This month, InsideJourneys inaugurates Friday Focus, a series of interviews with writers and travelers. October’s Focus is on Nigerian born writer/photographer and editor for Matador Goods, Lola Akinmade-Åkerström. Lola holds an MSc in Information Systems from the University of Maryland and has a solid background in Geography. She specialized in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for 10+ years and her affinity for the geosciences and maps meant she was born to...

A few years ago, Noni was all the rage. Everyone was buying and drinking the juice for its health benefits. When I returned to Jamaica on vacation during the heights of its popularity, a friend pointed it out to me — I had no idea that it grew wild here. Locally, it’s known as “Duppy Soursop.” In Jamaica, a duppy is a ghost and since the Noni does look a...

One of my uncles in Florida always reminds us whenever we travel to Jamaica that we must leave the US behind. By that he means that we have to remember that many of the things that we’ve become used to – service and its efficient delivery, the availability of certain items, etc., will be irritably slow or sometimes non-existent. But is it really possible to leave the person I’ve become...

One of the issues we face as we travel from developed to developing world is matching the ‘always on’ level of connection we’ve come to expect and enjoy. It becomes particularly critical if you plan to be away for longer than a week and you’ve committed to post everyday. Prior to leaving the US, I researched connectivity options available through the major providers in Jamaica – Digicel, Lime and Claro...

The Taste of Jamaica, a display of local foods and culinary contests, was held over the weekend at the Convention Center near Montego Bay. Here are some photos of the event. I’m still trying to sort out my internet connection, which is spotty at best. As a result, I haven’t been able to spend much time online. Please bear with me, I promise to get to your comments and catch...

A few weeks ago, when I featured Shirley Bassey on Soulful Sundays, my blog buddy, Narelle mentioned Nana Mouskouri. I hadn’t thought of her in quite a while but I promised Narelle that I’d feature her soon. I was introduced to Mouskouri when I lived in Ottawa — feels like decades now. I remember the media referring to her as the woman who made wearing glasses ‘sexy.’  One story that made...

As I’ve written previously, one of the things I love about New York is the variety of foods to be had. Mama Mexico is a restaurant near work that I go to frequently for lunch, especially when we have a large group or colleagues visiting. A few weeks ago, I had dinner there with a group of friends. I wouldn’t normally have ordered the paella but one of them insisted....

Vineyard, Stellenbosch, South Africa Whether or not you like or drink wine, you shouldn’t go to Cape Town without visiting Stellenbosch, which, along with Paarl and Franschhoek, make up the wine growing region of South Africa. Only about 35 miles outside of Cape Town, it is well worth the drive to see the landscape, visit some of its many vineyards and sample its wines and brandys.

I love to see places I recognize in my favorite films or movies. In Die Another Day, I was tickled when I saw the press conference Gustave Grave, the villain in this film, held in front of the gates of Buckingham Palace. The Palace Press Office handles all requests for permission to film on the grounds. This is my submission to this week’s Budget Travelers Sandbox Travel Photo Thursday series....

I could spend hours looking at the lattice work of the Eiffel Tower. I amazed by what was accomplished with steel. Reminds me of the crocheting my mom used to do, so delicate, so intricate.