10 Reasons to Take a Repositioning Cruise

Published on BootsnAll.com on February 16, 2011

10 Reasons to Take a Repositioning Cruise

by Anne Supsic
February 16, 2011

For years, I had dreamed of crossing the Atlantic in a mighty ocean liner like the Titanic (well, not exactly like the Titanic). In spite of that infamous sinking, a transatlantic voyage conjures up visions of women in ball gowns gliding across gleaming hardwood promenades on the arms of men in top hats. Today’s cruises may be more about spa services and scaling the rock climbing wall, but the romantic notion of a journey across the sea still persists.

A repositioning cruise can make that fantasy come true. Twice a year, in spring and fall, the cruise ships of the world undertake a great migration, following the sun like snowbirds flying south for the winter. The most popular repositioning cruises take place between Europe and America on ships that ply the Mediterranean in the summer and then ferry passengers around the Caribbean during the cold winter months.

Major cruise lines such as Celebrity, Holland America, and Princess offer a variety of these transatlantic voyages every year. Cruise length is typically 13-17 days, and the most popular months for repositioning are April, May, October, and November. For a complete listing of available cruises see www.cruisetransatlantic.com.

Here are 10 reasons why you should take a repositioning cruise now:

#1: Cruise value

Repositioning cruises offer some of the best bargains in the cruise industry. With cruise liners anxious to fill cabins for these necessary crossings, prices can be remarkably low. A transatlantic cruise can cost as little as $65/day/person (including port charges and fees). Not bad for an all-inclusive deal providing accommodations, food, entertainment, transportation, and some unusual ports of call!

#2: Cheap one-way flights

One-way flights were long considered a major downside of the repositioning cruise. However, one-way flights are not nearly as elusive (or expensive) as they once were. When you shop around for one-way flights don’t forget to consider Europe’s discount airlines. One inexpensive alternative is to pair a cheap one-way flight to London with a short hop on a European budget airline to your embarkation city. Also consider Iceland Express, a low-fare airline offering great one-way deals to Europe out of Newark, N.J.

#3: World class cities

Repositioning cruises begin or end in some of Europe’s finest cities creating the perfect complement to a European adventure. The two most popular routes connect either Rome or Barcelona with Florida, but the repositioning circuit also includes European wonders like Athens, Lisbon, and Venice. Wherever your itinerary takes you, make some time before or after your cruise to ogle modernisme architecture in Barcelona, experience Portuguese soul music in a Lisbon fado house, glide along on Venetian canal, or get lost in the antiquity of Athens or Rome.

#4: Exotic ports

Your repositioning cruise across the Atlantic will most likely stop at one or more of the exotic islands off the coast of Africa. Possibilities include Madeira Island, a floral wonder with unusual hiking trails called levadas; the Azores known for whale-watching and pineapple plantations; or one of Spain’s seven Canary Islands where the weather seems stuck in an eternal spring and dormant volcanoes add to the natural beauty. Other common ports include Malaga and Cadiz on Spain’s southern coast and Moroccan cities like Tangier and Casablanca.

#5: Relax at sea

Traveling across the ocean takes time, so plan on six or seven days at sea. Don’t worry about being bored – these ships offer more than enough activities to keep you busy. However, this is an ideal opportunity to unwind far away from any distractions. Life seems simpler surrounded by nothing but blue sea. For maximum pampering get a pedicure or a hot stone massage in the onboard spa. Walk the open decks, watch for flying fish, or grab a deck chair and curl up with a bestseller. You may even want to try that time-honored ship sport: shuffleboard!

#6: Enrichment

Most cruise lines offer extensive enrichment programs allowing you to expand your mind (while you struggle not to expand your waistline with all the tempting food choices on board). Learn about the glories of Florence in an art history class, get a mental tune-up in a psychology lecture, or trace the evolution of western music from Bach to Berlioz. Sound too serious for you? Then check out the cooking classes or get your samba on with some dance lessons. It’s like taking half a dozen adult education classes all in one week!

#7: Entertainment

Cruise ships offer all kinds of entertainment ranging from Bingo and trivia games to comedians and Broadway productions. Music lovers can choose between elegant Classical string quartets and raucous dance bands. If you’re feeling lucky, you can drop a few in the casino. Shopaholics can browse the shipboard bargains on art, jewelry, and booze. Or if you are exhausted from so many activities, you can watch a movie in the privacy of your own cabin.

#8: Florida sun

Florida is a frequent bookend of a repositioning cruise giving you the opportunity to soak up some sunshine in ports like Miami or Fort Lauderdale. Take a dip in the ocean, check out the Art Deco architecture of South Beach, or search for gators during an airboat ride in the Everglades. All are perfect ways to get into vacation mode at the start of your trip or enjoy one last fling before heading home.

#9: Back-to-back option

If you have the time, consider doing a back-to-back. In cruise lingo, a back-to-back is simply two cruises in a row. For example, you can sail across the Atlantic to Europe and then continue on that same ship for a Mediterranean cruise. Or top off your transatlantic voyage back home with an additional cruise island-hopping in the Caribbean. An added benefit is the price break you get on the combined cruises. Of course, you’ll need extensive time to be able to do so.

#10: No jet lag

One of the greatest benefits of cruising between continents is: no jet lag! Rather than crossing half a dozen time zones in one night, you make the change gradually, one hour at a time. By cruising east to west, you gain an hour of sleep almost every other night. If that isn’t heaven, what is?

[Or not]

Of course, there are some downsides to a TransAtlantic cruise. While the per-day value is very good, overall, a two week cruise is simply going to cost more than one that lasts four to seven days. That means you need more vacation days, and since fewer of those days are actually spent exploring a new destination, it’s not as appealing of an option for more independent-minded travelers. And finally, the higher cost and longer trip length means that the majority group on the cruise will be older travelers and retirees. If that’s a deal-breaker — or the thought of 8 days on open water crossing the Atlantic makes you queasy — a TransAtlantic cruise may not be the best choice for you.

How to Hire a Private Guide

Published on BootsnAll.com on September 29, 2010

How to Hire a Private Guide

By Anne Supsic
September 29th, 2010

Independent travelers and escorted tours go together about as well as arachnophobes and crawly things. In fact, most independent travelers who see a tour group trailing behind a guide holding aloft a closed yellow umbrella feel a bit smug. And yet, do you ever wonder if you might be missing out on information that tour guide is sharing? For the best of both worlds hire a private guide!

I am not talking about a small group tour, but a true one-on-one travel experience designed specifically for you. On this type of tour, the “tour group” is just you. I have successfully hired private guides all over the globe in Peru, Cambodia, Thailand, China, and Russia. And I can tell you that the private guide business is booming. From university-educated, certified guides to former taxi cab drivers turned energetic entrepreneurs, you have plenty of choices.

 Why hire a private guide?

Private guides enhance the travel experience of even the most fiercely independent backpacker. Here are the best reasons to hire a private guide:

• Customized itineraries: You build your own itinerary based on your interests and according to your time schedule. And a private guide can take you to places that are difficult or impossible to reach on your own. Plus, your private guide will take you where you want to go and nowhere else. No annoying shopping stops at the local leather goods outlet or “cultural experiences” at souvenir places masquerading as art galleries.

• In-depth knowledge: In my experience, private guides know their stuff and impart a commendable love of their country and its history. They also tend to be professional and patient — which is a good thing because having a guide all to yourself means that you can ask endless questions.

• Inside track: With a local as your guide, you benefit from insider knowledge that can get you off the tourist treadmill. Avoid the crowds and walk right into places that are infamous for long waiting lines. Or eat lunch in a restaurant that seldom sees a Westerner’s face.

• Sightseeing and transport: You can combine transportation to your next destination with a day of sightseeing. This efficient option offers real travel value and also eliminates a ride on that rickety local bus! Include some hill tribe visits on your road trip across Northern Thailand or stop at Inca ruins and handicraft markets as you make your way from Cuzco into the Sacred Valley.

• A day with no worries: For the independent traveler, letting someone else manage the details can be as restful as a day at the spa. What a relief to put aside the guidebooks and the maps and let someone else do the heavy lifting.

• A chance to spend time with a local: My favorite reason for hiring a private guide is for the pleasure of their company. This is a priceless opportunity to spend time with a local who speaks your language. Most guides are more than happy to share the details of their lives with you. Your guide may tell you their whole life story offering you the chance to learn about a life experience totally different from your own.

Where to find private guides

Guidebooks occasionally recommend private guides. And of course, guides can be hired through hotels or travel agencies. But the best way to find a guide is by word of mouth, and the best sources are online travel forums. Websites like Trip Advisor and the BootsnAll Boards provide the real skinny from fellow travelers whose private guide recommendations are based on personal experiences. Travel forums have become quite powerful, and a guide’s livelihood depends on good recommendations.

How to choose the right private guide for you

• Background and abilities: Finding a capable guide is not as hard as you may think. The top requirement for a guide is the ability to speak English well, and this is something you can easily confirm from other travelers’ experiences.

• Transportation: A good car is a must, and in hot climates, air conditioning is a blessing. Rely on your fellow travelers for verification.

• Guides and drivers: You may have a choice of hiring either a guide who drives or a 2-person team including a guide and a driver. Obviously, hiring a driver and a guide is more expensive, but if the drive is a pot-holed cliff-hanger, a separate driver may be the safer way to go.

• Chemistry: For me, chemistry is the most critical factor. Unfortunately, it is also the most elusive. The best way to find a good match is by closely evaluating other traveler’s recommendations and through your own communications with potential guides. It is surprising how much you can learn about a person in an email.

The hiring process

The hiring process can be easily conducted via email. Use this emailing time to hash out the details of your itinerary and get to know each other. I usually contact at least two guides for a comparison. The best guides are very popular so start the process as soon as you make your travel plans.

Agreeing on the itinerary

Your initial email should include a detailed description of where you want to go, and what you want to see. The clearer you are on what you want, the better your tour will be. Be sure to mention how you heard of the guide (i.e. on which website or other source).

Don’t be concerned if your guide responds in less than perfect English; guides often speak English better than they can write it. Finalizing your plans may require numerous emails, but that’s good because this is how you develop a relationship.

Be sure to keep emailing until you have complete agreement on: itinerary, cost, start time, and pickup location.

Costs

Your guide will provide a cost for the day, but don’t forget other potential expenses. Entrance fees are often excluded, and sometimes you must pay your guide’s entrance fee as well. Tipping is also extra, and depending on the circumstances, you may decide to ask your guide to join you for lunch.

Payment is usually made at the conclusion of the tour.

What to expect

At minimum, you can expect a full day of guided sightseeing according to your specific itinerary. However, the beauty of having a private guide is that you don’t need to be rigid. You are not on a canned tour — this tour is all about you, so make the most of it. If you want to hang out longer at one site or quickly ditch another, you can do it. And special requests are seldom a problem. Your guide has hired on for the day and will spend the time as you choose.

Be sure to take full advantage of your guide’s expertise. Get advice on where to buy the best souvenirs (and how much to pay). Improve your foreign language skills (and maybe learn some useful slang!). And don’t hesitate to ask for recommendations on restaurants, local dishes to try, or even where to get a haircut.

Most of all, you want to get to know your guide. Make this an interaction you will remember long after the images of the must-see sites start to fade.

All photos courtesy of Frank Supsic and may not be used without permission.

The magic of Scranton

Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer on August 9, 2009

The magic of Scranton
By Anne Supsic

For The Inquirer

SCRANTON - These days, it's best known as the setting of the quirky TV sitcom The Office, or as Electric City, because it operated the first electric trolley system.

But it was daredevil Harry Houdini who lured me here - and he's been dead for 83 years. Now, that's a magic trick.

It started as a day trip for my husband, Frank, and myself to explore the Houdini Museum - touted as the only building in the world devoted to the famous escapologist - with our grandson, Christopher, 12.

And it expanded to a Weekend Journey a few weeks later, to tour this city of more than 70,000 that's enjoying a cultural renaissance, with historic sites that celebrate the industrial past; glorious, restored buildings; and a vibrant ethnic diversity.

The inside of the Houdini Museum looks like a dusty antique store, but the jumble of exciting memorabilia lining the walls includes a milk can large enough to hide a magician, a collection of locks and handcuffs, and a well-worn straitjacket.

Houdini's legacy is kept alive by devoted proprietors Dick Brooks, who performs as Bravo the Great, and Dorothy Dietrich, billed as one of the world's leading female magicians. Brooks provides a detailed biography of the magician, from his birth as Ehrich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary, in 1874 to his mysterious death on Halloween in 1926 at age 52. And he injects little-known facts, such as that during World War I, Houdini taught U.S. soldiers how to escape from German handcuffs. As Houdini liked to say, "My brain is the key that sets me free."

Brooks leads us into the high-ceilinged theater, where we watch rare film footage of Houdini freeing himself from a straitjacket and surviving the famous Chinese Water Torture Cell. Exciting stuff, priming us for some live magic.

My husband and I do not expect much, but Bravo the Great and Dorothy put on a top-notch show, using doves, a rabbit, a duck, and two poodles. And they pull a boy out of the audience for an amazing levitation trick that my husband is still pondering.

Only one nagging question remains: What was Houdini's connection to Scranton? It turns out the Poli Theater was a popular stop on the vaudeville circuit, where Houdini joined such stars as Fred Astaire and Groucho Marx. In fact, Scranton supposedly was one of Houdini's favorite venues, so maybe he knew something about Scranton that was worth our making a return trip.

Mary Ann Moran Savakinus, director of the Lackawanna Historical Society, gives us the city's history in a nutshell: "The industrial boom was fueled by the holy trinity of iron, rail, and coal." In 1847, brothers Selden T. and George W. Scranton were the first to mass-produce iron rails in America. Their iron-manufacturing business was short-lived, but coal stayed hot. With local fields containing 85 percent of the world's anthracite coal, the family shifted to railroading to transport those "black diamonds" around the country.

By 1900, Scranton had grown into the 38th-largest city in the country, with a population of more than 100,000, and families such as the Scrantons had joined the so-called robber barons of the era.

But the city's story is not just about the wealthy. Industrial growth required labor, and immigrants poured into the city to fill the jobs. The Irish and the Welsh were among the earliest arrivals, followed by Eastern Europeans and Italians.

"Having mined anthracite coal in their native country, the Welsh were a perfect match for the Pennsylvania mines," Moran Savakinus says. "Back then, Scranton had the largest Welsh population outside of Wales itself."

After World War II, coal was displaced by cheaper fuels - oil and natural gas - and the city's fortunes faded.

The city boomed as a major rail hub in the late 1800s, with the most railroad tracks per square mile in the country. So we start our Weekend Journey at Steamtown, a national historic site.

Anchoring the heart of the compact downtown (about six square blocks), Steamtown is dedicated to preserving the era of the steam locomotive. It's a working roundhouse, where restored steam engines are serviced and prepared so tourists can ride authentic steam-powered trains.

On the one-hour Locomotive Workshop tour, a park ranger leads us into a restricted area - the workshop where these monster machines are maintained. My husband and a group of Boy Scouts are in grease-monkey heaven.

After the tour, we drop by one of Scranton's oldest lunch spots: Coney Island Lunch, serving Texas Wieners since 1923. The walls are covered with baseball paraphernalia, much of it devoted to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and their predecessors, the Red Barons, who were the top minor-league farm team for the Phillies until 2006. (For hockey fans, there are the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, affectionately called the Baby Penguins.)

The tiny Coney Island booths have seen a lot of action, and nothing much has changed since the 1950s. Prices are in a time warp, too - the yummy wieners, topped with spicy chili, are only $1.95.

We are staying at the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel, a charmingly renovated train station that was once the pride of the Scranton family's Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.

The 1908 French Renaissance-style building was once described as one of the most beautiful train stations in the country. T he graceful lobby retains the classic train clock, a barrel-vaulted stained-glass ceiling, and Italian marble walls decorated with ceramic tiles depicting sites along the train routes.

This former train station is just one of the city's architectural gems. The coal and rail magnates left a legacy of impressive buildings, in styles from elaborate Gothic Revival to the clean lines of art deco. On summer Saturdays, the Lackawanna Historical Society offers walking tours for visitors to gaze at the grandeur.

Dining options reflect the city's immigrant past with lots of ethnic choices, including Italian restaurants and a fine selection of Irish pubs. For dinner, we stroll past the dramatic Courthouse Square and a towering neon sign that blares "Scranton the Electric City" over the skyline, to Thai Rak Thai. The nua nam tok (beef salad) and pad prik khing (spicy stir-fry) are as good as anything we've eaten in Thailand. And a woman sitting near us likes her red-curry dish enough to order a second bowl.

We top off the night at Kildare's, a hopping Irish pub that also has locations in Manayunk, West Chester, King of Prussia, and Newark, Del. Our cozy table is in an alcove appropriately called "the snug" - a spot where women and children used to wait while the menfolk downed a pint or two at the bar. Live music is due to start at 10 p.m., but after a Guinness-on-tap nightcap, we are ready to curl up in our Sleep Number adjustable bed, a first-time hotel amenity for us.

A train whistle wakes me up. I think I must be dreaming, but a look out the window confirms that trains still roll on these rails.

On this bright, sunny day, we are headed underground. At the Lackawanna Coal Mine, we board a low-slung, yellow coal car and descend into the dark - about 300 feet down Lackawanna Slope 190. After a ride that feels like a slow, creaky roller coaster, a former coal miner guides us through a small portion of the 40 miles of dank tunnels.

I find myself humming that old favorite, Working in a Coal Mine ("Goin' down, down, down"). But coal mining was no day at the beach. It was backbreaking work - dirty, dark, and dangerous. Miners crawled into "monkey veins," only two to three feet high, where they shoveled coal for 12 hours a day. Ten-year-old boys worked in the shafts from sunup to sundown, tending to mules and coal cars. We emerge into the welcome sunlight with a new appreciation for those who powered our modern age.

Not wanting our Weekend Journey to end, we stop at Old Forge, about five miles southwest of Scranton. The pizzeria-filled neighborhood is known as "the Pizza Capital of the World," and we enjoy a few "cuts" of the savory, rectangular pies at Revello's Cafe.

There's so much more that we didn't get to see or do in Scranton and the surrounding Lackawanna County countryside: the city's Trolley Museum and the Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre; hiking in Nay Aug Park, fishing in 198-acre Lackawanna Lake; and skiing and snowboarding at Elk and Snö mountains.

I guess Harry Houdini was right - Scranton really is a black diamond in the rough.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scranton: From Magic to Mines

Things to do

For magical thrills, check out the Houdini Museum (1433 N. Main Ave.). Admission: $14.95. Information: 570-342-5555, www.houdini.org. Call for reservations.

Exhibits at Steamtown National Historic Site (Lackawanna and Cliff Avenues) re-create the era of steam engines. Plan to spend at least two to three hours. Admission: $6 (free for children 16 and under), plus $3 for a short train ride. Information: 570-340-5200; 570-340-5204 for train-ride reservations; www.nps.gov/stea/index.htm.

Also at Steamtown, take a trolley ride at the Electric City Trolley Museum between May and October. Information: 570-963-6590, www.ectma.org.

The Lackawanna Coal Mine (on Bald Mountain Road in McDade Park) will make you appreciate your above-ground job. Bundle up - it's about 53 degrees year-round. Admission: $10, adults; $7.50, children 3-12. Information: 570-963-6463, www.lackawannacounty.org/attractions_coal.asp.

For a better understanding of immigrant life in Scranton, visit the Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum (next to the Lackawanna Coal Mine). Admission: $6, adults; $4, children 3-11. Information: 570-963-4804, www.anthracitemuseum.org.

Sports fans can catch a minor-league baseball game with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in Moosic (570-969-2255, www.swbyankees.com) and a minor-league hockey game with the Baby Penguins in Wilkes-Barre (570-208-7367, www.wbspenguins.com).

Satisfy your thirst and tour the Lion Brewery (700 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Wilkes-Barre). Information: 1-800-233-8327, www.lionbrewery.com.

Grab your fishing rod or hiking boots and head to Lackawanna State Park, 10 miles north of the city. Information: 1-888-727-2757, www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/lackawanna.aspx.

Gaze into a gorge or swim and try the water slides ($5 per person) at Nay Aug Park (1901 Mulberry St.). Information: 570-348-4186, www.scrantonpa.gov/nayaug_park.html.

During the winter, hit the slopes at Elk Mountain (570-679-4400, www.elkskier.com) and Snö Mountain (570-969-7669, www.snomtn.com).

Places to stay

We stayed in a lovely room at the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel (700 Lackawanna Ave., 1-888-201-1718, www.radisson.com/scrantonpa.

Another downtown option is the Hilton Scranton & Conference Center (100 Adams Ave., 1-866-539-0036, www.hilton.com).

Places to eat

Breakfast in the Radisson's elegant former train-station lobby is a must. The hotel's Carmen's Ristorante offers a breakfast buffet ($10.95) and a legendary Sunday brunch ($25.95).

Good lunch options include Coney Island Lunch (515 Lackawanna Ave., 570-961-9004, www.texas-wiener.com); the Glider, a classic diner not far from the Houdini Museum, (890 Providence Rd., 570-343-8036, www.gliderdiner.com); and the pizzerias of the Old Forge neighborhood, particularly Revello's Café (502 S. Main St., 570-457-9843).

For dinner, bring a bottle of gewurztraminer to Thai Rak Thai (349 Adams Ave., 570-344-2240, www.thairakthaiusa.com), since it's BYOB. Reservations suggested.

More Information

Lackawanna County Convention and Visitor's Bureau
1-800-229-3526
www.visitnepa.org

Lackawanna Historical Society
The Caitlin House
232 Monroe Ave.
570-344-3841
www.lackawannahistory.org

- Anne Supsic

Easter Island: Shoes for Jorge

Published in South American Explorer magazine July 2009

Anne Supsic discovers that sometimes when you travel it's the people, not the place that you remember afterwards.

Easter Island (also known as Rapa Nui) is one of the most isolated places on earth, and lies about midway between Chile and Tahiti -- 4023 km west of Santiago. Formed by three volcanoes, Easter Island is a tiny triangle of land only 24 km long and 12 km wide. My husband and I get our first glimpse of the island when our plane does a flyby before turning to land. From the air, it looks totally uinhabited with bleak landscapes more like Mars than a tropical island.

After spending some relaxing days admiring stone statues, we were doing some last minute souvenir shopping on the main drag in Hanga Roa -- Easter Island’s only town -- when a tall, English-speaking islander with a friendly (if somewhat toothless) smile approached us. He asked the usual questions, where we were from and how we liked the island. Eventually, he introduced himself as 'Jorge' and then asked if he could give us US$60 to buy him a pair of his favorite shoes from Payless Shoe Stores in the US!

Jorge explained that while Payless would charge a fortune to ship the shoes to him, we could mail them for much less. We were a bit flabbergasted and suspicious of his request. After all, who would trust two total strangers enough to give them US$60 based on nothing more than a chance meeting on the street? I felt uneasy, but my husband figured if Jorge was willing to trust us with his US$60, why not help the guy out?

Jorge led us to an outdoor café table where he happily gave us his address (which consisted of little more than his name and 'Easter Island, Chile') plus all the specifics on his shoe size (11 wide), and his preferred shoe style (Hunter Bay). He was actually wearing a pair of his special Payless shoes looking due for replacement, so my detail-oriented, engineer husband whipped out his camera for some picture-taking. He even asked Jorge to remove one of his shoes for a better shot. Jorge hesitated for a moment saying, “It may not smell very good.” But eventually he gave in to my husband’s enthusiastic request.

Jorge described Easter as “his island.” Later we learned that he was a well-known character on the island and was even running for mayor of Hanga Roa. He gave enough money to cover both the cost of the shoes (US$39.99 as advertised on the Internet) and the shipping. In exchange, we gave him our email address and told him we would be in touch when we got back home. We shook hands, and Jorge told us he would come to the airport to see us off the next day. He sure was excited about getting another pair of those shoes.

The following morning at the airport, we wondered whether Jorge would show up as he had promised. It was a miserable rainy day, and I had my doubts. After we passed through Security, I said, “Well, Jorge can’t reach us now.” Just then, I sensed a large presence in a yellow slicker looming over us – it was Jorge! He thanked us again for helping him out and wished us well on our journey. Then we watched in amazement as Jorge nonchalantly walked out of our secured area, setting off the metal detector as he passed through. We expected to see drawn weapons and Jorge spread-eagled on the ground, but no one did a thing. I guess this really is his island!

When we returned home, we found Jorge's favorite shoes, exactly as he had described, at a nearby Payless Shoe Store. We packaged them up and sent them off to Easter Island. A few weeks later, a very happy Jorge sent us an email telling us how thrilled he was with his new Payless shoes.

Sometimes when you travel, a chance encounter can turn out to be one of the highlights of your trip.

Further Information:

For general information about Easter Island, see the travel guide "Lonely Planet Chile & Easter Island." Other good web sources include http://Frommers.com, the comprehensive visitor guide available at http://islandheritage.org, and the one page summary at http://easterislandpage.com/.

Places to Stay: Contact the highly rated T’eora via their website at http://easterislandteora.bizland.com. Another recommended lodging is Residencial Tadeo y Lili (http://tadeolili.bizland.com/).

Places to Eat: Try the popular Te Moana restaurant for dinner and Tia Berta’s for a terrific tuna and cheese empanada. Also, don’t miss the delicious homemade ice cream at the small café down by the harbor.

How to Get There: LAN is the only airline servicing Easter Island with flights from Santiago, Chile or Papeete, Tahiti.

Anne Supsic is a travel writer who has previously been published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Frommer's 'The Smart Traveler's passport: 399 Tips from Seasoned Travelers', and several other regional publications. All photographs by Frank Supsic.

Peru: Ollanta's Hideaway

Published in South American Explorer magazine April 2009

Anne Supsic discovers Ollantaytambo, a hidden gem in Peru's Sacred Valley

When traveling in Peru, people invariably ask if you have visited Machu Picchu yet (since every tourist does). In fact, most visitors race from Lima to Cusco and on to Aguas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu. But these fast-track travelers miss the phenomenal beauty of the area between Cusco and Aguas Calientes where the Sacred Valley offers an eclectic array of Inca ruins that rival even those of fabled Machu Picchu.

The sights of the Sacred Valley could keep a traveler happily entertained for days. The town of Pisac offers both stunning Inca ruins and a colorful handicraft market where shopaholics can haggle for hours. The crusty, white salt pans of Maras are a fascinating ancient operation with salt water of unknown origin channeled into shallow pools where the air evaporates, and only the salt remains. The concentric terraces built by the Incas at Moray sink hundreds of feet into the earth creating what look like giant amphitheaters. These terraced craters may have been designed as laboratories for agricultural experiments, but are also believed to be mystic centers of energy. And at the northern end of this magical valley, halfway between Cusco and Machu Picchu, lies my favorite spot of all, a gem of an Inca village called Ollantaytambo.

Ollantaytambo is situated in a narrow section of the Sacred Valley surrounded by mountains flaunting spectacular Inca ruins. Opposing mountains display agricultural terraces and a formidable fortress on one side, while rows of grain bins with symmetrical, peaked rooflines create a harmonious pattern on the other side. Remarkably, this little out-of-the-way village offers the best surviving example of Inca town planning and has been inhabited continuously since the 13th century. Eighty percent of the buildings in Ollantaytambo contain original Inca stonework.

In contrast to Machu Picchu, this is a living town with roughly 3,000 residents leading ordinary lives right in the midst of Incan antiquity. Except for the occasional tour bus roaring down the main thoroughfare, Ollantaytambo is a sleepy place with good visitor facilities, but without the frenzied pursuit of tourist dollars typical of more famous destinations.

Unlike Cusco, my husband and I are not besieged by local crafts sellers or shoeshine boys at every turn. Here the owners of native handicraft shops wait for us to come to them, and well-mannered children in sparkling school uniforms stifle giggles as they politely respond to our greetings of Hola and Buenos Dias. The only hucksters we encounter are two preschoolers who ham it up for the camera, and then ask us for bombones. We have no candy (and prefer not to give it to children anyway), but a granola bar comes to the rescue, and they happily gobble it up.

Walking along Ollantaytambo’s narrow alleys, we marvel at the precision of the Inca walls. These stones are so perfectly joined that a thin knife blade cannot fit between them. What engineers these Incas must have been to achieve such precision with only the crudest of tools. And since this is earthquake country, the ingenious Incas also perfected masonry techniques, like trapezoidal doorways, to make their buildings earthquake-proof. While structures built by the Spaniards have suffered great damage over the years, the Inca walls still remain standing.

We are staying in Ollantaytambo for three nights at the Hostal Orquideas in a double room with a private bath for $30/night. Our room is basic but clean, and the shower is hot and powerful. Best of all, the room has an excellent view of the fortress ruins from our second story window.

In this tranquil atmosphere, we find ourselves slowing down to match the rhythm of the town. We sleep in and then take a walk in search of a laundry. A friendly place just off the main square is the perfect choice with a single washing machine visible in the back room--the only lavanderia in town with a washing machine, we are told. For 8 soles (about $2.50), our clothes are returned to us fresh and neatly folded in just three hours.

Outside the laundry, we really appreciate the value of modern conveniences when we see an old woman washing her clothes in the street. Literally. The Incas carved open stone waterways into the streets, and many are still used to carry water throughout the town today. We try not to stare as the woman dips her garments in and out of the water rushing through the narrow channel.

We have hired a private guide for our Sacred Valley sightseeing. Percy is pleasant, speaks decent English and is extremely knowledgeable. Today, he leads us on an exploration of our very own Ollantaytambo ruins. The fortress was a major outpost of the Inca Empire, and the only site where the Incas defeated the Spanish in battle. But the site is also a ceremonial center, and our goal is to hike to the Temple of the Sun at the top of the mountainside. We follow a zigzag path, climbing up the mountain across orderly agricultural terraces.

As we labor up the two hundred steps, hampered by the thin air at this 9,000 foot altitude, Percy entertains us with the legend of Ollanta, the famous Inca warrior.

Ollanta was a talented Inca general responsible for expanding the Inca Empire throughout the Cusco region. According to the storytellers, Ollanta is so successful that he soon becomes the right-hand man of Pachacuti, the ruler of the Incas. Unfortunately, General Ollanta, a member of the lower class, falls in love with Pachacuti’s daughter, Princess Joyful Star. Despite all of his achievements, Ollanta lacks the right pedigree, and Pachacuti refuses to allow the couple to wed. A furious Ollanta forms his own army and takes off into the hills outside of Cusco where he leads a rebellion against his former commander. Eventually, Ollanta builds his own secret hideaway--Ollantaytambo (Ollanta’s place).

Meanwhile back at the royal court, a horrified Pachacuti learns that Princess Joyful Star is pregnant; he forces her to give up the child and banishes her to a convent. All seems lost, but like any good fairytale, this story has a happy ending. Ten years later Pachacuti dies, and his son, the new Inca ruler, makes peace with Ollanta and welcomes him into the family. The general finally returns to Cusco where he is reunited with Princess Joyful Star and with his child who he didn’t even know existed.

Back in the real world, we are panting when we reach the Temple of the Sun, and the exquisite stonework takes away what little breath we have left. One of the most stunning sights is a composition of six finely polished monoliths made from red volcanic rock--perfectly joined and carefully positioned to catch the rays of the morning sun. We are incredulous when Percy tells us that these huge stones, weighing over 8 tons each, were dragged all the way up here from a quarry located miles away on the other side of a river.

Standing on this summit surrounded by the Andes, we are awestruck by the view and by the brilliance of the Incas. Gazing out over the sweet, little town that Ollanta built, I wonder how he would feel about his secret hideaway today. I think the General would be pleased.

More info:

Lodging: Contact Hostal Orquideas, an excellent budget option, via email at lasorquideas3@hotmail.com. For best results, send your request in Spanish (use the free language translator at babelfish.yahoo.com). If you prefer 3-star comfort consider Hostal Sauce (http://www.hostalsauce.com.pe/).

Dining: Try El Chasqui for delectable fresh trout or check out the healthy choices at Heart’s Café, whose profits go to children’s projects in the Sacred Valley. My favorite eating spot is the restaurant at the KB Tambo Hostal where they serve superb burritos and massive breakfast platters.

How to Get There: Ollantaytambo can be reached by taxi from Cusco in about 1 ½ hours. Also, the Ollantaytambo train station sits on the Aguas Calientes rail line making the town a perfect stop en route to Machu Picchu. (Plus the train ride from Ollantaytambo is cheaper, faster, and often less crowded.)

Anne Supsic is a travel writer who has previously been published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Frommer's 'The Smart Traveler's passport: 399 Tips from Seasoned Travelers', and several other regional publications.

All photographs by Frank Supsic.

In Search of the Singing Baguette

Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer on August 17, 2008

By Anne Supsic
For The Inquirer

 
French baked goods rank high on my list of favorite things in life, so for only 6 euros (less than $10), I jumped at the chance to take a behind-the-scenes tour of a boulangerie in Paris.

It was one of the Meeting the French tours (www.meetingthefrench.com), which offer rare glimpses of Parisians at work, such as chocolate makers, herbalists, bookbinders and musical-instrument makers.

Our English-speaking guide, Florence, meets us outside the Au Grand Richelieu in the 1st arrondissement, not far from the Louvre. Established in 1810, Au Grand Richelieu is the oldest bakery in Paris - a fact that is proudly announced in five languages on a chalkboard in the front window.

Florence takes us through the small bakery shop, and we duck into the back room, where we meet Claude Esnault, the baker. After 38 years of baking, Esnault is retired, and his daughter runs the bakery, but he still comes to work nearly every day.

Our host does not speak English, but he is very welcoming, and Florence is an adept interpreter. Esnault leads us into the working part of the boulangerie, a different world from the bakery shop. The 10 of us barely squeeze into the windowless baking rooms where, from midnight to 7 a.m. daily, two bakers produce 400 baguettes, 250 croissants, and 200 pains au chocolat.

When does a baker sleep? "Sleeping is a waste of time," Esnault replies.

In the cavelike baguette baking room, we learn that 3 tons of flour are stored in the room above us. A nifty system of pipes delivers the flour directly to the dough mixer, a vintage floor model with a 2-foot-wide bowl.

The baguette recipe is simple: flour, water, yeast and salt. But the method is precise, requiring particular temperatures and a closely regulated "rest time" for the dough to rise. The size and weight of a baguette are strictly enforced by the government - 2 feet long, 3 to 4 inches wide - and Monsieur Esnault shows off his baguette-rolling machine, designed to create perfectly sized baguettes.

Esnault lets us slash the tops of some baguettes to release the gas, using his double-sided razor blade. Our baguettes are easy to spot, looking overly deflated compared to his. Then he rolls racks of the baguettes into a special oven, which sprays the baguettes with water to create that familiar golden crust.

While the baguettes bake, we descend by ladder to the croissant baker's cramped work area. Apparently, baking is not a profession for the claustrophobic.

Interestingly, croissants and pains au chocolat follow the same basic recipe used for the baguettes, with sugar added and butter blended in to create the flaky layers. A non-melting chocolate is tucked into the center of the pain au chocolat.

We each get to roll a croissant and sample the chocolate before returning to the baguette room to taste our handiwork straight from the oven.

This is my favorite moment: Esnault deftly rolls the large baguette-filled rack out of the walk-in oven. The intoxicating smell of fresh-baked bread fills the small room as the baguettes hiss and crackle from the heat. The baker smiles and says, "Listen. The bread is singing!"

A Euphoric End

Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer on June 29, 2008

By Anne Supsic
For The Inquirer

In Bali, death calls not for tears, but a fiery celebration.

UBUD, Bali - A parade down Main Street with marching musicians and eye-popping pyrotechnics - sounds like the Fourth of July, right? Well, that's not far off the mark. As we discovered, a Bali cremation is like Independence Day for the dead.

Cremation, this most personal of Hindu religious events, begins with a mid-morning meet-and-greet at the home of the deceased. In our visit to a rural village outside Ubud, the deceased is a Brahman priest, and the family compound teems with family and friends enjoying food, drink and lively conversation.

Women are dressed in lacy blouses and patterned sarongs, while the men are more casual in T-shirts, sarongs and turbans. The atmosphere is festive because, in Hinduism, cremation day is a happy occasion -- the spirit of the departed is released from this world to seek reincarnation in a future life. No one cries at a cremation in Bali because, if they did, their sadness might distract the spirit of the deceased from making the journey to that next incarnation.

Family members graciously thank my husband and me for coming as they serve us snacks and cups of extremely hot, strong coffee. Meanwhile, the deceased looks on from his perch in an open pavilion where he lies wrapped in white funeral cloth. He has been on display like this for the last week, injected with enough embalming fluid to keep him "fresh" in the 100-degree heat.

Our visit has been arranged by Suta Tours, which drove us from our Ubud hotel to this rural village in central Bali. For us to show respect, our guide, Poni, provided sarongs, which she deftly secured around our waists. There are only two other people on the tour, a couple from California.

Until now, my husband and I have been content to enjoy Ubud, the SoHo of Bali. The streets are lined with art galleries, handicraft shops and health spas. Intriguing dance performances are available nightly.

We are spending a week on the island as the last leg of a two-month visit to Southeast Asia. After hiking through Thai hill-tribe villages and scaling the ruins of Cambodia's Angkor Wat, we were ready for some R&R. We were looking forward to a week of art museum visits, souvenir shopping, and luxurious massages.

But a brief mention in my Lonely Planet guidebook of the unique Bali cremation ceremony sparked my interest. Learning about other cultures is one of the main reasons we travel, and we are constantly on the lookout for the unusual. When I spotted a flyer at the Tourist Information Office in Ubud about a cremation, I knew we had to do it.

We are fortunate to witness this ceremony, because individual cremations are rare. Cremations are expensive, so poor people usually are buried in a common grave, where they can remain for two to three years while the community pools its money. When enough people chip in, they dig up the bones and cremate the remains en masse. Because of his high rank, our priest cannot be buried and must be cremated within seven days of his death.

By early afternoon, the excitement is building as the priest's body is tied to a colorful, 20-foot tower. The person's status determines the number of tiers in the tower. Our priest merits a six-tier tower, elaborately decorated in orange and gold, that looks like the top of a giant wedding cake.

The tower sits on a bamboo pallet, with pallbearers positioning themselves to lift the unwieldy load. With the body securely strapped on the top tier, the strong, young pallbearers carry the tower, procession style, down the village street to the cremation grounds.

It feels like Mardi Gras as we join about 300 people swirling around the Balinese-style hearse. The tower, which rises above the telephone poles, lurches along. The pallbearers purposely swing it in circles and from side to side to confuse the dead man's spirit so that it will not try to find its way home.

Children laugh, gongs and cymbals resound, and women sway past us, balancing baskets of offerings on their heads.

A half-mile away, the parade ends at the cremation grounds, where a giant, white papier-mâché bull, looking like an oversized Mexican piñata, stands on the funeral pyre. Boys cut a rectangular opening in the bull's back and stuff the priest's body inside, followed by offerings of food and flowers. Then everything is splashed with a kerosene-like fuel.

The gongs and cymbals really get cranked up, and a group of old men, sitting on the grass in front of the bull, chant an eerie song that recalls National Geographic specials about funeral pyres floating down the Ganges River.

At last, it's time for the big event. The piñata bull, dripping with fuel, is ignited from beneath with a torch. Within minutes, the bull is ablaze. With his head poking out of the flames, it looks as if he is screaming. The fire becomes so hot that the crowd draws back.

A man notices my husband discreetly taking photos and escorts him to the front of the pyre, saying, "I will make sure that you get some really good pictures."

As the fire burns, the priest's skeleton drops through the underside of the bull, and the flames rise toward the heavens.

Meanwhile, the carnival atmosphere continues. Vendors sell ice cream and balloons, and children run around, acting as though the circus has come to town. We are mystified, but we wish our priest well and hope this wild send-off helps him attain a first-rate reincarnation.

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Cremation Tours

Suta Tours offers Bali cremation tours whenever cremations are scheduled. The cost of the half-day tour is $19 per person. For more information, go to www.sutatour.com or e-mail the company at suta@sutatour.com.

For information about Ubud and Bali, see the travel guide Lonely Planet Bali & Lombok; Frommers.com; and a Bali tourism Web site, www.balinesia.com.

How to get there

American, British Airways, Delta, Japan Airlines, United and US Airways fly to Denpasar Airport from Philadelphia International Airport with at least two stops. The lowest recent round-trip fare was about $2,549.