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The Birdmen of Bocawina

Guest Blog by John Reed
 
Set in the southern Belize and surrounded by 7100 acres of lush jungle, waterfalls, and ancient Mayan sites, you’ll find Mama Noots Eco Resort. This “off the grid” style jungle lodge is home to Bocawina Adventure & Eco-Tours, site of the longest zipline in Belize, in the heart of Mayflower Bocawina National Park. And as always, getting there is half the fun.
 
The month of June in the southern part of this Central American country is in one word, wet. The diving is incredible, the lush rainforest something out of a Tarzan movie, but after 2 hours of sleep at an ancient Mayan site the night before, in a massive thunderstorm that easily reached the nearby Guatemalan border, I was convinced that by morning we would be paddling our way to Bocawina. But mysteriously, as in a dream, the rainforest was once again at peace.
 
As we groggily stepped out of the car, met our guides, and ascended to our first zipline tower, donned in harness, helmet, and gloves (the tools of the trade), the skies and my mind seemed to instantaneously clear. “Pick up your feet, keep your hand behind the pulley, and pay attention when I signal you to break, but don’t break too soon, otherwise …”, and all of a sudden I was flying through the canopy.  
 
The afternoon turned out to be one of the most exhilarating things I did in Belize, and if constant ear to ear grins and laughter are indicators of true praise, then there is no higher compliment for the experience provided by Bocawina’s fully accredited guide team. The next time you’re in Belize looking for some high flying fun, check out Bocawina in the heart of the Belizean jungle. 

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Georgia O’Keeffe Exhibition Comes to the Hyde Collection this Summer

At first glimpse, Lake George’s narrow width could be mistaken for a long rambling river. It’s not until you veer downhill from the honky-tonk shops and hotels of Route 9N to the docks below that you appreciate the grandeur of this body of water. Step foot into a sailboat, like my family has done for the past 35 summers, and the narrow passage becomes an immense lake dotted with pine-studded islands and shadowed on either side by the verdant mountains of the southern Adirondacks. 

 
The cool waters and green hills that serve as solace and repose for me have been a source of inspiration to many artists over the years including the early American Luminists of the 1850s, sculptor David Smith, and most notably, Alfred Stieglitz and his wife, Georgia O’Keeffe. This June, The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, New York will unveil a blockbuster summer exhibition featuring 58 paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe. “Modern Nature: Georgia O’Keeffe and Lake George,” organized by The Hyde Collection in association with the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will explore the influence that living and working in Lake George, New York had on the art and life of the famous American painter. 
 
O’Keeffe’s art was introduced to Stieglitz on his fifty-second birthday, January 1, 1916.  By the summer of 1918, they were involved in one of the most sensual and artistically symbiotic relationships in the modern era. For the next 16 years, she would spend a good portion of her summer in Lake George with the man she would eventually marry in 1924.  The romance with Georgia O’Keeffe drove Stieglitz into a picture-taking frenzy.  O’Keeffe’s sexually evocative flowers and leaves filled her canvases while every inch of her body filled the lens of Stieglitz’ camera.  
 
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First Descents

I’m in the midst of writing a feature story on Colorado Adventure for Air Tran’s inflight magazine, covering mountain biking, hiking, and white water kayaking. I just got off the phone with Boulder-based Brad Ludden, a world champion freestyle kayaker who had the chutzpah to kayak down more than 100 rivers that have never been paddled on before. This includes a recent a four-day first descent down a river in Madagascar, where he came very close to losing his best friend in a huge rapid. Now 29, when Brad was 18, he started a charity organization named First Descents that helps empower 18 to 39-year olds who are battling cancer. So far, more than 600 people have done the program which, like Outward Bound, helps folks gain confidence through outdoor adventure like white water kayaking, mountain biking, and rock climbing. The program has succeeded far better than Brad ever imagined, with more than 400 people now on the waiting list. As he mentioned to me, “Mother Nature doesn’t really care if you have cancer or not. We’re all on an even playing field.” All of the adventures are offered for free, thanks to the support of donations by the public at First Descents.

 

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Adventures in Oregon, Biking through Eugene

The Eugene/Springfield area of Oregon is blessed with three of the state’s scenic bikeways, including the 38-mile Covered Bridges Scenic Bikeway, which visits seven covered bridges, including the only remaining covered railroad bridge west of the Mississippi River. If you want more of a casual ride, simply rent a bike at Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life in downtown Eugene and pedal around the serene University of Oregon campus and on bike trails in the public parks that border the Willamette River. We followed local Molly Blancett as she led us on bike lanes through the city, stopping at the 5th Street Public Market to show us one of her favorite restaurants in town, the French bistro, Marche. Eugene has weathered the latest recession and is now bouncing back with a slew of new restaurants, bars, and boutique shops in town. 

 
Leading the resurgence is a number of microbreweries. There are now 13 breweries serving a thirsty population of 160,000, including Falling Sky Brewery, where we chose to have lunch. Brewmaster Scott Sieber is making some tasty hand crafted beer like the Slam Dunkelweizen, a German wheat ale with hints of cloves and bananas in the finish. Or sample the Bavarian lager, Maibock, smoother than most bocks you’ve tried. Eugene’s soft water and the variety of hops found in Oregon are the reason it’s becoming a must-stop for beer lovers. 
 
After lunch, we biked through the campus, making a mandatory stop at Hayward Field, the track-and-field stadium that has produced such renowned runners as Steve Prefontaine, Galen Rupp, and Alberto Salazar. We crossed over the Willamette River on a bike bridge to visit the 54,000-seat Oregon Ducks football stadium, before stopping for heavenly ice cream at Chocolate Decadence and another cup of strong drip coffee at the 5th Street Beanery. The perfect ending to a perfect day. Thanks Molly!
 
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Nova Scotia Week, Clamming for Lunch

It’s low tide on Digby flats, not far from the largest scallop fishing fleet in North America. I took full advantage of their catch last night, trying the tender pan-seared scallops at the classic Digby Pines resort. But today my attention turns to my favorite seafood, the clam. A handful of clam diggers have already drove their trucks up to the sand bar to snag their 100 clams, the limit for recreational clammers. I’m here to meet Wanda VanTassel, owner of Fundy Adventures, and that legendary Nova Scotian, Terry “The Clammer” Wilkins. Wilkins will be turning 60 soon, but he’s been digging in this muck since the age of 11 and he’s not going to stop anytime soon. 
 
Fundy Adventures takes our group of 8 onto the flats, where Terry teaches us to look for small holes in the mud, a clear sign that there’s a clam down there. Then he hands out a 4-pronged clam hack and a bucket with a small circular ring used to measure the clams and ensure that they’re at least 1 ¾ inches big. I start jabbing at the mud, excited to score my first clam. But it’s a lot harder than it looks. A lot of times I hacks away at the Bay of Fundy bed and come away empty handed. Terry threw down 1,000 pounds of clam seed a year ago and it’s just starting to sprout. 2 years from now, the Digby flats should be back to the taking of Terry’s youth. 
 
Once we tire of digging, we head back to the high water line and watch the amazing tidal shift happen on the Bay of Fundy, a whopping 26-foot difference between low and high tide. The sand bar completely disappears under the water. Wanda serves us buckets of steamed clams, with meat so sweet you really don’t need the butter. It also helps that the bellies are some of the biggest I’ve ever had. She also serves tasty dulse biscuits and a roasted nori seaweed snack. The Clammer breaks out his guitar and starts singing “I am a fisherman, lowly digger of the clam.” His voice is excellent, the sun is shining off the water, with spectacular views of headlands across the bay, and my stomach is full of just-caught clams. Life is bliss. 
 
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Connecticut in Autumn, A Visit to Weir Farm in Wilton

Last Friday, I woke up early and drove to the outskirts of Danbury to Weir Farm National Historic Site. Along with the home of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in Cornish, New Hampshire, Weir Farm is the only other locale in the National Park System devoted to an artist. It was a perfect fall day and as soon as I turned off from Route 7 I was treated to a quintessential Connecticut landscape of rolling hills, old stone walls, and grand estates. Weir Farm was the former home, studio, barn, and gardens of J. Alden Weir, one of the fathers of American Impressionism. Head inside the Visitors Center and you’ll watch a short video on his life and see photos of the artist with his buddies, John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam, and John Twachtman, who all loved coming out to the sprawling property for a day in the country. Take a walk around the grounds and down to the pond and you’ll instantly understand the allure. I toured the property with a park ranger and a group of art students from nearby Western Connecticut State University, who were going to spend the afternoon painting the scenery, still inspired by the landscape. Little has changed since the time of Weir. You can walk along the trails and see the exact spot where Weir painted many of his works. The stone walls, fields, and faded red barns are all the same. The only difference is that the trees have grown. 

 
I’m off to Nova Scotia next week, where I’ll be blogging on location. Have a great weekend!
 
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Botswana, Villas in Europe, and Family Trips to New York in October ActiveTravels Newsletter

There was a moment on our second day of safari in Botswana where our guide, Kebby, spotted a leopard. We drove up to a leafless tree where this exquisite animal was perched on a branch, looking intently at the impalas nibbling on grass in the distance. We all grabbed our cameras and binoculars to take in the spectacular sight. After 15 minutes, I was ready to move on, but our guide stayed put. Giraffes passed by, an elephant came close to the land cruiser, startled to find us there, and the leopard moved to another branch. At last, the leopard jumped off the tree and sauntered away in the tall grass.

 
We must have looked at him for at least an hour, a ridiculous amount of time for some one as impatient as me, always thinking of my next activity, deadline, or goal to achieve. But to truly be in the present, clearing your mind of all extraneous thought and worries and simply stare at a leopard, that is really a moment to savor. In fact, it’s the essence of authentic travel. A chance to share a precious moment with loved ones far away from the seemingly endless responsibilities of modern-day lives. Afterwards, I thanked Kebby for staying with the leopard. He noted that it’s often the time he’ll see a kill, when he stays with one predator like a leopard or lion for a long period of time.
 
Take time to pause in your travels this upcoming year, whether it’s over a glass of wine at a vineyard, at the beach with a good thick book, in front of a wonderful work of art, or staring at a leopard in the bush. Be sure to build downtime into your itinerary and not just check off sight after sight. Travel is not a contest but necessary time to nurture an often weary body and soul. The vast wilderness of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, our main feature in this month’s ActiveTravels newsletter, is the perfect place to replenish the well. We also discuss some alternatives to hotels in US and European cities as well as the Caribbean; an outfitter who specializes in grandparent’s trips to New York; a Quick Escape to the home of Halloween, Salem; and a reminder to always check in before your next flight.
 
Enjoy reading and, as always, happy travels!
 

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