Travel Writers Tales Travel Stories and Features http://www.travelwriterstales.com/feed.xml en-US Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:40:06 -0400 My husband's a total spa supporter. Not particularly for himself, but for me. He appreciates the effect that a good massage has on my tired torso. He likes the way my pasty skin glistens with exfoliation. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/ah-new-mexico.htm It is a hot January day and I am in Ballarat, Australia, thinking about a man who lived here at the turn of the last century. The man was my grandfather, and this is where he came seeking adventure as a young bachelor. In his time, Ballarat was still a gold mining community; today the miners have gone, and tourists fill the town coffers with dollar notes instead of gold nuggets. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/ballarat.htm If you like to send postcards of monasteries, mountains, haunting castles and lochs, don your kilt and visit the untrammeled regions of Dumfries and Galloway in the southwesterly arm of the Scottish mainland. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/scotland.htm Our boat skims over water so smooth it mirrors the surrounding mountains. The emptiness is vast and we have not passed another vessel in the last hour. There is evidence, though, of those who came long before us - petroglyphs on rock faces and abandoned logging camps. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/sunshine-coast.htm The canvas of his entire head was magnificently adorned, its shiny surface a mosaic of intriguing lines, curlicues and sacred design. The effect was so mesmerizing that I found myself staring -- hypnotised by this ethereal being. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/tahitian-tatoo.htm "Promise me you won't write about this crazy commune," Erica Rich, manager of Arizona's Office of Tourism taps her maroon-manicured nails on the website displayed on her phone. "Please, say you won't go" http://www.travelwriterstales.com/arizona.htm Despite warnings about Beijing's pollution, as I look out of my windows from my swanky Ritz Carlton Hotel suite this April morning, clear blue skies form a backdrop to a panoramic view of the city's financial district, and in a courtyard below, a group of citizens are practising Tai Chi exercises, their elongated forms in the bright sunlight, twisting and bending in a seemingly choreographed shadow-play. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/best-bejing.htm I was startled to realize that the woman in the striped dress was a mermaid. Then I chuckled when I noticed her right arm was a bird's wing. "She's Birdfishwoman," her creator told me. I was at the home of Russ Zeitz, a log house builder who is also noted for his whimsical wood carvings. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/outaouais.htm The Firewalkers of Fiji have long baffled scientists with their feat. It is my chance to get to the bottom of this, so to speak, as the chief's son Madigi obligingly raises his ample barefoot in front of my camera, while he and his two companions chuckle at my request http://www.travelwriterstales.com/fiji.htm Anybody who has ever traveled to India will likely tell you that the subcontinent is a land of vivid contrasts, of extremes co-existing with one another, and a massive assault on the senses. India's population of over 1 billion people has given the country a negative reputation, but within the villages of the tropical countryside and along the streets of the busy cities lies the true essence of a land that is among the most exotic and intriguing countries on Earth http://www.travelwriterstales.com/rickshaw.htm Like a double-flavored gelato, the Swiss town of Lugano offers a taste of both Switzerland and Italy. Snuggled between curvaceous wooded mountains on the northern shores of Lake Lugano, it boasts a Mediterranean climate. Palm trees line the lakefront while lemon mimosas and purple bougainvillea spill from hillside loggias. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/lugano.htm With the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on the horizon, powder hounds are heading up Whistler way to get a sneak peek -maybe even a trial run on a manicured slope. But why go that far? http://www.travelwriterstales.com/powder.htm For some, the drive to Cassadaga Camp might be a bit off the wall, but any community that has a shopping mall for Spiritualists, a Medium Mart and an actively used Meditation Garden as its 'town square' is a voyage of discovery in more ways than one http://www.travelwriterstales.com/cassadaga.htm.htm "Economy heading south!" screams the headline of my local newspaper. "Conserve your cash," preaches a guru on the early morning show. I rip open the envelope from my broker. Too late. My paltry savings have shrunk to the size of a freeze-dried prune. November rain is pounding the skylight. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/mexico-quality.htm Santa has been sneaking away from the mall on certain days during December. The paparazzi found him gleefully swinging from the side-ladder of the powerful engine of the Verde Canyon Railroad Train in Clarkdale Arizona. Much laughter and singing resounded from within the coaches on these days, and there were sightings of Mrs. Clause and Elfie through the train's panoramic windows. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/santa.htm Carnival Valor® loops through the Caribbean Sea to ports offering fun and adventure. Grand Cayman proves especially intriguing. While other passengers choose to snorkel off Seven Mile Beach or dive at several reef sites, my spouse Chris and I opt for an overview excursion that includes the extraordinary Stingray City! http://www.travelwriterstales.com/cayman-adventures.htm The last of the 'old guard' is passing on, and a 'new guard' both in and out of uniform must carry their torch. For many, there's a dis-connect to the meaning of Remembrance Day. It's a national holiday. A day off school. A long weekend. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/egypt-el-alamein.htm Our destination was the protected waters of Kealakekua Bay near a monument erected in memory of Captain Cook. Once the crew equipped me with snorkel gear and frog feet, a wave of trepidation came over me as I descended the catamaran's stairway. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/holo.htm Santa Fe, at an elevation of 2,134 meters (7,000 feet), boasts 300 days of annual sunshine and only 14 inches of precipitation. What were the odds we'd be rained on let alone see snow during our visit to this New Mexico destination? http://www.travelingtales.com/cassie/santafe.htm Thursday night is the night to party in Tel Aviv, and my nightlife guide, Doron, plans to see to it that we do just that! We start our bar hopping evening in Nanuchka, a Georgian restaurant bar with a unique décor, which is popular with the locals. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/tel-aviv.htm The sea is an animal. Beyond the rain-swept windows of my room it snarls and roars as it claws at the rocky shore. I draw the curtains closed as a shiver of awe and unease curls up my spine. The scene outside is part of the notorious shipwreck-strewn Graveyard of the Pacific edging the west coast of Vancouver Island http://www.travelwriterstales.com/ucluelet.htm As I came to another turn in the river, a slight movement caught my eye. There, on a bank less than 10 yards, away lay an alligator - but not for long. Before I could even think about dropping my paddle to grab my camera, the 12-foot long primeval-looking reptile slid off the bank and disappeared under the water http://www.travelwriterstales.com/paddling-econ.htm I'm in the historic La Boheme hotel in Edmonton's Highland District, and I step back startled, as an ancient furnace in the basement roars into life. It's a long rusty looking tube, and the cavernous interior is lit by leaping flames along each side. A perfect place to dispose of a corpse. http://www.travelwriterstales.com/eerie-edmonton.htm The best way to check out New Mexico's treasures is by getting off the beaten path, onto roads less traveled. Here are two tune-worthy trips http://www.travelwriterstales.com/new-mexico.htm Let me be totally honest, I am not very fond of heights. That is why stepping off a mountain at 4,000 metres with nothing but nylon webbing separating one from certain death would seem a strange thing for me to be doing. Still, here I am, paragliding over the Aletsch Glacier http://www.travelwriterstales.com/swiss-alps.htm I watched in fascination as the two men carved away slivers of wood from the pole. Stylized figures of animals and humans were beginning to emerge from the yellow cedar log, and their style was clearly Haida. The distinctive aboriginal art imagery from Haida Gwaii http://www.travelwriterstales.com/first-nations.htm In the absolute darkness, my eyes blink as they search in vain for a sliver of light. The blackness is like a thick blanket engulfing us all. The only sound is shallow breathing, which quickly morphs into gasps of appreciation when the guide spotlights the frieze of beasts above our heads http://travelwriterstales.com/dordogne.htm My hand grazed the elaborate design of miniscule leaves, winding vines, swirling spirals in ruby red and glittering gold, as soft as an angel's wing, as strong as tinsel steel, as regal as an ancient Khmer ruler. I behold a fabric so fine, it is rightfully destined to be fashioned into ceremonial garments for the present-day King Rama IX and the royal family. http://travelwriterstales.com/king.htm Behind a glass-screened counter a beaming vendor tosses skeins of noodles for the benefit of my camera. Further down the aisle the aroma of warm buns pervades the bakery section, and around another corner a customer haggles vociferously over a clutch of squirming black turtles http://travelwriterstales.com/china-woking.htm If you're looking for good wine, you don't have to look much further than the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley. The bountiful fields and vineyards not far from our homes produce a delectable taste of local viticulture, one that's ripe for the sampling. So grab a good map of the Lower Mainland, a trendy jacket and a designated driver http://travelwriterstales.com/fraser-valley.htm He checks me out with wide curious eyes; one is steely blue, the other one cocoa brown. It's a quirky mix that gives him character, just like his Rastafarian hairdo. When I glance his way, he blinks bashfully -or is it flirtatiously? I take the hint by rubbing his neck, just the way he likes. http://travelwriterstales.com/llama.htm It was a clear October morning as our cruise ship anchored in the shadow of the cliff below Sorrento on Italy's Amalfi coast. First to disembark by tender were the early birds bound for daytrips to the romantic Island of Capri or historic Pompeii http://travelwriterstales.com/slovenia.htm Like a metronome, the wipers slap in time to Michael Buble's rendition of Come Fly With Me as they clear snow from our windshield. "What's with this?" I say to my husband who's sitting next to me in our rented Chevy. "I thought we'd be leaving this white stuff behind." Although not crooning like Buble, I had ironically suggested escaping BC's wet west coast a few weeks earlier. http://travelwriterstales.com/santafe.htm Already widely touted as prime snow sports territory and renowned home to 2010's Winter Olympics, Whistler inspires us to investigate warmer weather prospects. And riding on Whistler's Mountaineer, Howe Sound's vistas, mighty Stawamish Chief, spectacular Brandy Wine Falls and heart-stopping Cheakamus Canyon sharpen our appetites for summertime activities. http://travelwriterstales.com/whistler.htm