If you could go back in time...

So here's a random thought I've been kicking around in my head today: If you could go back in time, what ancient civilizations or places would you visit? Jessica and I are always talking about our lists of places we'd love to see, our top destinations, or new "it" spots, but what if history and time had no limits? Here are my thoughts on the places/civilizations I'd travel to:

1. The Minoan Civilizations of Greece - 1500BC: The Minoan's were based on the island of Crete (and surrounding islands) and held power in the Mediterranean from 3000BC-1400BC. The Minoan's controlled much of the trade with mainland Greece, Egypt and surrounding islands during that period and are thought to have been one of the most powerful groups of the time period. It's from this dynasty that Classical Greece formed. This culture and civilization are shrouded in much mystery as two earth changing volcanic eruptions largely wiped them from the face of the planet (Thera in 1500BC and Santorini in 1600BC). The Minoan dynasty is probably the leading candidate for Plato's fabled tales of the Lost City of Atlantis.
2. Ancient Rome - 75AD: This is an empire that ruled for over 9 centuries, but if I had my way I'd go back between 50BC and 150AD - at the height of Rome's power. At this time, Rome lorded over much of Africa, all of the Mediterranean, extended as far north as the British Isles, and as far east as the Persian Gulf.
3. Mayan Empire - 900AD: The Mayan Empire stretched over much of present-day Mexico and northern Central America. The population density at this time was similar to Los Angeles today. The fall of this empire is one of the great historical mysteries, and we're left with some of the most fascinating archaeology and ruins in the world including the only complete Pre-Columbian writing system in the Americas.
4. Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon - 600BC: Babylon could be found in present-day Iraq and was one of the great military powers of the ancient world. In addition to its influence on the region that shaped the next 2000 years, Nebuchadnezzar constructed one of the seven wonders of the ancient world: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. This society was so advanced that it even developed the first form of negligence law; a concept not rediscovered until the 20th century.
5. Ancient Egypt: Do I even need to say anything here? How about some random unknowns: The Egyptians were responsible for inventing black ink, ox-drawn plows, sails, paper, organized labor, hieroglyphics as an early system of writing, the 365 day calendar and Leap Year, lock and keys, combs, scissors, wigs, makeup, deodorants, toothbrush and toothpaste, cement, glass (just to name a few...). Read more...

A carbon neutral city?

Here at Pangaea we deal a lot in carbon credits, in fact a good portion of our day is used discussing them. So this morning on NPR when I heard that a carbon neutral city is in the works, my ears perked up. That is until where I heard this city will be located in Abu Dhabi, then I almost crashed my car. Just kidding, but in all truth I was REALLY, REALLY surprised. For all of you non-geography people, Abu Dhabi is in the United Arab Emirates boarding Saudi Arabia and Oman and across the Persian Gulf from Iran.

I would not exactly pair the biggest oil producing region in the world with anything pertaining to environmental standards...but turns out I was wrong. The proposed city would be called Masdar City and will burn no gas or oil, so its contribution to greenhouse gases will be minimal. The entire city would be built towards the Northeast which will optimize the amount of solar energy that can be gathered in a day. Cars would also be banned within the city and instead something called a personalized transit system (PTS) would be used to get from place to place. Designers envision the PRS (which is very similar to a 6 person car) to run off solar and battery power.

The country has made this project city a priority to try and better position themselves financially when their oil runs out. I find this idea absolutely ingenious and really quite surprising at the same time. It is a very ambitious project which skeptics have claimed is impossible. What do you think about a city completely eliminating its carbon footprint?
For the NPR version click here. Read more...

Mmmmm... Beer

Okay, I know, I know... You're wondering why you are reading about beer on our blog. I have a better question: Why wouldn't you be? For me, sampling new beer as I travel is as much a staple as trying new cuisine, or experiencing new cultures. I love arriving in a country and settling in at a pub with a cold beer and a map to plan my next move. Many years back I traveled to Europe for a few months with a very good friend of mine, and we made it our mission to drink a Guinness in every city we arrived in before doing anything else: Finding accomodations, eating, sleeping... you get the point. Anyhow, this philosophy coupled with my new favorite show Three Sheets inspired me to amass a list of some of my favorite brews. So, here they are in no particular order:

Guinness: An Irish stout. Best Guinness I've had: At a pub on the western side of the Sevilla Cathedral.
Caffreys Cream Ale: Another Irish brew. Unfortunately, my days of being able to pick this beauty up at the store are long gone as it is no longer available in the States.
Beamish Stout: One more Irish stout.... fantastic. Had a pint in London once with some fish and chips - best thing I did in that country.
Budvar: For any of you Czech Republic fans, you know that this is the real Budweiser.
Staropramen Granat: Staropramen's semi-dark pilsner. One of the best. Oh, and when you are buying them for 50 cents on the Vlatava River in Prague, it doesn't get much better.
Struise Pannepot : A strong Belgian Ale. Weird name, but trust me on this one.
Yebisu Black: This is a dark lager only found in Japan. Though not as good as Guinness, the fact that you can buy it at a train station and drink it with friends over a card game on the bullet trains is pretty neat.
1554: This Brussels Style Black Ale is my favorite from the New Belgiam Brewing Company in Ft. Collins, CO. Most of you are more acquainted with Fat Tire, another of their fine brews.
Delirium Tremens: One of my all-time favorites, this Belgian tripple has a nearly 9% alcohol content. The pink elephants on the bottles are a nice touch as well.
Pilsner Urquell Kvasnicový: This unfiltered Czech brew (Pilsner) is brilliant. By the way, the bottled version you may find at Von's is not what I am talking about here... Read more...

Love mom, love our planet

With mother's day just around the corner, I thought it would be nice to provide some suggestions for some eco-friendly products. And by this, I do not suggest you go out and buy your mother some energy-efficient light bulbs, instead find something she will really love.

1. Not sure about you, but my mom still maintains a bit of her 'hippie' persona from her days of living in SF and doing God knows what at Jimi Hendrix concerts (love you mom). For many mom's going organic is like stepping back into a tight pair of bellbottom jeans, it just feels right. Organic candles (using soy instead and natural aromatherapy oils) is a fun gift that you mom can truly appreaciate. Not only do these candles have less toxins when lit, but use less chemicals to produce. Q Candles are some of my favorites (www.qcandles.com).

2. What mom does not want a great bottle of wine on her special day, especially when they can have one of the eco-friendly variety. These wines are created without chemicals using a biological sustainable method. Trader Joe's and Whole foods have great selections. Toast to mom and the fact that she has put up with you for all these years!

2. Let's face it, girls love flowers. We love the way it feels to receive them (maybe its the inner beauty queen in all of us). Why not give mom organically grown flowers this mother's day. Not only are you making a better choice environmentally, but you are protecting farm workers from working with dangerous chemicals. (www.organicbouquet.com)

So what are you going to give your mom next Sunday? Read more...

Where's Waldo?

I loved those Where's Waldo books when I was younger. I recall with some detail holing up in my Grandparent's back room searching for hours for Waldo until my eyes would ache and my vision would blur. As a side note, does anyone start seeing those weird prism's out of the corner of their eyes when they haven't blinked in like an hour? I'm weird I know, but seriously, give me a Where's Waldo book, or an endless Excel document and it's only a matter of time before those prism's appear..... Bizarre. Anyhow, back to Waldo - For any of you not familiar, as you can see in the picture, Waldo was this guy in a candy cane-esque shirt who would travel to everyday places, or countries, and you'd have to find him in a dizzying array of people, objects, and distractions. Think of 5,000 similar looking people in a chaotic beach scene with dogs, lifeguards and just about any other thing you can imagine, all drawn into the span of a page and you'll get some idea of what the book was about. Great stuff. I mention this because we have started this feature in our monthly newsletter that is sort of along the same lines and it has become quite popular: Guess the Photo. It's really pretty simple, and we figured we'd add a version to the blog as well, so here are the ground-rules:

1. If you guess the location of the mystery photo below, first, you win.
2. The first person to write the correct answer in the comments section will be the winner.
3. The prize is a $25 gift certificate to Adventure 16.

Good luck!
P.S. As we have learned that our readers are better at this than we had anticipated, I have posted a tougher photo for this first blog installment!

Read more...

vacation locations where the dollar does not suck

The weak dollar is felt not only here in the US, but also for those travelers abroad. Europe is a perfect example of a location where American travelers can easily spend more than anticipated. However, there still are plenty of places where the dollar is still thriving and your vacation funds will not run out on your first day.

1. Argentina- imagine relocating the French Rivera a bit further south and presto! you have Argentina. With its wide variation of chic hotels, great dining and nightlife, this is the perfect getaway for those looking to embrace the good life. Since the collapse of the Argentine peso in 2001, the price are still extremely reasonable for such a swanky location.

2. Latin America- smaller and lesser developed countries such as Panama, Costa Rica, Belize, Nicaragua are luring American tourists with excellent deals taking advantage of their immature currency and national debts. These countries maintain much of their original pristine beauty and many resorts offer great all inclusive stays on their breathtaking beaches.

3. Go Down Under for a real Australian experience. The dollar still fairs well in Australia and if you can afford the flight over, prices are quite reasonable upon arrival. Australia offers such a wide array of vacation opportunities for travelers, it really suits any one's needs. Read more...

43 Places

There is a great Web site named 43 Places that I found awhile back that allows users to pick the 43 places they'd like to see in the world, read reviews about the places, and even add new ones. The Web site uses Flickr for their photos, and describes thousands of locales around the world. In addition to countries, cities, streets, and hangouts, you can even find tags such as "Hogwarts" and "Pirates of the Caribbean," for those of us that liken travel to a state of mind from time to time. Once you choose one of your 43 places you can read reviews from folks that have been there, see suggested destinations that are identified as similar, or places that are on the lists of people that also chose your particular destination. For instance, one of my 43 are the temples and pagodas of Bagan (in Burma). Similar tagged locations would be Mandalay, Ko Chang and Red Rock Canyon. The Web site is a great way to bring out the wanderlust in all of us, and even find new vacation destinations. For any curious readers out there who want to know which places in this world pique my interest most, I've listed my 43 places below:

Ko Pha-Ngan
The Tiger's Nest
Whitsunday Islands
Denali National Park
Teotihuacán
Chichen Itza
The Great Blue Hole
Copán
Palmyra
Mount Kilimanjaro
Tracking the Mountain Gorilla
Wat Phou
Mount Everest
Bagan
Cappadocia
Gonder
Namib Desert
Museum of Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses
Varanasi
Machu Picchu
Galapagos Island
Borobudur Stupa
Patagonia
Palawan
Diocletian's Palace
Salar de Uyuni
African Safari
Tierra del Fuego
Kokoda Trail
Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park
Babylon
Istanbul
Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania
Thessaloniki
Ha Long Bay
Abu Simbel
Badlands National Park
Lhasa
Nosy Boraha
Ice Hotel
Cage diving with a great white shark
Jodhpur Read more...

Travel 'mis-adventures'

Here at Pangaea we love to hear about some of the funny things that happen when you are abroad. Of course, with any trip some experiences which are annoying at the time, become HILARIOUS when you come home and recount the story. I seem to make lots of people laugh with my 'labrador ate my passport' story, although as my friends can attest, there were lots of tears when I could not make it to Peru! Here are a few funny stories which happened to some of our clients:

1. One couple attempting to navigate the Italian freeway system in a tiny european car were clearly not doing a very good job as numerous drivers honked, cursed in Italian and made lewd hand gestures. When the couple's young daughter asked why everyone was so mad at daddy, the couple told her everyone was just excited they were visiting.

2. After a very long flight to Australia a young woman was waiting at the airport for a friend who lived there to pick her up. In a mixture of exhaustion and excitement to be in Sydney she inadvertently left her bag on the sidewalk. Needless to say, by the time she realized her mistake the Sydney police had blown up her bag on the sidewalk!

3. On a trip to Japan, a businessman was surprised to find 50 people in nylon jumpsuits doing jumping jacks outside an office building for a pre-morning office workout.

4. Mis-translated signs are always funny!

Tell us about funny things that have happened on your vacation! Read more...