Not-So-Lonely Planet Writers We've all heard the Lonely Planet horror stories, about how the people writing your trusted guidebook, the one you sacrificed 5 extra pounds in your backpack to bring along, actually never lifted a finger to update the book. Clever insights and suggestions plagiarized from another source ( I saw this first hand while traveling through Guatemala with an LP and a Footprints guide -- did both authors really think of Jackson Pollack when they saw that restaurant??), o... Read Full Story

Overhead Bin Blues I was thinking about the overhead bin evolution a couple of weeks ago while boarding a flight from the east coast. Some airlines have now restricted carry-on bags to those who are seated in the 1st and 2nd seating calls. So if you flew on points or bought a deeply discounted ticket you are likely at the end of the line when it comes to boarding, and you are now forced to check your bags. It used to be that overnight business travel caused the most stress. You typically end... Read Full Story

On The Road Again We're back! After 7 frustrating days of waiting on hold with our less-than-stellar hosting company, and taking 2 steps back for every one step of progress thanks to their policy of not allowing technical support to speak with customers... we've finally fixed the issue! As we had expected, Startlogic had upgraded us to a new platform. It turns out platform 2.0 required programmers to do a number of changes to make sure that the files corresponded to the new platform. It would... Read Full Story

On The Road Again We're back! After 7 frustrating days of waiting on hold with our less-than-stellar hosting company, and taking 2 steps back for every one step of progress thanks to their policy of not allowing technical support to speak with customers... we've finally fixed the issue! As we had expected, Startlogic had upgraded us to a new platform. It turns out platform 2.0 required programmers to do a number of changes to make sure that the files corresponded to the new platform.... Read Full Story

No News is Not Good News Three days later and still no site... sorry! There does seem to be movement at Startlogic though! After many, many hours on hold with tech support they have identified the issue and recognized that it is their fault. It seems they finally (after at least a year) upgrade us to the new platform they are rolling out without any warning. In  the usual Startlogic way, they also managed to lose half the files when they did the migration! So... it's a work in progress. ... Read Full Story

No News is Not Good News Three days later and still no site... sorry! There does seem to be movement at Startlogic though! After many, many hours on hold with tech support they have identified the issue and recognized that it is their fault. It seems they finally (after at least a year) upgrade us to the new platform they are rolling out without any warning. In  the usual Startlogic way, they also managed to lose half the files when they did the migration! So... it's a work in progr... Read Full Story

Snafued by Startlogic Again Every few months it's something new... the folks at Startlogic (our hosting company) have done it again. This time it was during an 'upgrade' which they have been trying to roll out since last summer. It seems our ticket was up today. They appear to have switched us to the new platform, but forgot to transfer the proper files along with it. So... when you go to the site, you will now see the very first version of our website -- in Latin! As per usual it will take 2... Read Full Story

Snafued by Startlogic Again Every few months it's something new... the folks at Startlogic (our hosting company) have done it again. This time it was during an 'upgrade' which they have been trying to roll out since last summer. It seems our ticket was up today. They appear to have switched us to the new platform, but forgot to transfer the proper files along with it. So... when you go to the site, you will now see the very first version of our website -- in Latin! As per usual i... Read Full Story

Time Stands Still in Guatemala Daylight savings is a controversial topic in Guatemala. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. Last year it came about out of the blue, with most locals not even realizing it was upon them. This year President Alvaro Colom has decided not to continue with the spotty policy, citing safety reasons. Despite saving approximately 60 megawatts of energy per day, the later sunrise would force many people to begin their walk to work in the dark, further exposing th... Read Full Story

Travel to Brazil With Kids The New York Times Travel Q&A column recently posted some suggestions for those planning to travel to Brazil with children. Many of the suggestions apply equally to adults: avoid tap water, strong currents and pollution, apply sunscreen liberally, etc. The comments beneath the article provide more substantial suggestions. Read how to spend a rainy day in Rio for recommendations of museums and other fairweather options. Travel Advice & Recommendations From Lo... Read Full Story