Aqaba
– “In Aqaba, Jordan, Sun and Sand in the Red Sea” (NYT)

Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay: The Jesuit Province of Paraquaria
– “In South America, Missions of a Lost Utopia” (NYT)

Austin, TX
– “City insider: Austin, Texas” (Globe and Mail)

Caribbean Roundup
– “Caribbean, From A To V” (SF Chronicle)

Chicago’s Meatpacking District West
– “In Chicago, Slaughterhouses to Art Houses” (NYT)

Galapagos Islands
– “Vive the evolution” (Sydney Morning Herald)

LA Times Vintage Vegas Special
– “Ultimate low roller’s guide”
– “Hotel deals you can dig, baby”
– “It takes a whole lot of green”
– “Lucky you: Rates from $39”
– “The best things in town are free (or almost)“

5 years out from 9/11 and one month from the foiled air-terror plot in the UK, the harsh new realities of air travel were, understandably, tops in the headlines this weekend. Yet travelers seem to be taking the inconvenience and worry in stride: the rest of the weekend’s features were full of highly aspirational trips, some to not necessarily “safe” destinations, including Jordan, Uzbekistan’s silk road, and Rwanda and Uganda’s nature preserves.

Air Travel
- What We’ve Learned (Washington Post)

- Fewer bags overhead! But more staring at the carousel (LA Times)

- El Al’s security a model for airlines (Chicago Tribune)

- What to Do When Bumped From a Flight (Chicago Tribune)

Jordan
- In Historic Petra, Dazzling Sights for a Small Audience (NYT)

Northeast U.S.
- The Magnificent Obsession of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NYT)

Rajasthan, India
- Adventure With a Mission (Washington Post)

Rwanda
- Gorillas in our midst (SF Gate)

Uganda
- Gorillas in our midst (SF Gate)

Utah
- Close enough to touch Utah’s sky (LA Times)

Uzbekistan
- Spin your own tales of the Silk Road (Houston Chronicle)

Venice
- How to do Venice like a Venetian (Guardian)

Extreme-travel guru Richard Bangs has parlayed his role as a founding partner of Mountain Travel Sobek into a career as a one-man adventure travel brand. After countless articles, nearly as many books, and previous Web outings with Slate, MSNBC and Expedia, Bangs has teamed with Yahoo and launched a web-only TV series called (shock!) Richard Bangs’ Adventures. 5 trips have been posted since the site started in November, with more to come, and the goings-on all sound suitably exotic and/or death-defying. Thus far, armchair adventurers can follow along through trip logs and video clips, as Bangs or his cohorts -”>follow the River Jordan from its source, trace -”>encounter sea gypsies in Thailand, and get misty over mountain gorillas in Rwanda.