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Maine Winter Carnival Debuts in January

Based on the highly successful Carnaval de Quebec in Quebec City, Portland, Maine will be unveiling Carnaval Maine January 30-February 1. Most of the events will be taking place on the Eastern Promenade, including the requisite ice sculptures, light shows, and bonfires. There will also be a rail jam created by Sunday River resort. This being Portland, expect a fantastic selection of local food and brew, including beer by Bissell Brothers, Maine Beer Co., Rising Tide, and Allagash, and dining provided by Central Provisions and Scales, among others. ActiveTravels clients have been praising the Francis Hotel and Press Hotel in Portland. We’re happy to check availability and pricing. 

 

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Wild China

I had the good fortune to have lunch last week in Boston with Mei Zhang, founder of Wild China. For more than a decade, the Harvard MBA grad has brought visitors to the remote parts of China, telling me that “over 80 percent of travelers to the country see less than 20 percent of the land mass.” More than likely they get a glimpse of the Great Wall in Beijing, go on a Yangtze River cruise, and, if they have time, see the Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China in Xi’an. But what about that impressive mountain and river scenery found in the backdrop of Zhang Yimou films? To immerse yourself in that otherworldly beauty, you’re going to have to sign up for one of Wild China’s trips. Zhang is keen on taking people to her native Yunnan Province, north of Laos and Burma. Here you’ll find centuries-old Hill Tribes making bricks of tea high up in the mountains and the Tea & Horse Caravan Trail, a southern Silk Route still being used that links southwestern China with Tibet. The trade route will be featured in the May issue of National Geographic, a perfect time to take the weeklong jaunt with Wild China, according to Zhang. She also offers hiking trips on the 19th-centruy French Explorers’ Route, along the Mekong and Salween Rivers, and trekking in the heart of Shangri-La.
 

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Adventures in Las Cruces Week—Enjoying the Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market

The best time to enter Las Cruces is on a Friday night like I did. The next morning when the sun arose atop those jagged peaks known as the Organ Mountains, I headed to Main Street for the Saturday Farmers Market. If you’re yearning for authenticity in the Southwest, all it takes is a 7-block stroll in Las Cruces on a Saturday morning to find it. It was the end of the green chile and tomato harvest and bins were filled with fresh produce from the Dona Ana Valley. Also found were pomegranates, Arkansas Black apples, jugs of horchata and limonata, locally farmed pecans and pistachios, and ristras (long strings) of red chiles hanging in front of many of the stalls. Yet, what really impressed me were the local artisans offering gemstone-laden jewelry, pottery, wooden crafts like adobe-style salt and pepper shaker holders, sculptures, watercolors of the local desert wildflowers, and photographs of the Organ Mountains splashed in red sunlight. All offered at a fraction of the cost one would find these wares 4 hours to the north in Santa Fe. 

After purchasing my bounty of souvenirs, I headed to the large Coas used bookstore on Main Street, then checked out more local art at a juried show at the free Las Cruces Museum of Art. On the way back to my car, I spoke to a jeweler who moved to Las Cruces 11 years ago after retiring as a broker in Montreal. “330 days of sunshine, no humidity, no traffic, this place is a hidden gem,” he told me. Bathed in sunlight and sucking down my horchata on a perfect day with mid-80s temps, it was easy to understand the appeal.
 
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Delta Toronto Opens in City’s South Core Neighborhood

When I visited Toronto in October, I took a hardhat tour of the new Delta Toronto, which made its debut this past Friday, November 27th. Smack dab in the heart of the emerging South Core neighborhood, the spacious rooms overlook Ripley’s Aquarium of Toronto and the CN Tower. I especially like the corner suites, which reward guests with exceptional views of the city. This is a great locale for families. Along with the aquarium, CN Tower, and the Toronto Railway Museum, Air Canada Centre and the Rogers Centre are all within easy walking distance. So it’s easy to take in a Maple Leafs, Raptors, or Blue Jays game while in town. 

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Destinations to Visit in 2015—Myanmar

Myanmar (Burma) will have a landmark year in 2015, when it holds its first national elections since 1990. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy is favored to win a sweeping majority of seats, but foreign diplomats are already worried that the military will rear its ugly head once again, rigging the election in favor of its de facto party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The reforms of late 2012, early 2013 brought much needed democratic changes, optimism, and a surge of international travelers, many of whom were waiting for the release of Suu Kyi, the Burmese activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner. These last two years have also brought a surge of capital primarily from China to build up the cities. Chinese investments have already changed the look of Vientiane, the historic capital of Laos on the Mekong River. Now the cranes and condos could very well change the look of Yangon (formerly Rangoon), Myanmar’s major city. If you want to visit the golden pagodas, colonial-era buildings, traditional shops, and 40s-era mansions, go now before the city is dotted with sleek new skyscrapers. Then take a river cruise to Mandalay, stopping at small villages along the way to get a real taste of Southeast Asia. 

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Ogunquit’s Genuine Lazy River

Last week, I spent a couple nights on the southern Maine coastal town of Ogunquit, only a 90-minute drive from Boston. The town is known for its Cliff Walk and long expanse of beach, but one of the highlights of our trip was floating on the Ogunquit River. Several hours before low tide, crowds start to make their way down to the river, boogie boards, tubes, and rafts in tow. The strong current of the river carries people into the Atlantic on the town’s natural version of a lazy river. We didn’t have any beach toys, so my wife and I simply floated on our backs. The water was cool, yet warmer than the Maine ocean waters. We held hands and laughed as we floated swiftly around the bend of the beach, watching the clouds float above us. It was over far too quickly and I heartily concurred with 6 year-old boy next to me who shouted “Again!” when his ride was over.

This week, I’m going to focus on some of my favorite ways to get wild and wet in North America.
 

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Tanzania Plans to Build a Highway Through the Serengeti

Here are some words of wisdom to the current Tanzanian president, Jakaya Kikwete, who just announced plans to build a highway that will slice right through the southern part of the Serengeti. “Build it and they won’t come,” as in the hundreds of thousands of Europeans and American travelers who make the trek to Tanzania each year to go on safari. Slated to be built in 2012, the 260-mile highway will connect Arusha, near Mount Kilimanjaro, with Musoma on Lake Victoria. The idiotic move will not only disrupt one of the world’s great migrations of some 1.2 million wildebeests traveling north into Kenya’s Masai Mara, but will be an easy way in and out for poachers. Make the wise move, President Kikwete, and find an alternative route.
 

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