South American towns like Cusco and San Pedro de Atacama lie buried under throngs of tourists. However, three of Minas Gerais’s colonial gems wait for foreign discovery. The settlements of São João del Rei, Tiradentes, and Ouro Preto belong to the...
Smoke rises from the hundreds of candles burning on tables or a floor covered with pine needles. I strained my eyes to see the altar through the smoky haze. The Mayan-descended Tzotzil people kneeled and prayed in front of the candles. The congregants face all...
Do I Want to Hold a Dangerous Amazonian Anaconda and Eat Piranhas? Dangerous, no? Everyone must hold an anaconda at least once in their life. I fly from Lima to Iquitos, the largest city in the world, inaccessible by road. A blast of hot, steamy air hits me as I...
When I reached the Draa Valley at sunset, I gazed at sunlit brown hills, deep valleys, and faraway snow-capped mountains. Despite their beauty, they failed to hint at what lay ahead. Most people associate sand, camels and intense heat with the Sahara. Few...
In October 1975, I arrived at the Syrian-Turkish border. We took a taxi from Gaziantep, Turkey, to Kilis, a border town. We stepped into Syria, where an army major sat. He smiled and asked me some questions. “Where do you plan to go today?” “Aleppo,” I said. “Good....
