Travel Year

Two Years Before the Mast, written by Richard Henry Dana, provides a vivid account of "the life of a common sailor at sea". Dana sails from Boston, around Cape Horn, stopping in several ports along the California coast including San Diego, San Pedro, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco. On the return trip around Cape Horn in the middle of the Antarctic winter Dana describes terrifying storms and incredible beauty, giving vivid descriptions of icebergs and the scurvy that afflicts members of the crew.

Dolly Faulkner has many heart-stopping moments of terror and anxiety, living much of the time truly alone in the Alaskan wilderness. But she is not lonely, as the awesome space and beauty of the mountains fill her with appreciation of all things of nature. Dolly Faulkner came to Alaska as a young woman with the dream of living in the wilderness. Forty Years in the Wilderness is a true reality of carving out a homestead in the Kilbuck Mountains near a minor hotsprings that the regional Native corporation is now trying to claim.

What would happen if you quit your life for a year? In a pre-COVID-19 world, the Wheelan family decided to find out; leaving behind work, school, and even the family dogs to travel the world on a modest budget. Equal parts "how-to" and "how-not-to" - and with an eye toward a world emerging from a pandemic - We Came, We Saw, We Left is the insightful and often hilarious account of one family's gap-year experiment.

James Marsh's Four Years in the Rockies gives brilliant insight into the life of Isaac P. Rose, a man who forged his own path in the wilderness of the far west. This thrilling account of one mountain man's life at the height of the 19th-century fur industry follows Rose as he overcomes adversity, learns from those around him, and becomes one of the most successful trappers of the Rockies. Four Years in the Rockies is essential listening for anyone interested in the 19th-century fur trade and the adventurers who risked their lives to be part of it.

In school, you probably were told that Cro-Magnon Man appeared about 35 thousand years ago and after 25 thousand years humanity finally got to the Stone Age. We stayed there for another 7 thousand years to get to something called the primitive Bronze Age and then in the past 5 thousand years almost every bit of civilized development occurred. Your teachers told you it happened so you didn’t even question it. Unfortunately, most of that was a lie. Researchers, anthropologists, archeologists, historians, scientists, teachers, and even clergy all knew it or should have known. OK! Some were ...

Every year on January 1, a quirky crowd of adventurers storms out across North America for a spectacularly competitive event called a Big Year: a grand, grueling, expensive, and occasionally vicious, "extreme" 365-day marathon of birdwatching. For three men in particular, 1998 would be a whirlwind, a winner-takes-nothing battle for a new North American birding record.

From the incomparable John Baxter, the best-selling author of The Most Beautiful Walk in the World, a sumptuous and definitive portrait of Paris through the seasons, highlighting the unique tastes, sights, and changing personality of the city in spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Retirement is not the end—it's the beginning of a vibrant, exciting new chapter waiting to be written. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed or simply need a fresh perspective, this guide is your roadmap to making the most of every day.

Following the breakdown of her marriage, 50-year-old Jacqui Furneaux set off on a seven-year, round-the-world adventure on a 500cc Royal Enfield Bullet. She traveled both solo and with company, covering 42,000 miles and 20 countries. This awe-inspiring and moving book about one woman’s motorcycle adventures is for anyone still holding back from taking a risk and pursuing their dreams.

Have you ever parachuted in the moonlight and juggled work with play? In 1995, Steve set himself the goal to sail across the North Atlantic. Saint Lucia and the Caribbean island chain were the prize. He had to master sailing in spring Scottish waters, keep up with his military training and undergraduate life. It was hard keeping a romance alive with so many distractions, like landing a gig as a swordsman in a Hollywood movie. There were other commitments—a jaunt to Pamplona in Spain, and a camp in the United States before he could join his crew. How will he get to the tropics and have ...

When Travels with Lizbeth was first published in 1993, it was proclaimed an instant classic. Lars Eighner's account of his descent into homelessness and his adventures on the streets has moved, charmed, and amused generations of readers and listeners. As Lars wrote, "When I began writing this account I was living under a shower curtain in a stand of bamboo in a public park. I did not undertake to write about homelessness, but wrote what I knew, as an artist paints a still life, not because he is especially fond of fruit, but because the subject is readily at hand."

In 1982, Wendy Wood was poised on the brink of stardom. Lead singer with talented local band, Velvet Temptation, she was a rising star of the Oxford music scene. Tipped for fame by the music press, success seemed inevitable. But conflict within the band, a series of betrayals and infidelities, and an unwelcome run of bad luck all played a part in shattering her dreams.

David’s wife has been dead for fourteen years. Someone else lives in his home. And he’s decades younger than he should be. A dizzy spell and a thunderstorm started it all, but David woke up to a whole new world. And a terrifying one. Discovered by the FBI, David is whisked away to a mysterious island where others like him—rejuvenated and cast forward in time—are held by a government that no longer resembles the democracy he knew. This new regime is a communist dictatorship, intent on unraveling the secret behind their inexplicable youth and the lapse in time. In a thrilling escape ...

Erik and Emily skillfully reveal that it is possible to live big on a shoestring budget while giving their family an astonishing education in adventure, creativity, purpose, and grit. Told alternately by Erik and Emily, Seven at Sea is a portrait of a captivating and resilient family and a celebration of the courage it takes to head for something over the horizon.

A wondrous, uproarious, and surprisingly informative account of a year spend surfing, Caught Inside marks the arrival of an exuberant new voice of the outdoors. This remarkable narrative of Daniel Duane’s life on the water is enhanced by good-humored explanations of the physics of wave dynamics, the intricate art of surfboard design, and lyrical, sharp-eyed descriptions of the flora and fauna of the Pacific wilderness.

This festive collection takes you from Frogmorton Farm to the Time Police HQ in five short stories from across the worlds of Jodi Taylor - including the internationally bestselling Chronicles of St Mary's series. It wouldn't be The Most Wonderful Time of the Year without riotous misbehaviour, traditional illegal expeditions, and a story you just can't stop listening to.

A little over 10 years ago, Janine Marsh and her husband gave up their careers in London to chase the good life in the countryside of northern France. Having overcome the obstacles of starting to renovate her dream home - an ancient, dilapidated barn - and fitting in with the peculiarities of the locals, Janine is now the go-to expat in the area for those seeking to get to grips with a very different way of life. In this book, Janine regales us with the delights and dramas of a year attempting to live the rural idyll.

Not many Brits move to Poland to work in a fish and chip shop. Fewer still come back wanting to be a Member of the European Parliament. In 2016, Ben Aitken moved to Poland while he still could. It wasn’t love that took him but curiosity: he wanted to know what the Poles in the UK had left behind. He flew to a place he’d never heard of and then accepted a job in a chip shop on the minimum wage. When he wasn’t peeling potatoes he was on the road scratching the country’s surface.

Warning! Listening to this book will make you want to travel. Your bucket list will be getting longer with every chapter. It's taken over three decades of experience as a travel author to deliver this in easy-to-follow audio. Solo travel is on an upswing like never before due to culture and lifestyle changes. This guide has a step-by-step plan for solo travel and stories that inspire midlife to senior travel. It is written by a woman for women who have a hunger to experience more quality solo travel to bring the world closer together peacefully and sustainably.

Imagine spending 24 hours a day with your spouse in 31 not-so-square feet for years, crossing the Pacific Ocean on two gallons of fuel, and tossing spaghetti marinara around your living room then cleaning it up while bouncing like ice in a martini shaker. Tightwads on the Loose tells the story of Wendy and Garth, lured to sea by the promise of adventure. They buy a 31-foot boat that fits their budget better than it fits Garth's large frame and set sail on an open-ended voyage, never imagining they'd be gone seven years or cover 34,000 miles at the pace of a fast walk.