Tereza Jarnikova reflects on a brief encounter.I MET JOHANN on a Greyhound bus going from Boston to the nation’s capital. I was, I admit, looking for small talk, and there’s a certain type of bearded friendly face that seems to invite that sort of thing. He was lounging in the furthest back seat, wearing a torn shirt, fully at ease, and the seat next to him was one of two empty.

Tour d’Afrique has announced the details of it’s first North American Epic bike tour, which will cross the US and Canada over the course of three months next summer.Tour d’Afrique has been operating since 2003, when they took 33 cyclists from Cairo to Cape Town to win the Guinness World Record for the fastest human-powered crossing of Africa.

Here are some reasons why small is better than big.I LOST MY CRUISE VIRGINITY to the Star Flyer, one of the three vessels in the Star Clippers fleet. And I learned that size does matter.Full disclosure: I haven’t been on a large cruise liner. But after much research and hours spent talking to self-declared “cruise aficionados” aboard the Star Flyer — who, between them, had been on 200+ cruises of all kinds — I’m pretty certain that I never will, despite the cheaper price tag.

Sometimes a change in perspective is in order.I CAME ACROSS this interesting post at the The Happiness Project. The author, Gretchen Rubin, discusses changing viewpoints when thinking about your needs. She advocates thinking about yourself in the third person.I’ve been thinking a lot about self-love lately and how I find it difficult to direct energy inward that I find easy to direct outward.

10 sacred mountains around the world - Our SiteSince ancient times various mountains around the world have been held sacred. Here are 10 worth visiting for a spiritual high.1Mount Olympus, GreeceThe legendary home of the Greek Gods and throne of Zeus is the highest mountain in Greece at 9,577 feet.

Sometimes Mother Nature has creative ways of dealing with our mess.THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD who litter like nobody’s business. Growing up in suburban Colorado and spending my college years in Boulder — one of the greenest cities in the United States — I’ve lived most of my life sheltered from the piles of recklessly abandoned human garbage in this world.