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United Kingdom Contours Walking Holidays (Gramyre, 3 Berrier Rd., Greystoke, CA11 0UB, United Kingdom; phone +44 [0] 17684 80451 or visit www. contours.co.uk) handled the arrangements when my husband and I hiked the new Hadrian’s Wall Path from Tynemouth (on the North Sea) to Bowness on Solway Firth, April 3-11, ’04. Officially it is 84 miles, but we went 110 miles as we walked to various museums and forts nearby.
In the cinderblock lobby of Prague’s Diplomat Hotel (Evropská 15; www. diplomatpraha.cz), my husband, Joe, was exchanging introductions with our guide, Petr, while I waited for my first foray into the Czech language to begin. I was mentally rehearsing my opening line, a difficult one to pronounce, when Joe gave me my cue: “This is my wife, Mary Anne.”
Smiling and extending my hand, I said, “Teší me.”
Petr’s eyebrows shot up. “So soon?” he replied.
“What did I say?”
“Will you sleep with me?”
ITN printed a number of letters on the subject of using the Internet while traveling. These appeared in the October ’03 through January ’04 issues. A few more have been received since then with useful information. Here they are.
On a trip to the U.K. in November ’03, in Edinburgh I noticed they had telephone kiosks on the streets with Internet terminals in them.
What do you do to pass the time in an airport waiting for a flight? Have any insider tips to make the interval more pleasant? ITN asked readers those questions. Responses appear below. If you have further ideas to contribute, write to Whittle While You Wait, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com (please include the address where you receive ITN).
by Jane B. Hanrahan, Woodbridge, VA
We loved Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and came away thinking there are two things you must do there: 1) attend the “Magic of Africa” show at night (then $20 per person for about 1½ hours) — outstanding — and 2) take a helicopter ride over the falls.
We recommend the helicopter from the Zambia side. They picked us up at our hotel and took us to the helicopter. At the time of our trip in June ’01 it was $75 for 15 minutes aloft, which included the border-crossing fee (a side benefit — you get a Zambia stamp in your passport).
We had received an offer of “Take a Companion Free” on a photo safari, “Focus on Zimbabwe,” with David Anderson Safaris (30 W. Mission St., Ste. 7, Santa Barbara, CA 93101; phone 800/927-4647, fax 805/563-7953 or visit www.focusonafrica.com or www.onsafari.info). The only requirements were to submit the names of five prospective travelers and to send 20 photos of our safari for possible use in an upcoming “Focus On Africa” book. For two, the discounted cost was US$5,000 plus airfare of $3,960.
My sympathies are with Mrs. Patterson on the tragic death of her husband and her subsequent ordeal with bureaucracy. However, there is one point that should be cleared up.
Thanks to Betty Patterson for the description of her experiences in France when her husband died. While I thought my wife and I were well prepared with copies of our passport declarations pages, medical evacuation coverage, phone numbers, etc., upon reading her report I immediately dug out and made a copy of our wedding certificate!
KENT SHAMBLIN
Afton, MN