Bend to Baja

by Erik Olsen on

We’ve tried to give props to the good folks at Stellar Magazine when at all possible because we love the stuff they do. The online travel/adventure/sports magazine is a killer way to tune out from a day’s toil and immerse yourself, albeit virtually, in the outdoors.

But Stellar does more than publish great Web content, they have also done some epic publishing projects like The Powder Road, a book and accompanying multimedia Web site that rocks hard.

Now comes a new addition to the Stellar oeuvre ,a book about surfing the Pacific Coast called Bend to Baja .As the title suggests, a group of intrepid surfers, some well-known, makes a wave-based journey from Oregon to Baja, California (MUCH more on Baja coming shortly, as I literally returned last night from a week of paddling there). The Web site here has a lot of info about the book and the surfers who participated as well as a few nice excerpts for your printing/reading enjoyment. So take a minute kick back and take a look at this new book. And if you’ve got a surfer friend, maybe think of Bend to Baja as a nice Christma….um, Holiday, gift.

Banff Film Tour Kicks Off

by Neil Woodburn on

The films are loaded in the back of the van and the engine is revving.

That means it’s time for the Banff Film Festival to hit the road and tour the world with its fine collection of award-winning mountain and outdoor films.

The schedule has now been inked and can be found here.

The tour begans appropriately enough in Canada and will pop around the Great White North the remainder of this month and most of January.

Those of us in the USA hoping to catch this amazing festival will have to wait until the van crosses the border and sets up shop in Bozeman Montana on January 19th. Then it is a three-month whirlwind tour through North America and then on to the rest of the world.

Me? I’ll have to wait until March 17/18 to catch it in Santa Monica. I’m sure it will be as great as it always is.

Hitch50 Comes to a Finish

by Adrienne Wilson on

Remember Scotty and Fiddy? They started off about two months ago on a mission to hitchhike their way to the state capitals of all 50 states in 50 consecutive days. (Yes, even Alaska and Hawai’i.) Erik gave them some link love early on in their adventure and now that they’ve completed their fantastic voyage from state-to-state it’s time to recap. On October 10, 2006 the two young men headed off into the cold, dark, unfriendly land we know as the United States… Okay, that’s not true. They did head off on October 10, 2006 and I’m sure part of the whole thing was not only set up to score some free travel, but to show that there is a little kindness in the hearts of Americans everywhere for two men with extended thumbs. Now, whether or not they stuck out their thumbs or just prearranged every single ride, you’ll have to find out on your own by visiting the Hitch50 site.

They did spectacular job blogging the whole shebang which includes photos and video. I kept tabs on the fellas by text messaging, hoping to give them a lift at some point in their journey, but they moved a lot faster than I imagined they would. Their mission was successfully completed the mission on November 28, 2006. Way to go guys!

BT’s Movies That Inspire Travel

by Erik Olsen on

My favorite movie of all time also happens to be one of the movies that most inspires me to travel: Raiders of the Lost Ark. Yes, I may be giving away state secrets here, but that movie rocked my world as a youngster and filled my head with notions of far off lands as places where exotic tribes keep hidden treasures and every encounter is fraught with excitement and a splash of danger.

But this is not the only film that gets me thinking about travel. There is also the English Patient, numerous Bond films, the Beach and Easy Rider, all of which use the particular place as a character in the set, the establishing stage upon which the events in these films transpire. Only one of these films I mention here made it onto Budget Travel’s list of great travel movies, perhaps a reflection of varied taste or just the sheer magnitude of possibilities, since so many films are shot overseas these days. But whatever the difference, I won’t quibble for the most part with what they’ve selected here.

It’s a fine list that includes both new films and old. And for me, at the very least the list made me realize I need to finally see the Whale Rider shot in New Zealand) since that makes the top spot on the list. Check it out for yourself here.

Land Diving in Vanuatu

by Erik Olsen on

It’s pretty interesting how pretty much all cultures have their right of passage ceremonies and traditions for boys who become men. We have the bar mitzvah and, well, Jim Beam and hookers. But in Vanuatu, for boys to become men, they must leap off of tall towers with nothing but a vine tied around their ankles. They are called the Land Divers of Vanuatu, and they are probably humankind’s first bungee jumpers. Here is a cool ittle video on YouTube that explains the tradition and offers several rather amazing facts. For example, did you know the land diver’s objective..or at least one of the requirements of the land dive…is that he must hit his head on the ground. Another part of the tradition is that a man can pretty much say whatever he wants to anyone he wants before he jumps. I suppose afterward he can then claim he forgot he said anything. Pretty smart. That’s using your…oh, never mind.