By the YouTube sensation with two and a half million followers, the inspiring account of a young woman who, in a moment of personal crisis, embarked on an epic, transcontinental motorcycle ride—and along the way found a new sense of purpose.

Noraly Schoenmaker was a thirtysomething geologist living in the Netherlands when she learned that her live-in partner had been having a long-term affair. In desperate need of a new beginning, she decided to quit her job and jet off to India. But her plans were dashed when she fell quickly and helplessly in love: with a motorcycle. Behind the handlebars, she felt alive and free—nimble enough to trace the narrowest paths, powerful enough to travel the longest of roads.

First, she set off toward the Pacific, through the jungles of Myanmar and Thailand, then into Malaysia. Rather than satisfy her appetite for the open road, this ride only piqued it. She shipped her bike to Oman, at the base of the Arabian Peninsula, and embarked on a journey through Iran, across Tajikistan along its border with Afghanistan, over the snowy peaks of Central Asia, and into Europe, all the way back home to the Netherlands. She covered remote and utterly unfamiliar territory, broke down on impossibly steep mountains, and pushed too many miles along empty roads, farther and farther from civilization. But through her travels, she discovered the true beauty of the world, the kindness of its people, the simplicity of its open spaces, and a new and unshakable belief in her capabilities.

Free Ride is an inspiring story of self-discovery and renewal. Filled with unforgettable figures, hilarious disasters, and powerful human connections, it shows you what happens when you open your heart and let the world in.

This is the tale of an epic three-month adventure through unexplored jungle terrain - and it might even change your life Fuelled by a zest for life and the desire to explore the world around her, Pip Stewart took on a world-first challenge: following Guyana's Essequibo River from source to sea. With the help of guides from the Wai Wai indigenous community, Pip and her teammates journeyed through the rainforest, facing peril every day as they kayaked rapids, traversed waterfalls and hacked their way through the mountainous jungle of the Guiana Shield, before finally reaching the Atlantic Ocean. Survival skills and a flesh-eating parasite weren't the only things Pip took home from the rainforest. From contending with snakes to learning about the value of community, forgiveness and self-belief, in Life Lessons from the Amazon Pip shares many pearls of wisdom that we can all apply to our own lives. Her hard-won insights invite us to embrace the wildness within ourselves and live more every day.

Discover some of the world’s most awe-inspiring and holy places, from Stonehenge to Uluru, and Walden Pond to Angkor Wat. Humans have always searched for and created meaning in the world around them, whether in breathtakingly stunning natural features and phenomena, acknowledging the ancient home of a particular faith or movement, or honouring the location of a significant event. In this beautifully illustrated guide, Alice Peck discusses what makes a place spiritual – whether reaches of time, geography, the provision of sustenance or inspiration, or mystery and magic – and then explores 80 such locations around the globe. Rather than a comprehensive travel guide, the description of each one includes a detail or tip – something beautiful, strange, relatively unknown or unfamiliar – to allow readers to deepen their focus and perhaps experience the place in a different way than they might expect. If you are unable to travel at this time, this book will help you plan your next adventure. And if you are trying to limit your carbon footprint, each destination is accompanied by a related meditation, prayer, practice or quotation to help you connect to the spirit of it from your own home.

"Thirteenth Beach" is an absorbing account of travel and adventure. It sweeps you into the action, beauty, and drama that awaits any adventurer seeking to explore the world's oceans and waterways. It's written with a sharp eye for detail, an ironic sense of humor, and above all, a personal style that puts the reader in exotic locations and in the water shoulder to shoulder with the author. This is an ideal traveler's fireside companion.

""Fantastic read!!! I read it twice."" Steve Sutton, Diver, adventurer. California

""Fascinating read ... a book for all of us looking for the ultimate underwater adventure."" www.divesiteonline.com

""A book for divers ... written by a diver."" www.adirondackdivers.com

""A strong sense of adventure!"" Ron & Viv Moon, "Kakirra Adventure Publications, " Australia

In Alycia Pirmohamed's debut collection, Another Way to Split Water, a woman's body expands and contracts across the page, fog uncoils at the fringes of a forest, and water in all its forms cascades into metaphors of longing and separation just as often as it signals inheritance, revival, and recuperation. Language unfolds into unforgettable and arresting imagery, offering a map toward self-understanding that is deeply rooted in place. These poems are a lyrical exploration of how ancestral memory reforms and transforms throughout generations, through stories told and retold, imagined and reimagined. It is a meditation on womanhood, belonging, faith, intimacy, and the natural world. 'Pirmohamed is an immensely gifted poet' - Eduardo C. Corral 'An electric, taut, and glimmering achievement' - Aria Aber

- amp gt ., , quot i amp gt A OUR Jerusalem an American Family in the Holy City, 1881-1949 Bertha Spafford Vester Introduction by LOWELL THOMAS Doubleday Company, Inc. GARDEN CITY, N. Y. 1950 APPRECIATION LIFE in the American Colony of Jerusalem during the last decade was tranquil although surrounded by political turmoil-Our consuls were friendly. Religious leaders understood us better. Perhaps we had become less of an enigma, and perhaps Jerusalem had changed. Mod ern Jerusalem accepted us at our value. The old stories cropped up now and then, but were turned aside with oh-that-used-to-be looks, which hurt worse than accusations when one thought of the robust Christianity of the Colony s founders which allowed quot no room for self pity, as Mother expressed it, at the most crucial moment of her life. It was during this time that I began work on the record of my par ents experiences in Jerusalem and elsewhere which would serve as a record for my children and grandchildren. I have taken five years writing it, part of which was done while we were under fire in the recent war against the partition of Palestine. Preceding this I had worked for fifteen years gathering material incorporated in its writ ing, and for such contributed data, letters and memoirs, newspaper accounts and testimonials, legal, ecclesiastical and historic, I am in debted to more friends in the United States, the Holy Land, and England than I have space to acknowledge, but whose kindness and interest have contributed greatly to this account of our lives in Amer ica and Jerusalem, I should like to express my public appreciation to Mr, Lowell Thomas, author, lecturer, and radio commentator, whose friendship over manyyears has meant much to the American Colony in Jerusalem and to me, and who was the first to suggest that I turn into a book my private family record by which others might see the Holy City as it has seemed to us for nearly seventy years. To Dr. Millar Burrows, Winkley Professor of Biblical Theology at the Divinity School of Yale University and late Director of the Ameri can School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, I am deeply grateful for whole-hearted encouragement and advice My gratitude is also extended to the Rev, Charles T. Bridgeman, at present connected with Trinity Church, New York, formerly Canon of St. George s Cathedral in Jerusalem, who has given unstintedly of his twenty years experience in Palestine, particularly in church mat ters. I also wish to thank Miss Evelyn Wells for her help. BERTHA SPAFFORD VESTER vii INTRODUCTION By Lowell Thomas FOR years my wanderings took me to many parts of the world. In the course of these travels I met a fair proportion of the unusual personalities of our time statesmen, explorers, soldiers, scientists, missionaries, writers, mining men, merchants, and artists. When a traveler thinks of mountain ranges, certain peaks stand out in his mind Kinchinjunga in the Himalayas Aconcagua in the Andes Saint Elias and McKinley in Alaska Demavend in Persia Chomolari in Tibet Rainier in the Puget Sound country Mount Washington in New England, and a dozen more in various lands-Looking back on the people I have met, a few are like the mountains I have mentioned. One of these is the author of this book. Of all the remarkable personalities I have known, Berfha Vester is one of the few that I have envied. To me Jerusalem is the most dramatic of the citiesof this earth, more so even than Athens, Rome or Paris. And Berfha Vester is lie only outstanding person who has lived there, both as an observer and a participant in events, under the Turkish sultans, through World War I, the period of the Mandate, a second world war, and finally the period of the return of the Children of Israel. What a panorama Since the days when Dr. John Finley, famous editor of the New York Times, and I, first met her in Jerusalem, I have been urging her to write the story of her life...

Growing is a portrait of a young man sent straight out from university to help govern Ceylon. It is doubtful that any Empire at any time has been served by such an intelligent, dutiful, hardworking and incorruptible civil servant as the young Leonard Woolf. He was determined to do what was good but discovered for himself that colonial rule, be it ever so high-minded, is fated to do wrong. Growing is also a deeply affectionate account of the mystery, magic and savage beauty of Ceylon at the turn of the century, an island whose diverse beliefs and cultures Woolf had the time and wit to explore in detail.

With charm, inspiration, and plenty of whimsy, Taylor reminds us that even in a weary world, it’s possible to celebrate the beauty in each person’s unique story—and make a difference that goes deeper than you’ll ever know.

Flight attendant Taylor Tippett had just finished beverage service and was sitting in the back of a Boeing 737 when she had a revelation: How can I show kindness to these passengers if I can’t show it to myself? She grabbed a tiny notepad and a Sharpie and wrote: “Be kind to yourself.” Before she had time to think about it, Taylor taped the note to a window, posted a picture, and then left the slip of paper in a seat-back pocket for someone on the next flight to find. And soon what started as a personal project to encourage herself and others became a viral sensation.

In Words from the Window Seat, Taylor shares stories of her travels, daily life, and interactions with people of all kinds, anchoring each chapter around a note she’s left for a stranger to find.

As she takes you from Chicago to Paris to Barcelona on planes, trains, and even a skateboard, you’ll:

• learn how to embody love in the midst of someone else’s ordinary day through little acts of kindness;
• discover the small moments of magic that happen when you have the courage to find them; and
• find ways to embrace your authentic self, even though life can be hard.

The Great North Road is Britain's Route 66 - we've just forgotten how to sing its praises In 1921, Britain's most illustrious highway, the Great North Road, ceased to exist - on paper at least. Stretching from London to Edinburgh, the old road was largely replaced by the A1 as the era of the motor car took hold. A hundred years later, journalist and cyclist Steve Silk embraces the anniversary as the perfect excuse to set off on an adventure across 11 days and 400 miles. Travelling by bike at a stately 14 miles per hour, he heads north, searching out milestones and memories, coaching inns and coffee shops. Seen from a saddle rather than a car seat, the towns and the countryside of England and Scotland reveal traces of Britain's remarkable past and glimpses of its future. Instead of the familiar service stations and tourist hotspots, Steve tracks down the forgotten treasures of this ancient highway between the two capitals. The Great North Road is a journey as satisfying for the armchair traveller as the long-distance cyclist. Enriched with history, humour and insight, it's a tribute to Britain and the endless appeal of the open road.

Originally published in early 1900's. A fascinating illustrated record of the author's various cruises taken from the log books of the yachts in use at that time. This book also includes a section entitled "More Cruises" by Maude Speed. Many of the earliest sailing books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing many of these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

In recent decades, private jets have become status symbols for the world's wealthiest, while quick and easy flights have brought far-flung destinations within the reach of everyone. But at what cost to the environment? Around the world, flying emits around 860 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, and until the outbreak of Covid-19, the aviation industry was one of the planet's fastest-growing polluters. Now is the perfect time to pause and take stock of our toxic relationship with flying. Part climate-change investigation, part travel memoir, Zero Altitude follows Helen Coffey as she journeys as far as she can in the course of her job as a top travel journalist - all without getting on a single flight. Between trips by train, car, boat and bike, she meets climate experts and activists at the forefront of the burgeoning flight-free movement. Over the course of her travels, she discovers that keeping both feet on the ground is not only possible but that it can be an exhilarating opportunity for adventure. Her book is brimming with tips and ideas for swapping the middle seat for the open road.

English spas have a long and steamy history, from the thermal baths of Aquae Sulis in Bath to the stews of Southwark, the elegant pump rooms of Cheltenham and Buxton to the Victorian mania for hydrotherapy and Turkish hammams. 'The Secret History of English Spas' is an informative but light-hearted social and cultural history of our obsession with drinking and bathing in spa waters. It tells the stories of the rich, the famous, the poor and the sick, all of whom visited spas in hopes of curing everything from infertility to leprosy and gonorrhoea. It depicts the entrepreneurs who promoted these resorts - often on the basis of the most dubious scientific evidence - and the riotous and salacious social life enjoyed in spa towns, where moral health might suffer even as bodies were cleansed and purged. And yet English spas also offered an ideal of civility and politeness, providing a place where social classes and sexes could mingle and enjoy refined entertainments such as music and dance - all part of the fashionable pastime referred to as 'taking the waters'.

The written travelogue of Ella Sykes' historic first journey across central Asia, this book has been considered a classic of women's studies as well as a historic travel account. Detailing the impressions of Sykes while traveling with her diplomat brother through central Asia in the nineteenth century, this illustrated volume has a wide appeal to those interested in Iran as it used to be.

Originally published in 1879. Author: Richard F. Burton Language: English Keywords: History Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The book is originally a journal or diary of our journey to Tripoli, Libya and the things we saw and did there. In those days there was no such thing as a "jet set" because jet planes were not in use, and travel to other countries was a rare event to most people. When I set out for Africa with three children in tow, it was quite an event in our family. Everyone was urging me to write it down in a journal so I wouldn't forget anything, and I could tell them all about it when I came home. This book is the result of that journal. During the last few months of our stay in Tripoli I decided to put it into the form of a book, with chapters instead of so many dates and times, to make it easier to read. When my family got together it was difficult to get a word in edgewise every now and then, let alone telling a two-year saga. A few years ago our children asked me to give them a copy of the book. When I reread it, I realized that the whole story was not there. I had glossed over some of the more difficult situations to keep the family from worrying if we went overseas again. I n addition to that, I had not known some of the details that were released later. I added these in the Perspective at the end of each chapter. Our children enjoyed the result, and they have been after me ever since to have it published. Since there are so few books about military service written from a wife's viewpoint, I decided to give it a try. And here it is.

Met kaarte en geografiese grense sal mens wel kan bepaal waar le die Tankwa-Karoo. maar vir Adriaan Oosthuizen kry jy die streek wanneer jy die langste grondpad tussen twee dorpe in Suid-Afrika aanpak: die pad tussen Ceres en Calvinia. Saam met Adriaan se foto’s vertel Leti Kleyn van haar besoek aan hierdie geliefde stuk land en dit word aangevul deur Dawid Slinger se vertellings en skrywes. ’n Fees vir die oog, lekkerleesboek en ’n inligtinggids ineen oor die geliefde streek wat die Tankwa-Karoo heet.

FRIDTJOF NANSEN ... TOP-. THROUGH THE CAUCASUS TO THE VOLGA Translated by G. G. WHEELER ILLUSTRATED NEW YORK W W NORTON COMPANY, ING Publishers From a sketch made at Geneva, 1929 PREFACE The journey described in this book was made in the summer of 19255 and was the continuation of the one described in an earlier book, Armenia and the Near East Gjennem Armenia . The author gladly uses this opportunity to express his gratitude to Presidents Sainursky and Korkmazov in the Repub lic of Daghestan for the extraordinary hospitality shown to his fellow-traveller and himself during their interesting stay in this remarkable land. He would also like to thank the local authorities in the different places they came to, especially in Astrakhan, for their friendly welcome. It is not possible in a short sketch such as this to give in any way complete impressions of the lands and the many peoples the journey took them through, especially when it was made so quickly, and the impressions were so changing and over whelming. For fuller information as to the natural conditions and the manifold peoples in the Caucasus and Daghestan the reader may be referred to the following among others Erckert, Der Kaukasus und seine Volker, 1887 Merzbacher, AILS den Hochregionen des Kaukasus, 1901 Freshfield, The Exploration of the Caucasus, 1902 the various descriptions of travels by C. Hahn Aus dem Kaukasus, 1892, and others in 1896, 1900, and 1911. A good account of our knowledge of the anthropology and customs of the 5 THROUGH THE CAUCASUS TO THE VOLGA Caucasian peoples will be found in Arthur Byhan, Die kaukasischen Volker in Buschan, Ulustrierte voL II, part 2, 1926. The most Important sources for the study of theCaucasian peoples 3 long-drawn-out fight for freedom against the Russians are the many Russian military reports from the campaigns, and the many Russian accounts of the course of the fighting and so on. It Is mainly on these Russian printed sources that J. F. Baddeley based his work. The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus, 1908, which describes the struggle of the Daghestaners and the Chechens for freedom. As a result of the nature of these sources and the lack of sources from the other side, it is only to be expected that this valuable work, in part at least, should express the Russian outlook on the course of the fighting and the conditions In Daghestan, even though the author has tried his best to guard himself against this. Bodenstedts account in Die Volker des Kaukasus und ihre Freiheitskdmpfe gegen die Russen, 1855, seems, on the other hand, to be less coloured by a Russian point of view but he did not have access to the rich Russian material we now have. Olaf Lange, Kavkasus, Copenhagen, 1891, gives an entertaining survey of Muridism and Daghestans fight for freedom, mostly based, it is true, on Bodenstedt. The Pole, Lapinski Tefik Bey, in his Die Bergwlker des Kaukasus und ihr Freiheitskampf gegen die Russen, 1863, gives an interesting description of 6 PREFACE the fighting by the Circassians and Abkhasians, and of Ms share in it. These introductory words cannot be brought to an end without my hearty thanks to Captain Vidkum Quisling for his untiring kindness as a travelling companion, and for the valuable help he has given the author through his knowledge of Russian and his many-sided attainments. FRIDTJOF NANSEN LYSAKER, Mommber 1929 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE PREFACE 5 I. TIFLIS 15H. THROUGH THE CAUCASUS 33 HI. THE MOUNTAIN PEOPLES NEAR THE MILITARY ROAD 53 IV. OVER THE CAUCASUS 73 V. TO DAGHESTAN 93 VI. MURIDISM AND THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM 121 VII. SHAMYL 139 VHI. EXCURSIONS IN DAGHESTAN 179 DC. OVER THE CASPIAN TO ASTRAKHAN 2Og X. THE VOLGA 225 INDEX 253 ILLUSTRATIONS DR...

The Alps have seen the march of armies, the flow of pilgrims and Crusaders, the feats of mountaineers and the dreams of engineers—and some 14 million people live among their peaks today. In The Alps, Stephen O’Shea takes readers up and down these majestic mountains, journeying through their 500-mile arc across France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. He explores the reality behind Hannibal’s crossing; he reveals how the Alps have influenced culture from Frankenstein to Heidi and The Sound of Music; and he visits the spot of Sherlock Holmes’s death scene, the bloody site of the Italians’ retreat in the First World War and Hitler’s notorious Eagle’s Nest. Throughout, O’Shea records his adventures with the watch makers, salt miners, cable-car operators and yodelers who define the Alps today.