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Holiday Cheer in Toronto—A Return to Luxury

On the heels of Toronto’s architectural achievements came a slew of high-end hoteliers. In February 2011, the Ritz-Carlton opened its first property in Canada, a 53-story high-rise overlooking the CN Tower in the entertainment district. This past January, the $500 million Trump Tower was unveiled. In September, Shangri-La, the Asian-based luxury hotel group, opened its second hotel in North America. And last, but certainly not least, the Four Seasons just debuted their new flagship property in one of the liveliest sections of town, Yorkville. 
 
The demand is obviously here, with Tourism Toronto reporting a banner year in 2011, with more than 9 million hotel rooms sold. But what I love about each one of these properties is their utter lack of pretension (c’mon, this is Canada), excellent service, and unique features. The Ritz-Carlton offers diners at the restaurant, Toca, a chance to visit the cheese cave and sample more than 200 cheeses. Also those hand-painted plates, which pay homage to the Toronto International Film Festival and the Canadian landscape, were created by one of the servers. At Trump’s expansion of the Quartz Crystal Spa, you’ll find a heated saltwater lap pool. The most welcoming lobby is at the Shangri-La, where you can recline on a cushiony couch in front of the fireplace. Then there’s the Four Seasons, whose properties I’ve always cherished simply because their fitness rooms and men’s spa were light years ahead of the competition. At Four Seasons Toronto, they have equipped their treadmills, elliptical machines, and bikes with a Virtual Active by Matrix. It’s basically a virtual reality system where you can choose to take a run through the streets of Chicago, the lush interior of Hawaii, or in the Swiss Alps. It’s already been filmed! Forget the Duck Egg dish at the new Café Boulud (which was delicious, by the way), I’d return to Four Seasons Toronto solely for the chance to sweat all over the world. 
 
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Holiday Cheer in Toronto—The City’s Architectural Boom

Over the past five years, Toronto has enjoyed an architectural renaissance, with Daniel Libeskind’s bold addition to the block-long stone and brick Royal Ontario Museum, Frank Gehry’s tasteful redesign of the Art Gallery of Ontario, and hometown favorite, Jack Diamond’s acoustically perfect opera house, the Four Seasons Centre. Outside the ROM, shards of aluminum and ribbons of glass jut out onto the sidewalk with knife-like precision, without care or need for right angles. Libeskind’s whimsy lends itself well to the child-like intrigue that one can’t help but muster when visiting the mind-boggling collection of wares inside the ROM. More than a mere natural history museum with requisite brontosaurus skeleton, the ROM has a vast collection of gems and treasures from ancient Egypt, Greece, and China. On display until January 6, 2013, is the exhibition “Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants from Gondwana.” The show displays bizarre dinosaurs, virtually unknown to North Americans, before they were discovered in South American and Africa. 
 
Highlights of Frank Gehry’s new addition at the Art Gallery of Ontario include a stairwell that extends outside the blue titanium back wall to reward guests with vistas over Grange Park. And Galleria Italia on the second floor, a large lounge where ribs of soft Douglas fir curve upward, as if you’ve just entered the inverted hull of a ship. A spacious gallery devoted to the sculptures of Henry Moore and landscapes by the Group of Seven, highly regarded Canadian painters from the 1920s, are a small sampling of the impressive works found at the AGO. But I’ll be headed there this morning to view the latest blockbuster exhibition, “Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics, and Painting.” This rare showcase of 155 works by and about the artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera was created primarily from the collection of Mexico’s Museo Dolores Olmeda. It’s only on view through January 20, 2013, so find a way to get to Toronto soon. 
 
 
 
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Holiday Cheer in Toronto—First Up, Shopping

I’m back in one of my favorite cities in North America, Toronto. If I don’t get my yearly dose, I go through withdrawal. There’s so much energy in this city right now, it’s electric. As my taxi driver noted, he’s seen more construction in the Toronto in the past two years than he’s seen in the past 20 years. That’s due to the large influx of immigrants, close to 100,000 annually, helping to push the population of the region to over 6 million people. 
 
The result is a boom in noteworthy architecture, which I described in The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine on my last visit. Lately, the city has unveiled a slew of luxury properties which I’ll visit this week and innovative North American cuisine that rivals the best of any city in North America. I’m particularly stoked about visiting Keriwa Café, where the chef and owner, a descendant of the Siksika tribe, brings First Nation cooking to new heights. 
 
Yet, since my arrival yesterday coincided with the last day of all the Black Friday specials, my first order of business was to shop at one of Ontario’s largest malls, Square One in suburban Mississauga (which is not so suburban when you consider their population exceeds 800,000). If the long lines to the fitting rooms at H&M, the Gap, and Tommy Hilfiger were any indication, this is going to be a banner Holiday season for retailers. This morning, which I’m hoping is much more laid back since it’s a Monday, I’m visiting the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in downtown Toronto. This month, they just completed a $220 million expansion, debuting 40 new stores like Ted Baker London, Kate Spade, and North Face. If lines aren’t too long, I’m going to sit on Santa’s lap. Just kidding. But I do hope to put a dent into the Holiday shopping. 
 
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November Newsletter from ActiveTravels

In November, my mind starts to drift to the Southern Hemisphere, where summer is just around the corner. In the November Newsletter from ActiveTravels, we focus on two of our favorite cities south of the Equator, Capetown and Buenos Aires. We also spotlight the outfitter, Lindblad Expeditions, who are known for their naturalist-led cruises to the Galapagos. Closer to home, East Burke, Vermont has always been one of our perennial winter getaways for the family. 
 
Have a Happy Thanksgiving! I’m heading to Toronto next week, where I’ll be blogging live on location. 
 
 
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The Latest Film Series from Richard Bangs

One of my first stories as a journalist was a profile of explorer Richard Bangs for Men’s Journal magazine. Bangs had just published Rivergods: Exploring the World’s Great Wild Rivers. As co-founder of Sobek Expeditions in 1973, Bangs almost single handedly put the sport of whitewater rafting on the map. In fact, he led first descents on 35 rivers around the world, inspiring me to go on my own first descent, an epic whitewater run on the Klinaklini River in British Columbia. The restless Bangs has never been one to rest on his laurels. Lately, he has won two Emmy awards for his documentary work that has taken him all over the world, including trips to New Zealand, Egypt, Morocco, Hong Kong, and Norway. His latest release is South America: Quest for Wonder, now being shown on PBS stations across America. Join Richard as he travels to four of the greatest locales on the continent, Iguaçu Falls in Brazil and Argentina; Easter Island in Chile; the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru; and the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. “There are so many wonders in South America, I turned starboard to seek the latitudes of marvels, and this is what I found,” Bangs mentioned in a recent email. Have a look at any of the four episodes and you’ll understand why Bangs’ passion for travel is contagious. 
 
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Top 5 Eco-Resorts in Central America, Morgan’s Rock Hacienda & Ecolodge, Nicaragua

Nicaragua has the largest area of primary-growth rainforest north of the Amazon, hundreds of beaches, six active volcanoes, and plenty of sleepy surf towns. Since 2002, the government has created 76 national parks to protect the country’s wildlife. Think of it as Costa Rica, 20 years, ago before the Pacific coast was built up. One of the best places to spend your money, especially if you want to support the people of San Juan de Oriente and the education efforts of the neighboring rural towns, is to book your cabin at Morgan’s Rock Hacienda & Ecolodge. Located about two hours southwest of Managua, near the surf town, San Juan del Sur, Morgan’s Rock features 15 hardwood cottages overlooking a private beach. Their 4400-acre property includes an organic farm, which supplies the necessary produce to the restaurant and its unique blend of Nicaraguan, French, and Asian cuisine. If you can tear yourself away from the soft white sand, the resort offers excursions to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ometepe, an island formed by two volcanoes that rise dramatically out of Lake Nicaragua. There’s also the chance to hike along the coast, go horseback riding, sea kayak through estuaries, zipline, and get lost in a jungle of sloths and monkeys. Also be on the lookout for yoga retreats, often led by one of LA’s best-known yoga instructors, Sara Ivanhoe.
 
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Top 5 Eco-Resorts in Central America, Laguna Lodge, Guatemala

t’s not just the stunning setting of Laguna Lodge, nestled in a 100-acre nature preserve on the shores of Lake Atitlan, surrounded by three volcanoes. Or the ultra-sybaritic services, like soaking your body in the hot river rock pool or opting for a deep tissue massage at Hummingbird Spa after a day of hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, rock climbing or horseback riding. No, it’s that the owners Mayah and Jeffro Brandon (she’s a Kiwi, he’s an Aussie) have their hearts in the right place

 
In 1997, Jeffro and his local crew constructed the lodge entirely of indigenous volcanic stone, adobe, wood and palm. The art and furnishings found in the nine rooms were also made from locals. The meat-free restaurant serves innovative cuisine that utilizes produce from their organic garden, eggs and cheeses from nearby farmers, fruits from the coast, and, of course, rich Guatemalan coffee. Solar panels line the roof and rainwater is painstakingly filtered for drinking. Their main focus, however, is community involvement, employing all locals. They also go out of their way to ensure that everyone in the local community gets proper eye and dental care. This is one place where your money not only purchases a fantastic vacation, but also helps to keep this small lakeshore village afloat. 
 
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Top 5 Eco-Resorts in Central America, La Loma Jungle Lodge, Isla Bastimentos, Panama

Increasingly, the small eco-retreat design that made such an imprint in Costa Rica has slipped farther south into Panama. On an archipelago in the northeastern part of the country, a short boat ride from the town of Bocas del Toro, is a four-cabana lodge socked in the middle of the verdant jungle and surrounded by a working cocoa plantation. All of the cabins at La Loma Jungle Lodge were created from fallen trees and inspired by the architecture of the local Ngobe Indians. The employees are also local, including your guide through the rainforest and beach to see sloths, armadillos, small crocs called caimans, and the graceful blue morph butterfly. At dinner, lobster and conch will not be served, as the owners try to use only sustainably harvested fish like yellow jack. Rates start at $100 per person a night, including three meals, the boat ride over from Bocas town, and some of the excursions. 

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Top 5 Eco-Resorts in Central America, Chaa Creek, Belize

Nestled within the lush Belize interior, Chaa Creek is a 365-acre nature preserve that sits atop a hillside of tall mahogany and cedar trees overlooking the Macal River. Open for 31 years, Chaa Creek led the eco-friendly movement in Central America, promoting conservation and low-impact sustainable development long before green was the magic word. They employ local artists to create the furniture in each bungalow and buy produce from local farms to ensure fresh food on the table. Yet, Chaa Creek’s real forte is guiding their guests deep into the jungle. Plan ahead with the resort to go horseback riding through the Mountain Pine Ridge, paddle the Macal River to see the resident colony of toucans, swim under waterfalls, and visit the Mayan ruins at Caracol. Then return to the property and its two dozen bungalows, spa, and an open-air restaurant that serves such dishes as pollo asado and grilled tilapia.  

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Top 5 Eco-Resorts in Central America, Lapa Rios, Costa Rica

I’ve been receiving a slew of requests from clients lately about sustainable lodging choices in Central America. Here are the ones I consistently send folks to, time and time again, because they love the experience and the environmentally friendly practices. 

 
At the southernmost tip of Costa Rica, Lapa Rios is a 1000-acre private rain forest perched above the Pacific Ocean. 16 spacious bungalows feature hardwood floors, bamboo walls, and vaulted thatched roof ceilings created from local palm trees. Lie on a hammock on your own private deck or take a shower outdoors in a secluded garden. You might be woken in the morning by the loud cry of the howler monkey. Then rise and shine on a three-hour morning hike with a naturalist through the rainforest to a waterfall and swimming hole, stopping to view spider monkeys, scarlet macaws, toucans, parrots, and many other native birds. In the afternoon, sea kayak in the ocean around Matapalo Point, surf the Golfo Dulce, or saddle up those horses. At sunset, head outdoors to see a family of neon green scarlet macaws sitting on a tree in front of you. 
 
Sure, those outdoor showers are solar-powered and more than 70 percent of the materials used are renewable, but take a look at the big picture. Nearly 1000 acres of valuable rainforest have been saved from deforestation and the wildlife within those borders free from poaching, pollution, and real estate development. More than 45 local families are employed on the property and the resort has been instrumental in providing primary education for children in the area.