The Jungles of Talamanca: A Visit to the Cacao Farms of Costa Rica

While staying in the small town of Cahuita on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, I visited a small cacao farm just to the southwest of Puerto Viejo. This farm is called the Jungles of Talamanca, and it's owned and operated by a Bribrí family who offers tours and tastings of the chocolate they make by hand. Blink and you could miss the sign.

The Bribrí is an indigenous group of people who have lived along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica since pre-Columbian times. They live on reservation lands, although many also have inter-married into the local community. Their language is now taught in all schools within the reservation's limits, along with Spanish and English. According to our host, Priscilla, one reason that the Bribrí culture has remained largely intact is that when Spanish missionaries arrived, they deemed Bribrí purification rituals akin to Jewish rites in the Old Testament.

8 Hacks to Travel the World on a Shoestring Budget

Is seeing the world one of your dreams, or have you given up on taking trips to exotic locations because you’re sure it won’t fit into your budget? Good news: Globetrotting doesn’t have to break the bank — as long as you’re willing to be flexible and plan in advance to take advantage of the best possible deals.

If you’ve always assumed that that vacation abroad was out of reach, try the tips below to score a new adventure for a whole lot less.

1. Keep Your Travel Dates Open

One of the best ways to travel for cheap is to remain completely open when it comes to the timing of your trip so you can plan your travel around the serendipity of an amazing deal. In general, traveling on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are the cheapest.

A Stroll Through Thuya Garden in Northeast Harbor, Maine

Last week we stayed in Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island for our summer vacation. In addition to lots of hiking, rock scrambles, and some sea kayaking in Acadia National Park, we also took time out of a sunny morning to visit Thuya Garden in Northeast Harbor.

These formal, English-style gardens are on the site of an old lodge (a great building in and of itself). The property was donated to the town and the gardens are now for the public. It seems to me that the compressed growing season in Maine means that things tend to flower almost all at once — and to pretty marvelous effect.

Different beds have different color schemes, but the clear pinks, blues and yellows in the photo above was one of my favorites. Also impressive are the delphiniums. These are enormous and have been carefully, individually staked.

12 Surprising Foods You Can Find and Eat on a Carnival Cruise

Cruise ships are known for a lot of things, but one of the best has to be the amazing food served from sunrise until well past midnight. There’s more to dining aboard a ship than room service and the buffet — though these are also excellent! Carnival offers an array of truly surprising and utterly delicious foods you can sample at sea. You may be hard-pressed to find these items back in your hometown, so make the most of your vacation by tasting these 12 unique dishes.

1. Rum-Spiked Milkshakes

Need an excuse to step out of the afternoon sun? The Shake Spot offers cool, creamy drinks guaranteed to refresh your spirits. And speaking of spirits, why not add some to your milkshake? You can get a float or a shake with a shot of rum for a little island-style relaxation. We won’t tell anyone.

10 Indisputable Reasons Why Everyone Should Love Massachusetts

Small but mighty, Massachusetts is one amazing state (ahem: commonwealth). Need help proving it to your skeptical cousins from the other side of the country? Here are 10 reasons why they should tip their hats to the Bay State.

1. The American Revolution: Without hotheads like Sam Adams and John Hancock leading the way, the United States might never have struggled for its independence from England. You’re welcome, America.

2. A+ Educational Institutions: Massachusetts is home to 114 colleges and universities, including Harvard, the country’s oldest. Massachusetts’ public schools are also consistently ranked tops in the nation.

3. Beautiful Beaches: You can’t swim year round, but summer in New England can’t be beat.