In 1885 in the town of Seyðisfjörður in eastern Iceland, an avalanche swept several homes into the fjord and killed 24 people. In 1996 in the same town, another avalanche wiped out a fish factory, leaving several of the factory's girders mangled. Luckily, no lives were lost in the 1996 event, but the twisted girders were painted white and erected to create a memorial to those who had previously died. It was named “Snjóflóð” (“Avalanche”).
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 508th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.
One place I had never considered visiting was Antarctica. It always seemed too far away from my world, more of an idea than a location. But when ITN received a press release from Oceanwide Expeditions (US office in Houston, TX; 800/453-7245, oceanwide-expeditions.com) announcing discounted Antarctic cruises for members of the press (airfare not included), the allure of the distant continent was too much to resist.
Chef Ruth Ruiz announced, “This morning we’re going to the market to buy a pig’s head.”
From May 22 to June 8, 2017, I had the opportunity to check off the No. 1 destination on my bucket list with a fantastic driving trip around France. However, to pull off this trip, I had two requirements: someone who could drive a stick-shift car and a fellow traveler who was fluent in French.
If I die with any money in the bank, there was one trip I forgot to take.
In southwestern London, the Temperate House, the largest Victorian-era greenhouse in the world, reopened at Kew Gardens (Richmond, Surrey, England; www.kew.org) on May 5 after a 5-year, £41 million restoration, with some modernization. 15,000 panes of glass were replaced, and 1,160 gallons of paint were used.
The Temperate House contains more than 1,500 species of tropical plants, including the Enchphalantos woodii, known as “the loneliest tree in the world” because it is extinct in the wild. All living examples are clones of the one at Kew.
On April 11, British Airways (800/247-9297, www.ba.com) began offering budget one-way-only fares between London and select cities in the US and elsewhere. These Basic fares are available only on certain dates.
The Basic fares are being offered one-way between London (Heathrow) and either Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia or Phoenix; between London (Gatwick) and Oakland; between Helsinki and New York, and between Madrid and Boston, Chicago or Dallas-Fort Worth.
As of May 1, travelers from the US, Canada, the UK and 56 other countries can visit the Chinese island of Hainan for up to 30 days without a visa. Hainan, just off the southern coast of China in the South China Sea, is China’s largest Special Economic Zone, meaning it has slightly more independence from the Chinese government’s economic policies, allowing it to have a more open free-market system.
