http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/destinations/personaljourney RSS Feed for P-com Personal Journey en-us Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:08:05 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/destinations/personaljourney/moreheadlines.html http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/destinations/personaljourney/20080427_Personal_Journey__A_plea_to_China__Just_go_home.html The elderly Tibetan woman at her loom in the Tibetan Refugee Center in Kathmandu, Nepal, looked at me with sad eyes. "Please," she said, "tell everyone back home and on the Internet - tell the Chinese not to get out, but to go home. We wish them no harm, but please tell them to go home." http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/destinations/personaljourney/20080420_Personal_Journey__Seeking_buried_treasure_of_Yucatecan_outlaws.html When I was a young boy, I lived those adventurous stories from books and movies. I plundered the New World with Cortez and Pizarro, sailed the Spanish Main under the skull and crossbones with Captain Kidd and Blackbeard, and dug for gold with Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The spark of adventure was lit, but it was to smolder for many years. http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/destinations/personaljourney/20080309_Personal_Journey__A_triumph_of_total_immersion.html I am still learning Spanish. Jacqueline, who is from Chile, is learning English. For three years, we have gotten together once a week in our University City neighborhood to correct each other's grammar, and through this experience of shared imperfection we have become friends. I was about to leave for vacation in Barcelona when she asked me to deliver a book to her sister Ligia. http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/destinations/personaljourney/20080330_Personal_Journey__Realizing_her_dream_on_the_last_frontier.html My tiny bush plane dipped and wobbled over mountains and wilderness that human feet have never touched. Finally, there it was: Skagway, Alaska, a mile-long town nestled between glacier-covered mountains. http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/destinations/personaljourney/20080406_Personal_Journey__Enjoying_a_slice_of_birthday_cave.html I inched along the iron-rich red sand on my belly, the milky beam of light from my headlamp illuminating the narrow gap ahead of me. Breathe, I told myself. Don't panic! I used my elbows to slither forward and had to duck even lower as my helmet struck a low-hanging stalactite. My heart pounded so loud it seemed to vibrate off the limestone walls. http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/destinations/personaljourney/20080302_Personal_Journey__Playing_passport_hardball_in_South_Africa.html Exhausted after a 16-hour flight, I stumbled off the crowded South African Airways plane and breathed the cool Johannesburg air. It was good to be back. http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/destinations/personaljourney/20080323_Personal_Journey__Park_theme_is_the_old_Soviet_big_guys.html The sun is out and mosquitoes form small clouds over the path ahead of me, just where I will want to stand to take my next picture. As I try to focus my camera on Stalin's mustache and disperse the insects at the same time, stout Russian voices break into song and I just can't help myself any longer. I start to laugh. http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/destinations/personaljourney/20080316_Personal_Journey__Kids_are_par_for_this_course.html When you bring children to a golf course, be prepared for a few glares. Golfers enjoy the quiet of the game, and they expect children to be noisy. http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/destinations/personaljourney/20080413_Personal_Journey__Learning_about_life_revered_in_Costa_Rica.html When we agreed to join friends for a 12-day tour of Costa Rica, we knew so little about the country that we had to locate it on a map. The natural Wonders of Costa Rica sounded like a mellow adventure, especially since we were sharing it with others who were "60-plus."