Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2015 i Wanderlust

There’s something about the autumn that makes one immediately think of trees. And with the release of A Walk in the Woods in the cinemas, based on Bill Bryson’s bestselling book, the time was right to head out on the legendary Appalachian Trail ourselves. But, like so many of us, Wanderlust editor Phoebe has a day job and so took a leaf out of Bryson’s book and decided to take a car and cherry pick the highlights, walking some of the best sections and meeting some incredible people (p26) in two weeks. Having a UNESCO World Heritage Site status inevitably makes a place a must-see for Wanderlust-ers, and on page 42 we take a look at 21 of South America’s top sites. We also drop in on the UNESCO-rated Angra…

ELINOR GREENWOOD Author and Mandarin teacher After taking a degree in modern Chinese studies, Elinor lived, worked and studied in China for many years. Author of two Chinese language books, she is now based in Hertfordshire and teaches Mandarin to children. Fancy learning Chinese yourself? Turn to p64 for Elinor’s 5-step tips Mountain, desert, ocean or jungle... which are you? Desert, especially baked Alaska. First great travel experience? Riding an elephant in Thailand when I was 9. Favourite journey? Most fun: misadventures in a Kombi van between Sydney and Cairns. Biggest adventure: travelling overland from Beijing to Delhi via the Karakoram Highway. Top five places worldwide? Beijing, North Norfolk, Great Barrier Reef, Mauritius, Ithaca, the Masai Mara... Oops that’s six. Passport stamp you’re proudest of? China. Passport stamp you’d most…

• Travel issues 1 You’re never too old for an adventure As Bradt Travel Guides release a book celebrating the older traveller, we consider the pros and cons of the silver-haired adventurers… Mention the word ‘adventurer’ and the stereotypical image of an excited 20-something usually springs to most people’s minds. But just how accurate is it? Not very, according to 74-year-old Hilary Bradt, ardent adventure-seeker and founder of Bradt Travel Guides, which has just published To Oldly Go, a collection of stories written by travellers over 60. “Older people have both time and money to travel,” she explains. “They don’t want consumer goods; they want experiences and you get that best through travel.” The book itself features 41 tales of retirees doing everything from traversing the Atlas Mountains, to a…

6 Eat your way into the Mexican soul The French have crêpes, Brits have sandwiches, Italians have paninis and Mexicans have tacos. Forget quesadillas, enchiladas and fajitas, tacos are the number one dish in Mexico. These folded and filled corn tortillas are supremely popular and incredibly versatile – locals enjoy them for lunch or dinner, on the way home from a night out or socially with friends. And everything you can imagine has been tried and tested as a taco stuffing, with every single region of Mexico having its favourites. For example, piglet tacos are king in the state of San Luis Potosí; lobster and beans are the combo of choice in Baja California (unsurprisingly, given its long stretches of coast); in Hidalgo they even stuff their tacos with worms.…

John Gimlette obviously has a taste for the planet’s murkier moral corners. But after the writer’s last book Wild Coast took him to South America’s slavery-blighted northeast, you’d think he was taking it easier by heading to Sri Lanka. But Elephant Complex (Quercus, £20) doesn’t opt for the usual ‘teardrop-shaped’, wildlife-rich platitudes, as Gimlette also takes the time to investigate its grim history, colonial hangovers and child prostitution. It’s another excellent, flinty eyed bit of travel journalism. There’s a little more sentiment as Stuart Maconie returns to his favoured stomping grounds. The Pie At Night (Ebury, £17) finds Maconie musing and amusing on what the modern Northerner does in his rec time – beer, bands, beaches, balls or walking boots – and using it as his launch pad to wryly…

When did you first experience ‘post-travel blues’? When I backpacked around West Africa as a 19 year old. I spent three months drifting aimlessly through lesser-visited areas where everyone chatted and looked after one another despite being strangers. Suddenly I found myself on the London Underground where nobody even caught each other’s eyes. Why do people get post-travel blues? When travelling, we spend a lot of time outside our comfort zones. This can be exhausting. However, travellers are constantly challenged, seeing and learning new things. The return to familiarity and routine can be jolting as the brain has become acclimatised to a different way of thinking. I’ve experienced a sense of boredom upon homecoming, as ‘normal life’ simply doesn’t seem exciting enough. How did you treat your blues? I make…

Travel experiences are emotionally loaded. There is excitement, yes, but the tingle-factor comes at least in part from the fact that we are stressed, even if only a little. On arriving in a new place, there is a lot to deal with: a bombardment of sights and sounds, unfamiliar signposting, a lack of familiar support systems. You may feel hounded by touts and beggars; people might seem to stand too close. You are probably also fatigued and jetlagged. It can take hours to accomplish simple tasks, such as finding a hotel or buying a bus ticket. You might resent feelings of homesickness. You may also start to resent local people when they appear obstructive or unhelpful – but then you start hearing phrases such as ‘Peruvian time’, mañana, insh’Allah or…

VITAL STATISTICS Archipelago capital: Ponta Delgada(Terceira: Angra do Heroísmo)Population: 250,000 (Terceira: 56,000)Language: PortugueseTime: GMT-1 (Mar-Oct GMT)International dialling code: +351Visas: Not required by UK nationalsMoney: Euro (€), currently around€1.4 to the UK£ When to go Spring. Sunny weather, fewer tourists. Lots of wildflowers; June is best for hydrangeas. Terceira’s ten-day Sanjoaninas festival is in June. Good for whalewatching. Warmest, busiest months. Good for migratory whales and scuba diving. Warm and quieter. Whale migration ends in October. Potentially rainy and windy. Fewer services operate. Whale migration begins in February. Health & safety The weather can change quickly. Check weather reports before heading into the hills, and take waterproof gear. Jellyfish have been reported in some areas around Terceira’s coast – seek advice before swimming. From May to September, Terceira holds regular ‘bull-running’…

Dip into cultures I’m with Rachelle Meilleur on the topic of stripping off at notable sites [August 2015, issue 158]. One of the joys of travel is to immerse yourself in another culture. On a trip to a Balinese temple, I discovered that it was forbidden to enter if you were menstruating which, to my disappointment, applied to me. When I informed our guide he took it in his stride as the most natural thing in the world. I’m still glad that I chose not to enter, since I think that respecting the beliefs of other cultures is integral to appreciating how others live throughout the world. Our travels are all the richer for it. Jane Whitewood, Lancashire Moscow’s new face As a worldwide traveller for over 45 years, I…

Copenhagen myWanderlust member Polly Allen shares her four-day delight in Denmark The highlight: A tour of the Danish Parliament, near to the election. Things were pretty tense, and I learned a lot about Danish society and politics. Must see: Christiansborg for Parliament and Amalienborg Palace, where the Royal Family live. Visit Assistens Kirkegard cemetery as an offbeat attraction (Danes have picnics there) and don’t miss Nyhavn (pictured). Top tip: Twin Peaks fans can visit the Log Lady Cafe. Order some ‘damn fine coffee’ and enjoy the cult TV series-inspired decor. Cautionary tale: Danes don’t do decaf. I assumed decaf coffee would be easy to get in cafés or shops, but it was impossible. I wish I’d known... A lot of high street shops, even in the city centre, close very…

VITAL STATISTICS Capital: Hanoi Population: 94 million Languages: Vietnamese; English (increasingly spoken); some French Time: GMT+7 International dialling code: +84 Visas: Not required by UK nationals for stays of less than 15 days Money: Vietnamese dong (VND), currently around VND33,400 to the UK£.US dollars are widely accepted. ATMs are available in larger towns. When to go Cold in the north; largely dry. Considered the best time to visit; beginning of the wet season in the south. Hot, humid and wet; risk of typhoons along the coast. Health & safety No vaccinations are required. Malaria and dengue fever are present in some areas, including the southern provinces and the Mekong Delta. Vietnam is largely safe but guard against pickpocketing and petty crime. Roads are busy and chaotic – exercise caution when…

Get orientated At Haukadalur, a small geothermal area located in a valley in Iceland’s south-west, there is a particular intermittent jet of steaming water that has lent its name to every single other one found since: Geysir. The so-called Great Geysir and its volatile surrounds was the first phenomenon of its type to be recorded, back in the 13th century; the name, which appeared from the 18th century, comes from the old Norse word geysa – ‘to gush’. Ironically, the original geyser is rather ungushy these days. At its peak, it blew multiple times a day and regularly reached heights of 60-80m, sometimes up to 170m. Now it erupts only on rare occasions. However, Iceland, sitting on top of one of the planet’s major fault lines, is a hotbed of…

Before you arrive Sydneysiders and Melburnians sometimes disparage Adelaide for lacking panache. South Australia’s capital, they suggest, has a whiff of colonial-era formality – a throw-back to bygone times. For sure, there’s a tidy elegance about the tree-lined boulevards and airy Victorian-era parks, laid out after the city was founded in 1836 as a ‘Free Colony’, meaning without the taint of convict settlers. But things have long moved on. First, immigration has bathed the flavours of Adelaide – and not just its restaurants – in a multi-ethnic vitality. Secondly, the cultured airs that inspired the annual Adelaide Festival of Arts (March), has sparked a parallel Fringe festival (from mid-Feb) and a year-round art and music scene that cuts through the old-school stuffiness. Adelaide’s traditional and countercultural faces share a feeling…

In the High Arctic, dogs often provide humans with an early warning against approaching bears. But this canine, perched on a melting ice shelf on Ellesmere Island’s coastline, appears to be growling a warning about a different danger approaching humanity. Sitting up in Canada’s Nunavut territory, visitors enjoy the rugged island’s landscape of icy valleys, mountains and glaciers. At ‘the top of the world’ on the island’s northern tip, Quttinirpaaq NP is home to the Arctic wolf, polar bear and caribou, but its residents are under a serious threat from global warming. In the past 100 years, the island’s 10,000 sq km ice shelves have retreated by a vast 90%, with one of the largest – the Ayles ice shelf – breaking off from the mainland in 2005. This is…

1 Cow’s eyeballs and worms are just a number of fillings used in authentic Mexican tacos; p16 2 Your feet can grow by around three shoe sizes while walking the USA’s Appalachian Trail; p26 3 The gurnard fish has wings that both scare off predators and are used during mating; p92 4 Trainspotters prepare to be disappointed: there’s no one Reunification Express train; p110 5 Uruguay’s Fray Bentos factory, famous for tinned meat pies, is one of UNESCO’s newest sites; p42…

Wanderlust aims to inform and inspire all your travel adventures. We strive to bring you the most trusted and reliable information in the world. That’s why we are always upfront about whether our writers have travelled independently or with a tour company. When a tour operator has been used we always try to use those who’ve scored a minimum satisfaction rating of 85% from readers in our annual awards and we never guarantee positive coverage. Responsible and sustainable travel is at the heart of everything we do.…

We’ve known you on trains and tuk-tuks, but this time you just got in your car... The one great thing about travelling in the States, which is not true of many other countries, is you can simply get in a car and go. Down the open road you will always find a place to eat, a place to stay, something to eat; you’ll be in good shape. You have gone off the beaten track in Africa and Asia over the years. Did this trip still do the same for you? More so! I felt more freedom, greater depth in terms of meeting people, getting to know them, getting to know the place and returning. The book’s subtitle is ‘Four Seasons on Back Roads’. I went in the fall, again in…

TO STAY: Seek out one of the homestays located on the tranquil islands of the Mekong Delta for a unique insight into rural Vietnamese life. The activities that you can take part in usually involve cooking with your hosts, exploring the acres of orchards and relaxing in hammocks sheltered by coconut, mango and papaya trees. TO EAT: Phó might be the national dish, but in the nation’s capital, Hanoi, bun chá reigns supreme at lunch hour. These small patties of grilled pork and barbequed pork belly are served up in a large bowl of fish sauce-flavoured broth with a good helping of rice noodles and fresh herbs to garnish. TO RELAX: Halong Bay is one of the most spectacular sites in Vietnam. To make the most of this dramatic landscape…

WEIGHT Key for any traveller, the lighter the better – but losing grams usually means spending more cash and often means losing features such as easy-to-use clip locks. LOCKING MECHANISMS Poles will usually be divided into two or three segments that lock together. The main types you’ll encounter are twist locks (they keep weight down but can be difficult to operate with cold or wet hands) or external clip locks (easy to use even when wearing gloves or when wet but tends to add more weight). ONE OR TWO? Some poles are sold singularly but most as pairs. One pole is fine if you’re walking on flat terrain with a small pack, but for reducing impact on your joints, backpacking and using for stability, you should definitely get two. SHOCK…

VITAL STATISTICS Capital: Rabat Population: 33.3 million Language: Arabic, Berber (Amazigh), French Time: GMT (Mar-Oct GMT+1) International dialling code: +212 Visas: Not required by UK nationals Money: Moroccan dirham (MAD), currently 15MAD to the UK£. ATMs are widespread but credit cards are only useful in larger cities and major tourist areas. When to go Temperatures soar across the country – 40°C not unusual in places. Ramadan is 6 June-5 July 2016: abstinence from eating and drinking in public during long hot days can be tiring for travellers. Spring and autumn: best times to visit; dry, warm weather across the country. Winter: bright and warm in south (Marrakech is busy at Christmas and New Year); damp and chilly in the north. Health & safety No vaccinations required. Crime against visitors is…

Letters, tips, photos & exploits from you, our endlessly adventurous readers WINNER Almost not buying a Panama hat in Ecuador By David Higham As any fool knows, Panama hats do not come from Panama; they are made in Ecuador. Travelling to Ecuador, I was bound to buy a Panama hat. They’re not even called Panama hats anyway; the proper name is sombreros de paja toquilla. Plaited by hand from the leaves of the toquilla or jipijapa palm, the wonderful art of weaving the Ecuadorian toquilla hat is on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Armed with this knowledge I ducked into Señor Luis López Cifuentes’s tiny shop on the Callé Morales in Quito. Immediately my plan went wrong. There in front of me at the top of a stand…

Taj Mahal 2 Your news article on replicas of historical landmarks [August 2015, issue 158] made interesting reading. One replica that probably deserves a mention: the Indian city of Aurangabad’s horizon is dominated by a charming monument that to many might pass as the Taj Mahal. Bibi-Ka-Maqbara [right] was commissioned by Prince Azam Shah for his mother in the 17th century. Though he originally started with ambitious plans to rival the Taj (built by his grandfather), Azam Shah soon ran out of funds and what resulted was a mausoleum of much more modest proportions! Nandini Chakraborty, Leicester…

PHOEBE SMITH • EDITOR • Following in the footsteps of Bill Bryson checking out the USA’s Appalachian Trail SEE PAGE 26 SARAH BAXTER • ASSOCIATE EDITOR • Gasping at the great geothermal geysers in Iceland SEE PAGE 137 TOM HAWKER • PRODUCTION EDITOR • Grabbing his bike and dreaming of cycling the Azores’ new trail SEE PAGE 92 RHODRI ANDREWS • EDITORIAL ASSISTANT • Dreaming of his future adventure travel-packed retirement SEE PAGE 12…

YES Erin Bender, family travel blogger (travelwithbender.com) “It’s not as expensive as you think: kids often sleep in the same room, share meals and fit in the same hire car. Children are far better travellers than we adults as they are so much more adaptable to changing environments and can sleep absolutely anywhere! Most importantly – they do remember and travel is creating who they are and who they will be. It’s teaching them a global responsibility and a higher education to boot. I’m biased, but I’m also in the know: I travel with my five and six-year-old kids full time and have done so for the last three years non-stop. Do them a favour, travel with your kids.” NO Hannah Martin, from working-mum advice website Talented Ladies Club (www.talentedladiesclub.com)…

VITAL STATISTICS Trail HQ: Harpers Ferry, West Virginia Trail length: About 2,180 miles States crossed: 14 (Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine) Time: GMT-4 (Mar-Nov GMT-5) Visas: UK nationals require an ESTA (US$14; valid for two years; Apply at least 72 hours before travel; https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/) Money: Dollar ($), around $1.58 to the UK£ When to go Start of thru-hiking season. North-bound hikers start early from Georgia to avoid summer heat; south-bounders wait until June for snow to clear in Maine. Good weather in all states. Humid in south. Chance to meet thru-hikers. Fall – Climbing Katahdin and camping in Baxter State Park restricted after 15 Oct. Winter – Great for southern states or winter sports in north,…

1 Select key vocabulary Lessen the task of learning Mandarin by identifying vocab you will really need. For example: basic courtesy, directions, favourite dishes, numbers and key phrases such as ‘how much is it?’. 2 Memory prompts Chinese words are made of one-syllable sounds, such as ‘ma’, and can be hard to memorise. Get creative and make up your own memory prompts, eg ‘ni hao’ means ‘hello’. It’s pronounced ‘knee how’ – to remember it, think ‘how’s your knee?’. 3 Learn the four tones Quite simply, people will find it hard to understand you unless you add the tone to each sound you make. It’s not as hard as it seems, and it doesn’t matter if you’re tone deaf, you just need to go for it. Always copy a native…

1 Put in the leg work Don’t expect to get a great picture an hour from your front door – those that do have been very lucky. Often you need to sacrifice comfort and go the extra mile, literally. After arriving in South Sudan, I was on the road for 72 hours before I was in a position to take this shot. 2 Research before you go Research your destination from the comfort of your own home. Examine how other photographers captured it; think about what they got right and wrong. Studying the work of others who’d been to South Sudan, I felt they’d all shot too low – there was no sense of scale to the cattle camps. So I took a ladder (no one at the camp had…

How we did the test… We asked manufacturers to submit walking poles most suited for travellers – being lightweight, packable and durable. From the selection we were sent, our editor, Phoebe Smith, took them out to test the different options for travellers who want maximum utility for minimum luggage bother. The packed length for each and price for a pair is shown. The ‘Value Buy’ and ‘Best in Test’ are also indicated. VANGO Deluxe Cork £28 (also available as singles) Folded length: 65cm The test: At £14 per pole and made from alloy metal, these are – unsurprisingly – the heaviest (600g/pair) on test and the longest when folded. However they do boast some nice features. They are the only poles on test to offer shock absorbers (which you can…

Where does your Wanderlust take you? Every month we ask ‘Where does your Wanderlust take you?’, giving you a chance to win a goody bag including a versatile High UV with Insect Shield Buff® – the ultimate travel accessory (RRP £21). But can you beat Janet and Bob’s entry (above)? We want to see where your Wanderlust takes you and where you take your Wanderlust! Take your magazine with you on your next trip and share a pic with us. Post it on our Facebook wall, tweet it to us at @wanderlustmag, email it to fromtheroad@wanderlust.co.uk  or hashtag it #wanderlustmag on Instagram.…

Running off mountains in Interlaken – literally. I ran as fast as I could down the grassy slope until the parachute filled with wind and yanked us into the air. My face was stuck in a wide smile from both wind and pleasure. lw00wl Planning the next adventure. Noting down some of your excellent tips for the #Seychelles for my visit next year – thanks! juliamhammond Forgetting fears in the high jungles of Belize. I gazed down on an ancient world, seeing lesser temples and unidentified buildings fighting with the trees. Ebony In love with Iguaçu Falls. Wow, then another wow! So much better than Niagara Falls. Janet Babb Spotting Statue of Liberty replicas in Japan. We found one in Tokyo, hidden away on an island by the docks. MissRainStorm…

Nick Laing Chairman of the tailor-made travel tour operator on 25 years in the trade and continuing to offer a personalised service How did Steppes Travel start? In 1989, sitting on a bench in the foothills of the Altai mountains in Russia, I sat looking at some of the most beautiful scenery I had seen anywhere in the world. Then I realised there were people out there who would also like to visit these remote areas of the world – people who didn’t have the time or knowledge to organise it themselves; people who appreciated their comforts, but would forsake it all to visit some remote hut in the mountains because it was worth the adventure. And so Steppes was born. Early challenges? Starting a travel company concentrating on Russia…

French-speaking Geneva is a city with a paradox at its heart. It’s an international centre for diplomacy – home to the UN, the Red Cross and countless other NGOs. It’s also here that legions of high-powered bankers grease the wheels of finance and CERN scientists play with ‘God particles’ and billion dollar machinery, blasting beams of protons around the Large Hadron Collider. Genevans are either leading the world or saving it, and with that kind of responsibility the streets ought to be a seething tide of cortisol. Yet the overriding impression is one of complete serenity, of a global city with the laidback feel of a small town, where there’s always time for a lazy lakeside stroll. Just as perplexing is why more people don’t linger. So many of Geneva’s…