Alternative Holidays

[Stewart]

It's that time of year when people start heading off to the sun for a week or two to get away from work. The UK's typical destinations are Spain, Greece, and Portugal.

I was looking at the website of Exodus who organise alternative holidays such as cycling between two cities (i.e. Tallinn to St. Petereburg) or taking part in huge treks (i.e. Anchorage to Cape Horn) or Spanish lessons while living in a village in Quito, Ecuador.

The Anchorage to Cape Horn trip has really grabbed my imagination:

A few lines of prose barely do justice to a epic journey of such magnitude. A cross-section of the developed and developing world, an amalgam of cultures from Navajo Indians to Mayan, Aztec and Incas, and in Bryce Canyon, Torres Del Paine, the Moreno Glacier, Colca Canyon and Lake Atitlan you have some of the most beautiful natural attractions in the world. Wildlife too is abundant; elk, moose, bears and whales in the north, the rainforests of Central America, a once-in-a-lifetine trip to the Galapagos Islands and the most bio-diverse area in the world: the Amazon Basin. The ancient cultures have left an indelible legacy enjoyed particularly at Machu Picchu, Tulum, Chichen Itza and Chan Chan. But this expedition is more than these fabled sights, it’s the colourful people and markets, the long roads bisecting huge geographical extremities and of course the camaraderie from travelling this distance with a group of fellow travellers.

It's a huge 26 week trip

Has anyone done anything like this before?

 

[Geenh]

Gosh, never, but being a parent doesn't allow you those sorts of luxuries.

We are going to Greece/Turkey next year though.

I'd LOVE to see all the ruins (Mayan and Incan, etc)!

 

[direstraits]

Wow, Stewart, I'd love to get on this trip! Though I wonder how anyone'd be able to get 26 weeks off from work if they are under employment...

Where the heck are my bloody lottery tickets?

I will be going to a beautiful beach resort in a couple of weeks, 2 hour drive from where I stay, for just the weekend. But it's a treasure hunt trip, and it promises to be lots of fun. Coming back with the first prize, I am.

ds

 

[ruach]

That trip sounds like a fun, albeit to touristy for my tastes. It skips over the best part, this.

 

[honeydevil]

sounds awsome, if i had the money i would jump on a bike and annoy you for 26 weeks. I think i will start a little slower, like traveling wiht bike to the baltic sea, i guess i will do something like that in the next few years.

 

[mehastings]

I could never afford to do something like that, unless of course direstraits is going to split his lotto ticket with me.

However, I knew a couple who had biked around the continental united states during the 70's. They said it was the most enlightening thing they ever did. They were hippies (obviously).

 

[Stewart]

like traveling wiht bike to the baltic sea

I've looked into that too. The cycling from Tallinn to St. Petersburg; that would be awesome.

 

[jenn]

even with the cash, that would take some training. very serious training. but what an experiance.

 

[Stewart]

Nah, it's quite leisurely (the cycling) - your baggage is transported ahead for you to the next checkpoint so you only have to worry about the bike and the map.

 

[novella]

Don't they have a Da Vinci Code holiday, Stewart? You could bring a pointy umbrella with sarin on the end and have a ball, Georgi Markov style.

 

[direstraits]

I could never afford to do something like that, unless of course direstraits is going to split his lotto ticket with me.

Unfortunately, my lotto prize money would be pittance when converted to your currency, mehastings.

Or should I say, *what's left* of my lotto prize money. Hehehehehe...

ds

 

[jenn]

Nah, it's quite leisurely (the cycling) - your baggage is transported ahead for you to the next checkpoint so you only have to worry about the bike and the map.

oh! nice.well then, sign me up.

 

[mehastings]

Have any of you guys read The Memory of Running? Just wondering as I've heard it is about a bike journey. I haven't read it yet though and can't attest to it's quality.

 

[novella]

Have any of you guys read The Memory of Running? Just wondering as I've heard it is about a bike journey. I haven't read it yet though and can't attest to it's quality.

It's a great book! I fully recommend it. There's a discussion thread on it in Fiction. Think it's the best book I've read in 2005.

The bike journey, however, is not really a travelogue but more about the guy's personal transformation.

 

[Ice]

Though I wonder how anyone'd be able to get 26 weeks off from work if they are under employment...

They could take a sabatical. That trip looks amazing and something I would love to do - ufortunaly I have too many commitments now to be able to travel for 26 weeks

 

[cajunmama]

Wow! That trip sounds fabulous. I'd love to do something like that. I guess I'd better start playing the lottery then, huh?? So they transport you luggage ahead for you? I wonder if they charge exra for a box of books?

 

[honeydevil]

Wow! That trip sounds fabulous. I'd love to do something like that. I guess I'd better start playing the lottery then, huh?? So they transport you luggage ahead for you? I wonder if they charge exra for a box of books?

probably, in the end they charge extra for the tiquila too.

 

[cajunmama]

Come to think of it, if I'm on this trip, I'd have won the lottery and be stinking rich, so extra for the box of books and the case of tequila really wouldn't be a big deal.

 

[honeydevil]

Come to think of it, if I'm on this trip, I'd have won the lottery and be stinking rich, so extra for the box of books and the case of tequila really wouldn't be a big deal.

right, but since i am only a poor student, i have to decide which one i take...

books... tiquila... books... tiquila....

 

[cajunmama]

right, but since i am only a poor student, i have to decide which one i take...

books... tiquila... books... tiquila....

Ah, no worries there, I'll bring enough books and booze for the both of us.