbirth, and he was raised by missionaries. Rather than growing up as a goat herder in the Crater, Robert became a Tanzanian medical doctor and is employed by NatGeo as a professional wildlife photographer. He even appeared on the Jack Hannah show, an episode I've seen.
By Andrea Corwin 2 years ago in Wander
