The T-Boy Society of Film & Music’s latest poll is dedicated to our Favorite Island Destinations.  Like last month’s World’s Friendliest Destinations we’ve decided to continue with another uplifting theme to counteract the horrendous news of today. You’ll find members’ selections to be personal, reflective and educational. I know I did.

Tom Weber — T-Boy writer:

Procida: The Postman’s Island, Southern Italy: Adored for its simplicity, panoramic views and natural beauty, Isola di Procida, one of a group of five islands that make up the Partenopeo Archipelago out in the Tyrrhenian Sea, just off the coast of Naples in the Campania region of southern Italy, has served as the narrative and backdrop for novelists, screenwriters and moviemakers alike.

Hollywood and Italy’s counterpart Cinecittà (Cinema City) have both yelled out, Lights. Camera. Action! as this little island has routinely been chosen for location shooting on a number of films due to its pastel panoramas and traditional Mediterranean architecture.

The most famous feature-length movies shot on Procida to date are The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), starring Matt Damon and Jude Law, and Il Postino (The Postman, 1994).

Il Postino tells a fictional story in which real-life Chilean poet and devout Marxist Pablo Neruda is exiled to a small Italian island for political reasons in the early 1950s. An unemployed son of a fisherman is hired on as an extra postman to exclusively hand-deliver the deluge of mail arriving daily to Neruda’s residency.

Over time, the two form a relationship and soon the simple postman begins to love poetry.  The postman, falling silently and madly in love with Beatrice, a barista at her aunt’s cafè, enlists Neruda’s help and guidance to express his feelings.

Il Postino stars French actor Philippe Noiret as Neruda, and Italian thesps Massimo Troisi as postman Mario and Maria Grazia Cucinotta as Beatrice.

Sadly, writer-actor Troisi postponed much-needed open-heart surgery so that he could complete the feature, and the day after filming wrapped Troisi suffered a fatal heart attack and never saw the director’s final cut.

Fortunately, Troisi’s capolavoro in Il Postino left behind a memorable and endearing performance for movie fans everywhere to enjoy again and again. He was posthumously nominated for a best-actor Oscar at the 1995 Academy Awards.  Il Postino is must-see cinema and ranks right up there with Cinema Paradiso (1989 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film), another small budget, Italian classic.

And what about the tiny island of Procida? It’s situated between Capo Miseno and the island of Ischia. Spanning less than 4 sq. km. (2.4 sq. mi.), it has a very jagged coastline. Terra Murata (Walled Earth) is the island’s highest point, topping the horizon at 91 m (300 ft.).  Geologically, Procida was created by the eruption of four, now dormant and submerged, volcanoes.

Mycenaeans, Greeks, Romans — who made Procida a patrician resort — Normans and the French laid claim to the island over the centuries. Legend has it that the all-powerful Greek god Zeus exiled two misfits — Cercopes from Ephesus — who enjoyed playing pranks on the gods, to the islands of Ischia and Procida, turning them both into monkeys along the way.

Today, Procida remains an uncomplicated, simple, laid-back picturesque dot in the sea when compared to its vibrant, larger and more popular neighboring islands of Capri and Ischia.

Flourishing gardens, vibrant colors, the fragrance of lemon trees and postcard-perfect views beckon travelers to Procida and its quaint ports. It’s just the kind of charming retreat where a simple postman can while away the days writing poetry to impress and win over the woman he loves.

Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon — Jetsetter-in-Chief at Jet Set Sarah:

JAMAICA, LAND I LOVE: I lived in Jamaica for about half my life, but I can’t say I ever loved it the way I do now, from hundreds of miles north. Sometimes, to see a place more clearly you have to venture far away, to put some distance between you, as you would a lover or a childhood friend. But now, after living Miami for 17 years, I feel the thrill that first-time visitors surely must, as the undulating emerald carpet of Jamaica’s dense interior, Cockpit Country, fills the aircraft window. The plane banks to the left to reveal a scalloped coast fringed with talcum sand, thick bush and gray ribbons of highway that have replaced the winding two-lane country roads I used to drive when I lived in Montego Bay.

So, as we begin our final approach, and my memories of the island and its people come flooding back, I wonder what people who’ve never been here before think the country to be like. And I know that whatever their expectations, their experience will be so much more.

That’s because, even among its 30-something other Caribbean siblings, there’s nowhere on earth quite like Jamaica. This tiny island of just over 4,000 square-miles and 2.5 million people has had such a global impact on the world in so many spheres, it’s nothing short of astonishing. I challenge you to find a place in the world where the face of Bob Marley or the strains of “One Love” aren’t instantly recognized and met with a smile. Beyond rum, reggae and coffee (our Blue Mountain brew is acknowledged as some of the finest and most expensive in the world), we’ve given the world our Olympic bobsled team, jerk chicken, and the planet’s greatest sprinter, Usain Bolt.

But it’s what Jamaicans have kept for themselves that’s even more precious. And it’s something I imagine that new visitors, most coming from developed countries where they’re better off materially than many of the people they’ll meet on the ground, don’t anticipate. It’s the magnetism of Jamaicans – an asset that far outweighs the majesty of the 600-foot cascades at Dunn’s River Falls, the mist-crowned Blue Mountains or the seven-mile sweep of sand in Negril.

I saw a T-shirt in an airport duty-free shop once. Printed on the front was the phrase “It’s a Jamaican thing; you wouldn’t understand.” But I understood immediately. Because to be Jamaican is to possess an innate confidence and pride that has nothing to do with your station in life. I can’t explain why, but it seems that every Jamaican is hard-wired with an irrepressible lust for life and unwavering confidence whether they’re living high on the hog or barely making ends meet.

And even though I wasn’t born there, I know that that much of the confidence I possess as an adult comes from growing up in Jamaica, around people who are loud and proud (and yes, as a friend says, sometimes “wrong and strong”) but never ashamed to make their presence felt. It’s a rock-solid sense of self that, like my passport, I take with me wherever I go, a sort of “confidence visa” that can never be revoked.

Ringo Boitano — T-Boy writer:

Crannogs, Scotland & Ireland:  I couldn’t help but notice the stunning tree-filled islands that dotted Scotland and Ireland’s shimmering lochs. Known as crannogs, they are artificial fortified islands, constructed in a lake or marsh, originally in prehistoric Ireland and Scotland. Research revealed that they once contained Iron Age and even Neolithic dwellings, dating back before the advent of Stonehenge. The surrounding water was their form of defense. In case of an attack by raiders, the inhabitants could easily defend and repel such intrusion. In periods of calm, small boats could transport the crannog dwellers to their farms, while secret, strategically placed underwater causeways, known only to them, would do so by foot. Today, they are many reconstructed crannog dwellings thanks to the Scottish Crannog Centre, created to promote the preservation and interpretation of Scotland’s underwater heritage.

Dominica: There it was in bold print: “Dominica is the only island Columbus would recognize if he returned today.” I’m not sure how the author managed to land that quotation, but even from the deck of my arriving vessel, I could see that this tiny island nation was definitely an untouched paradise found. Located in the Eastern Caribbean, Dominica is blessed with rainforests, undeveloped beaches, cascading waterfalls, small coastal villages with broken sidewalks and the highest mountain on any of the Caribbean’s Islands. In 1493, Dominica was a stronghold of the Caribs, who are today the last indigenous people of the Caribbean. Situated high in the mountains,  the Carib Territory is a must-see destination in the northeast part of the country. It is also where some of the most spectacular vistas of the island can be found. With a population of 3,500, most of the Carib people live in huts that have changed little over the centuries. Unfairly categorized by the first arriving Europeans as cannibals, these are a gentle and shy people. Children would hide behind structures when my small group arrived by van. Young men, who were carving coconuts, offered us fresh coconut milk to drink. Today, income is derived primarily from crafts, fishing and farming. It’s a great place to purchase gifts or souvenirs to help the local economy

Church of the Assumption, Lake Bled, Slovenia: The secret to a successful marriage is for a husband to carry his bride up all 99 steps to the Church of the Assumption on the island in Bled, Slovenia. If only someone would have told me  about this Slovenian tradition 30 years ago. But after stepping off a Pletna – a gondola-like boat known only in Bled – and staring up the sharp vertical incline, I could see that this would be easier said than done. Located in the Balkan nation of Slovenia in Central Europe, it was once part of the former Yugoslavia, now divided into six autonomous republics. Bled has long been a popular local and tourist destination. Former Yugoslavian head of state Marshal Tito had a getaway constructed on the mainland, overlooking the lake and island. Historians believe that the little alpine forested island probably had a special meaning during prehistoric times as a sanctuary. In the early Middle Ages, it was an Old Slavic cult island, where 124 graves with skeletons were found at the site of the church.

Chloe Erskine — Educator:

Ilha Bela, Brazil: Imagine leaping off a boat, with two dear-to-the-heart friends (made in New York but who are South American natives) at the helm, and gliding through sapphire water in front of a waterfall flowing from the jungle down a cliff into the sea you are swimming in. Welcome to Ilha Bela, literally, Beautiful Island, off the Sāo Paolo coast. This is where Brazilians come to vacation. Let me say that again. This is where. Brazilians. Come to. Vacation. Load your car onto the ferry Seattle style and float 40 minutes off the coast to this abundance of natural beauty, hiking, swimming, standup paddle, feijoada galore, plazas that never quiet, and outdoor clubs with the ocean on the left, pool on the right, and mountains in front. Rent a house or cottage in a hotel on the west side near enough to the beachfront restaurants (which you oh rough life that it is, must frequent if you want beach access but cold beer and fresh grilled seafood all day is a fair and equal price I’d say) and get up around 11, pack the coolers with your own Antarctica beers too in case (light enough for all day sunshine) and get a spot at in the sand in by noon. Stay. Swim. Sun. Flirt. Wander. Rest.

Ed Boitano — T-Boy editor:

The Aran Islands, Ireland: In Robert Flaherty’s brilliant 1934 documentary film, Man of Aran, we see a man smashing limestone rocks to bits, while his wife gathers seaweed below the island’s windswept cliffs. Meanwhile, their young son scavenges for particles of dirt that have blown from the mainland. These three ingredients will be used to create soil to grow potatoes – the family’s main source of subsistence. This is the Aran Islands; a landscape made entirely of solid limestone rock. It is a landscape that is so cruel and unforgiving that this poor Irish family must manufacture their very own soil in order to survive. When Flaherty heard of these stoic people, he knew that someday he would make a film about them. When I first viewed his masterful documentary, I knew that I too would someday set foot on the islands. Twenty years later, I finally did. Located off Ireland’s west coast, the Aran Islanders today no longer create their own soil and tourism is now their largest form of income. Visitors come from all over the globe to experience their living history of primitive stone forts, weathered churches and dramatic scenery. The best way to begin your exploration is at the Ionad Arann Heritage Centre on Inishmore, the largest of the three islands, which takes you back two thousand years in the life and times of the Aran Islands.

San Juan, Puerto Rico: San Juan was a bustling metropolis 100 years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. The island was home to the Taíno Indians when Europe colonization began with the arrival of Columbus in 1493. The Spanish soon established the strategically placed fortress, Castillo de San Felipe del Morro, at the entrance to San Juan Bay. With its 20-foot-thick walls towering 140 feet above the sea, El Morro proved ideal in keeping enemy ships out of the bay. Today this dramatic structure hosts over two million visitors a year who come to explore the fort’s sweeping vistas, tunnels, dungeons, barracks, outposts and canons. Declared a World Heritage Site in 1933, El Morro offers a unique opportunity to experience Spain’s 400 years of history in Puerto Rico.

Stromboli, Italy: Ingrid Bergman plays a displaced Lithuanian World War II refugee in Roberto Rossellini’s 1950 masterwork, Stromboli, who marries an Italian POW fisherman she met in an internment camp. They relocate to Stromboli, her husband’s volcanic island home. Unable to adjust to the harsh environment of the hostile people and landscape, she attempts to flee, by walking to the other side of the island to a waiting boat. As she climbs the active volcano, she is awed by its power and furry, losing her battered suitcase and then her pride, eventually breaking into tears and calling for God. Seeing the little island of Stromboli from the luxury of the 360 feet long and five mast vessel Star Clipper was a slightly different experience. I could see smoke pouring like clockwork out of the crater, and the two small villages below, with Sea Gypsies hugging the shoreline. Located off the north coast of Sicily in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Stromboli has been in almost continuous eruption for the last 2,000 years. Eruptions typically result in a few seconds of emitting ash and lava fragments, but lava flows do still occur. The last major one was in 2002, resulting in closure of the island. As Stromboli began to disappear in the distance, I stared in awe at the villages of islanders who refused to leave their homes as the black smoke filled the sky.

James Boitano — T-Boy writer:

Subarctic: Iceland – A cozy Viking civilization built upon amazing volcanic and glacial geology

Temperate: Vancouver Island – High Tea in Victoria. Raw Pacific Beaches in Tofino

Tropical: Dominica – Caribbean culture, welcoming people, volcanoes and black sand beaches.

Weave Cleveland — Cinematographer Travel Guys TV:

Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada: I grew up on Vancouver Island (Sooke) and I am not trying to be prejudiced. I have travelled to a fair amount of locations on this planet and if I told you what I have seen on Vancouver Island you would not believe me: Bears • Salmon Runs • Sharks • Orca • Blue Whales • Grey Whales • Sperm Whales • Abandoned Gold Rush Towns • Caves • Impressive Waterfalls • ENORMOUS Douglas Fir Trees • Ship Wrecks • Mining Towns • Gorgeous Beaches • Rainforest Glory • Military Exercises in the mountains • Deer in the cities • An abundance of eagles- Bald and Golden • Immense sustainable logging and smart forestry management – trust me, the loggers I know, know more about an owls habitat than you would ever suppose, these are smart educated people • The best camping you will ever experience • The best hiking trails –  make your own trail – me and my dog did plenty of that • Feral cats in the deep woods • Warm lakes, deep lakes, cold lakes • Hippies – I mean real humans still living off the land raising their families (paying no taxes) • US draft dodgers living in the woods growing quite old, untrusting of amnesty • Skates washed up on the beach • Shark jaws to take to class for show ’n tell • An Indian midden (indigenous) • Fishing industry culture • Race tracks • Soccer leagues • World-class educational institutions • Celebrities • and as much to offer as any other home on the planet.

But let me tell you this: what you see above the surface of the water is nothing compared to what is immediately below. Whatever you think you like about the BC Coastline; well, just wait until you get a look at what is underneath. I am dead serious, if you could see what I have seen you would think you are on a different planet, one of immense colourful abundance. I ain’t even gonna’ start. Coral reefs, eat your heart out!

Moorea, Polynésie Françoise: This island is just north of the island of Tahiti. It is the most beautiful place you could imagine. We swam with black tip sharks; they don’t bite people. The sting rays are as gentle as puppy dogs and as trusting as a child.

Huahine, Polynésie Françoise: Paradise. Mārō’ē Bay. Amazing and gorgeous.

La Digue, Seychelles: The Seychelles has shown up on Viking maps as the Garden of Eden. (Those Vikings sure went a long way). A century ago, it was a place they used to dump prisoners. It seems like paradise, which it is, but I recall sitting on a beach, looking out to sea feeling like I was on the very edge of the earth. It was the loneliest feeling you could imagine. A very far away feeling. Can you imagine having a white sandy beach all to yourself with just you and your lover, for an entire day – absolute paradise? It is shockingly lonely. I went out into the bay and when I was at chest level, I noticed hundreds of small white fish swimming all around me, I hadn’t noticed they were there until… all of a sudden. I swam out into the deeper water and let the swells take me way up and way down as I watched the shoreline. What a place! It has to make my list because I can never forget it.

Haida Gwaii, Graham Island, The Queen Charlotte Islands: I spent a month in Massett playing music in a bar. It too, felt like the edge of the earth but with the capability of being much more violent from mother nature. Golden eagles the size of your house. Clams the size of a catcher’s mitt. I watched eagles in the trees above a wide cove takes turns diving down to try and catch a fish. What a show. I went to the northern tip of the island and walked out on a rocky edge only to see nesting seabirds freaked out that I was there intruding on their nesting place. Wow!

Brent Campbell — Musician & composer:

Orcas Island, Washington State: When I was seven or eight years old, and for the next two summers, I went door to door selling toffee covered nuts for $1 per can (delicious!). Once I sold 20 I earned a one week trip to YMCA Camp Orkila on Orcas. After all these years I still cherish those three “independent “ trips to one of the most beautiful islands anywhere. I have been back a few times over the years and Orcas Island remains a beautiful locale.

Rivillagigedo Island, Alaska: Home to Ketchikan. In my college years I spent a summer working on a few construction projects. Arriving at midnight on 7/4 I was introduced to 20 hours of light. I was introduced to the great state of Alaska.. (it remains much lighter in Fairbanks, over a thousand miles north). I learned to live in a place only accessible by sea or plane. I learned to love Alaska (where I was working before the pandemic).

Kauai, Hawaii: I have been to all of Hawaii except the big island and Kauai is my favorite. It’s been a few years but I will never forget the beauty of the Garden Isle. Great beaches and scenic diversity. Less tourism (I can’t vouch for today). I simply remember it as paradise on earth!

Great Britain: Need I say more. The island that is home to England, Scotland and Wales is probably the most important, impactful, influential island on earth. All other islands pale by comparison (sorry Australia you are a small continent by most measures).

T.E. Mattox — T-Boy music critic:

Japan: A cultural experience like no other. The people, the history, the architecture, the incredible train/subway systems. Inland you have mountains and hot springs (onsen). Nikko National Park is breathtaking. With so many things to try and experience, plan for at least two weeks when you visit.

Hawaii: Oahu will always be a favorite. I’m a history buff and Pearl Harbor stopped time for me. Standing above the deck of the USS Arizona, watching a silvery sheen of oil that continues to leak from the depths. Heart-wrenching and unforgettable!

Corregidor: Not an intact structure on the entire island. The most-bombed piece of ground on the planet. The Malinta Tunnel carved through a mountain on the island, had a 1000 bed hospital inside.

Hong Kong: Probably a little different today. But in the day, the food was outstanding on the floating restaurants. Great place to have clothes tailor-made. Sailing around the island in a Chinese junk is a lifelong memory!

La Maddalena: Off the West coast of Italy and a ferry ride North of Sardinia. Beaches are magnificent, terrain is rocky, but the seafood and pasta is to die for. Sambuca.

Allan Smith — Artist & T-Boy writer:

Memories of Okinawa, Japan: My favorite island is not a usual tourist destination. It is a distant memory of my youth. My father was a US military chaplain, and we moved about every 3 years. In 1961 (when I was eight years old) we moved to Okinawa, the largest island of the Ryukyu Islands, about 950 miles south of Japan. The inhabitants of Okinawa speak Japanese and have much in common with their neighbors to the north.

Some six decades have passed since I lived there, but I still have fond memories from the few years of my youth spent on Okinawa. Attending 3rd and 4th grade in Quonset hut classrooms didn’t really seem unusual to me; it was simply something you might expect for an Army dependent on Okinawa in 1961. I remember a couple of my teachers, and the school library where I volunteered to sort library cards, and the librarian with her shiny long red fingernails. I can remember an animated film my teacher showed near Halloween with dancing skeletons, and some how I know the music they were dancing to was Camille Saint–Saëns’ Danse Macabre.

I remember the village store down the hill from my home: a paradise for a young boy who had a dollar or two to spend. There were exotic candies some of which had edible wrappers that looked like cellophane, but must have been made from rice. My brothers and friends bought long thin firecrackers that didn’t have fuses; you struck the end on a matchbox, and then had 5 seconds to throw the “striker” as far as you could!

There were “butterfly” knives in which the blade was enclosed in a 2-piece handle which came in many different colors. You would undo the small latch at bottom and then deftly flip the top half of the sheath back under your thumb, exposing the blade. It was very exciting for a young lad of 7 or 8.

There were also strange slender playing cards called menko, which you would slap down next to your opponent’s, and try to flip his card over. With each successful flip, you won that card. On the way home from the village shop, I once remember seeing an old mamasan bathing under a waterfall. I admit now that I threw one of my firecrackers in her direction.  Of course, she was a far distance off, well out of harm’s way.

Then there were the occasional days off from school when the island was struck by a powerful typhoon, when the power would go out and centipedes would crawl inside the house.

I recall walking in a field of sugar cane, cutting a stalk and sucking the sweet juice. Then finding a clump of clay that I imagined to be an old WWII hand grenade.

I learned some Japanese from a native speaker who visited our elementary school class. I learned numbers and some basic greetings which I’ve never forgotten, such as: Ohayou-gozaimasu (Good Morning ) and ichi, ni, san, shi, go (1,2,3,4,5).

I remember seeing the locals squatting on their haunches as they waited for a bus. I remember hearing about a deadly sport which pitted a feral mongoose against a poisonous Habu snake. I learned how to make fried rice from our part-time Okinawan maid, and also learned to love the smell of incense and appreciate Japanese art and style. (I still watch the NHK television network from Japan, and I love Japanese cinema).

There were white sand beaches, like Okuma, on the northwest side of the island and slippery clay swimming holes surrounded by vines where the Okinawan children would dive and flip to their hearts’ content.

I remember listening to Armed Forces radio hearing the Beatles for the first time, and calling the radio station every half hour to request I Wanna Hold Your Hand... I would use my father’s fancy new Akai reel-to-reel tape recorder to make mix tapes from the radio.

There was also the dark memory of the night I slept over at a classmate’s home. I remember his mother coming into his room in tears, telling us that President Kennedy had just been assassinated. I guess we all remember where we were when we heard that grim news.

These are some my childhood memories of Okinawa. I don’t know if I will ever return there, but it is often in my thoughts.

Richard Frisbie — T-Boy writer:

An unknown island in Paraty Bay has to top my Favorite Islands list.

After the hedonism of Carnivale, my friends and I chartered a sailboat to relax for a few days and come down from the nonstop partying. While sailing in the Bay of Paraty, which is off the Brazilian mainland, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, we came upon an island — almost two islands actually — only connected by a sandy, palm tree dotted isthmus. We dropped anchor and I dove from the deck into the emerald sea, swimming toward shore as the color paled and the white sand rose beneath the water to meet my feet. I walked from the beach through the palms and across the green barrier to the opposite sandy shore. With the two hills of the island rising on each side of me I lay down in the warm sand, soaking in the sun, embraced in the bosom of the bay. It was a psychedelic moment.

Sardinia — Sicily’s little sister off the Italian coast — is a windswept isle of history, rugged people, and great food & wine. The Bronze age stone shelters, or nuraghi as they are called, dot the landscape. And the last holdout of those ancient builders lived undiscovered for decades high in an old volcano in what looked like a pueblo from our Southwest. There are fine beaches and sailing, and an unexpected warmth from the insular population that I really enjoyed.

After that would come — in no particular order — Macau, Ibiza, Tenerife, and the Thousand Islands of the St Lawrence River.

Richard Carroll — T-Boy Writer:

Catalina Island — Catalina Island is an exhilarating 22-mile journey from Southern California to an untrampled paradise. The sea and sky frame a magnificence horseshoe-shaped bay hosting everything from yachts to crusty row boats with fishing rods. Small wooden cottages are surrounded by geraniums, hibiscus, begonias and bougainvillea that seem to be growing out of every nook and cranny. Spanish-style buildings with red tile roofs and stark white walls built in the 1920’s and 30’s and the historic Casino, like a sentinel standing guard, are Catalina landmarks. Strangely, not a single wager has ever been placed in the Casino. William Wrigley Jr. of chewing gum fame who took control of the island in 1919 designed the Casino for dancing. Also, as  owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, Catalina was their spring training camp from 1921 to 1951.

A million thanks to Wrigley and the Catalina Island Conservancy who established guidelines that continues to keep Catalina free of blatant commercialism. The island is home to at least fifty endemic species and subspecies that occur naturally on the island and nowhere else in the world. Not one traffic light is to be found and generally the resident’s mode of transportation is via golf carts and bicycles. The city of Avalon more like a European village is about one square mile in size leaving 88 percent of the island to nature and miles of overnight hiking trails.

Ometepe, Lake Nicaragua — The volcanic island of Ometepe tucked away in Lake Nicaragua, is the largest fresh water island in the world, dominated by two towering volcanoes, one active. Colorful villages, fields of sugar cane, and fresh-water lagoons where white-faced capuchin howler monkeys hang out is the essence of Ometepe, though those up for a mighty challenge a variety of steep all-day volcano hikes are a lasting memory. The island residents remark, “If the volcano blows jump in a kayak, paddle like heck, and don’t look back.” I found on this remote island in the heart of Nicaragua a bit of Spanish is helpful but a smile and a handshake works every time.

Stephen Brewer — T-Boy writer:

Capri, Italy  “Twas on the Isle of Capri… Shall we just get the pleasantries out of the way? Capri is a lovely little island that floats in the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Naples and where the air is scented with bougainvillea that tumbles in wild abandon over the garden walls of white-washed villas. Blah, blah, blah. Not that I’m immune to the natural beauty of this island, and I have enjoyed many long walks beneath pine trees out to Punta Tragara and refreshing dips beneath the sea cliffs at the Faraglioni, but on this rock it’s the human fauna, warts and all, that I find to be especially intriguing.

Capri, you see, has long attracted bohemians, libertines, and the outright scandalous. The novelist D.H. Lawrence grumpily complained that the island was “a gossipy, villa-stricken, two-humped chunk of limestone that does heaven much credit but mankind none at all.” I lean toward amused fascination, not despair, about humankind when I sit in the Piazzetta, the main square of Capri Town. Day trippers troop through, water bottles in one hand, iPhones at the ready for selfies in the other, and alongside them are leggy models who strut around as if on a Milan runway, a scattering of lotharios, easy to spot in rumpled linen, and many well-dressed, cappuccino-drinking bon vivants who might be accountants and marketing execs in real life but in this setting become flaneurs and flaneuses.  The writer Joseph Conrad also got carried away with the island’s undercurrents when, quite possibly sitting at a cafe table in this square, he wrote, “The scandals of Capri — atrocious, unspeakable, amusing scandals, international, cosmopolitan, and biblical flavored with Yankee twang and the French phrases of the gens du monde mingle with the tinkling of guitars in the barber’s shops.”

Capri has been synonymous with licentiousness since the Emperor Tiberius took up residence in a cliff-top palace in A.D 26. According to contemporary reports, he engaged in “depravities . . . so flagrant one can scarcely bear to report or hear them.” But since no one can resist passing on some good dish, especially about a public figure, news soon spread that the dark and mercurial emperor was having lovers of whom he’d tired hurled off the cliffs. Another dissolute, the Baron Jacques d’Adelsward-Fersen, took up residence in a villa a little way down the same hillside in 1905. He came to the island after some time in prison for an episode involving schoolboys, and he brought with him his lover, Nino Cesarini, a model for erotic photographs and paintings. The baron spent his time writing really bad verse and almost unreadable stream of consciousness prose, but he excelled at taking debauchery to extremes. He died while sipping cocaine-infused Champagne in a room he had designed to resemble a Chinese opium den. Nino did well for himself after the baron’s death and opened a bar and newsstand in Rome with the money he inherited.

Probably the island’s most famous scandal is the one associated with Friedrich Alfred Krupp, the German steel and arms manufacturer. Money and power could not silence reports of Krupp’s orgies and other dalliances on Capri, and he committed suicide in 1902 when faced with a trial and many years of hard labor. He’s lent his name to the beautiful Via Krupp, a steep lane of switchbacks that connects the Giardini di Augusto, designed and financed by Krupp, with Marina Piccola, where he moored his two yachts. Amidst the garden’s lush greenery stands a statue of Vladimir Lenin. The revolutionary and first premier of the Soviet Union seems a bit out of place in such luxuriant and hedonistic surroundings, but he admired the island when he stayed here as a guest of his co-patriot, the writer Maxim Gorky, in 1908.

It would be easy to go on and on gossip-mongering, but it seems only fair also to mention some island residents who have been above reproach, or almost. Axel Munthe, a Swedish physician and ornithologist, is still the island’s golden boy, having settled into the airy and enchanting Villa San Michele in 1887. Oh, you could dig up a few skeletons in the doctor’s closet, like his lifelong devotion to Princess Victoria (later Queen) of Sweden, to whom he prescribed spending a lot of time in his company on Capri. All in all, though, Munthe is an uplifting character, and he was beloved for some truly altruistic acts, like treating poor islanders for free, coming to the aid of Neapolitans during a cholera epidemic, and taking in a menagerie of stray animals. Plus, he penned some pretty memorable thoughts, like “The soul needs more space than the body.” That will make perfect sense when you take in the views of this legendary island from the airy and light-filled rooms where Munthe spent most of his life.

John Clayton — T-Boy writer:

One Foot Island, Aitutaki, The Cook Islands: Have you ever had one of those dreams where you’ve fantasized about a gorgeous South Seas Pacific island beach that’s surrounded by pristine, crystal clear waters so beautiful it makes you wonder if such a beach might REALLY exist somewhere in the world? Well, dear friends and fellow adventurers’ let me assure you that YES, a beach like that DOES exist. With its breathtaking and idyllic landscape, powdery white sand, warm azure waters, and the gently swaying palm and coconut trees, the intriguingly named One Foot Island is my all-time BEST BEACH in the world. One of the 22 islands in the Aitutaki atoll of the Cook Islands, it is only 2,000 feet long and about 689 feet wide. One Foot Island was, in June, 2008 in Sydney, Australia, named, by the World Travel Awards Organization, the title of “Australasia’s Leading Beach.”

Jim Ferri — Editor of Never Stop Traveling:

Back in the 70’s, I was a freelance photographer/writer trying to eke out a living plying my craft.

Competition was tough, of course. But there was one big benefit – I could come up with a story idea and, if I got the go-ahead, I’d usually wind up getting a free air ticket (First Class, mostly) and free hotels.

As I began getting better known, a few editors began coming to me, asking if I’d go on a trip here or there to do a piece for them. Later, as my work got better known, hotels and airlines asked if I’d join them on a trip now and then.

One day the PR department of Air France called. They had launched a new route to Mauritius, a spec of an island in the Indian Ocean, and wanted to know if I’d join a small group of media that would be traveling there.

I knew it would be a really long flight – New York to Paris and then onward to the other side of the world – but I was always open to travel anywhere. I also knew I could get an open ticket and route myself back on Air France wherever I wanted to go. I went.

Mauritius was okay, nice but nothing really special, and after four days our little group dispersed to head home. I stayed around and took a flight to nearby Réunion Island, a French department in the Indian Ocean, just because it sounded cool and exotic.

When you travel a lot, and I mean a LOT, you don’t tend to remember the nuances of the many places you visit, only those where something special happened. That’s what happened to me on Réunion.

I was moving around the island for a couple of days, photographing and carrying my normal 40+ pounds of camera gear. I don’t remember where I was, or where I wanted to get to, but I do remember it was about 10 miles off and across the middle of nowhere.

I wasn’t having much success with local transportation, so I set off walking down a wide dirt road. I was about three miles out, when under a blazing Indian Ocean sun, I realized what a stupid idea it was. Nevertheless, I kept plodding on since there wasn’t any other alternative. Then I heard a car coming up behind me.

I turned and saw it trailing a plume of dust 15 feet in the air. I braced for the worst, putting the crook of my arm over my nose and mouth, and shoving my camera under my shirt.

The car stopped and a woman with a young child pulled up slowly next to me and asked if I wanted a ride. At least I think that’s what she said since I didn’t speak any French and she didn’t English.

I hopped in her car quickly and during the next half hour we each attempted to converse as best as possible…she asking me where I was going and where I was from…me inquiring about the age of her little girl…she answering three with her fingers…

That half hour on an island on the other side of the world was one of the most memorable in my life since it opened my mind to the kindness of others.

A week earlier I had left an America in turmoil… our president had resigned… there was mistrust of others… and always, as they had for years, people worried about their personal safety… always lock your doors… don’t accept rides from stranger…be careful wherever you go.

And here, on a road to only God-knows-where, a young woman was so trusting of me… something I would never see back in my native New York.

It’s my only memory of Réunion, but it’s one that’s stayed with me for my entire life.

Roger Fallihee — T-Boy writer:

Secret Beach, Maui: We heard about this spot from friends. It’s called Secret Beach, also known as Pa’ako Beach. As you drive there you need to watch for a stone wall with a narrow passage. Park on the road just south of the more popular Big Beach, and continue walking south until you find a break in the wall – that’s the beach’s unofficial entrance.  Walk through the passageway and about 30 yards to the beach. When we were there it was just us and a family. There are no restrooms or food. About 1/4 mile before you arrive there’s a food truck.

The post T-Boy Society of Film & Music’s Favorite Island Destinations appeared first on Traveling Archive.

It’s a question that’s been pondered and researched for a long time – indeed, back to 565 AD. It’s the Loch Ness Monster, and arguably the most famous photo ever taken, was the shot on April 19th, 1934 by London gynecologist, Robert Kenneth Wilson. It became famous as it purported to show some sort of creature in the middle of the Loch.

Visiting Scotland a few years ago, I too was gripped by thoughts of wondering if I could find this monster.

Arriving at the legendary Loch, it surprised me at how unruffled and laid back everything was, I mean there was a complete and total absence of any signs, posters and billboards promoting the fact that one was nearing the celebrated Loch, and the supposed monster that lived there. The water in the Loch is cold; how about 5.5 centigrade or 42 degrees Fahrenheit icy, and at 24 miles in length and one mile wide, it’s the greatest volume of fresh water in the UK. I was transfixed by this mass of forbidding looking water, and speculated as to whether there ACTUALLY was something hiding on the bottom?

Adding to the mystery, my research informed me that in June of 1976, American scientist Dr. Robert H. Rines (from the American Academy of Applied Sciences) lead a team of underwater experts to see if HE could find the monster with the help of the latest underwater gear available. Well, imagine THEIR unreserved surprise, when an image appeared on their screens. Even MORE convincing, it looked like the well-known monster. Fascinated beyond belief, everyone held their breath as they moved in to take a really close look. It was a historic find, but it was NOT the monster.

In late December, 1940, a British bomber called a Wellington, took off on a training mission from its base in Scotland. They’d only been flying a short time when it began to snow. No problem thought both pilots, as this old bird was a proven warrior. But then the starboard engine began to splutter and, after several agonizing moments, it stopped altogether. The Wellington has two Bristol Pegasus radial engines, and they’re powerful enough to fly on one. Then however, the snow’s intensity grew, and flying R for Robert became even more of a challenge on just one engine. The crew was told to bail out; they did, but the rear gunner was killed when his parachute failed to open.

Alone in their stricken bomber, the two pilots fought to keep her aloft. They were now down to 800 feet and the snow was getting heavier and thicker. Looking out, they saw a large stretch of water – unknown to them, it was Loch Ness – and the aircraft splashed into the ice cold Loch. The two pilots were able to get out on the wing, and launch their inflatable rubber dinghy and paddled ashore. R for Robert sank, and descended to the bottom of the nearly 800 foot Loch. The veteran of so many missions over Europe was gone, and was lost forever. Or was she?

What gave this story a sort of a “Hollywood-Make-Believe” aura, was what happened later. 36 years later to be exact, for it was this aircraft that Dr. Rines had initially thought might have been the Loch Ness Monster in 1976. The images that he’d seen, along with help provided by the British Royal Navy, conclusively proved the aircraft was a Wellington. They even managed, in 1979, to identify its serial number: N2980.

In 1985, the Wellington was carefully raised from the depths of Loch Ness by crane-barge. Despite having spent 30 some years on the bottom of Loch Ness, and more as a lark than anything else, one of the technical people inserted a new battery to the Wellington’s tail lights. It was found to be in working order! Now here is where Truth IS Stranger than Fiction. Even though R for Robert had survived all that time on the bottom of  Loch Ness because the water was so unbelievably cold, she was in almost perfect condition. But the fact was she still needed a lot of loving care in the restoration process.

What gives this true story an almost Hollywood type ending, is that the plane was taken to the Brooklands Aircraft Museum near London to be restored. Why, you may ask is that extraordinary? Well, back in the late 1930s, this Wellington bomber, R for Robert, had been built at Brooklands!

For more information about Nessie go to www.nessie.co.uk and if you’re looking for places to stay on your journey through spectacular Scotland, check out www.visitscotland.com

The post Do YOU Really Believe It’s There? appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Random Acts of Canine Kindness

Cedric the Dog takes a well-earned break after organizing a protest at an alt–right Neo-Nazi rally in Oklahoma.

Dog Quotations

The World’s First Floating Space Hotel is Launching in 2021

Are you always looking for something a little different when it comes to travelling? Well, booking a “room” in a hotel that floats in space would probably be right up your street.

Robert Bigelow, a billionaire hotel mogul, has announced plans to launch just that.

The 72-year-old says a ‘B330’ line of space stations, advertised as ‘fully autonomous standalone space.

New Music Celebrity Site Features Unseen Photos & Trivia

Three Iconic Brands Partner to Create a Whiskey Lover’s Dream Gift

Ashford Castle, Midleton Rare Whiskey and Waterford Crystal Produce the Perfect Blend

Ashford Castle, Ireland’s 800-year-old quintessential castle hotel, has announced a new and exciting partnership with Midleton Very Rare Whiskey and Waterford Crystal to launch a bespoke cask specifically for Ashford Castle, along with crystal whiskey tumblers and carafe bearing the Ashford logo.

Drive from Ireland to Scotland by Bridge?

Just a matter of hours after Boris Johnson announced that it was possible to build a bridge crossing the English Channel from England to France a leading architect has suggested that a bridge from Ireland to Scotland is feasible at a fraction of the cost to the England/France connection.

Airlines Inching Closer to Dynamic Pricing

Courtesy Robert Silk

Imagine if airlines could tailor fare offers based on who was making the ticket inquiry, rather than strictly on the search criteria. Well, industry technology and revenue-management experts say those days are fast approaching.

Anthony Bourdain’s Most Interesting Places to Eat in America Right Now

Despite getting his start in kitchens, as painstakingly detailed in his memoir Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain will be the first person to say he doesn’t have much of an interest in restaurants, at least not in the conventional sense.

Hands down, this Canadian gem is our pick for the most hilarious, madcap travel show on the cybersphere.

Here’s a look back as the Travel Guys take on Santa Rosa.

Every Berlin Neighborhood You Need to Know

Courtesy Erin Porter

Once made up of many small villages, Berlin is a sprawling city that can be confusing to travelers. Each of its twelve districts has its own feel and personality, so here’s what to keep in mind.

“Games of Thrones”-Themed Ice Hotel Opens in Finland

A “Game of Thrones”-themed ice hotel complete with a bar and a chapel for weddings has opened in northern Finland in a joint effort by a local hotel chain and the U.S. producers of the hit TV series.

Countries Difficult for Americans to Visit

In spite of broad generalizations that Americans have no interest in leaving their own borders, US citizens are traveling abroad in record numbers. According to the US National Tourism Office, nearly 67 million Americans chose to take an international trip in 2016. The world may be our oyster, but some countries impose harsh visa requirements that may hinder American tourism.

Beatle Beat Trivia Answers

Please Please Me is the first Beatles single to hit the number one slot in the United Kingdom. The Fab Four’s debut studio album, also titled Please Please Me, was rush-released by Parlophone on 22 March 1963 to capitalize on the success of their singles “Please Please Me” (No. 1) and “Love Me Do” (No. 17).

Beatle Beat Trivia

Name the first Beatles single to hit #1 in the UK?

Answer Below

When on Safari, Always Best to Check Your Air Filter in the Morning

See African Air Filter here:

Easter, 1916

By William Butler Yeats

I  have met them at close of day
Coming with vivid faces
From counter or desk among grey
Eighteenth-century houses.
I have passed with a nod of the head
Or polite meaningless words,
Or have lingered awhile and said
Polite meaningless words
And thought before I had done
Of a mocking tale or a gibe
To please a companion
Around the fire at the club,
Being certain that they and I
But lived where motley is worn:
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born

That woman’s days were spent
In ignorant good-will,
Her nights in argument
Until her voice grew shrill.
What voice more sweet than hers
When, young and beautiful,
She rode to harriers?

MORE

Carnival Fascination Returns to San Juan

Courtesy  Tom Stieghorst

San Juan has regained its homeported Carnival Cruise Line ship, five months after Hurricane Maria knocked the Carnival Fascination out of the market.

The 2,056-passenger Fantasy-class ship was chartered to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for use by relief workers in St. Croix for several months after the storm while Carnival repaired damage to its terminal in San Juan.

The 24-year-old ship then went into a drydock to be upgraded before returning to cruising duty.  Several Funship 2.0 restaurants were installed during the drydock, including Guy’s Burger Joint, the BlueIguana Cantina and Bonsai Sushi Express. Bar concepts new to the ship will be the Alchemy Bar, the RedFrog Rum Bar and the BlueIguana Tequilla Bar. The candy store Cherry on Top was also retrofitted to the ship.

The Fascination will depart San Juan on Sundays for seven-day round trip voyages stopping in St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

“Out of this World” First-Ever Space Festival Coming to Las Cruces, New Mexico

It’s time to have fun and enjoy the accomplishments and importance of space in Las Cruces and the surrounding community. To celebrate all things space, volunteers have come together to create New Mexico’s first ever Space Festival.

MORE

Cruise Cools to China

Courtesy  Tom Stieghorst

The cruise industry’s gold rush to China, if not over, has entered a new phase: For the first time in at least four years, cruise capacity in China will not grow in 2018.

MORE

Discover Your Adventure Personality

Quiz Matches Your Personality To Dream Vacation

Royal Caribbean and the personality experts at CPP-The Myers-Briggs® Company have teamed up to help travelers discover what excites, rejuvenates and fulfills them most on vacation. Adventure for some means zooming down zip lines or traversing mountains – and for others it means exploring exotic cuisines, or making new friends in faraway places. Take this personality quiz, and find out what’s your adventure vibe!

Take the Quiz here

Time Capsule Cinema

Z – A Look Back

By Walt Mundkowsky

Costa-Gavras’ Z predisposes one to admire it, as the first film to indict the brutal military regime in Greece; in fact, the music by the long-imprisoned Mikis Theodorakis had to be smuggled out of the country.

MORE

Shaq Fits the Fun Ship Brand

Former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal is now Carnival’s newly-named Chief Fun Officer. Yes, Shaquille O’Neal. Of course it makes sense for he embodies the kind of people Carnival wants on its ships: social, happy and a tad goofy around the edges.

MORE

Around the World with Carry-on Luggage Only

Jill Paider travels around the world with only a carry-on suitcase. Here are her top tips for packing light.

MORE

The post Humor, Facts & Stats, Trivia and More appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The World’s First Floating Space Hotel is Launching in 2021

Are you always looking for something a little different when it comes to travelling? Well, booking a “room” in a hotel that floats in space would probably be right up your street.

Robert Bigelow, a billionaire hotel mogul, has announced plans to launch just that.

The 72-year-old says a ‘B330’ line of space stations, advertised as ‘fully autonomous standalone space.

He’s hoping to sell time slots to governments that need time in space for scientific reasons but also to sell “holidays” to people. The units will reportedly hold around six people each.

The 72-year-old says a ‘B330’ line of space stations, advertised as ‘fully autonomous standalone space stations’, is already underway.

Consisting of two 17-metre modules that will be linked to create outer-space accommodations – the units, once conjoined, will actually offer twice the cubic capacity of the International Space Station. The modules will be able to function in low-Earth orbit (a zone about 250 miles above Earth) and cislunar space.

Sadly for the majority though, spending a night in space won’t be a reality. Reserved for the mega wealthy, Bigelow says bookings will cost in the “low seven figures” though most likely in the “low eight figure”.

Bigelow made his money by launching the hotel chain Budget Suites of America in 1987 but was always fascinated by space. Growing up in Las Vegas, he was privy to science through witnessing – from a distance – a number of atomic tests conducted in Nevada.

He has previously said that at the age of 12 he “decided that his future lay in space travel, despite his limitations [in mathematics, and] he resolved to choose a career that would make him rich enough that, one day, he could hire the scientific expertise required to launch his own space program. Until then, he would tell no one — not even his wife —about his ultimate goal.”

In 1999 he finally founded his private space firm, Bigelow Aerospace but this hotel is part of his new company Bigelow Space Operations. The project is reported to be costing a cool $2.3 billion.

Three Iconic Brands Partner to Create a Whiskey Lover’s Dream Gift

Ashford Castle, Midleton Rare Whiskey and Waterford Crystal Produce the Perfect Blend

Ashford Castle, Ireland’s 800 year-old quintessential castle hotel, has announced a new and exciting partnership with Midleton Very Rare Whiskey and Waterford Crystal to launch a bespoke cask specifically for Ashford Castle, along with crystal whiskey tumblers and carafe bearing the Ashford logo.

Built in the 13th century and once home to the famous Guinness family, Ashford Castle became a hotel in 1939, hosting royalty, dignitaries and heads of state. In 2013, it was purchased by Red Carnation and the Tollman family, and after a $75 million restoration project, it was brought back to its former glory. In addition to a complete restoration, the project also added a wine cellar, billiards room and cigar terrace. Long a whiskey aficionado, owner Stanley Tollman has particular interest in this project, and has been involved in it from inception to finish.

The Midleton Distillery is home to the largest inventory of maturing Irish whiskey in the world. Its Master Distiller, Brian Nation, hand-selects the finest whiskeys for the Midleton Very Rare collection. This includes releases such as single pot stills, single cask bottlings, travel retail exclusives, special editions and prestige and ultra-prestige bottlings.

Cask #70345 is an American virgin oak barrel that was filled with a medium style pot still. A virgin oak barrel means it hasn’t held bourbon prior to arriving to Midleton, thus making the contribution from the oak a lot richer and more profound. The style of pot still distillate retains the classic spicy character holding up to the significant wood element to give good balance.

Waterford was first established in 1783 on land adjacent to Merchants’ Quay in the heart of the Irish harbor town of Waterford, just minutes from the present day House of Waterford Crystal. The business thrived for 70 years before falling victim to the economy and world events. The company saw a resurgence after World War II, and has since regained its status as some of the world’s finest crystal today. “We are thrilled to be partnering with two such iconic brands,” said General Manager Niall Rochford, “particularly ones that so closely reflect the standard and attitude toward guest experience that Ashford Castle espouses.”

Drive from Ireland to Scotland by Bridge?

Just a matter of hours after Boris Johnson announced that it was possible to build a bridge crossing the English Channel from England to France a leading architect has suggested that a bridge from Ireland to Scotland is feasible at a fraction of the cost to the England/France connection.

If such a bridge were to come to pass it would be possible to visit Ireland on a self drive tour and then drive over the bridge to Scotland avoiding the need to book a flight or ferry!

A PROPOSED BRIDGE connecting Ireland and Scotland could create a “Celtic powerhouse”.

Leading architect Professor Alan Dunlop from Liverpool University has said that a combined road and rail crossing could be created between Portpatrick, Dumfries and Larne in Northern Ireland.

The expert believes that the new structure would boost the Scottish and Irish economies and help solve any longer-term disputes over the re-emergence of an Irish border post-Brexit. He spoke out after the Foreign Secretary raised the prospect of a bridge over the English Channel last week.

Carnival Fascination Returns to San Juan

Courtesy  Tom Stieghorst

San Juan has regained its homeported Carnival Cruise Line ship, five months after Hurricane Maria knocked the Carnival Fascination out of the market.

The 2,056-passenger Fantasy-class ship was chartered to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for use by relief workers in St. Croix for several months after the storm while Carnival repaired damage to its terminal in San Juan.

The 24-year-old ship then went into a drydock to be upgraded before returning to cruising duty.  Several Funship 2.0 restaurants were installed during the drydock, including Guy’s Burger Joint, the BlueIguana Cantina and Bonsai Sushi Express. Bar concepts new to the ship will be the Alchemy Bar, the RedFrog Rum Bar and the BlueIguana Tequilla Bar. The candy store Cherry on Top was also retrofitted to the ship.

The Fascination will depart San Juan on Sundays for seven-day round trip voyages stopping in St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

“Out of this World” First-Ever Space Festival Coming to Las Cruces, New Mexico

It’s time to have fun and enjoy the accomplishments and importance of space in Las Cruces and the surrounding community. To celebrate all things space, volunteers have come together to create New Mexico’s first ever Space Festival. It will take place over three days and nights, April 12^th to 14^th, across three locations. The theme is “Making Space for Everyone.”

The festival kicks off on April 12^th — the day of “Celebration.” On this day, events will be geared toward children and families in celebration of the anniversary of human space flight. Yuri’s Night, which has been celebrated worldwide since 2001, marks the date when the then USSR launched Yuri Gagarin into a single orbit around the Earth in 1961.  Events will take place on the New Mexico State University campus, including an evening event organized for youth by NMSU’s Women in STEM (WiSTEM) group, a mobile planetarium in which people can experience and learn about the night sky, and a Tech Center featuring a flight simulation specifically tailored to space travel. There will also be educational NMSU Space Talks and stargazing. Las Cruces Public Schools are also planning events earlier in the week.

On Friday, April 13^th, the day of “Raising Awareness,” some of the greatest minds in the area will gather for a Space Showcase at Mesilla Valley Mall. Representatives from NASA White Sands Test Facility, Spaceport America, Virgin Galactic, New Mexico Space History Museum, UTEP’s aerospace program, the Experimental Aircraft Association, and others will be featured. The Space Showcase will offer the perfect opportunity for budding astronauts, curious minds and science buffs to interact with and ask questions from experts in space travel, aerospace and space exploration. The evenings of the first two days will also include free space-themed movies at the Rio Grande Theater on Main St.

On Saturday, April 14^th, the day of “Entertainment” will take place on the Plaza de Las Cruces and surrounding locations in the downtown area, and will be a full range of interactive events. Virgin Galactic will bring a full size replica of their suborbital SpaceShipTwo to the Albert Johnson Park, adjacent to Las Cruces City Hall. There will be many hands-on activities provided by ¡explora!, Insights El Paso Science Center, Asombro and Cruces Creative, amongst others. Experts from the Space Showcase will be back on-hand to interact with attendees. The NMSU Atomic Aggies Rocket Club will display their competition rocket, New Mexico Space Grant will have their high altitude weather balloon used to observe the recent solar eclipse. There will be at least two Challenger Center Missions, including one open to adult members of the public for the first time, and a unique space pickleball game in the afternoon, plus a ‘space walk’, in which participants are encouraged to dress in their best space or alien costumes.

The Las Cruces Space Festival will provide an incredible opportunity for youth to learn about and get excited about space and for older generations to celebrate the impact that space has had in their daily lives. For all lovers of space and all those with a growing curiosity, the Space Festival will bring education, entertainment and fun together in one package, with some of the key organizations behind regional space activity involved, and it will be a one-of-a-kind event, said Festival organizers, who are also aiming to set up a space tour from Las Cruces to Spaceport America as part of the event. KTAL 101.5 Community Radio in Las Cruces will broadcast special features and interviews throughout the week of the Festival.

“We all benefit from space related activity and innovations, including cell phones, GPS and weather tracking, just to name a few,” said Jonathan Firth of Virgin Galactic, one of the festival’s partners. “There is already much space-related activity in New Mexico, and it’s set to increase dramatically over the coming years — especially with commercial space flights just around the corner. Many activities for the Festival are already confirmed, and we are now working on adding to them and confirming sponsors before April 12^th.”

Event partners include New Mexico State University, City of Las Cruces, Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, Las Cruces Public Schools, Big Brothers Big Sisters Mountain Region, Virgin Galactic, Jacobs Technology, ¡explora!, EAA, Spaceport America, New Mexico Space Grant, NASA White Sands Test Facility, Mesilla Valley Mall, Visit Las Cruces, KTAL Community Radio, Las Cruces Sun News, Las Cruces Bulletin, Hotel Encanto, Insights El Paso Science Center, Las Cruces Challenger Learning Center, Cruces Creatives, and the Rio Grande Theatre.

For more information, visit Space Festival. To participate in the festival, contact

lc******@gm***.com











.

Cruise Cools to China

Courtesy  Tom Stieghorst

The cruise industry’s gold rush to China, if not over, has entered a new phase: For the first time in at least four years, cruise capacity in China will not grow in 2018.

That means that the focus and management attention that has been lavished on the world’s most populous country may now be turning elsewhere.

To hear evidence of that, listen to the list of places that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank Del Rio reeled off when asked if he’s ready to put a second ship in China.

“We have many other either unserved or underserved markets that we would also consider in the mix, should ships become available to us,” Del Rio said in response to a question from a Wells Fargo analyst. “We don’t have a presence in the mid-Atlantic states. We’re not in Baltimore. We’re not in Charleston. We don’t have a presence at all in the world’s second largest port, which is Fort Lauderdale. We don’t have a presence in the Gulf States of Texas or Alabama. We don’t have a year-round presence in Tampa or New Orleans or in Los Angeles.”

Del Rio went on to say that the Norwegian Cruise Line brand will have three ships in Alaska this summer, where some competitors have as many as eight.

“So, given our fleet size today and the fact that we will only be taking one ship per year, it could be a couple of years before we consider adding more tonnage to China, if the conditions in the rest of the world remain as robust as they are today,” Del Rio said.

The Chinese boom really got going in 2014 when Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced it would devote its brand-new Quantum of the Seas, the first of a new class of ship, to the Chinese market.

In a world full of supposedly bold moves, that one really was. And it prompted other lines for the first time to put brand new ships in China, as everyone feared being left behind in the scramble to impress the Chinese.

Being the preferred brand in a market that was projected to be the biggest in the world in a decade or so was worth the gamble of putting brand new tonnage in an unproven and opaque market.

So when Princess Cruises sent the Majestic Princess to Shanghai last year and Norwegian sent the Norwegian Joy, in addition to the Quantum and ships from Costa Cruises and others, the result was a crowded field.

Throw into the mix the spat between China and South Korea that limited itineraries out of northern China, and China became a much weaker cruise market last year.

While cruise lines insist that they’re in it for the long haul, and even in the short term it has been profitable, the sense that China is going to deliver a big increase in global cruise revenues has been tempered.

Already Norwegian’s focus for 2018 has turned to introducing Norwegian Bliss to the North American market, and in particular the U.S. West Coast. Who knows where else in the U.S. Norwegian ships might be coming next?

Airlines Inching Closer to Dynamic Pricing

Courtesy Robert Silk

Imagine if airlines could tailor fare offers based on who was making the ticket inquiry, rather than strictly on the search criteria. Well, industry technology and revenue-management experts say those days are fast approaching.

In fact, a few airlines have already implemented what is known as dynamic pricing on some ticket searches within their own channels, according to the revenue management software provider PROS, which works with some 80 airlines worldwide, including Southwest, Lufthansa, Emirates and Aeromexico.

“2018 will be a very phenomenal year in terms of traction,” said John McBride, director of product management for PROS. “Based on our backlog of projects, there will be a handful of large carriers that move toward dynamic pricing science.”

Critics of the technology warn of a growing lack of transparency if fares are priced dynamically.

Conceptually, dynamic ticket pricing is simple. An airline identifies the person making a flight inquiry, then mines its data for that person’s flying history. The person could be identified if he or she is logged into an OTA or into an airline website through a frequent flyer account.

Much as Amazon does today to remember shopping histories, those sites could also set cookies at login to identify a person (or at least the device being used) for subsequent searches in which the individual is not logged in, said Phocuswright technology analyst Bob Offutt. And there are also technology companies that provide the capability to identify consumers across multiple devices without the need for login information, McBride said.

The revenue-management platform then uses an individual’s flight-shopping history to generate a person-specific fare offer that differs from the offer some other shoppers might get for the same fare inquiry at the same time.

Experts say such technology is most likely to be used to offer discounts to customers with loyalty status and to generate bundled fare offerings that fit the customer’s profile. But in theory the technology could also be used for different purposes, such as to induce a new customer with an especially affordable ticket or to offer a higher ticket price to someone who is likely to be undeterred by an upcharge.

Dynamic pricing platforms will also generate specialized offerings based on the profile of a fare search, even if they don’t have the specific identity of the shopper, said Peter Belobaba, the airline industry program director at MIT who helped author a recent discussion paper on advances in airline industry revenue management and distribution for the Airline Tariff Publishing Co. (ATPCO), the airline-owned corporation that collects and distributes fare data.

For example, if a person were to query a one-night, midweek trip from New York to Chicago, the platform might make the assumption that the inquirer is traveling for business, then prepare fare offerings that fit the profile of a business traveler.

By employing dynamic price offerings, airlines would hope to increase conversion rates while driving incremental revenue increases, in part by showing more travelers that there is value in paying a bit extra for a more comfortable flight.

“I believe a lot of consumers are so focused on the lowest fare that they end up buying a degraded product, then complaining when they don’t get a seat assignment,” Belobaba said.

But according to the recent ATPCO paper, prepared by PODS Research, moving into a world of dynamic price offerings has proven technologically difficult for the airline sector, in large part due to the legacy distribution system that was put in place after deregulation in 1978.

That distribution system allows for just 26 fare classes, one for each letter of the alphabet. Airlines assign prices and restrictions to each fare class, then file those classes with ATPCO for dissemination to GDSs. At present, carriers are able to update prices in each fare class four times per day on domestic flights and hourly on international flights, said Tom Gregorson, vice president of products and solutions for ATPCO.

But in practice, Belobaba said, most airlines typically keep their set of price points for weeks at a time and mainly manage fare offerings by altering the fare classes that are up for sale at any given time. To move into a world of dynamic price offerings, the airline distribution industry will have to get away from the legacy fare-filing system or institute a hybrid solution, Gregorson said.

Under a hybrid system, airlines would still do fare filings, but then revenue-management programs would be able to offer price changes from those base fares depending on who is doing the fare search.

The key to enabling such technology is the development of a working interface that would enable the shopping engine of a GDS or OTA to communicate with an airline’s own pricing engine, which would be doing the adjustment, Gregorson said. He added that ATPCO’s Dynamic Pricing Working Group, which reconvenes for three days this week, has implemented a pilot project to work on protocols for such an interface.

In a purer version of dynamic pricing, however, airlines wouldn’t file fares at all. Instead, a fare offer would be generated from scratch, in real time, based on who the shopper is, the nature of the inquiry and existing demand and availability for a given flight.

McBride of PROS said that 11 of the company’s airline clients are already using its software to generate real-time dynamic offers within direct sales channels, including their websites. Several of those airlines are making the price offers by adjusting from their published fares, while others are generating offers from scratch. 

Though he wouldn’t identify the airlines for contractual reasons, McBride said they are mainly major carriers and are based around the globe.

Rollout of dynamic pricing by those carriers has been cautious and segmented, with much of it concentrated on group travel and on routes that compete against low-cost carriers, including against Europe’s Ryanair and EasyJet, neither of which files fares with ATPCO.

“Our customers have definitely seen increased conversion rates of up to 50%, and it has enabled airlines to achieve incremental revenue in the 7% to 10% range,” McBride said. “Dynamic pricing clearly speaks to the opportunity for airlines to service a wider range of customers with a broader set of fares.”

Gregorson said it’s unclear when dynamic pricing will become a possibility through GDSs and other indirect sales channels. But he added that ATPCO’s working group meeting this week could provide more clarity on that question.

Easter, 1916

By William Butler Yeats

I  have met them at close of day
Coming with vivid faces
From counter or desk among grey
Eighteenth-century houses.
I have passed with a nod of the head
Or polite meaningless words,
Or have lingered awhile and said
Polite meaningless words
And thought before I had done
Of a mocking tale or a gibe
To please a companion
Around the fire at the club,
Being certain that they and I
But lived where motley is worn:
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born

That woman’s days were spent
In ignorant good-will,
Her nights in argument
Until her voice grew shrill.
What voice more sweet than hers
When, young and beautiful,
She rode to harriers?
This man had kept a school
And rode our wingèd horse;
This other his helper and friend
Was coming into his force;
He might have won fame in the end,
So sensitive his nature seemed,
So daring and sweet his thought.
This other man I had dreamed
A drunken, vainglorious lout.
He had done most bitter wrong
To some who are near my heart,
Yet I number him in the song;
He, too, has resigned his part
In the casual comedy;
He, too, has been changed in his turn,
Transformed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.

Hearts with one purpose alone
Through summer and winter seem
Enchanted to a stone
To trouble the living stream.
The horse that comes from the road,
The rider, the birds that range
From cloud to tumbling cloud,
Minute by minute they change;
A shadow of cloud on the stream
Changes minute by minute;
A horse-hoof slides on the brim,
And a horse plashes within it;
The long-legged moor-hens dive,
And hens to moor-cocks call;
Minute by minute they live:
The stone’s in the midst of all.

Too long a sacrifice
Can make a stone of the heart.
O when may it suffice?
That is Heaven’s part, our part
To murmur name upon name,
As a mother names her child
When sleep at last has come
On limbs that had run wild.
What is it but nightfall?
No, no, not night but death;
Was it needless death after all?
For England may keep faith
For all that is done and said.
We know their dream; enough
To know they dreamed and are dead;
And what if excess of love
Bewildered them till they died?
I write it out in a verse —
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.

Send Deb your favorite travel poems.

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Built in the late 1700s its location on a lonely, high cliff that overlooks the often raging seas below is, in my view, one of the most romantic and yes, stunning places in all of Bonnie Scotland. It was a delightful and wonderfully sunny day when I visited and, as a WW2 buff, I was fascinated to learn that the entire top floor is a luxurious suite called “The Eisenhower Apartment.” It was so named in 1945 as a “Thank You” from the people of Scotland to the American general for what he did in WW2.

As you walk towards the walled entrance and amble – as I did – into the courtyard, the Hallway and what’s just inside is, in one word, BREATHTAKING! It’s the 2nd biggest collection of old time pistols, swords, muskets and related armor in the world – even more intriguing to me, was that every firearm displayed has been fired! I thought it odd and indeed puzzling, we were NOT allowed to take any photos! Eisenhower DID actually stay here several times, and given its romantic setting and awesome tranquility, used this Scottish retreat as his White House. I know you’ll find it as captivating as I did.

If you’re really – I mean REALLY – seeking something exclusive in your European travels, how about a fab concert in – are you ready – an underground cave that’s 250 million years old? Yes, that’s right, 250 million – because you’ll discover this Wonder of Wonders in Belgium, no less, in a colorful village called Han-sur-Lesse in the famous Ardennes and, approximately enough, it’s called “The Han Grotto.” I ventured into this phenomenon of nature, along with some of my fellow travel journalists a while ago, and we were treated to a tour that can only be labeled mystical and magical. The magic begins with the only way into the cave, by a vintage, 80 year old classic tramcar as the Cave is about a mile and a half from the village. No, it does NOT take you INTO the Grotto itself, just to the entrance!

As we walked down and still further down into the Cave, our eyes beheld a spectacular and magnificent collection of stalactites and stalagmites. We figured what must the bottom of the Cave, as we found ourselves in an enchanting “room” or complex, that’s 490 feet across with a vaulted ceiling 417 feet in height.

It is here at certain times of the year, where the aforementioned concert is held. Nature has provided a sort of “shallow, open sort of area,” where these take place. It did NOT look to me, nor to any of my fellow travel Scribes, as if it had been “hollowed out” by modern “methods. The constant temperature is 55F with high humidity. A tour of the Cave is about 60 or 90 minutes, and DOES require a guide. Towards the end of your visit at “Cave Bottom” you’ll witness a marvelous “Sound & Light show” that’s the epitome of the word AWESOME. This almost spine tingling extravaganza is so spellbinding you’ll be hard pressed to realize it is NOT a dream, but an incredible and remarkable reality.

Sharing news with you about this cave and castle, is yet another reason I call my features Travel with a DIFFERENCE. Be sure to see our story next month for more exceptional places and offbeat ideas for things for you to see and do around the world.

The post Two “Must See” Truly Spectacular Places in Europe. Here’s Why. appeared first on Traveling Archive.