Features

July 2010 issue | Appears on page 18

Snapshots of Ecuador – a photo tour

by Ed Kinney, Roanoake, VA

For years I thought most travelers went to Ecuador only to visit its Galápagos Islands, but a 10-day tour of Ecuador proper in January 2010 changed my perspective. I found a nation of diverse and wonderful cultures, beautiful landscapes and colorful wildlife.

Planning the trip

Having spent the majority of my travel time in the Middle and Far East, I was looking for a different venue for my latest trip. While reviewing travel brochures, I...

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July 2010 issue | Appears on page 32

Contemplations and caveats for a self-drive journey through the Baltic region

by Joyce Bruck, Ocean Ridge, FL

My summer journey through the Baltic countries of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was both interesting and exciting — with periods of pure frustration.

Planning the trip

About six weeks before leaving, I made flight reservations for my cousin June, with whom I would be traveling. On Expedia.com, I found her a round-trip flight from Aberdeen, Scotland, to Helsinki for the terrific price of $307. My flights were booked with...

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July 2010 issue | Appears on page 50

Finding reminders of war on the warm and welcoming island of Saipan

by James Hansen, Weeki Wachee, FL

Once in a while we need to rediscover a place that has been out of our sights for a long while, and Saipan is just such a place. Part of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Saipan is located in the West Pacific, north of Guam, Palau and the Micronesian destinations of Yap and Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon. Hardly anything has been written about it, and it has been off the radar for US travelers for some time. Curiosity and...

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June 2010 issue | Appears on page 6

Sydney, the Outback and the Great Barrier Reef—touring Australia’s landscape extremes

by Bill & Betty Reed Denton, TX

The mail plane landed on the dirt runway with a few bumps. An old jalopy covered with dust inside and out pulled up, and out stepped a man who’d probably never shaved or had a haircut. His hat was a proud one; sweat-stained and with a cracked rim, it had the gritty reminders of good times pasted all over it.

He greeted Tom, our pilot, and we all jumped into his car. He raised the hood, fiddled underneath and slammed it down.

...

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June 2010 issue | Appears on page 18

Plying the waters along Norway’s western coast

by Fred Steinberg; Riverside, CT

“Let’s get one thing straight: this is not a cruise ship and this is not a cruise. This is a working commercial boat which transports everything from furniture and autos to fresh vegetables and clothing, making over 30 stops along the Norwegian coast. And there are local passengers in transit getting off and on at most every stop, so if you hear noise in the middle of the night, don’t call to complain. Go to one of the top decks and look out at what’s...

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June 2010 issue | Appears on page 30

Helping to preserve the incredible ruins and surroundings of Machu Picchu

by Mark Gallo, Santa Barbara, CA

Soaked by sweat and rain showers, grimy from digging drainage channels and straining to roll a big rock off a mountain trail and into the hole we had just dug, I was thinking I didn’t have to travel 4,500 miles to do this kind of work. In fact, I was among the volunteers who helped after the last wildfire in the canyons above my hometown of Santa Barbara, California.

But on this day, I was in the Andes working on an ancient Inca trail just...

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June 2010 issue | Appears on page 40

Finding reminders of royalty, World War II and the Communist era on a five-country tour

by Jennifer Petoff; San Francisco, CA

My husband, Scott, and I spent two weeks in Central Europe in May ’09 and were impressed by the richness of political history that we encountered on our journey. We visited Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Bratislava, each destination offering a window into the opulent lifestyles of kings and queens, the tragedy of World War II and the austerity of the Communist era.

Beginning in Berlin

We confronted the consequences of World...

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May 2010 issue | Appears on page 6

From cities to the serene – touring Japan’s Honshu island

by Mary Beltran, ITN

Covering both the cities and rural areas of the southern end of Honshu island, my six-day, early-November ’09 tour of Japan, organized and sponsored by JTB USA, Inc., began and ended in Osaka. Throughout my journey, I was struck by both the unfailing politeness of everyone I met and the attention to detail displayed in so many aspects of Japanese life.

Starting out

I arrived in Osaka’s Kansai International Airport, which is conveniently located...

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