See the Northern Lights on an eight-day late-summer trip to Iceland. Sky &Telescope magazine editor Paul Deans will accompany the tour, which begins Sept. 15. The group will travel to a latitude where the aurora borealis is likely to be seen.
“We’re going out for four nights into the Icelandic countryside,” said Aram Kaprielian of TravelQuest International. “By day, we’ll be visiting glaciers, geysers, beautiful waterfalls.”
Cost: $2,470 per person, double occupancy ($650 single surcharge), including lodging, most meals, ground transportation and lectures. Air fare to Reykjavik, Iceland, is not included.
Contact: TravelQuest International, Prescott, Ariz.; 800-830-1998, www.travelquestinternational.com.
Bottom of the world
Sail from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Antarctica on a 10-night journey, starting Jan. 16.
The trip begins with a guided tour of Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego National Park.
The group will sail aboard the Sarpik Ittuk, a 96-passenger expedition ship, cruising the Beagle Channel and the Drake Passage.
Cost: $5,495 to $5,895 per person in twin cabins, $7,495 in single cabins, including meals, hotels, ship accommodations and excursions. Air fare and required medical evacuation insurance are not included.
Contact: TravelStore, Brentwood, Calif.; 800-343-9779, Ext. 19133, www.travelstoreusa.com.
Finer side of Europe
Indulge in food, wine and art on a cruise from London to Monte Carlo, Monaco, co-sponsored by Palos Verdes Art Center in California.
The two-week trip, which begins Sept. 16, visits museums in London and European ports, including Lorient and Bordeaux in France; Lisbon, Portugal, and Cadiz and Barcelona in Spain.
From Monte Carlo, the group will travel to Aix-en-Provence, France, to see a Cezanne exhibit at the Musee Granet, and to Nice, to visit the Matisse and Chagall museums.
Christine Brown, chef of Restaurant Christine in Torrance, Calif., will accompany the group to teach cooking classes.
Cost: $4,846 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, meals and excursions. Air fare to London is not included.
Contact: Robinson Travel, Manhattan Beach, Calif.; 310-379-2495.
Land of the pharaohs
Explore Egypt and cruise the Nile on a three-week tour that begins Oct. 21.
The tour focuses on the historical sites near Cairo, the Nile Valley and the Red Sea coastal cities of Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada. Since Red Sea resorts popular with Israelis have been the targets of recent bomb attacks, the U.S. State Department advises Americans visiting Egypt to be “especially vigilant in crowded tourist areas, remain aware of their personal security and be alert to their surroundings.”
The group takes guided excursions to the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the ancient city of Memphis and the kingdom of Sakara.
Cost: $3,850 per person, double occupancy ($900 single surcharge), including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles International Airport, hotels and ship cabins, some meals, ground transportation and admissions.
Contact: Stan Mazin Travels, Sherman Oaks, Calif.; 818-645-0336, www.stanmazin.com.
Ride nude, dude
Levis and Stetsons are definitely out at this dude ranch.
Well, the hats are still OK. But you won’t need the pants.
The 30-acre Mira Vista Resort in Tucson, Ariz., has opened as a “clothing-optional” resort, where nudists can enjoy lounging by the pool, playing tennis, doing yoga or even Pilates.
“It’s hard to go back to wearing a bathing suit once you’ve tried it nude,” Dave Landman, one of six new owners, told the Arizona Daily Star.
He added that “winter visitors, baby-boomers and nude recreation go hand in hand.”
The resort has 14 guest rooms, a restaurant, wellness center, pool and spa, tennis courts and the facade of an 1800s Wild West town.
Prior to opening as the Mira Vista, the site was home to the Coyote Moon Resort and Spa, which offered gay and lesbian travelers holistic health education and wellness programs. It closed in December.
Fish-mercury warnings
Anglers, beware: New York’s state Health Department has reiterated its warning that women of childbearing age and children younger than 15 should avoid eating most species of fish caught in the Adirondacks and Catskills, while adding 16 advisories about elevated mercury levels in sportfish from specific ponds, lakes and reservoirs in the state.
And New York is hardly alone in advising against the consumption of fish caught for sport. According to the nutritionist Marion Nestle in her new book “What to Eat,” just out from North Point Press, “virtually all sports fish are so contaminated with methylmercury that 48 states (exceptions: Wyoming and Alaska) have issued advisory warnings” about eating fish from certain waters.
Mosquito repellants
Bug and health experts say there’s no way to predict whether 2006 will be another bad year for the West Nile virus. But they do say repellants made from two newly approved ingredients could help people protect themselves from mosquitoes that carry the disease.
The ingredients approved for use last year by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control are picaridin and oil of lemon eucalpytus, which have been used in other countries for years.
Repellants made with DEET also have long been considered effective against mosquitoes.
West Nile symptoms are flu-like and usually mild. However, the disease can cause paralysis and lingering health problems.
Coeur d’Alene resort
The Coeur d’Alene Resort in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is marking its 20-year anniversary, overcoming doubters who two decades ago considered the area too remote for such a playground.
Duane Hagadone, 73, newspaper magnate and hotelier built the resort at a cost of $60 million in 1986. It has since attracted 3.7 million visitors and served 18 million meals in its restaurants.
Along the way it helped transform Coeur d’Alene from a faltering mill town into a nationally known destination with a booming real estate economy.
The resort recently underwent a $20 million renovation that doubled the size of the health spa, which in 2004 brought in more money than the golf course did. The spa will offer anti-aging treatments such as Botox and neck contours.
Mines of Spain
A sapsucker gathers an afternoon feast on the trunk of a pine tree while a cardinal chirps a spring mating call – just two of the many wildlife sights and sounds to be found at the Mines of Spain Recreation Area.
The 1,380-acre park along the Mississippi River just south of Dubuque, Iowa, is also home to numerous other songbird species, a variety of butterflies, deer and wild turkeys. Bald eagles visit in winter, and bobcats and flying squirrels occasionally have been sighted.
Visitors can follow signs explaining examples of prairie, wooded areas, an early Iowa farmstead and lead mines dug in the 18th century by American Indians and early European settlers. Indian burial mounds and village sites date as far back as 8,000 years.
The park is named the Mines of Spain because the French-Canadian fur trader, Julien Dubuque, mined lead there under an agreement with the Meskwaki Indians, who originally owned the land. Later, in 1796, Dubuque received a grant from Spanish officials in New Orleans who allowed him to continue working the lead mines as long as he named the area after Spain.
Travel deals
Book three nights at the Homestead and get the fourth night free. The promotion at the Hot Springs, Va., resort is good for Sunday-Thursday stays through Oct. 5; rates start at $205 a night. Seven percent taxes and 15 percent service fee extra. Info: 888-444-4030, www.thehomestead.com.
The recently renovated Cathedral Mountain Lodge in the Canadian Rockies near Lake Louise has discounted rates by nearly 50 percent May 21-31 to mark its reopening. Rates start at about $175 a night; usual price starts at $350. Taxes are 15 percent. Info: 866-619-6442, www.cathedralmountainlodge.com.
African Travel Inc. is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a $30 safari for children ages 11 and under traveling with two adults on the nine-night Kenya Explorer tour. Adult price starts at $2,895 per person double and includes 24 meals, lodging at five hotels and game reserves and guided game viewing. Applies to travel through December. Info: 800-421-8907, www.africantravelinc.com.
Trafalgar Tours’ seven-night “Connoisseur’s Provence River” cruise has been discounted by $500 per couple. The deal is good for June, July and August sailings from Lyon, France. Price starts at $2,048 per person double plus $339 taxes. Info: 866-544-4434, www.trafalgar.com.
Travel classes, seminars
Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door hosts free travel classes most Saturdays at 10 a.m. at the Edmonds Theater, 415 Main St., Edmonds.
* Packing light and right with Joan Robinson, June 3.
* France with Michaelanne Jerome, June 10.
* Ireland with Dave Hoerlein, June 17.
* Village Italy with Heidi Sewell.
Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-771-8303 ext. 298 or visit www.ricksteves.com/seattle.
The Savvy Traveler offers travel seminars at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. most Saturdays at 112 Fifth Ave. S., Edmonds.
* Sicily, 10 a.m. May 27.
* Discover China, 1 p.m. May 27.
* Packing like a savvy traveler, 10 a.m. July 8.
* Italian for travelers, 6 p.m. Thursdays, July 27 through Aug. 31.
* Packing like a savvy traveler, 10 a.m. Oct. 7.
* German for travelers, 6 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 19 through Nov. 23.
* Explore Northern Italy, 10 a.m. Oct. 21.
* Southern Italy and Sicily, 1 p.m. Oct. 21.
Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-744-6076, 877-225-1994, or visit www.savvytraveleredmonds.com.
The Herald is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.
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