Overview

Introduction

This tiny mountain village on the southeastern outskirts of Kyrenia (4 mi/6 km away) in Turkish Cyprus, overlooking the northern coast and is home to the beautiful 13th-century Bellapais Abbey.

Many famous people have lived in this village, including Lawrence Durrell and photographer George Lanitis. The Tree of Idleness that Durrell describes in his memoir, Bitter Lemons, still stands.

Overview

Introduction

Champaign and its twin city, Urbana, lie 135 mi/215 km south of Chicago and host the main campus of the University of Illinois. They have the state's most active nightlife and widest cultural offerings south of Chicago. There's a good selection of restaurants and bars in "Campustown," and entertainment includes plays, concerts, movies and Big Ten sporting events.

The campus area has the Midwestern-college atmosphere you might expect—frame houses along shady streets and old buildings lining a quadrangle. There are several excellent libraries and a botanical garden. The university's best museum is the Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion, which houses works from 4000 BC to the present. Its collection of works by U.S. and European masters and 20th-century art includes pieces by Picasso, Mark Rothko, Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Yves Klein. You may also wish to visit the Museum of Natural History and the World Heritage Museum. Kids will enjoy a tour of the automated dairy at the University of Illinois South Farms.

Plan to spend half a day visiting Allerton Park in Monticello (20 mi/32 km west of Champaign/Urbana). This 1,500-acre/600-hectare park is owned by the University of Illinois, and it has lots of surprises hidden amongst its meadows and forest trails: fish sculptures that once belonged to a Chinese prince, an English-style manor house fronted by a small reflecting lake and formal gardens fashioned after those found in Europe in the 1800s. The park, open 8 am-sunset, was once the playground of wealthy eccentric Robert Allerton, who donated it to the university in 1946. Its trails are largely unmarked, and the sculptures are hidden along them, unidentified, which adds to the sense of adventure. You might want to combine your visit to Allerton Park with a stop at the Early American Museum and Botanical Gardens in Mahomet (15 mi/25 km northwest of Champaign/Urbana), which includes exhibits about pioneer life in addition to its flowers, plants and herbs.

Overview

Introduction

Overview

Introduction

Overview

Introduction

Overview

Introduction

Pa'ia, a former sugar plantation town a few miles/kilometers west of Kahului, retains the charm of its historic buildings, though it's growing rapidly. The town is actually just the intersection of two streets, where a traffic light regularly bottlenecks traffic.

Pa'ia's increasing number of boutiques and restaurants features a health-food store mainstay, a made-with-hemp clothing store and several wonderful bakeries. It also has the most nightlife on the island, with local music and hip restaurants. Modern-day hippies and windsurfers give the town its character.

Overview

Introduction

The highlight of Trinidad is Port of Spain, the capital. It's a bustling city on the water's edge, offering ample opportunities to visit bazaars, markets, parks, heritage homes and various shrines, mosques and temples. Many cultures are represented, each with attractions relating to its heritage.

Woodford Square is one of the town's prettiest areas, where large flowering trees shade the walkways and lawns. Near the square is the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. Consecrated in 1823, it is known for its elaborately carved hammer-beam roof. Across the square is the Red House, the ornate home of the House of Representatives.

About eight blocks north of the square is the Queen's Park Savannah, considered the heart of the city. These 80 acres/32 hectares of open land are filled with shade trees, lily ponds and gardens. (The park is the center of activities during Carnival.)

On the western edge of the park you'll find the Magnificent Seven, an eclectic group of houses built at the turn of the 20th century. They include a Scottish castle and an Edwardian school. Also in the area is the National Museum, on Frederick Street. Fort St. Andres, located in the heart of the city, has been restored. Phone 868-623-5941.

The tree-lined boulevard called Independence Square is near the cruise-ship terminal. The grand, early-1800s Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is its heart. To the left and right of the cathedral is Brian Lara Promenade, which has benches and shade trees.

Unlike most Caribbean cities, Port of Spain is big enough to have some interesting suburbs. St. James District, the East Indian section of town, is where the Hindu and Muslim festivals are held and where you'll find great silk-sari shops.

In Ellerslie Park, Goodwood Park and St. Clair, west of Queen's Park, you'll find the city's most elegant residences.

Overview

Introduction

A seldom-visited area in the northwest about 100 mi/160 km northwest of Port au Prince, Port de Paix was called Valparaiso (Valley of Delights) by Columbus.

Today, it still has delightful beaches and scenery. (The town is also a big marketplace for untaxed goods smuggled in from Miami.) Off the coast is Tortuga Island, once the biggest base for pirates in the Caribbean, now the site of several villages and beaches.

You can reach the island via ferry from the town of St. Louis du Nord.

Overview

Introduction

Spain offers visitors a richness and complexity that may surprise. All the tempting postcard fantasy pictures are there in reality, side-by-side with other, less-expected ones.

You may come across fiesta dancers in a village square, a young man practicing flamenco guitar, a medieval Arab fortress or windmills so enormous Don Quixote could be forgiven for thinking they were giants.

But there's also the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, its mind-bending shapes like those of no other museum in the world, just as the exuberant architecture of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in Barcelona makes it like no other church in the world.

You may see ultracool young Madrilenos togged out in urban chic, talking endlessly on their cell phones; international businesspeople hurrying to appointments; and tourists and golfers of many nations flocking to Spain's spectacular countryside and balmy beaches. There are super-fast trains, and there are villages where life goes at a pace that has changed little for centuries.

Spain today is an engaged member of the European Union that has transformed itself from a remote backwater to a modern nation, all within living memory. The contrasts, the colors and the vibrant spirit of the place will stay with you for a long time.

Geography

Spain is Europe's second-most mountainous country (only Switzerland has a higher terrain), and the climate varies dramatically according to altitude as well as latitude. In the province of Granada, it is possible to ski in the mountains and lounge on a beach, both in the same day.

True alpine conditions prevail in many of Spain's mountains, from the Pyrenees along the border with France to the Sierra Nevada above Granada in the south, and the central two-fifths of the country is primarily high plains crossed by mountain ranges and rivers. Besides the mainland peninsula, Spanish possessions include the Mediterranean Balearic Islands, the Canary Archipelago (in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa) and the Moroccan coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.

Mainland Spain can be divided into three climatic zones: the Oceanic in the north (the rainiest and greenest part along the Bay of Biscay and in Galicia); the Mediterranean Zone (sunny and semiarid); and central Spain (hot in summer, cold in winter, relatively dry).

Spain is also divided into distinctive, politically autonomous regions, each with its own culture and history, and several with their own languages (including Catalonia, Valencia, Galicia and the Basque region). Hot, arid Andalusia, to the south, is the home of flamenco, bullfighting and spectacular Moorish architecture.

History

Spain's history was shaped by many forces—the Celts, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans and Germanic tribes (Visigoths, Vandals) all had a strong hand in influencing the people of the Iberian Peninsula, of which Spain is a part. Perhaps the greatest artistic and intellectual ferment in Spain, though, was under the Islamic conquerors, the Moors (Arabs and Berbers), who ruled parts of the peninsula from 711 to 1492. This period of history in al-Andalus was characterized by a diffusion of culture among Jews, Christians and Muslims, and Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Periods of peace and cooperation were interspersed with spells of fierce fighting. Universities, unique architecture and an age of religious toleration were all fostered by many of the Islamic rulers, most notably those of the Caliphate of Cordoba in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. After a protracted struggle with Christian forces, the Moors were finally defeated in 1492. That same year, all Jews were expelled from Spain, and Columbus crossed the Atlantic under the Spanish flag to reveal the New World to Europe.

The next century saw the apogee of Spain's power and influence throughout the world: Theirs was the first worldwide empire. In addition to their adventures far afield, Spanish kings controlled all or parts of what are now Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy and France. By the early 1600s, most Muslims had been forced to convert or were expelled from the peninsula. Imperial ambitions brought on imperial excess, however, and adventurism finally sapped the strength of Spain. The country went into a decline that saw it lose nearly all of its colonial possessions by the late 1800s.

In the early part of the 20th century, Spain was in turmoil as its traditional culture and economy clashed with modern political and social forces. The breaking point was reached in 1936 with the first shots of the horrific Spanish Civil War. Fascist dictator Gen. Francisco Franco, with the help of Hitler and Mussolini, emerged victorious from the civil war and ruled until his death in 1975. He left Spain in the care of King Juan Carlos I, who helped transform Spain into a modern democracy.

With its new freedoms, the country enjoyed a cultural renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s, and joined the European Union in 1986. The country held the world's attention in 1992 as host of the Summer Olympics (in Barcelona) and Expo '92 (in Seville). It is fully integrated into the EU and uses the euro as its currency.

Snapshot

Spain's main attractions are historical sites, lively cities, some of the finest art in the world, castles, cathedrals, the Alhambra, shopping, the White Villages, traditional fiestas, cultural events, beaches, museums, caves, hiking, watersports and great food and wine.

Anyone who likes to travel will enjoy Spain. From its art museums and its tapas bars to its beaches, Spain's appeal is so broad that it's truly a country with something for everyone.

Potpourri

Menorca's port city of Mahon was the birthplace of mayonnaise.

At 2,133 ft/650 m, Madrid is the highest capital city in Europe. It became the capital in 1561 when Philip II moved his court from Toledo to be closer to his beloved palace, El Escorial.

Point Tarifa is the southernmost spot in Europe. It is considered the best spot in Europe for windsurfing and kitesurfing.

Morocco is only 8 mi/13 km from Spain's southern shore across the Strait of Gibraltar. There are ferries and excursions from Algeciras and Tarifa.

After Italy, Spain has the second-highest number of UNESCO World Heritage sites of any country in the world.

The Torre de Hercules in La Coruna on the Galician coast is claimed as the oldest lighthouse in the world, dating from 20 BC.

Christopher Columbus brought the first cocoa beans to Spain on his return from his last voyage to the Caribbean in 1502. The Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes drank a bitter chocolate drink with Aztecs in 1519. He added cane sugar and spices to make it more palatable. Back home, the Spanish served it piping hot and created the world's first hot chocolate.

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, published in 1615, is considered the world's first novel in the modern sense of the word.

Overview

Introduction

On the edge of the southern Patagonian ice field, 1,860 mi/3,000 km south of Santiago, the wildlife and scenery, both in and around Torres del Paine National Park (pronounced TOR-es del PIE-nay) are spectacular. The "Torres" of the park's name are three massive granite "towers" of the Cordillera del Paine range that reach 10,000 ft/3,100 m. "Paine" comes from the native Tehuelche Indian word for the azure blue water of the many lakes from the many glaciers.

Herds of sheep and guanacos (wild relatives of the domestic llama) graze the sprawling steppes; fields of wildflowers cover alpine meadows; lush, southern beech forests cover the hillsides observed by soaring condors; and icy rivers round out the scene. A catamaran excursion visits Grey Glacier, a slow-moving river of ice that feeds Grey Lake.

Ambitious walkers can undertake a 10-day, 60 mi/100 km "O" circuit around the towers and the base of the central massif called Paine Grande or do the classic five-day, 40 mi/60 km "W" trek on the south side of the Los Cuernos range. If the weather is clear, some of the mountaintops are visible when landing in Punta Arenas.

The town of Puerto Natales, three hours northwest of Punta Arenas via an excellent paved highway, is the gateway to the park. Between Puerto Natales and the park, an early settler found well-preserved remains of a Pleistocene ground sloth at the Milodon Cave.

Those visiting the park as an excursion from Punta Arenas should allow a minimum of three days (two nights), but most visitors prefer at least four or five nights; day trips from Puerto Natales are feasible for those whose time is limited. Rainy, cold and windy days are common, even in summer. On any given day, though, the changeable weather provides windows of opportunity.

Those planning to trek in Torres del Paine should know that the refugios (hostels and campsites) are each run independently and are generally booked solid by Tier 2 tour operators who provide complete packages for tourists. The chances of booking back-to-back nights trekking through the park without going through a tour operator are slim.