LAN Colombia will begin flights to the U.S.

by Libby Zay on

On February 1, LAN Colombia will celebrate the airline’s inaugural flight to the United States when it touches down at Miami International Airport from Bogota. The event will be marked by a water cannon salute and will be attended by the iconic Juan Valdez (and possibly his mule Conchita) in an effort to promote his coffee brand-which will now be served exclusively on all of LAN’s long-haul flights.

So why might you be interested in hopping on one of the seven weekly flights between Bogota and Miami? Not only was Bogota named one of Gadling’s picks for best budget vacations in 2012, but Tayrona National Park on the Caribbean coast is one of our top picks for national parks to visit in all of South America. If you need more convincing, find out why Alex Robertson Textor things Bogota is the next Buenos Aires.

Photo of the day: Kauai sky

by Alex Robertson Textor on

This Kauai sky is awfully pretty. It doesn’t even need the surrounding habitat, which is likely amazingly beautiful, to compel viewers. Vast elongated cotton-candy clouds are location-independent, after all.

Captured by Flickr user matt coats earlier this month, this is a dreamy image, a reminder that the sky, like the ocean, inspires journeys through its very enormity.

Upload your images of skies to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr, and be sure to let us know where you took them. We choose our favorite images from the pool to be Photos of the Day. And while you’re at it, make sure you’ve enabled downloading of your photos.

Postage stamp-inspired paintings by Molly Rausch

by Elizabeth Seward on


Ever wanted postage stamp-inspired paintings? Molly Rausch can give you what you want, in that case. And even if you’ve never had an itch to acquire a stamp-themed painting with any cognizance, you might still want to check out her work. Rausch is an artist based out of New Paltz, New York. Her stamp art began 14 years ago when she received an envelope filled with foreign stamps from her father. Her paintings begin with an actual stamp and she proceeds to paint an image around the glued-on stamp. Since stamps are small, her paintings are, too. They’re usually about 3 inches tall. After flipping through her work on her website, I have to say, I like it–it’s a great concept. You might, too. And if you do, throw some travel-related art on your walls, courtesy of Ms. Rausch.

San Francisco introduces first-ever airport yoga room

by Jessica Marati on
If a long flight has you hankering for a sun salutation, San Francisco International Airport has got you covered. On Thursday, the airport will unveil the world’s first dedicated airport yoga room, just past the security checkpoint in the newly renovated Terminal 2.

“The room gives modern travelers a space that fosters and supports quiet and reflection,” said Melissa Mezill, design director for Gensler, the architectural firm that designed the space. “Those aren’t emotions that people typically encounter at the airport.”

The yoga room joins the Berman reflection room, a space intended for silence and meditation located before Terminal 2 security.

The new room will feature soft blue light and a floating wall meant to symbolize “a buoyant spirit and enlightened mind”. In the spring, felt-constructed rocks will be introduced in a Japanese garden-inspired pattern for added zen. Oh, San Francisco.

[via msnbc.com, image courtesy of San Francisco International Airport via msnbc.com]

National Parks Conservation Association launches official blog

by Kraig Becker on

The National Parks Conservation Association, a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect and preserve America’s wild and historic places, officially launched their new blog earlier this week. The site, which can be found at ParkAdvocate.org, went online just as America’s first Summit on National Parks was getting underway.

As you would imagine with any new blog, content is a bit sparse at the moment, but already filing in nicely. Eventually the site will be home to a wide variety of news stories and features on the parks and NPCA efforts to protect them, as well as photos and videos from those amazing places. The blog already features a four-minute video tour of Yosemite and a great overview of the proposed Lone Star National Recreation Area, which we told you about last week, with plenty more content to come soon.

The blog’s first official post came from NPCA President Tom Kiernan who discussed America’s Summit on National Parks, a symposium that wrapped up yesterday in Washington, D.C. At the Summit, a number of leaders in conservation, tourism, education, and a variety of other fields, came together to discuss the future of the national parks in the U.S. as we approach the 100th anniversary of the Park Service in 2016. The parks currently face a variety of threats, including climate change, pollution, and massive budget cuts, just to mention a few, and the attendees of the conference discussed ideas on how to continue to preserve America’s wild places for future generations to enjoy, while meeting those challenges.

Judging from the attendance numbers – which continue to rise to historic levels – travelers see the value of protecting the national parks too. Now, thanks to this new blog, they have a tool for staying connected to parks and staying informed of the efforts to protect them.