The Moses Mabhida Stadium hosted five group games during the 2010 World Cup. (Photograph by Ben Robinson, Flickr)

But if you’re looking for an itinerary with a little more variety, few places can match South Africa for its mix of culture, beauty, and wildlife adventure.

As I prepared for my sixth visit to the country (the second with the entire family in tow), I wanted to move beyond what we’d already seen while keeping it age-appropriate. So, working with DSA Vacations, we decided to build in a few days in and around the beaches of Durban before heading into the bush.

Here’s a sample of the kid-friendly activities we experienced in South Africa’s third-largest city:

Durban is an essential stopover on any in-country itinerary. Located along the Indian Ocean in KwaZulu-Natal and renowned for its year-round warm weather, the city is a beach lover’s paradise. The water was a bit too rough for the surf lessons we had planned for the boys, but there are miles of soft sand to explore, along with convenient snack bars and restaurants when tummies start to growl.

Although it’s tempting to stay on the beach, plan to spend at least half a day at uShaka Marine World, South Africa’s version of Sea World. There’s a nice aquarium and dolphin show to check out in between the Wet ‘n Wild Water Park rides. And if your hotel is located along the promenade (I’d recommend a family room at the Southern Sun Elangeni), you can walk, rent bikes, or even skateboard to get there and back.

The five-star Zimbali Lodge. (Photograph by Rainer Jenss)

One of Durban’s newest attractions, Moses Mabhida Stadium, built especially for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, offers a SkyCar that takes you high over the arena for a bird’s-eye view of the city. Spoiler alert: We didn’t think it was all that exciting. On the other hand, if your family has a teenager (or parent) who’s an adrenaline junkie, you can always take the plunge on the Big Swing, a 660-foot arc that swings you through the stadium itself. Good luck and let me know how it goes!

If you have the time (and money), it’s well worth spending a few extra days at the Zimbali Lodge nestled in a coastal forest reserve 45 minutes northeast of Durban. While the five-star resort’s many pools will dominate your child’s attention, an on-site golf course provides a challenging diversion for active parents. You can also rent bicycles and cruise around the grounds exploring the diverse flora and fauna on display. The boys were excited at their first wildlife sighting — some vervet monkeys — which got them in gear for the second leg of our trip: a return to the South African bush.

Follow Rainer’s story on Twitter @JenssTravels.

Almost impossibly, the steak lived up to the hype, but best of all, sharing a common experience made me feel connected to Andy all the way back in New York City. That’s part of the reason I love to get personal recommendations from friends. We could be thousands of miles apart, but it’s like I’m having dinner with them in a way.

Buenos Aires is a city that needs an exclamation point after its name. And maybe all caps.

El Ateneo was once a theater. (Photograph by Mac Aque, Flickr)

BUENOS AIRES! seems to capture the city’s exuberant, exhausting, and beautiful urban buzz. I spent a full week in the South American capital and left wanting more. The wide boulevards, green parks, French-inspired architecture, late-night dancing, custom leather shops, and delectable dishes combined to deliver an exhilarating travel adventure.

Of course, there are problems. I’m not exaggerating when I say I was warned 20 times about pickpockets my first day in town. I also heard constant complaints about the government’s economic policies. And, though the city has long been known as a great value destination, hotel and restaurant costs are climbing. Still, Buenos Aires is one of the most intoxicating places I’ve ever visited.

Here are my reasons why:

See & Do

Though getting around Buenos Aires is easiest by taxi, (each ride is around $5-$8), you need to put on your walking shoes to really get the lay of the land. Start by exploring the city’s distinct neighborhoods.

Craving nature? Explore the Bosques de Palermo. (Photograph by Azotesdivinos, Flickr)

You’ll find the city’s most exclusive shops and cafes in the Recoleta neighborhood. If you want a custom leather jacket, try Uru Recoleta. Nearby you’ll find city-center sights like the gorgeous Teatro Colon opera house, Casa Rosada, and the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, where Pope Francis served as archbishop. Don’t miss one of the world’s most stunning bookstores, El Ateneo, and the famous cemetery where Eva Perón and other notables are buried (the real draw is the intricate architecture of the mausoleums).

You’ll be charmed by Palermo. The shaded, cobblestone streets there reminded me of my neighborhood (the West Village) in NYC. Spend one late night at the casual milonga (dance hall) Salon Canning, where the locals start dancing after midnight. Save a few hours to check out the mind-boggling, sometimes gut-wrenching exhibitions at the Buenos Aires Museum of Latin American Art and take a stroll through the Bosques de Palermo, a beautiful urban oasis. The area perks up in November and December when the glamorous Argentine Derby and Argentine Polo Open Championship come to town. Watch for beloved native son, polo player and Ralph Lauren model Nacho Figueras.

The old docks area of Puerto Madero has been reinvigorated thanks to the bizarre Faena Hotel and Universe, which puts on one of the city’s most over-the-top (and pricey) tango shows, Rojo Tango. Though the rest of the area is unremarkable, the Fortabat Collection is worth seeing and outdoor biking and birding enthusiasts will love exploring the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve.

Make a quick stop during the day in La Boca, the colorful, small area where tango was born. Though it’s touristy during the day and generally lifeless at night, it’s still an essential stop for the first-time visitor.

And, on Sundays, the place to be is the bustling flea market in San Telmo for leather, antique watches, and unique artwork.

La Boca can be touristy, but it’s worth checking out. (Photograph by Wally Gobetz, Flickr)

Sit & Eat

While Argentina doesn’t come close to disappointing when it comes to red meat (besides La Cabrera Norte, try Cabaña Las Lilas or Fervor for steaks), I’ll take dulce de leche any day of the week. Lucky for me, a different version of the South American sensation — inside crepes, drizzled over grilled bananas, giving flavor to gelato – was offered on nearly every menu I encountered in the city. Speaking of gelato, head to Volta or Persicco to sample more local flavor.

Piegari and Sottovoce are great choices for Italian. I took a friend’s recommendation to find Guido on a nondescript, locals-only street, where families and friends devour pizza and pasta and no English is spoken. Tegui has a chic-meets-industrial vibe and fantastic Mediterranean food, while Olsen, with its stunning garden, was my favorite lunch spot. Tip: Don’t book a dinner reservation before 10 p.m.

Stay & Sleep

Head to Olsen for great food. (Photograph by Annie Fitzsimmons)

I recommend making your home base in either the elegant Recoleta or the au courant Palermo districts.

You’ll find the ultimate in comfort at the Four Seasons Buenos Aires, where much of the design reflects Argentina’s heritage, including the striking horse sculpture out front. The swirly patterns in the lobby were inspired by the tango, while polo lends inspiration to Elena (absolutely the hottest restaurant in Buenos Aires right now). Guests can choose between the historic Belle Époque-style mansion or the more modern “tower” with its sweeping views of the widest avenue in the world, 9 de Julio.

In Recoleta, Loi Suites, where some rooms overlook the famous cemetery, is a good value, while the chic Hotel Krista in the Hollywood district of Palermo provides a great boutique option.

Annie Fitzsimmons is Intelligent Travel’s Urban Insider, giving you the dish on the best things to see and do in cities all over the world. Follow her on Twitter @anniefitz.

I sat down with Patrick to ask him about the venture he’s currently getting off the ground: A 10-day train journey from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. with 100 enterprising millennials on board. This is what he had to say about the epic undertaking and the generation that — whatever it may be — is sure to shape our global future.

Q: What inspired the Millennial Trains Project? 

A: The idea comes from India, where I helped lead a similar trains project as a Fulbright scholar. This journey has been going on there for about 10 years and has become a totem to the aspirations of young and enterprising people in that country. Last year 20,000 millennials applied for 400 spots.

Millennial Trains Project founder, Patrick Dowd. (Photograph courtesy Patrick Dowd)

When I came back from India, I was working in investment banking at J.P. Morgan in New York, right as Occupy Wall Street was coming to its height. I felt there was a more positive way to respond to the dissatisfaction that many people felt with where their country was, and I thought it would look more like this trains project from India than the protests that were going on outside our offices. So I left my job to start this project.

Q: Why trains? 

A: Trains have played a huge role in shaping America’s culture. You see it everywhere from our language to our art to our infrastructure. They evoke nostalgia because they reconnect us to our origins.

At the core of this whole project is the idea that journeys build leaders. In India it’s called a yatra. The train journey [I helped organize there] is called Jagriti Yatra, signifying the awakening of the entrepreneurial spirit in India.

I think this idea exists everywhere. Every culture has myths about why that is, and so do we. By incorporating trains into the project, we’re tapping back into this idea of the pioneering spirit that built our country.

Q: Why millennials? 

A: In India the whole idea of “rising India” is pervasive, especially amongst the younger generation. I was really taken aback by the experience on the train in India, seeing people my age so committed to bridging the gap between where they’re country is and where they want it to be.

The 11-car train, comprised of refurbished cars from the 1950s and ’60s, will be pulled by an Amtrak locomotive. (Photograph by John McFadden)

The verdict is still out about millennials and what we’re going to do or be. Are we lazy or heroic? In the U.S., I’ve noticed a lowering of expectations about what we can accomplish. The train is meant to go against that by providing a dose of optimism and a platform for discovering opportunities.

I’m a millennial, so maybe it’s a self-centered thing.

Q: People have to earn their way onto the train, correct?

A: Applicants get on the train by pitching a project and raising money — $5,000 — to earn their spot. This crowd-funding element means the opportunity is accessible to anyone.

The project requirements are open-ended, so it’s a chance for participants to explore whatever their personal, professional, or creative frontier is on a national scale. It could be something that’s very closely related to the work that they do on a daily basis or a complete departure.

Q: How is this different than a TED talk on wheels? 

Is this an inspiring and informative initiative that has some similarities to TED? Yes. But the emphasis on action, connection to landscape, and the goal of having these ideas contribute to the welfare of communities across the country make it unique.

My hope is that people who hear about this project and interact with it along the way will begin to see a picture of the diversity, creativity, and enterprising nature of this rising generation. I think this will definitely send a message to older people that have an impression of millennials, though this isn’t about changing their minds. I think the more important value is changing the minds of kids in grade school and high school — giving them the sense that the generation a few years older than them is taking ownership over their future.

Like everything in American history, this project is an experiment. We feel it’s definitely an experiment worth pursuing — the first of many journeys.

Q: Have you been surprised by the applications you’ve seen so far?

A: The proposals keep getting better. There’s a sort of learning that’s happening; people are looking at the project ideas other applicants have submitted and they’re getting sharper and more creative.

Patrick Dowd (center) chatting with conductors from the Virginia Railway Express about the Millennial Trains Project. (Photograph by Nick Barbato)

An oncologist from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is launching a project where she is creating original artwork based on groundbreaking innovations in each locality’s scientific community. There’s a young graffiti artist from South Central L.A. who is co-creating murals for social change and a digital press secretary at the White House who’s proposing a project that’s all about poetry, because that’s what she loves, but something she doesn’t get to do at work.

It’s like the train is this big rock and all the applicants are coral. At the end [of the journey] we’ll have an awesome reef with all this aquatic life on it.

Nuts and Bolts

Q: Who will be on the train?

A: There will be 100 millennials — 10 from each applicant category – along with 12 mentors and 12 staff at any given time.

Q: How does it work?

A: We travel by night, stopping each day in a different locality. Three things happen each day: a “local innovation showcase” where we see what interesting new things are starting to crop up in each community followed by six hours of free time where participants advance their own projects. The third part happens back on the train where we have seminars from distinguished guest speakers responding to the prompt, “Where are the new frontiers?”

Q: How can folks apply?

A: On our website, www.millennialtrain.co.

Q: What does the application consist of?

A: The application is very similar to those of a Kickstarter campaign. They need to answer short 250 word questions, that asks what is your project, what does it aim to accomplish, how do you intend to share your experience with others, and why are you applying on the train? Add a short one to two minute video introducing self and project and why you want to get on the train. It’s meant to be something you could do on a Saturday afternoon.

Q: Can only Americans apply? 

A: No – anyone can apply. That’s an important point because our perception of ourselves as a nation has always been shaped by the observations of foreigners. We’ve been really excited to see that creative, enterprising, and civic-minded people from other countries want to come on board. I think we’ll see ourselves in interesting and different ways through their eyes.

Q: Once people meet the threshold of $5,000, are they automatically on?

A: Yes. If they are one of the first 10 people in their professional category, they automatically get on. It’s definitely a race — if you’re the 11th person to reach your fundraising goal you’re out of the running — so people who apply early have the best chance of getting on board.

Leslie Trew Magraw is the editor of National Geographic’s travel blogs. Follow her story on Twitter @leslietrew.

Here are three lessons I learned along the way:

1. Seek a perfect match: There are many excellent outfitters as out there (our own National Geographic Expeditions is a great example.) The one you should go with, however, is not necessarily the one your roommate from college raved about on her Facebook page or even the one a travel expert recommends.

The tour you want is the one that best matches your wishes, needs, and price points. Among requirements such as destination and itinerary, I wanted a trip during which I could eat well without gaining weight (a problem I’ve had on other trips!). The walking tour I chose fit the bill. We went on daily treks on varied terrain that worked off the tagines, pastillas, couscous, and sweets I unabashedly enjoyed.

2. The guide matters: Travelers typically pore over the tour itinerary, counting up the number of UNESCO World Heritage sites, looking up hotels on TripAdvisor, and generally obsessing over minute details. But most fail to do due diligence on what I consider the most important factor of a trip: the guide.

An excellent guide can turn a trip into an experience of a lifetime. Conversely, a bad guide can sour a visit to the most astounding destinations. The guide on my Morocco trip, Fes native Saida Ezzahoui, added cultural context and a personal touch to the trip. She was also one of only a handful of female guides to lead trips outside the imperial cities. I found her insights as a woman in a North African and predominantly Muslim country to be invaluable. She also turned me on to a great fava bean soup recipe and a black soap made of crushed olives that does wonders to exfoliate and soften the skin.

3. Pick up the phone: You can’t get everything from the website and, hey, you’re spending a lot of money. Calling the company yields important information, such as what ground operator the company uses for its programs in a particular country. You want to make sure your operator has strong local ties that could come in handy in cases of emergency. I find the phone even better than e-mail as an indicator to determining the company’s philosophy, commitment to customer service, and knowledge of its products. Is the company right for you? By the end of a phone call, I often know whether it is a match.

Reader Question: Which exposure mode should I use with my camera? What’s the difference between “Auto” and “A”?

My Answer: I’m going to start with a bit of background on the basics of camera settings. ”A” refers to Aperture Priority mode. The user chooses the aperture and the camera automatically sets the appropriate shutter speed. Similarly, “S” stands for Shutter Priority, where the photographer chooses the shutter speed and the camera automatically chooses the appropriate aperture. ”M” is for Manual, where the user selects both aperture and shutter speed — usually with the help of the in-camera meter.

“P,” or Program mode, is a bit of a hybrid. A simple explanation is that the photographer sets the aperture or shutter speed and the camera uses some built-in intelligence to make sure the picture does not result from a wrong setting. Usually a too-slow shutter speed would cause the picture to appear blurry. Program mode corrects for that.

The Auto setting is essentially the same as Program mode, but with one important difference: Auto wants the camera to produce a reasonably correct photo in all situations. Usually this is achieved by making the flash go off if the scene is the slightest bit dim. There’s a problem here, because it’s when a scene is starting to get dim that the interesting light that makes for great pictures happens. An indiscriminate flash can ruin the beauty of the scene. Another caution about Auto: it can cancel out specialized controls within the camera menu such as custom settings for saturation, sharpness, etc.

My recommendation: Most users would do well shooting with the Aperture Priority setting. But be careful and pay attention to the shutter speed produced by your chosen aperture, as it’s easy to forget that your lens is set to f/11 when you move from outdoors to indoors. If you leave that lens setting on, all of a sudden your indoor shutter speeds will be very slow (something you can actually hear, if you pay attention). If you find yourself being a little forgetful, switch to Program.

I’ve met many beginning photographers who have been told that if they aren’t shooting with their camera set on Manual, they’re not a real photographer. I would argue that the new version of “shooting in Manual” is to use one of the automated modes S, A, or P (but never Auto) but use exposure compensation to fine tune the setting.

Many cameras also have “Scene” modes. Usually these are indicated by little icons such as a portrait, flower, mountain, running person, etc. Those modes are great — much better than Auto — so give them a try.

My favorite “Scene” setting is the person with star or crescent moon icon (“Night Portrait”). This mode will keep the camera shutter open for a long time at night while using the flash to illuminate what’s in the foreground and freeze the action even though the shutter speed is slow. Experiment with this mode to capture amazing-looking pictures in the dark.

Most good cameras have a button marked with the +/- symbol. That’s the exposure compensation setting. A great way to work is to take a picture of a scene, check the histogram on the back of your camera, then set the exposure compensation to correct any over- or under-exposure. The histogram should, generally speaking, be centered. Then, after the compensation is set, you can look for interesting things to take pictures of. Re-set your compensation only when you notice that something drastic has changed in the scene. Experienced photographers use the histogram to check exposure instead of trusting what the picture looks like on the back of the camera.

In the photo above, I didn’t want to be bothering with Manual mode because we were within 10 yards of the North Pole and, as you can see, we were all focused on looking for it. I had originally dialed in +2/3 exposure because all the white in the scene tricked the camera’s meter into making the picture look too dark. I didn’t want the snow to appear completely white, so I only partially compensated, but the histogram helped me determine the best setting. Usually I use Aperture mode, but in this case my camera kept rubbing against my jacket and messing with the aperture settings. So, I switched to Program mode to stop that from happening.

Dan Westergren is director of photography for National Geographic Traveler magazine. Follow him on Twitter @dwestergren and on Instagram @danwestergren.

Do you have something you want to ask Dan about travel photography? He’ll be answering reader questions periodically on the blog, so be sure to leave a comment.

“As a twenty-two-year-old teacher at a small school in rural Africa I had spent some of the happiest years of my life,” writes Paul Theroux in his new book, The Last Train to Zona Verde. Africa seeped into Theroux’s soul on that first visit, so much so that he has regularly returned to it as a kind of touchstone throughout his celebrated 50-year career as a world-wandering novelist and travel writer.

The goal of the trip he describes in this new account seems simple and symmetrical enough: “For a previous book of mine, Dark Star Safari, I had traveled overland from Cairo to Cape Town down the right-hand side of Africa. This time … I wanted to resume my trip at Cape Town and … travel north in a new direction, up the left-hand side until I found the end of the line, either on the road or in my mind.”

A journey so elegantly plotted on a map encounters innumerable obstacles in the real world, of course. And Theroux’s journey becomes more and more challenging as he travels from Cape Town to Namibia, Botswana, and Angola, trying to uncover the Africa that has eluded him.

While he finds instances of intense happiness and inspiration—an enterprising English-language education program run by an American and a safari camp that rescues abandoned elephants are two examples — for the most part the Africa he encounters is a place of grinding heat, poverty, despair, thirst, and neglect. Before long, his hopeful, curiosity-fueled quest to explore the Africa tourists rarely see becomes one of the most difficult and demanding journeys of his life.

And yet while the journey is a trial, the book itself is a triumph, full of qualities to admire and emulate.

First of these is Theroux’s precise and powerful prose, as in this indelible snapshot:

“Beyond the wire was the more familiar Africa of skinny, hungry-looking children wincing in sunlight, of men drinking beer under trees, of straggling villages and frantic chickens and cattle wandering on the roads, of blowing paper and flimsy plastic bags snagged on trees, of piles of castoff rags and trampled beer cans, the improvised, slapped-together Africa of tumbled fences and cooking fires, of mud and thatch.”

Other exemplary traits include his signature straightforwardness; his thoughtfulness; his knowledge; and his intrepid, sheer 70-year-old gumption as he elbows his way onto battered buses, endures taunting youths, navigates jostling crowds, and confronts belligerent officials, and as he determinedly makes peace with flea-bitten hotels, fly-bitten chicken, and futility-bitten wastelands.

Most poignant of all is the portrait of a great travel writer, to my mind the greatest American travel writer of our time, confronting the continent that first inspired him and the daunting realities of the place it has become, and simultaneously confronting the equally daunting realities of the man he has become, the impediments and diminishments that age confers, and the possibility that this might be his farewell to Africa, the place that launched his career as a traveler and as a writer.

All these could conspire to make The Last Train to Zona Verde a book about limits.

But to the contrary, through his consummate skill as a story-spinner of people and place, his all-pervading spirit of adventure, his thirst for knowledge and connection, his determination in the face of adversity, and his ultimate understanding that sometimes enough is enough, Theroux creates a moving testament to the completion and contentment that we all can find within a lifetime of limits—and that this incomplete, discontented African odyssey unexpectedly bestows.

Don George is an editor at large at National Geographic Traveler magazine and has edited several travel-writing anthologies, including his latest, Better Than Fiction. Follow his story on Twitter @don_george.

Have you read any great new travel books lately? Share your recommendations with the Intelligent Travel community by leaving a comment or using the #TripLit hashtag on Twitter or Google+.

Plus, I was too excited about my destination, the Emerald Coast of Brazil. I was also amped to get to the Ponta dos Ganchos resort where I would be staying (a hot property that will only get hotter as the travel industry homes in on Brazil as the World Cup and the Summer Olympics approach).

See how the sea and shore seem to blend together? (Photograph by Annie Fitzsimmons)

The traffic jam allowed me to pump my driver, Leo, for information. He told me that in this corner of the world, it’s all about the water. And he’s right. From certain vantage points, the deep green waters that give the coast its name seem to merge with the verdant shoreline they lap up against.

On the drive to the resort, we passed one colorful fishing village and tiny beach after another. During the summer season, Florianopolis swells to two million people, nearly five times its usual size. Leo told me it’s the “number one place people wish they could move to in Brazil,” citing a boom in tech start ups along with its natural beauty (“over three quarters of the area is preserved,” he boasted) as reasons. Plus, Brazil’s third-largest university provides a youthful vitality that keeps the city fresh.

Finally, we pulled up to Ponta dos Ganchos, which can only be described as a dream destination (previous guests Paul McCartney, Beyoncé, and Fergie probably agree). My friend, Kelly, joined me for this Brazilian getaway, after I attended the Virtuoso conference in Buenos Aires, and we felt like we were on a honeymoon (the resort serves dinner to one lucky couple each night on their own private island).

One of the bungalows at Ponta dos Ganchos (note the huge hammock and the incredible views). (Photograph by Mathieu Lebreton, Flickr)

We even ran into another industry friend, Elite Travel International President Stacy Small, who scouts properties like this for her clients. After raving about the place (“It’s one of those rare beachfront resorts that wows on every level from the uber-stylish ‘bangalos’ with private sea-view plunge pools to the genuine friendliness of the staff.”), she confided that it’s somewhere she personally plans to return to “when the craving for a peaceful recharge hits.”

The resort is distinctly Brazilian, a welcome impression in an increasingly homogenized hotel world. My favorite feature in each of the 25 bungalows was the extra-large hammock. What’s better than starting off the morning by lolling around and enjoying the views? But the real reward of staying here is the unparalleled access to the secluded coast (the property offers private beaches, kayaks, sailboats, and two nature trails).

Beyond the resort, the region boasts some of the best diving opportunities in Brazil, including the Arvoredo Marine Biological Reserve. Between June and November, you can witness a true spectacle of nature on board a whale-watching ship as pods of the marine mammals migrate north to find warm, calm waters to have their babies.

And, farther afield, you can explore the city of Blumenau, known for its impressive Oktoberfest celebration, or visit the local Scherer distillery to sample some cachaça, a Brazilian spirit made with sugar cane.

Blumenau plays host to one of the largest Oktoberfest celebrations in the world. (Photograph by Fernando Pangaré, Flickr)

I was also happy to put an old aversion to rest on the Emerald Coast. At Ponta dos Ganchos, they serve the famous Santa Catarina oysters, which I loved. I had always been turned off by the bivalves’ fleshy texture and overbearing saltwater taste before, but these were different — just a hint of salt and a dash of fresh citrus. In fact, if I’m lucky enough to return to this part of Brazil, I’d like to go out on a traditional bateira with an oyster farmer so I can taste them as soon as they’re harvested.

Finally, I feel compelled to mention that if you come to this corner of the world, you’re bound to see the largest rodent on Earth.

A waiter had warned us that two capybaras roamed the resort property, but urged us not to worry, as they are completely harmless. Still, my first encounter was startling. Native to South America, capybaras live near water and look like a cross between a porcupine, a wild boar, and a rat. I can’t say I wanted to sneak one home in my suitcase, but it was fascinating to watch the pair roam around at night.

Know Before You Go:

I’m about to admit something that makes me look like a real amateur. I didn’t realize — even think about — checking to see if Brazil required a visa for Americans. By the time my friend realized we needed one, I was already in Buenos Aires and due to fly to Brazil in five days. Next thing you know, I’m frantically searching for a passport photo place and printing out bank statements. But, as it turns out, it’s simple to secure a Brazilian visa at the consulate in Buenos Aires (thanks to this site for the helpful tips!) and takes only 24 hours, with no rush fee. Bem vindo ao Brasil!

Annie Fitzsimmons is Intelligent Travel’s Urban Insider, giving you the dish on the best things to see and do in cities all over the world. Follow her on Twitter @anniefitz.

Glasgow Is My City

The stairs inside the Glasgow lighthouse. (Photograph by Martin Burns, Flickr)

When someone comes to visit me, the first place I take them is the vibrant West End area. With large sprawling parks, international eateries, boutiques, and museums, there’s something for everyone.

Summer is the best time to visit my city because even though you’ll likely experience all four seasons in one day, it stays light until almost midnight.

You can see my city best from the viewing deck at the lighthouse. On a clear day it’s worth braving the spiral staircase for a spectacular, panoramic view of Glasgow.

Locals know to skip the tourist-trap Willow Tea Rooms and check out the Hidden Lane Tearoom instead. Tucked down a cobbled street in Finnieston, which serves the best High Tea in Glasgow.

If you are looking for a good bottle of whisky to take back home, The Good Spirits Co. is the place to buy the best Scotland has to offer.

In the past, notable people such as Gerard Butler, James McAvoy, and Gordon Ramsay have called my city home.

The Hunterian Museum is located in five buildings on the University of Glasgow campus. (Photograph by Jordanhill School D&T Dept, Flickr)

My city’s best museum is the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, which hosts a large collection of Charles Rennie Mackintosh work. It’s one of the smallest and most low-key of Glasgow’s 20 museums, but it’s packed full of archaeological finds, art, and some freaky specimens in the anatomy wing.

If there’s one thing you should know about getting around my city, it’s the Glasgow Underground. Handy if you are wanting to get around quickly and ideal for a trip from town to the West End. Turn the journey into a drinking game, or a “sub crawl,” by stopping at one pub at each of the 15 stops. Not for the faint of heart!

The best place to spend time outdoors in my city (when the sun is out) is the beer gardens. Us pale Glaswegians love nothing more than grabbing a pint and heading outdoors. From Jinty McGinty’s in Ashton Lane to West Brewery at Glasgow Green, everyone wants to be out during these short spells. Taps aff!

My city really knows how to celebrate Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve) because the party always ends up lasting two days!

You can tell if someone is from Glasgow if they call you “pal” regardless of whether you’re a friend, stranger, lover, mother, or boss!

For a fancy night out, I have a delicious dinner at Chardon d’Or, followed by some cocktails at Blythswood Hotel. If I wanted to keep the night going, I’ll  hop in a cab to the Corinthian Club for more drinks, dancing, and a flutter at the casino.

Just outside my city, you can visit Scotland’s west coast to spend time at the beach or head north to reach the Arrochar Alps.

For some quiet, head to Tchai Ovna. (Photograph by Robert and Talbot Trudeau, Flickr)

My city is known for being dangerous and rough but it’s really transformed over the past 10 years. The second best shopping street in the U.K. after London, the West End is the place to go for unique shopping and restaurants — and Merchant City has some of the best nightlife in the U.K. There’s a huge amount of diversity, drawn from the international population who call Glasgow home.

The best outdoor market in my city is the bi-monthly farmers market in Mansfield Park for yummy food. But if you’re a flea-market junkie, head east to the Barras weekend market. You might just find a bargain.

Trans-Europe Cafe, Cafezique, Brookyln Cafe, and the Left Bank are my favorite places to grab breakfast, and Little Italy is the spot for late-night eats.

To find out what’s going on at night and weekends, read The Skinny and The List.

My city’s biggest sports event is the Old Firm derby. Watch it at the Ibrox or Celtic Park stadiums. Glasgow will host the Commonwealth Games in 2014, and new arenas such as the Velodrome will be the place to watch all the action.

When I’m feeling cash-strapped, I wander down to Dumbarton Road to find some bargains in the many charity shops.

To escape the crowds, I head to Tchai Ovna, a tiny tea and shisha (hookah) house tucked above the River Kelvin off Gibson Street. A cozy place to while away a lazy afternoon playing Scrabble, chatting with friends, or listening to music on weeknights.

Julia’s favorite building in town: Mitchell Library. (Photograph by Shaun Killen, Flickr)

If my city were a celebrity it’d be the Big Yin, Billy Connolly, because it has a great sense of humor.

The dish that represents my city best is curry (Indian food is an essential part of the Glaswegian diet) and the fizzy orange juice called Irn-Bru is my city’s signature drink.

The Mitchell Library is my favorite building in town because it’s the most beautiful in Glasgow and looks stunning when lit up at night.

The most random thing about my city is that anything and everything can happen.

King Tut’s Wah-Wah Hut and the Barrowland Ballroom are the best places to see live music, but if you’re in the mood to dance, check out Boteco de Brasil for authentic Brazilian dancing.

A spontaneous sing-along in the taxi queue could only happen in my city.

In the spring you should hire a bicycle from the Bike Station and cycle along the River Kelvin up to the Botanic Gardens.

In the summer you should get dancing at the Mardi Gras parade in June.

Botanic Gardens. (Photograph by <p&p>, Flickr)

In the fall you should head to one of Glasgow’s many parks — such as Kelvingrove Park, Queen’s Park, and Pollok Country Park – to see the stunning range of autumn colors on display. Afterwards, head indoors for some tea and a slice of cake.

In the winter you should check out a gig at the Celtic Connections annual festival in January.

If you have kids (or are a kid at heart), you won’t want to miss the Science Centre. It has plenty of interactive exhibits for kids to enjoy and an IMAX.

The best book about my city is Lanark by Alasdair Gray.

In 140 characters of less, the world should heart my city because it’s friendly, funny, warm, cosmopolitan, exciting, irreverent, and unique.

Love where you live? Fill out our I Heart My City questionnaire for a chance to share your insider intel with the Intelligent Travel community.

You can play, too. Follow us on Twitter @NatGeoTraveler and tag your favorite travel stories #NGTRadar to help us find the crème de la crème on the web.

Here’s this week’s:

• If you’ve never heard of Whakaari (White Island), join the club. Find out what happens when you visit the only active marine volcano in New Zealand. @wanderlustersUK
• Chances are, you associate Pittsburgh with sports or steel — but Pennsylvania’s second biggest metropolis has a lot more to offer. Here’s one blogger’s ode to the City of Bridges. @dangerousbiz 
• “You say yes, I say no. You say stop, and I say go, go, go…” Here’s one gallivanting couple’s guide to making two completely different travel styles work. @BootsnAll
• If you haven’t been to Bologna, in Northern Italy yet, here are seven appealing reasons to book your ticket today. @20sTravel
• Lured by cheap fares and the prospect of alone time in iconic haunts? Check out this personal essay about the joys — and perils — of off-season travel first. @HeckticTravels

It’s been two decades since the Civil War formally ended, and Rwanda has been on the mend — so much so that some now regard it as a model country in the region. Headlining tourism to the country is gorilla trekking, whereby travelers come face to face with the magnificent primates — as well as, in this instance, one traveler obsessed with puns, i.e. yours truly.

“I need one of you to take a picture of me watching Gorillas in the Mist amidst gorillas in the mist,” I announced to my trekking group. The Americans, who had all seen the 1988 docudrama starring Sigourney Weaver, immediately got the joke, which made finding a volunteer a cinch.

My gorilla-trekking group tramping through the rainforest. (Photograph by Erik Trinidad)

It was Fossey who made the first real “gorilla treks” in the ’60s and ’70s, while out in the field for the National Geographic Society. Living among the Virunga Volcanoes, she became intrigued by the mountain gorillas in an era when poaching was rampant (though it continues).

Despite her contentious relationship with some locals (for which she paid with her life), her efforts to protect these indigenous apes made an enormous impact and helped inspire the ecotourism opportunities that can now be found in Rwanda.

Today, gorilla trekking is a highly controlled activity (the Rwandan government limits the number of permits issued per day to protect the gorillas) and isn’t cheap (see below for details). But if you have the means, the experience is completely worth it.

“Today we are going to track a family, the Kuryama,” our Rwandan guide, Oliver, said as we neared the park gate. He explained that the trek up the mountain could be strenuous and wanted to make sure each of us was fit enough to keep up with the gorillas. “You need to be ready for any change,” he told us. “If they go up, we go up. If they go down, we go down.”

After spending forty minutes in a car and half an hour hiking straight up the side of a volcano, we arrived at a stone wall that separated the national park from surrounding farmland. It was there that we finally met up with the armed park rangers who track the gorillas and protect them from potential poachers.

With the gorillas almost in our midst, Oliver briefed us on the rules: no flash photography, cover your mouth if you sneeze, keep a seven-meter distance from any gorilla, and — most importantly — if a gorilla starts coming towards you, don’t run.

One of the armed guards/guides who helped us locate the Kuryama family. (Photograph by Erik Trinidad)

It was only a 20-minute hike through a humid thicket of woody vines, lush vegetation, soft muddy spots, and itch-inducing shrubbery before we hit the jackpot: the 14 gorillas of the Kuryama group surrounded us.

It’s hard to describe the moment you first encounter them; it’s like something you’ve never seen before — yet so familiar. In addition to their eyes, their behavior seemed very human, with Kirahuri, the dominant silverback male, sitting with his legs and arms crossed. He was unfazed when other gorillas approached him, like the Fonz of the jungle.

In contrast, there was the young Rugira, a fuzzy, Ewok-looking five-year-old gorilla boy, running around and spinning in circles as human children do. Mesmerized by the apes, I began to understand Fossey’s obsession with them, and almost forgot about my Gorillas in the Mist photo idea.

Despite Kirahuri’s apathy and the younger gorilla’s playfulness, Oliver made grunting noises to keep them at a safe distance from us — even if they do share most of our DNA. However, this biological fact did not prevent Kirahuri from suddenly strutting right towards me like a high school bully.

My heart began to race.

“Don’t run,” Oliver whispered calmly.

A mountain gorilla nursing her baby. (Photograph by Erik Trinidad)

I was grateful for the reminder, because my first human instinct was to get out of there — pronto. As Oliver continued his simian grunts, Kirahuri walked past me with confident nonchalance toward the jungle. My tense moment with the 300-pound silverback had passed.

When I finally managed to calm down, I was determined to make good on my pun before any more surprises intervened. In the end, getting a picture of me watching Gorillas in the Mist amidst gorillas in the mist proved to be one of the most exhilarating experiences in my life — much more than having my picture taken while watching Hotel Rwanda in the “Hotel Rwanda,” anyway.

Gorilla Trekking Permits 101

A gorilla trekking permit for Volcanoes National Park costs a steep $750 USD per person for one hour of time with a gorilla group (once you encounter them). Only eight people are allowed to visit a single gorilla group each day of the year and, with only a handful of groups known within the Rwandan border, permits are quite limited.

Tip: If you have specific dates in mind, you can secure your permit in advance. Several tour operators in Rwanda can arrange this permit given enough lead time, or you can acquire it through the Rwanda Development Board.

Erik Trinidad may be based in Brooklyn, but he spends most of his time criss-crossing the globe (he’s been to all seven continents!) in search of exotic food, high adventure, and scientific curiosities. Follow his travels on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter via @theglobaltrip.

Related:

• National Geographic Travel’s Guide to Rwanda
• “Making Friends With Mountain Gorillas,” originally published in the January 1970 issue of National Geographic Magazine
• “The Imperiled Mountain Gorilla,” originally published in the April 1981 issue of National Geographic Magazine