Member Newsletter--September 2002



Here's what you can find on GoNOMAD.com today…

New Stories added this month:

destinations


A Woman Adventurer in Yemen
The Biblical Tale of Three Wise Men, bringing gifts to the infant Jesus -- gold, frankincense, and myrrh -- stuck in Penny Smith's mind. Like many children, it was probably one of the earliest stories she heard.
These three products, two of them most mysterious to a young westerner's mind, were key elements in the ancient camel caravan trading routes of the Middle East. All of them were available in Yemen, the place from which the fabled Queen of Sheba travelled to meet King Solomon perhaps three thousand years ago. Continue story

Ecotourism in Portugal
Mingling with the Storks and Dolphins of the Sado
Europe is not a major destination for North American ecotourists, who assume that Europe’s wildlife was killed off centuries ago. Europeans, on the other hand, care deeply about their environment—and elect significant numbers of green party representatives to their governments. Among Europeans, ecotourism thrives.

Our September 2001 visit to the tiny village of Carrasqueira was via the small city of Setubal, the gateway to the wildlife-rich Sado River region an hour south of Lisbon. The Sado, with its source in the hills of southeastern Portugal, is the nesting ground or the stopping place for more than 200 species of birds migrating each year between Northern Europe and Africa. Continues...

family travel

GoNOMAD in Belgium, Switzerland and France
On July 10, I rented a car in Paris, and after overcoming my fear of driving the "Teriferique" (the highway ring that circles Paris), we were on our way to Brussels, Belgium (find discount flights to Brussels) to visit my boarding school roommate, Margaret, and her family. The drive north on the A1 was easy, and three hours later, we arrived in Koksijde, Belgium, a lovely seaside town popular with French tourists.
I had been in Koksidje last summer and liked it tremendously. The wide, calm North Sea beaches are perfect for walking (or sandboating, which is very big here), and the seafood restaurants (moules frites!) are worth the trip alone. For Josh, however, this was an opportunity to meet and play with Margaret's son, Tim, and to indulge in Belgian Waffles and Chocolates. Continue

GoNOMAD in Paris
Paris in the summer is an entirely different city from Paris at any other time. The parks are filled with sunbathers and their wine bottles, the cafes and restaurants overflow onto the streets, and the banks of the Seine are closed to traffic: only rollerskaters, bikers and beachgoers are allowed. True, it's more crowded with tourists, but it's also more fun. (Find flights to Paris.)
So, we hopped the Eurostar from London and, in three hours, we were wandering the streets of the Latin Quarter. To our surprise, my husband, Chris, was waiting when we arrived, ready to enjoy the Paris summer, too! continue story

Travel Desk



travel desk



Bring Your Dog to Europe

I don’t know if there is a language problem among dogs; however Shady Lady, the American Sheltie, has never failed to voice her comments to dogs in Holland, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France, Luxemburg, Austria, and Italy. (Find airfare to France.)
Throughout the European Union small pets accompanying their owners are welcome. Some hotels attach a non refundable surcharge to the statement; the amount is determined by the individual hotel managers. We found that the usual amount is 10 Euro. Continue story

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Up the River:
A Lesson in Community-Based Ecotourism in Panama
The decrepit bus I just arrived on groans in the heat. I sit on a cement slab by the Rio Chagres, kicking a few pieces of muddied plastic bags... wondering when I will be picked up... I reach for my handkerchief to wipe the dust from my forehead… As I do, a canoe lands and a handsome barefooted youth moves up the bank, dressed in a bright red loincloth with small red lassos orbiting his dark chest from left should to right ribs and swooping patterns of black body paint on face and chest. Jorge parts the humid stillness - the Emberá have come.

Originally from the Darien region of Panama near Colombia, a few Emberá Indians migrated to the Rio Chagres area in the 1920s, the river that feeds the Panama Canal. Their numbers have grown since, and although in the ecotourism business only five years, they are trying to write the text on community-based ecotourism. Continue story...

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Tea in the Sahara--Morocco with Heritage Tours

This is a private tour: No buses. No waiting. No annoying strangers. And no umbrellas to follow. Travel at your own pace and, with the help of your guide, follow your passions, by private car.

Tea in the Sahara is a ten-day private tour of unusual quality and depth for prices that are discounted up to 25%. A perfect tour for the first-time visitor as well as those returning for another taste of Moroccan hospitality. Your private guide will meet you on arrival in Casablanca and lead you through the markets of Fes, the dunes of the Sahara, the Kasbahs of the Dades Valley to the main square of Marrakech. Visit website for complete itinerary and photos. FULL ITINERARY