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AWEINSPIRING THAILAND Thailand is famous for the bustling vibrancy of Bangkok and lively coastal resorts. However, away from the sun and sand is a wealth of historical and cultural interest and rich jungle landscapes. The people are overwhelmingly friendly and the food fantastic. All this is complemented by the lush tropical countryside of paddy fields, highland jungle and fine seascapes.
For a full range of adventures in Thailand, contact Exodus Travels at 1 800 267 3347 or visit exodustravels.com/thailand-holidays
Thailand Because there is only one trip of a lifetime. With its breathtaking vistas, unforgettable jungle treks, splendid beaches, spectacular retreats, glimmering temples and world class cuisine, it is no wonder that the people of Thailand welcome their visitors with a serene sense of pride that is at once heartwarming and uplifting.
The true beauty of Thailand begins with its people. Learn more at: exodustravels.com/ca
10 CONTENTS
FEATURES
44 ANTIGUA Whether you’re into exploring ancient caves in deep solitude or simply up for the pleasures of the sun and sea, Antigua has it all ‌ and has it all right.
49 AZORES Colourful rooftops, steam-filled hillsides, mineral-rich waters and briny cockles are only a few of the offerings one may stumble upon on a visit to the magical region of Azores.
54 BERLIN Even as it becomes a more upmarket destination, Berlin holds tight to its rebellious streak.
Miraj Hammam Spa Entrance at the Shangri-La Hotel, Toronto
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IN THIS ISSUE 14 Editorial Note 22 Upgrade: Editor’s Itinerary
27 YOUR WORLD the best of the good life • My Town: Chef David Hawksworth’s Vancouver • Winter Wearables • Blissful Bangkok
34 HERE & NOW inspiration + beauty + design DESIGN Canada’s most coveted hotel experiences, no stone unturned, no marble unpolished. ESCAPES 4 Destinations to Leave You in Love with Winter
58 BEYOND people + places Globetrotter Tamara Moore
34 BOLDMAGAZINE.CA
Short trips to the U.S.
Why you need travel insurance for those weekend vacations Most people think about getting travel insurance for a vacation to Europe or the Caribbean, but when it comes to weekend trips to the United States, many people don’t even consider insurance. For travellers who need emergency medical assistance during their trip, this can be a costly oversight. In fact, a 14-day U.S. hospital stay for trauma associated with a motor vehicle accident could cost around US$363,000. “Whether you’re planning a weekend trip across the border to shop or attend a sports event, emergencies can happen — even on a short trip,” says Isabelle Forget, Head of Travel, RBC Insurance. “The cost of medical services in the United States can be very high, and Canadian government health insurance plans typically only cover a small part of these costs.”
RBC’s emergency medical insurance coverage comes with a variety of value added services, including: One of the largest and most experienced 24/7 global emergency travel assistance networks in the world Assistance from multilingual representatives who speak a minimum of two languages
RBC Visa‡ Infinite Avion® cardholders also have the ability to add on to the trip cancellation and interruption insurance coverage included on their credit card, which can also be purchased separately. Trip cancellation and interruption covers your non-refundable travel arrangements when you have to cancel your trip, come home early or stay later at your destination.
Access to an emergency medical team of specially trained, multilingual co-ordinators, doctors and nurses who are available to help clients who become injured or sick while travelling
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“Having comprehensive travel insurance, whether it’s through a premium credit card such as the RBC Infinite Avion card or a separate insurance package, will help give you the peace of mind you need while travelling,” explains Isabelle.
For more information, visit www.rbcroyalbank.com/travelinsurance
® / ™ Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence. ‡ All other trademarks are the property of their respective owner(s). Underwritten by RBC Insurance Company of Canada. In Quebec, certain coverages underwritten by RBC General Insurance Company. VPS91386
109725(04/2015)
14 EDITORIAL NOTE
SMART TRAVELLERS SAVE THEIR JOURNEYS... for the school break rush to end, stretching out on their adjacent empty seats that were filled in weeks past by screaming children and bewildered parents alike. The winter always takes me back to when when I was a screaming child. Every year, my bewildered parents couldn’t wait for the seat sales: they would drag my brothers and me down to South Florida in the height of the season. We would march onto the Northwest (2-stop) flight to Fort Lauderdale and park ourselves for two solid weeks in my grandparents’ condominium in Palm Aire, a golf course community which was the pride of the ‘80s. Us kids hobnobbed with the retirees poolside while listening to Patsy Cline on AM radio. Travel it was not, but a holiday, it certainly was. These days, winter travel has come a long way. We’re seeing less of the Fort Lauderdale beach bums and more of the adventure seekers. The road less traveled - like a winter trip to Azores to soak in the mineral-rich waters or a trek through El Salvador to explore its bubbling volcanoes - is becoming the road to take. Today, winter expeditions encompass a wider and deeper range of experiences than when I was young and now even vacations to sun destinations can be learning experiences if one simply looks at them from different angles like their history, ecology etc. I truly believe that by taking fresher, different approaches to travel we can forge our own paths to feeling like we belong. Here’s to new roads in 2016! ERIN HERSHBERG, Editor in Chief
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Sophistication Served Sky-high Whether transiting through Frankfurt on the way to Singapore or whiling away a weekend in a Munich museum, connoisseurs of air travel shouldn’t miss the long-haul Lufthansa experience.
Upgrade Yourself Their newest offering, Lufthansa’s Premium Economy Class, is an enticing choice for leisure and business travellers seeking a service upgrade without sacrificing affordability. Located between Economy and Business Classes, Premium Economy passengers enjoy 50 percent more seat room while being permitted a second piece of luggage up to 22kgs. Height-adjustable footrests, extra storage, electrical sockets, travel amenity kits and meals served on porcelain tableware round out this new level of personalized, tailored care now offered on all flights departing Canadian Lufthansa gateways (YYZ, YVR, YUL).
Book your flight now at lufthansa.com
Setting Standards Sky-high
Celebrating 60 years of Long-Haul Excellence Renowned for its First-Class lounges – each an icon of epicurean and lavish amenities (think cigar humidors, vintage cuvée, bubble baths, chauffeured transport directly to the aircraft) – it’s no surprise Lufthansa delights in defining the leading edge of luxury air travel. But the real heart of the airline rests in its 60-year history as aeronautic innovator, setting new standards in all classes of service that keep pace with the evolving needs of the long-haul traveller. As the first airline to serve freshly-brewed coffee onboard in 1955, Lufthansa is leveraging its pedigree and applying it to the 21st Century. The results are worth fawning over - it’s positioned to become the Western Hemisphere’s first 5-star airline.
“We are listening to our customers, listening for what they want,” says CEO Karl Garnadt. “The consistency of our product is extremely important.” Overseeing 130 long-haul aircraft that fly more than 15 million passengers a year to 1300 worldwide destinations while keeping a close ear to passenger feedback has allowed Lufthansa to establish new initiatives that translates passengers into loyal guests. It’s a strategy Lufthansa has extended to all facets of its service – from the fleet-wide wireless broadband Internet, FlyNet, to the celebrity chefs that bring hautecuisine concepts up to 30,000 feet. “I hope Lufthansa guests are just wowed with their eyes and then once they’ve started eating just wowed again,” says Grant Mickels, Executive Chef of Culinary Development, of what he playfully describes as “down to earth” food. By adopting regional menus sourced with local, seasonal ingredients, this is a sophistication of air travel found across the service range and that speaks directly to Lufthansa’s commitment each one of its passengers.
The Future of Flight Travellers in 1955 could know little of the advancements that would sweep the airline industry in 60 years.The same might be said for travellers in 2015. Lufthansa already has its eyes set on the next 60, bringing their “Made in Germany” seal of quality to redefine the travel experience.
INSPIRATION FOR TRAVELLERS
BOLD MARLON MORENO Publisher + Founder ERIN HERSHBERG Editor in Chief MATT LONEY Associate Editor MAGDA DE LA TORRE America’s Editor
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
TRAVEL BACK IN TIME,
ON POINTS.
JIM BYERS The Azores Allure PAUL GALLANT Berlin the Bohemian Gets Chic MARK STEVENS Antigua & Barbuda: Come for the Sun, Stay for its Story Art Direction and Design Peter Wootton F22 Visual Communications Inc. 1.905.985.8885 f22visual.com CARLOS BOLIVAR Photography CHRISTYAN ESTRADA Production Assistant RAHUL NAIR Web Developer Public Relations Agency Jesson + Company 77 Bloor St. West, Suite 1200 Toronto, ON. M5S 1M2 jessonco.com
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The Volcano Tour With only 21,000 square kilometres of territory, El Salvador, brimming with its fiery mountainside, has the most volcanoes per square kilometre in the world. It’s almost impossible to escape the country without seeing one – and why would you want to? With their amazing views, sulfur lagoons and beautiful coffee plantations, we suggest taking a route from volcano to volcano to volcano to volcano...Get the point?
EL SALVADOR
TOUR GUIDE Boasting two national parks, some of the best surf breaks in the world, wonderful museums and vast, haunting Mayan ruins, it is only a matter of time before all of the major tour operators begin to catch on. Our advice: Get on board to El Salvador now.
I
n recent years, once-uncharted tourist territories have fast become hotbeds for adventure-seekers who used to think Mexico was the only place to land for a pleasure-filled jaunt in Central America. Still, many travellers want to avoid the well-trodden path and are willing to look harder for legitimate eco-tourism. This is where El Salvador -the still-hidden powerhouse of a country teeming with colonial splendour and creative vision – comes in.
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The small country, about the size of Massachusetts, has been opening its doors to tourists slowly since the end of the civil war back in 1992 and is now at a critical point in its tourism industry. Boasting two national parks, some of the best surf breaks in the world, wondeful museums and vast, haunting Mayan ruins, it is only a matter of time before all of the major tour operators begin to catch on. Our advice: Get on board to El Salvador now.
Begin at El Boquerón (Big Mouth), the 1 kilometre deep crater of San Salvador volcano. About a 50 minute drive from the city of San Salvador, which itself is a day trip, it is jammed with local cafes, restaurants and coffee plantations. Then head west for about 50 kilometres and land at Volcanoes National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve developed around a family of 3 volcanoes and a volcanic lake. At the head of the family stands Santa Ana, thousands of years old and the highest volcano in the country, measuring in at 2300 metres above sea level. Then there is the mother of the family, Cerro Verde, a dormant volcano but no less tantalizing with its lush cloud forest that shrouds the extinct crater in beautiful greenery. And finally Izalco, at only 300 years of age, the baby of the family is a perfectly shaped cone, smoky and gorgeous with constant fumaroles at its crater. Once you’ve hiked around these sublime geological miracles, relax by the volcanic waters of idyllic Coatepeque lake; you’ve certainly earned your vacation now.
ADVERTORIAL
22 EDITOR’S ITINERARY
THAILAND’S TIME The quest to find the next unsung destination in Thailand has long been a tourist cliché … and with good reason. The remarkable country instills a passion that propels you to keep moving, as if its glittering temples, lush, green jungles, shirt-soaking heat, soft beaches and incense-lit shrines are a series of doorways always leading you onwards toward a place where you can plant yourself in a hammock and stay forever, or at least make you feel a sense of infinite serenity that you’ve never felt before. The only thing left to do after is to look for it again... Image by Justin Gaurav Murgai
To book and for details to a wide-range of itineraries to Thailand go to exodustravels.com/ca or call 1 800-267-3347
Buddhist blessings, monks, delicious meals, jungle safaris, elephant encounters, paradiselike beaches, even time for shopping - seriously such a FANTASTIC trip! Our tour was full of adventure, excitement, surprises, variety and culture. It was just one great experience after another. Thailand with Exodus was 11/10! Jane & Dave Wood Thailand • Nov 2015
Because 97% of our customers would recommend us to a friend
CONTACT US AT WWW.EXODUSTRAVELS.COM OR 1 800 267 3347
TO U R S TO 1 0 0 + CO U N T R I E S WO R L DW I D E C U LT U R A L
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HIKING & TREKKING
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C YC L I N G
Unspoiled. Uncommon. Unforgettable. Nicaragua offers memorable experiences for every traveller: beaches on both the Pacific Coast and Caribbean Sea, eco-luxury resorts, fascinating colonial cities, volcanoes, islands, rain forests and much more. There are many adventures to be had in Nicaragua. With convenient flights from Canada on Avianca and Copa Airlines connecting to Managua, Nicaragua offers travellers a wide variety of unique and authentic travel experiences – creating an unforgettable getaway.
Discover your new Central American destination at www.VisitNicaragua.ca
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YOUR WORLD The Best of the Good Life
Native Vancouverite,
Chef
David Hawksworth, has been serving up his culinary vision to satisfied patrons since 2011 at his eponymous, downtown restaurant, Hawksworth. A central figure in the Vancouver food scene, the much lauded chef has received the honour of being named Chef of the Year by Vancouver Magazine for four consecutive years and has also garnered coveted awards from Maclean’s Magazine and En Route. Although Chef Hawksworth has cooked worldwide from Hong Kong to Toronto to New York, he remains very contentedly in Vancouver … here’s why.
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28 YOUR WORLD
GROOM
BARBER & CO.
Although beer, oysters and a shave don’t always commingle, when they do it’s magical. At least, according to Chef Hawksworth whose favourite spot for a grooming happens to be located within an upscale Vancouver pub. Says Chef,“When I’m looking for a close shave or the perfect haircut in downtown Vancouver, I head to Barber & Co., which is within the Blackbird Public House on Dunsmuir Street.They’re friendly, efficient and always give me a confidence-boosting shave and cut.” unionofbarbers.com
SHOP KITCHEN: THE GOURMET WAREHOUSE Whether you’re a trained chef or an enthusiastic home cook, The Gourmet Warehouse is an inspiring, epicurean emporium. With over 19,000 square feet of specialty ingredients, it’s no wonder Chef H loves to get lost in the boutique’s shelves. “It’s like a treasure trove of kitchen bits and pieces,” says the Chef. “ I love browsing their huge shelves of imported food: the canned tomatoes are a favourite and I always stock up when I visit.” gourmetwarehouse.ca
CLOTHING: NORDSTROM Nordstrom may be new to Canada but the department store giant has been a household name across North America for years. With its commitment to personalized service, the Canucks are taking to it in droves. Chef Hawksworth is one such Canuck: “My favourite place to shop in Vancouver is the brand new Nordstrom. It’s a one-stop-shop and Michelle Addison is my go-to stylist for everything menswear. She is a wealth of knowledge and she always keeps me looking smart and stylish.”
EAT SAVIO VOLPE With bright aromas of freshly picked tomatoes and warm accents like wicker wood and natural stone, it is no wonder that new Vancouver addition, Savio Volpe, is a successful contemporary take on the classic Italian osteria. Says Chef Hawksworth, “An esteemed colleague, Chef Mark Perrier, recently opened Savio Volpe on Kingsway. I find the rustic Italian concept inviting and the food delicious. It’s quickly becoming one of my favourite places to dine in Vancouver.” saviovolpe.com
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TERRA BREADS West coast carbohydrate and gluten avoiders be warned: You may be hard-pressed to resist a bread coming out of the stone hearth ovens at artisan bake shop, Terra Breads. “Terra Breads offers a wide assortment of delicious baked goods and I love the smell of freshly baked bread,” Chef Hawksworth shares.”Their rustic French style pain de campagne loaf is by far my favourite.” terrabreads.com
30 YOUR WORLD Travel Essentials
WINTER WEARABLES Whether you’re traveling to a chilly destination or simply coming home to one, don’t forget your...
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32 YOUR WORLD
Blissful Bangkok A haven of calm on the banks of the Chao Phya River, the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok is a truly remarkable five-star hotel. Timeless yet contemporary, classic yet cutting-edge. A unique blend of luxury and comfort makes it the ultimate Bangkok address. By Anita Draycott. Photographs by George Apostolidis
B
ack in the 1800s, when Thailand was called Siam, The Oriental, located on the banks of the Chao Phya River, opened its doors as a humble rest house for wayfaring
seamen. It went on to become one of the world’s greatest and most famous luxury hotels. Noel Coward enjoyed cocktails on the terrace; Mick Jagger partied at the Bamboo Bar; Michael Jackson hid out here from the press. Going to Bangkok and not stopping in at The Oriental would be like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower. The venerable landmark oozes with colonial character and charm. The ideal antidote to the hustle and bustle of Bangkok is a day at The Oriental’s Spa. The ritual begins with a leisurely five-minute boat ride aboard the hotel’s shuttle from the main hotel across the river to a century-old traditional Thai teak house where the spa, cooking school and Sala Rim Naam Thai restaurant are located. Up the stairs, past a pool strewn with lotus blossoms, I removed my shoes and put on a pair of slippers. The spa director gave me the traditional Thai “Y” blessing (palms together like a prayer pose) and offered me a cup of aromatic lemongrass tea.
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My masseuse, led me to one of fourteen private suites, complete with shower, changing room and a tray of amenities including herbal deodorant, hairbrush and clips, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, mouthwash and body lotion. I pulled on a pair of crisp cotton pajamas and lay face-up on a mattress on the gleaming teak floor. It is here that I discovered the profound pleasure of the ancient Thai
relaxing but at the end you feel like you’ve
and herbal infusions, but I recommend The
massage. Unlike a Swedish massage where
had a total body workout. Beware: it can
Oriental brew, a refreshing blend of black
you lie naked on a table and are kneaded with
become addictive.
tea highlighted with jasmine and mandarin
oil, the traditional Thai massage is an entirely
After a nap in the relaxation area, where a
orange, specially created for the hotel by
different experience. The two-hour series of
garland of jasmine was the “do not disturb”
the prestigious Parisian teahouse of Mariage
contortions and stretching movements are
sign, I headed back across the river for
Frères. It’s a poetic finale to a blissful day in
patterned on the Asanas of Hatha Yoga. Your
afternoon tea in The Oriental’s famous
Bangkok. www.mandarinoriental.com
masseuse might hike your legs over your
Authors’ Lounge where luminaries such as
head while she presses her elbow into your
Joseph Conrad, Summerset Maugham, Jeffrey
hamstrings. Don’t be alarmed when she turns
Archer and John Le Carré have supped. The
you over and walks down your spine and then
savory chicken turnovers are exquisite, as are
tries to twist you into a sitting pretzel.
scones with clotted cream and strawberry
A Thai massage is more revitalizing than
preserve. There’s a tempting list of teas
48 Oriental Avenue Bangkok, 10500 Thailand PHONE+66 (2) 659 9000 mobkk-reservations@mohg.com
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HERE&NOW Inspiration + Beauty + Design
CANADA’S MOST LUXURIOUS HOTELS
From coast to coast we teamed up with Expedia.ca to round up our country’s most coveted hotel experiences, no stone unturned, no marble ... unpolished
1 VANCOUVER: ROSEWOOD HOTEL GEORGIA Amidst the Glass City that is Vancouver proudly stands the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. This stylish and elegant retreat featuring Vancouver’s famed contemporary restaurant, The Hawksworth, is a rare find in the heart of the downtown; a true revival of the past with a deep understanding of modern luxury. Boasting a return to the Golden Age of travel, the Hotel Georgia envelopes its guests in the grand spaces of the roaring ‘20s while lavishing them with impeccable spa services and contemporary amenities. rosewoodhotels.com/en/hotel-georgia-vancouver
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3 4 VANCOUVER: FAIRMONT PACIFIC RIM
5 2 WINNIPEG: FORT GARRY HOTEL Although Winnipeg is technically the centre of Canada, it is often not top of mind when it comes to travel destinations. Still, the culturally rich city has a lot to offer and having a gem like the Fort Garry to usher in its visitors is a definite plus. Located on the tree-lined downtown street, Broadway, just steps from Manitoba’s Legislative building, the Fort Garry Hotel is a balanced melange of contemporary style and old-world elegance. Featuring farm-to-table cuisine (with a world-class weekend brunch buffet), Turkish baths at Ten Spa and glamourous guest rooms with cutting-edge amenities and soaring ten-foot ceilings, the FGH may very well turn a onenight business trip into a three-night holiday. www.fortgarryhotel.com
Adjacent to the Pacific and located in Vancouver’s storied Coal Harbour is the glamourous and high-tech Fairmont Pacific Rim. From the glimmering glass exterior to the buzzing lobby – equipped with live music and raw bar, a rare flower shop and giovane café (one of the coolest coffee houses on this side of the Pacific) – to bathrooms with spa lighting and mammoth marble bathtubs for languishing, the Pacific Rim offers state of the art, contemporary luxury. fairmont.com/pacific-rim-vancouver
5 TORONTO: SHANGRI-LA HOTEL Only three years into its existence in Canada’s most buzzing city and the 66-story, avant-garde glass structure that is Toronto’s Shangri-La is living up to the excellence of its name. Featuring Asian-inspired guest rooms with bathrooms clad in floor-to-ceiling Italian Bianco Statuario marble, swank sleeping quarters equipped with personal iPads, bedside-controlled drapes and huge LED televisions, the Shangri-La has it guests slipping into serenity even before they make it to their private, eucalyptus-infused steam chamber at the famed Miraj Hammam Spa by Caudalie Paris. shangri-la.com/toronto/shangrila
3 CALGARY: THE FAIRMONT PALLISER Since 1914, the newly renovated Fairmont Palliser has been Calgary’s premier address, the cornerstone of Calgary’s hospitality industry and a landmark building rich in history and architecture that has served royalty, world political leaders and the Hollywood elite. Set in the heart of the city, The Fairmont Palliser offers distinctive accommodation in elegant surroundings - a grand lobby hinting toward a more lavish era but still modernly appointed and a full service spa and grand indoor pool area. This regal auberge ups the ante in the city commonly referred to as “Cowtown”. fairmont.com/palliser-calgary
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36 YOUR WORLD Here & Now 4 DESTINATIONS TO LEAVE YOU IN LOVE WITH WINTER
JAPAN
The Golden Temple by Chris Ballard
With temperatures that rarely dip below freezing, many parts of Japan enjoy heaps of snow without the bone-chilling cold. The result is plush pillows of sparkling powder that coat the mountainous landscapes and transform the countryside into a wonderland of outdoor activity. Host of the 1998 Winter Olympics, Nagano prefecture is a short ride from Tokyo by bullet train and smack in the middle of the Japanese Alps. With dozens of world-class ski resorts to choose from, hole-up in a snug ryokan, a traditional Japanese hotel with tatami mats, paper shoji screens and complementary yukata (dressing robes). Sip sake and peel mandarin oranges as you roast your feet beneath a heated kotatsu blanket – these unique après-ski rituals will leave you blissed-out in no time.
BOTSWANA Landlocked Botswana is enjoying an economic boom that has seen its GDP rise to one of the highest in Africa. When it’s bitter cold in Toronto, it’s steaming in the Kgalagadi, formerly the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park – a gigantic tract of grassland that serves as a haven for migrating animals from elephants and giraffes to lions and cheetahs. Even for the veteran African traveller, Botswana’s top safari guides can organize a tailor-made itinerary that will leave you with a camera full of memories. Luxurious camping options return the romance to the wild with outdoor dining, kerosene lanterns, au natural rain showers and canopies of mosquito nets that summon the Hemingway-spirit in everyone.
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Giraffes playing - Chobe River, Botswana
Guianan Cock-of-the-rock
GUYANA
As the only English-speaking country in South America, you put away your phrase book and pick up a few jungle calls – nearly 70 percent of the country is covered in rainforest. The country is a hotspot for ecotourism and adventure seekers who come for a piece of off-theradar paradise. Sandwiched between Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname, Guyana is a cultural cousin of the Caribbean boasting strong traditions of calypso and cricket. What Georgetown, the country’s colonial capital, lacks in polished glitz - it makes up with its spicy nightlife and tongue-tingling cuisine. Inland, its sleepy Amazonian communities offer a glimpse into a traditional way of life that just might lure you off-grid for good. If you absolutely need to come home with a winter tan, the beaches here come in long, uninhabited stretches that double as nesting sites for a variety of endangered sea turtles.
LATVIA
With its capital city, Riga, a well-preserved Unesco World Heritage Site, the small Baltic country of Latvia comes alive in the winter months. An eclectic mix of colourful medieval guildhalls and 20th century Art Nouveau, the city’s architecture is a rich mélange of ancient and modern. With its latitude on par with the southern Yukon, ice fishing, sledding and skiing are national outdoor pastimes replete with an array of warming-up traditions that include steam saunas and tart ‘karstvīns’ (mulled wine).
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BE JOLLY ANY TIME OF THE YEAR,
ON POINTS.
ANY AIRLINE, ANY FLIGHT, ANY TIME. AVIONERS CAN DO THAT. ®
With beautiful beaches, villa rentals and an expansive harbour, you can find your cheerful spirit at Jolly Harbour, Antigua, all year round! Start Avioning today with 15,000 Welcome points.† Visit rbc.com/avion or call 1 800 769-2511 to apply.
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WHETHER YOU’RE INTO EXPLORING ANCIENT CAVES IN DEEP SOLITUDE OR SIMPLY UP FOR THE PLEASURES OF THE SUN AND SEA, ANTIGUA HAS IT ALL … AND HAS IT ALL RIGHT. By Mark Stevens Photographs by Alfred Särchinger
RBC AVION PRESENTS: ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA ®
Antigua and Barbuda COME FOR THE SUN, STAY FOR ITS STORY
The first mate drops the mainsail of the catamaran we’ve booked for a daylong tour of Antigua’s west coast. We glide into Deep Bay, waves lapping at our vessel’s hull, and make for a crescent of icing sugar sand and an emerald explosion of coconut palms and sea grapes that guards the beach like a New York nightclub bouncer. The sea behind us glitters in the morning light; heat from the rising sun creates a shimmering haze that climbs a rugged ridge toward the ruins of Fort Barrington where British soldiers once stood sentinel against a French invasion. Rainbow-coloured sarongs flap furiously on a clothesline beside a row of pastel-painted clapboard vendors’ shacks but the expected onslaught of cruise passengers hasn’t yet materialized – we share the beach with no one. The catamaran, named “Wadadli Cats” slows to minimum steerageway before the first mate drops a ramp into the water with a satisfying splash. “Waladli” (not “Wadadli”) was Antigua’s first name – an Arawak word meaning “our own” – but don’t tell that to the owners of this boat. Nobody’s in the mood to talk about history anyway; we’re already sipping frosty beers (Wadadli beers!) in the boat’s cockpit because somewhere the sun’s over the yardarm. “Explore, enjoy,” says the skipper. “But don’t use up all the fun. Three more beaches today.” Deep Bay is downright superb, one of the Caribbean’s most appealing beaches. But my favourite is Ffryes beach to the south. Ffryesboasts sand so white it’s incandescent, a sugar mill for a centrepiece and, for background, undulating blue-gray hills that march south from the neon lime and turquoise waters of Jolly Beach, past Ffryes itself, and continuing even further south to Turner’s Beach, where we anchor beside two other gently bobbing catamarans, where we browse the hand-made jewelry and carvings of a smattering of beachside vendors, then gaze seaward from the shade of Turner’s Beach Bar and Restaurant, sipping more Wadadli Beers and savouring conch fritters. Pure heaven. Two days ago we’d rented a car to explore by land – stopping at Jabberwock Beach where kite boarders skimmed waves, watching a young Antiguan on horseback galloping in the surf. Then we continued driving cross-country past rolling meadows where cane still swayed and where stone sugar mills stood lonely sentinel. And now, having gone for the adrenaline rush that is the adventure called the Antigua Rainforest Canopy Tour (think thirteen zip lines, aerial walks, a “leap of faith” – twenty metres straight down to the forest floor), we’re negotiating the hairpin turns of Fig Tree Drive, savouring the shade of emerald valleys in Antigua’s tiny but lush expanse of rainforest. That’s
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Antigua
THE SEA BEHIND US GLITTERS IN THE MORNING LIGHT
Barbuda
when I notice the slogan on the license plate on the car in front of ours: “Land of Sea and Sun.” I glance over at my wife and grin. “They forgot the sand.” Sand indeed. Antigua and Barbuda lay claim to three hundred sixty five beaches. Come for a year, basting in the sun they have honoured on their license plates, and never do the same beach twice. “At least they didn’t forget the sea,” I added. For so much of Antigua’s allure is that island’s relationship with the surrounding Caribbean. More than seventy thousand people make landfall here come April for the Classic Yacht Regatta – a parade of tall ships – and Antigua Sailing Week – the Caribbean’s biggest sailing event. Come during Sailing Week and you can book a berth on a race boat (lessons included) or charter your own boat – with or without skipper – to explore a ransom of postcard-perfect anchorages. Truly the land of sea, Antigua, but that hardly tells the entire tale. Antigua’s ensemble of charms is not a tropical trio but a harmonious quartet. History is as important a character in our island extravaganza as is the sea. Sometimes, they share the stage in bravura performances. On my first trip to Antigua roughly ten years ago I came just for the sailing. I skippered a yacht for a week and explored her charms by sea. I will never forget my first morning lounging beside our chartered boat moored at English Harbour, where ships have docked for well over two centuries. I sat on a dockside wooden recliner, sipping coffee as the sun crested the cactus-studded slopes of Shirley Heights, bathing, in
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THE LAND OF SUN, SEA AND SAND. AND HISTORY
a scarlet-hued glow, the crumbling battlements that still guard English Harbour’s opening. I tried to imagine the fatal duel that had been waged on these very cobblestones, the groaning of slaves who built much of this dockyard, named for Nelson himself. I got a lesson in history at the museum in the dockyard grounds, we added to our knowledge at Dow Interpretive Centre up the hill. We immersed ourselves in living history, browsing at Redcliffe Quay in shops housed in colonial buildings. One night we partied in the bosom of history itself – a celebration that’s perfect metaphor for all the allure that is Antigua. On our last Sunday evening we joined a multitude of locals and visitors who thronged the ramparts and cobblestone parade square at Shirley Heights, an erstwhile British army outpost perched a hundred and fifty metres above English Harbour in the island’s most southerly reaches.
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We lined up for rum punch served in great barrels. We waited for jerk chicken, jerk pork, fresh lobster and salads and corn on the cob served up on tables bowed under the weight of plenty. We moved in synchronicity with island rhythms – calypso and reggae – grooves set down by live bands. And we watched, from a British army parade ground, circa 1800, one of the best sunsets in the entire Caribbean, serenaded by the liquid melodies of a steel drum band playing “Island Girl” by Burning Flame, a scarlet sun fall behind the horizon as night cast its indigo pall over the land. The land of sun, sea and sand. And history.
The Azores
Allure Colourful rooftops, steam-filled hillsides, mineral-rich waters and briny cockles are only a few of the offerings one may stumble upon on a visit to the magical region of Azores. By Jim Byers.
Images courtesy of Azores Tourism visitazores.com
S
ão Jorge, Azores - This was supposed to be a medium hike. But it’s far more hilly than I expected. I’m entranced by the deep blue ocean to my left and the impossibly green cliffs and hills on my right. But my calfs are singing a highpitched aria and I could use a rest. My guide here on the stunning island of São Jorge, Elisabete Alves. She pauses, partly I’m sure to give me a break, and tells me about the local, white flowers we’re seeing on the path. “In spring, when they’re ripe you can take part of the flower and suck on it. It’s very sweet.” Here she supplies a pregnant pause. “You just have to watch for the ants.” Okay, strike that off the culinary agenda. We resume our hike and pass small, weather-battered stone homes with red tile roofs in the village of Santo Cristo, located on one of the lava outcroppings on the island called fajãs. Many folks here fled after a major earthquake in 1980, Alves tells me. Cows now graze outside what would’ve been a tidy front door, nibbling on the remnants of long-abandoned flower gardens. When conditions are right, it’s one of the top surfing spots in the Atlantic. A few hardy folks remain in a small village at the bottom of a steep set of cliffs that run down to the
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Atlantic Ocean. It feels like the end of the world, but entrancing and enticing. Folks who live here either walk an hour or two to the nearest store or take rugged Four by Four vehicles, some of which I see on the trail hauling materials or, in one case, a surfboard. I snap some photos and gaze out at a tidal pond where they grow the island’s famous cockles, which we’d had for lunch with a wonderful broth and fresh Portuguese bread. The hike back is a touch easier but I can still hear Verde – or maybe it’s “I’m So Tired” by the Beatles – ringing in my head as we pile into Alves’s car for a continuation of the tour, this time by auto. We drive up to the hilltop overlooking the island and gaze down at a truly marvellous sight; deep green hills and homes with more red-tile roofs and a black, lava-strewn coast pounded by beautiful blue waves. I came here prepared for pretty scenery but I’m stunned by the vistas that appear around almost every corner on almost every island. The grass is greener than anything the Crayola crayon folks have invented; the sea a deep, blazing blue. The black lava rocks remind me of Hawaii; the hills of Ireland or Scotland and the homes of Portugal or Italy. The variety isn’t limited to the scenery. In addition to the tasty cockles, they take that
“THE GRASS IS GREENER THAN ANYTHING THE CRAYOLA CRAYONS FOLKS HAVE INVENTED.”
deep green grass and use local cows to turn out some of the smoothest, most flavourful cheese you can find. The steaks are shockingly good for an island chain in the middle of the Atlantic. Again, that beautiful grass – virtually untouched by pollution - probably has a lot to do with the flavour of the meat. One afternoon I try a traditional meal with meat and potatoes and veggies cooked in pots that are placed inside steaming vents, the Azores being on an active earthquake fault and the islands positively littered with steaming vents and hot pools and such. I find the food quite bland, especially compared to the cockles and the steak and the other seafood I tried on my trip. Still, it’s an interesting approach to cooking. I only have a few hours to explore the island of Terceira. But it’s a charming, colourful spot with a town, Angra do Heroísmo, that’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Unlike the other islands, folks here use all sorts of fanciful colours to paint their homes, making the town feel a bit like St. John’s with a Mediterranean climate. Alves tells me that folks on other islands laugh about the colourful nature and multiple festivals of Terceira.“We call the Azores eight islands and one amusement park.” Another guide takes me on a driving trip around the main island of São Miguel. We pass tea plantations that march in perfect rows down to that ridiculously blue ocean and take a couple short hikes on some of the island’s most famous walking trails. Hiking here is something of a religion, and a very organized one at that. Hiking trails are perfectly laid out and mapped down to the nth degree, with apps and websites that list the degree of difficulty and the type of terrain and perfectly drawn charts on large boards at the entrance to a gazillion trails that traipse up and down the island’s steep inclines and broad, green valleys. It’s a tad cold and windy on the hilltops when I visit in March and we only do a couple of short walks, but it’s enough to give me an idea of the variety one finds in these wonderful islands. The Sete Cidades walk is a popular one on the western end of São Miguel that takes you from high in the hills to a pretty, lakeside village. I wake up one morning in the main town of Ponta Delgada. I can just make out Orion’s Belt in the pre-dawn light. Below me on the street, only a few lights are on. Unable to sleep, I trudge down toward a small church. As the city wakes up, a few stragglers make their way into the church for a quick prayer. The interior
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is beautiful in the morning light, and candles lit by the early worshippers flicker in the semi-darkness. São Miguel is littered with steam vents and gurgling pools of boiling mud and water. I wander around the town of Furnas, watching steam rise in the air in front of jagged green hills where black and white cows graze. The Terra Nostra Garden Hotel in Furnas has a massive pool filled with warm, brown waters emanating from the earth’s interior. It’s not a great idea to wear a white bathing suit, and it’s recommended you rinse out your bathing attire when you’re finished, but a swim in the warm, mineral-rich waters is a great way to start the day. A bit more natural are the warmwater rock pools near the Caldeira Velha, where you can relax in waters of about 37 C under massive ferns and tall, misty trees. On my final day we drive up and over the top of the island to view Lagoa do Fogo, a pretty lake high in the hills. It’s maybe seven or eight degrees Celsius at the summit, with a howling, unabated wind in my face. I admire the scenery for a bit and clamber back into the car. We make the drive down a series of switchbacks as the sun sends rays of golden light shooting between the clouds. We reach the coast near the town of Caloura. Suddenly it’s closer to 20 degrees and sunny and hardly a breath of wind. I’ve gone from winter to summer in just a few minutes. I take my shoes off and let my toes feel the sand and the surf as I walk along a pretty beach backed by summer homes owned by Brits and Portuguese mainlanders. A guy could get used to this.
WHEN YOU GO The Azores are reachable by direct flights from Toronto on SATA. Flights are less than six hours. www.sata.pt/en
WHERE TO STAY Hotel Colegio is a small hotel in Ponta Delgada that’s housed in a former school. They have a small pool and an excellent restaurant serving steak topped with brilliant red peppers. www.hoteldocolegio.com. Rooms from about $100. The Terra Nostra Garden Hotel is in Furnas on the island of São Miguel. It’s an elegant property with massive beautiful gardens and the aforementioned mineral pool. www.terranostrahotelazores.com. Rooms from around $110 and up, depending on season and size/style. On São Jorge, Casa da Ermida is a handsome farmhouse with exposed stone walls just 10 minutes from the main village. There’s also a nice play area for kids out back. www.casadaermida.pt. Rooms from 70 to 120 Euros. WEATHER Expect moderate temperatures, with highs on São Miguel in the mid-to-upper teens in winter and mid-20’s in summer. Fantastic for hiking. www.visitazores.com www.trails.visitazores.com
BERLIN THE BOHEMIAN
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EVEN AS IT BECOMES A MORE UPMARKET DESTINATION, BERLIN HOLDS TIGHT TO ITS REBELLIOUS STREAK. WRITER PAUL GALLANT. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE GNTB
GETS CHIC A
t 11am, it’s a little early in Berlin’s fashionable Kreuzberg
neighbourhood to seriously engage in seeing and being seen. The bearded, bespeckled and rumpled patrons of Bateau Ivre bistro are focused more on their fruit salads, croissants and Americanos than on style. Too polished a look would be taboo, anyway. Berlin’s rebellious streak runs deep here. Bateau Ivre’s chalkboard menus blend in with the graffiti scrawled on every available surface in surrounding Heinrichplatz. Just across the way, an astonishing piece of stencil art, a Russian cosmonaut painted by Victor Ash in 2007, floats on the side of a building, as if watching over all the artists, partiers, slackers and troublemakers. Even as Berlin becomes a destination that’s pricier, glossier and more globalized than it has ever been, the city’s held tight to its alternative-culture soul. That reputation comes honestly, earned during the Weimar Republic of the 1920s and morphing into a grittier, punkier aesthetic following the Second World War and the Soviet division of the country and city. Art, music and late nights (and early mornings) are key ingredients. Though Berlin’s historic museums and monuments - and even the imposing 1950s Soviet architecture of Karl-Marx-Allee - remind visitors of the city’s pivotal place in European history, the city’s most engaging moments are found in unexpected places, best enjoyed when stumbled up by pure chance. “West Berlin, certainly, has had a particular uniqueness about it, especially politically. During the Cold War, it didn’t have military draft and it had a big alternative scene, which has stayed with it and even moved into the east,” says Finn Ballard (Finn-ballardtours.com), a historian, journalist and guide
originally from the UK. “There’s always a real sense of paying homage to the Weimar Republic. Back then, they were pursuing this kind of panicked hedonism because they didn’t know what was around the corner. We can’t really reenact that, though we’re also in a volatile moment, though not one as centred on Germany as it was then.” At Prinzessinnengärten, not far from Heinrichplatz, social innovators have created a compact green utopia on what used to be a neglected lot. The eclectic garden space is full of experiments in food growing and collective engagement, including a Needs and Resources Board where a musician might offer guitar lessons in exchange for yoga or bee’s wax. This progressive, non-conformist spirit can be found in many of the city’s nooks and crannies. Colourful knitted gear keeps the streetlights of Crellestraße warm. A thought-provoking poster in a Kreuzberg entryway reads: “This is your spirit animal. You may neuter him if you wish.” All over Berlin, a sombre project byartist Gunter Demnig—clusters of small metal
From left to right: Gendarmenmarkt square and German Cathedral with Schiller memorial, evening. • Art at East Side Gallery. • Detail on the Bode Museum, Berlin Museum Island is a UNESCO World Heritage site. • The newly renovated Zoo Hotel. • Insurrection of Colours’ mural by artists from Interbrigadas. • ‘’Molecule Man’’ sculpture by Jonathan Borofsky in the river Spree in Friedrichshain, at dusk. • German Historical Museum, new wing (by I.M. Pei) by night.
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plaques embedded in the sidewalks in front of certain buildings—commemorates people victimized by the Nazis. Leaving a bar one evening, my friend and I nearly crash into two disks made of white flowers and fabric that someone had stood right in front of the doorway. It was hard to tell if the disks were an impromptu art installation or the remnants of a Turkish wedding. Insofar as its magical effect, it made no difference. Sometimes the absence of art is the statement. Last year, a group of activists painted over two murals made by by the Italian artist Blu in 2007 and 2008. One depicted two human figures lifting masks off one another, alluding to the rediscovery of reunification; the other was the chest of a man in a suit, his hands cuffed by two gold watches. When condo developers marketed suites as having views of these obviously anti-capitalist artworks, it was too much. The erasure of the paintings with black paint (with the permission of the artist) was meant as a reality check on the city’s more consumerist aspirations. I last visited Berlin in 1991, when much of the area where the wall had been remained a wasteland, a new and messy eraser mark through a once divided city. Decades later, swaths of the city were unrecognizable to me. Astonishingly vibrant neighbourhoods
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have sprung up or reinvented themselves. Alexanderplatz in the east had become more akin to Times Square than something a central planning office had drawn up. Once a rather empty Soviet-era plaza, this time I found it full of bargain hunters battling it out for cheap T-shirts and jeans at the fast-fashion retailer Primark. Large-scale development projects certainly seem unrelenting, 26 years after the wall came down. Two proposed skyscrapers, one designed by Canadian starchitect Frank Gehry, could soon challenge the iconic Fernsehturm TV tower’s dominance over Alexanderplatz. All over Mitte, Berlin’s historic core, there are kilometres of overhead pipes—pink or blue depending on the company—pumping water to prevent flooding at the many construction sites. Berlin City Palace, built in the 15th century, damaged by bombing during the Second World War and demolished in 1950, is being rebuilt with a recreation of the original façade on three sides. The CAD $850-million project won’t be complete until 2019. With so much change and scrutiny, it’s no wonder some counterculture types feel defensive. “Berliners can be precious about what a Berliner is supposed to be,” says Ballard, who moved to Berlin about seven years ago. “No one seems to be born in Berlin, but whenever
WHEN YOU GO
Lufthansa recently launched a new Premium Economy Class Service and operates six nonstop routes from Canada. – Montreal - Frankfurt – Montreal - Munich – Toronto - Frankfurt – Toronto - Munich – Vancouver - Frankfurt – Vancouver - Munich Lufthansa’s prestigious First Class service is featured on select routes. A new First Class Lounge featuring personal assistants, a gourmet restaurant, cigar lounge and chauffeured limousine transfer to aircraft opened in Munich in addition to the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt. GETTING AROUND Berlin’s public transit system, which includes the U-Bahn and S-Bahn, is fast and convenient. Taxis are also plentiful and easy to hail.
BERLIN ESSENTIALS
Reopened just about a year ago, the current incarnation of the historic Hotel Zoo (Kurfürstendamm 25, Hotelzoo.de) has a playful glitziness befitting its can’tbeat-it location in the middle of the city’s shiniest shopping district. It’s the perfect combination of artsy edge and chic comfort. Strobe lights go off when the elevator goes up, evoking the flash of paparazzi cameras. The restaurant is an elegant spot to while away an afternoon. The Berlinische Galerie Museum of Modern Art (Alte Jakobstraße 124–128, Berlinischegalerie.de) has emerged from its facelift with a dramatic new home that celebrates the city’s artistic achievements from 1870 to the present day. Its collection of Dada and eastern European avant-garde is particularly strong. Pan Am Oli (Bötzowstraße 28, Panamboli. de) serves some of Berlin’s best Mallorcanstyle tapas in an intimate space in hip Prenzlauerberg. Grab a table on the sidewalk for excellent people-watching over Spanish omelettes. There’s a second location on nearby Bötzowstraße 28. Left to right: Berlin East Side Gallery: Schamil Gimajew “Worlds people - Wir sind ein Volk”. • The Babylonian Ishtar Gate in the Pergamon Museum. • Art at East Side Gallery. • Brandenburg Gate from Pariser Platz during the Festival of Lights, at night.
they got here, that’s when Berlin was Berlin. Expats are also becoming guilty of that. ‘When I moved here three years or 10 years ago, that’s when it was really happening.’ Instant nostalgia is exactly what it is.” Perversely, the city’s ethereal creative energy can seem more permanent than what’s largescale and well-heeled. When I recently visited Madonna, a bar I was taken to in 1991, the place was almost exactly as I remembered it: disaffected punk and rock aficionados puffing cigarettes on wooden benches beneath a ceiling painted to resemble the Sistine Chapel. The clients were much older (as was I), but still embracing in the carefree life they may have been living during my first visit—except with a
thicker residue of smoke. Madonna bar seems more likely to be exactly the same 25 years from now than the Reichstag and the futuristic government complexes around it. East Side Gallery, one of the largest remaining stretches of the wall, remains one of the city’s major attractions. Visitors from all over the world take selfies of themselves in front of the graffiti art, which has also been going through a contentious restoration process. Chaotic, rebellious and sometimes self-important, what these artists have given us is a better representation of Berlin that anything a prince, a dictator, a Soviet planner, a European Union bureaucrat or a condo developer could offer up.
Despite all the organic produce, highend cheeses and modern tchotchkes, there’s something almost medieval about Winterfeldt Markt, the city’s largest farmer’s market, held twice weekly (Wednesdays and Saturdays) in front of St. Matthias Kirche in Schöneberg. If Madonna bar (Wiener Straße 22, Madonna-bar.de) isn’t retro enough for you, Stagger Lee Cocktailbar (Nollendorfstraße 27, Staggerlee.de) will transport you all the way back to the saucy Weimar Republic days with its underground 1920s vibe. Frederick the Great’s former summer palace, Sanssouci (Potsdam-tourism. com/detail/id/10215/theme/a-z.html), isn’t the only reason to make a day trip to Potsdam. The touristic city is full of parks and impressive architecture from over the centuries—and it’s right on one of the main transit lines.
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BEYOND People & Places
LAST WORDS WITH GLOBETROTTER TAMARA MOORE Travel Maven and TV personality Tamara Moore, owner and President of boutique luxury lifestyle and travel concierge company Ascent Behave, knows a good thing when she sees it. Finding unique and personalized ways to pass on her globetrotting acumen to her impressive roster of celebrity clients has transformed Ms. Moore’s passion for bespoke travel experiences into a brand of her own. Now starring in a new docu-series, Après Ski, airing on Slice Network, Tamara Moore shares with us some of her insights. By Matt Loney
Where was your last trip? London, England. I was there for a travel conference in November for five days. Where in the world have you felt the happiest? My very happiest place is being home with my son. I really enjoy travelling and getting to experience so many amazing places and cultures, but it’s always nice to come home to your own bed. There is something about being away that makes you appreciate home in a special way. What item do you pack first? Chargers for my phone, my laptop, and my iPad – as you can tell, I love staying connected when I travel. Perfect travel companion? My son. Which foreign phrase or word has come in handy? Bitte and Danke schön (German). And really, Please and Thank You in any language. Describe a view that stole your heart. There are so many incredible views in this beautiful world – some standouts for me include:Watching the sunset cliffside while overlooking the Caldera in Santorini, Greece. Viewing kangaroos in
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the wild while sipping champagne and eating canapés at Southern Ocean Lodge in Adelaide, Australia. The view from a motu in Bora Bora - the water and lushness is pure paradise. The bird’s-eye view of a glacier from a helicopter over Queensland, New Zealand. It’s very humbling. And taking in the beauty of the beaches and water of Turks and Caicos and Grand Cayman.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Champagne.
Which is the most memorable hotel you’ve stayed at? I’ve travelled all over the world and stayed at some incredible, exotic locations, but my most memorable hotel is Pacific Rim in Vancouver. The service and warmth at the property is extraordinary. The aesthetic is outstanding. The lobby bar is electric. The food is beautiful. Philip Barnes launched that hotel and he is such an inspiration to me. He pays attention to every last detail.
Destination you always return to... The Albany Resort in Bahamas, Gansevoort Park Avenue in New York, the Gansevoort Hotel in Turks and Caicos, and a Canadian favourite Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver. These are my homes away from home.
What app do you use most when you travel? Google Translate is pretty amazing. It offers instant language translation, which can be very helpful. Describe a holiday disaster. Missing my flight.
What’s your favourite travel hack? Since I travel so regularly, using a service that speeds up the check-in process, like NEXUS, is essential. The ultimate in relaxation is…? Yoga, followed by a fabulous massage at an extraordinary spa.
What’s your definition of luxury? Luxury isn’t just about expensive things. And yes, luxury includes visiting opulent, exclusive places, and I love a Prada bag as much as the next woman. But luxury to me is also about having the ability, health and freedom to experience authentic travel and to give back to the communities in the places you visit – so it can mean many things. Luxury is also about time – and having the time (and the freedom) to travel the world, and the time to travel with my family.
GUERLAIN BOUTIQUE & INSTITUTE 110 Bloor Street West, Toronto 416.929.6114