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5 Adventures on a Shoestring, Diving in Fiji

Taveuni, Fiji, is one of those places like Palau or the Red Sea that is discussed only in clandestine conversations between avid scuba divers. They come here to dive the renowned Rainbow Reef, whose intricate corals and myriad fish provide divers with a kaleidoscopic view of the sea. Add white-tip sharks, sea turtles, and manta rays to the equation and you have one of the finest diving experiences in the world. Taveuni Ocean Sports offers a 7-night dive resort package that starts at $1450 per person. The package includes five days of two–tank dives (including guided tour for certified divers, tanks and weights), lodging at Taveuni’s lone eco-resort, Nakia, three meals a day and afternoon tea with freshly-baked goodies at Nakia’s Cliffhouse Restaurant. 

 
In your spare time, skip the hike to Lake Tagimaucia. Here’s my story in the Boston Globe about that painful experience. It’s been fun reliving some of my favorite adventures this week! Next week, I’ll be in Florida visiting family. I’ll be back on February 22nd. In the meantime, happy travels and keep active! 
 
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5 Adventures on a Shoestring, Whitewater Rafting the Zambezi

One glance down at Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls tumbling into a churn of froth at the mouth of the Zambezi River and you’ll quickly understand how the Zambezi earned its reputation as the whitewater rafter’s ultimate conquest. Victoria is twice as high and wide as Niagara, and this being Africa, there are no railings. Shearwater, Zimbabwe’s largest adventure tour operator and the first outfitter to raft the Zambezi in 1985, starts their descent of the Zambezi at a spot just below the falls.  You’ll travel the toughest 68 miles of this 1,700-mile river in an exhilarating blur of Class V (the most challenging) rapids. Along the way, between bouncing off boulders, you’ll meet six-feet-long crocodiles and those cute, cuddly hippos. Pat their heads and you’ll soon realize why the hippo kills as many people in Africa as the next five animals combined. Cost of the 2 ½-day jaunt is $575 including all food and equipment. 

 
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5 Adventures on a Shoestring, Sea Kayaking Baja’s Sea of Cortez

Warm water, uninhabited islands, sheltered coves, and abundant marine life including dolphins and blue whales, are the reasons why Baja’s Sea of Cortez is one of the premier kayaking grounds. Mexican Ana Lopez and her Canadian husband Peter Marcus started Gabriola Cycle & Kayak over two decades ago before selling their kayaking venture to their experienced guides. Expect the same level of comfort and expertise. Their 4-day winter trips bring you from Loreto to the Sea of Cortez, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that protects the feeding grounds of the Blue Whale. You’ll paddle approximately four hours each day and spend the rest of your time snorkeling, fishing, and lounging on deserted beaches. Trips cost $675 Canadian or $485 US, including kayak rentals, guide, and meals. No paddling experience necessary. 

 
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5 Adventures on a Shoestring, Mountain Biking Across the Malay Peninsula

It took more than two years to design and build a 205-mile mountain biking trek that crosses Thailand’s Malay Peninsula. But now that it’s complete, fat wheelers are calling it some of the best riding in Southeast Asia. Starting in Surat Thani, you bike through jungle, rubber and palm plantations, and small villages from the Andaman Sea to the Gulf of Thailand. Leaving the masses behind, you’ll get a chance to see the real Thailand on a weeklong trek offered by Thai Cycle. There’s also a shorter 5-day ride that gets you halfway across, zipping up and down numerous singletracks along the way. Cost for the 7-day trip starts at $817 per person, including food, guides, lodging, camping, and bikes. Don’t forget your Camelbak. 

 
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5 Adventures on a Shoestring, Biking in Brittany

There’s no longer a need to deplete your life savings when selecting a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. You simply have to look beyond the convenience of contacting big name American outfitters who charge exorbitant prices for their worldwide trips (often in excess of $1,000 per day, excluding airfare). Instead, book your journey with highly reputable local outfitters whose sole specialty is their native country.  This way, you eliminate the middleman and pocket the huge savings. All five of the outfitters I’ll blog about this week will give you a far more in-depth look at their homeland than any American guide could possibly do, at a fraction of the cost. First stop, Brittany.

 
Kate and Geoff Husband were two British teachers who spent most of their holidays biking in northern France. Eventually, their vacations became their profession when they opened Breton Bikes Cycling Holidays in 1989 in the small town of Pontivy. Based smack in the middle of Brittany, the northwestern section of France that juts out into the Atlantic, Breton Bikes offer one and two-week self-guided tours to some of the Husband’s favorite haunts. With small rural towns, exquisite coastline views, and very few tough climbs (the highest point in Brittany is just over 1,000 feet), this region of France is ideal for biking. Price of one-week tours including rooms at small B&Bs, breakfast, routes, bikes, and full backup in case you get a flat starts at a mere 685 Euros. If you prefer to camp, the cost plummets to 285 Euros (excluding food). The Husbands supply all equipment necessary. 
 
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Get Cozy at a Maine Inn this Winter

A number of Maine inns offer a warm winter welcome for those in need of a weekend getaway. Start with The Danforth Inn in Portland’s Arts District. This boutique property offers stylish and comfortable bedrooms, roaring fireplaces and the Southeast Asian cuisine of the Tempo Dulu restaurant. At Among the Lakes Bed and Breakfast in the Belgrade Lakes region, not far from Colby College, a winter’s day is best spent with a good book in the Parlor Library or heading out on the x-c ski and snowshoe trails that lead from the house’s back door. Pampering is the rule at the legendary White Barn Inn in Kennebunk, where the treatments at the Spa and dinner at the restaurant can elevate a stay from a mere getaway to an ultra-sybaritic weekend. Lastly, avoid the summer crowds at Acadia National Park by heading there in winter. If you make the wise choice to stay at The Maples Inn in Bar Harbor, you’ll wake up to stuffed blueberry French toast before hitting the spectacular trails. For more suggestions, check out the list of inns at Visit Maine.
 
I’ll be back next week with some of my favorite local outfitters around the globe. Have a great weekend and stay active! 
 
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Switzerland’s Gotthard Base Tunnel Will Finally Open in June

Already recognized as one of the premier train systems in the world, the Swiss Rail System can easily make its claim as the finest once the Gotthard Base Tunnel opens on June 1st. It has taken 20 years at a cost of $10.3 billion and the lives of 8 men to create the world’s longest tunnel, a mind-boggling 35 miles long. 8,000 feet below the surface of the Alps, more than 2,000 workers excavated some 2 million truckloads of earth. The result is a tunnel where trains will travel over 150 miles per hour, shaving an hour off the current Milan to Zurich run, down to 2 hours and 50 minutes. It’s an incredible feat, especially when you consider the tracks are completely flat under the mountainous Alps. That’s what I call Swiss ingenuity. 

 
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My Guru, Perry Garfinkel, Offers Writing Retreat in Baja

In 1990, I left my job as an insurance broker in Manhattan and booked a four-month trip to the South Pacific, New Zealand, and Australia. The day before I left on that fateful journey, I was strolling through the Fifth Avenue Book Fair when I found a book titled “Travel Writing, For Profit and Pleasure” by Perry Garfinkel. I did exactly what the author advised, kept a journal when I was away, and when I returned home I sold my first story, “Learning to Scuba Dive in the Cook Islands” to The Miami Herald. It was the start of a prolific travel writing career, where I would write more than 1500 articles and close to a dozen books. Thankfully, Perry is still teaching his secrets to travel and memoir writing to anyone who has a desire to put a pen to paper. Join him in Baja at the CostaBaja Resort, April 14-19, for “A Writing Retreat: The Journey to Self Discovery.” Participants will learn how to find the soul of their story and source for new ideas, research in the field, conduct interviews, pitch editors, plan social media content, and make a business of writing. Cost of the 5-day, 4-night event is $2,139, double occupancy, and includes rooms with an ocean view, all meals, and inspiring lectures that will change your life.  

 
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Spicer Mansion to Debut in Mystic in May

Conveniently located halfway between Boston and New York on the I-95 corridor, Mystic has always been a popular stopover to see the beluga whales at the Mystic Aquarium and the former whaling vessels at the Mystic Seaport, a re-creation of a 19th-century seaside village. Then there’s B.F. Clyde’s, the oldest steam powered cider mill in America, Mystic Pizza, and Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream, where homemade ice cream has been served at the same site for over a century. Lodging, however, has always been geared toward families, not adults who crave a bit more sophistication. That will change on May 4 when management of the acclaimed Relais & Chateau property, Ocean House, and Weekapaug Inn in nearby Rhode Island open the Spicer Mansion. A landmark since 1853, the building will return to its Victorian splendor. Expect the same level of service that one finds at the Ocean House, afternoon tea in the grand salon, cocktails at Room No. 9 Speakeasy, and a new restaurant that will offer a seasonal six-course tasting menu. Guests at the Spicer Mansion also gain access to the other two properties and their beaches and spa facilities. 

 
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Hieronymus Bosch Turns 500

Seven years ago, the director of a small museum in the Netherlands set out on an impossible quest: he wanted to borrow every surviving work in the world by the wildest imagination in the history of art, Hieronymus Bosch, to celebrate his 500th anniversary in the city of his birth. In an exhibition opening in February (February 13-May 8), Charles de Mooij will unveil his haul at his Noordbrabants museum in Den Bosch, officially known as ‘s-Hertogenbosch. He has secured 20 of the 25 surviving panels, including several reunited triptychs, and 19 of the 25 drawings, a collection he believes will never be assembled again. Many of the paintings could only travel because money from the Getty Foundation paid for state-of-the-art conservation work to clean the surfaces of the oak panels. This small Dutch city is planning to go bonkers with Bosch fever. There will be moving projections of Bosch paintings in the marketplace, and 3D recreations of angels, demons, damned souls, mermaids riding on flying fish, drunken priests, lascivious women, and monsters with the legs of a giant chicken and the body of an egg. Sounds like one exhibition that should not be missed.