You can sail Alaska with Un-Cruise Adventures. (Photo: Peter West Carey)

For maritime-minded adventure seekers, an expedition cruise delivers voyages dedicated to the cultural richness and natural majesty of some of the world’s most remote locales. Operating on smaller vessels that are largely devoid of bigger cruise ships’ bells and whistles and jam-packed activity schedules, expedition voyages focus largely on off-the-path discovery, with skiff-run excursions that curtail the need for proper ports, essentially opening up the shore-accessible world as your oyster.

Greenland and high Arctic. (Photo: Quark Expeditions)With shore excursions taking center stage, only light entertainment and diversions—usually focused on education and enrichment—are offered back onboard. A specialized staff, known as the expedition team, is usually composed of a motley crew of experts like marine biologists, naturalists, anthropologists, photographers, and other special guest lecturers who can offer some special insight into the cruise region’s culture, history, politics, or wildlife.

The expedition vessels themselves are

(Photo: Nusrat Howard-Moore / Flickr)

Karapan Sapi, or “cow racing,” was once how Indonesian farmers celebrated the end of rice-growing season. Now it is a sport and popular tourist attraction in West Sumatra. Traditionally, grown men – who should know better – jumped onto wooden harnesses between two oxen, bit the animal’s tails and held on for dear life as the team raced through muddy rice fields.

London-based Nusrat Howard-Moore photographed a kid taking part in a race on dirt, not mud, with calves, heading for the finish line in the time-honored tradition of Little Boys Imitating Their Fathers.

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Those seats all the way in the back? It turns out, some people really like them. A study by the airline British Airways has revealed that in economy class on the Boeing 747, passengers prefer the last row of the plane. The reason: The last seats are twin, allowing couples to have a row to themselves.

(Photo: iStockphoto)As surfaced by Gizmodo, British Airways reports that more than half their customers traveling in pairs choose seats 51/52B, 51/52C, 51/52H, and 51/52J in a Boeing 747. If you're lucky enough to be flying first class, though, the most popular seats are at the front of the plane: 1A and 1K.

Other tidbits about passenger habits: Among travelers who book their seats 24 hours in advance, 54 percent prefer to sit on the right-hand side of the cabin while 46 percent pick the left side.

British Airways can't exactly explain the preference, suggesting perhaps that more people are right-handed. Sara Dunham, British Airways' head of retail and direct channels, said, "There are lots of theories why

Following some highly publicized recent problems that left cruise passengers stranded without power or stuck on board with broken sewage systems, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., New York) is proposing a Cruise Ship Passenger Bill of Rights. The plan is modeled after the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights, which became law in 2011, and outlines six rights that cruise ships can voluntarily adhere to.

The Carnival Triumph in February. (Photo: Dave Martin / Associated Press)But consumer advocates point out that the plan has no enforcement and may do little to ensure that passengers are protected.

“It’s a misnomer to call this a bill of rights,” said Paul Hudson, executive director of FlyersRights.org, which helped push the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights.

A handful of cruise ships have floundered recently, with the Carnival Triumph losing power for four days in the Gulf of Mexico in February and the Carnival Dream’s diesel generator breaking down while in St. Maarten in March. Along with these very public episodes, there has been growing concern about the cruise

(Photo: Victoria.....a secas. / Flickr)

When the 18^th century poet/painter/philosopher, William Blake, wrote “To see a world in a grain of sand … and a heaven in a wild flower ... Hold infinity in the palm of your hand … and eternity in an hour.” In the poem, “Auguries of Innocence,” he was urging his contemporaries to slow down and look more closely at the world around them.

Spanish photographer Victoria Rivas applied Blake’s philosophy to her photography, and captured this close-up of a water droplet clinging to a reed. In doing so, she revealed her own deep fascination with the world around her. Modern digital cameras allow us to explore our world photographically more than ever before, and if we heed the poet’s advice, our lives can be much richer for it.

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(Photo: Courtesy of Timberline Resort)

The days may be getting longer and the weather warmer, but the snow hasn’t melted yet and there’s still plenty of time left to hit the slopes. Spring (and even summer) skiing and snowboarding is known for being more casual than the winter season, with concerts and costume parties. Why wouldn’t you celebrate a warm, sunny day in a bikini – in the snow?

Here are eight places in the U.S. where ski season will still be in effect:

Timberline Lodge,
Oregon

Timberline Lodge, on the south side of Mt. Hood an hour-and-a-half east of Portland, has the longest ski season in North America. The slopes are open daily through Labor Day, Sept. 2, and then close for maintenance for two weeks in September. Besides those two weeks, Timberline is open year round.

During summer, though, there is no beginner or novice terrain and hours run from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. After mid-summer, the primary skiing is available via the Palmer chairlift, which carries guests beyond 8,000 feet. Because several camps and

(Photo: chengkiang / Flickr)

This peaceful view of Edinburgh, Scotland, at twilight, was captured by Singaporean photographer Cheng Kiang Ng. He did so by blending two exposures – one for the highlights and another for the shadows – together to approximate what the human eye would have seen. Some modern digital cameras will do that for us automatically, if we ask. Quite often overdone and unnatural looking, this new form of photography is called High Dynamic Range (or HDR).

The monument on Calton Hill, on the left, was built in 1831 to honor the 17^th-century Scottish mathematician and philosopher Dugald Stewart. Known for his essays and dissertations on moral and metaphysical philosophy, he would certainly be pleased with its auspicious location.

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(Photo: Ramon Espinosa / AP)

Check out these off-beat locations where some intrepid adventurers are choosing to spend their vacations. Of course, proceed with caution and always check the government health and travel advisories before you go.

Cuba

Since U.S. tourist travel is not allowed, it's not the easiest place to visit. But as the pop stars Jay-Z and Beyonce (at top) proved, it can be done. Under the Obama administration, the embargo with Cuba remains in place, but travel restrictions for cultural purposes have been loosened. Any trips to the Caribbean country must be licensed by the Treasury Department.

For U.S. citizens, tourist travel is banned. However, it is possible to go with a licensed cultural group. And with organizations like National Geographic and the Metropolitan Museum of Art offering tours, more and more are signing on to do just that.

North Korea

(Photo: iStockphoto)

The country's most high-profile visitor, Dennis Rodman, said he'll be back to vacation with his new bestie, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In