Safari and Wildlife

In the article on the Azores in the April ’09 issue (“Far Horizons,” pg. 72), the writer states, “Today Pico is regarded as one of the best whale-watching venues in the world, with a viewing season running from April to October.”

I have no doubt the author was told this, as multiple people told me the same during a visit in September ’08. Of course, most of them had never been anywhere else but the Azores. One was a local guide, who then casually mentioned that I was lucky to have seen a whale, as she had been whale-watching three times and never seen one.

by Dennis Sherwood, Gig Harbor, WA (Second of two parts)

by Dennis Sherwood, Gig Harbor, WA

Spontaneous applause erupted from the Ecuadorian passengers as we landed, through intermittent fog and rain, at Quito’s international airport. Were they just glad to be home or was it sincere gratitude for our safe passage through the mountains on this dark and cloudy night?

The highlight of a trip to the Levant was a day trip to Baalbek in Lebanon. The largest Roman temple ever discovered is on the site of the second-millennium Canaanite temple to Baal. This site compares to the Valley of the Kings in Karnak in Egypt, the palaces of St. Petersburg in Russia and Samarkand in Uzbekistan for incredible human construction. Petra in Jordan wasn’t impressive after seeing Baalbek. Much of its charm is derived from the natural setting rather than the man-made structures. — HARRIET HUGHES, Alexandria, VA

by Yvonne Horn, Contributing Editor

The winged lion of Venice, sculpted in stone, stood high above us just beneath the tip-top bronze bell of St. Mark’s Torre dell’Orologio, looking down on the populace as if it owned the world.

My husband, Clyde, and I were in Orissa, India, in February ’07. Like Joyce Bruck (Sept. ’08, pg. 40), we visited Lake Chilka hoping to see the migrating birds in that famous bird sanctuary and were disappointed. A few ducks swam by our boat but nothing terribly exotic or exciting. At Kalijai Temple, on an island in the lake, we saw several free-range chickens.

Our driver queried our private boatman, who reported that the changing weather patterns were at fault. It was so warm to the north that the birds didn’t bother to come south.

I booked a week-long horseback safari in Botswana from Equitours (Dubois, WY; 800/545-0019 or 307/455-3363, www.equitours.com) for Aug. 5-12, 2007. The land price was $2,450, and I used air mileage to upgrade a $2,000 round-trip coach fare to business class on Delta (Lexington, Kentucky, to Johannesburg, South Africa, via Atlanta, Georgia, and Dakar, Senegal).

Here are 10 highlights from a 3-week excursion through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, the Kalahari Desert and Victoria Falls, Zambia, with Great Adventure People (225 Franklin St., 26th Fl., Boston, MA 02110; 800/676-4941, www.gapadventures.com). The land price for our Jan. 30-Feb. 19, 2007, tour was $1,695 plus $400 local payment.

During a short stay in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in March ’07, my travel partner, Frank, and I took a private tour to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre. The reserve cares for homeless elephants and relocates elephants from areas where crops, people or the beasts themselves are at risk.

While in Bangkok preparing to head for Singapore, I found the tour on the Internet offered by Endemic Guides (No. 40, Jalan 8/20, Section 8, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia; phone +6 03 55123012, www.endemicguides.com), which specializes in travel to nature destinations.