By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate A moisture-laden, bone chilling wind funneled up from the canyon as I stood on a vista point on California’s Highway 1, aka the Pacific Coast Highway or PCH. The aquamarine sea laced in frilly white, lapped at the rocky cove below. Formed by relentless energy crashing on its […]
By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Bowers of luxuriant tropical flowers grace the well-tended grounds of the Blue River Resort and Hot Springs. Magenta spikes of torch ginger, mounds of yellow hibiscus, and many varieties of dripping orange heliconia brighten the scene. Meandering paths lead to several pools heated with thermal energy from the […]
By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate After enduring hours of cramped airplanes, air-conditioned hotels, and buses, being immersed in nature once again finally settled my molecules into place. My tired body came alive as we rocked and rolled down the Class III Rio Sarapiqui, a tributary of the San Juan River. While surging over […]
By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate When I lived on the North Shore in 1978, there was not one home on the shore of horseshoe-shaped Hanalei Bay. The notorious Taylor Camp treehouse colony, populated by hippies living off the land, was in full swing. The now famous Tahiti Nui featured in the film The […]
By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Po‘ipū is the favored spot by visitors to the Island because it guarantees full blown sunny beach days. In 1978 Po‘ipū Beach was a deep azure plunge where I floated in ecstasy. But in 1992 Hurricane Iniki carved out a new coastline. Today the crescent shaped white sand […]
By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate As a young woman, I had dropped out of society and landed on the North Shore of Kaua‘i. It was a head-spinning transformative time in my life. There, I was introduced to people experimenting with alternate lifestyles and those leading highly creative lives. After a year of Island […]
By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Costa Rica, the poster child of eco-tourism, has so many fun, outdoor adventures options it’s hard to choose. Twenty-five percent of the country is preserved habitat to ensure the continuation of the unique flora and fauna found in species-rich forests. Multiple changes in altitude and temperature create many […]
By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Years ago, when I lived on the beach in a pole house on the north shore of Kauai, Hawaii, we loved the wild storms that would blow through, threatening to wash us away. The wind whipped the palms wildly and scared us to pieces. But it was magical […]
By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate In writing Embrace of the Wild I hope to have turned the lemons of Covid-19 into limoncello—a zesty elixir that excites and satisfies the senses. In early 2020, I returned from a whirlwind tour of Australia just in time for the Covid-19 lockdown. I was grateful to be back […]
By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate It’s a wrap! 2020 is coming to a close. Adventure Travel Writer, Linda Ballou, shares highlights of her year in this interview with Adam Asher and Zanne Merkel on their podcast, Wander to the Edge. Topics in our discussion included: Why I need to be on the travel edge. What […]
