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Tanzania’s Best Kept Secret

I was hoping to return to Africa later this month, but I just couldn’t squeeze the trip in. The one locale I was excited to check out was Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park. Home to one of the largest prides of lions in Africa, it’s shocking that Ruaha is still an undiscovered gem in Tanzania. Even more surprising when you learn that Ruaha is the second largest park in the country. Yet, simply because of its locale, in the far less frequented southern tourist circuit, far away from the camera clicking crowds of Serengeti and Ngorongoro, this rough tract of wilderness pulsates with the feel of a long-forgotten Africa. Only a little over 7,000 visitors annually come to this region of broken hills, sandy rivers, and an altogether harsher kind of landscape. The parched plains are littered with granite boulders and bizarre-looking baobab trees. Currently only one third of Ruaha’s 20,226 square kilometers is used for tourism, leaving a great majority of wilderness untouched and undiscovered. One of the highly touted places to stay in Ruaha is Mwagusi Safari Camp, owned by native Tanzanian Chris Fox. Download it to your Africa wish-list file, along with me.
 
I’m off to bike and hike in Zion National Park next week. I’ll be back with some of my favorite Caribbean getaways the week of October 22nd. In the meantime, keep active! 
 

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September Newsletter Now Available at ActiveTravels.com

Calling all tortoise lovers, especially those of you who love mega-sized tortoises in the 100 year-old range! In our September newsletter, we describe our recent trip to the Galapagos, where we encounter many of these big boys. We also divulge our favorite all-inclusive resorts in America, including another summer outing to Vermont’s Basin Harbor Club; a new B&B in Provincetown, Salt House Inn, ideally suited for a quick getaway in September and October; and the outfitter, Tropic, that we used for our Ecuador trip to the Galapagos and the Amazon and who we highly recommend. 

 
All of our newsletters will soon be itemized, so you can quickly find a story on South Africa, Turkey, Nova Scotia, Oregon, and hundreds of other locales if you’re thinking of planning a trip there. That service will only be available to members who join ActiveTravels.com. Other benefits of our yearly membership include easy access to a travel writer who’s been to more than 80 countries and can answer all questions saving you hours of research on the web, a full-service travel agency that can book all vacations and can usually get VIP service and complimentary upgrades and meals through our connections, and most importantly, someone to call when something goes wrong, which is inevitable. Good luck calling customer service at Orbitz, Expedia, or Travelocity when your flight is canceled or your luggage goes missing. We’re here to help make your vacation memorable! 
 

St. Lucia Week: Walking the Tet Paul Nature Trail

I’ve always enjoyed taking nature walks, especially in tropical settings where the guide tells me the medicinal qualities of all the leaves and herbs. I’m all for natural remedies to my ailments. So when I heard about the Tet Paul Trail, outside of Soufriere, I had to throw it into my itinerary. Little did I know that the 45-minute long trail offers one of the best views of the Pitons, those volcanic twin peaks that has mesmerized me these past two days. The Tet Paul is run by the local community, and my guide, Macgyver, knew every tree, bush, herb, and fruit like the back of his hand. He also took wonderful panoramic photos with my Apple phone. 
 
Located in a farming community 2,000 feet above sea level, everything seems to grow here. Fruit grows straight on the bark of the soursop tree, whose young leaves are supposedly good for the prostate when soaked in hot water. In fact, it seems as if St. Lucians use tea for all their woes. Rosemary leaves are good for migraines, fennel a digestif. MacGyver picked bay leaves, lemongrass, and mint for me to smell. He pointed to ripe guavas, pineapples, cashews, apricots, the sour orange, used in many fish dishes, star fruit, passion fruit, limes, and mocambos, small bananas great for frying. We passed elephant ear ferns, the red gingerlily flower, the prickly bark of the gri-gri palm tree, which locals call the “devil stick.” 
 
“Now let’s climb the stairway to heaven,” says MacGyver, and we walk up stairs to a platform overlooking Gros Piton and his little brother, Petit Piton. The view is astounding. “Welcome to my home,” he says as I stare down in amazement at the spanking white beach below, part of the Sugar Beach resort. “Thanks,” I respond, “but I’m not leaving, Macgyver. I’m going to build a little shack down the road from you and grow yams.” He laughs as I make a mental note to spend at least two weeks on Saint Lucia my next trip. 
 
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Greece, Mountain Resorts, and Traveling Luggage Free in May ActiveTravels Newsletter

This month marks the 5th anniversary of ActiveTravels. As I write this, we are busy planning trips for clients to all corners of the globe, including the Galapagos Islands, Antarctica, Patagonia, Botswana, India, and Bali. Not to mention last-minute summer travels all over Europe, including Spain, Italy, France, Greece, the UK, Austria, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Then there are all the national park trips and New England fall foliage trips to design. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we’d be this busy. In fact, most family and friends thought we were crazy opening up a travel agency in this age of do-it-yourself bookings. But it’s wonderful to see that people still value expertise and customer service. We can’t thank you enough! 

Our May newsletter features insights from our trip to Greece last month with Heritage Travels. We also select our favorite mountain resorts in North America, serene getaways for active families, and a way to travel luggage free. Please have a look. 
 
Our family is off to University of Maryland to celebrate the graduation of our niece, Ami. During her 4 years in college, she did internships with senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Ed Markey, and congresswoman Niki Tsongas; helmed Terps for Hillary in the last presidential election; and now works passionately to get women elected in the 2018 mid-term elections at EMILY’s List. As you can see, we’re all very proud of her and can’t wait to celebrate! I’ll be back next Thursday. In the meantime, enjoy the warm weather and keep active! 
 
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Celebrate D’Artagnan’s 30th Anniversary

I recently went to a 5-course meal at the stylish Liquid Art House in Boston to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the gourmet meat and charcuterie purveyor, D’Artagnan. Founder Ariane Daguin, who I last met at a luncheon a decade ago at No. 9 Park, has successfully filled a niche for both chefs and consumers, delivering healthy free-range meats from farmers all over America. For example, the rabbit in the first course, Rabbit Ballotine, created by one of my favorite Boston chefs, Tony Maws, was raised on a farm in Arkansas. Other dishes included duck, bison, and porcelet. Daguin is headed across the country this year to host special 30th anniversary dinners, so be on the lookout in your city. In the meantime head to the D’Artagnan website to see special discounts on many of her meats. 

 
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Boston’s Emerging Seaport District

Peering at the sailboats slicing through the harbor from the sixth-floor roof-deck bar of the new Envoy Hotel, it finally dawns on you that, yes, Boston really does rest on the shores of the Atlantic. For some silly reason, Boston has never taken proper advantage of its ocean setting. When the Institute of Contemporary Art opened in a gem of a building on the edge of the harbor in December 2006, publicists started to dub the evolving neighborhood the Seaport District. Yet, five years after the ICA opening, not much changed. A sea of parking lots continued to surround the ICA and wharves still lined the harbor of this industrial port.

Then, in 2013, Vertex Pharmaceuticals made the bold initiative to move the company’s global headquarters to twin 18-story buildings featuring 1.1 million square feet of research labs and office space. Other companies joined them, including Manulife Financial, Fidelity Investments, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. At last, the late Mayor Menino’s dream of a burgeoning Seaport District has taken root. Everywhere you look along the waterfront today, new condominiums and office buildings are being constructed. 
 
To read more about visiting the Boston Waterfront, including my hotel and restaurant picks, check out my latest story for Global Traveler. 
 
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Kicking Back in Aruba

If you dream of a Caribbean getaway with blinding white sands and aquamarine waters, a destination that has year-round temps in the mid to upper 80s, less than 15 inches of rain a year, a steady breeze, and absolutely no threat of hurricane, then it’s hard to top the Dutch island of Aruba. Only 16 miles long and 7 miles wide, this speck of land, just off the South American coast remains a popular escape year after year simply because you’re guaranteed a week or two of a warm, therapeutic climate. It doesn’t matter that the interior is mostly arid desert, not nearly as lush as other Caribbean isles like Jamaica or St. Lucia, because travelers come here primarily for that glorious 7-mile stretch of beach. To find out about activities, restaurants, and hotels in Aruba, please check out my latest story for Global Traveler. 
 

One Comment

  1. Please visit our website ruahanationalpark.weebly.com ..Ruaha is ‘Tanzania’s Best Kept Secret’ and the largest park in East Africa. The site has everything you need to know about Ruaha!

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