The winner of last month's Moon Guidebook on Peru is:
Jane Thomas congratulations!
This month, win a Moon guidebook on Acadia National Park. See
www.moon.com for info on
Moon guide books.
Some people have said the quiz is difficult, we say do some
research: try google.com
or Ask Jeeves, if you need
help with the answers.
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I was pretty taken with Cefalù. I had not expected it to
have retained such charm since its advent to practically
every tour firm’s brochure. My one disappointment was quite a
major one, that the lovely cathedral, with mosaics older than
those at Monreale [though nothing like as many,] was
undergoing repair, a place of noise and dust with little
mosaic actually showing. Never mind, you can’t win ’em all!
Somehow I missed the quickest way to the bus for Castelbuono
and I arrived in time to see the back of it as it left. It
was right by the train station and, as Castelbuono was the
very first stop and a train was almost due, I was not too
worried. In fact my only worry was during the short train
journey when I realised I had not validated my ticket!
Fortunately nobody had told me that the station was nowhere
near the town and that the walk was up a very long and pretty
steep hill. I only had seconds to worry about this, as the
fellow passenger who told me went on to offer a lift. We can
have been only a little behind the bus!
My lift was to the tourist office who started to look for
somewhere for me to stay that night. I quite fancied the idea
of a b&b for a change and the price sounded OK until they
phoned back to all but double it as I was on my own. No good.
The next attempt was the only hotel in the little town, as
far as I know, the Ariston. This was remarkably cheap and I
left my luggage at the tourist office to carry on uphill to
the castle before dropping down to the Ariston. The view,
both of the town below and of the hills of the interior in
the other direction confirmed the impression that it would be
a good walking centre. However there was no time to weigh
that up with only two nights left. I returned to the Ariston
and the very cheap price came to seem explicable. The
receptionist was playing cards with a couple of friends –
they called to mind Manet’s famous painting in the Courtauld
Gallery at Somerset House, London. Shortly after he had given
me the key I heard them – all – leave the hotel and that was
it. There was nobody else in the hotel from then until I left
in the morning. I do not remember the name of the place where
I ate. I suppose you might call it an Italian fast food joint
but it was just what I needed – fast indeed but remarkably
friendly. I should go again – just above the arch on the
right if you want to find it!
So back in the morning to Cefalù on the bus to catch the
train on along the coast. I had by now what I thought was
probably a pipedream, that it would be great to take a boat
out to one of the Aeolian Islands for a couple of hours if
timetables permitted – and they seemed to. This time the
mistake was not my fault. The departure board in the station
had been changed from the time-table from the tourist office
and I had to wait well over an hour for the next train – and
pay extra for the privilege because it was called an express.
It would hardly be reasonable for an Englishman to complain
about the train service anywhere but this was actually as bad
as ours at near their worst.
Thus I arrived at Milazzo very uncertain whether it was going
to be possible to do anything. I discovered that by taking an
aliscafo [hydrofoil] I could get just about an hour on
Lípari. I am and I was very aware that an hour on
Lípari is absurdly insufficient. On the other hand it
was nearly an hour more than nothing and allowed a sight of
Vulcano on the way – and the sea was like a mill pond. There
was really no contest in my mind; I went and I am glad I did
– though I should certainly like to go again for longer and
see some of the other islands as well.
After the trip, reported in the next edition, I was rather
too tired to walk up to the castle at Milazzo but it looked
striking enough towering over the town. I was there at a time
when the industrial smoke said to spoil the town so badly was
absent and it seemed a good place. I stayed at the Central in
the Via del Sole, an ordinary little place with shared
bathrooms, cheaper but otherwise much the same as several
others. I ate at a sort of shop/cafe at the far end of town
from a wonderful spread of antipasti type dishes – very
cheaply indeed.
David was a keen walker, particularly on mountains before he
developed serious heart problems in 1995. He has now adapted
his holidays to what he is able to do and we are presenting
his account of 12 days in Sicily over this and the coming
months. Next two episodes: Palermo.
Next episode – Aeolians , Messina, Taormina.
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What's your score?
0 out of 5 – you need to get out more!
1-3 – not bad
4 – very good! You are a Globetrotter!
5 – are you sure you didn’t sneak a look?
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Planning a
visit to London or already live in London or visit, well,
Gordon regularly hosts get togethers for visitors and local
people alike to go to the theatre and concerts, sometimes
free and sometimes at reduced cost. He also hosts
suppers at selected restaurants – the picture shows a group
of Gordon’s friends.
To join Gordon’s friends’ group, click on this link:
Gordon's
friends
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Due to popular demand, we have included the answers to last
month’s Travel Quiz.
We are inundated each month by people entering the quiz, and
receive many correct submission answers.
Our webmaster collates all of the correct answers into a
draw, and the Beetle selects a number at random.
1. The Incas were defeated by conquistadores from which
country in 1533? A: Spain
2. The population of modern day Peru is around 8 million, 18
million or 28 million? A: 28 million
3. Cuy is a local speciality – what type of animal is it? A:
Guinea pig
4. Maria Reiche was an expert on which lines in Peru? A:
Nazca Lines
5. How many countries does Peru have international borders
with? A: five
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Rajasthan is a land where the vagaries of nature have settled
to co-exist with the good cheer of its people. The
architectural grandeur of royalty and the tales of valour and
chivalry are the essence of its very spirit. Rajasthan is a
destination that enchants the visitor with every little
discovery that is made, because the more one discovers, the
more is the urge to stay on or come back. It offers a
unique destination for anyone’s holidays.
Jaipur, the first planned city of historic India, better
known as the pink city and the Venice of east is a perfect
combination of old and modern architect of India.
Pushkar is your host for rural, religion and culture of the
region. The Thar Desert tells a story of men living in
harmony with a hostile nature. It is not deserted but
contains a complete philosophy to live with the nature.
Ranthambore presents an opportunity for viewing wild life as
you can experience the first hand the habitat of the king of
the forest the tiger. The following ‘tour’ is in two
parts but shows how you can easily explore parts of
Rajasthan.
Jaipur, popularly known as the Pink City, was
founded in 1727 AD by the Maharaja of Amber Sawai Jai Singh.
This remarkable city is considered a marvel of town planning.
Designed in accordance with ancient Hindu treaties on
architecture, the Silpa Shastra, Jaipur follows a grid system
and is encircled by a fortified wall. The palace lies
in the heart of the city and occupies the space of the
central grid. The rest of the grids were cut across neatly by
wide lanes, which divided the area into tidy, well laid-out
rectangles of commercial and residential use. The fortified
wall has eight gates (originally had seven) and was built for
protection against invading armies and wild animals. Today
the city has spread beyond these walls and reached
neighbouring towns and continues to grow.
The city Palace complex is the most important landmark with
its numerous outbuildings, courtyards, impressive gateways
and temples. Occupying one seventh of the walled city
area, the city palace houses the seven storied Chandra Mahal
(residence of the royal family), Mubarak Mahal, the
Diwan-I-Am, and Diwan-I-Khas. The museum houses a rare
collection of arms, carpets, costumes, paintings and royal
paraphernalia. A notable exhibit is a pair of pure silver
containers, which are the largest single pieces of silver in
the world.
Across the road from the palace is the JANTAR MANTAR, one of
the five observatories built by Sawai Jai Singh, this one is
the latest and the best preserved. A collection of complex
astronomical instruments chiselled out of stone – most of
which continue to provide fairly accurate information to this
day – is the highlight of the observatory.
This adjoins the outside of the palace wall. Built in
1799 this pink seven storied building overlooks one of the
main streets and also provides some excellent views of the
city. Dedicated to the lord Krishna, it is shaped like
a crown, which adorns the Lord’s head. It has over 900
niches and is quite an unusual structure the likes of which
are not to be found anywhere else in the world.
Set in a picturesque location, Amber is a fascinating blend
of Hindu and Muslim architecture. Built in the 16th
century by Raja Man Singh, it sprawls on the hillside.
Built in red sandstone and white marble, the palace
complex has some very interesting apartments, the likes of
which are not to be found anywhere else in the country.
Jai Mandir, Sheesh Mahal, Sukh Niwas, Ganesh Pol are
some of the prominent areas of interest. The old
township of Amber lies at the foothills of the palace and has
an Old World charm, a character of its own.
Held at Pushkar near Ajmer once in a year,
better known by the name of Pushkar Cattle Fair, is one of
the most colourful festivals of India. Thousands of pilgrims
come to bathe in the holy water of the Pushkar Lake. Legend
has it that the lake appeared miraculously on the spot, where
the petals of the lotus fell from the hands of lord Brahma.
Pushkar has an atmosphere of an ancient town, peaceful and
secluded but for twelve days of the month of KARTIK (Hindu
calendar), it transformed into a spectacular fair ground.
The fair is an amazing sight to behold including street
sellers showing off their dazzling range of wares in hundreds
of roadside stalls.
People come from different parts of
Rajasthan to worship lord Brahma and take bath in the holy
lake. Pilgrims start coming in the early morning in
groups singing the religious songs dedicated to Hindu gods to
bathe in the Pushkar lake. The process continues throughout
the day to turn into DEEPDAN ceremony. The entire
atmosphere reverberates with the ringing of bells. At
night, hundreds of small oil lamps placed on green leaves set
the lake alight. Shopkeepers keeps their shops open day
and night for the last three or four days to keep the city
alive.
Worlds largest number of camel gathering is a spectacular
seen that floods this area with thousands of tourist every
year. The most spectacular site besides the animals is the
day to day activity of the people who comes with the animals
and spend the day and night under open sky. Horse races,
camel races and other animal based events are organized by
the organizing committee to choose the best animal of the
fair.
If you would like to get in touch with Bhaghirath about
touring Rajasthan, he can be contacted by e-mail on: vision21century@sify.com
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