Travelers' Intercom

March 2012 issue | Appears on page 25

High and low points of Chile and Argentina tour
My wife, Lois, and I took a Grand Circle Travel tour of Chile and Argentina, Jan. 9-23, 2011. We live in the Northwest and did not know when we booked the tour what air routing we would be assigned. For us, it was four flights and 32 hours to get from Bend, Oregon, to Santiago, Chile, and the same going from Buenos Aires back home.
March 2012 issue | Appears on page 26

Despite unanticipated walking, enjoyed tour
My wife and I took the eight-day tour “Munich, Salzburg & Vienna” with <a href="http://www.globusjourneys.com">Globus</a> (Littleton, CO; 866/755-8581), Sept. 4-11, 2011. The land price was $1,549 per person. It was described as a “leisurely paced tour.” Perhaps the designation came from the fact that we stayed two nights each in Munich and Salzburg and three nights in Vienna rather than one night in each location. However, with my weak legs and the amount of walking we did, in particular at Neuschwanstein Castle and in Salzburg and Vienna, I felt that it wasn’t leisurely.
March 2012 issue | Appears on page 27

Africa Dream Safaris
Seventeen of us, friends and family, followed the wildebeest migration in Tanzania, June 30-July 12, 2011, and it was the trip of a lifetime. We traveled with <a href="http://www.africadreamsafaris.com">Africa Dream Safaris</a> (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA; 877/572-3274).
March 2012 issue | Appears on page 28

In and around Panama City
Panama is much more than the canal, and I feel that a two- to three-week visit would be perfect to enjoy all that it offers.
March 2012 issue | Appears on page 30

Recommendations in Wales
From a trip to Wales and southwest England that my husband, Jim, and I took, here are some recommendations of low-cost lodgings.
March 2012 issue | Appears on page 31

Hotel near Schiphol
Six miles from Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam, I spent a night in <a href="http://www.hotelzwanenburg.nl">Hotel Zwanenburg</a> (Olmenlaan 52, 1161 JX Zwanenburg, The Netherlands; phone 31 20 497 80 20) on Sept. 28, 2011.
March 2012 issue | Appears on page 32

Traveling in Egypt during a revolution
At the end of January 2011, my daughter, LeAnn, 22, and I finalized our plans to visit Egypt. Our trip was not meant to be a traditional vacation but one arranged as we went along our way, using local guides and taking public transportation. We wanted to see the same Cairo that 18 million residents live and work in every day. However, only days after we booked our airline tickets for this 10-day journey, Cairo was ablaze in protest over the policies of the government of President Hosni Mubarak. We postponed our trip and departed for Cairo on Feb. 28. The adventure we sought proved to be much more than what we had bargained for.
March 2012 issue | Appears on page 34

A stay at Mt. Athos
Our day started at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. In the early darkness, with the starry skies above, my second godson, Vasilli (almost 80 years old), and I joined pilgrims from Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Poland to sit, stand, make the sign of the cross and kiss icons while monks chanted age-old Byzantine hymns and prayers that have remained unchanged since the birth of Christianity. It was August ’11 and we were guests in Pantokratoros, one of the 20 monasteries on Mt. Athos (Agion Oros), the spiritual center of Greece, the birthplace of my parents. The pilgrims were young and old — grandfathers, fathers and sons (no women are allowed on Mt. Athos). I marveled to see the pilgrimage being shared by three generations of a family.