Bloody Good Travel Writing from July 2010

Bloody Good Travel Writing is a recurring series highlighting inspiring, informative, and provocative travel writing in line with the Traveling Savage Philosophy.

I read what must be hundreds of travel blog posts each month, and I’m continually impressed, inspired, and confounded by the ronin talent drifting around the internet. For as much traveling as these folks do, it’s incredible they find the time to write – much less produce – thought-provoking and informative pieces.

There’s loads of bloody good travel writing out there, but these pieces spoke to me. This month includes posts about gauchos in Argentina, the freedom of selling your possessions, growth through blogging, the lessons of an ancient ice man, and tips for traveling with the ‘rents. Enjoy!

Road Trip Northwest Argentina: Where Gauchos Go To Party by Uncornered Market

In my recent State of the Savage post I mentioned that Salta, Argentina is the destination for the first of my one-month “flash enculturations.” A host of travelers have been going through there recently and Audrey and Dan of Uncornered Market captured one brilliant day in the hinterland outside the city. They stumbled upon a local festival and literally got to taste the culture of the region. I hold this up as an example of the type of travels and writing I hope my future trips will produce. The writing coupled with the pictures and video really gave me a sense of being there. I’ll know soon enough.

The Benefits of Selling Everything You Own by Never Ending Voyage

Simon and Erin are on a never-ending voyage from the UK, but before they could make it a reality they needed to sell some things. Like…everything. In this post, Simon distills the positive effects of selling their possessions: physical space, mental space, money in the pocket, and appreciation kindling in the heart. I can’t help but feel a twinge of envy. Here I sit with a house loaded down with things which in turn load me down, but I’m forced to remind myself of the differences in our situations (my better half will be at home while I’m traveling). Simon provides an interesting commentary on the nature of things that will be echoed in a future post here. Stay tuned.

The Year I Learned to Have An Opinion by Twenty-Something Travel

Stephanie, the force behind Twenty-Something Travel, details her transformation from disgruntled office worker to passionate workaholic through the crucible of travel blogging. This post is an inspirational look back on a year of blogging, especially reading about the differences in her social life as a result of tapping into the social media slipstream. I can relate to her post because, in many ways, I’m experiencing the same transformation. Cheers!

Travel Lessons from a 5,000 Year Old Iceman by Suzy Guese

Suzy’s date with Ötzi the five-millenia old iceman at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy is well-crafted allegory to modern travelers. I like how Suzy distilled Ötzi’s life into a handful of salient phrases to live by. I’m also impressed by how this post collapses time – we aren’t so different from those who’ve tread before us, even 5,000 years ago. There are persistent threads of humanity that run through us all, binding us together.

Tips for Traveling with Parents by A Trail of Ants

As often as we fail to realize it in our adolescence, parents are people too. Ant’s pragmatic post on tips for traveling with parents really hit home since last year I traveled with my parents, wife, brother, and sister to Scotland for two weeks. Ant spills the beans on how to make a trip with parents successful, and he does an excellent job of creating a cheat sheet for anyone planning future trips with parents. Having recently traveled with my folks, I have to say Ant’s tips are spot on. I’m looking forward to future international trips with mom and pops!

That’ll do it for July. I’m confident August will be just as fruitful!

Listening to: iTunes on shuffle
Drinking: Goats do Roam Red 2008