My daughter and I were totally enthralled by the quiet but dramatic beauty of Gardenstown and its nearby neighbour, Crovie. Both villages clung tightly to the steep cliffs of Gamrie Bay. In fact the local name for Gardenstown is Gamrie.

Like so many of Scotland’s ports and harbours there is a lot of history there. Founded by Alexander Garden in 1790 as a fishing village, it was once home to a busy salmon and herring fleet. A hundred years ago the harbour sheltered a fishing fleet of over 90 boats. But as boats increased in size to become financially viable, small Gardenstown lost most of its fleet to larger centers like Fraserburgh.

The picturesque village of Crovie lies on the far side of the bay. It is connected to Gamrie by a charming small coastal foot path easily walkable at high tide. If possible, Crovie is even more charming and photographic as it nestles between the sea and the green cliffs. Its like being in another world. Quiet and impressive hugging the sea and 500-foot-high cliffs with terraced ledges above. So many pictures to take.

This area is quiet and not at all overrun with tourists. Another nearby village also attached to a narrow strip along the sea is Pennan. This town was used as the backdrop in one of my favourite movies, “Local Hero”. These small villages definitely have an “off the beaten path” experience combined with a rich fishing culture and fascinating history. Not to mention their natural beauty and the wonderful sea air.

Other fishing villages along the Aberdeen coast have wonderful names like Lossiemouth, Cullen, Elie and Portknockie. All are different and worth exploring. There is so much to do in the area, and we capped one day with a fantastic tour of the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh. There we learned what a “wickie” really is. If you are ever questioned, it is a lighthouse keeper’s assistant who was responsible for trimming the wicks for the light.

There are also great beaches, interesting distilleries to tour and some spectacular coastal hiking paths like the Fife Coastal Path.

We stayed in an AirBnB in town facing the harbour but there are also charming cottages and glamping pods- basically one-bedroom huts – also available for rent. These small historic towns are a hidden gem well off of the tourist routes that should be included in any tour of Scotland.

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Svalbard, Norway – Wildlife

As late as 1990 there was virtually no tourism to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. Located between the Norwegian mainland and the North Pole, Svalbard was first the place for explorers, then whalers and coal miners. But thanks to companies like Hurtigruten – the Norwegian Coastal Voyage, it is now on the tourist map for the whole world to see. My adventure began aboard the coastal steamer MS Nordstjernen from Longyearbyen – the most northern city in the world. Heading northwest, I experienced breathtaking fjords, calving glaciers, unique animal and plant life, and a midnight sun that refused to go down. Over 60% of the archipelago consists of national parks, nature reserves, and bird or plant sanctuaries. Only four land mammals can survive on this barren tundra: the Svalbard reindeer, the Arctic fox, the Svalbard mouse and the polar bear – which has become the very symbol of Svalbard. The largest living land carnivore, they are considered the only animal that actively hunts humans. Actual encounters with this mighty species are rare, but their presence is felt all around. Visitors cannot leave settlements without a weapon or armed guide, and instructions are given on what to do with an unexpected encounter. From the deck of the vessel, I spotted a mother and her cub sleeping on an iceberg. After a couple of restless nights of my own, I would have liked to have asked them how they managed to sleep through the midnight sun.

Tahiti & Her Islands – Cuisine

The first thing you notice is the fragrance. The intoxicating perfume of the tiara flower announces to your senses that you are in a tropical world, overflowing with island vegetation and soothing trade winds. Indigenous Tahitian cuisine features what’s available from the land and sea. With such a plethora of fresh fruit and fish, it is virtually impossible to starve on the islands. Due to presence of the French (Tahiti is part of French Polynesia) there is a delectable hybrid of French and Polynesian creations. Coconut milk and vanilla – much stronger than the vanilla found in Mexico – are incorporated in many of the dishes. Poisson Cru, tuna cured in lime juice with chopped green onions, cucumbers and tomatoes; and Fife, a chicken stew with spinach-like taro leaves are among my favorites. The taro root (more flavorful than Hawaiian poi) is boiled like potatoes and not pounded. Breadfruit, sweet potatoes, and plantains also offer typical island starch fare. Mangoes, bananas, watermelon, pineapple, papaya, guava, sour sop and pummelo are in abundance. From the lagoons come parrotfish, perch, and mullet; from the open sea the freshest of tuna, bonito, Wahoo, scad and mahi mahi. For an insightful overview of these gastronomic delights, visit the main market in downtown Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. Bon appétit!

Corfu, Greece – Literature

In Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey, the mythical Greek character Odysseus builds a raft and attempts to return to his home island of Ithaca. But Odysseus’ enemy, Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, unleashes a storm and the raft is destroyed. Half-drowned, Odysseus washes ashore on the island of Corfu. He staggers into an olive grove and collapses. My arrival on Corfu was a slightly different experience. Poseidon must have been smiling for the seas were calm and shimmering. And my mode of transportation was the 360 feet long luxury sailing vessel the, Star Clipper – but my thoughts were colored by Homer in preparation for my arrival. In the story, Odysseus is found by a local family who nurse him back to health. Soon he tells the family of his 20-year odyssey, which began with his departure for the Trojan War. Homer, a traveling blind minstrel, articulates the narrative orally in “heroic hexameter” – known as a form of meter in poetry or rhythmic scheme. His approach to the story is considered by many a landmark in literature as the first-time most of a story is told in flashback. Today, odyssey means ‘an extended adventurous voyage or spiritual quest.’ I’ve often wondered how Odysseus was pronounced in Greek. So with a look of a surprise when the question was proposed to a local resident, I was told, ‘O-da-Say-us,’ of course!”

Venice – Romance

Arriving in Venice on a sweltering summer morning is similar to negotiating Disneyland on opening day. Hordes of day-tripping tourists pour into the city in search of Venice’s seemingly endless attractions that include San Marco, the Rialto Bridge, the Bridge of Sighs, Doge’s Palace, fish market, various boat excursions on the Grand Canal, and a sampling of Venice’s famed seafood and risotto. With a dwindling population of 90,570 designated as permanent ‘lagoon city’ residents, it has been said that every door in Venice now leads to a shop. But who was I to complain – after all, I was a tourist too, and Venice now belongs to the world. For many, the centerpiece of a trip to Venice is taking a gondola ride on one of its many canals. It is touristic, can be expensive and you’ll find a plethora of hungry gondoliers anxious to take you on a short trip. My advice is to wait until the sun goes down, when most tourists have left the island, and taking a gondola ride on the quiet, back canals, avoiding bumper to bumper gondolas during the daytime. Riding on canals in less touristic areas allows you see a different perspective of the city. The best way to do it is to walk a few blocks off the Grand Canal and look for a gondolier who is anxious to please. At that point, you can choose what neighborhood you want to explore. A standard gondola ride is 40 minutes – and yes, to my surprise, it was romantic. The gondolier even honored my request to refrain from singing as he gently maneuvered the gondola through Venice’s  back canals.

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In a warm July afternoon in 2013 following a 32-hour flight, Thomas Lee, a prominent Southern California dentist, and his wife Lita, first set foot in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, a landlocked country in central-east Africa with a populace in great need. The couple were beginning a passionate, heartfelt mission along with the Lees’ 17-year-old son Nathan, five medical doctors, a nurse, pharmacist, four support staff, and the Lee’s pastor and his wife.

The Lee’s were greatly aware, as is the world, of Rwanda’s appalling past. In 1994 a government-sponsored genocide unfolded during which an estimated 800,000-plus ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by dominant Hutu forces, and some 300,000 children were left orphaned.

The Lees’ first impressions of Kigali were of having been propelled backward fifty years in time. They observed vast throngs of people moving about on the streets, many clutching yellow plastic water buckets, deftly evading swarms of chaotic motor scooters negotiating for space, while a thick blanket of gray clouds combined with a choking haze of dust and gas fumes covered the landscape.

Working tirelessly on the comeback trail from its horrendous past, the Republic of Rwanda, bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is among the smallest countries on the African mainland, and slightly smaller than the state of Maryland. With few natural resources, the country’s economy is overwhelmingly based on subsistence agriculture. Coffee and tea lead the major exports.

Rwanda’s stunning landscape

Rwanda boasts one of the highest population densities on the continent, and yet the average life expectancy of men there is just 54 years. The country lacks a concrete social and medical infrastructure for the disadvantaged, which unquestionably contributes to the low life expectancy and was one of the factors that drew the Lees to Rwanda.

The faces of Rwanda’s future

The Lees were discussing a much-needed vacation from their busy and demanding “Leading Edge” dental office in Granada Hills, California. The office, designed by personable Dr. Lee, an avid jazz aficionado and University of California Berkeley alumni, is reminiscent of a boutique art gallery with rare photos of jazz musicians and posters decorating the walls, along with some striking images of Rwanda.

Following a long work day and with jazz playing in the background Lee remembers that “it was my 50th birth year, and our 25th wedding anniversary and I was discussing with Lita places to visit–possibly someplace we’ve never been, do something off the chart, set aside two weeks and climb Kilimanjaro, or go on a safari. Then in January, 2013, on an unforgettable Sunday at church our lives were forever touched when we listened to the testimony of Rwandan, Jean Claude Rwagasore, and his incredible survival of the genocide as a 12-year-old-orphan.”

Dr. Lee kneels in prayer with a young Rwandan boy

After a long pause Lee continues, “Jean Claude, now an esteemed Rwandan attorney and Director of Best Family, shared his life story about how he and three young orphan boys the same age came together on the streets to share and survive. Quickly the orphan group became eight and rapidly expanded, eventually becoming the starting point of Best Family Rwanda” A stirring power today, Best Family Rwanda is a ministry dedicated to making Jesus known to the orphaned children in Rwanda through holistic development.

“Incredibly, during this time,” Lee explains, “another orphan came to Jean Claude and Best Family pleading for help and was warmly accepted, though during the height of the genocide, while Jean Claude hid in a closet, he watched the orphan’s father murder Jean Claude’s father and sister; his mother was lost in the chaos on the streets.”

“After all this,” Dr. Lee said, “I quickly put aside the safari, Kilimanjaro and all the rest, and realized I needed to do something for those in need of help. I was struggling to ask Lita if she would like to go to Africa, and to my surprise she mentioned it first.”

Dr. Lee begins his work as curious Rwandan children look on

Dr. Lee said that he had no clear ideas about Rwanda, but it was like God was speaking to both him and his wife, a strong voice from above calling out, and it was at that moment their hearts were moved to travel half-way around the world to Africa to serve at an orphanage and share the dental expertise Dr. Lee had to offer.

Dr. Lee and his small dental staff

“We prayed, and decided with great fervor that Rwanda would be our personal mission. My 50th birth year and celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary would take place in Rwanda. I felt this is what I was created for: to help the children of Africa.

Dr. Lee performs a procedure on a stricken Rwandan woman

Another confirmation took place when a church member at the Garden Christian Fellowship in Chatsworth asked us if we would be interested in a mission to Africa treating orphans.”

On that memorable first trip to Rwanda, after a prayer breakfast, Dr. Lee, along with his team, set up his portable dental chair, surgical light and equipment, and organized a clinic in Kigali’s Nyarugunga sector. They connected with a pastor who is providing education and Christian training at his small school for poor children who were roaming the streets aimlessly, had no money for public school, and were in great need. Moving to the Gasharu sector working with Best Family, Dr. Lee treated widows and victims of the genocide.

During that first two-week mission the Lees were floored to see hundreds of people, many with throbbing pain in their mouths, patiently waiting for help. In Gisenyi, close to the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the team set-up in the Noel Orphanage which houses some 800 children. The staff were so lacking in help that they asked some of the team members to hold small children ages six months to one year for 15-minutes in order for the children to experience meaningful human contact. Regardless of the ongoing difficulties, the Lees found the people to be calm, a smile on their face, quietly waiting in line, exceedingly polite, soft-spoken, and considering their history, cheerful.

“I was seeing about twenty patients a day, and despite the long days, if someone is in bad shape I can’t just let them walk away. A young man was in great pain suffering with an infected wisdom tooth that was impacted sideways in the gums. It took almost two-hours to extract, but it was a great feeling to see a smile on his face.

“At the tail end of the last day I noticed a lady in her mid-20s, the left side of her face badly swollen, with a high fever, and breast-feeding a two-year old baby. I removed two badly infected teeth and administered antibiotics. If I hadn’t been there for her she would have died. She had nothing to eat in three days and was in appalling shape. It was an incredible feeling to know that I saved someone’s life. With only 28 dentists in the entire country and with the average wage two dollars a day, and the charge for a filling $40, dental care for most Rwandans is out of the question.”

July 2016 will see the Lees’ third mission to Rwanda. Together with the medical team, they will be providing medical and dental treatment, holding a soccer camp for the children, teaching Bible-based lessons, and scouting for a location to set up a community dental clinic in a few years, which will be dedicated to providing free dental treatment for the orphans, vulnerable children and widows.

“Regrettably, sodas and candy are a special treat in Rwanda,” Dr. Lee said, “Therefore the country is badly in need of preventive education. My goal is to find bright students and send them to dental school to set up dental clinics and establish a dental center to train dentists,” Broadly smiling, “For me, all of this is imprinting in Rwanda the footprints of God. I will be striving to heal and bless the children though gospel-centered health care ministry. This is my calling.”

While the Genocide is forever a concern, the other side of Rwanda, seen through the far-reaching eyes of tourism, is a land of steep mountains, deep valleys, and numerous lakes, and is home to elephants, giraffes, hippos, zebras, leopards, and friendly people. The country is a noted destination for those who covet the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the rare mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park in the far northwest of the country. The gorillas somehow survived the war-torn period though other animals were not so lucky.

With Christianity the largest religion, and official languages English, French and Rwanda’s melodic Kinyariwanda, Rwanda offers an opportunity for those planning a holiday to make very special memories. Dr. Lee and Lita, who have yet to see the gorillas, have found their calling there and feel enormously blessed.

Dr. and Mrs. Lee with the children of Rwanda, each holding a toothbrush kit

His Hands On Africa

The Lee’s through the newly established non-profit organization, His Hands on Africa, are working towards providing scholarships to dental schools, build free community dental clinics, establish a superlative dental center to provide dental care and training for young dentists who will be future leaders in Rwanda, and eventually send out these dentists to other African countries in need of help. For more information on how you can help the children of Rwanda please go to, www.hishandsonafrica.org

This article was originally published in 20013.

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There was not a hint of litter on the street. Mexican children frolicked on the beach. Los Pacenos (La Paz natives) offered gentle smiles as they jogged past me along the Malecón – La Paz’s bay-front boardwalk that stretches along the historic downtown. It was hard to take it all in with the sun setting on the glimmering Sea of Cortez, which Jacques Cousteau christened “the world’s aquarium,” with one of the planet’s most abundant ecosystems.

I had it all wrong. US Government warnings have repeatedly alerted us to watch our backs in Mexico. Yet La Paz (“The Peace”) experiences only a fraction of the robbery, rape, assault and murder found in most US cities, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. With ten universities, statistics also indicate that it is the most educated and affluent city per capita in all of Mexico.

Once a sleepy fishing village nestled along the protected waters of Southeast Baja Sur, La Paz was put on the radar when immortalized by John Steinbeck in his novella, “The Pearl” in 1947. Sportspeople journeyed from around the globe for the deep sea bounty of marlin, Dorado, roosterfish and yellowtail. This component of tourism is still very much alive today, and so are snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, and eco-tours. For lovers of sea life, it is the dream of all dreams.

The UNESCO-protected site, Isla Espiritu Santo, features 32 species of reptiles and 89 species of birds.

A day-long boat tour with Fun Baja was an experience that I will never forget. The day was spent snorkeling with sea lions and whales, just off Isla Espiritu Santo, followed by a catered picnic lunch of local seafood at Espiritu Santo Beach.

After an afternoon of kayaking and swimming, the boat tour continued for a look at native bird estuaries and historical attractions.

Despite the fact that La Paz is the capital city of Baja California Sur with a population of 220,000 it still maintains the charm of ‘Old Mexico,’ with quaint shops, museums, galleries, markets and restaurants serving indigenous food. But if you want action, there’s a dazzling nightlife with cafes, clubs and bars. Plus if you desire to take it to a higher party level, Los Cabos on the southern-most tip of Baja Sur, is just a scenic two-hour drive away.

I think, though, what I liked best was the openness and gentle spirit of the Los Pacenos. They seem genuinely happy you’re enjoying their city and seeing why they have chosen to live in La Paz.

What to Eat

The Baja is the birthplace of the fish taco, served with the above mentioned fresh seafood caught that very day by local boats. The chocolate clam gets its name from the shell’s brown color, and is eaten alive with a twist of lime. If the clam doesn’t flinch after a lime twist, it’s best to move on to the next one on your plate. Another treat is the ‘hotdogueros,’ a La Paz hot dog, wrapped in bacon and topped with grilled onions, jalapeno ketchup and peppers. This should be all washed down with a Baja-style cerveza – beer on ice with lime juice and a salt rimmed glass. The beer of choice? Baja California’s own Tecate.

Where I Stayed

CostaBaja Resort & Spa redefines luxury. The centerpiece of the 550-acre CostaBaja development, it is the first 5-star resort in La Paz. The resort is just ten minutes from downtown, set on the Sea of Cortez overlooking a 250-slip double-basin marina and a white sand beach. What was I doing there? The 115-room hotel offers a selection of ocean, mountain, marina and golf course views. Yes, golf course views.

Mexico’s only Gary Player-designed 18 hole golf course meanders from hilltops to sea level with stunning water views just steps from the resort. Built into the landscape, as opposed to the opposite, this very ‘green’ course only utilizes desalinated water. The resort is also home to Steinbeck´s restaurant, and the first spa in La Paz, which features locally-inspired treatments. A dip in one of the three luxurious pools is not a bad way to end a day of activities.

Retirees and Real Estate

By 2020 as many as two million foreign retirees will make Mexico their home, according to the Mexican Federal Tourism Ministry. CNN Money Magazine and the New York Times recently named La Paz one of the top ten places in the world to retire. Mainland Mexicans, Canadian and US tourist are visiting La Paz in droves, then buying second homes or becoming full-time residents. For American retirees, a Yankee pension goes a long way in Mexico. Come to think of it, maybe I should consider retiring there, too.

This article was originally published on 2009

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It was April in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern area of Belgium, and two weeks of cold and rain suddenly came to an end. Warm skies dried the soaked fields, drawing daffodils, narcissus and poppies from the ground, birdsong filled the air and the university students and general population of Ghent, Bruges and Leuven flocked to the riverbanks and city parks to bake in the warm air and enjoy Belgium’s favorite product — not chocolate, waffles, sprouts nor fries, but beer.

First warm spring day brings out the city of Bruges

More than 800 types are produced in Belgium, most served in their own beer glass shape, from fruit flavored lambics, to high-alcohol Trappist ales and hoppy lagers like Stella Artois, whose parent company just purchased Anheuser-Busch, becoming the world’s largest brewer. Belgium doesn’t have the soil to produce good wine, but who needs dirt when you’ve got the world’s best beer.

Chocolate is a close second in consumption, and there are more than 2,200 shops in Belgium. I visited as many as I could. I also have a fondness for waffles and fries (called “frites” in French), but brussels sprouts, not so much.

Bruges is about an hour train ride northwest of Brussels, lying near the North Sea. It is a beautifully preserved, cobblestoned medieval town of about 120 thousand, where 3 million tourists converge every year

The crowded streets of the beautiful medieval Flemish city of Bruges

The city has the feel of a film set and became a main character of the film “In Bruges.” Now it is even more of a travel destination, crowds are abundant and can cause claustrophobia in the summer. It is the most visited medieval city in Europe.

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson collaborated on three animated 3-D movies featuring Belgium’s favorite comic strip, adventuresome boy reporter Tintin which was released on December 2011. The film took advantage of photogenic Belgium during filming. The Tintin Shop, 3 Streenstraat, stocks every imaginable related item.

You might also be familiar with the Smurfs, another Belgian creation, and Smurf shops are abundant throughout Belgium.

Navigable concentric canals give Bruges the nickname “Venice of the North.” Take the 30-minute boat cruise to get a real feel for the town. The horse-drawn carriage rides take you on a street tour and are very popular.

Canals of Bruges earn it the nickname “Venice of the North”

The main market, or “Markt,” is dominated by the 259-foot belfry, whose 47-bell carillon entertains every half-hour during the day. If you are hale and hearty, you can climb the 366 steps to the observation area for a grand view of the city. If you prefer to stay on the ground, in its shadow on the right lies the best Belgium “frites” shack in town. Try them with the garlic mayonnaise (2.5 Euros).

Don’t miss the Friet Museum for the history of Belgian fries and nearby is the Choco-Story chocolate museum, both under the same management.

The best chocolate shops I savored in Belgium are Chocolate Line in Bruges, which has experimental chef Dominique Persoone creating new masterpieces for international competitions. Daskalides of Ghent, Pierre Marcolini and Wittamer in Brussels and Raets-Putseys in Leuven are also artisan Belgian chocolate-makers of great skill and worth a visit.

Dominique Persoone

When you are thirsty, try the oldest bar in Bruges, De Garre, hidden in a narrow — only wide enough for two people to pass — cul-de-sac between the Markt and Burg squares. Ask for the house beer, the best in all of Belgium according to many aficionados, made exclusively for this pub and available nowhere else. Open since 1856, De Halve Maan brewery provides tours and a glass of beer in the tasting room.

Lying halfway between Bruges and Brussels, Ghent is a university town with a population of 230,000 and 60,000 students, most of whom descended to the riverbank of the Leie and enjoyed the warm spring weather and the local beer favored by students, Jupiler. It was in Ghent that I discovered my favorite Belgian beer Orval, a full-flavored Trappist ale with a hoppy finish.

Students mass along the banks of the River Leie to enjoy the
first warm day of spring in Ghent

A new brewery, the first since 1976, opened while we were visiting. Gruut will produce five types of beer that will be available in the United States. I took the tour and sampled the beer. They’ll do well.

For sustenance, visit Butcher’s Hall, or “Groot Vleeshuis” in Dutch, and try the air-dried ham, sausages and cheeses. If you need a little mustard for your meat, sample some of the 30 different varieties prepared by Tierenteijn-Verlent, 3 groentenmarkt, founded in 1790. Best cheese market was Petite Normandie and don’t miss the Vismarkt to see the daily catch on sale.

Belgium’s most prestigious university town is Leuven, pop. 90,000. Lying nine miles east of Brussels, the lively student population of 30,000 supports a number of clubs and bars, mostly situated around the city square, and there are a number of warm and inexpensive bistros and restaurants that feed them.

Most of the city was burned by the Germans in World War I, but it has been restored and some medieval areas have been preserved as university housing.

It is also the home of Stella Artois beer, and tours in English are given regularly. The 10 Euro fee includes two glasses of beer and a beer cookbook.

If You Go:

Family run Chez Leon in the heart of Brussels famous restaurant lane, on the cobblestone walking street Rue des Bouchers, is known for its mussels and fries, the national dish of Belgium. The restaurant had hosted Hilary Clinton and TV travel writer Burt Wolf just days before moi; but they didn’t ask for my signed photo to place on the wall of fame.

Cantillon Brewery in Brussels produces the traditional sour lambic fruit beers and gives tours and tastings. De Bier Temple had 600 beers and 300 glasses on its shelves in Bruges and nearby Bierbrasserie Cambrinus featured 400 beers and 325 glasses. Choices, choices.

Some memorable restaurants where I dined in Flanders included three Michelin-starred restaurants; the chic one-star Belga Queen in Brussels, two-star Comme Chez Soi in Brussels, where I dined at the chefs table in the kitchen, and in Bruges at the three-star De Karmeliet. Den Dyver restaurant in Bruges features dishes made with beer sauces. Patrick Devos in Bruges brought us into his kitchen for a cooking lesson. In Leuven Tres Luxe is a chic restaurant with an experimental young chef and Pakhuis in Ghent has a high-vibe industrial feel.

The Tourist Office of Flanders in New York (www.visitflanders.us; 212-584-2336) publishes a number of free pamphlets and maps, information on special events, festivals, museums, self-guided tours, and places to stay, from hostels to five-star hotels. I stayed at the Dominican in Brussels, the Marriott in Ghent and the Kempinsky Hotel, former residence of the Duke of Burgundy, in Bruges.

This article was originally published in 2008

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SNAPSHOT OF SLOVENIA

Located in Central Europe at the crossroads of where east meets west, the Balkan nation of Slovenia (pop: 2,007,711) was once part of the former Yugoslavia and now a member of the European Union. Bordering Italy, the Adriatic Sea, Croatia, Hungary and Austria, this little nation half the size of Switzerland seemingly offers the best of each of the surrounding countries. Three major geographic regions also meet in Slovenia — you can go hiking on forested alpine mountain trails, swimming in the warm Adriatic Sea or go vineyard hopping in the central plateau — all in one day. Of the seven nations of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia has the highest income economy and feels more Germanic than Slavic, yet its citizens are stylish, easy going and proponents of Italian la dolce vita.

LIVING LARGE IN LJUBLJANA

The capital city of Ljubljana (pronounced lyoob-lyee-AH-nah) is nestled in the middle of the country, and is the cultural, political and administrative center of Slovenia. With a population of 270,000 inhabitants, it maintains the friendliness of a small town, yet possesses all the characteristics of a metropolis with national museums, world-class architecture and historic center.

The 12th century Ljubljana Castle rests on top of a hill, towering over the old town, much like the layout in neighboring Salzburg. The summit of the hill was once a Roman army stronghold and has been continuously inhabited since 1200 BC. The Ljubljana River cuts through the historic center’s cobblestone streets, surrounded by the 20th century architecture of Jože Plenik, who placed his own Art Nouveau influenced signature on his native city. He designed the National Library, as well as several bridges, including the famous Triple Bridge, A popular local meeting place is Prešeren Square, named after France Prešeren (1800-1849), considered the Slovene national poet, whose works include the lyrics to the Slovenian national anthem.

Although there is much to see and do in the city center — and the Ljubljana Castle with its 360 cityscape vistas is the first place you must explore — this is a city where one can just stroll and bask in the ambiance. The city itself is a living museum. The Ljubljana River is lined with cafes, restaurants, little wine bars and a vibrant outdoor market. Sit back and let this sublime city take hold of your senses. Soon you will be as calm as the Ljubljana River.

BEYOND LJUBLJANA

Ljubljana makes an easy home base for exploring Slovenia’s other treasures. Lake Bled, home to The Church of the Assumption on the Island and the medieval Bled Castle, is Slovenia’s leading mountain resort. Marshal Tito himself had a resort villa built overlooking the lake. Vintgar Gorge is located a few minutes by car from Bled, and offers a mile long forested nature walk of boardwalks and bridges, crossing over several waterfalls. The Karst region, an hour from Ljubljana and close to the Italian border, features an amazing network of caves and underground rivers.

WHAT TO EAT

Italians lead the tourist pack to Slovenia, with the activity of choice being none other than sampling the regional cuisine. A third of Slovenia is forested, and wild game and mushrooms play significant roles at the table. So does prust, an air-cured ham similar to prosciutto. Ajvar, an eggplant and bell pepper condiment; and strukliji, dumplings stuffed with cheese or vegetables, are also staples. For desert try ptica, a rolled pastry with walnuts. And while in Bled, the Bled cream cake is an essential ending to any meal. Pizza, pasta, sausages, schnitzels, strudels and sauerkraut are also found in abundance, but prepared with a uniquely Slovenian interpretation.

Slovenia is a nation of wine. Ljubljana is in the center of the various Slovenian wine regions, and is known for being the ‘city of wine and vine.’ Grapevines were first planted on the slopes leading up to the Castle by the Romans. For a non-alcoholic refreshment, have a Cockta — a Slovenian version of a Coke, introduced during the communist era when the sought after American soft drink was unavailable.

HOW TO GET AROUND

Once on the continent, a smart (and green) way to travel is by obtaining a Eurail Pass. Formerly known as Eurorail, this convenient and cost effective way to travel is making a huge comeback due to the return popularity of train travel. You can meander throughout Europe in as many countries and amount of days that that you desire, with virtually no restrictions. Eurail.com

For further information about travel to Slovenia, Ljubljana and Bled, visit Slovenia.info; VisitLjubljana.si; Bled.si/en

This article was originally published in 2008

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They left in droves for the new worlds, some to North America, others to Australia and New Zealand. They were the Irish poor, fleeing from famine-ridden Ireland where only the English had enough to eat.

From 1848 to 1950, over 6 million adults and children emigrated from Ireland, more than a third departing from Cobh (pronounced “Cove”), Queenstown under British rule, in County Cork. The story of this exodus is detailed in “Cobh, The Queenstown Story,” a multi-media exhibit presented at the Cobh Heritage Center.

The Center is located in a beautifully restored Victorian railway station and offers visitors a fascinating introduction to the history of this charming small town and its harbor on the southern coast of Ireland’s County Cork.

The story is told with dramatic detail and panoramas – with sound – of life aboard the ships sailing to a better life. The ships were crowded, sometimes desperately so for the poorer passengers, who often spent the passage in squalor below decks.

Panorama of emigrants on shipboard, Cobh Heritage Center.

Not all emigrants left because of the failure of the potato crop, which resulted in one and a half million emigrants between 1845 and 1851. While the exodus was largely the result of poverty and crop failure, other causes were the land system and poverty of opportunity.

The exhibit further tells the story of the convicts deported from Ireland under horrendous conditions akin to those of the slave ships. The first convict ship to travel directly from Ireland to Australia sailed in 1791 and carried 159 prisoners. Between 1791 and 1853, 30,000 men and 9,000 women were deported from Ireland for crimes ranging from petty theft to murder.

The Center has additional exhibits devoted to the Titanic, which called at the port of Queenstown on its fatal 1912 voyage to America, and the Lusitania, whose survivors were ferried to Queenstown after the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1915 about 10 miles off the port of Kinsale.

123 passengers embarked the Titanic at Queenstown, 113 in steerage. The 151 dead from the Lusitania were buried in mass graves in the Old Church cemetery, just north of Cobh.

The Center offers a genealogical search survey for visitors interested in tracing their Irish ancestry. There are a restaurant and several shops, including the ubiquitous place to buy gifts and souvenirs.

The Great Famine exhibit in the Skibbereen Heritage Center in West Cork – located in the Old Gasworks building – offers a fascinating glimpse into the effects of the failure of the potato crop. In 1841, the population of Ireland was 8.5 million people. Nine years later, more than 1 million had starved or otherwise died in terrible conditions. Another million had emigrated.

Part of Great Famine Exhibit, Skibbereen Heritage Center.

Skibbereen was one of the worst affected areas in all of Ireland. Newspaper accounts, shown in the exhibition, describe the dreadful conditions of the time. Between eight and ten thousand unidentified men, women and children are buried in the famine burial graves across the River Ilen from the Heritage Center. Throughout the exhibit, audio-visual accounts lend a graphic portrait of the times and the suffering of the Irish.

Today, Skibbereen is an attractive small town with a lively weekly market, some good restaurants and an array of shops on its “high,” or main street.

Residents of Kinsale could see the Lusitania as it sank. Kinsale, once a fishing village, has been transformed into a tourist destination, a “foodie hub” where each October a four-day gourmet festival takes place.

It remains a lovely small town with brightly painted houses, window boxes bursting with color on hundreds of windows, dozens of art galleries and craft shops, a regional museum housed in the old Market House (built in 1600), and a 17th century fort located at the head of the harbor. The town boasts one of the best restaurants in Ireland: if you can’t get a reservation at Fishy Fishy Café, try the Blue Haven Inn, which has a fine kitchen, old fashioned atmosphere, excellent seafood and a first class wine list.

Kinsale.

Kinsale has its castle too. Desmond Castle, built around the year 1500 by the Earl of Desmond, served originally as the Kinsale Customs House. It was used by the British during the American Revolution as a prison for captured American sailors, and during the mid-18th century, it housed French prisoners. During the years of the great famine, the castle became a workhouse for starving families. Today, it’s home to the International Museum of Wine. An exhibition in the museum traces the story of Ireland’s wine links to France and the rest of the wine producing world.

There are castles scattered throughout County Cork, as elsewhere in Ireland, from those like the restored Dun na Sead castle in Baltimore now occupied by a family, to the legendary Blarney Castle.

The heart of County Cork is Cork City, the Republic of Ireland’s second city and a smaller version of Dublin. Downtown Cork City offers locals and visitors alike versions of the department stores found in Dublin. In the center of town is the marvelous English Market, a gourmet hub selling fresh produce, meats, cheeses – including hard to find Cashel blue, Ardrahan and Gubbeen – bakery goods, wines and an assortment of Irish food, such as drisheen (blood pudding), crubeen (pigs’ feet) and barmbrack (a fruit and spice bread). Upstairs in a gallery above the market, a tearoom serves sandwiches, cakes and light dishes are served. The market dates from James 1st in 1610, although the present building opened in 1788, restored in the early 1980s.

On a hill overlooking Cork City’s center, St. Anne’s Church is famous for its chiming bells and red and white color scheme created by the use of red sandstone and white limestone. Whenever a member of the McOsterich family, who were responsible for the design and erection of the bell tower, marries anywhere in the world, the bells ring out in honor of the wedding. On top of the bell tower is a weather vane in the form of a salmon representing the fish in the River Lee that flows through the city.

The tower is adorned with a four-faced clock, known by Corkonians as “the four-faced liar” because the time on each face is slightly different during the hour. Because the numbers on the faces of the clock are made of gilded wood, some of the pieces of wood are thicker than others and some hands stick as they go through the hour. But all come together on the hour.

Cork’s Butter Museum stands in a small square near St. Anne’s Church and tells the story of the Cork butter trade. Cork was once the largest butter trading market in the world, and the museum’s exhibition traces both the historic and current dairy culture in Ireland. The exhibition includes traditional and modern butter-making paraphernalia.

Butter churns, Cork Butter Musseum.

On the coast road, about 30 miles from Cork City, is the picturesque village of Timoleague, which hosts a lively festival each August. The ten-day festival includes live street music, pig racing, and competitions for the best costumes.

The village is dominated by the ruins of an ancient abbey, founded by the Franciscan order in 1240 A.D. The monks were dispersed by the Reformation, but returned at the beginning of the 17th century and remained until 1629. The abbey was sacked by British soldiers in 1612, but much of the architecture remains. It’s a romantic ruin perched at the edge of a sea inlet.

Timoleague Abbey ruins.

The verdant countryside of County Cork is typical of southern Ireland: gently rolling pastures of green, green grass, peacefully grazing cows and sheep, richly wooded hills, old stone walls, ruined castles and ancient graves, pretty villages with many a pub, startling views of the sea and remnants of the Celts of yore. Elegant manor houses, some now transformed into small hotels or restaurants, are scattered throughout.

Not far from the village of Rosscarbery, which grew up around a monastery established in the sixth century, is the Dromberg stone circle, a ring of 13 standing stones, considered the finest megalithic stone circle in County Cork. The circle dates from 153 B.C. and is located on a clearing with a beautiful view down towards the sea. West of the circle are the remnants of two huts and a cooking place.

Dromberg stone circle.

Drive out to dramatic Mizen Head, the southwestern point of the Irish mainland, where the lands falls into the sea. A new suspension bridge was opened this past summer to replace the rickety old one leading across a chasm to the old signal station.

Mizen Head.

From the top of the cliff, a visitor sees the Atlantic Ocean break in roiling water and foam over the rocks. Sometimes seals, whales or dolphins come out to play in the sea. Seabirds cover the rocks in great profusion.

An Irish cottage by the sea.

There’s nothing but the Atlantic between Mizen Head and America, beckoning from 3,000 miles away. It’s not hard to imagine the sadness in the hearts of those emigrants from Queenstown as they glanced back at their beautiful green homeland, knowing that, in all likelihood, they would never see it again.

If You Go

Several airlines serve Dublin from the U.S. Aer Lingus is the Irish line, but I recommend Delta, which has particularly courteous and helpful personnel and serves meals across the Atlantic that are actually good enough to eat.

For information on Ireland, contact the Irish Tourist Board at www.discoverireland.com.

If you rent a car, request a small car as Irish roads are not as wide as American roads and country roads, especially unpaved ones, are very narrow. Also, remember to rent an automatic, as opposed to a manual, which requires shifting gears with your left hand.

This article was originally published in 2017.

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I flew into Santiago, Chile in early March for the wine harvest in one of the world’s great wine producing regions. The day I arrived was also the night of the total lunar eclipse.

That evening we watched the earth’s shadow swallow the moon in the private observatory above the Santa Cruz Vineyards, while swallowing Cabernet Sauvignon and warming ourselves by the tasting room fire. It gets chilly in the Chilean foothills of the Andes at night, a quality, according to wine writer Kevin Zraly, that makes the wines rival those of Bordeaux and Napa Valley.

Chile is a pastoral country whose serpentine body of 4,200 miles hugs the western coast of South America, beginning at the Peruvian and Bolivian borders. Its volcanic spine rests against Argentina and follows the Andes all the way down to Tierra del Fuego at the bottom tip of South America.

Never more than 200 miles wide, the diverse climate and relatively small population (16 million, 80 percent of whom live in urban environments) has preserved a rich farmland resting between the mountains and the sea.

The land produces a wide range of crops and the sea’s bounty includes Chilean sea bass, salmon, shrimp and other shellfish. However they have no fossil fuel deposits so all the oil products are imported and gasoline prices are high, about $6 a gallon.

Santiago is a bustling modern capital of six million. The commercial success of Chile, based on its mining, fishing and agricultural industries and its citizen’s devotion to hard work, has created one of the richest economies in South America. Most work six day weeks and unlike Spain and other Central and South American countries, they do not take siestas.

It is also a safe and clean country. Chileans frown on littering and are very honest. On several occasions cab drivers and merchants corrected my change when I overpaid. And there are great bargains to be had, especially if you shop at ferias, collections of artisan shops, and the currency is easy to figure, there are 500 pesos to the dollar.

Ripening grapes just days before harvest

Unlike other major wine producing areas, there is not a lot of attention paid to wine tourism and very few tasting rooms exist. However some of the larger vineyards do feature fine restaurants, guest facilities, vineyard tours and tastings, but reservations are necessary

An easy way to explore the wine country outside of Santiago is to take the tour that begins at the Hotel Galerias, a beautifully restored Holiday Inn owned by the Santa Cruz Vineyards.

The bus takes you 87 miles south to the town of San Fernando, where you board the Tren del Vino (the wine train) which takes passengers on a 20 minute ride through the vineyards of the Colchaqua valley, voted one of the world’s great red wine regions in 2005.

Along the way wine from the area is liberally pored and at the Santa Cruz train station more wine awaits along with appetizers and local folk musicians and dancers.

You continue on for lunch at The Santa Cruz Winery in a lovely patio restaurant overlooking the vineyard.

On the property is a museum devoted to pre-Columbian and Easter Island art (the island is owned by Chile), and a gift shop and wine store in addition to the observatory perched in the hills above. They also own the Santa Cruz Plaza Hotel in town, which features local dishes and well thought out wine pairings with meals.

View from the patio restaurant at the Santa Cruz Vineyard

Down the road is the historic Hacienda Los Lingues, an estate that has been in the same family for 16 generations. They offer twenty beautifully appointed rooms full of antique furniture.

Horse riding is also available on trails that lead up into the hills above the valley, unveiling tremendous views from the backs of the agile native horses.

Horse trails above the Hacienda Los Lingues offer unspoiled views

Diner and breakfast is part of the package and make sure you try the national drink Pisco, which is artfully perfected here. It is similar to a whisky sour but composed of Muscat brandy, lemon juice, sugar and whipped egg whites.

The Hacienda makes some great wines including the 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, which was the nicest white wine I tasted during my tour.

Like most of the back roads in the wine country, once you get off the main highway, you are driving dirt roads through picturesque farmlands. One dusty road led to ViaWines vineyards, a modern facility only a few years old, but they are already a leader in the Chilean wine industry.

They sponsor a number of training programs. While I was there a South African restaurateur from London was taking a month long internship along with four young winemakers from Brazil.

It was at the winery where we did a full tasting of Via wines and where I found my favorite red, aptly named “Red One,” under the Chilcas label. It is a blend of five red wines including the Carmenere grape, originally from Bordeaux.

The winery also has the Las Chilcas Guesthouse in the middle of the vineyard property, which can provide for up to 20 visitors. Meals are also included and one evening a whole sheep was roasted outdoors in the traditional style, seasoned with salt and splayed out on sticks. It was cooked by rotating it next to a blazing fire of eucalyptus wood. Absolutely delicious.

Other Chilean specialties include corn pie, a corn meal dish with onions, egg, raisins, olives, chicken and beef, wonderful fish soups and fried and baked breads, which are served with homemade salsa called pebre.

In the Maipo Valley southwest of Santiago, the historic 1880 Santa Rita vineyard, third largest in Chile, inhabits a long mission-style building and features a central garden, a lovely restaurant open to the public and a contemporary art museum.

In Santiago I stayed at the Ritz Carlton, which has an extensive wine program that includes tours of selected vineyards and wine and food pairings in the hotel restaurant 365, which is the number of Chilean wines in stock, one for every day.

The wine program is directed by Branko Kerlezi and the restaurant sommelier, who can arrange a flight of wines for tasting.

The afternoon I attended we tried ten different wines, from dry Sauvignon Blancs to a delicious late harvest Muscat from Tamaya Vineyard in the Limari Valley. I was even treated to the country’s best beer, Kunstmann, a hoppy pale ale.

The hotel also offers a wine bath to guests, which I enjoyed with a glass of Pinot Noir.

If You Go

Once in a blue moon or lunar eclipse you should plan a Chile reception in this warm and friendly country. LAN Airlines offers daily flights to Chile, by way of Peru and Argentina, with excellent service that features Chilean wine with meals. It was voted “The Best Airline to Central and South America” by the Official Airline Guide and Global Traveler Magazine in 2006.

Make sure you pack an extra $100 when you go. There is a one-time immigration fee charged Americans because we charge Chileans the same fee to visit America.

For housing options, wine and restaurant information, shopping tips, event listings, guidebooks, brochures and maps, contact the Chilean Tourist Office. For Information on the wine train, visit www.trendelvino.com.

This article was originally published on April 2017.

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I have just returned after several weeks in Scotland with my daughter. We were impressed with several castles we visited. Officially, there are 1,103 castles protected by Historic Environment Scotland. About 750 are still standing, the remainder are low ruins. We only visited 5 which was all time allowed.

We found them all very photogenic as many are on the shores of a loch or at the end of a peninsula on the sea. The most photographed castle in Scotland is Eileen Doran that can be seen on the road to the Island of Skye.

But why are there so many castles in Scotland? For hundreds of years the English border with Scotland was a war zone and often fought over. As well there was a constant rivalry between feuding clans and these castles were built for clan defence.

The five castles which impressed us most were; Castle Dunnattar; Castle Dunnstaffnage; Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness and Slains Castle on the East Coast. As well, Dunvegan Castle on Skye.

Slains Castle is a good place to start. Evidently, it was featured in the first season of The Crown (as a stand in for the Castle of May). Its real claim to fame was as the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula” when he visited Cruden Bay in the late 1800’s. It stands as a proud ruin on a point of land in the North Sea. A lovely walk leads up to the imposing ruin which is open for exploration. Both my daughter and I had recently re-read Dracula and were anxious to see the setting. We weren’t disappointed. Most castles in Scotland are well cared for. Slains is very interesting because it is and looks like what happens when nature takes over.

But few castles on the North Sea are as impressive as the striking location of Dunnattar. The parking lot leads to a long walk to the castle way out on a magnificent headland. It is a popular spot to visit and the lot was almost full the day we arrived. The striking site has been fortified since the early Middle Ages. Dunnattar Castle is today a ruin, surrounded by dramatic cliffs descending over 150 feet to the North Sea. It was in use until 1718 and is now a “Scheduled Monument” in Scotland. A sight to see!

Urquhart Castle, or what is left of it, sits high above Loch Ness and offers stunning views of the Loch. Loch tour boats are located at the pier beside the castle. Another popular site to visit. The lot was full when we arrived but fortunately we both had a 14 day “Explorer Pass” that allowed entrance to a number of Scottish castles and was well worth the investment. The castle ruins are striking especially with Loch Ness providing the background. I wanted to visit because the first recorded Chisholm shows up in 1359 at Urquhart as constable at the castle.

We were also fascinated by Dunnstaffnage Castle dating from the the 13th century making it one of Scotland’s oldest. Its very rich history dates back to the middle 1100’s when Norway controlled Scotland’s western seaboard. It remains in the Clan Campbell hands and has witnessed much of Scotland’s turbulent history. Its shape is dictated by the rock that it stands on that dates back over 400 million years and is built on a spit of land that guards the approach to Loch Etive near Oban.

Dunvegan Castle is one of only a few that are still lived in today. It’s the ancestral home of the McLeods and can be easily reached on the Island of Skye. The clan chief was in residence when we were there. They have marvellous gardens to tour and the castle has many interesting rooms open for viewing filled with historic artifacts. Besides the gardens and the castle tour we were attracted by their boat tours they offered of Loch Dunvegan. Since the site was very popular, we arrived shortly after opening so we could book a boat ride before they were sold out, usually by noon. The boat ride was a joy and the highlight for us was coming close to a small island of harbour seals that raised their heads and appeared to smile as we motored by. A wonderful treat.

Words only go so far in the description of these wonderful castles. Photographs help but being there and seeing these imposing historic ruins has a special impact.

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The first thing you notice is the fragrance. The intoxicating perfume of the tiare flower announces to your senses that you are in a magical place, overflowing with tropical vegetation and soothing trade winds. It is the same fragrance that the English seamen on the HMS Bounty also first encountered; but they came, not for flowers, but for breadfruit, intended as a new food staple for their slaves in the West Indies. But that was another time and another emotional place. Today, Papeete, located on Tahiti Nui (“Big”), is Tahiti’s vibrant capital city and gateway to her islands. Roughly one-half of all of the Tahitian islands’ population lives in this city. Papeete bustles with world-class resorts, restaurants, nightclubs and endless shopping. If it’s a pearl you want or a hand-painted pareu (sarongs) – worn by women and men alike – this is the place for it.

The Museum of Tahiti and Her Islands offers a good overview of the island’s history. The English were the first Europeans to arrive, stripping the islanders of much of their heritage. In 1842, the French took over, and today the islands’ inhabitants possess full French citizenship, but the Gallic texture is evident only on the surface. Tahitians have maintained much of their old lifestyles. This is an island paradise and the warmth and openness of its people is the essence of its charm.

Not to be missed is Arahurahu Marae, the islands’ only completely reconstructed marae. An open-air place of worship and ceremony, the sacred temple is constructed of tiers of stones where the Tahitian elite made sacrifices. Yes, sometimes even human. Put an inland safari on your list, too. My jeep tour was deep into the mountainous valley of Papenoo; a true Garden of Eden with fertile displays of ginger, vanilla, taro, noni and breadfruit. The medicinal and cosmetic benefits of the pants and flowers are well utilized by the Tahitians, renowned for their health, physical beauty and spiritual serenity.

Tahiti Nui has much to offer, but locals also proudly tout the outlying, less-populated islands for their beauty and tranquility. Exploring the other Tahitian islands is best accomplished by booking an excursion on a cruise ship. You get to see more islands and it is less expensive.

Bora Bora– The Romantic Island

With its alluring blue lagoons, lush tropical slopes and Mount Otemanu looming in the distance, this enchanting island is synonymous with romance. Bora Bora is the place for a bike ride around the island, a leisurely hike, or to simply disappear on a white sandy beach. The history buff will enjoy seeing remnants of cannons manned by American servicemen during World War II. Until 1942, there were no roads and no vehicles on Bora Bora. Now tourism is on the rise, with scores of over-the-water bungalows dotting the multi-hued clear lagoon, but to the Yankee mainlander, this is still paradise found.

Moorea – The Magical Island

Moorea is the very essence of a South Seas island paradise, and it comes as no surprise that it is a favorite of many Tahitians. The beauty of the island, with its jagged green mountains and palm-draped beaches, is astounding. James Michener called it Bali Hai, Herman Melville based his novel Omoo on it, and Captain Cook spoke passionately of its landscapes and the beauty of the local people. Moorea is unique among the Tahitian Islands in having magnificent expanses of both white and black beaches. High in Moorea’s interior mountains, Polynesian royalty practiced their archery and maraes are hidden in rainforests. On a hilltop lookout between shark-tooth Mount Rotui and towering Mount Tohivea, there is an once-in-a-lifetime view once reserved only for the gods.

Raiatea – The Sacred Island

Raiatea, meaning “faraway heaven” was the cultural, religious and royal heart of Polynesia – the birthplace of the gods. The second largest Tahitian isle, it was where entire clans, complete with dogs, plants, trees and livestock, sailed off to find new homes on other islands. Today, you can canoe around the fjord-like Faaroa Bay and discover why the island was a favorite of Captain Cook.

Taha’a – The Vanilla Island

Taha’a offers a glimpse of the traditional tranquil life of the Tahitians. The flower-shaped island is surrounded by tiny motus (small islands) and in its fertile valleys farmers grow watermelon and vanilla – which is much stronger than the vanilla that is generally obtained from Mexico.

The Foods of Tahiti

Indigenous Tahitian cuisine uses what’s available from the land and from the sea, and is abundant in fish and fruit. Coconut milk and vanilla are incorporated in many of the dishes. Poisson Cru, tuna cured in limejuice with chopped green onions, cucumbers and tomatoes; and Fafa, a stew of chicken with spinach-like taro leaves; are among my favorites. The taro root (more flavorful than the Hawaiian version), breadfruit, sweet potatoes, and plantains offer typical starch fare. Mangoes, bananas, watermelon, pineapple, papaya, guava, soursop and pummelo are in abundance. From the lagoons come parrotfish, perch, and mullet; from the open sea the freshest of fresh tuna, bonito, wahoo, scad and mahi mahi.

For further information about Tahiti and her Islands, log-on to Tahiti-Tourisme.com.

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