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Explore the Canadian Wilderness with Several of Canada’s Best-Known Explorers

It’s not enough that Canadian Mountain Holidays runs two lodges in some of the most glorious British Columbia mountain ranges, the Bugaboos and Selkirk, where granite peaks and spires pierce the peak over 7,000 feet high. No, it’s not enough that this well-known heli-ski company uses those same helicopters in the summer time to take hikers to trails traversed by far more bear, elk, and caribou than humans. Now you’ll get to explore those same trails in the company of Dr. Joe MacInnis and Dr. Roberta Bondar. MacInnis led the first team of divers under the North Pole and was one of the first to dive the Titanic. Bondar is Canada’s first woman astronaut and a neurologist to boot. Dates are July 24-27 with MacInnis and August 17-20 with Bondar.
 

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Explore Torngat Mountains National Park, Labrador

No Canada wish list would be complete without mentioning Torngat Mountains National Park on the northern tip of Labrador. One of the most remote parts of Canada, the park is only accessible from mid-July to late August, primarily on a package tour created by Parks Canada and the Torngat Mountains Base Camp. Don’t expect roads, signage, and camping outside of the base camp. Inuit elders from Nunatsiavut and Nunavik come together with visitors to bring you on adventures and tell stories about their homeland. You’ll hike in the spectacular mountain landscape, boat to the majestic Saglek Fjord, take helicopter charters above the jagged peaks, and fish for arctic char, then cook it the traditional way on hot stones. Polar bear, caribou, and seals are all common sightings. Thankfully, you’ll be hiking with a trained Inuit polar bear guard. 

 
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Making Memories on the Big Island

The modern-day conundrum is the balance of work of family. This is especially true for a travel advisor who must create extraordinary vacations for her clientele and then duplicate that success for her family (or face the wrath of her children). As a travel writer married to a Boston-based travel agent, I am the beneficiary of my wife’s career—most importantly the way she customizes each trip to our every whim, uses global contacts to not only secure the finest rooms available for our budget thanks to complimentary upgrades but creates unforgettable moments like a dinner on a private Hawaiian beach under the stars. All I do is sit back, relax, carry the luggage, and savor her skills. Thankfully, you don’t have to be married to a travel advisor to get the same level of attention. For our annual family trip last summer, I was asked by Virtuoso Traveler magazine to observe Lisa at work and consider the attributes of using a travel agent. This is what I found.

 

 

 
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Adventures in Las Cruces Week—Enjoying the Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market

The best time to enter Las Cruces is on a Friday night like I did. The next morning when the sun arose atop those jagged peaks known as the Organ Mountains, I headed to Main Street for the Saturday Farmers Market. If you’re yearning for authenticity in the Southwest, all it takes is a 7-block stroll in Las Cruces on a Saturday morning to find it. It was the end of the green chile and tomato harvest and bins were filled with fresh produce from the Dona Ana Valley. Also found were pomegranates, Arkansas Black apples, jugs of horchata and limonata, locally farmed pecans and pistachios, and ristras (long strings) of red chiles hanging in front of many of the stalls. Yet, what really impressed me were the local artisans offering gemstone-laden jewelry, pottery, wooden crafts like adobe-style salt and pepper shaker holders, sculptures, watercolors of the local desert wildflowers, and photographs of the Organ Mountains splashed in red sunlight. All offered at a fraction of the cost one would find these wares 4 hours to the north in Santa Fe. 

After purchasing my bounty of souvenirs, I headed to the large Coas used bookstore on Main Street, then checked out more local art at a juried show at the free Las Cruces Museum of Art. On the way back to my car, I spoke to a jeweler who moved to Las Cruces 11 years ago after retiring as a broker in Montreal. “330 days of sunshine, no humidity, no traffic, this place is a hidden gem,” he told me. Bathed in sunlight and sucking down my horchata on a perfect day with mid-80s temps, it was easy to understand the appeal.
 
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Fantasy Islands Week: Rangiroa, French Polynesia

It’s cold, gray—the best time to put on a bathing suit and commune with fish.

Here are five of the world’s best places to do it.
 
Ah winter, that magical time of year that compels hordes of otherwise well-adjusted folks to shop for bathing suits and sarongs, jet to far-flung isles, don masks, fins, even oxygen tanks, all to hang with the fishies. Nothing chases away garden-variety seasonal disorders like getting up close and personal with some colorful creatures. Deluxe resorts are rolling out their (waterproof) red carpets to divers these days. Better yet, many resorts have gotten wise to the fact that divers do not live on plankton alone. We also crave some activity where the air comes free. With that in mind, we’ve selected five of the world’s top diving spots this week. Ones that also offer great above-water activities, from trekking in Mayan ruins to sea kayaking along secluded beaches to kicking the coconut shells. 
 
First stop, Rangiroa, French Polynesia. When Requin! Requin! (French for Shark! Shark!) is shouted in these waters, swimmers do not speed to shore fearing for their lives. The snorkelers and divers who come to this oval-shaped coral atoll stay in the water for a face-to-face encounter. Grey reef, black-tipped, and hammerhead sharks peer at divers in Tiputa Pass, a channel that connects the island’s lagoon with the open sea.  The perfect place to recover after your adventure with Jaws is Kia Ora Village, Rangiroa’s premiere hotel. Stay in one of the overwater bungalows along the lagoon. Or if you’re looking for a bit more seclusion, retreat to Kia Ora Sauvage, a private island about an hour’s boat ride away. The island has just five basic bungalows and two cooks, who prepare all the meals. That’s what we call getting away from it all.  
 
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The Legendary Mountain View Grand Offering February Vacation Week Deals

Three hours north of Boston sits one of the legendary New England properties, The Mountain View Grand. One of three remaining grand hotels in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the 1865 Colonial Revival resort recently underwent a $20 million restoration after being abandoned for most of the 90s. Located in Whitefield, just north of Franconia Notch, this immense resort has been restored to its original state and, in winter, features a free shuttle to nearby Cannon Mountain for downhill skiing, cross-country skiing under the tall pine and spruce, a large outdoor ice rink, sledding, an indoor pool and whirlpool, and a full-service European spa to rest that weary body after a day of play. I just received word that they are offering a rate of $179 per night over February Vacation Week. It’s a pretty good deal for a night at this historic property.
 

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Tweet, Tweet For a Free Trip to Africa

If you still haven’t signed up for a Twitter account, we have a great reason to join.  Acacia Africa is featuring a “Wild Tweep” competition, where one lucky winner will walk away with a 6-day African Insight overland safari. Simply fill out the Q&A and confirm that you can give them 20 minutes of your time for a live “tweet up” on Acacia Africa’s twitter page (Friday, February 26th, from 1 to 1:20pm London time). Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to answer questions on South Africa and tell us why you can’t get enough of the Rainbow Nation. Completed Q&As should be emailed to gowildonline@acacia-africa.com. Entries are being accepted until February 12th.
 

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