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Trekking Annapurna with Indo Asia Tours

We recently had the pleasure of meeting Sunirmol Ghosh in Boston. Director of Indo Asia Tours, a highly respected travel company that designs custom-made tours to the Indian subcontinent since 1987, Ghosh was once a trekking guide in the lofty peaks of Afghanistan and adventure is still his true love. His company now designs walking tours of Bhutan, horseback riding trips outside of Jaipur, cycling in the Madikeri, fishing in Srinagar, scuba diving in the Andaman Islands, even golfing at the circa-1829 Royal Calcutta Golf Club. But it’s his guided treks to Everest Base Camp and the legendary Annapurna in Nepal that has me licking my lips with anticipation. If you want to do the Indian subcontinent with the pros, please contact ActiveTravels and we’ll find a trip that fits your passion.  

 
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This Summer, Book a Maine Windjammer Sail

With early spring weather in Boston this week, I’m already thinking of booking another windjammer sail in Maine this summer. A question I’m always asked is where does a travel writer/advisor go for downtime? For me, I’ll jump on one of these historic schooners any chance I get. Two summers ago, I made the wise choice to sail on the Schooner Mary Day with my daughter, Melanie, before she left for her first year of college at Indiana University. We had a glorious trip dining on all the lobster we could stomach on a deserted island off the mid-Maine coast, spotting harbor porpoises, lonely lighthouses, and making new friends around the country as we hoisted sails and sucked in as much salty air as necessary. This comes on the heels of two memorable sails aboard the Grace Bailey with my dad and his wife Ginny. A memory I won’t soon forget is my father taking the wheel of the Grace Bailey and sailing for a good hour or two. 

 
Do yourself a favor and book a sail. It’s the best way to see the rugged shoreline and tall timbers of the Maine coast. New themed cruises include a watercolor workshop aboard the American Eagle and bar craft and cocktail making aboard Ladona. Back by popular demand: Beer and Bluegrass (Ladona), Foodie Cruises (Stephen Taber), Kayaking Tours (Lewis R. French), Wine Tasting (Stephen Taber, Angelique), and Knitting (Isaac H. Evans). Prices start at $525 for a 2-night cruise. 3-day trips range from $595 to $1,428; 6-day cruises from $935 to $1,938. Average price per night is $220 per person, including all meals, lodging, and activities like the signature all-you-can-eat lobster feast. For more information contact the Maine Windjammer Association. 
 
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The Debut of Hotel Salem

For Lisa’s birthday, we headed up the road to spend the day and night in Salem. We saw the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum, and then strolled down the street to the new Hotel Salem, which just opened in the former Newmarket department store building. The 4-story structure of exposed granite and brick now lends itself well to 44 spacious rooms with floor to ceiling windows overlooking this historic town and a restaurant on the ground floor called Counter. I ordered the Industry Burger, one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time, topped with blue cheese and hot sauce, and served with handcut fries and a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon. A rooftop bar will be open in the spring and there’s also space in the basement that could be used for games and another long bar. But for the time being, Hotel Salem is perfectly suited for a winter overnight, with the O’Keeffe show running until April 1st. 

 
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Give Your Grandchild a Gift that Will Last a Lifetime

Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches 

 
In March, my family will hold a 90th birthday party for my mother. Her intellectual curiosity about the world remains unchanged from the time in the late 1980s when she and my father dreamed up the idea of a “10-year old trip.” They would take each grandchild to a destination of the young grandchild’s choosing (within reason!) once they turned 10. In the mid 1990s, they took my nephew Alex rafting on the Rogue River in Oregon, then my niece Sarah to Costa Rica, where my father was involved with the local environmental group Organization for Tropical Studies. After my father died, my mother continued the tradition, taking my nephew Ben to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos, my nephew Jason to Alaska, my son Jake to the Peruvian Amazon, and my daughter Sophie to Belize (both to the Mayan ruins in the Cayo District and to the reefs on the coast). 
 
These trips, I’m proud to say, seem ideal for ActiveTravels members. I would strongly encourage anyone reading this blog who may have an interest in multi-generational travel to consider something along similar lines. ActiveTravels would love to help you find the right destination and make the arrangements. I am confident that these many journeys had a tremendous impact on both the grandparents and the grandchildren in my family, often exposing the child to adventures they would not have had otherwise and to special bonds with Grandma and Pop-Pop. For several of these grandchildren, a love of the outdoors, or of exploring the world culturally, remains at the forefront of their lives. As my son Jake wrote in a postcard, recently unearthed, to a friend back in Brookline: "In my trip to the Amazon, I’ve fallen in quicksand, eaten a piranha, been skooled in ‘football’ by the locals, seen a capybara, been blessed by a shaman, and been 65 feet up in the trees on a rope bridge. How are you?"
 
Phote of Jake and My Mom in the Peruvian Amazon Summer 2006 
 
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WOW, Who Knew?

Guest Post by Amy Perry Basseches
 
It’s hard to believe I’m writing a blog praising an airline. Usually flights are the worst part of my travel adventures. They cost a lot, take a long time, are often delayed and connections missed, offer bad food and service, have cramped seating, and (insert your own complaint here). But WOW Air is an Icelandic company you should check out when next flying from the US or Canada to Europe. My family has used them at least twice, due to cost reasons (they were much cheaper!): once from Boston to Paris, and once from Toronto to Berlin. Both times, all flights went without a hitch. WOW’s base is in Reykjavik, which has got to be one of the easiest and nicest airports to navigate and make connections from. Nearly all of the flights land and depart on time. Sure, WOW is “no frills” (you pay for everything as an add-on), but we purchased extra legroom seats on our Berlin trip and were perfectly comfortable. Tip: pre-buy your meal online; it then comes with wine/beer and a bottle of water (versus paying for the water on board). Currently, WOW operates to a total of 38 destinations in Europe, the US, Canada, and the Middle East. They also offer a “stopover” option if you want to stay in Iceland for a few days before returning home. Let ActiveTravels know if you are interested in visiting Iceland, or anywhere WOW flies. 
 
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Come Sail Away

Friday, Lisa and I join our colleague Amy and her husband Josh in Tortola, after a brief stop in Puerto Rico to see firsthand how San Juan is doing after the devastating hurricane. Tortola was also greatly affected by hurricanes but we’re happy to support the people of the British and US Virgin Islands as we sail on 41-foot sailboat called Island Karma provided by Horizon Yacht Charters. St. John, St. Thomas, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, and many other islands in this region are busy rebuilding their infrastructure, schools, homes, and resorts. We’ll get a good look at their progress while anchoring just offshore. We’ll be back the week of February 12th to report on the region. Amy has also just returned from Berlin and she’s ready to discuss that vibrant city later in February, along with her experience flying WOW Air. Be well and keep active! 

 
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Botswana A&K Guide, Kebby Arabang, Debuts Ilanga Tours

Lisa and I were fortunate to travel with Kebby Arabang on a magical 10-day trip with Abercrombie & Kent to Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia in September 2016. Kebby’s knowledge of the outdoor world was encyclopedic. He knew every mammal, every bird, every tree, even the planets in the sky above. But it was his genuine passion of the subject, seamless communication skills, infectious smile and sense of humor that made him one of the best guides I’ve ever met. I loved mimicking his Botswana accent, especially when he emphasized the letter r when naming the next exquisite bird like the lilac-breasted roller or southern carmine bee-eater. He took it in stride and laughed along with me, even when the joke lasted far too long. 

Kebby emailed me last week and told me that when he’s not leading A&K tours in 2018, he’ll be guiding Botswana trips through his new company, Ilanga Tours. Based on your budget, he’ll take groups through the Okavango Delta and up to Chobe National Park to visit the largest herd of elephants in Africa and cruise the Chobe River on the Namibian border. If you have time, he’ll add on the spellbinding Victoria Falls. If interested in traveling with Kebby, either with A&K or Ilanga Tours, please contact ActiveTravels and we’ll look into availability. 
 
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Run the Alps All of August

With a fantastic network of trail and huts, and a long history and appreciation of running, Switzerland is a trail runner’s dream. Mountain runners have been weaving their way along alp paths for decades, and are practically exalted here. Few people know these trails better than Doug Mayer, founder of Run the Alps. Mayer wrote me last week, claiming he has designed his most epic trip yet, a month-long adventure in the Alps. The includes a guided run along Switzerland’s remarkable Hardergrat, a trail run along the route of the Tour du Mont-Blanc, and through the Swiss Berner Oberland. You’ll also go behind the scenes at two of the greatest trail races in the world, Sierre-Zinal and the UTMB, and, of course, spend necessary R&R time at classic mountain spas. No wonder Mayer is calling this the greatest trail running vacation ever. 

 
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Look Out for the Vessel Later This Year in Manhattan

When it opens in the fall of 2018, Vessel will be a spectacular climbable installation in the middle of the new Hudson Yards development, which is set to regenerate the city’s Far West Side (previously an industrial zone). The glinting copper structure will be the centerpiece of the Public Square and Gardens and will comprise 154 interconnecting flights of stairs in a geometric pattern. Visitors can ascend the 148-feet high structure via the mile-long network of pathways, with each staircase providing a slightly different perspective on the revitalized neighborhood below.

 
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Travel to the Serengeti with Chef Jody Adams

You don’t typically go to Tanzania for the food. Unless you’re traveling with the James Beard-award winning chef Jody Adams, best know for her long stint at Rialto in Cambridge, Mass. Thomson Safaris, experts on safari travel to Tanzania for more than two decades, will travel with Chef Adams from October 4-16, 2018. You’ll see lions, giraffes, elephant and zebras in the wild, interact with Tanzanians in both traditional and modern contexts, all while savoring Tanzanian cuisine in luxury camps in the Serengeti. The culinary finale will be a hands-on cooking class in the lavish accommodations of Gibbs Farm, a working coffee plantation and pioneer in organic farming.