International Travel News

Columns

June 2005 issue | Appears on page 0

Bolivia, land of contrasts and mysteries

By Wayne Wirtanen

(Part one of two)

Bolivia is a land of former fantastic riches and present poverty. A major part of the country is steaming Amazon lowlands. Most tourism is to the nearly 3-mile-high Altiplano, with the highest capital in the world, La Paz, and the highest airport in the world. On an 8-day trip in October ’04, I stayed in modern 5-star hotels with room rates in the $40-$50 range.

Amazing Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, has floating islands made of reeds...

June 2005 issue | Appears on page 0

Chile’s Colchagua Valley

By Randy Keck

Two hours’ drive south of Santiago lies one of Chile’s most renowned wine-producing regions, Valle de Colchagua. On my last visit to Chile, in February ’05, I had the opportunity to visit, albeit too briefly, this impressive valley of abundance on the Ruta del Vino.

A lengthy list of awards and medals have to date been earned by the valley’s wineries in prestigious international competitions and publications. This was highlighted in 2003 when the Colchagua...

May 2005 issue | Appears on page 0

Boarding Pass

By David Tykol

Dear Globetrotter: Welcome to the 351st issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine.

“. . . this publication is a gold mine of information from the well traveled that could otherwise take hours to find.” That’s what E’Louise Ondash wrote in her January 20th “Hit the Road” column in North San Diego County’s The Coast News.

She continued: “. . . it does a great job as a person-to-person forum (‘Two seniors considering a trip to the North Pole. How do we get there?’) and...

May 2005 issue | Appears on page 0

Cruise industry trends and how to take advantage of them

By Lew Toulmin

by Lew Toulmin

Cruising is hot! According to the Cruise Lines International Association, or CLIA (80 Broad St., Ste. 1800, New York, NY 10004; phone 212/921-0066 or visit www.cruising.org), 2004 was a banner year for the cruise industry in terms of new builds and passenger growth. Last year, CLIA cruise lines capped a record-setting 5-year building boom that introduced 62 new ships to the North American market out of a total of 150 represented by CLIA.

Twelve new ships were...

May 2005 issue | Appears on page 0

Reviewers’ Corner

“Cycle Europe, 20 Tours, 12 Countries” by Jerry Soverinsky (2004, MBI Publishing Co. ISBN 0760318697 — 400 pp., $19.95 paper). When you are motivated to spend a couple of weeks on an adventure on wheels through Europe, this is the “bible” you must take with you.

How does this book differ from other guidebooks? It is highly readable because of its rich mixture of humor. It also makes planning vacations easy because of the abundance of road detail.

I was impressed with Jerry...

May 2005 issue | Appears on page 0

Acute Mountain Sickness: it comes with the territory

by Dr. Larry G. Baratta

Travel brochures offer dreams of pristine, idyllic settings: an azure-blue lake rimmed with tall pine trees accented by a backdrop of jagged, snowcapped summits; mountain trekkers, campers and adventurers seated at an inviting picnic spread, or a fisherman displaying a striking rainbow trout ready for the frying pan that will satisfy the palates of avid and amateur outdoorsman.

Images such as these fill travelers’ minds as they plan trips to spectacular...

May 2005 issue | Appears on page 0

Catching flamenco performances in Sevilla, Spain

by Linda Ledray

QUESTION: I am planning a trip to Spain in the near future. I expect I will be traveling alone, as my friends don’t travel much these days. It’s a shame. I love flamenco music and dancing — watching, that is. I just don’t feel comfortable going out to a nightclub alone but cannot imagine not being able to watch flamenco while I am there. Any suggestions? — Emma Rose, Steamboat Springs, CO

ANSWER: I am glad to hear that you love flamenco, and I agree. I cannot...

May 2005 issue | Appears on page 0

How to obtain the necessary entry visas

By Philip Wagenaar

(First of two parts)

“How can I possibly get our passports back in time?” l said to my wife, Flory.

“What is the problem?” she asked.

“Our cruise ship stops in five ports, each requiring its own visa, which means that I will have to send our passports to five different consulates.”

“That is a predicament.”

I was reminded of the above conversation when a letter from Victoria Davis in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, arrived at the ITN offices asking for an...