Sahara Desert Tours: Consider Morocco

by Jamie Rhein on

Recently, a group of English as a Second Language adult students I teach picked a trip in the Sahara desert as the one they would most like to take. Why? I’m not sure. Perhaps, they thought it was better than the other three choices-posts on those later.

The group read this article from the magazine Budget Travel, also on-line. According to the article, Morocco is a good place to join up with a Sahara tour. Here’s a link to company that does them. I’m including this one because it offers some interesting information on the Sahara and desert travel in Morocco. Also, here’s a well done slide show in video style with music by romodro that sets the mood and brings you to Morocco from wherever you are.

George W. Bush’s Visit to Guatemala Causes a Mayan Stir

by Jamie Rhein on

George W. Bush and Laura are in Guatemala checking out various sites there—some government, some agriculture and some tourist related.

Next week, Bush is heading to Guatemala’s archeological site, Iximche, the once capital of the Mayan kingdom Kaqchiqueles before the Spanish showed up and did a number on it in 1524. The Mayan descendents are not too pleased that Bush is coming and plan to have a Mayan priest hold a purification ceremony of the site after he leaves. I bet, though, there will be a spike in visitors now that the site is in the news.

If you want to visit the site yourself one of these days, check out Ecotourism and Adventure Specialists’ website. The company operates a variety of tours. Some of them include Mayan ruins. This is a good place to find out what interests you and what’s available. When I did a search on Iximche, a lot of what I found was articles about Bush ‘s visit. Here is an interesting blog post by Kambiz Kamrani that I found on Archeology.net. Kamrani writes a bit about this convergence of ritual and politics. The photo is from the post and is of a Mayan purification ceremony.

Rottnest Island: Experience it Yourself

by Jamie Rhein on

A few days ago, I wrote a post about cycling in Western Australia. One of the highlights was a day trip to Rottnest, Island. The island, not far from Fremantle, is a getaway destination that’s perfect for beach going, cycling (like we did) or swimming with dolphins. You can sign up for a variety of tours including bus tours and a train tour once you arrive. Since taking a ferry is the only way to get there unless you fly or take your own boat, it feels adventurous from the start.

Because private vehicles aren’t allowed, this is a cyclist’s paradise, and if walking is more your speed, there are several guided walking tour options to learn about the penal, agricultural, aboriginal and maritime history of Rottnest or about the uniqueness of the flora and fauna. This is the only place in the world where Quokkas, small marsupial animals are found in the wild.

Check out foiled’s video on YouTube for a fun, wish you were there, cycling experience. This is a round-up of what his friends and he did from taking the ferry over to a pub stop at the end of the day . This is done in a quick music video style so it’s fun to watch. He packs a lot in. By the way, if you go, bikes are rented by the day and come complete with locks and a helmet.

El Salvador: a Diving Destination

by Jamie Rhein on

If you think about El Salvador perhaps images of civil war come to mind. The civil war ended in 1992. Now there are other things for El Salvador to become well known for–scuba diving, for example.

You can open water dive to explore a wrecked boat and volcanic rock reefs and swim in the midst of schools of fish. Or, you can dive in Coatepeque Lake or Lake Ilopango, two craters surrounded by volcanoes. Night diving is also possible. Both lakes are El Salvadoran vacation get-away spots that have beachfront hotels and other water sport options.

Along with excellent diving locations, El Salvador is equipped with dive shops and places to take lessons for PADI certification. At Punta Mango Surf Trips’s website you can find information about scuba diving opportunities and how to combine diving with cultural tours. Also, check out Yamelith Coreas’s website . A native of El Salvaldo, Coreas has rounded up his favorite spots to promote tourism and Salvadoran culture. He lists Coatepeque Lake as one of his favorite destinations. The photo is of Coatepeque Lake posted on Flickr by traveling addict. In case the idea of traveling in El Salvador still makes you a little nervous, here is information from the U.S. Department of State.

Cycling in Western Australia and More

by Jamie Rhein on

Okay, so my cycling to trip to Western Australia was with 20 high schoolers-17 of them boys, and I wasn’t a high schooler. I was a teacher chaperone with tasks like shouting out every once in awhile, “Stop doing wheelies!” or “Stay on your side of the road!” And so what if some of them complained about the cycling, even though the trip’s title was “Cycling in Western Australia.” The trip was stellar despite all that. With one support vehicle that carried our gear and one vehicle that turned into a mobile kitchen at night and offered goodies like cookies, oranges and water at pit stops, what wasn’t to like? Particularly, since the air was dry enough, we could sleep on air mattresses under the stars and not be covered with dew in the morning. Instead of waking up to dew, I woke up to coffee brewing. The women who did the cooking also made coffee.

This was a nine day excursion through small towns like Yallingup and Balingup along flat land to rolling hills with a section along the coast and a detour to Rottnest Island. Each day was about 30 miles of riding at the most with plenty of time to take in a sheep farm, historical sites, boogie boarding and state parks. On the last day we biked from Fremantle to Perth, spending time in each of these cities. Since I was a chaperone, I could only look longingly into Fremantle’s pubs when I wandered sans kids for two hours during some scheduled alone time hours. No beer for me, but the historical aura of the place made up for it–almost. One of the high points of the trip was the night tour by flashlight of Fremantle Prison. The prison is now a museum.

Ours was a planned tour, but unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the company. If you want to a do-it-yourself experience, here is a guide I came across. Below are some links to cycling companies I did find.

  • Active Australia, Kookaburra trip.
  • Australia Bicycle Tours and Vacations
  • Bushsports guided bike tours.
  • Australian Explorer.com – Cycling Travel Services.
  • Here is a link to a day trip company in Perth.
  • Pedal Oz: Bike Tours Around Western Australia

Oh, about the trip. Adult or not, I didn’t get off the bike once to push it up a hill and I can’t say the same thing about the boys who kept trying to outdo each other. Score! (I didn’t say I wasn’t breathing heavy, I was just determined to not get off that bike.)