To visit a favela or not to visit a favela: it’s a controversial decision many travelers to Rio will ponder at some point or another. Critics call it poverty tourism, proponents say it de-stigmatizes and brings income to marginalized communities. Even amongst my own peers, there’s discord. Friends from South Africa have made me cross my heart that…

Picture this: Your plane lands. You collect your baggage and walk bleary-eyed to the car rental counter, groaning as you see the line that snakes around the corner. When you finally make it to the front, you make dreaded small talk with the counter agent while they tap away on a keyboard until, finally, you have…

Hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro was just one of those things I had to do. Back when I was a distracted student sketching maps of Brazil in the back of my math notebooks, I must have come across a guidebook or an early blog post that highlighted it as a top attraction — because while…

It’s no secret that I’m traveling less than usual this year. But that doesn’t mean I’m planning to sit around in a bathrobe, drink breakfast cocktails while cackling at the morning news and watching the world burn. (Though now that I write it, it is tempting…) Nope, 2017 is going to be my year of learning.  I’ve always…

“It was here that the romance of my life began.” – Theodore Roosevelt, one of the National Park system’s greatest champions, on what would become Badlands National Park Our National Parks system has made quite a few headlines in recent weeks. While much attention has been focused on their official social media accounts being gagged and…