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Go Galavanting

There was a time when Kim Mance was behind the scenes, working as a travel columnist for Marie Claire magazine. But ever since she launched her Galavanting travel show on the web in 2008, she’s been front and center, bringing us around the world as host.  Together with her fashion-conscious cohort Maren Hogan, they venture everywhere from Roatan, Honduras, to Hokkaido Island in Japan, trying the food, sampling the clubs, and, most enjoyable, experiencing the adventure. In Costa Rica, they go rappelling down a waterfall and in an upcoming webisode on Colorado, you can find Kim ice climbing. “I thought I was going to hit myself in the head with the ice pick. But thankfully those crampons are more stable than you think they’ll be,” Manse says with a chuckle. The show has been a surprise hit on the web, with Manse currently in talks to bring Galavanting to one of the networks. Take a glance at Manse hiking deep in the rainforest of Costa Rica and you quickly understand why viewers find the active lifestyle so appealing.

 

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Saint Lucia Week: What I Loved About the Resorts I Visited

It’s been a great week of new adventures in Saint Lucia and I’m sad to leave, knowing what’s waiting for me in Boston this winter. I covered a lot of territory on the island, heading north, then west and south. There were a slew of things I liked at each of the resorts I visited that I didn’t have time to discuss. The new spa at Windjammer Landing is wonderful and so was the masseuse who delivered that signature massage, a mix of defoliation, hot stones, bamboo, and deep tissue digging. Ti Kaye has one of the finest wine lists I’ve seen in the Caribbean, including a rare sighting of a 1998 Joseph Phelps Insignia. Sample it in their wine cellar along with a prix-fixe menu. Anse Chastanet has a second beach near the Jungle Biking excursion that’s often far less crowded than their main beach. I went snorkeling at their reef yesterday morning by myself, before the tour boats arrived, and spotted one of my favorite tropical fish, the yellowfin chromis. Atop Anse Chastanet, the rooms at Jade Mountain are a dream. Check out the infinity pool in the photo to the left leading to wondrous vistas of the Pitons ahead. Also ask to tour the chocolate laboratory on premises where they make their own organic dark chocolate bars from a nearby cocoa plantation. The sand at Sugar Beach is the whitest I’ve seen in Saint Lucia. I also love their two grass tennis courts. 
 
I want to thank Maria Hunte at the Saint Lucia Tourist Board and Shannon Overholser at Redpoint for designing a perfect 6-day itinerary. Next time I have to bring my wife or she’s going to poison me. I teased with her far too many gorgeous photos this week. 
 
I’m taking next week off. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and remember to work off that turkey and stuffing by being active! 
 
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On the Road to Ronda

We were picked up promptly at 9 am in Granada by Damir, a driver and guide for a company we’ve been working with more and more in Europe, Daytrip. We could have rented our own car and made the 3-hour trek from Granada to Seville, but it’s so much more relaxing to have someone else drive, especially when you want to stop and visit another town along the way. Two hours later, after sitting in the back of a comfortable Mercedes sedan and peering out at the rolling hills and mountains of this bucolic region of Spain, we arrived in Ronda. Damir guided us around the town, walking along the edge of the famous gorge, touring the oldest bullring in Spain, the one Hemingway wrote about when he lived here (it’s also the town where Orson Welles retired and died), and the historic Moorish settlement at the bottom of the hill. After a lunch of tapas, we arrived in Seville around 4 pm. One of the most relaxing days of the trip. 

 
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JetBlue’s Premium Service, Mint, to Debut in Boston

JetBlue’s version of Business Class, Mint, already popular in New York, will make its debut at Logan Airport at the end of this month. Starting on March 24th, the airline will introduce Mint service to San Francisco and two days later will offer Mint flights to Barbados. In October, Jet Blue will be adding Mint service to LA flights. Mint offers 16 lie-flat seats in the front of the cabin, four of which are suites with the option to close your door for more privacy. Lie-flat seats include a massage feature and a button that can adjust cushion firmness. You can access more than 100 channels through DirecTV and SiriusXM, and the plane’s FlyFi broadband connection promises a fast Internet. Meals were created by the New York City restaurant Saxon + Parole and include dishes like herb-roasted monkfish, poached lobster with corn custard, and bison meatloaf. A signature Mint cocktail is made with Grey Goose, and the wine selection includes roses and California varietals. Each Mint passenger will also receive a complimentary Birchbox, an amenity kit filled with moisturizer, soap, and other goodies. Seats on the San Fran flight start at $599 one-way. Logan passengers should also be on the lookout for new JetBlue flights to Nashville and Salt Lake City starting in May. 
 
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Celebrate the Year of the Horse in England

With the Chinese New Year quickly approaching, England is promoting the Year of the Horse by focusing on locales where horseback riding is available. Bath’s Relais & Chateaux property, Lucknam Park, is one of the many excellent riding hotels in England. With trained horses and staff on hand to help beginners and assist experienced riders, Lucknam Park’s Equestrian Centre offers classes that cater to every level. Out of the saddle, the property also has a highly prestigious cookery school and a first class spa. Horses are also allowed on a number of beaches in the country. With permits available from The National Trust, you can gallop, trot or canter to your heart’s content across the four-mile stretch of golden sand at Dorset’s Studland Beach. Studland Stables will even bring the bubbly, so you can pop the cork over views of Old Harry Rocks and make this trip even more special. 

 
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Escape to Israel this Winter

Israel’s national airline, El Al, just announced a great deal this winter. Depart New York, Boston, Miami or LA from November 25-February 21 and they’ll offer a direct flight to Tel Aviv and 6 nights at any Dan Panorama property for as low as $1329 per person. ActiveTravels works with great ground operators in Israel who can help arrange transfers and guides to any part of the country, from a day trip to two of my favorite cities, Safed and Akko, to hiking Masada and floating in the Dead Sea. Jerusalem reaches an average high of 60 degrees in December, while Tel Aviv can often top 70 degrees. So it’s a still comfortable time of year to visit Israel. 

 
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My Rap on Yap

Writing about Palau yesterday reminded me of a story I once wrote for Continental’s inflight magazine on “8 Great Places You’ve Never Heard Of.” The main body of the story was on Yap. Smack dab in the middle of Micronesia, between Palau and Guam, Yap is known only to World War II history buffs and scuba enthusiasts. Large numbers of manta rays live in the crystalline 83-degree water offshore. Anchor at the edge of the M’il Channel and these graceful creatures will soon be hovering above your head, stretching up to 12 feet from wing to wing.

 
What those oxygen-tank junkies fail to notice is that terra firma is just as intriguing as the sea. The 12,000 or so Yapese still use stone money; massive disks with circles through the middle are littered about the island, leaning up against thatched huts. The islanders are also fond of chewing betel nut. Toddlers to grandmothers spit out the red juice, making the roads look like scenes from a gory thriller. For visitors, sliced papaya and coconut is a tastier alternative. 
 
Stone paths weave through jungles of hibiscus, wild taro, and bamboo. If you’re fortunate, you’ll be able to catch a traditional Yapese dance, where locals use bamboo sticks as a form of storytelling. Masks and other hand-carved objects created from hibiscus, coral limestone, and, yes, the spines of manta rays are on display at the Ethnic Art Institute of Micronesia. Ultimately, it is nature that beckons. Whether scuba diving or guiding a kayak through the lush mangrove forest to view fairy terns, this exotic locale nestled deep in the Pacific will leave you enchanted. Just keep it a secret.  
 

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