Food & Wine

 8 days, 7 nights on 70-foot schooner off Vancouver Island, B.C., CANADA, May 10-17 & 18-25, 2016. Highlights: Sail from Tofino/Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve/in Nootka Sound, watch for whales, sea otters/Nuchatlitz Provincial Marine Park kelp forest tour aboard inflatable boat/Resolution Cove on Bligh Island/in Boat Basin, Cougar Annie’s Garden. $3,995 ppdo. Single, $5,993. Outer Shores Expeditions (360-B Harbour Rd., Victoria, B.C., V9A 3S1, Canada; in No. Am., 855/714-7233, www.outershores.ca).

While traveling in three countries of the South Caucasus in August-September 2014 (July ’15, pg. 15), I got to sample a wide range of foods.

The many historic sites along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile are the focus of many visitors to Scotland’s capital. Waverley Railway Station, just to the north, provides convenient rail access, and nearby is Waverley Bridge, the nexus of various tour bus routes and the express Airlink buses to the airport.

While visiting northern Portugal with my wife, Kay, in September 2014, we spent two nights at Casa do Ameal (Rua do Ameal, 119, 4900 – 585 Meadela, Viana do Castelo, Portugal; phone +351 91 420 62 27, www.casadoameal.com).

When we arrived, the owner, Isbel, came down the front steps to greet us and take us to our room. The beautiful house, purchased in 1669, is still in the same family. It was converted to a bed-and-breakfast a little over 30 years ago.

In May 2015, I traveled with Overseas Adventure Travel, or OAT (Cambridge, MA; 800/955-1925, www.oattravel.com), to Namibia, with side trips to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Chobe National Park in Botswana. It was an interesting itinerary, and Namibia is a worthwhile travel destination. I rounded out my African stay with 10 days on my own in South Africa.

In Windhoek, Namibia, I highly recommend the NICE restaurant & bar (Mozart St., Windhoek, Namibia; phone +264 61 30 0710, www.nice.com.na), where our OAT group ate dinner.

12-day, 11-night tour in highlands of BOLIVIA, March 11-22 & March 25-April 5, 2016. Highlights: In La Paz, visit markets, organizations, restaurants/Santiago de Okola, fishing community at Lake Titicaca/Uyuni Salt Flats/hike on Island of the Sun/quinoa tour in Salinas de Garci Mendoza/farm tours in Jatun Yampara and Hampaturi Valley. Land, $2,000 ppdo. Single supp., $105. La Paz on Foot (710 Calle Indaburo, esq. Calle Jaen, La Paz, Bolivia; phone +591 71543918, www.lapazonfoot.com).

Prior to and following a fly/cruise trip to Antarctica in January 2014, my wife and I spent some time in Punta Arenas, Chile, where we enjoyed two meals at Restaurant Sabores (Mejicana 702, 2do. Piso, Punta Arenas, Patagonia, Chile; phone +56 61 227369, www.restaurantsabores.com/index2.html).

The extensive menu included seafood, meat and pasta but was probably not vegetarian-friendly. 

Kirkenes, a brrrrr-cold town in far-northeastern Norway just miles from the Russian border, is a starting point for many cruises. My son Scott and I were there toward the end of March 2015. The weather was a dry cold, and we walked around on the well-maintained streets and sidewalks through the lightly falling snow. 

Kirkenes was an important port during World War II and was occupied by the Germans. We saw many bunkers, some in use as either wine cellars or playhouses for children.