Laguna Eco Lodge gazes out across a 1000 foot deep calderas into a portal created between mist covered Volcanoes. Planning my Guatemalan sojourn several months in advance of my travels to the land, I was reminded, as I searched through a myriad of internet photos, of another gateway I had travelled through years earlier. Kata Juta. This Central Australian mountain range had boasted a gateway which, at the time had epitomized for me on all levels of body, mind and spirit, a tr

There is one sound that above all others I love to hear in the evening. As I sit outside on my porch on a summer's evening I am drawn to the cacophony of frogs croaking and gurgling their stories of the transfigurations of the day. "Hey Kermit did you see that hottie on the lily pad this AM. She certainly made me croak." Or, "Listen up everyone we just had our tadpoles. My wife made it through okay. This is our fifth round but still I nearly croaked when the Doc told me how m

Tis a Fearful Thing ’Tis a fearful thing to love what death can touch. A fearful thing to love, to hope, to dream, to be— to be, And oh, to lose. A thing for fools, this, And a holy thing, a holy thing to love. For your life has lived in me, your laugh once lifted me, your word was gift to me. To remember this brings painful joy. “Tis a human thing, love, a holy thing, to love what death has touched. -- Yehudi HaLevi

In Photos: The Top 5 Beaches in Costa Rica By Jason Holland Some of the first tourists to Costa Rica were intrepid surfers, attracted by an endless summer and consistent quality waves. To this day, whenever you see an ad promoting tourism in Costa Rica, the star of the show is the beach. And despite being a small country (about the size of West Virginia) with a relatively small coastline of 801 miles on the Pacific and Caribbean, Costa Rica has a wide variety of beaches. Bla

Travel tips for safer travel from Smarter Travel’s Caroline Teel Plan your ground transportation and hotel arrangements in advance.We never leave home without contact details for every stage of our itinerary. Stay aware of your surroundings. [Do] the research to know what fits in the location where you are. Organize where to meet should you get parted from travel partners. What should tourists do in case of an emergency while traveling? Have a plan before you go out. Know whe