Landlore: Alternative Travel Lifestyles

I am a pasty white gringo. I have two shades: pale and strawberry. When traveling in the Middle East and Central America, you can see the sun shining off 'o me from a mile away. I stick out. I get asked all the time: "Are you American?" I muster my best offended tone of voice, then ask in their language: "Are you callin' me white!?" Americans have a bad reputation abroad... and we've earned it. My humorous approach to what could become a hostile situation has made me some of the best friends I've come across in this life. Racism and oppression come in many forms... and it is the traveler who has the opportunity to crack those close-minded ideals right back open. We meet so many people... often across many diverse lands... 'n that gives us far more opportunities than most peeps to challenge racist assumptions wherever we're traveling. Hurly over on Thumbs Up Canada is doing just that. He was recently featured on The Martlet by Kristi Si...

"Portal" by Kantiki Otterberg, Deutschland is a city built with rust, moss, shadow and stone. When the mortar begins to fail, they scrape off the rust and moss and layer on more stone and mortar. If the foundation weakens, they fill up the entire bottom level of the house and wall up the door (see above). Then the moss creeps back in... and then the rust. The moss is everywhere. It's not a question of what is and is not green, but what shade of green is it? Before I found Otterberg, I thought cities with such ancient character were a thing of the past. But Otterberg has embraced its past. You can read more than a hundred years simply by staring at a wall in Otterberg. The family that took us in when we landed in Otterberg would go on walks with us... sometimes in the woods... other times in the city. What history was left out by the architecture was filled in while walking the streets in conversation. Christian -- the father of the family and a landscaper by trade -- ...

"New Mexican Brave" by Kantiki [ here on GoogleMaps ] [ non-mod on Panoramio ] Sadly, I didn't survive my first meeting with the native tribes of America. Shortly after pulling out my trusty soul-stealer, the warrior (above) reared back, knocked an arrow and introduced a new opening into my chest. You know... so that I could breath better. Good peep! Now... that's not what really happened... but it's how I like to remember it. For those who don't know, Santa Fe is one of the richest cultural hubs in all the South-West. They have so many art galleries and museums that they've set aside an entire hill for even more museums. This is one of two towering statues at the very top of that hill. A single day spent on Museum Hill isn't enough to take in all the tribal folk art, native legends and rich heritage. But... in that same day... one can wander down from Museum Hill to the capitol and read the names of every tribe that once was... once lived and ma...