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Dreaming of the Seychelles

We went to the big Africa Showcase in Boston several weeks ago, where reps from many of the sub-Saharan African countries and many lodge owners do their version of speed pitches for some 6 hours. Loved meeting people from Uganda, Zambia, and Namibia, all high on my wish list. But I absolutely adored the presentation on the Seychelles, 115 dreamy islands in the Indian Ocean. Only 2 hours by flights from Nairobi or Dar, it’s the perfect add-on to a safari in the Masai Mara and the Serengeti. Especially when you realize that the Seychelles are home to some of the finest island resorts in the world. If I was a honeymooner, I’d take a good look at Fregate Island, North Island, Six Senses, the Four Seasons, or MAIA. Contact ActiveTravels and you’ll receive extra Virtuoso amenities like free upgrade, spa treatments, and meals when booking. We’re here to make dreams come true! 

 

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The Trustees of Reservations Week, The Splendor of the Crane Estate

In 1949, the descendants of plumbing magnate Richard Crane bestowed their entire 2100-acre estate in Ipswich, 30 miles north of Boston in Cape Ann, to the Trustees of Reservations.  This includes their 59-room Stuart-style mansion, the grounds designed by none other than the Olmsted brothers, a 4.5-mile stretch of Atlantic beach, and a ten-room 19th century cottage and connected tavern which is now the Inn at Castle Hill. Unlike the unheralded properties I visited yesterday, the Crane Estate is the crown jewel of the Trustees sites, especially Crane Beach, beloved by New Englanders.

 
House tours of the Great House on Castle Hill start today for the season. Already there are 70 weddings booked this summer. Once you tour the house and then peer down at the undulating Grand Allee, a sweeping half-mile long front lawn that leads to bluffs overlooking Crane Beach, you’ll want to be married here too. The Trustees does an exemplary job recreating the exact look of the estate when Richard Crane lived here in its heyday in the roaring 20s. A portrait of Richard Crane’s father, painted by Anders Zorn, is the latest addition, thanks to the generosity of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Also look for the symbolist paintings by Richard’s daughter-in-law that hang in his son’s room.
 
The grounds have never looked better, thanks to the replanting of Norway spruce, white pine, and cedar trees along the Grand Allee. New this summer is work on the Casino, a marble-studded pool that hasn’t seen the light of day since the acquisition. Even if you don’t get married here, take a house tour, walk the grounds, and stay for a Thursday night concert. This summer’s performers include Latin music from Grupo Fantasia and rock by The Fools.
 
Better yet, spend the night just below the Great House at the Inn at Castle Hill. Few inns in America can look out from their wraparound porch onto miles of uninterrupted salt marsh and beach and call it their own. Overstuffed couches rest on polished pine floors in front of two grand fireplaces.  Walk upstairs past the whimsical trompe l’oeil painting and sunlit window seats and you’ll reach rooms like Cornelius (Richard’s son), with its custom-made king-size bed and sweeping view of the coastline.
 
Breakfast, included in the price, uses the eggs and milk farmed just down the road at the Trustees’ 1000-acre Appleton Farms. Open to the public, Appleton is the oldest continuously operating farm, in existence since 1638. Stroll or horseback ride on grassy trails past rows of veggies to the Appleton Old House. Both Appleton Old House and the Great House on the Crane Estate are part of the Trustees’ Free Home Sweet Home Open House Tour taking place on May 31st. Or consider taking a cooking class at Appleton, including cheesemaking, fish cookery, or gluten-free living.
 
Guests spending the night at Inn at Castle Hill also receive a voucher to visit Crane Beach. Go at sunrise or sunset, before the crowds arrive or after they leave. Walk the white crescent sand at your leisure and appreciate the incredible gift the Crane family gave to the people of Massachusetts. This is philanthropy at its best. 
 
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Introducing Austin Adventures

Big news from the world of active travel this week with the announcement that Austin Lehman Adventures has been acquired by Xantera Parks and Resorts and will be renamed Austin Adventures. It seems like a perfect fit to me. The former ALA has a legacy going back nearly 40 years, offering tours to more than 30 countries. Though few people know North America’s national parks better than Billings-based Dan Austin. Combined with Xantera’s lengthy list of national park lodges, Austin Adventures can now create the perfect itinerary. I was fortunate to bring my family of four on an ALA trip to the Canadian Rockies two summers ago and it’s still the trip I use to gauge all others. I also recommend the company highly to my clients at ActiveTravels. A family of 7 recently returned from an August trip to Kenai Fjord National Park in Alaska and raved about the ALA guides and their passion and knowledge of the spectacular terrain. The company’s guided adventures include biking, hiking, sea kayaking, horseback riding, and safaris while focusing on themes such as culture, gourmet food and wellness. 
 
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Surf Rincon and Stay at Roger’s Place

The best views of Puerto Rico come from the water. Watching the palms sway, seeing horseback riders galloping along the beach, and eyeing lighthouses as they stand tall, sending their beacon of light over the ocean waters. This is especially true if you’re on a board surfing Rincon. Called the “Caribbean Pipeline,” surfers from America, Europe, and South America flock to the western tip of Puerto Rico to glide atop the consistently large swell at spots like Maria’s, a monstrous reef break. The problem with Rincon was always the crime. Come back from a morning of surfing and your room is broken into. So it’s a joy to finally find a place that’s not only safe, clean, and serves delicious local food (included in the price), but is owned by a world-class Brazilian surfer. Roger Wagner’s six-bedroom villa, Surf 787, is perched on a hillside with water views just west of town. Depending on your level of expertise, he’ll guide you to the best surf spots within a 40-minute drive. Or you can venture out on your own, especially in the early morning hours when the local contingent of surfers are usually sleeping in after hitting the bars. December to April is the best time to surf Rincon. Check out the surf report, grab a flight into Aguadilla, and you could be on the water today!
 

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The Far From Perfect Honeymoon

“Goreme? You stop in Goreme?” I asked the bus driver as I pointed to our ticket. 

“Yes, Goreme. Coming,” he replied as he continued to drive like a maniac. Something was wrong. We had passed Nevsehir about an hour before, and, according to my guidebook, Nevsehir is only five miles from Goreme, the heart of Turkey’s intriguing Cappadocia region.
 
“Goreme, we’re going to Goreme!” my wife repeated, nearing hysteria. The driver nodded and grinned.
 
There was nothing wrong with the guidebook. The driver had indeed sped past Goreme to the next city. Frustrated, we arrived at the bus station there, only to learn that the bus to Goreme didn’t leave for five hours. We got there eventually – seven hours later in the middle of the night.
 
So much for the perfect honeymoon, the one advertised in glossy bridal magazines with couples strolling hand-in-hand in some European capital, locals having been conveniently blotted out.
 
All we wanted now was a bed on which to lay our weary heads. Surrounded by barking dogs, we walked up a hill and miraculously found our hotel. Rooms were carved out of the soft tufa rock Cappadocia is known for. But, of course, there was nobody at the front desk. Thoroughly exhausted and borderline delirious, we saw that a door to one of the rooms was ajar. We peeked in . . . the bed was empty. Good night!
 
Originally published in The Boston Globe, “Writers’ tales of 12 trips gone wrong.”
 
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Save Money on Rental Cars

Last week, I took the family to Miami Beach and Marco Island for Presidents Week vacation. Flying into Fort Lauderdale Airport, rental car prices were averaging a ridiculous $750 a week for a mid-sized vehicle. But if you picked up that same car down the road from my hotel in Miami Beach, the price was significantly reduced to a more affordable $300 a week. With a cost of taxi from Fort Lauderdale Airport to Miami Beach being a mere $35, I saved myself over $400 simply by not booking the rental car at the airport. It seems that rental car companies are intentionally jacking the prices at airports, assuming that travelers don’t want to hassle with picking up the car at a downtown location. But if you do the search like I did on the Dollar website, you’ll be happy with the savings of dollars!
 

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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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