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Princess Cruises (800/774-6237, www.princess.com) has announced that all 2009-2010 Panama Canal transits of 15 days or longer will include a second day at port in Fuerte Amador. The stopover allows travelers to visit Panama City, the Panama Canal Railway and the Soberania National Park rainforest.
Eurail Pass is valid in Europe but not in Britain. Throughout 2008, travelers ages 16 to 25 who purchase any Eurail Pass (about $69-$2,089) can get a 50% discount off the regular adult price of a standard-class BritRail Consecutive Pass, BritRail FlexiPass, BritRail England Consecutive Pass or BritRail England FlexiPass.
Examples — with the 50% discount, the “all-access” standard-class 4-Day BritRail Consecutive Pass costs $130 and the FlexiPass version, $165. Contact BritRail (866/938-7245, www.britrail.com).
The Francisco Godia Foundation (Diputació, 250, 08007 Barcelona, Spain; phone 93 272 31 80, fax 31 81, e-mail info@fundacionfgodia.org) opens in Barcelona in October 2008 with more than 100 pieces from the 12th century on.
The focus is on medieval art, ceramics and contemporary painting, and it includes works by Joan Miró, Picasso and Ramon Casas. Open 10-8. Closed Tuesday. €6 ($9) adult, €4 student/senior.
As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 28 destinations: Somalia, Lebanon, Nepal, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Haiti, Burundi, Syria, Yemen, Eritrea, Algeria, Central African Republic, Kenya, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Pakistan.
For details, call the State Department at 202/647-5225 or visit http://travel.state.gov/travel/warnings.html.
In May, the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua reported two separate incidents in which groups of travelers were kidnapped and robbed at night while driving on the Tipitapa-Masaya Highway from the Managua International Airport to Granada. They were robbed at gunpoint, then released in a remote location.
Travelers are warned not to drive along that highway at night. Visit www.nicaragua.usembassy.gov.
The 3,000-foot Chaiten Volcano, 760 miles south of Santiago, Chile, and considered dormant, began erupting for the first time in 9,000 years on May 2, covering Patagonia with ash. There were no reports of deaths or serious damage, but 7,000 people were evacuated, many to Puerto Montt.
The government has extended a monthly stipend to families hit by the disaster, closed schools and warned against drinking tap water that could be contaminated by ash.
In central and southern Chile, five months worth of rain fell in eight hours on May 22-23, causing floods that killed five people and displaced 15,000. There were mudslides, trees fell and at least seven rivers burst their banks. A bridge on the Pan American Highway, the main north-south route, was washed away, and trains were unable to travel south due to a collapsed bridge.
The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all travel to Somalia, including the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland. Kidnapping, murder, illegal roadblocks, banditry and other violent incidents can occur in many regions.
Unpredictable armed conflict among rival militias is prevalent in southern Somalia, particularly in and around Mogadishu, which has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Somali nationals and the displacement of nearly one million people. Regions in eastern Somaliland are subject to border disputes and inter-clan fighting.
In South Africa, angry mobs took to the streets in early May targeting refugees and immigrants from other African nations whom they felt were taking jobs from locals. Fifty people were killed and thousands injured during the violence that started in the Johannesburg township of Alexandra, then spread to other low-income neighborhoods and informal settlements and on to every one of the country’s provinces.
Nepal continues to experience sporadic incidents of terrorism and politically motivated violence in major urban areas. In the runup to Constituent Assembly elections on April 10, bombings occurred in various locations around the country, including four in Kathmandu on April 4 in which no one was injured.
Travelers should avoid taking public transportation, including microbuses, and be cautious of unattended baggage in public places. Travel via road in areas outside of the Kathmandu Valley is hazardous due to erratic drivers.