EDITORIAL
Sleeping Under the Stars
On a white water rafting expedition down the Chilcotin-Fraser Rivers in British Columbia, I fell completely in love with a raftsman named Ethan. Well, it was puppy love actually – I was 13, had frizzy badly permed hair (what can I say, it was the 80′s) and was too shy to barely even speak to him. He was 21, had ringlets of curly blond hair and a Canadian accent which I struggled to understand. He never knew of my crush, of course, but I watched him and the other raftsmen in wonder as they navigated canyons and Level V rapids, pitched our tents and even made 3-course meals every evening all to the backdrop of some of the most pristine wilderness and rivers imaginable.
It wasn’t glamorous traveling conditions though let’s face it, the raftsmen constructed "Tiger Traps" at every camp (you can imagine). All meals were cooked over an open fire. And we slept in tents under the stars. But the experience’s value transcended its rudimentary nature – the magic was existing amongst nature itself. Fresh mountain air, untamed backcountry wildlife, crystal-clear water rich with rainbow trout, soaking in hot springs to bathe, being alone with your thoughts – true emersion in nature. Days were spent ‘running the river,’ hiking and sightseeing. Evenings were spent around campfires hearing the stories of our traveling companions and their life’s triumphs and tragedies. The trip contained many firsts – saw my first glacier, caught my first fish, glimpsed my first bald eagle and learned about astrology with the clearest maps of the stars spread out above every night. With no modern contact for two weeks, those river days opened my eyes to the great outdoors. When we all bid tearful farewells on the last day, Ethan walked over to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I think I blushed for a week.
FEATURE
Off the Beaten Track
NORTH AMERICA
White Water Rafting
Vancouver, British Columbia
Since my rafting days, Canadian River Expeditions has merged with Nahanni River Adventures bringing together the two most renowned guide groups and river selections in British Columbia. They offer premium 5-21 day Canadian and Alaskan white water rafting and canoeing expeditions for novices to advanced paddlers on challenging world-renowned rivers such as the Nahanni, Tatshenshini, Alsek and 17 other scenic mountain, arctic and alpine rivers. Before you know it, the words "Eddie outs!" and "Forward HARD!" will be naturally escaping your mouth. I suggest start collecting water-proof camping gear.
Humpback Whale Spotting
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Of the half dozen New England ports which offer whale watching operations, Provincetown (the northernmost tip of Cape Cod) is closest to Stellwagen Bank, the 842 square mile National Marine Sanctuary that is the summer home to 6 species of cetacean. Portuguese Princess Excursions partners with the non-profit Center for Coastal Studies to take tourists out to witness this incredible spectacle of humpback whales mating and at play while collecting data on the area’s cetacean population. I was just sailing off the Cape in August with my Uncle who lives on the water in Marion – this area is definitely worth a linger.
Fly Fishing in the Rockies
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Time to practice your lasso skills. The Elk River, which flows along the edge of Colorado’s Vista Verde Ranch, offers some of the best fly-fishing in the Rockies. Vista Verde’s guides show even the most seasoned fishermen the ideal spots to cast for brook, brown or rainbow trout while simultaneously aiding amateurs master the art of tying flies. My best girlfriend in college’s husband, an expert fly-fisher, swears by Vista’s advice.
Surfing on the North Shore
Oahu, Hawaii
Hang Ten with the best in the world on Oahu’s legendary North Shore from Haleiwa to Kahuky (including Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach and the Banzai Pipeline). Guaranteed monster waves during official surfing season from November through March will test anyone’s skill to face some of the planet’s most imposing swells before they batter the reef and break on the shoreline.
Surf’s up!
Dinosaur Dig
Bozeman, Montana
Superstar paleontologist Jack Horner who was a consultant on the Jurassic Park films, takes wannabe naturalists and amateur scientists on 72 hour digs outside Bozeman, Montana, otherwise known as ‘dino central.’ Bill and Pam Bryan of Off the Beaten Path will arrange this prehistoric pandemonium for a fee to excavate your own fossils of the 160 million year old Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Swimming with Manatees
Crystal River, Florida
In the warm estuaries and rivers off Florida’s coasts reside some 3,000 gentle Sirenias, otherwise known as the West India sea cow or commonly referred to as manatees. Citrus County, about 100 miles north of Tampa, is the only place in the world where you can have a face to face encounter with these 2,000 pound marine mammals. Go in the early morning between November and February and watch in wonder.
Jazz Creole Style
New Orleans, Louisiana
No hurricane can silence the sound of Jazz and Blues in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The world is invited to party during Mardi Gras, and although I can personally report that it’s an insanely good time, I suggest avoiding the carnival sea around February and opt for a visit in late April for The Big Easy’s Jazz and Heritage Festival which runs for 10 days straight at the end of the month. Book a lunch at French Quarter relic Antoine’s and watch the Bayou elite relish in the ubiquitous jazz scene on Sundays. Harry Connick Jr. fan? (my FAVOURITE) The New Orleans native is a yearly spotlight. Don’t forget your pecan pie.
Dog Sledding on Frozen Tundra
Lake Minchumina, Alaska
Want to experience life as an Eskimo? The Denali West Lodge specializes in dog-sledding instruction with guests assigned to dog teams "mushing" across the frozen landscape. Imagine running your own team of huskies on the snow and ice while you spot wolverines, caribou and mountain goats in this unspoiled wilderness. Bundle up though – this adventure isn’t for the feeble.
Trailblazing on Horseback
Lexington, Kentucky
Going through withdrawal after Australia’s horse racing season this month ends? Head to Kentucky where horses are a year-around religion. Make reservations at one of the 450-plus horse farms and take your own trail riding lessons in the heart of America’s blue-grass country. On Open Stable Day held in late May, many farms will honour you with an up-close look at their thoroughbreds. Take the short drive to Louisville and attend the Kentucky Derby, The Run for the Roses and the first jewel in the Triple Crown held on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs. Horse lovers can’t miss “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” as it’s known for.
The Art of Crabbing
Tangier Island, Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
Locals on Tangier rely solely on the backbreaking harvesting of the Chesapeake Bay’s most desirable inhabitants – blue crabs. Just last summer Tangier watermen began boat tours that demonstrate the unique bay-to-plate process of crabbing. Hilda Crockett’s Chesapeake House Bed & Breakfast will arrange your private crab learning experience and most likely Denny will be your guide who will answer any questions about island life. My grandfather retired on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and taught me to crab from his pier, so it’s in my blood. There is nothing like a freshly boiled crab you’ve captured and picked yourself for dinner.
SOUTH AMERICA
Magic Carpet Ride
Guatemala, Central America
Through Cultural Xplorers, enter the closely guarded workshop of the alfombra family. Alfombras are street carpets made of dyed flowers, pine needles and sawdust which are laid along the route of religious processions during Holy Week celebrations in Guatemala. National Geographic itself has done a film on these fascinating, colourful rituals. Visit the workshops during the week before Easter and speak directly with members of the Armas family who has been creating these works of art for the past half century. Although you won’t actually float on the carpets, there is definitely magic in this ride.
Football Fever
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Maracana, one of the largest open-air stadiums in the world, and playground for famous soccer stars such as Ronaldo and Romario, is THE place to watch a soccer game (Italians will argue this point). Although the glory days of Maracana are gone, if you stand in the top row of the 200,000 capacity stadium, you can still hear the cries of ghosts in the epic 1950 World Cup Final between Brazil and Uruguay. Through Emmanuel Burgio, Marcelo Goncalves Costa Lopes, a member of Brazil’s 1998 World Cup team, will take you onto the turf of this famous stadium, invite you into his VIP box to watch a match and then introduce you to players from some of South America’s top teams afterward.
Spa Respite in the Fjord of Last Hope
Natales, Chile
Take a break from climbing the granite peaks of Torres del Paine National Park and head south to the Ultima Esperanza province for a Nordic-style spa. Hotel & Spa Indigo Patagonia, named after the blues of the Patagonia sky and sea, is a transformed hostel by architect Sebastian Irarrazaval built of concrete, glass and timber with soaring modern windows. The hotel, whose 29 bedrooms view glaciers and mountains, welcomes climbers even when they don’t have the budget to stay. It’s the perfect place to meet up in the bar, swap stories and soak in a spa hot tub outdoors overlooking the fjord of Last Hope.
Artists Inspiration
Buenos Aires, Argentina
For a hefty $2,388 US, Limitless Argentina arranges for you to be treated like artist royalty and immerse yourself in the local art scene. For two days, you’ll be accompanied by a bilingual art historian and privately chauffeured for seven hours each day. You will receive a two-day education in 20th century Argentine art including visits to the back rooms of two leading Buenos Aires art galleries, tours of two of the country’s most distinguished privately held collections and two studios of living artists such as Luis Felipe Noe and Leon Ferrari.
EUROPE
Upstaged at the Opera
Odessa, Ukraine
Opera buffs – this is the experience for you. The Opera House in Odessa is one of the best in Europe, architecturally modeled after the famed baroque Vienna Opera House. Exeter International organises private backstage tours of Odessa’s dressing and rehearsal rooms where Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff warmed-up. Before the evening performance, be sure to ascend the stairs to the viewing platform on the roof for a spectacular panoramic view of the city.
Monza racing
Milan, Italy
Obsessed with Formula One racing? Arrange to drive your own car around the Italian Grand Prix F1 Circuit at Monza outside Milan and feel like a Formula One racing star for a moment. Whether you have a million dollar Ferrari or an old beat-up Chevy, for a mere 40 pounds the track is yours for a half hour between December and February, although some days are also available in June. Also on offer are “Speed Days” where staff drivers are there to advise you during your laps. A dear friend of mine was the head engineer of Ferrari’s team for years, so I’ve had my fair share of live F1 events in the pits – most recently the GP at Monza. He and I can both attest, it’s just a game. So remember when you suit up for this adventure, no fleeting moment of imaginary glory is worth risking the safety of your life or others. Keep the sporting spirit but please be careful.
Music to our Ears
Lake Lucerne, Switzerland
Lucerne personifies the quintessential Swiss town and when I think of Lucerne, I think of music. The perfect combination of the two meld during 4 weeks in August-September with the Lucerne Festival. The Festival of Music, held on the banks of the beautiful Lake, dates back to 1938 when the famed Arturo Toscanini conducted the Concert de Gala in front of Richard Wagner’s former residence and broadcast to over 80 radio stations around Europe and the States. Now the Lucerne Festival is considered one of Europe’s most charming chamber music events and always includes big-name conductors, large orchestras, soloists and classical ensembles.
Remember the Vikings
Stockholm, Sweden
Vasa was a seventeenth-century viking warship that was commissioned by King Gustav Adolphus but sank just a mile into her maiden voyage in 1628. In 1961, she was finally salvaged from the depths of the ocean virtually intact and in pristine historical condition. Norweigan Adventures arranges private tours of Stockholm’s Vasa Ship Museum and Vasa herself – an honour normally extended only to scientists and heads of state. Delve into the secrets of a Norse ship and these Scandinavian warriors’ lives of yore.
ASIA
Plant a Coral Garden
North Male Atoll, Maldives
Preserving the opulent reefs of the Maldives is becoming increasingly difficult as global warming is raising temperatures in this region high enough to bleach and starve coral to their doom. However, in the North Male Atoll two resorts are taking significant strides towards reversing this damage. Banyan Tree on Vabbinfaru and Angsana Resort & Spa Ihuru have created programs to grow and transplant corals, protect sea turtles as well as educate locals. Your scuba dive from these resorts can now include planting new coral gardens.
Design Royal Jewels
Jaipur, India
Design your own royal jewelry with the owner of Jaipur’s famed Gem Palace. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds – every stone you can imagine glittering at your fingertips and Munnu Kasliwal, owner of the Gem Palace, whose family has been crafting jewelry for eight generations including pieces for the Mogul court, personally helps lucky visitors choose stones and settings for their pieces when previously arranged through International Ventures and Travel in New York City. (Edge consultants can make the connections for you.) For inspiration, consult the royal jewels in Kasliwal’s private collection brought back from faltering maharajas in the last century.
Elephant Whispering
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Named one of Time Asia’s Heros of 2005, Sangduen Chailert is known by many as the Elephant Whisperer. He founded the Elephant Nature Park near Chiang Mai and has a personal crusade to save rescued elephants from land mines and logging accidents. You can meet with Chailert, also called Lek, and join him at the market in buying the day’s food for the current 30 rescued elephants. Better yet, you can help him bathe the animals in a nearby river.
Spiritual Zen
Kyoto, Japan
Your spiritual awakening awaits at a private morning zazen meditation session with a monk at a seventeenth century Buddhist temple in Kyoto. Even beginning practitioners can benefit from Artisans of Leisure’s specially arranged introduction to the techniques of Zen meditation. Afterward tour the temple grounds with a head monk.
War Buffs
Saigon, Vietnam
The Cu Chi Tunnels were the most heavily bombed, gassed and defoliated in the history of combat. The Americans, however, never completely destroyed the tunnel complex and southern Vietnamese revolutionaries rebuilt the tunnels in time to be used in the 1968 Tet Offensive. The area contained some 50 square miles of tunnels with spaces for barracks, hospitals and weapons. Mr. Nam, a Vietnam war veteran who once fought against the Americans, now welcomes all nationalities with private tours of the Cu Chi Tunnels. For a lucky few, Mr. Nam may even invite you to join him and his family for dinner. After crawling around on your knees all day in the tunnels, this will be an extremely welcome invitation.
Saddle Up
Tibet, China
Experience first hand the pageantry of the Tibetan Horse Festival in Gyalthang. This is not your ordinary horse show. In Gyalthang, racing champs are heros in this horse-dependent culture on the wide open plains of the Tibetan Plateau. Watch as these champions perform implausible stunts like sliding down the side of a galloping horse to grab a 5 inch scarf on the ground. The most colourful horse show in the world – the riders and horses like are all decked out in a kaleidoscope of tapestries and rainbows. Participate in the race down the valley with the experts if you dare.
AFRICA
Tour a Pharaoh’s Tomb
Valley of the Kings, Egypt
Take a private tour of the tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh in the Valley of the Kings which has been closed to the public for over 10 years. The burial chamber of Seti I who reigned during the fourteenth century B.C. was discovered in 1817 and is supposedly one of the best preserved and most exquisite tombs in all the Valley of the Kings. Cultural Crossroads can arrange a private tour of the burial chamber guided by Mansour Boraik, the director of the antiquities at Luxor.
A Hidden Tribe
Madagascar
Seemingly out of an episode of Survivor, live three days with the Antandroy, the fiercest and most tradition-bound tribe in the country. Known eerily as the “People of the Thorn Bush,” they remain distant from other Malagasy people and inhabit a harsh land deep in the forest. Through Absolute Travel based in New York, you can arrange to meet with their ombiasy (local healer), learn how to use a piletse (zebu-hide sling shot) and visit ancestral tombs where you’ll likely encounter rare species of lemur.
Safari Skills
Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
At the Koiyaki Guiding School on the northern boundary of Masai Mara National Reserve, spend four days learning to become a safari guide. Koiyaki is the first institution dedicated to training Masai to be bronze and silver level safari guides. For a moment you can join the students’ classes in their quest to learn about wildlife management, native cultures, tracking, anthropology and ecotourism. Even better, the funds from your visit will also fund a full scholarship for one student during the next school year.
Humour me for a moment and ask yourself:
