Travelers' Intercom

August 2015 issue

Three parks in Paris
By Marilyn Hill

On a bright but cool, sunny morning during the first week of May in 2015, my daughter Linda and I walked along the quiet shoreline of the Left Bank of the Seine and found the first of three parks we would visit in Paris.

Located next to a small zoo about a 25-minute walk from our hotel, Hôtel Saint-Louis en l’Isle (75 rue Saint-Louis en l’Île), we easily found the Jardin Alpin in the Jardin des Plantes in the 5th arrondissement. The park was first created in 1635 as a royal garden for medicinal plants. 

What a lovely, little-talked-about place to stroll...

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January 2015 issue

Tren Crucero in Ecuador
By Tony Leisner

My wife, Patti, and I had made arrangements for a stay in the Galápagos Islands, but we also wanted to see the Andes in South America and some of the Ecuadorian village areas where she had served in the Peace Corps. A short news item about Ecuador’s new Tren Crucero, or Cruise Train (Aug.’13, pg. 4), sealed the deal.

For our mainland trip, Jan. 11-17, 2014, we made arrangements through an agency in Quito, Ecuador, that had been highly rated on TripAdvisor.com: EQ Touring (phone, in the US, 866/454-9060 or 347/721-9006, www.eqtouring.com). We had a lot of questions, and...

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November 2008 issue

Villagers in West Papua
By Doris Neilson
Villagers in West Papua

On a September-October Indonesia cruise, we spent two days in small boats visiting villages in the province of West Papua (Irian Jaya). We attended a shield festival, and women of the village greeted us in canoes, accompanying our small boats to the village. There, villagers took the shields out of the longhouse, went up the river in canoes and displayed them in lines on the shore amid lots of chanting and singing. We followed in small boats with our cameras. — DORIS NEILSON, Avoca, MI

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August 2015 issue

Oceania Cruises met special diet
By Chuck Bingley

My wife and I cruised from Shanghai, China, to Papeete, Tahiti, on the Insignia of Oceania Cruises (Miami, FL; 800/531-5619, www.oceania cruises.com), April 11-June 4, 2015. 

About a month before our departure, I was placed on a relatively unknown restrictive diet. I immediately called Oceania Cruises and advised the company of my situation. I was told that, while they had never heard of a low-FODMAP diet, they would have the chef contact me upon boarding.

After we boarded the ship and checked into our cabin, I received a phone call from the restaurant manager, who set up an...

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May 2015 issue

Venezuela visa change
By Will Booth

On March 15, 2015, I had just competed back-to-back group tours and was continuing traveling on my own, scheduled for a 5-day adventure at Angel Falls. (I fly a lot in premium class, and putting many trips together saves airfare.)

At the international airport in Lima, Peru, I was preparing to board an Avianca flight to Bogotá, Colombia, and on to Caracas, Venezuela, when two men at Avianca’s check-in counter told me that Venezuela had become restrictive on visas and recommended that I not try to go there, since I did not have a visa.

I had no viable alternative, however,...

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May 2009 issue

Santillana del Mar
By Richard Berner

During a March ’07 exploration of the Basque region within France and Spain, we reserved a room for two nights at Casa del Organista (phone 942 84 03 52, www.casadelorganista.com) in Santillana del Mar, two hours west of Bilbao, Spain. We liked it there so much, we extended our stay to three nights. Our spacious room, at €55 (the current price range for a double room is €56-€89), had a balcony and was pleasantly decorated. They had a very complete breakfast (€4.50), and the personnel were helpful. This hotel was definitely a find and a bargain when compared to...

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September 2009 issue

Aphrodisias, Turkey

In Aphrodisias — which means “city of Aphrodite” — in southwest Turkey, you can see the 4-column entrance to her temple (pictured). The majority of ruins date between 85 BC and AD 300, and the Romans’ love for beautification can be seen in all the detailed marble carvings.

There is so much to this ancient city: a large theater, a smaller music theater and a large stadium where you can imagine chariot races taking place. They’re still uncovering things in the area. The museum is also worth browsing.

PEGGY LONG

Mitchell, OR

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July 2008 issue

Tree-climbing goats in Essaouira, Morocco

I am a longtime subscriber to ITN, which I enjoy very much as I have been to 86 countries. I returned in April ’08 from a trip to Rome, San Marino, Malta, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

I even slept on a pad on the Saharan sand dunes under the stars. I am 83 years old and am quite crippled with arthritis, but those Tuaregs sure know how to take care of the handicapped. Of course, they had to lift me back up every morning.

This is a unique picture of me taken near the picturesque seacoast town of Essaouira, Morocco. Here we stumbled on to rare tree-climbing goats....

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