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  • Impressions from my first time…around the World

    In 6 months, I took 34 flights, rode 14 trains, visited 17 countries, and discovered that the world is a lot bigger than I realized. I thought I’d share my thoughts on each of the countries I visited on my first trip around the world. Naturally, these are filtered through my prejudices, and for some,…

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  • Ever wonder why I take the bus?

    You may wonder why I continue to take buses when many of my anecdotes of travel misfortune come from these trips. I was reflecting on this myself and realized the reason is that I love the stimulation of all of my senses that comes road travel. There is nothing like road travel to see a…

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  • Always bring your earplugs

    Instinctually, I reached for my earplugs as the door to the dorm room opened well past midnight, but then I hesitated. I had been waiting for my next story and this event seem to hold some promise.   I knew he was a drunk the moment I opened the door the previous afternoon. He had…

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  • 3 days in Zihuatanejo: Day 3-The Chicken Bus

    I’d heard often about the chicken bus. I imagined it to be some rickety metal box, curtains flapping in the open windows, packed full of with people, and of course, chickens running down the center aisle. In all my travels through Mexico, I’d never had the good fortune to have such an encounter, until today.…

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  • The best road to Oaxaca city from the coast

    When headed to the city of Oaxaca from the southern coast of of Mexico, you have two options: The first, and the one more frequently taken by travelers, takes you a couple hours east along the coast before heading north on a relatively modern highway. The second, takes you directly inland along a windy mountain…

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  • The Rustic Beach Cabaña

    As the bus neared my destination, I continued to struggle to decide which town I would choose for my stay in the region. There were five of them along the coast, all within a mile of each other and all very different. According to my guidebook, Zipolite was a small hippie enclave where most of…

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  • Wild Taxi Ride

    Climbing onto a bench in another cramped chicken bus, I was on my way to Puerto Angel. The tarp of this one draped over the front so I could only see out the back. Despite not actually knowing what the town looked like, I feared I’d only recognize it as it passed behind us.  With…

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  • 3 days in Zihuatanejo: Day 2-Simple Pleasures

    The Bay of Zihuatanejo is pretty much a circle with an opening to the ocean at the one o’clock position. Beaches line the shore in increasing quality as you make your way clockwise. It was clear from my guide book that you could walk two thirds of the way around the circle but that a…

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  • 3 days in Zihuatanejo: Day 1-Mi Casa Es Su Casa

    I’d learned by now that the sun rises in Mexico about 7am so I set my alarm for 6:30. It was about 6:40 when I finally heard it over the thunder of my antiquated air conditioning unit. The night before, I’d checked into my ten dollar room, a sweltering box with a simple ceiling fan…

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