By Brian Reisinger A hunting trip in America’s original colonial backwoods was supposed to be full of lessons for his 12-year-old nephew. We were deep in rural Tennessee when the rain came. It was light and so quick that the sun was still out, and it danced in the sunlight as we drove on, coming […]
By Cherene Sherrard It takes time to find comfort in the swells of both culture and sea. Given the picture-perfect day, the narrow Oahu beach was peculiarly empty. A pair of newlyweds had the entire panorama as backdrop for their wedding photos. Far from shore, streaks of cirrus clouds formed a cross in a cobalt […]
By Pier Nirandara Fourteen hours, five passengers, three seats, two longed-for countries, one memorial. You shuffle down the aisle, toddler in tow, before plopping down in the middle seat beside me. Already flustered from the delayed flight and whatever connection you had to make, strands of hair escape down the sides of your face, framing […]
By Dianne Cheseldine Travel and Transformation Gold Winner in the Sixteenth Annual Solas Awards Finding an oasis in the ancient medina of Fez. Only a small plaque indicated the entrance to my riad, Dar Attajalli, meaning House of Transfiguration. The door opened and with one steep step I entered a new world. The young employee, […]
By Johnny Motley Men’s Travel Gold Winner in the Sixteenth Annual Solas Awards Further proof that lives can change in an instant. On the sixth day aboard an Amazonian cargo ship, I spied the faint outline of São Gabriel da Cachoeira from the aft deck. Located deep in the Upper Amazon, São Gabriel held the […]
By Patrick Ritter On a dugout canoe trip through the interior of New Guinea, how far would you go for a pair of shoes? I heard a splash behind me and I froze midstroke. Sounded close. I twisted around to see a large tree crashing into the water. The Sepik River winds across the swamplands […]
By Janna Brancolini How a female pioneer of underwater archaeology teamed up with a Sicilian winemaker to save a priceless ancient shipwreck. Buried beneath the floor of the Mediterranean, in waters so turbulent the epic poet Homer had imagined the thrashings of sea monsters, the ship waited. She had once defended an ancient settlement near […]
By Robert Dale Fama A premature midlife crisis, a sack of money, and a backpack combine to reveal that a beginner traveler learns quick in the Sahara. We had already broken down five times when Amadou snapped the ignition key off in his dilapidated Land Rover. He reached up and rubbed his necklace, a black […]
By Lisa Boice Animal Encounter Gold Winner in the Fifteenth Annual Solas Awards “The life list of a birdwatcher is of a different order. It’s not what you cross off that counts, but what you add.” —Terry Tempest Williams The black sky was like a drop cloth over the prairie grass and the only thing […]
By Lynn Brindell Adventure Travel Gold Winner in the Fifteenth Annual Solas Awards I think Beatus did it because he felt guilty. Or because he thought we’d give him a bigger tip. He’d gently rustled our tent flap that morning, the bright slit of light slicing through dark green shadows. “Good morning!” he softly called. […]
