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Rainbow Mountain: A Beautiful Challenge and a Lesson in Mindful Travel
Welcome to the hardest hike of your life. Even if you’re a skilled hiker, unless you have experience in high altitudes, hiking Rainbow Mountain, also known as Vinicunca and Montaña de Siete Colores, which is at 5,036 metres (16,522 ft) above sea level, is a whole different test. The mountain is absolutely stunning. It’s truly one of…
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From Child’s Eyes to Writer’s Heart: What Scotland’s Writers’ Museum Taught Me
Edinburgh has always felt like a cultural city to me. As a child, my family and I visited often, and I remember being mesmerized by Edinburgh Castle, mostly because it was a castle, but also because it was built on top of a mountain and looked so dramatic to me. There’s something fascinating about revisiting…
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Slow Living in Rural Brazil: A Different Kind of Escape
The road to the Chácara Maranatha was windy and bumpy. Everywhere I looked, there was greenery: banana plants, papaya trees, manioc, and palm trees. The countryside was full of life. It was the rainy season, so everything was lush and growing wild. The landscape reminded me of the rural, mountainous region in Malawi where my…
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Meeting Mário de Andrade Beyond the Book
Whenever I can, I try to read a book from the country I’m travelling to before I go. It helps me feel a little bit more connected to the place before even setting foot there. Before my trip to Brazil, I came across Macunaíma at the library. The cover caught my eye with its fantastical imagery, and…