Joseph Rosendo’s Travelscope

Joseph hikes through the marble gorge, across dramatic suspension bridges, to stunning waterfalls and up mountain slopes where Taiwan’s native beauty is spread out before him. His journey continues in one of Taiwan’s 200 “Leisure Farms,” which offer locals and visitors rural settings, traditional folk activities, creative cuisines and “Do It Yourself” arts and crafts.

Joseph continues his explorations of Taiwan’s small, cultural mountain villages. In their historic “Old Streets,” he explores artisan shops, local restaurants and colorful temples for a hearty taste of Taiwanese culture. He tries his hand at indigo cloth dying with the Hakka people, witnesses traditional Tayan weaving and participates in the Pasta'ay Festival of the indigenous Saisiyat Tribe.

Join Joseph on an adventure that uncovers Maine’s Town and Country pleasures while focusing on its greatest resource, its people. Joseph explores the historic sites and fine restaurants of Portland and goes off-the-beaten-track in the fishing villages of the beautiful Blue Hill Peninsula. On his travels, Joseph samples the citified and rural pleasures of the country’s most forested state.

Joseph’s Thai adventures expand the mind and touch the heart. Thailand is rich in cultural connections and Joseph experiences them in Bangkok, but also along the River Kwai where the beauty of the river belies the horrors that occurred there during the Second World War. Joseph’s Thai journey is an emotional roller coaster that spans the range from joyous celebration to meditative contemplation.

Joseph begins his Rideau Canal journey in Ottawa where he explores the capital’s diverse neighborhoods, historic landmarks, farmer’s markets and hip restaurants. He grinds flour in an ancient mill, samples “butter tarts” with the Gingerbread Man, blows glass “witch balls” and helps First Nations craftspeople build a birch bark canoe.

We join Joseph on village visits, jeep excursions as well as on a walking safari in Zambia. Head south along the great Zambezi River where Joseph canoes through “Hippo City”, visits with a pride of lions, and journeys to Victoria Falls. In one of the world’s great wonders, he swims in the “Devil’s Pool” and leans out into the 300-foot abyss.