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Many readers have been asking us: Where is Susan Spano? Susan is in Beijing, where she is learning Mandarin. She will be returning to the Travel section in August 2007.

For those who miss Susan and her writing, here are a few stories she filed before she left for China.

Europe

Return to Italy's glorious Lipari Island

Lipari, the capital of a seven-island archipelago north of Sicily called the Lipari Islands or the Aeolians, has a sporadically dramatic history: It was the source of shiny, black obsidian for the Mediterranean basin in the Neolithic Age, a Greek colony, the scene of naval battles between Rome and Carthage during the Punic Wars, plunder for North African pirates, a place of exile for opponents of Mussolini in the 1920s.

OUTDOORS & ADVENTURE

Sierra camping bliss, without roughing it

No pain, no gain. That's what people always say to get you to do something hard, like carry 30 pounds of gear on your back, sleep on the ground, eat freeze-dried food and go without a bath. But if you had the chance to get into the wilderness without such hassle -- be honest now -- wouldn't you take it?

Africa

Seeing the 'big five,' plus one in South Africa's Zululand

Bagging the "big five" at a game park in South Africa usually means seeing lions, leopards, buffaloes, rhinos and elephants. But for a different breed of animal lover, it's about catching sight of frogs -- the painted reed, banded rubber, Natal sand, foam nest and snoring puddle.

Asia

Peace accord beckons travelers back to Nepal

The all-seeing eyes of Buddha stare blankly over Katmandu's Palace Square from a massive, wooden portal. The door is shut tight. But standing here on the very day in November when Maoist rebels signed a peace accord ending 10 years of turmoil and isolation in Nepal, you could almost hear the giant door crack open, bidding visitors back.

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