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Country profile: Solomon Islands

Key facts, figures and dates




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Regions, territories: Northern Mariana Islands

A profile of the US commonwealth territory in the north-west Pacific




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Country profile: Marshall Islands

Key facts, figures and dates




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Regions and territories: Cook Islands

Key facts, political leaders and notes on the media.




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Mozambique: The Islamic State insurgency you may not have heard of

The Islamic State has been behind the growing wave of violence in northern Mozambique.




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Mozambique: Is Cabo Delgado the latest Islamic State outpost?

Islamist militants have stepped up attacks in the north, raising fears of greater instability.




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Timeline: Faroe Islands

A chronology of key events




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Regions and territories: Faroe Islands

An overview of the Faroe Islands including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media




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Regions and territories: The Channel Islands

An overview of the Channel Islands including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media




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Timeline: Cayman Islands

A chronology of key events




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Regions, territories: Turks and Caicos Islands

A profile of the British overseas territory in the West Indies




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Regions and territories: Falkland Islands

An overview of the Falkland Islands, including key facts, political leaders and the media




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Regions and territories: Cayman Islands

An overview of the Caymans, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media




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Regions and territories: British Virgin Islands

An overview of the British Virgin Islands, including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media




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Japan gets phone call translator

Subscribers to Japan's biggest telephone network offered app that translates calls so they can speak to people using other languages.




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This Tesla owner wanted to control her Model 3. So she implanted a valet key in her arm.

A Texas woman wanted to control her Tesla Model 3. So she implanted part of the vehicle's valet key in her arm.




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These 19 enterprise tech companies are still hiring during the coronavirus crisis — including AWS, Slack, Box, and Okta

  • Business Insider surveyed enterprise technology companies to determine who's still hiring amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Companies like Amazon Web Services, Slack, Okta, Box, and Zoom are actively hiring, while others like Microsoft, Google, and SAP have slowed hiring to prioritize recruiting in key areas.
  • Below is a list of 19 enterprise tech companies that are hiring, and the types of roles they are trying to fill.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As companies across industries slow or stop hiring amid the public health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus, Business Insider surveyed enterprise technology companies to find out who is still hiring, and the types of roles they're trying to fill.

The results include companies actively hiring — such as Amazon Web Services, Slack, Okta, Box, and Zoom — while others like Microsoft, Google, and SAP have slowed hiring to prioritize recruiting in key areas.

Responses come directly from companies, but be aware that hiring alone may not paint a complete picture of what's going on at each one. VMware, for example, told Business Insider that it's hiring, particularly in a few key areas related to its cloud business — but also told employees in an internal memo that it was freezing all salaries.

Oracle, Nvidia, and Palo Alto Networks declined to comment on whether they are still hiring. Workday, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Stripe, Qualcomm and HP did not reply to requests for more information.

Here are 19 enterprise companies still hiring in some form amid the pandemic, and what they're looking for:

Amazon Web Services is actively hiring, with no hiring freezes in place, the company says. Amazon at large has more than 20,000 job postings in US corporate roles.

 

 

 



Slack is "actively hiring," in a range of positions including engineers, data scientists, designers and customer experience experts, a spokesperson told Business Insider.

The company has moved to a virtual hiring process – all interviews are conducted over video and onboarding happens remotely.

Slack has 213 open positions listed on its website at the time of this writing.



Box is "currently hiring," a spokesperson said, across roles in engineering, sales, marketing, customer success, finance, compliance, business operations, product and product design.

Box's website listed 76 open jobs at the time of this writing.

In additional to moving interviews online, the company has introduced new practices like virtual coffee chats with candidates and videos from employees to learn more about Box's culture. For new hires, the company has switched start dates to once per month and started a buddy system to help with onboarding.

 



Zoom is hiring across the US and internationally for positions including in sales, engineering, legal, and security.

"We did have an extremely ambitious hiring goal already for this year," Lynne Oldham, Zoom's chief people officer, recently told Business Insider. "So where we're seeing additional need is around the places that we touch the customer."

The company had 81 open positions listed on its website as of this writing.



DocuSign "has moved forward with its hiring as previously planned," a spokesperson said, and is hiring in roles across customer services, sales and business development, engineering and IT, marketing, finance, legal, and workplace teams.

The company is also continuing its internship program virtually and plans to bring on more than 100 interns this summer.

DocuSign had 338 positions listed on its careers website as of this writing.



Dell-owned VMware is still hiring, a spokesperson said, and has "hundreds of open roles across R&D, IT, sales, customer services and support, marketing, finance, HR, legal, and business administration."

But the company is also freezing salaries and suspending retirement matching, according to a memo obtained by Business Insider. A spokesperson confirmed that "there have been a number of cost management changes impacting the VMware workforce."

VMware interviews take place virtually.



Microsoft has frozen hiring for some roles, citing uncertainty related to the coronavirus crisis.

"We continue to seek industry-leading talent in a range of disciplines as we continue to invest in certain strategic areas," a Microsoft spokesperson told Business Insider last month. "However, in light of the uncertainties presented by COVID-19, we are temporarily pausing recruitment for other roles."

Microsoft declined to provide more information about for which positions it's still hiring, and which roles are seeing a pause in hiring.

Microsoft's subsidiaries include LinkedIn and GitHub.



German software giant SAP is still hiring in essential areas, but has pledged to reduce hiring and discretionary spending as "precautionary measures" during the pandemic.

The company "will continue to hire carefully selected people into roles that will rapidly contribute to our competitive edge,"a spokesperson said, which it said include in "essential areas" such as innovation, and research and development. 

SAP said its candidate selection has remained the same, but the interviews are conducted virtually. New hires are onboarded virtually and sent SAP-issued equipment to their private addresses so they don't have to go to the office.



Google is slowing down hiring for the remainder of the year, CEO Sundar Pichai told the company in an email seen by Business insider.

Pichai said the company is enacting a hiring freeze on all but a select few "strategic areas" for the remainder of 2020. He wrote in the email that the company needed to "carefully prioritize" recruiting employees to serve its "greatest user and business needs."



Dell Technologies is not "hiring broadly," but subsidiary companies like VMware and Secureworks still are, a Dell spokesperson told Business Insider.

Dell Technologies is still continuing its early-in-career programs and summer internships, although they've become remote. 

"We are constantly evolving our hiring strategy based on business needs," the spokesperson said.



Okta is still actively hiring, Okta's chief people officer Kristina Johnson confirmed to Business Insider.

"We're continuously evaluating what we need as a business during this time, listening to customers, and tailoring our hiring plans to meet those needs," Johnson said. "Okta is in a unique position during this uncertain time in that we had the right infrastructure in place from the get-go to make remote work and remote on-boarding fairly routine."

Okta's main hiring focus areas are in customer service, engineering, and sales, Johnson said. 



Dropbox has temporarily halted its recruiting efforts to figure out the process for onboarding people remotely.

"What we actually ended up doing was we took a pause to just take stock of our onboarding and our approach to onboarding because we wanted to make sure that we weren't bringing people on and that they actually weren't effectively able to onboard," Dropbox COO Olivia Nottebohm told Business Insider.

It's still hiring but has slowed down, only hiring for targeted roles, meaning it's up to managers to hire for key, business critical roles.

"We're trying to just be prudent and nd not get ahead of ourselves given the macro environment that we're in, but we are moving forward to hiring targeted roles," Nottebohm said.

While Dropbox plans to honor pending offers and ongoing interview processes, interviews for new applicants have been put on hold. The college internship program will also take place in the summer remotely.

"Fully remote recruiting and onboarding into a new company comes with unique challenges — bringing new hires into Dropbox takes a great deal of collaboration between many teams, including hiring managers, learning and development, IT, benefits, and recruiting," a Dropbox spokesperson told Business Insider.  

"In order to ensure we're onboarding new hires effectively and managing the strain on these teams during the shelter-in-place orders in effect across the globe, we've paused recruiting efforts temporarily," the spokesperson added.  



In April, ServiceNow promised not to lay off any of its 11,000 employees and also said it plans to keep hiring worldwide this year.

"With this new no layoffs pledge for its 11,000-plus global workforce, ServiceNow continues to take a leading role in how technology companies are responding to this health crisis by helping its own employees and customers get through these challenging and uncertain times," Shane Driggers, vice president of Global Talent Acquisition at ServiceNow, said in a statement to Business Insider.

The company expects to create and fill more than 1,000 new jobs in the US and more worldwide by the end of the year, Driggers says.

"We are leaning into hiring for engineering and sales roles as well as other functions across the business," Driggers said.



Splunk is still hiring for a number of positions across the organization, a spokesperson told Business Insider. Open roles include positions in engineering, sales, finance, accounting, and information technology.



Square is still hiring and focusing on roles like software engineering, data science, product design, sales, marketing, operations, and finance, a spokesperson told Business Insider.

"We are continuing to hire in the US and internationally, focusing on roles that we believe will be the most important to our customers and our business in the coming months," a Square spokesperson said. 

Currently, Square has over 100 open roles. 



Twilio is still hiring across the board and not slowing down, a company spokesperson told Business Insider. There are still open roles in engineering, services, sales, product, and more.



Intel has slowed down external hiring, a spokesperson said. "We have slowed external hiring, but we currently have approximately 1000 open positions that we are actively hiring for."

 

 



Atlassian is still hiring across the board, a spokesperson confirmed. This past March was its strongest month of hiring in its history, the company said, as it brought on about 200 new hires. At the end of March, Atlassian had 4,457 employees.



Zendesk is still hiring roles that are "key to our business," but "deprioritizing" the ones that are not as critical.

Zendesk is still hiring roles that are "key to our business," but "deprioritizing" the ones that are not as critical, a Zendesk spokesperson said.

"In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Zendesk has been focused on helping our employees, customers, and community at large navigate their immediate needs and plan for the future in this new world," the spokesperson told Business Insider.

The spokesperson said that Zendesk is continuously looking at how to manage its operations to become more efficient and productive, while minimizing disruption to customers. 

"This is standard for all businesses that are looking at their immediate and long-term strategies in order to position themselves for growth," the spokesperson said. "We believe in the strength of our business and our employees, and the resiliency of our customer base, and are in a good position to weather this crisis and emerge as a better, stronger company."






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All the coolest features of every Tesla vehicle ever made or unveiled, ranked (TSLA)

  • Tesla's vehicles are and always have been crammed with great ideas.
  • These range from touchscreen interfaces to innovative battery designs to staggering acceleration.
  • I've driven or experienced every vehicle Tesla has ever sold or intends to sell in the future.
  • Here are all my favorite features, ranked.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In about two decades, Tesla has done what everyone in the auto industry thought was impossible: create an all-electric brand that could sell hundreds of thousands of vehicles.

Tesla could have done that in a boring or modest way, developing  the equivalent of an electric VW Beetle.

Instead, Tesla made fantastically compelling cars that are fast, look amazing, and are packed with features.

Here's a rundown of all my favorites, ranked from bottom to top:

FOLLOW US: On Facebook for more car and transportation content!

Tesla has been in business for 17 years. In that period of time, it's consistently captivated the world not just because it makes all-electric cars, but because those cars have always been packed with cool features.



"Easter eggs" — frivolous little extras that Tesla throws in whenever it does software updates. Owners enjoy finding them.



The Model X's falcon-wing doors. Dramatic, slightly impractical, and a nightmare to manufacture. But Tesla has the only SUV on the road with such an exotic feature.



Bioweapon Defense Mode uses a powerful filtration system to render the interior air quality of the Model X or Model S "hospital grade," according to Tesla.



The Model X's 5,000-pound towing capacity. Nobody ever talks about it, but the Model X can tow a goodly amount for an electric SUV. It's very competitive with gas-powered SUVs that tout their capabilities.



The large, central portrait touchscreen on the Model S and Model X. This mega-tablet interface was a revelation when Tesla first introduced it on the Model S in 2012, but it's now emulated throughout the auto industry. It's actually canted slightly toward the driver.



Aero Wheels on the Model 3. The proprietary design is standard on the vehicle, enhancing airflow, reducing drag, and improving range.



Ludicrous Mode. The acceleration feature — which followed Insane Mode, first rolled for the all-wheel-drive Model S — enables Teslas to cover the 0-60 mph sprint at supercar-like velocities.



Frunks! All Teslas currently on sale have front trunks, expanding their cargo capacities. Having no gas engine helps to free up space.



Trunks! Teslas are commendable cargo haulers because they're effectively boxes on top of battery packs, creating ample space for luggage, groceries, of gear.



Quiet. In operation, Teslas are notably quiet and smooth, thanks to the optimization of airflow, solid build quality, and mostly silent electric motors.



The Tesla smartphone app. I've actually tested a number of these from assorted manufacturers, but Tesla's is the only one that's truly useful. For the Model 3, it replaces the traditional key fob.



The glass roof of the Model 3. It creates a stunning silhouette and floods the cabin with natural light.



The space-age operators' platform in the cab of the Tesla Semi. This space — clearly anticipating a time when semi-trucks drive themselves — is the most futuristic thing Tesla has ever designed.



Roadsters in space. CEO Elon Musk's personal Tesla Roadster was launched atop the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in 2017, as a test payload. Piloted by "Starman," it set a new standard for automotive marketing.



Tesla's in-house audio system. Most luxury brands partner with a big-name audio company for premium sound systems, but Tesla developed its own — and it sounds absolutely fantastic.



Charge monitoring and mapping. Charging is among the most important things Tesla has to think about, so the company has made it a priority to track it in the vehicle and via the app, as well as to plot road-trip courses that use GPS navigation to permit island-hopping from charging location to charging location.



Navigate on Autopilot combines Tesla's GPS mapping system with Autopilot's ability to execute lane changes and freeway on- and off-ramping maneuvers.



The new Roadster's staggering performance specs. The all-new machine has a claimed 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds, making it the fastest production vehicle in the world.



The Model 3's consolidated vehicle-management system and central landscape touchscreen. Almost every aspect of the Model 3 is controlled here, and the traditional instrument cluster has been moved to the left side of the screen, and streamlined.



The radical design of the Cybertruck. In late 2019, Tesla had fallen into a design rut. The otherworldly, stainless-steel Cybertruck changed all that. Controversial to be sure, but also thrilling.

Read about the Cybertrucks' rad design.



Manufacturing simplicity. Electric cars are less complicated to build than gas-powered ones. Tesla has designed its factory in China to optimize this aspect of production, which could support and enviable profit margin for Tesla in the 20-30% range.



The white interior. It's an extra, but a very popular one. I was initially skeptical, but I'm now a fan. After all, it survived a 700-plus-mile family road trip!

Read about the road trip.



Over-the-air software updates. Just like smartphones, Teslas can be routinely upgraded while sitting in owners' driveways. This means that an older Tesla can acquire new features quite literally overnight.



The Supercharger network. Access to DC fast-charging used to be a lifetime perk for Tesla owners, but Tesla has begun to bill for the service. Still, it enables longer road trips and is completely integrated with each Tesla vehicle's systems.



Tesla's design philosophy. Head designer Franz von Holzhausen and Elon Musk argue that it doesn't cost anymore to make Teslas beautiful. But von Holzhausen has also exercised tasteful restraint, ensuring that Tesla's vehicles have a long market life.

Read about Franz's design influence.



Performance! Tesla vehicles have always combined electric virtuosity with industry-leading performance. Owners can usually expect to be driving one of the fastest cars on the road.



Battery design. Tesla has taken a complicated, multi-cell concept — thousands are wired together in packs — and perfected it, yielding impressive range and performance. The company also manufactures its own packs, in partnership with Panasonic.



The Model 3's minimalist driving experience. With the clean dashboard, you can focus on the road ahead. It's a blissful thing and my top Tesla feature.



The bottom line is that while plenty of other automakers put cool features in their cars, Teslas are crammed with ideas, ideas, and more ideas.






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Elon Musk says Tesla will 'immediately' leave California after coronavirus shutdowns forced the company to close its main car factory (TSLA)

  • Elon Musk says Tesla may leave its Palo Alto headquarters and Fremont, California factory. 
  • In a tweet Saturday morning, the chief executive continued his outrage against shelter-in-place orders that have forced most non-essential businesses to close. 
  • Last week, Musk likened the rules to fascism, and urged leaders to "give people their goddamn freedom back." 
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

After a week of decrying coronavirus shelter-in-place orders that have left Tesla's main factory shuttered and unable to produce vehicles, Elon Musk says the company may move its factory out of the state.

"Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately," the chief executive said on Twitter Saturday morning. "The unelected & ignorant 'Interim Health Officer' of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!"

That was followed up with a threat to move Tesla's headquarters outside the state.

"Frankly, this is the final straw," he replied. "Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependent on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA."

It wasn't immediately clear if a suit had yet been filed, or in which court Tesla will file the lawsuit. Most state and federal courts are closed on weekends and do not allow filing. In a subsequent Tweet, Musk alsourged shareholders to file a class action suit for damages caused by shutdown. 

Tesla's press relations department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Alameda County did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Alameda County — the East Bay locale which includes Fremont, California, and Tesla's gigafactory about 30 miles southeast of San Francisco — extended its shelter-in-place order on April 29 "until further notice." Local authorities have not allowed Tesla to reopen the factory, and all manufacturing remains prohibited under the order.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Tesla was planning to resume some manufacturing operations at the factory as soon as last Wednesday, May 6. Local officials said it did not have permission to do so.

"Right now, the same health order is in place so nothing has changed," Fremont Police Department spokeswoman Geneva Bosques told Business Insider at the time. "Operating the assembly line was determined early on to be a violation."

Last week, following Tesla's first-quarter earnings announcement, Musk decried the shutdowns as a substantial risk to the company's financials.

"Frankly, I would call it forcible imprisoning of people in their homes against all of, their constitutional rights, in my opinion," he said on a conference call. "It's breaking people's freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why they came to America or built this country. What the f---. Excuse me. Outrage. Outrage."

"If somebody wants to stay in their house, that's great and they should be able to," he continued. "But to say they cannot leave their house and that they will be arrested if they do, that's fascist. That is not democratic — this is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom."

Some states, including Texas, Georgia, and others, have begun to slowly allow certain businesses to re-open in recent weeks.

Musk praised counties neighboring Alameda, like San Joaquin for what he said were more "reasonable" responses. In a podcast released May 7, he told Joe Rogan that the company had learned from the coronavirus in China, where it briefly forced Tesla to close its Shanghai factory — a claim he repeated on Twitter Saturday. 

"Our castings foundry and other faculties in San Joaquin have been working 24/7 this entire time with no ill effects. Same with Giga Nevada," Musk said. "Tesla knows far more about what needs to be done to be safe through our Tesla China factory experience than an (unelected) interim junior official in Alameda County." 

As Musk began to complain about factory shutdowns in April, workers at Tesla's Fremont factory told Business Insider that the comments made them anxious.

"I'm for going back to work, but only if it is safe for me, my family, coworkers," said one production employee. "I don't feel like I'm being forced to stay home or that my freedom has been taken away. It's for the good of California."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A cleaning expert reveals her 3-step method for cleaning your entire home quickly




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Tiffany Haddish compares Georgia’s abortion law to slavery, says decision to cancel show ‘wasn’t tough at all’

In an emotional interview with TMZ, the comedian said she canceled her show there because of the state's attempt to, in effect, ban abortion.




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Trump’s proposed tennis ball tariff represents a grand slam of terrible trade policy

His unforced errors would make it hard on a U.S. manufacturer.




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Fin24.com | MTN slashes data prices

MTN on Friday announced a drop in the price of monthly data bundles and customers will now pay R99 for 1GB, 33% lower than previously.




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Elon Musk threatens to pull Tesla operations out of California and into Texas or Nevada

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Saturday the company will file a lawsuit against Alameda County and threatened to move its headquarters and future programs to Texas or Nevada immediately, escalating a fight between the company and health officials over whether its factory in Fremont can reopen. Tesla had planned to bring back about 30% of […]




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News24.com | Covid-19 wrap | China slams US after Trump virus 'attack' claim, India repatriation to begin and Poland, Syria postpone elections due to pandemic

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis.




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AT#55 - Travel to Hawaii, the big island

Hawaii, the big island




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AT#89 - Travel to the Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands




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AT#94 - Travel to the Greek Islands

The Greek Islands




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AT#105 - Travel to Rhode Island

Rhode Island




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AT#140 - Sailing In The Greek Islands

Sailing In The Greek Islands




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AT#146 - Travel to the Island of Dominica

The Island of Dominica




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AT#153 - Travel to the Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands




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AT#181 - Travel to the Virgin Islands

The Amateur Traveler talks to Harry Pariser about the Virgin Islands. Harry is the author of Explore the Virgin Islands which just printed its seventh edition. Harry takes about the United States Virgin islands (primarily St Thomas, St John and St Croix) and the British Virgin Islands (primarily Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke). The Virgin Islands offer high end luxury resorts, cruise ships but also camping on a beach. They have gourmet restaurants but also local cuisine like conch salad and john cakes. They offer snorkeling, scuba, hiking or just lying on a beach. They take U.S. dollars and speak English making this and accessible island paradise. Harry is making his second appearance on the Amateur Traveler. He was also the guest on Travel to Costa Rica - Amateur Traveler Episode 116.




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AT#218 - Travel to the Marquesas Islands

The Amateur Traveler talks to Stefanie Michaels (better known as @AdventureGirl) about a recent trip to the Marquesas Islands which are near Tahiti (or part of Tahiti depending on who you ask). Stefanie sailed on the freighter Aranui from Tahiti out to these remote islands. She encountered a warm people living in a tropical paradise… with very nice cars and nowhere to drive.




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AT#220 - Travel to Easter Island / Rapa Nui

The Amateur Traveler talks to Mike and Hillary of the SpotHopping blog about their trip to Easter Island / Rapa Nui in the South Pacific. They visited Easter Island as a stop on their round the world trip. Easter Island is a small destination and one of the most remote destinations in the world. When you are on the island the only other people within 2000 miles are the 50 people on Pitcairn island. Easter Island is, of course, known for its enigmatic Moai statues and Mike and Hillary were able to visit the quary where they were created. They also explored lava tube caves on the island.




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AT#226 - Travel to Island of Maui, Hawaii revisited part 1

The Amateur Traveler talks about a recent trip to Maui as the guest of the Maui Convention and Visitors Bureau. In this first half of a two part episode Chris gives an overview of the island and talks about the Hawai’i Nature Center, the beaches and the road to Hana. Learn about swimming or hiking in lava tubes, hidden beaches and some of the naive plants of Maui.

Show Notes

Visit Maui Blog
Rainfall map of Maui
Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua
Kamehameha I
Hawaiian Language

Beaches:

    * Makena (big beach)
    * Chang’s Beach
    * ‘Ahihi Bay
    * Maluaka Beach
    * Wai’ anapanapa State Park
    * Ka’eleku Caverns




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AT#226 - Travel to the Island of Maui, Hawaii revisited part 2

The Amateur Traveler talks about a recent trip to Maui as the guest of the Maui Convention and Visitors Bureau. In this second half of a two part episode Chris talks about some of the local culture, food and festivals. He had a chance to explore his rancher roots at one of Maui’s cattle ranches, dine on local produce at some high end restaurants, mix with the locals at the Maui Ag Festival and learn more of Maui’s culture at the Celebration of the Arts.




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AT#238 - Travel to the Cook Islands

The Amateur Traveler talks to Melanie Waldman of TravelsWithTwo.com about a recent trip to the Cook Islands in the Pacific. Think of the Cook Islands as Tahiti without the French language and using the New Zealand dollar to make it more affordable. Melanie tells us about this corner of Polynesia with beautiful resorts that she and her husband visited for their 10th anniversary. They hiked the mountainous spine of Raratongo with Pa who knows all of the plants and their uses and cruised the small outer islands of Aitutaki with a guide named Captain Awesome. They also took an archeology tour, drove the ring roads, shopped in the farmer’s market and just hung out on the beach drinking the cocktails of the moment.




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AT#239 - Travel to Prince Edward Island in Canada

The Amateur Traveler talks to Pamela Beck of the Department of Tourism for Prince Edward Island in Eastern Canada. Pamela describes Prince Edward Island (or PEI) as a get away from it all location that is easy to get to. Surrounded by beaches this 140 mile long island features wonderful seafood and champion oyster shuckers. It has miles of bike trails and relaxed helpful locals. Pamela also describes it as a wonderful golf vacation or a place where you can try your hand at lobster fishing (be ready to get up very early), oyster raking or chocolate making through one of their experience tourism programs.




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AT#240 - Travel to New Zealand's North Island

Chris, the Amateur Traveler himself, talks about a recent trip to New Zealand’s North Island where he went to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and took a dolphin watching cruise up by the Bay of Islands. He visited the Coromandel Peninsula with Cathedral Cove and Hot Water beach, toured but can’t talk about Hobbiton near Matamata, climbed Mt Maunganui, saw (and smelled) the geysers and baths at Rotorua, journeyed south to the Capital at Wellington, visited a ski area on a volcano and rafted the caves of Waitaomo.




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AT#294 - Travel to Spain's Canary Islands

The Amateur Traveler talks to Gary Arndt of Everything-Everywhere.com about his recent trip to the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are tropical volcanic islands that are part of Spain but are located off the coast of Northwestern Africa.They are not named after birds.

    The first thing that struck me when I got off the plane was how much the weather was like Hawaii and I have heard a lot of people call it Europe's Hawaii. It is a part of Spain. There are two provinces that constitute the Canary Islands. One with its capital on Grand Canaria Island and the other on the island of Tenerife. Columbus's last stop over was in the Canary Islands. Each of the islands, and there are 7 main islands, have a very different character.




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AT#311 - Travel to Northern Queensland, Australia

The Amateur Traveler talks to Dave Kerwin about his recent trip to Northern Queensland. Dave recommends 2 main stops on your trip: the Atherton Tablelands, Daintree National Park and the Great Barrier Reef.




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AT#316 - Travel to Catalina Island off California

The Amateur Traveler talks to Carrie from cruisebuzz.net about a popular vacation spot just off the coast of California, Catalina Island. 




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AT#320 - Travel to the Island of Lanai, Hawaii

The Amateur Traveler talks about traveling to the Hawaiian Island of Lana’i. I recently spent a week in Lana’i as a guest of the Lana’i Visitor’s Bureau as one of their 2012 “Artists in Residence”. Lana’i only has 3,000 residence and a small town feel. I talk about some of the more unusual (for me at least) activities that I tried on the Island including riding a horse, going on a ride and shoot (to Lana’i Pines Sporting Clays), snubing, learning to play the ukulele, getting a lomi lomi massage, volunteering at a cat sanctuary and going 4 wheel drive tour. You don’t have to do this much when you go to Lan’i. You could also just golf or lie on the beach.

 




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AT#331 - Travel to the Islands of Kyushu, Japan

The Amateur Traveler talks to Andrew about the Island of Kyushu, the southern island in Japan. Kyushu is one of the warmer parts of Japan. Nagasaki is probably the best known city on the island for its tragic history as the second city targeted with an atomic bomb. The island has is green and hilly with a number of active volcanos. Andrew and his wife had a chance to visit a number of museums, the peace park in Nagasaki, visit a volcano, be buried in hot and and take in a local soccer game. They toured its large cities but also headed into the countryside.




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AT#333 - Travel to The Island of Java in Indonesia

The Amateur Traveler talks to Lash from LashWorldTour.com about the Island of Java in the nation of Indonesia. She cycled through the countryside and visited the major cities of this populous island in Indonesia.




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AT#341 - Travel to New Zealand's South Island

The Amateur Traveler talks to Erik Smith about his month long visit to New Zealand. We focus in this interview about the South Island of New Zealand. Erick started in Christchurch and then visited The Banks Penninsula, Lake Tekapo, the Dunedin, the Otago Peninsula, the Southern Scenic Route including the Catlins, Fiordland National Park (including cruising both Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound) Queenstown, the rainy west coast, Abel Tasman National Park, Kaikoura, and Picton.




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AT#344 - Travel to Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island

The Amateur Traveler talks to Lee Abbamonte, the youngest American ever to travel to every country in the world, about 3 islands off the coast of Australia: Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, Christmas Island.




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AT#351 - Travel to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador

The Amateur Traveler talks to Jim Lutz from Via Adventures about the Ecuador's Galapagos Islands. "The Galapagos has to be one of the most unique and wonderful wildlife destinations in the world."




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AT#353 - Travel to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast

Hear about Queensland's Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane Australia from Annabel Candy. Long white sand beachs, hiking trails, a tropical zoo in the tropics.




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AT#386 - Travel to the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean

Hear about travel to the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean as the Amateur Traveler  talks again to Gary Arndt of Everything-Everyhwere.com. Gary just finished an island hopping tour that took him to most of the islands in the Caribbean. We will cover the islands of St. Martin, Anguilla, Saba, St. Barts, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda, and Montserrat on this episode.