International Travel News

Columns

December 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

San Blas Islands, Panama

By Randy Keck

(Fourth of four parts, jump to part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4).

Just prior to the conclusion of my two weeks in Panama as a guest of tour operator Panama Jones, I had the opportunity to fly to the San Blas Islands and overnight at Dolphin Island Lodge.

These islands stretch along some 200 miles of Panama’s Caribbean coastline and are part of a large Kuna Yala reservation which extends from the seaward continental shelf to the top of the jungle-clad continental divide...

November 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Boarding Pass

By David Tykol

Dear Globetrotter: Welcome to the 369th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine.

“Chicken or fish? Menthol or regular?”

A German entrepreneur, Alexander Schoppmann, is planning to start up Smintair (Smoker’s International Airways) early next year, with daily service between Düsseldorf (his hometown) and Tokyo.

Düsseldorf has the third-largest population of Japanese in Europe, more than 15,000, after London and Paris. In Japan, 49% of men and 14% of women smoke....

November 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Chip and PIN cards, London airlines

Steve, this is about the letter on “Chip & PIN” credit/debit cards on page 15 of the July ’06 issue of ITN (the best travel magazine in the world!). What’s the answer for a pair of Yanks going to London in January? What can we do? — T. Harrison Stanton, Jackson, MI

Dear Harrison, first of all, I don’t want you to worry. You are doing the right thing by arming yourself against any problems. Knowledge is power.

In Britain, credit cardholders received new “upgraded” “chip...

November 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Routine Immunizations

(First of three parts)

No one likes getting shots. Travelers are particularly averse to jabs. So why bother? Protection.

Immunization, which is interchangeable with “vaccination,” aims to protect you from disease which can be debilitating or fatal. This is done by introducing a weakened or inert (read: dead) form of the germ (and, soon, cancer) so that your immune system sees the enemy and prepares for battle before the war begins. When the real thing gets into your body, your...

November 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Glimpses of rural northern Portugal

By Philip Wagenaar

(First of two parts, click here for part 2)

The scrawny dog was sunning itself on the warm pavement in the center of the narrow highway. Despite my approaching car, the creature refused to budge.

Within moments, four more animals had spread out on the road deck, the sides of their heads touching the comfortable asphalt.

I honked. No luck. The dogs remained where they were.

I stopped my vehicle.

After one long minute, the dog in front of my wheels lifted up...

November 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Should I Visit the Middle East?

Some friends shake their heads, and others are envious of Moreen and me for our travels in the Middle East. They ask, as do some ITN readers, if it is safe there for travelers. I can’t offer a definite yes or no, but I believe it’s relatively safe in many Middle Eastern countries.

For example, I had planned to take a trip to Libya in April of this year. The tour was canceled, not for security issues but because Libya stopped granting tourist visas for U.S. citizens. When Libya again...

November 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Castles in the desert

By Julie Skurdenis

East of Amman, Jordan’s capital, stretches the desert, a seemingly endless empty expanse of land wedged in between Syria to the north, Iraq to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south. It’s mostly flat, dotted with low-growing shrubs, bushes and cacti. There are few roads here, but there are dozens of desert tracks crisscrossing the expanse. They’ve been used for hundreds of years by pilgrims en route to Mecca and by caravans carrying goods from one trading post to another.

It was here...

November 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

The Panama Highlands

By Randy Keck

(Third of four parts, jump to part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4).

The Highlands

The Chiriqui Highlands of southwestern Panama, with elevation ranging from 3,500 to 6,000 feet, are indeed a special haven of nature’s splendor.

A place of respite and generosity to humans, the natural world of the highlands is verdant and abundant in its offerings of rainforests, cloudforests, clear streams and rivers, wild flora and colorful bird life. With its ample rainfall and a...