Year in Review: 2008 Top 5 favorite trips, media friends, blog posts and more

This little girl toted around her cousin like he was her own child! Patacancha, Peru.

1. Best International Travel: Two months in South America! Photos and stories coming soon. Here are the cities I visited:
Brazil:
Santa Catarina - whale watching at Vida Sol e Mar!, Sao Paulo, Rio, Porto Velho, Manaus
Peru:
Lima, Cusco - mountain bike tour with Sacred Rides!, Ollantaytambo, Patacancha, Machu Picchu: Sacred Valley.
Best Domestic Travel:
Idaho: Whitewater rafting with ROW Adventures
Montana: Bicycle tour with Adventure Cycling Association

2. Best Professional Networking Group:
Adventure Travel Trade Association World Summit
In 2007 and 2008, I was selected as a guest speaker at ATTA world Summits in Whistler, British Columbia, and in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I made incredible friends and contacts worldwide.
Photos from Summit in Sao Paulo, September 2008.

3. Best Awards Ceremony:
National Geographic Adventures of the Year presented by National Geographic Adventure Magazine.
I was thrilled to receive an invitation to the Washington, D.C. event at National Geographic headquarters. Talk about inspiration. Check out these world travelers:
These folks were written up in a cover story in Dec. 08/Jan. 09 issue: "Best of Adventure: Adventurers of the Year."


When I met Gretchen Bleiler, Olympic snowboarder, I learned her fiance is from Aptos, California, part of Santa Cruz County, where I live.

4. My Best Blog Posts
First Place: Away.com
I was thrilled to be hired to write a twice monthly blog for the Orbitz-owned travel website. Here's a sample: Machu Picchu blog entry.
Second Place: My Travel Journal blog (right here!)

Special thanks to new media friends I made in 2008:
Photographer:
Stacy Niedzwiecki
Web: www.StacyN.com
Your Daily Michigan Moment: www.MichiganMoments.com
Multimedia:
Tim Shisler
Multimedia wizard and blogger living in Boulder, Colorado when he's not on the road.
http://www.timshisler.com
http://onthewater.wordpress.com
American journalist living in Brazil:
Marilyn and I connected on travelwriters.com then met in person at her home in Sao Paulo.
Marilynn Diggs
http://www.mdiggs.com

In my very special outfit, in which I emceed a Halloween event for the City of Santa Cruz, pictured below, I wish you a Happy New Year!

Karen
www.karenkefauver.com

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