Chilling Out at a Chilean Spa

Even the best organized trips can become tiring if you don’t take a few days off so I’m chilling in a remote location hidden in the dripping rain forests on Puyuhaipi Sound. Five hours of cruising through the green labyrinth of the fjords led us to the area some call ¨South of Silence¨. Not exactly true. The rustling ferns and dripping rain, the croaking frogs and trickling water seeping from the steaming, thermal springs fills the jet black night.

At the Puyuhuapi Lodge and Spa there are three outdoor soaking pools, at different temperatures. I soaked and paddled under a waterfall in the fern and rock grotto.  Maybe after a glass of Pinot Noir I’ll return to the soaking pools and get up the courage to splash into the freezing sound.

There are also three tubs and an octagonal pool inside. Reputed to be one of the very best spas in the country. The lodge is a beautiful wood structure with shingle walls and roofs.

We hiked into the rain forest and saw a puma’s tracks, then heard a cat meow and the guide explained the wild, ring-tailed civet cat. White boots were given to us to navigate through the mud. After an hour of hiking the guide checked our boots for tiny leeches. I was the lucky recipient of a crafty little guy who had inched his way to my jeans. Now I know why you wear white boots in the Chilean rain forest.

Kayaked through the inlet and between islands. Water so clear you can see 6-feet down to the mussel and clamshells. An eagle buzzed overhead and we paddled by heron and cormorants.

Finished the afternoon with a massage and wine therapy: a soothing, anti-aging bath with a purée of grape seed mixed into the bubbling hot water to generate a new vitality and elasticity of the skin. It just made me want to find some cheese and drink the wine rather than bath in it.

Perfect Days in Patagonia

I’m on the edge of beyond in Northern Patagonia, where the wind howls down the plunging valleys and ricochets between the imposing mountains, forests, rivers, and endless, barren steppes. Traveling through Patagonia is no small undertaking. Today I flew two hours south from Patagonia to an area renown for its fly-fishing and remoteness. I have trouble pronouncing the main town’s name, Coyhaique.

A half-hour out of the tiny airport we spotted condors circling overhead. They are impressive birds of prey with 12- foot-wingspans. As I snapped a photo four of the elusive, wild Chilean Huemules crept out of the forest followed by four Elk-like animals. The paved road ended after an hour and we continued on a dirt road for another four hours, through sun, rain, snow and wind tunnels. No cities, no telephone lines, banks, cell-phone reception or billboards.

I’m not roughing it though. After a soothing soak in the jacuzzi with a backdrop of the lake, ice fields and glaciers, I sipped Chilean Pinot Noir, dined on fresh water salmon and stoked the embers in the fireplace in my room at Tres Lagos (www.haciendatreslagos.com), a luxury lodge on the edge of nowhere. Tres Lagos means three lakes and it’s right in the middle of turquoise, black and dark blue lakes.

Think the area is unknown? Michael Douglas comes to fly-fish and get away from it all, Kevin Costner has a home here and Julia Roberts dropped in to drop out. I’ve been zip-lining through the forest canopy between 9 platforms, with glimpses of the lake, glaciers and the lodge below. One morning I went bushwhacking in a dense forest with the mountain guide and we collected morels.

The scenery is spectacular.

Every day has been, as they say here, a three or four-season day, warm sun, wind, rain and occasional snow. Patagonia is dramatic!

Green, Clean & Glistening Santiago

I arrived safely after a 21-hour trip and stop in Lima, Peru.  Only 4 hours of sleep in the past 24. I am enjoying the people watching in the lobby of the ultra chic W Hotel in the downtown financial area of beautiful Santiago. It is the first W in South America. The hotel is on the 4th and 5th floors of an office building, filled with business men in blacks suits, white shirts and ties. Conservative dress but very good-looking. By the way the women are beautiful too.

Santiago is GREEN, CLEAN and GLISTENING with new, modern shiny skyscrapers. Very prosperous looking. Building everywhere and little tree-lined neighborhoods with pastel-colored homes and outdoor cafes and charming restaurants filled with antiques. Bella Vista is my favorite neighborhood, filled with students, yuppies, art galleries, tree-lined small streets, flamingo clubs, and unique street sculptures.

I am really amazed by the cleanliness and prosperity of the city and how modern many of the buildings are. They’ve had an economic boom for the past 20 years. USA used to be their largest trade partner and now it’s China. Everything WORKS from cell phones to internet cafes. About every 3 blocks there is another park, all well maintained and green and filled with lovers on the grass. The guide said to me “Ah Seniora, it is spring you know.” The city has 6 million inhabitants and is squeezed between the snow-covered Andes and the sea, with a river that flows right through the middle of town. A freeway was built for 3 miles under the river and town so you can easily get around. Very progressive. The largest, most fortified building I have seen is the American Embassy.

What a land of contrasts. The fish market had the largest king crabs I have ever seen and people were playing guitars and singing as others dinned at 4pm which is the end of lunchtime. I was told not to bother going out for dinner until at least 9pm.

You get glimpses of snow-capped mountains and even a huge glacier between the skyscrapers.

Gotta run. Thanks for your good wishes.

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Packing Pains

Why do we obsess over what we pack? The worst things to forget are a cell phone charger, passport or photo ID, enough cash and the name and address of your hotel.

Nevertheless, packing can be painful even for an experienced traveler. The night before my trip to Chile I found myself in frenzy mode packing one small roll-aboard suitcase for 3 weeks and covering climates from Santiago and Buenos Aires warm and sophisticated, to Patagonia trekking, to Tierra del Fuego freezing and zodiac boat cruises right up to glaciers. Seems like I always need more time to pack and plan and research. It helped a lot to Google the weather for the next 10 days in all three areas of Chile (north, Patagonia and extreme south). So I packed 3 pairs of shoes…light sandals for the city, light but sturdy and water proof hiking boots, and very light tennis shoes. I’ll need the tennis shoes when I bike through the wine area. Heavy things I can leave at home: hair dryer and more than one reading book.

What does one do on a 16-hour flight? I’ve downloaded podcasts, news programs, music and my favorite CD’s, and I always bring my inflatable pillow and silicon ear plugs.

Now I’m euphoric. Packing done, boarding pass in pocket, good music, good book and time to relax and read the pages I copied out of the guidebooks. Adios!

What town won “Great American Main Street Award?”

What small town recently won the “Great American Main Street Award” from the National Trust for Historic Preservation? I visited it last week….yes it’s picturesque Greenville, located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountain, in northwestern South Carolina. This charming Southern town vibrates with energy and Southern charm.  I strolled up Main Street past fountains and historic statues and discovered crashing waterfalls, concert halls, art galleries, warm hospitality and tempting restaurants.

Maple and oak trees form a leafy canopy over North Main Street, which is lined with small stores, coffee shops, eateries, the Performing Arts Center and at the end of the street is the crown jewel; the historic, elegant, Four Diamond,  Poinsett Hotel.  A half block from the hotel you’ll find Liberty Bridge and a park with waterfalls! Yes! That’s right, waterfalls right in the middle of town.

High Cotton, an upscale seafood and Southern cuisine is perched above the falls. (Perhaps you’ve dined at High Cotton, the famous sister restaurant in Charleston). Too bad I wasn’t in town for the Sunday Brunch to listen to live Jazz and watch people promenade through Falls Park and the Reedy River splash over the rocks and cascade below the windows. Oh well, next time.  My next time should be May-October when there is a Shakespeare Festival in the park. 

For New Orleans BBQ shrimp or green fried tomatoes dine at Soby’s with New South Cuisine, housed in a renovated 1884 bicycle shop. Save room for the sinful white chocolate banana cream pie.

The crown jewel of the downtown area is Falls Park, with a long suspension bridge, gardens and 60′ waterfall.

Next blog: Where can you visit the largest single collection of Andrew Wyeth and Jackson Pollack paintings?   

Making a Difference for Nepalese Children

In January my daughter and I visited Olga Murray in Kathmandu. Her story helps us all see that “ONE WOMAN CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE”. We met her kids and saw first-hand the work she’s done at the homes for children.

It all started in 1984 when, on her first trip to Asia, Olga found herself captivated by the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Nepal. “I got off the plane in Kathmandu and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the land, the exotic surroundings, but most of all by the children. They were poor beyond anything I had ever experienced – dressed in rags and dirt, malnourished, mostly unschooled, but with an amazing capacity for joy. I thought that for the price of a good haircut, I could make a huge difference in their lives.’” So she returned to the USA determined, somehow, to do just that.

By raiding her own savings, and securing donations from friends, she returned to Kathmandu with the wherewithal to establish a home for the country’s throwaway children – street urchins, handicapped kids, orphans, or children who had been abandoned – often by parents too poor to feed them.

As word spread about her work, generous people worldwide wanted to help. In 1990, two years before she retired, Olga founded a non-profit organization, Nepal Youth Opportunity Foundation (www.nyof.org) NYOF, and just in time. The children’s home, originally for boys, had of necessity become coed, and was full to overflowing. NYOF rented another house, and a home for girls was born. Both homes provide children with warm beds, hot meals, a safe haven and security. NYOF provides these kids not only private education, living and medical expenses, but love and personal attention—just as a good parent would do. And the kids will be taken care of from childhood through college.

Since her retirement in 1992, Olga has divided her time between her home in Sausalito, California, and a new home in Kathmandu, devoting all her energy and ability to help her children. Olga is living proof that getting older does not mean slowing down. “I’m not that different than I was 25 years ago,” Olga says. “I’ve stayed active and interested in life. Regular exercise – walking, going to the gym, lifting weights for my knees and back – has helped me stay healthy. I haven’t had a cold in fifteen years. Also, I’m more positive and more confident. I know where I’m going and what I want to do, so I don’t get so involved in my own problems.”

READ MORE in my next blog about buying girls out of bondage: Indentured Daughters Programs.

 

Touchdown in Chaotic, Exotic Nepal

No one taking a daytime flight into Nepal should miss the jaw-dropping sight of the Himalayas along the northern horizon. In the Bangkok Airport my daughter and I requested window seats on the right side of the plane in hopes of seeing the massive peaks.

TIP: Arrive at the airport early to snag a window seat. Pre-assigned seats are not given before the day of departure for many short flights in Asia.

JC, my 19-year-old daughter, and I flew over the flat, checkered plains of the lowland Teri area, then over the ochre-red farmlands that melted into the plunging flanks of the first mountain range, sliced by deep gorges of turbulent Himalayan rivers. In the distance the snow-capped Himalayas soared to unbelievable heights. As we approached Kathmandu Valley tiny terraced fields blazing with yellow mustard ringed the steep hills. And nowhere did we see roads!!!

For me, that’s part of Nepal’s charm; it is largely without roads. Access to the interior – its villages and valleys, its mountains and hills – is by ancient foot trails on old trade routes, filled with villagers going about their daily life. Kathmandu is another scenario – crowded roads, twisted lanes, chaos, traffic jams, and choking pollution. And we did suffer from the air pollution in Kathmandu.

TIP: To soothe your dry, irritated eyes, always pack a small bottle of liquid tears or saline solution in your carry-on bag. The dry air during long plane flights as well as the smoky pollution in Asian cities is tough on your eyes. Lemon drops or hard candies soothe irritated throats.

Why would we go to the Himalayas in January when it’s cold and it’s not trekking season? (March-April and October-December are the best months for hiking). But the purpose of our trip wasn’t long hikes. We came to Nepal to visit a friend, and learn about her work with impoverished Nepalese children. We planned to visit children’s homes and a nutritional center and getting to know the kids personally in addition to seeing the sights around the Kathmandu Valley. And we hoped to take a short trip to the rim of the valley to see sunrise over the mountains and trek for two days.

Since my first trip to Nepal in 1983, when I spent 5 months trekking the most popular trails in the Everest, Annapurna and Langtang areas, I have been lucky enough to returned to Nepal 7 times. As the wheels of the Thai airplane touched down at the Kathmandu Airport, my arms were tingling with excitement and my heart was pacing. I wanted to squeal with excitement but I contained my enthusiasm to avoid embarrassing my teenage daughter. My dream was coming true — to return to Nepal with one of my daughters. I hoped she would love Nepal as much as I love this tiny Himalayan Kingdom. She has read my stories about meeting my husband (her dad) at the Kathmandu Guest House, climbing Island Peak (20,000’ in the Everest Area), and engaging with the open-hearted warmth of the people. During her childhood several Sherpa friends have stayed with us in California.

Welcome to Nepal! The electricity in the Arrival Hall of the airport was off for a few hours (every neighborhood in the city has fixed times, several days each week, when the power is turned off). As we waited for our luggage JC tracked down the unheated ladies restroom, but decided to pass, since it was pitch black and less than inviting.

TIP: Always use the airplane bathroom before landing and stuff some tissues in your pocket for the next toilet break. You never know what lies ahead.

As we descended from the cold, gloomy terminal, we caught a glimpse of our white-haired friend Olga, bundled in a puffy indigo-blue parka waving to us. Olga, who has been a girlfriend for many years, was the inspiration for our trip halfway across the globe. After retirement from the legal profession working for the State Supreme Court, Olga fell in love with the children of Nepal and founded NYOF (Nepal Youth Opportunity Foundation, www.nyof.org ), a non-profit to help educate, feed, house and liberate Nepalese children. My next blog entry will tell more about her efforts to free girls from bondage and tales of our experiences in Kathmandu and beyond.

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