Photo by jordanfischer via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Slate’s latest Well-Traveled series follows writer Seth Stevenson and three other novice sailors as they join the annual herd of “clueless” American boaters who “fly down to Tortola, rent enormous catamarans, float them out into the middle of the channel, and for the next seven days proceed to endanger every seaborne object they encounter.” It’s a good read so far.

Erik Olsen over at Gadling posted about our travel news show The Map today, saying it’s “like you’re getting the real scuttlebutt, as opposed to a more stale corporate feel.” Can’t say we don’t agree, Erik, and thanks for the shoutout. For a case in point, see all of Liza’s fresh, non-corporate experiences on Jost van Dyke in last week’s episode:



There’ll be more of The Map on location in the Caribbean this friday.

There seems to have been a bipolar choice of two topics in the travel stories published this weekend: creepy, Halloween-themed tales of haunted inns, resurrected neighborhoods, and the end of the road for lost luggage, or serious newspapers (the WaPo, the NYT) trying a fresh take on the quintessential vacation land of the sunny Caribbean.

Los Alamos, CA’s Creepy Inn
The perfect hotel for Halloween (SF Chronicle)

Europe’s Catacombs and Ossuaries
SKULL AND BONES: Continent chock-full of skeletal stashes you can visit (SF Chronicle)

Macabre London
The London prowl (LA Times)

The Afterlife of Lost Luggage
When you and your bags part ways (LA Times)

City of Night of the Living Dead Back from the Dead
Pittsburgh’s South Side, Resurrected (Washington Post)

The Caribbean
Antigua
Intimate Caribbean (Washington Post)

All-Inclusive Resorts
Caribbean Resorts With Infinity Pools, Golf Courses and Sandcastle U. (NYT)

Caribbean Boutique Hotels
Upscale and High Design Hotels in the Caribbean (NYT)

Jost Van Dyke
Jost Van Dyke, a ‘Somewhere’ Barely on the Map Island in the British Virgin Islands (NYT)

Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic Offers a New Place in the Sun (NYT)

Puerto Rico
36 Hours: San Juan (NYT)

(Images via ant468hyde and matt.ohara’s photostreams)