Alastair Bland

Alastair Bland

 

Alastair Bland is a journalist based in San Francisco who writes about the environment, agriculture, science and food.

The lodge at Bolivia’s Chacaltaya Glacier was once the world’s highest ski resort—until the glacier melted away almost entirely in just 20 years. The lodge closed its ski facilities in 2009 and stands today amid a rocky, almost snowless moonscape.

As the World Warms, the Future of Skiing Looks Bleak

Climate change is delivering serious wounds to the winter sport all over the globe

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Should Trophy Hunting of Lions Be Banned?

Some argue that tourist safari hunts generate important money for African nations—but can lions afford the loss?

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Where to Watch the Biggest Waves Break

From Waimea Bay to "Mavericks," here are some superb sites to watch surfers catch the biggest breakers in the world this winter

It took many, many long sea voyages and much tedious charting to produce the first crude maps of the world. Today, travelers are increasingly abandoning even the best maps in favor of electronic navigation devices.

Have GPS Devices Taken the Fun out of Navigation?

With the rise of the digital age, the fascinating skills of map reading and celestial navigation are becoming lost arts

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The Meals That Starving Travelers Dream Of

Daydreaming of food is a tradition as old as the saga of man versus wild. What would you wish to eat if you were starving in a tent or a dinghy at sea?

Your guests might chase you out of the house if this appears on the table on “Turkey Day,” but cooking a duck as the main course might also be seen as a sophisticated Thanksgiving homage to the cuisine of France—or China.

Exotic Dishes to Spice Up Your Thanksgiving Feast

Add some global flair to your banquet with these savory variations on your favorite "Turkey Day" fare

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The History of Beaujolais Nouveau Day

There's no better time to try this fruity red wine than today, the third Thursday in November, when the French celebrate the release of the new vintage

Ed Heseltine, a British traveler currently living in the Dordogne, shows the first of two beers that he found stashed months earlier by the author of “Off the Road.”

Breaking News From France: My Hidden Beers Discovered!

Six containers of lager remain hidden in remote crevices and crannies in the French countryside. If you wish to find them, read these instructions

Thailand’s dreamy James Bond Island was featured in the 1974 film The Man with the Golden Gun and first brought fame to what is now a popular tourist destination.

Marking 50 Years of Luxurious Travel With James Bond

Since 1962, the films have introduced the world to all sorts of exotic, jaw-dropping destinations

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The Long and Grueling Journey on the Presidential Campaign Trail

A look at each candidate's long, long journey that ends at the polling booth

Oregon travelers Lindsay Gasik and Rob Culclasure, shown here in Penang, Malaysia, are currently in Southeast Asia on a nonstop year-long hunt for fresh durians.

Faces From Afar: Two Oregonians on the Hunt for Exotic Durians

Meet Lindsay Gasik and Rob Culclasure, who are spending a year of their lives in Southeast Asia feasting on the bizarre fruit

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The Haunted and the Haunting: Best Places to Visit on Halloween

This Halloween, indulge in the the electric, nerve-zapping thrill of fear, and consider visiting real destinations of creepy history and ghostly legends

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Should Americans Travel to the Middle East?

Today the area is often perceived as a murky and dangerous blur on the map. But how unsafe, really, is this area for tourists?

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Volcanoes: The Top Hotspots of the World

Volcanic landscapes draw countless tourists to rumbling mountains, rivers of lava and boiling geysers. Here are a few of the hottest destinations

As prim and tidy as hedges at the Queen’s palace, a vineyard in England reminds us that rising temperatures are now allowing for wine production in the world’s higher latitudes.

More Wines from Unexpected Places

Good, locally made wines can now be found in such unlikely locales as equatorial Kenya, the Texas Hill Country, and temperate and rainy Japan

Vineyards are nothing new to the desert landscape of Baja California, where the Spanish missionaries left their viticultural legacy three centuries ago. This image shows the acclaimed Guadalupe Valley.

Four Surprising Places Where Local Wines Thrive

Almost everywhere European explorers went, vineyards grew behind them. Here are a few places tourists might never have known there was wine to taste

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Where Travelers Go to Pay Their Respects

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum is not a fun place to go, yet tourists flock here, and toother somber sites around the world

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Snakes: The Good, the Bad and the Deadly

With venom so potent it can kill a person in 30 minutes, the black mamba is a snake to avoid—while others are worth learning about before you cast judgment

Unless you know how to handle a scalpel and have some detailed knowledge of anatomy, Antarctica could be the least convenient place to suffer appendicitis—but it’s happened to researchers more than once.

Health Hazards of the Traveler

Russian scientist Leonid Rogozov was the only doctor within 1,000 miles when, in 1961, he was struck by appendicitis in Antarctica

A large passenger jet refueling. Such planes may consume five gallons of fuel per mile traveled. But is it possible that they’re more efficient than cars?

How Bad Is Air Travel for the Environment?

A large passenger jet may consume five gallons of fuel per mile traveled. Is it possible, then, that planes are more efficient than cars?

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