Erik Trinidad

The Loire Valley is known as the “Cradle of the French,” as its vineyards and fairytale scenery are a classic representation of the French countryside. The valley’s green landscape, nurtured by the waters of the Loire River, was as much a draw for the royalty of a former era as it is an attraction for tourists today...

When I was biking in Spain along the Senda del Oso — Spanish for “Trail of the Bear” — I thought it was just a cute name for a casual path through a scenic valley. I didn’t realize that on this trail I would encounter an actual bear — the Cantabrian brown bear — namesake of the greenway...

When I signed up for a day excursion that included a visit to a farm in the tropical countryside of Thailand’s Chiang Mai province, I knew our midday meal would be a true farm-to-table experience — a trend already popular in eateries outside farmland. However, when Nu Hanupongsamartsim and his young daughters Nadia and Jija met me and my friends on the side of the road...

Centuries ago, before Old World Europeans knew of civilization across the Atlantic Ocean, the Canary Islands were considered the “edge of the world.” This volcanically-formed archipelago, now one of the autonomous regions of Spain, has a unique geography, geology, history and, above all, culture — especially in its food. It’s a hodgepodge of heritages, fusing Spanish, North African Berber and, surprisingly, Cuban and Venezuelan, now that the New World has been “discovered”...

“Get ready to shred the red!” said George Miraval, a mountain biking maestro of the auburn desert landscape of Sedona, Ariz. If not for the gray streaks in his ponytail, I might not have guessed the age of this youthful and enthusiastic septuagenarian. Part Berkeley hippie (he studied there in ’69) and part extreme adventure enthusiast, Miraval has Native American blood — and thus has ties to the sacred Native lands of Sedona. He was the perfect guide to lead me and a group...