Flightster

Destinations

Traveling by Bus in Latin America? Dress for Winter

As budget travelers we’re often determined to the find the most cost effective way to get each of our destinations. In Latin and Central America that happens to be the bus.  But for anybody who has ever traveled on a bus in any of these countries you know it’s not for the feint of heart. If you’re not ok with a bit of discomfort I’d recommend you avoid the bus.  Our very own Colin Wright once thought he was going to die on a 72 hour bus ride. Why he decided to to embark on a 72 hour bus ride is beyond me, but we’ll save that for another day.

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The Soul Searching Travelers of the Pura Vida Hostel

At the age of 32, there’s only one thing I’m truly certain of.  At the age of 22  I saw the world in a completely different light. Lauren Rain’s once asked if the world travelers were running from something and concluded that they weren’t.  You’d think at my age the last place I’d want to be is in a hostel. But, when you consider that fact I’m a solo traveler, even if I wasn’t traveling on a budget, I’d probably still stay in a hostel because it’s the most social environment accessible to any traveler.

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Mardis Gras in New Orleans – How Cat in the Hat Got Injured

There’s nothing like a good road trip.  Especially one with 4 of your best friends headed down to New Orleans for Mardis Gras.  When you enter New Orleans, you enter another world.  The city oozes culture and history and it almost felt like I had visited another country.  The time of year was Mardis Gras and there’s no escaping it in New Orleans.  It doesn’t matter what part of the city you’re in.  The city pretty much shuts down to party for a straight week.  Schools and businesses are closed as people head to the streets to celebrate.

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Visiting the Ghost Town of Fort Igloo South Dakota

A sprawling complex of ammunition’s depots, army barracks, housing, hospital remnants, church, police station, amongst many other buildings lies abandoned near Provo, South Dakota.  The base was built in 1942 and abandoned in 1967.  Looking at an aerial view you can see just how sprawling Fort Igloo (also known as Black Hills Army Depot) actually is.  If you’re heading to the badlands or Mount Rushmore, some ghost town exploration lies about 70 miles to the south.  The sheer monstrosity of the area is overwhelming.  This is an urban exploration and ghost town aficionado’s dream.  The roads leading around the base can be a bit confusing, as some roads are so overgrown, you can hardly tell they are there.  One of my favorite parts is an overgrown airstrip with some decrepit hangers near some factory looking buildings.  Watch out though, while we were there we saw some rattle snakes, so make sure to be on the lookout.  That rattle sound is eerie.  I’d heard it for the first time there in Fort Igloo.

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You Think You Know But You Have No Idea (Part 2): BUENOS AIRES

When traveling we have two options: to embrace a location for all that it is including both the sexy and the not so sexy, or get caught up in all the annoying, different, and not-so-sexy attributes of the location and its culture. Last week I touched on some of the craziness you’ll find in Beijing, China. This week it’s the crazy Buenos Aires, Argentina.

When it comes to cities like Buenos Aires, Argentina it can be easy to pay a bit more attention to the not so sexy things if you’re not careful. As you’ll find out soon, one of them in particular is literally shoved in your face every time you walk the city’s streets. And it’s not pretty!

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A Beginner’s Guide to Surfing in Southern California

Editors Note: This post was co-written with Christy Woodrow from OrdinaryTraveler

So you’ve arrived in Southern California or you live here and you’ve decided that you want to learn how to surf.  I feel obligated to warn you that there’s a risk that your life as you currently know it will be over. Once you’ve experienced firsthand what it feels like to be  stoked, it will be the start of a lifelong journey in pursuit of that feeling and good waves.

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The Natural Mystic of Riding In Moving Vehicles

“What is the meaning of life?  What is my purpose and why am I here? Who am I? Where am I going? Where do I even want to go? How far have I come? How long will I last? What does this moment mean in the grand scheme of things?”

These are the questions that tend to mold my thoughts when I find myself staring out the window on a train or a bus as a get closer to wherever my final destination may be. Oftentimes these questions can run so deep they can be overwhelming, but in the right situation the answers to them are quite easily found.

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Your Motherland Offers More Adventure Than You Think

Oftentimes we get so busy and enticed in exploring the uncharted territories of our planet, that we forget our own country is actually pretty freaking fantastic as well. We spend so much time experiencing other cultures and languages and countries that we skip right over the one that we call our own! I am here today to shed some light on this little misunderstanding.

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Nostalgic for Dal Bhat (and a free book)

It all started in Nepal.

The travel itch, I mean. The spirited sense of adventure I get from pushing the boundaries of my cultural comfort zone. Exploring a new place, bumbling and curiously naive, armed with a repertoire of clever gesticulations just in case I can’t get my point across. Getting lost. Taking in the ethos of cities and peoples and experiences through their respective nooks and crannies.

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10 Flightster Favorites from 2010

As 2010 comes to a close,  I think it’s important to take a look back at what we’ve done in 2010. First I just want to say thanks to all the contributors and our writing staff for making my job fun, inspiring, and continually producing absolutely amazing content.  In a relatively short amount of time,  together we’ve created the Flightster brand and given it a unique voice.  In no particular order , here are 10 of my Flightster Favorites from 2010

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