Rundown for the week of April 3, 1999
Pilgrimage to Lourdes
Every Easter sees the start of the annual pilgrimage season in the little
town of Lourdes in the French Pyrenees. Over the next seven months, five
million visitors will flock to the town to drink or bathe in the spring
water there. It's famous for its miracle cures. Most of the pilgrims are
Catholics and many are ill and disabled. The Savvy Traveler's Martin Stott
joined a group heading out from London with Tangney (Tang-Knee) Tours.
Q&A I
Rudy talks to listeners about work experience they've had on the road.
The Fun Also Rises
If you like to visit a place when it's really strutting it's stuff, then
check out some of the local festivals....like when Harley owners converge
for Bike Week in Orlando, Florida. Maybe you're more the type for The
Kentucky Derby...how about Mardi Gras? Publisher Alan Davis has put together a book called, "The Fun Also Rises."
High Above the Himalaya
Here at The Savvy Traveler, we know a woman named Manisha Aryal, who grew
up in the shadow of the world's highest mountains... the Himalaya.
Manisha's forefathers worshiped these mountains as the abodes of gods and
goddesses but unlike so many adventure travelers, never felt the need to
conquer them. Neither did Manisha, but a few years ago she began feeling
the need to discover them. But how does one go about getting to know a
mountain over twenty-five thousand feet high? Or a cluster of ranges that
stretch for thousands of miles? Manisha finally decided that her first
introduction to the mountains would be from the air. So she begins her
quest with a flight to Mt. Everest.
Deal of the Week
Get on the Bus!
Here's a way for budget travelers to see the U.S. on their own terms. It's
called Ameribus and, for a fixed price, you can hop on and off luxury motor
coaches at any number of cities.
There are Eastern, Western, and Southern routes. The Eastern route includes
Toronto, Niagara Falls, New York City, Philadelphia and D.C. The Western route
goes as far south as Anaheim "home to Disneyland," as far north as San Francisco,
and as far east as Yosemite and Las Vegas. And the Southern route covers
Florida, from Orlando down to Key West. You pay $129 to ride for a whole month
in any of the three sections. A bus hits every city every day, so you can
just blow in and out of town whenever you're ready.
You can do two geographic regions for $249, all three for $369. There's a
tour guide on every bus to help you with accommodations and to recommend local
sites. Europe got this kind of deal a few years ago. It's about time we
caught up. Call Ameribus at 954-923-1480!
A month of travel for $129--that's MY Deal of the Week!
Q&A II: General Questions
Rudy takes listeners' general questions about travel. He mentions:
Renting Property Abroad
- If you're renting property abroad, you'll need to show a passport once
you get there. But there's no reason you need to provide that information
before your arrival.
- Make sure the company lists a phone number and that you speak to a live
person. It's not a good idea to rent through a company that you can't
contact via telephone.
Eloping in Ireland
- Contact Weddings on the Move, Inc. at 414-306-7101 or 800-444-6976. On
the web at www.idoweddings.com.
- Regardless of religious background, you'll need to submit the
appropriate forms to the registrar's office at least three months before
the wedding date.
- For non-Catholic and civil ceremonies, there's a residency requirement
of seven to 40 days, depending on where you want to get married.
- For a Catholic ceremony, the waiting period is lifted. You will need to
file necessary paperwork at your local parish. Paperwork will then be
forwarded to the bishop of the county in which the ceremony will take
place, provided it is approved.
Island Seclusion
- Jekyll Island, off the coast of southern Georgia, is quite and secluded.
- Prices for a two-person cottage will range from $400-2600 per week.
- Jekyll Island Realty,
912-635-3301.
- Parker-Kaufman Realtors, 912-635-2512.
- Dolphin Realty, 252-986-2562.
- Colony Realty, 800-962-5256.
- The area has historical appeal. You can tour the famous Jekyll Island
Club homes of the likes of J.P. Morgan, Rockefeller and Pulitzer.
- Also nearby, on St. Simon's Island, is the Fort Frederica National
Monument, which once marked the southernmost boundary of the British
colonies.
Kosovo and Terrorism
Like all of you I've been glued to the news following the devastating
events in and around Kosovo. Given the Anti-American sentiment in parts of
Europe, I've had some worries about Americans traveling in places like
Russia and Greece. So I've been talking to Neil Livingstone is an
International counter-terrorism expert. He says I'm being appropriately
concerned at this point.
Staying Healthy on the Road
World Health Day is celebrated every April 7th to mark the founding of
the World Health Organization. So in the spirit of keeping our Savvy
Travelers in good shape, we've talked to some folks in the health industry
to develop this list of tips for staying healthy on the road.
The Easter Bunny in West Africa
Fritz Burke shows us how the Easter Bunny gets by in Africa.
"In the lush country of the south, I traded chocolate-cream eggs for
mangoes and bananas. At military checkpoints I handed over candied ducks
and squirrels."
How those chocolate Easter eggs can help you get through customs.
Next Week on The Savvy Traveler
Come back again next week when we meet author Andrei Codrescu, who's just
come back from Cuba. He calls his experience in the country a socio-erotic
journey, and his discoveries may challenge your ideas of how Cuban people
are living.
Clip: "They're not fighting actively against the regime; they're just living as
if they were already free and the regime didn't exist."
An intriguing mix of socialism and salsa in next week's journey. We talk
about the other authors who have inspired us to travel, and take a tour
of a place that makes some people feel a little....unsettled.
Clip: "Yeah, we have people faint. Often. Usually groups of guys."
An animal farm in San Diego where the exhibits are unusual, to say the
least. We'll bring the smelling salts. All that plus the surprise of springtime in the desert,
during next week's edition of The Savvy Traveler.
For tapes of the show
If you want your very own copy of The Savvy Traveler, order an audio
cassette. It's easy. Just call 303-823-8000. The price is $15. As Rudy
says, it's a steal.
The Savvy Traveler Newsletter
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call toll-free, 888-SAV-TRAV (888-728-8728), extension 3, or e-mail mail@savvytraveler.org.
