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It is not abnormal to find cats climbing into trees. It is however fairly unusual to see lions lounging in the trees.  Like all other cats they use their claws to help them scale tree trunks while climbing into the branches of a tree, however their size often makes scaling a tree a challenge or impossible.  

Our partners at Chief's Camp in Botswana shared with us these fun photos of lions relaxing in the trees of the Moremi Game Reserve. Their experts are speculating that the lions are climbing into the trees either to avoid the pestering of flies or to enjoy a cool breeze that will cool them from the heat.

Either way we wanted to share with you these wonderful photos courtesy of our friends at Chief's Camp in Botswana.

Amanda Sundt recently had the opportunity to sit down with Chuck Kratz--the host of "Travel News and Views" on talk radio WJR 760. Amanda and Chuck talked all about Chile--the Land of Fire and Ice and what a fabulous and unique vacation destination it is! Did you know that Chile's topography includes the world's driest desert (Atacama), a prospering wine region, the Lakes District and glaciers? Not to mention the cultural attractions in Santiago or the unique 30 foot stone statutes on Easter Island! Take a listen--it will make you want to book a trip!

Chile: The Land of Fire and Ice with iExplore's Amanda Sundt
Travel News & Views (760-WJR)

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iExplore CEO Todd McClamroch was a guest on the Next Trip Radio program earlier this week. Todd and Next Trip Radio Host Melanie Cole talked about with Todd about iExplore, our tours and travel trends. We invite you to take a listen to the interview:

Next Trip Radio - iExplore Interview Clip #1

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Next Trip Radio - iExplore Interview Clip #2

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After being closed to visitors for the second time this year, Tibet is set to re-open to tourists. The closures have been tied to 50th anniversary of the uprising that led to the Dali Lama's--Tibet's spiritual leader--fleeing to India where he has been in exile ever since.

A journey to Tibet is not for the faint of heart--the altitude and the remote location can make the trip difficult. However, once there visitors will be rewarded with an experience not available anywhere else on Earth.

I have always been intrigued by travel to the polar regions of the world. I am looking forward to exploring Antarctica first hand this fall. I find myself gravitating to books, sites, videos and photos of the polar regions.  Today I came across the mother load of polar images.  The Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge has published photos from their world-class collection.  The gallery of photos can be viewed on the appropriately named Freeze Frame website.

The website is a result of nearly two year project that started with 20,000 negatives that were digitized  for use with a touring exhibition and also for the Freeze Frame website which launched on March 4th.  Visit the website gallery to view photos organized into a variety of categories.  The site also features a book "Face to Face, Polar Portraits" that was written to accompany the touring exhibition.

In addition to the amazing photos you can enjoy a variety of articles like, History of Photography in the Polar Regions, or read articles on famous explorers like Ernest Henry Shackleton.  As a private pilot I was drawn to the interesting photos in their Air Gallery.

During the annual ritual of Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow after coming out of his stump. As a result the prediction is that there will be six more weeks of winter.  According to Fox News this superstition is of German heritage and states that "If a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2 -- the Christian holiday of Candlemas -- winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early."

If you have had enough of the winter weather and are looking for a warm weather getaway you might be interested in checking out a few of these iExplore tours:

• iExplore Purerto Rico Active
• iExplore Costa Rica Active 
• iExplore Costa Rica Luxury
• iExplore Southern Mexico and Yucatan Peninsula Experience
  

Shortly after booking my ticket for an upcoming trip to France I started to panic about my ability to truly enjoy the destination on the limited amount of French I learned years ago in high school.  I started looking for some online resources that might help me prepare.  I was pleasantly surprised with what I found.

The first site I stumbled upon was a community based language training site, Livemocha.  In a matter of minutes I was registered for free and began relearning French with the French 101 class. The site does a great job of combining different learning styles be it visual, oral and written.  One feature I particularly enjoyed was at the end of each lesson there was a reading lesson in which I would read a phrase into my computer microphone and community members would critique and provide constructive feedback on my pronunciation.  In return each time I entered and audio submission I was given the opportunity to critique someone who was learning English.  This was satisfying knowing that I was able to help someone learn English.

I look forward to become more fluent in French through classes like Livemocha.  In the short term I needed a refresher to help me with the basic terms and phrases needed for my upcoming trip.  So, I next performed a search of French podcasts through iTunes. Again, I was satisfied with the results. Alexa is the host of an excellent podcast "The French Ecole Podcast" that I would recommend to anyone interested in learning the language.  

Another useful podcast was from the folks at SurvivalPhrases.com.  As their name implies they offered a series of podcast lessons focused on giving travelers the necessary phrases and terms words to not only survive but thrive in your vacation destination.
 
If you have plans to travel to a destination that speaks a language foreign to you.  I highly recommend you checkout many of the great language tools online.  Let us know if you have found a website, podcast or application that has helped you learn a new language!

Since iExplore's inception in the late 90s, Peru has always been one of our most popular destinations.  Turns out our customers aren't the only ones that are intrigued by the beauty and history of Peru.  In their November 10th issue, OK Magazine's travel section points out that A-lister movie stars Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Molly Simms have all recently traveled to Machu Picchu.  Left out of the article was the fact that Diaz later  apologized to the locals for wearing a communist bag.

Sure, OK Magazine might not be your de facto source for travel information, but we were happy to see their selection for recommended places to say.  They commented, "The intimate, 85-room Inkaterra Machu Picchu Hotel, is the area's top property, bringing understated luxury to an unbelievably rustic and natural setting.  The Una Spa at Inkaterra is a favorite for many of our clients looking for a way to unwind after hiking the Inca Trail.


Three of our Peru Itineraries include a stay at the Inkaterra Hotel:

• iExplore Peru - Machu Picchu & Amazon Basin
  
• iExplore Galapagos & Peru Silver
  
• iExplore Peru & Bolivia
  

iExplore offers several other tours to Peru including the popular Inca Trail hike all of which could include a night at the Inkattera Hotel if you are interested.