It was a whisper, barely enough to flutter the sails of Agamemnon, that originally set me careening down the mountainous coast of Turkey in my puny Renault, searching for a colony of backpackers living in the trees. A 21-year-old wanderer from Iceland, whom I’d met in Egypt, had murmured of a narrow valley that spilled [Continue Reading]
Outside Magazine
A Wild Country Grows in South Sudan
The new country of South Sudan is blessed with oil, water, and a safari bonanza: one of the largest, most stunning animal migrations on earth. But without roads, laws, or infrastructure, can Africa’s youngest state turn potential into stabilizing profit? Patrick Symmes joins the adventure. Day one is Thursday, and we roll out of Juba, [Continue Reading]
Dams in Chilean Patagonia
ALLAH WAS INVOKED THAT DAY, after a wood-fired breakfast in an 18-degree dawn. The earth was cloaked anew; hoarfrost made the grass crunch under my boots. Wind ripped away the plume of Daniel González’s breath. Winter in southern Chile, one of the southernmost places on earth. The pickup truck, already humming in the near-dark, gave [Continue Reading]
Meet The Neighbors
South America contains the Amazon, the Andes, 19,000 miles of coastline, and arguably more adventure than any other continent. So where to start? These ten perfect trips, from exploratory rafting in Peru to skiing in Chile to beach-hopping Brazil. Viva South America! Where the adventure comes in one size: grande THAT’S NICE, your little Alaska. [Continue Reading]
Hugo’s World
It’s year ten of the REVOLUTION. Venezuela’s oil riches are vanishing, and el presidente’s “Yankee devil” rhetoric has created the world’s most hostile environment for Homo turisticus. PATRICK SYMMES goes looking for adventure, and comes back with a tale that will haunt him forever. I’LL ADMIT THERE ARE MOMENTS, even on the mainland. The [Continue Reading]
The Ghost of Shipwrecks Future
IT WAS AN UGLY SHIP, AND STILL IS. The steamer Mohawk was a 387-foot workhorse on the weekly run to Havana, carrying freight and discount passengers in both directions. When it sailed out of New York for the last time, on January 24, 1935, the Mohawk had neither fame nor beauty, and it has taken [Continue Reading]
