Simonseeks.com Recommends The Wayfarers

Simonseeks.com - voted website of the year 2009 by thegoodwebguide.co.uk and known for its expert-rated hotels, travel guides and itineraries recommends The Wayfarers tour of Ireland in a recent article about activity vacations in Ireland.

Inspired by passion for travel and personal frustration at not finding enough travel guides to suit his needs, Simon Nixon, Internet entrepreneur and founder of Moneysupermarket and Travelsupermarket, now seeks to create the most successful quality travel guide site ever.  In his own words, he says, 'I've built the site for me – but I’m sure many other people will also find it useful!'

Simonseeks.com encourages everyone who knows anything about anywhere - from celebrities and travel journalists to user-contributors - to write their own guides while a team of editors vets contributions to maintain a high standard of information and presentation. We think it's a great idea!

Jane Austen Made My Vacation: Beth Pattillo Tells All!

The Wayfarers visiting a church, Jane Austen Country

By Julie Johnson: Julie, a life-long Jane Austen fan, is The Wayfarers US Operations Manager and Alaska Walk Leader.

Q & A with Beth Pattillo, author of Jane Austen Ruined My Life has just returned from the Jane Austen walking vacation. Between research and deadlines, we caught up with Beth to chat about her love of Jane Austen, writing, travel and her next book....

In preparing for my trip next week to visit Jane Austen Country, I searched my library to see if there was anything related to her that I would like to read again – the first that came to mind was “Jane Austen Ruined My Life,” by Beth Pattillo. It’s a fun yet poignant story that leads the main character on a scavenger hunt designed by a “secret” Jane Austen Society. Turns out that the hunt takes our heroine, Emma (of course!) to many of the places I’d be visiting on our Wayfarers Jane Austen walk.

When I learned the author, Beth Pattillo, had been on the same walk earlier this season, I knew I wanted to chat with her!

Julie Johnson: How did you find out about the Wayfarers?

Beth Pattillo: I found the Wayfarers online when I was looking for Bronte-related tours. Sadly, I was too late to get a place in the Bronte tour last fall, but the wonderful folks at Wayfarers told me about the new Jane Austen tour. Since I'd written two Jane Austen-related novels and was contracted for a third, the trip was right up my alley.


JJ: Was this trip different from your other trips to England?

BP: Two years ago, I did a one day 'Jane Austen' tour through Hampshire with the help of a very kind guide. It whetted my appetite for a more in-depth experience. The walking tour allowed me to experience all the wonderful Jane Austen sites at a more leisurely pace. It also allowed me to get a taste of what Jane Austen's own 'walking' life must have been like. Walking the paths where she walked was truly inspiring!


JJ: Have you been able to put your finger on why Jane Austen's work inspires you? Why it seems to be so enduring through the generations?

BP: Jane Austen continues to inspire us and to endure because of her complex and relatable characters. We all know people like Fanny Dashwood (horrible and self-serving) or Anne Elliott (put-upon but patient despite all that). Austen's plots also hold up well not only in the novels themselves but as they are adapted to stage and screen. Truly a master of her craft!


JJ: Has this Wayfarer trip sparked your interest in writing another Jane Austen-inspired novel?

BP: I went on the Jane Austen Country tour to research my next novel, The Dashwood Sisters Tell All (Guideposts Books, Spring 2011). I wanted to write about sisters, and so my characters will follow in the footsteps of Jane and Cassandra Austen. They will also encounter handsome men who could be scoundrels or heroes, a secret diary that may lead to the biggest Jane Austen secret ever, and a mysterious woman who leads a secret Jane Austen society. It's a tough job, having to travel to Hampshire and London for research, but I'm happy to take one for the team. ; )

You can find Beth’s book, “Jane Austen Ruined My Life,” on the Wayfarers reading list.

The Power to Transform & The Lure of the Next Adventure - Perspectives on Photography

Q & A With Ellen Barone - Adventure Travel Photographer Extraordinaire

Ahead of welcoming Ellen as our guest host and photography expert on our September 12-17 New Mexico Walk, we caught up with her in between travels to ask a few searching questions:


The Wayfarers: How did you get into photography - and more specifically - travel photography?

Ellen Barone: My path to photography was born of time, experimentation, and observation. I’ve always spent much of my free time in solitary pursuits - reading, learning, exploring, playing, and experimenting. Photography was the tool I used to record those explorations. Whether in nature or immersed in civilization, with a camera I could spy on the world, sit there and record what happens, walk among it, eavesdrop on its conversations, engage its characters and notice the little things. Eventually travel, discovery, and photography became the underlying theme infusing all of my life - personally and professionally.

TW: What is the most unexpected thing you have learned on your travels?

EB: I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’m guilty of taking for granted the privilege of travel. When I want to go somewhere, it becomes a matter of logistics – saving money, reading up on the place, booking the flight, finding a place to stay, learning language basics, filling out the paperwork, etc. But when I’m out there in the world and someone tells me they’d love to come to America, but can’t get a visa, or that no matter how hard they work they’ll never have the means to travel, it hits me hard how fortunate I am, every time.

TW: What is your favorite country or destination and why?

EB: I used to struggle to answer this question until photographer Bob Krist came up with the perfect reply: “My favorite place is always the next place – the place I haven’t been yet.” It’s so true!

TW: What is the most unusual experience you have had while traveling?

EB: Hank and I were traveling in a very remote region of Myanmar (Burma) on a riverboat voyage up the Chindwin River. At one point I was wandering alone with my camera in a village when a local woman approached and asked, in English, if she could walk with me.

Myanmar is ruled by a ruthless military junta known to imprison its people for plotting against the government with little more proof than that they’d been seen associating with Westerners. So it was with this on my mind that I walked along with my new friend. We exchanged vitals and I learned that we were the same age, that she was a high school math teacher (I am a former high school math teacher) and that due to her status as an educator she was afforded certain privileges, including that of learning English and talking with a Westerner, without fear of reprisal.

For several hours she took on the role of my guide, helping me shop for textiles, taking me to the school yard for panoramic views of the surrounding river valley, and introducing me to exotic fruits and delicious street food I’d never have sampled without her. It was a magical afternoon. I knew I’d been given a gift that day. As we walked back to the ship, hugging our goodbyes at the dock, she took both my hands in hers and said, “I will remember this day for all my life.”

TW: What makes a great travel photograph?

EB: Whether it’s a beautiful French landscape bathed in golden light, the blur of Tokyo commuter trains, or a friendly fishmonger working the morning crowd in a Turkish market, a great travel photograph transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.

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Join Ellen Barone and her husband the author Hank Barone for a walking vacation with The Wayfarers in New Mexico, September 12-17, 2010.

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About Ellen: Whether she’s sailing across the Atlantic, crossing the Sahara on camel, surfing Maui’s swells, dog sledding the Alaskan tundra, cycling the Sicilian coastline, eating scorpion in Singapore or hanging out in the tango bars of Buenos Aires, freelance writer-photographer Ellen Barone strives for honest storytelling and vivid photography. Inspired by a Fulbright teaching exchange in the early nineties, the photojournalist has been covering adventure travel since 1998, traveling to more than 60 countries for travel-related assignments. In addition, she’s a popular radio host and author of several online practical advice consumer travel columns.

From Maine Blueberries to New Mexico Burritos, Fall Vacations Pair Regional Culinary Wonders with First-Class Fitness

End-of-Summer Special:  Learn Photography and Photojournalism with Photographer Ellen Barone on September 12-17 New Mexico Walk

Newport, Rhode Island, 15 July 2010 -- Want to incorporate exercise into a vacation routine without giving up time to tour, explore or travel?  Eager to sample the regional culinary diversity of the U.S. without gaining an ounce? The Wayfarers’ Walking Vacations offer a stress-free way to pair fitness and food exploration, allowing travelers maintain their fitness focus while sampling everything from chilies to chalupas, blueberries to burritos.  This year’s U.S. Walks feature in-depth exploration of several noteworthy National Parks, offering close-to-home opportunities to experience the country’s geographic and culinary diversity without losing one step of a fitness routine.

“The United States has incredibly beautiful and varied national parks,” notes Michael West, founder of The Wayfarers.  “The best way to truly appreciate their distinct attributes is to walk through them, allowing time to admire, experience, and soak up the sights at each turn.  If you’re on a tour bus, you’re sedentary and, worse, you’ll only catch a glimpse of the surrounding beauty. We want you to experience the adventure of these areas on a different level, tasting the flavors of each region and staying toned while you do it.”

Five Walks covering three U.S. destinations are offered this fall: Maine, Utah, and New Mexico.  On the New Mexico Walk from September 12-17, well-known photojournalist Ellen Barone will join the Walk, sharing her insights, knowledge, and passion for creating memorable photographs.  The Walks are among The Wayfarers’ 85 diverse Walks through 14 countries in 2010, including England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Austria, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

Walks are rated from easy to challenging, based on miles covered per day and type of terrain traversed.  Wayfarers’ walkers share a passion for the outdoors, a love of camaraderie and culinary discovery, and a desire to maintain fitness as a way of life.

New Mexico’s Land of Enchantment – September 12-17 and October 10-15

On this six-day/five-night trek, the Wayfarers will explore the enchanting New Mexico landscape that inspired acclaimed artist Georgia O’Keefe. From the art-centric streets of Santa Fe to the ancient cliff dwellings and petroglyphs of the Bandelier National Monument, walkers will explore a setting of changing rock formations, mountain ranges, and beautiful forests under dramatic skies. Culinary highlights include dinner with a local artist and gourmet chef, who will prepare a Southwestern feast, plus an evening wine tasting, and a lunch in a converted 17th-century adobe mansion.  Walkers will also tour O’Keefe’s home and hike along a juniper and pinion pine route through Frijoles Canyon to the Rio Grande.  Walkers cover 5-7 miles per day, with elevation gains of 300-500 feet and altitudes of up to 7000 feet.  The walk is priced $2595 per person, based on double occupancy.

Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion – September 26 – October 2
The most energetic of the U.S. walks with elevation gains of up to 1,000 feet, the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion itinerary traces a path through the stomping grounds of Butch Cassidy and Billy the Kid, exploring the Wild West’s awe-inspiring canyons, cliffs, forests and lakes on this seven-day/six-night journey. Highlights include stops along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, the Fairyland Canyon, Bryce Canyon and the Widforss and Watchman Trails, all rigorous treks guaranteed to work off hearty pre-hike breakfasts and rustic picnic lunches, plus a hike to view the waterfalls at Zion’s gorgeous Emerald Pools. A farewell dinner at the Spotted Dog Café in Zion Canyon and lunch in the old Western movie town of Kanab round out the culinary glimpse into canyon country. Walkers cover 5-7 miles per day.  The walk is priced at $2795 per person, based on double occupancy.

The Coast of Maine: Camden and Acadia – September 19-24 and October 3-8
In between dining on meals of Maine lobster, clams, and blueberries, Wayfarers walkers will encounter the myriad trails of car-free, artist-haven Monhegan Island and the beautiful town of Camden, where mountains flank Penobscot Bay in a quintessential Maine village.  Visitors will also hike through unspoiled Acadia National Park, along trails like Great Head or the Pemetic Mountain Loop leading to soaring views of Cadillac Mountain; Somes Harbor, the only fjord in the United States; and majestic Southwest Harbor on this six-day/five-night trek.  Highlights include a sunset cruise aboard a schooner, a tour of a lighthouse museum and lunch at the Jordan Pond House, a landmark for more than a century and the home of world-famous popovers.  Walkers cover 7-10 miles per day.  The walk is priced at $2695 per person, based on double occupancy.

All 2010 itineraries are priced at or below 2009 rates and, as always, Wayfarers’ Walks are all-inclusive.  For more information or to book a Walk, visit www.thewayfarers.com   or call 800- 249-4620.

The Wayfarers
Named by National Geographic Traveler as purveyor of one of the “50 Tours of a Lifetime,” and by National Geographic Adventure as one of the “Best Hiking Companies,” The Wayfarers offers an eco-aware “walking” holiday of both culture and fitness in 14 countries with 85 Walks.  Literary-influenced itineraries include the new Brontë and Jane Austen Walks in the UK.  Newest locations cover Alaska, Greece, Venice and the Veneto (Founder’s Walk), Northern Ireland, Slovakia and the Basque Country.  Other popular walks are in Croatia, Amalfi Coast, Czech Republic, England, Scotland, Italy, France, New Zealand, Maine and Southwest USA. A barging/Walk combination in Burgundy is also offered and private group itineraries can be arranged.  Now in its 27th year, The Wayfarers offers exclusive entrées into homes and gardens otherwise closed to the public, graceful accommodations, outstanding cuisine, and meetings with local residents. Walks are from 5-12 days and are rated easy to challenging.  The Wayfarers is also a member of Trusted Adventures, a consortium of award-winning travel companies matching active individuals, families and groups on nature and culture adventures throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.

Book a Walk with The Wayfarers and receive 10% off a custom fitness training program with Fit for Trips

www.thewayfarers.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thewayfarers 
Twitter: Wayfarers

Ireland and the beauty of the Well-Chosen Word

 Walking on Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland, June 2010

by Sarah Merck

Having now walked with The Wayfarers on both of their walking vacations in Ireland and Northern Ireland, I appreciate even more the power and beauty of the words of the Irish poets.  I am particularly moved by the poems of the contemporary poets.  Ireland is a land of a tortured history, incredible legends, and amazing natural beauty.  In many ways, it is still a rural world of small villages and farms.  One of my favorite contemporary Irish poets is Seamus Heaney, a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature.  One night The Wayfarers had an Irishman speak to us about Irish history.  He was very interesting, but, I must admit, I was most impressed by the fact that he is a personal friend of Seamus Heaney who grew up in a small village in Northern Ireland and now lives in Dublin.

Mr. Heaney’s poem Postscript captures the wild beauty of Ireland from its first lines:
 
    And some time make the time to drive out west
    Into County Clare, along the Flaggy Shore,
    In September or October, when the wind
    And the light are working off each other
 
to the last lines:

   As big soft buffetings come at the car sideways
    And catch the heart off guard and blow it open.

After visiting the neighborhoods of “The Troubles” in Belfast and seeing the powerful political murals, I thought of the poem  Desertmartin by the Northern Irish poet Tom Paulin.  One stanza shouts his message:
     
    It’s a limited nest, this place.  I see a plain
     Presbyterian grace sour, then harden,
     As a free strenuous spirit changes
     To a servile defiance that whines and shrieks
     For the bondage of the letter:  it shouts
     For the Big Man to lead his wee people
     To a clean white prison, their scorched tomorrow.

The melancholy, the story-telling spirit of the Irish is captured succinctly by the poet Patrick Kavanagh in Wet Evening in April:
      
     The birds sang in the wet trees
     And as I listened to them it was a hundred years from now
     And I was dead and someone else was listening to them.
     But I was glad I had recorded for him
      The melancholy.

I love Ireland.  I loved the Irish walks.  My advice to you is read Irish poets, before and after your walks.  Their words will surround you and enhance your time in Ireland and be with you when you are home dreaming of Ireland.

Sarah's Recommended Reading:


Staying Alive and Being Alive
edited by Neil Astley, published by Bloodaxe

Both anthologies which have selections by poets from all over the U.K., Ireland, and Europe with many Irish poets represented.   I really like contemporary poets and most of the poets are contemporary with the exception of W.B. Yeats who cannot be ignored.

Photo Call 2010

On a recent visit to The Wayfarers HQ in England, Louise Halfpenny, a 26-Walk veteran and keen amateur photographer, models her 2010 Brochure cover shot of the Northern Ireland Antrim Coast.

 

A picture is worth a thousand words .....and this year it's also worth a beautiful new Wayfarers' zipped, hooded sweatshirt!

Hit us with your best recent Wayfarers' walking vacation shots (and videos!) and if we are able to use one or more of your pictures in the brochure or website we'll send you an all-new Wayfarers' sweatshirt with retro-style logo (one per photographer).


Three easy ways to win:

• Upload low-res versions to our Facebook fan page and we'll contact you for high res versions if we would like to publish them 

• Submit your photos by email (5mb or less per email) 

• Mail a CD to your nearest Wayfarers office

Closing date for submissions is 31 July 2010. Good luck!

Note: Zipped, hooded and eco-friendly the new Wayfarers' sweatshirts are made with 80% organic cotton / 20% recycled polyester and available in choice of three colors - navy, celery and earth.

Share the Journey

An experience shared is understanding gained.

We think that one of the best parts of a Walk is the shared experience. 

This year we are taking full advantage of the 'new' social media and putting it to good use in a very old-fashioned way - swapping tales and photos from the trail as walks happen all season long. Join in the fun on our Facebook page.

Plus, shortly we will launch new features on our walking vacation website to allow web members to 'scrapbook' their Wayfaring experiences by sharing links to walk photos and journals wherever they may exist online. If you haven't already registered on our website, be sure to do so today to ensure you will be among the first to see the new website features.


We hope to see you soon - online and on the trail!