Anytime we imagine that readers are getting tired of Paper Trails, all we have to do is run out of space and be unable to offer them for a week.
The ensuing calls and e-mails are proof enough that you still like to see where your fellow readers are traveling, want to read about their favorite dishes in foreign lands and hear each other’s hints for smooth sailing.
Of course, the other clue to Paper Trails’ enduring popularity would be the constant flow of postings on the blog, as well as the number of photos still being mailed. And it’s precisely because of those large numbers that we once again provide this all-Paper Trails issue.
Keep them coming, and thank you for sharing.
Fiji
Who: Regina Hopkins
Where: Yasawa Islands
Best meal: On Nanuya Lailai Island, one of the smaller islands in the Yasawa group. It was a simple Fijian meal of taro root (similar to a potato) and fresh-caught barracuda in broth. I found the oldest man on the island and befriended him, and he invited me to eat lunch with his family, and afterward showed me how to open a coconut.
Best deal: The big island of Naviti has a nice resort for young 20-somethings. It costs about $20 a night including meals. It’s called Korovu Resort and is family-run.
Best time to go: During their winter, May- August, when it was still hot. The temperature hardly ever goes below 80 degrees.
Best travel tip: Make friends with the locals, and they will treat you like you are part of their family. And say “Bula” to everyone — it means “Hello.”
New Zealand
Who: Robert and Mary Nichols of Erie
Where: Moeraki Boulders, South Island. Local Maori legends explained the boulders as the remains of eel baskets washed ashore from the wreck of a large sailing canoe. Geologists suggest that these may be calcite concretions in mudstone that has since been eroded by the pounding surf.
Best meal: The Prime in Queenstown. Second-story sunset views over Lake Wakatipu with street performers drawing crowds below. Beef-eye filet, green-lip mussels and rack of lamb professionally presented and tasty. Prices $20-$25 for main courses, and an excellent wine selection at $20-$40 per bottle.
Best deal: Brinkley Resort in Methven. It is in the heart of the Canterbury plains at the foot the Southern Alps. Excellent views, comfortable, spacious apartment-style condos a few hundred yards to the quaint town center past a pasture of sheep that enjoy being hand-fed. Hot air ballooning over a postcard-perfect patchwork quilt of farmlands with the snowy Southern Alps is worthy of adding to your do-before-you-die list! Even with the falling dollar, New Zealand is half the price of Europe with twice the adventure possibilities.
Best time to go: March. It is still late summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and the weather is more settled.
Best travel tip: New Zealand has many unique opportunities and allows travelers to experience the best through local guides. Every town has free information sites at the town center where you can book tours and lodging. Leave the States armed only with a travel book, and don’t book tours until you get there, because you will discover more things once you talk with locals.
Guatemala
Who: Mike Hughes and Tim Roorda
Where: Pacaya Volcano lava flow
Best meal: Lomito and pollo parmesano at Mikaso Hotel in San Pedro
Best snack: Coco fresco! Fresh coconut cut from a tree in Monterrico.
Best deal: Cafe del Sol, Monterrico. It was on the beach and comfortable, with clean rooms and great food.
Best time to go: “La temporada de los gringos,” or “Season of Whitey” — mid-January through February.
Best travel tip: If you are ever unsure and feel endangered, smile openly; works every time. Consider the kids to determine if you would like to stay in a town or not. Are they engaged with each other? Do they behave as if they are loved? You don’t need to speak the language to sense those aspects.
