In Costa Rica you can find a big number of places to visit, those are usually divided by tourist regions; among the most popular can be found Monteverde, Manuel Antonio and La Fortuna. This time let´s focus on La Fortuna – Arenal area.



The history of the area began around the 1930´s, when the first inhabitants came to these lands. At the beginning this village was part of the district of ¨Los Angeles de San Ramon¨, but after 1950 the locals decided to be part of San Carlos´…

Part 3 of a four-part series by J. Thalia Cunningham

My visit to North Korea centered around the annual Mass Games in the capital, Pyongyang. The Mass Games, or Arirang, were more amazing than anything I saw in the DPRK, and…

“Vaccination is the medical sacrament corresponding to baptism.” - Samuel Butler. No one likes to fall ill when travelling, be it for volunteer work, but more so if you are taking a trip as a tourist. The risk for catching disease is increased when travelling to another continent. It is therefore advisable when you are travelling to any country for you to make sure you have all your immunization shots. Immunization schedules are usual personalized according to an individual immunization…

Marine Tourism In The Raja Ampat Islands in West Papua is the most ideal place of maritime tourism in Indonesia today. Beautiful views of Raja Ampat, is second to none elsewhere. So far, Raja Ampat is better known for diving marine tourism. And for tourists in our country can enjoy the…

Who would know that there are still some wine regions and vintners in France that American’s don’t know enough about? I do now, and soon you will too. I got an intriguing email on a Monday evening asking if I’d like to come meet one of the most influential and visionary French vintners -- Gerard Bétrand – on his turf – in the South of France., and by the way would I like to attend his annual Jazz Festival while I was there? The catch was… I…

What? Back to school announcements already? I’m just getting into the swing of things and still have so many plans for summer activities. It’s like seeing that first yellow Aspen leaf. I don’t know about you but I’M NOT READY for fall!

With still a few weeks left of summer break, I’m going to pack it in. Only, I’m digging deep into my wallets and coming up with lint. Thankfully, there are many things to do that don’t involve money. All you need are bathing suits, a creative mind and…

Geneva State Park Campground



Nice hardwood forest campground with electric on site, offering a shower house with flush toilets situated along northeastern Ohio's Lake Erie shoreline in Geneva Ohio.



This was just a quick 2 night camping trip to get the RV ready for the upcoming trip to New England (shakedown trip #3). We were here on a Sunday and Monday…

Choosing to be a volunteer is a noble choice for many. There is a lot of good that comes from volunteer work, but sometimes we have a few volunteers who for lack of a better term find themselves falling through the cracks and committing serious crimes while in the course of their volunteer work abroad. 

To get a clear perspective on this we will take an example from a recent crime committed by a former American Peace Corp volunteer in South Africa. According to media reports, Jesse…

A Tripadvisor nude beach survey of 12,000 people finds that 49% of Americans would like to take a nudist vacation themselves. In a similar survey by CNBC two years ago, 40% of respondents said they'd like to try a nude vacation. Now 53% want to do it. In a nation with about 300 million citizens, that would be quite a lot of…

  As a frequent traveler between Los Angeles and San Diego, I've watched the "sleepy" little town of Temecula, in fact the entire Temecula Valley, transform into a thriving wine community.  Thornton Winery is a centerpiece of Temecula Wine Country, best known for fine champagnes.  But it's also a destination in itself, and for 22 years has been home to one of California's most successful jazz & wine "pairings."  The 8/7 show in the Champagne Jazz Concert Series featured keyboard favorite…

Located in the district of Sawai Madhopur, in Rajasthan, Ranthambore is one of the biggest national parks in India, protecting the Royal Bengal Tigers. Ranthambore was maharajas’ favorite hunting ground in olden days. Presently the park is a famous tourist spot attracting wildlife photographers and lovers alike to spend exciting holidays. Spread over a vast area of 1,334 square kilometers, Ranthambore is home to…

“You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.”- Winston Churchill. Fundraising is a concept that is not strange to many of us; it’s basically a form of raising money towards a given cause.  There are newer more popular ways coming up which a volunteer can use to fundraise; one of them is online fundraising. Fundraising through online websites is a way for you as a volunteer to get more money, and people involved. It also helps you to build a network of well wishers…

Part 2 of a four-part series by J. Thalia Cunningham.

The capital of North Korea has more than its shares of monuments, but presumably, people live here, too. So one day our tour group visited some places beyond the great monuments and memorials that might…