December 2013

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On Rapa Nui, aka Easter Island, the Tapati festival will take place Feb. 1-15, 2014. The festival has competitions based on ancient sports, which include a triathlon and horse racing. In one competition, called Haka Pei, participants slide down Easter Island’s steepest hill on banana tree trunks. There also are parades, music and dancing.

Contact the Chilean tourism board (phone 56 2 731 8336, www.chile.travel). Flights to the island are limited, so book early.

The Observatorio Astronómico Andino, or Andes Astronomical Observatory (Camino del Bollenar 21.974, Lo Barnechea, Santiago; phone +56 02 -221 514 59) outside of Santiago, Chile, offers tours of the facility.

A tour in English starts with a presentation entitled “Discovering the Universe,” then participants may take turns gazing at the cosmos through binoculars, mid-size computer-controlled telescopes or sensitive telescopes used for astrophotography.

On a preserve near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, volunteers in the Victoria Falls Nakavango Conservation Programme may conduct research on and monitor endangered species; install solar-operated pumps at water holes; clear bush; work on soil erosion control; do community cleanup, or assist at a primary school with sports coaching, vegetable gardening, literacy or math tutoring. 

The suggested length of stay is two to four weeks or longer. In 2014, prices run from £599 (near $960) for a 2-week trip to £1,099 ($1,760) for four weeks, excluding airfare. 

Hertz (phone, in the US, 888/ 296-9124) has added new premium models to their Supercar rental programs in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Spain. The new models for rent include the McLaren MP4-12C Spider, Ferrari F15 Berlinetta, Lambor­ghini LP570-4 and Porsche Cayman plus other luxury, high-performance cars. Not all of the models are in every country. 

Example rates — you can rent a Ferrari for a day in Monaco for €1,330 (near $1,800) or a McLaren Spider in Berlin for €3,080 ($4,175).

The Israeli Opera Company (Tel Aviv; phone 972 3 6086203) will present the opera “La Traviata” outdoors at the foot of Masada, a rock plateau overlooking the Dead Sea, on four nights from June 12 to June 17, 2014. Tickets are available only as part of a package. Example — a one-night package for June 16 costs $373 per person, double occupancy, including transfers to/from the performance.

(2nd of 3 parts on Cuba)

This pristine, nature-infused land of mystery was the eastern Cuba I had envisioned in planning my spring 2013 return visit to the long-forbidden island. The isolated Baracoa region was the focus of the second leg of my hosted journey with the Grand Circle Foundation. I was part of a small group of nine enthusiastic adventurers traveling under the US government’s “People to People” program.

On the coast of the Gulf of Riga, the popular beach resort town of Ju¯rmala, Latvia, about 16 miles west of Riga, collects an entry pass fee for vehicles. However, it has announced that from Oct. 1, 2013, to March 31, 2014, it will waive the fee. The entry fee of LVL1.5 (near $2.75) will be reinstated for the summer season, April 1-Sept. 30, 2014.

The Nemunas River, the longest river in Lithuania, wends its way from the Lithuania/Belarus border north toward Kaunas, then westward across southern Lithuania to empty into the Curonian Lagoon.