Loretta Henderson was not a cyclist, nor was she a traveler, but she had been obsessing over a dog-eared book about adventure bicycle travel for years — and coming up with every excuse why she couldn’t do something like that. But at the moment, the Cobourg, Ont., native is pedaling her way through Cyprus. In fact, she’s been pedaling since 2009, putting 33,000 kilometres on her bike through 18 countries to date. To read the full story, click here.

If travel is on the agenda for 2012, consider a travel-inspired gift for your significant other, best friend or family member (or even yourself!). Here are a few picks that will come in handy for that next trip. To read the full story, click here.

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I put my camera through a lot when I travel. It’s accompanied me while trekking in sub-zero temperatures to Everest Base Camp. And it’s been at my side while hiking in the jungles of Guatemala during the monsoon rains, protected from the elements by a zipper sandwich bag. To read the full story, click here.

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Food is a huge part of the experience of travel — whether it’s honey-roasted crickets at a street stall in Bangkok or the best pizza of your life in Naples. As I get ready for an upcoming trip to Montreal, I’m perusing Food Lovers’ Guide to Montreal, by Patricia Harris and David Lyon. To read the full story, click here.

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I’m a Type A personality. I like making lists. But when I get to the point where my ever-growing to-do list causes me more anxiety than sense of accomplishment, I realize it might be time to get on a plane and go far, far away. Though I don’t advocate travel as a way to run from your problems, I do believe it can serve as a much-needed wake-up call. To read the full story, click here.

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Considering that DEET can eat a hole through Gore-Tex (it’s a solvent, which means it can dissolve plastics and synthetic fibers), I’m not that keen to slather it all over my body. Yet the alternative — being eaten alive by mosquitoes — isn’t all that appealing either. To read the full story, click here.

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Sure, a moneybelt isn’t the most comfortable item to wear around your waist, under your pants. When it’s stuffed with foreign currency, credit cards and your passport, it can give you the appearance of a beer gut or pregnant belly. And if you’re traveling in a hot, humid climate, having it stick to your sweaty skin under a layer of clothing is even more unpleasant. To read the full story, click here.

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Powder. Blow. Flake. Nose candy. Whatever you call it, cocaine is intimately tied to Latin America — from building empires to funding civil war. On recent trips to Colombia and Panama, I never encountered the stuff, but its influence was all around me. To read the full story, click here.

Photo Credit: Dominic Streatfeild

A few weeks ago I thought I had discovered paradise. I was on an island, one of about 400 tiny islands that make up the semi-autonomous region of San Blas off the Caribbean coast of Panama. Here, the indigenous Kuna Yala have managed to retain control of their land and resist development, at least in the form of hotels and resorts (though there’s a few yachts floating around). To read the full story, click here.

Photo Copyright @ 2011 VH Media

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — for movie-lovers, anyway. The 11-day Toronto International Film Festival has descended upon our city once again, bringing with it celebrity sightings, red-carpet galas and the inevitable Oscar contender buzz. To read the full story, click here.

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