Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!People Watching in Marbella
By Linda Tancs
A focal point for tourism in Spain’s Costa del Sol, Marbella is where ordinary folks go to watch the glitterati arrive in their yachts at Puerto Banús. When you tire of people watching, there’s plenty of shopping, dining and golfing. This time of year also offers concerts, dancing and plenty of flamenco fashion thanks to the fair celebrating the local patron saint, San Bernabé (Saint Bernard). Today is the saint’s feast day. The party continues through June 15.
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An Oasis of Coolness
By Linda Tancs
Mingling with monks is one of several things you can do while hiking Lousios Gorge in the Peloponnese, a peninsula in southern Greece. In fact, mountaintop monasteries like the Philosophou Monastery hinge precariously along rock faces throughout the gorge. You can visit many of them on an easy, one-day hike. A private day tour from Athens will set you back around 400 euros.
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A Gem Off the African Coast
By Linda Tancs
Formerly a Portuguese colony, Cape Verde (or Cabo Verde) is an archipelago about 300 miles off the African coast. It boasts the first European colonial outpost in the tropics, Cidade Velha, built by the Portuguese in the 15th century. With miles of pristine sandy beaches, a Creole culture and traditional morna music, it’s one of the best kept secrets in the mid-Atlantic. Book an island-hopping tour so you don’t miss the craggy peaks of Santo Antão, the music and culture on São Vicente or the powdery beaches and indigo-blue waters of Sal and Maio.
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Canal Adventures in Bangkok
By Linda Tancs
Chao Phraya River, Bangkok’s aquatic roadway, provides a leisurely and scenic alternative to touring Thailand’s capital city. A day-long teak boat tour provides an English-speaking guide along a visit to the temples, markets, an orchid nursery and even an artists’ colony dating back hundreds of years. A Thai lunch is included. Wear appropriate clothing for temple visits.
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Paradise in the Highlands
By Linda Tancs
As many a diary and motion picture can attest, Queen Victoria found paradise in the Scottish Highlands, particularly at Balmoral. Then and now, one of the core attractions of Deeside is its scenery—glens and forests, rivers and lochs, grand highland estates, mountains and moorlands, flora and fauna. You can experience it like a Royal by exploring the Victorian Heritage Trail, a 76-mile route from Drumoak to Braemar. Along the way, you can visit sites like the restored railway track once used by Queen Victoria to journey to Balmoral, the magnificent grounds of Drum Castle, the Victorian village of Ballater, the heather and pines of Glen Tanar and the town of Braemar surrounded by Cairngorms National Park. The grounds and select areas of Balmoral Castle are open to the public when the Queen is not in residence, generally from April through July.
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A Landmark Ride in the West
By Linda Tancs
Sixty-four miles of Rocky Mountain splendor await you on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad running between Chama, New Mexico and Antonito, Colorado. A National Historic Landmark, the rails were originally constructed in 1880 as part of the Rio Grande’s narrow-gauge San Juan extension, which served the silver mining district of the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. Almost lost to history when the last freight train crossed the Cumbres Pass in 1968, the historic route was bought and preserved by both states. Unlike other legacy routes, it features original coal fired, steam operated, narrow gauge locomotives and 19th century passenger cars. Scenic highlights include the Rockies, Chama Valley, Toltec Gorge, Cumbres Pass (the highest mountain pass reached by rail in the U.S.) and alpine meadows lined with wildlflowers, along with an array of wildlife like elk, deer and bears. It takes under seven hours to traverse the entire 64-mile line from Antonito to Chama or vice versa. The regular season runs this year to October 20. Buy your ticket in advance to avoid disappointment.
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From Tyrol to Italy
By Linda Tancs
From Austria’s highest peak (Grossglockner) to the Adriatic Sea, the Alpe-Adria Trail is a 466-mile trek winding its way through Austria, Slovenia and Italy. Signposted throughout, the trail is divided into a series of stages, each taking about six hours to walk. The hiking season begins in April and ends in October, the whole stretch taking up to six weeks. If you go now, you’ll likely see snow lingering on the high passes in Carinthia and Slovenia.
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The Island of Mimosas
By Linda Tancs
Noirmoutier is an island off the west coast of France in the Vendée Départment of the Loire Atlantique province. It’s nicknamed the “island of mimosas” (no, not for the drink) because its temperate climate allows for the flowering of Acacia dealbata (mimosa) year-round. Its captivating name is translated “black monks,” a reference to the black cowls worn by the order of St. Philbert, the island’s founder. A popular seaside resort, make haste before the madding crowd arrives. Treat yourself to a two-hour cruise around the island on a Portuguese tall ship, O’Abandonado. You can even help hoist the sails.
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Tigers in Karnataka
By Linda Tancs
Established as a tiger reserve in the 1970s, Bandipur National Park in the southern state of Karnataka lies in the shadow of the Western Ghats, a mountain range running along the entire west coast of India. It was once a private hunting ground for the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore. Although perhaps best known for its small tiger population, it’s also a safe haven for elephants, spotted deer, bison, antelopes and numerous other native species as well as for much-desired sandalwood. A number of hotels are within close proximity to the park. Go now before the rainy season.
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Stargazing in New Zealand
By Linda Tancs
Situated in the middle of New Zealand’s South Island, the Mackenzie Region is a photographer’s paradise of turquoise blue lakes, valleys of emerald green and snow-capped mountains. It’s also a heavenly place for stargazing, its clear skies earning it a designation as the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. The reserve is home to Mount John Observatory, the perfect locale for a stargazing tour year round, where powerful telescopes will reveal all that the southern sky has to offer, like the Southern Cross and unparalleled views of the Milky Way.
Travelrific® Travel Journal 