by Jill Robinson

My current calendar photo of the Mediterranean against a clear, blue July sky is soon to be flipped to a desert scene that was chosen to represent August, and a sense of urgency is starting to ensue. As I realize summer is almost coming to a close, the only exotic places I have been these last few months have been the World’s Largest Truck Stop in Iowa and a border town in Missouri that sold fireworks.

I’m notorious for day-dreaming about possible adventures in foreign countries and will stare out windows for inefficiently long periods of time thinking about where I would like to go next and what language I should learn. Maybe it’s the conditioning from elementary school that leaves many of us feeling that June through August are the only months for escape. The reality is, summer is not the end-all for our next big trip or small escape.

There is still a month left to travel, and September and October are wonderful times to explore new places. Prices are reduced, the flocks of tourists thin out and the weather is ideal. To stoke the fires of inspiration and motivation for the next big adventure, here is a list of gems to persuade us to circle a day on our calender and commit to a departure date in the upcoming months.

Greenheart Travel Staff picks Part I: Books

* Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden – “This book sealed my resolve to experience Kyoto and really made me appreciate Gion in a way I couldn’t have without reading it – for example, I don’t think I would have gotten goosebumps at glimpsing a geisha and her “maiko” at dusk tripping along the cobblestone streets.”

* Travelers’ Tales Guides – A Woman’s World; true stories of life on the road - “A collection of short stories by women describing their travels, self-discovery and life lessons. I have written in the page margins and underlined passages in this book that I still turn to when I’m in need of boost.”

* On the Road by Jack Kerouac – “This book opened my eyes to the adventure of the open road, and how the relationships and interactions with people along the way are just as important as the sites. “

* Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull - “I have a bunch of books about living in France that always make me homesick for that part of the world – I can’t remember all of them but one is Almost French by an Australian journalist who married a Frenchman she met (while traveling of course) and ended up moving to Paris. It is hilarious, because the culture shock she describes is not only her own but also that of her French husband, as he becomes acquainted with all the decidedly non-French idiosyncrasies of his new Aussie wife. Very funny and right on the money.”     Read more...

by Rachel Chaikof

A strike happened again!  Yes, for real.  Fortunately, the strike only affected the taxis.  So, I had to be picked up by the travel agency 40 minutes earlier as the agent didn’t know how long she could catch a cab as there were many fewer cabs.  The travel agent took me to the tour group in the city center.  From there, they took us to the train station.

 Once we got to the train station, we were on our own until we met a tour guide at the train station at Machu Picchu.Now here’s one of the highlights of this event!  The train ride was three hours LONG, and it was the SLOWEST train I have ever taken!  It was literally going at the speed of a turtle walking! Talk about lack of technology to allow trains to go as fast as a speeding bullet like the trains in Europe!  So, I just plugged my iPod headphones into my ears and tuned myself to music and looked out the window to see the landscape and the rural life of the Peruvians.

Once I arrived, I found the tour guide who was holding a yellow flag, a sign that I was supposed to be on the look out.  Once the tour guide checked off everyone on the list, we headed to the bus to head to our destination. Read more...

by Rachel Chaikof

 Water was sprinkling my face.  Cool winds swayed by my face causing my hair to flap.  I was moving several miles per hour through the river on a boat, and I felt as if I was flying through the rain forest.  I was feeling the enjoyment of relaxing.  I was heading to another section of the rain forest to enjoy an early morning observation.

 When I arrived, I was sitting on a piece of land with a bounty of rocks enjoying the cool breeze and feeling my hair being flapped by the winds.  Rays of orange, blue, pink, and purple glistened in the sky as the sun was rising.  The sounds of birds tweeting traveled to my ears.  It was a very soothing morning.

 As wide awake as I could be at 6 AM in the morning on Sunday, I ventured off by taking a boat ride to an area of the rain forest to watch the birds.  There were red birds sitting on branches.  There was a group of dark blue birds flying across the sky.  While my camera lens was not effective in getting up close, I spent some time admiring the beautiful sunrise and the landscape. Read more...

by Rachel Chaikof

Watching the transformation of the landscape as I ride through the Andes Mountains to the rain forest on the unpaved road, hearing the crickets chirping, watching bright red birds fly through the trees, sailing through the river, and sleeping in rustic lodges are memories that will not be forgotten.  This past week, I spent four days and three nights at Manu, a rain forest preservation in Peru.

Just seeing how the landscape transforms is astonishing.  At the beginning of the road trip, I saw very dry mountains with dried brown grasses and very few green plants.  Along the way, I began to see bright lime-green mountains with more plants.  Then toward the end of the road trip, I saw pure green mountains packed with trees and plants!  I also had a taste of the farming communities as we passed by them.

Fortunately, we made a pit stop at one of the farming communities, and I sure did jump out of the van to take a few snapshots!We also made a stop at a bird watching dock where we could watch the birds flying and listen to them tweeting.

Afterward, we headed to a lodge that was located just on the edge of the rain forest zone.  I almost had a disaster getting to the lodge.  The lodge was located DEEP in the forest, which meant that we had a lot of walking to get there.  It was already dark and there were NO lights by the path to the lodge.  I pulled out one of my two flashlights from my suitcase, and the tour guide took my suitcase.  As I was heading to the lodge, the flashlight was uncooperative!  It would not stay on, and because this flashlight had three levels of lighting, it wouldn’t go on any higher than the first level which is EXTREMELY dim.  There was no way that I could get through the forest without a flashlight!  So, I yelled, “HELP!  My flashlight is broken!”  I yelled a few times -

Read more of Rachel's rain forest adventure...

by Jill Robinson

July 21, 2009

Today I discovered a fantastic blog post by Robert Reid, called “47 or So Dumb Things I’ve Done  Traveling.” The article  sparked an emotion similar to what I felt the first time I read “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac.  It was an inspiration to lift my eyes off the sidewalk while I walk and really take in my surroundings, to stop thinking about all the “what if’s” that could happen if I commit to a new adventure and reiterated the idea that travel really is the journey and not the destination.

In our journeys though, we as travelers tend to make a lot of mistakes. Reid’s list of learning experiences range from skipping authentic cultural happenings, to paying too much for tickets and getting his passport stolen. We all can relate to moments where we look back and think “What was I thinking?!”  Inspired by Reid’s sense of humor and reflections on his travels, I asked my colleagues if they would share some of their past mistakes. For all of us, many of these experiences we chalk up to live and learn, but sometimes these moments can lead to unforgettable highlights of a trip, and to me, that is why we travel.

Lessons learned from the Greenheart Travel team:

• Saving Sydney for “next time” on my trip to Australia. WHY? If I had it to do over I would have made room for at least one day there. I even had to pass through Sydney on my way to Melbourne … I know, I know.


• Arriving in Costa Rica on the first day of Semana Santa (Holy Week). Yep, that’s pretty up there as far as rookie mistakes…though it led to one of my all-time best travel experiences when I was forced to take a cab all the way to Monteverde because the buses weren’t running. Jose Francisco the cab driver was a great travel companion.


• Not keeping a travel journal every time I’ve traveled…photographs are not the only way to document a trip, and unless you’re an experienced photographer, they may not really capture the moment. It’s the funny little things that you experience daily that become a large part of your experience, and I wish I would have written about them!


• Surfing in Costa Rica I decided against the rash guard and board shorts because I didn’t want bad tan lines. As a result of my vanity, the first day ended with a hideous rash on my arms and legs from board burn and half of my forehead and nose peeling off from lack of sunscreen. Day two I learned my lesson!


• Trying to make last minute hotel reservations in Kyoto during “maple leaf season.” I did not know there even was a “maple leaf season” in Kyoto before I arrived, prompting Japanese people to look at me like I was the most stupid foreigner they had ever laid eyes on. Maple leaf viewing is as popular as cherry blossomtime in Japan and draws hordes of tourists every year to the old capital. It would be like arriving in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and expecting to get a room. (footnote: In the end I got lucky and found a room.


• A family trip to Mount Rushmore was to be the highlight of the trip for my dad. Instead of the four of us siblings taking in the monument, we stared for about three minutes and then begged to go to the go-cart tracks we had passed while driving. It should be mentioned to add to this embarrassment that I was in high school.


• In most of my travels, I regret worrying so much about money. While being responsible is important, so is experiencing a culture. Each year it becomes clearer that  I will always have debt, but the 9th floor hotel room in Madrid with a private balcony only happens once a lifetime.



Read more Greenheart Travel mistakes...