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Grasshopper Adventures Debuts Taiwan Multisport Trip

Grasshopper Adventures, the Bangkok-based cycling and active travel outfitter, has just unveiled a 5-day itinerary in South Taiwan that sounds enticing. On this new family multisport tour, you’ll snorkel in the crystal-clear waters around Taiwan’s only coral island, Xiao Liuqui, bike the jungles of the Hengchun Peninsula while spotting monkeys, kayak and surf in the village of Jialeshui, hike Kenting National Park, swim at the exquisite Baisha Beach (featured in Ang Lee’s Life of Pi), explore indigenous villages and historic battlefields, and visit Kenting’s lively night market. Cost starts at $1,590 per person. 

 

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My 5 Favorite Fall Adventures in North America, Hiking the Skyline Trail, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

The landscape of Cape Breton is a mesmerizing mix of rolling summits, precipitous cliffs, high headlands, sweeping white sand beaches, and glacially carved lakes, all bordered by the ocean. The Cabot Trail is a road that hugs the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the rugged northwestern edge of Nova Scotia, where around every bend you want to pull over, spew expletives of joy at the stupendous vista, and take another snapshot. Indeed, it’s as close to Big Sur as the East Coast gets. Add bald eagles, moose, coyotes, and pilot whales fluking in the nearby waters and you want to leave the car behind and soak it all up on two legs. 

 
In October 2012, I visited Cape Breton and sampled one of the most popular trails, Skyline, a 5.7-mile loop atop the ridge of a coastal headland. I took deep breaths of the sweet pines as I meandered over the roots and rocks on the grassy path. Eventually, the trail snakes to the left offering expansive views of the sea. At the halfway point, a boardwalk leads down the headland and wow, what a majestic stroll it is. To the left is a backbone of peaks, to the right is all ocean as far as the eye can see. I sat down on a bench and bit into my honeycrisp apple, watching a whale spout. It was hard to leave, but after having my fill, I made my way back on the loop. Within minutes, I was staring at a mother moose and her calf. Memorable! 
 
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Highlights of My Trip to Newfoundland with Adventure Canada

Guest Post and Photos by Amy Perry Basseches

I’m almost done regaling you with tales from my 11 days with Adventure Canada, a trip I truly loved. I will never forget:
 
Jumping into freezing cold water in La Poile Bay, off the south coast of Newfoundland, after a day spent hiking high above the cove, and walking on a deserted beach there.
 
Tasting fresh partridgeberries and partridgeberry jam in the Community Hall in Elliston, on the east coast of Newfoundland, while studying the town’s Dart League team standings (15% of the local population plays). 
 
Watching divers on board jump into Francois Bay (south coast) and emerge again and again with 300+ scallop shells, which were then shucked and cooked, and eaten by anyone lucky enough to get in line early. 
 
Sharing many a beer and song with Newfoundland natives Alan Doyle, Tony Oxford, Gerry Strong, Paul Dean, Jeff Anderson, Latonia Hartery, Barbara Doran, Steve Evans, Dennis Minty, and others, most notably in our Nautilus Lounge (and in some local cafes on shore as well).
 
Putting my feet up and reading a book, while sipping coffee on deck during the sunny mornings, before getting into a Zodiac for another expedition (kayaking, hiking, a small town, a UNESCO site, you name it).
 
Adventure Canada says their trips bring a destination to life. I can assure you that this was done in a top-notch way. Consider joining me aboard the same vessel, the comfortable Ocean Endeavour, for the "Heart of the Arctic" Expedition Cruise in the summer of 2020. We’ll see the province of Nunavut, Baffin Island (Cape Dorset is very important to the Inuit art market), Nunavik (the Inuit homeland in Northern Quebec), Ungava Bay, and Greenland (including Nuuk, the capital). Let ActiveTravels know if you are interested. 
 
Steve’s off to Kentucky to tour the Bourbon Trail with a friend, before visiting his daughter at Indiana University for another fun Dad’s Sorority Weekend. We’ll be back next Monday with my description of the French islands off on Newfoundland, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. To all my American friends, please remember to vote today! 
 
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TSA PreCheck Versus Global Entry, My Latest Story for Men’s Journal

By now, you may have witnessed (and hopefully experienced) the beauty of being in a TSA PreCheck lane at airport security. In blissful pre-9/11 fashion, passengers in the PreCheck line don’t remove shoes, belts, or jackets, and have the luxury of keeping their liquids and laptops inside their bags. The standard metal detector is used instead of the invasive full-body scanner. On average, security agents can process twice as many passengers in PreCheck line than the normal lines.
 
Originally launched in October 2011, the program has expanded to 118 of the approximately 450 commercial airports in the US. New TSA centers are opening around the country to process applications at a cost of $85 for a five-year pass. In April, Air Canada was the first international carrier to sign on to the program. Of course, getting to your gate faster sounds great until you realize that being enrolled in PreCheck doesn’t guarantee you’ll always get to go through the coveted lane, since this is American bureaucracy you’re dealing with. Even after signing on to the program, you still might not be deemed trustworthy enough to get on every other flight.
 
To read why I prefer Global Entry, please click here. 
 
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Whitewater Rafting in West Virginia

Five hours west of Washington, DC, in the heart of West Virginia, families go whitewater rafting on West Virginia’s New River. Bordered on both shores by lush oak, hickory, and black cherry trees, this Class III-IV waterway cuts through a gorge of sandstone, shale, and coal, bumping into rapids with names like Surprise and Greyhound Bus Stopper. Minimum age is 10 years old. The truly intrepid rafter should take their chances on West Virginia’s Upper Gauley. This adrenaline-pumping Class V run drops 650 feet over a twenty-seven mile course. Located in Beckley, West Virginia, on the New River Gorge, Class VI-Mountain River has been taking shrieking families down the rivers of West Virginia since 1978. They also offer canopy tours and lodging in cabins.
 

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Five Favorite Adventures in National Parks, Paddling the Boundary Waters

Home to a mind-boggling 1,100 lakes and 1,300 miles of canoe routes, solitude in the Boundary Waters is only a half-day’s paddle from the town of Ely, Minnesota. Expect to hear the yodel of the loon echoing across the early morning mist and to see moose wading chest deep in the clear waters. Local folk save their paddling for September, when famished mosquitoes, biting flies, and babbling homo sapiens are long gone.

 
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Top 5 Travel Experiences of 2012, Hiking the Skyline Trail, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

The landscape of Cape Breton is a mesmerizing mix of rolling summits, precipitous cliffs, high headlands, sweeping white sand beaches, and glacially carved lakes, all bordered by the ocean. The Cabot Trail is a road that hugs the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the rugged northwestern edge of Nova Scotia, where around every bend you want to pull over, spew expletives of joy at the stupendous vista, and take another snapshot. Indeed, it’s as close to Big Sur as the East Coast gets. Add bald eagles, moose, coyotes, and pilot whales fluking in the nearby waters and you want to leave the car behind and soak it all up on two legs. 

 
In early October, I visited Cape Breton and sampled one of the most popular trails, Skyline, a 5.7-mile loop atop the ridge of a coastal headland. I took deep breaths of the sweet pines as I meandered over the roots and rocks on the grassy path. Eventually, the trail snakes to the left offering expansive views of the sea. At the halfway point, a boardwalk leads down the headland and wow, what a majestic stroll it is. To the left is a backbone of peaks, to the right is all ocean as far as the eye can see. I sat down on a bench and bit into my honeycrisp apple, watching a whale spout. It was hard to leave, but after having my fill, I made my way back on the loop. Within minutes, I was staring at a mother moose and her calf. No surprise that the Skyine made my top 5 list in 2012! 
 

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