Category Archives: Travel Writing

New York Times Travel: Counter Service Tipping: Who Gives?

Sure, you know to tip at a sit-down restaurant, but what do you do when the barista flips around that iPad screen and you need to decide how much to tip on a latte she hasn’t even made for you yet? Counter-service tipping via tablet is now mainstream, but do you really need to give? I found data on how many people really tip. [Click headline to read article.]

Life & Money: Six Great Destinations You’ve Never Heard Of

I’ll do pretty much anything to promote my new book on travel. Like, for example, link to it in this very sentence. But I draw the line when a TV or podcast interviewer asks me on to discuss, say, “the hottest new destinations for 2019.” Even considering such a list is travel writer malpractice. Why would you recommend a place bound to be overpriced and packed with tourists? Instead, I’d rather be invited to recommend places that are not hot this year, or next year…and may never be. [Click headline to read full piece.]

New York Times Arts: The Physical and Spiritual Art of Capoeira in Bahia

Together with the photographer Rose Marie Cromwell, I attended Permangolinha, a retreat run by capoeira master Cobra Mansa at his fascinating property in rural Bahia state, in northeast Brazil. There he raises cacau, coffee, cupuaçu, and some crops that don’t start with “c” following the guidelines of permaculture. Read more about it and see some incredible photos and videos not by me here.

New York Times Travel: Don’t Let TripAdvisor Kill Adventure

Right now millions of Americans are traipsing around the world creating the stories they’ll be telling captivated dinner guests and captive grandchildren for decades to come.

But as user reviews are added by the millions, social media becomes a substitute for live interaction and cheap international data tames a once-wild world into digital submission, the good travel yarn is in decline. Greater access to information means fewer impromptu decisions and fewer surprises. [Click headline to read full story.]