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New iPhone App Sends Postcards

Point. Snap. Postcard. World Nomads has just launched a Postcard App for the iPhone that makes sending postcards as easy as a push of the finger. Here’s how it works. Users download the free app from iTunes. Via PayPal, they purchase stamps (the cost of $2 per stamp works for delivery anywhere in the world). Users then snap a photo that is then turned into a postcard image. Type a message for the back. Add a delivery address and then submit everything electronically. The postcard is printed in the USA on real high-quality gloss paper, stamped and then sent to the address on the card anywhere in the world. When making stamp purchases there’s also an opportunity to donate to one of World Nomads’ Footprints Projects that funds community development projects and fights poverty worldwide.
 

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Top 5 Caribbean Adventures, Surf Rincon

They say the best views of Puerto Rico are from the water. Watching the palms sway, seeing horseback riders gallop along the beach, and eyeing lighthouses as they stand tall, sending their beacon of light over the ocean waters. This is especially true if you’re on a board surfing Rincon. Called the “Caribbean Pipeline,” surfers from America, Europe, and South America flock to the western tip of Puerto Rico to glide atop the consistently large swell at spots like Maria’s, a monstrous reef break. The problem with Rincon was always the crime. Come back from a morning of surfing and your room is broken into. So it’s a joy to finally find a place that’s not only safe, clean, and serves delicious local food (included in the price), but is owned by a world-class Brazilian surfer. Roger Wagner’s six villas, Surf787, are perched on a hillside with water views just west of town. Depending on your level of expertise, he’ll guide you to the best surf spots within a 40-minute drive. Or you can venture out on your own, especially in the early morning hours when the local contingent of surfers are usually sleeping in after hitting the bars. November to April is the best time to surf Rincon. Check out the surf report, grab a flight into Aguadilla, and you could be on the water today!  
 
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St. Lucia’s BodyHoliday Offers Three Yoga Retreats

St. Lucia wellness resort BodyHoliday, one of my favorite properties in the Caribbean, has unveiled the year’s lineup of Yoga Retreats. The weeklong programs, all led by the property’s wellness advisor Hollie Bailey, will include a range of yoga and meditation workshops, as well as spa treatments, and a hands-on cooking class. Participants will meet with Bailey at the beginning of their stay, or talk with a BodyHoliday specialist beforehand if they want to maximize their time at the resort, to plan the retreat and tailor it to the them. During the week, guests can attend a yoga workshop or nutrition talk every day, with classes covering areas like hatha yoga, anapana meditation, vinyasa and more. Outside of these central classes, the Yoga Retreats provide sunrise and sunset yoga sessions and a daily spa treatment (yes, one massage a day). After the program ends, the resort will also provide post-retreat support. Dates for the Yoga Retreats are October 5-12, October 12-19, and December 14-21. The all-inclusive cost is $4,830 per person. 

 
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Louisville’s Remarkable Amount of Parkland

I was in Louisville several weeks ago researching and writing a story for The Washington Post on the emerging neighborhood on East Market Street called NuLu. I dined on tasty southern fare like fried chicken livers doused in a bourbon sauce at Harvest, recently named one of the best new restaurants in America by the James Beard Foundation. I also spent at least three hours looking at old television footage at the Muhammad Ali Center and saw an intense drama at the Humana Festival of New American Plays. Yet, what really impressed me was the all the rolling green parkland and rivers Louisville is blessed with. Louisville has more parkland than Chicago or Denver. In fact the city has more green space than Baltimore, Boston, and
 Pittsburgh combined. And not just any ole park, but 18 parks and 6 parkways designed by the developer of New York’s Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted. With such an abundant wealth of parkland, it didn’t surprise me that so many residents were out biking and jogging on the parkways. 

 
Well, it looks like the rich are only going to get richer, because Louisville is in the midst of adding 4,000 acres of park in the southern and eastern part of the city, along Floyd Fort Creek. Called the Parklands, the city aims to add 100 miles of new trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, and a 19-mile canoe trail in the creek. The Parklands will open in phases, beginning in 2013, with the entire system scheduled to be complete by 2015. The Parklands will be part of the Louisville Loop, a 100-mile shared-use path that will encircle the entire city. So far, 25 miles of the loop have been completed. When it’s done, I’ll be due for a return trip. 
 
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Nova Scotia Week Bonus: Kayaking Lobster Bay with Lobster Bake at Argyler Lodge

 

My last day in Nova Scotia was downright dreamy. Clouds and the early morning mist were swept away by blue skies by the time I arrived at the 6-bedroom Argyler Lodge. What a glorious locale! A mere 25 minute drive from where the Nova Star ferry arrives in Nova Scotia at Yarmouth, the Argyler sits on the shores of the vast Lobster Bay with spectacular views of the sea and islands. My sea kayaking guide, Matt Delong, soon arrived with two kayaks for us to explore the wide open water. Matt spent 5 years paddling in BC before returning back to his native Nova Scotia to take the fortunate few to treasured spots like this one. We spent the next three hours paddling a loop around the numerous islands—Nanny, Camp, Birch, Bonds, Potato, Gordons—viewing ospreys in their nest, a loon plunging into the water, and cormorants drying their wings on their rocks. The most spectacular part of the whole adventure was the fact that there was not one boat in this mammoth-sized bay. Not even another kayaker. Lobster fishermen finish the season in late May so their traps and boats were long gone. 

 
3 hours later, we returned to shore where Chef Jonathan was already busy boiling water over an open fire for our night’s lobster bake. A picnic table was set for my sister and I, Luckett’s L’acadie Blanc on ice. Jonathan soon dumped everything into the pot including corn, potatoes, clams, mussels, and lobsters. The sun set behinds Gordons Island as we roasted marshmallows for our s’mores. Then the bright night sky lit up with stars. A perfect ending to a perfect week of travel around Nova Scotia. 
 
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Paul Cyr’s Latest Coffee Table Book Now Available

I met Paul Cyr while on assignment from The Boston Globe in Presque Isle, Maine, in search of the elusive Northern Lights. Cyr’s colorfully charged photos of the Northern Lights have gone viral. His shots of Maine wildlife, including moose, bear, and this snowy owl are quite spectacular as well. In typical Maine fashion, he humbly insists he’s an amateur photographer. Yeah, and Jimi Hendrix is an amateur guitarist. Check out his magnificent work in his latest book, Northern Maine with Paul Cyr, perfect for a Holiday gift. 

 
(Photo by Paul Cyr)
 
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Download the Best Translation Apps

Fear of overcoming the language barrier is one of most common anxieties travelers face. One experience with a surly Parisian waiter who mocks your stab at French will only exacerbate the situation. Or the futile attempt to explain to your taxi driver in Bangkok the name of your hotel when he uses a vastly different alphabet. That’s why I’m downright giddy about the latest language translation apps, found in my latest column for Men’s Journal. Try one of these technological beauties and you’ll no longer be fumbling through the pages of the Berlitz guide.

 

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