Features

by Claus Hirsch, New York, NY

My first visit to a Mayan ruin occurred in 1982 when I was on a visit to the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. After a long ride over very rough, unpaved roads from Cancún to Chichén Itzá, I saw the spectacular pyramids and ancient ball fields at the site. I vowed then to see more of such magnificent evidence of ancient Mayan architecture.

Twenty-five years and 59 countries later, I finally had that opportunity while on a 4-country tour of Central America with Overseas Adventure Travel in May ’07. The 2-week tour was called “Route of the Maya” and...

by Brita Bishop, Dallas, TX

To sail French Polynesia — and to do so on a square-rigged, tall-masted brigantine — seemed the height of romance. So in July ’07 I signed on for a cruise on the Søren Larsen, becoming a member of the Voyage Crew. Sixteen of us were joined by the permanent crew of 10, all of them laid-back, friendly and patient.

Getting acquainted

The Søren Larsen (www.sorenlarsen.com) circumnavigates the South Pacific out of New Zealand every year. Passengers can sign on for any length of trip — from 12 days of island hopping, which I did on this trip,...

by Judith Anshin, Contributing Editor

Bora Özkök of Cultural Folk Tours has such passion and enthusiasm for the land of his birth, it’s downright contagious. I certainly was infected after spending 29 days traveling 5,500 miles with him from mid-April to mid-May 2006. In the early ’70s I spent time in Istanbul and Ephesus, but this trip, a clockwise circle tour beginning in Istanbul, exposed me to the Asian part of Turkey. By its end I felt I had really come to know, experience and love the country and her people.

Is it safe?

Because of the war in Iraq, many people...