We’ve highlighted hundreds of fascinating travel experiences in the past year at Experiences Not Stuff. It’s hard to single out just 10 of them, but these are were among my personal favourites that I experienced and wrote about in the past 12 months. I hope you can draw some inspiration from them for your own travel adventures in the year ahead.
Tomar, Portugal: Witness the spectacular festival of the trays
Imagine balancing the weight of two bowling balls on your head while walking six kilometres in the sweltering summer heat and you’ll get an idea of what it’s like for the women who walk in one of the world’s most unique religious processions, the Festa dos Tabuleiros in Tomar, Portugal. Held only once every four years to mark Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, this one-of-a-kind event attracts tens of thousands of spectators from around the world. They line the narrow streets of this small city in central Portugal to witness a colourful celebration that has roots dating back to at least the 14th century, if not earlier.
Lake Geneva, WI: Play Dungeons & Dragons in the house where it was invented
The hugely-popular game of Dungeons & Dragons was invented in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin by Gary Gygax and Dale Arneson. Gygax invented it while still living at home with his parents. That unassuming house was later used for many years as another family’s summer home. They have since rebranded it as The Birthplace of D&D and make it available for fans from around the world to come and play the game in the very spot where it all started. There’s even a loft next door where you can stay the night.
Nashville, TN: Make your own Goo Goo Cluster
The name may sound ridiculous, but Nashville’s own Goo Goo Cluster just might be the best candy bar you ever tasted. First introduced back in 1912 by the Standard Candy Company, the Goo Goo Cluster was actually America’s first combination candy bar. Unlike most candy bars which are rectangular, the Cluster is shaped more like a hockey puck and consists of a mixture of caramel, marshmallow nougat and fresh roasted peanuts which are all enrobed with milk chocolate. At their retail store in downtown Nashville, you can buy Goo Goo Clusters in a box, but, better yet, you can dream up your own combination of ingredients and watch them make a custom Cluster for you on the spot.
Antigua & Barbuda: Have you hugged a stingray today?
If petting a stingray tops your bucket list, then Antigua is the place to be. At Stingray City, southern stingrays have been conditioned to come for free handouts of squid. The result is that the fish have been practically domesticated to the point that they tolerate being held by humans. Guests are whisked out to a nearby floating dock by speedboat where they hop out onto a shallow sandbar where they get to feed and hold these fascinating creatures. Yes, these stingrays have a venomous barb in their tail, but the venom won’t kill you and the chances of being injured by one are vanishingly remote.
Little Rock, AR: Check out one of the world’s only purse museums
Located in a large storefront space in a historic building that has had many previous lives, such as a wholesale tobacco and a candy store, ESSE Purse Museum is one of only two museums in the world dedicated solely to women’s purses. It’s a bright space with several showcases displaying purses and the items their owners may have carried. Each display represents a different decade and the walls are decorated with oversized photos of women from different eras and numerous artworks that help set the mood.
Chihuahua, Mexico: Speed along the (formerly) world’s longest zipline
Ready for a thrill? Visitors to the Parque de Aventuras Barrancas del Cobre in Chihuahua, Mexico can ride a 2.5-kilometre zipline that takes them from the edge of a cliff deep into Copper Canyon at speeds reaching 135 km/h! Even though the record for the world’s longest zipline is now held by the United Arab Emirates, their scenery doesn’t compare to what is offered in Chihuahua. The adventure park also offers a course of seven ziplines if you want to spend the morning or afternoon flying through the canyon as well as an exciting via ferrata for those who like to live on the edge. If that’s too extreme for you, you can enjoy beautiful canyon views on a relaxing cable-car ride.
Lubbock, TX: Get up close to a prairie dog in Prairie Dog Town
The black-tail prairie dog has long been a nuisance to farmers, but it’s hard to resist the charms of these cute rodents and there’s no better place to do that than Prairie Dog Town. One of Lubbock’s most enduring and popular attractions this protected prairie dog colony was established in Mackenzie Park in 1935 by Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy N. Clapp who feared that widespread poisoning would render the species extinct. He decided to do something about it and started this colony with just four animals. His work paid off because they are thriving and visitors still come here to delight in their antics.
Allgäu/Sonthofen, Germany: Hanging out with Bavarian winter monsters
The German mountain town of Allgäu/Sonthofen is famous for its annual New Year’s Day ski jumping competition, but is also home to the annual Klausentreiben parade held annually between December 4 to 6, around the feast day of St. Barbara. This is when dozens of young men march through the town streets in shaggy monster costumes with massive cowbells around their necks and wooden switches in hand. These are the Klausen and their job is to chase away evil spirits in a tradition that dates back to pagan times. They are joined in their duties by young women who dress as Bärbele, a sort of witch, in memory of the town’s patron saint. The annual parade is worth the visit.
St. Louis, MO: Paddle the Mississippi in a voyageur canoe
The mighty Mississippi River runs right through St. Louis, but because of how the city developed over time, not much of it is accessible to the public. Since 2002, Big Muddy Adventures has been helping visitors and locals reconnect with this historic waterway with guided paddling expeditions in hand-built freighter canoes that resemble those used by the voyageurs who plied these waters during the fur-trading era. It’s the perfect way to learn why St. Louis is where it is and how it came to be the city it is today.
Fredericksburg, TX: Immerse yourself in the history of World War II’s Pacific Theatre
What is a museum about a war that was largely fought across vast areas of the Pacific Ocean doing in a small, land-locked town in Texas? It just so happens that Fredericksburg was the birthplace of United States Admiral Chester Nimitz, the fleet admiral who commanded Allied forces in the Pacific Theatre during the war with Japan. A museum dedicated to the admiral that was housed in a former hotel that was once owned by his father has since evolved into a world-class museum known as the National Museum of the Pacific War. The museum continues to evolve and an upcoming update promises to make it even more interactive and experiential. On weekends, there are re-enactments in an outdoor amphitheatre that bring those bitter island-hopping battles to life.
