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Surf Rincon and Stay at Roger’s Place

The best views of Puerto Rico come from the water. Watching the palms sway, seeing horseback riders galloping along the beach, and eyeing lighthouses as they stand tall, sending their beacon of light over the ocean waters. This is especially true if you’re on a board surfing Rincon. Called the “Caribbean Pipeline,” surfers from America, Europe, and South America flock to the western tip of Puerto Rico to glide atop the consistently large swell at spots like Maria’s, a monstrous reef break. The problem with Rincon was always the crime. Come back from a morning of surfing and your room is broken into. So it’s a joy to finally find a place that’s not only safe, clean, and serves delicious local food (included in the price), but is owned by a world-class Brazilian surfer. Roger Wagner’s six-bedroom villa, Surf 787, is perched on a hillside with water views just west of town. Depending on your level of expertise, he’ll guide you to the best surf spots within a 40-minute drive. Or you can venture out on your own, especially in the early morning hours when the local contingent of surfers are usually sleeping in after hitting the bars. December to April is the best time to surf Rincon. Check out the surf report, grab a flight into Aguadilla, and you could be on the water today!
 

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Ski-In/Ski-Out Resorts, New York on a Budget, and Grand Cayman Featured in December Newsletter

Snowmaking is not a problem right now in America, now that more than half the country is experiencing an arctic freeze. In this month’s issue of the ActiveTravels newsletter, we divulge our client’s favorite ski-in/ski-out resorts, learn about the new adventure travel company called Life is Good Vacations, talk about the hotel deals in New York in January, and tell you where to stay on Grand Cayman now that the temps have dipped. With direct flights from most cities on the East Coast,  the island is perfectly suited for a Quick Escape. 

Have a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2018! We’ll be back next week with our Top 5 Dream Days in 2017. 
 
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The Fall and Rise of the Travel Agent

In 1990, I left my job as a broker in Manhattan, booked an open-ended ticket to the South Pacific, New Zealand, and Australia, and wrote my first travel story, “Dining with the Descendants of Cannibals on a Fijian Island” for the Miami Herald. It would prove to be start of a career where I would write more than 1500 stories (over 300 articles for the Boston Globe alone) and visit over 80 countries. Then the recession hit. I lost more than half my editors in 2008/2009 as magazines folded and newspapers either eliminated or greatly reduced their travel sections. Wanting to utilize my travel expertise, I convinced my wife to join me in a business venture and become an accredited travel agent. 
 
Close family and friends scoffed at the idea, as if I just announced that I was becoming a blacksmith. After all, wasn’t it President Obama who suggested in a town hall meeting that travel agents were becoming obsolete? How could they possibly prosper against big-pocket online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia, Priceline, Travelocity, and Orbitz? There was just no need for them anymore, or was there? Since we opened our home-based travel agency, ActiveTravels.com, in May 2012, without benefit of advertising dollars or a marketing department, there has been a steady stream of traffic. At a recent breakfast at the Four Seasons Boston for travel agents, many people we met in that room said they had a banner year in 2013. 
 
To read my entire essay on the role of the travel agent, just published in an academic journal by the Boston University School of Hospitality, please click here. 
 
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30% Discount on all AMC Maine Lodges in March

First opened as a private sporting camp in 1867, it’s hard to top the locale of Gorman Chairback, located on the shores of Long Pond in the shadows of the Barren-Chairback Range. Reopened a year ago after a major renovation by the Appalachian Mountain Club, Gorman Chairback’s locale gives you the opportunity to snowshoe and cross-country ski deep into Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness, only to return back to the lodge for a home cooked meal and a seat by the roaring fire. Gorman Chairback is one of three historic Maine lodges run by the AMC that are now offering a 30% discount on rates in March for a two-night stay. The AMC maintains over 80 miles of trails in the region during winter so go out and play. 
 
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5 Favorite Travel Days in 2013, A Magical Day on Floreana Island, Ecuador

Exhausted from far too many 5 am wake-up calls, 90-minute drives in and out of Quito to the airport, and long longboat rides in the Amazon, my family was in poor spirits when we arrived in the Galapagos Islands for the last segment of our summer trip to Ecuador. But it’s amazing how a motorboat cruise on the ocean and all that water can wash away the toxins of travel. Listening to our iPods and watching the dolphins and orcas swim beside us, we were relaxed by the time we reached the sea lions lounging on the docks of Floreana. A driver brought us to our lodging for the next two nights, Floreana Lava Lodge, simple wooden cabins on the beach with the sound of pounding waves to lull you to sleep. The owners, a brother and sister team of Claudio and Aura, were two of 12 siblings that were brought up on the island. Their father and mother moved to Floreana in 1939 and today there are only 150 full-time residents. 

The following day was my favorite of the entire trip. Claudio and our guide Carlos drove us high into the hills to first see giant tortoises, many over 100 years old. We walked through caves that housed early German settlers, picked juicy oranges from a tree, took a short hike to an overlook with exquisite views of the island, and then had a glorious lunch of grilled beef and chicken with a delicious chimichuri sauce, salads, and fresh fruit juice at the former estate of Claudio and Aura’s parents. We felt privileged to see where their father was buried on the grounds under the 12 fruit trees he planted for the birth of each of his children. 
 
In the afternoon, we snorkeled by ourselves with huge sea turtles. Yes, ourselves! Very few cruises or travelers make it to this isle. Afterwards, a sea lion swam up to our beach, rolled in the sand in front of us and went to sleep. When the night sky grew dark, we could see all the glittering stars of the southern hemisphere, including the Southern Cross. Doesn’t get better than this. 
 
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Top 5 Travel Experiences of 2012, Biking to the Missions, San Antonio

One day in late April, I awoke early in San Antonio and biked to the Blue Star Contemporary Art Center. Next to this huge former warehouse, now housing art galleries, is an entrance to the spanking new Mission Reach bike trail, a 10.2-mile beauty strip south of the city. It was a gorgeous morning as I peered at the numerous green herons, egrets, and families of ducks. When it warmed up, the turtles arrived to sunbathe on upturned logs on the river. Workers were busy restoring some of the 400 acres of river and six pedestrian bridges that will be added when the Mission Reach is finished this year. This being spring, sunflowers and purple wildflowers were in bloom. 

 
At Mission Road, I turned right and visited the first of two Spanish colonial missions, Concepción, built in 1731. I continued on Mission Road another 3 miles to reach the largest mission, San José, known for its popular Mariachi Mass each Sunday. Inside the stone walls, overlooking the green and the church, the setting is serene. When I had my fill, I simply retraced my steps back to the Mission Reach and headed downtown. 
 
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Exploring Prince Edward County, Ontario

Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches 

For many years, New England was my playground to explore, and, in much the same way, I am now discovering the province of Ontario. Recently, I was off to Prince Edward County, about 2 ½ hours northeast of Toronto, "an island on the northern shore of Lake Ontario where you go to fall in love with food, nature, art and community all over again," says the official tourism site. I stayed with an artist friend in Demorestville, and visited Picton, Wellington, Lake on the Mountain, and Bloomfield. I loved the small towns, field upon field of agricultural use, numerous options for water activity, wineries (there are 30!), artists’ studios, antique stores, old stone buildings, and excellent farm-to-table food. 
 
For wineries, I can recommend Karlo Estates, with its wonderful tasting room inside an historic barn, and Waupoos Estates Winery, overlooking the waters of Prince Edward Bay. I thoroughly enjoyed the local food at the Drake Devonshire Hotel sitting outside on the beach. Also good was The Miller House Cafe, located in a 1796 former residence in Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park, 62 meters above Lake Ontario, with views of the Bay of Quinte below. I found antiquing success at the humorously-named Dead People’s Stuff, where I purchased a set of lovely highball glasses and a set of deep blue snifter glasses for my son (who recently moved into his first apartment in Boston). Lastly, it was off to Sandbanks Provincial Park, with "the world’s largest baymouth barrier dune formation," and long sandy beaches. I wish I had had more time to walk on the trails and swim in the surf. 
 
Also in Prince Edward County: theater, music, birding, as well as a renowned "Great Canadian Cheese Festival" every June, and a famous August Jazz Festival. The Globe and Mail ran an article recently entitled "Ten new things to see, do, eat and drink in Prince Edward County." It’s definitely a weekend destination I’ll return to. 
 

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