Travels. Books. Explorations.
Summer travel: the lure of the open road, the opportunity to jet off to a far-off country. Summer camping trip with my family when I was young introduced me to traveling many years ago, and though I do most of my own big trips in the fall and winter (it’s when I have time off), …
Continue reading "The (Biased) List of Best Places to Travel This Summer"
It’s hard for me to believe, but it has been two years now since the publication of Misspelled Paradise. It seems like a good time to give a few updates on the book, my traveling, and my writing. Misspelled Paradise is still consistently in the top 50 books about Colombia on amazon.com (and frequently in …
Stereotypes and preconceptions about a place are a funny thing. What you can expect from a place comes from a variety of places: friends and family, guidebooks, photos, videos, movies, and more all affect what we think we can expect from a place. Reality of places are rarely what you expect. (Of course, if you …
Happy International Day of Happiness! (What, it wasn’t on your calendar? That makes me a little unhappy…) It's a day to recognize the fact that being happy is one of the most important human conditions to strive for. Because if we're happy it probably means that the worrisome parts of life such as having enough …
Colombia has quite a negative reputation, I know. I had the same negative stereotypes about the country before I lived there that many of my friends and family still have. So, with what you know about Colombia in this moment, would you go? I am biased, but I think Colombia is a great travel destination …
The countdown to the book release is winding down... just over two weeks to go. The cover is set, you can read an excerpt from chapter four, and now for a detailed look at the book. Here are the official chapter listings (and not so official descriptions) about what Misspelled Paradise is all about: Prologue …
I write a lot about diffusing stereotypes about Colombia, stereotypes I continue to hear from other travelers and from friends and colleagues here in the United States. However, that not is to say that all stereotypes about Colombia are negative -- or are untrue. Think of Colombia and I bet Colombian coffee is on your …
Continue reading "Visiting Colombia’s Coffee Growing Region"
Colombia, as I constantly find and write about, is not exactly on most people's radar as a tourist destination. However, more and more, tourists of every ilk are descending on the city of Cartagena de las Indias, and this past week I did the same. The week was spent exploring old haunts, seeing old friends, …
Why do I enjoy travel writing so much? In short, because it involves two of my favorite things in the world: traveling and writing. (You're welcome for that deep insight for the day.) This last year I have been doing a lot of writing and less traveling. Late nights typing away, afternoons editing, mornings brainstorming …
Floppy straw hats, beach gear, and sunburns waiting to happen. Must mean vacation time for warmth-seeking tourists. And even if you are wrapped in scarves, nursing tall cups of overpriced coffee, and longing for a little beach time of your own, I would like to wish you a happy World Tourism Day! Which perhaps doesn’t …
Bryanna Plog 