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Celebrating Women: International Women’s Day

March 8, 2012 By Jillian

Today thousands of events will occur around the world to celebrate the strength, diversity and achievements of women. It is the 101st celebration of International Women’s Day. In the early 1900s the situation of women across the world was much different than it is today, however there are still great strides to be made. From educating girls in Sub-Saharan Africa, to getting more women involved in politics and ending violence against women, thousands of organizations work throughout the world to improve gender equality and empower women to improve the world.

In celebration of international women’s day, we put together some images of the un-celebrated women around the world that we’ve met in our travels. These women will likely never have the international notoriety of Angelina Jolie’s leg, but they are heroines in their own right.

Photo: Pausing for Biodiversity

September 14, 2011 By Jillian

There’s a reason why Costa Rica is called “rich coast”. Spanish explorers found a land abundant with lush vegetation, animals and resources, much as the country is today. Our time in Costa Rica was mostly spent enjoying the biodiversity in the country- from the cloudforest of Monteverde to the jungle encroached beach of Manuel Antonio.

Costa Rica is a popular destination for travelers from all over the world. We met plenty of tourists from Europe, Israel and North America who had booked vacation rentals in Costa Rica for group trips for friends or family. We stayed with a friend of mine in Jaco, which gave us the space to decompress, relax and stop and smell the roses a bit. Standing in the jungle in Costa Rica, you feel the activity and life in the land, everything around you is growing, moving, and changing. At any other point on our journey this little guy would have hardly been noticed, but in Costa Rica we took the time to take a closer look at a caterpillar that by definition is in transition. The rich coast indeed.

IF YOU GO: Costa Rica is well known for its rich biodiversity and adventure activities. We caught this guy in Monteverde Cloud Forest, one of the most unique ecological zones we’ve ever experienced. Fortunately it is also the home to lots of zip lining courses, making it a great detour off the Panamerican highway. It is about 4 hours north of the capital and is perfect to enjoy alongside a visit to the nearby Arenal Volcano.

Photo: A moment of calm

May 11, 2011 By Jillian

Quiet moments were few and far between in India, especially in Agra where we took this shot. Ferrying people from one side of the river to the other, the boatman swiftly guided one group after another across the water. For a moment in the crossing they appeared to be all alone in a vast wilderness.

I took this shot from the patio outside the Taj Mahal. The place was crowded and we were constantly being bumped and jostled by young men wanted to get closer to my sister, her coworker Julia, and I. This was the last thing I had to see before we went home and there was a sense of relief having visited that final checklist place. In that hot and humid moment I didn’t know how to feel and I looked out across the river and saw this boat. A moment of peace and clarity in the frenzied world that is India.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

We spent just over two weeks in India, mostly in Mumbai (who could forget that experience?!), Delhi and Rishikesh – hardly any time to scratch the surface of this diverse and enormous country. Since it was the last place on our list and we were quickly running out of steam, we took flights to India instead of traveling overland. We just didn’t have the energy to cross Myanmar and Bangladesh, but we’ve heard good things about both places.

Photo of the Day: Fun with Doritos

January 31, 2011 By Danny

These photos were a ton of fun to make but took a fair bit of work too. (Not to mention the time spent in the convenience shop before leaving to pick up the ‘subject’ matter.)
In this one the Doritos bag was placed just a few feet in front of the camera while I got into my position a good distance further back. All of these shots took a few tries to get right but eventually it was worth the effort. There are plenty more that we didn’t even upload that weren’t so great. All in all we were upset at how limited our time was when it came time to take the photos but the alpaca steak lunch more than made up for it!

Special thanks to Flickr user Itinerantlondoner for marking this photo as a favorite.

To see a few of our favorite photos from Bolivia click here.

Our PHOTO PAGE has links to all of our collections on Flickr. Be sure to mark some of your own favorites so that we can include them on this column. We’ll be highlighting a different photo every day.

Remember, you have until the end of today to mark your favorites and be entered in our photo contest!

Signs from the Can

January 24, 2011 By Jillian

It seems that around the world there seems to be a need to “signpost” the toilet. Here are our favorite signs from bathrooms around the world:

Blumenau, Brazil

Yup, this hung over the sinks in the ladies room in an Oktoberfest tent. And yes, those are condoms in their head gear.

Swaziland

Hanging over a urinal. That puts things in historical perspective.

Angkor Thom, Siem Reap, Cambodia

It’s not unusual to come across a western toilet in SE Asia that has a no “standing on the bowl” sign. This was a winner because of the warning for westerners- don’t use the bum gun to shower! Any guesses as to what that third one with the machete is?

Forbidden City, Beijing, China

Yup, the Chinese have “star” rated their toilets. Enough said.

Beitbridge Border Crossing, Zimbabwe/South Africa

When economics and err…nature combine.

Celebrating Women: International Women’s Day

Photo: Pausing for Biodiversity

Photo: A moment of calm

Photo of the Day: Fun with Doritos

Signs from the Can

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