Today, we at Perceptive Travel blog got the news that we’re finalists in the journal Creative Nonfiction’s narrative blog contest. Check out the story that was submitted, Antonia’s How Sturdy is Your Sick Bag, which manages to be funny, gross and profound all at the same time.

It just so happens that I’ve been thinking more than usual about terrific travel narratives since I’m presenting at TBEX this weekend on travel writing on How to Up Your Game.  (I’ll be your non-legendary writer representative on the panel, what what!)

So I’ve taken this as an opportunity to slough off all my other projects and spend hours upon hours reading travel blogs.

Since one of the projects I’ve slacked on is… well, my weekly missive here… that means you’re not getting any narrative from me today.

So instead I thought I’d share a few of my finds. Herewith are great travel pieces that I loved reading, along with a couple I’ve had bookmarked for a few years. I’ll be talking about what characterizes great travel writing in my talk , and will reference many of these and probably a few more — if you search #tbex10 or #tbex on Twitter on Saturday you can follow along.

• Notes on Doing Errands in Patagonia on Operating on Stoke
• Stalking Karl Rove on Your Life is a Trip.com
• Reefs of Pollen on the Carrizo Plain on Notes From the Road
• Places Are Like People on Cuaderno Inedito
• Scandinavia 2002 on Nowhere Magazine
• Mint and Djinns, on World Hum
• Echoes of Our Ancestors on Your Life is a Trip.com
• Beach Philosophy on Moloka’i on Nerds Eye View
• Omakase: My Sushi Go 55 Experience on Once a Traveler
• Special Education: The Semi-Retard’s Guide to Learning Italian on Perceptive Travel (Sorry folks, can’t resist throwing one in from the home team.)
• Beware of Hawks on Perceptive Travel blog (Well, shoot, while I’m at it…at least I’m not picking one of my own.)

Here at Perceptive Travel, we believe that good travel stories are a lot more compelling than yet another “Top 10 Beaches of Some Place Warm”….not that we don’t occasionally dip into such territory, but our lists are more like, Five Travel Books to Take on a World Cruise.

Our parent publication, the Perceptive Travel webzine, specializes in wonderful travel stories that you can’t find in very many places these days, online or in print.

The latest issue for June 2010 just came out, and here’s what is in store for readers:

** On a simple trip to write about Ireland, Rachel Dickinson becomes part of the lead story on every newscast: all the planes grounded in northern Europe because of a giant eruption in Iceland and the resulting gift from Eyjafjallajökull. Find out more in Trapped Beneath the Volcanic Ash Cloud.

**  When a guidebook writer gets the enviable job of covering the island of Kauai, she finds the locals are not too keen on another writeup encouraging stupid tourists to do stupid things on their sacred land. Trouble in paradise for Michele Bigley? Read Kauai Footprints: the Dark Side of “Hidden Hawaii.”

**  The land that was the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of coffee gave rise to the world’s original travelers. Where? Ethiopia: Birthplace of the Traveler—and Then Some by Bruce Northam.

This month, as every month, there are reviews of terrific world music offerings, and also each month is a chance to win travel-related goodies, but you need to do one of two things:

• subscribe to the (free) Perceptive Travel newsletter OR
• tell us that you Like our brand-new Perceptive Travel Facebook Page.

This month we’re giving away a sweet prize – whoever emerges victorious will receive a $200 gift pack from Tilley Endurables. They make awesome travel hats, quick-dry travel underwear and more.

Go! Read! Enjoy!

It used to be that when you visited a destination, you picked up a couple of brochures at the airport or the train station or the bus station, to go along with your guidebook.

Sometimes, there was even an opportunity to wander into a physical Visitor’s Center and talk to a knowledgeable human from the tourist bureau.

Today, with travelers Googling for information, asking questions on Facebook and tossing out queries on Twitter, many of the places that you’re going to visit are learning to reach out and say hello before you even get there.

Some are using a Twitter hashtag to keep track of your questions:

• #inPDX is monitored by the Portland, Oregon CVB (Convention and Visitor’s Bureau)
• #abilenevisitors is monitored by the Abilene, Texas CVB.

Some are using blogs to give you the inside scoop:

• the Indiana Insider blog
• the ShoreLines blog for Virginia Beach, VA
• the blog for the Boise, Idaho Basque festival Jaialdi (held every five years in Boise, which has a large Basque population)
• the New Bedford (MA) Whaling Museum blog
• the Christchurch and Canterbury blog in New Zealand
• the Fargo, North Dakota/Moorhead, Minnesota CVB blog (they share tourism responsibilities)
• the Cape Town, South Africa blog
• (Update – by popular demand from our Twitter readers) the Columbus (Ohio) Experience blog

Some are using YouTube video to show their destinations:

• the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Visit Philly channel
• the Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio) channel (for you roller coaster fans) (Update – I originally had this in Iowa. D’oh!)
• the Travel Nevada channel
• the Loudon County, Virginia channel
• the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion (every Labor Day in Rollag, Minnesota)
• (Update – by popular demand from our Twitter readers) the Visit Findlay, Ohio channel

They’re on Facebook (Discover South Carolina,) on MySpace (Nashville’s Visit Music City) and sharing photos on Flickr (Visit Idaho.)

Here’s the good news: a CVB or tourism organization is non-commercial. They exist to “sell” you on the merits of their destination and convince you to visit. Nothing else.

Someone whose whole job is simply to make sure you have a nice visit?

That’s worth a follow….

Castles and stately homes may dot the landscape, but the true character of England lies in it’s eccentricities, many of which can easily be witnessed by visitors if they happen to be in the right place at the right time.

Luckily, VisitEngland.com, the official tourism body for England, is making it easy to for visitors to be in the right place at the right time with their list of the some of the most unusual events  scheduled to take place throughout England during 2010.

The quirky one-of-a-kind events include the annual World Coal Carrying Championships, held on Easter Monday (April 5) in the West Yorkshire village of Gawthorpe, the Worcestershire Asparagus Festival held in the rural market town of Evesham every spring to mark the beginning of the English Asparagus season, the Annual (stinging) Nettle-Eating Contest (June 12-13) in Dorset, the World Toe Wrestling Championship (August) in Derbyshire, and the World Snail Racing Championships (July 17) in Norfork.

But the VisitEngland.com list is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to England’s eccentricities and quirkiness.

A recent read of The Bradt Guide to Eccentric Britain revealed that England, with it’s unbelievable customs, daft sports and strange rituals, is really awash in quirkiness. The author, Benedict le Vay, was once a sub-editor for the Daily Mail, during which time he had the opportunity to explore and discover the full extent of Britain’s eccentricities. And uncover them he did.

The book, a must read for any traveller to England who wants to know where to expect the unexpected, provides in depth look at not only on Britain’s ongoing eccentricities but also the history of some of Britain’s oddest eccentrics. And by dividing the chapters by subject rather than geographic location, author Benedict le Vay has created a highly readable and entertaining travel guide.

When you get a few a travel bloggers together, you can guarantee they will be talking about travel and blogging.

But that’s not all these four Seattle travel bloggers – Pam Mandel (Nerd’s Eye View , Beth Whitman (Wanderlust and Lipstick ), Michelle Duffy (WanderMom), and Debbie Dubrow (Delicious Baby) – discussed when they got together last year.

They also started talking about a way of gathering travel bloggers from around the world together to fundraise for the Heifer Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to eliminate hunger and poverty around the globe.

And so Passports with Purpose was born. The goal was to raise $5,000 for the Heifer Foundation by having travel bloggers host giveaways in support of this fundraising effort. And travel bloggers everywhere did this in style, posting, promoting, and donating to such a degree that the original goal was exceeded by over $2000.

With such a great result, it’s not surprising that the Pam, Beth, Michelle, and Debbie decided to run another Passports with Purpose this year, this time fundraising for the American Assistance for Cambodia (AAfC) an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving opportunities for the youth and rural poor in Cambodia.

The goal – to raise $13,000 to build a school in rural Cambodia. And guess what, that goal has already been reached.

As of today, Passports with Purpose has raised $16,590.

Amazing results in a shaky economy.

This great fundraising exercise doesn’t finish until Dec 21st, so there is still time to join the Travel bloggers community and donate.

Here’s what you do. Head on over to the Passport with Purpose site and pick out a couple of prizes that interest you. Then buy tickets ($10 each) for that prize.

It’s that simple.

You donate and also get a chance to win great travel prizes such as books, cameras, travel gear, and accommodation and travel packages.

I’ve just been on site and done just that, donating last month’s (and this month’s projected) Perceptive Travel pay to such a worthy cause. 

Why not join me?