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New York
New York
OCTOBER 2016 // 3.95 // UK EDITION // NATGEOTRAVELLER.CO.UK

Tales from the five boroughs

SAFARI
In the footsteps
 ome
STREET ART,
of Livingstone & STREET FOOD &
pawprints of lions STREET MARKETS
ANTARCTICA
Desolate
& bleak
yet utterly
exhilarating

South
merica guide
free inside
ALSO: CANADA SWEDEN MADRID CAPE TOWN MACAU MARRAKECH PORTUGAL
Alleys
Alleys
of traditions.
of traditions.
WhereWhere
great minds
great minds
meet, meet,
and strangers
and strangers
become become
friends.
friends.
Same as
Same
it ever
as itwas,
eversame
was, as
same
it always
as it always
will be.will be.

Souq Waqif,
Souq Doha
Waqif, Doha
www.visitqatar.qa
www.visitqatar.qa
 So there I was, in the wilds of Africa. Idbeen out on safari
all afternoon the thrill of the Jeep stopping for another animal
encounter lions, leopards, buffalo all closer than youd ever
think possible. It was unreal. Despite such a hectic day, I wasnt
tired toomuch adrenaline. Soon the sun was setting behind
the lodge, and there was acommotion as the Saga Rep told us
to hurry something special was happening. Shedarranged to
move our sundowner drinks out on the back terrace, but why?
Itwas a mystery! Soon we all stood there, looking out across
the plain, waiting for something to happen. Then they appeared
right in front of us a herd of elephants silhouetted against the
last of the daylight, twelve of them in total. Asthey slowly
marched by Ifelt this amazing calm, astillness. Itwas, without
doubt, one ofthebest experiences of my life.
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ST&HLtd and SagaCruises Ltd (registration no. 3267858) are subsidiaries
of ST&H Group Ltd (registration no. 0720588). All three companies
are registered in England and Wales. Registered Office: Enbrook Park,
Sandgate, Folkestone, Kent CT20 3SE. With respect to general insurance
products sold in the UK, ST&H Ltd is an appointed representative of Saga
Services Limited, registered in England and Wales (company no. 732602),
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Formoreinformation about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate,
visit www.atol.org.uk/ATOLCertificate. NHA-GH4793.
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 October
2016

Contents

FEATURES

76Cover story:
New York City
Meet the five boroughs of the
worlds most famous city, and the
writers who know them best

92 Antarctica 116 Canada 136 City life: Madrid

The remote, mysterious
and isolated realm of the
emperor penguin
104 Botswana
In Botswanas Chobe National
Park youll have little trouble
finding your very own
pachyderm parade
The final resting place for Arctic
icebergs, Fogo Island has proved
the end of the line for others, too
In Pictures:
126
Sweden
Exploring the sea-to-plate journey
of the seafood Big Five on the
Bohusln coast of West Sweden
A city of bullfighting, long
lunches and late nights, the
Spanish capital is very much
how Hemingway left it Issue 49
Brooklyn Bridge Park
144 City life: Cape Town basketball players with
Gritty, chic, gregarious, refined, downtown Manhattan in
wild or, if youre lucky, all of the the background
above simultaneously IMAGE: 4Corners

October 2016 7
 October
2016

Contents

136 66 116

SMART TRAVELLER 39 Stay at home TRAVEL TALK

17 Snapshot
A racy priest in Modena, Italy
18 Big picture
Meet the serval cat in the Serengeti
21 Editors picks
These are a few of our favourite things
22 Whats new
Parisian pop-ups and Falklands wildlife
27 Arts & culture
Film festivals, tours and new releases
28 Do it now
Take the survival challenge
31 Food
At the chefs table in Lyme Bay
North Norfolk tips and advice
152 Travel Talk
41 The word The experts travel manuel
The Secrets of the Seas by Callum Roberts
160 Feature: Ski
43 Competition The hottest new trends around the world
Win a four-night beach break to Bali
166 Travel writing competition
49 Author series This years talented winning entries
Jemma Wayne in Jerusalem
GET IN TOUCH
50 View from the USA
Aaron Millar on Portland cool 176 Subscriptions
Free tickets, great offers and discounts
52 Online
Weekly highlights from natgeotraveller.co.uk 177 Inbox
Your letters, emails and tweets
INSIDER
178 Your pictures
54 Weekender: Portugal This months best travel photos
Every nook of the Douro Valley bears a secret

33 On the trail 57 Neighbourhood: Rome DON'T MISS

Carmarthenshires cakeries by bike Reasons to venture out of the busy centre
14 Photography Competition
34 Rooms 62 Eat: Macau Enter now for a chance to win a commission
Sleeping off Oktoberfest in Munich A satisfying expression of an odd culture clash with National Geographic Traveller

36 Family 66 Sleep: Marrakech 46 Reader Awards

Book festivals and The Big Draw Ornate riads and out-of-town palatial stays Last chance to vote for the very best in travel

Reader Offers see p.150 for our latest partnership with

8 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 Contributors
Andrew McCarthy
Greenwich Village is a small town within
a city, filled with neighbourhoods that
morph block to block, as individual as the
inhabitants. Most of them seem to pass
through Johns Pizza on Bleeker Street at
some point, you should too. NEW YORK P.76
Editorial Director: Maria Pieri
Editor: Pat Riddell
Deputy Editor: Helen Warwick
(maternity leave)
Features Editor: Glen Mutel
Assistant Editor:
Stephanie Cavagnaro
Associate Editor: Sarah Barrell
Editorial Assistant:
Farida Zeynalova
Digital Editor: Seamus McDermott
Contributing Editors:
Amelia Duggan, Jo Fletcher-Cross,
Zane Henry, Josephine Price,
Joanna Reeves, Tamsin Wressell
Sub Editors: Hannah Doherty,
Lorraine Grifths, Chris Horton,
Chris Hughes
Project Manager: Natalie Jackson
Special Projects Consultant:
Matthew Midworth
National Geographic Traveller
Business Development Team:
Adam Blomeld, Bob Jalaf,
Dorian Lloyd, Glyn Morgan,
Adam Phillips
Digital Media Manager:
John Stergides
Sales and Marketing Manager:
Rebecca Fraser
APL Business Development Team:
Chris Dalton, Adam Fox,
Cynthia Lawrence, Mark Salmon
Head of National Geographic
Traveller The Collection:
Danny Pegg
Chief Executive: Anthony Leyens
Managing Director:
Matthew Jackson

Group Art Editor: Chris Hudson Sales Director: Alex Vignali

Shaney Hudson
My second trip to Antarctica revealed
how much difference a few weeks make.
Previously I visited in March, but in
December, there was more ice, penguins
and whales. The horrors of the Drake Passage
remained the same. ANTARCTICA P.92
Senior Designer: Sales Administrator:
Lauren Atkinson-Smith Melissa Jurado
Designers: Daniel Almeroth, Executive Assistant:
Gabriella Finney, Philip Lay Taylah Brooke
Production Manager: Financial Controller: Ryan McShaw
Daniel Gregory Credit Manager: Craig Chappell
Production Controllers: Accounts Manager: Siobhan Grover
Maia Abrahams, Joaquim Pereira, Accounts Assistant: Jana Abraham
Lisa Poston, Joanne Roberts, Head of Billings and Revenue:
Anthony Wright Sarah Robinson
National Geographic Traveller (UK) is published by APL Media Limited,
Unit 310, Highgate Studios, 53-79 Highgate Road, London NW5 1TL.
natgeotraveller.co.uk
Editorial T: 020 7253 9906. editorial@natgeotraveller.co.uk
Sales/Admin T: 020 7253 9909. F: 020 7253 9907. sales@natgeotraveller.co.uk
Subscriptions: T: 01293 312166. natgeotraveller@inter-media.co.uk

Nigel Richardson
Flat Earthers claim Fogo Island is one of
the corners of a level world not so absurd
when you consider that the islands first
European visitors, Portuguese fishermen in
the late 16th century, probably did assume
the earth was flat. CANADA P.116
Gavin Haines
Spains famous three-hour lunch is, alas,
under threat with politicians calling for it to
be axed to boost worker productivity. This
would impact many bars and restaurants,
and also kill off one of the great joys of
Spanish life." MADRID P.136
Audrey Gillan
Watching baby elephants traipse down
the hill to the edge of Botswanas Chobe
River and plough into the water, I had tears
in my ears, from the sheer welling of
emotion at seeing hundreds of magnificent
pachyderms at play. BOTSWANA P.104
National Geographic Traveller (UK) is published by APL Media Ltd under license from
National Geographic Partners, LLC. Their entire contents are protected by copyright 2016
and all rights are reserved. Reproduction without prior permission is forbidden. Every care is
taken in compiling the contents of the magazine, but the publishers assume no responsibility
in the effect arising therefrom. Readers are advised to seek professional advice before acting
on any information which is contained in the magazine. Neither APL Media Ltd or National
Geographic Traveller magazine accept any liability for views expressed, pictures used or
claims made by advertisers.
National Geographic Traveler (US) Market Research Manager:
Tracy Hamilton Stone
Editor-in-Chief, Travel Media: Senior Vice President,
George Stone International Media: Yulia P. Boyle
Publisher & Vice President, Global Director, International Magazine
Media: Kimberly Connaghan Publishing: Ariel Deiaco-Lohr
Digital Director: Andrea Leitch
Design Director: Marianne Seregi National Geographic Society
Director of Photography:
Anne Farrar President & CEO: Gary E. Knell
Senior Editor: Jayne Wise Board of Trustees Chairman:
Features Editor: Amy Alipio Jean N. Case
Associate Editor: Hannah Sheinberg Vice Chairman:
Producers: Megan Heltzel Weiler, Tracy R. Wolstencroft
Lindsay Smith
Associate Producers: National Geographic Partners
Christine Blau, Rebecca Davis
Blog Editor/Producer: CEO: Declan Moore
Leslie Trew Magraw Editorial Director: Susan Goldberg
Deputy Art Director: Chief Marketing & Brand Ofcer:
Leigh V. Borghesani Claudia Malley
Senior Photo Producer: Chief Financial Ofcer:
Sarah Polger Marcela Martin
Associate Photo Producers: Global Networks CEO:
Jess Mandia, Tyler Metcalfe Courteney Monroe
Associate Photo Editor: Chief Communications Ofcer:
Laura Emmons Laura Nichols
Chief Researcher: Marilyn Terrell Chief Operating Ofcer: Ward Platt
Copy Editor: Judy Burke Legal & Business Affairs:
Production Director: Kathie Gartrell Jeff Schneider
Executive Assistant: Chief Technology Ofcer:
Alexandra E. Petri Jonathan Young
Director of Communications:
Heather Wyatt
Board of Directors Chairman:
Gary E. Knell
Copyright 2016 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
National Geographic Traveler: Registered Trademark. Printed in the UK.

10 natgeotraveller.co.uk
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 HIGHLIGHTS

Editors Reader Offers with

Barrhead Travel

letter
Our new Reader Offer provider Barrhead
Travel has 41 years of experience in providing
expert advice to travellers, p.150

I
New York. Has there ever been an advertising slogan British Travel Awards
that has resonated for so long, succinctly capturing the Weve been nominated again vote now for
your chance to win prizes. ngtr.uk/BTANGT
sentiment of visitors and locals alike? It was coined
almost 40 years ago, when the city was in the midst of
burgeoning disco, post-punk and hip hop scenes, yet facing Photography Magazine
serious social problems and close to bankruptcy. Our new digital-only Photography Magazine
is now available for free. Download it now on
Seemingly perfectly timed, the campaign caught and iOS, Android and Kindle devices
rode the wave that saw NYC become one of the most
important and vibrant cities in the world.
South America guide
Like other thriving metropolises, New York can be Dont miss your 76-page South America guide
whatever you want it to be: a buzzing centre for shopping, free with this issue
sport, music, art, architecture, business, finance and food.
In many ways it still represents what greeted the millions
of migrants at Ellis Island a century ago hope.
Manhattan has long inspired those that visit, its
landmarks world-renowned: the Empire State Building,
Central Park, Grand Central Terminal, Times Square,
Broadway. But the focus is determinedly shifting from the
classic sights; the costly real estate in the heart of the
Big Apple is forcing its citizens and visitors to explore,
inhabit and change Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and
Staten Island in ways unimaginable 20 years ago.
For our cover story this issue we asked New Yorkers to
tell us about the five boroughs. About the people and the
stories; about what it really means to love New York.

PAT RIDDELL, EDITOR

@NGTUK_Editor
@patriddell

AWARD-WINNING NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER

Ecoventura LATA Media Awards 2016: Online Blog Feature of the Year British Travel Awards 2015: Best Consumer Holiday Magazine British Society of Magazine
Editors Awards 2015: Digital Editor of the Year, Consumer (Shortlisted) British Annual Canada Travel Awards 2015: Best Canada Media Coverage Germany Travel
Writers Awards 2015: First Prize British Travel Awards 2014: Best Consumer Holiday Magazine British Society of Magazine Editors Awards 2014: Editor of the
Year, Lifestyle (Shortlisted) British Guild of Travel Writers Awards 2013: Best Overseas Feature British Travel Press Awards 2012: Young Travel Writer of the Year

SEARCH FOR NATGEOTRAVELLER ON FACEBOOK TWITTER GOOGLE+ FLICKR PINTEREST INSTAGRAM

12 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 hotograhy
COMPETITION 2017
in partnership with CEWE Photobook
NOW
O P E N

OUR SPONSOR PRIZE SPONSORS

IMAGE: GETTY

14 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Our annual Photography Competition is now open
The winning prizes
Whether youre a professional or an amateur, this is the GRAND-PRIZE WINNER
competition for you. Simply submit in your preferred Myanmar
Win a 15-night holiday for two to Myanmar
category single-shot, portfolio or video and youll
and experience Rickshaw Travels newest
be in with a chance of winning a commission. bite-sized trips, which combine famous
highlights with hidden gems. Enjoy a cuppa
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Single-shot: Upload a single shot in one of four rural village life on Inle Lake. The prize
different themes: Action, Nature, People, Urban includes international flights, transport,
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PORTFOLIO
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Join Tatra Photography in its new
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be Mark Bauer, wholl help you make
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Includes return flights, airport transfers,
Portfolio: Professional photographers upload four six nights full-board accommodation,
shots based on the same subject/theme plus a seven-day photography course.
tatraphotographyworkshop.com

SINGLE-SHOT
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VIDEO
Video: Send us your YouTube/Vimeo link to an Apple iPad Mini 2
edited clip thats a maximum of two minutes A 32GB tablet with a 7.9-inch screen.

To enter

natgeotraveller.co.uk/photo-competition-2017
Closing date: 9 December 2016 at 23.59GMT.

OUR JUDGES

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October 2016 15
 DIVINE GACT&IVITIES
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 SMART TRAVELLER
Whats new // Do it now // Food // On the trail // Rooms // Family // Stay at home // The word

SNAPSHOT

Modena, Italy
While exploring the city of Modena in the
Emilia Romagna region of Italy, I ran into this
wonderful robed priest wearing a helmet, who
was about to hop on his bike and whizz off. We
spoke no common language considering my
Italian is pitiful, but he stopped to chat in
gestures with me and my two co-explorers.
He blessed us and handed me his worn-out
wooden rosary beads to keep. That gesture
was an absolute honour and I still treasure
those old beads to this day.
LOLA AKINMADE KERSTRM // PHOTOGRAPHER

@lolaakinmade
akinmade.com

October 2016 17
SMART TRAVELLER

BIG PICTURE

Tanzania
Our 2016 Photography Competition winner,
Jeremy Flint, captured this image on his
resulting commission to Tanzanias Serengeti
National Park with Four Seasons Serengeti and
Carrier. Servals are twice as large as house cats
with towering legs and very large ears, he says.
These beautifully spotted creatures walk
through the golden grass in the late evening,
searching for prey on the plains. Alerted by the
noise of the engine, this one turns towards me
for a split second and I capture the moment.
This years Photography Competition is now
open. See p.14 for more details.

jeremyflintphotography.com

18 natgeotraveller.co.uk
SMART TRAVELLER

October 2016 19

Editors' icks
Weve been here and weve been there and our team
have found a few things we thought wed share
BOTTLE HOUSE OF GANJA
Almost 50,000 glass bottles make up the
most inimitable attraction in Azerbaijans
second largest city. Resident Ibrahim
Jafarov used coloured stones from Sochi
to build the house in memory of his beloved
brother who never returned from the
Second World War. azerbaijan.travel
FARIDA ZEYNALOVA // EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
MILE HIGH PUB
Ditch the tinnies and order a proper pint of
Heineken on selected KLM ights.
A new brew lock keg works with air pressure
instead of CO2, so the beer can be served at
36,000 feet
The beer has to remain under 5C and stays
fresh for up to eight hours. With four kegs per
ight, the airline can serve up to
320 glasses
IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY
proost!
STEPHANIE CAVAGNARO //
ASSISTANT EDITOR
SMART TRAVELLER
Costa Rica
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
1 Hang out with the sloths in
Costa Rica: officially the happiest
country in the world*.
2 Wake up and smell the coffee
thats winning awards worldwide. Try
Doka Costa Rica Estate coffee and
its Tres Generaciones brand.
3 UK visitors up 20% and theres new
British Airways direct flights too.
*Source: Happy Planet Index 2016 by
New Economics Foundation.
MARIA PIERI // EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
WHAT WERE READING
OUT OF TIME
Miranda Sawyer
IM NOT WITH THE BAND
Sylvia Patterson
LIFE AFTER DARK
Dave Haslam
PAT RIDDELL // EDITOR
ir New Zealand
THE PROBLEM: Few things frustrate me more
on a long-haul fl ight than sitting with my
assistance light on, waiting for cabin crew to
a) notice me, and b) fetch me things. It can
take an age and often just for a cup of water.
THE SOLUTION: So, Air New Zealands vast
menu of free snacks and drinks on my
entertainment screen was a revelation. My
orders a succession of gin & tonics, with
my choice of garnish were then brought
promptly to my seat. airnewzealand.co.uk
GLEN MUTEL // FEATURES EDITOR
HAVE WET SUIT, WILL TRAVEL
A new Snorkel Trail created by the Scottish
Wildlife Trust takes in nine stretches of the
northwest Highlands coral coast, with
reef-like sightings of sea urchin, Ballan
wrasse, moon jellyfish, red coralline maerl
algae and pretty sunstar starfish.
scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk
SARAH BARRELL // ASSOCIATE EDITOR
October 2016 21
SMART TRAVELLER

ll aboard PARIS

Eat, drink and dance at Pariss derelict railway

site pop-ups just dont go off the rails

Join the Parisian bon vivants at pop-up bars, restaurants

and galleries across the city. A series of renewal projects
has seen creative spaces temporarily emerge in derelict
railway sites all over the French capital.
1 GRAND TRAIN pulled into a former SNCF depot in
CLOCKWISE: Grand Train
northern Paris on 30 April. Open until 16 October, this pop-up in northern Paris;
venue features a train exhibition, live music, eight Bistro bar at Grand Train;
restaurants and an area to play ptanque. Garage Mu Festival, La
2 Discover emerging local music at LA STATION in Gare des Station; Le Perchoir
Mines, a former railway warehouse in the 18th
arrondissement. Open until 23 October.
3 Pop-up LE PERCHOIR can be found at the Gare de lEst
rooftop until 15 October. The industrial iron and glass bar
is nestled beneath the Belle poque stations half-rose
GALLE MATATA; MAXIME HURIEZ

window, and is a great spot to peer across the city of lights.

IMAGES: CHARLY HEL/PIX'HEL;

4 CASE is hosted in a series of shipping containers in the

10th arrondissement, and features exhibitions promoting
sustainability. A coffee shop and burger joint keep
punters satiated.
5 In the derelict Saint-Ouen train station, LE HASARD
LUDIQUE a community-centred bar, restaurant and
music venue is set to open in early 2017.
STEPHANIE CAVAGNARO

22 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 SMART TRAVELLER

BRITISH PENGUIN
eet 
A new expedition brings you face-to-face with the Commersons dolphin
Falkland Islands animal inhabitants Sometimes referred
to as the panda
dolphin or skunk
Its often said the The trip includes a stop in the capital, dolphin, this
Falkland Islands are Stanley, where passengers can meet the black-and-white
more British than Blighty locals and check out highlights such as Christ creature resembles
itself, but that can feel Church Cathedral, with its garden arch made a miniature
like an exaggeration. from the jaw bones of two blue whales. killer whale.
Sure, visitors might spot But its the wildlife thats the real highlight,
the odd Union Jack, and with the itinerary including a hike across Black-browed
the phone and post boxes Carcass island in search of rockhopper albatross
are undoubtedly the correct shade penguins, blue-eyed (and pink-toed) shags These beautiful,
of red, but nothing makes a Brit feel and bull elephant seals. white-headed birds
further from home than a sudden The voyage will also take in Argentinas with their distinct
preponderance of penguins. Isla de los Estados, an untamed and largely eye make-up arrive
Lindblad Expeditions untouched nature reserve, home to the in the Falklands by
and National Geographic are 132-year-old lighthouse that inspired Jules their thousands
offering a fresh way to see both aspects Vernes novel, The Lighthouse At The End every
of the Falklands, by launching a complete of the World. What could be better for a September
circumnavigation of the islands. The 13- smug Facebook post apart from a British to breed.
day expedition, aboard the National penguin, of course.
Geographic Orion, will fi rst run expeditions.com
on 19 and 28 October 2016. GLEN MUTEL

Rockhopper penguin
Recognisable by their crest of spiky
yellow and black head feathers, theyre
happiest among the rocks of craggy,
windswept shorelines.

Elephant seal
So named because of their trunk-like snouts,
elephant seals are also elephantine in their
proportions the bulls found in southern
waters can weigh up to four tonnes.

Hive of activity
IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY; RALPH LEE HOPKINS

A bizarre new attraction at Kew Gardens has visitors all abuzz

WHAT IS IT?
A fake beehive, standing at 17 metres tall
and surrounded by a wildower meadow.
Constructed from thousands of pieces
of aluminium, its tted with hundreds
of LED lights that glow and dim.
WHATS IT FOR?
Designed by artist Wolfgang Buttress,
The Hive re-creates life in a bee colony.
Its hooked up to a real beehive, and the
structures lights and sound respond to
the real-time activity of the bees.
WHATS NEXT?
Its set to stay until the end of 2017, with
tickets included in a day admission to
Kew. Pollination Trail events will run until
23 December and bee-related lms will
be screened until 30 October. kew.org

October 2016 25
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 SMART TRAVELLER

Oscar contenders...
With Hollywood heavyweights
in attendance, Septembers
Toronto International
Film Festival (TIFF) is
the place to enjoy the
high-profile movies
likely to win awards.
This years festival
screened several Oscar
contenders:

n the spotlight
1 THE MAGNIFICENT
SEVEN: Antoine Fuquas
remake of the classic
1960s western, starring
Denzel Washington, Chris

FILM FESTIVALS
Pratt and Ethan Hawke.

Take your cue from the BFI London Film

Festival and explore some of the most high-
2 SNOWDEN: Oliver
Stones story of NSA
whistleblower Edward
Snowden, starring Joseph
Gordon-Levitt.

3
profile industry events around the world.
Plus, upcoming movies to look out for THE BIRTH OF A NATION: The
story of Nat Turners 1831
slave uprising,
DIARY DATE written, produced
BFI London Film Festival and directed
5-16 October 2016 by Nate Parker.
Londons biggest annual fi lm event kicks off with a screening of Amma Winner of the US
Asantes A United Kingdom, with a live cinecast of the screening taking Grand Jury Prize
place at cinemas across the country. While most of the red carpet action (Dramatic) at Sundance
at the London Film Festival is located around Leicester Square, there in January.
will also be a full programme of screenings, workshops, fi lmmaker Q&A
sessions and masterclasses held around the city. bfi .org.uk/lff

TAKE ME THERE See it now // Queen of Katwe

Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah
19-29 January 2017 has been screened at some of the
top lm festivals this year. The
IMAGES: ISTOCKPHOTO; EDWARD ECHWALU; TRISTAN FEWINGS/GETTY IMAGES FOR BFI

Snow and showbiz go hand-in-hand at this festival. Founded by actor and

director Robert Redford, it specialises in documentaries, with around 100
films shown at diverse small-town venues ranging from old cinemas to tale of a young girl from Uganda
gyms and schools. sundance.org
who trains to become a chess
BECOME A FILM-MAKER champion opens in UK cinemas
Berlin International Film Festival
9-19 February 2017 on 21 October. queenofkatwe.com
The largest publicly-attended film festival in the world has become
famous for its high-profile masterclasses, with Meryl Streep among those
sharing tips at this years festival. Most screenings, lectures and
masterclasses are held in English and open to all. berlinale.de
SAM LEWIS
MUST-SEE
MOVIE TOUR
The Game of Thrones Tour
in Northern Ireland visits
iconic spots from series 1-5,
as well as heritage sites
like Giants Causeway.
britmovietours.com

October 2016 27
SMART TRAVELLER

Seven
suvival musts
1 WATER: A 70kg human needs
2.1 litres of water in a temperate
environment to remain hydrated.
Survival will depend on whether
DO IT NOW

BE A SURVIVOR!
you can search and successfully
find water to boil and consume.

2 FIRE: Essential for sterilising

water to drink and for cooking
food. It's imperative you can light
fire by friction, too.

3 SHELTER: For safety, security

and protection from the elements.

4 FOOD: The average human can

last up to 40 days without food.
Being able to catch, trap or fish for
your own food can be useful for
morale, if not for survival.

5 EFFICIENCY: It's vital to act

efficiently when investing time
Could you build a shelter in the wilderness or tolerate the and effort into catching food.

bone-chilling temperatures of the Arctic? Why not test your 6 PERSEVERANCE: Be mentally
limits and see whether you'd cry, die or survive... prepared for your environment,
to guard against feeling
overwhelmed or defeated.
D O N ' T BEAR GRYLLS FESTIVAL Festival-goers looking for lighter
MISS London, 8-9 October 2016 entertainment can learn how to live in 7 PREPARATION: Rely on
Bear Grylls is attempting one the wild at bushcraft workshops or get an the basics (map and compass
of his toughest missions: to adrenalin fix with the pop-up bungee navigation) and not technology.
encourage more families to venture outdoors jump, Segway track and water zorbing. Prepare your equipment and
and push their bodies to the limit at a survival For those who dont have an appetite for inform people of your intentions.
festival in London and National Geographic bushgrub eating challenges (eatgrub.co.uk),
Traveller (UK) is going to be there, taking part theres gourmet food stalls and bars, as well Words: Andy Harris, survival
in the action. You can expect to see us doing as live music and entertainment. consultant, The Island (with
the 5k and 10k survival races. Festival tickets are 20 per person; under- Bear Grylls)
Competitors will encounter 20-35 obstacles 12s go free. 5km race entry on the day: 80, surviveendureexplore.com
and be forced to tackle a range of scenarios 10km: 90 (including entry to festival).
in survival zones, which emulate the worlds beargryllssurvivalrace.com/london
toughest terrains. SAM LEWIS

THREE TO TRY
Bushcraft
Learn to live off the land, forage for food, find plants for medicine, and hunt, trap and camp out without
leaving a trace. Ray Mears offers short courses around the UK. raymears.com/bushcraft_courses

Adventure
Survive in Iceland's wilderness, with expert mountain and ex-military guides teaching everything from
avalanche survival to polar navigation in sub-zero temperatures. epictomato.com/arctic-iceland LEATHERMAN SIGNAL
Sporty The newest hand tool from
Join 1,000 Rat Racers running, biking and kayaking over 105 miles through the Scottish Highlands. Leatherman not only has pliers,
Alternatively, tackle one of the other Rat Race routes around the rest of the UK. ratrace.com blade, saw, opener and bit
driver, it also has a safety
whistle, fire-starter, sharpener and
hammer. RRP: 124.95
multi-tool-store.co.uk

28 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 Tuerredda
for more information
http://goo.gl/oeBpld
 Your tailor-made Sardinia
All year round

G u i d e d S p o r t & D i s c o v e r y To u r s | Fo o d & W i n e | Charming Accomodations

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info@sardique.ch f a c e b o o k . c o m / S a r d i q u e To u r w w w. s a r d i q u e . c h
 SMART TRAVELLER

T THE
A
Chef's
TA
BLE
Native Dorset chef Mark Hix reveals
the best fish to feast on this season in MARK HIX
Chef, restaurateur and
Lyme Bay food writer Mark is a champion
of British cuisine. As well as
restaurants across London, he runs
Having been brought up by the Dorset coast Im mindful HIX Oyster & Fish House and HIX
Townhouse, a boutique hotel, both
of the future of the ocean and the fisheries. Ive always
in the coastal town of Lyme
fished for all sorts of species, from mackerel to sailfish.
Regis in his native Dorset.
Mackerel are, of course, plentiful and I keep just what I hixrestaurants.co.uk
need to entertain a few friends, while species such as
sailfish and salmon go straight back into river or ocean.
This summers ban on fishing for sea bass should
encourage people to enjoy fishing as sport, releasing bass
like salmon. The trawling ban in the Lyme Bay area a few
years back has seen cod stocks rise, so there are advantages
to restrictions for both anglers and commercial fishermen.
For me, the way forward is to showcase some of the
lesser-known species on menus, and diversify cuts. I put a
roasted hake head on the menu at my Oyster & Fish House
in Lyme Regis last year with local cockles, rather like the
classic Spanish dish with clams, and customers love it.
Using every part of the fish makes it stretch further, so we
arent hammering the prime cuts. We serve a lot of
cuttlefish, which is very abundant locally and a good
alternative to squid. Species like whiting, grey mullet and
spider crab also appear on my menus all fantastic.

What to cook
If Ive had a good shing glazed llets cooked in my
session on my boat in Lyme
Ill throw a sh supper at
my house, which will often
include Asian avours. Even
if I have a modest catch of
mackerel Ill use every bit
of them turning them,
say, into a crispy mackerel
IMAGES: GETTY
WHERE TO EAT
Sustainably sourced, The new-era chippy:
simply served: When I was a kid, fish restaurants
Other friends with restaurants didnt really exist. Chippies did, of
along the coast respect the sea in a course, and I remember when
similar way. Nigel Bloxham has the Arthur Watson turned his Riverside
Crab House Caf, and Billy cafe into a fish restaurant thats still
wood-burning oven. Winters diner/bar on the beach in a roaring success. Steve Attrill
When I was a kid Id Ferrybridge, Weymouth, where he opened the Hive Beach Caf in
regularly bring home a serves simply cooked fish in an Burton Bradstock and drew in
carrier bag of mackerel after
unfussy environment. Mitch locals and tourists to enjoy great
shing off the pier in West
Tonks, with the Seahorse in local seafood. Rick Stein put
Bay. My grandma would
fry some up for supper and
Dartmouth and diffusion Padstow on the map and its great
souse the rest with vinegar, restaurants Rockfish in Torquay, to see more and more places on

and ginger broth, sashimi or shallots and carrots, which Brixham and Dartmouth, our coast where you can eat
ceviche and maybe tamarind- wed snack on in the week. understands the sea and what simple, locally caught fish.
customers want. mitchtonks.co.uk thefishrestaurant-westbay.co.uk
crabhousecafe.co.uk hivebeachcafe.co.uk rickstein.com

October 2016 31
Out of the plane.
Up on the slopes.

From Munich direct

to the slope: LH.com/
munich-mountains

LH.com
 SMART TRAVELLER

Carmarthenshire
ON THE TRAIL

The sweetest way to discover Carmarthenshires cakeries is

via a calorie-crunching bike ride, says Farida Zeynalova
3 // HEAVENLY, LLANDEILO
Head north-east to the colourful town of
1 // CALON CAF & INTERIORS, CARMARTHEN Llandeilo for delectable local organic ice
Kick-start things in Wales oldest town creams try Eton Mess & Limoncello
with a scone in one hand and fresh coffee by the River Towy. heavenlychoc.biz
in the other. Try the bara brith, a traditional
Welsh fruit loaf baked in-house.
caloncafeandinteriors.co.uk

2 // WRIGHT'S FOOD
EMPORIUM, LLANARTHNE
Pedal the quaint Cycle
Route 47 to Wright's in
Llanarthne village. Expect a
festival of baked goods
made from local cream, milk
and butter. Apple turnover
anyone? wrightsfood.co.uk

6 // BURNS FARM SHOP

& CAF, KIDWELLY
Six miles north on
Cycle Route 4 will 5 //WHITFORDS CAF
lead you to this BAR, BURRY PORT
sustainable farm shop Cycle 5.4 miles west on
in scenic Kidwelly. Route 47 to Whitford's
Grab a slice of by the Loughor estuary.
homemade lemon Savour a gluten-free
and coconut cake and cake in the town where
help feed the chickens. Amelia Earhart touched
burnsfarmshop.co.uk down, becoming the
first woman to fly the
Atlantic. whitfords.wales

4 // STRADEY PARK HOTEL, LLANELLI

Then its south to Llanelli for afternoon tea
ILLUSTRATION: TILLY RUNNINGFORCRAYONS.CO.UK

in the Edwardian mansions rooftop lounge

with its backdrop of Carmarthen Bay and
Gower. Try the savoury Gentlemans Tea
beef burger made with Welsh cheese and a
corned beef rissole. stradeyparkhotel.com

WELSH CAKES
Somewhere between a biscuit and a scone, this
sweet and spicy traditional treat is also
known as a bakestone, named after the
cast-iron griddle used to cook it. Inspired by Discover Carmarthenshire.
discovercarmarthenshire.com

October 2016 33
SMART TRAVELLER

ROOMS

MUNICH
Germanys beer capital gets frothily
festive this month. Heres where to sleep
off the Oktoberfest excess

1 THE FLUSHING MEADOWS

Glockenbach, south east of the old town ticks all
the hipster boxes. Its here you'll find this loft-style
development, on the top two floors of a former industrial
building. There are floor-to-ceiling windows, floating,
eco-friendly beds and a rooftop bar looking towards the
Alps. Lofts from 128. flushingmeadowshotel.com

2 DEUTSCHE EICHE
This 19th-century Munich landmark is all things to all
people: a famous restaurant, legendary meeting place
for bohemians, artists and the LGBT scene (complete
with a four-floor bathhouse) and a hotel thats seen
guests of every persuasion, from Hitler to Freddie
Mercury. Doubles from 135. deutsche-eiche.com

3 PENSION AM JAKOBSPLATZ
This lovely little B&B near Marienplatz with just four
rooms (two en suite) has the intimacy of a house with
hotel-standard design. Breakfast is served in the
lobby at a little leather banquette, and rooms run the
style gamut from plain white minimalism to patterned
wallpaper. Rooms from 68. pension-jakobsplatz.de

4 BURG SCHWANECK
Hostelling doesnt have to mean roughing it at least,
not here in this castle, set in sprawling grounds outside
Pullach, six miles south of Munich. As well as dorms,
there are nine single and double rooms overlooking the
grounds. Note: the hostel doubles as a youth education
centre. Doubles from 69. burgschwaneck.de
JULIA BUCKLEY

34 natgeotraveller.co.uk
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Queen Mary 2, Milford Sound, New Zealand, photo James Morgan.

SMART TRAVELLER
A play FAMILY
ON WORDS
Words, words, glorious words; celebrate reading for pleasure with your children
with this pick of the country's top literary celebrations
Fun for all the family
BATH CHILDRENS LITERATURE FESTIVAL
Meet your literary heroes and head along to
whats hailed as the biggest and best in the
world of childrens books at the annual Baths and audio dramas.
Childrens Literature Festival (1-9 October),
now in its 10th year. Crowdpuller David
Walliams kicks off the event, which also
includes appearances from Malorie
Blackman (author of the critically acclaimed
Noughts and Crosses series), War Horse
author Michael Morpurgo, illustrator and
writer Chris Riddell and festival illustrator
Nick Sharratt.
The nine-day event promises to be packed
with book-related fun, from masterclasses
and discussions to storytelling events and
even bug-hunting sessions. For a real taste of
creativity, why not learn how to write your
own Doctor Who story in a writing class with
Last year, favourite books among kids and young
people were Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Harry Potter and
The Hunger Games. literacytrust.org.uk
THE BIG DRAW
Pick up a pen, pencil or wax crayon, put it
to paper and... draw
October heralds the start of the Big Draw, the
world's largest drawing festival. First held as
a one-day event in 2000, the Big Draw now
spans a month and attracts over 400,000
participants. This year, the theme is the
STEAM Powered Big Draw Festival. Blending
Science, Technology, Art, Engineering and
Maths (STEAM), the idea is to continue the
disciplines of innovation, enterprise and the
creative arts. thebigdraw.org
36 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Andrew Lane, author of the Young Sherlock
Holmes series and several Doctor Who novels
Little ones can meet famous faces including
CBeebies favourites Cerrie Burnell and Jess
French and CBBC duo Sam and Mark.
Meanwhile, author Frances Hardinge will
be chatting to John McLay about her Word of mouth
award-winning murder-mystery book, The
Lie Tree, and this years cover illustrator CHELTENHAM LITERATURE FESTIVAL
and author Nick Sharratt will be taking (7-16 OCTOBER)
questions and hosting a live drawing event. This year's Festival Big Read 2016 is The Colour
Learn about his first novel, The Cat and the Purple by Alice Walker. Other big names on the
programme include Sian Williams, Ian McEwan,
King, and get to know the man who has
Tony Robinson, Jacqueline Wilson and Eddie
illustrated over 200 books.
the Eagle. cheltenhamfestivals.com/literature
Book ahead online at: bathfestivals.org.uk/
childrens-literature
MARIA PIERI OTHERS FOR YOUR RADAR
Imagine Childrens Festival on London's South
Bank, February 2017
Hay Festival in Wales, 25 May 4 June 2017
FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival, 25
March 2 April 2017
IMAGE: GETTY. SOURCE: CHILDRENS AND YOUNG PEOPLES REA; DAVID STUMPPDING
IN 2015 FINDINGS FROM THE NATIONAL LITERACY TRUSTS ANNUAL SURVEY 2015.
T he festival in numbers
1km
World record for the longest drawing in the world
7,000+
World record for the greatest number of people
drawing simultaneously
400,000
Last year's event saw over 400,000 people
get involved

L i l y Beach Res or t & Spa
Huv a he nd hoo, Sout h Ari A toll, Maldives
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Email: sales@lilyb e achmaldives.com
Web sit e: lilyb e achmaldives.com
Li l y Be a c h Re sor t & S pa i s t h e fi r st fi ve -st a r a l l -i nc l u si ve re sor t i n the
Ma l di ve s w i t h i t s P l a t i num P l a n spa r i ng n o de t a i l s a n d de si gn ed to p am p er
g ue st s. O ffe r s gue st s a fa n t a st i c a r r a y of se r vi c e s; u nl i m i t e d c o cktai l s ,
p re m i um w i ne s a nd spi r i t s, va r i ous di nni ng opt i ons, spor t s a c ti v i ti es ,
exc ur si ons a n d l u xu r i ou s a c c om m oda t i on i n on e of 125 a m a zi ng v i l l as .
To ge t t he m ost of your e xc i t i ng M a l di ve s fa m i l y be a c h h ol i da y, Li l y B each
R e sor t & S pa offe r s pl e n t y of possi bi l i t i e s t ha t w i l l a l l ow you r l i ttl e o nes to
rom pe r a round t he i sl a nd. The Tur t l e Ki ds C l u b offe r s a w i de a rray o f
i ndoor a nd ou t door a c t i vi t i e s, a l l ow i ng your k i ds t o h a ve fu n w hi l e y o u j o i n
a di vi n g t r i p or go for a w e l l -de se r ve d spa t re a t m e n t .
 SMART TRAVELLER

Stay at home
NORTH NORFOLK

Ticked the Broads off your list? Head to Norfolks north

coast for charm, character, charisma and crabbing WHY GO
Unspoilt
beaches, undulating
countryside, alluring
DON'T MISS market towns, beguiling
Recently voted British beach of the year, Wells-next- wildlife and fresh
the-Sea is everything its billed to be beautiful flat farm produce.
sands, backed by a forest of Scots pines and lined with
colourful beach huts.

What to do // Grab Where to eat

From gourmet to organic, youll
your binoculars. The have little difficulty satisfying
your gastronomic urges. Farmers
sand dunes, reed beds, markets, local brewers, artisan
and marshland means producers and fishermens hauls
ensure the many gastropubs and
its perfect for bird- restaurants are well stocked. Try
the Victoria Inn (holkham.co.uk),
watching. Check out the the Crown Inn (crowninnnorfolk.
many nature reserves co.uk), the Wiveton Bell
(wivetonbell.co.uk) and Morston
along the coastline. Hall (morstonhall.com).

Where to stay WE LIKE

IMAGES: VISITENGLAND/IAIN LEWIS; BARSHAM BARNS; GETTY

Blakeney National Nature

Barsham Barns, a collection Reserve. Blakeney Points
of five converted barns in four-mile stretch of shingle,
North Barsham, is an ideal the summer breeding tern
base for exploring the region. colony, the winter breeding
The modern conversions grey seals and the pristine
sleep between four and 14 saltmarshes of Stiffkey
people and offer a stylish, are unmissable. In the
comfortable retreat with protective care of the
an impressive use National Trust since
of original features 1912, its one of the
and all the facilities countrys highlights
you could desire. let alone Norfolk's.
barshambarns.co.uk PAT RIDDELL

visitnorthnorfolk.com

October 2016 39
The authentic heart
of the Douro Valley
The Vintage House Hotel enjoys an idyllic and tranquil
riverside location at Pinho in the authentic heart of the
Douro Valley.
Providing a warm welcome, an exceptional level of comfort and the
leisurely atmosphere of a stylish country house retreat, The Vintage
House is unrivalled as a base from which to explore this fascinating
region.

A heritage property converted from an old wine lodge owned since the
19th century by a distinguished Port family, the 5 star hotel contains many
original features. Its 36 rooms and 11 suites, all with south facing river
views, are elegant and restful.

The restaurant offers a choice of traditional regional specialities and

creative cuisine based on fresh local ingredients as well a superb
selection of the Douros famous table wines and Ports assembled by the
hotels expert wine team.

Reservations and booking enquiries:

Email: reservations@vintagehousehotel.com
Tel: +351 254 730 230
www.vintagehousehotel.com
 SMART TRAVELLER

Word WHAT LIES BENEATH

The
Explore the lesser-seen depths of the world's oceans
with a series of sea life photo portraits that paint a
picture of our waters' past, present and future

Our oceans are in a state of constant flux.

Despite nearly three-quarters of our planet
being covered in water, the changes occurring
beneath the surface of our seas and oceans
remain largely invisible, lurking in the depths
and only becoming apparent in alarming
scientific reports.
Underwater photography from murky
shots of marine life to the too-bright scenes of
screensavers can seem to shed little light
on the realities of the deep. But advancements
in diving and camera equipment over the past
few decades has seen photographers get
ever closer to the truth. One such pioneer
is underwater photography master Alex
Mustard, who has been producing guides to
reefs and wrecks and giving serious insight
into how to photograph them for decades.
His work can be seen in this arresting set of
WISE WORDS
sea life portraits,
each of which
could easily stand
alone as a character study, from the
Mediterranean parrotfish grinning like
a toothy gameshow host to the vibrantly
coloured nudribranch no bigger than
your fingernail.
Each chapter is accompanied by a 1,500-
word essay and extended captions written by
professor Callum Roberts, a natural history
writer, marine scientist and conservationist.
This isnt just a two-dimensional aquarium
for your coffee table but a study of our oceans
and seas, past, present and tentative future.
The Secrets of the Seas, A Journey into the
Heart of the Oceans by Alex Mustard and
Callum Roberts is published by Bloomsbury
(RRP: 25). SARAH BARRELL
What we read
this summer
A PLACE CALLED WINTER
BY PATRICK GALE
A cracking tale about an English
settler in Canada as homesteads and
railroads began to carve up the
prairies. A perverse title for a summer
read; vividly coloured characters and
landscape meant I read it in three
stints. Tinder Press (RRP: 16.99).
SARAH BARRELL // ASSOCIATE EDITOR
SKYFARING
BY MARK VANHOENACKER
Ive just got round to reading last
years best-selling book for plane
geeks. It's calm, poetic and riveting,
each chapter an essay on the wonder
of ight, the modern world and the
beauty of travel. Fascinating even if
youre not a plane spotter. Chatto &
Windus (RRP: 16.99).
JO FLETCHER-CROSS //
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

The vodcast The podcast The talk The map THE YEAR OF LIVING DANISHLY
BY HELEN RUSSELL
New Yorks embryonic A tale of two cities: Stay safe when Felt tips at the ready A hugely enjoyable autobiographical
Low Line park, the London and travelling. Author, for a creative journey account of upping sticks... to the
IMAGES: GETTY; ALEXANDER MUSTARD

subterranean answer Montral. In a Brexit adventurer and with The Great sticks. Our witty heroine is
to the citys High Line, era, can the UKs former soldier Lloyd British transplanted from London to rural
Jutland when her hubby takes a job
introduced in an arty capital learn any Figgins advises on Colouring Map,
with Lego. She decides to dig into
movie by Nancy lessons from the personal security, plus celebrating
the social factors that keep Denmark
Whang of LCD Canadian city thats what to do if you're Ordnance atop world happiness indexes.
Soundsystem. battled a sovereignty caught up in natural Survey's 225th Icon Books Ltd (RRP: 8.99).
nowness.com/category/ movement for 30 disasters or terrorist anniversary. AMELIA DUGGAN //
art-and-design/ years? monocle.com/ attacks. 10 October, RRP: 19.95 CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
the-lowline-nancy- radio/shows/ Stanfords, London. laurenceking.
whang-petter-ringbom the-foreign-desk/130/ stanfords.co.uk com

October 2016 41
www.penaaventura.com.pt
To fly one of the largest Fantasticable in the world,
to slide down the mountain between twists , turns and
knowing the steep descents of Poio River or the Tamega
river rapids? To challenge the physical and mental limits?
Pena Aventura Park opens you the door to adventure!
Venture with us ...
Pena Aventura Park is an adventure park for
recreational activities and extreme sports. It opened
its doors to the public in 2007 and is today considered
one of the main areas of tourism animation in northern
Portugal. Located in Ribeira de Pena, Vila Real district,
there is a drive away of 90 minutes from Porto and Braga
45 minutes, two of the main urban centers of Portugal.
of 90 minutes from Porto and Braga 45 minutes, two of
the main urban centers of Portugal.
Its geographical location, next to the Natural Park of
Alvo, gives a great landscape interest, geological and
great biodiversity. Its activities are spread over a total
area of 16 hectares, where visitors can enjoy the perfect
symbiosis between nature and adventure.
On land, air or water, the feeling of freedom,
adventure and challenge are a constant.
Dare and enter this adventure.
 in
COMPETITION

A BALI BREAK
National Geographic Traveller (UK) has teamed up with
award-winning airline Garuda Indonesia and Sheraton Bali
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four-night beach holiday in Bali
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o ne
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October 2016 43
SMART TRAVELLER

Eents
2 0 1 6 / 1 7

natgeotraveller.co.uk/events

TRAVEL GEEKS: RUSH HOUR

04
6 DECEMBER
Rail travel
OCTOBER Just how far can you get using train
alone? Where will you find the
worlds most spectacular stretches
TRAVEL GEEKS: RUSH HOUR of rail? Whats the best way for a first

dventure travel WHEN:

Tuesday 4 October
timer to approach train travel? In this
event, our expert panel will discuss
all things rail-related, and offer tips
on the most worthwhile trips, while
from 18.00 to 19.00 sharing their most memorable train
Tips, advice and expert knowledge our panel discuss WHERE: Wallace Space Rooftop experiences. The talk will inspire
adventure travel. Plus, share your thoughts and join in the Kitchen, Covent Garden, 2 Dryden you to give flying a miss next time
discussion with them and fellow travellers Street, London WC2E 9NA and start planning your very own
TICKETS: 10 includes a free railway adventure.
How do you have an adventure on a budget and with limited time? glass of wine or soft drink, WHERE: Wallace Space, Covent
In this event our panel of experts discuss easily accessible adventure plus nibbles Garden, London, WC2E 9NA
holidays that can be taken in a few days without blowing the bank. TIME: 18.0019.00
Well look at activities to suit a range of abilities, as well as providing PRICE: 10 (includes nibbles and
tips for creating your very own micro-adventure holiday. a drink)
Top tips, advice, technical know-how, photo ideas and a glass of
something cheery. Our series of informal chats are tailored to fit in with
your busy lives. Travel Geeks: Rush Hour is just an hour long, and offers
you the chance to hear from our experts, share a drink and join in the
lively debate.

THE PANEL
IMAGES: ISTOCKPHOTO; GETTY

CARL LARKIN // SALES MANAGER LAURA HOLT // TRAVEL WRITER NEIL LAUGHTON // ADVENTURER
EMEA, G ADVENTURES Laura is a freelance travel writer AND ENTREPRENEUR
Carl has worked for affordable for National Geographic Traveller, Neil is an explorer and COMING SOON
adventure travel specialist G The Telegraph and expedition leader who has led 12 JANUARY 2017
Adventures for over nine years. The Independent. various trips on seven continents. Travel Writing Masterclass
APL Media, Highgate Studios,
Further panellists and moderator to be conrmed London NW5 1TL

44 natgeotraveller.co.uk
SPECIAL PROMOTION

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October 2016 47
The
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NOTES FROM AN AUTHOR // JEMMA WAYNE
JERUSALEM
Israels capital is many things to many people, but Jemmas first encounter with
Jerusalem as a child has led to a life-long fascination with this complex city
I
n 1989, my father was selected to play
tennis for Great Britain at Israels
Maccabiah Games. In size, the Maccabiah
is the third largest sporting event in the
world. In talent well, its the Jewish
Olympics. I was nine, and it was the first time
my family had visited Israel. We were
determined to see everything, so with a tour
guide at the helm we leapt from Jaffa to Tel
Aviv to Masada to Jerusalem. What I
remember most about the guide is that he
had a gun. I can still see him pocketing it as
we leaned against the wall overlooking the
vast Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives,
right before my grandfather quipped, I bet
theyre just dying to get in there.
My grandfather was the American atheist
grandson of an orthodox rabbi from Russia.
He loved to question. So does my father. So do
I. He had never been Bar Mitzvahed. Yet, that
day, after taking in the rows upon rows of
simple stone slabs, we made our way down to
Jerusalems Old City and to the Western Wall.
Here, we split. I went with my mother, sister
and young brother to the womens section,
where my lasting sense is of encountering a
great mass of energy, and of a visceral
thrusting forward to the wall an uplifting.
We spent a long time deciding what prayers
to write on the scraps of paper we then folded
and placed into the crevices. I dont know what
we were wearing, but I remember feeling hot
while we waited afterwards for our men. It was
then that our gun-wielding guide appeared
and pointed out two men bedecked in prayer
shawls, standing with a rabbi, heads bent
before the wall. Moments later, my father and
grandfather emerged. Weve just been Bar
Mitzvahed, they grinned. Perhaps this first
encounter with the city is why Jerusalem feels
complicated to me heavy, somewhere a gun
is needed, but also a place for new beginnings.
I didnt go back until 1997. This time, I was
taking part in the Maccabiah myself, in the
hurdles. My father was competing again. And
ILLUSTRATION: JACQUI OAKLEY
my brother was being Bar Mitzvahed. Unlike
his predecessors, he had learnt a proper Torah
portion and his ceremony was held on the
roof of the Hebrew Union College. I remember
spending a long time just looking. Aged 17, I
was now viewing the city through different
eyes aware of some of the politics, but
optimistic and romantic. (On this trip I met
SMART TRAVELLER
my future husband.) I noticed the cobbled
streets, the gold of the Dome of the Rock, the
ornamentation of the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, the narrow, arched alleys of the
Jewish Quarter, the ultra-modern museums
and hotels, the dynamic interactions of the
locals, the way that with the frenetic
construction its often hard to tell if the city is
half-built or half-crumbling, whether one is
moving forward or back.
By 2005, I worried that Jerusalem was
moving back. The Second Intifada had only
recently come to an end, and although I had
visited Israel a few times since 1997, Id stayed
on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, in areas less likely
to be targeted. Returning to Jerusalem, to the
place I was now acutely aware of as the heart
of everlasting conflict, felt dangerous. But it
was the Maccabiah again, so we went.
Escorted by police cars, our group was
bussed to the entrance of the Old City. A
number of the roads had been closed for us
and these extra security measures felt at once
reassuring and frightening. But we soon
found ourselves at the Wall again again
split by gender, which this time struck me as
antiquated and repressive. We were dressed
modestly, weighted with long skirts and
sleeved tops despite Israeli heat, but still
many of us were accosted by the self-
appointed modesty police a brigade of
orthodox women reprimanding anybody not
conforming to their standards of dress. I felt
rankled by this. Insulted and unwelcome.
Suddenly I was intensely aware of the dust
everywhere. Of the soldiers. Of them standing
at the edge of the Muslim Quarter. Of tension.
And that tension persists: Jerusalem was
Our gun-wielding guide the main site of this years spate of terrorist
attacks; the staging ground even for internal
appeared and pointed out Israeli discord, embodied this spring by
Women of the Wall. Yet, it remains magnetic.
two men in prayer shawls, Breathe through the heaviness and there is
standing with a rabbi, culture, spirituality, and beauty. In my novel it
is the location for forbidden love. For me,
heads bent before the wall. Jerusalem is a city imperfect. And endlessly
complicated. But so irresistibly alive.
Moments later, my father
and grandfather emerged. Jemma Waynes new book, Chains of Sand, is a novel
set between Israel and London, published by Legend
Weve just been Bar Press (RRP: 9.99).
jemmawayne.com
Mitzvahed, they grinned. @writejemmawayne
October 2016 49
SMART TRAVELLER
COOLNESS MATTERS
In the country that invented cool, Portland is raising the stakes and
defining hipster as a bearded, eco-friendly, sustainable pioneer
A
merica invented cool. It gave us
surfboards, hip hop and the word
dude. Americans turned their
baseball caps the wrong way round and the
world followed. Being cool in the US isnt
bravado its a patriotic duty.
Take California: the epicentre of all thats
laid-back, carefree and hip. Where they have
bikinis and margaritas, we have man boobs
and lager. Where they have surfing, we have
meat pies, standing in the rain and shouting
at 22 grown men. And their kind of cool is
catchy, too. Within minutes of arriving at
Huntington Beach, a small surf town 15 miles
south of LA, I was cheering a troupe of
tattooed breakdancers and swapping hang
loose signs with complete strangers. By the
end of the week, I was ready to quit my job
and live out my Point Break beach bum
fantasy for real. (The original film, not the
remake. Obviously.)
And its not just the Golden State. Travel a
few hundred miles north into Oregon, and
sun-drenched beaches turn windswept and
rugged, palm trees morph into 200ft-tall
rainforests and fields become lined with
endless rows of luminescent Pinot Noir vines.
And then theres Portland. Heres a city thats
so cool its become a parody of itself. In the hit
comedy series Portlandia a wonderful
send-up of the city its described as the
place where young people go to retire. And
its true: walk the streets of Hawthorne,
Mississippi, Alberta neighbourhoods that
define the hipster underbelly of this town
and people are out, all the time, drinking
micro-brewed beer and dunking organic
donuts in their fair trade coffee. But being
cool here isnt just about long beards and
ironic T-shirts. Theyre also putting it to work.
You see, Portland is the eco-living show
home of the US, regularly topping lists of the
most bikeable, sustainable and farm-to-
table-able places to live in the country. But
Portlands not tree-hugger green: its green
with style. Coolness matters, Charlie
Wicker explains to me from the back of his
flashing neon, bicycle-powered sustainable
coffee roaster. If being green is all about
geeks and bad clothes no ones going to buy
it. Its about setting an example.
And Portland is setting that example well.
Instead of fast food, its food carts. Places
50 natgeotraveller.co.uk
VIEW FROM THE USA // AARON MILLAR
like Lebaneser Scrooge, Snack Religious and
ILLUSTRATION: JACQUI OAKLEY
Steak Your Claim are every bit as tasty as
they are well-named. Instead of high street
stores, its local brands chains get chased
out of town. I found eco-friendly bicycle bars,
a tiny house hotel dedicated to downsizing,
and a concept shop where you pay what you
think is right and choose a charity at
checkout to receive a percentage of what you
give. Being green in Portland isnt about
doing chores, its about being part of a vibrant,
independent culture. Theres a spark here.
Its not just the big city, either. Electric
car-charging stations have been springing up
all across this hip northwestern corner of the
States, meaning its now possible to see the
state completely carbon-free. I watched
storms break on the mouth of the Columbia
River, hiked old Indian trails to deserted
beaches and watched the sunrise from the
top of an enormous sand dune all without
so much as a single emission spent. Electric
road trip may sound like the name of a 1960s
psychedelic band, but in Oregon its just
another day out on the coast.
And thats the thing. In an era where
everything is marketed, where every fizzy
drink and useless piece of junk promises to
make you happier, more enlightened and
attractive to the opposite sex, being good has
to be as hip as being bad. You cant ask
people to save the planet because they
should: youve got to make it cool.
On my last night in Portland I had dinner
at a new restaurant, Farm Spirit: vegan food
and stadium-decibel funk music, served in
an open-plan bar kitchen by inked-up trendy
young chefs. Its animal rights without a hint
of hippy in sight. Were punks, head chef
and owner Aaron P Adams said. We just like
to ham it up.
And thats what this country intuitively
understands the method of delivery is
every bit as important as the message itself.
Its not about showing off, its about showing
up. Standing for something with swagger and
strut. Coolness matters. America should
know; they invented it.
British travel writer Aaron Millar ran away from London
in 2013 and has been hiding out in the Rocky Mountains
of Boulder, Colorado ever since.
@AaronMWriter
ONLINE

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BEYOND THE BIKES

With daily updates, including
a blog every Tuesday and our
Travel Video of the Week each
Friday, get your fix of National
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Escape the clamorous heart of Vietnams Hanoi
and immerse yourself in this highlight from our
weekly blog dont miss a new post every Tuesday

52 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 ONLINE

A journey to Hanois northern neighbourhoods offers solace

from the citys two-wheeled chaos. By Josephine Price Most read
Im standing in a forest of scooters at the edge of a level crossing. The Meet the locals in Africa or
roar of their revving is deafening and the exhaust fumes are leaving book a no-fly trip for the
me light-headed. Suddenly, one impatient biker darts across the track whole family here's some of
and snakes through the opposing crowd. I breathe in sharply as, our most popular online reads
seconds later, the cantankerous train hurtles by, carving its way
through the thin concrete townhouses. In its wake, life spills back
onto the tracks, as washing lines, bowls of fresh herbs FEATURES
and plastic stools pepper the scene once more. Africa: Meet the people
Having just emerged from a five-day wellness retreat, For all its myriad natural wonders
the frenzy of the centre has been doing all kinds of wrong and abundant wildlife, its the
to my Zen. So Ive decided to get out and head north, inhabitants of the vast continent
beyond the bikes. Hanois swathes of tourists are not who are the real highlight. From
much in evidence in these northern neighbourhoods; a Maasai beadworker in Kenya,
nor are its scooters quite as intense. An estimated four to a Tanzanian savannah guide
million of them noisily traverse the city, but up here they and a shark conservationist in
pootle by relatively quietly. South Africa, we meet some of
A wrinkled face squints and nods to me from behind a LIKE THIS? READ MORE the Africa's most charming and
counter in a makeshift green tea shop as I pass by. ABOUT VIETNAM distinguished characters
Indiscriminate bags of the dried green leaves pile up ONLINE...
around the entrance and Ive not got a clue whats what.
AMONG THE
He gestures to his young son, who serves me in broken
MOUNTAIN PEOPLE
English. Unless weve both got it wrong, the tea here is a
A journey along
third of the price its sells for back in the centre. Vietnams mountainous
Up ahead, a faded yellow gateway leads me through Northwest Loop
to a wet market where a tangy seafood smell wafts out reveals the countrys
from behind a sheet of tarpaulin that has broken free rich diversity
from its pegs. The wind lifts it up and lures me in.
Stretching back behind the street, the market is EAT: HOI AN
Get in line for cau lao
positively rammed with locals and I stick out like a sore
noodles, com ga chicken
thumb. I smile back at the staring faces and they join
rice and the worlds best
me in wide-grinning appreciation. banh mi baguettes
The sun glints in the mirrors of the street barbers who
fringe the streets along Pho Yen Phu as I near the West CITY LIFE: HO CHI
Lake and my destination. Arriving, I step into a French MINH CITY
colonial-era villa, and am cheerily greeted by an Its hard to believe this FAMILY
Australian named Pete, who tells me the story of his electrifying economic Top 25: No-fly family travel
Hanoian haven, Maison de Tet Decor. Here, he roasts powerhouse was once Isnt it time you gave no-fly travel
a Khmer village,
his own coffee, makes his own furniture, cooks his a go? Whether you hit the road or
surrounded by tropical
own food, sells the handiwork of the Hmong tribes and sit back and let the train or boat
jungle and tigers
helps the local community, ably assisted by his troupe take the strain, weve got a ton of
of local workers. inspirational ideas. For bike-fit
We follow him upstairs to a nook in the attic, where throws adorn families, weve also rounded up
dark mahogany furniture; each one takes the Hmong people around some great cycle tours
two years to complete. I examine the intricate cross-stitch and the
vivid colours of the hemp and silk cloth. The yellow, Pete tells me, TRAVEL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
is created from turmeric, purple from the indigo plant and pink from Georgia
pomegranate. His relationships with the indigenous northern groups On the crossroads of Eastern
were first forged in Sa Pa, in northwest Vietnam and somehow hes Europe and Western Asia,
managed to bring the calm of the countryside to Hanoi. Hidden away Csaba Labancz discovers the
up here, the chaos of the capital seems a distant memory. wonders of Georgia
As I leave, hours later, an elderly woman trundles by carrying
bundles of sugarcanes twice her height on a dilapidated bicycle. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
She wheels it alongside her with trepidation as it balances on its two Finding the real heart
spindly wheels. Everythings slower up here even the bikes. of Dubai
After years of trying to be the
kuoni.co.uk/vietnam/hanoi biggest and brightest, Dubai is
finally prepared to focus more on
IMAGES: GETTY

those little things that help a city

become a real hometown

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October 2016 53
SMART TRAVELLER

Hike into the wilderness

The little-known wilderness of Serra
DArga, in Montaria, is as pacific as my guide
Agostinho describes. Born in the mountains,
his lifelong passion for the protected region
is clear through his buoyant narration. Even
some Portuguese people dont know about
this place, he says, ambling past the vivid
flora. A four-hour hike to the areas seven
lagoons with Agostinho is beautifully devoid
of tourism, where you can enjoy creeping
under the curtain of the Pincho Waterfall
and splashing around in its refreshing
turquoise waters just watch out for the
rickety bridge that leads you there. Then feed
your post-swim appetite with a traditional
forest picnic of mountain goat cheese,
homemade cornbread and, of course, local
wine. descubraminho.pt

ouro Valley
WEEKENDER

Cocooned from the rest of the country, every

nook of the Douro Valley in Northern Portugal
bears a secret. Words: Farida Zeynalova

Port of call
HELLO SAILOR
Fruity and relaxed with hints of cherry
and blackberry, ruby port is bottled
for two years and best served ever so
slightly chilled

OCEAN CRUISE
Tawny port is matured in seasoned-oak
vats for up to nine years, and is a more
mature, woodier alternative to ruby

CAPTAIN'S TABLE
Only produced in the very nest years
(two or three times a decade), vintage
port is a collectors dream, with the
most powerful aroma of them all

The lazy afternoon

IMAGES: GETTY; FARIDA ZEYNALOVA

Step into a fairytale in the countrys oldest

village. Join locals scouring the shops for the
finest leg of presunto de Chaves (North
Portuguese cured ham), admire the surreal
steel army of Roman soldiers watching over the
River Lima, or head to the market square for the
bi-monthly market, hosted here since 1125.
CLOCKWISE: Farmer at dawn, Pinho; bathing
at the Pincho Waterfall on a hike to the seven
lagoons; Santa Catarina Chapel, Porto; terraced
vineyards of the Douro Valley; making salted
bacalhau codsh cakes, Porto; market square,
Ponte de Lima

54 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 SMART TRAVELLER

TUNES &
TIPPLES
City in slow motion // Duck FADING INTO FADO
At Cozinha Velha in
into a cobbled side street in Ponte de Lima village, the
smell of roast pig floats across
Porto to nd locals nattering a dining room covered in blue
away and catch a sniff of tiles. The fadista, draped in black,
takes centre stage, her haunting
the citys famous bacalhau fado song snapping diners out of a
post-vinho verde lethargy.
(salted codsh) drifting from restaurantecozinhavelha.com

eateries. Azulejos, the famed FIREWATER

blue ceramic tiles, are To non-Portuguese speakers, its
called firewater, the guide,
everywhere in Porto, Sergio, says of the aguardente de
medronho, a locally distilled spirit
coating buildings made from honey and the fruits of
like the Santa the medronho tree. One shot of
this pungent spirit at lunch is
Catarina Chapel. enough to awaken the dead.

BARRELL BROTHERS
Its a sin to leave the Douro Valley
without tasting its famous port.
Head to Grahams Port Lodge, in
Vila Nova de Gaia, where guide
Alex leads you through a winery
that began with just 27 barrels and
two brothers. grahams-port.com

James Villas offers a

seven-night stay at
If you only do one thing
In the sleepy town of Pinho, hop onto a
Quinta de Casal Maior in
rabelo, a traditional Portuguese cargo boat
Ponte de Lima for two
once used to transport port from local
adults and two children,
from 1,458, including
vineyards to cellars near Porto. Sink into one
ights from Gatwick of the beanbags on board, sailing upstream
and car hire. along a tranquil stretch of river shaped by
jamesvillas.co.uk 2,000 years of winemaking. magnificodouro.pt

October 2016 55
 Neighbourhood
ROME
From a pottery mountain to cool
Pigneto, there are plenty of reasons
to take the tram out of Rome and
explore. Words: Donald Strachan

Ive never forgotten my first walk on

Palatine Hill, nor a morning I spent in
the 15th century Capitoline Museums,
on my first visit to Rome. Ive returned
many times and never tire of these
blockbuster sights. I still crane my
neck for a view of the Colosseum
through the tram window. But these
days, my tram is often travelling out
of the centre. Away from the Vatican
and centro storico (historic centre),
theres another side to the city. Not
free from tourists just vibrant A stall inside Mercato di
Testaccio. BELOW: Roma
neighbourhoods where you can enjoy farmers market
Rome with the Romans.

Testaccio
The neat grid of arrow-straight streets and
five-storey apartment blocks took shape in
the early 1900s. But the new(ish) MERCATO DI
TESTACCIO, a Roman institution that moved
home in 2012, features stalls displaying
everything from sandals to sea bream,
plus reinventions of Roman street food.
Testaccios biggest in fact, only real
topographical feature is MONTE TESTACCIO,
a scrubby hill 177ft high and over half a
mile around, made from broken pots. After
importing wine and olive oil from Spain and
North Africa, the amphorae couldnt be
reused, so were dumped here.
Nearby, the old city slaughterhouse occupies
a sprawling site of low-rise industrial brick
buildings. Two of them, including the Pelanda
dei Suini (the pig-peeling building), house
MACRO, a contemporary art gallery with a
shifting roster of installations and exhibitions.
Trading on its proximity to the abattoir,
IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY

Testaccio is the place to sample quinto quarto

cooking, a Roman culinary tradition. The
fifth quarter, a poetic alias for offal, was the
cheapest meat protein available. Sample local
dishes like coda alla vaccinara (oxtail stewed
in tomatoes) at FLAVIO AL VELAVEVODETTO.

October 2016 57
NEIGHBOURHOOD

FROM LEFT: A car on the streets of

Trastevere; a bar on Vicolo del Cinque in
Trastevere; street art in Garbatella

Trastevere
Not so long ago Trastevere (across the Tiber)
was a cheap neighbourhood for Roman
workers. The 1960s short stories of Pier Paolo
Pasolini are full of the areas rogues and
scoundrels cracking out Roman slang. Its
now on the tourist radar, but high-season
hawkers, tour groups and restaurant hustlers
all cram into a few streets between its
of the centre. I love BUONANOTTE GARIBALDI ,
a boutique B&B set around a shaded
courtyard that mixes a dose of tradition
with contemporary textile artworks by Luisa
Longo, whose studio is on-site. Room 1 has
citrus, rosemary and dwarf-olive trees on a
huge terrace Id be delighted to find in a suite
costing five times the price.
There are still unshowy Trastevere
Use Loco2 to book train travel from
the UK to Rome, travelling by Eurostar
to Paris, then the Thello sleeper to
Milan and the Frecciarossa high-speed
service on to Rome. Book the
Buonanotte Garibalidi via Sawdays
Italy; doubles from 177. A RomaPass
costs 38.50 for 72 hours of public
transport, with free admission to two
museums and discounts at the rest.
IMAGE: TURISMO ROMA/V.BIFFANI; GETTY; ALAMY

exquisite 12th-century BASILICA , in Piazza
Santa Maria, and the river.
Beyond, a warren of cobbled alleys offers
up peaceful corners and a glimpse of the city
before mass tourism. On Sundays, youll find
a slice of Roman life rifling stalls at PORTA
PORTESE FLEA MARKET while theres rarely
anyone jostling to see the scandalous Bernini
sculpture in SAN FRANCESCO A RIPA church.
Trastevere has landmark sights, including
Raphaels frescoes at the Villa Farnesina and
paintings at PALAZZO CORSINI . It also makes
a good base, within sight (and a short walk)
trattorias serving up tasty cucina romana. loco2.com sawdays.co.uk romapass.it
Among them are LA TAVERNACCIA and
MARCO G , where Roman classics like cacio e
pepe (pasta with pecorino cheese and
cracked black peppercorns) and gricia (with
pork cheek and pecorino) are perfectly
executed. Two of Romes best craft beer
haunts are here, too: Stavio brewery bar in a
brick arch by the Ponte dellIndustria, and in
a little cave, MA CHE SIETE VENUTI A F , or
Macch for short if you step through a
door to be met by a row of copper-coloured
taps, youre in the right place.

58 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 NEIGHBOURHOOD

WHEN IN ROME...
EAT ROMAN-JEWISH
STREET FOOD
Tasting carciofi alla giudica
(artichokes aromatised with
lemon and deep-fried) or fior di
zucca (stuffed pumpkin flowers)
is a hands-on experience.
SAVE ROOM FOR GELATO
Florentines (or perhaps Sicilians)
may have invented ice-cream, but
the Romans perfected it. Look out
for branches of Fatamorgana and
Il Gelato di Claudio Torc.
Pigneto & Torpignattara
Pigneto is renowned as the sort of place
where even your accountant has her eyebrow
pierced. In reality, its very approachable.
Locals ooze warmth and their relaxed
rhythm is easy to slip into. There are no
Caravaggios (that I know of), but it makes a
striking fi rst impression. Where buildings in
the historic centre are crowned with a
baroque dome or Corinthian capital, youll
see an unruly forest of TV aerials.
There are images everywhere. Walls are
plastered with graffiti, political, aesthetic or
a bit of both. Pigneto and neighbouring
Torpignattara have some of Romes best
street art. Theres a cluster around Pigneto
Metro and on Via Fanfulla da Lodi, including
Maupals giant 2014 eye. Via Alessi and Via
Serbelloni, close to the station, have more.
The area comes into its own after dark.
The pedestrian section of Via del Pigneto,
between Via lAquila and Via Macerata, is
always lively. Here youll fi nd MEZZO, a tiny
speakeasy with a four-storey rack of cocktail
spirits and a line in top-notch vermouth.
Personal highlights beyond this strip include
BIRRA+, a grungy temple to craft beer; NECCI
has Pasolini cachet, dating to the fi lming of
Accattone, and the same owners just opened
DALODI , an organic gelato and pizza parlour.
You enter nearby SPIRITO by ringing a vintage
phone in the back of a late-night sandwich
shop; an urban-meets-Bond feel to the
ground floor is enhanced by creative mixology.
Pigneto is also one of Romes most diverse
dining areas. You could comfortably walk
between knockout Ethiopian cuisine
(MESOB), Italian fi ne dining (PRIMO AL
PIGNETO), burgers and a beer (BIRSTR),
Indian, Japanese, tapas and more. THE
BRITISH CORNER is a tea room more English
than anywhere in England.

EXPLORE EUR
The 20th-century EUR district
(pronounced eh-oor) was intended
to be a showpiece of Fascist-era
architecture until the Second
World War halted construction.

GO UNDERGROUND
Everywhere from the Vatican to
the Appian Way to a municipal
park in Garbatella has caves and
catacombs to explore.

CARRY A WATER BOTTLE

All over the city, nasoni (drinking
fountains), dispense cool drinking
water thats free straight
from the aqueducts.

Larger blocks have been

decorated with monumental
street art, and downhill towards
the Tiber, the buzzing nightlife
zone around Via Argonauti and
Via Libetta has made Garbatella
an Instagrammers dream

October 2016 59
NEIGHBOURHOOD
The few streets between the
exquisite 12th-century Basilica, in
Piazza Santa Maria, and the river
are now on the tourist radar
Garbatella
The story of Garbatella began in 1920 at Piazza
Brin. Here, the first stone was laid on a
peculiar turreted block, with its Renaissance-
style loggia and a Roman arch down the
middle, ushering you to a communal garden
beyond. From here, city architects created
streets Via Garbatella, Via San Aduatto, Via
Passino and Via Fausto are fascinating
whose squat blocks are decorated with
rustication, sinuous gables and other baroque
flourishes, and Roman-style stone gargoyles.
The inspiration behind this architectural
oddity was the English garden suburb, and
evicted residents of the Roman borgate, slums
and shanty towns were moved into it.
Nobodys totally sure where the name
came from. This short-lived experiment in
low-density public housing was supposed to
be called Concordia. The Fascists wanted to
rename it Remuria. But perhaps, after a local
innkeeper who gained some renown, its
always been known as Garbatella.
More recently, larger blocks have been
decorated with monumental street art,
60 natgeotraveller.co.uk
People outside the Basilica,
Santa Maria, Trastevere
including a crowdfunded Sten MORE INFO
and Lex geometric composition
at the corner of Via Caffaro and Testaccio Market.
Via Vettor. And downhill towards
the Tiber, the buzzing nightlife
mercatidiroma.com
MACRO Testaccio. museomacro.org
zone around Via Argonauti and Flavio al Velavevodetto.
Via Libetta has made Garbatella ristorantevelavevodetto.it
an Instagrammers dream. Villa Farnesina. villafarnesina.it
It can sometimes feel cut off, a self- Galleria dArte Antica.
sustaining village, just a couple of Metro galleriacorsini.beniculturali.it
stops from Circus Maximus. It has justly La Tavernaccia.
fted restaurants, RISTORO DEGLI ANGELI latavernacciaroma.com
among them, but at lunchtime places like IL Marco G. marcog.it
GIRASOLE are the soul of Garbatella. Romans Stavio. stavio.it
chow down, half-listen to snatches of news or Macch. football-pub.com
sport on the radio. On my last visit, deep- Mezzo. Via del Pigneto 19
fried baccal (salt cod) followed by pork Birra+. birrapiu.it
cutlets and fried potatoes served simply with Necci. necci1924.com
rosemary and wedge of lemon, in a portion Spirito. club-spirito.com
I struggled to finish, came in under 10. Mesob. mesob.it
Is it an unlikely spot for one of Romes Primo al Pigneto. primoalpigneto.it
most memorable museums? Maybe. Birstr. birstro.it
CENTRALE MONTEMARTINI houses part of the British Corner. Via del Pigneto 112
Capitolines huge antiquities collection Ristoro degli Angeli.
inside a power station abandoned in the ristorodegliangeli.it
1960s. Its the only place in Rome where you Il Girasole. Via Rosa Raimondi
can view 2nd-century portrait busts framed Garibaldi, 26/28
by the blackened hulk of a 1930s diesel Centrale Montemartini.
engine. A vast boiler room has a large mosaic en.centralemontemartini.org
IMAGE: ALAMY
showing scenes from the Roman hunt, dug
from the Horti Liciniani. The museum is quiet,
making for easy interaction with the exhibits
and more satisfying than the Vatican.
 Via Giorgio Zoega, 59 Roma
+39.06.87.800.168
info@hotel-aroma.com
hotel-aroma.com

Palazzo Venart, Venice | A.Roma Lifestyle Hotel, Rome

ldcitalianhotels.com
 a
MACAU
Crispy chicken in chilli and peanut sauce, Chinese mince stew topped with a
fried egg, shrimp dumplings in the shape of goldfish... Macaus unusual blend
of cultures finds its most satisfying expression in its food. Words: Audrey Gillan

IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY

62 natgeotraveller.co.uk
T
heres a fast and ferocious clicking
the sound of bakelite mahjong tiles
hitting a formica table top as a group
of elders sit behind drawn shutters and
thrash out their nightly game. This clack is
overlaid with slow guitar notes and the voice
of a man mournfully singing fado. This is
Macau a little bit Chinese, a little bit
Portuguese and altogether Macanese.
A peninsula in Chinas Pearl River Delta,
Macau was a Portuguese colony until it was
handed back to the Chinese in 1999. Yellow-
painted buildings and streets laid with
black-and-white caladas (cobbled
pavements) echo Lisbon, while A-Ma Temple,
a Taoist edifice built in 1488, and many of the
other structures, are ancient Chinese. Street
signs mimic the blue and white azulejos
(tiles) of the conquerors, but their names are
in both Portuguese and Cantonese. This
Sino-Luso mix also makes its mark in
Macanese cuisine, which is heavily
influenced by the places where the Portuguese
navigators traded there are tastes of
Africa, Malacca, Goa and South America.
I follow the strains of fado into Restaurante
Antonio and find purple-coiffed chef-patron
Antonio Coelho working tables. He pours
glasses of vinho verde and brings dishes of
clams, salt cod and seafood rice. Many of the
ingredients, including the specially bottled
wine, are imported from his homeland.
When the Portuguese first came to Macau FIVE MACAU
in the 16th century, local cooks embraced a FOOD FINDS
kind of fusion style. Macanese cuisine is
Macau egg tarts: These
typically African chicken, where the bird is famous custard tarts are a
crispy after being barbecued then swathed in version of Portuguese
a chilli and peanut sauce; minchi, a fragrant pastis de nata. They were
mince stew, with Chinese seasonings topped created in 1989 by an
with a fried egg; and porco tamarindo, a dense Englishman whose
pork stew flavoured with balichao, a shrimp eponymous bakery goes by
the moniker Lord Stow.
paste which originates from Malacca, plus
sugar, Chinese seasonings and tamarind.
Bakkwa: A bit like jerky, this
A row of colonial-style, green-fronted houses sweet, sticky, chewy leather
built in the 1930s for high-ranking families made from all types of meat
gives a tiny glimpse into Macanese life back is seriously addictive.
in its heyday, and so do the black-and-white
pictures hanging on the walls of Restaurante Minchi: Macaus national
Litoral, home to another delicious Macanese dish is a pork and beef
speciality, curry crab, which comes with a mince-based stew, with
subtle spices and seasoning
thick, sweet, yellowish sauce.
including cumin, bay leaves
The historic centre of Macao was
and molasses, that often
designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in comes topped with an egg.
2005, not least because of the ethereal ruins
of St Pauls, Macaus most famous landmark; African chicken: Galinha
Na Tcha Temple, built in 1888; and the Africana is a Macanese
artistically paved Senado Square. Here the speciality of barbecued
streets are lined with stalls selling bakkwa, OPPOSITE: Macau chicken with a fiery
fish stew peanut-based sauce.
also known as rougan a salty, sweet
compressed meat leather thats so good, its
FROM LEFT: A local Pork chop bun: Come to Tai
some kind of addictive porky toffee jerky. restaurant in Taipa; Lei Loi Kei after 2pm for a
Step out of this colonial timewarp, though, a happy diner deep-fried pork chop served
and Macaus utter bonkersness manifests in enjoying shrimp hamburger-style in a bun,
all its gilt-covered, ostentatious, gambling- wonton noodle soup minus the salad trimmings.
October 2016 63

Making custard egg tarts at
Lord Stows Bakery
focused glory (its bigger and takes in way
more cash than Las Vegas). The three Lisboa
hotels seem to me a perfect totem for the
exponential expansion of the place the
oldest, the Hotel Lisboa, is a Bondesque
structure built in 1970; the Grand Lisboa (2006),
a golden lotus exploding up into the city sky;
and the ginormous Lisboa Palace, set to open
in 2017, is the very definition of excess.
Macau can draw in the worlds Michelin-
starred chefs, mostly plating international
cuisine. I eschew this ego-puffing and seek
out The Eight, which also has stars three
of them but serves Cantonese and
Huaiyang dishes in a dark, lacquered room
where vast goldfish, a symbol of good luck
along with the number eight, adorn the
walls. Steamed dumplings with cristal blue
shrimp are in the shape of goldfish, and
the best BBQ pork bun Ive ever eaten comes
as a hedgehog.
We dont grow anything here except
gambling chips, says my guide, Alorino
Noruega, as he leads me round the city centre
wet market. The fish, shellfish, frogs, turtles
and eels that we see, along with the fruit and
vegetables, are all imported from China. A
Goanese Portuguese who, together with his
wife, came for a visit to Macau more than 40
years ago and decided to stay, Alorino takes
me to the famous balichao shop where the
owner mashes dried shrimp with his secret
ingredients before decanting the mixture into
glass jars (theres definitely the taste of salt,
water and possibly some lime). We walk
down Rua da Cunha, known as Food Street
and home to Tai Lei Loi Kei, vendor of the
citys most famous pork chop bun, a twist on
the Portuguese bifeana.
64 natgeotraveller.co.uk
At the border crossing with China, we
watch as thousands of people shuffle back
and forth, the vast majority queuing for the
shuttle buses that will deliver them to the
casinos. This is a city made for Chinas new
rich, but these ordinary Joes clamour for it,
too. I wander alone through some of the
gambling halls (guides are forbidden), taking
in the opulence, crazy shows and glaze-eyed
one-arm-bandit players youd find in Las
Vegas. But theres not so much joy and
debauchery; its all high stakes but no
hijinks. The Chinese dont come to the
casino for entertainment, explains Alorino.
Theyre very serious. When they leave, you
cant tell whether theyve won or lost.
Through its building of bridges and the
unprecedented landfill, Macau keeps on
growing. The oyster beds around Taipa and
Coloane have been drained and padded out
to house the Cotai strip, accomodating
resorts with such names as Galaxy and
Venetian, each of them gargantuan geegaws.
Soon enough a new bridge will link the area
with Hong Kong, in a bid to make its
mega-casino core a bit more fun.
Macau may be a peacock, with a dash of
cuckoo thrown in, but away from the noise of
the roulette tables, theres another sound to
fix your ears on. Its a culinary cacophony
and, to my mind, it hits the sweet spot.
HOW TO DO IT: Cathay Pacific offers return
flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester to
Hong Kong from 469. Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16
offers superior rooms from 200 B&B based on
two adults sharing.
cathaypacific.co.uk sofitelmacau.com
macaotourism.gov.mo
A TASTE OF
Macau
Hedgehog shaped BBQ
pork buns at The Eight
THE EIGHT
A stunner, where a vast spherical
chandelier reflects on lacquered
surfaces to make a figure eight.
The food matches the design,
with exquisite dim sum skillfully
made. With three Michelin stars,
chef Au Kwok Keung combines
Cantonese and Huaiyang cuisine
crispy barbecued pork buns
with preserved vegetables, or the
signature goldfish-shaped steamed
cristal blue shrimp dumplings.
HOW MUCH: Dinner from 25 each
for three courses without wine. A
signature dishes set menu is 89
per head. grandlisboa.com
RESTAURANTE LITORAL
Chef and owner Manuela
Ferreiras grandmother owned
Pousada de Macau, where African
chicken was invented. Portuguese
petiscos (small plates) specialities
include leito assado (stuffed
suckling pig) and arroz de pato
(baked duck rice), Macanese
curry crab, and tacho, a local stew.
HOW MUCH: Three-course dinner
from 15.50 each without wine.
restaurante-litoral.com
MIRAMAR
IMAGES: AUDREY GILLAN; JAN ZHANG/GRAND LISBOA HOTEL
Just by Hac Sa beach, the vibe
here is Portuguese seaside resort.
There are jugs of sangria, cold
Super Bock beer and a vast menu
including fish stews, stuffed crabs
and cozido Portuguesa, steamed
mixed meats. A chiller cabinet
displays the egg-based desserts
for which the mother country is
famous, such as farofias (egg
clouds) or serradura, a Macanese/
Portuguese mix of whipped cream
and crumbled biscuits.
HOW MUCH: Three-course dinner
from 23.50 each without wine.
miramar.com.mo
 Sleep
MARRAKECH
Ornate riads with courtyard fountains; airy roof gardens from which to observe
the chaos; or out-of-town palaces with star chefs in Moroccos magic red
city, accommodation is the star turn. Words: Chris Leadbeater

Marrakech is an urban maze ideally seen in short bursts a dash into Jemaa IMAGE: GETTY

el-Fna to dice with the street food stalls; a walk to the elegantly landscaped
Jardin Majorelle, which used to be owned by Yves Saint Laurent; a hop south
west to admire the 12th-century Moorish majesty of the Koutoubia Mosque;
a saunter through Medina alleys to inspect the excellent Maison de la
Photographie before you return to the respite of your selected hideaway.

Happily, Marrakechs unfocused layout means its awash with such oases riads
lost down lanes that appear to be dead ends, concealing their charms behind
featureless front doors. Alternatively, you can slumber in the palatial properties
beyond the old walls, particularly south of the centre. The effect is the same: a
higgledy-piggledy zone of heat and noise that also knows how to be cool and silent.

F
66 natgeotraveller.co.uk
For small packages
DAR ATTAJMIL
Big isnt necessarily better as proved
by this tiny riad at the very heart of the
matter, immediately north of Jemaa
el-Fna. Riad Dar Attajmil comprises just
four en suite rooms within a single
Medina townhouse a sufficiently
intimate affair that can be hired for a
group booking (when it will sleep up to 10
people, at a pinch). It amplifies its homely
atmosphere by inviting guests to help
prepare meals via cooking classes, during
which they venture out into the souks of
the adjacent Bab Doukkala district on a
search for ingredients before returning
to the kitchen for expert tuition with the
riad chef.
ROOMS: Doubles from 90 (75), B&B.
darattajmil.com

October 2016 67
SLEEP

For on-high relaxation

EL FENN
Many Marrakech riads boast a roof terrace
for a birds-eye view of the call-and-
response below and a chance to doze on a
shaded lounger. This 28-room oasis
elevates these activities to an art form; its
upper deck has a pool, cushions and
awnings for afternoons of indolence,
before the restaurant and cocktail bar kick
in. El Fenn, which also has sculptures and
photos lining its corridors, achieves a
perfection at dusk when the Koutoubia
Mosques call to prayer sweeps across it.
ROOMS: Doubles from 200 (167), B&B.
el-fenn.com

68 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 SLEEP
SLEEP

For tee parties

ROYAL PALM MARRAKECH
Ten miles south west of the centre, the
Royal Palm pushes itself as a six-star
enclave of rare luxury. It supports this claim
with 134 suites and villas stuffed with giant
bathrooms and walk-in wardrobes, but plays
its ace with its golf course: 185 acres and
18 holes of fulsome fairways, manicured
greens, shimmering water hazards and
fluffy sand traps, with the Atlas Mountains
as a magnificent backdrop. It all adds up to a
significant challenge but rounds both bad
and good can be dissected afterwards at the
19th hole, the Al Ain Restaurant, where
Moroccan dishes are served.
ROOMS: Doubles from 249 (208), B&B.
royalpalm-hotels.com

For the perfect escape

RIAD FARNATCHI
Its always good to have a refuge in a city of
sound and sweat. This riad is surely that.
Indeed, its door anonymous on the narrow
Medina passage of Derb el Farnatchi is
almost invisible. But step inside and you find
a tranquil labour of love a family business
thats grown to encompass several buildings
under owner James Wix. Two courtyards,
serenaded by fountains and the sway of
citrus trees, are flanked by a mere 10 suites,
filled with antique furniture and a near
tangible sense of calm. The basement,
meanwhile, has a tiny hamman, where you
can be exfoliated from D400 (30).
ROOMS: Suites from D3100 (233), B&B, with
transfers. riadfarnatchi.com

October 2016 69
 A holiday experience at Matterhorn FOCUS in Zermatt
means an exciting fusion of art and architecture
from a unique point of view.

www.
matterhorn-
focus.ch
 SLEEP

TAKE THREE

For alternative location

For bargain hunters
RIAD TIZWA
Marrakech has no shortage of high-end
accommodation. But expense can definitely be spared
at Riad Tizwa, northwest of the Medina, close to Bab
Doukkala. It offers six rooms (five en suite) across
three floors. A British-owned spin-off from a similar
property in Fez, it provides all the necessary elements
of a weekend in the city a roof terrace overlooking
the chaos; mountainous breakfasts of pastries and
yoghurt without charging a premium for them.
ROOMS: Doubles from 60, B&B. riadtizwa.com
LA SULTANA
For the thrill of the souks minus the
sleeve-tug hassle, head to the Kasbah
district, south of the Medina. Here, the
city still swirls around cluttered shops and
merchants shouts, but the locals go about
their business oblivious to visitors. Part of
the Small Luxury Hotels of the World
portfolio, La Sultana slots into this as a
warren of five riads and 28 rooms, snoozing
under palm trees and vaulted ceilings. It also
sits alongside the El Mansour Mosque, an
ornately tiled, 12th-century gem.
ROOMS: Doubles from D3499 (270), room only.
slh.com/hotels/la-sultana-marrakech-hotel

For water babies

SELMAN MARRAKECH
Huddled six miles south west of the centre, this relative
newcomer (it opened in 2012) underscores its five-star
credentials with a fabulously expansive hammam,
Persian carpets underfoot (and on the walls), a library
and a trio of restaurants (Moroccan, Mediterranean and
fusion). But its (literal) centrepiece is a vast, palm-
flanked pool that all 60 rooms and suites gaze down
onto, tempting guests out to wallow in its magnificence.
ROOMS: Doubles from D4000 (301), room only.
selman-marrakech.com

For wow-factor
ROYAL MANSOUR
Centrally located a short stroll from the Medina, yet
clear of the hubbub, the Royal Mansour displays typical
five-star flair 53 exquisite rooms and suites, and three
restaurants under the tutelage of Michelin-starred chef
Yannick Allno. But best of all are its looks. Opened in
2010, it seems centuries older; a stately pile fit for a
sultan, with gleaming marble. Its reception courtyard
alone is a spectacle a fountain sparkling within.
ROOMS: Riads from D10,099 (761), B&B.
royalmansour.com

October 2016 71
SLEEP

For classic glamour

LA MAMOUNIA
Marrakech often resembles a city trapped
in the past, but the gilded institution that
is La Mamounia puts aside the Arabian
Nights ambience for a more specific take
on yesteryear, the Roaring Twenties. It
was in this decade (in 1923) that this grand
dame, on the western fringes of the
Medina, was founded. It clings to it most
noticeably with Bar Churchill, which
salutes the hotels most iconic former
guest with deep-buttoned red-leather
armchairs, wood panels and murmuring
pianos. Those staying in 2016 can
complete the tribute by ordering a Sir
Winston Churchill cocktail a giddy
union of Tanqueray gin and Champagne
costing D320 (24).
ROOMS: Doubles from D4179 (315), room
only. mamounia.com

For romance
MANDARIN ORIENTAL
MARRAKECH
Close enough to the Medina (three
miles south east), but enough of a step
away that the roar of the crowd fades,
the Mandarin Oriental is perfect for
couples. Its 63 suites and villas are
their own self-contained worlds, each
with a pool for mornings of lazy
splashing. Those who venture outside,
though, will find much to love in a spa
of cavernous scale and in main
restaurant MesLalla, where chef
Meryem Cherkaoui whips up a menu
of modern Moroccan cuisine.
ROOMS: Suites from 650 (544), B&B.
mandarinoriental.com/marrakech

72 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 Get enchanted with The pearl of the Alps

Hotel Allalin
Lomattenstrasse 7,
CH 3906, Saas Fee, Switzerland
Phone: 00 41 (0) 27 958 1000
Email: info@allalin.ch
allalin.ch

Modern Personalised Astonishing

Ski on Europes best-groomed slopes winter and summer.
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
 PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

Jerusalem

BEHIND
THE
SCENES
Jerusalems cuisine reflects the citys character as a melting
pot for many communities at the meeting point of East and
West, old and new, the inspirational and the innovative

A fusion of traditional Middle Eastern,

North African and South American,
exotic Asian flavours and continental
European cuisine; from street food to fine
dining, there arent many culinary channels
that Jerusalem hasnt explored and
mastered. To celebrate the citys dynamic
and pioneering food movement, its
restaurants are opening their doors and
welcoming food lovers and visitors to come
and explore what happens behind the
scenes as part of the newly introduced
Jerusalem Open Restaurant Festival.
Running from November 16-19, the
showcase offers tours of Jerusalem,
covering everything from its markets to the
most elegant of dining tables. Visitors will
be regaled with talks, meetings and
tastings with some of Jerusalems most
renowned chefs, as well as visits to the best Mahane Yehuda market. Its success led him
restaurants, cafs, patisseries and ice cream to open The Palomar restaurant in London,
parlours. And, since Jerusalem is the which mimics MachneYudas innovative
capital city of Start Up Nation, therell also food and hip, lively vibe. Having lived in
be an opportunity to meet with food-tech Jerusalem all his life, Granits inspiration in
entrepreneurs and companies who work to the kitchen derives from the citys vibrant
improve and innovate the way we produce, cultural diversity. Creatively expressing his
serve and present the wonderful food of interpretations of Jerusalem, and thanks to
Jerusalem and around the world. the citys continually evolving scene,
Meet top Israeli chefs such as Assaf Granits food is always moving in new
Granit, who opened his first restaurant, directions, making him an innovative and
MachneYuda, in Jerusalems renowned groundbreaking talent.

Hear from Assaf Granit first-hand as National

Geographic Traveller runs a series of videos
which home in on individual insights from
Jerusalems locals at natgeotraveller.co.uk

For more information, visit citybreak.itraveljerusalem.com or contact the Jerusalem tourist board on +44 (0)20 7593 1714
New york
T H E
T A L E S
F I V E
F R O M
B O R O U G H S

76 natgeotraveller.co.uk
MANHAT TAN. STATEN ISL AND. QUEENS. BROOKLYN. THE BRONX .
BEYOND THE FAMOUS SIGHTS, THE YELLOW CABS AND THE FIF TH
AVENUE STORES, WE SE ARCH FOR THE SOUL OF THIS MOST ICONIC
OF CITIES. GUIDED BY FIVE NEW YORKERS, WE DELVE DEEP INTO THE
FIVE BOROUGHS, TO LE ARN ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND PL ACES THAT
ARE INCRE ASINGLY MAKING THOSE NEW YORK MOMENTS BROADER,
BRIGHTER AND BRILLIANTLY DIVERSE

Photographs S L A W E K K O Z D R A S

October 2016 77
NEW YORK
M A N H A T T A N
village voice
By Andrew McCarthy
Today, I walked with my kids past my fi rst apartment
in New York City on Washington Place, in Greenwich
Village. They were mildly interested when I pointed up
to the fourth-floor window. It was soon forgotten as we
strolled through Washington Square Park, buzzing with
people soaking up the sun and listing to impromptu live
music sessions. I didnt mention anything to them about
my daily saunter across this same park on my way home
from class at New York University 35 years earlier, when
I would pause to buy loose joints from the Rastafarian
guys who used to play soccer right where we now stand
watching a juggler.
Its safe to say that both Greenwich Village and I have
changed since 1980. The city then was just emerging from
bankruptcy; there was a palpable edge, a well-earned
sense of danger about the place. I was 17 and wide-eyed, a
kid from New Jersey set loose on the mean streets before
I was ready.
The Lord takes care of babies and fools, a friend of
mine used to say and I was both. But those were heady
78 natgeotraveller.co.uk
times of discovery. In Greenwich Village, there was a
feeling that everything was possible. It was a place to
come and start over invent yourself anew. Anything
goes was the feeling on the narrow, cobblestone streets. I
took my fi rst legal drink in the Village. I lost my virginity
in the Village. I met Andy Warhol here, and Al Pacino. I
came of age below 14th Street.
At the time, the Village had long since begun its
transition from a bohemian sanctuary to the citys centre
of gay life and an artists haven. It wasnt surprising to
see drag queens roller skating down Fift h Avenue, or a
diminutive man wearing a beret sitting before a canvas
and easel on a street corner, painting the facades of the
brownstones that lined Perry Street. Today, of course,
most of the artists have been priced out gone to
Brooklyn (if they can still afford it there) and beyond.
The gay culture has migrated north to Chelsea.
The Bleecker Street of my youth is nearly unrecognisable
now. No more is the leather goods shop where I used to
buy belts and bags, gone with the old lady behind the

counter with the heavily arthritic hands. Gone too is
the framing shop where Id stop in to chat with my
occasional drinking partner, Tom. Today, that entire
strip of Bleecker Street beyond Seventh Avenue has
been transformed into a destination shopping corridor.
Elegant window displays for Ralph Lauren and Tom Ford
and James Perse line the tree-shaded block.
Just steps away, the Corner Bistro used to be one of
my regular spots, and still is. A quarter of a century ago,
The Bistro was what we called a real dive, filled with
old codgers nursing their bourbon at the well-worn bar.
Today, theyre still there, but so too are the hipsters and
the tourists, all mingling easily, drinking, laughing,
eating at whats perhaps the best bar burger in town.
Tortilla Flats, the Mexican restaurant is still around too.
It used to be an outlier in the far West Village, but now
that same corner is right in the heart of things, across the
street from the trendy Italian eatery, Barbuto.
But nothing in the Village has changed more than the
waterfront. Decrepit docks have been reborn as elegant
public spaces. Dark deeds used to be performed under
cover of the night by the water; these days, dogs are
NEW YORK
OPPOSITE: crossing in Greenwich Village
CLOCKWISE: outside Corner Bistro in Greenwich Village;
shopping on Bleeker Street; Washington Square Park; quirky
decor of Tortilla Flats restaurant
walked, bikers zip past, and lovers stroll after sunset
behind the Statue of Liberty and across the Hudson River.
And so many of the green spaces are now not only
green but filled with explosions of colour in the spring.
Tiny Abingdon Square Park was peppered with used
hypodermic needles when I lived across the street
today it is stuffed with tulips. Jefferson Market
Garden is a sanctuary just off busy Sixth Avenue, beside
neighbourhood landmark the High Victorian Gothic
Jefferson Market Library.
But as much as things change, things remain the same.
La Bonbonniere, on lower Eighth Avenue, is the greasiest
of greasy spoons, and still serves up the best breakfast
in town. Iconic jazz clubs like the Village Vanguard still
draw a line out on the sidewalk on a weekend night. So
does Smalls Jazz Club, a tiny venue down a flight of stairs.
And the Blue Note Jazz Club can still pack the house.
New York City is not a town for nostalgia it drives
ever forward. Have things been lost in all the evolution?
Of course. Is it a better place to live now? Definitely.
But for all its changes, the Village remains uniquely the
Village. I couldnt imagine living anywhere else.
October 2016 79
NEW YORK
S T A T E N
into the unknown
By Tara Isabella Burton
It takes a special person to want to visit Staten Island,
says tour guide Georgia Trivizas. After all, NYCs most
residential, least-populated borough is hardly known for
its touristic appeal. A largely suburban, blue-collar island
accessible from Manhattan by a ferry and somewhat
less convenient train the unassuming Staten Island has
long been the butt of jokes by more urbane Manhattanites.
The first thing to do in Staten Island? more than one
New Yorker I polled joked. Get on the ferry and leave.
But for those willing to explore, what Georgia calls the
unknown island has an uncanny appeal. The (free) ferry
ride itself offers some of the most spectacular views in
New York (especially at sunset). Tourists gather on one
side of the boat with their cameras, craning their necks
towards the Statue of Liberty as it comes into view;
across the deck, the commuters old white men in
Mets caps or Yankees T-shirts, elderly Sri Lankan women
doing their knitting dont even look up.
The port of St George, where the ferry first docks,
has a jarring beauty. The Beaux Arts buildings by the
80 natgeotraveller.co.uk
I S L A N D
waterfront although faded and dotted with dollar
stores and shuttered delis retain their bones, if not
their shine; the Victorian, Gothic and Queen Anne
homes mingle with brash Italian-American restaurants
(Nonnas of the world, unite! reads one awning) and
neon-lit, nautical-themed diners. At the waterfront Karls
Klipper, under unseasonal Christmas lights, I order a red
velvet cake and unlimited free refills of stale coffee from
a perpetually exasperated waitress.
But its the St George Theater, a five-minute walk up the
hill from the ferry, that serves as St Georges real highlight.
Built in 1929, when the area was still a bastion of Gilded-
Age wealth, the former vaudeville theatre and cinema
is a dizzying kaleidoscope of gold mouldings and red
velvet, faux-European frescoes and stained glass: newly
restored in 2004 after nearly three decades of disuse. In
Manhattan, such a splendid building might well be kept
under meticulous scrutiny; here, the usher takes pity on
me one Friday afternoon and allows me to walk right in,
wandering alone under the proscenium arch.

OPPOSITE: Lower Manhattan from the Staten Island ferry
CLOCKWISE: Larry, the owner of Liedy's Shore Inn, the oldest bar
on Staten Island; Botanical Garden at the Snug Harbor Cultural
Center; salmon bisque and iced coffee at Karl's Klipper, in St
George; A canine visitor to the Snug Harbor Cultural Center
Staten Islands historic sites, however, arent limited
to St George. A 10-minute bus ride down Richmond
Terrace, the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, a former home
for retired sailors spread over 83 acres along the Kill Van
Kull strait on the islands North Shore, features 26 of New
York Citys most striking examples of baronial 19th-
century architecture, from temple-style Greek Revival
mansions to red-brick cottages. Today, the complex is
a museum, featuring a contemporary art centre, music
hall, and perhaps most strikingly, the Chinese Scholars
Garden a walled floral display imitating the gardens
of Suzhou. Further south, in the neighbourhood of
Rosebank, the Alice Austen House which dates back
to the colonial era doubles as a memorial to one of
New York Citys most iconic photographers: a Victorian
bohemian famous for her strikingly honest portraits of
New York Citys working class.
Yet according to Georgia whose appointment-only
tours (carettatours@gmail.com) are a one-woman paean to
the borough Staten Islands finest asset is also its least
known. One-third parkland, its forest, wetland and pond
hiking trails are among the citys most expansive.
NEW YORK
In recent years, too, Staten Island has seen a cultural
regeneration. Signs across the ferry port advertise new
waterside luxury developments in the cheerily titled best
value borough more significant than ever now that
price hikes in parts of Brooklyn, once the destination of
choice for value-seeking young professionals, outpace
Manhattan. The Italian-American eateries like iconic Joe
and Pats and the locals haunt Lees Tavern now stand
side by side with a growing number of Sri Lankan and
Mexican cafes; the Flagship Brewing Company, which
opened in 2014, has brought craft beer culture across the
VerrazanoNarrows Bridge. The Snug Harbor Cultural
Center, too, has done its part to attract younger visitors:
a new crop of summer events include rooftop film
screenings and performances of new plays. Nearby, parts
of the 19th-century, still-working Atlantic Salt Company
depot have been repurposed as an installation art space
for the annual LUMEN Festival.
People dont realise the diversity thats here these
days, says Georgia. Its completely different from how it
was it was 20, 30 years ago.
Now the rest of New York just has to notice.
October 2016 81
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B R O O K L Y N
cobbled together
By Annie Fitzsimmons
TELL US ABOUT COBBLE HILL
Its often said that if Brooklyn was its own city, it would
be the countrys fourth-largest. Much of the Brooklyn
focus is on Williamsburg, but I love where I live Cobble
Hill, with Carroll Gardens and Boerum Hill a short walk
away. The people here are typical New Yorkers. This
area is very family-friendly, but its home to many types
of people and I love that fellow editors, writers, and
DINKs (Double Income/No Kids) live nearby. Youll see a
few tourists, but it is primarily locals.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO OTHER NEIGHBOURHOODS?
Brooklyn Heights has that sense of old New York, but a
lack of hip restaurants and new openings. Bed-Stuy and
Greenpoint still have gritty edges and theres a sense
of gentrification in process. Cobble Hill strikes a great
balance of the Brooklyn we all want to experience
brownstone streets and neighbourhood spots with
a palpable sense of energy and innovation inspired by,
but also separate from, Manhattan, just across the river.
NEW YORK
IS IT EXPERIENCING A WILLIAMSBURG-IFICATION?
Because its very family-friendly and removed from major
subway lines, it will never have the bar and restaurant
scene that Williamsburg has. But there are defi nitely
new gourmet food shops, yoga and Pilates studios and, of
course, preppy mass-market chains like J Crew moving
in which will continue to alter the character of the
neighbourhood. If youve ever heard the term bourgeois
bohemian or BoBo thats what Cobble Hill attracts:
successful, creative professionals.
WHERE ARE THE KEY STREETS?
Court Street and Smith Street, plus Atlantic Avenue a
big thoroughfare thats seen its many antique and vintage
furniture shops slowly being replaced by stores like
Barneys and Urban Outfitters. On Court Street, theres
a very defi nitive sense of upscale Brooklyn charm, and
there are places like Cafe Pedlar, a very Brooklyn-y coffee
shop. On Smith Street, you should check out Exit 9 Gift
Emporium, where you could easily lose an hour.
October 2016 83
NEW YORK
WHERE IS THE HAPPENING BRUNCH SPOT?
Ever since Jay Z and Beyonc showed up at Buttermilk
Channel, in Carroll Gardens, its been a brunch hotspot.
The food is great, but go right when it opens to beat the
crowds. My favourites are Bar Tabac for a great French
bistro vibe, live music, and eggs any time of day, and Caf
Luluc, where you simply cannot miss the pancakes. Both
are located on Smith Street.
WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO EAT OUT?
Frankies Spuntino, in Carroll Gardens if you can snag
a garden seat in the spring, theres no better place to be
having brunch or dinner; La Cigogne affordable, with
great food it serves Alsatian cuisine and plays old
French movies with no sound during dinner; Hancos I
have cravings for the shredded chicken bhn mi; Ki Sushi
delicious food flown in from the famous Tsukiji fish
market; Layla Jones my favourite pizza in Cobble Hill
(it also does a great Greek chopped salad); and Rucola
located on a quintessential Brooklyn corner, its small
in a charming, not cramped, kind of way, and serves
really great food.
84 natgeotraveller.co.uk
WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR A WEEKEND IN BROOKLYN?
I tell visitors they cant miss seeing Brooklyn Bridge Park
with its incredible view over to Lower Manhattan and of
the Brooklyn Bridge. Dont miss Ample Hills Creamerys
ice cream in the summer.
I might wander over to Prospect Park for off-leash time
before 9am with my dog, and in the spring, the Brooklyn
Botanic Garden is lovely, and, for art, the Brooklyn
Museum is just as good at the Met.
Ill see a movie at rickety Cobble Hill Cinemas.
Stopping in at BookCourt is a must for me, as I love
independent bookstores, and One Girl Cookies is a
nostalgic dessert parlour with nice two-bite cookies.
Ill buy hummus and yogurt plus nuts, rice, and
chocolate from the bulk bins at Sahadis, a Brooklyn
market specialising in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean
fare. I might buy olive bread at Mazzola Bakery, in Carroll
Gardens, where it feels like time has stopped.
Its worth noting that there arent many great hotel
options here but the Nu Hotel, on Smith Street, is a
nice boutique option. Alternatively, you can find some
fabulous apartments on the rental sites.
 NEW YORK

HOW TO DO IT: BRITISH

PREVIOUS PAGE: Brooklyn Museum
LEFT, CLOCKWISE: Alexandre, from Bar Tabac, on
Smith Street; Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge Park;
playing basketball in Brooklyn Bridge Park; patriotic
home on Cobble Hill
Brooklyn Bridge
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October 2016 85
NEW YORK
Q U E E N S
a greco-roman
holiday
By Stephanie Cavagnaro
Theres so much to do in Queens, says Nick, in his blood-
streaked apron. Its ridiculous. As we chat outside Old
Fashion Butcher Shop, on Steinway Street in Astoria, a
group of burly workers are unloading boxes labelled lamb
liver onto the gum-blackened sidewalk. Im Greek I
was born here. This is the best area, he continues, as the
guys nag him to help. Im doin it take it easy! Im busy!
Astoria is an enclave in Queens, known for its large
Italian and Greek communities its said to have the
second largest Greek-speaking population outside of
Greece. But there are also sizeable Middle Eastern, Balkan
and Brazilian groups, plus moneyed residents from
Brooklyn and Manhattan moving in, making this area
ripe for change. But its getting better, Nick urges. The
locals are still here. Im tellin you if you were here 20 to
25 years ago and seen the neighbourhood, it was all mom
n pop [independent] stores. Not that its a bad thing but
now nice high-end places are popping up.
Along busy blocks, people swoop into pricey coffee
dives, breweries and newbie boltholes selling hand-rolled
86 natgeotraveller.co.uk
bagels. But the culinary core is still schwarma shops,
tavernas and delis that squeeze snugly next to the 99-
cent stores, laundromats and massage parlours.
I grew up nearby on Long Islands North Fork,
and when I decamped to the city years ago, I opted
instinctively for Brooklyn, but some friends and family
have since moved to this corner of New York.
Within five minutes of leaving my brothers apartment
I find a mural of ancient Greece beneath a bridge, the gold
and grey Saint Irene Chrysovalantou Greek Orthodox
Church and the Greek American Retirement Club its
as if Im in Athens. Inside Artopolis Bakery, shelves are
packed with filo pastries, melomakarona (honey, spice and
walnut cookies) and sweet tsoureki bread, ready for Greek
Orthodox Easter. I buy a strong coffee and halloumopita, a
herb bread studded with chunks of halloumi and onion.
Its a spring morning and nearby Astoria Park is
bursting with cherry blossoms. Beyond it, the Tetris-block
buildings of Manhattan are stacked above the East River.
I walk towards Athens Square Park to finish my coffee.

Beneath the gaze of bronze Socrates and Sophocles
sculptures, locals are hunched over chess tables.
Feeling peckish after a few more hours of walking, I
pull up a pew at The Queens Kickshaw a narrow joint
with Edison bulbs, long wooden tables and brick walls.
Lunch is a grilled cheese sandwich packed with Gouda,
black bean hummus, guava jam and pickled jalapenos,
paired with a local Native White Stout from Big Alice
Brewing. I start chatting to Jennifer, one of the owners,
about the surge in the boroughs breweries. Its still
accessible for small producers, she tells me, adding that
NYCs first cidery, Descendant Cider, has also opened in
Queens. I think its a place thats still very affordable.
Keen to try more of the areas craft beers, I head along a
quiet street, where SingleCut Beersmiths taproom has 12
brews on the board. I order a Mad Michael, its 14-month-
aged sour wheat lager, and take a seat at a large red-oak
table beneath wire-caged bulbs. There are nods to music
everywhere tap handles are guitar necks, records line
shelves by the bar and a stage awaits live performances.
Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden isnt a brewery but
a Queens institution nonetheless. A mug of Czech
NEW YORK
OPPOSITE: Greece legend-inspired graffiti
CLOCKWISE: Socrates Sculpture Park; Baklava at Artopolis; public
pool in Astoria Park; Stephanie, a waiter at The Queens Kickshaw
Staropramen is sloshed toward me at the bar later that
evening. I grab it, and head outside, where the smell of
bratwurst recalls balmy evenings in Salzburg beer gardens.
The following morning, I stop in The Bagel House on
Ditmars Boulevard for an everything bagel with olive
pimento cream cheese. Steve, the owner, is behind the
counter. Im first-generation American, my parents are
Italian, he explains. Dont get me wrong, Astoria has a
lot of Greeks. They call Astoria Little Athens, but when
I grew up there were more Italians it was beautiful.
We talk about the boroughs new-found popularity. Id
say in the last five years its really exploded, and its all
good that its changing its just that the rents going
out of control, he says. An apartment that used to cost
$600 now costs $2,000 for a single bedroom. His friend,
Bobby, chimes in, Oh, its insane theres been a 400%
increase in rent in five years. The city hasnt seen growth
like this since what was happening with Williamsburg.
Change, though, is in Queens nature. And it seems
that the newcomers are integrating with the well-
established communities that came before them, I tell
Steve. He grins. Were not going anywhere.
October 2016 87
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T H E B R O N X
for beginners
By Julie Schwietert Collazo
The Bronx has long been New Yorks left-behind borough.
As Brooklyn and then Queens underwent gentrification,
The Bronx remained at least in the public imagination
gritty and, well, skippable for everyone but baseball
fans. To say that the northernmost of the five New
York boroughs is undergoing a renaissance would be
perhaps a step too far, but with under-the-radar arts
institutions and botanical gardens, cultural enclaves and
a burgeoning craft spirits scene, it offers more reasons to
visit than ever.
BRONX DOCUMENTARY CENTER: This passion project of
Michael Kamber, a former conflict and war photographer
for The New York Times, opened five years ago in a
landmark building and quickly became a cultural hub,
not only for the borough, but for the entire city. Free
art and photography exhibits, movie screenings, and
lectures and events are whats on offer, all featuring
world-class talent showcasing the power of documentary
work in all its forms. bronxdoc.org
NEW YORK
BRONX MUSEUM OF THE ARTS: Founded in 1971, the
boroughs key arts institution outgrew its various spaces
several times and finally moved into a larger facility a
decade ago. Since then, its also grown its collection,
the strength of which is modern multimedia work by
African, Asian, and Latin American artists, including
Cuban performance artist Tania Bruguera. In 2011, it
introduced a free entry policy, making it stand out from
museums like Manhattans Met and MoMA, where
tickets are $25 (19) a pop. bronxmuseum.org
EDGAR ALLAN POE COTTAGE: Visitors whose images of
The Bronx are informed largely by Hollywood may be
surprised by the boroughs literary history epitomised
by the tiny Edgar Allan Poe Cottage. Its location on the
Grand Concourse, where it sits in the middle of Poe Park
(not its original home), amid tall apartment buildings,
looks a bit out of place today, but when it was built in
the late 18th century, it was wholly congruous: the entire
borough was a rural outpost. bronxhistoricalsociety.org
October 2016 89
NEW YORK

PREVIOUS PAGE:
Residents on the
Grand Concourse

CLOCKWISE: A broken
Bronx fire hydrant;
a side street off
Grand Concourse;
149th StreetGrand
Concourse Subway
station; Yankee
Stadium

YANKEE STADIUM: The original House that Ruth Built
closed in 2008, replaced in 2009 by a $2.3bn (1.7bn)
stadium allegedly the most expensive ever built. Even
if your visit doesnt coincide with baseball season, you
can visit the onsite New York Yankees Museum or buy
tickets for a guided tour. newyork.yankees.mlb.com
WAVE HILL: The New York Botanical Garden may be better
known and bigger but Wave Hill 28 acres of public
gardens in The Bronxs ritzy Riverdale neighbourhood
is equally spectacular. Overlooking the Hudson River, it
boasts stellar views of the Palisades, towering basalt cliffs.
Stroll in the gardens, pop into Wave Hill House to take
in an art exhibit, performance or lecture, or browse the
onsite shop for a unique souvenir. wavehill.org
BRONX ZOO AND NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN: Each
NYC borough has at least one zoo and botanical garden,
but this particular pair across the street from
each other are the most famous and beloved. The
installations and collections at both are peerless just
gaze up at the Guastavino tiles in the Elephant House or
the grand LuEsther T Mertz Library at the NYBG (host
of many art exhibits and the largest botanical library
in the Americas) to get a real sense of the architectural
grandeur of New York City in the late 19th century.
bronxzoo.com nybg.org
ARTHUR AVENUE RETAIL MARKET: Skip Manhattans Little
Italy and head to Arthur Avenue instead, where youll
find a few-dozen Italian restaurants, bakeries and cafes.
If your time is limited, give preference to this no-frills
market, where you can buy an espresso and a freshly-
made sandwich sagging under the weight of thin-sliced
capicola or salami, or watch as a cigar is hand-rolled right
in front of you. arthuravenue.com
PORT MORRIS DISTILLERY: Located in the once-dodgy
neighbourhood of Port Morris, this distillery produces
a Puerto Rican moonshine called pitorro. Visit for an
impromptu tour of the facility, then stick around for a
sample or order a cocktail (youll likely need to elbow
up to the bar on Friday or Saturday, when its open until
midnight). portmorrisdistillery.com

90 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 START AT ONE

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 Forever
searching
for
Snow Hill
Island

An emperor penguin rests on an ice flow in the Weddell Sea

OPPOSITE: A passenger looks out over ice-choked waters

near the Lemaire Channel

NEXT PAGES: Passengers step onto the ice near Port Lockroy
just off Goudier Island, home to the Penguin Post Office

92 natgeotraveller.co.uk
October 2016 93
 ANTARCTICA

Words & photographs: S H A N E Y H U D S O N

This remote, mysterious

and isolated realm of the
emperor penguin is just
one of a succession of
high points on a jubilant
foray into the icy waters
of the Antarctic Peninsula
94 natgeotraveller.co.uk
ANTARCTICA

October 2016 95
ANTARCTICA
P
olar exploration is at once the
cleanest and most isolated way of
having a bad time which has been
devised, wrote the English Antarctic
explorer Apsley Cherry-Garrard in his
memoir The Worst Journey in the World.
Leaning over the rail of my ship, the
National Geographic Explorer, while it idles in
Commonwealth Bay, on the Antarctic
Peninsula, Im inclined to think Cherry-
Garrard got it wrong. In the water below, a
wall of donut-shaped bubbles curls to the
surface. Like a silent movie, the creamy
silhouette of a 40-ton humpback whale
looms in its wake, the milky pleats in its jaw
ballooning underwater as it gorges on krill.
Surfacing under the bow, the humpback
exhales, sending a fine, fishy mist up towards
us. For just a second the condensation
catches the light, sending a rainbow across
our line of vision, before it falls like rain into
the water below. With a flick of his tail, the
whale dives down to feed again, his
liquorice-coloured skin dissolving into the
murky ink of the Antarctic waters.
Despite the cold, despite the cost, and
despite Cherry-Garrards less-than-glowing-
recommendation, Antarctica remains the
travellers dream: remote, uninhabited,
seductive, filled with natural wonders and
blue ice, shining in unlimited sunlight
during summer and enclosed in darkness for
the winter.
The golden era of Antarctic exploration
may well have been that of Scott and
Shackleton, but in 1966 a new era of passenger
travel began, when Lars-Eric Lindblad
chartered the converted Argentine naval ship
Lapataia, taking 57 passengers to the South
Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula.
The Antarctica Expedition is not set up for
those who only want a good time, the trip
brochure cautioned perspective travellers,
according to an article in Life magazine.
Despite the warning, the successful voyage
made global headlines, and future trips were
booked out years in advance.
Today, there are 48 ships ferrying
over 38,000 passengers to Antarctica
each austral summer, from eight-passenger
privately chartered yachts to modified
2,000-passenger cruise ships. The
148-passenger National Geographic Explorer
might seem modest in comparison, but
its pleasingly well appointed. Theres an
undersea programme, incorporating
divers and a remotely operated underwater
vehicle (ROV), plus a National Geographic
photographer on hand to help passengers
take photos. On board theres a gym,
glass-encased library, gift shop and, should
the stress of whale-watching become too
much, sauna and spa. However, despite the
bells and whistles, expedition cruising still
mimics the experience of the heroic age of
polar exploration.
96 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Were subject to the exact same
conditions as the early explorers, says
captain Oliver Kruess, pointing to the ice
charts on the bridge. Yes, we have a five-star
chef, yes we have masseurs, but were still
subject to these conditions.
As if to prove him right, when we reach the
Antarctic Peninsula, bad weather hits 60-
knot gusts throw our entire landing schedule
out the window and send the tourist fleet
scurrying south for shelter. But its not just
wind thats the problem ice blocks the
Lemaitre Channel, while Port Lockroy
home to the famous Penguin Post Office
has only just reopened after being
inaccessible for two weeks.
Yet its this unpredictability that makes
Antarctica the ultimate great journey for
todays traveller an unbridled wilderness
that turns a tourist into an expeditioner, and
a passenger into an explorer.
And, most of the time, the ice isnt the
enemy, but rather a spectacular novelty, from
the penguin-speckled icebergs in the Drake
Passage hints were getting close to the
continent to the tabular bergs that create a
marine maze in the Antarctic Sound, and the
spectacular glaciers that splinter and smash
into the icy bays with brute force.
The person who seems to have the most
fun with the ice, however, is captain Kruess.
When Port Lockroy reopens, he doesnt
anchor off Goudier Island. Instead, he sails
the ship right into the ice sheet, parking it
in sea ice for the night.
A small door in the hull is opened, and a
ramp lowered. Its early evening when
passengers take their first tentative steps
onto sea ice, the ocean only metres away. The
surface is uneven and dusted with snow, but
the giddy thrill of wandering across this
frozen landscape is infectious. Snowball
fights break out. Antarctic snow angels
emerge in the powder, and everyone wants a
turn taking novelty photos with the towrope
under Explorers bow.
Accompanied by a few curious snowy
sheathbills, I walk across the glazed, white
landscape, standing in the shadow of
towering glacial cliffs. In the late evening
light, they gently glow like uncut sapphires,
thousands of years old. Its spooky,
intimidating, captivating. There really is
nowhere like this.
Science in action
A luxury vessel it may be, but National
Geographic Explorer is also used as a platform
for scientific research, often hosting
scientists who spend their time on board
giving lectures and conducting experiments.
This arrangement gives scientists access to
one of the most remote environments in the
world, while the passengers get to see polar
science in action. On our trip, were able to
see the ships latest scientific endeavour
before the scientists can even get their hands
on the data. National Geographic Expeditions
and Lindblad Expeditions have partnered
with the Extreme Ice Survey (the team behind
the award-winning documentary Chasing Ice)
to create photographic records of the
peninsula's glaciers.
But the focus isnt just on the glaciers. One
of the several cameras set up is located in the
middle of a penguin colony at Brown Bluff
nicknamed Guano Cam, thanks to the
large amount of stinking, acidic penguin
faeces it regularly gets covered in.
Brown Bluff is a true penguin city, home to
20,000 nesting Adlie penguins. We transfer
to shore via rigid-inflatable boat. Penguins
leap and plunge before darting under the
water with an incredible stealth that belies
the awkwardness of their on-shore shuffle.
On land, its so hard to take them seriously.
Battalions of Adlies waddle along the beach
in packs, with traffic coming to a complete
standstill when they collide with another
group heading in the other direction.
As it turns out, penguins like to follow the
path of least resistance: totally ignoring the
orange markers used to keep human visitors
a respectful distance from their colony and
instead, following in the footsteps of
oblivious passengers as they make their way
down the beach.
By chance, our landing at Brown Bluff
occurs just as the infant Adlies are
beginning to hatch. I settle on a rock and
watch as a penguin mother turns the egg
resting on her feet, once, twice, before I
glimpse a small crack, then a tiny beak.
With a little help and a lot of goo, a small,
soggy baby penguin emerges, and is tucked
quickly into the feathers of its nesting
parent. Consumed, I sit amid the stink and
noise, watching the little chicks first hour of
life: his feathers fluffing into a woolly grey,
his first meal eagerly gobbled. This is
Antarctica at peak life: alive and thriving.
While passengers wander the shore,
naturalist Eric Guth is responsible for
repairing the cameras and recovering the
approximately 11,000 photos that are taken
over the course of the year as part of the
Extreme Ice Survey. That evening, he presents
guests with a sample collection of the images
from the infamous Guano Cam and the
data is impressive. A quick analysis of the
images reveals that the penguins arrived at
Brown Bluff on 10 October to nest exactly
the same day they arrived the previous year.
I find it incredibly significant, says Eric,
who sports three stitches on his hand from
repairing the camera. Ill be really curious
for next year and the year after that. This
could just be an anomaly, but this just makes
complete sense, as this is what the penguins
need to do they need to get back to the
nesting site as promptly as possible and start
their breeding cycle.
 ANTARCTICA

Snowball fights break out. Antarctic snow angels emerge in the powder, and
everyone wants a turn taking novelty photos with the towrope under Explorers bow

Passengers hike across the landscape at Half Moon

Island in the South Shetland Islands

ABOVE: A rigid-inflatable boat cruises between the

icebergs at Cierva Cove

October 2016 97
ANTARCTICA

A mother turns the egg resting on her feet, once, twice, before I glimpse a small crack,
then a tiny beak. With a little help and a lot of goo, a small, soggy baby penguin emerges

98 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 ANTARCTICA

We pause the ship again, this time for a leopard seal resting on an ice flow, and another
emperor, which toboggans across pancake ice directly under the bow

October 2016 99
 Photo: Andre Schnherr/Visit Greenland
Why choose
the ordinary?
Explore the highlights of Greenland at
www.greenlandin3minutes.com

Gigantic icebergs from the World Heritage site Ilulissat Icefjord

reflecting the northern nights.
 ANTARCTICA

On board Explorer, the passengers are ESSENTIALS Antarctic

Peninsula
50 Miles

enthralled by the images. Its clear that by Getting there & around

s
nd
giving guests access to this sort of science, Most Antarctic cruises depart from the South

la
Pole Is
they start to care about the outcome not Argentine port of Ushuaia. British A N TA R C T I C A
nd

just of the science, but of Antarctica itself; if Airways ies direct from Heathrow to
la
et

they see it, theyll see the value in saving it, Buenos Aries. Aerolneas Argentinas Brown
Sh

A
th Bluff
creating ambassadors for the polar regions. has connections from Buenos Aries to u
L

So
SU

Its beginning to stir up in me too. While Ushuaia. ba.com aerolineas.com.ar

N

Antarctica is accessible by boat on a

we sail a stretch of the Gerlache Strait, I
NI

Snow Hill
two-day passage from Ushuaia. The SOUTHERN Island
PE

look through my binoculars at an odd-

International Association of Antarctica OCEAN
looking ship in a nearby bay, and fi nd myself
C

Tour Operators (IAATO) strictly regulates

TI

enraged. Its a large fish-processing factory landing sites and shore time, with no
RC

ship sucking nutrients, most likely krill, more than 100 people allowed on shore PORT LOCKROY Wedde ll
Goudier Island
TA

from the sea mere miles from the penguin at once. Rigid-inatable boats transfer S ea
colonies weve just visited. While tourist passengers between ship and shore. L e m a i re C h a n n e l
AN

boats adhere to strict restrictions, and the

land is protected in Antarctica, the waters
are not and factory ships legally operate
with permits.
Into the unknown
With the weather improving and the ice
charts updated, a decision is made: well
free ourselves from the pack of ships on the
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
More Info
iaato.org
How to do it
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPEDITIONS
offers a 14-day Journey to Antarctica
from November to February aboard the PREVIOUS PAGES, CLOCKWISE: Gentoo penguins nest
148-passenger National Geographic in front of the staff accommodation at Port Lockroy,
Explorer. The trip starts and ends in home to the Penguin Post Ofce; a passenger

peninsula and head into the Weddell Sea.
Theres a buzz of excitement among staff
and guests. For four years, this body of
water has been so corked up with ice no
one has been able to get into it, and our
daily programme is left deliberately vague.
The plan is to explore.
Buenos Aires, with double berths from
$13,360 (10,216) each. Return ights on
the group charter from Buenos Aries to
Ushuaia from $850 (650). Also offered is
the Journey to Antarctica on the
102-passenger National Geographic
Orion, departing Santiago, Chile.
nationalgeographicexpeditions.com
dressed for the chill at Orne Harbor; two passengers
enjoy pristine conditions under the midnight sun in
the Weddell Sea; sheltered by its parent, a freshly
hatched Adlie penguin chick enters a cold and icy
world at Brown Bluff
ABOVE: An Adlie penguin eavesdrops on a
conversation at Brown Bluff

October 2016 101

ANTARCTICA
Rather than drop anchor, the captain parks his ship,
National Geographic Explorer, in the ice at Port
Lockroy for the night
Like a sly fox, our ship turns this way and that, finding patches of water the way a
predator seeks the shadows, pouncing on the ice floes, the bow acting like a nutcracker
Its a different kind of ice to that we find
on the west side of the peninsula, says
captain Kruess. Its a bit more challenging.
But at the same time we have faith we have
a fantastic ship, weve been doing it for years
and we know how much ice she can have.
Next morning, as I pull back the curtains on
my balcony suite, I can see sea ice all around,
with huge tabular icebergs dominating the
horizon. Theres not another ship to be seen.
The loneliness of the Weddell Sea is a comfort.
It feels like were coming home.
And Im impressed by the speed and
manoeuvrability of our ship she slinks
through the pack ice like a sly fox, turning
this way and that, finding patches of open
water the way a predator would seek the
shadows, pouncing on the ice floes that block
the way, the bow acting like a nutcracker.
Then the call goes out: an emperor penguin
has been spotted on the edge of the sea ice.
Plump and golden-plumed, the sharp-beaked
penguin observes us as the captain gently
turns the bow, scattering a group of
bewildered Adlies. All eyes are on this rare
creature, which breeds so far from the
peninsula a bird I never imagined Id see.
102 natgeotraveller.co.uk
This sighting is a clue to our intended
destination. Our course today might be
vague, but on a trip to the bridge I learn the
captain is trying to get us to Snow Hill Island,
where a small breeding colony of emperor
penguins is located. Typically, you need an
icebreaker or a ship fitted with helicopters to
reach the colony during the summer season.
However, the ice has been so packed up in
the Weddell Sea that no one has reached
Snow Hill in years. Today, were giving it our
best shot, and this tiny island becomes the
sole focus of my attention, imagination, and
purpose. Im determined well reach it.
With precision and occasional brute force,
the captain presses us to the edge of the pack
ice and then far into it. We zigzag through
patches of sea ice and past icebergs that
lurch for miles. The bow is crowded, the
bridge even more so, as excitement
permeates the air, filling everyone with
restless energy. We pause the ship again, this
time for a leopard seal resting on an ice flow,
and another emperor, which toboggans
across pancake ice directly under the bow.
But now its suddenly not enough. I want to
stand eye to eye with an emperor penguin. I
want to trek across the ice and find myself a
crche full of beautiful fluffy grey chicks. I
want to explore a place few have ever seen.
Alas, the ice wont have it. Although the
wind is with us, pushing us south, the ice is
moving against the wind at a speed of two
knots; a remarkable pace given the wind
conditions and sheer mass of ice it has to
move. Open stretches of water close. The ice
moves in. With Snow Hill Island visible on
the horizon, we have to turn back.
Id known our chances were limited, but I
cant help but feel disappointed. But then Im
struck by the fact that over the past few days
Ive seen things most people never will, and
suddenly I feel greedy and foolish. And its
then I realise that what Im feeling isnt
disappointment. Its hunger hunger for a
new adventure, for a dream to chase, a hunger
to explore a place so tantalisingly out of reach.
Shackleton, who was once trapped in this
very sea, believed everyone has their white
south, a place that calls to their heart. For me,
my white south is seeing the emperor colony
at Snow Hill Island just once: to reach that
island locked in ice and wind and time, which
lay just within sight but just out of footfall.
TAKE A
CLOSER
LOOK
Spot whales, penguins and seals; stand in awe of
icebergs and glaciers and set foot on Earths
least-visited continent on Silverseas voyages
to Antarctica.

For more information or to book please call 0844 579 6710,

visit Silversea.com/expeditions or contact your travel agent.
 Hup
two
three
four!

IMAGE: GETTY

104 natgeotraveller.co.uk
In B ot s wanas Chobe Nat ional Park you ll have lit t le

trouble f inding your ver y own pachyderm parade .

Head to the S erondela re gion via the might y

V ic toria Falls where the she er varie t y of wildlife

will jolt your inner child back to life

Words A U D R E Y G I L L A N

October 2016 105

Botswana
Their trunks are
twisted around
each other, two teenage
elephants knee-deep in water,
tugging and pulling
before let ting go and continuing the
jostling
with their foreheads.
Soon, another male joins this play fight and all three are
piled up, bodies together, legs and proboscises akimbo,
roughhousing in the Chobe River in the afternoon sun.
These prepubescent males hold me transfixed, as
does the rest of their family, as I watch from a small boat
a short distance away. Theres the matriarch alongside
the other adult females in the group, plus the three
teenagers and two babies, all at the edge of the river,
drinking, floating, scratching themselves on the ebony
and jackalberry trees, playing and swimming, taking
delight in the fact that here in the water their bodyweight
is reduced by half by the buoyancy in their bellies.
The babies mostly find shelter under the legs or the
trunks of the females, but sometimes they stand alone,
tentatively working out what this trunk thing does
up until they're a year old elephants can only use their
mouths to drink water but when they're fully grown they
can take in eight litres with one big snort. These babies are
a comical sight with big moon faces and fuzzy hair on
their heads and as I marvel at them, the tiny elephant
singing in a military style during Colonel Hathis March
in The Jungle Book springs to mind. And so, gazing at the
largest animals in Africa going about their daily business,
I hear the refrain hup, two, three, four and Were a
crackerjack brigade. On a pachyderm parade. But wed
rather stroll to a water hole. For a furlough in the shade.
Chobe National Park, in Northern Botswana, has one
of the largest concentrations of game in Africa, and the
Serondela area effectively the Chobe riverfront is the
prime spot for viewing Kalahari elephants, whose large,
flapping ears are said to resemble the shape of the African
continent. On a very good day you can see hundreds of
106 natgeotraveller.co.uk
pachyderms as they come down the red hills in a diagonal
line towards the water, where they might remain for some
hours. Today is a good day. Some tentatively skirt the
edge of the river, while others plunge right in and splash
water behind their ears to cool their veins. Others mix
sand with water to make a sort-of mud bath that helps
them suffocate biting parasites as well as reduce their
temperature. Babies trip over their own feet, or those of
others, or hang on to their mothers trunks or legs for
stability. The whole thing is such an utterly breathtaking
spectacle I well up at the privilege of seeing it.
Here in the water is when you see that the true colour
of the elephant is not in fact grey or brown but a charcoal
black, says Isaac, my captain and guide. As he tries to
keep the boat steady, he tells me that elephants live in
social structures but also split up into a breeding herd
thats led by the grandmother, the matriarch, and a
bachelor herd led by a patriarch, who instils discipline
in the young, marauding boys. He points to the rough-
playing teenagers. When those naughty boys are in
puberty between the ages of 12 and 18 the matriarch
kicks them out to try to avoid interbreeding.
Further along the Chobe, we come across a solitary
male, standing in marsh grass in the middle of the river,
tugging up great tufts of green, swishing them around
and beating them a bit, before putting this in his mouth.
Hes out here on his own because hes older and prefers
solitude to the fighting and power struggles among
younger adult males. Solitary bulls have had enough of
IMAGE: GETTY
the young men in the breed so they keep to themselves,
Isaac explains. They shake the grass to take care of
their molars.
 Botswana

African elephants play-fighting

October 2016 107

Botswana

IMAGE: GETTY

Aerial view of the Okavango Delta

108 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 Botswana

its when I take a single-prop aircraft from

Kasane airport that I learn to appreciate the
wide Botswana sky and
the colours of the land.
Vast tracts of
uninhabited
wilderness
unfold below me

October 2016 109

Botswana

IMAGES: AUDREY GILLAN; GETTY

110 natgeotraveller.co.uk

They have six sets in their lifespan of 65 years so they need
to slow down the flattening of this last set or they wont be
able to chew grass and will suffer from malnutrition.
As we putter along the Chobe, the abundance of birdlife
is astonishing over 450 species of bird call this place
home. I see kingfishers (malachite and pied), pygmy geese,
helmeted guineafowl (Chobe chicken), and beautiful
southern carmine bee-eaters their plumage bright in
breeding colours flying in and out of nest chambers
as they excavate. Sitting on the skeleton of a tree is an
African cormorant, its red throat slightly puffed up as it
lazily spreads its wings so that it can dry off after the rains,
cleaning itself with its own natural oils before its able to
fly away. Further down the river, up on another tree, are a
pair of fish eagles I watch as one swoops down and pulls
its prey out of the water with its talons before returning to
share the spoils with its monogamous partner.
Along the waters edge, impala and lechwe lick mineral
salt from the dirt to help neutralise the high levels of
tannins in the leaves theyve eaten from the acacia
tree. There are Cape buffalo accompanied by little
oxpeckers, quietly picking away at ticks and scabs on the
body of the animal considered the most aggressive of
the Big Five. In Southern Africa, buffalo are nicknamed
the dagger boys, says Isaac. And in East Africa, they're
known as the Black Death.
We rise at dawn the next day for a game drive out from
Chobe Safari Lodge into the park. A pride of lions has
been seen and were going to track them down. The low
morning sun begins to rise and dust whips up around our
viewing vehicle but our guide finally spots spoor lion
footprints. He scans the land with binoculars. We wait.
And then they come five of them, nonchalantly crossing
the red road in front of us. Just as quickly, theyre gone.
Botswana
Famous footsteps
My journey had begun in Livingstone, Zambia, named
after the Scottish missionary and explorer David
Livingstone. I grew up a few miles from his birthplace,
in Blantyre, Scotland, and my primary school trips
alternated between the David Livingstone Centre
complete with a sculpture of the adventurer being
mauled by a lion and nearby Calderpark Zoo, where
African lions were the most popular mammals on show.
I hoped that as well as following in a few of
Livingstones footsteps (hes believed to have travelled
29,000 miles in his lifetime) I might see some of the poor
specimens Id seen caged as a child living free in the wild.
My first stop was Victoria Falls, or, in the Losi language,
Mosi-oa-Tunya, meaning the smoke that thunders. As
the first recorded European to discover the Zambezi and
the falls, Livingstone wrote, Scenes like this must have
been gazed upon by angels in their flight. And they're
truly exhilarating scenes. On my first visit, the sky is
many shades of threatening grey. Id expected the magical
mist that sprays from the falls when crossing the famous
Knife Edge Bridge, but when the skies open with torrential
rain, its overwhelming especially when an almost
circular rainbow lands at my feet. Im utterly drenched
and unspeakably happy. I return the following morning in
different light and under different skies to take in more.
From Zambia, I cross by ferry to Botswana at
Kalangula. We stop at a point in the river where
Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet (theres
a post sticking out of the water) and from there we
head to the town of Kasane to the base for our Chobe
adventure. But its when I take a single-prop aircraft
from Kasane airport that I learn to appreciate the wide
Botswana sky and the colours of the land. Vast tracts
of uninhabited wilderness unfold below me I watch
the umber tones of the earth change to a salty white and
follow the watery trails of the Okavango Delta.
We land at a tiny, basic airstrip, where Im met by
two men driving a big red tractor with a trailer attached
carrying a chair for yours truly. The men introduce
themselves: Shakapira, the guide for my stay at Moremi
Crossing, and Shooting, his deputy, a trainee guide who
shadows his mentor to learn more about the wildlife and
the landscape around us.
ABOVE: A pair of fish The waters of the Boro River and its channels are low
eagles share the spoils of on my visit so our activities are confined to slow, gentle
a recent fish hunt excursions both on foot and in a mokoro a traditional
canoe once dug out of ebony but now less regally carved
OPPOSITE FROM TOP:
from fibreglass. First we head out in the poled mokoro,
Shakapira, a tour guide
brushing past reeds and waterlilies, accompanied by
at Moremi Crossing;
waterfall spray soaking
bright-red dragonflies skimming the waters surface
visitors walking across and a plopping soundtrack of catfish plunging into the
the Knife Edge Bridge, shallows looking for bugs. We see fish eagles as well as
Victoria Falls saddle-billed and marabou storks.
October 2016 111

Watching one of the most
dangerous animals in Africa,
the hippo, from a mokoro
But its not long before we stop. Shakapira whos poling
is suddenly cautious. Hippo, he says. There are a
tail of small crafts behind us and Shakapira takes to his
radio and warns the other guides that hes seen a hippo in
the long grass. But they go on. We stay where we are and
then suddenly the hippo, which has slipped unseen into
the water, breaches baring its enormous fat teeth and
starts charging towards us. Quickly the little boats turn
and make haste the other way, amid peels of laughter,
masking the underlying fear of a close encounter.
I dont like hippo, explains Shakapira. When I was us. We see zebras, wildebeest and ostriches. Side-striped
14, I went fishing with my friends. We caught a lot of
fish in our two mokoro and suddenly I realised that my
mokoro was on top of a hippo. Then the hippo kicked
my mokoro luckily my bag of fish flew out and landed
on the bank. I swam to the edge and went up on the
sandbank and watched the hippo fight with the mokoro.
He trashed it. That is why I dont like them. Whenever I
see a hippo, I tell the guys we should turn back or take a
different route.
And so it is that the hippo stalls us time and time
again. Three times we turn around, and take to the bank
Shakapira, me, then Shooting, walking amid palms,
IMAGE: GETTY
leadwood, knobthorn and sausage trees (named after
its huge, hanging fruits, which, should you wish to keep
your head, its important to avoid). All the time were
Botswana
accompanied by the call of the Cape turtle dove which
Southern Africans like to say is them singing, work
harder and drink lager and the grey lourie, a creature
known locally as the go-away bird, which emits a nasal
call that sounds like gway.
As we walk, Shakapira stoops to examine tracks for
freshness. Elephants have three pads on the back, he
explains. Cats keep their nails retracted and only put
them out when theyre attacking. We brush past heavily
aromatic sage and wild basil, with butterflies all around
jackal. A python. A lonely bull elephant spots us and
starts shaking his ears. Shakapira whispers us away.
From the top of a termite hill, we look out and view a
group of hippos frolicking, some yawning, all revelling in
the muddy water blithely ignoring the tremulous sound
of thunder and their three human observers.
Back at our tented camp at Moremi Crossing,
Shakapira, Shooting and I sit on the deck overlooking
the delta, listening to the torrential rain (known as pula,
which is also the name of the local currency) drumming
on the thatched roof and making the hippo grass dance
under its weight. Shooting has a guide exam in less than
a week and Im keen to sit in on the lesson. The student
points out the kudus grazing on the other bank, then
helps me identify mangosteen, learn the difference
October 2016 113
Botswana
between pampas and hippo grass and discern the call of
the cucka bird.
Shakapira and Shooting ask about my country,
Scotland, which they think is in England, and smile
when I tell them I'm from Livingstones country. Dr
David Livingstone would be proud of us, says Shakapira.
Since we got independence weve never been in a war
and we have a good democracy. My best lieutenant in my
life is Seretse Khama [Botswanas first president] he
gave us everything. And now our people believe in sitting
in parliament talking, not shooting people with guns. I
love Botswana. I love my country.
Before independence in 1962, Botswana was a British
protectorate known as Bechuanaland. Since taking
hold of its own reins, its become the most politically
stable country in Africa, and its first president, Sir
Seretse Goitsebeng Maphiri Khama, is a national
hero. His son, Ian Seretse Khama, is the countrys
current president and has spearheaded the drive
towards the preservation of wildlife with a vigorous
anti-poaching strategy most particularly with
regard to rhinos thats helped to make Botswana
the wildlife haven it is today.
A saddle-billed stork flies over an elephant, over on the
other side of the channel; the pula continues to batter
on the roof and I take a moment to ponder my location.
In Alexander McCall Smiths The No. 1 Ladies Detective
Agency novels set in Botswana, the lady detective, Mma
Precious Ramotswe, says, I am just a tiny person in
Africa, but there is a place for me, and for everybody, to sit
down on this earth and touch it and call it their own. This
country is not my own, but the Batswana have welcomed
me like they did Dr David Livingstone. I can see why my
countryman chose to make this country his own.
114 natgeotraveller.co.uk
The shallow floodplains of the Okavango Delta
pose no problem for elephants on the move
Za
Z A M B I A
ESSENTIALS
m
Getting there & around
be
zi
Kazungula
Serondela Livingstone British Airways flies from Heathrow to
VICTORIA Livingstone via Johannesburg. Onward
FALLS
travel is with Comair. South African
CHOBE
NATIONAL PARK Airways has daily flights from Heathrow
OKAVANGO ro to Johannesburg, and one daily onward
Bo
DELTA
flight to Livingstone. ba.com flysaa.com
Maun Catch a mini bus/taxi from Livingstone
to the border at Kazungula, and cross by
AFRICA ferry to Botswana. It's a short distance
B O T S W A N A from there to Kasane, on the edge of
the Chobe National Park. Most hotels
offer private transfers. A number of
companies have light aircraft flights
100 Miles between safari camps across Botswana,
including Moremi Air and Wilderness
Air. moremiair.com wilderness-air.com
Places mentioned
Chobe National Park. chobenationalpark.co.za
AVANI Victoria Falls Hotel. minorhotels.com
Chobe Safari Lodge. chobesafarilodge.net
Moremi Crossing. underonebotswanasky.com
IMAGE: GETTY. ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
More info
botswanatourism.co.bw
zambiatourism.com
How to do it
SAGA TRAVEL offers the 12-night In the Footsteps of Livingstone
tour of Zambia and Botswana, from 3,199 per person, departing 10
January 2017. The tour combines a visit to Victoria Falls with stays
in Zambia and Botswana at the edge of Chobe National Park.
An add-on trip to the Okavango Delta is extra. Includes
accommodation, 20 meals, flights and transfers, the services of a
Saga tour manager and porterage at all hotels. travel.saga.co.uk
GOTO
FOGO
Its all a matter of life and death on Fogo Island. The final resting place
for Arctic icebergs, this atmospheric Canadian isle has proved the end
of the line for others, too. But its also a place of re-birth, caught in the
middle of an unlikely renaissance fuelled by a most singular hotel
Words N I G E L R I C H A R D S O N Photographs S T E P H E N G O R M A N

116 natgeotraveller.co.uk
IMAGE: GETTY

October 2016 117

CANADA

FERGUS FOLEY, A NATIVE OF

FOGO ISLAND AND A RETIRED
FISHERIES OFFICER, SHOWS
ME AROUND THE ISLAND ON
WHICH HE WAS BORN

118 natgeotraveller.co.uk

he iceberg is the shape of a saddle and about
the size of one of the islands saltbox houses.
As we contemplate it slowly shredding itself
against the rocks, my companion, Fergus
Foley, turns to me and says: Thats travelled
from Greenland. Probably took two or three
years to get here. Lost weight as he came.
And thats where hell die.
Its early summer on Fogo Island, a speck
of land with a population of just 2,400, off the
coast of Newfoundland. Together with the
adjacent landmass of Labrador, sparsely
populated Newfoundland forms the
easternmost Canadian province. But
strangely, to me, it feels like a breakaway
piece of the northern British Isles.
That impression is partly to do with the
relatively short flying time (five hours) and
negligible, not to say eccentric, time difference
of 3.5 hours. But the principal reason is
hidden in the way Newfoundlanders speak,
and it was this intriguing connection to the
old country that has drawn me back to the
province for a third visit in as many years.
Fogo Island, like the myriad other islands
and inlets along the fretted northern coast, is
iceberg Valhalla in June. While the sun
shines on the inland ponds, rocky coves and
traditional white saltbox houses with their
margins of picket fencing, the bergs bob
offshore in their infinite variety of shapes.
Fergus enthuses about these big blue Arctic
emissaries. They still fascinate me and Ive
been here a lifetime, he says. Meanwhile, I
CANADA
reflect ruefully that the expiring icebergs
passage here has, no doubt, been a damned
sight less troublesome than my own.
A day earlier, after touching down in the
Newfoundland capital of St Johns I hopped
in a hire car and drove 260 miles from
southeast to north through forested
hinterlands to a place called Farewell. There I
took my place in the queue for the Fogo Island
ferry and waited. And waited. In fact I waited
for as long as itd taken me to cross the Atlantic.
All the while I could hear Zita Cobbs
words in my head: I cant think of anywhere
in the world worth going to that doesnt take
a whole day to get there. In 2013, Cobb
opened a sophisticated and expensive
29-room hotel here called the Fogo Island Inn
and in the process demonstrated how PREVIOUS PAGE: Fogo
tourism can preserve a culture and reverse Island Inn a splendid
the death throes of a community. feat of contemporary
architecture that
Finally, at 11.30pm, having squeezed on a
combines the features of
decrepit rust bucket of a ferry (a new one is,
traditional Newfoundland
thankfully, now in service) for the 45-minute outport buildings
crossing to Fogo Island and driven a further
15 miles to a settlement called Joe Batts Arm, ABOVE: The harbour
I spotted the inn against a clear night sky: a of Joe Batt's Arm, the
pale lozenge lit by windows little bigger than village where Zita Cobb
arrow slits on the landward side (those facing was born and raised.
Cobb is the reason why
the ocean are floor-to-ceiling), apparently
Fogo Island is on the
floating above the rocky foreshore an
hitlist of international
illusion created by its stilts on one side. Its hipsters, curious to
such a surreal apparition that if youve never experience its mix of
seen it before, youre liable to rub your eyes cutting-edge style and
and wonder if its extra-terrestrial. outer-space remoteness
October 2016 119
CANADA
RIGHT: A life-size bronze
of a Beothuk woman
walks through the majority of Newfoundlands current
forest. This is
Shanawdithit, the last
survivor and chronicler
of the indigenous
Beothuk people
BELOW: When the fishing
industry crashed in the
early 1990s, Fogo's
economy was
devastated. Zita Cobb's
vision of a business that
serves the environment
and local culture has
revived the fortunes of
local artists, such as
Winston Osmond
120 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Driving the final few yards, my headlights
picked out one of the places where this story
and, indeed, the story of Newfoundland
itself begins: the Anglican graveyard of St
John the Evangelist. Lying just above the
shore and surrounded by springy ground
cover known as barrens, where berries and
caribou moss grow, the graveyard is packed
with headstones bearing names that
originated in the English county of Dorset.
The following morning, beneath a
dazzlingly big, cloudless sky, I wander the
aisles of names: Cobb, Coffin, Cull, Freake. As
early as the 17th century, fishing fleets from
the English West Country were coming to
these waters for the abundant cod, picking
up provisions and crew in southeast Ireland
before the long Atlantic haul. And from the
18th century, they started to settle. The
population of 500,000 claim English or Irish
ancestry and you can hear traces of this past
in the way they speak, especially in isolated
spots like Fogo Island Toime floies, one
fisherman observed to me.
The way of life fishing, sealing and
self-sufficiency changed little down the
centuries. But the modern world caught up
with the islanders in 1992, when the Canadian
government announced a moratorium on the
northern cod fishery and the fishing
communities of Newfoundland were hit as
hard as Britains coalfields in the 1980s.
We thought we were finished at that
point, Fergus Foley tells me. Id say we lost a
third of our population, mostly to Alberta.
Fergus has picked me up mid-morning for a
spin round the island. Retired, he now works
for Fogo Island Inn as one of several
community hosts, giving guests guided
tours in his pick-up truck and explaining
Fogos history and culture along the way.
As we drive along empty roads round
sheltered bays, their waters reflecting the
clapboard saltbox houses perched along the
shore, Fergus talks of Zita Cobb, his near-
contemporary: how she grew up on Fogo
Island in a poor family; went away and
became a senior executive in the fibre-optics
industry in California; retired at the age of 43
and caught the ferry home with C$69 million
in her back pocket and big ideas in her head.
Believing in business models that are the
servants of the environment and culture,
not their master, she sank many millions of
her own fortune into conceiving and
building the inn and its associated projects,
such as artists studios, re-investing all
profits in the community.
When I open my eyes on my first morning
in the inn, the first thing I see is the blue
ocean, stretching uninterrupted all the way
to Greenland, flecked with those blue-white
bergs. Then my eye is drawn to the exquisite
 CANADA

ST JOHNS IS A GRID OF
COLOURFUL CLAPBOARD
HOUSES SLOPING TO THE
HARBOUR LIKE A BONSAI SAN
FRANCISCO. HERE, WHERE
THE LAND MEETS THE SEA,
NEWFOUNDLANDERS HAVE
FORGED A RICH, DIVERSE
AND UNIQUE CULTURE

October 2016 121

CANADA

122 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 CANADA

decor of white walls, pale wooden floors and

coloured fabrics and wallpaper. Every item in
the inn is the work of international
designers, mediated through the culture of
the island (the designers were invited to stay
CHEWING THE FAT WITH
here and immerse themselves in its DISARMING LOCALS IS
traditions) and manufactured by Fogo Island
craftsmen and women, including boat ONE OF FOGOS DRAWS.
builders and quilt makers. Almost all of the
inns 80-plus staff are locals, and the project
ISLANDER MARY
employs scores more indirectly. OKEEFE, 81 YEARS
THE END OF THE LINE YOUNG, STOPS ALONG
The island is buzzing again, with a renewed
pride in its heritage, and Fergus attributes
THE ROADSIDE
much of its revival to the inn and its vision. FOR A CHAT
As a community host, Fergus has met
people from all over the world, many of
them in the super-rich bracket who come
in on private planes and helicopters to
see for themselves this rare example of what
Zita calls entrepreneurial philanthropy
in action.
Others who cant afford to stay at the inn
one days full board for two starts at
C$1,575 (860) come anyway and stay, as I
did on my first visit, in one of the numerous
B&Bs that have popped up, like pilot fish,
since the inn opened in May 2013. Theres so
much to do here, depending on the season:
besides the little museums dedicated to the
islands way of life, there are icebergs, birds
and whales to watch, boat trips, star-gazing
and coastal walks. Or you can simply chew
the fat with disarming locals like Fergus.
He drives me to his home village, Tilting
the best preserved village in the
province a fishing community of white According to the information panel at Sandy
saltboxes and oxblood-red stages Cove, Turpins head was found the following
(fishermens cabins) along the waters edge, year on mainland Newfoundland. It was
where time is measured by the turning of the impaled on a pole next to Exploits River,
tide and other sempiternal phenomena. The which flows into Notre Dame Bay on the
Arctic terns which spend every summer on northern coast.
the same rock in the bay have just arrived On my journey back from Fogo Island
from Antarctica and soon the capelin, small I decide to follow up this neglected part
silver fish of the smelt family, will be rolling of Newfoundland history by taking a detour
onto the beach in Olivers Cove to spawn. into the former Beothuk heartland of
Ferguss family, originally from the Notre Dame Bay. Here, at Boyds Cove, is
Waterford area of Ireland, have witnessed the Beothuk Interpretation Centre, where
such events through eight or nine I learn that by the early 1800s, European
generations. Ancestors lie in the graveyard fishermen and settlers had begun blocking
and their stories live on in his memory. the Beothuks from their food sources
One such story concerns a Tilting man along the coast. Plagued by starvation and
called Michael Turpin and the fate he is said sickness, their numbers had dwindled to
to have suffered in June 1809. Standing above a handful. OPPOSITE: Quidi Vidi
Sandy Cove, an adjacent crescent of beach, Half a mile from the interpretation centre, Village was once a
Fergus points out the large rock his father along a forest path dappled by sunlight, I find thriving fishing port. Its
claimed was stained with blood for many the remains of 11 Beothuk dwellings in a now a historic district
years. This was where Turpin was beheaded clearing above the bay. Nothing is left but within St Johns where
by a raiding party of Beothuk, the people indentations in the turf. Among the trees, great efforts have been
made to preserve and
indigenous to northern Newfoundland, who and easily missed, stands a life-size bronze
protect its character,
were completely wiped out by European sculpture of a Beothuk woman walking
culture and historical
settlers in the 19th century. There was a among the shadows. The statue represents significance; whale
fellow by the name of Will Cull who lived in Shanawdithit, the last survivor of the and puffin-watching in
Shoal Bay, Fergus tells me. He would boast Beothuk people, who gave herself up to the Witless Bay
about how many Beothuk he killed. trappers in 1823 and died in St Johns in 1829. Marine Sanctuary

October 2016 123

CANADA

RIGHT: Just minutes from downtown St Johns, Cape

Spear is North Americas easternmost point. The
lighthouse overlooks a parade of drifting icebergs
and waters teeming with whales and porpoises. Its
restored interior offers a glimpse into 19th-century
lightkeeping along Newfoundlands unforgiving coast

All thats left of the Beothuks are a few

fragments in museums here and there, a
small vocabulary of Beothuk words and
Shanawdithits extraordinary legacy.
Shortly before she died, probably of
tuberculosis, she made a series of drawings
of settlements, encounters with
Europeans, dwellings, weapons and so on
that constitute the principal record of
Beothuk culture. Reproductions of these
drawings are in the official museum and
archive of the Province of Newfoundland and
Labrador in St Johns, also known as The
Rooms (the originals are too precious to
display). Beyond its panoramic windows, the
core of old St Johns slopes to the harbour in
a grid of colourful clapboard houses. I
imagined Shanawdithit wandering down
these bustling streets, bewildered and ill,
knowing she was the end of the line.

Just a few feet away from her drawings is

Labrador an exhibit that represents the end of
Sea Notr e D ame another line a skeleton of the extinct
LABRADOR B ay Fogo great auk. These flightless, defenceless
Tilting
seabirds, prized for their down and meat,
Fogo Island FO G O were also victims of European settlers, who
IS L A N D
NEWFOUNDLAND killed them in industrial quantities. The last
St Johns New World Farewell one seen alive anywhere in the world was
AT L A N T I C Island d
un spotted off Newfoundland in 1852.
OCEAN So
il ton Earlier, during my last morning on Fogo
BEOTHUK Ham
INTERPRETATION
Island Id paid tribute to these two extinct
Boyds Cove CENTRE lineages the Beothuk and the great auk
by walking a coastal trail where ancient
people are known to have lived and hunted.
10 Miles The path had threaded out to Joe Batts
Point, then forked after a couple of miles;
the right-hand fork continuing along the
coast, the left leading up to a snout of
ESSENTIALS jumbled rocks jutting into the ocean. And
Sheraton, St Johns. sheratonhotelnewfoundland.com
here on a flat rock, facing mournfully out to
Getting there & around
Landwash Lodging. landwashlodging.com sea, stood a green bronze sculpture of a
Air Canada has direct daily flights from Heathrow to
Pegs. pegsplace.ca great auk, part of the Lost Bird Project by
St Johns. Westjet flies daily from Gatwick until 22
October and will resume in May 2017. the American sculptor Todd McGrain,
aircanada.com westjet.com Places mentioned which memorialises North Americas
To get to Fogo Island from St Johns, either hire a car The Beothuk Interpretation Centre. extinct bird species. His great auk was a
and drive, or fly to the regional airport at Gander and T: 00 1 709 656 3114. head shorter than me. And when I put my
pick up a car there; Deer Lake Airport in the west is The Rooms. therooms.ca arm round it and rapped its hollow body the
convenient for Gros Morne National Park and the sound it produced was like a stifled lament.
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER

Northern Peninsula. The Fogo Island ferry, which More info

operates on a first-come, first-served basis several
times a day, costs C$18.15 (10.80) return for a car and
driver; additional passengers C$6.05 (3.60).
Where to stay
Fogo Island Inn. fogoislandinn.ca
Quintal House. quintalhouse.ca
newfoundlandandlabrador.com
How to do it
BRIDGE & WICKERS offers three nights in St Johns and
three in the Fogo Island Inn from 2,285 per person,
including international flights, car hire and ferry.
bridgeandwickers.co.uk
Adapt or die is the watchword in this
harsh North Atlantic environment. Out
there on the ocean horizons where the
bergs bob, the first settlers appeared more
than 300 years ago. Their descendants have
come through by finding new ways to stay
the same.

124 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Around here,

not all flights require boarding passes.

Its 5 hours from London Heathrow to St. Johns direct. And you get
31/2 of them back. Year-round flights. Visit aircanada.com/newfoundland,
call 0871 220 111, or contact your travel agency.
From sea to plate WEST SWEDEN
Words & photographs L O L A A K I N M A D E K E R S T R M

EXPLORE WEST SWEDENS BOHUSLN COAST IN SEARCH OF THE REGIONS

SEAFOOD BIG FIVE LOBSTERS, OYSTERS, MUSSELS, CRAYFISH AND PRAWNS.
HOP ABOARD FISHING BOATS, HEAD TO SEAFOOD AUCTIONS AND FOLLOW
THESE SHELLFISH AND CRUSTACEANS ALL THE WAY TO YOUR PLATE

126 natgeotraveller.co.uk
October 2016 127
West Sweden

128 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 West Sweden

SMGEN: Fisherman Martin Olofsson, of Smgens Fiske & Skrgrdsturer

pulls up and empties several fish traps before casting them back into the
ocean. The cold, clean waters of the North Sea around postcard-perfect
fishing village, Smgen, produce some of the regions largest langoustines
and prawns. Martin runs crayfish safaris off the Bohuslns coast, where
langoustine are pulled from traps and steamed on board.

October 2016 129

West Sweden

GREBBESTAD: Ninety percent

of Swedens oysters are harvested
from the waters surrounding
the coastal fishing community
of Grebbestad. Per Karlsson,
of Everts Sjbod, runs oyster
safaris around the Grebbestad
archipelago where he teaches
travellers how to farm for oysters
raked right from the docks of a
19th-century boathouse and the
proper way to shuck them.

130 natgeotraveller.co.uk
West Sweden

October 2016 131

West Sweden

132 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 West Sweden

FISKHAMNEN: Since 1910,

Swedens largest fish auction, at
Gothenburgs Fiskhamnen, has
brought together fishermen and
fishmongers from across the
Nordics and Baltics in a frenzy of
bidding over 80 tons of seafood.
The buyers include wholesale
suppliers and top chefs, who
handpick the finest specimens for
upscale restaurants. Tourists
can visit the auction but arent
allowed to buy.

October 2016 133

West Sweden

GOTHENBURG: Swedens Oyster King, chef Johan Malm, demonstrates the

right way to open up a Grebbestad oyster at his seafood restaurant, Gabriel.
The restaurant is located inside Gothenburg's iconic 19th-century fish market
Feskekrka (Fish Church) ensuring easy access to fresh seafood.

134 natgeotraveller.co.uk
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136 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 City Life
MADRID
Bullghting, long lunches
and late nights Madrid
may be just how Hemingway
left it, but change is also in the air
WORDS: Gavin Haines
PHOTOGRAPHS: Nick Warner

C
arlos Enrique Carmona is 18 years old and has the
dubious distinction of having been gored by a bull...
in his groin. It wasnt too bad, he assures me,
fl ashing an awkward smile that says otherwise. Theres no
need to feel sorry for him. Though he still wears braces on his
teeth and cant yet muster any meaningful facial hair, the
teenager has decided to pursue a career as a matador and any
bullfighting-related injuries he sustains are of his own making.
Ive never met a matador before, but Carlos is exactly how
I pictured one to be. Tall with dark hair and piercing brown
eyes, his skinny frame bedecked in a tailored suit, he wears
the look of a man whod gleefully seduce your wife the minute
your back was turned.
Bullfi ghting, he says, is in his blood. My father, my cousin
and my godmother are bullfi ghters, he says, proudly. His
mum must worry, I suggest. Yes, he replies, though I suspect
her complaining does little to quell his passion.
My meeting with Carlos is quite by chance. Although Ive
come to Las Ventas bullring, where the young protg plies
his trade, its not often the public gets to meet a matador,
particularly when, like today, there isnt a fi ght taking place.
However, he happened to be putting on a rare demonstration
(sans bull) while I toured the venue, so I collared him.
An imposing building in Madrids Salamanca district, Las
Ventas was a favourite hangout for the writer Ernest
Hemingway, who was a regular in the Spanish capital during
the 1920s. He loved this city and set part of his seminal novel,
The Sun Also Rises, here. Despite the romance that
Hemingways historic presence evokes, Las Ventas today is a
theatre of controversy. Scores of bulls are slain here every
year in the name of sport something animal rights
activists, quite reasonably, claim is cruel. But although it sits
uncomfortably with me, theres something about bullfi ghting
that captures my imagination. Its an ugly spectacle, of
course, but theres also a dangerous beauty about it; man and
beast dancing with each other, dancing with death.
Julio Aparicio knows all about the perils of his sport. In
2010, in this very arena, a costly error led to him being gored

October 2016 137

MADRID
by a bull its horn entering through the
unfortunate matadors Adams apple and
exiting though his mouth. Aparicios life
was spared on the operating table, but the
bull wasnt so lucky: he was slain, despite
winning the fight.
That gruesome day one of the darker
chapters in modern bullfighting was
eclipsed in July 2016, when the matador,
Victor Barrio, stepped into a bullring and
never walked out. The 29-year-old, an
apprentice at Las Ventas, was fighting in
Aragon and his death the first in 30 years
was broadcast live on television, putting
even more pressure on a sport that was
already falling out of favour.
Carlos isnt keen to talk about the ethics
of his sport, so I take my enquiries to the
on-site museum, which chronicles the
history of bullfighting. Right now toreo is
not fashionable, concedes the visitors
manager, Yoann Meurs. Some people want
to stop it [once and for all].
But, he says, bullfighting is vital to the
economy. Without it the bars and
138 natgeotraveller.co.uk
restaurants surrounding the stadium would PREVIOUS PAGES: All worlds collide in the sporting
struggle to survive. He claims they make arena of Las Ventas bullring
most of their annual income in May, when
CLOCKWISE: Malasaa district is being revived by a
Las Ventas hosts an international
new entrepreneurial spirit; a traditional brass band;
competition that he describes as the
suckling pigs at Botin
Champions League of bullfighting.
But what about the poor animals, I offer.
Theyre antagonised, toyed with and
ultimately massacred in the name of
entertainment. Yoann suggests carnivores
have little room to criticise the sport, which
he says rewards quick kills. The public
want a good dance and just one sword to The world's oldest eatery //
kill the bull, he explains. It should take
less than a minute for the bull to die. The Botin is famed for its
It doesnt always end quickly, though,
and it doesnt always end in death. If the
signature dish, suckling pig,
bull proves too shrewd for the matador, which is everything the plaudits
spectators wave orange handkerchiefs to
goad the president of the ring into promise. I wash it down with
pardoning its charmed life.
Twenty bulls a year have their lives saved
half a bottle of red, which, like
in Spain, says Yoann, neglecting to mention the food, isnt served with
the many that dont. Theyll live in paradise,
with 30 or 40 cows for reproductive anything resembling a smile
 MADRID

purposes its actually a good life.

I remain unconvinced.
Whatever your thoughts on bullfighting,
you cant deny its ability to confront. And in
a continent thats becoming increasingly
standardised, bullfighting is something
distinctively Spanish. Love it or loathe it,
its woven into the culture of this country.

ON THE HEMINGWAY TRAIL

Hemingway was a big fan of bullfighting,
which plays a starring role in The Sun Also
Rises. Celebrating its 90th anniversary this
year, the book follows a group of heavy-
drinking, easy-loving American expats as they
travel from Paris to Madrid via Pamplona. It
ends in a local restaurant called Botin, which
not only has the distinction of being one of
Hemingways favourite haunts, but is also
thought to be the worlds oldest restaurant.
Located on a street behind Plaza Mayor,
Botin swung open its doors in 1725 and looks
every bit its age. The stone floors, wood-
panelled walls and antiquated dining
trolleys convey a bygone epoch, while the
smell of roast meat is evocative of Sunday
lunch at grans house.
The restaurant is famed for its signature
dish, suckling pig, which is indeed
everything the plaudits promise. I wash it
down with half a bottle of red, which, like
the food, isnt served with anything
resembling a smile. Where service is
concerned, I get the feeling that Botin trades
off past glories, although it undeniably
delivers the goods.
Going on the Hemingway trail is a great
way to acquaint yourself with Madrid and
the writers drinking habits. He propped up
many of the citys timeworn bars; among his
favourites were Museo Chicote on Gran Via,
a sleek cocktail bar just down the road from
Madrids brazen red light district; and La
Venencia, a no-frills sherry bar that lurks
down one of Sols quiet backstreets, Calle
de Echegaray.
Were Hemingway to walk into La
Venencia today hed surely find it little
changed. The walls and ceiling are nicotine
brown (from the days when you could
smoke) and the empty sherry bottles stacked
behind the bar look like they havent seen a
feather duster since Franco was in power.
Its refreshingly old-fashioned; taking
photos is banned, theres no music and not
one person seems to be playing with their
phone. Punters seem to be treated with the
same casual indifference and their tabs are
chalked onto the ancient wooden bar, like
the old days.
The Spanish arent in the habit of getting
drunk and rarely booze on an empty stomach.
La Venencia, therefore, like every other bar
in town, serves small plates of tapas, which
start from just 1. A glass of fino, meanwhile,
leaves you with change from 2.

October 2016 139

MADRID
Templo do Debod // A short walk from the Plaza de Espaa
metro stop sits an Egyptian temple in the heart of Madrid. Gifted
to Spain in 1968, it originally stood in the Nile Valley in 4BC,
in honour of the gods Amun and Isis. Day and night, its sweeping
views attract photographers, tourists and hipsters alike
No tips, barks the bartender, when I
settle my tab, returning the silver to my
palm. I bid him farewell and stagger home
with the glow of a man whos had more than
enough sherry for the day.
FORGING NEW NARRATIVES
One of the main themes in The Sun Also
Rises, set in Europe after the Second World
War, is the idea of a lost generation. And, the
following morning, as I explore Malasaa, a
district prone to being described as trendy,
it doesnt escape my attention that theres
also talk of a lost generation today.
Eight years after the economic crash, the
unemployment rate in Spain is a reported
21%, rising to 45% when you start talking
about youth unemployment. The EU average
is 8.9% and 19.4% respectively. Spain has
been hit hard. Perversely, the economic
crash has helped Malasaa reinvent itself as
the vibrant, vital district it is today. At least
thats according to Joanna Wivell, a
garrulous Yorkshire lass who fell for Madrid
and now works as a tour guide in the city.
In a way, this place has really come alive
since the crisis, she says, as we thread
through Malasaas bustling streets. When
workers lost their jobs and moved back in
with their parents, the price of property here
crashed, explains Joanna, which opened
doors for those looking to start businesses.
And because people lost their jobs, they had
to reinvent themselves, she says. So they
went abroad or studied something new and
came back here with their ideas.
Vanesa Serrano is one of those people. She
worked in advertising before the crash and
now runs a design shop in Malasaa. When
I arrived here there were druggies in the
street, but now it has changed, says the
young entrepreneur, who has just returned
from a three-hour lunch.
Long lunches are an essential part of life
in Madrid, as they are in the rest of Spain,
140 natgeotraveller.co.uk
but this time-honoured tradition is under
threat. Politicians are talking about reining
them in and bringing them in line with the
rest of Europe. Impossible, says Vanesa,
shaking her head. We wont do it.
Malasaas independent spirit is similarly
under threat. The tide of gentrification is
creeping in and the main thoroughfare,
Fuencarral, is increasingly dominated by
multinationals. However, the bohemian vibe
lives on down the labyrinthine backstreets,
lined as they are with salons, shops,
restaurants and bars, which people flutter
between like butterflies.
Joanna leads me into Bodega de la Ardosa,
a vermouth bar thats been serving drinks
for more than 100 years. Like all of Madrids
eateries specialising in the aperitif, this
bodega is painted bright red, but, unlike the
others, this one has a hidden backroom,
which is accessed by crawling under the bar.
This is the best bar of its kind, says Joanna,
before ordering two wee snifters.
And so starts a bar crawl, which next takes
us to La Realidad, whose owner, Javier
Figarola, regales me with the history of the
district. Malasaa is named after Manuela
Malasaa who was a seamstress from the
area, he says. When Napoleon invaded
Madrid she was one of the leading
revolutionary girls. She died fighting French
troops. Since then Malasaa has retained
its rebellious, youthful spirit.
After Franco, this neighbourhood was
one of the main places where young people
came to hear music, says Javier. Malasaa CLOCKWISE: Inside the
has always been an area for young people. historic La Ardosa
The crawl continues to Kikekeller, an art vermouth bar; the citys
gallery-cum-cocktail lounge, which has a vibrant streets; leisurely
three-hour lunches are
bar made from what appears to be an
the norm in Madrid;
American muscle car. And then to Palentino,
a monument in Plaza
where I befriend Pipi, whos a TV producer del Dos de Mayo
on a soap opera called Troubled Times. Pipi is dedicated to two Spanish
bedecked in a tartan dress, red specs and soldiers who fought
auburn hair, and is accompanied by a man against Napoleon
 MADRID

October 2016 141

MADRID

Las Ventas bullring

who sports a heroic handlebar moustache Reina Sofia and the Thyssen-Bornemisza creative spaces where I watch resident
and smokes Savage cigarettes. Museum are all world-class galleries but artists lose themselves in sculptures and
This place is an institution, a proper bar, the Matadero is recognised as an incubator paintings. Theres a calm and convivial
she says, raising her voice above the din of for tomorrows talent. atmosphere throughout, but that wasnt
conversation. Theres always a big mix of The authorities knew Madrid had lots of always the case in a previous life this hub
people in here. Everyone is welcome. great museums, but there was a lack of space of creativity was actually a slaughterhouse.
Less welcome is my fuzzy head the next for young artists to work and exhibit, says From death there is life. No doubt
day, which follows me to the Matadero arts communications manager Iigo Garcia, anti-bullfighting campaigners would like to
centre on the other side of town. The showing me around. We dont exhibit the see something similar happen to Las Ventas,
Spanish capital is not short of headline big names, just emerging artists. but that may be wishful thinking for now.
cultural attractions the Museo Nacional I explore the rambling facility, which is While new narratives are being forged in
Del Prado, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte home to theatres, cinemas and various Madrid, some old habits die hard.

Plaza de Toros
ESSENTIALS
C al

Las Ventas
le

1 mile
Getting there & around How to do it
de

MAL ASAA Plaza de EasyJet, British Airways and Vueling are among the Fly to Madrid from around 60 return
Bodega de la Ardosa Colon airlines offering regular daily flights between the UK and (easyjet.com) and check-in to Only YOU
Fuencarral

La Realidad SALAMANCA Madrid. Between them, they service the Spanish capital (onlyyouhotels.com), a beautiful boutique
from London, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Edinburgh hotel in Malasaa, where doubles start from
and Manchester. easyjet.com ba.com vueling.com around 120 per night. Build your own bespoke
Plaza de
la Cibeles PARQUE Madrid is easily explored on foot. However, for tour of the city, focusing on anything from food
DEL longer journeys, hop on the Metro, which is extensive. and wine to history, with Insiders Madrid
Puerto
del Sol RETIRO If youre going to be using the Metro a lot, buy a Go (insidersmadrid.com).
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER

Plaza La Venencia
Mayor Madrid travel pass, which starts at 8 for one days
Botin unlimited travel in zone A.
CENTRO
S PA I N The interviews in this feature were conducted
Matadero Madrid More info before the tragic death of Vctor Barrio in July
500 yards
Madrid spain.info esmadrid.com 2016, and all quotes included should be viewed in
1 mile
Pocket Rough Guide to Madrid. RRP: 7.99. that context.

142 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 Gran Meli Hotels & Resorts and Leading Hotels of the World present
an extraordinary work of art in the heart of Madrid

Cuesta de Santo Domingo, 5 28013 Madrid

B R A Z I L (2016) CH I N A I N D ON ESIA ITALY P U ERTO R ICO SPAI N VEN EZU EL A

Information and bookings: +34 91 541 67 00, with your travel agency or via granmelia.com
144 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 City Life
CAPE TOWN Z
ZZ

Is there any city on Earth with as many different faces

as Cape Town? It can be gritty, chic, gregarious, rened,
wild, or, if you're very lucky, all of the above
WORDS: David Whitley PHOTOGRAPHS: Alyson Smith

O
n Tuesday morning, the skies
are clear. From the top of Table
Mountain, everything seems
beautifully defi ned. The walking trails act
as scars through the rock and low fynbos
shrub. Paragliders flutter down from the
neighbouring Lions Head summit. Little
dassies scuttling guinea pig-like critters
that are apparently the closest living
relatives to elephants munch away,
oblivious to their cooing onlookers.
On Wednesday afternoon, Pinotages
and Sauvignon Blancs are being greedily
sampled at Groot Constantias cellar door.
The Dutch Renaissance manor house at
South Africas oldest winery (it was founded
in 1685) sits handsomely amid an idyll of
vines, the splendour question-marked
only by the signs warning about potential
marauding baboons.
On Thursday night, the City Bowl teems
with people spilling out onto the streets
clutching wine glasses and beer bottles. The
monthly First Thursdays event sees galleries
and shops open late, wine being poured in
every conceivable location, and a sprawling
melee taking over Church and Bree Streets.
The hard part is getting to a bar to join in.
On Friday morning, women smeared in
face paint to stave off the worst of the heat are
cooking sheep heads over a spitting, fierce
fire. Theyre in the middle of the shacks of the
Langa township, where everything seems to
be illegal but tolerated. Dubious electricity
wires have been hooked up to the lamp posts,
and house-proud old men show how theyve
fashioned lamps from defunct blenders, and
skylights from old wooden panels.
Then, on Saturday, surfers hit the False
Bay waves towards the wild dunes of
Muizenberg Beach. Near brightly coloured
beach huts, the cast of sunbathers and
sandcastle-makers lives up to South Africas
Rainbow Nation tag. Its a stark contrast to
the better-known, well-heeled, distinctly
Anglo-sheened western seaboard beaches
where cocktail glasses clink and expensive
sunglasses get donned.
Its difficult to pick any of these scenes as
archetypal Cape Town, yet somehow they
all are. Theres arguably no other city in the
world that can provide such a variety of wildly
different faces. Culture, heritage, chic, grit,
nature, food and wine, seaside fun, adventure
and shamelessly touristy mooching are all
perfectly valid focuses and you could
happily leave the city without touching on any
of the others.
Mix and match, though, and a beautiful,
energetic, frequently eye-opening city wields
a compelling magic. Leaving is always an act
undertaken with the nagging doubt that the
surface has barely been scratched but with
an odd satisfaction that youd be more than
happy to come back next year and do exactly
the same again.

October 2016 145

CAPE TOWN
SEE & DO
VICTORIA & ALFRED WATERFRONT:
The shiny waterfront shops and restaurants
development isnt all soulless chains. The
views of Table Mountain especially when
the tablecloth-esque cloud creeps over are
superb; the many boat cruises that depart
from here are enjoyable; the seals splashing
in the water are mighty cute. waterfront.co.za
TABLE MOUNTAIN: Reserve this for a clear
day, as the views from the top are immense
in all directions, and it becomes clear just
how awkwardly the city is squeezed into the
mountains gaps. A cable-car takes non-
hikers to the top. tablemountain.net
CAPE POINT: After the drive through the wild,
baboon-strewn fynbos and national park, the
end of the continent appears. A funicular
shuttles visitors up to the top, while a
90-minute walk back along the clifftops leads
to the Cape of Good Hope. capepoint.co.za.
BOULDERS BEACH: Just beyond Simons Town
on the way to Cape Point, this beach is home
to a huge colony of friendly African penguins.
ROBBEN ISLAND: The tours of the former island
146 natgeotraveller.co.uk
prison that held Nelson Mandela and other
political prisoners are rushed, but insights
from ex-prisoners make it worthwhile. The
bus tour (visiting the quarry where Mandela et
al performed years of hard labour) offers most
insight. robben-island.org.za
COFFEEBEANS ROUTES: This tour company
introduces visitors to local creatives.
Experiences range from backyard theatre
productions in the townships to a stroll
around Woodstocks street art scene with
one of the artists. coffeebeansroutes.com
DISTRICT SIX MUSEUM: District Six was
designated as whites-only in 1966. Houses
were torn down, residents were forcibly
removed. This museum is full of personal
recollections. districtsix.co.za
VAMOS TOWNSHIP TOURS: These resident-
led tours shed light on both South Africas
history and township life. They feel non-
exploitative too, giving the chance to meet
and talk to locals at home, in an illegal pub, a
ceramics workshop and Mzolis, a legendary
meat-tastic braai restaurant.
BUY
ALFRED MALL: The most nondescript
mall at the V&A Waterfront is arguably
the most interesting too. Its inhabitants
are unchainy and distinctive. Solveig does
fashion with African styles and colour,
Galleria Gibello sells gorgeous photography
and Chameleon recycles to make art like
hippos from wine corks and bottle tops or
miniature VW Combis from beads.
ORIGINAL T-BAG DESIGNS: Coasters, candle
holders, cards, notepads and canvas bags
all made from used teabags, by local
women in the township of Imizamo Yethu as
part of an anti-poverty initiative. As well as
a factory shop in the township, theres also a
stall at the Waterfronts Watershed mall.
THE WOODSTOCK EXCHANGE: A former
factory in up-and-coming Woodstock has
been turned into a quirky shopping mall
crammed with art installations. Honest
Chocolate hand-makes tremendous chocs,
Grandt Mason Originals sells very distinctive
casual shoes and Kingdom does street art-
esque handbags. woodstockexchange.co.za
 CAPE TOWN

Finding flora // The world is divided into six

floral kingdoms, of which the Cape is by far
the smallest, plus 69% of plant species here
are found nowhere else. Kirstenbosch National
Botanic Garden is the best place to discover
the diversity. sanbi.org/gardens/kirstenbosch

LIKE A LOCAL
GET CRAFTY: Cape Towns craft beer
scene has mushroomed in the past few years,
which is a blessed relief given that the bog-
standard Castle lager is awful. The Devils
Peak Brewing Company, Woodstock Brewery
and Cape Brewing Company are among the
best microbrew brands to look out for.
TREK CAREFULLY: There are hundreds of
hiking trails on Table Mountain, but weather
conditions can change quickly. Locals
advise to always go prepared its properly
wild, rather than being a micromanaged
public park and not to hike alone. Hike
Table Mountain offers guided walks for
novices a little unsure of their surroundings.
hiketablemountain.co.za
WATCH THE WATER: Whale-watching season is
officially July to December, but the southern
rights can often be found in Table Bay outside
of this period. Its worth keeping eyes peeled
while on the ferry to Robben Island they
can often be spotted breaching.

EAT
Cape Towns food scene is diverse, less
meat-based than in the rest of the country,
and exceptional value its rare to find
mains for over 200 rand (11.50). Bree Street
in the centre, is the new-openings hotspot.
ADDIS IN CAPE: Traditional Ethiopian food PREVIOUS PAGES:
and decor are found at this lovable family- Sun-rise strolls on Camps
run joint. Theres no cutlery the semi- Bay promenade
spicy stews are scooped up using a piece of
FROM TOP:
injera, a sourdough pancake made from teff
Original T-Bag Designs,
(an Ethiopian grass). addisincape.co.za
Watershed mall;
SAVOY CABBAGE: A warehouse-style
Coffeebeans Routes
setting and a local slant on the ingredients visits local creative
give this long-standing favourite an edge John M Bauer in his
over new pretenders. Grilled kingklip, pottery studio
sugar-cured zebra, springbok loin and
brined warthog are among the unusual but LEFT, CLOCKWISE: Street

exquisitely cooked fare. savoycabbage.co.za artist Dfeat Once, talking

visitors through the local
BOMBAY BRASSERIE: Inside the Taj
graffiti art scene on a
Cape Town hotel, with lavish chandeliers
Coffeebeans Routes tour;
and peacock designs woven into the chairs, First Thursdays outside
the Bombay Brasserie offers a dining The House Of Machines
experience every bit as stunning as its looks. bar; Nelson Mandela's
tajcapetown.co.za/dining/bombay-brasserie cell key, Robben Island

October 2016 147

CAPE TOWN

AFTER HOURS Z SLEEP ESSENTIALS

PUBLIK WINE: Meat shop by day, wine
bar at night, showcasing drops from smaller
Cape wineries plus more unusual varietals.
Bar staff really know their stuff, and the
tasting flights are a great intro to the South
African wine scene. publik.co.za
ALEXANDER BAR: A gloriously friendly,
low-lit, jazz-infused cocktail haunt where
old-fashioned circular dial telephones can
be used to talk to bar staff or people on other
tables. Theres a theatre upstairs, and it hosts
all manner of special events from TED-style
talks to Meisner technique acting classes.
alexanderbar.co.za
TJING TJING: A good-time rooftop bar,
decorated with photographs of Asian street
scenes, Tjing Tjing stocks an admirable
selection of South African craft beers. But
cocktails lovingly made and inventively
devised are the forte, and theyre prepared
to throw in everything from locally made
gin to pomegranate juice and jelly babies.
tjingtjing.co.za
ZZ
Cape Town hotels tend to be pricier
than elsewhere in the country. But the low
rand means bargains especially in the tier
below the clutch of lavish grand hotels.
CHARTFIELD GUESTHOUSE: Located on a
hillside overlooking the sea and the fishing
boat-stuffed harbour of Kalk Bay, the
Chartfield has a small pool on its lawn, and
rooms that strike a balance between simple
and grimly Spartan. chartfield.co.za
ICON: The Home From Home group has
several apartment options, and the Icon is a
good example well located, spacious, slick,
kitted out with full kitchens, washer-dryers
and free wi-fi. Its superb for families and
longer-stayers, but excellent value for money
for all. homefromhome.co.za/apartments/icon
CAPE GRACE: A handsome waterfront
joint with a stellar basement whisky bar.
Walls have diary entries of early explorers
written on them; theres also vintage furniture
and antique vases, plus hand-painted curtains
and bedspreads. capegrace.com
Getting there & around
British Airways offers year-round direct flights
from Heathrow, and Thomas Cook offers
seasonal flights from Gatwick between
December and March.
ba.com thomascook.com
Taxis are plentiful and cheap, while Uber has
taken off in a big way. Realistically, most visitors
wont need public transport, although Cape
Metrorail services (capemetrorail.co.za) are
handy for reaching the False Bay beach suburbs.
More info
iol.co.za
Lonely Planet Cape Town & the Garden Route.
RRP: 13.99.
How to do it
BRITISH AIRWAYS offers seven nights in
three-star accommodation, including economy
flights from Heathrow, from 907. ba.com
VIRGIN HOLIDAYS offers a 14-night trip, staying
in a five-star V&A Waterfront hotel, from 1,754
including flights. virginholidays.com

5 Miles
ROBBEN
ISLAND

N
A
V&A Waterfront
E
CAPE
C

TOWN LANGA
TOWNSHIPS
Table Mountain
O
C

SOUTHERN
HOUT SUBURBS
BAY
I
T
A N

Muizenberg
Beach

FALSE
A T L

BAY
Boulders
Beach
Fa ls e
B a y
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER

SOUTH
AFRICA
Cape Point
CAPE TOWN

CLOCKWISE: Tjing Tjing chef Christi Semczyszyn;

tuna tataki at Tjing Tjing; Muizenberg Beach surfers

148 natgeotraveller.co.uk
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October 2016 151

 TRAVEL
talk ASK THE
EXPERTS
NEED ADVICE FOR YOUR NEXT TRIP?
ARE YOU AFTER RECOMMENDATIONS,
TIPS AND GUIDANCE? WEVE GOT
THE ANSWERS
Q // I want to explore Our advice to guests is to stay in
the capital Stockholm and then
Stockholm, its take day trips by ferry to explore
archipelago and other the archipelago, so theres no
nearby islands, but Im need for a car. Often referred to
as the Venice of the North, the
not keen on driving. inner city is made up of 14 islands
Can you recommend connected by 57 bridges and,
an organised or as the archipelago is made up of
more than 30,000 islands, youll
self-guided tour? need to pick just a few to visit
but be sure to choose your
dates carefully.
From mid-June to mid-August
theres an extensive network of
boat tours and ferries shuttling
between the islands and
sightseers can even buy tickets
from jetties or onboard with
companies such as Waxholms
Bolaget (waxholmsbolaget.se) or
Strmma (stromma.se).
152 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Popular islands for day trips
include Sandhamn (15 one-way)
and Grind (8 one-way), but it
really depends on what you want
to do. While some islands are
bursting with restaurants, shops
and idyllic villages with colourful,
wooden houses and ancient
churches, others are deserted
with ancient forests, isolated
white sandy beaches and nature
reserves to explore.
There are also plenty of places
including the islands of
Lngholmen and Djurgrden
to rent sea kayaks too, plus
numerous options in the
extended archipelago (from 18
for two hours to 48 per day).
One of my favourite trips is a
Gotland and Stockholm package,
which combines three nights in
IMAGES: GETTY
the capital plenty of time to
explore the archipelago (or add
extra nights) with a short stay
on Gotland. Swedens largest
island offers 500 miles of Baltic
coastline and a huge range of
activities and attractions to enjoy,
not least its capital Visby, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Plus, transfer is by coach and boat,
so again theres no need for a car.
The Gotland and Stockholm
package costs from 995 per
person, based on two sharing,
including return flights from the
UK, three nights B&B in Stockholm
and three nights B&B in Visby, as
well as transfers. Children cost
from 570 per person on an extra
bed in their parents room.
simplysweden.co.uk
CHRIS GRAHAM

Q // Ive heard about prepaid cards with
smartphone apps that get you good deals on
travel money. Which ones are the best?
Revolut and WeSwap are good
examples of prepaid debit cards
with the added functionality of
apps that allow you to monitor your
balance, check the exchange rate
in real-time and make transactions
in multiple currencies. They give
you the ability to load funds in
seconds, then you use them just
as you would a debit card when
you spend or withdraw cash.
Which one is best depends on
how youll be using it and its
important to research any hidden
fees some charge to load the
Q // With all the new low-cost, long-
haul airlines, whats the cheapest way/
carrier to fly to the US from the UK?
There are certainly some
eye-opening prices with the
newcomers on the market. Wow
Air (wowair.co.uk) flies via
Reykjavik from Edinburgh, Bristol
and Gatwick we found returns
to New York Newark for 248.76
in March. Wow also flies to
Boston, San Francisco, Los
Angeles and Washington DC.
The other major new budget
player is Norwegian Long Haul
(norwegian.com/uk), which flies
THE EXPERTS
CHRIS GRAHAM KONRAD BARTELSKI
OWNER, OLYMPIC SKIER & JOURNALIST,
SIMPLYSWEDEN.CO.UK KONRADBARTELSKI.COM
Q // If I only hire cars
a couple of times a
year, is it worth
buying standalone
cards, withdraw at ATMs and excess insurance?
have an annual fee.
If youre going somewhere
where card payments are going to If your hire car is damaged, you
be more difficult, Revolut is a are typically liable to pay the
good option as its cash excess, which is often between
withdrawal fees are lower than 500 and 2,000, depending
others on the market. In fact, it where you hire from.
doesnt charge as long as you Standalone excess insurance
withdraw no more than 500/650 shares similarities with travel
a month (theres a 2% fee on the insurance, in that you either buy
amount withdrawn after that). it as a single or annual policy. If
In general, its often cheaper to you hire cars more than a couple
pay for purchases using the card. of times a year, consider an
SALLY FRANCIS annual policy, especially if you
tend to rent for a couple of weeks
each time. It works out much
cheaper than a single trip or day
rate. However, single trip
standalone cover is still much
cheaper than paying for excess
insurance directly with a car hire
company, which can amount to as
much as an additional 25/day.
Note: typically a driver is only
covered for up to 31 consecutive
days in any one rental period. So
if you plan on hiring a car for
longer than this, then additional,
extended cover may be needed.
Its also worth pointing out that
while some providers pay the
excess directly, most require you
to pay the excess yourself and
then claim this back from them.
AMANDA STRETTON
direct from Gatwick to Boston
(from 236.30 return), Los
Angeles, Fort Lauderdale,
Oakland, New York, Orlando,
Miami and Las Vegas.
Though once food and checked
bags are added, these flights might
not be much cheaper than sale
fares with traditional airlines. So,
while theres no correct choice
that works all the time, the extra
options mean bigger bargains.
DAVID WHITLEY
AMANDA STRETTON SALLY FRANCIS
MOTORING EDITOR, SENIOR WRITER,
CONFUSED.COM MONEYSAVINGEXPERT.COM
TRAVEL TALK
Q // Im going
skiing for the first
time. What are the
essentials I really
need to buy?
You can rent your skis, boots,
a helmet and poles at the
resort, but Id suggest buying
a decent pair of waterproof
ski gloves, long ski socks and
a warm woolly hat. Invest in a
good pair of wrap-around
sunglasses rather than
worrying about ski goggles
if its sunny they could
remain in their original box
all week and, if its really
snowing heavily, you can
simply dash out and buy
a pair of emergency goggles.
If you cant borrow some
ski kit from a friend, the best
way to keep warm without
spending huge amounts is
to rent the clothes from
companies such as Ski Togs
(skitogshire.co.uk) or Ski Stuff
(ski-stuff.co.uk) where you
can hire a jacket, for
example, for just 15, or a ski
package for 40 a week.
Alternatively, simply layer
up and be creative! If you
dont want to buy thermal
long johns, use tights. Pack
long sleeved T-shirts that
cover your wrists, a polar-
necked shirt with a fleece or
woolly sweater and, for your
jackets and trousers, if you
have good waterproof
hiking shells, then
use those over as
many layers as you
need to keep warm
theyll be just as
good as buying
insulated ski trousers.
KONRAD BARTELSKI
DAVID WHITLEY
CONTRIBUTOR, NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER (UK)
October 2016 153
TRAVEL TALK

Eye to i
THE GRAPHIC

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by Marks Barfield
THE BRITISH AIRWAYS I360, BRIGHTONS NEW HIGH-TECH VIEWING Architects, the team
DECK, IS ALSO THE WORLDS FIRST VERTICAL CABLE CAR behind the London Eye

The viewing pod holds up to

200 people, in a room 18m in The 137m vertical ride takes 20 minutes
diameter ten times the size during the day, with twinkly night flights
of a London Eye pod. given an extra 10 minutes.

Trips run from 10am-10pm Sunday-Thursday and

10am-11pm Friday-Saturday when the pod is
The worlds tallest moving transformed into a Skybar with tipples such as
observation tower travels up and local Nyetimber sparkling wine.
down, not round and round, giving
some reprieve to those with motion
sickness, if not vertigo.
IN COMPARISON
The UKs tallest panoramic towers

At a sturdy but slender 4.6m

British Airways i360, Brighton
Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth

wide, this is also the worlds

slimmest observation tower.
The viewing pod will travel
138m of the towers 162m
Blackpool Tower
Glasgow Tower

height. There are plans to add

a spire, increasing the tower to
470m, which would make the
i360 the second tallest building
in the UK, after the Shard.
127m 158m 170m 173m

THE VIEW
On a clear day you should be able to see up to 26 miles, a panorama taking in the Sussex coast from Bexhill-on-Sea to Chichester,
including Beachy Head and Seven Sisters, the South Downs National Park and a sizeable chunk of the English Channel.

154 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 TRAVEL TALK

HOT TOPIC

AIRBNB s ZWECKENTFREMDUNGSVERBOT
ONE OF THE LEADING LIGHTS OF THE SHARING ECONOMY, AIRBNB IS A GREAT IDEA THAT HAS BECOME
PART OF THE EVERYDAY FABRIC OF TRAVEL. BUT WITH ZWECKENTFREMDUNGSVERBOT, IS IT RUNNING
INTO TROUBLE WITH THE AUTHORITIES IN BERLIN, ICELAND AND NEW YORK? WORDS: JAMES DRAVEN

Tonight Im sleeping in an
illegally-parked campervan on
the seafront, an Australian
newspaper editor tells me over
drinks in Sydney. Its covered in
parking tickets. Im writing a piece
on the weirdest places you can
stay on Airbnb.
Back in Brighton, and in need of
a bed, I too found campervans
parked on residential streets to
rent through Airbnb, as well as a
same-sex couple offering a room
to travellers, including a home-
cooked meal and a massage to
help you unwind at bedtime.
I opted for a hotel in the end, but
its this social aspect if not quite
that level of intimacy that
makes tourists choose Airbnb,
believing that staying in a real
home or an unusual structure
makes trips feel more special.
You dont have to co-habit with
a host though. Many of us are
happily paying a few extra quid not
to endure agonising pleasantries
with a stranger over the breakfast
table (nor to have to explain that
youll sleep just fine with a good
book and a cup of Horlicks,
thanks-very-much) and clicking
the Airbnb button to rent an
entire home/flat. But herein lies
the problem: not all of these
rentals are strictly legal.
While its obvious that you
shouldnt be sleeping in a
Bedford Rascal covered in
parking fines, you may not
realise that renting an
apartment for a long weekend
ILLUSTRATION: DANIEL BRIGHT. IMAGE: GETTY
the citys Zweckentfremdung-
sverbot law (roughly translated:
ban against misuse), which came
into effect this year.
Berliners are still allowed to rent
out their spare rooms, but are
prohibited from using Airbnb and
its competitors to tout entire
properties on short-term leases.
Although Airbnb claims its
helping Berlin residents pay the
rent in a city with rising house
prices and below-average wages,
city officials insist apartments
being used as holiday lets are
pricing citizens out of their own
local neighbourhoods.
Andreas Geisel, Berlins head of
urban development explains:
[Zweckentfremdungsverbot] is a
necessary instrument against the
housing shortage. Im determined
to return misappropriated
apartments to the people of Berlin.
Hannah Cadwallader, Airbnbs
European head of communications,
disagrees with this: Current
rules hit [regular Berliners]
hardest, slow innovation and
promote commercialisation.
Its not just the Germans who
are clamping down. Since 2011,
New York City has prohibited
Q&A
ARENT THESE LAWS A BIT
BEHIND THE TIMES?
As Airbnbs Hannah Cadwallader
says, When we went from the
horse and cart to the car we
needed new rules for new
technology. The same is true for
today. Indeed. Maybe its time
for more governments to start
working with host-sharing sites
to nd solutions.
IS IT WRONG FOR ME TO RENT
OUT MY HOME?
Some insist its our right to do
as we please with our own
properties, while others say the
lure of renting out second homes
as short-term lets which is
often more pro table than
getting tenants is making
hustlers and black market
hoteliers of those who would
otherwise be landlords.
WILL I GET INTO TROUBLE FOR
BOOKING IN A BAN CITY?
While politician and New York
City Assembly member Linda
Rosenthal went so far as to
personally stage a hidden-
camera sting operation to
expose unlawful Airbnb hosting
last year, no one seems to
be setting out to prosecute
guests themselves.
SHOULD I ACCEPT A MASSAGE
FROM MY HOST?
Wed recommend reviewing it
on a case-by-case basis.
residents from letting out property
for less than 30 days unless the
main occupants are also present.
Its a law aimed at residential
properties that were being turned
into illegal hotels. Nearly three-
quarters of the citys Airbnb
listings between 2010 and 2014
were found to be illegal.
Meanwhile, authorities in
Mrdalshreppur, Iceland, have
banned all short-term lets, in
response to a housing shortage in
the picturesque village of Vk.
Vijay Dandapani, chairman of
the Hotel Association of New York
City, and president of Apple Core
Hotels, which has around 800
rooms in Midtown Manhattan,
complains that the shadow hotel
industry has driven down hotel
room rates in the city, telling PBS:
Those are rooms that would and
should have gone to the hotel
industry, given what weve invested
in the city and our buildings.
His arguments are similar to
those taxi firms that are lashing out
at car-sharing service, Uber. In both
cases, tourists are more likely to be
concerned with the impact on their
own pockets than the financial
fortunes of private transport
monopolies or hotel chains.
And while the majority may be
ignorant to the impact of their
choices on local communities,
with over 100 million guest arrivals
from listings in more than 34,000
cities, kicking Airbnb out of your
town might prove as difficult as
banning the sharing of holiday

in Berlin might be in violation of hot-dog legs on Instagram.

AND ANOTHER THING... UP IN THE AIR

LONDON-PERTH NON-STOP
Qantass new Dreamliner
routes may well include
London-Perth non-stop,
making it the worlds
longest flight. qantas.com
SURF AIR TO EUROPE
The US-based membership
club offering unlimited
flights on luxury jets
launches in Europe this
month. surfair.com
DRONE ON
You can now book a trip
with a professional drone
cameraman to capture
your travels in a novel way.
blacktomato.com
2016S BEST AIRLINE
According to the Skytrax
awards, its Emirates.
Norwegian is best low-cost
for the fourth year running.
worldairlineawards.com
AND THE WORST...
For the number of claims
against them, the UKs
carriers of shame are
EasyJet, followed by
Ryanair. euclaim.co.uk

October 2016 155

TRAVEL TALK
CHECKLIST:
HIGH-ALTITUDE GEAR
FOR ALL SEASONS
Mammut X-Sun headlamp.
RRP: 240. mammut.ch
FOR INSULATION & VERSATILITY
Atom LT hoody (mens and
womens). RRP: 190. arcteryx.com
FOR MAXIMUM SUN-PROTECTION
Dragon Mountaineer X sunglasses.
RRP: 128.35. shadestation.co.uk
FOR NAVIGATION & ALTIMETER
Garmin Fenix 3 Sapphire HRM/GPS
watch. RRP: 469.99. garmin.com
156 natgeotraveller.co.uk
7 ways to
PREPARE FOR CLIMBING MOUNT KILIMANJARO
Altitude makes any trek tough
youll need physical endurance,
mental stamina and high-tech kit
1. AEROBIC TRAINING
Long-distance jogging, swimming
and cycling will help develop your
cardiovascular system and ability to
operate with limited oxygen. Also
try using a stair master or running
machine on an incline. Rob McIntyre
a former Royal Marine who's
spent time at Base Camp and is
now a personal development coach
recommends training over different
terrain in the UK and incorporating
steep hills. He says Snowdon is similar
to walking in the Himalayas.
2. TRAIN AT ALTITUDE
Aim high, train high is the motto
at The Altitude Centre in London.
Visit the centre for a consultation to
find out how sensitive you are to the
effects of altitude. Theyll monitor
you while passively breathing air at
a simulated altitude of up to 5,000
metres and will devise a training plan
to help you adapt. altitudecentre.com
3. GET STRONG
Build weight training, sit-ups,
lunges and squats into your regime
to strengthen legs, core, back and
shoulders. Also hike up hills with a
backpack filled with water or rocks
and get used to using poles too.
According to McIntyre, using two
poles, at the correct height, requires
around 25% less exertion.
4. STAY HYDRATED
Cut out alcohol and caffeine in the
lead-up to your trip. Your body will
operate best when it's well hydrated
The Altitude Centre
so increase your fluid intake when you
step up training it will also get you
used to drinking the large amounts
youll need to consume on the
mountain (a minimum of five litres of
water daily). On the trip, only drink tea
thats been made from bottled water,
as it rarely boils at altitude.
5. SLEEP
Aim to get up to seven or eight hours
of sleep before you go as you may have
problems sleeping at altitude and
dont be tempted to take sleeping
tablets. On the trek, climb high
and sleep low as a rule of thumb,
restrict sleeping height to no more
than 1,000ft per day. HEIGHT
matters
6. GET EQUIPPED
Pack gear to keep you cool and
warm (for example, trousers that
unzip into shorts and a waterproof/
5,500m
Its impossible to adjust
windproof jacket with vents). above this alitutude,
Wear in boots (Gore-Tex with which is why you wont
good ankle support) and carry spend much time at the
sunglasses, sun cream, lip balm and top of Mt Kili (5,985m)
mosquito repellent. Clip alcohol
gel wash to your belt and pack
rehydration tablets (and toilet 5,000m
(Everest Base Camp).
paper) as travellers diarrhoea Most people will happily
is common. adjust by ascending
gradually
7. EXPERT ADVICE
Visit your GP before you go. They
may suggest carrying Diamox, a 2,500m
prescription drug thats used to If you ascend too quickly
speed acclimatisation, although headaches and altitude
sickness are likely
with a sensible programme of
ascent this should be unnecessary.
Listen to your guides, wholl advise 1,500-
ascending slowly, spending two-
2,000m
three days acclimatising before The height at which
going above 3,000 metres. altitude starts to have an
SAM LEWIS effect on our bodies

Tech traveer
GEEK
TRIPS
Calling all sci-fi nerds, makers,
particle physics buff s, gadget
groupies and Dr Who and
Hobbit fans a host of great
experiences are up for grabs
We geeks have a reputation for
never leaving our keyboards,
but if you fancy stretching
your nerdy horizons there are
plenty of amazing trips you can
plan. The maker community is
thriving, with events where you
can get hands-on with robots, 3D
printing, coding and more. Check
out makerfaire.com/map to locate
events around the world. Or grab
your Raspberry Pi computer
and head to a Jam to meet and
learn from other enthusiasts
(raspberrypi.org/jam).
Perhaps youve recently
picked up a drone and want
to learn how to fly it safely?
Phantomflightschool.co.uk has
a range of summer and winter
holidays that will help you get
to grips with your airborne
tech. If you just want to know
where youre allowed to fly,
caniflymydrone.com lists popular
attractions where you can, and
cannot, unleash your unmanned
aerial vehicle. The list mainly
GET THE GADGET
mybuddytag.com
IMAGE: GETTY
covers UK sites right now, but is
growing slowly worldwide.
If youre interested in particle
physics, or just curious about
the universe, CERN, in Geneva,
offers guided tours of the largest
particle physics laboratory in
the world (visits.web.cern.ch).
Alternatively, you could
head to California
to visit NASAs
Jet Propulsion
Laboratory where
you can book a free
tour of the Deep
Space Network
operation centre
( jpl.nasa.gov/
events/tours/views).
For science
fiction and fantasy
fans theres an ever-growing
list of movie locations that should
be on your bucket list. Cardiff
is home of the Doctor Who
Experience, where you can step
inside the Tardis (doctorwho.tv/
events/doctor-who-experience).
Meanwhile, Game of Thrones
fans should make a beeline for
Dubrovnik, Croatia, where lots
of tours of Kings Landing, one of
the most iconic places from the
series, are available (visit-croatia.
co.uk). Then theres a long-haul trip
to New Zealand to Middle-earth,
where the curiously Teletubbies-
esque set of The Hobbit continues
to be a huge and beautiful
attraction. Check out the options
at hobbitontours.com.
The thought of
losing track of
small children in
crowded locations
is every parents worst
nightmare, especially
in an unfamiliar place. The
Buddy Tag is a cute, colourful
waterproof armband that uses
wireless Bluetooth technology to
help locate your child through
your smartphone.
The distance it can track
is limited to 40ft indoors, and
80-120ft outdoors, but it
TRAVEL TALK
TECHNOLOGY REPORTER FOR @BBCCLICK AND
AUTHOR OF WORKING THE CLOUD,
K ATE RUSSELL PICKS THE LATEST INNOVATIONS
TOP APPS FOR...
exploring the world
with augmented reality
POKEMON GO
IOS/ANDROID. FREE. Pokmon Go lets players use
their phones camera to hunt and capture cute
Pokmon characters. The app had 21 million daily
users just ve days after release. pokemongo.com
INGRESS
IOS/ANDROID. FREE. Ingress tasks players with
exploring their surroundings to gain control of rival
portals around landmarks and attractions.
ingress.com
GOOGLE TRANSLATE
IOS/ANDROID. FREE. Googles Translate app uses
AR for real-time translations of signs, menus and
other essential messages written in a foreign
language. bit.ly/1s5wqu9 apple.co/1dElvL4
FIELD TRIP
IOS/ANDROID. FREE. Field Trip noties you when
youre close to something cool or quirky, and gives
interesting facts and information. eldtripper.com
when its submerged
underwater, which
gives extra peace
of mind if your
child isnt a
strong swimmer.
The Buddy Tag
should give you is available from
a fairly accurate UK stockist Prezzybox
pinpoint within that range. for 42.95.
The armband also has a panic prezzybox.com/silicone-band-
button the child can press blue.aspx
to alert their parent if they
feel threatened. It will also @katerussell
automatically alert parents katerussell.co.uk
October 2016 157
TRAVEL TALK
HOW I GOT THE SHOT
ANTARCTICA
SHANEY HUDSON, THE WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER OF OUR ANTARCTICA
FEATURE (P.114), EXPLAINS HOW SHE TOOK THIS SHOT OF ORNE HARBOUR
Antarctica is one of the most
incredible places to shoot, but also
one of the most unpredictable.
The day I took this shot we were
looking at temperatures of 1C, with
a wind chill of -1C.
In order to minimise visitor
impact, IAATO (International
Association of Antarctica Tour
Operators) has strict restrictions
on the number of people allowed
at a landing site, so I needed to
make a decision about where I
would shoot: a 1,000ft hike to the
top of the ridge, or head out on a
Zodiac cruise in the surrounding
bay. It was a tough choice. I would
be gutted to miss a potential
whale encounter, but the chance
to climb high and capture some
panorama shots won out.
158 natgeotraveller.co.uk
I captured this image with a
new prime lens in my kit, the
35mm Sigma Art, shooting at f/5.6
at 1/200th of a second, with an
ISO of 100.
Coming down the ridge I had
Catching snowfall this image in mind but with the
I was trying to get a weather closing in, I couldnt
shutter speed fast really stop to compose a shot. It
was simply a case of checking
enough to freeze the back over my shoulder to see if I
subjects but slow could find an angle I liked, and
enough to catch the then just going for it.
While the day is obviously grim,
snowfall. Too slow
the reflective nature of the snow
meant the subjects meant each of the subjects was
would be blurry; too perfectly lit for the shot. The sense
fast wouldnt capture of movement, the leading lines and
the spectacular pop of orange
the fierce force of the make the image a standout for me.
snow and wind. Lindblad Expeditions & National
LIKE THIS? READ MORE
This feature can be found in our
new free, digital-only Photography
Magazine. iOS/Google Play/Amazon
Geographic give bright orange
jackets to each passenger upon
embarking. As well as being a great
safety feature, the jackets also
helped create consistent,
high-contrast images throughout
the photo story.
I shot over 10,000 images in
Antarctica, and submitted 108 to
my photo editor for consideration.
I picked this image because Im a
big believer in putting people in
the frame. So much of the stunning
imagery taken in Antarctica is of
the landscapes, the animals and
the ice, but photographing people
actively moving across the
landscape shows Antarctica isnt a
passive experience.
@shaneyhudson
 COMING IN THE
NOVEMBER ISSUE

waii
Andrew McCarthy heads back to his favourite
spot on Earth, beneath an old, twisted palm tree
on a beach in Maui, before rediscovering
this beguiling island
IMAGE: GETTY

Plus // Nepal, Zambia, China, Mexico, Ireland,

Amsterdam, Wellington, Boston, Copenhagen, Doha

On sale 6 October 2016

For more information on our subscription offers,
see page 176

October 2016 159

 th
e
slo
hit

NOTHING STANDS STILL FOR LONG IN THE WORLD

OF WINTER SPORTS. EACH SEASON BRINGS WITH IT
pe
s
A PLETHORA OF NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO GET EXCITED
ABOUT, FROM RESORT FACELIFTS TO THE RISE OF NEW
TRENDS LIKE FAT BIKING. WE ROUND UP SOME OF THIS
SEASON'S HOTTEST DEVELOPMENTS. WORDS: NICK Y HOLFORD

Austria: USA: Switzerland:

The missing link Wild west white-out Licence to thrill
For lovers of Austrias Arlberg region, new lift A daily flight with Delta from Heathrow to Salt Take a break from the slopes in the Swiss
connections linking Stuben and Zurs will be Lake City makes Wyomings Jackson Hole an resort of Mrren to discover the secret lair of
music to their ears. The much-anticipated easy destination. A new Sweetwater Gondola James Bonds nemesis Blofeld. Perched atop
connection will do away with the need for a has helped facilitate more intermediate the Schilthorn at a loft y 9,744ft is the revolving
bus ride, and heralds the complete linking and beginner skiing options this season a 360-Restaurant Piz Gloria, which acted as the
of the stretch of resorts from St Anton am welcome development in a resort renowned for villains hideaway in On Her Majestys Secret
Arlberg to Lech. This will increase the ski area its advanced runs. jacksonhole.com Service. Try the Bond World 007: Interactive
to 190 miles of downhill runs, with 87 lift s. The Experience, complete with
four new lift s, which include a gondola from simulated helicopter ride,
Stuben to Zrs, will make it easily feasible to before testing your mettle
ski the entire route in either direction in one on a black-run descent.
day. The 35 million project makes the Arlberg Intermediates can take the
ski area, where all resorts are covered in one cable car down and pick
lift pass, the largest interconnected ski area in up some red and blue runs
Austria and one of the largest ski areas in the at Schiltgrat. Its worth
world. stantonamarlberg.com visiting for the stunning
views over Wengen and the
Finland: Mnch, Eiger and Jungfrau
Chasing the Northern Lights mountains. schilthorn.ch
In the Arctic wilderness of Finnish Lapland,
a seven-night family adventure based at Italy:
the Muotka Wilderness Lodge will have you Family fun
thundering through the tundra on a sled Champoluc in the Aosta
pulled by huskies; snowmobiling across Valley is the gateway to
pristine landscapes; riding in a reindeer sleigh; skiing in the Monterosa
trying your hand at cross-country skiing and region and the resorts of
snowshoeing; and relaxing tired muscles in a Gressoney and Alagna.
natural sauna. Located near Saariselka, 250 Its also a base for Ski 2,
miles north of the Arctic Circle, close to the which offers parents the
IMAGES: GETTY

Russian border, this is a renowned spot for chance to freely enjoy the
viewing the Northern lights. A nighttime trip to 124 miles of pistes, happy
the Aurora Camp one of the best locations in the knowledge that the
for experiencing this natural wonder is highly Ski 2 Penguin Club and ski
recommended. inghams.co.uk school are looking after their

160 natgeotraveller.co.uk
children. The kids clubs are managed and run
by qualified British staff and run exclusively for
clients on Ski 2 holidays. ski-2.com
Switzerland:
Off the beaten track
The secret valley of Val dAnniviers in Valais,
comprising the resorts of Grimentz, Zinal,
St-Luc and Vercorin, has almost doubled its
ski area with a new cable car linking Grimentz
and Zinal. One of the oldest villages in the Alps,
Grimentz is home to cobblestone roads so
narrow the roofs of houses on either side touch
overhead. Dont miss a cheese fondue evening
and a ski run under the light of the full moon.
valdanniviers.ch
Europe:
Top-secret destination
Finding the best snow can often be a challenge
so this season, Ski Weekend offers two
mystery trips, with the location to be dictated
by snowfall. The Top Secret experience is
a four-day off-piste trip with a mountain
guide, hosted in either La Grave, Grimentz/
Zinal, Ltschental, Alagna, Monterosa or the
Haute Tarentaise. Ill assess the snowfalls and
predicted weather systems and make a call
at the last minute to find the best snow, says
guide Gavin Foster. skiweekend.com
Italy:
Gourmet ski safari
As fresh snow coats the dramatic peaks of the
Dolomites, the first few days
of December in Alta Badia
are all about food. The region
boasts three Michelin-starred
restaurants, and chefs from
these eateries team up with
international guest chefs to
cook up a range of dishes at a
host of mountain locations.
Skiers can slope from one hut
to the next, sampling the chefs
creations alongside wines
from the South Tyrol. For those
wanting further indulgence,
a wine-tasting safari will take
place in March. altabadia.org
Switzerland:
Spectacular spa experience
The spa in the Tschuggen Grand Hotel in Arosa
is something of a bucket-list experience.
Designed by Mario Botta, the four-storey,
5,000sq metre spa includes indoor and
outdoor pools and 11 treatment rooms. Arosa
used to be a small resort with limited skiing but
plenty of non-skiing activities and walking. Two
years ago, however, it was transformed by a
cable car linking it to the resort of Lenzerheide
(a favourite destination of Roger Federer),
trebling the ski run area. tschuggen.ch
Italy:
Heli-skiing on a budget
Although the words heli-skiing and affordable
are usually mutually exclusive, the small Italian
resort of Livigno presents a rare opportunity
for the two to meet. Heli-skiing was recently
introduced here and is only permitted in two
valleys. Situated near the Swiss border, Livigno
has duty-free status and is a favourite with
intermediate and beginner skiers. Heli-skiers
will need off-piste experience. livigno.eu
Canada:
High-speed adventures
Lying face-down on a sled the size of a
tea tray at the top of an Olympic skeleton
October 2016 161
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
Experience
the joys of winter in
VO R A R LB E RG
GETTING THERE
Vorarlberg is easily
reached from the airports
of Friedrichshafen and
Memmingen in Germany,
Innsbruck in Austria and
Zurich in Switzerland.
Head to the beautiful region
of Vorarlberg, in Western
Austria, where snow-clad
mountains and atmospheric
villages meet
Crisp mountain air. Dazzling views. Towering
peaks, lining the horizon. And, all around,
skiers traversing the snow-clad slopes. Treat
yourself to an Alpine lodge, and experience
the pleasures of wintertime in Vorarlberg.
People from all over the world flock to the
gorgeous frosty landscape of Vorarlberg,
located in the far west of Austria, whether
for skiing, hiking or snowshoeing, its
high-quality cuisine or Alpine culture the
variety on offer guarantees visitors a superb
winter holiday. Mother Nature provides
abundant snow cover in the region where
alpine skiing was born, while the local
villages stand out for their stunning blend of
traditional and modern timber architecture.
Each of the regions situated between Lake
Constance and the Arlberg mountains has its
own character. New cableways now link up
Lech Zrs am Arlberg, making it Austrias
largest interconnected ski area. A stay in the
Montafon promises thrilling descents,
IMAGES: VORARLBERG TOURISMUS/SEPP MALLAUN; BERGBAHNEN BRANDNERTAL/MICHAEL MARTE
outdoor activities and insights into the
regional way of life. The Bregenzerwald is
renowned for its scenic slopes, sophisticated
architecture and innovative craftsmanship.
Families with children will love the runs and
trails in Brandnertal, where they can enjoy
skiing, husky walks, or games that cater to
both the young and young at heart. And
Kleinwalsertal is all about savouring regional
treats and recharging your batteries with
winter sport activities.
In Vorarlberg, attentive hosts treat their
guests in style. Most hotels have been family
run for generations, while the restaurants,
inns and mountain lodges serve hearty local
fare or refined cuisine with a creative twist.
Feel the joy of a winter break in Vorarlberg!
vorarlberg.travel/en
E: info@vorarlberg.travel
T: 00 43 5572 3770330

track certainly gets the adrenalin going.
At the Whistler Sliding Centre in British
Columbia, you too can enjoy the thrill of
reaching speeds of up to 62mph while zipping
down the worlds fastest ice track. Once
youve mastered the skeleton, why not try
the four-man bobsleigh. The experiences
include a safety briefing and two descents.
whistlerslidingcentre.com
France:
A new look for Val dIsere
This season sees the biggest innovation in
Frances top resort for more than a decade,
with the opening of a new gondola in the
Solaise area, complete with wi-fi and heated
seats. The 13.8 million redevelopment will
transform mountain access for all standards
of skiers, particularly beginners new slopes
have been added at the gondola drop-off to
provide the perfect pitch for both novices
and snowboarders. There will also be a North
American-style day lodge located at the
IMAGE: GETTY
gondola station and, somewhat unusually for
a European resort, a picnic area. Best of all,
special lift pass reductions are being offered in
celebration of the new openings. valdisere.com
SKIING
Lake Antorno, with the Sorapiss
Italy: mountain in the background,
Fat bike over the Alps the Dolomites
Fat bikes are fast gaining in popularity, with
PREVIOUS: Husky sledding in
resorts across the Alps setting up tracks and
Lapland; fat bikes; ski chairlift in
offering bikes for rent. Cortina dAmpezzo is
Niseko, Japan
one of the first to have set up two dedicated
fat bike slopes, situated behind the lift s of the
Rifugio Col Gallina. Night runs can be arranged,
and bikes cost approximately 35 to rent.
cortinadolomiti.org
Antarctica:
Trip of a lifetime
The frozen wilderness of Antartica is the
location of a one-off ski trip. Traverse ice and
snow, climb blue ice glaciers, and cross ice-
covered beaches where penguins and seals MORE INFO
roam wild. This ski mountaineering adventure
is a 29-day journey that begins with a sail across Where to Ski and Snowboard.
the Drake Passage as the mystic scenery of the RRP 18.99
Antarctic Peninsula unfolds and mountains skiclub.co.uk
disappear into the sea. The dazzling colour snowcarbon.co.uk
and light is part of an extraordinarily beautiful welove2ski.com
frozen paradise. Days are spent travelling iglu.com
across thick ice and snow, filled with the snow-forecast.com
sound of ice crunching beneath your skis.
mountaintracks.co.uk/trip/ski-antarctica
October 2016 163
SKIING
th
et
e
me
ex
BECCI MALTHOUSE
Co-director of BASS (British Alpine Ski
School), based in Morzine/Les Gets and a
former British snowboard champion
The best thing about last season was
Skiing in Ushuaia, Argentina as a member of
the BASI (British Association of Snowsports
Instructors) Interski Team, representing my
country in the worlds southernmost city at the
Interski Congress. Next stop: the South Pole.
The best thing about this season will be
Powder skiing with friends. Whatever the
weather, I always look forward to the buzz of
the ski down and the catch-up on the chairlift .
What Ill be trying out this year
After 30 years as an instructor, Im looking
forward to trying out new teaching techniques.
This year Im focusing on how the brain learns
and how this helps making learning to ski easier
and more fun than ever.
HENRY DRUCE
Head of ski content at Telegraph Media
Group and editor of The Telegraph Ski and
Snowboard magazine
The best thing about last season was
Enjoying fantastic powder conditions for
almost the entirety of a 10-day trip to Utah.
The excuse for the trip was hosting a holiday
for readers and to check out the resort of
Park City, the largest ski area in the US.
The best thing about this season will be
An improved skiing experience in Arlberg,
Austria, covering the resorts of St Anton,
Stuben, Zrs, Lech, Warth and Schrcken. Four
new 10-person gondolas will make this the
largest lift-linked ski area in the country.
What Ill be trying
Fat biking, which involves riding snowy trails
on a mountain bike fitted with beefy tyres. Its
becoming increasingly popular in ski resorts.
164 natgeotraveller.co.uk
s
rt
pe
NICK PARKS
A UIAGM (International Federation of
Mountain Guides Associations) guide and
founder of Mountain Tracks, an adventure
off-piste and ski touring company
The best thing about last season was
Taking part in the Patrouille des Glaciers, the
worlds best-known ski mountaineering race.
That was my target for last season Zermatt to
Verbier in 15 hours. The best bit was finishing it.
The best thing about this season will be
Leading another Mountain Tracks trip to Japan.
It has all the ingredients for the best skiing
holiday: dream powder, fascinating culture,
delicious cuisine and onsens (hot springs).
What Ill be trying out this year
Trying to give as many skiers as possible the
opportunity to explore beyond the pistes.
Nothing beats the smiles and sense of
achievement as we complete special descents.
DOUGIE MILLS
Guide, former instructor at New Generation
Ski & Snowboard School in Val dIsere and
instructor for British race teams
The best thing about last season was
Ski touring at 3am beneath shooting stars,
navigating by head torch to the summit of
Tsanteleina in the Graian Alps. Also, skiing a
couloir (narrow gully) off Piz Bo, the highest
mountain in the Sella group of the Dolomites.
The best thing about this season will be
Teaching and guiding clients from my new
winter base at Bourg-Saint-Maurice, which has
five major ski resorts with a 40-minute drive.
What Ill be trying
Testing and using new equipment. The
advances in technology to bindings and skis,
along with lightweight boots, make it much
easier to ascend mountains. Ill be teaching
more and guiding helicopter adventures.
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TRAVEL WRITING COMPETITION

National Geographic Travellers

F

TRAVEL
WRITING
COMPETITION
2016
WITH A HUGE NUMBER OF IMPRESSIVE ENTRIES, THIS YEARS
TR AVEL WRITING COMPETITION SAW THREE ENTR ANTS
STAND OUT FROM THE REST

CAFFEINE, BUT
NO RUSH
W I N N E R Suzy Pope finds plenty to
see in the Tanzanian city of
Dar es Salaam

C
lick, click, click. Abdul ambles down
the dusty street knocking two coffee
THE PRIZE cups together. Men peel away from
market stalls stacked with bruised fruit, and
Suzy Pope has won a 17-day expedition to Madagascar, courtesy of our sponsor, slink out of breeze-block shacks. Abdul puts
Natural World Safaris, worth around 6,000. Shell embark on a small group down his metal kettle and stokes the glowing
expedition led by Daniel Austin and Hilary Bradt, co-authors of the Bradt guides embers underneath. It ticks and hisses as dark
Madagascar and Madagascar Highlights. The safari will take her from the lemur- liquid comes to life inside. This is his corner,
rich eastern rainforests of Andasibe-Mantadia National Park to the spectacular opposite the local pharmacy in the Kinondoni
limestone pinnacles and canyons of the Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park. Other area of Dar es Salaam. The pharmacist pulls
ecological sites will include Ranomafana National Park, home to the rarely sighted down heavy metal bars to close his shop for a
greater bamboo lemur. Suzy will also get to enjoy an exclusive visit to Kianjavato to few minutes, locking in the clingfilm packets
learn about lemur research and conservation. naturalworldsafaris.com of dried herbs and shrivelled roots that help
the ailments of the community. Women in
dresses the colour of tropical birds usher past
IMAGE: GETTY

children in bright white school shirts and bare

feet. People told me there was nothing to see
in Dar es Salaam.

166 natgeotraveller.co.uk

Clutching tiny coffee cups, the men from
the market stalls recline in the shade of a
corrugated roof. Football commentary drifts
down the street from a bar that was once a
shipping container. Rust streaks the outside
and twisted plastic chairs pass for al fresco
seating. A satellite dish hooked up to an old
car battery blooms like a fungus from the roof.
Coffee? Abdul asks me.
Yes please. I hand him 50 shillings. The
price of a cup of coffee is often used to assess
the cost of living in cities. That makes the cost
of living in Dar es Salaam 1/100th of that in
London. After the collapse of socialism across
Tanzania, informal urban economies popped
up across its largest city. Thats coffee vendors,
dala-dala drivers and young men sorting
through mountains of secondhand clothes
that arrive in cargo ships.
Abdul hands me a piece of homemade
peanut brittle and I walk over to join the men
lounging in the shade. I feel self-conscious.
This makeshift caff isnt on anyones bucket
list, its not in the guidebook and theres no
English audio guide to tell me whats going on.
The men stop talking when I sit down. Theres
only the slurp of coffee and crack of peanut
brittle. I cup my hands around my coffee as if
its a baby bird that needs protecting.
Neymar, one of the men says to me.
Neymar, I reply, thinking it might mean
hello. Football commentary drones on in the
background. All four men nod in approval.
Messi? another one asks me.
Um, no Swahili, sorry, I stammer.
Ronaldo, someone says and I finally
catch on. The men all nod enthusiastically.
Oh! Luis Suarez! I say, and
everyone laughs.
I inhale the smoky scent of the coffee. As
synapses snap and crackle in my brain, I think
about what people had told me about this city
before I left. Theres nothing to see but lines of
traffic. Get out, get to Zanzibar or Kilimanjaro.
Dont bother. The first sip sends the familiar
caffeine charge through my limbs. After
Ive swallowed, theres a little kick of ginger.
Another pleasant surprise in Dar es Salaam.
TRAVEL WRITING COMPETITION
F
THE JUDGES VERDICT
Pat Riddell, editor of National
Geographic Traveller, said: This years
entries were, as usual, of a particularly
high standard. Suzys entry, though,
particularly stood out to the judges and,
in the end, it was a unanimous decision
to award her the top prize.
A sense of place and a palpable
atmosphere are immediately
established. But whats striking is the
engagement with the destination and
the interaction; the confusion quickly
broken by the common language of
football. The short sentences and
present tense compel you to read on
but the conclusion is a familiar one in
travel expectations confounded,
experiences enriched. A worthy winner.
October 2016 167
TRAVEL WRITING COMPETITION
LOST IN TRANSLATION
John Metcalfe is pleasantly confused in the
Kabwe slums of Zambia
Y
ou look like Kraftwerk.
What?
Im startled. Not only because I
dont look like any of the band members, but
also that a kid of six or seven from the Kabwe
slums of Zambia could have any knowledge of
the Autobahn creators. It reminds me of a time
when I was standing in the middle of a desert
looking at a seagull looking back at me. How
did it get there? How does this kid know about
Kraftwerk? I shook my head to rid it of the
fuddle of two days worth of travel and bring
some clarity to the situation. She repeats the
statement. I look perplexed. She moves on.
And so goes my introduction to the
dichotomous lifestyle of the Kabwe
inhabitants. Its full of big smiles and
generosity despite the chronic poverty. A
panhandler pauses his pleas to answer a
mobile phone. Mobile phones are everywhere
and most stores have a talk-time top-up
kiosk. Public transport is laboured, yet
billboards are boasting fast broadband
speeds. Facebook me, I keep getting told.
The football skills of the kids are amazing
despite playing with a ball made from plastic
bags on a pitch resembling a building site.
Their passion for knowledge is insatiable
168 natgeotraveller.co.uk
despite the ad hoc learning opportunities
and classroom attendances in triple figures.
The sense of community is strong. Their
timekeeping is shocking. The place is
welcoming and intoxicating.
I stayed in Kabwe for two weeks, working
alongside teachers using sport as a medium
F
to teach life skills to school kids. Lamentably,
my stay has come to an end and its time to
move on. Ive learned so much and have much
more to learn.
We pull into a service Before catching my return flight, I have a
few days to spend in Livingstone to check out
station where hawkers the wildlife and Victoria Falls. The nine-hour
and chancers from bus drive passes surprisingly quickly. The
far-flung parts of the roadside activity is distracting. I purchase a
replica Zambia football shirt at a stoplight,
continent mingle and but pass on the live chicken.
ply their trades. Its an Our blowout in the middle of nowhere
ecosystem in itself. A is mercifully repaired by a hut-dwelling
tribesman. We pull into a service station
whole infrastructure where hawkers and chancers from far-flung
is supported each parts of the continent mingle and ply their
time a vehicle pulls trades. Its an ecosystem in itself. A whole
infrastructure is supported each time a
in. Cars are washed,
vehicle pulls in. Cars are washed, goods are
goods are sold, sold, phones are topped up, lifts and gossip
phones are topped are swapped. Deals are made.
up, lifts and gossip I alight into the throng to briefly stretch my
legs. A young boy tending a souvenir stall tugs
are swapped. Deals at my T-shirt.
are made. You look at my craftwork? he asks.
 TRAVEL WRITING COMPETITION

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT A midday drive around Naypyitaw confirms Over a pricey curry at an empty restaurant,
Sachin Rao warms to Naypyitaw, it was created with the rulers, not the people, I query the feasibility of this military-built
Myanmars little-visited capital city in mind. The impossibly wide, never-ending city in a new age of democracy. Tun opines
roads linking the various ministries are that theres little point wasting public energy

A
fter a full day on the highway from
Yangon, I enter Naypyitaw under
cover of dusk. And enter it. And enter
it Ten minutes in, I clear my throat and ask
my guide: Er, Tun where is the city?
We are in Naypyitaw, Tun reassures
me, matter-of-factly. A card-carrying NLD
party member, hed easily added an hour
to the days journey by slowing our long-
suffering 98 Toyota every so often to hand
out small-denomination currency notes and
passport-sized photos of Myanmars new
hero, Aung San Suu Kyi, to road workers,
coconut sellers and assorted bystanders.
This is the Hotel Zone. Tomorrow, we go to
the Ministry Zone. But we cannot visit the
Military Zone.
Glittering hotel buildings every kilometre
or so remain the only signs of life until we
largely deserted, save for a few labourers in
conical straw hats desultorily repainting the
black-and-yellow road-dividers. The 20-lane
road in front of the sprawling parliament
building is clearly an airstrip at heart. Cookie-
cutter apartment blocks dot swathes of
forested land (government employees get free
housing). Aside from a cinema, a market and a
shopping mall, theres not a lot to do but work.
A replica of Yangons iconic Shwedagon
Pagoda (one deferential foot shorter) does
have a smattering of visitors. A nearby
enclosure houses six royal white elephants,
revered as holy; the placid creatures are
peacefully oblivious to the irony of living in
a city that seems their concrete embodiment.
I could never live here, shudders my
Yangonite companion.
trying to move power back to Yangon: Lets
make use of Naypyitaw now that it exists.
We have to move forward, not back! a
mantra I heard from many other local people
too. Perhaps its their entrenched Buddhist
philosophy that allows the Burmese to forgive
the sins of 50 years of military rule, and
instead look to forge a new, inclusive nation.
As the next day breaks, I begin to warm to
Naypyitaw. Maybe its just ahead of its time,
a visionary city built for two generations
hence. Maybe one day, bustling with people
and pleasures, it will seem not vacant and
sterile, but spacious and well-organised.
Far-fetched? Maybe not. After all, Myanmars
51 million people now have the democratic
licence to enter the Dream Zone, and bear
straight ahead.

F
finally arrive at our own glittering hotel,
where I ponder the citys unique layout.
Naypyitaw (Abode of the Kings) was
built from scratch on virgin shrubland
to take over from Yangon as the countrys A nearby enclosure houses six royal white elephants, revered as
IMAGES: GETTY

administrative centre in 2005, whereupon holy; the placid creatures are peacefully oblivious to the irony
the military regime shifted the entire
government machinery to the city of living in a city that seems their concrete embodiment. I
virtually overnight. could never live here, shudders my Yangonite companion.

October 2016 169

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

Azores
U LT I M AT E

This mid-Atlantic archipelago is part of Portugal but its green pastures,

fishing villages and volcanic outcrops mean these subtropical islands
are in a world of their own
 PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

10
Reasons to visit the
Azores

1 Swimming with wild dolphins and

world-class whale-watching
Around 25 resident and migratory species can
be seen, including the magnificent sperm and
blue whale

2 A unique island escape less than

four hours by plane from London
Weekly non-stop services operate from
Gatwick and Stansted

3 An abundance of inexpensive
local produce
Fantastic fresh fish, meats and cheeses, plus
traditional pastries and excellent local wines

4 A variety of exciting activities for

adventure seekers and families
Walking, cycling, canoeing, sailing, fishing,
horse-riding, diving, canyoning, golfing and
surfing and more

5 Dramatic natural beauty

Discover magnificent lakes, rich foliage,
warm volcanic pools and refreshing waterfalls

6 A safe and tranquil place to relax

and unwind
The pace is slow and the Portuguese
hospitality warm

7 Rich cultural heritage, and bucket

list sights
UNESCO World Heritage Sites, like the walled
vineyards of Pico and Angra Do Herosmo

8 Great accommodation
From top-end hotels to traditional rural
properties, hostels and campsites

9 Health and wellbeing

The islands natural thermal waters have
offered cures for centuries today theyre the
source for numerous spas

10 Sustainable tourism destination

National Geographic Traveler (US)
has named the Azores Second Best Islands
in the World for Sustainable Tourism
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

AZORES ACTIVE
Its hard to stay still in the Azores; its wild
land and seascapes beg to be explored.
ON LAND: Along with some of Europes wildest
subtropical walking trails, you can take to the
backcountry for bird-watching, horse-riding,
cycling and mountain biking trips, both
guided and self-guided. And if golf is your
game, you can tee-off on some of the best and
least-explored courses in the world, according
to the International Golf Travel Market.
But for those after the simple pleasures of
sightseeing, UNESCO-listed venues abound,
including the city of Angra do Herosmo on
the island of Terceira and the walled
vineyards of Pico Island.
ON WATER: The islands are a paradise for
professional and hobbyist anglers alike.
Whether fishing or not, dont miss the
chance to take a boat trip, or explore by
canoe or kayak including calm inland
lakes. Surfers and bodyboarders will
find great waves across the archipelago,
windsurfers and stand-up paddleboarders
are also well catered for, while wildlife lovers
are sure to fall under the spell of whales and
dolphins in their natural habitat.

HEALTH &
WELLBEING

Famed for their thermal waters, the Azores have been revitalising travellers
and locals for centuries. Dip into natural springs, waterfalls and mineral
pools, many of which feed spas that have been in operation since the 1500s.
On the island of Sao Miguel, the Ferraria Spa and the iron-rich water pools
in Furnas are unmissable, while on the island of Graciosa, a highlight is the
beautiful, coastal Carapacho Spa.
 PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

Whale- and dolphin-watching

The deep waters surrounding the islands provide some of the best whale-
and dolphin-watching opportunities in the world. Around the archipelago,
approximately 25 different resident and migratory species can be spotted.
The sperm whale is among the most common: the same giant of the seas that
was the focus of Herman Melvilles Moby Dick Azorean whalers learned
their trade from the Yankees immortalised in the tale. These whales can grow
to 18 metres and weigh as much as 44 tones a truly memorable wildlife-
watching experience. Other sightings include the blue whale and the fin
whale, along with several species of shark, turtle and dolphin. Theres little
to compare to being on board a boat just metres from a breaching whale, or
diving into the clear blue to swim with wild dolphins.
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

Adrift in the Atlantic

This is Portugal but not as you know it: set
between Europe and the US surrounded
by the deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean,
youll find the Azores. This nine-island
chain may be an autonomous region of
Portugal but it comes with a distinctive
character and landscape sculpted
by volcanoes. Each of the islands is
shaped by its own traditions, cuisine
and architecture. Divided into three
main geographical regions, the Eastern
Group comprises the islands of Santa
Maria and So Miguel, home to the
largest city, Ponta Delegada, where most
international travellers arrive. The Central
Group includes Terceira, Graciosa, So
Jorge, Faial and Pico, the latter home to
Portugals highest peak, while the Western
Group is made up of just two destinations:
Flores, and Corvo, the archipelagos
smallest and northernmost island.

WHAT TO
TASTE

The geodiversity and geological

heritage of the Azores are enjoyed
in many ways, most unusually
perhaps in its cuisine. Cozido das
Furnas (a meat stew from So
Miguel), is cooked in volcanic-heated
soil. On Pico, wine is cultivated
in black basalt vineyards. It also
yields quality grass-fed meats,
vegetables and fruit. The archipelago
is even home to a tea plantation.
Such rich pastures produce some
great cheeses, like So Jorge WILD WALKING
Crisscrossed by a network of ancient, well-maintained trails, the Azores is seen
made on the island since as a hikers paradise. For centuries, these paths and shortcuts were used by
locals travelling between villages, either for trade, to graze livestock, for religious
it was first settled. Azorean pilgrimages or to access farm and forest.
gastronomy is also shaped by Today, theyre a natural playground for walkers of all abilities, home to hidden
waterfalls that flow into magnificent bays, natural coastal pools great to swim in,
the ocean highlights include fantastic fajs (coastal plateaus resulting from landslides or lava flows) and rich
flora and fauna that make these islands a centre for biodiversity.
sustainably caught tuna, swordfish, Around 500 miles of official paths are spread across the nine islands, including
sea bass, wreckfish, shellfish approximately 80 approved, way-marked hiking trails with itineraries varying in
difficulty, distance and terrain, meaning theres something for seasoned hikers
and squid. and have-a-go families alike.
 PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

@visitingazores Visit Azores @visitazores youtube.com/user/TurismoAzores

 Make he
summer as
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Two sides of a coin
Thank you so much for your feature In
Pictures: Hong Kong in the last issue. As
an ex-resident of Hong Kong, I spent
years telling anyone who would listen
that the city is not only humid and
bustling with skyscrapers sprouting all over
the place, but also a place where hilly and
lush scenery can be found, as well as
spacious sandy beaches and tranquil
outlying islands. In addition to their love of
technology and modern design, tradition is
just as important to Hong Kongers, and your
feature displayed this wonderfully. Thank
you for sharing the side of Hong Kong that Ticket to ride
many dont know exists. EMMA HENSBY As a first-time reader of National Geographic
Traveller, I was pleasantly surprised. I found
myself transported to all the countries
described and was able to imagine in great
Elephant sanctuary detail everything from the accommodation
I was so pleased to read in your July/August to the food. Holidaying for me is something
edition the article about Elephant Nature of a luxury, but after reading your Jul/Aug
Park in Thailand. It highlighted the positive issue, Im more determined than ever to
side of elephant tourism. Far too many travel experience the wonders the world has to offer.
companies advertise elephant trekking I especially enjoyed the article on
experiences and tourists who may not know Madagascar, which is somewhere Ive wished
the truth about how elephants are broken in to travel since my brother returned from
for such activities, are enticed unwittingly working with the Azafady charity there
into what is a cruel pastime. Your article will
hopefully encourage people to take part in
elephant tourism, without any cruelty being
involved, as well as giving vital funds to the
almost a decade ago. Im also booking onto
one of your travel writing courses in London
so that when I do get a chance to travel, Ill be
able to share my adventures with the same
elephants that need to be looked after in high-energy writing your contributors
Thailand and other countries. MARY BLOYE provide. MICHAEL MALONE
Twee twee
twitter.com/natgeotraveller
Tips for avoiding sickness at high altitude?
@OLEEBRANCH While hiking Mt Elgon in Uganda at 4,321m ASL, my guide kept advising me to drink water if I
felt anything. It worked! // @EPPIESHEPHERD I always wear travel bands. I dont how they work or if its a
placebo effect but it does the job for me! // @NEHASUMITRAN Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate when ascending.
And potent garlic soup, for when it sets in anyway. // @ALTITUDECENTRE take ALTI-VIT! SEE OUR TIPS, P.160
Hashtag your Instagram pics with #NGTUK for your chance to be our Photo of the Week
@damonwilderphotography @fotodisiac @sheing.coe
October 2016 177
GET IN TOUCH

our Pictures
NOW OPEN
The theme: Hawaii.
Upload your high-res image THE PRIZE
(one only for each entry), plus The winner will receive
a sentence describing your the Sony RX100 III a
shot, to ngtr.uk/yourpictures premium fixed-lens
by 10 Oct 2016. compact camera with
a one-inch sensor
We give you a theme, you give us the photos, with the crafted for serious
best published in the next issue. This month is Africa photographers on the
go. It features 20.1MP
the theme of our September 2016 cover story image quality, a pop-up
viewfinder and a bright
The winning entry, from Nicola Reed, beautifully captures the essence of the F1.8-2.8 Zeiss zoom lens,
continent: its people. Set against a vivid pink backdrop, the shot highlights the and is worth 699.
spectacular traditional body adornment rituals for which the tribe is renowned. sony.co.uk

W I N N E R

1 NICOLA REED // LONDON: This photograph of two

girls was taken in Jinka, Ethiopia. It celebrates the
individuality, unique style and personality thats so
pertinent to the Karo tribe of the Omo Valley.

2 HARRY SKEGGS // LONDON: Tracking mountain

gorillas in the foothills of the Bwindi Impenetrable
Forest, Western Uganda, I hoped to capture the shy
nature of these giant symbols of central Africa.

3 KELLIE NETHERWOOD // LONDON: In Kenyas Maasai

Mara even simple moments feel dramatic, like a sunrise
silhouetting the impala that fight for daily survival.

To find out more about the next theme, enter and

for T&Cs visit NATGEOTRAVELLER.CO.UK

178 natgeotraveller.co.uk
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

RAYMOND WEIL is proud to be supporting Swiss sailing team

Realteam as its Official Timing Partner and to introduce a new
freelancer able to support the crew in the most extreme sailing
freelancer collection
conditions. A nice little tip of the hat to Mr Raymond Weil who was
a member of the Geneva Yacht Club. Water resistant to 300 metres

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