Blue Sky. Image released by Dept. of Defense

It’s what we notice that hurts afterward. This year I’ll wake up on September 11 and think, as I have for the past seven years: “The sky was just so blue.”

It was the thought that played in my head all day, a ridiculous refrain. As if perfect blue could ward off what was about to happen. Or as if it would dissipate completely afterward, the sinister plumes powerful enough to blot out blue as far as the eye could see.

It was the sky I was thinking about, driving along the East River on my way to work in Queens, tempted to turn back and go home or anywhere else.

Just months into my new job as a psychotherapist working with mentally ill adults, I knew it wasn’t right. There was nothing therapeutic about a basement office with scuffed walls and no windows, an oppressive stale air hanging perpetually in the space. There was little we could achieve by listening to people tell the stories of their lives over and over again because that’s what Medicaid mandated.

I needed air. Open space to think. That blue sky.

Instead, I was in high heels, pressing gas-brake-gas-brake all the way to work until I found a parking place. You don’t notice time when you don’t need to, when nothing significant is going on. You think: “Coffee. Notebook. Pen. Morning staff meeting.” Having given in to the roteness of your days, you’re on automatic. You look back on these moments and think you should have been more attentive. You should, at least, have made a note of the time.

James was the most psychotic of my clients, constantly besieged by invisible torturers who delighted in making him miserable. “Get the knife out of my back!” he said as I shut my office door and put my keys and ID around my neck. It was too early to practice reality testing. “Sit down, James. We’ll talk about the knife later.”

“Not a knife. Not a knife. I’m telling you, get the planes out of those buildings!”

This was a new one.

James pulled the TV out of a therapy room and into the common room, tuning in to the only channel whose signal could penetrate the basement. The planes were stuck in the buildings. “What are you going to do about it?” James asked me, and I couldn’t decide if his tone was like a child earnestly asking a parent or like the part of him that scared me most– the part that challenged me because it touched a place deep inside where I felt entirely inadequate to help.

“I’m not sure yet,” I answered honestly, and shut the staff room door behind me.

We would evacuate the patients, sending them home to parents or caregivers who’d have to deal with the immediate terror of the attacks. We would be sent home ourselves, wanting to go but wanting to stay, too. Not wanting to go home to our small apartments, where we knew we’d be alone with our televisions, curled up on couches and watching the deliberate speed of the crashes over and over again without learning anything new, wanting to do something—anything—different, but not being able to.

U.S. Navy Photo by Jim Watson. (RELEASED)

The thoughts that occurred to me as the 30 minute commute home to the South Bronx stretched to six hours, most of which were spent sitting motionless on the Queensboro Bridge, where I watched smoke billow into the sky: I will never wear high heels again. I will always keep my cell phone charged (the battery was dead). I will always have gas in my car (the tank was empty and I was broke). The sky is still so blue.

In the weeks that followed, I’d sit in class at NYU and smell death in the air. I’d clean ash from the windowsills of my apartment—more than six miles from the Trade Center—every day. I’d look at posters of the presumed missing, one photograph of a fat man in a suit, standing next to an elephant imprinted in my mind.

I’d sit in meetings where we’d talk about emergency plans, contingencies for disasters that pushed the limits of our imaginations. I’d spend eight hours counseling clients at work. I’d be drafted to counsel colleagues in a strange ethical void of what people were starting to call the “new normal.” I’d be dispatched to counsel people in parks.

And finally—months later—I’d be asked to counsel Spanish speaking immigrant women. Either their partners had died or had been picked up by Immigration and carted off to distant prisons in states whose names they couldn’t pronounce, but either way, it was hell.

“I just can’t stop thinking about the stack of letters,” one woman told me, raising her hand above her head to show how high the bills and official notices piled up. “I understand,” I told her, breaking up inside, thinking, again, about that blue sky.

Community Connection

For another Matadorian’s memories of 9/11, please read 8:46 am, 9/11 Manhattan by Tom Gates.

Woman in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico. All photos by author.

Weeks between receipt of guidebook contract and assignment due date: 8

Two of the features are about art.

Special features assigned: 3

Itineraries to write in addition to features: 2

Total number of pages to be written: 17

People and places to visit in order to write features & itineraries: Too many to count.

People who have said “Oh, have a nice vacation” when I mention I’m in Puerto Rico: 7

Times I’ve gone to the beach: 1

Minutes spent on single visit to the beach: 22

Miles driven in 10 days: 636

Flat tires changed: 1

Statue of Liberty in Arecibo. No, that’s not my rental car.

Number of bizarre monuments seen: 3

Business cards acquired: 60

Times asked if there was a cost to be included in the guidebook: 17

Wrong turns made on the Panoramic Route: 7

Minutes waited for only gas station within 30 miles to open pumps after gas delivery: 12

Small size Moleskine notebooks filled with notes: 1.5

Times I looked at my expenses and thought, “Maybe accepting this assignment wasn’t the best idea”: 59

Unique arguments I devised to convince myself all 59 times that accepting the assignment was a good idea: 7

Regrets: 0

Pages written since returning from on-the-ground research: .5

Months until guidebook is published: 12

Image: Kristian D.

1. “Please hurry up reviewing my submission. I have a family emergency [or health problem or other urgent need to make some cash] and need the money, even though you pay less than other publications.”

This message—excerpted from an actual e-mail we received recently from a writer whose work we’d never published before—was problematic for a few reasons.

First, the writer was imposing his or her own sense of time and urgency upon the editor and the publication’s established process for reviewing submissions. Most publications, print and online, receive dozens, if not hundreds, of submissions every week. We actually read and respond to every one of them.

Doing so, however, takes time. It’s unfair to expect that your article will be fast-tracked for any reason, and it’s unreasonable to pressure an editor to work more quickly. If you’re looking for job stability and a regular paycheck, writing probably isn’t the best profession for you.

Second, the writer was making his problem the editor’s problem. Though it’s occasionally appropriate to disclose your personal circumstances, that’s often only the case when you have already established a close working relationship with an editor. Remember: the relationship between a writer and an editor is one of collegiality. You need to remain professional.

Third, the writer’s message assumed that we would be publishing his article. It was presumptuous.

Finally, the writer gave a passive-aggressive jab about the article pay rate. If you don’t feel comfortable with a particular publication’s rate, then don’t waste your time or the editor’s time by compromising yourself and arguing over dollars and cents. You’ll only regret your decision later.

2. “I’ve submitted this article to three other magazines.”

Not only should you not tell an editor this; you shouldn’t DO it. Multiple submissions may seem to be a time-saving device for you as a writer, but they’re a time-waster for editors.

Reviewing a writer’s submission is a time-intensive process requiring thought and attention; it often involves multiple members of an editorial team. If you’ve submitted your article simultaneously to other publications and one picks it up before the others do, you’re forced to notify the editor that the piece has been accepted elsewhere.

Writer, beware: you’ve likely burned a bridge that won’t easily be rebuilt.

3. “I submitted an article a few weeks ago. Are you going to publish it?”

We encourage writers to check on the status of their article if they haven’t heard from us within 4-6 weeks after submitting. However, including some identifying information—such as the name or topic of the article—is not only helpful; it’s essential.

Community Connection:

What are three other things you should never tell an editor? Read our first article on the subject here.

Photo: Brymo

So you want to be a writer.You’re disciplined enough to put pen to paper every day, you know the value of revision, and you’re confident you can craft a successful query or pitch.

But can you handle rejection?

Here are three tips to help you cope with inevitable rejections of your writing:

1. Don’t take it personally.

Writing is a huge part of your identity. It’s also the skill you’d like to ply in order to earn a decent living. But rejection of an article is not rejection of you as a person. Nor is a rejection a summary dismissal of the value of your entire body of work or your future writing.

The sooner you learn this lesson and apply it, the sooner you’ll be able to take advantage of these other tips.

2. Consider rejection a form of constructive feedback.

Photo: HandsLive

When you receive a rejection notice, sit with the disappointment for a few minutes. Then, step back from your immediate reaction and take a more analytical posture.

What information has the editor provided about the reasons why your piece was rejected? Now that you’re looking at the piece with fresh eyes, how might it have been stronger? What are its weaknesses? Does this piece really fit in the publication to which you submitted it?

If the editor did not offer any specific feedback (and there are many reasons why we don’t), consider responding with a brief, polite message thanking the editor for his or her time and asking the editor for any advice about future pitches and pieces.

3. Remember: Editors, like tastes, are subjective.

At Matador, we review upward of 50 submissions every week. We know by the end of the first paragraph whether a writer’s submission is likely to fit with the style, format, voice, and vision of our publication.

A rejection of your article doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re not a skilled writer. It often means your particular piece simply doesn’t fit the subjective scope of Matador’s publishing interests.

The same is true for every other publication.

Image: psmithy

Earlier this week I was reading an article about an imported goods shop in New York City.

The author seemed to want to give the reader the sensory experience of being in the shop—a tiny space with lots of character, stacked from floor to rafters with barrels of olives, tins of tuna, and ropes of locally cured chorizo.

At the same time, the writer wanted to put a face on the family-owned business, and here’s where she got into trouble:

“‘Whatever you do, don’t miss the chorizo,’” Angelica beams. “‘The heart of our business is our chorizo.’”

Here’s the problem: Angelica doesn’t beam. Really, she doesn’t. The verb the writer was looking for was simple: “says.”

So often, writers worry that they’ve use “said” or “says” too much and they go looking for a substitute word. The author clearly wants to convey emotion here, but beams doesn’t seem believable. It’s just not a word we use in daily speech.

There were some other lines that showed how much the writer was struggling to find the right words:

“‘In the first years we sold 2,000 pounds of chorizo per week. Now it’s 12,000 to 15,000 pounds,’ Marcos says, smiling wistfully as he remembers his former partner, who passed away in 2001.”

Smiling wistfully?

On another note, while it’s nice to remember the former partner, neither his life nor his death drive the purpose of this piece at all and the detail is better left unmentioned. It’s an irrelevant aside because there’s nothing else about the partner in the article.

“‘When our eyes begin to water, we know the fresh onions are being chopped for the morcilla,’ ” laughs Angelica, proudly explaining why the sausages are so good.”

Angelica isn’t laughing out this information proudly. Again, the author’s trying too hard here. Show, don’t tell. And keep it simple to avoid stilted language.

Community Connection

So how do you write quotes and dialogue well? Check out David Miller’s study on How to Develop Convincing Dialogue for several examples of taking quotes to the level of an art form.

What about if you need to quote characters speaking more than one language? Teresa Ponikvar wrote a great piece recently on 5 Techniques for Writing Bilingual Dialogue.

What examples of people sounding ridiculous have you found in your reading or writing? Please share them below in the comments.

Photos by Julie Schwietert

Brazil seems far away this morning.

It could be the six inches of snow on the ground.

Or maybe it’s the fact I never really connected with anyone or anything there the way I always do when I travel.

But still, there are some things I can’t get out of my head, some things that will only begin to make sense if I write about them, some images that stick with me more than costumes and dancing and music:

Rough hands gripping a white rope.

Kids picking up discarded beer cans.

The facial expressions of revelers compared to vendors.

“There’s not a race problem in Brazil,” an American colleague tells me authoritatively. “It’s a class problem.”

Tired from flights and still feeling everyone out, I refrain from pointing out what I consider to be the obvious: Race and class have almost always been linked, especially in the Americas.

I notice it the first night of Carnaval in Salvador, on the circuit near the waterfront.

The people accompanying the floats, those who have paid for the privilege of wearing a shirt that permits them special access inside the ropes, close to the float, are mostly white, mostly young.

The guys look like American frat boys: they wear sunglasses at night, they have a beer in each hand (bought from mostly black vendors), they slap each others’ backs or curl their arms around each others’ necks in a headlock… the strange intimacy of men.

The women are the perfect weight, many with blond highlights, their t-shirts trimmed into deep V’s or tied with a mid-riff knot.

They’re all smiling, rows of nice white teeth. They’re happy. This is Carnaval!

Unless you’re on the ropes.

The smiling bright crowd, pumped on music and beer and just the idea of being here, moves forward with the floats, and they’re all reined in by ropes.

Held by the hands of hundreds, the ropes keep payers in, riffraff out, and set the pace for the moving mass.

Most people holding the rope are not smiling. They’re concentrating on their work. They’re tired.

When the float stops, unable to advance, the people holding the rope sink to the pavement for a moment’s rest, oblivious to the rivulets of beer and urine left behind in the revelers’ wake.

It’s then that kids dart up and down the street, collecting cans. The kids are black, as are the people holding the ropes. They have shirts, too… only they didn’t pay hundreds of dollars to wear them, charging it to their credit card and paying it off for the rest of the year (so goes the rumor).

Instead, the people who hold the rope are paid to wear shirts, are paid to hold the rope, for hours.

I can’t stop thinking about them, this morning, early in New York, as the snow keeps falling.

[Editor's note: this was remixed from Julie's Blog at Matador. She also notes: "I should mention that each city where Carnaval is celebrated in Brazil is distinctly different. In Pelourinho, a suburb of Salvador, the feel is definitely much more "by the people, for the people"-- and I felt a tremendous difference there as a spectator as a result."]

Feature photo by Seamoor. Photo above by Go Card USA.

Red eye flights leave after 9 PM and arrive before 5 AM. Most people avoid them. I don’t, though, and here are 10 reasons why:

1. Late night flights are often cheaper.

For my recent flight from Charlotte to New York, a ticket that cost more than $200 for a mid-day flight cost just $82 for a late night flight.

2. Late night flights offer faster check in.

Airports tend to be less busy late at night; from curb to check-in, your jaunt to the gate is likely to be smoother and quicker than it would be during the day.

3. Late night flights often fly well below capacity.

Mid-day flights are often full. Late night flights aren’t… which means the one seat you paid for can often turn into three seats for stretching out and taking a nap. Fewer passengers also means you’re more likely to snag the increasingly coveted airline blanket, pillow, and snack.

Photo by caribb.

4. Late night flights are less rowdy.

Parents with crying kids. Businesspeople knocking back a few drinks. The overexcited tourist who just can’t wait to get to Vegas and gamble away her retirement. They’re all absent from late night flights.

5. Late night flights are more luggage friendly.

Fewer passengers = more overhead bin space and less luggage in cargo. Less luggage in cargo = faster baggage claim.

6. Late night flights let you get in a full day’s work.

Mid-day flights always leave me feeling as if I’ve lost a whole day of work, leaving me cranky. A late night flight, however, lets me get in at least a half-day’s work, and I can squeeze in a full day’s work if I’m not procrastinating.

Photo by juicyrai.

7. Late night flights let you avoid rush hour traffic.

Sometimes, the headache of air travel has nothing to do with air at all, but with on the ground traffic. Avoid morning and afternoon rush hours by taking the late night flight.

8. Late night flights tend to be on time.

With less air and runway traffic compared to morning and afternoon flights, late night flights tend to arrive and depart on time.

9. Late night flights allow you to manage your appetite.

Like work, eating habits always seem to get thrown off by morning or mid-day flights. With a late night flight, though, it’s possible to eat breakfast and lunch, and to pack a light snack for the plane.

Photo by reflective perspicacity.

10. Late night flights leave you less prone to losing stuff.

With fewer people, TSA screeners, gate agents, and flight attendants are all more likely to have more time to devote to you… which means they’re more likely to see and return the laptop you left behind at the x-ray machine or the camera you forgot in the overhead bin.

Feature photo by martyn Photo by glynnis

The Internet is a medium that seems custom made for travel writers. It puts our work before an unlimited audience, provides free exposure through RSS and other subscription services, and serves as an electronic archive of published work and feedback. Consider the following strategies to maximize all this potential.

Pitching stories

Explore “cross-over” platforms for publication.

Travel writers are often interested in publishing in publications, whether print or electronic, with a direct thematic connection to travel.

While good and important, limiting your interest strictly to travel publications will prevent your work from gaining the audience of readers who might love your writing but who would never stumble upon it in a travel magazine or site.

Does your story involve food? Study food magazines like Saveur, Bon Appetit, and Gourmet, all of which include place-based articles in every issue.

Maybe your tale is about transportation. If that’s the case, liven up the pages of Boating or Car and Driver with your writing.

Regardless of the topic, know the publication and its submission guidelines prior to sending off your story.

Photo by real00

Mine the expert knowledge in your travel writing network.

I recently prepared a pitch for a respected travel publication that received a short, ambivalent reply from the editor. I contacted a friend in my travel writing network who had more experience with the editor and asked for advice.

The second round of communication with the editor ended with the encouraging message: “Sold! Go for it!” I then passed the advice along to another writer who’d hit the same wall with that editor. Ask for advice when you need it, and share advice generously, too.

Be tight, be specific, be proactive.

Editors are busy. Do some of their work for them.

When you’re sure you’ve got a solid pitch, take a good look at the publication and make an assessment about where you think your piece would fit in best with respect to content and format. When you pitch to the editor, offer the story idea and a brief statement that articulates where you see your piece fitting into the publication and why.

If you have high-quality photos or other related content (audio, video) to offer the editor, make that information known in your pitch. Editors want to fill space, and the more content you can offer them that adds visual appeal to the publication, the more likely you are to get your story placed.

Writing

Produce a piece that has value.

This tip seems obvious, but “value” doesn’t simply refer to the idea or the content of the article. If you’re writing about a person, a place, or an event, provide the reader with hyperlinks to appropriate resources that add value to your own work.

If you refer to another article you’ve written, direct the reader to it. If you’re writing about a concert, a meal, or a store, provide a “practical advice” section that leads your reader to more information without distracting from your own story.

Photo by kahunna

Publishing

Viral market your own work.

The idea of viral marketing is simple: Generate buzz that gets your reader passing your story throughout his or her network, creating widening circles of readers for you.

How do you do this?

First: send a link or clip in a personalized message to every person mentioned in or related to the article. In a recent piece I wrote about disabled travelers, I sent a personalized thank you note to the interviewees, along with a link to the article. I encouraged them to forward the link to their own friends and family.

Second: send a link or clip in a personalized message to groups of people who are likely to find the article interesting. For the same article, I forwarded a brief message to the director of an international disabled travelers’ organization and encouraged her to share the story with her colleagues and clients.

I also posted the link in the disabled travelers’ forum on Lonely Planet. These three actions pushed readers who might not otherwise have read my work or visited Brave New Traveler to visit the BNT site.

One word of caution about viral marketing: do not abuse this strategy by sending your work over and over to the same group of people—even (and especially!) close friends or family. Direct your viral marketing campaign deliberately and respectfully, not simply with the intention of expanding your readership, but also of giving content of value to a potential new reader.

Know your rights.

Publications, whether print or electronic, have wildly different policies when it comes to your rights as a writer. Do you retain the rights to your work? Are you permitted to republish excerpts, the entire piece, or a variation on the piece in other publications in the future? The answers to these questions should play a part in the decisions you make about what to write and for which publications.

Be a good reader.

Good writers are good readers. Good readers offer feedback on others’ writing. Just as you wish for others to respond to your work, offer responses to others’ work. This is a great way to network, to get a better feeling for particular publications, and to develop a more astute awareness of what editors are seeking.

Photo by Jay-Lo Cover photo: Miren Berasategi

To make the list, each item had to meet at least four of the following criteria: (1) lightweight; (2) compact; (3) affordable (preferably $100 or under); (4) durable; (5) easy to use; and (6) require a minimum of add-on accessories to be usable.

10. A loaded laptop

Several of Matador’s frequent contributors only recently began carrying laptops on the road, but most report that their laptops are the essential piece of gear. It’s not only the laptop itself that’s important, though; it’s the software loaded onto it that’s also essential. One must-have program is Wavepad, which is audio editing software for Windows. It’s available online for free and is fairly straightforward to understand and use once it’s downloaded.

9. Skype and a headset

Most of Matador’s writers stay connected to their editors, colleagues, and one another via e-mail, and others, like Tim Patterson and myself, keep running tallies of how much money they’ve lost in pay phones around the world. As Jacob Bielanski noted, “cell phones are inconsistent, unreliable, and easily broken or stolen.” Phone cards can be cryptic and frustrating. For travel writers who still want phone contact but don’t want to use a cell phone or pay phone, Skype or another voice over internet service provider is a viable and affordable option. Software can be downloaded for free and a $20 headset available at any electronics store can get you talking to anyone in the world in a matter of minutes. Calls are free to other users of the same service, and rates for calls to landlines are competitive.

Photo by akolmetz

8. A small digital camera

While a larger and more expensive camera may capture the best images, it can be a burden to carry and the size can be intrusive, especially for capturing candid shots. As freelance travel photographer and writer Lola Akinmade shared, “Even though I carry around a larger SLR for better travel photography, it is the small one that always lays the foundation for the stories.” Lola uses her smaller digital camera as a way to take what she calls “visual notes.” These photos help “capture your story sequentially (and visually) so you can piece it together later in writing if you can’t type on location or scribble something down fast enough.” Lola recommends the Panasonic Lumix for a camera that fits our criteria: small, reliable, and affordable (around $179).

7. A handheld digital audio recorder

Just as Lola uses a camera for “visual notes,” a digital audio recorder can capture “auditory notes.” At a recent bull fight in Mexico, I recorded the sounds of the event that I would not have been able to put down quite the same way in writing: the set the orchestra played before the show, the vendors selling soup, coffee, and Corona, and the crowd’s collective gasp when a torero was toppled and trampled by a bull, followed by their sigh and cheer when he gallantly rose to his feet and dusted himself off as blood coursed down his face.

I’ll definitely use these “audio notes” to write an article, but I may also transfer the files to my laptop and create an audio clip to accompany the written piece. I use an Olympus handheld digital audio recorder that can capture up to 120 hours and which transfers files with a standard USB cable to a Mac or PC. It’s smaller than a cell phone and costs between $40 and $60.

6. An MP3 player.

Travel writers often trade new music when they’re on the road, which serves as inspiration for writing and reconnecting to one’s memories of a place. A low cost option is the Creative MuVo2TX. For about $50 you can store up to 1 GB of documents in addition to audio files. It comes with a standard USB cable, allowing for near universal connection. But if you’re really serious about having music and even video to power you through long bus rides, there’s the 80 GB iPod Gen 6, a piece so useful it earns a rank of “Ultimate Travel Companion.”

5. A standard USB cable

Once you’ve assembled your gear, see if it’s possible to winnow down the collection of cables you’ve amassed to a single standard cable that will fit all of your gear. If not, REI sells a universal cable for $12.00

4. Solio solar charger

With all this digital gear, you’re bound to need a recharge at some point. This tiny but powerful solar charger may be one of the pricier items on our list at just under $100, but it saves money over the long run. Plus, it’s more sustainable.

3. Flip camcorder

The Flip meets every single one of the criteria on our list. In addition to being light and compact, the Flip comes with its own soft carrying bag to protect the screen and lens. It’s affordable, ranging from $100 to $160, depending on the model (there are currently 30 and 60 minute models). The Flip requires no add-on accessories; it plugs right into your USB port for smooth transfer of files. Finally, it’s so easy to use that you probably don’t even really need to read the directions.

Photo by Chris Campbell

2. A good pen and notebook

While some of Matador’s contributors are self-confessed gearheads, others do a lot of writing with minimal tech support. Eva Holland writes, “My only essentials are a little notebook and a pen. I never ever go anywhere without them.” I agree with Eva. If your personal preferences or your budget simply don’t allow for gear, just be sure to never leave home without a notebook and a pen.

1. A good gear bag

All of the gear on our list (minus the laptop) can fit in a small bag that’s just 10″ by 8.5″. But if you really want to go all out, the National Geographic Earth Explorer backpack is a bag that could store not just your writing gear, but everything you need to pack. The pack, which comes in two sizes, has a spacious padded compartment for lenses and other loose equipment, and it’s got plenty of pockets for organized storage of other gear, too. It’s simple and rugged, and though it falls pretty far outside the affordability criterion on our list, it’s a must-have…at least on our wish list.

For more on gear, electronics, and all the best stuff for travel, check out Matador Goods, our new blog highlighting the good stuff for every traveler.

Photo by El Cabron

Whether you’re a seasoned or a beginning writer, the tips here will help build your portfolio of creative and published work. We hope you’ll join in on the conversation.

When to Blog

1. Use blogs as the “raw material” for a future pitches.

As Eva Holland explained, “Sometimes I use blogs as the raw material for a piece I want to submit.” As an example, Holland pointed to a recent blog she wrote about a trip to Nashville.

In that blog, she said, “I make some specific recommendations, but I’ll be trying to write a newspaper story that covers some of the same ground–where to go see live country [music] in Nashville…that sort of thing.”

Use your blog as a platform to test readers’ interest and reaction in a particular place and topic. Based on your readers’ responses, you can often develop a better understanding of your own experience, focusing on a specific aspect of your travel to pitch as an article.

2. Use blogs to tell the small stories…or to summarize the overall experience.

Lola Akinmade uses her blog as a medium for providing readers with a brief summary of her trip experiences.

“When returning from a place,” she wrote, “my blog is a brief summary that weaves in food/place/people/etc. with photographs.” These types of blogs are general, allowing the writer to reserve “meatier” stories for feature-length articles.

photo by pigpogm

3. Use blogs to build a reader base and add to your portfolio.

In the diverse world of travel writing publications–both print and electronic–writers without access to conventional publication channels can begin to develop a voice and a readership by blogging. Lola mentioned that she tries to write “two blogs or so a month” to maintain an online presence without getting distracted from the articles she is writing.

As Abha Malpani pointed out, “If you blog with reputed websites in the travel industry, you are building your credentials alongside a portfolio.” You are also demonstrating to editors that you have a history of travel and place-based writing.

And you are, if successful, generating feedback from readers that lets editors know that your work is read and valued by an audience– and that you could bring that audience along with you to their publication. If you’re using blogs in this way, it’s important to remember that while blogs tend to be an informal medium, details such as spelling, grammar, mechanics, and accuracy are important.

4. Use blogs to have fun and show off your versatility

As Lauren Carter said, “Blogging is something I do for fun and to show editors the kind of creative writing I’m capable of.” As a
published writer, it can become all too easy to get assigned a travel writing niche–whether geographic or subject wise (adventure travel, for instance)–but as a blogger, you can document the extent of your interest, knowledge, and creativity.

When to pitch your story to an editor

1. Pitch when you have a unique story or angle.

Abha recommends that “if you have a solid and unique story with pictures to support [it], pitch it to death.”

How do you know if your story is unique? One way to check is to do a simple Google search, or to conduct a subject search on your favorite travel sites and the sites where you plan to pitch your story. Has anyone written about the subject you have in mind? If so, what was their angle, and how is yours different?

photo by cogdogblog

2. Pitch when you have time and patience.

All of the interviewees pointed out that pitching takes a lot more energy, time, and concentrated effort than blogging. You need to know the print or online publication to which you’ll be pitching, you need to make meaningful contact with the editor, and you need to follow up.

As eager as you may be to pitch a story, don’t do it unless you have the time and patience to invest in all of the steps between pitching and publishing. As Abha admitted, “I am blogging regularly for four websites, [so] when it comes to pitching a story, I lose patience.”

3.Pitch when you want to make money.

Most travel bloggers on the respected travel websites are not making money from their blogs. Many who maintain personal blogs, including Lauren, are aware they could use adwords to make money, but they “don’t have the time to invest lots of unpaid hours…to make it start earning” or they don’t want to clutter their pages with distracting ads.

Eva explained that she’ll save a story to pitch “if I think there’s a reasonable chance of selling something.” Lauren added that she never blogs about a trip if she is working on an article that has been assigned to her. “In this case,” she said, “my feeling is that the destination hasn’t hosted me or the publication hasn’t sent me just so I can write a glowing post on my own personal blog.”

It goes without saying that your starting point for any piece should be your love of traveling, collecting awesome stories, and writing to share with your readers. All writers have to establish themselves and there are no set guidelines, but rather a few best practices to keep in mind.

Blogging allows you to hone your skills as a writer and keep your ideas fresh. Pitching stories can help to bring you recognition and generate some income along the way..

The Interviewees:

Lola Akinmade is a photojournalist who maintains a personal travel blog on Matador. She has published articles in The Travelers Notebook, Traverse, and Brave New Traveler, as well as Black Travels.

Lauren Carter is a writer who maintains a personal blog and who has been published in newspapers and magazines, including The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, and Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel.

Eva Holland writes travel-related blogs for Vagablogging and World Hum, maintains a personal travel blog on Matador, and has published travel articles in The National Post, The Ottawa Citizen, and The Edmonton Journal. She has also published articles in The Travelers Notebook, Traverse, and Brave New Traveler.

Abha Malpani is a regular contributor to Written Road. She also writes for Madrid based expat websites Map Magazine and European Vibe — as well as her personal blog.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

This article was co-written by Julie Schwietert and Peter Davision.

Peter Davison packed up his bags, left his really cool apartment in Toronto and is an emerging freelance writer based out of Shanghai, China. He enjoys a good cup of coffee, North Korean propaganda posters and hanging out with friends over a few solid drinks.

While cubicle-bound readers fantasize about the freewheeling lifestyle of travel writers, most travel writers are quick to point out the frustrations of their work: deadlines, living out of a suitcase or backpack, and increasing competition for bylines (and, ideally, ones that pay).

I say bah!

What these travel writers aren’t telling you are the secret benefits of the trade. And that’s because they either haven’t figured them out yet or they want to guard the secrets carefully because conventional wisdom says the number of publications is ever-shrinking while the pool of writers is ever-growing.

The truth is that good writers who tell important stories will always have work. And that’s why I’m sharing the top 5 secrets that most travel writers won’t tell you.

5. Travel writing is about much more than your own travels.

One of the specialized niches of travel writing is book reviewing. With the market for memoirs, travelogues, and place-based narratives exploding—as I write this, the two of the top five paperback non-fiction bestsellers fall into this category–developing your skills as a book reviewer is one way to break into travel writing.

And best of all… you get books for free.

Publishers reserve copies of new books for reviewers; these are referred to by the trade as “review copies.” Most major publishers will be happy to send a review copy to writers who contact the agent with a brief request detailing their writing experience and publication history.

In addition, publishers want to know that your review will be published by an online or print magazine that has a high circulation. To see successful request letters I’ve written and to learn more about how to request review copies, visit my website and click on Writers’ Resources.

4. Travel writing can land you free or heavily discounted travel opportunities.

Press trips are a controversial topic among travel writers, but the possibilities they offer are worth exploring. Trips and experiences are organized by various segments of the tourism industry, both domestic and international, with the goal of impressing writers and, in doing so, gaining favorable coverage.

Press trips are sponsored by chambers of commerce, hotels and resorts, conference planners, special events organizers, outdoor recreation outfitters, and many other representatives of the travel industry. Several online media forums provide regular updates about press trips.

If press trips interest you, it’s important to consider the following:

–Most press trip sponsors reserve trip spaces for writers with letters of assignment from high-profile print publications. It’s critical that you read the specifications for each press trip carefully and apply only for those whose criteria you legitimately fulfill.

–Clarify what the terms of the press trip agreement are prior to accepting a place on the trip. Don’t compromise your professional or personal ethics just to get a free trip—this will only undermine your travel writing career in the long run.

–Giving full disclosure in any article you write based on a press trip is important. Discuss this matter fully with your editor.

Travel writer Jenny Williams in Turkey

–Don’t overlook the possibility of writing stories outside of the established press trip itinerary. Extend your trip by a couple of days, if possible, to learn more about the unpolished, unscripted place the press trip organizers showed you.

If that place doesn’t resemble the place you were shown, you have an obligation to tell your readers both sides of the story.

3. Travel writing sources and resources are everywhere. Use them.

As you’re planning a trip, do some basic research and identify the obvious and not so obvious sources and resources in the community who can facilitate your trip.

First, scan members of Matador and see who lives in the area or who might have expert knowledge of the region. Send him or her an e-mail to establish pre-trip contact.

In the United States, chambers of commerce can be very useful sources of information about a city or state, and can provide you with maps, local statistics (economy, population, etc.), lodging information, and interview contacts—all of which give you a jump start on your on-the-ground fact-finding.

I’ll be traveling and writing in New Orleans in June, so I’ve e-mailed the city’s Director of Communications to request a press kit. Chambers of commerce and an area’s PR/Communications employees can often assist with discount lodging as well.

2. Travel writing isn’t always a solo venture.

Some travel writers are extroverts, willing to engage with people across differences of language, culture, and belief in order to get a great story. Many of us though tend to be an introverted, solitary lot, insistent that we write best when we write alone.

Because this description has always applied to me, I decided to challenge myself this year by testing some collaborative writing projects with other travel writers whose work I admire. I’ve been amazed by the results.

My collaborations with Peter Davison and Eva Holland have been more fulfilling than I could have imagined, producing articles I’ll be proud to see published, as well as fostering a network of travel writers who share information, resources, and support generously.

1. There are no sure-fire secrets.

If you haven’t figured it out already, a great deal of life’s successes can be attributed to being in the right place at the right time, with the right person and the right dose of luck. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work hard, write well, and develop a densely populated network of colleagues and friends whose work interests you and who are interested in your work

In fact, these are critical tasks of the travel writer and your diligence will likely position you well for all the conditions of “rightness.” But if you feel like your travel writing career is getting off to a slow start or grinding along, stick with it. The market for good writers isn’t shrinking; it’s always expanding. Be genuinely happy for others’ successes, and keep sowing the seeds so you can enjoy your own.

Puerto Rico’s south shore, from the mountains of Jayuya. Photo by Oqueando.

Say Puerto Rico and a palette of tropical greens and blues comes to mind. But the smallest island of the Greater Antilles archipelago is also among the most environmentally challenged.

Measuring approximately 100 x 40 miles, Puerto Rico is home to 4 million people and more than 2 million cars, and is the site of mega-development construction activities that threaten not only the coastal areas, but also the interior mountain regions.

Now, more than ever, making greener choices for travel in Puerto Rico is crucial.

Practical Information

Puerto Rico’s main airport is Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (airport code: SJU), located within the capital city, San Juan. At present, no train service is available from the airport and most hotels do not provide shuttle service. There isbus service however, as well as taxi service (look for the “Taxi Turistico” designation). When exiting the terminal, look for dispatch stands, where you will receive a receipt and be directed to a cab.

Puerto Rico is officially a commonwealth, or free associated state, of the United States. At present, no passport is required for American citizens who wish to travel from the mainland U.S. to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico’s currency is the U.S. dollar. English is widely spoken across the island. The island’s area codes are 787 and 939.

Outdoor Activities

Puerto Rico has incredible geographic diversity, which means that you can enjoy a range of outdoor activities. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the north shore and the Caribbean Sea on the south shore, the points between are surprisingly mountainous and feature karst formations, coffee plantations, and El Yunque, the only tropical rainforest in North America.

Bioluminescent Bays

Must-do activities include visiting one of the three bioluminescent bays (also known as bio bays or phosphorescent bays) on the island, which are located in the southwestern fishing town of La Parguera, the eastern port city of Fajardo, and the island of Vieques.

Fajardo and Vieques offer the greenest options for bio-bay excursions, as tour operators in these two areas use kayaks rather than motor boats to enter the bays. A recommended tour operator is Nestor Guishard and his company, Travesias Yaureibo, which is fully owned and operated by Vieques residents.

If you must go a bio-bay excursion in La Parguera, a recommended outfitter is Paradise Scuba and Snorkel. Luis, the owner of this family run operation, can also customize daytime kayak trips in the mangrove’s waterways, where you’ll see iguanas sunning, and windsurfing activities.

Sailing, Scuba, Snorkel

Sailing and snorkeling are also popular activities, and there’s probably no couple who knows the island’s waters better than Bill Henry and his wife, Dr. Ingrid Klich, an earth scientist, owners of the company, Erin Go Bragh Charters. Bill & Ingrid offer full day trips and are rated highly on TripAdvisor for their knowledge, warmth, and sailing skill.

Surfing

Puerto Rico has good surf, and few places are more popular than the northwestern city of Rincon. If you’re confined to the metropolitan area’s north shore, though, locals favor La Ocho, just a stone’s throw away from the Caribe Hilton, located between Condado and Old San Juan. Another favorite spot for locals is Ocean Park. Just off Park Boulevard, you’re likely to find some ripping surf, as well as a local shop owner who’d be happy to rent you a board or gear for windsurfing and kitesurfing.

Outdoor Education

If you’re interested in outdoor education, check out the Fideicomiso de Puerto Rico’s guided tours of its properties, Hacienda Buena Vista in Ponce (Puerto Rico’s second largest city) and Cabezas de San Juan in Fajardo. Hacienda Buena Vista is a former coffee plantation located on a massive and gorgeous property; guides offer walking tours of the grounds, particularly attractive to photographers and nature lovers. Cabezas de San Juan is an ecological reserve with several different ecosystems. Be sure to make reservations in advance; neither site permits same-day tours.

Eats

Puerto Rican cuisine is heavy on fried foods, surprisingly short on seafood, and is limited in its use of spices. Typical food can be sampled at any of the roadside kiosks (“kioskos”) along the highways and back roads, both on the coast and in the interior of the island. Favorite local dishes include mofongo, a mashed green plantain dish that can be elaborated with either meat, chicken, vegetables, or seafood, lechon or roasted pig (preferably a la varita—on the spit), and empanadillas, dough stuffed with a meat, chicken, or seafood filling.

Lodging

Hands down, the best and greenest lodging option in all of Puerto Rico is Villa Sevilla Guest House, located in Rio Grande, just outside the El Yunque rainforest and only 25 minutes or so outside of metro San Juan. Operated by hosts Marina and Wally Lawson, Villa Sevilla consists of four lodgings—ranging in size from the smallish La Casita to the three bedroom Chalet—all perched on the mountainside, offering views of the Caribbean. In 2007, Villa Sevilla built a non-chlorinated pool on their property, which is an amazing addition to their carefully tended properties. All lodgings have a kitchen.

For more ideas, please visit our Before You Go Guide to Puerto Rico.

Several members of the Matador Community are from Puerto Rico, including Nadja, and Raquel.

Please follow up here for more blogs about Puerto Rico from Matador.

Photos by Kery Libby

Practical Information

Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, considered the busiest passenger airport in the world, is expansive, but the inter-terminal train arriving in two-minute intervals shuttles passengers around quickly and efficiently. Getting from the airport to the downtown area, which is about 15 minutes by car, will take longer by MARTA, the city’s public transportation system, which does have an airport hub. Public transportation doesn’t have a loyal or dense ridership in the South, but most of the places in our green guide can be reached by MARTA, which includes rail and bus service.

The Great Urban Outdoors

Whether you’re a whitewater paddler or a grassy lawn picnicker, Atlanta has an ideal spot for you. Here are some of our favorites:

The Chattahoochee River and Recreational Area: You’ll need a car to reach this National Park Service site, which boasts 50 miles of hiking trails, 48 miles of river for canoeing, kayaking, and rafting (rental gear available in the park), and trout fishing for the angler. There are also trails for biking, mountain biking, and horse riding.

Chastain Park: In the summer, Chastain Park’s amphitheatre is THE venue for music under the stars. Past performers have included hometown duo the Indigo Girls, Norah Jones, Lyle Lovett, and many more. The 2008 calendar features Santana, The Moody Blues, Sheryl Crow, Duran Duran, Donna Summer, REO Speedwagon, and others. Unlike most other concert venues in the country, Chastain still permits picnics during events (bring candles!).

Piedmont Park: Dropped right in the center of the city, the 185 acre Piedmont Park is a hot weekend spot for locals. You can rollerblade, skate, bike, run, fish, grill, and play soccer, tennis, or volleyball on Atlanta’s favorite playground.

University Parks & Greens: Atlanta is a college town, and though their green spaces are often overlooked, these are some of the finest and best tended natural spaces in the city. Our favorites are Emory University’s Lullwater Park and the quads of Agnes Scott College and Spelman College. The Carter Center, associated with Emory University, also has an excellent outdoor park that’s so peaceful you’ll find it hard to believe you’re even in the city.

Arts & Culture

The High Museum of Art: The High Museum of Art has always been the visit-worthy centerpiece of Atlanta’s art and cultural institutions, but a recent renovation and a partnership with The Louvre (yes, THE Louvre) make the High a must-see for the art lover. If time is short, be sure to focus on the Folk Art Collection, which features work by popular outside artist Howard Finster.

National Black Arts Festival: Though the name suggests that this is a summer festival (which it is), the NBAF is also an organization that offers year-round programming at various locations throughout the city. Events include the visual arts, music, theatrical performances, literary readings, film series, and more. Guests are local artistic luminaries and ingénues, as well as nationally and internationally acclaimed performers.

Eats

Arguably the culinary capital of the South, Atlanta has a host of restaurants offering organic and/or locally sourced food. Some of our favorites are The Flying Biscuit, Watershed, Your DeKalb Farmers’ Market (an enormous international farmers’ market and food court),

Shopping

Atlanta’s Virginia Highlands neighborhood is great for walking and shopping, and offers plenty of places to stop for a coffee or tea, a snack, or a meal. There are also green shops along North Highland Avenue, including the organic lifestyle boutique, Eco Bella, and, on Saturday mornings, the Morningside Farmers’ Market.

Lodging

Emory University’s Conference Center Hotel, not just for conference goers, is Green Seal Certified. The hotel is set in a wooded area that’s integrated into the Emory campus, providing easy access to Lullwater Park. It is also within walking distance of a MARTA bus stop.

The Gaslight Inn is consistently ranked as travelers’ favorite B&B in Atlanta, and its location makes it just a short walk to restaurants, shops, and the Morningside Farmers’ Market.

The Atlanta Hostel is for the budget-minded traveler, and is also within walking distance of sights, shops, and restaurants, as well as public transportation.

Community Connection

Various members of the Matador Community are from Atlanta, such as Editor David Miller, and sustainable business entrepreneur Chris Johnson.

Also, a couple prominent members have been road tripping through the ATL lately, including Eva Holland, and Keri Libby, who wrote the the Low Down on How to Throw Down in Atlanta parts 1 and 2.

Cuba seems to be one of the world’s few forbidden destinations. The decades-long embargo all but prohibits travel to Cuba, and the limited opportunities for legally sanctioned travel decrease every year. But Cuba is by no means off-limits, and a trip is much easier than you might think, especially with careful planning.

1) Know before you go.

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is responsible for sanctions related to the embargo, and the specifics of the law, including how it affects travel, are available online. Although it’s unlikely that you will be detained for questioning upon return to the US, you need to know the law, understand your rights, and be prepared to accept the possible consequences of your travel.

Spend some time visiting online travel forums to read about other Americans who have traveled to Cuba.

2) Choose your gateway country.

Photo by Brayan Collazo

The only direct flights from the US to Cuba are reserved for Americans who have travel licenses and Cubans returning to the island who had official permission from the Cuban and US governments to visit the US.

If you don’t fall into either of these categories, you will need to travel to Cuba through a third country.

The Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, and Panama are some of the most popular gateway countries.

Prices and flight schedules vary considerably, as do local practices of immigration officers willing to forgo stamping your passport upon return from Cuba.

Mexico is among the easiest of the gateway countries, with flights departing daily from Cancun and Mexico City on Mexicana and Cubana airlines. How do you choose the gateway that’s best for you? Research. As you’re planning your trip, consider the following:

Flight availability and prices

Determine which airlines offer service from the gateway country to Cuba (Havana’s airport code is HAV), how often, and at what times. Follow pricing trends to determine whether certain days of the week are more affordable than others.

One tip: When checking flight schedules and prices online, be sure to enter the country of origin as the gateway country; otherwise, you’ll quickly learn that you won’t retrieve any information.

Frequency of flights

Flights to Cuba from any gateway country and on any airline are often delayed or canceled, so consider countries that offer more flights and flexibility. Make room in your budget for lodging and meals in the gateway country in case you are overnighted.

Photo by sami73

3) Prepare for the ticket process.

Americans are accustomed to booking most of their flights online, but you cannot use a U.S. credit or debit card to purchase a flight to Cuba, even if you are buying the ticket from a gateway country’s airline (such as Mexicana or Air Jamaica) by phone or over the Internet.

You may be able to convince a phone agent to hold a reservation for you, but the more likely scenario is that you will purchase your ticket after landing at the airport in the gateway country. Once you know what airlines offer flights, and what their schedules are, you can plan your arrival flight into the gateway country.

Once you land, you will go to the counter of the airline with cash to purchase your round-trip ticket to Cuba. Don’t forget to budget $15 for a tourist visa, which the airline will sell to you directly.

4) Prepare your paperwork… and your pesos.

U.S. passport and border crossing regulations became more stringent in January 2008. The more identification you carry with you (passport, birth certificate, driver’s license), the better, but do not offer all of your identification unless asked.

About those pesos… they can facilitate your return trip considerably, especially in Mexico. When you enter and leave the gateway country on the way to Cuba, your passport will be stamped.

When you return to the gateway country on your way back to the U.S., your passport is likely to be stamped again unless you make a polite request—accompanied by pesos folded inside the passport—otherwise.

Photo by malias

5) Prepare for Cuba’s entry and exit requirements.

Cuba does not stamp Americans’ passports upon entry or exit. Cuban immigration will stamp your tourist visa, which is not affixed to your passport, upon entry and exit. Cuban immigration officials will often ask where you are planning to stay during your trip.

You should have the name and address of a hotel or casa particular prepared to offer up to Cuban immigration officials, who can decide whether they want to confirm your reservations. If you don’t have a reservation, they can compel you to make one before leaving the airport, though this is uncommon.

Do not lose your tourist visa, as you’ll need it upon exiting Cuba, and don’t forget to set aside 25 CUC (the Cuban currency) for the required exit tax, which you’ll pay at the airport on your day of departure.

Photo by topyti

6) On the ground basics

There are two currencies in Cuba: moneda nacional (also referred to as the peso) and the Cuban convertible (also referred to as CUC). Tourists use the CUC, and money can be exchanged at Cadeca booths throughout the city or at hotels. American issued credit and debit cards cannot be used in Cuba, so be sure to carry plenty of cash.

Community Connection

For more resources to help you plan your trip, please see Matador’s Before You Go Guide and the guide to the 10 Best Nightlife Spots in Havana.

Photo by Mario de Leo

At first glance, the words “green” and “Mexico City” don’t seem compatible. Mexico’s capital is one of the most congested and polluted cities in the world, but don’t let that discourage you from enjoying these green sites south of the border.

City officials have expressed their commitment to greening the capital and creating opportunities for ecotourism. You don’t have to wait until all of their plans are realized, though. Check out our Green Guide to Mexico City and enjoy some of the best outdoor and indoor recreational, cultural, and culinary treasures of this vast city.

Practical Information:

If you’re flying into Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport, you can choose a taxi service or the Metro to reach the city center, which is about 15 minutes away. For more information about navigating the airport, please visit the Top 10 Tips for Navigating Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport.

Activities

Every Sunday, Mexico City converts one of its main avenues, Paseo de la Reforma, into a pedestrian, cyclist, and skaters-only thoroughfare, thanks to the progressive vision of Mayor Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, who is green conscious. Beyond just shutting down the avenue to vehicles, the city offers free bike rentals and staffs hydration stations, mechanics’ kiosks, and even provides medical service along the route.

One of Mexico City’s greatest green treasures, the Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest) is the capital city’s answer to New York’s Central Park. In addition to a botanical garden, the Bosque boasts an expansive green space dotted by waterways, monuments, sculpture, and statuary, and ample recreation areas. Along the park’s edge you can find the Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art), the Museo de Historia Natural (Natural History Museum), and the Museo Nacional de Antropologia (National Anthropology Museum), all of which are easily reached by Metro.

Mexico City has three ecological reserves: Xochimilco, San Nicolas Totolapan, and Desierto de los Leones, each with its own unique flora and fauna. Each reserve is a great day trip offering a variety of recreational activities. At Desierto de los Leones you might enjoy bird watching, as the reserve is a magnet for migratory birds. San Nicolas offers guided walking tours, and Xochimilco offers bike rentals, among other services and activities.

Mexico City’s Turibus may seem hopelessly touristy and contrary to the spirit of independent and off-the-beaten path travel, but it not only offers a tremendous value for your traveling dollar, sporting you all over the city with unlimited hop-on/hop-off privileges when you purchase a day pass, but it also gets you into some of the city’s greenest areas. By joining other visitors on this bus tour, you’re cutting down on individual car/taxi emissions, too.

Within the center of the city, you can rent a Segway, which has a zero emissions rating. At present, the Segway office in Reforma offers two tours (2-3 hours each) for $50 USD.

Arts and Culture

In addition to the museums mentioned above, the Palacio de Bellas Artes is an obligatory stop for arts lovers, if for no other reason than to enjoy the beauty of the building itself. The Frida Kahlo Museum, also known as the Casa Azul, is located in the artist’s home in the neighborhood of Coyoacan. Small and intimate, this museum gives Kahlo aficionados a true sense of the place where many of her paintings were created. To find out what’ other activities will be going on in the city during your visit, check the Secretary of Tourism’s website, which maintains a calendar of current and upcoming events.

Eats

Mercados: While Mexico City is indisputably cosmopolitan, it retains long-cherished traditions, among them maintaining the variety of fruit and vegetable markets tucked into neighborhoods around the vast city. At any of these mercados you can buy your own fruit and vegetables or enjoy a reasonably priced meal at any of the food stalls in the market.

Restaurants and Bars: Eating local is easy in Mexico City, as many staples of the Mexican kitchen are brought in daily from nearby fields just outside the city center. One favorite where the menu is constructed entirely around in-season foods is OW 9. Another green option for dinner and drinks can be found at the condesa df hotel. The lighting is low, the dining area is an interior patio with a retractable ceiling that opens to a view of the sky, and diners are surrounded by plants, which create a sense of privacy and intimacy at every table. Enjoy drinks and light snacks on the rooftop bar, which has comfortable lounges, blankets, heat lamps, and an unbeatable view.

Where to Stay

Mexico City has its work cut out for it with respect to green lodging, though one notable exception is The Red Treehouse. Wherever you stay, be a green guest—let the housekeeping staff know you don’t need sheets or towels changed, bring your own toiletries, and ensure that lights and appliances are turned off when you leave the room.

Learn More: In June, 2008, Mexico City will be launching a print and online version of Las Paginas Verdes, The Green Pages—a guide to the city’s sustainable businesses. Visit www.laspaginasverdes.com.

Photo by Vincent Ma

Since quitting my 9-to-5 job as the assistant director of a mental health agency in 2004 and becoming a full-time traveler and writer, many people have remarked that they envy my lifestyle. What they don’t recognize is that they can create the same kind of life for themselves by following a relatively simple set of steps, which I’ll share with you here. I didn’t plan the kind of life that I have now—in fact, I didn’t plan at all; I just quit my job without a Plan B, which is not the best idea for most people. My experiences of living on the edge, though, have helped me identify the top 10 tips for you to bag your own 9-to-5 job and have a bit more security than I did.

10. Let go of your long-cherished vision of your professional self. When I found myself unexpectedly answering my boss’s question, “How are we going to work together?” by answering, “We’re not, because I quit,” I didn’t realize that one of the biggest challenges ahead of me was letting go of the career trajectory I’d mapped for myself. By the age of 25, I’d been the first poetry therapist to work in two New York City social service agencies, I’d already reached the middle management rung on my profession’s ladder, and I’d simultaneously begun building my own counseling and consulting business with two colleagues. I was published in an academic journal and I was the director of a board. I was well on my way to fulfilling my high school yearbook’s prediction of “Most Likely to Succeed.” Dropping out of the profession meant I’d be disappointing a lot of people—my parents, who had paid for my Masters degree, my mentor, who had nurtured my learning and my career, and myself, as I’d planned big professional accomplishments by the age of 30. In order to bag your 9-to-5, you’ll need to begin to let go of whatever conventional career plan you had for yourself and whatever expectations everyone has ever had for you.

Practice becoming comfortable with ambiguity and what others might consider to be aimlessness. Don’t underestimate the work this step takes. Our society is largely structured around the maintenance of the 9-to-5 life.

9. Develop your pitch. When you’ve made it through step 10 and you’re starting to become comfortable with the idea of the new professional you, one of the next challenges you’ll confront is explaining yourself and justifying your career and lifestyle change to almost everyone you know. Don’t be apologetic for your decision to forgo the traditional trajectory, but do take the time to develop a pitch or a story to tell when someone asks you why and how you’re forging a new path for yourself. A true and well-crafted narrative is compelling to most people—even those who’d like to see you conforming to social expectations—and it can often serve you well. When I explain how I was once a social worker who had her own business and worked as the assistant director of a New York City agency, then owned an art gallery, and then became a full-time writer, editor, and translator, it becomes a hook for continued conversation and often leads to offers of work and further exposure.

8. Make an inventory of your skills. Whether you take the time to plan your transition or whether you jump into it headlong, as I did, it’s incredibly helpful to make a written inventory of the skills you possess that can bring you work and other opportunities. As I listed my competencies, I realized I had skills and knowledge that were so second nature to me that I hadn’t realized their potential value as sources of work. In this initial list, include everything that comes to mind—don’t censor yourself at all. If you can cook, clean, write, translate, organize, sing, type, take photos, transcribe, surf, do calligraphy, or make movies, write it down. If you’re short on ideas, ask a trusted friend to make a list with you.

7. Narrow the list. Once you’ve made an inventory of your skills, review it and begin to narrow down your possibilities for independent work. Subject the items on our list to three criteria: (1) Which of the skills are portable? (meaning you can use them anywhere in the world); (2) Which of the skills are profitable? (meaning that they’ll generate income—not enough just to scrape by, but something to actually live on); and (3) Which of the skills have the lowest demand load? (meaning which will not require you to purchase special equipment, obtain employment authorization in another country, secure a work visa, or otherwise require negotiating red tape and the constant monitoring of bureaucratic requirements and deadlines).

6. Rework the list. Now that you’ve determined which items on your list are most portable, most profitable, and lowest demand, begin to refine the list a bit more. What are the top five skills you could use to seek work that takes you outside of the 9-to-5 grind? Which skills might lead you to actual job leads? How can you generate work using these skills no matter where you go? Which skills will lead to work when you need it?

5. Plan with a partner. If you’re in a serious long-term relationship, you need to discuss your ideas and plans with your partner. Bagging the security of the 9-to-5 life and trading it in for a life that is more independent and flexible is not for everyone and it requires risks that may not be acceptable for all people. When you are in a relationship, the needs and abilities of your partner with respect to adapting to your plans need to be discussed and agreed upon. What kinds of shifts may need to occur in your day-to-day life in order to make the transition realistic and to what degree is your partner willing and able to accommodate and support you?

4. Assess your security needs.If you’re the type of person who needs medical and dental insurance, a 401(k), and a steady, predictable paycheck, then you will need to do some serious planning to fulfill these needs before bagging your full-time job. There are resources for meeting these needs off the regular workday clock (see Freelancers Union for some great ideas), but you’ll need to do most—if not all—of the legwork on your own. You’re now the chief, cook, bottle washer, and human resources director.

3. Be for real. Before you bag your 9-to-5, do a searching inventory of yourself. The main criterion? Be for real. Are you a person who needs structure? Do you work best with others? Do you have a hard time scheduling, organizing, or delegating your time well? Do you need the praise of a superior or the affirmation of colleagues? Are you envisioning life off the 9-to-5 grid as one long adventurous, romantic narrative? If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes,” it’s likely that you’ll find life off the time clock to be a serious challenge. Among the many people who have commented that they’re envious of what they view as my freestyle life, there are a couple who have acknowledged that they’d never be able to follow in my footsteps because they need a boss, they need the predictability of a regular paycheck, or they need someone to assign tasks to them. I admire these people because they know themselves and make their career and lifestyle decisions realistically according to their own personal and professional needs.

2. Create community. Working off the clock has many advantages, but it can get lonely at times, especially after the initial thrill of working on your own wears off. Be sure that you’ve made plans for connecting with other people no matter what you’re doing or where you are. Matador is one great place, of course, but you may want to find others that tap into some of your other interests and abilities.

1. Assess your progress. Every once in awhile, take some time to assess your progress. When I stop to think about how my life has unfolded since turning in my pink slip and never turning back, I recognize that I work more now than I ever did, but that I’m also happier than I ever was. I also realize, though, that I need to continue refining my short-and long-term plans in order to maintain my current lifestyle. Since I don’t have a boss to sit down and do an annual performance evaluation with me, I need to do constant evaluation myself and so will you.

One of Matador’s most prolific contributors, Julie Schwietert Collazo is a writer, editor, researcher, and translator who lives in New York, Mexico City, and San Juan. She has a BA in English and Women’s Studies, a Masters of Social Work, and is working on a PhD in Literature at the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe.

Photo by Lola Akinmade

When in Rome, do as the Romans. But what do the Romans do? Our top 10 list goes beyond the obvious tips—speak the language, learn local customs and etiquette, and don’t wear a camera around your neck—and helps you learn how to really live like a local, whether you’re around for five hours, five months, or five years.

10. Read the paper. Nothing gives you insight into local culture like reading the newspapers of the area. You’ll learn about what’s important right now in a place that’s probably overlooked by your own newspaper, cluing you in to a community’s attitudes, interests, and worries.

Local newspapers may introduce you to political, social, and cultural personalities and events that you wouldn’t find in a guidebook. Be sure though to look at more than one local paper—most cities, at least, have multiple dailies, each of which tends to reflect a particular political slant. Many papers also have English language editions—especially online—so don’t let a language barrier keep you from trying this tip.

9. Learn local politics. An understanding of the political system, parties, and figures in a particular place can help you understand a great deal about an area and is likely to help you recognize symbols and slogans that might otherwise go over your head. This holds true even in your own country; regional politics can vary dramatically.

8. Talk with people.Taxi drivers are good. So are street sweepers, security guards, restaurant servers, musicians, and people without obvious distraction or diversion (people waiting at bus stops, for instance). Most people enjoy talking about themselves and what’s important to them; everyone likes to be an expert. Invite people to talk about themselves, their community, about something you notice in the immediate environment. Use their responses as lead-ins to other questions.

7. Walk light. A large bag or backpack not only makes you conspicuously not of the place, but it also weighs you down. Walk light and you’ll have an easier time going off the beaten path. Keeping a pen and small notebook handy is always a good idea for jotting notes about the people and places you’ve seen.

6. Eat outside the box. The best spots are where you see locals, which are not places generally written up in guidebooks. Stroll around your temporary home… where do you see people congregated? What do you see people eating? What do they recommend?

5. Travel like a local. What’s the preferred mode of transportation where you are? Subways are generally inexpensive and expedient means of transit in big cities, but rickshaws, bicitaxis, and pedicabs, are some of the many other options. Walking is also a great way to get to know people and places that you’d miss from a vehicle.

4. Issue an invitation. Don’t wait to be invited into the locals-only club. Look for opportunities to invite others to share time and local knowledge with you. Whether over a beer at a bar, a dance in a dive, or a coffee in a café, taking the initiative can be a powerful sign that you’re ready to live like a local. Also look for opportunities to invite yourself into the local experience when appropriate. In Sintra, Portugal, my friend and I had an unforgettable experience when we stumbled upon a local annual Night of the Camelias Dance at the town hall, and though we were lost, we asked if it would be ok for us to stay awhile. We were welcomed warmly with free glasses of port and passed from arm to arm for dances and by the end of the night we’d made new friends of all ages.

3. Don’t overlook details. Learning the local time, currency, and dialect may be tedious for some people, but getting a grasp on these details can determine the difference between living like a local and living like a tourist. The more you can familiarize yourself with the seemingly mundane and quotidian aspects of a place, the more you will feel immersed there.

2. Ask questions. Respect answers. If something piques your curiosity, ask questions. While walking in a small rural town in southeastern China, my friend Julia and I saw a house that was open to the street, the front room of which appeared to drop into a cave. While we didn’t speak Mandarin and the people sitting in front of the house didn’t speak English, we were able to communicate by gestures to ask about the unusual structure. We were invited into the home and led into what was indeed a cave, where the town’s food was stored. Recognize that not every question will result in an answer or an invitation though, and respect the response.

1. Acknowledge you’re an outsider. Difference—whether actual or perceived—can be powerful, both for better and for worse. Don’t ever try to fake being a local. The more authentic you are, the more people will be interested in you and welcome you into the local circle. Being yourself no matter where you are is always the first step to becoming local.

Photo by Eelco Kruidenier, licensed by Creative Commons.

So you want to be a travel writer? There are lots of niches, of course—destination guides, first-person travelogues, and reviews—but don’t overlook the travel-related interview.

In this guide, we give you the top 10 tips for landing the ultimate travel writing interview.

10. Redefine ultimate, scout the local talent.

While you may be interested in trying to land interviews with the travel world’s equivalent of A-list celebrities, don’t overlook people of local interest. You could be the first writer to introduce a large audience to someone who hasn’t yet gained much more than local exposure but who could have widespread relevance. Some potential interview subjects to consider include local writers, environmental activists, socially responsible entrepreneurs, and people developing the community. Make sure that you capture that local angle while also identifying some universal themes of interest to a non-local reader.

9. Do your homework.

Once you’ve identified your subject, do some background research. For a recent interview with a local writer, I read his latest book, read essays on his website, and searched for previous interviews that would help me craft questions that were different and generated a unique angle compared to anything else published about him.

8. Make contact. Make a first impression.

Based on the background material you’ve collected, determine the best way to make first contact with your interview subject. I’ve found that it’s best to contact the individual first and then his or her agent or publicist. Be concise. Be engaging. Be appropriate but not overly formal. Make your request as clear and specific as possible. In follow-up messages, establish some parameters and boundaries that will help your subject know what you expect of him or her, including the anticipated length of the interview, and what he or she can expect from you.

7. Offer options and make it worth their while.

You’re most likely to land an awesome interview if you offer your subject options about how the interview will be conducted and if you make it worth their while. In my interview request to the writer, I mentioned that I’d be willing to conduct the interview via e-mail, but that I preferred to get together in person. Because I’d learned in my research that the writer was interested in promoting his local area’s natural beauty–which is one of the subjects of his most recent books–I mentioned that I’d love to meet at the creek that is the setting of his book in order to capture some audio and video to accompany the published interview and introduce a diverse audience to this place. This was a hook that made the interview worth his while.

6. Let the interview be a platform for learning more.

What information can accompany the interview that will make it more attractive to your interview subject and to the publication where you’re pitching it? If you’re interviewing an author, what links can you provide that will take your reader to the author’s work? If you’re interviewing a musician, how can a reader become a listener? What audio and video technologies can you use to expand your piece and give it greater depth? What links can you provide for the reader who may want to learn more about the subject?

5. Establish rapport.

The best interviews reflect the interviewer’s ability to establish rapport with his or her subject. What can you bring to the interview that may help you connect with your subject quickly and effectively? As I was preparing for a recent interview, I found a couple of poems that I considered relevant to my interviewee’s interests—and I also knew he is a poet– and I brought them to the interview. They became a springboard into discussion that was more organic than it might have been just starting with an interview script.

4. Prepare smart questions.

Tip #5 notwithstanding, you should prepare a list of questions that you can use to help structure the interview. Even if you never ask a single question on the list you prepared, the exercise of thinking about and writing the questions will make for a smoother interview. It’s also likely to teach you more about your subject and to make you alert to natural opportunities to ask relevant questions during the interview itself.

3. Get invested in your subject.

While you probably chose an interview subject who interests you personally, spend the pre-interview period getting invested in the interviewee and his or her work. This doesn’t mean that you have to—or ever should—be uncritically praising of your subject, but it does mean you should have an appreciation and respect for that person and should look for qualities that are worth conveying to your audience that aren’t otherwise evident in that person’s work.

2. Find the format.

There are many different ways that an interview can be presented to your audience, and the nature of your interview, the quality of the subject’s responses, the expectations of your audience, and the technological capabilities open to you and your audience will all shape what format you should choose for the most effective presentation of the interview. (Be sure to check out previous interviews on Matador for some great ideas about format!)

1. Follow Up.

The interview process doesn’t end once you’ve completed the interview. Be sure to send an acknowledgment of thanks to your subject, and include a copy of the interview or information about when and where it will be published. If your subject has a publicist or agent, it would be nice to send a clip to that person as well. As John Lane writes in Circling Home, “Saying thanks…to contacts and sources is a writer’s way of plotting points on a sort of relational graph of a community.”

One of Matador’s regular contributors, Julie Schwietert Collazo is a writer, editor, researcher, and translator who lives in New York, Mexico City, and San Juan. She has a BA in English and Women’s Studies, a Masters of Social Work, and is working on a PhD in Literature at the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe.

Photo by Laura Bernhein

Happy 2008 everyone! This top ten list of travel writer resolutions is dedicated to each of you who has been pouring your energy and dedication into the craft of travel writing. Let’s take it up another notch in 2008.

10. Come up with an idea a day. This doesn’t mean you have to write everyday—though that would be nice, too— but it does mean that if you come up with a single idea every day in 2008, you’ll have a storehouse of 365 ideas that you can draw from when you’re low on inspiration.

9. Read and respond to others’ work. One of the best pieces of advice for any writer is to read. But take your reading a step further and be sure to respond once in awhile to other writers whose work interests you, challenges you, or confuses you. Read beyond your favorite sites, magazines, and books. Use others’ writing to stimulate dialog.

8. Develop at least one new skill to complement your writing. Want to become the go-to person for your editors in 2008? Learn how to provide photographs, video clips, and extra audio content. If you don’t already have the equipment to develop one or more of these skills, you can purchase affordable and relatively simple cameras and digital recorders and begin experimenting with their various applications.

7. Make contacts. Whether you’re just getting started or you’re a seasoned travel writer, building your contacts and your network won’t just help your travel writing; it will help your travel, too. Cultivate contacts as much as your writing and offer more than you ask for.

6. Read like a travel writer. You probably already read voraciously, but do you read everything from the perspective of a travel writer? Changing your lens as a reader may help you to acquire some narrative skills you might attribute solely to other genres. My recommendations? Poetry by Mary Oliver, Natasha Trethewey, and William Stafford, and non-fiction by Annie Dillard for starters.

5. Collaborate and create opportunities. Many travel writers are solo travelers and solo writers, but collaboration may yield some interesting new ideas and finished pieces worthy of publication. Also, keep your eye out for opportunities, not just for yourself, but for other writers and photographers in your network. When they appear, share them along generously.

4. Begin developing a niche. This year, get clear about what kind of travel writing you’d like to be known for. Your niche may be defined by a specific geographical area, it may be defined by a particular type of travel interest (fishing, for example), or it may be characterized by a specific genre within travel writing—first person travelogues, how-tos, and destination guides.

3. But don’t limit yourself. Although it’s helpful for you and your readers when you define a niche for yourself, don’t limit yourself to your preferred areas. Once in awhile, challenge yourself and your readers by doing something totally different. Me? I’m not a sports and recreation person, but I plan to challenge myself to take a three hour kayaking trip on the Hudson River later this year and, of course, write about it.

2. Be spontaneous, but plan ahead. Think about the signal events of 2008 and see how you might be able to craft a story. Look at each month and identify an opportunity for a story and an angle from which you can approach it. For example, you may not go to the Beijing Olympics, but maybe a local athlete is training and would make a great story. Don’t overlook annual events that occur in your regions of particular interest: bull runs in Pamplona, Carnaval in Brazil, or the country fair in your own back yard. Mark these on your calendar and begin pitching to your potential contacts well in advance for great leads.

1. Collect your clips. As you begin building up a collection of published pieces, be sure to create an archive that can be accessed quickly and easily, both for yourself and for prospective editors, interviewees, and other important contacts. Create a digital version and a print version, and make sure you’re able to access both when you’re on the road… you never know when opportunity may present itself.

Photo by Frank

A city may not be the first place you think of when you think “green,” but New York City is one of the greenest places in the US. Sure, there’s Central Park and its impressive outer-borough cousins, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park and Staten Island’s Narrows Botanical Gardens, but there are plenty of less familiar green sites that will get you off the beaten path and show you a New York you probably didn’t know existed. Welcome to the big green apple!

Practical Information:

If you’re flying into LaGuardia, JFK, or Newark, take the AirTrain from your terminal to the nearest subway/train station. Faster and cheaper than a taxi, the AirTrain is the newest piece of NYC’s well-developed mass transit system. If you plan to move around the city by subway, buy an unlimited Metrocard, which is sold by the day, week, or month and is far less expensive than the $2 per ride fare. While you’re in the subway station, pick up a free map at any fare booth.

Get Outdoors:

It may be called the concrete jungle, but New York City has some amazing green spaces too, including:

The Science Barge: Run by the New York Sun Works Center for Sustainable Engineering, The Science Barge is part school-on-a-ship, part urban farm. Anchored on the city’s West Side Hudson River, the barge is powered by solar, wind, and biofuels, producing foods that generate no carbon emissions, no net water consumption, and no waste stream. During warmer months, you can visit the barge for free!

Hudson River Park: New Yorkers’ waterside playground, the Hudson River Park runs almost the entire length of Manhattan’s West Side, offering recreational opportunities for enthusiasts of rollerblading, biking, kayaking, climbing, skateboarding, fishing, and more… even trapeze! During the summer, free kayaking is a major attraction for beginners to experts, with the former offered lessons and the latter offered kayak polo games and trips north on the Hudson.

Union Square Greenmarket: Rub shoulders with famous chefs without having to beg for a reservation. The Union Square Greenmarket, one of the city’s many outdoor markets, is the best of the best.

Walking Tours: Get off the double-decker bus and get your feet on the pavement! NYC has some of the world’s very best walking tours, with a tour for every interest. There’s the food tour, the ghost tour, and tours for nearly every immigrant group that passed through Ellis Island’s portals. Some of the best tours are offered by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Of course, if you don’t want to hire a guide, give yourself a tour—check out Bruce Kayton’s book, Radical Walking Tours of New York City.

Go Inside:

Open House New York: Green isn’t just about the physical environment, it’s about being conscious of the environments we build and in which we live, work, and play. OHNY’s best event is its annual weekend city-wide “Open House,” but it also has programs throughout the year that give people access to places that are normally beyond the public’s access and view.

Go Eat:

The Green Table: Nestled in Chelsea Market, The Green Table is a tiny organic restaurant whose menu changes daily, built around seasonal organic ingredients and organic wine and beer.

The New Leaf Café: The food is great, the setting is amazing (nestled in Fort Tryon Park, at the northernmost tip of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River to the west, a great place to wander after visiting the Met’s Cloisters, also located in the park), and the best thing of all is that net proceeds from the café go right back to the park’s restoration and maintenance.

GOBO: food for the five senses: Organic, vegetarian, small plates, good for sampling and sharing.

Just Go:

You know all about the subway, but consider these other mass transit options, too: water taxi (which also offers an Audubon tour), Roosevelt Island Tramway, pedicabs, or your own bike.

Accommodations:

NYC is still getting green with its lodging, but the city’s first LEED certified hotels are under construction, slated to open in 2008 and 2009. For those who can’t wait or whose budget is unlikely to accommodate such eco-luxe lodging, try home-swapping or inexpensive rentals on craigslist. A best bet is the Sugar Hill Harlem Inn.

One of Matador’s regular contributors, Julie Schwietert Collazo is a writer, editor, researcher, and translator who lives in New York, Mexico City, and San Juan. She has a BA in English and Women’s Studies, a Masters of Social Work, and is working on a PhD in Literature at the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe.

Interested in contributing a Green Guide to the Traveler’s Notebook? Check Matador’s Bounty Board for information on how to contribute.

Photo by Nicole Lee

Looking for a last minute-gift for your favorite traveler? Consider one of these:

10. Airline Gift Certificates:

Travel is increasingly expensive, and most of us who live a nomadic lifestyle appreciate all the help we can get with chipping away at our travel costs.

Many airlines now offer travel gift certificates, ranging as low as $10 to as much as $1,000. For travel on lower-cost carriers, even small gifts can make an appreciable difference, especially for a traveler on a shoestring budget. Bonus: Most of the cards never expire.

Here are a few gift cards available online: Jet Blue; Southwest; American.

9. Airline Lounge Membership or Guest Pass

This is a great and often overlooked gift for the long-haul traveler. Airline lounges aren’t frequented by budget travelers, who might be particularly apt to appreciate the luxurious amenity of this gift.

Lounges vary in their services, but typically offer drinks, internet use, a relatively calm place to relax between flights; some even showers.

One-day passes are offered for as low as $25, while memberships typically run in the range of several hundred dollars. American, Continental, and Delta all offer one-day passes.

8. Gift Cards for Airport Shops:

The world’s airports tend to offer the same host of shops, and a traveler in transit might sigh in relief as he or she pulls your thoughtful gift card out to pay for a purchase. In the US, typical airport shops and services include The Body Shop, Brookstone, InMotion Pictures, and maps.com, National Geographic, and Wildernet.

6. Books

What’s your friend’s dream destination or big trip for 2008? Skip the guidebooks and dig a bit deeper to find some books that will tell the reader a bit more about the place.

Here are some great reads for a couple of places I’ve visited in the past year that really enhanced my experience once I was there:

Cuba: Lynnette Chiang’s The Handsomest Man in Cuba, a travelogue about an Australian woman’s adventures cycling around Cuba (a bonus in this book is an awesome reference and resource section in the back), Chiang not only captures the spirit of Cuban people—for better and for worse—but she also conveyed astute observations about politics and culture that were spot on.

Mexico: The Mexico Reader, edited by Gilbert Joseph, is a crash course in Mexican history, politics, and society—and it manages to remain fascinating (there’s also a whole series of Readers from Duke University Press, including Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Peru).

New York: The Not For Tourists’ (NFT) Guide. Enough said.

5. A “Stir the Senses” Gift Pack

No matter where your favorite traveler is headed, the food awaiting him or her at the destination will have their unique flavor. Get your friend psyched for the journey by putting together a basket or box full of small goodies that are emblematic of the trip.

Ethiopia? Berbere spice mix (you can find a recipe online and make it yourself or you can order it—and any other variety of spices–online).

China? Tea buds (tightly woven buds that morph into flowers when immersed in hot water).

Japan? Sake! Be creative!

4. Journals

Many travelers enjoy journaling or having a book in which they can slip ticket stubs, restaurant coasters, phone numbers or e-mails of friends met on the road, airline tickets, and other memorabilia. Journals range from the functional to the fancy, but a good and reliable brand is Moleskine, which makes functional, sturdy journals in a variety of styles and sizes.

3. The Ultimate Carry-On Bag

Finding the best carry-on bag is tough, but I finally did it! Baggallini makes a wide variety of bags that are perfect for travel (my personal favorite is what I consider the perfect carry-on—the Hamptons Bagg). This bag constantly amazes me with how spacious it is, but a bonus is that it is tear and water-resistant… it can take a beating.

2. Electronics Storage Kit

Help your favorite traveler get organized… find the perfect kit for cables, cords, chargers, and battery packs for phones, cameras, and laptops… and while you’re at it, throw in a universal adapter kit.

1. A Welcome Home Basket

Those of us who spend lots of time on the road, in the air, or on the sea may still have a physical address we call home, and when we get there, we often find we’re missing some basic staples and supplies that keep life organized.

Postage stamps (for all those bills that piled up!), an IOU for a dinner, or a bottle of wine helps ease the transition back to life in a fixed location.

If you’re particularly crafty or technically inclined, you may offer your skills to create memories from your friends’ photos—a CD or DVD of their trip, a photo album or scrapbook, or customized postage stamps that capture a particularly great image of the place they’ve left behind.

Photo by Silent e

Although bringing your pet when you travel may seem impossible, in most cases it’s surprisingly easy as long as you plan ahead. Please read these ten tips to help get going. Your dog (or cat) will thank you.

10. Check your destination country’s pet health requirements several months in advance.

Every country has its own requirements regarding required health vaccinations, inspections upon arrival, and, sometimes, quarantine. It’s important that you know exactly what the requirements are several months in advance. For example, certain countries specify that your pet must have a rabies vaccination less than a year old but at but no less than 30 days from date of flight. Don’t get stuck having to change your ticket. Prepare for all of the requirements before you go by calling the consulates of the countries you’ll be visiting and asking about their requirements or checking USDA website here.. If you’re going to be traveling between two or more countries without returning to your home country, you may want to locate a vet in the areas where you’ll be staying so that a new pet health certificate can be completed if necessary.

9. Make sure your pet has a clean bill of health.

Regardless of the destination, most travel into another country will require that you present a pet health certificate to confirm that your pet’s vaccinations are up to date. There are typically strict requirements that establish how far in advance of your trip the certificate needs to be completed—usually no more than 5 to 10 days before your departure.

8. Check your carrier’s regulations.

Almost all airlines, trains, and buses have specific regulations that apply to pets on the go, and those regulations can vary greatly from one carrier to another. Check online or call the carrier to ask about pet regulations. Some of the questions to ask include: How many pets can be on-board at once? What are the boarding requirements? What are the pet carrier or crating requirements? Do you need to show up at the airport earlier if you’re traveling with your pet?

7. Prepare your pet’s carrier.

First, make sure that your pet’s carrier fits the transportation provider’s requirements for size, type (hard side vs. soft side), and interior (lined vs. not lined). If it’s allowed in the cabin, make sure that the pet can fit in the carrier comfortably and still fit under the seat. If you’ll be traveling by air, ask for an aisle seat; middle seats are typically storage sites for electronic equipment, and it’s unlikely a carrier will fit well under that seat. Make sure that your pet’s leash and some plastic bags, paper towels, and handwipes are stored in or near the carrier for quick access if needed.

6. Prepare for security screening.

Most U.S. airports require that you remove your pet (if it is a dog or cat) from its carrier and place it in your arms while passing through the security checkpoint. If your pet is unaccustomed to loud noises, you may want to practice a few times before arriving at the airport by exposing your pet to some high traffic places so he or she won’t be scared or startled.

5. Make sure your pet has ID.

Even if you don’t tag your luggage, make sure you tag your pet’s crate or carrier, whether in the cabin or in cargo, and make sure your pet is wearing a tag on its collar with its name and your contact information.

4. Carry contact information.

Note your pet’s health information and vet contact information among your documents. This seems simple, but lots of people forget to take their vet’s contact information with them. Your home vet can be a great resource while abroad, though, so don’t forget!

3. Check the pets-welcome policy for your lodgings

Increasingly, non-pet friendly lodgings are cracking down on enforcement, some charging a “heavy cleaning” or “convenience fee”—in many cases non-refundable—if they discover that you have a pet. Be sure to ask about the pet policy for the places where you plan to stay. Check out www.petswelcome.com for a list of places around the world that are pet friendly.

2. Get to know your pet’s travel needs.

If you’ve never traveled with your pet before, you may be surprised to see how different he or she is on the road. After your first trip, you’ll begin to get an idea of your pet’s specific needs and plan for them accordingly. If you have a dog, be sure to walk it before arriving at the airport. Keep a few plastic bags in your bag for disposal of waste.

1. Last call checklist:

Check your bags once more before you go: Leash? Meds (if liquids, are they stored appropriately)? Food? Water? Water / Food Bowls? Vet record and contact information?

_______________________________

One of Matador’sregular contributors, Julie Schwietert Collazo is a writer, editor, researcher, and translator who lives in New York, Mexico City, and San Juan. She has a BA in English and Women’s Studies, a Masters of Social Work, and is working on a PhD in Literature at the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe.

10. Examine your expectations.

Visiting a place as a tourist or a traveler, however immersed in the culture you might be, is entirely different from living there. This point seems obvious enough, but in the excitement of just thinking about moving abroad, it’s frequently overlooked. It shouldn’t be. This is one of THE most important preparations you will make in your moving process. What is motivating your move? What do you hope to lose and to gain in the process? How do you expect your life to be different?

9. Find home sweet home.

You may not have a home before you move to your adopted country, but you should have all of the documentation that you will need in order to be able to get one. The requirements for renting and buying vary significantly from one country to the next, and once you’re abroad, it can be difficult—and expensive—to put together the paper trail of your past.

To the greatest extent possible, find out in advance what kinds of documents you’ll need—you might want to read expatriate online forums (example: Buenos Aires Expat Group) to get ideas / info. You can even reach out to individual users— people on these forums typically love to share their knowledge and experiences. At the very least, prepare a package with several photocopied sets of the following documents: the photo page of your passport and identification card, tax returns, bank statements, a list of past addresses where you’ve lived, a list of past employers, and a list with complete contact information for three to five references.

8. Stay in Touch.

The world is globalized, but one of the frustrations that can complicate the early phase of living abroad is figuring out how to stay in touch with the family and friends you’ve left behind. Avoid the expense of this learning curve by figuring out the telephonic, internet, and snail mail options that are available and what you, as a foreigner, will need in order to establish service. Again, expat forums are a good source of information. If you plan to establish a nomadic lifestyle, consider options that can be portable, moving with you every time you pull up stakes.

Voice over internet phone (VOIP) technology is improving significantly, and a single number and account can keep you in touch with loved ones no matter where you are, minimizing the need to make changes in service and keep your contacts up to date every time you move. One of the biggest VOIP providers is Skype .

7. Making the Move

You’ve defined your expectations, done your homework, and now you’re ready to move. Almost. What are you taking with you and what are you leaving behind? Don’t leave these questions for the last minute. If you are planning to move furniture and other large household items from one country to another, this will require a significantly different level of planning than just moving you and your rucksack.

If you plan to pack up your worldly possessions and ship them abroad to your new home, start planning at least three months in advance. You will need to determine what companies offer shipping service between the originating and destination countries, what their policies are (some require a home visit BEFORE packing to provide an estimate), what their prices and payment options are, whether they are bonded and insured (a critical point- please don’t overlook this!), and what kind of reputation they have.

Again, don’t skimp on this point. Moving companies—especially for international moves—are poorly regulated and it is not infrequent for customers to be scammed, resulting in the loss of money and possessions, as well as precious time. Check the reputation of the companies you’re considering, (another good resource is www.ripoffreport.com or your state’s consumer affairs bureau). Even if you’re not planning to contract a moving company, decide what you’ll be doing with your possessions: Yard sale? Storage unit? A grand give-away for friends? In any of these scenarios, you’ll need to do a bit of planning to ensure for the appropriate sale / transfer of items that are important to you.

6. Mind Your Money.

Moving is always an expense, even when you’ve planned to do so on a budget. Managing your money during a move is critical. Consider the following: Will you keep a bank account in your home country and/or establish an account in a new country? If the former, determine whether you’ll be able to use your ATM/debit card abroad and what kinds of foreign transaction fees you might incur as a result.

If the latter, you’ll want to know what kinds of documentation and references you’ll need to open an account. You may also want to consider online money management tools, either as a primary or secondary means of managing your money. Paypal is one of the many online money management tools available that can facilitate living abroad (In my own case, my clients pay for my writing, research, and translation services via paypal), but there are many other checking, savings, and transfer services. ING also has online financial services, including savings and money market options.

5. Thinking About the Fine Print.

There’s a lot about moving abroad that’s exciting and fun, but don’t forget about the fine print. All of the responsibilities that you have living in your home country—paying taxes, updating or renewing identification and other documents, and the like—don’t simply disappear once you move to another country. In fact, it’s likely that there will be more fine print with which you’ll need to comply than was ever true before.

Be sure to find out, for example, what the residency requirements are in your new country. Whether you’re staying as a temporary visitor or resident or whether you plan to establish permanent residence or citizenship, you’ll need to know the local requirements and be able to make necessary contacts (such as lawyers and accountants) to comply with them.

Also, if you haven’t fully cut ties with your home country (or if you are still employed by a company within your home country), be sure to consider what your ongoing obligations are in that jurisdiction. Keep your own notes to document your processes; these will come in handy when you renew, extend, or file for residency.

4. Working Abroad.

Maybe your plan is to get a job waiting tables, or maybe you’re in the fortunate position of being able to work online. If neither of these circumstances applies to you, though, you’ll need to think a bit about what kind of job you plan to pursue.

If you’re intending to look for a professional position, you’ll need to have copies of your transcripts and degrees. These may need to be translated by an official translation service. They may also need to be validated in the host country. As with the other tips provided here, the more information you have prepared and ready for dissemination, the better.

3. Contingency Planning

Just because you’re moving doesn’t mean that life’s little emergencies disappear. If you have any medical conditions, require medication, or have any other conditions that will need the attention of a professional, be sure to think about how you’ll get those needs met in your new country. As with the other tips here, the more detailed information that you bring with you (medical history, copy of your medical records, etc.), the more successful you’ll be.

2. Developing a New Network of Friends

Now that you’ve got everything in place, you can relax! But finding a new peer group may be as challenging as some of the other steps in the moving process. It’s likely, if you’re moving abroad, that you speak the language, so that’s a great first step.

Consider what your interests are and look for places and people that reflect those interests and would be a natural place to make new friends. In Mexico, for example, I’ve made new friends at university lectures, in film presentations, at museums, and other cultural events.

1. Pass it On!

Congratulations! Now you’re an expert in international moving. Take your lessons and pass them on. Consider how you can smooth the moving process for someone else by sharing your knowledge. What people and resources helped you along the way? Thank them for their input and add to the information they’ve offered by sharing the knowledge that you’ve acquired through your own experiences.

Patagonia Photo: Morning theft

This top 10 scours the Spanish-speaking world to find the best language schools that also meet the following criteria: (1) access to world-class wilderness and / or adventure sports, (2) an emphasis on sustainability and supporting local communities, and (3) a wide range of geographical regions.

10. Pop Wuj
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

In addition to offering basic Spanish instruction, Pop Wuj specializes in technical Spanish for social workers, nurses, and doctors. Professionals can get hands-on fieldwork experience volunteering in the community. The school gets points from Matador for being a cooperative and with a strong commitment to community service. The school is a non-profit that directs its earnings to community development projects including a daycare, a greenhouse, medical clinics, and a scholarship program for marginalized students. Although Quetzaltenango is the second largest city in Guatemala, it’s a stone’s throw from numerous volcanoes. Climbers and hikers will be in paradise here.

a view of Mt. Santa Maria and Quetzaltenango Photo: Fernando Reyes Palencia

9. Costa Rican Language Academy
San Jose, Costa Rica

One of the few language schools in Costa Rica owned and operated by Costa Ricans, CRLA is conscious of the local community, though it’s a bit more vague about exactly how it supports local initiatives compared to some of the other schools on our list. Still, its San Jose location is ideal; the capital city has a variety of transportation options and serves as a jumping off point for the coastal or mountain regions, where a wide variety of intense recreation can be enjoyed. Click here for a great map and description of Costa Rican surf spots.

8. El Paraiso Spanish School
Boquete, Panama

El Paraiso, owned and staffed by locals, is located on the Caldera River in the town of Boquete, much smaller and less touristy than Bocas del Toro. Boquete is surrounded by mountains, including the Baru Volcano, offering wilderness hiking and camping for seasoned trailblazers. Paddling and rafting on the river is also possible.

7. Otavalo Spanish Institute
Otavalo, Ecuador

While more expensive than many of the other schools on our list and also less clear about its commitment to sustainability and community, this school deserves a spot on the list for its geography alone. Ninety minutes from Quito, Otavalo is a world-famous artisan town surrounded by mountains and home to some of the clearest lakes in Ecuador. Opportunities abound for alpine adventures, mountain biking, climbing, and hiking. OSI also makes the list because it offers Quechua (Kichwa) courses and has a combination package in which students can study for part of their stay in Otavalo and in Baños for the other part; in Baños, hiking, biking, climbing, and rafting await.

Cajas National Park, Ecuador Photo: notafish

6. Hijos del Maiz
El Lagartillo, Nicaragua

Perhaps the most off-the-beaten path school on our list, Hijos del Maiz is a “project by the community, for the community,” whose teachers are “well-educated peasant farmers from the community.” At least 20% of the weekly fee of $130 is reinvested into community projects, and students are invited to become as engaged in local life as they’d like by participating in community building projects. According to one student, just getting to the school was an adventure sport, but once you’re there, you’ll have plenty of time to explore the area on horseback. Test your bareback gallop in this rugged terrain!

5. Instituto de Idiomas, Universidad del Norte
Barranquilla, Colombia

The Institute of Languages at Barranquilla’s University of the North offers intensive language courses and the same kinds of homestay-volunteer combination packages offered by most schools on the list. Located in Barranquilla, a Caribbean coastal city, you’ll be perfectly positioned to spend your free time kiteboarding or diving. Of course, you could also find out for yourself whether Shakira was right when she said hips don’t lie. Whet your appetite for the trip by checking out this video from the 2004 International Kiteboarding Competition, which was held in Cartagena.

4. Spanish in the Mountains
Bariloche, Argentina

Spanish in the Mountains is steps from Cerro Catedral, Argentina’s biggest ski resort. If you want backcountry, head to the untouched bowls at Refugio Frey or the nearby chutes at La Laguna. This is a school run by and for mountain lovers. On most days during the Austral winter (July-September) you can find students from Alaska, the Rockies, the Alps and flatlanders with alpine dreams practicing conjugations on chairlifts. Mountaineers can combine lessons with a summit of the local giant, Mt. Tronador. Paddlers can study after running sections of the gnarly Rio Manso. The school’s classroom is a log cabin tucked inside a cozy forest with views of the local peaks. There are also visits to rural estancias, nearby farms and museums – plus regular nighttime barbecues where you can meet other mountain lovin’ locals and find a partner for ski touring on the weekend. This is also the best way to get the inside scoop on the best powder stashes and the lesser-known crags where only the locals hang out. Flat rate for classes is US$13/hour and schedules are ongoing – whenever you want to start, a teacher is ready for you. Housing options: rent your own bungalow, stay with a local family, or spend as much time as you can in your tent. Tip: Bring your gear – and consider selling some when you leave since there’s always a hot market for mountain toys here.

[Editor's note: this school was submitted / reported on by Christie Pashby.]

Montevideo’s southern shore Photo: Vince Alongi

3. IPSA Spanish Language School
Montevideo, Uruguay

IPSA is within walking distance to the beach, providing great opportunities for surfing…check out Playa Honda! Click hereFor surfing information and conditions in Montevideo. Prices at IPSA vary significantly depending on the intensity, duration, and level of your Spanish class.

2. Guacamaya Spanish School
Copan Ruinas, Honduras

While another local school called Ixbalanque may be better known, Guacamaya is one of the most welcoming and community-focused language school in Honduras. Guacmaya offers a week’s worth of classes and homestay (with meals, internet, and an excursion) for $200, providing a stipend to host families. They also organize volunteer opportunities for students, fostering cultural exchange with the locals and helping to improve the infrastructure of the community. Copan Ruinas is a World Heritage Site that offers lots of possibilities for adventure. While many schools and tour operators will likely try to rope you into an organized excursion, exploring the Rio Dulce and the local caves on your own is likely to be a rewarding experience.

Copan Ruinas Photo: Adal-Honduras

1. Cooperative Spanish School San Pedro
San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala

Despite its boring name, the Cooperative Spanish School San Pedro earns top ranking by meeting all of our inclusion criteria and then some! The school was started by a group of local teachers who are all equal partners in the enterprise and receive a living wage. In addition to providing extraordinarily affordable instruction (rates begin at $62 per week without a homestay; $117 for a homestay), the cooperative directs profits towards two community development projects: an outreach program to families with needs caused by physical disability or severe economic hardship, and an education program for local students. The school also offers nightly activities that range from lectures and discussions on Guatemalan history and indigenous rights, to local arts, and hiking and kayaking excursions. The school is within walking distance to Lake Atitlan, providing opportunities for independent hiking, swimming, and kayaking.