TERRA TRAVELERS
Publisher’S LETTER
EXTRAORDINARY FINDINGS IN TRAVEL
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
J
ust for a moment, stare at the picture of the earth on this page. You and I are neighbors. I can see your house from here. We think of the earth as incredibly large and very small, as the most solid entity we can imagine and the most fragile. To the best of our knowledge, it is the only place in the entire universe where dogs can be found. That in and of itself makes this a pretty special place. Add to dogs, octopuses, river otters, blue whales and, OK, cats, and it’s pretty hard to imagine a more perfect spot in the universe. During the history of the human race, we have been pilgrims, wayfarers, explorers and pioneers. Our feet and minds have carried us far. We migrated out of Africa and spread across the planet in search of food, fortune and, sometimes, just the horizon. But we did so in a thinly populated world with what seemed to be limitless resources. We are fast approaching 7.5 billion humans on the planet. Getting along with the earth, and with each other, will be increasingly important. Some would argue that travel wastes resources like vast amounts of fuel, is a privilege of the wealthy and exploits indigenous people and ecosystems.
At times, travel and tourism does all of these things and perhaps even worse than we realize. But travel also expands our understanding of other people and cultures. Travel reminds us of how alike we are. Travel reminds us of the fragility of the planet and seldom do we travel that we return unchanged. So here’s our hope. Actually, it’s our mission. Terra Travelers seeks to inspire a community of like-minded individuals that respect the road, respect the people we visit, and those with whom we travel. It’s not really THAT big a goal. But it’s ours. Please feel free to join us.
PUBLISHER
Richard B Earls
EDITOR
Elizabeth Cody
AUTHORS
Kat Richter Richard B. Earls Travel Hippy Regina Winke-Bryan Nadia Ali Lesley Stones Cindy-Lou Dale
EDITORIAL & CREATIVE DESIGN Taylor Enos
MARKETING EXECUTIVES
Richard B. Earls Publisher, Terra Travelers
Randi White
CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTION Zocha Pomp Mariana Saca Brooke Van Wyk
CUSTOMER SERVICE Erin von Scherrer
ON THE COVER The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres.
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Terra Travelers seeks to inspire a community of like-minded individuals that respect the road, respect the people we visit, and those with whom we travel.
