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Getting Into Action Sports Photography: Diversity, Climbing, and Landing Gigs With Nikki Smith

Utah resident Nikki Smith is known for a lot of things. She’s an accomplished action sports and outdoor photographer, with photographs published everywhere from Outside Magazine to homepages for global brands like Mountain Hardware, Black Diamond, The North Face, and more. She’s authored several trail and rock climbing guides, is a sponsored athlete or ambassador with well-known organizations and brands like Scarpa, Brooks Running, and Jeremy Jones-founded POW (Protect Our Winters). She’s also a US Army veteran, a business owner, and a partner to outdoor brands, working to design and develop more inclusive technical clothing and gear.

In 2019, she founded Open Aperture, an annual photography clinic designed to help underrepresented groups get more opportunities in front of and behind the camera in the outdoor world. She’s also a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, having come out publicly as a trans woman in 2018. The lack of representation in the outdoor industry is part of what motivated her decision to come out publicly as a trans woman, but it’s her skill as an artist, rock and ice climber, and photographer that pays the bills – and keeps her busy, traveling around the country for speaking engagements, teaching classes, working with brands, or just scouting new routes she’s hoping to include her next climbing book.

Matador Network jumped on a call with Smith to talk about her advocacy work, how she turned her photography skill into a career, why diversity matters in the outdoor industry, and how she became a world-class climber, despite being afraid of heights.

Some answers have been edited for length and clarity.

 

 

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Matador: Let’s start with a question that’s open ended on purpose: Tell me about you.

Smith: I would say I’m an artist and educator. I do photography, illustrations, graphic design, painting, all these kinds of things that fall under that. And then the educator part is I teach as much of that as possible. I’ve been a climbing guide since the late 1990s, and through guidebooks, the work that I do at events, taking people out into nature – that’s trying to share the passions that I have with everyone else.

But really, I have a lot of different jobs – I still can’t fully survive on photography alone. Climbing photography is one of the lower paying outdoor genres of photography, so a lot of us have to do additional things. I write climbing guidebooks, and pretty much constantly between guidebooks, I’m working on next editions. So I’m constantly researching, even when I’m climbing for myself. I constantly try to pick areas I didn’t know as well. I may go for a long run into a new basin in the mountains because I’m looking for new ascents, or looking up and seeing if I think ice might form in a certain place.

 

Matador: How did you get into climbing and photography, and how did you start combining the two?

Smith: I was 16 when I first started climbing. I had rappelled before and hated it – I’m afraid of heights. But I got invited to climb with some other teens and I didn’t want to be the one to say no. As soon as I tied in and climbed the route, everything went quiet. My mind stopped – stopped having to deal with everything I dealt with growing up, like not knowing who I was, or the fact that my father died when I was 14. There was this sense of freedom. It was just so powerful and meaningful. I had done all these other outdoorsy activities, but nothing hit me like that.

My father was an amateur photographer, and I used to do a lot of crafts with my mom – cross-stitching and painting and whatnot. But they were worried about me doing too many ‘feminine things,’ so I started spending time with my dad. So I always had a camera around.

During college, I started trying to do more with climbing photography, but I cared more about actually climbing. But I was bouldering one day and midway up a problem, I heard a super loud ‘pop:’ I blew two joints on both fingers, so I couldn’t climb for months. But I wanted to keep going out with my friends, so I decided to really focus on the photography side.

Magazine covers with photography shot by Smith. Photo: Nikki Smith

Matador: And then how did you turn those passions into a career?

Smith: I started submitting mostly to magazines at first. It seemed like in order to get stuff into the companies, you had to have a name from a magazine. And while I was in college, I was working for a climbing gym, teaching and working the front desk. And then I started guiding and building my connections, and I got a job at a climbing company. And then they started using my photography sometimes in the catalog, and eventually, I became the photographer for all the products and action photos. I was also doing freelance work at the same time, and quickly learned from working at the company what the photo needs really are [for promotional photos] and how to meet that need for a brand.

 

 

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Matador: What was the catalyst for coming out publicly as transgender?

Smith: I knew I was already sponsored before that. I was known in the climbing world, I’d written five guidebooks and photos used by climbing brands and magazines out there. I knew I either had to leave climbing, or it was going to be visible. And part of it too was I’d never encountered anyone that was trans. I didn’t know that many queer climbers, and if I wanted any chance of changing that or finding them, I had to be visible. How that visibility came out wasn’t necessarily part of the plan. There were a lot of things that were kind of put on me and changed my role from what I thought I would do.

Climbing – I don’t think it is particularly better at representation. I hear over and over that climbing is one of the most accepting sports out there, and I think its made a lot of gains recently, and it’s one of the few sports we’ve been able to see much earlier, at least with outdoor ice climbing, that women are on the same level as men. We’re starting to see that gap shortening in other sports, but it’s not as apparent as climbing. And that’s helped it progress a little more quickly – and access to gyms in large population centers, that’s all helped.

Matador: Ah, so were you worried it could hurt your sponsorships or future work/business?

Smith: Early on, for sure, and now potentially, too. Since the issues with Bud Light and the trans influencer last year, and all the anti-DEI stuff, a lot of folks from marginalized backgrounds and the outdoors and other areas, a lot of folks have not been as visible.

 

 

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Matador: Tell us about Open Aperture. What is it, and why is it important?

Smith: I was being asked at a lot of festivals and in general to teach climbing photography, but it was typically just a one-day course. I wanted to do something bigger, but I wanted to do something to create a mentorship for folks I didn’t see out there talking photos. So I went to Mountain Hardwear and pitched this idea, and we were able to work out the Open Aperture program.

There are six scholarships each year, and we’re not just reaching out to well-established photographers, but open to a wide range of skill levels. We typically have two that are really great photographers who haven’t done climbing photography or don’t know how to move up and down a fixed line or get the angles. It’s different from how you shoot other sports to really tell the story. Then we have some that are really new, but you can see in their work this innate artistic ability.

We do classroom and field workshops, and we go over framing and storytelling and creativity, and we bring in an editor from a magazine from a particular sport so they can have a class on how to put together an editorial submission. What are brands looking for in a photography submission? How to do a pitch deck.

And like anything in the outdoors, it’s also a marketing expense for Mountain Hardware, but we don’t want the participants to think Mountain Hardwear owns their photos or anything. If we use their photos in promoting the program, that’s part of being in the program, but if it’s used for a specific product, we make sure they get paid. It really helps their portfolio and for some of them, Mountain Hardware is their first client.

And then there’s ongoing mentorship for the first three months or so, but as folks need things, they’re reaching out. Typically, each cohort has maintained contact with one another.

(Editor’s note: Applications for the April 2025 Open Aperture clinic close November 8, 2024)

Shooting at a recent Open Aperture clinic. Photo: Nikki Smith

Matador: Why do we need more diversity in front of and behind the camera?

Smith: When you look at the make up of outdoor recreation, more than 30 percent of participants in outdoor recreation are not white. There’s a massive increase for climbing – it’s almost 50-50 women-vs-men in gym climbing. Outside, it’s more 60/40, but that number continues to grow. The number of queer folks within the outdoors continues to grow, and so we’re seeing this major visible shift in participation, but we’re not seeing outdoor imagery and our websites and leadership of companies and athlete teams representing everyone out there.

For me, what I saw over and over was that there were issues – mistranslations of what it was I said because I was never interviewed with anyone with trans identities, and they would go into it with preconceived ideas of what stories should be. And I see brands send out requests saying “we need more photos of diversity,” but then I’d look at the list [of photographers], and it was the same list of straight white guys. And I think it’s the same with writing and videography and all these things.

Like, with Red Bull Rampage (editor’s note: an extreme freeride mountain bike event), they’re bringing in photographers who specialize in that type of photography. You wouldn’t bring an NYC fashion photographer – you want someone who specializes in that. So what I’m trying to do is get more folks out there who have some speciality, who have connections.

We still see over and over it’s the same handful of people in the outdoor industry from marginalized backgrounds who get written about over and over. And writing – it can be a lot easier for interviews when someone from an [underrepresented] community might already know a lot of things that I can spend half an interview trying to describe.

An essay penned by Smith on the importance of representation. Photo: Nikki Smith

Matador: You live in Utah and do a lot of ice climbing. How has climate change impacted your work?

Smith: I’ve been documenting ice climbing with photography and guidebooks since 2003, and I have photos of what’s going on with particular climbs where I return year after year after year. And I’ve seen a drastic difference.

One climb, the Great White Icicle above Salt Lake, first done in 1962 – it’s a very accessible Water/Ice 3, and until 2014 or 2015, that was always reliable. Often you would be able to start around Thanksgiving and be able to go until the end of March. But in 2014, it had like one week, and since then, it’s on and off. But it’s much more serious and dangerous if you climb it now because it doesn’t form consistently. The average temperature of the water coming down is just a little too hot.

I’m in Utah, where our industry’s slogan is “the greatest snow on Earth.” And it’s frustrating – I know people whose entire careers depend on snow and ice and healthy forests. And we have entire climbs that might never come back.

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Archaeologists Just Found a Massive Ancient Mayan City in Mexico

Thanks to high-tech radar, modeling, and scanning technology that can peer through layers of dirt, rock, and jungle cover, it’s easy to think that there’s little left to be discovered in the world of archaeology. But the discover of an ancient Mayan city roughly the same size as the US’s National Mall in Washington, DC, shows that we haven’t found all there is to find quite yet.

The recent discovery of an ancient Mayan city, dubbed “Valeriana,” was published in the October 2024 issue of the Journal of Antiquity, a peer-reviewed archaeology journal. It was just one of many impressive findings found buried beneath dense jungle in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula and could unveil new insights into the ancient Mayan civilization. Researchers think Valeriana, so named for a nearby natural lagoon, dates from the Mayan Classic Period (250 to 1000 CE). Researchers found more than 6,600 still-buried structures and sites of note in the 50 square miles around Valeriana, making the size of the ancient community only slightly smaller than the entirety of modern-day Washington, DC.

The ancient Mayan civilization thrived in Mexico’s Yucután Peninsula. Photo: mikaelT/Shutterstock

The city of Valeriana alone covers more than 120 acres, including plazas, pyramid-type structures, ball courts, and a complex of stone columns. The city’s layout suggests to researchers that it was a hub of social, ceremonial, and possibly commercial activities.  The architecture also leads researchers to think Valeriana was only a small part of a larger larger society of interconnected settlements throughout the Yucatán Peninsula, as the site’s architectural features align with other Mayan cities from the Classic Period. It was likely also a site of important ceremonial practices, as the site’s tallest pyramid is close to 50 feet.

The new site sits in the jungle, not extremely far from the well-known site of Calakmul, shown here. Photo: Alfredo Matus/Shutterstock

Valeriana and the surrounding discoveries were found using LiDAR technology, which sends laser pulses from a device mounted on a plane or drone, scanning the ground below. It measures how long it takes for the light to bounce back, revealing shapes below the ground, even beneath dense forest canopies. It’s how other famous ruins have been found, including the famous Ciudad Blanca — the “cursed” city made famous by the novel The Lost City of the Monkey God.

However, while Ciudad Blanca was found by researchers actively searching for a lost city, Valeriana was not. LiDAR mapping is very expensive, especially to execute over large sections of land by plane. That makes it prohibitively expensive for most archeological projects — but not for companies in fields like technology or land development. Fortunately for lead researchers from Tulane University in Louisiana and the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Mexico City, the section of land in question in Mexico’s state of Campeche had already been mapped by a private company. That company made the data available to the research team, which was able to import it into advanced modeling programs to generate computer maps of the site. That allowed them to see beneath the ground, revealing the human-made structures underneath.

A LiDAR map of Valeriana (upper right). Ring-shaped and darker red marks on the scans indicate human-made materials. Photo: Journal of Antiquity/Luke Auld-Thomas et al

Despite the relatively recent end of the ancient Mayan civilizations (many modern-day Maya still live in Mexico and other parts of Central America) in archaeological terms, modern historians have yet to understand the full scale of their complex and advanced civilization. Ancient Mayan civilizations probably collapsed around 1000 CE, due to factors like internal conflict, drought, and other environmental pressures.

Currently, there are no official plans to excavate Valeriana. Archaeologists are still analyzing the site with labor- and time-intensive computer modeling. While further fieldwork and excavations could follow, such projects typically require substantial planning, funding, and logistical support, as working in dense jungle conditions creates additional complexities ranging from disease to deterioration to flooding and erosion issues.

Other Mayan sites near Valeriana

Campeche was a crucial part of the ancient Maya civilization, especially during the Classic Period. Archaeological research from known sites in the state show that the Maya engaged in complex urban planning, developed advanced agricultural techniques, and built sophisticated water-management systems. The three sites below are all at least partially unearthed and open to the public for travelers who want to learn more about Mexico’s ancient Mayan culture.
Calakmul

Photo: Iren Key/Shutterstock

Deep within the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in Campeche is Calakmul, one of the most powerful Mayan cities during the Classic Period. It’s known for its massive pyramids, extensive stone monuments (called stelae), and remnants of royal homes. The most famous photos are akin to the one above, showing the multi-level pyramid rising out of lush green jungle. It’s one of the largest (and usually least crowded) ancient Mayan sites, making it a perfect destination for exploring untouched ruins. To visit, you’ll need to drive deep into the jungle (home to monkeys, jaguars, and various bird species). Because it’s far from tourist cities and a bit hard to find, it’s best to visit on an organized tour with a company like Ka’an Expeditions.

Edzná

Photo: AventuraSur.photo/Shutterstock

Edzná was a significant ceremonial center, famous for its impressive five-level pyramid: the Edificio de los Cinco Pisos (“Building of the Five Stories,”) with panoramic views of the surrounding site. Edzná is also an outstanding example of Mayan engineering, with a complex water management system that includes canals and reservoirs. The site is well-preserved and less crowded than more famous ruins like Chichen Itza, making it an appealing stop for history enthusiasts. It’s about an hour by car from Campeche City, and you can visit on your own, take a guided tour, or usually, hire a guide on site.

Becán

Photo: David Esser/Shutterstuck

Becán is an ancient city researchers think was active between 600 and 1200 CE. It has a defensive moat (something not common on Mayan cities) and structures that suggest it was used both as a place to live, and for ceremonial purposes. The site itself is quite large, though only a small portion of it has been excavated to date. It’s surrounded by jungle, but still easier to reach than Calakmul. Becán is about 10 miles from the town of Xpujil, which is about two hours by car from Chetumal.

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Matador Creators Tool Spotlight: MintPass, the New App Where You Can Earn Travel Awards

The Matador Creators team wants to set travel creators up for success. We want to support you throughout your career and share resources that can guide your creation process long-term and help you find new ways to monetize your content. Here, we chat with Sam Simmons, the founder of MintPass, a neat new mobile app launched in August 2024.

The platform’s core concept revolves around “digital souvenirs.” As users share different aspects of their trips, from flights and hotel stays to experiences, they earn digital tokens that represent their adventures. These tokens, akin to digital badges of honor, not only serve as a personal record of travel history but also contribute to the platform’s growing repository of travel recommendations.

MintPass also wants to simplify the travel planning process by integrating booking tools directly into the platform. Users can discover and book accommodations, flights, and experiences based on the recommendations of other travelers.

But, one of the most intriguing aspects of MintPass for us is its creator program, which is currently in beta. By sharing their travel experiences and insights on the platform, creators can earn points that can be redeemed for a range of rewards, including discounts on future trips and exclusive merchandise. This incentivized approach is hoped to encourage creators to produce high-quality content and help foster a dynamic and engaged community.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Matador: Tell us about how creators benefit from MintPass.

Sam Simmons: 84 percent of travel booking decisions are made based on recommendations from people we trust, and we’ve found that for many of us, that includes the travel creators we follow. MintPass provides a way for creators to document their lived experiences more easily, share them with their community and our traveler network as recommendations, and earn rewards.

If we consider an Instagram or TikTok feed to be the highlight reel window shopping experience, MintPass is the experiential deep dive atop the link in the bio. We’re building a product for all the text messages, spreadsheets, and notes that contain lists of favorite travel hot spots built for sharing, discovery, booking, and rewards. MintPass fully captures the depth and diversity of past travel experiences, allowing creators to own their recommendation lists while extending reach to new audiences seeking travel inspiration from trusted resources.

Photo: MintPass

Can users monetize?

While we aren’t a direct monetization tool, MintPass offers booking at the point of recommendation, allowing friends, family, and followers to book through our travel partners when they receive a recommendation via the platform. Soon after our public launch, we will provide reward points for various platform engagements, including bookings generated from a recommendation. These points can be redeemed for free travel, merchandise, apparel, giveaways, and other benefits, but unlike traditional loyalty points, they can be sold, traded, or gifted to other travelers.

What made you want to partner with travel creators specifically?

We’ve found that creators are often the most helpful to others in their travel planning inspiration due to their extensive experience. However, it’s a challenge to use existing means to adequately document, share, and generate value from one’s recommendations. We are a solution for creators and other tastemakers to better convey their extensive travel experience to current and new audiences while being recognized in our network and rewarded for the adventures they inspire.

Are specific creators a better fit?

Across all channels, social media can often be restrictive for creating travel content of substance, limited to captions and story highlights for documenting recommendations. In contrast, MintPass is designed from the ground up to be a product for discovery and booking travel experiences from verified word-of-mouth suggestions. Thus, our focus is on providing a platform for all types of travel creators who seek to provide informational planning content to audiences. These are those who specialize in providing tangible advice designed to educate and activate their communities, often via itinerary-based recommendations.

How can we try out MintPass?

MintPass’ creator program is launching soon, and we’re pleased to invite Matador Network community members to our exclusive invite-only launch by getting the app today. Those interested can download on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, start logging trips, and build their tastemaker scores before our public launch. Join our Discord to connect with fellow creators, travelers, and the MintPass community.

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The US Airports Where You’ll Waste the Most Time on Delays and Plane Taxiing

With the announcement that airlines are now required to refund travelers in full if a flight is delayed or canceled, we can relax a little about fighting for compensation, but why not try to avoid the hassle completely? Sitting waiting in a lounge or on the tarmac is mind-numbingly dull, not to mention frustrating, and at some airports, this is happening a little too often for anyone’s liking — here’s looking at you, LaGuardia. A recent study by Upgraded Points highlights which US airports have the most significant wait times, from extended flight delays to lengthy taxi-out times. And although it’s not always easy to avoid airports with a bad reputation, at least we know to grab another book on the way out the door.

The study analyzed data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and Google Flights to examine 50 major US airports and pinpoint those that consistently disrupt smooth travel.

Photo: Upgraded Points

But let’s start with the good news. Some airports are leading the charge with their efficiency. Kahului Airport in Maui has minimal delays, with an average departure delay of just 5.7 minutes and a taxi-out time of 10.5 minutes (total average wasted time of only 16.2 minutes.) Other airports with notably short wait times include Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport, William P. Hobby Airport, Sacramento International Airport, and one of the world’s busiest airports, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.

On the other end of the scale are those that consistently plague travelers with travel disruptions. Miami International Airport takes the unfortunate title of the biggest time suck, with an average departure delay of 24.6 minutes and a taxi-out time of 22.6 minutes, totaling nearly an hour of wasted dead time.

San Francisco International Airport, an important hub for domestic and international flights, also experiences significant delays. There is an average wait for boarding of 20.5 minutes and a horrible 20.8 minutes on the tarmac.

Following closely behind is the well-known culprit, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Passengers flying out of DFW can expect to waste an average of nearly 40 minutes. Philadelphia International Airport also makes the bad list, with extended taxi-out times being a particular issue.

However, the medal for the longest taxi-out time goes to LaGuardia. Although the average delay at the NYC airport is only slightly above the national average, at 13.5 minutes, due to issues with limited runway space, you can expect a wait for up to 23 minutes in your cramped economy seat before take off.

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Starting in January, US Travelers Will Need to Apply for Permission to Travel the UK

US travelers planning to make their way to the UK in the new year will need to apply for an ETA, i.e. an Electronic travel Authorization, prior to their departure.

Starting January 8, 2025, citizens of nearly 50 countries, including Australia, Canada, and the United States, will need to have an ETA to travel to the UK, which includes England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The introduction of the ETA scheme is meant to strengthen security at the UK border.

Applying for an ETA is a simple process than can be done online or via the UK ETA app starting November 27, 2024. The cost of applying for an ETA is £10 (around $13), which is payable online via credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

To apply for the UK ETA, you need to have your passport handy, as well as access to your emails. During the process you’ll be required to either take a picture of your face or upload a recent picture. You may also be asked to scan your face with your device’s camera.

Travelers cannot purchase an ETA on arrival or apply for an ETA while en route to the UK. You’ll be required to provide your ETA or ETA number upon checking in for your flight to the UK and, without one, you’ll be denied boarding.

It takes around three days, sometimes more, to process an ETA application, so do not leave it to the last minute.

The UK ETA is valid for two years (or until your passport expires) and allows for unlimited entries. Remember that once granted entry in the UK by a border agent, US citizens can travel in the country for a maximum of six months.

The ETA is a similar system to the ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, that all travelers from visa-waiver countries (except Canadians) have been needing to enter the United States since 2008. Canada has had such a system, the eTA, since 2016.

Starting in 2025, but without any set date at the time of writing, US travelers will also be required to apply for an ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) to enter 30 European countries, including Italy, France, Iceland, Portugal, and more. Applying for an ETIAS will be done via the ETIAS website or mobile app and cost €7 (around $7.60). The ETIAS will be valid for three years (or until your passport expires) before needing to be renewed. ETIAS will allow for unlimited entries in the 30 countries concerned.

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Passenger Sues Airline for Serving ‘dangerously Cold’ Ice Cream Sandwich

For passengers on most budget airlines, it’s considered a perk if the airline gives you a complimentary snack during your flight. But for one woman, that mid-air snack led to medical injuries — and she’s demanding that the airline pay up.

A recent lawsuit against JetBlue centers on a woman who claims she cracked a tooth on an extremely hard ice cream sandwich served during a flight. Kiara Quinonez, a New Jersey resident, alleges that the airline provided her with a “frozen solid” ice cream sandwich while flying from New York to Paris. When she tried to eat it, she fractured one of her front teeth, which required dental treatment. Quinonez is seeking an undisclosed amount from the airline, claiming it caused her “pain, suffering, and mental anguish” due to the cracked tooth and subsequent emergency dental surgery she underwent immediately after landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. The legal documents have not been made public, but were obtained by People Magazine.

The lawsuit claims that JetBlue was negligent both in serving the extremely cold dessert (alleging it served food “at a temperature below what is reasonable or safe for consumption,”) and by failing to inform her that the dessert would be cold, describing it as a “dangerously cold temperature and solid state.”

 

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The ice cream sandwich in question was a “chomp size” strawberry shortcake ice cream sandwich manufactured by Nightengale Ice Cream Company. While most JetBlue fare classes do not include meals, they do include complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. However, for transatlantic routes such Quinonez’s flight from NYC to Paris, basic service includes a “chilled” main meal, as well as dessert and complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Guests in JetBlue’s “Mint” fare class have access to a wider range of meal and snack options. It’s not known what fare class Quinonez booked when the incident occurred.

Though it may seem a bit unusual, it’s not the first food-related lawsuit against the airline in 2024. In May, a woman filed suit against JetBlue for $1.5 million after claiming a flight attendant spilled hot tea on her during turbulence, leaving her with significant scarring and burns on most of her body. That case is still in litigation.

Threat of potential lawsuit could be one of the reasons some airlines have stopped serving select items. In August 2024, Korean Air announced it would stop serving fan-favorite ramen noodles, citing the risks caused by increasingly intense turbulence to passengers eating hot soup at their seats.

Photo: JetBlue

While it’s unclear if Quinonez’s lawsuit has any chance of success, it’s yet another bad piece of publicity for the airline in the last year. JetBlue’s public woes range from a February 2024 incident in which two JetBlue planes collided on a tarmac in Boston to engine failures in January and March to an October incident in which a JetBlue plane collided with a baggage container.

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Delayed or Canceled Flight? Airlines Now Required to Refund the Price in Full Automatically

Getting a voucher, let alone a cash refund, for a significantly delayed or canceled flight is a major pain. There are tricks and tips for refunds that are even larger than the original price, but those can take time and persistence — which tend to be in short supply after having to scramble to fix spoiled travel plans. In April, the Biden Administration’s Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced new rules for easier guaranteed refunds. On October 28, the cash refunds portion of those new rules officially went into effect shortly before the holiday travel season.

The mandate now holds that cash refunds are required to be automatically processed regardless of whether or not impacted travelers go through the normal hoops for a refund. Specifically, if a flight is “canceled or significantly changed, and they do not accept the significantly changed flight, rebooking on an alternative flight, or alternative compensation,” according to CNN. Payments are required to be sent in full in seven business days if the flight was bought on a credit card and within 20 calendar days for other payment types.

Vouchers and airline credits don’t count — good news for anyone who has had to swallow the hard pill of taking an airline voucher for an airline that just burned them. Refunds for both significant delays and cancellations are only issued if the passenger doesn’t travel on the delayed flight or alternate itinerary from the airline.

The revised rules also clarify what is meant by a “significant delay”: more than three hours for departure or arrival delays on domestic flights, or six hours for international flights originating in the United States. Flights have have significant changes apply as well, where are defined as “departures or arrivals from a different airport; increases in the number of connections; instances where passengers are downgraded to a lower class of service; or connections at different airports or flights on different planes that are less accessible or accommodating to a person with a disability.”

Those aren’t the only refunds people on missed flights are now entitled to. Bag fees are refundable for luggage not delivered within 12 hours for domestic flights or 15 to 30 hours on international flights. WiFi that doesn’t work, as well as other inflight entertainment, needs to be refunded as well if it doesn’t work during the flight. In May 2025, people who were told by a medical professional not to travel for communicable diseases, or were restricted by government mandates, will be given an airline credit valid for at least five years.

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This 12-Country Trip on the World’s Most Luxurious Trains Takes 59 Days

In 2024, Railbookers, an expert in planning rail vacations throughout the world, put together the dream itinerary for any train-travel enthusiasts: an 80-day trip covering 13 countries on the world’s most iconic and luxurious trains. The Around the World by Luxury Train trip, as it is known, which generated huge interest and many bookings despite its price, departed on August, 28, 2024.

In fact, the 2024 Around the World by Luxury Train itinerary was such a success that Railbookers decided to plan another one for 2025, this time a little shorter, but just as exciting.

In 2025, the Around the World by Luxury Train trip will last 59 days instead of 80, and will span 12 countries on four continents instead of the 13 covered on the 2024 itinerary. That said, the trains and destinations on the schedule are just as appealing — if not more.

“Our 2025 Around the World by Luxury Rail itinerary has been refined and tailored to maximize our guests’ time and experiences while enjoying the culture, cuisine and activities that each of these renowned destinations have to offer,” explains Railbookers President & CEO Frank Marini in a press release.

The 59-day itinerary of railbookers’ Railbookers’ Around the World by Luxury Train. Photo: Railbookers

Much like with the 2024 itinerary, the 59-day train journey, departing on September 5, 2025, will start in Vancouver, Canada, for a two-day scenic ride on Canada’s only luxury train: the Rocky Mountaineer. The next opulent train on the itinerary is no other than the iconic Royal Scotsman on which you’ll spend three nights exploring the wilds of Scotland, starting in Edinburgh, the capital, and going all the way to the Highlands. After a quick flight to the European continent, you’ll board the brand new Dolce Vita Orient Express for two nights from Rome to Venice and Portofino before traveling from Verona to Paris, and then from Paris to Istanbul on the most expensive, and the most famous train in the world: the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. After crossing Europe, you’ll travel, around India on the Maharajas Express, in South Africa with Rovos Rail, and finally around Malaysia and Singapore on the Eastern & Oriental Express. The trip will end in Singapore.

The 2025 edition of Railbookers’ Around the World by Luxury Train trip includes a total of 21 nights on board trains and 32 nights in luxury hotels. Excursions and visits along the way promise to be as fantastic as the train rides and include a private tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum in Rome, a sunrise visit to the Taj Mahal, a jeep safari in Ranthambore National Park, dinner and a show at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, and much more.

While a lot shorter than the 2024 itinerary, the 2025 Around the World by Luxury Train trip is more than $10,000 more expensive: starting at $124,150 per person instead of $113,599. In spite of the cost, however, before the 2025 itinerary even went on sale, there were more than 500 people on the waitlist. A sign that demand for train travel, which has been high in the past two years, is showing no sign of waning.

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Where to Play, Eat, and Stay in Richmond, VA, for Arts, Culture, and Black Excellence

On the first Friday of every month in Richmond, Virginia, the art galleries on Broad Street open to the public so that everyone can celebrate the city’s creatives. That’s one example of how deep the arts run in Richmond, where you’ll also find murals painted on historic brick buildings across town and a variety of museums and monuments honoring the city’s Black culture.

The motto “Virginia is for Lovers” is evident through love and reverence that Richmond’s residents have for the city’s Black culture. Nowhere is this more evident than the Jackson Ward neighborhood, whose 2nd Street was historically known as Black Wall Street 20 years before Tulsa, Oklahoma, claimed the title. During its heyday, there were five Black banks, seven Black-owned insurance companies, and 300 thriving Black-owned businesses. At once busting with music, art, and creativity, the neighorhood was also known as the “Harlem of the South.”

Today, murals throughout the area honor Jackson Ward’s contributions to Richmond at large. Here’s where to see those works and more.

Cultural things to do in Richmond, VA

Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site

Photo: Leslie Robinson

Maggie Lena Walker was a Black businesswoman and the first woman to open a bank in the US. Before starting the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, she was a teacher, started an insurance company, and was the editor of the St. Luke Herald. Walker was born on July 15, 1864, to enslaved parents but died a prominent Southern businesswoman. Her primary residence is now a National Historic Site, with over 90 percent of the details original to she lived there.

The front parlor has two fireplaces, golden cornice boards, gilded crown molding, and chandeliers with ornate golden medallions. Walker also had a library with a wall full of books and installed an elevator in the hear of the house when she became wheelchair-bound so that she could access her upstairs bedroom. An example of Black excellence before the term was coined, Walker used her home as a way to motivate others that homeownership was attainable — over a century later, the property continues to inspire during the site’s daily tours.

Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site:600 N 2nd St, Richmond, VA 23219

Walking the Ward with Gary Flowers

Photo: Leslie Robinson

Raised in Jackson Ward, Gary Flowers is a Harvard professor and a Richmond Region Tourism-certified Ambassador Guide. His 20-stop tours tell the story of the historically Black Jackson Ward neighborhood, visiting points of interest like Maggie Walker’s home and the Bill “Bojangles” Robinson statue honoring the dancer and actor most popular for his dance scene with Shirley Temple. Throughout the tour, which starts at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, Flowers is passionate and honest in his account of Richmond’s history.

Walking the Ward with Gary Flowers: Various

Street art in downtown Richmond

Photo: Leslie Robinson

Throughout downtown Richmond and the surrounding areas, colorful murals that put a spotlight on the artistic and historic richness of the city — so much so that it seems like there’s a brick wall covered with bright colors and inspiration on every corner. My two favorite murals were the “Greetings from Richmond, VA” postcard (a digital postcard leaves a great carbon footprint) and “Together We Rise,” honoring people who’ve died at the hands of police officers.

Quirk Gallery

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Originally erected as the J.B. Mosby & Co. Dry Goods Store in 1916 and renovated in 2005, the Quirk Hotel is more than just a trendy place to stay in Richmond — it also has a fully functioning art gallery. The well-lit gallery off the main lobby features a permanent collection of whimsical, often craft-like artworks, as well as rotating art exhibitions. Visitors are welcome to come and peruse or even purchase a souvenir, thanks to the hotel’s boutique shop.

Quirk Hotel: 201 W Broad St, Richmond, VA 23220

2nd Street Festival

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This annual two-day festival (typically held in early October) highlights the culture of the Jackson Ward community, once known as “the Harlem of the South.” The free, kid-friendly event provides a weekend filled with live music, artwork, and food and craft vendors, as well as an antique car show. You’ll see attendees engaging in any number of community-centric activities — from dancing in the street, to learning line dances, to reconnecting with neighbors — but mostly, it’s about enjoying positive vibes all day long.

2nd Street Festival: Jackson Ward, Richmond, VA 23220

First Fridays

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The first Friday night of each month, local art galleries on Broad Street open their doors to the public for free. Some galleries have musicians performing outside, and the evening is a great way to enjoy artwork from local and national artists on a budget.

First Fridays: Broad St, Richmond, VA 23220

MySelfies

Photo: Leslie Robinson

This is a Black-owned selfie studio in the heart of downtown Richmond. I met the owner while I wandered through downtown as he helped a young boy find his grandmother in the true spirit the Richmond community. Choose from a variety of backdrops and props for your Insta moment — including sports, a neon heart, or a 1990s hip-hop magazine background — and snap a digital souvenir of your time in Richmond.

MySelfies: 12 West Broad St, Richmond, VA 23220

Where to eat and drink in Richmond, VA

Mama J’s Kitchen

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Unsuspecting and homey feel, Mama J’s Kitchen is a staple for Richmond locals, and Mama J herself is still active in the day-to-day operations. The restaurant’s fried chicken won the 2024 Richmond Times Dispatch Fried Chicken March Madness contest. I’m trying to eat better, so I ordered the baked chicken, mac and cheese, and collard greens while my lunch buddy ordered the very generously portioined fried catfish. We were seated right in front of “the living room,” a memorial to Mama J’s parents that doubled down on the love in the room.

Mama J’s: 415 North 1st St, Richmond, VA 23219

Lillie Pearl

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Owned by Chef Michael Lindsey and his wife, Kimberly Love-Lindsey, this restaurant pays homage to Lindsey’s grandmothers. “Chef Mike” infuses his North Carolina roots with West African ingredients and modern cooking techniques. I ordered the crispy skin salmon in a lemon ginger sauce. It was delicious, and the atmosphere was inviting and enjoyable, with R&B music playing low in the background. I knew Lillie Pearl was my kind of restaurant when Jill Scott’s “The Way” played and a large party all sang out “grits!’ right on cue.

Lillie Pearl: 416 E. Grace St, Richmond, VA 23219

Blue Habanero

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A lot of restaurants close early in Richmond, but this one stays open until 11 PM on weekends. I stopped in for a late night bite and ordered the chicharones and el pastor tacos — both were delicious. Blue Habanero also has a tequila bar that would make any aficionado happy.

Blue Habanero: 421 Strawberry St, Richmond VA 23220

92 Chicken

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92 Chicken is a fast-casual spot located right across the street from the Quirk Hotel. The chain specialized in Korean-style friend chicken (that stays crisp for hours, no less). I grabbed wings and fries, and they came out perfectly without having to ask for them to be fried hard. The menu will expand to include boba tea soon, as well.

92 Chicken: 200 W Broad St, Richmond, VA 23220

Curry’s Southern Caribbean Cuisine and Bar

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I stopped into this restaurant on a whim during the 2nd Street Festival. At the entrance, African masks were on display and available for sale. There’s both a Guyanese and a Jamaican chef in the kitchen, guaranteeing that both types of Caribbean food are cooked to perfection. I ordered the oxtails, cabbage, and mac and cheese — while mac and cheese from Caribbean restaurants is never my personal favorite, and this one was no exception, the oxtails and cabbage were well-seasoned and tender. Curry’s also has a full bar, and the sorrel rum punch is a perfect balance of strong, tart and sweet.

Curry’s: 119 E Leigh St, Richmond, VA 23219

Where to stay in Richmond, VA

Quirk Hotel

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Quirk Hotel is conveniently located in downtown Richmond, just a few blocks from Virginia Commonwealth University. The juxtaposition of exposed brick with cheeky pale pink and gold artwork gives guests an early taste of the hotel’s attention to design detail. Even something as mundane as storage is aesthetic as well as functional — instead of having a dresser, for example, drawers are built into a bench, offering seating and storage at once. My room was spacious and well maintained, with cleaning available daily. The hotel is also eco-friendly, providing refillable water carafes and reverse osmosis water fountains on each floor.

Downstairs, the Lobby Bar restaurant offers a variety of different global gare, including spanakopita dip, grilled cauliflower, pasta dishes, and a New York strip steak dinner for two that includes a side and dessert for $85. Breakfast ranging from French toast to a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant is also available at the Lobby Bar, while the hotel’s Q Rooftop Bar opens for a 180-degree view of Richmond, creative cocktails, and quick bites at 5 PM every day.

Quirk Hotel: 201 W Broad St, Richmond, VA 23220

Getting to and around Richmond, VA

Photo: Sean Pavone/Shutterstock

My ride to Richmond from Surf City, North Carolina, was surprisingly quick and easy. I left around 4 PM and arrived at 8 PM. If you’re coming from farther afield or simply prefer to fly, the Richmond International Airport (RIC) hosts nine airline carriers, including budget airlines like Breeze, Spirit, and Allegiant.

Once you’re in Richmond, It’s easy to get around town. There were a variety of restaurants, art galleries, bars, and points of interest within walking distance from Quirk Hotel. The city bus also runs down Broad Street, a hub of the city’s arts and culture. I walked most of the time, but rideshares were affordable and timely, as well. However you get around Richmond, enjoy the city’s historic Italian Renaissance architecture and bright-colored murals as you go.

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People Travel to Blue Zones For Insight Into Longer, Healthier Lives. But Blue Zones May Be a Lie.

I don’t want to live forever, or even exceptionally long. Nevertheless, I’ve long been fascinated by the idea of “blue zones,” or parts of the world where more residents than average live to become centenarians and supercentenarians (living past 110). I’m far from alone. The media (including Matador Network, often) has extensively covered the concept, and a small ecosystem has sprung up around learning from the lifestyles of people in these regions. Yet ongoing research shows that the whole blue zone concept is possibly one big lie, or at the very least a case of extrapolating from bad data.

The concept was popularized by Dan Buettner’s 2009 book “The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest.” In 2023, the blue zone idea got a new extension on its life in the spotlight with the Netflix documentary series Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.

Recently, listening to an episode of the Freakonomics podcast, I heard for the first time about a competing theory. In an interview with Tom Whitwell, who writes a popular list of 52 things he learned each year, Freakonomics host Stephen Dubner calls out that Whitwell including the following in his 2023 iteration: “The number of supercentenarians in an area tends to fall dramatically about 100 years after accurate birth records are introduced.”

“If you were somebody who read Sunday supplements of newspapers or if you watched National Geographic, they spent a lot of time talking about blue zones, which were areas where people lived remarkably long, like 110 years old,” Whitwell explains on the podcast. “They’d talk about eating beans, drinking red wine, not too much food, little amounts of meat, natural exercise — not going to the gym, but gardening, having friends, having a sense of purpose.”

Whitwell went down a rabbit hole on blue zones and found an Oxford academic named Saul Newman. Newman appears to be on a quest to put an end to the blue zone conversation — and his deeper, academic look past the longevity headlines and flashy promises leads to a more sobering understanding.

The research is compiled in part in the paper “Supercentenarian and remarkable age records exhibit patterns indicative of clerical errors and pension fraud.”

The title alone is a lot to unpack. Digging a little deeper into the numbers and data shows how people capitalize on missing documentation for attention and money. In the United States, for example, the paper notes that supercentenarian status sees a 69 to 82 percent decrease when state-by-state birth certificates were instituted.

Higher old-age poverty rates in England and France were associated with claims of longer lives. In fact, the key indicators of a population seeing exceptionally long lives in Italy, England, and France were things that you would think would lead to earlier deaths: “poverty, low per capita incomes, shorter life expectancy, higher crime rates, worse health, higher deprivation, fewer 90+ year olds, and residence in remote, overseas, and colonial territories.” Three blue zone regions in particular (Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; and Ikaria, Greece) have low incomes, low literacy, high crime rates, and shorter life expectancy than their respective national averages.

Accurate records seem to be the biggest issue. Of all of the supercentenarians, only 18 percent have a birth certificate, the paper notes, and zero of those in the US have one. What’s more, the birthdates of supercentenarians are more common on days divisible by five. Either there’s a whole lot more riding on what date a person is born than people think, or people who guesstimate their age have a lack of imagination and a preference for dates that end in five or zero. Or, you know, outright fraud taking advantage of chaotic record-keeping situations for attention and monetary payments.

“The way I imagine this is, you’re living in a small rural town in remote Greece or Italy,” Whitwell says on the podcast. “Somebody comes to you with an idea, they say, ‘I’ve got a mate who works in the council, and if we pay him a bit of money, he can change your age so that you as a 50 year-old are now 60 so you get your pension.’”

The numbers of fudged ages for financial gain point in the fraud direction. In Greece, for example, 200,000 people lost pension payments after the 2012 financial crisis. Turns out many of those claims were for people already dead. In Japan in 2010, some 230,000 Japanese centenarians were missing, invented, misreported, dead, or otherwise unaccounted for.

Okinawa, Japan’s blue zone, was significantly damaged during World War II. Whitwell mentions about 90 percent of paper records were destroyed, and new documents were given by the US military after the war — meaning they were coming form people who use a different calendar and don’t speak the same language. Then there’s the lifestyle question. Okinawa has the highest obesity rate in Japan, Whitwell notes, and it has one of the lowest gardening rates (daily natural movements for things like gardening is one of the things said to increase the lifespan in blue zones). Okinawa also has Japan’s fourth-highest rate of suicide for people over 65 (happiness and community being another blue zone indicator) and eat an average of 40 kilograms of meat annually (five kilos per year is the target in blue zones).

The idea that there are certain places in the world with lifestyles that lead to longer lives is extremely enticing. Traveling to these locations and learning from these lifestyles, the thinking goes, could lead to longer lives elsewhere. The reality is a lot messier. In fact, the real key to longevity is much more depressing.

“So, rich people live longer,” Whitwell tells Dubner. “Rich countries, the average life expectancy is 80-plus. Poor countries, it’s 60-plus. It’s not mysterious, or subtle.”

Money might not directly buy happiness, but it does seem to buy a longer life.

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