What’s your travel MO? Do you identify with vacationers whose sole desire is sipping cocktails from a poolside lounge chair or do you want to fill your itinerary with so many activities, taking breaks must be programmed into your schedule? Folks belonging to the first category need no advice! On the other hand, if you belong in the second category, you may wonder why you…
If you’re so wild about primates, you rarely check out bears, giraffes, and big cats when visiting zoos, there’s a biological reason for the attraction: Apes are so much like us, we identify with some of their characteristics. Whether you’re enthralled with chimps, orangutans, gorillas, or other species members, you’ll notice that their mannerisms are identical to ours, and like people, they maintain intense relationships…
Political candidates aren’t the only beneficiaries of successful elections. You may not realize that showing up at the ballot box delivers economic, and environmental benefits thanks to collective actions taken on behalf of an active voting public. Did you know that people who vote are directly linked to higher education, higher earnings, and a decline in risky behaviors? Talk about harnessing power! It’s fun to…
All-inclusive resorts are not just hot; they’re sizzling. You’ll find them throughout Central America but there’s only one place you can go to find a resort where everyone speaks English: Belize. Thanks to its former status as a UK colony, English remains the nation’s first language. But which all-inclusive resort has your name written all over it? Laru Beya Resort, a premier property that offers…
Mother/daughter dynamics are powerful reminders that genetics count. Regardless of age or geography, unique shared traits irrevocably tie these two generations together via shared empathic brain chemistry, a tendency toward emotional mirroring, and the love that only this bond engenders. While you may call these connections nothing more than chemistry, some mother/daughter relationships can be stressful—especially for girls who are independent spirits. But in the…
A disturbing headline just popped up on myriad travel websites, and if you’re planning a family trip abroad, you’ll want to factor in this news: Tourist pickpocking incidents have surged in Italy, Portugal, The United Kingdom, France, Spain, and The Netherlands over the past few years. If you already worry about the escalating costs associated with taking your clan to these nations, consider following in…
The word “curated” has been bandied about a lot of late. While the original word “curate” referred to priests of the lowest rank in the Church of England (they help the vicar), today’s use of the word curated is, by contrast, extremely eclectic. For example, art and museum holdings are curated, as are selections made for film festivals that must meet a certain standard of…
Most historians attribute the phrase, “Go west, young man, go west,” to Horace Greeley, the 1865 editor of the New York Daily Tribune. Others insist that the real author coined the phrase 14 years earlier. His name is John Babson Lane Soule, and if you’re a trivia buff, store both names within the recesses of your brain to verify your expertise. If the idea of…
Does the process of planning an overseas trip make you feel so edgy, that just getting started feels intimidating? Perhaps you haven’t found the right guide for the job, because once you settle on a trustworthy one, you’ll find that there’s no need to calm your nerves. Every step you take will not only give you confidence but boost your mental health, writes National Geographic…
If you follow travel industry trends over time, you know that some of the most popular innovations, according to Pressreader.com, include booking engines, travel apps, globalization, the rise of the digital nomad, and hybrid work trends triggered by COVID-19 that made work/vacation escapes common. Above and beyond all of these is the boutique resort phenomenon, a trend that continues to flourish. “The boutique hotel industry,…