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Top 5 Adventures in Florida, Bike Ding Darling National Refuge

The best way to see the alligators and amazing birdlife at “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island is on two wheels. This way you can slow down and see birds hidden in trees that you would miss if you zipped by in a car. Get here early before it gets too hot to catch the wildlife at its most active. Then make your way over to the beaches at low tide. Sanibel is one of the finest spots on the Florida coast to find pristine seashells, especially during the months of 
February, March, and April. You might return back to your hotel room with sand dollars, whelks, even a conch shell, but realize that taking live shells is strictly prohibited. 
 
I’m off the next two weeks on a much needed break. I’ll be back the week of January 4th with my 5 Favorite Travel Days of 2015.
 
Have a Happy, Healthy, and Active New Year!

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Favorite Fall Outings in New England, Biking Around the Basin Harbor Club, Vermont

The two weeks that surround Columbus Day is one of my favorite times of the year to be in New England. The temperatures are still reasonably warm, in the upper 60s during the day, and the leaves have changed color. Anywhere in Vermont will do nicely, thank you. But I love Addison Valley, known for its web of backroads ideally suited for road biking. The network of roads that branch off from the Basin Harbor Club are particularly enticing. Head south on Button Bay Road to Arnold Bay Road and you get exquisite vistas of Lake Champlain, with the Adirondacks standing tall in the backdrop. Venture onto Basin Harbor Road, turning right on Jersey Street, and the smell of manure is wafting in the air as you pass numerous dairy farms, eventually arriving at the Panton General Store. Continue on Panton Road and you see the backbone of the Green Mountains. This fertile valley was meant to be seen on two wheels at a reduced speed, especially during fall foliage. 

 
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Top 5 Adventures in Florida, Bonefishing in the Keys

Flyfishing for bones can be one of the most punishing sports known to man. You stalk the flats and see the large quarry, cast your long fly with precision, and then watch in utter frustration as the grazing pod scatters every which way. Averaging just four to seven pounds, the bone is so easily spooked that the best saltwater fishermen will often remain mute and in place for hours in order to hook one. The wily fish can sense the boat moving, can feel you wading in the water, can hear you speaking. One awkward movement on your part and off they flee. Yet, a little patience, a graceful cast just beyond the reach of the school, and a bonefish just might take that fly and run off some 75 yards of line in a couple of seconds. You’ll get the feverish feel of what it’s like to be connected to a remarkably fast and furious fish. The reason why inveterate anglers will often tell you that if you “hook a bone, you’ll be hooked on the sport.” Winter is a great time to try your luck on the flats of the Upper Keys. There are a slew of guides. One of the best is Tony Murphy in Key West.
 

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UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Newfoundland

Guest Post and Photos by Amy Perry Basseches

Here’s an interesting idea: check the UNESCO World Heritage Site List before you travel. As of today, there are 1092 sites noted, and you never know what you will find. To be included on the UNESCO List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one of ten selection criteria, which range from exhibiting human creative genius, or unique cultural tradition, or outstanding architecture, or exceptional natural beauty, and more. Certainly, the locations I’ve visited, including three recently in Newfoundland, when traveling with Adventure Canada, provide great insights into history, culture and the environment. 

First, near the northern tip of Newfoundland, I saw L’Anse aux Meadows, the remains of an 11th Century Viking settlement, evidence of the first European presence in North America. The archaeological remains found in 1960 date to approximately 1000 AD. Amazingly, the location was first established by a close reading of the Viking sagas. Adventure Canada travelers learned from Parks Canada interpreters about Norse expansion and how L’Anse aux Meadows’ excavations informed the world about Norse travels, trade, and encampments. 

Second, just over the Strait of Belle Isle from northern Newfoundland lies the town of Red Bay, Labrador, home to the Red Bay Basque Whaling Station. Beginning in the 1500s, Basque whalers operated out of Red Bay harbor, at one time the largest whaling station in the world, and the best-preserved testimony of early European whaling tradition. In the mid-1970s, research uncovered this chapter in Canadian history, and thus helped to explain why some 7,000 Canadians claim Basque ancestry. Here, we hiked around the whaling grounds on Saddle Island, but my favorite memories of Red Bay are eating delicious fresh fish chowder at the local Whalers Restaurant (cod, halibut, salmon, scallops!), while Alan Doyle sang to the waitstaff.

Lastly, situated on the west coast of Newfoundland, Gros Morne National Park provides proof of continental drift and plate tectonics. "The rocks of Gros Morne National Park collectively present an internationally significant illustration of the process of continental drift along the eastern coast of North America and contribute greatly to the body of knowledge and understanding of plate tectonics and the geological evolution of ancient mountain belts," according to UNESCO. The former Parks Canada superintendent of Gros Morne traveled onboard with us, and we hiked in the park with him and other guides. 

 
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Austin-Lehman Adventures Offers a Yoga Retreat in Mexico

I had the privilege of traveling with Austin-Lehman Adventures last summer on a family trip to the Canadian Rockies and loved every minute of it. For 2012, founder Dan Austin is rolling out some exciting new adventures including a six-day biking trip through Burgundy and three trips in February heading to Yellowstone National Park in the quiet winter months. Yet, the trip that I’m most enthusiastic about is ALA’s first foray into yoga. From March 19-24, 2012, ALA will be heading to a private coffee plantation in Chiapas, Mexico. Wake up to sunrise yoga accompanied by the sounds of the tropical forest and a steaming mug of the plantation’s own coffee. Then head out to explore the Mayan ruins of Izapa, kayak through mangrove swamps on the Pacific Coast, hike to hidden waterfalls, and rest your weary body in a temazcal, an indigenous sauna bath, before digging into a dinner of local Mexican favorites. To a Boston boy who hates the month of March more than any other time in New England, this is the ideal warm-weather retreat.

 

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Top 5 Travels of 2010, Biking Shark Valley, The Everglades, Florida

Another great day ride, this one an hour outside of Miami. Drive west on the Tamiami Trail (Highway 41) and you’ll reach the Shark Valley Visitor Center at the northern tip of Everglades National Park. Rent bikes from the rangers and get ready for one of the most exhilarating 15-mile loops of your life. More than likely, it will take you an hour to bike that first mile. That’s because you’ll want to stop every 20 yards or so to get another photograph of an alligator sleeping in the tall grass, large turtles sunbathing on rocks, and the extraordinary amount of birdlife that call the canal next to the bike trail home. Anhingas dry their wings on the branches of the gumbo limbo tree, wood storks, white whooping cranes, and the long-legged great blue heron stand tall in the shallow water, while pink roseate spoonbills fly over the royal palms. This ride is ideal for any budding wildlife photographer.

(Photo credit: Lisa Leavitt)
 

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Celebrate the Year of the Horse in England

With the Chinese New Year quickly approaching, England is promoting the Year of the Horse by focusing on locales where horseback riding is available. Bath’s Relais & Chateaux property, Lucknam Park, is one of the many excellent riding hotels in England. With trained horses and staff on hand to help beginners and assist experienced riders, Lucknam Park’s Equestrian Centre offers classes that cater to every level. Out of the saddle, the property also has a highly prestigious cookery school and a first class spa. Horses are also allowed on a number of beaches in the country. With permits available from The National Trust, you can gallop, trot or canter to your heart’s content across the four-mile stretch of golden sand at Dorset’s Studland Beach. Studland Stables will even bring the bubbly, so you can pop the cork over views of Old Harry Rocks and make this trip even more special. 

 

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