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Purchase Membership to ActiveTravels and Proceeds Will Go to World Central Kitchen

Since we started ActiveTravels in 2012, we’ve always had a Holiday push in November and December to help spread the word and to share the yearly membership fee with a worthy cause. In the past, we have donated to Heifer International and Ryan’s Well Foundation. This Holiday Season, if you purchase a membership to ActiveTravels for you, a friend or family member, we will donate half of the proceeds to World Central Kitchen. Founded by renowned Chef José Andrés, the World Central Kitchen team arrived in Puerto Rico September 2017 just a few days after Hurricane Maria wiped out the entire power grid. After cooking a few thousand meals at his friend’s restaurant, Andrés began receiving calls for aid from all over the island. He quickly expanded operations, mobilizing a network of emergency kitchens, food trucks, and partner organizations to make sure that communities in need received quality meals. They want on to serve over 150,000 meals in a single day, becoming the largest fresh meal operation following the hurricane. They have since served a mind-boggling 3.6 million meals in Puerto Rico and have moved on to help other regions hit by hurricanes and earthquakes, like Florida, North Carolina, and Indonesia. With Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday all coming up this week, consider purchasing the gift of travel and all the memorable experiences associated with your vacations. 

 

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Driving Iceland’s Golden Circle? Be Sure to Stop at Friðheimar

When told that we would be making one last stop on our Golden Circle route, at a greenhouse, most of the people on our tour scoffed at the idea, simply wanting to get back to our hotel in Reykjavik. It sounded like some hokey add-on, like visiting a gift shop owned by the bus driver’s brother. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Friðheimar is no ordinary greenhouse, but a massive year-round tomato and cucumber growing operation that yields close to a ton a day of crop thanks to the geothermal energy. I met the owner, Knútur Rafn Ármann, popped a tomato in my mouth (delicious), and then was treated to a sublime cup of tomato soup garnished with cucumber salsa and paired with fresh baked bread. It was probably the best dish I had in the country. Afterwards, we watched Knútur’s son and daughter (he has five children) ride the Icelandic horses he breeds. Friðheimar is open to the public for greenhouse tours, meals, and, in the summer, a 15-minute horse show. It’s the ideal way to end your trip on the Golden Circle. 

 
Thank you, Iceland! I’m off to the Lake Geneva region of Switzerland where I’ll be reporting live from Lausanne, Montreux, and Vevey. Please stay tuned next week! Thanks, as always, for checking in to ActiveTravels! 
 
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Norwegian Air Expands East Coast Markets

If you want to book a last-minute flight to the UK, Ireland, and Norway this summer, consider Norwegian Air. The low-cost carrier recently announced that they will offer new flights from Providence’s T. F. Green Airport to Belfast, Cork, Shannon, and Dublin, Edinburgh, and Bergen, Norway. Direct flights from Hartford’s Bradley Airport will head to Edinburgh. Norwegian will also be offering flights from Stewart Airport in New Windsor, New York, about 60 miles north of Manhattan to Belfast, Dublin, Shannon, Edinburgh, and Bergen. Service will begin in June or early July. The best part is the price. I just went on Norwegian Air’s website and looked at pricing for a Providence to Dublin round-trip flight, leaving July 4th and returning July 10th. Cost was only $315 round-trip including taxes! Don’t hesitate to book now because pricing will increase once word quickly spreads. 

 
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Bike to Madaket Beach on Nantucket

Next week, I’m excited to be reporting live from Acadia National Park to help promote their 100th birthday in 2016. This week, I want to describe some of my favorite adventures along the New England coast. The week before Labor Day, crowds tend to thin out as many kids are headed back to school. Take advantage of this opportunity to bike, hike, and sea kayak with far less people. First stop is Nantucket. 

 
Bike trails on Nantucket branch off in every direction, like the spokes on a wheel. My favorite ride, especially in the late afternoon when it cools down a bit, is the 6-mile jaunt from town to Madaket Beach. Grab your loved one, a bottle of wine and some picnic fare and head out on Cliff Road. You’ll quickly meet up with the Cliff Trail as you pass the rolling meadows and red-winged blackbirds at Tupancy Links conservation land. Merge with the Madaket Trail and you might be greeted by flittering goldfinches and osprey peering out from their oversized nests. When the trail becomes sandy and you can hear the pounding surf, you know you’re getting close. On the westernmost part of the island, the beach slopes down to the crashing waves. All around you is water, as if you’re stepping off land into the great abyss. Drink your wine and relax. If you don’t have the energy to do the return trip, the Wave bus runs until 11:20 pm and has a front rack for two bikes. 
 
Spend the night at the Century House on Cliff Road and they’ll have a bike from Nantucket Bike Shop waiting for you. They will also direct you on other routes to Brant Point and Sankaty Head lighthouses. Rooms, including full breakfast, start at $175 
 
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Peru Week with Abercrombie and Kent: Philanthropy Day

Philanthropy Day is always a highlight on any trip I’ve taken with Abercrombie and Kent. In the Masai Mara, I had the chance to talk about my life as a travel writer to the first group of women to ever attend school in the region. One of the girls who I met was continuing her education at Oxford! In Livingstone, Zambia, we visited a village, where wells were built so people didn’t have to walk five miles in the bush to get a pail of water. We also visited a health clinic and bike shop, all built thanks to Abercrombie and Kent and their generous clients. You can read it about it here. The company’s philanthropy is built into the fabric of the experience and it’s no voluntourism gimmick. On the contrary, it’s a meaningful and poignant day that often exceeds any other memory on the trip, including being on safari in Africa or seeing Machu Picchu in Peru. 
 
Our day in Sacred Valley was no different. We started at a mountainous village some 12,000 feet in elevation, where the community is known for their exquisite weavings. They showed us their technique, cleaning the alpaca wool and using dyes, all from nature, like the beet red coloring they would find from squeezing a cactus beetle. The yarn is then used to create hats, tablecloths, purses, and dolls, and sold in the market in Cuzco. We then visited a school serving underprivileged and undernourished children in the region called Children of the Rainbow. It was started by a woman from the Netherlands who was backpacking on the Inca Trail and became enamored with the kids. She came back and adopted 18 children, all of whom went on to college, and have now unlocked the chains of poverty. She then went on to create this school, giving 170 kids ages 3 to 13 and their families hope for a better future. The children were adorable, eating lunch when we arrived. We were shown the new library and the new playground, all recently built thanks to the help of Abercrombie and Kent. Ask the 18 people in my group what their favorite day on the weeklong trip was and I guarantee the majority will say Philanthropy Day. 
 
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Musee de la Civilisation A Must-Stop in Quebec City

Quebec City’s Musee de la Civilisation might sound like some vague museum of anthropology. Venture inside and you’ll be surprised to find one of the most intriguing museums in North America. On my last trip to Quebec City, I was treated to an exhibition called Urbanopolis, an architectural study that shows how cities around the world are preparing themselves for the future through apartment design and public transportation. When I returned this weekend, I saw a fascinating show on Nigerian art from private French collections, rarely seen by the public. The 187 objects from 44 various ethnic groups in Nigeria included a series of large masks created from, among other things, the human skull, facial hair, antelope horns, and lion’s teeth. I especially enjoyed the films of anthropologist Arnold Rubin from the 1960s that showed remote Nigerian tribesmen dancing with several of the masks and costumes on display. Another worthwhile exhibition at the Museum showcased New Zealand’s Maori culture and featured large wooden carvings from ancestral meeting houses. 

 
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Adventures in Las Cruces Week—A Stop or Two in Mesilla

Once a major stopover on the San Antonio to San Diego Butterfield Stagecoach route, Mesilla is now a valued historic district in Las Cruces. Go there in the daytime under the hot desert sun and the dusty streets around the plaza feel exactly like it did in the 1850s when Billy the Kid stood trial for murder in the town’s courtroom. Today, many of the classic adobes from yesteryear still stand and are now home to gift shops, bars, and the some of the finest dining in New Mexico. On weekends, you can often find live music at the bandstand in the plaza. Or start your night listening to the jukebox at a favorite local watering hole, El Patio, situated in one of those historic adobes. Once you build up an appetite, amble over to Andele for authentic Mexican fare. A hostess will escort you over to your table with a bowlful of homemade chips. Then make your way to the salsa bar to sample the tantalizing selections. The traditional salsa was so tasty that I bought a bottle for my son to try when I get home. Tacos al pastor is their specialty, with a heaping plate of charred pork, beef, or chicken, paired with spicy Mexican cole slaw and grilled onions to place in the piping hot corn or flour tortillas. La Posta de Mesilla is another Mexican restaurant locals rave about, set in the La Posta Compound, once home to the Corn Exchange Hotel on the Butterfield Stagecoach Line. If you’re looking for authentic Mexican food in a sleepy town from the Wild West, Mesilla is the place. 

 

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