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5 Favorite Travel Days in 2014, Biking and Sailing Portland, Maine

To celebrate my 50th birthday, my wife, Lisa, set up a glorious day in Portland, Maine—biking along the shoreline, only to be topped by a private sunset sail with family and close friends. Thankfully, the weather was perfect. Norman Patry, owner of Summer Feet Cycling, led my family of 10 along the scenic shoreline of South Portland and Cape Elizabeth to five lighthouses. They included such picturesque gems as Bug Light, the smallest lighthouse in operation in America, and Portland Head Light, painted by the likes of Edward Hopper. Near Portland Head Light, we bought lobster rolls from a food truck and dined overlooking Portland Harbor. The lobster rolls were excellent, chockful of fresh meat, and you could order them Maine-style (with mayo), Connecticut-style (lightly buttered), spiced with curry (loved it) or wasabi. Washed down with locally made Eli’s Blueberry Soda and topped off with ginger molasses cookies from Standard Bakery in town, it was a perfect Portland meal. The ride ended at Kettle Cove, a small beach, just past Two Lights State Park.

 
Later that afternoon, we boarded the 74-foot long sloop, Frances, under the confident helm of Captain Megan Jones. On our 3-hour long private charter, we sailed Casco Bay past many of those same lighthouses we saw by land, while dining on locally catered food washed down with good wine and Maine microbrews. Want a memorable birthday celebration away from home? Contact Lisa Leavitt, a travel agent at ActiveTravels.com. She comes highly recommended! 
 

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The Hmong Women: Lessons in Sales, Sapa, Vietnam

Guest Blog and Photo by Frances F. Denny

  
Sapa, in the mountains of Northwest Vietnam, draws native Vietnamese and foreign travellers alike to its cool temperatures and pristine landscapes.  The many so-called “hill tribes” native to the region, like the H’mong and Red Zhao, have adapted to the surge of visitors like savvy capitalists. 
 
In their traditional garb of indigo-dyed hemp and neon embroidery, the H’mong women are striking in appearance. As you arrive in town, they quickly engage visitors in workable English.  "Where are you from?" and "How long you stay?"  They answer all of your questions with ease and humor. The attention and seeming authenticity of the conversation is flattering. However, as soon as they’ve established a rapport, the H’mong women begin unpacking the baskets strapped to their backs, and display hand-woven pillowcases, purses, and blankets. You might buy a trinket from one of the girls as they follow you around town, and the others will frown and say, "You promise to buy from me, too?" The items for sale are pretty, but ubiquitous.  Offloading as many of these items as possible to any customer is the goal. 
 
A trek into Sapa’s valley of terraced rice paddies will inevitably be attended by three or four H’mong girls, hopping nimbly over mud puddles and stones, as visitors scramble and splosh.  The women chat about families, their work, their cuisine.  In a few hours, your guide will declare lunch, at which the point the baskets are opened and the wares arrayed again.  The implication is, "I trekked with you, now you buy from me."  
 
Once a visitor is marked, every departure from a hotel activates the sales force whose faces soon become familiar.  Every detail gleaned from earlier sales forays will be remembered by all: the visitor’s name and itinerary, the number of sisters in the family; the mother who might like a pair of silver earrings. Exactly what price their friend sold a belt an hour earlier will also be known. They frown and pout upon hearing, "No, thank you." A smile appears when they are asked if a purchase will end all the attention. This is the dance, too and the H’mong are expert hagglers. They know a potential buyer must be worn down; that guilt can drive a purchase as much as fatigue; that a tourist will pay 500,000 Dong for some peace. When the sale is done, the H’mong women tie a woven bracelet to their customer’s wrist, and the selling stops – though it is hard not to wonder if the gift is also marking you a sucker to the rest of the tribe.
 
The H’mong women would excel in any MBA program. They identify their customer, make a personal connection, offer something free – but of value (trekking guidance; cultural information) – for the chance to solicit, leveraging their ethnic authenticity with modern psychology.  It is a cold visitor who does not succumb to such marketing.  It’s the price of admission to Sapa.
 
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Royal Air Maroc to Fly Direct from Boston to Casablanca

Morocco has become an increasingly popular destination for our clients at ActiveTravels in the past several years. The only challenge for people leaving from Boston is that there was no direct flight, meaning they usually had to transfer at JFK or Lisbon’s Portela Airport. Thankfully, that’s about to change on June 22nd. Royal Air Maroc has just announced that they will be flying direct from Boston to Casablanca 3 times weekly. Total flight time on the Boeing 787-8 will be 7 hours, 25 minutes westbound and 6 hours 35 minutes eastbound. Royal Air Maroc will also be joining One Alliance in 2020, so soon you’ll be able to use your American Airlines miles to find seats. Once in Morocco, we work with a fantastic ground operator who packages together all lodging, guides, drivers, and restaurants to make your experience as seamless as possible. A typical 10-day itinerary will include Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, the glorious seaside village of Essaouira, and at least one night at a Bedouin camp in the Sahara Desert. Please let us know how we can help. 

 
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Maine Week-AMC’s Gorman Chairback Lodge Worth the Drive

After driving 45 minutes on rutted timber roads on the outskirts of Greenville, Maine, I was definitely tired of driving by the time I reached Gorman Chairback Lodge. Smack dab in the heart of Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness in the North Woods, this last great stand of wilderness in northeastern United States is not easily accessible. Then we walked into the main lodge and saw the long tables made of fresh white pine and met the friendly crew staff. They took us to our cabin perched on Long Pond, a serene almost 4-mile-long body of water surrounded by the ridges of the nearby Appalachian Trail. That’s when we heard the first of many loon calls, that unmistakable yodel echoing across the lake. All was bliss from this point onward. Smelling the sweet pine, listening to the call of loons, peering at mountains with few, if any signs of civilization. It’s no surprise that this locale has been hosting guests since 1867. The AMC has done a fine job of refurbishing and building new cabins and most of the people we met at dinner, have been returning year after year. Once you get a taste of this pristine beauty, it’s hard not to return. 
 
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Favorite Fall Outings in New England, Biking Around the Basin Harbor Club, Vermont

The two weeks prior to Columbus Day is one of my favorite times of the year to be in New England. The temperatures are still reasonably warm, in the 60s during the day, and the leaves have changed color. Anywhere in Vermont will do nicely, thank you. But I love Addison Valley, known for its web of backroads ideally suited for road biking. The network of roads that branch off from the Basin Harbor Club are particularly enticing. Head south on Button Bay Road to Arnold Bay Road and you get exquisite vistas of Lake Champlain, with the Adirondacks standing tall in the backdrop. Venture onto Basin Harbor Road, turning right on Jersey Street, and the smell of manure is wafting in the air as you pass numerous dairy farms, eventually arriving at the Panton General Store. Continue on Panton Road and you see the backbone of the Green Mountains. This fertile valley was meant to be seen on two wheels at a reduced speed, especially during fall foliage. 

 
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Five Favorite Adventures in the Caribbean, Multisport in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is gaining in popularity because of the increasing number of direct flights from the US and the fact that Americans don’t have to del with Customs. Spend time in Old San Juan, the walled-in section of the capital known for its handsomely restored centuries-old buildings. Then head out on one of the island’s ecotours—sea kayaking around Bioluminescent Bay, hiking underground in the massive caves of Rio Camuy Cave Park, or trekking in the lush El Yunque Rainforest. At El Yunque, colorful orchids line the trails, leading to a refreshing dip under a waterfall. All three adventures can be arranged as day tours from San Juan. There’s a wonderful B&B in San Juan where we book many of our clients, Casa Castellana. The owner, Natalia Richards, is the ideal host to the island, suggesting favorite restaurants, sites, and day tours. 

 
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Africa Week—Extending Your Trip to Cape Town at Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

Lisa just returned from the We Are Africa conference at Sundance in Utah, where she met close to 100 suppliers and property General Managers from across the African continent. This week, I’d like to discuss the 5 contacts that got her the most excited. While the wine country of Stellenbosch/Franschhoek and Cape of Good Hope appear in all of our itineraries to South Africa, we rarely place clients in Hermanus, which is best known for its whale watching. That will change now that we know about Grootbos, a Nat Geo lodge and private game reserve located about 2 hours southeast of Cape Town, just off Cape Nature Walker Bay. Spend 3 days at this eco-resort to go on nature walks and see more than 100 endangered plant species and rare birds, whale watch and dolphin boat rides on the ocean waters, horseback ride through 2500 hectares of forest, even sign up for scenic flights and great white shark cage dives. Then head back to the lodge for gourmet meals, washed down with all that excellent South African wine that never leaves the country. Lekka, mon!  

 

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