Ghana Will Always Win! Africa story wins the silver in 2012 Solas travel writing awards

By Joshua | March 17th, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Travel and Sports Silver Winner: Ghana Will Always Win

by Joshua Berman

The author experiences World Cup fever on the Gold Coast

It was a two-day journey to Tamale, where Mammah Tenii was waiting to connect us with Chief Kansuk, who everybody called “Chief.” It was the summer of 2006 and the national soccer team, the Ghana Black Stars, was playing in the World Cup in Germany. It was a historical moment to be there and we had this other mission on top of it. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m speaking about my Peace Corps service this Monday at CU Boulder

By Joshua | March 8th, 2012 | No Comments »

Happy Peace Corps week, everybody! I’m proud to be participating in the big Peace Corps Palooza recruiting event this Monday evening in the Glenn Miller Ballroom. CU Boulder is the country’s number one Peace Corps Volunteer–producing university (two years in a row!), so it should be a fun event with many colors, sounds, and sights from around the world.

I’ll be giving a presentation, sometime after 6 p.m., about my Peace Corps service in Nicaragua (Environmental Education, 1998-2000) and how it has affected my life and career.

Event Description: “Peace Corps is actively seeking volunteers to serve across the globe. Come to the Peace Corps Palooza to learn about the organization, life overseas and meet with former volunteers. Also, explore volunteer opportunities in areas including: education, youth/community development, agriculture, health and HIV/AIDS, business development, environment and information technology. All CU students are welcome! Life is calling… how far will you go?”

LINKS:
CU-Boulder Peace Corps Recruiting Office

Peace Corps Palooza!

Talk with Aron Ralston about protecting the Greater Canyonlands

By Joshua | March 5th, 2012 | No Comments »

I look forward to attending this free talk in Boulder: “Beyond 127 Hours: An Evening with Aron Ralston to Protect the Greater Canyonlands” this Thursday, March 8, 2012, at the Boulder Theater.

Ralston is a Colorado-based writer and explorer whose book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place (Atria Books, 2004), describes his now-famous 2003 ordeal in the Utah wilderness when he amputated his own arm in order to escape and survive a rock entrapment. His story is also the subject of the film, 127 Hours.

This Thursday, Ralston will discuss his conservation efforts in southern Utah. Specifically, the Greater Canyonlands, the area where his incident occurred. Greater Canyonlands, he explained, is an under-protected region threatened by a number of activities, including the extraction of gas, oil, tar sands, and uranium, right on the doorstep of Canyonlands National Park. Ralston has teamed up with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) in a campaign to ask President Obama to designate the Greater Canyonlands a national monument.

“I’m happy to be an ambassador for the desert,” Ralston told me in a phone interview. “To tell people why it’s precious and worth saving.” Read the rest of this entry »

Time Travel: Feature article in Delta SKY

By Joshua | February 4th, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Flying Delta this month? Bored by the in-flight television? Wondering what to do on the summer solstice at Uaxactun, Guatemala this year?

Then look for my feature article, “TIME TRAVEL,” with Guatemala photos by fellow Moon author Al Argueta, in the in-flight magazine, Delta SKY.

“This December marks the end of the Maya Long Count calendar, and the region will be celebrating the equinoxes and solstices in style. But fear not, experts say the world will still be around in 2013. By Joshua Berman….”

I take the year 2012 and break it down by auspicious dates, with suggested tours and hotels for each celebration — the article features Merida, Mexico; Uaxactun, Guatemala; Caracol, Belize; and Copan, Honduras. The article is not available online, only in your seat-back… let me know if you spot it in the wild.

Speaker in Denver: Misunderstanding the Maya Calendar and 2012

By Joshua | January 28th, 2012 | 2 Comments »

I’m excited for Dr. Ed Barnhart’s talk at the Denver Art Museum on February 19, 2012, “Misunderstanding the Maya Calendar: 2012 & Why You Shouldn’t Worry.”

The esteemed Dr. Barnhart is the head of the Maya Exploration Center, the man behind the Palenque mapping project, and a featured expert in my book, Moon Maya 2012, where he discusses travel in the Mundo Maya, and offers other insights on Maya concept of time.
“Join archaeologist Dr. Ed Barnhart as he attempts to separate fact from fiction and calculation from conjecture in a lecture about the 2012 and the Maya calendar. This talk will discuss the foundations of the 2012 phenomena, the pseudo-science behind many of the claims, and how much of it has absolutely nothing to do with the Maya.” [LINK for DETAILS]

Photographing Tikal: Before Dawn in the Place of Voices

By Joshua | January 2nd, 2012 | No Comments »

Story and photos by Joshua Berman

On my first morning in Tikal, Guatamala, I blinked awake an hour before my pre-dawn alarm, anticipatory endorphins surging through hungry traveler’s veins. I could hardly believe where I was—Tikal. At sunrise. It was a legendary place-time combo. READ THE STORY IN PERCEPTIVE TRAVEL MAGAZINE ->

Article and Slide Show on 2012 Tourism in the Maya Region

By Joshua | December 30th, 2011 | No Comments »

My first column in Huffington Post Travel appears today: “The Maya World Braces For 2012 Apocalypse, Tourism Boom.”

Despite the title and the hundreds of comments debating the end of the world, my article has absolutely NOTHING to do with an apocalypse. It is about tourism to Mexico and Central America, which has been quite depressed for some years now. Hopefully, foreigners’ genuine curiosity and interest in the Maya people, culture, and history will result in a boost in these regions next year and hopefully the Maya themselves will benefit.

LINK–>

Tranquilo Traveler in HuffPo’s ‘Weird News’

By Joshua | December 25th, 2011 | 14 Comments »

In a Huffington Post Weird News article entitled “Dec. 21, 2012: Will End Of Mayan Calendar Bring Doomsday?” by David Moye, I serve as a voice of reason after a long list of possible apocalypse scenarios.

2012 is expected to be a bigger deal than Y2K when it comes to doomsday-predicting and bunker-building, reports Moye who goes on to discuss people who fear the comet Elenin, solar storms, Planet Nibiru, and unusually fierce weather, all of which have been linked by a few worried souls — without a shred of evidence — to the end of the Maya Long Count calendar.

“Meanwhile,” writes Moye, “if you’re unsure of who to believe about how to deal with the end of the Mayan calendar one year from now, you could always do what travel writer Joshua Berman did: ask the Mayans themselves. Berman is the author of Maya 2012: A Guide To Celebrations In Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras, and says there are 10 million Mayans still living in the region…

“‘I haven’t spoken with a single Mayan or Mayan expert who believes there will be an apocalypse,’ Berman said. ‘Instead, there is going to be a lot of celebrating and parties. They hope to increase tourism by 10 percent this year.’” [LINK]

Fuego Y Agua Ultramarathon Gets Ready to Run in Nicaragua: “hot sun, strong winds, high humidity, rain, and a lot of mud”

By Joshua | December 22nd, 2011 | No Comments »

I normally do not accept guest posts on The Tranquilo Traveler, but here’s one I am happy to share and support:

The third running of Ultramaratón Fuego y Agua, which includes 100 km, 50 km, and 25 km trail races, will take place February 18, 2012 after a one-year hiatus. Fuego Y Agua is a not-for-profit race and, as in previous years, the proceeds will benefit the mission of Natural Doctors International, a NGO dedicated to providing medical care for the residents of La Isla de Ometepe. A portion of the proceeds will also finance the Calzado 5k race, held the day after the race for the children of Ometepe, to promote health and fitness.

The race is held on Ometepe, an island known for its astonishing biodiversity, prehistoric rock carvings, and vibrant local culture. The twin volcanic cones of Ometepe, one still active, rise out of Lake Nicaragua, which is the largest lake in Central America, and located in the southeast corner of the Republic of Nicaragua. Read the rest of this entry »

2012 Deadly Awakening: Crackling story set in Mérida and Chichen Itza

By Joshua | December 12th, 2011 | No Comments »

I met writer Beryl Gorbman over a taco lunch in the Chichen Itza Salon in the conference center in Mérida, Mexico, and I admit, I was skeptical when she handed me a copy of her mystery novel, 2012 Deadly Awakening (Intelligent Life, 2010). I’d just completed a self-guided crash course on Maya studies, plowing through a pile of non-fiction books, most fairly fascinating, regarding 2012 and Maya time-keeping, but also fairly dry and dense. There are hundreds of such titles out there, but never had I seen a fictional treatment.

When I finally cracked open 2012 Deadly Awakening a few months later, I was drawn in and swept back to the Yucatan. “The scene in Merida is chaotic and tense,” reads the description. “People think that the world is about to end, as it is the end of the Maya long-count calendar. Other people think humanity will evolve to a higher form of consciousness. You wouldn’t think these are ideals people would kill to protect, but they do. Thousands of spiritual tourists have descended upon this once-peaceful city, creating chaos. People die, and die very badly.”

Enter a New York City detective Read the rest of this entry »