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Snorkeling Aruba’s Boca Catalina

Just returned from a weeklong vacation with 12 members of my family in Aruba. Blue skies every day, temperatures in the upper 80s, and that consistent tradewinds cooling things down on the fine white sandy beach. While there, we had the option to go on a snorkeling cruise for $60 per person. Then we realized we could rent a 12-seat van for $125 a day and snorkeling equipment for $15 per person, reducing the price in half and giving us the freedom to see the other sites around the island. Most of those snorkeling cruises head to Boca Catalina Beach, easily accessible by car on the northwestern tip of Aruba. Take the turn-off to the California Lighthouse and you’ll see a small parking lot on your left. Grab your snorkeling gear and plunge into the Caribbean Sea. Swim around the rocks and you’ll soon be surrounded by the neon-colored fish and a healthy dose of brain coral. Remember that the sun is hot in Aruba, so I always snorkel with a light T-shirt on, and bring a second shirt to stay dry on land. I learned my lesson snorkeling for an hour at Fiji’s Natadola Beach, only to return to shore looking as red as a lobster. 

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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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The New Seven Wonders of Nature

After a worldwide vote and expert judging, the New Seven Wonders of Nature were announced on 11/11/11. The vote was hosted by the New 7 Wonders Foundation based in Zurich, Switzerland. I was pulling for the Bay of Fundy, but it was beat out by some other excellent choices like the Amazon Rainforest, Halong Bay in Vietnam, and Table Mountain in Capetown. Then there were some questionable choices like Komodo Island in Indonesia. It’s a cool island, home to the komodo dragon, but one of the 7 natural wonders of the world? Why? It’s not nearly as majestic as other islands in the Pacific like Taveuni, Fatu Hiva, or Kauai. Anyway, it’s a popular vote, so the Indonesia lovers were heard in the end. Here are the seven picks: Amazon Rainforest, Iguazu Falls, Halong Bay, Table Mountain, Komodo Island, South Korea’s Jeju Island, and Puerto Princesa River in the Philippines.

 

 

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Ski the Alps

I had lunch yesterday with 12 ski resorts from the Swiss, French, Italian, German, and Austrian Alps. Travel to the Alps from America was up a whopping 50 percent this past summer and 30 percent last winter. Americans, especially from the East Coast, are finally realizing that you don’t have to be a Rockefeller to ski the region. On average, lift tickets are $50-$60 per day, far less than Stowe or Vail. Yes, you can splurge on some grand hotel at St. Moritz, but there are also many affordable pensions around town. And not all the ski areas are as challenging as Chamonix. Remember, you’re not skiing down the Matterhorn. You’re looking up at the Matterhorn as you ski the base area in Zermatt, a far less threatening proposition with a vast amount of intermediate and novice terrain. The trails are long, relaxed, and thankfully in the past decade, groomed with snowmaking capabilities. Best of all, you’re in Europe, dining on exceptional food and savoring the culture. One day you can be in Kitzbühel, downing large mugs of beer, the next day enjoying a glass of Bordeaux and exceptional French food in Megève. Cortina, in the Italian Dolomites, is only a two-hour drive from Venice, so you can combine Carnevale in February with several nights of skiing. Overseas flights are also much more reasonable in the winter months. So grab those skies and fondue forks and hit the Alps this winter.
 

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Seeing the Cape on Two Wheels

The small strip of pavement forms a straight line into the horizon like an express route to freedom. Astride my bike, I zip over bridges and through tunnels, past large ponds, salt marshes and cranberry bogs, all while breathing in the sweet smell of spring wildflowers and the far more potent brine of the sea. The hum of traffic is gone, replaced by the call of the yellow warbler. The only obstacles before me are runners, clumsy rollerbladers, and other leisurely bikers. In the Cape Cod town of Orleans, I hop off my bike for a few minutes and take in that quintessential New England snapshot of fishing boats bobbing in the harbor. 

 
The 25-mile long Cape Cod Rail Trail (CCRT) was once a corridor used to ship cranberries from the Cape to Boston aboard the Old Colony Railroad. Today, the relatively level rail trail is a placid retreat that has quickly become one of the most popular destinations in the Northeast for biking. The Cape Cod Rail Trail might receive the most fanfare but the entirety of Cape Cod is blessed with an abundance of paved bike trails, from the Cape Cod Canal Bikeway that snakes under the Sagamore and Bourne Bridges to the topsy-turvy Provincelands Bike Trail on the outskirts of Provincetown. 
 
To read more of my story on Cape Cod biking that appeared in the June issue of the Alaska Airways inflight magazine, click here and turn to page 50. 
 
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Top 5 Adventures in the Caribbean, Mountain Biking in the Dominican Republic

When Patricia Thorndike de Suriel, owner of Iguana Mama, first visited Dominican Republic’s north shore in 1993, the upstate New York native immediately saw the potential for biking in the mountainous terrain. She scouted hundreds of trails from paved roads and goat paths for beginners to technical singletracks for the truly gifted. The result is a wide array of full-day and half-day jaunts for all levels of expertise. The Islabon Coast Cruise combines an easy ride along the coast with a boat trip down the Yasica River, perfect for the whole family. Or venture into the hillside like I did on the Downhill Cruise Adventure. Start at the summit of the fertile Cibao Valley and soon, you’ll be zipping through the lush countryside past coffee plantations and cabbage fields, crossing rivers where villagers wash their laundry—all the while, surrounded by the Caribbean waters in the distance. For breaks, stop at the fruit stands and sample the fresh passionfruit, sweet lemons, and guanabana. Children will come out to high-five you, but be forewarned that those jugs on the tables are not filled with lemonade. They contain gas for motorists.  

 
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134-Mile John Muir Way to Debut in Scotland in April

Most folks associate John Muir with his boundless efforts to make Yosemite a national park and as the father of the Sierra Club. Yet, the great naturalist is just as celebrated in his homeland of Scotland. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Muir’s death in 1914 and as part of the yearlong Homecoming celebration in 2014, the country has developed a 134-mile route called the John Muir Way. The trail begins in Dunbar, Scotland, where Muir was born, and concludes in Helensburgh, where Muir set sail for America in 1849. Estimated time to complete the route is 8-10 days on foot, 4-6 days by mountain bike. Along the way, hikers will savor the following sights: the famed Arthur’s Seat, with stunning views over Edinburgh; Glengoyne Distillery; historic castles and palaces such as Blackness, Dirleton, Balloch and Linlithgow; and Antonine’s Wall, a World Heritage Site. Keith Geddes, Chair of Central Scotland Green Network Partnership Board and the man who came up with the idea for the new John Muir Way, recommends the section from Helensburgh to Balloch and onto Strathblane (27 miles) as the perfect 3-day hike. You’ll be rewarded with stunning views of Loch Lomond against the mountainous National Park backdrop. 

 

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