As travelers, we’ve all been there: you’re in a foreign country, you don’t speak the language, and you’re trying desperately to make yourself understood—and comprehend what someone else is telling you. It might be as simple as ordering a meal, buying a ticket or negotiating the price of that souvenir you simply must have. Or, [...]
I don’t remember whose bright idea it was to motorcycle around the entire Maderas Volcano that makes up the southern half of La Isla Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua. Actually, yes I do – it was my boyfriend Keith’s idea. But I can’t really blame him for the three hours of ass-smashing bouncing that [...]
Just where is La Isla Ometepe, you might ask? I myself had never heard of it until I began planning a trip to Nicaragua in mid 2011, with my boyfriend Keith. After setting up a home exchange in Granada, our exchange host there, Peta, strongly suggested we consider a visit to Ometepe. La Isla Ometepe [...]
Nicaragua is not a wealthy country; according to the Moon Handbook to Nicaragua, it is the poorest of all Central American countries (and second-poorest in the Western Hemisphere). Having suffered numerous colonial take-overs, civil war, rebellious political overthrows and the infamous Sandinista/Contra period in the 1980s in which the U.S. was so heavily involved, this [...]
You have to really want to get to Little Corn Island, off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. First, you take a flight to Big Corn Island from Managua, via La Costeña airlines. Yes, there is a Big Corn and Little Corn island. The Little Corn locals refer to Big Corn as the “big island,” although it’s [...]
You have to really want to get to Little Corn Island, off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. It can’t be called easy to get to, by any stretch of the imagination. Starting from Leon, we took a mini-bus to capital city Managua, from where we flew to Big Corn Island via La Costeña airlines. Yes, there [...]
Cerro Negro is a very young volcano. At a mere 161 years old, it’s a newborn baby in fact. “The Black Hill” is one of 25 volcanoes in Nicaragua, of which 9 are active (or at least erupted in the last two thousand years). Cerro Negro is very definitely one of the active ones; in [...]
Tomorrow I leave for three weeks in Nicaragua, and the real beginning of this Trading Places blog. The stories I have shared so far are experiences I’ve had in the past couple of years, real stand-out people and places that are some of my top travels of late. Nicaragua is the first stop on my [...]
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I'm Shelley, a journeyer and learner of the world, freelance journalist and author, yoga chick and dog lover. I pound the keyboard from home barefoot every day, and while my boss is demanding she also occasionally lets me have the early afternoon cocktail. I think not going into an office or collecting corporate paychecks are very good ideas, though not always profitable. I have written for National Geographic, USA Today, Globe Pequot Press, Andrew Harper Traveler and CNN, among others. Neither the New York Times nor Johnny Depp have answered my letters yet.
I love yoga, wine, and books, though not necessarily in that order. I believe in karma. Mean people suck. If I could have any dream job I would like to be a superhero. I don't know how to whistle. I was once robbed by a monkey in Nepal.
My mantra is "travel with a purpose."
Click my mug shot above if you want to visit my portfolio website and learn more about my writing.
Merna - @ImpactJourneys: I agree wholeheartedly. I've volunteered a lot - ...
The Benefits of Volunteering while Traveling | Trading Places: [...] heavily into my travel: I’ve worked wi...
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