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May 2004 issue

The Discerning Traveler » Charming Madeira

by Philip Wagenaar, M.D., first of two parts

“Money,” the young crook hissed, aiming the rock at my face.

Scared out of my wits, I uttered, “I have no money.”

I yelled for help and looked around only to discover that six more villains had materialized and had completely surrounded our car. Nobody else was in sight at the deserted miradouro (viewpoint) at Câmara de Lobos.

My mind in complete turmoil, I could only think of my wallet, which was still in my back pocket, as I had felt no need to transfer it to my money belt while in “safe” Madeira. If the thieves...

October 2010 issue

B&B in Warsaw

At Boutique Bed & Breakfast (Ulica Smolna 14 m. 7, 00-375 Warsaw, POLAND; phone +48 22 829 48 00, fax +48 507 022 339, www.bbwarsaw.com), the owner was a quite pleasant and knowledgeable conversationalist and ate with my husband, Eugene, and me on several occasions, along with the other guests. He and the staff were helpful, giving hints on must-see sights, etc.

A comfortable walk from the railroad station, this charming B&B in an old apartment building is conveniently located near public transportation and major sights. For our stay, April 27-May 1, 2010, we arrived from...

February 2005 issue

Extended travels in Latin America

My wife, Elaine, and I traveled in Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands at the end of January and beginning of February ’04 for two weeks. We then spent several weeks in Peru and finally a month in Panama. Here are a few comments that might be of interest to readers.

ECUADOR & GALÁPAGOS — It seems most travelers head over to the Galápagos Islands by way of Quito, Ecuador. I would suggest that the city of Guayaquil is also a worthwhile stop. The plane to Guayaquil always stops in Quito, so there is an opportunity to see both cities.

Although Guayaquil, located on the coast,...

September 2010 issue

Norway highlight

Fred Steinberg’s article “Plying the Waters along Norway’s Western Coast” (June ’10, pg. 18) was of particular interest to me since I had just returned from a cruise with Hurtigruten, one aboard the Nordkapp.

The 11-day, round-trip voyage from Honningsvåg to North Cape was part of a tour with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (Boston, MA; 800/322-6677). The tour, May 11-26, 2010, cost over $6,000, including air from New York and single supplement.

For most of the cruise the skies were overcast, keeping the midnight sun from being visible, and there was a good amount of rain,...

March 2005 issue

Companies came through

• A promotion run in 2003 by Grand Circle Travel (347 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210; phone 800/221-2610 or visit www.gct.com) promised two $250 travel certificates applicable to your next GCT trip if you completed an extensive questionnaire on your future travel plans. We dutifully completed it and sent it in and waited and waited and waited, but no certificates.

After six months or so, and past the expiration date of the travel certificates, we began a follow-up campaign by telephone. When that proved fruitless, we sent a letter to GCT headquarters politely pointing out our...

April 2005 issue

Egyptian Museum

The single most important, not-to-miss place in Cairo is the Egyptian Museum. We wish we’d had more than one day there on our visit in March ’97, but the one we had was wonderful.

The Tutankhamon exhibit, part of which we had seen when it was on exhibit in Los Angeles in the 1980s, had far more in it than I expected. The craftsmanship, artistic style and mint condition of many of the items were greater than I remembered.

The solid gold mask and the coffin and throne of Tuntankhamon are, of course, the highlights, but there are countless little surprises as you work your way...

August 2010 issue

Obervations on Egypt

The following is supplemental advice for your first trip to Egypt, based upon experiences from an April ’10 trip I made with my wife and several friends. These tips and observations cover topics that either were not addressed or, more commonly, did not receive sufficient emphasis in the guidebooks and Internet resources we consulted pretrip.

These tips only complement your guidebooks. Guidebooks contain lots of good information and useful suggestions that are omitted here (e.g., don’t drink the water).

Among pleasant surprises, the sights (pyramids, tombs, temples, etc.)...

July 2010 issue

‘Masterful job’ by GCT

About to depart for home on April 17 after Grand Circle Travel’s “Holland & Belgium in Springtime” — an excellent cruise-tour aboard the R/V River Aria — we got word that all flights were canceled due to the ash cloud from Iceland.

That evening we were advised to relax because passengers would be able to stay on the ship, and meals would be provided too, at no charge. There was no discrimination between travelers who had insurance and those who did not (like us).

Grand Circle did a masterful job of handling the problem. Some of the 160 people who had been in our group...