Travel Blogger

From source to sea: An Amazonian walk on the wild side - CNN.com

Ed Stafford, 34, from Leicestershire, central England, has been walking the length Amazon River since April 2, 2008, to raise awareness of the region. He began his trek at the source of the river in Peru, encountering pit vipers, electric eels, anaconda, mosquitoes and scorpions. He was joined in July 2008 by Gadiel "Cho" Sanchez Rivera. The pair are due to reach the shores of the Atlantic on August 9. During his trek Ed has blogged using a laptop and a satellite internet link. You can follow his journey on the Walking the Amazon website. Here, he describes a typical day.

via edition.cnn.com

Why We Camp: An Ode to the Joy and Sorrow of the Great Outdoors | BootsnAll

Alan Sherman’s ballad about life at Camp Granada was spot on. It’s all about the attitude. The unhappy camper wrote his parents about poison ivy and alligators, reporting that his bunkmate had come down with malaria. We tend to exaggerate about the out of doors. Away from home, mosquitoes are the size of humming birds. A pebble under your bedroll feels like the pea did to the princess. The weather turns arctic (or equatorial). Thunder, lightening and hail, visits from skunks, snakes and folks from the tent next door who want to recite their health record and genealogy are the things we remember. But none of this keeps us from heading for the woods.

Reasons people give for wanting to go camping seem plausible. There’s the call of nature. Thoughts of fresh air, cold mountain streams, starry nights, and the smell of pine prompt us to pack our minivans and get out of Dodge. Sights and sounds that don’t rely on cords, batteries or satellite signals are increasingly precious. Maybe we just want to prove we can go a weekend without cable.

via www.bootsnall.com

Arizona's immigration law has little impact on Arizona's tourism

Despite the threat of widespread travel boycotts tied to the state's strict new immigration law, early results for hotels and resorts in metropolitan Phoenix show little evidence of any short-term impact.

Hotel occupancy was up 6.5 percent in May and 10.6 percent in June from a year earlier, outpacing national gains, according to Smith Travel Research. Average room rates were flat on an above-average increase in rooms. Revenue per available room, the most closely watched measure, rose 6.2 percent and 11 percent in May and June, respectively.

via www.azcentral.com

Wi-fi isn’t a hit on planes yet, and maybe it’s not about price

A recent USA Today article stated that “perhaps less than 10% of the passengers who could use Wi-Fi to log on to the Internet actually are doing so.”

The article posited that price is the factor, as many travelers don’t want to pay the fees.

But considering what travelers grumpily pay for in terms of other additional optional fees and charges – $10 and up to board earlier, $9 for a mediocre sandwich, $20 and up for an extra checked bag, I don’t think the cost is the issue.

via www.consumertraveler.com

Where Your Credit Card is Most Likely to Be Stolen - ABC

Credit Card Fraud Thieves at Hotels.  Your next hotel room might end up costing you more than you expected.

More PhotosIt turns out hotels have now surpassed restaurants for the top spot where your credit card data is most likely to be stolen, according to one firm that tracks such thefts.

Hackers are finding hotels and their booking centers prime targets. The reservation centers often have thousands of credit card numbers on file and one successful break can yield plenty of numbers for an illegal shopping spree.

via abc.news

Sunday Travel Sections

Some of the best from Sunday's newspaper travel sections.

NY Times: Hidden in Hungary, Treasures on the Vine

NY Times: A Swedish Island for Respite or Revelry

NY Times: Heaven Is a Slow Houseboat to Nowhere California

LA Times: Elk, crowds and the wild West in Yellowstone National Park and Cody, Wyoming

LA Times: Off of Virginia, an annual pony swim

LA Times: Beat the Las Vegas heat with summer treats

Chicago Tribune: Bike Nights bring Thursday thunder to Milwaukee

Chicago Tribune: Biking in Europe: A Bridge over Cultural Barriers

Miami Herald: Great things come in big packages Cruise Review

Oregon Live: Arizona overland trek reveals a remote wonder

USA Today: Trolley parks are a rare slice of Americana

Bulldogs top the list of dogs that die while flying | ajc.com

Bulldogs and pugs account for almost half the dogs that have died while being transported as airplane cargo in the past five years, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

via www.ajc.com