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Take a Walkaround on the ActiveTravels YouTube Channel

Lisa and I call them Walkarounds. If a resort or boutique lodging impresses us, we immediately break out the iPhone and start filming the room upon arrival. I recently downloaded a good 12 videos we created over the past year or two at some of our favorite properties, including Sol Y Luna in Peru’s Sacred Valley; Silky Oaks in Australia’s Daintree Rainforest; the “trulli” magnificent Borgo Canonica in Puglia, Italy; the gem of a hotel, Corral del Rey in Seville, Spain; Mystique in Santorini, Greece; and Croatia’s Villa Dubrovnik. They join other videos I’ve already uploaded on lodging in Botswana, Tanzania, Hong Kong, and St. Lucia. All videos are short, around 2 to 3 minutes, and can be found on the ActiveTravels YouTube Channel. Please have a look! 

 

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Following in the Footsteps of Canada’s Group of Seven Artists

Guest Post by Amy Perry Basseches

While vacationing last summer in the Georgian Bay area of Ontario, a few hours north of Toronto, my husband Josh and I ventured to the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in Owen Sound. Many Americans are not familiar with the famous painters in the “Group of Seven,” but in Canada they are revered. Also known as the Algonquin School, these Canadian landscape artists worked from 1920 to 1933. The most famous name associated with the Group of Seven is likely Lawren Harris (1885 – 1970), who actor/comedian/art collector Steve Martin brought to the US via exhibits in Los Angeles and the MFA in Boston. One of Harris’ paintings sold for more than $3 million last November. Tom Thomson predated but seriously influenced the Group of Seven. He died before its official formation, mysteriously drowning in 1917 in Canoe Lake in Algonquin National Park, Ontario. Thomson grew up just outside of Owen Sound, an inlet on Georgian Bay, and the small museum there pays homage to his work and impact. I particularly enjoyed the early photography of the Group of Seven painters as they fished, swam, and camped, before setting up their easels “plein air.” If you are interested in seeing more paintings from the Group of Seven, visit the wonderful McMichael Canadian Art Collection, just outside of Toronto in the town of Kleinburg on your next trip to Ontario. 
 
Tom Thomson, sketch for The West Wind, Spring 1916, oil on wood. Collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.
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September 2015 Newsletter: Cuba, Puerto Rico and Southern US

In this month’s newsletter at ActiveTravels, we talk about Puerto Rico, easy to access on direct flights and no passports required for Americans. It’s also a great month to head down South, so we divulge four hotels we like in Charleston, New Orleans, Tennessee, and Natchez, Mississippi. For our Quick Escape, I recently returned from a spectacular week of adventure in Acadia National Park. We also talk about an outfitter who specializes in custom-made trips to Cuba and introduce our Journey to Global Citizenship Travel Plan. 

 
The last item, a lengthy travel plan, is something we always try to emphasize. By creating a list of destinations you want to definitely visit in the next 3 years, you’ll be assured of finally going to those countries and cities on your wish list. Put them on a calendar and no longer will they be dreams, but a reality. Perhaps even more important, by being organized about where and when you want to go, we can book flights and hotels months in advance, saving you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Yes, it’s exhilarating to be spontaneous when it comes to travel, but realize that you pay a hefty price. 
 
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Bike Denver




Kudos to the Mile High City for implementing the first bike-sharing program in the United States. Comparable to Paris, Amsterdam, and Montreal, you can pick up a shiny new red 3-speed Trek bike at any of the 40 stations around town and drop them off at another station. A 24-hour membership is $5 while a yearly membership will set you back $65. Simply pick up the bike at say the Colorado Convention Center and drop it off near the Denver Art Museum. From the Denver Art Museum, grab another bike and cruise to your hotel. Starting in June, the bikes will be equipped with RFID chips and computers to track mileage, calories burned, and carbon offsets. So you can monitor your fi


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Northern Iraq, Anyone?

If your list of must-see locales in 2012 includes the archaeological sites and exquisite scenery of northern Iraq, you’re in luck. 5 new properties are set to open in Erbil, the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan in the next year, including two Marriott lodgings and a Hilton. Having broken ties with Saddam Hussein after the first Persian Gulf War in 1991, Erbil was spared the fighting of 2003 onward. Visit the Museum of Civilization to understand the city’s ancient past, then take a short taxi ride over to Shaklawa Road to see a recreation of Istanbul’s famous Blue Mosque. Nearby is Bakery and More, a Lebanese-owned bakery known for their Arabic sweets. Any of the shwarma joints in town is a good place to meet the locals, which now total over a million. 

 

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New in New Hampshire Skiing

Like Vermont, New Hampshire has also received a good amount of early season snow, over 3 feet in some ski areas. Loon Mountain and Mount Sunapee is now under new ownership. Loon was purchased by Boyne Resorts while Mount Sunapee is now owned by Vail Resorts. Over at Bretton Woods, they’re busy building the first 8-person gondola in the state. Waterville Valley has added a 12,000 square foot expansion to the Base Lodge, which will allow for better views and more elbow room this season. Also at Waterville Valley, the expansion at Green Peak is now complete, with a total of 10 new trails, including Wayne Wong Way, which features the steepest pitch at the resort. Lastly, as reported here before, the new Glen House Hotel opened in the Fall of 2018 and now provides trailside lodging at Great Glen Trails. So get out there and carve that perfect turn! 
 
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Zegrahm Expeditions Branching into Adventure Tours in Bhutan and Uganda

Seattle-based Zegrahm Expeditions is best known for their naturalist-led small-size expedition cruises that venture to the far corners of the globe, from Antarctica to Iceland, Yap to the Azores. In 2011, the company plans to add active adventures to their excursions, featuring two 14-day land-based treks in Bhutan and Uganda. Scheduled from April 10-23, the Bhutan jaunt will be led by Asian-culture expert, Gary Wintz, and will include a hike to Tiger’s Nest, the most famous monastery in this high-altitude Himalayan kingdom, and Thimpu, Bhutan’s capital and main residence of the king. Uganda is slated for November 30-December 13, 2011, and will be led by Zegrahm field director Jonathan Rossouw. The itinerary includes two days gorilla trekking in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, visiting the large community of chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, and white water rafting down the Nile. 
 

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