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Spending the Night on Grape Island

My only experience with the Boston Harbor Islands was visiting the Civil War-era fort on Georges Island and walking the trails of Spectacle Island, mostly formed from the dirt unearthed during Boston’s Big Dig. Last Thursday, however, I spent the night on Grape Island, one of the four islands in the harbor that offers camping. Only a stone’s throw from the mainland and the town of Hingham, you feel a world away on this 50-acre forested outpost. We kayaked around neighboring Slate Island with a ranger, ran into a 10-point buck and several doe, watched the sun set over the Boston skyline, and built a bonfire on the beach. There were only 10 sites on the island, and people in the know booked the sites months in advance at ReserveAmerica.com. It’s primitive camping with no running water available, but it’s great to be out on the water for a night or two, smelling the salty air and seeing Boston from a different viewpoint. 
 

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A Visit to the Rothko Chapel in Houston

This weekend, I had the chance to see a wonderful rendition of the Tony Award-winning play, Red, at Boston Center for the Arts. Based on the life of abstract painter, Mark Rothko, I couldn’t help thinking of the Rothko Chapel in Houston, which I visited while doing a story for The Boston Globe on the art scene in the city. While many of Rothko’s earlier works displayed layers of vibrant colors such as the red in the title of the play, these later paintings were monochromatic where black and dark brown predominate. Rothko’s emotions tend to carry over to his canvases and these were painful to view. I remember the works vividly almost a decade after seeing them. Often in travel, we search for the stupendous landscapes and exotic wildlife, but it’s the misadventures or a poignant moment in an unusual chapel in Texas that we often remember with more clarity. Here’s what I originally wrote for The Boston Globe:
 
“My first stop was an octagonal-shaped yellow-brick building that looks like part of an elementary school from the 1950s. This is the Rothko Chapel. Prayer books from every religion line the wall of the entrance indicating that this place of sanctuary is non-denominational. Those familiar with Rothko’s vague rectangular color fields, painted with gently toned hues, will be shocked to see the 14 large canvases that encircle the somber room. Rothko suffered from serious depression, which is evident in these late acrylics, primarily black in color with light tinges of blue. He would end up committing suicide a year before the chapel opened in 1971. Any soul who feels the least bit anguished should take a seat on one of the four benches and stare into these monumental abstracts, knowing that someone else shares your pain.”
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Ecuador, So Much More Than the Galapagos! Great Activities Within an Hour of Quito

Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches

To reinforce yesterday’s recommendation to add at least 3 or 4 days to a Galapagos trip in the highlands region of Ecuador, here are three wonderful activities I did just outside of Quito. 
 
Definitely don’t miss the ½ hour side-trip to the base of the Teleferico Gondola. The view, as you ascend the east side of the Pichincha Volcano to lookout point Cruz Loma, reveals a unique landscape of the city and the opportunity to travel more than 8,000 feet in less than 20 minutes. Once there, you can spend a few hours or a few days! Options abound: hiking to the summit of Pichincha, camping, horseback riding, mountain biking, rock climbing, and even paragliding. Of course, you could just sit with a picnic and take in the vista, including the world’s highest Catholic Church. I loved swinging on the giant swing.
 
Another lovely place for outdoor activity is the Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve, less than an hour’s drive from downtown Quito. Lush green farmland has developed in the crater of the inactive volcano, the only such agricultural area in the world (growing maize, beans, potatoes, vegetables, alfalfa, and more, for 500 years). Side note: In Ecuador, there are 18 varieties of bananas, 137 varieties of corn, and 300 varieties of potatoes! From the top of Pululahua, you can take it in, or, if so inclined, hike down. Horseback riding, hiking, birding, and mountain biking are the most popular activities inside the volcano trails. There’s even an ecolodge using renewable energy inside the 2500 year-old crater.
 
And, of course, you can’t go to Ecuador without straddling the equator. There are not one, but two competing equator sites close to Quito. Most people apparently know that Mitad del Mundo’s equator line is a bit off. Intiñan Solar Museum has its own marker, which is closer to the right spot. It’s hard to know if either is 100% accurate, but locals claim that Intiñan is more "real." They are only a few hundred yards from one another, so you can easily see both sites. Interestingly, science experiments like the Coriolis effect (where water swirls down a drain clockwise on one side of the equator, and counter-clockwise on the other) work at both.
 
Tomorrow, Otavalo, South America’s most famous market, where indigenous locals come from the surrounding villages to sell their colorful handicrafts and produce. 
 
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Gurney’s Opens Second Resort in Newport, Rhode Island

Great news out of Newport last week as Gurney’s, the iconic Montauk hotelier, has announced they have taken over the Hyatt Regency property on Goat Island. The sprawling 10-acre waterfront locale is one of the best in town, a short walk from the restaurants and shops, yet far away from the crowds to feel like a seaside resort. Gurney’s Montauk knows how to please families and I expect the same dynamic in Newport, where they plan to expand the pool deck, start a Kids’ Club, and offer daily activities for families. Gurney’s Newport will also be home to a full-service spa, state-of-the-art fitness facility, and indoor pool, good for a dip any time of year. They also plan to add the brand’s signature restaurant Scarpetta, set to make its debut in May. 

 
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Top Dream Days of 2018, Visiting the Small Town of Francois, Newfoundland

Guest post and photo by Amy Perry Basseches

Now that I live in Toronto, it makes sense that one of my dream travel days of 2018 took place in Canada! I’m on a devoted quest to explore all 13 Canadian Provinces and Territories — and, in October, Newfoundland’s time had come. Aboard Adventure Canada’s vessel Ocean Endeavour, we spent one special day visiting both La Poile Bay and Francois, along Newfoundland’s southern coast. La Poile Bay is isolated, without any road connecting it to the rest of the province. After hiking high above the cove, and walking on a deserted beach, I joined others in the crazy activity of plunging into the freezing cold water.
 
Not far away is the former fishing center of Francois (pronounced fran-SWAY), surrounded by steep mountains. Residents travel on small concrete paths between their homes and various buildings in town. There are no roads, and Francois can only be accessed by boat and helicopter (and by snowmobile in the winter). Today, 89 people live in Francois. Here I kayaked peacefully around the cove, then watched divers traveling with the group go deep into Francois Bay and emerge again and again with some 300 scallop shells. These were then shucked and cooked and eaten by anyone lucky enough to get in line early. After filling our bellies, we went ashore and were hosted by the locals at a "Kitchen Party" in the Community Hall. Much music, dancing, drinking, mingling, and eating ensued — all good-natured and fun — especially the tunes of the renowned Alan Doyle, a Member of the Order of Canada ("for his contributions to the musical traditions of his home province of Newfoundland") who was traveling with us.
 
If you loved the Broadway show, Come From Away, treat yourself to the genuine Newfoundland. 
 
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Dream Trips 2010, Hiking the Milford Track, South Island, New Zealand

It’s 2010, my friends. A fresh new decade to achieve those goals and check off the places you’ve been yearning to see. You can cower in a corner fearful of the next Al Qaeda operative, count your remaining pennies in the piggy bank, or leave the world’s worries behind and go on that dream trip. I prefer the latter. This week, I delve into the adventures I’m trying to fit into my calendar this year.

When I visited New Zealand on my last trip, I made the mistake of not booking the 4-day Milford Track. The country limits the number of hikers to 10,000. So this July, I’ll be the first on line to get my permit and hike this glorious route later in the year. The hiking season stems from late October to late April. Avoid the rush of Christmas school holidays from the last week of December through January. Set in the South Island’s Fjordland National Park, the Milford Track is a rite of passage for Kiwis. The 33-mile trail weaves through rainforest and alpine meadows, passing the country’s tallest waterfall, and dumping you off at the striking fjords of Milford Sound. I’ve cruised through these fhords before and they’re spectacular, an amazing spot to end a hike.

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Acadia National Park Week: Sea Kayaking Frenchman Bay

The first time I ever stepped into a sea skirt and tried a sport I now cherish called sea kayaking, I was in Bar Harbor researching my first book, Outside Magazine’s Adventure Guide to New England. Learning to sea kayak at Acadia National Park is like learning to scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef. Give it a try here and you’ll be hooked for life like I was. One of the finest ways to see Acadia’s mountains is from a distance, with your head and feet only inches away from the water line. 20 years later, I returned to the same outfitter, Coastal Kayaking, for another paddle on Frenchman Bay. 
 
Our guide, Jared, fit us for life jackets and sea skirts at their store on Cottage Street and then drove us to the bar of Bar Harbor, a sand spit that juts out of town and connects to an adjacent island, Bar Island, at low tide. When we returned after our 4-hour paddle, people were actually driving on that spit of sand all the way over to the island. Jared unloaded the kayaks and passed out paddles, teaching us some basic strokes. We then got acclimated to our cubby holes, threw on our gear, and set off on the wild blue yonder. In a double kayak, Jeff and I found our rhythm as we made our way around the northern shores of Bar Island on soft rolling swells. As we continued around the rock ledges of Sheep Porcupine Island, we spotted the unmistakable white head of a bald eagle atop a tall pine. Minutes later we would find a seal in the wake of a lobster boat picking up traps and then porpoises gliding through the unusually calm waters of the bay.  
 
We stopped for a 20-minute break on a sandy section of Long Porcupine Island, just enough time to eat the incredibly addictive kale salad from our favorite pitstop in town, A&B Naturals. On our return trip, we would spot loons and black guillemots, a cross between a puffin and a duck, divebombing their plump bodies into the waters around us.  Jared pointed to a speck of an island called Rum Key and told us how Canadian rum runners provided the Rockefellers and their affluent friends with scotch and rum during prohibition and used this island as their holdout. The ridge of mountains—Champlain, Dorr, and Cadillac—rose above the town of Bar Harbor, inspiring awe. Yes, the paddle was just as memorable as the first time. 
 

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