Features

March 2004 issue

Far Horizons » The Philippines: Cebu and Mactan

by Randy Keck, part 2 of 2 on the Philippines

The second portion of my recent visit to the Philippines focused on the island of Cebu, specifically on the area around Cebu City and adjacent Mactan Island, both rich in terms of historical significance.

In 1521 the famous explorer Magellan met his end at a battle on Mactan Island after incurring the wrath of local chieftain Lapu-Lapu, who had no tolerance for the explorer’s exploitative practices. A monument on Mactan commemorates the historical significance of that important battle.

During the early part of the era of...

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May 2010 issue

Enjoying the party-like atmosphere of Oaxaca’s Day of the Dead festival

Fred DeVinney, Walnut Creek, CA

In Condé Nast’s 2009 Readers’ Choice poll, Oaxaca, Mexico, was listed among the top 10 cities in the Americas (excluding the US). After my late-October ’09 trip there for the marvelously colorful Day of the Dead festivities, I can certainly understand why.

El Diá de los Muertos is celebrated each year in Oaxaca during the week leading up to the first of November. Instead of mourning the dead, Mexicans celebrate their memory, and this is the time for a joyous reunion of family members, living and dead.

Colorfully decorated cemeteries and...

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January 2005 issue

Connecting with the animals at Nepal’s Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge

by Jack Ogg, Houstin, TX

My wife, Connie, and I, in planning our Southeast Asia trip with our son Jon and his wife, Kendra, in late 2003, originally intended to include only Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia (the countries included in our special Cathay Pacific promotion) on our itinerary. However, the more we read, the more we wanted to extend the trip to Nepal. The very names Kathmandu, Mt. Everest and Tiger Tops conjured up our spirit of adventure. We were not disappointed.

Kathmandu

We flew Thai Airways to Kathmandu. The weather was idyllic and the...

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September 2010 issue

Touring and tasting in Argentina’s Mendoza wine region

by George & Elena Vander Voort, Wadsworth, IL

Argentine wines have improved dramatically over the past 15 years, moving from predominantly cheap, rustic vino de mesa (wine of the table) to world-class quality. In the late 19th century there were only about 6,000 hectares, or 14,830 acres, of wine vineyards in Argentina. Today there are about 208,000 hectares of wine grapes in over 26,000 vineyards, with about 900 actual wine producers.

The principal wine-producing bodegas are in the Luján de Cuyo region, just south of Mendoza City, although a number of superb bodegas...

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April 2005 issue

Old buddies, beer and Bavaria — second round

by Theodore Lewis, Severna Park, MD

A little over two years ago, my longtime German friend, Walter, invited me to visit him in Germany and we took a wonderful tour along the Romantic Road (see Jan. ’03, pg. 52). For 2004 he suggested we visit the quaint and colorful towns and cities in another part of Bavaria and also include the charming city of Salzburg in upper Austria.

Making plans

My wife of 43 years (never a cross word) urged me to go alone, since she no longer wants to sit in economy airline seats for eight hours. I e-mailed Walter and we set up a date in May...

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January 2011 issue

St. Pierre and Miquelon – finding a touch of France in North America
Mostly abandoned structures on Île aux Marins.
Tucked less than 10 miles below Canada’s Newfoundland, where the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean meet, several very small French islands with a rich legacy await visitors. The eight islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon are mostly ignored by Americans. A few Canadians visit them, and some cruise boats plying the gulf stop there briefly, but those making the effort are rewarded with a touch of France in North America — the sound of church bells, the aroma of freshly baked baguettes, fishermen in slickers tending dories, boys playing pelote Basque (a version of jai alai) and French uniformed gendarmes.
July 2005 issue

Touring and tasting along the Wine Route of Alsace

by Judy Hodges, Denton, MD

It quickly becomes apparent, upon arrival, why France and Germany have fought over the boundary lines of the region in France known as Alsace. Here you will find some of the gentlest riesling and finest pinot wines produced anywhere. Add to this the marvelous combination of German and French cuisine (there are more Michelin-starred restaurants here than anywhere outside of Paris) and you can appreciate the advantages of having the influences of two cultures on one area.

So in early June ’04, my husband and I decided to take to the back roads of...

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January 2004 issue

Antarctica — 'exquisite beyond words'

by Lesley Friedsam, Tampa, FL

I am walking on an ice floe atop the Southern Ocean, the most inhospitable sea on Earth. The only thing between me and a thousand feet of water filled with orcas, whales, penguins and seals is a 2-foot-deep crust of white, blue, gray and turquoise ice. The ice is not a flat, shiny sheet. It is raised and humped, crevassed and sculptured. Gigantic icebergs, some multistories high and a city block long, are part of this landscape created by summer meltings and winter freezings.

This is not a nightmare. It is a dream come true.

I had plenty...

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