The Editorial Board of GoNOMAD.com, the alternative travel website, has announced its selections for the top ten travel stories of 2010.
In 2010, GoNOMAD.com published 280 travel articles, out of many hundreds that were submitted. And with the vast number of high quality submissions, it wasn't easy to narrow our list down to just ten. But after extensive discussion, and considering factors such as the quality of the photographs and the novelty of the topic, we are pleased with our choices for 2010.
"These stories show what the GoNOMAD website is all about—travel that opens up minds, broadens horizons, and provides readers with both an armchair experience and the practical information they need to take their own trips," said Stephen Hartshorne, GoNOMAD's Associate Editor.
The board excluded stories by editors, staff and ten regular contributors to the site, and the list is comprised of freelance writers from all over the world.
View the Top Ten Stories at http://www.gonomad.com/news/december2010/best-of-2010.html
Taking top honors in this year's crop of articles was a story written by Shelley Rotner, of Northampton, Massachusetts, titled Martha's Vineyard: Homeland of the Wampanoags. In this piece, the author visits a very touristy island but instead of writing about tony beach houses and celebrity sightings, she focuses on her experiences meeting members of the original inhabitants and views the artwork, artifacts and long history of the Indians on the island. She writes:
According to the Wampanoags, Martha's Vineyard was created by the giant Moshup, who taught them how to farm and fish and set their destiny. Tribal member, Adrieno Ignacio says, "Moshup sustained our tribe. We think he is still there."
Another selected story was by Angela Corrias, of Sardinia, titled Weaving Sea Silk in Sardinia: Preserving an Ancient Art. This piece describes how a small group of women in the tiny island of Sant' ?ntioco off Sardinia's coast, use byssus, a fine fabric produced from the velvety strand of the nobel pen shell, to weave a brilliant, shimmering cloth favored by kings and queens since biblical times. She is challenged at fi women's coats rst by one of few women who do such weaving:
"What do you know about the byssus?" she challenged me loftily, while we motioned to her reign, an eclectic mix of archaic Sardinia and deep sea. "Nothing," I confessed, fully aware that there was no way I could lie about it. "Excellent," she retorted. "I can't bear when someone comes here to teach me about the byssus."
Ron Mitchell of Arizona rounded out our top three stories with his article entitled. Benin and Togo: The Birthplace of Voodoo. Besides venturing into a part of the world that he calls 'challenging travel' Mitchell was able to photograph voodoo ceremonies at the House of the Python. He also visited the 'Point of No Return' from which slaves departed for America.
"In the city of Ouidah, we walk the heart wrenching memorial, 'Route Des Esclaves," (Route of the Slaves). This road of horrendous history includes a monument to the tree of forgetfulness, where traders made captured humans walk around the tree several times, believing it would make them forget where they came from."
Rounding out our list are the following articles:
Roraima, Venezuela's Lost World by David Joshua Jennings of Istanbul, Turkey
Botswana: A Safari on the Okavango Delta by Danielle Gerard, of Summit, New Jersey
Metro Detroit: Bulletproof Vest Not Required by Lisa Singh, of Washington, DC
Vienna, Austria: Schnitzel, Strudel, and Schwanensee by Olga Volobuyeva of Moscow, Russia
Jamu in Java: Lessons From The Grandmothers of Indonesia by Zoe Smith of Cambodia
Kabini and Bhadra, India: Life Unfolds by the Riverside by Lakshmi Sharath of Bangalore, India
A Woman's Life in Jordan: The Joys and the Hassles by Sophia Jones of Washington, DC
The editors also cited three stories by University of Massachusetts students working as interns in 2010 at GoNOMAD.
Greenfield, Massachusetts: A Good Old-Fashioned Home Town, by Devon Magoon
Top Ten Places for a Date in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Christa Romano
Liechtenstein: A Friendly Little Country With Lots To Offer by Maggie Freleng
For additional information or interviews contact:
Max Hartshorne
413-665-5070
editorial(at)gonomad(dot)com
http://GoNOMAD.com has published since 2002 from South Deerfield MA, also the home of the GoNOMAD Café.
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