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Five Favorite Adventures in National Parks, Rock Climbing Joshua Tree

Three hours east of Los Angeles, huge boulder outcroppings tan in the Mojave Desert sun at Joshua Tree National Park. More than 100 million years ago, these jumbled piles of bedrock cooled and hardened into fantastic shapes. Today, there’s over 4,000 rock climbs to choose from, appropriate for any level of expertise. Reserve a site at one of two favorite climbing campsites, Hidden Valley or Ryan (no fee; first come/first serve), get your gear together, and hit that rock face.   
          
Climbing in Joshua Tree requires more balance than strength so trust your feet. That low-angle slab, Echo Rock, boasts a high concentration of quality routes at every level. Most of these routes are bolted or can be top-roped. New bolting is prohibited in the park. At the Wonderland of Rocks, you’ll find the largest collection of domes and walls within the park. Wander through the formations eyeing the cracks and then make your line up. You most likely will catch sight of bighorn sheep below.
 
Next week, I’ll be describing the special moments of my hut-to-hut hike in the White Mountains. I spent the past week trekking with my wife, Lisa, to four of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s lodges atop the 4,000 and 5,000-foot peaks, including a night at the spectacular Lake of the Clouds Hut. So stay tuned! 
 

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Trekking Annapurna with Indo Asia Tours

We recently had the pleasure of meeting Sunirmol Ghosh in Boston. Director of Indo Asia Tours, a highly respected travel company that designs custom-made tours to the Indian subcontinent since 1987, Ghosh was once a trekking guide in the lofty peaks of Afghanistan and adventure is still his true love. His company now designs walking tours of Bhutan, horseback riding trips outside of Jaipur, cycling in the Madikeri, fishing in Srinagar, scuba diving in the Andaman Islands, even golfing at the circa-1829 Royal Calcutta Golf Club. But it’s his guided treks to Everest Base Camp and the legendary Annapurna in Nepal that has me licking my lips with anticipation. If you want to do the Indian subcontinent with the pros, please contact ActiveTravels and we’ll find a trip that fits your passion.  

 
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Driving Iceland’s Golden Circle? Be Sure to Stop at Friðheimar

When told that we would be making one last stop on our Golden Circle route, at a greenhouse, most of the people on our tour scoffed at the idea, simply wanting to get back to our hotel in Reykjavik. It sounded like some hokey add-on, like visiting a gift shop owned by the bus driver’s brother. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Friðheimar is no ordinary greenhouse, but a massive year-round tomato and cucumber growing operation that yields close to a ton a day of crop thanks to the geothermal energy. I met the owner, Knútur Rafn Ármann, popped a tomato in my mouth (delicious), and then was treated to a sublime cup of tomato soup garnished with cucumber salsa and paired with fresh baked bread. It was probably the best dish I had in the country. Afterwards, we watched Knútur’s son and daughter (he has five children) ride the Icelandic horses he breeds. Friðheimar is open to the public for greenhouse tours, meals, and, in the summer, a 15-minute horse show. It’s the ideal way to end your trip on the Golden Circle. 

 
Thank you, Iceland! I’m off to the Lake Geneva region of Switzerland where I’ll be reporting live from Lausanne, Montreux, and Vevey. Please stay tuned next week! Thanks, as always, for checking in to ActiveTravels! 
 
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The Best of Connecticut Birding

Migrating shorebirds are prevalent along the Connecticut shoreline in late spring and fall. Green backed herons, yellow warblers, snowy egrets, swallows, ospreys, doves, and Canadian geese are just some of the birds sighted at the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point. Of the 399 species known in Connecticut, over 300 have been recorded at this 840-acre nature preserve. There’s also nesting piping plovers, least terns, American oystercatchers (rare in Connecticut), and both types of night herons. Ask about their naturalist-guided canoe trips to the Charles E. Wheeler State Wildlife Management Area, one of the few remaining wilderness areas on the Connecticut coast.
 

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Top 5 Caribbean Adventures, Surf Rincon

They say the best views of Puerto Rico are from the water. Watching the palms sway, seeing horseback riders gallop 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 villas, Surf787, are 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. November 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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How to Get the Top Ranking on TripAdvisor

I just sat down for lunch with Dan Donohue, General Manager at the Lenox Hotel and asked him how the Lenox Hotel earned the number one ranking of all hotels in Boston on TripAdvisor. I always believed these rankings, especially as hotels inch their way to the top, are totally random. But he disagrees. He told me there’s a simple reason the Lenox is the number one hotel in the city–service. When he first took the job at the Lenox, he visited many of the lobbies of other hotels in the city. He sat and watched and realized that hotel employees wouldn’t even say hi to each other, let alone give a gracious nod to their guests. Not at the Lenox. His workers always go up to guests to ask them how their day is going. But what I really like about the Lenox is there’s no extra charge for that water in the mini-bar. There’s no extra charge for Wi-Fi. Guests aren’t nickled and dimed to death. “If a child wants a candy bar,” says Donohue, “we’ll find him one.” I visited two hotels this summer, Wequassett on Cape Cod and The Athenaeum in London, where everything in the mini-bar is free except for that bottle of Moet Chandon and other alcohol. There’s a certain degree of respect between hotel and guest when you’re not charged silly fees for beverages and Wi-Fi. On the other hand, nothing pisses off your guest more than charging them for these basic services after they already paid a decent amount for a night’s stay.
 

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Feeling Irie in Jamaica, Mon

This week I want to focus on some of my favorite Caribbean hideaways. Jamaica has always topped the list. Its mix of music, arts, and food is unparalleled in this region of the world. Some travelers are turned off by the haggling on the beach, but if you leave the tourists behind and head up into the hills to raft down one of its rivers or visit the birthplace of Bob Marley, you’ll meet a proud people who simply want to show off their lush country, not sell you a joint. Several weeks back, The Washington Post published an article of mine on an all-inclusive stay at the Riu Palace Tropical Bay Resort on the outskirts of Negril.  I’ve been to more than 20 all-inclusives and this is one of my favorites. The article sums up why I love Jamaica and its combination of Reggae music, jerk chicken, and warm ocean waters.
 

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