New Georgia border crossing provides a whimsical welcome

by Jessica Marati on
Customs checkpoints tend to be dreary, depressing places.

A rare exception is the new Georgia border crossing with Turkey, located right at the crossroads between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. There, German architect Jürgen Mayer H. recently unveiled a modern, state-of-the-art border crossing that rises from the shores of the Black Sea in a white, whimsical squiggle. How’s that for a friendly welcome? The building houses standard customs facilities, a terrace viewing platform, a cafeteria, staff rooms, and a conference room. According to J. Mayer H., the project represents “the progressive upsurge of the country.”

Georgia, a former Soviet state, has only recently started to attract tourists drawn by the charming capital city of Tblisi, the ancient religious sites of Mtskheta, and the fresh, delicious cuisine. Hopefully off-beat architecture and design like that of the new Georgia border crossing continues to develop along with the country’s infrastructure.

[via Fast Co.Design, image via Jürgen Mayer H.]

How to visit the birthplace of humanity

by Jessica Festa on

When visiting Columbia in South America, there are many interesting national parks to explore. Amacayacu National Park, Cocuy National Park, and Tayrona National Park are all natural points of interest in the country. Iguaque National Park, however, has one very unique feature that makes it a must-see stop on any trip to Columbia, as it is said to be the birthplace of humanity.

Iguaque National Park is located in Boyacá, about 142 miles away from Bogota. Having an elevation that ranges from 7,874 to 12,467 feet above sea level while covering 16,679 acres, you can imagine there is a lot to see. Whatever areas you decide to stop at, however, make sure to visit Iguaque Lake, located in the highest part of the mountain. According to the indigenous Muisca people, the sacred site is said to be the place where “mother Earth” (Bachué) emerged from the water carrying a baby boy in her arms. When the boy became a man, he populated the Earth before disappearing back into the lake as a snake. It is believed that a visit to Iguaque Lake cleanses the soul and purifies the spirit.

Want to make the pilgrimage yourself? To get to Iguaque National Park, you can go from Bogota to Villa de Leyva via Tunja. Once in Villa de Leyva, you can catch a bus to the park, and from there you will walk about a mile to the entrance to pay the fee. Because there is so much flora and fauna to discover, as well as hiking trails, there is an interpretative path in the beginning of the trek to help visitors understand the area. Keep following the path and you will to be taken to spiritual and historical site of Iguaque Lake.

Note: One thing visitors must be aware of is how important it is to leave early, as weather changes frequently in the area, posing the risk of hypothermia if the temperatures drop too low.

SkyMall Monday: O to Go Portable Wine Glasses

by Mike Barish on

Going out for a lavish meal with friends is one of the great pleasures in life. Elegant food, good company and, of course, delicious wine make for a wonderful night out. However, some people take their wine very seriously and anything that takes away from their vino experience can ruin the evening. The last thing anyone wants is for one of their friends to storm out of the restaurant because the glassware is substandard. Here at SkyMall Monday, we know a thing or two about wine glasses. That’s why we appreciate that SkyMall is tackling the problem of wine glass disappointment. Never again will you have to worry about a lackluster wine glass destroying any chance enjoying a night out. The next time you’re painting the town red, don’t trust restaurants and bars to know what you require. Take care of yourself – and your wine – with the O to Go portable wine glass.Obviously, not every event is suitable for wearing your wine glass around your neck. Still, why should you slum it with someone else’s glassware? You like to be in total control of your life, including your alcohol consumption. No one knows how to let your wine breathe better than you do. That’s why you need to carry around your own wine glass in a protective yet portable tube.

Think that restaurants have adequate wine glasses? Believe that carrying around your own wine glass is a sign of pathological behavior? Well, while you drink your beer from the bottle, we’ll be reading the product description:

Have you ever ordered a good bottle of wine at a restaurant only to find that the glassware is lacking? Now, bring your own Riedel glass with the new O to GO, an easy and convenient way to carry your glass anywhere.

Man, if I had a nickel for every time that happened. Am I right, ladies?

The O to Go is perfect for red wine or white wine. Sadly, if you plan to drink champagne, no flute in a tube is available. In that situation, it’s best to ask the sommelier for a Solo cup.

Keep it classy!

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

Guerrilla’s Airporter Pack: A Backpacker All-in-One Bag

by Pam Mandel on

Man, do I see a lot of luggage. Roll-aboards. Day packs. Laptop/iPad/digital whatever storage solutions. And honestly, most of them don’t quite make the cut. Part of the reason I have so many of these things is that I continue to quest for The Perfect Bag. Light, versatile, the right pocket for that one thing that always gets loose and floats around inside my luggage.

I’m impressed when a bag designer really thinks about how a bag will get used. Attention to detail, that makes all the difference. (See also, this bag by Tom Bihn.) The folks behind the Airporter by Guerrilla Packs have given a great deal of thought to putting their bag together. They’ve made a well designed backpacker/round-the-world bag and if you’re in the market for such a thing, you should check it out.

The Airporter is one of those system packs with a clip on day pack. Gravity isn’t always your friend with these things, your balance gets out of whack because where the weight sits is just wrong. The day pack on the Airporter is small, so that helps. Pack smart and keep most of your gear in the big bag, just use the day pack for stuff you need to access frequently and you’ll be fine. Then, when you’re day tripping, use the bag for whatever you need — stowing your swimsuit for that snorkel boat day, shopping, whatever.

There’s a sleeve for your laptop in the back, a pull through for your headphones, some internal pockets and key loop. Plus, hey, that’s nice… picked up too much stuff while out shopping? The day pack expands, just open the wrap around zipper. Clever. What’s missing? A water bottle pocket. Sure you could stow your water bottle inside the pack, but that’s beside the point, no?

The main pack has a couple of external pockets — two smaller zip pockets on the top and water bottle/dirty hikers pockets on the side. There are lashing straps for your sleeping bag or raincoat or whatever, and a bunch of tie on loops along the top. In the bottom, there’s a rain cover that’s sewn on; you won’t lose it unless you cut it off.

Inside the body of the pack, there are two attached padded pockets — ideal for your pocket camera, and a clip in place padded laptop sleeve that you can use as a shoulder bag. The sleeve just fits in the day pack if you’ve got the day pack expanded. Another useful feature? The entire front panel of the pack zips away for loading. Those top-loader packs make me crazy, the thing you want is always at the bottom.

A removable lightweight plastic frame helps the pack hold its shape. A zippered back panel hides padding for your back and the padded shoulder and waist straps. That panel stows in the same place where the rain cover is hiding. It’s nice to be able to stow those straps when you’re checking your bag for a flight, or tossing it into an overhead bin on a plane or train. Grips on the top and side mean that you can handle this just like any other duffel — though there’s no additional shoulder strap. Oh, and yes, it’s the right size for a carry-on, because really, who wants to check a bag these days?

Besides the lack of a water bottle pocket on the day pack, I found little to criticize on the Airporter. Tougher hardware would be nice, but that would add more weight. There’s only one of those “keep your stuff in place” straps inside, but packing cubes would fix that. Truth be told, I look at this thing and kind of wish I was graduating from college all over again, with a Eurail pass and a boundless sense of optimism.

The Airporter retails for $129.00. It’s super versatile, has a lot of genuinely useful features, and designed for the urban backpacker who travels light. Check it out here.

Teen mountaineer completes Seven Summits

by Kraig Becker on

15 year old mountaineer Jordan Romero has completed his quest to climb the Seven Summits, the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents, and in the process became the youngest person to achieve that feat. On Christmas Eve, Jordan, along with father Paul and stepmother Karen, reached the top of the 16,050-foot Mt. Vinson in Antarctica, the last of the mountains on his list.

Jordan first dreamed of climbing the Seven Summits after seeing a mural on the iconic peaks in his grade school. He was just ten years old at the time. Later that year, he would bag his first summit, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest peak in Africa. He would follow that up with successful climbs of Kosciuszko (Australia), Elbrus (Europe), Aconcagua (South America), Denali (North America), and Carstensz Pyramid (Oceania).

But it was his successful summit of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain on the planet, that grabbed headlines around the globe. At the time, Jordan was just 13 years old, and his bold expedition sparked debate in the mountaineering community over how young is too young to climb the world’s biggest mountains.

The logistics and location of climbing in Antarctica forced Jordan to wait another year and a half to climb Mt. Vinson, but now he has claimed that summit too. Last Friday, the teenager, along with his parents, moved up to High Camp on that mountain, and on Saturday – Christmas Eve – they continued on to the summit itself. Weather conditions, as you would expect, were challenging, with high winds and sub-zero temperatures dogging them all the way. But int he end, they topped out at about 1 PM local time. They then safely descended back down the mountain and skied back to Base Camp, where they enjoyed Christmas dinner.

Congratulations to Jordan on completing his quest to climb the Seven Summits. Well done young man!

[Photo courtesy of Jordan Romero]