Welcome to the Where Else to Go podcast. I'm so glad to have you join us for Episode #19 featuring Kimberly Erin Davies talking about where else to go – San Pedro de Atacama in Chile.

Kimmie grew up being taught that travel is education in a less formal environment, and has since been doing her best to practice this belief. She now works as a travel blogger, traveling the Americas, writing and inspiring others to push the boundaries of travel. She is an adventurer and loves to climb mountains, take multi-day treks, surf, scuba dive, and paraglide. 

Kimmie was passing through Chile for a short visit on her way to Easter Island, but fell in love with it and ended up moving to the north part of the country and a town called San Pedro de Atacama. San Pedro is a sleepy little town with a relaxed kind of hippie vibe. It is an open, free, be yourself type of destination, with wonderful restaurants, and some of the best scenery you could dream of. You will never run out of things to do in surreal San Pedro de Atacama, from volcanoes to hot springs, to world class star gazing and sand boarding on ‘the moon’, you will never be bored.

Even though she has now moved back home to Canada, Kimmie makes return visits regularly, sharing her love of San Pedro with family and friends

Some of the things that Kimmie recommends:

Restaurants:

• Las Delicias del Carmen - A traditional restaurant, you can read a review here.
• Barros Cafe - For live music at night and a great daily menu, read a review here.
• Adobe- Go for dinner, read a review here.
• Blanco - For upscale dining, read a review here.
• La Casona -  Kimmie's personal favorite, read a review here.

Hello, and welcome to episode #18 of the Where Else to Go podcast. Whether you're looking to travel around the block or around the world, we're here to give you some inspiration to begin researching where to go. . . and where else to go.

My guest today is Marysia Maciocha, an ex-lawyer from Poland, who describes herself as a crazy Polish girl traveling around the globe. She travels most of the time, with intermittent breaks for family events, and remains enthusiastic about the constant change of landscape, religion, mentalities, languages, and kitchens.

Marysia and I talk about travel to Benin, a country in west Africa. Most tourism centers around Cotonou, the governmental seat, and even though French is the official language, Marysia says it is possible to get around relying only on English. Of course, she speaks six languages so it's easy for her to say that, but if you're willing to make a bit of effort with the language, you'll find Benin is an underrated destination full of interesting culture and history.

Our conversation ranged from hotels and food to voodoo practices and the slave trade. Benin is full of things that you won't find just anywhere. Take a listen.

You can find Marysia's stories about her travels on her blog, My Travel Affairs, and stories specifically about traveling in Benin here. You can also connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and Instagram.

Thanks for listening! Remember, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, and while you're there, please take a minute and leave us a rating and review. See you next week when we'll be talking about Where Else to Go. . . San Pedro de Atacama.

Rwanda is a small landlocked country just south of the equator in central and east Africa. The country is mountains in the west and savannah in the east, and although primarily an agricultural economy, tourism is becoming an important part of the economy.

While many people only know about Rwanda for its horrible history of genocide, travel blogger Bret Love fell in love with it. He says:

Rwanda. It's relatively off the beaten path for most American travelers, and there's a lot of amazing ecotourism attractions beyond following Dian Fossey's footsteps and trekking with gorillas in Volcanos National Park. A lot of people associate the country with the Civil War and genocide that ended in 1994. But President Paul Kagame has completely transformed the country over the past 22 years, with an impressive infrastructure, impeccably managed tourism industry, and some of the most beautiful landscapes we've ever seen.

Bret Love is a journalist with 23 years of experience, whose freelance clients have ranged from the Atlanta Journal Constitution and Rolling Stone to National Geographic and Yahoo Travel. Along with his wife Mary Gabbett, he is the co-founder of Green Global Travel, an award-winning blog focused on ecotourism, nature/wildlife conservation & cultural preservation that hopes to inspire and inform people on ways to live and travel more sustainably. Bret and Mary also co-founded Green Travel Media, a content marketing agency, as well as a new Fair Trade e-commerce store that's opening on Earth Day 2016.

You can follow all of Bret and Mary’s travels on Green Global Travel, where they’ve recently opened a shop focusing on items from their travels. I purchased a pillow cover from the shop and was very pleased with both the customer service and quality. Find them on social media at Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and Instagram.

Thanks for listening! Remember, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, and while you’re there, please take a minute and leave us a rating and review.