Sunset in Essaouira, Morocco is not to be missed. Here on the country’s Atlantic coast, the orange glow lights up the ocean and the small island outcroppings standing between the city and the vastness of eternity. Pinks hit the clouds, and the very stone of the walls of the city seems to light up. A…
Morocco is a destination that screams out exotic in basically all it has. The souks and Medinas of the cities, the image of a camel crossing the Sahara, and the minarets of the mosques… all are so different from what we as westerners are used to, and that lends an aura of excitement to a…
Editor’s note: Iceland is a place that has long been near the top of my travel wish list. And now, after a gap, TRT writer Sam Spector finally fills in his experience in this awesome country with this piece about the capital. He had previously written about the Golden Circle, and about southern Iceland. For…
Waking up at my hotel, Dar Ben Gacem, in Tunis’ Medina (old city) puts a smile on my face. The hotel is built into what was once either a private home of a wealthy family or a madrasa (an Islamic school); both have similar feels, with a series of rooms around a central courtyard, so…
Editor’s note: Andalusia is my favorite part of Spain, probably because Seville is easily my favorite city in this amazing country. When (not if) I go back, I intend to fill in the seaside portion of that region, anchored by the city of Malaga. Lucky for me, TRT writer Sam Spector has done a lot…
My two weeks in the Bahamas challenged a lot of my expectations. That is good; travel is meant to take our assumptions and knock them around a bit. Sometimes, those end up being things that don’t live up to what we envisioned. And other times, the realities of an aspect of a destination blow those…
It says something, something remarkable, about Los Angeles that this place even exists. The ethnic and cultural intermingling of this city is so extraordinary that this neighborhood was - controversially, I might add, at the time - carved out of another designated cultural area, Koreatown. And, while it is the centerpiece of the Bangladeshi community…
“Guatemala City can largely be ignored other than as a transit hub. Many areas are not safe, traffic is terrible, and unless you love urban jungles, your time is probably better spent elsewhere.” That is how my Ultimate Guide to Guatemala described the country’s capital following my first trip here. Now, a mere 24 hours…
Guatemala is a small country, but one with a mighty culinary footprint. However, despite the terrific cuisine here, few Americans know much - if anything - about Guatemalan food, rather confusing it with regional Mexican dishes. Part of this is understandable. Guatemalan food has a degree of overlap with Mexican cuisine. There are grilled meats…
Aldous Huxley once said, “Lake Como, it seems to me, touches on the limit of permissibly picturesque, but Atitlan is Como with additional embellishments of several immense volcanoes. It really is too much of a good thing.” Sitting on a bench overlooking the lake in the town of Panajachel, I take a sip of water…