Photo by guldfisken

Even though I complain about flight delays and outdated guidebooks, I feel that travel is too easy in our time. It used to be much harder, and I am fascinated by old stories of travelers and explorers.

Every book here was written over one hundred years ago. For travelers looking for inspiration, the following stories are a glimpse into experiences that changed history.

10. Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petraea, and the Holy Land by John Lloyd Stephens (1837)

Stephens recounts a journey through the Middle East – including Petra, the pyramids, and Jerusalem. This is the first of many well-received travel books written by Stephens. It provides everything armchair travel should – humor, candor, and adventure. His writing paints a brilliant portrait of the lives of the Arabs he encountered.

9. Travels in the Interior of Africa by Mungo Park (1799)

When he was 24 years old, Park decided to trace the Niger river. He spent 18 months in the interior – losing nearly all his supplies along the way (but keeping his notes in his hat). Emerging after believed to be dead, his story created huge headlines and fanfare.

This book is a fantastic account of one of the early African explorations.

8. Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum (1900)

In his 50s, Slocum spent three years sailing around the world – encountering storms, pirates, and incredible loneliness along the way. He was the first person to do it alone. The book he later published has become a sailing classic.

7. The Travels of Ibn Battuta (around 1355)

A Moroccan Berber, often summarized as the Arabic Marco Polo, Battuta’s account covers 30 years of travels through Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He was on the move for half his life, with all the ups and downs that accompany that kind of existence. This book also reminds us that not all explorers were European.

Photo by linnybinnypix

6. Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons by John Wesley Powell (1874)

With raw dedication, Powell led the first descent of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. It was a dangerous journey into a sublime landscape.

His expedition encountered numerous difficulties that led some of his men to abandon the party.

Those that left were killed by Native Americans. Those that stayed continued through and survived. Read it here.

5. Farthest North by Dr. Fridtjof Nansen (1897)

In 1893, Nansen set sail with the goal of getting his ship frozen in ice.

He planned to drift with the ice and allow it to carry him to the North Pole. After being trapped in the ice for a year, he set out on foot and went far enough north to set a new record.

Continuing on foot, he returned to civilization in 1896. The ship’s crew, having freed themselves from the ice, returned shortly after Nansen.

4. Two Years Before The Mast – Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1840)

Leaving Harvard in his junior year, Dana signed up as a common seaman on a merchant ship – setting the standard for the young person throwing off society’s expectations and seeking adventure. He learned the ways of the sea as the ship left Boston, rounded Cape Horn, and sailed to California.

After returning, Dana wrote this book – the best account of life at sea in this time period.

3. The Travels of Marco Polo(1299)

One of the earliest travel narratives available to modern readers, this is the story of a Venetian merchant who traveled through Asia.

With a curious magical realism, Polo describes India, China, Tibet, Persia, and other lands that he traveled through. His travels would later guide and inspire other explorers, including Christopher Columbus. Polo is the great grandfather of modern adventure literature.

2. The Journals of Lewis & Clark (1814)

Lewis and Clark are the most famous American explorers.

When they traveled the breadth of America, they wrote it all down for us. The mountains, the rivers, the wildlife, the Native Americans, and everything else they saw.

This is the kind of story that makes modern travelers think they were born in the wrong time.

1. Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Mecca by Sir Richard F Burton(1855)

Legendary in his own time, this British secret agent was the first European to travel into the forbidden cities of Mecca and Medina. He was also the first European to lead an expedition seeking the source of the Nile, and the man who brought the Kama Sutra and the Arabian Nights to the West.

Burton spoke 29 languages and dialects and often passed himself off as an Afghan or a wandering Arab holy man. He wrote around 50 books about his travels and experiences. Read as many of them as you can.

Feature photo by muha. Photo above by stefan linecker

With most of our photos in digital format these days, photo sharing websites are competing for our attention by offering free accounts with a wide array of features. The following are six of the most popular, and all have something to offer. Read on to find the one that works for you.

Flickr

Out of all the photo sharing websites, Flickr’s community is the best. Most photos are public, and it is tempting to spend hours exploring the groups and reading discussions about photos .

The user interface is excellent, with drag and drop organizing, online photo editing, and easy linking. You can even plot your whole trip by dragging your photos onto a map.

Flickr limits you to 100 MB of uploads each calendar month. That can be frustrating if you want to upload your entire back catalog, but it allows steady portfolio growth. However, only the 200 most recent images will be displayed on your Flickr page.

Don’t expect to clear up your memory card by uploading on the road, unless you are satisfied with lower image sizes. You cannot download your photos in their original sizes. If you upload a large photo (10MB limit), the largest downloadable file is still less than 1 megapixel.

Photo by Lin Pernille

Picasa

Picasa has a simple interface with no ads cluttering the screen. Embedding slideshows and linking to photos is painless. Albums are organized by drag and drop. The only thing missing is the ability to edit photos online.

You get 1GB storage. A 20MB image size limit leaves plenty of room for most users. Unlike many other sites, you can download large photos at their original sizes.

Some of the newer features include uploading videos (100MB maximum file size) and mapping the location of a photo. If you use Blogger, your Picasa account is tied to it, giving you easy access to every photo ever posted on your blog.

Picasa allows you to browse and comment on public photos, but the sharing community isn’t as vibrant as Flickr’s.

Shutterfly

Unlimited storage, easy drag and drop organizing, and editing tools make Shutterfly a good choice. However, the actual photo sharing is frustrating. The community section allows you to browse slideshows, but not individual photos. You can only comment on the entire slideshow.

Even though there is no limit to the photo size that you can upload, it will be reduced and you will not be able to access the original file size.

Finally, Shutterfly has no features for creating links to a picture from another website.

Photo by kainet

Webshots

I like Webshots for many of the same reasons I like Flickr. It is easy to browse and search other peoples photos and comment on them to your heart’s content.

They also are very handy if you want to use your account as an archive for linking to your website. Beside each picture you can easily click on the size image you want and the html code is generated automatically.

The storage limit rewards long time members. It starts at 1000 images and adds another 100 each month.

Where Webshots falls behind is in excessive ad clutter. Also, there are few options for editing your photos. You can crop and rotate, but not much more.

Kodak Gallery

Unlimited storage makes Kodak Gallery tempting, but there are numerous catches. They only accept JPEG format and you have to make a purchase from them at least every 12 months to maintain your free storage. If you need a personalized mouse pad, then this is place is for you.

Kodak Gallery doesn’t have a sharing community. You can post your photos and invite specific people to look at them, but you cannot browse through groups of other people’s photos. And, of course, you can’t download your original high resolution images.

This is one of the websites that is offering video as well, but they are so restrictive that I wouldn’t use them. They only accept one format (mov) and they only promise to keep it available for 30 days.

Photo by tanakawho

Photobucket

Photobucket has some of the best online photo editing – useful for travelers on public computers. The site offers easy linking and the ability to send photos to MySpace, Blogger, Facebook, Friendster, and others.

On Photobucket, a free account has 1 GB of storage. The maximum photo size is 1MB or 1024 by 768. A few odd limitations – a maximum of 30 photos per slideshow and 25GB of traffic per month. If there are a lot of popular links to your photos, you might reach this limit and your photos will no longer display on those other websites.

Photobucket has also joined those sites that allow videos. The video must be less than 5 minutes and less than 100MB.

The Bottom Line

To get the best features, I have to compromise. From now on, I am using Picasa for my online photo storage. However, until Picasa’s community grows in features and users, I will be spending my free time roaming around the photo groups over at Flickr.

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A great way to start sharing your photos is to join the Matador Travel or the Brave New Traveler Flickr groups.

There are almost 80,000 dams in the US. In nearly every case, they isolate fish populations, collect sediment, alter water temperatures, lower oxygen levels, and disrupt flow cycles. The riverine habitat is completely changed or destroyed.

The good news is that rivers can recover, and quickly, if given the chance. Dam removals across the country are showing us how the environment reacts when the dam is taken out. Natural flow conditions develop quickly after the majority of the sediment is removed and species diversity often doubles.

Beyond the rivers, floodplains and wetlands in the surrounding landscape are revitalized by the restored flow. The new vegetation growth helps the animal populations. In addition, local economies are finding that the removing dams creates new sources of revenue via tourism.

According to a 2007 report, 273 dams in the United States have been removed since 1999. Most of these dams are so old that ripping them out is cheaper than the maintenance bills. Many don’t even provide power anymore.

If you live in the United States, chances are good that a dam near you has been removed recently. Some of the places–such as the 5 listed here–rank among the most interesting and inspiring destinations of 2008.

1. Cove Dam, Bear River, ID

Photo by katsuu.

When PacifiCorp removed the Cove Dam in late 2006, it was a worn-out hydroelectric dam that no longer generated electricity.

The removal reconnected 29 miles of Bear River (which is the longest river in the U.S. that doesn’t reach the ocean) and restored fish-spawning tributaries. Fish habitat and water quality have improved. Native cutthroat trout are thriving and native plants have reclaimed the formerly flooded areas created by the dam.

Bear River is a whitewater boating and fishing destination. You can also find all the hiking and camping you can handle in Cache National Forest and Caribou National Forest.

Sadly, the Bear River is threatened with the proposal of a new dam on the Oneida Narrows section. This dam would destroy trout habitat and flood a wintering range for elk. Join Idaho Rivers Unitedin fight this proposal.

2. Whittlinger Dam, Yellow Breeches Creek, PA

Yellow Breeches Creek in Pennsylvania is widely known as an excellent trout fishery. In late 2007, the Whittlinger Dam was removed in an effort to restore Yellow Breeches to a free-flowing state. The old dam was not economically beneficial and had been deemed a hazard.

The dam removal has opened options for paddlers and habitat for migrating fish. This area is especially popular due to its proximity to the Appalachian Trail. Lower Allen Community Park in Mechanicsburg provides camping spots and creek access. More access points and maps are available here .

3. Marmot Dam, Sandy River, OR

This dam removal has been well documented. Oregon Public Broadcasting has a short video of the removal. The Marmot Dam website also has a great time lapse video.

The sediment was not removed during demolition. It was expected that the river would wash it away in the following months or years. It took one day. Within three days, salmon were migrating past the former dam site.

Part of the dam’s former power output is being replaced by current and planned wind farms.

When the Little Sandy Dam, the next dam in the project, is removed this year, the habitat for the salmon will be extended even more. The land recovered from the dam removals is being donated to form part of a nature refuge and recreation area.

With Mount Hood nearby, the area is a popular outdoor recreation destination for every activity you can think of.

4. Hersey Dam, Hersey River, MI
This dam, which had not produced power since the 1940s, was near the mouth of a cold water trout stream – completely blocking the Hersey River off from the fish in the Muskegon River.

Photo by Hamed Saber.

Dam removal in Michigan is rare, because the state has trouble approving the cost for removing obsolete and unsafe dams. The removal of the Hersey Dam was funded mostly by private organizations interested in the fishing and environmental improvements.

With the dam gone, trout and other fish are able to move freely between the Muskegon and Hersey Rivers.

There are plenty of activities available in this area. Hike and bike the Pere Marquette Trail, and paddle and fly-fish the Muskegon River .

5. McCoy-Linn Dam, Spring Creek, PA

This dam had been known to breach during storms and had not provided electricity since 1950. After its removal in late 2007, a riverfront recreational area was created, downstream water quality improved, and fish habitat was extended.

With part of it named Fisherman’s Paradise, it isn’t surprising that Spring Creek is considered by many to be the best wild trout stream in Pennsylvania. Fishing conditions, boat accesses, and maps can be found here.

Hiking and camping opportunities can be found nearby at Bald Eagle State Forest and Rothrock State Forest.

The Future

As people become more aware of how our actions affect the environment, many are realizing that green energy is much more than just avoiding coal and oil. We must be careful to not disrupt natural habitats. For example, don’t cut down trees to make room for solar panels . Don’t clear forests to create biofuel plantations. Don’t dam our rivers for hydroelectric power. There are better ways to do this.

Spend a little time at one of these rivers, bring your family, and you’ll see why.

The U.S. Navy hires people for a wide range of positions. Photographers, mechanics, dentists, barbers, electricians, and many other jobs exist in the Navy. Unless you pick your job with the goal of getting into the middle of the fight (Navy SEALS ), then you probably won’t be anywhere near it.

The information below comes from my seven years in the United States Navy, but the lifestyle will apply to other navies around the world.

Where Can I Go?

In the Navy you can request to serve in a variety of locations. I know many sailors that lived in Italy, Britain, Hawaii, Spain, or Japan. While I didn’t live overseas, I moved up and down the east and west coasts of the United States – experiencing a variety of cities and getting paid for moving expenses each time.

Deployments

A naval ship will take you to many parts of the world. Deployment doesn’t mean that you are necessarily going to war. The United States sends ships all over the globe. It doesn’t concentrate them all in the hot spots. My first deployment was a slow trip around the Pacific Ocean, stopping at major port cities along the way.

On deployment, I regularly visited Japan, Guam, Australia, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Other common port visits include Bahrain, Mumbai, Hawaii, Thailand, Alaska, South Korea and many more.

Other Benefits

Sailors earn 30 days of vacation each year. This is much more than the average U.S. citizen. Of course, working for the government means there are extra rules you must follow. When requesting your vacation, you must tell your superiors where you are going.

If you want to go to a country that the United States isn’t friendly with, then you will have to answer extra questions and fill out more paperwork. This will, of course, decrease your odds of going.

Another perk is the availability of military flights. If you don’t need to keep a strict schedule, this can be a great way to fly free. After signing up, you will be placed on a standby space-available list. More information about this can be found at MilitaryHops.

What Is The Downside?

Don’t ignore the physical danger you are in by being a member of the armed forces. Events like the USS Cole bombing do happen. However, most sailors never experience anything like that. Being on a ship a hundred miles off the coast of an enemy country is very different than slinging a rifle on the front line.

When you are on a naval ship, you won’t be the one picking the next port . You just try to enjoy wherever you end up. The only way to affect this is to choose your assignments wisely. When I joined I had already traveled much of Europe, but little of Asia. So, I requested to be assigned to a ship on the west coast. This made it more likely that my ship would visit Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore.

Travel Restrictions

Navy travel can feel constrained. Your ship will make rules about where you can go, often limiting you to the closest big city. I have visited Japan more times than I can remember, but I have only been to one city. The karaoke bars in Sasebo get old real fast.

The U.S. Navy has a buddy system. So, find a buddy that has a compatible travel attitude. Otherwise, if everyone else plans to get wasted at the nearest bar, then that is where you are going. Being caught out on your own can get you in trouble with your superiors. Of course, being used to solo travel before I joined, I usually just risked it. On my way back to the ship, I would join up with the drunks and help them get across the quarterdeck and to their racks.

The Navy Isn’t For Everyone.

For many reasons, military service has been growing less popular in recent years. However, if you are looking for an escape from the cubicle, then you might want to consider the Navy. It can be a great way to collect a steady paycheck while traveling the world.

Otavalo, Ecuador. Photo by Theodore Scott.

I wasn’t always comfortable haggling. The first time I tried it was in Marrakesh. I wanted a Berber drum but had no idea how to haggle. The only reason I didn’t pay too much was that I didn’t have much money to start with.

Since then I’ve haggled in many places around the globe. It is a useful skill for every traveler. Haggling can get you cheaper taxi rides and discounts on hotel rooms. Although, I think it is the most fun when done at the local market.

If you are new to this sport, the following advice will give you a good chance of getting what you want at the right price:

1. Don’t get too attached.

A common mistake is convincing yourself that you must get a certain item. A worse mistake is letting the seller figure that out. If they see that you have fallen in love with something they are selling, then you are in a very weak bargaining position.

Even if the item is a one-of-a-kind piece that you will never find again, that doesn’t mean you can afford to pay a high price for it. There are plenty of other unique pieces that you can afford. Always be willing to find something else if the price isn’t right.

2. Set a ceiling price.

Before you start to haggle, figure out how much you can pay. This isn’t the price that you would prefer; it is the most you will let yourself pay. This stops you from getting caught up in the experience and regretting how much you spent.

Marketplace in Dubai. Photo by Theodore Scott.

3. Walk away.

Everyone knows this and yet most don’t do it. Walk out the door. The seller will probably yell at least one lower price as you leave. If not, the item will still be there in an hour – after you have looked for similar items elsewhere. You can come back. Don’t believe the shopkeeper if they tell you it will be sold by then.

4. Learn the language

You don’t have to be anything close to fluent, but learning a few phrases helps. Simple phrases can help you state your case without relying entirely on the shopkeeper’s English. Get a phrasebook or have someone teach you. Learn how to say “too expensive”, “how much”, “you are crazy”, etc.

Practice your numbers. You will feel much more comfortable if you can name your price and can recognize the numbers they are saying. Spend five minutes reviewing them before falling asleep each night to make them stick.

Ankara vendor in Lagos, Nigeria. Photo by Lola Akinmade

5. Bargain backwards

Bargaining in reverse sounds crazy, but it works. Haggling over a figurine in Peru, I offered 20. He was trying to rip me off at 100 and wasn’t coming down at all. I countered with 15, because he was being greedy and inflating his tourist price. I was getting even further from the asking price. He quickly lowered his asking price.

This tends to shock them into realizing that you are not going to come anywhere near what they are asking. If they want to make a sale, then they can start by being reasonable.

6. Ask for a bulk discount.

Another favorite is to buy multiple items and ask for a discount. Typically, you should haggle over one item until it is down to a reasonable price. Then, pick up a second and ask how much for both. You can get a little extra knocked off, so it won’t cost twice as much. I use this on simple gift items for friends and family back home.

7. Be reasonable.

Sometimes travelers lose perspective. If you find yourself close to an agreement, but can’t make them budge that last little bit, then ask yourself if another dollar really matters. You don’t need to spend your whole afternoon making sure you got the absolute best price on a Machu Picchu shirt. Save your energy for the more expensive items.

Community Connection

For more on haggling, check out Lola Akinmade’s beautiful blog on the marketplace in Lagos, Nigeria.