Hollywood goes to Chile

Chile’s landscape stretches from the northern deserts of Atacama to the southern glaciers of Patagonia, adorning it with a diverse and alluring array of scenery that is catching the eyes of Hollywood filmmakers and setting Chile apart as a hotspot for movie-making.

The Atacama Desert was recently selected as a backdrop for the next James Bond adventure, “Quantum of Solace,” which will be released this coming November.

Daniel Craig and the movie crew set up camp in Sierra Gorda, a town with a population of 1,000, in the Antofagasta region of northern Chile. Scenes were filmed against the rolling, rust-colored hills of the vast and majestic desert. Through his many adventures, James Bond has traveled to select intriguing locations around the world, and now Chile joins the exclusive list.

All, however, was not well on the set. Sierra Gorda’s mayor, Carlos Lopez, led a protest against the production. Mayor Lopez reportedly was miffed that Chile was being used in the film to represent its rival country, Bolivia — a sensitive issue in those parts.

Chile annexed a considerable chunk of mineral-rich northern territory from Bolivia and Peru in a victorious 19th-century war against its neighbors. Hard feelings still persist in all three nations.

New routes to Torres del Paine

Puerto Natales, the main gateway to Torres del Paine National Park, now boasts flights that connect the city with the rest of the country, including Santiago, Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas.

This development has been made possible thanks to the new service provided by SKY Airline, which lands at the “Teniente Julo Gallardo” airport on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Air Comet Chile service covers weekend flights.

Until now, visitors to Torres del Paine and other nearby attractions had to fly to Punta Arenas, which is three hours away by bus or car. These new flights allow flexibility for travelers to Chile’s Patagonia region.

Blue whales discovered

As Chile works to turn its waters into a whale sanctuary, it is quickly becoming the number-one whale-watching location in the world. It has been known as the home to humpback whales and has been monitored regularly for the rare blue whale, at one time nearly hunted to extinction.

Recently, three dedicated scientists made the exciting discovery of a previously unknown group of blue whales off the coast of the remote island of Melinka in southern Chile. This discovery is sure to bring even more whale lovers to the beautiful waters of Chile to catch a glimpse of these magnificent mammals.

For additional information, contact the Chilean Consulate (1734 Massachusetts Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 20036; phone 202/530-4104 or visit www.chile-usa.org or www. sernatur.cl).

There’s a small hotel

For a more intimate retreat from Santiago’s hustle and bustle, Hotel Orly (Pedro de Valdivia 027, Santiago, Chile; phone 011-562-231-8947, fax 011-562-334-4403, e-mail info@orlyhotel.com or visit www.orlyhotel.com) is my personal favorite. I’ve stayed there twice.

Situated in the Providencia sector of Santiago, close to the Pedro de Valdivia subway station, the 1940s French-style mansion has 28 cozy rooms.

Room rates do not include breakfast but are reasonable: $95 single, $110 twin, $125 king or $140 junior suite. A special senior package, for adults over 65, offers a 10% discount and includes breakfast.

Cafetto Café, in the lobby, is usually packed with business travelers and well-dressed locals.

In the footsteps of Pablo Neruda

In 1994, upon the release of the Italian film “Il Postino” (“The Postman”), I became a fervent fan of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, a 1971 Nobel Laureate for Literature and one of the greatest Spanish-language poets of the 20th century.

Pablo Neruda was a prolific writer of passionate love poems, historical epics and political masterpieces. Forced into exile for his political views as a senator in the Chilean government, Neruda went abroad to be with his supporters and admirers throughout the world, including Pablo Picasso.

Based on true events, the film portrays the story of a shy postman who develops a growing friendship with the exiled Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. The film was a worldwide success. In 1995, “Il Postino” was nominated for five Academy Awards. It won for Best Original Dramatic Score.

If traveling to Isla Negra without an organized tour, from Hotel Orly simply take the metro from Pedro de Valdivia to Universidad de Santiago. When you exit the metro, you will end up in Santiago’s Terminal de Sur. Ask for the next bus to Isla Negra. There are frequent departures, and a friendly local will gladly show you the path to Neruda’s home.

The home is open 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, Jan. 2-Feb. 28, and 10-6 Tuesday through Sunday the rest of the year. A tour (in English) of the home costs approximately $8, and reservations are required. Visit www.fundacionneruda.org.

Although the people of the world were Neruda’s travel companions and he lived in various countries on several continents throughout his life, Chile was his birthplace, and his home in Isla Negra was his true residence.

Originally a cottage of 70 square meters that he bought in 1939, the house was consistently remodeled to accommodate Neruda’s magical vision of life. One of the very first modifications he made to the house was the addition of a grand window in his bedroom, overlooking the crashing whitecaps. He was fascinated by Chile’s seas.

by Yvonne Michie Horn

There is a yearly check Rosie Atkins, curator of London’s Chelsea Physic Garden, never fails to write and get in the mail on time. The check is for five pounds. So it has been, without a payment missed, since 1722.

In 1722, after nearly 50 years in existence, the garden — established by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London in 1673 as an educational tool for apprentices learning to grow and use medicinal plants — was experiencing financial difficulty. Paying the rent had become a struggle.

Hans Sloane, a noted physician of the time who had taken over the freehold of the Chelsea Physic Garden in 1713, struck a deal. On condition that the garden “be for ever kept up and maintained as a physick garden,” the lease would be five pounds a year in perpetuity.

An additional requirement was the annual delivery of 50 pressed and mounted plant specimens to the Royal Society, the United Kingdom’s national academy of science, of which Sloane was president, until 2,000 were received. The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries jumped to the task, with 3,700 tallied by 1795. Those early specimens remain housed in London’s Natural History Museum.

Botanical cures

The 5-pound rent check (equivalent to $10), written by Rosie Atkins today, is paid to Lord Cadogan, heir and overseer of Sir Hans Sloane’s estates — a legacy that has made the family one of the richest in the United Kingdom.

“Hans Sloane’s agreement ushered in Chelsea’s golden age as the world’s most richly stocked botanic garden,” commented Atkins as we strolled the garden’s quadrants in October ’07 under a sky threatening a downpour. “A new concept was taking hold: the treatment of disease rather than the chasing out of spirits. Physicians could not study medicine without studying botany.”

We took a few moments to peek into one of the oldest glasshouses in the UK, where Momordica charantia, known commonly as bitter gourd, clings to the wall. Bitter gourd is used in traditional Chinese medicine and is the subject of research into its usefulness in treating malaria, HIV and diabetes.

“There is not a plant in the garden without a story,” Atkins said.

A 300-year-old cinchona tree captured my attention.

“From the Andes,” Atkins related, “where the powers of the ‘curious powder’ from its bark were long known by local tribes. Sloane began to invest in ‘Peruvian bark,’ as it was called, and began to prescribe it for malaria. Its active ingredient, of course, is quinine. Peruvian bark caused Sloane’s reputation as a physician to soar.”

A quadrant containing the Pharmaceutical Garden displays plants of proven value in 10 current disciplines of medicinal practice, among them Madagascar periwinkle, its alkaloids used in anticancer drugs, and meadowsweet, the plant from which salicylic acid was first made in 1835, leading to the introduction of aspirin in 1899.

Nearby, the Garden of World Medicine exhibits plants used for medicinal purposes within a variety of cultures. The Historical Walk charts the garden’s history with plants introduced over the centuries by the garden’s curators and other notable botanists.

Special corners

The head gardener, Mark Powsillo, paused in his pruning to chat a moment. Feeling a bit silly about posing such a question in the midst of an abundance of the unusual, I asked if he had a favorite plant.

“The olive tree” was his unhesitating response. “It grows right outside my office window, the largest fruiting olive in England.”

The garden is especially proud of its newly renovated rock garden, considered Europe’s oldest in public view. Created in 1773 for “plants as will thrive in stony soils.” it includes pieces of the Tower of London.

Of equal pride is a new, state-of-the-art composting area deemed of such importance that it was officially opened by Princess Alexandra, cousin of the Queen.

“Wonderful soil, we have here,” said Atkins, “as it should be after feeding itself for 300 years.”

Through it all, wildlife flourishes. Birds and butterflies flit by; pond inhabitants — frogs, toads and newts — take care of the slug population.

Visitors wishing to simply sit and enjoy the garden’s tranquility can do so in a space set aside among an abundance of flowering shrubs where rare peonies play late-spring showoff.

Growing in importance

A replica statue of Sloane (the original is in the British Museum) claims center stage in the 3.8-acre, brick-walled garden — appropriately so, for it was he who provided the means for the garden to remain true to its origins and allow it to come into ever-increasing relevancy today.

“While the European discovery and collection of new plant species was the primary focus of botanical gardens in former times, “Atkins explained, “the loss of species and habitats through ecological destruction is the pressing concern today. Here, this garden plays an ever-increasing role in propagating endangered plants and fostering programs to reconstitute destroyed natural habitats. Along with that, the study of medicinal usage continues.”

In 1673, the garden’s location was far removed from the city center. Surrounded by green fields, market gardens and orchards, it bordered the river Thames where the Society’s brightly painted barge used for royal pageants and plant collecting expeditions was docked.

Through the years, the garden has lost but a smidgen of land. Embankment of the River Thames in 1874 took its riverfront and turned it into a busy thoroughfare; a strip was lost in the widening of bordering Royal Hospital Road.

“Five pounds for perpetuity!” Atkins never fails to marvel. “Do you have any idea what this central-London acreage is worth? Down the road a house is for sale for 32 million! If it were not for Hans Sloane and that 5-pound check, this garden long ago would have been bulldozed.”

Chelsea Physic Garden

Chelsea Physic Garden (66 Royal Hospital Rd., London SW3 4HS, England; phone +44 [0] 20 7352 5646, www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk) in 2008 is open March 19-Oct. 31, Wednesday-Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.; there are special winter openings. Charges for entry are £7 (near $14) adults and £5 students and children. A café serves light lunches and tea Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

While in London — Not to be missed is the Museum of Garden History (Lambeth Palace Rd., London SE1 7LB, U.K.; phone +44 [0)] 20 7401 8865, www.museum gardenhistory.org), dedicated to Britain’s national passion, the love of gardens and gardening. Located on the banks of the River Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament, the museum is housed in what for 900 years was the parish church of Mary-at-Lambeth.

Open Tuesday-Sunday 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Suggested donation, £3. The café serves light lunches and desserts.

Staying nearby — Draycott Hotel (26 Cadogan Gardens, London SW3 2RP, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 20 7730 6466, fax 7730 0236 or visit www.draycotthotel.com. . . or, from the U.S., phone 800/747-4942).

The Draycott is within easy walking distance of the Physic Garden. Located just off Sloane Square on property leased from Hans Sloane’s heirs, it has much in common with the Physic Garden. It’s a boutique hotel of 35 rooms and suites, and its rooms at the back of the property either open onto or look over a private square. All guests are invited to make use of the spacious garden.

Doubles start at £185 ($363) and include, along with highly personalized service, afternoon tea, dinner-hour champagne and evening hot chocolate.

The Goring (Beeston Place, London SW1W OJW, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 20 7396 9000, fax 7834 4393, www.goringhotel.co.uk), an Edwardian-era hotel of 71 rooms and suites, is located within walking distance of the British Museum of Garden History. It, too, boasts the big-city rarity of a private garden. Doubles start at £229.

My stays at both the Draycott and Goring hotels in October ’07 were complimentary. — Y.H.

by Wayne Wirtanen (Third of three parts on The Gambia and the Cape Verde Islands, jump to part 1, part 2, part 3)

Volcanoes, salt and slavery
When I opened the Bradt Travel Guide “Cape Verde Islands” (Globe Pequot Press; www.bradtguides. com), which I bought for an October ’07 trip, I was fascinated with one of the opening comments: “When we commissioned the first edition of this guide in 1997 it seemed an almost impossibly obscure destination.”

Even though 10 years had gone by since that comment was made, and although tourism there had probably grown, I expected that a trip to this rarely visited volcanic archipelago — off the coast of West Africa, some 600 miles south of the Canary Islands and scattered from 275 to 480 miles off the coast of Senegal — would be a fine source of “soft adventure.”

Plate tectonics

The 10 principal islands of the Cape Verde Islands were formed as a result of plate tectonics.

Segments of the Earth’s crust apparently “float” over a molten core. Some of these enormous “plates” constantly grind past one another in a “stop and go” manner, creating earthquake zones such as California’s San Andreas Fault.

When these plates collide, one edge of a crust is forced under another, forming not only earthquake zones but wrinkling the Earth’s crust, raising mountain ranges. This explains why fossils of sea creatures are found today in South America’s Andes Mountains. Additionally, sometimes “hot spots” are formed where molten magma rises to the surface. (Think Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii.)

As eons pass, the Earth’s plates “float” along over these “hot spots,” creating chains of volcanic islands. This is what formed the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean and the Macronesian islands in the Atlantic of which the Azores, Canaries and Cape Verde Islands are a part.

The time scale of these island-forming forces is mind-numbing. Cape Verde’s Fogo Island, the youngest, at 100,000 years old, still has an active volcano. It last erupted in 1995. The islands of Sal, Boa Vista and Maio are flat. They have been around long enough, some 26 million years, to have had most of the signs of their volcanic origins eroded away.

The reason I’m inserting this geography lesson at the beginning of my trip report is that the geologists who were formulating the theory of plate tectonics were scorned by most scientists until the late 1960s when research using radioisotope dating resulted in a new field of geologic study.

If you received most of your formal education prior to those days (as I did), then you missed learning about the, now, generally accepted theory that changed the earth sciences and finally explained not only the forces that generate earthquakes and volcanoes but why these occur where they occur.

It’s not too late to get up to speed on geology lessons that you may have missed. You really do have to keep up with your grandchildren so they don’t continue to ask, “Grandma, were there dinosaurs when you were young?”

If you have computer access, punch up “plate tectonics” for a Wikipedia display and explanation. Also, I highly recommend the book (but, better, the book on tape produced by Harper Audio) “Krakatoa” by Simon Winchester.

But back to my trip report! Volcanoes, salt and slavery are part of the Cape Verde Islands’ history specifically because of their origin and location. These three factors were responsible for some of the memorable highlights of my soft-adventure experience.

Spectacular, volcano-produced scenery

Imagine a thin book opened slightly and standing on edge with the spine up. Imagine driving on a road along the spine of a mountain (the Ribeira Grande) that looks like that book, with views on both sides down into 3,000-foot-deep valleys and with a continuing series of dramatic, rugged mountain ranges as far as the eye can see.

On the island of Santo Antão, farming villages at the bottoms of these canyons seem to be cut off from the outside world by the colossal volcanic walls.

Viewing this unfolding scenic panorama is a one-of-a-kind experience. The drive is not one to generate fear of heights, as some do that I’ve been on in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Very sturdy stone barriers line both sides of the wide roadway, and the curves generally are gradual.

Slave-built roads

In the Cape Verde Islands, roads, even sidewalks and public squares, are made of small, irregular stone cubes, probably set in sand. The volcanic stone readily fractures into this size and shape.

The white lines down the center of the roads are not painted; they are hand-set cubes of a white stone also found there. We frequently saw individual men along the roadside breaking large stones into these small cubes.

We were told that these cubes are sold to the government to be used for road repair and are a source of income for ambitious and strong young men.

Slave labor was originally used to produce this durable but labor-intensive paving system, still in use in the hundreds of miles of roads throughout the islands. The roads that I saw were all in good repair, but the cobblestone-like surface generated a constant minor rumbling in the tires of vehicles.

Salt

On the island of Sal (Latin for “salt”), there is a no-longer-used source of salt that was a very valuable commodity as far back as 400 years ago. Today Sal is a popular destination for seaside watersports and for the reported health benefits of immersion in very salty brine.

We visited a salt lake at the bottom of an extinct volcano that is one-half mile from the coast and below sea level. This source of salt was mined heavily for centuries, the salt being replaced through the evaporation of nearby seawater that continues to seep into the crater.

As recently as 1985, as much as 25 tons of salt per hour (!) were pulled out on a tramway built through a tunnel carved through the crater sidewall.

We walked through the tunnel for the view of the salt lake and a health spa that is apparently very popular with Europeans. We shared the tunnel on a hot, sunny day with whole families in bathing suits and towels, their cheeks rosy and their faces filled with smiles.

Stone walls divide the lake into “ponds” of varying salt densities, with corresponding colors of blue, pink and green. We were told that a sequence of immersions in increasingly briny ponds was a standard procedure for treatment at this spa.

I can imagine that the slaves who mined the salt in the bad old days would be stunned to see the modern spa buildings and the parade of healthy-looking families now paying to take a series of soaks in colored saltwater.

Mirage on the desert

On the island of Sal there’s a spot where they take all the visitors to observe a mirage. On a flat sandy desert, this spot reveals a mirage very like the ones that appear all the time in cartoons.

In the middle distance I saw what appeared to be a large, shimmering, beautiful blue body of water with a palm tree for emphasis. It was absolutely believable. If I had been alone and lost in this desert, I surely would have headed off in that direction expecting to find cool, clear water. The palm tree was there, in fact, but the water was not.

And, yes, one can photograph a mirage. My photos clearly show the bright blue image, but, because of some haze and the apparent distance involved, they would not reproduce well in black and white.

If you have Internet access, punch up “desert mirage” for an explanation of this dramatic phenomenon.

African slave trade

Cape Verde figured prominently in the African slave trade in the 1600s and 1700s.

These islands presented some advantages for slave traders. They were closer to the Americas than the African mainland, which meant less traveling time. Less travel time meant less loss of slaves due to dreadful conditions in crowded sailing ships.

It’s estimated that some 3,000 slaves a year left the Cape Verdes in the peak years of 1609 and 1610.

The other big advantage for slave traders in these islands was the fact that slaves for sale here were “seasoned.” That is, during their brief stay away from the African continent where they originally had been captured, they had become somewhat used to their situation, were sure to be healthy and had learned a few words of Portuguese so that they could follow orders.

Although the “business” of slavery ended in the Cape Verdes in 1854, slaves already here continued to be only partly free well into the 1900s. The island nation finally declared independence from Portugal in 1975

On our visit to the town of Praia on the island of São Tiago (Santiago), we saw the carefully preserved/restored slave days “business district.” The tiny, dark stone hovels on “Main Street” were the homes of the slave traders. Slave quarters were worse, of course.

The grimmest sight of all was a 10-foot-tall pelhourinho (pillory) used for the punishment of slaves. On the top of this slender stone obelisk were mounted four radiating horizontal metal bars. Slaves being punished were made to stand in the center of the town square with their arms held over their heads by chains — public displays meant to discourage disobedience.

I’ve seen a similar pillory at the other end of the slave trade in a preserved “old town” slave-selling square in the coastal Brazilian city of Salvador.

A major positive result of these preserved “business districts” is that the dreadful aspects of the slave trade have not been hidden or erased and that future generations can learn from the past.

Cruise information

On this 12-day trip, an MS Bremen cruise on which I was a guest of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (631 Commack Rd., Ste. 1A, Commack, NY 11725; 877/445-7447 or 631/858-1252, www.hl-cruises.com), we embarked in the Canary Islands, visited four of the Cape Verde Islands and then made our way to Africa’s tiniest country, The Gambia, about which I wrote in my last two columns. We disembarked in Dakar, Senegal. (This cruise is not scheduled for a repeat in 2008.)

Exclusive of international airfare, the cost started at $5,425 per person, double occupancy, for an outside cabin and included full board, mini-bar, all tips on board, lectures by experts, and all landings and tours on the ship’s Zodiacs.

Mudskippers

You’ve heard the expression “like a fish out of water.” Well, I was astonished to see hundreds of examples of “fish out of water” — mudskippers — on the muddy banks of a tributary of the Gambia River last year.

Would you believe that this fish (a goby) lives on land, would drown if held under water, is the only fish with movable eyelids, walks and hops on land, climbs trees and dives into the water only when threatened by a creature larger than itself?

Many species of mudskippers live in tropical, brackish (tidal, partly salty) water in Africa and the Far East. The ones that inhabit the muddy banks of tributaries of the Gambia River are only a few inches long but are aggressive predators on land and live in burrows alongside their predator buddies, small fiddler crabs.

My Internet research, after I arrived at home, revealed that although they are relatively rare as aquarium pets, mudskippers have enthusiastic fans because they are such a unique fish and can be fed by hand.

Their bulbous eyes, on the sides of their heads, give them each a 360-degree visual field. A mudskipper was certainly the inspiration for the cartoon figures that you’ve seen representing the evolutionary moment when a sea creature first crawled out of the water onto land. They may or may not be a missing link between sea creatures and land animals, but the thought is unavoidable.

The Gambia

The Gambia is Africa’s smallest country, maybe 400 miles long and also skinny, straddling the Gambia River for up to 15 miles on each side. (A small private plane would take about 10 minutes to fly across The Gambia at its narrow areas.)

There’s an apocryphal story, probably not true but fun to tell, about the establishment of The Gambia’s borders. When the British, during sailing-ship days, wanted to set boundaries for a country along the river, they fired a ship’s cannons in both directions perpendicular to the river, and where the cannon balls fell, that’s where the boundaries were drawn.

The Gambia’s official name always includes the word “The.” The reason for this has eluded my research.

Our expedition ship

The ship MS Bremen of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (631 Commack Rd., Ste. 1A, Com­mack, NY 11725; 877/445-7447 or 631/858-1252, www.hl-cruises.com) was purpose-built for the increasingly popular expedition cruises to unusual destinations. I was privileged to be their guest in late October 2007.

The ship’s relatively shallow draft allowed us to go a good distance up the infrequently traveled Gambia River. With the extra range provided by the heavy-duty Zodiacs, we got a better look at the river than has been possible before in such 4-star comfort. (Among the ship’s itineraries are trips to Antarctica and a unique around-the-world cruise.)

The Bremen’s staterooms are of generous size, there’s a small swimming pool aboard, and the meals are at gourmet level with service to match. I was one of about 100 mostly senior adventurers — some 90 Germans and 10 Americans — and I was told that the crew on this trip totaled 100!

My Scandinavian DNA had me breakfasting on herring and smoked salmon. When most passengers chose more elaborate lunches, I frequently opted for a tender Argentine steak and French fries from the grill.

After a memorable dinner one evening at the end of the trip, the dining room lights suddenly dimmed. A parade of waiters circled the room with trays held high. . . with baked Alaska for dessert, the brilliant sparklers on the cakes illuminating the room! (Apparently, this is a European cruise tradition.)

All of the crew were bilingual, and we Americans had English-speaking guides on all of the excursions. Some programs were repeated in German and English, and on those special occasions where the whole group was together, translations were provided.

It was a pleasant surprise to find out how many of the German passengers spoke at least enough English to allow simple conversations along the way.

Day excursions

The Bremen was too large to dock at any riverside destination, so it would anchor midstream, with Zodiacs used nearly daily to transport us to jumping-off points. A variety of day trips was offered.

An expedition-truck/hiking safari to Kiang-West National Park, one of the largest protected areas in The Gambia, provided glimpses of the naturally occurring plants and the local terrain (flat).

Our visit was at the end of the rainy season and the vegetation was lush. (The trip was obviously scheduled for the great weather and lack of mosquitoes or any other nuisance insects.)

This was my first experience hiking in 10-foot-tall elephant grass, which was coarse, thick and sharp-edged. It was easy to see how difficult it would be to hike through these areas without well-worn trails.

Although this area is known for a very large population of African mammals and birds, we saw only a small number of birds and no mammals at all. We did, however, hear some baboons trumpeting in the near distance, probably complaining of our encroachment on their territory.

Crocodiles

One high point among the day trips was a visit to the holy crocodile park of Katchikally. Contact with the mossy waters in the pond there is believed to enhance fertility in the local ladies. I noticed a modest concrete shower stall near the pond for this purpose.

Very large crocodiles slumber in the sun, out of the water along the main park trail, inches from the feet of visitors. Signs warn against disturbing them — as if this advice were necessary.

Attendants, however, encouraged travelers to stroke the back of one or two of these large trailside crocs that were “tame enough” to allow this. It was a photo opportunity that I chose to forgo.

Baobab trees

The giant baobab tree, common throughout The Gambia, is the country’s national symbol. It is called the “upside down tree” because the pattern of branches resembles a tree’s root system sticking up into the air. It grows well in the thick alluvial soil along the Gambia River.

On one of our excursions, we drove by a large number of pelicans roosting in baobab trees. It inspired me to invent an Africanized verse of a popular Christmas song. Instead of “a partridge in a pear tree,” it would be sung, “. . . and a pelican in a baobab tree.”

An orphanage

We paid a visit to an SOS Children’s Village, which demonstrated that a non-governmental organization can organize an effective orphanage/school for children. Their programs provide shelter and family-based care for more than 60,000 children in 123 countries around the world, including the USA.

Typically, 10 children live with a permanent surrogate “mother” in their own separate house. Between 10 and 40 of these houses form an independent “village.” Family groups once formed are kept together while the children mature.

For information on these villages, contact SOS Children’s Villages-USA (1200 D. St. NW, Ste. 550, Washington, D.C. 20005; 888/505-KIDS or 202/347-7920, www.sos-childrensvillage.org). One can sponsor a child or a village for only $28 a month.

Next month I’ll report on the volcanic Cape Verde Islands. Happy trails!

Having never recovered from my addiction to Saturday matinee double features in the 1930s, I still am fascinated by the making of movies and, specifically, the actual filming locations, visiting them (or their representations) whenever possible. If a story has important historical and social value, as the book and the TV miniseries “Roots” had, then it’s all the more interesting.

On a trip I made to The Gambia in West Africa, Oct. 20-Nov. 1, 2007, one of the high points was visiting sites that were featured in Alex Haley’s 1970s book and the subsequent television miniseries that was widely seen around the world.

“Roots” & “the rest of the story”

To refresh your memory, Alex Haley’s book was inspired by his family’s oral history about the life of an African slave from The Gambia, Kunta Kinte, who was claimed to be, some 200 years ago, an early relative of the Haley family. In research for his book, Haley visited The Gambia and the fishing village Jufureh, said to be the home of Kunta Kinte.

Shortly after reaching manhood, the story relates, Kunta Kinte was captured by white slavers and was sent, as were ultimately an estimated 20 million black Africans, to labor on a plantation in the Americas. The profitable slave trade was, in cycles during the 15th to 19th centuries, dominated by the British, Dutch, French or Portuguese.

Although the miniseries’ Gambia sequences actually were filmed in Georgia, USA, it was with great interest that I visited the village of Jufureh as well as James Island and the surrounding areas where Black Africans themselves mostly were responsible for the capture and selling of other black Africans to eager white traders.

This part of West Africa was the principal location of slave-trading ports, and many slave-trading sites have been preserved and/or restored as reminders of this grim period. The British were instrumental in finally forcing the abolition of the African slave trade in 1829.

As described in Haley’s story, the 18th-century black African slave trade and its consequences are generally accepted as reasonably accurate. His epic TV miniseries brought the dramatic realities of life on our pre-Civil War southern plantations to millions of American living rooms in January 1977.

Jufureh, the home village of Kunta Kinte, who is the book’s early principal character, has subsequently, in the 20th century, promoted itself as a tourist destination. The Gambian government has initiated in Jufureh a biennial Roots Homecoming Festival (www.rootsgambia.gm), last held in June 2006.

Jufureh and James Island

Jufureh is a typical, small, African village of individual primitive homes on the Gambia River. From our ship, Hapag-Lloyd’s 4-star expedition ship MS Bremen, we were transported to a small but substantial wooden dock there in groups of six to eight in standard rubber Zodiacs.

On the day of my visit, there was a row of souvenir stands at one edge of the village, but most families were cooking a midday meal over small outdoor fires, paying little attention to the hundred or so visitors wandering about except to respond cheerfully to our “hellos” and to give permission for taking photos when politely asked (with our cameras raised and asking ‘Okay?’).

The village was quite tidy. Small fish were drying in the sun on horizontal racks. The children were excited to see us, giving shy waves.

I had my photo taken with a very senior village matriarch who claimed to be eight generations descended from the “Roots” character Kunta Kinte. Later in the day, when I inquired, the ship’s lecturer said, “It’s possible. It was 200 years ago. Who can say for sure either way?”

James Island, nearby in mid-river, had been a holding “fortress” for accumulating slaves for shipment downriver to the coastal trading centers. Built in the 1670s, it was subsequently fought over, destroyed and rebuilt several times and held in some sequence by the British, the Dutch, the French and, reportedly, a couple of pirate ships.

The island has been severely eroded and now, at maybe only an acre or two, is a fraction of its original size. Water is lapping very close to the remaining foundations of the heavy stone ruins.

I thought that some large baobab trees close to the water gave the island an exotic, forlorn look.

The rest of the story

Haley’s book and the TV miniseries were wildly popular, presenting in a graphic and realistic way the horrors of the slave trade. The book was translated into 26 languages and sold 8½ million copies. Haley was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and won multiple Emmys for the TV series that riveted us to the tube with its 12-hour marathon presented over eight consecutive nights.

The “rest of the story” I discovered in October 2007 at lectures on the MS Bremen during our unique cruise featuring The Gambia and the Cape Verde Islands. (Travel and learn!)

Haley’s relating of his family’s origins had been presented as an accurate compilation of facts resulting from 10 years of his genealogical and historic research in Africa and in some of our southern American states.

Soon after publication of the book in 1976, historians and other literary investigators unearthed numerous serious flaws that suggested the unpleasant truth that not only was “Roots” a work that contained fiction, inconsistencies and plagiarism but its text was essentially written by someone else. Critics did allow that as a novel it had some merit.

If you have access to the Internet, reproduce my eye-opening Web surfing by punching up “Alex Haley” on Google. It will lead you to “Alex Haley Hoax,” then to investigator “Philip Nobile” (who claimed that “Roots” was “one of the great literary hoaxes of modern times”) and then to “Village Voice archives” as well as a description of a BBC “Roots” documentary expose that aired in Britain but not the U.S.

Haley died in 1992. Family members continue to deny the validity of the negative issues surrounding the book “Roots: The Saga of an American Family.”

None of this at this late date diluted the impact on me of the miniseries or of visiting the sites that were typical of the last views seen of Africa by some 20 million unfortunate native Africans.

Hapag-Lloyd itineraries

For information on the itineraries of their four ships, contact Hapag-Lloyd Cruises (631 Commack Rd., Ste. 1A, Commack, NY 11725; phone 877/445-7447 or 631/858-1252, e-mail hapag-lloyd@kainyc.com or visit www.hl-cruises.com). They have been “soft adventure cruising” since 1891. Eighty percent of their passengers are repeat customers.

I was a guest of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises on this trip.

Next month I’ll describe the sights and sensations I experienced while cruising Africa’s little-known Gambia River. Happy trails!

Convento do Carmo

I was spending a week in Salvador da Bahia and couldn’t believe my good luck in selecting as my hotel the Convento do Carmo (Rua do Carmo 1, Pelourinho, 40301-330 Salvador [B.A.], Brazil; phone 55-71-3327-8400 or, toll-free in Brazil, 808-252-252, e-mail reservas@conventodocarmo.com.br or visit www.pestana.com). I couldn’t have picked a more beautiful or a more historic hotel.

I had come to Salvador because of its long, rich history. The Convento do Carmo is part of that history and was the main reason I chose Salvador as a holiday destination in the first place.

The land where the Convento stands was donated to the Carmelite friars in 1592 by Cristovão de Aguiar Daltro. A small convent and church were built soon afterward.

After 1660, the present convent and its church began to take shape gradually, not reaching completion until more than a hundred years later. By then, there were two churches side by side, one for the friars and one for laypeople. There were also the adjacent monastic buildings with cloisters, a refectory and dormitories.

Today it is these former monastic buildings that are the Convento do Carmo, opened in 2005 as part of the hotel group Pousadas de Portugal (phone +351 218 442 000 or 442 001, www.pousadas.pt). In fact, Convento do Carmo is the group’s first property outside Portugal.

The Convento do Carmo oozes history. There are the two spacious leafy interior courtyards, the cool arcades, the intimate private dining room tucked away in a corner decorated with lovely blue-and-white azulejos (tiles), the magnificent sacristy with jacaranda wood drawers in which silver-and-gold embroidered religious vestments were stored and, of course, the two churches right next door.

There is also a crypt beneath one of the churches, and if you’re a guest at the Convento you can request a visit. It’s eerie to walk among ancient monuments and sarcophagi, especially when the crypt caretaker keeps lifting lids off stone coffins: “Here are the bones of a lady who died in 1795.” “These children died 200 years ago.”

The Convento is not all about the past, however. The guest bedrooms are elegantly decorated. My junior suite overlooking one of the cloisters had a beamed ceiling, two supremely comfortable beds and a state-of-the-art bathroom. It also had the original prayer niches beside the windows where the friars once knelt at their devotions.

There are also an elegant bar, an equally elegant restaurant, a spa with an offering of massages, a small circular swimming pool that doubles as a fountain after dark, even a comfortable guest living room with computers.

Pelourinho

I had chosen Salvador because of the Convento do Carmo. Almost as important was where the Convento is located, in Pelourinho, the district that is the vibrant heart of Salvador. Once you tear yourself away from the Convento, you can conceivably spend all your time exploring Pelourinho with its cobblestone streets, busy plazas and ancient pastel-colored buildings in various stages of restoration. Pelourinho is rich in history and rich in sights.

Not to be missed are a handful of old churches. Foremost are São Francisco, a baroque church that gives new meaning to the word “gilded” (don’t miss the sound-and-light performance, offered most days at 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., when all that gold glitters under the play of lights), and the Church of the Third Order of São Francisco, right next door, with an exuberantly carved plateresque facade and gorgeous blue-and-white tile work inside.

On the same plaza as these two, Terreiro de Jesus is the 17th-century ornate cathedral. Close by is the baroque church of Nossa Senhora do Rosario dos Pretos (Our Lady of the Rosary of the Blacks) on a steep cobblestone street with a great view over Pelourinho. It was built by and for black slaves in the 18th century.

More to see

About five miles from Pelourinho is Salvador’s most famous church, Nosso Senhor do Bonfim (Our Lord of the Good Ending/Death), where sellers try to get visitors to buy fitas, colorful ribbons to wrap around your wrist for luck. I succumbed and bought 10. I’m still waiting for the good luck to begin.

Inside are fabulous blue-and-white wall tiles depicting scenes from the New Testament — reminiscent of what one sees in Portugal — and a room displaying wax, plastic and wooden body parts. If one has a heart problem, one donates a miniature plastic heart to Bonfim; if a head problem, then a plastic head. I noticed lots and lots of legs and feet. Tourists suffering perhaps from too much walking?

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Portuguese ringed the Bay of All Saints, on which Salvador is situated, with forts. One of the most important — captured briefly by the Dutch in 1624 — is the fort of Santo Antonio da Barra, now housing a nautical museum. One other not-to-miss fort is the circular São Marcelo, built out in the bay in 1625.

A few more do-not-miss sights — the Museu Afro-Brasileiro, explaining the candomble religion brought by slaves from West Africa and centered on gods and goddesses called orixas; the fabulous Museu de Arte Sacra, housed in an old monastery; the Solar do Unhão, an 18th-century sugar mill where a nightly folkloric show and buffet are offered, and the Mercado Modelo, with small stalls selling souvenirs.

During my week in Salvador in May ’07, I also made two day-long excursions, one to the 16th-century town of Cachoeira, northwest of Salvador and once the center of tobacco and sugar plantations, and one to Praia do Forte, site of one of Brazil’s most successful giant sea turtle projects, the Projecto Tamar.

On the way to the turtles, we visited the ruins of the mansion built in 1556 by Garcia d’Avila, a Portuguese clerk who rose to become one of the new colony’s biggest landowners.

If you go. . .

Arrangements for my trip were made by Avocet Travel (New York, NY; phone 866/862-2442 or 212/690-7200, e-mail info@avocettravel.com or visit www.avocettravel.com), which offers travel to Brazil and other parts of South America as well as to Africa, Europe and the U.S.

My private tour included a guide and driver for six nights in Salvador, three nights in São Paulo, flights between New York and Brazil, all excursions, transfers, two folkloric performances with dinner, and taxes. My cost was $5,166. Brazil requires a visa. This fee was not included in the above cost.

I flew the airline TAM (888/235-9826). Business-class service was superb — attentive. Great food! Wonderfully comfortable seats tilted back almost completely for sleeping.

Many cruise and expedition passengers enjoy snorkeling off beaches, Zodiacs or dive boats. Snorkeling is an easy sport and provides fantastic views of beautiful coral and fish. The sport is open to swimmers of any age. I have seen snorkelers from ages five to 85 enjoying themselves on cruises.

The sport is so easy that I, myself, thought I knew it all, then I met the master snorkeler and diver Dr. Jack Grove, an expert on the fish of the Galápagos, a fellow of the Explorers Club and one of the founders of Zegrahm Expeditions (192 Nickerson St. #200, Seattle, WA 98109; 800/628-8747, www.zeco.com). He gave me so many snorkeling tips that my head, not just my body, was swimming. Now I can pass them on to you, to make your snorkeling experience more safe, enjoyable and accessible.

Buddy system and safety

• It is likely you will ride to the beach or snorkel site in a Zodiac or dive boat. Get into the boat with a “clipper grip,” one in which you reach past the crewman’s hand to grasp his wrist. He, in turn, grasps your wrist, thus if either of you falters and lets go, you are still attached and the chances of a fall are minimized.

A clipper grip is MUCH stronger than a simple handshake grip, which should never be used. Utilize the clipper grip in all situations at sea or on land where support is needed or safety is an issue.

• Before stepping into a Zodiac, put a damp towel on the gunwale (the inflated tube that forms the side of the boat). Step onto the towel (being helped by a crewman using a clipper grip), then step lightly into the center of the Zodiac, onto the floorboards.

Time your move from the parent craft to the Zodiac, dive boat or tender very carefully. Observe the swell and follow the crew’s directions. Swells can vary from nothing to up to several feet.

When moving across the Zodiac or dive boat, keep your body weight low by crouching. When moving along the length of the Zodiac, slide your behind along the inflated tube gunwale.

To exit the Zodiac in a beach landing, slide up to the front of the craft, face the rear of the vessel, away from the beach, swing one leg over the tube gunwale, then the other leg. Time your alighting so that you step on the beach between the breaking waves.

• Always snorkel with a buddy, and keep an eye out for him or her. Agree on a “snorkel plan,” follow it, and stay right beside each other. A typical snorkel plan could be something like this: “We’ll swim up into the current for 200 yards for about 20 minutes, while we’re fresh, then drift down-current for 15 minutes to the take-out point, by which time we’ll be tired.”

The best type of footwear

It may seem strange to talk about footwear — other than fins — in snorkeling, but it is important to protect your feet from coral in the water and from glass on the shoreline.

Leave your flip-flops, open-toed sandals and “reef walkers” at home. The first two don’t protect your toes, and the latter are usually so rounded on the bottom that they make it easy to sprain your ankle. (I did this in my first five minutes of wearing reef walkers in Bequia, West Indies. It ruined my whole vacation, since I almost was unable to walk for a week.)

Pick a shoe that has a wide, flat bottom and has substantial protection for your toes and all around your feet. Wear these shoes on the beach, on the parent craft and in the snorkel boat until just before putting on your fins.

Running shoes that are made completely of man-made material and, thus, won’t rot are ideal. Look for shoes that say “waterproof” and have drain holes and mesh sides or lots of protective straps. Many snorkelers like the Keen brand of shoes.

For socks, get some 2mm-thick neoprene ankle booties (available at any dive shop) and wear them inside your shoes and inside your fins. This will help keep out the sand, pebbles and most of the water, keep your feet quite comfortable and give you more protection against fire coral.

• Fins provided by on-site operators are usually sufficient for casual snorkelers; thus, you won’t have to lug awkward fins on the plane. However, you may wish to bring your own fitted fins if you have bunions or oddly shaped or oddly sized feet. Or you can purchase small swim fins, only about three inches longer than your feet, and take them along on the trip.

When snorkeling off a beach, carry your fins into the water with you. Sit down in waist-deep water on the sand, put on your fins and swim away. To get out, reverse the process. Don’t try to walk on the beach or in shallow water with your fins on. You could easily fall.

In a dive boat, put your fins on last, then slide gently over the side into the water, holding yourself away from the boat.

To get out of the water, hold onto the ladder off the side of the Zodiac or boat and take off your fins one at a time, holding each tightly and reaching up and placing it in the bottom of the boat. Then climb up the ladder into the boat.

Snorkels and snorkeling techniques

An inexpensive, 15- to 25-dollar snorkel is sufficient for the casual user. But buy your own and take it on the trip. A snorkel supplied by a local operator may not have been disinfected, and a previous user may have had a bad cold.

Get a snorkel that is curved, with a bend near your mouth so that it doesn’t pull on your mouth or on the face mask head strap. The snorkel should have a clip that attaches to the head strap so that the snorkel doesn’t flop around without support. Make sure that the clip attaches securely to the face mask strap but is detachable without having to pull the face mask strap out of the corner of the face mask.

When using the snorkel, don’t bite down on it; just hold it firmly in your mouth.

While snorkeling, don’t touch any corals or fish. Swim at least six feet above any coral heads below. (But be aware that objects look closer under water, so what you think is six feet could be eight to 10.)

Don’t drift backward; you might run into some coral.

Swim with a life vest or a “noodle” if you are at all nervous about your swimming ability. Stay away from jellyfish, some of which have long, almost invisible tentacles. Stay away from all boat propellers, even if they are not turning.

For the best views of those glorious fish and coral reefs, look “down sun” (with the sun behind you), but don’t cast your shadow over the object you’re viewing. Float flat in one spot for a while and study what’s going on below.

Get a local fish field guidebook and learn to recognize some of the fish you are seeing. Study fish behavior such as territoriality, camouflage, feeding, “cleaning stations” (where little fish clean the gills of big fish), mating and reproduction.

Learn some of the snorkelers’ sign language for underwater communication. The one you’ll use the most is three fingers thrust forward like a trident. It means “W” and stands for “Wow!”

Next time — tips on eye and skin protection and looking like a snorkel pirate! ITN

Lew Toulmin has snorkeled off of six of the seven continents. He is the author of “The Most Traveled Man on Earth,” available for $16.95 plus $5 shipping from The Village Press (13108 Hutchinson Way, Silver Spring, MD 20906; www.themost traveled.com).

(Continue to part 2)

Kham, our guide, told us, “This is called the Hill of Big Jars. As you can see, there are lots of big stone jars all around, but these, here on this hill, are among the largest.”

We were in northern Laos, about 90 miles southeast of the UNESCO World Heritage Site city of Luang Prabang, in an area called — appropriately — the Plain of Jars. In a wide swath around the provincial capital of Phonesavanh lie an estimated 60 stone jar sites. A few of these sites have only one jar. Some, like the site where we were standing, Site One, have hundreds.

We narrowed our exploration of the Plain of Jars to the three main stone jar sites because of time limitations but more importantly because these three sites are the only ones that have been declared safe for visitors. The other sites are still off limits because of UXO, or unexploded bombs, shells and land mines — the sad legacy of decades of war.

Sites One, Two and Three are “clean,” but we were still careful to follow in Kham’s footsteps as he led us down a narrow pathway to the foot of the hill where more huge jars literally littered the ground.

We wandered among these jars feeling small beside them. The jars, carved from boulders of either a sandstone-like material (most) or granite (a few), weighed between half a ton and a ton, although Kham said there was one jar that weighed six tons. Here and there, a few stone covers lay on the ground that must once have served as lids to these jars.

What were these jars used for? Theories abound. Perhaps for rice storage or wine fermentation. There is even an extraterrestrial explanation: giants from outer space used these jars as drinking vessels.

Most likely, these stone jars were either sarcophagi containing bodies or ashes, parts of ancient cemeteries, or they might have been memorial monuments honoring either a deceased individual or the deceased of an entire family, similar to stones or markers placed over graves nowadays. Future archaeological investigations may supply some answers.

Site Two

Site One (Thong Hai Hin), the first site we visited, is about 10 miles west of Phonesavanh. It was another 12 miles to Site Two (Hai Hin Phu Salato). Hai hin in Lao means “stone jar.”

At Site Two, steep steps lead to the first of twin wooded hilltops with stone jars similar to those at Site One. One difference is that most of the stone jar lids found at Site One were once placed directly atop the jars, whereas many of the lids at Site Two were carved so that they could fit just inside the neck of the stone jars.

A short scramble downhill and a brief hike up, the adjoining hilltop has jars scattered among trees, some of which rooted themselves as saplings inside the jars and have now — with the passage of time — split the stone jars apart.

Visiting Site Three (Hai Hin Lat Khai), 10 miles beyond Site Two, is a bit more of an adventure. It involves a hike along a rickety wood-plank bridge across a shallow stream and a 15-minute trek along narrow pathways among the rice paddies to a wooded mound with dozens of jars.

Another question to Kham — ‘How old are all these jars?’

He told us that the best guess is 2,000 to 3,500 years old. Once again, future archaeological research might come up with more precise dates, especially if bones or ashes are found.

Sites One, Two and Three contain between 500 and 700 stone jars depending on which estimate you accept. Fragments of jars are sometimes not counted. The Plain of Jars is scheduled to be included on the prestigious UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites within the next few years. In preparation, other jar sites are being cleared of UXO, opening the door for archaeologists and, perhaps, more answers regarding who carved the jars and when and why.

Laos highlights

Our visit to the Plain of Jars was part of a 15-day trip to Laos that included a sampling of the best this relatively unknown, touristically uncrowded country has to offer. Frankly, we hadn’t expected much but were rewarded with one of the best trips we’ve ever taken.

Just a few of the highlights — in Vientiane, Laos’ capital, there are golden That Luang, a stupa built by a king in 1566; Wat Sisaket, a Buddhist monastery housing almost 7,000 Buddha statues, and French restaurants equaling those we’ve enjoyed in Paris.

In Luang Prabang, we visited some of the most beautiful temple complexes we’ve seen, including Wat Xieng Thong, with glass mosaics decorating some of its chapels; the addictive night market (out of five nights in Luang Prabang, we went to the night market four times); the Pak Ou caves beside the Mekong River, filled with small Buddha statues, and a makkhon, a traditional dating ceremony with young girls in gorgeous costumes.

In Pakse, in the far south of Laos, there are numerous waterfalls and the Khmer ruins at Champassak, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On Khong Island, even farther south, close to the Thai and Cambodian borders, fishing villages abound and boat trips on the Mekong River are available.

And, of course, outside Phonsevanh is the Plain of Jars.
Throughout Laos, we visited colorful, bustling local markets — always a joy for photography and people-watching.
If you go. . .

Our customized 15-night private tour of Laos was arranged by Diethelm Travel (Setthathirath Road, Namphu Square, Vientiane, Lao P.D.R.; phone 856-21-213-833, fax 856-21-217-151, e-mail dtlls@ diethelmlaos.com or ditralao@aotel. com or visit www.diethelmtravel. com), a company with lots of experience in Southeast Asian travel. We’ve traveled with Diethelm before in Thailand.

Diethelm did a superb job on this Laos trip — excellent guides, good vehicles and comfortable hotels, including three superb A+ hotels we stayed in for nine nights out of our 15 nights in Laos: the serene new Green Park Boutique Hotel in Vientiane; the venerable, traditional Settha Palace Hotel, also in Vientiane, and the luxurious Grand Luang Prabang Hotel, just outside Luang Prabang, surrounded by gardens and reflecting pools. All are beautiful properties loaded with personality and charm.

For our customized trip for two, we paid $3,390, including hotels, breakfasts, tours, admissions, car, driver, guide and internal air.

Final words — go to Laos as soon as you can, before everyone else does.

—Focus on Archaeology is written by Julie Skurdenis.

(First of two parts)

It was our third trip to New Zealand. We were on a 4-week Elderhostel (11 Ave. de Lafayette, Boston, MA 02111; 800/454-5768, www.elderhostel.org) tour of the North and South Islands.

Our last journey, in 1984, had culminated in the county hospital in Nelson on the South Island, where my wife, Flory, was treated for two weeks after she fell when stepping out of the shower.

The accident, which resulted in a ruptured spleen and five broken ribs and required five blood transfusions, left Flory so weak that upon leaving the hospital she could take only five steps at a time before having to sit down to rest.

Despite the catastrophe, we had fond memories of New Zealand, of the welcoming kindness of its people and the unbelievable splendor of its countryside. Indeed, whenever somebody asks Flory to name her favorite country, she invariably answers “New Zealand.”

Our 2007 trip

Our January 2007 Elderhostel tour consisted of 10 days on the North Island and 15 on the South Island. As is common in Elderhostel programs, our journey was a combination of lectures and field trips.

But it was neither the former nor the latter that made this journey memorable. It was the wonderful and sympathetic participants who made the trip a success.

Elderhostel programs are all-inclusive, which means that everything (accommodations, in-country transportation, excursions, lectures, guides, meals, tips, etc.) is included in the program price. There are no other expenses, although you have the option of incorporating international airfare.

Of course, New Zealand is one of those heavenly countries where tipping is not expected. (Nevertheless, we did reward our last bus driver, since he went out of his way to accommodate us. When I handed him the money, he commented, “You don’t have to do that.”)

Highlights of the North Island

Auckland

We landed in Auckland, New Zealand’s commercial capital and its largest city. Its location on a narrow cape between two harbors is exceptional. It is built atop 53 volcanoes, some of which are cones and others, lagoons.

A side trip led us to Muriwai Regional Park on New Zealand’s west coast. With its magnificent beach and spectacular surf, the park afforded us a close-up view of the resident gannet colony. Because of the long breeding season, it often is possible in a single visit to see examples of mating and bonding rituals between partners, who usually stay together for their entire lives. Both parents take turns to brood the solitary egg.

Rotorua

Steam emitting from cracks and crevices in parks, gardens and paths and a distinctive smell of sulfur permeating the air left no doubt that we had arrived at our next destination, Rotorua, the center of an active geothermal area.

Geological records show that there has been constant volcanic activity in this area for thousands of years. The most recent eruption was that of Mt. Tarawera on June 10, 1886. It killed more than 150 people and destroyed the famous, so-called Pink and White Terraces. Each of the terrace sites, which were less than a mile apart, consisted of a hillside with a boiling geyser spouting hot, silica-containing water at the top. As the hot water flowed down the slope, it crystallized, giving the appearance of a gigantic staircase.

The terraces, internationally regarded as the Eighth Wonder of the World, attracted celebrities from all over the world. Despite the arduous journey, people traveled there not only to observe the extraordinary vistas but also to bathe in the area’s deep and clear-blue-water pools. Many visited Rotorua’s bathhouse, then known as the Great South Seas Spa, where they immersed themselves in the water to cure their ailments.

The Rotorua Museum of Art & History, on the premises of the now-defunct bathhouse, shows a 20-minute, must-see, fascinating film that describes Rotorua’s history. It presents the various hydrotherapies that were used in the spa — such as running an electric current through the thermal baths (can you imagine?) to treat “nervous exhaustion” — and depicts the eruption of Mt. Tarawera, physically letting you participate in the explosion by violently shaking and vibrating your theater seat. Hold on!

Rotorua is also the heartland of Maori culture, the country’s indigenous population. To acquaint ourselves with the Maori way of life, we visited the Whakarewarewa Thermal Village.

After we viewed a large interactive tableau of the area as well as exhibits of native handicrafts, a guide accompanied us on a tour of the geothermal area. We repeatedly heard “Ohs” and “Ahs” as we passed gurgling mud pools and spectacular high-spouting geysers. We watched in awe as its most famous one, Potohu, shot its water far above the ground (it has gone as high as 98 feet) — a feature that is repeated 10 to 20 times a day, each time for five to 10 minutes.

Later on, we participated in a warrior show, where I represented our group of 31. After making sure our party had peaceful intentions, five of the combatants welcomed me with the customary nose touchings, the traditional way of Maori greeting. (Each nose is touched twice, once on the left and once on the right, somewhat similar to the European cheek kissing.) Luckily, for me, nobody had a cold.

Afterward, the warriors presented a protracted, traditional dancing show in which, toward its conclusion, the audience participated.

By now it was late in the evening. We all were hungry and anxious to take part in the hangi, a Maori word for cooking in an outdoor pit oven which runs on geothermal energy. The quality of the buffet dinner was outstanding and included large portions of exquisite seafood, meat and a great assortment of salads and vegetables.

In addition to visiting the attractions listed above, do stroll along Lake Rotorua’s picturesque waterfront, which offers cruises and water sports.

Waimangu

A 20-minute drive south of Rotorua brought us to the Waimangu Volcanic Valley Scenic Reserve & Wildlife Refuge, created as the direct result of the Mt. Tarawera eruption.

Once you’re there, take the guided hike down the steep gorge of the Waimangu Valley to view the thermally adapted plants and the continuously bubbling mud flats, the boiling, raging rivers and the steaming geysers.

Tongariro National Park

On Jan. 20 we drove to Tongariro National Park, where a number of people in our group took the chairlift to the top of 9,175-foot-high Mt. Ruapehu, the park’s most active volcano, which last erupted on Oct. 4, 2006.

We were fortunate that we visited just then, because two months later, on March 18, the dam which had been holding back the crater lake burst, sending an estimated 1.8 million cubic yards of mud, rock and water thundering down the Whangaehu River. All major roads in the area were closed, trapping thousands of motorists. Luckily, no serious damage was done and no one was injured.

Wellington

The next day, our bus took us to Wellington on busy highway 1.

Wellington, New Zealand’s third-largest city and its political capital, is a windy but scenic town lying between the coast and steep hills at the bottom of the North Island. To increase the small available area of flat land, a reclamation effort, started in 1852, continues to this day. As space is at a premium, many buildings, including our 22-floor hotel, have a small footprint and rise up as skyscrapers.

Contrasting this, many of the city’s wooden Victorian homes along the coast lie against or on top of steep hills and have their garages at road level. Since the vertical distance between the living area and the garage can be considerable, the two are frequently linked by their own private cable car!

While sightseeing in Wellington, go by public cable car from Lambton Quay to the attractive botanic gardens on top. Be sure to include a sunset trip to the summit of 643-foot Mt. Victoria, the paramount place to view the city’s blinking lights and its harbor.

Our educational program in Wellington started with a morning lecture of New Zealand’s politics and public life followed by a tour of the parliament building, where 121 Members of Parliament (MPs) decide the fate of the common person. There is only one House of Parliament, in which each bill is discussed three times over a period of six months before it can become law. Sounds like a good idea!

Highlights of the South Island

Dunedin

From Wellington we flew to Dunedin on the southeast coast of the South Island. The city, founded in 1848 by the Scots, has a decidedly Scottish feel and ambience, with street names similar to those in Edinburgh, a reality of which its inhabitants are very proud. (Indeed, Dunedin is the original Celtic name for Edinburgh.)

The day after our arrival, we took a drive on the stunning, constantly curving shore road on the west side of the narrow Otago Peninsula, located just northeast of Dunedin. We passed lush green pastures, small bays and inlets, sandy beaches, rugged hills and volcanic landscapes. Small homes on the hillocks abutted the peaceful highway at irregular intervals. These dwellings, which originally were summer homes, have markedly increased in price (as have all homes in New Zealand), and many now are being converted to full-time abodes for those who want to get away from the hustle, bustle and traffic of the city of Dunedin.

For information, obtain the Otago Peninsula map and brochure from Dunedin’s visitor center or go to www.otago-peninsula.co.nz. If you like to hike, pick up the brochure “Otago Peninsula Track,” which presents details of walkways.

The shore road ends at the Taiaroa Head, where an informative tour of the Royal Albatross Centre (call +64 3 478 0499, fax 478-0575 or go to www.albatross.org.nz) with its 90 to 100 birds is a must. It is the only mainland albatross breeding colony in the Southern Hemisphere.

As the birds mostly float on the wind, the best time to see them fly is in the afternoon when the wind increases. With a wingspan of up to 9′6″ across, the albatross can soar at speeds of more than 70 miles an hour. Visit from December to February, when one parent brings food while the other continuously watches the offspring. Reservations are essential.

Farmstays

The next day, we proceeded to the highlight of our trip, a 2-night farmstay in Otautau, a village in the rolling Catlins hills. Each couple in our group was dropped off at a different farmhouse, some of which were located in another community.

Our host and hostess welcomed us with open arms. We were hardly seated when we were offered aperitifs with canapés. Afterward, we enjoyed a gourmet dinner, which definitely had not been designed to make us thinner. Breakfasts and lunches were equally impressive.

The next morning, the farmer, who owned 3,000 sheep, 150 cows and 125 deer, took us for a drive on the hilly meadows of his property, constantly dodging huge flocks of sheep. As we looked with distaste at the animals’ dirty bottoms, our host explained that the sheep could be sold only if their undersides were clean. To achieve this, he contracts with a special bum-cleaning service.

In the afternoon, the farmer’s wife drove us along the scenic, rugged nearby coast, where the many sandy coves full of protruding rocks attracted numerous bathers.

When our Elderhostel group got together at the end of the trip, everybody concurred that the farmstay (for which the hosts received remuneration) had indeed been the best part of the program.

Next month, I will continue sharing with you the scenic magic of New Zealand’s South Island.

It is through flat, green, French countryside surrounded by fields of grain that my TGV train really flexed its muscles. Powering ahead, I didn’t feel any curves, and when I encountered slightly rolling hills, raw embankments rose high above my window. The level ride over the new Est européene line was so smooth (TGVs are the smoothest- riding trains in Europe) that I was quite startled when I suddenly heard the announcement.

“You are now traveling at 320 kilometers per hour” (199 mph). My TGV had departed from Paris’ renovated Gare de l’Est Station at 6:35 a.m. on June 9, 2007, while the sun was trying to peek through rolling, dark clouds. After a few publicity stops at new TGV stations, we arrived in Strasbourg for the celebration and launch of the new Est line, and in the midst of lightning and pounding rain a cabinet minister delivered an eloquent speech. I consider this a journalistic hazard.

True, the tents of the exhibits of FrenchRail’s (SNCF’s) partners of the TGV Est provided shelter. GermanRail (DB), Luxembourg and the cities and regions financially supported the line’s construction based on a formula accounting for the time savings for travelers to Paris.

The new line runs from Vairessur- Marne outside of Paris until Baudrecourt in the Moselle nearing Strasbourg. At this point, the region becomes forested and my train slowed to 100 mph over old tracks. I noticed some bumpiness.

The TGV Est network

TGV Est network cuts train travel time by one-third to one-half between 20 destinations in France as well as between Paris and 10 destinations in Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The frequency of service increased by 15%-20% along the new line, which runs from Paris east through the Champagne, Lorraine and Alsace regions of France, serving cities such as Reims, Nancy, Metz and Strasbourg.

The new line also provides faster train connections from eastern France to other regions — to cities such as Lille, Bordeaux and Nantes and between Charles de Gaulle Airport and Strasbourg.

Rail now offers the shortest travel time, city center to city center, between Paris and Frankfurt or Stuttgart and will compete with Frankfurt’s 30 daily fl ights on the basis of comfort and price.

Renewed Reseau

Once aboard the TGVs over the Est line, one would never believe that the carriages date from 1993, when SNCF placed in service its third-generation TGV-R (“R” for “reseau,” or network) trains on its TGV Nord high-speed line from Paris to Brussels and to Calais at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel. The multivoltage TGV POS power cars look, at a glance, like the original TGV SE trains between Paris and Lyon, but they are shorter, generally run in pairs, and incorporate a more powerful transformer and higher-capacity engine. The change in profi les of the power cars makes them look like sharks with backpacks.

Designer Christian Lacroix created a new interior design for the TGV Est trains using original shapes and colors. He provided more individual comfort throughout the train with ergonomic reclining seats, headrests and footrests, plus luggage racks within the carriages. He removed seats in second class to provide more leg space and added individual electrical outlets in first class.

On the German side

What a novelty it is to see a German ICE 3MF train parked in a French train station — and in Paris, the heart of the French network! But SNCF and DB are collaborating on what they feel will be the heart of the coming international high-speed network.

DB readied six of the dual-voltage ICE 3MF (“MF” for Multi-voltage France) for service between Germany and Paris capable of using both German and French electrical systems at 199 mph, the same speed as the French TGVs. One ICE 3MF train pair runs from Frankfurt/Main via Mannheim and Saarbrücken to Paris, complemented by two additional ICE 3MF train pairs between

Saarbrücken and Paris with a connection to Frankfurt/Main. Beginning on Dec. 9, DB will send five ICE 3MF through train pairs between Paris and Frankfurt/Main. The stretch between Mannheim and Saarbrücken will be upgraded to 125 mph and the Saarbrücken train station will have been rebuilt and modernized into a “Eurobahnhof.”

First-class service includes a choice of daily newspapers, a taxi reservation service for Paris and a light meal served at your seat. German and French staff share duties on board.

World speed record

The new Est line achieved headline news status this year when an SNCF TGV broke the standing world speed record of 320.3 mph set in May 1990 for steel-wheel-on-steel-rail trains. (In 2003, Japan’s maglev train set the speed record for noncontact trains at 361 mph.)

In an attempt to shatter the record, SNCF performed a series of highspeed trials over the Est line prior to its June inauguration. Following increasingly high-speed runs between Jan. 15 and April 15, the official speed record attempt took place on April 3. The TGV reached the top speed of 357.2 mph near the village of Le Chemin, between the Meuse and Champagne-Ardenne TGV stations, where the most favorable profile exists.

The train used for the speed record was code-named V150 and comprised three modified TGV Duplex (doubledecked) cars, which normally run on the TGV Mediterranean line. It was fitted with larger wheels and a 25,000- horsepower engine — double the power of a conventional TGV. Track and catenary were also modified and closely monitored during the tests. An Aérospatiale Corvette airplane chased the train to provide data relay and uplink of live television images.

Gare de l’Est

Paris’ Gare de l’Est is the chosen terminus for the TGV Est trains. When you rise on sparkling escalators from the Paris Métro into the station’s new reception hall, you will be surprised at the transformation of the formerly dowdy station into the bright terminus of France’s newest TGV line. Even after enlargement, it is still fourth largest of Paris’ six terminuses and uncluttered despite offering all amenities, including auto rental agencies.

The Est station looks new but traditional, and it has a new luster, but the sparrows flitting in and out and about haven’t changed. When SNCF announced they were going to renovate the station with a new wing, new escalators and new decorations to become the terminus for the TGV Est, there was an outcry from residents of the Gallic city: “Protect our sparrows. They are family.” I thank Rail Europe (888/382-7245, www.raileurope.com) for arranging my invitation to the launch of the TGV Est, for providing a 4-day France Railpass and for making seat reservations.