May 2007

by Charles Longo, Tucson, AZ

Our family of four took a 10-day trip to Egypt, Nov. 16-27, 2006. We booked it with Prem Sharma of Somak Safaris (2700 East Imperial Highway, Ste. N, Brea, CA 92821; 714/985-3456, www.somaksafaris.com). (We had also traveled through Somak in 2004, to Tanzania.)

Having made several trips to Italy, I was looking for something new. I discovered the tour “Northern Italy” from Odysseys Unlimited (85 Main St., Ste. 101, Watertown, MA 02473; 888/370-6765, www.odysseys-unlimited.com). From Miami, my 14-day trip, May 24-June 6, 2006, cost $3,695 plus a single supplement of $595.

I read about Hope Cottage Tours (Hope Cottage, Mackney Lane, Brightwell cum Sotwell, Oxfordshire, OX10 0SQ, U.K.; phone 44 [0] 1491 837100 or visit www.hopecottagetours.co.uk) in ITN’s MART Classifieds and began to e-mail Sue Robson, its owner and tour guide, about arranging a customized itinerary for my husband, Jim, and me.

by Harvey Hagman, Fort Myers, FL

Below us was a giant volcanic crater, the Caldeira das Sete Cidades, whose 1,000-foot sheer walls drop like green curtains in spots around its 7-mile circumference.

On a 2-week trip to Ecuador in January ’06, my wife, Barbara, and I chose to splurge a bit and stay in Hacienda Cusín (visit www.haciendacusin.com or phone U.S. rep, Myths & Mountains, at 800/670-6984), near Lago San Pablo and about 10 kilometers southeast of Otavalo. We reserved a few days prior to arrival by calling from our hotel in Otavalo; we used a local number: 918-013. (Our Cingular GMS phone worked fine in Ecuador.)

While visiting Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA, my husband, Joe, and I decided to stay in the residential neighborhood of Sea Point. We chose Winchester Mansions (221 Beach Rd., Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa; phone +27 21 434 2351, fax 434 0215 or visit www.winchester.co.za) for our September ’06 stay because of their sea-facing rooms.

We stayed at these three places on an October ’06 trip to JAPAN.

For a 13-night program to Bhutan that I was leading, our group departed for Paro, Bhutan, on Sept. 29, 2006, from Bangkok, THAILAND’s, new Suvarnabhumi Airport, which had officially opened at 3 a.m. on Sept. 28. Due to an early departure on Druk Air, our group stayed at the Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel (Suvarnabhumi Airport, Racha-Taeva, Bangpli, Samutprakarn 10540, Thailand; phone +66 2 131 1111, fax 1188 or visit www. bangkokairportonline.com), adjacent to the new airport.