In the United States, $15,000 may buy you a family vacation of sorts or maybe even a half-year’s tuition at a state university, but in Tanzania, it covers the entire annual budget for the Jifundishe Free Library in Ngongongare Village in the Arusha District of northern Tanzania. Jifundishe is one of a handful of free, independent community libraries in the entire country and now the model for a new community library initiative taking place across the country.

Nestled in the remote rural village of Ngongongare in the Arusha District of Northern Tanzania, on a 2.7-acre plot with views of both Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Jifundishe Free Library is home to more than 5,000 books; textbooks for every subject through primary, secondary and university; six new laptop computers that provide free Internet service; and assorted newspapers and magazines.

Yes, we did use spirits while making small delicious cheese pies, called ‘kalitsounia,’ in a traditional hillside village of western Crete, Greece. Koula Barydakis, our ebullient chef instructor, began our local cooking lessons by pouring a shot of raki for herself and her students as we toasted the traditional Cretan diet, one of the healthiest in the world.

Every month, we delve into the travel experiences of people in the extended WHL Group network. Today we talked to Fabiola Duerig of Las Pleyades Travel, the whl.travel local partner for travel in Santa Marta and Cartagena, Colombia, and the Green Path Transfers connection for private, responsible ground transportation on the Colombian coast.

Every month, we delve into the travel experiences of people in the extended WHL Group network. Today we talked to Melissa V. Gonzalez Llovera of Viajes Valencia Los Roques, the whl.travel local connection in Venezuela. Originally from Valencia, Melissa is now a travel agent and specialist for a number of destinations in Venezuela.

I weighed the advice of a local tour operator in Cusco, Peru. He was helping me plan the next leg of my trip to La Paz, Bolivia. “I suggest you take an airplane,” he said. I considered my options: a 14-hour overnight bus ride or a one-hour flight. “I think I’ll… take the bus,” I said. I made my decision for a combination of reasons, including my concerns about airplane travel: its heavy carbon emissions and its insulation from the local experience of place and journey in which I believe.