Seeing Whales That Live in Antarctica: A Dream Come True!

Published March 13, 2013 |

Face-to-Face With A Humpback Whale

Seeing Whales That Live in Antarctica

A Dream Come True!

I’ve been fascinated with Whales ever since I was a boy, reading Melville’s Moby Dick. But I didn’t start dreaming about seeing the whales that live in Antarctica until a few years ago, when I became a diehard fan of the Animal Planet docu-reality series Whale Wars.

Seeing the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society volunteers so passionate about protecting these super-sized cetaceans from Japanese whalers is undeniably infectious. But it becomes much more emotionally resonant when you see these tough environmental activists reduced to child-like awe (and, in some cases, tears) every time they spot a whale breaching within the vicinity of their ship.

When we found out we would be taking a dream ecotourism adventure to the southernmost continent with Adventure Life, we were overwhelmed with a mixture of shock and excitement. Finally, I thought, I’ll have a chance to see the whales that live in Antarctica in person!

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Posted in Antarctica/Arctic, destinations, Ecotourism, Featured |

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GLOBAL CUISINE: Irish Pub Recipes For St Patrick’s Day

Published March 11, 2013 |

By Bret and Mary

Irish Pub Recipes For St Patrick’s Day

Irish Pub Recipes might not be the sort of thing you’d want to make at home every day, especially if you’re trying to follow a healthy diet. But on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone seems to like a wee taste of Ireland, and we’re no exception.

Nearly 40% of Georgians claim Irish heritage (including Mary, whose father’s side of the family hails from Limerick), with Atlanta ranking as the 7th largest “Irish city” in North America. From the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival in downtown Atlanta to the even more massive celebration in Savannah, it seems like our home state goes crazy for shamrocks and shenanigans this time every March.

With loads of Irish pubs in the city, this year we turned to one of our personal favorites, Rí Rá Irish Pub, to get some traditional Irish Pub Recipes we could share with our readers. From classic fare like the Boxty Bites and Shepherd’s Pie to more modern Irish-American fusions such as the Guinness BBQ Burger, these dishes are virtually guaranteed to inspire an appreciation for Irish culture. Serve them up with some traditional Irish music on St. Patrick’s Day and you’ll have an enchanting taste of the Emerald Isle!

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Posted in Cuisine, Europe, Global Culture |

Adventures in Tahiti Tourism! Details About Our Next Amazing Trip

Published March 8, 2013 |

By Bret and Mary

The Four Seasons Bora Bora

Adventures in Tahiti Tourism!

Details About Our Next Amazing Trip

If anyone ever doubts our ability to keep a secret, Exhibit A in our defense will be how long we kept our forthcoming adventures with Tahiti Tourism under wraps. We actually started planning for our next trip back in April of 2012!

We were honestly a little shocked last year when the PR rep for the Four Seasons Bora Bora reached out to us out of the blue, mentioned that he was coming to Atlanta in May, and asked if we’d like to get together for a chat. I’ve been a fan of the Four Seasons brand for decades– I stayed at their Beverly Hills location at least 50 times when interviewing Hollywood celebrities was the focus of my professional writing career.

So there was never any question of IF we would go to Tahiti to visit their property, but WHEN. And now we have the answer, as we fly out next Saturday for 10 days in this Polynesian tropical paradise!

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Posted in Australia/Oceania, destinations, Ecotourism, Featured |

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INTERVIEW: Musician Baba Salah On al-Qaeda’s Invasion of Mali

Published March 6, 2013 |

By Bret and Mary

Photo provided by Studio Mali

Musician Baba Salah On al-Qaeda’s Invasion of Mali

I’ve done over a thousand interviews in my 20 years as a journalist. But few affected me emotionally quite like my interview with Mali-based musician Baba Salah.

Though unknown in the U.S., Salah has been a star on the Bamako music scene since the mid- ‘90s, when he played guitar for legendary Malian diva Oumou Sangare. But now, with the release of his excellent new solo album, Dangay (The North), the “Jimi Hendrix of Africa” is emerging as a light of inspiration for the people of Mali in their darkest hour.

For a year now, the forces of al-Qaeda have been spreading like a virus throughout northern Mali. In a country where music is the very heart of the culture, they took instruments from people’s homes and burned them as an offense to Allah. They infiltrated Salah’s hometown of Gao, raped the women, killed and mutilated the men, and recruited children into their rebel army.

Though the French thankfully swooped in to help the Malian military beat back the al-Qaeda forces, nobody involved in the conflict seems to believe the battle is over for good. So when I spoke to Salah in mid-February, his concern for his country and his people was palpable. In this extensive, exclusive interview, we discussed everything from how al-Qaeda established such a strong foothold in Mali to his hopes for the future of his war-torn country.

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Posted in Africa, Art/Music/Film, Featured, Interviews |

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PHOTO GALLERY: 20 Pictures of Sunsets Around the World

Published March 4, 2013 |

By Bret and Mary

Sanibel Island, Florida

20 Pictures of Sunsets Around the World

No matter how beautiful they may be, pictures of sunsets cannot possibly convey the utterly transcendent qualities of the real thing.

When we’re at home, stressed by the constant pressures of work, household duties, finances, etc., it’s easy to dwell on past mistakes or get lost in daydreams of a better, brighter future. But, when faced with the resplendent colors of a setting sun, the varying shades and hues of nature’s beauty seem all-encompassing, making it nearly impossible to resist being completely and utterly in the moment.

“Sunsets are so beautiful,” wrote British naturalist John Lubbock, “that they almost seem as if we were looking through the gates of Heaven.” For me, that heavenly quality has a potent power to heal– to cleanse my mind, body and spirit of all the ultimately meaningless concerns that tend to dominate head space during our day-to-day struggles.

As I lay here in bed, sick with cold/flu symptoms for the last week, worried about money, and still a few weeks away from our next trip, looking at these pictures of sunsets fills me with a wistful sense of longing. I wish that every day could be filled with the magic, adventure, and splendiferous beauty of a picture-perfect sunset. But until we make our dreams of a simpler, more satisfying life become reality, we have these photos to remind us of the amazing experiences GGT has brought us thus far, and to inspire us to keep on growing…

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Posted in Featured, Photo Galleries, Photos/Videos |

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