Welcome to the October '09 issue of online magazine Perceptive Travel, the home of great travel stories from book authors, travel book reviews, and the latest notable world music CDs. Here's what we've got in store for you:
Polar Bears in August - Amy Rosen
We associate polar bears with long stretches of endless white, but in the summer the sleepy giants chow down on the shores of Hudson Bay. Amy Rosen gets almost close enough to cuddle the half-ton beasts.
The Kite - Amy Carlson
After a year of too much heaviness and worry, the editor of Travelers' Tales Japan hikes the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail to refresh and begin anew.
Finding Maximón - Luke Armstrong
While working for a year in Guatemala, a young traveler visits the crafty local deity who changes houses each year while pondering the violence that wracked this population not so long ago.
Tim Leffel reviews Extreme Cuisine from Lonely Planet, Wanderlust and Lipstick: Traveling with Kids by Leslie Forsberg and Michelle Duffy, and Clean Breaks: 500 new ways to see the world by Jeremy Smith and Richard Hammond
An outstanding desert blues follow-up from Tinariwen; an ambitious project by a multi-instrumentalist from France; music from the outer spheres of the consciousness, and Floodplain from the Kronos Quartet.
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Enjoy!