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Kicking Back, Costa Rica

High up in the mountains with views of the Pacific coast, the weather in Monteverde’s Cloud Forest is surprisingly cool for a Central American locale. A perpetual dampness creates a slick layer of moss that covers the branches and trunks of trees. Thick vines drop down from towering ficus trees and clay-covered trails are laden with fallen passionfruit. We follow an impassioned naturalist named Mauricio Ramirez who truly loves his job. He gives us cilantro and cinnamon to smell, tells us what part of the palm tree to cut to find the meaty heart of palm, sticks a flashlight into a hole to see an orange and brown-colored tarantula, and has us swing from one of the vines a la Tarzan.

"This is impressive," Mauricio says as he sets up his telescope quickly. I peer in and my jaw instantly drops as I make out the bushy white eyebrows and wide eyes of a crested owl staring right back at me. "Holy cow!" I blurt out as Mauricio chimes in with "Beautiful, yes beautiful."
 
To find my entire story on Costa Rica, please see the latest issue of Global Traveler Magazine. 
 

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The Long Trail Turns 100

On March 21, 1910, 23 avid hikers (or trampers as they were called at the time) sat in a room in Burlington, Vermont, and had the wacky idea to create the first long-distance hiking trail in America. The Green Mountains had been largely unappreciated, so James P. Taylor (1872-1949) made a promise that his group would “make the Vermont mountains play a larger part in the life of the people.” They called their organization the Green Mountain Club and remarkably finished a 273-mile long route that snakes through the Green Mountains the entire length of the state. The high-country trail is a narrow, unforgiving footpath in the wilderness that winds through the finest greenery of this sylvan state. A century later, as our leisure time becomes more and more diminished through overwork and lack of vacation time, the Long Trail seems too long for most of us.  Only 120 hikers took a month out of their life in 2009 to complete the entire route and become certified “end-to-enders” by the Green Mountain Club. If you ever wanted to take advantage of James P. Taylor’s dream, the centennial celebration would be a good time.
 

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Georgia on My Mind

In yesterday’s blog, I discussed meeting the preeminent sea kayaker, Olaf Malver, who now leads trips for Natural Habitat Adventures to Greenland, Antarctica, and the Galapagos Islands. When not paddling, Malver is back in his native Georgia (the country, not the state), producing award-winning wine from his vineyards. Straddling the border between Europe and Asia, the origins of winemaking can be traced back to this region of the world. Today, oenophiles flock to Kakheti province, the top winemaking region to sample the wares. A fine bottle of wine is just one of the reasons to visit Georgia, which has recently landed on Travel & Leisure and Vogue’s “top places to travel” lists. Olaf’s wife runs Wild Georgia, which leads weeklong guided trekking and horseback riding jaunts into the Caucasus, the striking mountain range that stands taller than the Alps. The capital, Tblisi, has quickly become an exciting center for art, food, and music amidst the art nouveau architecture. Stay at the recently opened Rooms Hotels, dine at a French Laundry alum’s bistro, Le Montrachet, and check out the electronic music scene at Bassiani. Big hoteliers like Le Meridian and Radisson Blu are already busy building new properties in the country, so the time to go is summer or fall 2017 before word spreads. 

 

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This is the Week to Go Skiing in America

As I was leaving the office on Friday, I received a flurry of press releases from ski areas across the country. Utah’s Snowbird had just received 30 inches of snow and another storm was on its way today and tomorrow. Just down the road, Park City was getting dumped on pretty heavily. Here in New England, where my yard was green until Saturday, Vermont and New Hampshire ski areas both received up to a foot of snow this past weekend. Also on Saturday, I received word that the Lake Tahoe region would receive up to three feet of snow, snowing more than an inch an hour. So if you were looking forward to calling in sick and hitting the slopes, this would be the week. Check out Liftopia to get discounted lift tickets. 

 
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May Newsletter Now Available at ActiveTravels.com

May marks the first anniversary of ActiveTravels.com, the travel consulting business that my wife and I created. Thanks to all of you, it’s been a great success! Over the course of the first year, we’ve compiled top-notch contacts around the world. So if you want to go on a weeklong safari in Tanzania, a guided 4-day trek from Mumbai to Agra to Jaipur, a half-day walking tour of the Gaudi architecture in Barcelona, or jaguar viewing in the Brazilian Pantanal, we know who to call. The beauty of this business is that as soon as our clients give us the thumb’s up on a certain outfitter, resort, or day guide, upon return from their trip, we pass this precious information along to everyone.
 
We’ve also been busy this past year building our inventory of Dream Day Itineraries, highly detailed daily trip planners for independent travelers. They include recommended lodging, sights, restaurants, outdoor recreation, and, most importantly, how to get from Point A to Point B. Tried and true itineraries have already been created for Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Costa Rica, London and the UK, Paris, Italy, Barcelona and Madrid, the Canadian Rockies, the Atlantic Maritimes, Yellowstone and the Tetons, Utah’s National Parks, Durango and Telluride, Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree National Parks, Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, the Florida Keys, and New England.
 
New this year is we hope to itemize all travel stories from our previous newsletters, so if you’re headed to Kenya, you’ll find our description of the country without having to peruse every issue. Talking about newsletters, in the May issue we go on a driving trip through Canada’s Atlantic Maritimes, review the hotels we love in the Sarapiqui region of Costa Rica, remember our quick escape to Block Island, announce Abercrombie & Kent’s new Connections trips, and comment on how the sequester is going to effect the National Parks this summer. Thanks again for coming along for the ride! 
 
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Healthy Parks Healthy People US

Last week in San Francisco, the National Park Service brought together more than 100 leaders in health care and the environment to host a forum called Healthy Parks Healthy People US. America is following a successful Australian initiative to promote the positive connection between the health of the natural world and the health of humans. By introducing more people to America’s state and national parks, the National Park Service hopes to instill a healthier lifestyle that leads to reduced health care costs. The NPS is expanding First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move program to create Let’s Move Outside Junior Rangers and is also introducing other health-conscious programs like Food for the Parks and my favorite title, No Child Left Inside. Any program that helps reconnect people with nature is a winner in my eyes, whether it’s for physical or mental health reasons or simply the chance to be lost in a stunning locale.
 

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Disappointing America’s Cup

For those of you who caught that small short blurb in the middle of the sports section last week, smack dab between Winter Olympics, basketball, and spring training baseball coverage, the America’s Cup is finally returning to American soil for the first time in 15 years. Software billionaire Larry Ellison and his BMW Oracle Racing team easily crushed the Swiss in Valencia, Spain. But did you take a look at his boat, a space-age trimaran that’s all sail, little deck? This is what the greatest sailing race has been reduced to, creating the fastest object on the water? Call me a traditionalist but I yearn for my childhood where we would head to Newport and watch the likes of Ted Turner and Dennis Connor sail large mono-hulled sailboats that at least looked like sleek yachts, not something better suited for Star Wars. One of the greatest thrills I had was racing on the winning 1986 Stars and Stripes boat in St. Martin, now used as a tourist attraction, racing against other boats from that era. It’s a far better way to introduce people to the exhilaration of sailing races, at least compared to Ellison’s high-priced toy.

 

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